Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Do canrenone and 6,7-dihydroxylated derivatives compete with ouabain at the same site on Na,K-ATPase?

Canrenone is the major metabolic product of the synthetic steroids spironolactone and K+-canrenoate, used in antihypertensive therapy. Canrenone can competitively displace [3H]ouabain from Na,K-ATPase [Na+- and K+-activated, Mg2+-dependent adenosine triphosphatase (E.C.3.6.1.3)] and partially inhibit enzymatic activity. These features have led to a hypothesis that competition between canrenone and endogenous digitalis-like materials, suggested to be involved in etiology of essential hypertension, could underly the antihypertensive effect of canrenone. Surprisingly, three derivatives of canrenone (6 beta,7 alpha-,6 beta,7 beta-, and 6 alpha,7 alpha-dihydroxy-6,7-dihydrocanrenone) reportedly occur in normal human and rat urine. This paper characterizes the interactions with partially purified renal Na,K-ATPase of canrenone, the three 6,7-dihydroxylated derivatives, and one epoxide intermediate, synthesized from K+-canrenoate. Canrenone and all the 6,7-substituted derivatives partially inhibited Na,K-ATPase activity (39-45%), with approximately the same apparent affinity, 100-200 microM. Canrenone displaced [3H]ouabain in an apparently competitive fashion (Ki = 100-300 microM) but none of the tested derivatives significantly displaced ouabain even at very high concentrations. The ability to differentiate the ATPase inhibition and [3H]ouabain displacement by modification of the 6,7-double bond indicates that inhibition of ATPase activity does not occur from within the ouabain binding site. We suggest that neither canrenone nor the 6,7-derivatives bind to the ouabain site, but rather interact with it 'allosterically. ' Our findings do not support the proposed mechanisms for the antihypertensive action of canrenone.
Artisan's Knowledge of taxation issues in selected markets of Lusaka

iv DEDICATION. vi ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS. vii TABLE OF CONTENTS. viii LIST OF FIGURES. xii LIST OF TABLES. xiii LIST OF ACRONYMS. xiv CHAPTER ONE: INTRODUCTION 1.0 Background . 1 1.1 Statement of the problem. 2 1.2 Purpose of the study. 3 1.3 General objective. 3 1.4 Specific objectives. 3 1.5 Research questions. 3 1.6 Significance of the study. 3 1.7 Limitations of the study. 4 1.8 Definitions. 4 1.9 The organization of the study. 5
Treatment of suture line bleeding with a novel synthetic surgical sealant in a canine iliac PTFE graft model.

CoSeal mark surgical sealant (CoSeal) was evaluated for inhibiting suture line bleeding using a canine iliac PTFE graft model. Both iliac arteries of 12 heparinized canines were grafted with PTFE. CoSeal was applied to the suture lines of one graft in each animal. The contra-lateral graft served as a control and bleeding was controlled with gauze and pressure (tamponade). The cross-clamps were removed 30 s following application of CoSeal. Times to hemostasis and volume of blood loss at each graft site were determined. Compared to tamponade control, CoSeal significantly reduced the time to hemostasis (average of 5 min vs. greater than 15 min, p < 0.05) and blood loss (19 g vs. 284 g, p < 0.05). Small amounts of CoSeal were visible grossly or histologically at day 7. Histology showed moderate to marked inflammation in CoSeal sites and moderate inflammation in control sites at day 7. At 30 and 60 days, no CoSeal was visible grossly or histologically. Histology showed moderate inflammation in both CoSeal treated sites and in control sites at day 30 and mild to moderate inflammation in both CoSeal and control sites at day 60. CoSeal significantly reduced the time to hemostasis and blood loss in comparison to tamponade.
Estimation of hazard function and its associated factors in gastric cancer patients using wavelet and kernel smoothing methods.

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES Increase of mortality rates of gastric cancer in Iran and the world in recent years reveal necessity of studies on this disease. Here, hazard function for gastric cancer patients was estimated using Wavelet and Kernel methods and some related factors were assessed. MATERIALS AND METHODS Ninety- five gastric cancer patients in Fayazbakhsh Hospital between 1996 and 2003 were studied. The effects of age of patients, gender, stage of disease and treatment method on patient's lifetime were assessed. For data analyses, survival analyses using Wavelet method and Log-rank test in R software were used. RESULTS Nearly 25.3% of patients were female. Fourteen percent had surgery treatment and the rest had treatment without surgery. Three fourths died and the rest were censored. Almost 9.5% of patients were in early stages of the disease, 53.7% in locally advance stage and 36.8% in metastatic stage. Hazard function estimation with the wavelet method showed significant difference for stages of disease (P<0.001) and did not reveal any significant difference for age, gender and treatment method. CONCLUSION Only stage of disease had effects on hazard and most patients were diagnosed in late stages of disease, which is possibly one of the most reasons for high hazard rate and low survival. Therefore, it seems to be necessary a public education about symptoms of disease by media and regular tests and screening for early diagnosis.
Predictors of Attrition During One Year of Depression Treatment: A Roadmap to Personalized Intervention

Objective Attrition from treatment in the short and long term for major depressive disorder (MDD) is clearly an adverse outcome. To assist in tailoring the delivery of interventions to specific patients to reduce attrition, this study reports the incidence, timing, and predictors of attrition from outpatient treatment in public mental health clinics. Methods Outpatients with psychotic and nonpsychotic MDD receiving measurement-based care in the Texas Medication Algorithm Project (N=179) were evaluated to determine timing and rates of attrition as well as baseline sociodemographic, clinical, and attitu-dinal predictors of attrition. Results Overall, 23% (42/179) of the patients left treatment by 6 months, and 47% (84/179) left by 12 months. Specific beliefs about the impact of medication, such as its perceived harmfulness, predicted attrition at both 6 and 12 months. Younger age (P=0.0004) and fewer side effects at baseline (P=0.0376) were associated with attrition at 6 months. Younger age (P=0.0013), better perceived physical functioning (P=0.0007), and more negative attitudes about psychiatric medications at baseline (P=0.0075) were associated with attrition at 12 months. Conclusions Efforts to elicit attitudes about medications and tailoring educational and other retention interventions for patients with negative beliefs about antidepressants both when initiating a new medication and throughout treatment may reduce attrition. Particular focus on younger patients and those requiring frequent visits may be helpful. (Journal of Psychiatric Practice. 2009;15:113–124).
A prospective study on implants installed with flapless-guided surgery using the all-on-four concept in the mandible.

AIM Clinical data are scarce on flapless-guided surgery in the mandible using the all-on-four concept. In addition, limited documentation exists on the latter under immediate loading conditions with a pre-fabricated implant bridge. The aim was to provide detailed documentation focusing on clinical and radiographic outcome and complications. MATERIAL AND METHODS Sixteen systemically healthy non-smoking patients (10 women, 6 men, average age 59 years) with sufficient bone volume in the mandible were operated via flapless-guided surgery using the all-on-four concept. Clinical and radiographic data and complications were registered at 3, 6 and 12 months. RESULTS The overall implant survival rate was 90% with a trend for higher failure of short implants (P = 0.098). The mean bone level after 12 months of function was 0.83 mm with a maximum of 1.07 mm. Technical complications were common (15/16 patients). These mainly related to a misfit between the pre-fabricated prosthesis and abutment(s) (13/16 patients). CONCLUSION If immediate loading of implants is pursued fabrication of the implant bridge should be based on actual impression of the implants at the time of surgery and not on their virtual position.
Accurate Segmentation of CT Male Pelvic Organs via Regression-Based Deformable Models and Multi-Task Random Forests

Segmenting male pelvic organs from CT images is a prerequisite for prostate cancer radiotherapy. The efficacy of radiation treatment highly depends on segmentation accuracy. However, accurate segmentation of male pelvic organs is challenging due to low tissue contrast of CT images, as well as large variations of shape and appearance of the pelvic organs. Among existing segmentation methods, deformable models are the most popular, as shape prior can be easily incorporated to regularize the segmentation. Nonetheless, the sensitivity to initialization often limits their performance, especially for segmenting organs with large shape variations. In this paper, we propose a novel approach to guide deformable models, thus making them robust against arbitrary initializations. Specifically, we learn a displacement regressor, which predicts 3D displacement from any image voxel to the target organ boundary based on the local patch appearance. This regressor provides a non-local external force for each vertex of deformable model, thus overcoming the initialization problem suffered by the traditional deformable models. To learn a reliable displacement regressor, two strategies are particularly proposed. 1) A multi-task random forest is proposed to learn the displacement regressor jointly with the organ classifier; 2) an auto-context model is used to iteratively enforce structural information during voxel-wise prediction. Extensive experiments on 313 planning CT scans of 313 patients show that our method achieves better results than alternative classification or regression based methods, and also several other existing methods in CT pelvic organ segmentation.
The Discourse of Leadership and the Practice of Administration

Churches face enormous institutional challenges at the beginning of the twenty-first century. Particularly among those denominations that have been in ministry and mission for generations and have built hundreds of congregational facilities, schools and colleges, hospitals and homes, simply maintaining their institutional infrastructure and existing ministries is daunting enough. The further challenge of enhancing their strengths and commitments through a growing membership, all in the midst of the immense social changes of recent decades, would seem to require no less than significant transformation. Many church executives, officers, consultants, and interpreters have viewed the contemporary situation as a crisis. Many have turned to the discourse of “leadership” as the catalyst for needed transformation. But often the turn to “leadership” has brought with it a framework of assumptions unsuited to the nature and purpose of churches as communities of witness and service. In this article I argue, first, that the churches must address the discourse of leadership with savvy and critical analysis, naming its biases and sifting through its perspectives with care. Second, I argue that as the churches explore their own practices of administration, they will discover a rich resource through which they can undertake the constructive task of shaping their ministries and missions for contemporary contexts.
c-kit Expression in Pediatric Solid Tumors: A Comparative Immunohistochemical Study

The stem cell factor/c-kit tyrosine kinase receptor pathway has been shown to be important for tumor growth and progression in several cancers, including mast cell diseases, gastrointestinal stromal tumor, acute myeloid leukemia, small cell lung carcinoma, and Ewing sarcoma. Studies using the oral agent STI-571 (Gleevec, Novartis), an inhibitor of the tyrosine kinases bcr-abl, c-kit, and PDGFR, have shown significant responses in patients with chronic myelogenous leukemia and gastrointestinal stromal tumor. With the aim of identifying additional groups of tumors that may use the stem cell factor/c-kit pathway and secondarily may be responsive to STI-571 treatment, this study surveyed 151 primary tumors from patients treated at St. Jude Children's Research Hospital for immunohistochemical expression of c-kit. Formalin-fixed, paraffin-embedded sections were stained with rabbit polyclonal anti-human c-kit (CD117, Dako) using standard avidin-biotin-peroxidase complex technique, antigen retrieval, and an automated stainer. Strong, diffuse staining for c-kit was seen in a proportion of synovial sarcomas, osteosarcomas, and Ewing sarcomas. Strong, diffuse staining was less common in neuroblastomas, Wilms' tumors, and rhabdomyosarcomas and was negative in alveolar soft part sarcomas and desmoplastic small round cell tumors. Tumors with strong, diffuse staining for c-kit in a pattern similar to gastrointestinal stromal tumor may represent suitable targets for new therapeutic agents.
Antioxidants and Phase 2 Enzymes in Cardiomyocytes: Chemical Inducibility and Chemoprotection Against Oxidant and Simulated Ischemia-Reperfusion Injury

The increasing recognition of the role for oxidative stress in cardiac disorders has led to extensive investigation on the protection by exogenous antioxidants against oxidative cardiac injury. On the other hand, another strategy for protecting against oxidative cardiac injury may be through upregulation of the endogenous antioxidants and phase 2 enzymes in the myocardium by chemical inducers. However, our current understanding of the chemical inducibility of cardiac cellular antioxidants and phase 2 enzymes is very limited. In this study, using rat cardiac H9c2 cells we have characterized the concentration- and time-dependent induction of cellular antioxidants and phase 2 enzymes by 3H-1,2-dithiole-3-thione (D3T), and the resultant chemoprotective effects on oxidative cardiac cell injury. Incubation of H9c2 cells with D3T resulted in a marked concentration- and time-dependent induction of a number of cellular antioxidants and phase 2 enzymes, including catalase, reduced glutathione (GSH), GSH peroxidase, glutathione reductase (GR), GSH S-transferase (GST), and NAD(P)H:quinone oxidoreductase-1 (NQO1). D3T treatment of H9c2 cells also caused an increase in mRNA expression of catalase, γ-glutamylcysteine ligase catalytic subunit, GR, GSTA1, M1 and P1, and NQO1. Moreover, both mRNA and protein expression of Nrf2 were induced in D3T-treated cells. D3T pretreatment led to a marked protection against H9c2 cell injury elicited by various oxidants and simulated ischemia-reperfusion. D3T pretreatment also resulted in decreased intracellular accumulation of reactive oxygen in H9c2 cells after exposure to the oxidants as well as simulated ischemia-reperfusion. This study demonstrates that a series of endogenous antioxidants and phase 2 enzymes in H9c2 cells can be induced by D3T in a concentration- and time-dependent fashion, and that the D3T-upregulated cellular defenses are accompanied by a markedly increased resistance to oxidative cardiac cell injury.
Transient Peripheral Immune Response and Central Nervous System Leaky Compartmentalization in a Viral Model for Multiple Sclerosis

Theiler's virus‐induced demyelination represents an important animal model to study the chronic‐progressive form of multiple sclerosis (MS). The aim of the present study was to identify specific genes and pathways in the deep cervical lymph node (cLN) and spleen of experimentally infected SJL‐mice, using DNA microarrays. Analyses identified 387 genes in the deep cLN and only 6 genes in the spleen of infected animals. The lymph node presented 27.4% of genes with fold changes ±1.5 at 14 days post infection (dpi) and a reduced transcription at later time points. K‐means clustering analyses resulted in five clusters. Accordingly, functional annotation revealed that the B‐cell immune response pathway was the most up‐regulated cluster at the early phase. Additionally, an increase of CD68‐ and lysozyme‐positive cells in the deep cLN was observed by immunohistochemistry. Polioencephalitis was most intense at 14 dpi, and the spinal cord demyelinating leukomyelitis started at 42 dpi.
Islamic banking presence and economic growth in Southeast Asia

Purpose - The purpose of this article is to empirically assess the relationship between Islamic banking presence in Southeast Asian countries and the economic growth. Design/methodology/approach - The presence of Islamic banks is measured by the ratio of Islamic to conventional banking assets as well as the ratio of deposits of Islamic to conventional banking. The papers starts by checking the presence of cointegration using Pedroni and Westerlund specifications, Short- and long-run dynamics are further analysed with the panel ARDL based estimators: PMG, MG and DFE. Furthermore, a two stage regression (2SLS) was constructed to measure the sensitivity of economic growth to the Islamic banking presence. Quarterly data from Souteast Asian countries covers the period between 2000Q1 and 2012Q4. Findings - A long-run relationship is evident between economic growth and the Islamic banking presence in the selected region but not in the short-run. Furthermore, the Muslim population share in a given country plays a positive and statistically significant role in fueling the contribution of Islamic banking share in the financial sector on the economic growth. Originality/value - This paper empirically assesses the contribution of Islamic banking presence on the economic growth with a focus on Southeast Asia as this region encompasses the most developed and experienced institutions in the field of Islamic finance. Error correction based models like PME, MG and DFE lend itself to the analysis of our panel data. We also use of the instrument-based 2SLS to copes with the endogeneity problem between the real and financial sectors.
Evaluation of allergenicity of genetically modified soybean protein extract in a murine model of oral allergen‐specific sensitization

Background With the development of genetically modified crop plants there has been a growing interest in the approaches available to assess the potential allergenicity of novel gene products. For additional assessment of the potential allergenicity of expressed proteins, informative data can be generated using animal models. Soybean is one of the major source of protein in human and animal nutrition, and has also been well characterized as a major allergenic source. Advances in biotechnology have resulted in an increasing number of genetically engineered foods, and among these soybean is one of the most widespread.
Chromosomal Arrangement of AHL-Driven Quorum Sensing Circuits in Pseudomonas

Pseudomonas spp. are able to colonize a large variety of environments due to their wide adaptability which is also associated with an N-acyl homoserine lactone (AHL) gene regulation mechanism called quorum sensing (QS). In this article we present a systematic overview of the genomic arrangement patterns of quorum sensing genes found in Pseudomonas and compare the topologies with those found in other bacterial genomes. We find that the topological arrangement of QS genes is more variable than previously thought but there are a few unifying features that occur in many of the topological arrangements. We hypothesize that the negative regulators of QS that are often found between the canonical luxR/ and luxI-family genes may be crucial for stabilizing the output of QS circuits.
Dead biomass of Amazon yeast: A new insight into bioremediation and recovery of silver by intracellular synthesis of nanoparticles

ABSTRACT This investigation was undertaken to describe a natural process for the removal of silver and the simultaneous recovery of Ag/Ag2O nanoparticles by dead biomass of the yeast Rhodotorula mucilaginosa. The removal of silver ions from aqueous solution and the synthesis of Ag/Ag2O nanoparticles were analyzed based on physicochemical factors and equilibrium concentration, combined with transmission electron microscopy (TEM), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDS), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), and infrared spectroscopy (FTIR). A successful process for the synthesis of Ag/Ag2O nanoparticles was obtained, following the Langmuir isotherm model, showing a high biosorption capacity of silver (49.0 mg g−1). The nanoparticles were spherical, had an average size of 11.0 nm, were synthesized intracellularly and capped by yeast proteins. This sustainable protocol is an attractive platform for the industrial-scale production of silver nanoparticles and of a silver nanobiosorbent.
Circulating Renin Angiotensin System in Childhood Chronic Renal Failure: Marked Increase of Angiotensin-(1–7) in End-Stage Renal Disease

The aim of the present study was to evaluate plasma renin activity (PRA) and Angiotensin (Ang) levels [Ang I, Ang II and Ang-(1–7)] to examine the circulating Renin-Angiotensin System (RAS) in renal disease among children with different forms and stages of chronic renal failure (CRF). Subjects were divided as follows: 32 normotensive healthy subjects, 23 normotensive CRF subjects, 34 hypertensive CRF subjects and 21 subjects with end-stage renal disease (ESRD). Radioimmunoassays for PRA (ngAngI/mL/h) and angiotensin (pg/mL) measurements were performed on all subjects. PRA, Ang I, Ang II and Ang-(1–7) levels were significantly higher in hypertensive CRF subjects when compared with normotensive CRF and healthy subjects (p < 0.05 for all comparisons). No differences were observed between normotensive CRF and healthy subjects. ESRD subjects exhibited a dramatic increase in Ang-(1–7) (25-fold higher than control values). In hypertensive CRF subjects, treatment with angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitors (ACEi) increased (1.4-fold) plasma Ang-(1–7) and decreased (2.4-fold) Ang II. In ESRD, the use of ACEi produced a similar (1.5-fold) elevation of Ang-(1–7), but no changes in plasma Ang II. Our data showed different circulating RAS profiles between hypertensive and in normotensive CRF subjects. Marked changes in plasma Ang-(1–7) were associated with the presence of hypertension and progression of kidney dysfunction.
Seasonal Movement and Distribution of the Grape Mealybug (Homoptera: Pseudococcidae): Developing a Sampling Program for San Joaquin Valley Vineyards

Abstract The grape mealybug, Pseudococcus maritimus (Ehrhorn), is an important pest of table grapes in California’s San Joaquin Valley. The mealybug causes direct damage by infesting grape bunches, resulting in very low economic injury levels. To develop a sampling program to help growers predict damage and make control decisions, we destructively sampled six entire grapevines each month to determine mealybug abundance and within-vine distribution. These absolute counts were then used to evaluate several relative sampling methods: sticky tape barriers on canes, excised spur samples, standard-sized pieces of bark, timed counts, and nondestructive counts on spurs. At midseason we sampled additional vines to correlate mealybug numbers with economic damage at harvest. Finally, mealybug life stages and natural enemies were recorded throughout the study. Timed 5-min counts show the strongest correlation with total mealybug numbers, and a simple count of mealybugs on three spurs per vine at midseason is the best predictor of economic damage. Mealybugs completed ≈2.5 generations in 1998. Comparison to data on mealybug development suggests that exceptionally long growing seasons could exacerbate infestations by allowing the completion of a third generation. No mealybugs were found on bunches before early August, when second-generation crawlers moved out of the bark. Grape bunches that touched old wood had significantly higher damage and mealybug densities. The majority of mealybugs were always found in protected locations (under the bark of the trunk, spurs or canes), indicating the need for chemical or biological controls that can penetrate these refugia.