Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
NMR Analysis of Synthetic Human Serum Albumin α-Helix 28 Identifies Structural Distortion upon Amadori Modification*

The non-enzymatic reaction between reducing sugars and long-lived proteins in vivo results in the formation of glycation and advanced glycation end products, which alter the properties of proteins including charge, helicity, and their tendency to aggregate. Such protein modifications are linked with various pathologies associated with the general aging process such as Alzheimer disease and the long-term complications of diabetes. Although it has been suggested that glycation and advanced glycation end products altered protein structure and helicity, little structural data and information currently exist on whether or not glycation does indeed influence or change local protein secondary structure. We have addressed this problem using a model helical peptide system containing a di-lysine motif derived from human serum albumin. We have shown that, in the presence of 50 mm glucose and at 37 °C, one of the lysine residues in the di-lysine motif within this peptide is preferentially glycated. Using NMR analysis, we have confirmed that the synthetic peptide constituting this helix does indeed form a α-helix in solution in the presence of 30% trifluoroethanol. Glycation of the model peptide resulted in the distortion of the α-helix, forcing the region of the helix around the site of glycation to adopt a 310 helical structure. This is the first reported evidence that glycation can influence or change local protein secondary structure. The implications and biological significance of such structural changes on protein function are discussed.
From the rural perspective: a look at the changing role of the medical center.

"The academic centers reside within the inner cities, are overwhelmed by mounting responsibility for ambulatory care, and are attempting to deal with many people with problems now medicalized that medicine in general and academic physicians in particular cannot manage very well. They are maintaining their very expensive and technically complex units for patient care, but watching their role as major referral centers dwindle as a flock of well trained graduates of their own training programs develop modern competitive services in suburban hospitals (1). "
UTICAJ GEOGRAFSKOG PORIJEKLA NA ANTIOKSIDACIJSKU AKTIVNOST DOMAĆIH VINA

Uvod i cilj: Crna vina sadrže različite spojeve koji se odlikuju visokom antioksidacijskom aktivnošću. Najznačajniji antioksidansi grožđa i vina su fenolna jedinjenja. Fenolne komponente iz vina su opće prihvaćeni antioksidansi koji imaju važnu ulogu u održavanju ljudskog zdravlja i prevenciji raznih bolesti zbog mogućnosti sprečavanja aktivnosti slobodnih radikala. Na sadržaj antioksidanasa u vinu utiče porijeklo sirovina (grožđa) kao značajan parametar pri određivanju kvaliteta vina kao i nacin proizvodnje samog vina. Metode: Ovim istraživanjem određen je ukupni antioksidacijski kapacitet crnih vina indirektnom FRAP (Ferric Reducing Antioxidant Power) metodom uz FeSO4 x 7H2O kao standard. Istraživanjem je obuhvaćeno ispitivanje antioksidacijske aktivnosti uzoraka vina. Rezultati: Najveću vrijednost antioksidacijske aktivnosti pokazao je uzorak vina Postup Vinogorje Pelješac (a=62,77 mmolFeII/L dok je najslabiju antioksidacijsku aktivnost pokazao uzorak vina individualnog proizvođača sa područja Kalesije (a = 10,54 mmolFeII/L). Zaključak: Crna vina sa područja Bosne i Hercegovine predstavljaju značajan izvor antioksidanasa.
ADVANCES IN SMALL-INTESTINE TRANSPLANTATION

Intestinal transplantation has become the treatment of choice for patients who are experiencing life-threatening complications of intestinal failure. Early attempts with intestinal transplantation were unsuccessful as a consequence of both technical and immunologic failures. The introduction of tacrolimus provided the immunologic foundation needed for the field to advance. Guidelines for patient selection combined with standardization of operative procedures and postoperative management has allowed for improved patient and graft survival. There has been a gradual improvement in patient survival over the past 10 years, most notably in the past 3 years. Nutritional autonomy has been achieved in hundreds of patients worldwide. Further advancements in the understanding of the immune response to the transplanted intestine are still needed and will allow the use of new antirejection medications, resulting in improved outcomes.
Profiling Human Gene Expression with cDNA Microarrays

As a result of genomics initiatives worldwide, it has become increasingly easy to obtain cDNA clones representing the 3' ends of many human genes. This unit describes methods that allow these clones to be used as hybridization detectors in a highly parallel assay of gene expression. Protocols are provided for preparing cDNA microarrays, extracting RNA from cells of interest and preparing fluorescently labeled cDNA representations of the message pools, and hybridizing the labeled cDNAs to the microarrays.
Design of the Compact Tunable Filter With Modified Coupled Lines

A compact tunable bandpass filter (BPF) with a broad stopband is presented. The proposed filter is composed of two modified coupled lines and one varactor-loaded stub. In terms of measurement, the tunable BPF with the transmission zero within the higher passband skirt has a very wide tuning range, from 0.95 to 1.55 GHz (48%). Moreover, with the return loss > 10 dB, there is a controllable constant passband bandwidth 120 MHz. Furthermore, within the tuning range, the insertion loss is from 2.4 to 2.8 dB and the return loss is > 20 dB.
Virulence-associated traits in Escherichia coli causing first and recurrent episodes of urinary tract infection in children with or without vesicoureteral reflux.

Virulence-associated properties of 606 urinary isolates from 174 children with urinary tract infections were related to severity of infection and factors increasing host susceptibility, e.g., vesicoureteral reflux (grade II or higher) and P1 blood group phenotype. A high proportion of strains of Escherichia coli causing first or recurrent episodes of acute pyelonephritis in children without reflux expressed the previously noted high frequency of certain O antigens, resistance to serum killing, hemolysin production, and adhesive capacity. A significantly lower frequency of these traits and a higher frequency of non-E. coli were seen among isolates from children with pyelonephritis and reflux, cystitis, and asymptomatic bacteriuria. Reflux was thus found to be a determinant of the level of infection and of the bacterial properties required to produce pyelonephritis. Efforts aimed at preventing or treating urinary tract infection by interfering with "virulent" bacteria may be of less value in patients with recurrent pyelonephritis and reflux, who are most likely to develop renal scars.
Manifest Anxiety of Vietnam Returnees and Undergraduates

Symptoms ranging from insomnia to psychosis are common among military personnel returning from combat areas ( 3 ) . From 1965 to 1966 an estimated 5 % of medical evaluations were patients with neuropsychiatric illness ( 6 ) . Community psych~atric out-patient clinics, community mental health clinics, and university counseling centers are obselving symptoms such as an increased use of alcohol and drugs, violent outbursts, impulsive activity, and insomnia in some Vietnam returnees. These psychiatric symptoms may be accompanied in some Vietnam returnees by an elevation in manifest anxiety, a directly observable behavioral state where defensive reactions provide the avenue for inferring the presence of internal anxiety (4) . The present study determined whether the level of manifest anxiety of a sample of Vietnam combat veterans was significantly different from that of a control group of undergraduate students without military experience. The Manifest Anxiety Scale ( 4 ) was originally developed to differentiate bemeen drive levels of various Ss. While the test was not constructed for clinical diagnosis o f manifest anxiety, several studies (1, 2 ) suggest significant correlates between overt behavior and MAS scores. The samples were 7 3 male Ss who had recently returned from active duty in Vietnam and randomly selected undergraduate male Ss. The average length of time on active duty in Vietnam for the veteran sample was 11.9 mo. , with this service occurring approximately between November, 1969 and November, 1970. The mean age and time since recurn from Vietnam were 22.1 yr. and 33.7 days respectively; 33% of the veterans were wounded while on actual duty. These veterans represented Vietnam returnees who were to report to Fort Riley, Kansas, on December 15-17, 1970, for post-Vietnam assignment. The veterans were administered the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory which was scored for manifest anxiety ( 5 ) . T o obtain Taylor anxiety scores from the control group, the 50 Taylor scale anxiety items were administered along with 50 additional items randomly selected from the MIMPI. The variances of the scores on the Taylor anxiety scale were obtained for borh groups, and the resultant F test indicated that rhere was no significant difference in the variances of the groups ( F = 1.06, fi > .05 with Sv.t.% 74.65 and S.tUdentB2 = 79.21), therefore, a t test which assumed equal variances was deemed appropriate. When applied to the mean anxiety scores of the Vietnam returnees (15.95) and those of the student sample (17.79) there was no significant difference ( t = 1.26, fi > .05) . A subsample of 24 Vietnam returnees who were wounded during combat had a mean Taylor anxiety score of 15.54 ( 1 = 1.06, p > .05) . Data indicate that the sample of Vietnam returnees did nor have higher levels of anxiety on the Taylor anxiety scale than an undergraduate sample unless responding was influenced by differential administration of test items.
Selection of spermatozoa with normal nuclei to improve the pregnancy rate with intracytoplasmic sperm injection.

To the Editor: Intracytoplasmic injection of sperm is the recommended treatment for male infertility, associated with an average pregnancy rate per cycle of about 30 percent.1 Although sperm count and motility were found to have no effect on the outcome of intracytoplasmic sperm injection,2 scanning and transmission electron microscopy indicated that the achievement of pregnancy may depend on normal morphology of the sperm nucleus.3 We therefore introduced the motile-sperm organelle-morphology examination (MSOME), by which the fine nuclear morphology of motile spermatozoa is examined in real time with an inverted light microscope equipped with high-power differential interference contrast (Nomarski/DIC) optics (magnification, .
Diffusion-Weighted Magnetic Resonance Imaging for Predicting and Detecting Early Response to Chemoradiation Therapy of Squamous Cell Carcinomas of the Head and Neck

Purpose: The aim of this study was to investigate the utility of apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC) for prediction and early detection of treatment response in head and neck squamous cell carcinomas (HNSCC). Experimental Design: Diffusion-weighted magnetic resonance imaging studies were performed on 40 patients with newly diagnosed HNSCC before, during, and after the end of chemoradiation therapy. Analysis was done on data from 33 patients after exclusion of 7 patients that had incomplete data. Results: Pretreatment ADC value of complete responders (1.04 ± 0.19 × 10−3 mm2/s) was significantly lower (P < 0.05) than that from partial responders (1.35 ± 0.30 × 10−3 mm2/s). A significant increase in ADC was observed in complete responders within 1 week of treatment (P < 0.01), which remained high until the end of the treatment. The complete responders also showed significantly higher increase in ADC than the partial responders by the first week of chemoradiation (P < 0.01). When pretreatment ADC value was used for predicting treatment response, the area under the receiver operating characteristic curve was 0.80 with a sensitivity of 65% and a specificity of 86%. However, change in ADC within the first week of chemoradiation therapy resulted in an area under the receiver operating characteristic curve of 0.88 with 86% sensitivity and 83% specificity for prediction of treatment response. Conclusions: These results suggest that ADC can be used as a marker for prediction and early detection of response to concurrent chemoradiation therapy in HNSCC.
Bioreactor considerations for secondary metabolite production from plant cell tissue culture: Indole alkaloids from Catharanthus roseus

Batch shake flask studies with Catharanthus roseus demonstrated that alkaloid production commenced only after growth had slowed or ceased. To obtain high alkaloid productivities for extended periods, a hormone‐free production medium was used. To develop a readily scalable process, both immobilized and suspended cell systems were studied. In the immobilized cell systems, growth, glucose utilization, and alkaloid production were suppressed; for the case of membrane entrapped cells this suppression was observed to be reversible. Based on the oxygen requirements of the cells, and the oxygen transfer capabilities of a pneumatically agitated bubble column, conditions were established that allowed the growth and production dynamics observed in shake flasks to be reproduced in the air sparged column reactor. The requirement for the aseptic exchange of growth for production medium was satisfied by using a coarse cotton filter and coupling filtration to aeration. With this filtration system, media can be rapidly and completely exchanged and the filter can be quickly and effectively backwashed. By coupling filtration to aeration, a two‐stage batch operation can be employed while requiring only a single bioreactor. Studies with this system demonstrated its capabilities for alkaloid production.
Full-rate and Low Complexity Space-time Coding Scheme Concatenated with LDPC Codes

In this paper, a full-rate and low complexity space-time coding scheme with complex orthogonal design is developed, and LDPC code is employed as channel coding to improve the proposed scheme performance further. Compared with full-diversity space-time code schemes, the developed scheme can implement full data rate, low calculation complexity and partial diversity; and it can adopt lower order modulation scheme under the same system throughput. Moreover, using the developed scheme can form efficient spatial interleaving, thus the performance loss due to partial diversity is effectively compensated by the concatenation of channel coding. Simulation results show that on the condition of the same system throughput and concatenation of channel coding, the developed scheme has lower bit error rate than those low-rate and full-diversity multiple antennas space-time coding schemes.
Angiographic Findings of Moyamoya Vessels in a Patient with Rheumatoid Arthritis

and subcortical multiple ischemic lesions. Conventional angiography (CA) showed occlusion of the right internal carotid artery (ICA) in the terminal portion and stenosis of the proximal right ICA with occlusion of the proximal portion of the right middle cerebral artery. Moreover, the patient suffered from symmetrical aching and shoulder, knee and hand stiffness responsive to low-dose corticosteroid therapy (prednisone 25 mg per day). ESR was 117, reactive C protein (RCP) 10.5 mg/dl and rheumatoid factor 650 UI/l. High ESR, RCP and rheumatoid factor values were present before ischemic events and confi rmed during follow-up. Search for other infl ammatory and immunitary parameters was negative as well as antiphospholipid antibodies. Nineteen months later, after new ischemic events involving the left occipital cortex with persistent right lateral homonymous hemianopia, a second cerebral CA was performed. CA demonstrated occlusion of the left cerebral posterior artery, right ICA terminal portion tight stenosis, left ICA proximal tract irregular profi les and occlusion of the same vessel in the terminal portion with newly developed moyamoya vessels prevalent in the left basal area where they appeared in the shape of smoke spirals ( fi g. 1 ). Prednisone was increased (75 mg per day) and anticoagulation was continued. After 6 months of follow-up the patient remained asymptomatic. This is the fi rst report in the literature of a patient with moyamoya vessels associated with RA. Cerebrovasc Dis 2005;20:415–416 DOI: 10.1159/000088666
Regulation, Location and Activity of Plasminogen Activator Inhibitor 2 (PAI-2) in Peripheral Blood Monocytes, Macrophages and Foam Cells

Summary Monocytes, macrophages and foam cells are central to atherogenesis. We have examined the potential ability of monocytes, macrophages and foam cells to affect the stability of deposited fibrin, characteristic of the atherosclerotic plaque, by their production of plasminogen activators and their inhibitors. Monocytes respond to thrombin and LPS by up-regulation of PAI-2 synthesis, and PAI-2 is their major product among the plasminogen activators/inhibitors. In contrast, macrophages and foam cells, while they did produce PAI-2, did not respond to thrombin and LPS by an increase in its synthesis. All PAI-2 produced by macrophages and foam cells was accumulated intracellularly, whereas monocytes also secreted PAI-2. Secreted PAI-2 was active as an inhibitor of u-PA, whereas intracellular PAI-2 required detergent treatment to generate activity. Thus monocytes, but not macrophages or foam cells, produce and secrete active PAI-2, thus potentially affecting fibrin stability in the local environment.
Disability and Breathlessness in Asthmatic Patients—A Scoring Method by Repetitive Inspiratory Effort

Measurement of disability and breathlessness in asthma is important to guide treatment. Using an incentive spirometer, Triflo II (Tyco Healthcare, Mansfield, MA, USA), we developed a three-minute respiratory exercise test (3-MRET) to score the maximal breathing capacity (MBC) and perception of dyspnea (POD) index by means of repetitive inspiratory efforts achieved within 3 minutes. POD index was calculated based on the ratio of breathlessness on visual analogue scale over MBC score. In 175 normal healthy subjects and 158 asthmatic patients of mild (n = 26), moderate (n = 78), and severe (n = 54), severity, the mean (95% CI) MBC scores in mild, moderate, and severe asthma patients were 168 (145–192), 153 (136–169), and 125 (109–142) respectively, and 202 (191–214) in normal subjects (p < 0.001). The mean POD index in mild, moderate, and severe asthma patients was 16 (9–23), 25 (14–37), and 57 (14–100), respectively, and 6 (4–7) in normal subjects (p < 0.001). Intraclass correlation coefficients for MBC score and POD index in 17 asthmatic and 20 normal subjects were high. In 14 asthmatic patients randomized to receiving nebulized β2-agonist or saline in a cross-over, double-blind study, % forced expiratory volume in one second (FEV1) change correlated with % change in MBC score [rs = 0.49, p < 0.01] and POD index [rs−0.46, p = 0.012]. In 21 asthmatic and 26 normal subjects, the MBC score and POD index correlated with the walking distance and walking POD index of the six-minute walking test (6MWT). We conclude that 3MRET is discriminative between asthmatic patients of varying severity and normal subjects, is reproducible, is responsive to bronchodilator effect, and is comparable with 6MWT. Taken together, it has the potential to score disability and POD in asthma simply and effectively.
Peptides in frog brain areas processing visual information

Vision is the most important sensory modality to anurans and a great deal of work in terms of hodological, physiological, and behavioral studies has been devoted to the visual system. The aim of this account is to survey data about the distribution of peptides in primary (lateral geniculate complex, pretectum, tectum) and secondary (striatum, anterodorsal and anteroventral tegmental nuclei, isthmic nucleus) visual relay centers. The emphasis is on general traits but interspecies variations are also noted. The smallest amount of peptide‐containing neuronal elements was found in the lateral geniculate complex, where primarily nerve fibers showed immunostaining. All peptides found in the lateral geniculate complex, except two, occurred in the pretectum together with four other peptides. A large number of neurons showing intense neuropeptide thyrosine‐like immunoreactivity was characteristic here. The mesencephalic tectum was the richest in peptide‐like immunoreactive neuronal elements. Almost all peptides investigated were present mainly in fibers, but 9 peptides were found also in cells. The immunoreactive fibers show a complicated overlapping laminar arrangement. Cholecystokinin octapeptide, enkephalins, neuropeptide tyrosine, and substance P (not discussed here) gave the most prominent immunoreactivity. Several peptides also occur in the tectum of fishes, reptiles, birds, and mammals. Peptides in various combinations were found in the striatum, the anterodorsal‐ and anteroventral tegmental nucleus, and the isthmic nucleus that receive projections from the primary visual centers. The functional significance of peptides in visual information processing is not known. The only exception is neuropeptide tyrosine, which was found to be inhibitory on retinotectal synapses. Microsc. Res. Tech. 54:201–219, 2001. © 2001 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Low Frequency-Noise Random Fiber Laser With Bidirectional SBS and Rayleigh Feedback

Frequency and intensity noise are characterized for a bidirectionally pumped Brillouin random fiber laser. This novel laser incorporates the complementary effects of two counter-propagating stimulated Brillouin scattering gain profiles and the intrinsic Rayleigh distributed feedback present in ultralong optical fibers. The lasing mechanism as well as the contributing factors for the frequency and intensity noise has been discussed. This random laser exhibits a frequency noise level of <;1 Hz2 /Hz at 2 kHz, which is lower than what is found in conventional narrow-linewidth erbium-doped fiber (EDF) fiber laser and a custom EDF-Rayleigh random laser by a factor of 200 and 2, respectively.
Determination of Left-Right Asymmetry: Role of Cilia and KIF3 Motor Proteins.

Heinz Valtin Editor, trendsetters Our bodies are asymmetrical: the heart, spleen, and pancreas reside on the left, whereas the gallbladder and most of the liver are on the right. When this asymmetry is reversed, the condition is called situs inversus. Human patients with a genetic disorder called