Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
p66Shc regulates vesicle‐mediated secretion in mast cells by affecting F‐actin dynamics

The extracellular vesicular compartment has emerged as a novel system of intercellular communication; however, the mechanisms involved in membrane vesicle biogenesis and secretion are as yet unclear. Among immune cells releasing membrane vesicles—mast cells that reside near tissues exposed to the environment—are master modulators of immune responses. Here, we have addressed the role of p66Shc, a novel regulator of mast cell activation and homeostasis, in the dynamic reorganization of the actin cytoskeleton that is associated with morphological changes during secretion. We show that p66Shc is recruited as a complex with the lipid phosphatase SHIP1 to the F‐actin skeleton and impairs antigen‐dependent cortical F‐actin disassembly and membrane ruffling through the inhibition of Vav and paxillin phosphorylation. We also show that in addition to acting as a negative regulator of antigen‐dependent mast cell degranulation, p66Shc limits the basal release of granule contents by inhibiting microvesicle budding from the plasma membrane and piecemeal degranulation. These findings identify p66Shc as a critical regulator of actin dynamics in mast cells, providing a basis for understanding the molecular mechanisms involved in vesicle‐mediated secretion in these cells.
Total proximal tendon avulsion of the rectus femoris muscle

Total proximal avulsions of the quadriceps femoris muscle group are rare injuries. Between the years 2001 and 2004 five patients with a total proximal avulsion of the tendon of the rectus femoris muscle were treated surgically in Mehiläinen Hospital in Turku, Finland. The median age of the patients was 21 years (range, 19–27) and the patients were all men. There were four soccer players and one hurdler.
Predicting smoking status in a college-age population.

OBJECTIVE The purpose of this study was to determine the factors that predict smoking group membership in a college-age population. DESIGN A nonexperimental cross-sectional design was used to examine factors that distinguished among four groups: never established (n = 591), former (n = 41), nondaily (n = 80), and daily (n = 76) cigarette smokers. SAMPLE A pencil and paper questionnaire was returned by 788 randomly selected college students, 18-24 years of age. RESULTS Significant differences were found among the groups on their mothers', fathers', siblings', and peers' smoking behaviors and attitudes toward smoking. The nondaily and daily smoking groups reported a greater number of risk behaviors than the never established and former smoking groups. The two groups of current smokers also were more likely to report an increased level of depressive symptoms compared with the nonsmoking groups. The number of high school and college friends who smoke and self-reported high-risk alcohol and drug behaviors predicted smoking group membership in a polytomous logistic regression. CONCLUSIONS Strategies to alter the social environment and decrease the exposure of nonsmoking students to others who model smoking behaviors may help decrease smoking initiation and prevent relapse on college campuses.
The effects of aging on MOS irradiation and annealing response

We find that, after approximately 17 years of room-temperature storage, the irradiation and annealing responses of poly-Si-gate nMOS transistors can change significantly. For devices with 32 nm gate oxides that were stored in a nonhermetic environment, the magnitude of the threshold-voltage rebound during postirradiation annealing is much larger now than in previous tests on devices from the same wafer and packaging lot in 1988. These changes in threshold-voltage shifts during storage are primarily due to a more than 50% increase in interface-trap generation during irradiation and annealing. When these parts are baked before irradiation, the aging-related increase in threshold-voltage shift is reduced significantly. Water molecules absorbed in the device are likely candidates for causing aging-related degradation in a nonhermetic environment, so we investigated the properties of H/sub 2/O in amorphous SiO/sub 2/ using first-principles quantum-mechanical calculations based on density functional theory. We find a complex with energy that is 0.3 eV smaller than interstitial H/sub 2/O, with an activation energy of formation of <1.5 eV. These results may help to account for the enhanced interface-trap buildup. Devices from the same lot with 60 nm oxides stored in hermetically sealed packages showed a /spl sim/25% increase in interface-trap generation as compared to 1988 results. The increase in threshold-voltage rebound in nonhermetically stored devices is larger than standard testing margins, e.g., in MIL-STD 883, Test Method 1019. These results reinforce the importance of allowing for changes in radiation response with aging and temperature when performing hardness assurance testing of MOS and linear bipolar devices, especially for low-dose-rate applications in which hermeticity cannot be guaranteed.
Factors Influencing the Assay of Creatinine

1.1 Choice of wavelength ent modes of treatment of the sample to overcome interference. It must be stressed, however, that a potent source of error may arise from failure to reproduce exactly the reaction conditions from sample to sample or batch to batch. This section, therefore, will be devoted to commenting on the influence of both assay conditions (working wavelength, composition of the Jaffe reagent, temperature, and time) and interfering substances on the Jaffe reaction.
Comparative toxicity of preservatives on immortalized corneal and conjunctival epithelial cells.

PURPOSE Nearly all eye drops contain preservatives to decrease contamination. Nonpreservatives such as disodium-ethylene diamine tetra-acetate (EDTA) and phosphate-buffered saline are also regularly added as buffering agents. These components can add to the toxicity of eye drops and cause ocular surface disease. To evaluate the potential toxicity of these common components and their comparative effects on the ocular surface, a tissue culture model utilizing immortalized corneal and conjunctival epithelial cells was utilized. METHODS Immortalized human conjunctival and corneal epithelial cells were grown. At confluency, medium was replaced with 100 microL of varying concentrations of preservatives: benzalkonium chloride (BAK), methyl paraben (MP), sodium perborate (SP), chlorobutanol (Cbl), and stabilized thimerosal (Thi); varying concentrations of buffer: EDTA; media (viable control); and formalin (dead control). After 1 h, solutions were replaced with 150 microL of MTT (3-[4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl]-2,5-diphenyl tetrazonium bromide). After 4 h, solutions decanted, 100 microL of acid isopropanol added, and the optical density determined at 572 nm to evaluate cell viability. RESULTS Conjunctival and corneal cell toxicity was seen with all preservatives. Depending upon concentration, BAK exhibited from 56% to 89% toxicity. In comparison, Cbl exhibited from 50% to 86%, MP from 30% to 76%, SP from 23% to 59%, and Thi from 70% to 95%. EDTA with minimal toxicity (from 6% to 59%) was indistinguishable from SP. CONCLUSIONS Generally, the order of decreasing toxicity at the most commonly used concentrations: Thi (0.0025%) > BAK (0.025%) > Cbl (0.25%) > MP (0.01%) > SP (0.0025%) approximately EDTA (0.01%). Even at low concentration, these agents will cause some degree of ocular tissue damage.
Upregulation of microRNA 142-3p in the peripheral blood and urinary cells of kidney transplant recipients with post-transplant graft dysfunction

We analyzed microRNA (miR)-142-3p expression in leucocytes of the peripheral blood and urinary sediment cell samples obtained from kidney transplant recipients who developed graft dysfunction. Forty-one kidney transplant recipients with kidney graft dysfunction and 8 stable patients were included in the study. The groups were divided according to histological analysis into acute rejection group (n=23), acute tubular necrosis group (n=18) and stable patients group used as a control for gene expression (n=8). Percutaneous biopsies were performed and peripheral blood samples and urine samples were obtained. miR-142-3p was analyzed by real-time polymerase chain reaction. The group of patients with acute tubular necrosis presented significantly higher expressions in peripheral blood (P<0.05) and urine (P<0.001) compared to the stable patients group. Also, in the peripheral blood, miR-142-3p expression was significantly higher in the acute tubular necrosis group compared to the acute rejection group (P<0.05). Urine samples of the acute rejection group presented higher expression compared to the stable patients group (P<0.001) but the difference between acute tubular necrosis and acute rejection groups was not significant in the urinary analyzes (P=0.079). miR-142-3p expression has a distinct pattern of expression in the setting of post-operative acute tubular necrosis after kidney transplantation and may potentially be used as a non-invasive biomarker for renal graft dysfunction.
Parental monitoring and adolescent drinking: results of a 12-month follow-up.

OBJECTIVE To examine the relationship between parental monitoring and adolescent drinking over time. METHODS Adolescents completed a baseline survey regarding their involvement with alcohol and parental monitoring. They were interviewed 12 months later, to obtain follow-up measures of drinking and involvement in alcohol-risk situations. RESULTS Highly monitored adolescents were less likely to report that they were drinking 12 months later. This relationship remained when controlling for age, gender, drinking at baseline, and being in various high-risk situations. CONCLUSIONS The longer term protective relationship between parental monitoring and alcohol involvement was demonstrated. The need to establish frequent parental monitoring is indicated.
The Effectiveness of Virtual Reality for Administering Spatial Navigation Training to Firefighters

Because fire rescue personnel often enter unfamiliar buildings to perform critical tasks like rescues, the importance of finding new and improved ways to train route navigation is becoming paramount. This research was designed to compare three methods for training firefighters to navigate a rescue route in an unfamiliar building. Thirty firefighters from the Madison County, Alabama, area were trained to navigate through the Administrative Science Building at The University of Alabama in Huntsville. The firefighters, who had not had any experience with the Administrative Science Building prior to the experiment, were randomly assigned to one of three experimental training groups: Blueprint, Virtual Reality, or No Training (Control). After training, we measured the total navigation time and number of wrong turns exhibited by firefighters in the actual building. Participants were required to rescue a mock baby (a life-sized doll) following the specific trained route. Measures of test performance were compared among groups by using analyses of variance (ANOVAs). The results indicated that firefighters trained with virtual reality or blueprints performed a quicker and more accurate rescue than those without training. Furthermore, the speed and accuracy of rescue performance did not differ significantly between virtual reality and blueprint training groups. These results indicate that virtual reality training, if constructed and implemented properly, may provide an effective alternative to current navigation training methods. The results are discussed with regard to theories of transfer of training and human performance in virtual environments.
Numerical calculation of the sound field focused by acoustic lens with an arbitrary axisymmetric sound speed distribution

The expressions that describe the sound field focused by an acoustic lens with different sound speed distribution (SSD) in lens are given. Numerical calculation results are presented, in which the axial and lateral sound pressure distributions and the -3 dB sound beam profile along the focused field are given out for three types of the acoustic focused lens with revolving-arc curved outer surface and four types' axisymmetric SSD. It is shown that, when sound beam is focused by a lens with SSD, the best focal point moves away from the lens and achieves a large focal region compared with the no-SSD case. The maximum axial focused intensity at the best focal point is smaller than that of the no-SSD case, but the focused beam width at the best focal point is larger than that of the no-SSD case. The larger the coefficient of the SSD, the larger the focused beam width and the larger focal region, but the divergent angle is almost the same
Abstract Template

1.3 W of average power at 8.5 m central wavelength are generated through collinear optical parametric amplification in LiGaS2. The crystal is pumped by a 45 W femtosecond oscillator operating at 1.03 m wavelength. The seed is generated by a normally dispersive photonic crystal fibre. This ensures passive carrier-envelope-offset stability of the idler. The concept is expected to be peak and average power scalable, opening an exciting perspective towards applications in spectroscopy of molecular fingerprints as well as in high field physics.
Treatment of secondary hyperparathyroidism by high calcium diet is associated with enhanced resistance artery relaxation in experimental renal failure.

BACKGROUND Vasorelaxation is impaired in renal failure (RF) and hypertension. A high calcium diet enhances vasodilatation and reduces blood pressure in experimental hypertension. Oral calcium salts are used as phosphate binders in RF. However, the effect of increased calcium intake on arterial tone in RF is unknown. METHODS We investigated the influence of an 8-week high calcium diet (0.3 vs 3.0%) on resistance artery tone in 5/6 nephrectomized (NTX) rats. Calcium was supplemented as carbonate salt, blood pressure measured by tail-cuff, urine collected in metabolic cages, and samples taken for blood chemistry and parathyroid hormone (PTH). Functional studies of isolated third-order branches of the mesenteric artery in vitro were performed using the Mulvany multimyograph. RESULTS Plasma urea was elevated 1.6-fold and systolic blood pressure by 10 mmHg after NTX, while increased calcium intake was without effect on these variables. Plasma PTH and phosphate were raised following NTX, and suppressed by high calcium diet. Vasorelaxations induced by K(+) channel agonists 11,12-epoxyeicosatrienoic acid and levcromakalim were impaired after NTX. Vasorelaxation induced by acetylcholine was also reduced following NTX, and experiments with N(G)-nitro-L-arginine methyl ester, diclofenac and charybdotoxin + apamin suggested that the K(+) channel-mediated component of endothelium-dependent relaxation was deficient after NTX. Increased calcium intake corrected all impairments of vasodilatation in NTX rats. CONCLUSIONS Deficient vasorelaxation via K(+) channels was normalized by high calcium diet in experimental RF. This effect was independent of the degree of renal impairment and blood pressure, but was associated with improved calcium metabolism: plasma levels of PTH and phosphate were decreased and ionized calcium was increased.
Discovery of Potent Small-Molecule Inhibitors of Multidrug-Resistant Plasmodium falciparum Using a Novel Miniaturized High-Throughput Luciferase-Based Assay

ABSTRACT Malaria is a global health problem that causes significant mortality and morbidity, with more than 1 million deaths per year caused by Plasmodium falciparum. Most antimalarial drugs face decreased efficacy due to the emergence of resistant parasites, which necessitates the discovery of new drugs. To identify new antimalarials, we developed an automated 384-well plate screening assay using P. falciparum parasites that stably express cytoplasmic firefly luciferase. After initial optimization, we tested two different types of compound libraries: known bioactive collections (Library of Pharmacologically Active Compounds [LOPAC] and the library from the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke [NINDS]) and a library of uncharacterized compounds (ChemBridge). A total of 12,320 compounds were screened at 5.5 μM. Selecting only compounds that reduced parasite growth by 85% resulted in 33 hits from the combined bioactive collection and 130 hits from the ChemBridge library. Fifteen novel drug-like compounds from the bioactive collection were found to be active against P. falciparum. Twelve new chemical scaffolds were found from the ChemBridge hits, the most potent of which was a series based on the 1,4-naphthoquinone scaffold, which is structurally similar to the FDA-approved antimalarial atovaquone. However, in contrast to atovaquone, which acts to inhibit the bc1 complex and block the electron transport chain in parasite mitochondria, we have determined that our new 1,4-napthoquinones act in a novel, non-bc1-dependent mechanism and remain potent against atovaquone- and chloroquine-resistant parasites. Ultimately, this study may provide new probes to understand the molecular details of the malaria life cycle and to identify new antimalarials.
Editorial: Evidence-Based Guidelines for Publishing Articles in Research in the Schools and Beyond

As Co-Editors of Research in the Schools, we are committed to publishing articles of the highest quality. In an effort to assure Total Quality Management (cf. Walton, 1986), we continually monitor articles submitted to Research in the Schools. Since assuming our duties as Co-Editors, we have noticed that many authors commit flaws— namely, errors of commission and omission--that play an important role in the demise of the manuscript, subsequently contributing to its rejection. Elsewhere, we have tried to explain why these flaws occur:
Cytochemical evidence that acetylcholine is a neurotransmitter of neurons that make excitatory and inhibitory outputs in the locust ocellar visual system

Three different cytochemical methods were used to detect acetylcholine in large, second‐order neurons of locust ocelli (L‐neurons). The first method used polyclonal antibodies raised against choline cleaved from acetylcholine and then conjugated with native protein, and this revealed strong staining for acetylcholine in axons whose number, size, and location indicated that they were of L‐neurons. A corresponding staining pattern was found using the second method with a polyclonal antiserum against choline acetyltransferase (ChAT). The third method was the histochemical detection at the electron microscope level of acetylcholinesterase, the enzyme responsible for the breakdown of acetylcholine. We found that this enzyme is located in synaptic clefts of L‐neurons in both of the brain regions where L‐neurons are known to make excitatory and inhibitory output synapses. Acetylcholinesterase was confined to synaptic sites, which is consistent with a role in synaptic transmission at these synapses. Taken together, the findings suggest that L‐neurons use acetylcholine as a neurotransmitter. J. Comp. Neurol. 416:345–355, 2000. © 2000 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Diagnosing vocal cord dysfunction in young athletes

PurposeTo provide an overview of the pathophysiology, steps in making a diagnosis, differential diagnosis, and treatment methods for vocal cord dysfunction (VCD) in young athletes. Data sourcesReview of published literature about VCD and exercise-induced asthma (EIA) and a case study. ConclusionsThe clinical presentation of VCD is often confusing. A young athlete who is having difficulty “catching his breath” may have more than EIA. Young athletes who have been previously diagnosed with EIA may actually have VCD. Implications for practiceThe ability to correctly differentiate VCD from other causes of respiratory distress can lead to accurate interventions, save precious time in an acute situation, and promote long-term control of this condition.
Genistein induces apoptosis of RPE-J cells by opening mitochondrial PTP.

Although previous studies demonstrated that genistein-induced apoptosis of various cell types including RPE-J cells, the involvement of mitochondrial events in such types of apoptosis has not been demonstrated to date. In this investigation of genistein-induced apoptosis of RPE-J cells, genistein induced the reduction of the mitochondrial membrane potential and the release of cytochrome c to cytosol. A mitochondrial permeability transition pore (PTP) blocker bongkrekic acid prevented the reduction of the mitochondrial membrane potential and cytochrome c release, and consequently abolished caspase-3 activation, nuclear condensation, and DNA fragmentation. On the other hand, zVAD-fmk did not inhibit the mitochondrial event such as the reduction of the mitochondrial membrane potential and cytochrome c release although it prevented caspase-3 activation, nuclear condensation, and DNA fragmentation. Taken together, genistein induces apoptosis of RPE-J cells by opening the mitochondrial PTP, and the mitochondrial event in this type of apoptosis is caused independently of caspase.
Gray Codes for Partial Match and Range Queries

It is suggested that Gray codes be used to improve the performance of methods for partial match and range queries. Specifically, the author illustrates the improved clustering of similar records that Gray codes can achieve with multiattribute hashing. Gray codes are used instead of binary codes to map record signatures to buckets. In Gray codes, successive codewords differ in the value of exactly one bit position; thus, successive buckets hold records with similar record signatures. The proposed method achieves better clustering of similar records, thus reducing the I/O time. A mathematical model is developed to derive formulas giving the average performance of both methods, and it is shown that the proposed method achieves 0-50% relative savings over the binary codes. The author also discusses how Gray codes could be applied to some retrieval methods designed for range queries, such as the grid file and the approach based on the so-called z-ordering. Gray codes are also used to design good distance-preserving functions, which map a k-dimensional (k-D) space into a one-dimensional one, in such a way that points are close in the k-D space are likely to be close in the 1-D space. >
Psychiatric diagnosis in persons with intellectual disability in India.

BACKGROUND This study examines the rate of psychiatric diagnosis as per ICD-10 and Reiss Screen for Maladaptive Behaviours (RSMB), and distribution of psychiatric diagnosis with regard to the severity of intellectual disability (ID). It also explores the degree of agreement between Reiss screen and clinical diagnosis (ICD-10) in relation to dual diagnosis. METHODS In this study Intelligence (IQ) and Social Quotient (SQ) were estimated on Indian adaptation of Binet's scale and Vineland Social Maturity Scales, respectively, in 60 consecutive persons with ID. Both ICD-10 and RSMB were used independently to determine the presence of psychiatric diagnosis. RESULTS Clinically, according to ICD-10, about 60% of the sample was found to have dual diagnosis as compared to 48% on RSMB. Agreement between ICD-10 and RSMB about psychiatric comorbidity was 82%. Commonest psychiatric diagnosis was unspecified psychosis followed by bipolar affective disorders. CONCLUSION Persons with ID do suffer from various psychiatric disorders. RSMB is a useful tool for differentiating between psychiatric problems and maladaptive behaviours. Hence RSMB can be used in the Indian context.