Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Characterization of phospholipid transfer between mixed phospholipid-bile salt micelles.

Concentration-dependent self-quenching of the fluorescent phospholipid N-(7-nitro-2,1,3-benzoxadiazol-4-yl)phosphatidylethanolamine (N-NBD-PE) was used to measure the rate of N-NBD-PE transfer between phosphatidylcholine-bile salt mixed micelles. In a previous study using the same technique, the rate of N-NBD-PE transfer between phosphatidylcholine-taurocholate mixed micelles was found to be several orders of magnitude faster than its transfer between phosphatidylcholine vesicles as a result of an increased rate of transfer through the water at low micelle concentrations and an increased rate of transfer during transient micelle collisions at higher micelle concentrations [Nichols, J. W. (1988) Biochemistry 27, 3925-3931]. In this study we have determined the influence of bile salt structure, incorporation of cholesterol, and temperature on the rate and mechanism of phospholipid transfer between mixed micelles. We found that both transfer pathways were a common property of mixed micelles prepared from a series of different bile salts and that the rates of transfer by both pathways increased as a function of the degree of bile salt hydrophobicity. Cholesterol incorporation into phosphatidylcholine-taurocholate mixed micelles displaced taurocholate from the micelles and resulted in an increased rate of transfer through the water and a decreased rate of transfer during micelle collisions. The temperature dependence of the transfer rates was used to calculate the activation free energy, enthalpy, and entropy for both mechanisms. The activation enthalpy was the major barrier to transfer by both mechanisms. (ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)
Immunophenotypic and DNA genotypic analysis of T-cell and NK-cell subpopulations in patients with B-cell chronic lymphocytic leukaemia (B-CLL).

Absolute numbers and distributions of peripheral blood T-cells and NK cells were immunophenotypically determined in 21 patients with B-CLL and compared with those obtained from a series of 13 elderly normal controls with an age range of 60-87 years. For absolute CD3+, CD4+ and CD8+ T-cell, and CD16+ NK subpopulation numbers, there were no consistent differences between the normal and B-CLL groups although some individual patient variation was seen. Immunophenotypic analyses did however reveal that CD3+ T-cells in almost half (10/21) of the B-CLL patients were Ia+ (defined as > 20% positive cells), compared to 0/13 of the elderly control group (p < 0.001), and that the proportions of CD4+ and CD8+ cells expressing membrane CD45RO were significantly increased compared to the control group. Subdivision of the B-CLL cases into those with low (< 20%) and high (> 20%) proportions of CD3+ T-cells co-expressing Ia further showed that CD45RO expression by CD4+ fractions was particularly prominent in the Ia+ subgroup, and that the relative increase of CD4+CD45RO+ cells was primarily a consequence of decreased absolute numbers of CD4+CD45RA+ lymphocytes. This study also examined extracted DNA from enriched CD3+ T-cell fractions (obtained by immunomagnetic bead selection in 9 of the B-CLL cases) by PCR analysis with two primers for the T-cell gamma gene locus. With the V gamma C (consensus) primer, 8/9 cases were polyclonal and the remaining case was oligoclonal. For comparison, 7/9 CD3+ fractions were oligoclonal with the V gamma 9 primer with the other two cases being polyclonal. No monoclonal CD3+ components were found. It is suggested that the observed increased Ia expression by CD3+ cells and the predominance of CD4+ cells expressing membrane CD45RO in patients with B-CLL may be of potential relevance to understanding the pathogenesis and patterns of disease progression.
Cardiorespiratory function before and after chest physiotherapy in mechanically ventilated patients with post‐traumatic respiratory failure

Chest physiotherapy (CPT) is used frequently in the ICU, but there is little available information that quantitates its effect on cardiac or respiratory function. Nineteen mechanically ventilated patients with posttraumatic respiratory failure were studied before, immediately after, and 2 h after CPT was used to manage secretion retention. Cardiac index was unchanged, but there was an immediate decrease in intrapulmonary shunt, followed 2 h later by an increase in lung/thorax compliance. We did not find the reduced cardiac output reported by others. The reasons for this may include use of different CPT techniques, a young patient population (mean age 32.4 yr), and mechanical ventilation with positive end-expiratory pressure. CPT did not produce the deletrious cardiopulmonary changes associated with bronchoscopy, and it reduced retained lung secretions without producing hypoxemia. Intrapulmonary shunt and lung/thorax compliance were significantly improved, but the long-term clinical effect of these changes is unknown.
Correlations of the basicity of His 57 with transition state analogue binding, substrate reactivity, and the strength of the low-barrier hydrogen bond in chymotrypsin.

The basicity of His 57-Nepsilon2 within the low-barrier hydrogen-bonded (LBHB) diad His 57-Asp 102 and the 1H NMR chemical shift of the LBHB proton in tetrahedral, hemiketal complexes of chymotrypsin with peptidyl trifluoromethyl ketones (peptidyl-TFKs) have been studied. The following results were obtained with various peptidyl-TFKs at 5 degrees C: N-Ac-Gly-DL-Phe-CF3, pKa = 11.1 and deltaLBHB = 18.7 ppm; N-Ac-L-Val-DL-Phe-CF3, pKa = 11.8 and deltaLBHB = 18.9 ppm; N-Ac-L-Leu-DL-Val-CF3, pKa = 10.3 and deltaLBHB = 18.9 ppm; and N-Ac-L-Leu-DL-naphthyl-CF3, pKa = 10.9 and deltaLBHB = 19.0 ppm. Results for peptidyl-TFKs with Phe in the P1 position and N-Ac, N-Ac-Gly, N-Ac-L-Val, and N-Ac-L-Leu in the P2 position were well correlated with literature values for inhibition constants Ki and kcat/Km for the corresponding peptidyl methyl esters. The plot of log Ki versus the apparent pKa of His 57-Nepsilon2 displayed a slope of -0.77, and that of log kcat/Km for peptidyl methyl esters versus the pKa of His 57-Nepsilon2 in corresponding peptidyl-TFK complexes gave a slope of 0.68. The slope of a plot of pKa versus deltaLBHB was 3.7, and that of log kcat/Km for peptidyl methyl ester substrates versus deltaLBHB for the corresponding peptidyl-TFK-chymotrypsin complexes was 2.7. A plot of log Ki versus deltaLBHB displayed a slope of -3.0. These plots indicated that the pKa of His 57 and substrate reactivity were correlated with increasing strength of the low-barrier hydrogen bond. The apparent pKa of His 57-Nepsilon2 for the chymotrypsin-N-Ac-L-Leu-DL-Phe-CF3 complex is 10.6 at 25 degrees C, whereas it is 12.0 at 5 degrees C [Cassidy, C. S. , Lin, J. L. , and Frey, P. A. (1997) Biochemistry 36, 4576-4584]. The apparent discrepancy is likely to be due to a temperature dependence in the cooperative ionization of His 57 in peptidyl-TFK complexes, which appears to be coupled to inhibitor dissociation, hydration and ionization of free peptidyl-TFK, ionization of Ile 16, and a conformational change.
Investigation of the SLC22A4 gene (associated with rheumatoid arthritis in a Japanese population) in a United Kingdom population of rheumatoid arthritis patients.

OBJECTIVE Recent studies of 2 complex diseases, rheumatoid arthritis (RA) and Crohn's disease (CD), showed associations with genes mapping to the cytokine gene cluster on 5q31. In particular, a functional single-nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) mapping to intron 1 of the organic cation transporter 1 (OCTN1; SLC22A4) gene was associated with RA in a Japanese population, and a haplotype of a different SNP in the same gene and one in an adjacent gene, OCTN2 (SLC22A5), was associated with CD. The purpose of this study was to investigate the association between the OCTN locus and RA in a Caucasian population. METHODS Association with 11 SNPs spanning the SLC22A4 and SLC22A5 genes, including a putative RA-causing functional polymorphism (rs3792876 [slc2f2]) and a functional haplotype previously associated with CD, was investigated in 909 RA cases and 594 population controls in the UK. Genotyping was performed using 5'-allele discrimination assays. Estimated haplotype frequencies were generated using the expectation-maximization algorithm and were compared between cases and controls. RESULTS All SNPs were in Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium. We found no evidence for an association between RA and either the SNP (rs3792876 [slc2f2]) or the haplotype previously reported to be associated with RA in a Japanese population. Similarly, no association between RA and the haplotype associated with CD was detected. CONCLUSION Functional polymorphisms of the OCTN gene locus that have previously been associated with RA and CD were not found to be associated with RA in a UK population. The findings do not provide support for a major role of these genes in the etiology of RA in this population.
Growth of intensive care unit resource use and its estimated cost in Medicare*

Objective:The past 10–15 yrs brought significant changes in the United States healthcare system. Effects on Medicare intensive care unit use and costs are unknown. Intensive care unit costs are estimated using the Russell equation with a ratio of intensive care unit to floor cost per day, or “R value,” of 3, which may no longer be valid. We sought to determine contemporary Medicare intensive care unit resource use, costs, and R values; whether these vary by patient and hospital characteristics; and the impact of updated values on estimated intensive care unit costs. Design:Retrospective analysis of Medicare Inpatient Prospective Payment System hospitalizations from 1994 to 2004 using Medicare Provider Analysis and Review files. Setting:All nonfederal acute care US hospitals paid through the Inpatient Prospective Payment System. Subjects:Inpatient prospective payment system hospitalizations from 1994 to 2004 (n = 121,747, 260). Interventions:None. Measurements and Main Results:We examined resource use and costs (adjusted to y2004$), calculating intensive care unit and floor costs directly and using these to generate year-specific R values. By 2004, 33% of Medicare hospitalizations had intensive care unit or coronary care unit care, with more than half of the increase in total hospitalizations because of additional intensive care unit hospitalizations. Adjusted intensive care unit cost per day remained stable ($2,616 vs. $2,575; 1994 vs 2004), yet adjusted floor cost per day rose substantially ($1,027 vs. $1,488) driven by decreased floor length of stay. Annual adjusted Medicare intensive care unit costs increased 36% to $32.3B, largely because of increased utilization. R values decreased progressively from 2.55 to 1.73, were lower for surgical vs. medical admissions and survivors vs. nonsurvivors, but varied little by hospital characteristics. An R value of 3 overestimated Medicare intensive care unit costs by 17.6% ($5.7 billion) in 2004. Conclusions:Medicare intensive care unit use is rising rapidly and will likely continue to do so. Despite significant healthcare system changes, adjusted daily critical care costs remained stable, yet care outside the intensive care unit became more expensive. To track intensive care unit cost over time, year-specific R values should be used.
Partisan Ambivalence, Partisan Intensity, and Racial Attitudes: The Impact of Shifting Policy Positions on Partisan Evaluations in the 1960s

The concept of ambivalence is important to the study of political psychology and behavior. We examine the causes of partisan ambivalence following the passage of major civil rights legislation to test our argument that the correlates of ambivalence will change following the alteration of long-standing party positions on a highly salient issue. We find support for this hypothesis for White Southerners during this time period—Indeed, our results demonstrate that the strength of one’s partisan attachment is unrelated to partisan evaluations for such individuals immediately following the passage of major civil rights legislation, but is again a predictor by the early 1970s.
Identifying Hospital-Wide Harm

This study identifies an expanded set of hospital-acquired conditions (HACs), using the Present-On-Admission (POA) indicator and secondary diagnoses present on International Classification of Diseases, Ninth Revision, Clinical Modification (ICD-9-CM)-coded discharge abstracts and evaluates their association with mortality, length of stay (LOS), and cost. A sample of 500 000 de-identified ICD-9-CM-coded discharge abstracts was randomly drawn from a data set of 11 million. A total of 138 secondary condition clusters were identified as potential inpatient complications (PICs). Regression modeling was used to determine marginal association of each PIC with mortality, LOS, and cost. In all, 16% of hospitalized patients developed 1 or more of these conditions while in the hospital compared with less than 1% of inpatients experiencing HACs defined by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services. Also, 74 PICs were associated with seriously higher mortality rates (5 excess deaths per 1000), significantly LOS (0.4 extra days per discharge), and significantly higher costs (an extra $1000 per discharge).
Human Albumin Use in Adults in U.S. Academic Medical Centers

Objective: To determine rates and predictors of albumin administration, and estimated costs in hospitalized adults in the United States. Design: Cohort study of adult patients from the University HealthSystem Consortium database from 2009 to 2013. Setting: One hundred twenty academic medical centers and 299 affiliated hospitals. Patients: A total of 12,366,264 hospitalization records. Interventions: Analysis of rates and predictors of albumin administration, and estimated costs. Measurements and Main Results: Overall the proportion of admissions during which albumin was administered increased from 6.2% in 2009 to 7.5% in 2013; absolute difference 1.3% (95% CI, 1.30–1.40%; p < 0.0001). The increase was greater in surgical patients from 11.7% in 2009 to 15.1% in 2013; absolute difference 3.4% (95% CI, 3.26–3.46%; p < 0.0001). Albumin use varied geographically being lowest with no increase in hospitals in the North Eastern United States (4.9% in 2009 and 5.3% in 2013) and was more common in bigger (> 750 beds; 5.2% in 2009 and 7.3% in 2013) compared to smaller hospitals (< 250 beds; 4.4% in 2009 to 6.2% in 2013). Factors independently associated with albumin use were appropriate indication for albumin use (odds ratio, 65.220; 95% CI, 62.459–68.103); surgical admission (odds ratio, 7.942; 95% CI, 7.889–7.995); and high severity of illness (odds ratio, 8.933; 95% CI, 8.825–9.042). Total estimated albumin cost significantly increased from $325 million in 2009 to $468 million in 2013; (absolute increase of $233 million), p value less than 0.0001. Conclusions: The proportion of hospitalized adults in the United States receiving albumin has increased, with marked, and currently unexplained, geographic variability and variability by hospital size.
Vascular endothelial growth factor reduced and connective tissue growth factor induced by triamcinolone in ARPE19 cells under oxidative stress.

PURPOSE To investigate whether triamcinolone acetonide (TA) affects the expression of vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) and connective tissue growth factor (CTGF) in retinal pigment epithelial (RPE) cells exposed to oxidative stress. METHODS TA (10 nM, 1 microM, or 100 microM) was added to ARPE19 cells exposed to oxidative stress induced by hypoxia-reoxygenation and paraquat. Cellular expression of VEGF, CTGF, and an inducer of both growth factors, transforming growth factor (TGF)-beta was investigated with real-time reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction and Western blot analysis. Tube-forming assays were conducted with human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVECs) in conditioned medium from RPE cells exposed to oxidative stress, with or without TA treatment. RESULTS Oxidative stress induced mRNA expression of VEGF, CTGF, and TGF-beta by RPE cells. TA reduced upregulation of VEGF and TGF-beta in a concentration-dependent manner. In contrast, upregulation of CTGF by oxidative stress was accelerated by TA concentrations of 10 nM and 1 muM. Tube formation by HUVECs was strongly inhibited by exposure to conditioned medium from oxidative stress-stimulated ARPE19 cells treated with 1 muM TA compared with cells not treated with TA. CONCLUSIONS TA reduced VEGF expression and induced CTGF expression in ARPE19 cells exposed to oxidative stress, and conditioned medium from these cells inhibited tube formation by HUVECs. Because VEGF is a major cytokine involved in angiogenesis, and CTGF is a main cytokine related to fibrosis, these results suggest that changes in their expression may be important mechanisms underlying the decreased choroidal neovascularization and fibrosis after administration of TA.
Upper Extremity Range of Motion and Pitching Profile of Baseball Pitchers in Japan

Background: Shoulder range of motion and pitch count in baseball pitchers have been linked to pitching-related upper extremity injury. Purpose: To investigate upper extremity range of motion and pitching profiles in baseball pitchers in Japan as well as to make a comparison between injured and noninjured pitchers. Study Design: Cross-sectional study; Level of evidence, 3. Methods: Forty-one Little League to college-level baseball pitchers were measured for bilateral shoulder and elbow range of motion, including shoulder internal rotation (IR), external rotation (ER), shoulder horizontal adduction (HAD), and elbow extension (EXT). They were also asked to answer a simple questionnaire regarding their past pitching-related medical history and pitching profile. Additionally, 28 participants with baseball-related upper extremity injuries (injury group) were compared with 13 participants without injury (no-injury group) for the same parameters. Collected data were analyzed using analysis of variance. Results: Significant limb differences (dominant vs nondominant side) were noted for ER (117.2° vs 109.8°, P = .02), IR (53.5° vs 61.9°, P = .007), HAD (28.3° vs 32.8°, P = .03), and EXT (1.0° vs 4.6°, P = .01). A significant between-group difference (injury vs no-injury group) was observed for IR in both the dominant (55.4° vs 45.6°, P = .03) and nondominant shoulder (65.3° vs 55.0°, P = .01). Participants in the injury group pitched more games in a season and more innings per game started. Conclusion: Japanese baseball pitchers displayed adaptive changes in upper extremity range of motion similar to American pitchers when compared bilaterally. Injured pitchers exhibited greater IR range of motion in their pitching arm compared with noninjured pitchers.
Mapping Principal Preparation Programs in British Columbia, Canada

This paper is part of a research project exploring the preparation of elementary and secondary public school principals in British Columbia, Canada. Similar projects from 13 countries form the International Study of Principal Preparation. This paper maps the formal and informal preparation programs for principals in the province. The context of public education in British Columbia and a conceptual framework for the preparation of educational leaders is presented to provide a research context. Evidence of lack of consistency or agreement across districts about what leadership is and how to develop leaders was apparent. The workshop and after school seminars is haphazard, and does not build sequentially to knowledge that is commonly held and known to be essential for successful leadership. British Columbia would be well advised to further streamline their principal preparation programs into a coherent, consistent plan with consistent, research-informed and practice-relevant outcomes.
Measuring sentiment in real estate – a comparison study

Purpose In mainstream economics and finance literature, market sentiment is considered “irrational”. This leads to significant challenges in capturing the effect of sentiment on economic relationships. Real estate is even more complex due to the fact that the sector exhibits several market inefficiencies. The purpose of this paper is to explore the literature and present a simple test for the potential of using three different sentiment indicators to improve a basic cap rate model. The authors establish the case using commercial real estate (CRE) data for London West End. Design/methodology/approach The three indicators differ in their underlying source and method. The authors used orthogonalisation and principal component analysis for a macroeconomic sentiment indicator. Furthermore, online search volume data have been used to mirror the market sentiment for the London West End market. Finally, textual analysis based on word lists has been applied to corpus of market reports. Findings The results indicate considerable improvement in the authors’ ability to capture the effect of sentiment. Furthermore, the consideration of a human factor leads to improvement in the basic yield model. Practical implications The methods suggest that sentiment extracted from more forward-looking sources, such as online searches, could be a significant information gain for investors, lenders or other market participants. The additional information could be used to adjust their behaviour within the market. Originality/value To the authors’ knowledge, this is the first study that applies textual analysis to market reports for the CRE market in the UK.
The morphology and distribution of striate cortex terminals in the inferior and lateral subdivision of the Macaca monkey pulvinar

The origin of the various types of axon terminals in Macaca pulvinar remains uncertain because of the contradictory results obtained in EM degeneration studies. We have used EM‐autoradiography to determine the morphology of terminals in the inferior and lateral pulvinar which originate from neurons in visual cortex. After injections of H3 proline into area 17, both the small diameter (RS) and the large diameter (RL) terminals containing round vesicles and making asymmetric contacts are labeled in the two pulvinar subdivisions. Labeled and unlabeled terminals are intermixed within the pulvinar focus which suggests that the dendrites of the same pulvinar neuron receive overlapping inputs from several cortical areas. Because only 5% of the pulvinar terminals are RLs (Ogren and Hendrickson, '79), and this small number of RLs originates from at least two visual cortical areas plus the superior colliculus (Partlow et al., '77), superior colliculus input to inferior pulvinar is small compared to the combined RS and RL cortical input.