Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
[Relationship between mitochondrial DNA instability and interleukin-8 activity in gastric mucosa].

OBJECTIVE To evaluate the relationship between mitochondrial DNA instability (mtMSI) and interleukin-8 (IL-8) activity in gastric mucosa of various lesions. METHODS IL-8 level in gastric mucosa was assayed using ELISA method. The mtMSI was detected by PCR-SSCP techniques. RESULTS mtMSI was observed in 11 out of 30 (36.7%) gastric cancers, 2 of 15 (13.3%) intestinal metaplasia, 2 of 10 dysplasia and 1 of 10 chronic atrophic gastritis. IL-8 level in mtMSI+ group [(76.8 +/- 3.8) pg/mg] was significantly higher than that in mtMSI- group [(48.3 +/- 3.6) pg/mg, P < 0.05]. CONCLUSION mtMSI closely correlates with IL-8 level in gastric mucosa and is involved in gastric carcinogenesis.
Assessing Cultural Aspects of Organizations for Knowledge Management Initiatives

Managing organizational knowledge is a critical factor in the success of any institution. A key goal of knowledge management initiatives is to strengthen organizational culture. An appropriate culture must exist in the organization for knowledge management initiatives to be successful. This paper represents a review of literature aimed at providing a strategy for the understanding of organizational culture in order to assist in the development of an effective knowledgemanagement plan. In particular, this paper will focus on the work put forth by Lee Bolman and Terrence Deal as well as Dave Logan, John King and Halee Fisher-Wright. The goal of this paper is to examine the similarities between the respective authors’ notions of organizational frames and the tribes that exist within organizations. It applies the concepts as a tool to address knowledge management barriers within organizations.
Transgenic mice in the study of cytokine function.

The polypeptide regulatory factors now called cytokines have been known for 40 years, but the interest of immunologists was not aroused for about another 20 years (Nathan & Sporn 1991). There are several ways of studying cytokine function and much is now known about their activities in vitro, and quite a lot too about what they do in vivo, through the use of recombinant molecules and of inhibitory antibodies against them (thanks to the many individuals in and out of biotechnology companies who have generously made them available to others). Fresh insights into how the cytokine network operates are now emerging from analyses of mice transgenic for cytokine genes, and of mice whose genes encoding cytokines, or their receptors, have been rendered inactive by targeted recombination ('knockout' mice). Cytokine production is normally local, transient and regulated, and gene expression is often induced rather than constitutive. The use of only parts of the gene, of different controlling elements, promoters and enhancers from other genes and also of virus vectors, to target the expression of transgenes to particular tissues, and the effects of overexpression of the transgenes are proving especially revealing. The presence of a transgene or the total absence of the gene product in the case of the knockout mice-during the whole life of the animal from implantation onwards often has different consequences from the frequent injection of recombinant materials which have a short half-life in vivo or the administration of antibody which cannot reach all the places the homeproduced molecule might reach. In many cases the results of inappropriate expression, over-expression or the total lack of expression have merely been useful in confirming conclusions drawn from earlier work done differently. This review, however, aims particularly to draw attention to unexpected results, of which there have been several. The first reports of transgenic mice generated by microinjection of DNA into the pronucleus appeared in the early 1980s, of foreign genes transferred into mouse embryo cells by retroviral vectors in 1985, and of cytokine genes transferred directly or by vaccinia virus infection in 1987. Recent reviews on the techniques used for making transgenic mice.have been published by Gordon (1989) and Mountz et a/. (1990), for using recombinant viruses by Ramshaw et a/. (1992) and for targeted recombination by Capecchi (1989) and Frohman and Martin (1989). Table 1 summarizes the cytokines subjected to such manipulation which are the subject of this review, Table 2 the genes for cytokines and their receptors which have been used as transgenes and Table 3 those which have been inactivated.
The E3 ubiquitin ligase Itch controls the protein stability of p63

p63, a member of the p53 family of transcription factors, plays an important role in epithelial development, regulating both cell cycle and apoptosis. Even though p63 activity is regulated mainly at the posttranslational level, the control of p63 protein stability is far from being fully understood. Here, we show that the Hect (homologous to the E6-associated protein C terminus)-containing Nedd4-like ubiquitin protein ligase Itch binds, ubiquitylates, and promotes the degradation of p63. The physical interaction occurs at the border between the PY and the SAM (sterile α motif) domains; a single Y504F mutation significantly affects p63 degradation. Itch and p63 are coexpressed in the epidermis and in primary keratinocytes where Itch controls the p63 protein steady-state level. Accordingly, p63 protein levels are significantly increased in Itch knockout keratinocytes. These data suggest that Itch has a fundamental role in the mechanism that controls endogenous p63 protein levels and therefore contributes to regulation of p63 in physiological conditions.
A rat sperm flagellar surface antigen that originates in the testis and is expressed on the flagellar surface during epididymal transit

We identified a rat sperm flagellar surface antigen using an IgG1 monoclonal antibody (MC31) against rat epididymal sperm. Avidin‐biotin‐peroxidase immunohistochemistry demonstrated that the antigen was first expressed in the cytoplasm of early primary spermatocytes, then gradually became restricted to the principal piece of the sperm flagellum during spermatogenesis. However, when the sperm reached the corpus epididymidis, the antigen was expressed on the surface of both the principal piece and the midpiece of the flagellum. The epithelial cells of the epididymis were not stained with MC31. Immunogold electron microscopy showed that the antigen was present on the surface of the sperm flagellar plasma membrane. Immunoblotting of Triton X‐100 extracts of epididymal sperm after one‐dimensional sodium dodecyl sulfate‐polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (SDS‐PAGE) under nonreducing conditions demonstrated that MC31 detected a major antigen of 26,000–28,000 daltons (26–28K). Two‐dimensional isoelectric focusing and SDS‐PAGE indicated that the 26–28K antigen had an isoelectric focusing point (pl) of 5.8‐5.3; minor antigens were also detected from 26K (pl 5.8) to 35K (pl 5.0). These results indicate that the antigen recognized by MC31 is an acidic 26–35K protein that originates in the testis, is integrated into the sperm flagellar plasma membrane of the principal piece during spermatogenesis, and then is expressed on the entire flagellar surface during epididymal transit. © 1992 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Degradation of RNA during lysis of Escherichia coli cells in agarose plugs breaks the chromosome

The nucleoid of Escherichia coli comprises DNA, nucleoid associated proteins (NAPs) and RNA, whose role is unclear. We found that lysing bacterial cells embedded in agarose plugs in the presence of RNases caused massive fragmentation of the chromosomal DNA. This RNase-induced chromosomal fragmentation (RiCF) was completely dependent on the presence of RNase around lysing cells, while the maximal chromosomal breakage required fast cell lysis. Cell lysis in plugs without RNAse made the chromosomal DNA resistant to subsequent RNAse treatment. RiCF was not influenced by changes in the DNA supercoiling, but was influenced by growth temperature or age of the culture. RiCF was partially dependent on H-NS, histone-like nucleoid structuring- and global transcription regulator protein. The hupAB deletion of heat-unstable nucleoid protein (HU) caused increase in spontaneous fragmentation that was further increased when combined with deletions in two non-coding RNAs, nc1 and nc5. RiCF was completely dependent upon endonuclease I, a periplasmic deoxyribonuclease that is normally found inhibited by cellular RNA. Unlike RiCF, the spontaneous fragmentation in hupAB nc1 nc5 quadruple mutant was resistant to deletion of endonuclease I. RiCF-like phenomenon was observed without addition of RNase to agarose plugs if EDTA was significantly reduced during cell lysis. Addition of RNase under this condition was synergistic, breaking chromosomes into pieces too small to be retained by the pulsed field gels. RNase-independent fragmentation was qualitatively and quantitatively comparable to RiCF and was partially mediated by endonuclease I.
Protein Z-Dependent Regulation of Coagulation

Summary Protein Z (PZ) is a 62 kDa vitamin K-dependent plasma protein that serves as a cofactor for the inhibition of factor Xa by protein Z-dependent protease inhibitor (ZPI). ZPI is a recently identified 72 kDa member of the serpin superfamily of proteinase inhibitors that contains a tyrosine at its reactive center. PZ circulates in plasma in a complex with ZPI. Inhibition of factor Xa by ZPI in the presence of phospholipids and Ca++ is enhanced 1000-fold by PZ, but ZPI also inhibits factor XIa in a process that does not require PZ, phospholipids or Ca++. ZPI activity is consumed during coagulation through proteolysis mediated by factor Xa with PZ and factor XIa. Concomitant PZ deficiency dramatically increases the severity of the prothrombotic phenotype of factor VLeiden mice. Studies to determine the potential roles of PZ and ZPI deficiency in human thrombosis are in progress.
A cationic lumen in the Wzx flippase mediates anionic O-antigen subunit translocation in Pseudomonas aeruginosa PA01

Heteropolymeric B‐band O‐antigen (O‐Ag) biosynthesis in Pseudomonas aeruginosa PAO1 follows the Wzy‐dependent pathway, beginning with translocation of undecaprenyl pyrophosphate‐linked anionic O‐Ag subunits (O units) from the inner to the outer leaflets of the inner membrane (IM). This translocation is mediated by the integral IM flippase Wzx. Through experimentally based and unbiased topological mapping, our group previously observed that Wzx possesses many charged and aromatic amino acid residues within its 12 transmembrane segments (TMS). Herein, site‐directed mutagenesis targeting 102 residues was carried out on the TMS and loops of Wzx, followed by assessment of each construct's ability to restore B‐band O‐Ag production, identifying eight residues important for flippase function. The importance of various charged and aromatic residues was highlighted, predominantly within the TMS of the protein, revealing functional ‘hotspots’ within the flippase, particularly within TMS2 and TMS8. Construction of a tertiary structure homology model for Wzx indicated that TMS2 and TMS8 line a central cationic lumen. This is the first report to describe a charged flippase lumen for mediating anionic O‐unit translocation across the hydrophobic IM.
Relative Contribution of Adipose Triglyceride Lipase and Hormone-sensitive Lipase to Tumor Necrosis Factor-α (TNF-α)-induced Lipolysis in Adipocytes*

TNF-α potently stimulates basal lipolysis in adipocytes, which may contribute to hyperlipidemia and peripheral insulin resistance in obesity. Recent studies show that adipose triglyceride lipase (ATGL) and hormone-sensitive lipase (HSL) act sequentially in catalyzing the first two steps of adipose lipolysis in response to β-adrenergic stimulation. Here, we sought to determine their functional roles in TNF-α-induced lipolysis. Silencing of ATGL expression in adipocytes almost completely abolished basal and TNF-α-induced glycerol release. In comparison, the glycerol release under the same conditions was only partially decreased upon reduction in expression of either HSL or the ATGL coactivator CGI-58. Interestingly, overexpression of ATGL restored the lipolytic rates in cells with silenced HSL or CGI-58, indicating a predominant role for ATGL. While expression of ATGL, HSL and CGI-58 remains mostly unaffected, TNF-α treatment caused a rapid abrogation of the ATGL inhibitory protein G0S2. TNF-α drastically decreased the level of G0S2 mRNA, and the level of G0S2 protein could be maintained by inhibiting proteasomal protein degradation using MG-132. Furthermore, coexpression of G0S2 was able to significantly decrease TNF-α-stimulated lipolysis mediated by overexpressed ATGL or CGI-58. We propose that the early reduction in G0S2 content is permissive for TNF-α-induced lipolysis.
Plasma total antioxidant capacity and its related factors in Iranian pregnant women.

OBJECTIVE To determine the plasma total antioxidant capacity (TAC) and its related factors in pregnant Iranian women attending maternity clinics. METHODS In a cross-sectional study carried out in Naghavi Maternity Clinic, Shaheed Beheshti Specialty and Subspecialty Polyclinic and 10 antenatal centers, affiliated to Kashan University of Medical Sciences, Kashan, Iran, we determined the plasma TAC and its related factors including maternal age, weight, and body mass index (BMI) at the beginning, thirteenth, and twenty-first to twenty-fourth weeks of pregnancy, and gestational age at the twenty-first to twenty-fourth weeks of pregnancy in 137 primigravid pregnant women, 18-30 years old from October 2010 to March 2011. We used multiple linear regression to assess the relationship between TAC and its related factors. RESULTS Plasma TAC in the twenty-first to twenty-fourth weeks of pregnancy was 0.75+/-0.11 mmol/l. The BMI at the beginning was 25.06+/-4, 25.72+/-4.13 at the thirteenth, and 26.95+/-4.19 kg/m2 at the twenty-first to twenty-fourth weeks of pregnancy. Multiple regression analysis showed that gestational age was inversely associated with the plasma TAC (beta: -0.234, p=0.007). Regression analysis also suggested a trend toward significant association between maternal age and plasma TAC (beta: 0.150, p=0.080), but there was no association between other variables and plasma TAC. CONCLUSION Gestational age was inversely correlated with plasma TAC and maternal age had a trend toward significant association with TAC in 18-30 year-old Iranian pregnant women in their sixth month of pregnancy.
EEG-fMRI

Objective: In patients with nonlesional frontal lobe epilepsy (FLE), the delineation of the epileptogenic zone is difficult. Therefore these patients are often not considered for surgery due to an unclear seizure focus. The aim of this study was to investigate whether EEG-fMRI can add useful information in the preoperative evaluation of these patients. Methods: Nine nonlesional FLE patients were studied with EEG-fMRI using a 3 T scanner. Spike-related blood oxygen level dependent (BOLD) signal changes were compared to the topography of the spikes and to PET and SPECT results if available. The structural MRIs were reviewed for subtle abnormalities in areas that showed BOLD responses. For operated patients, postoperative resection and histology were compared to BOLD responses. Results: Concordance between spike localization and positive BOLD response was found in 8 patients. PET and SPECT investigations corresponded with BOLD signal changes in 6 of 7 investigations. In 2 cases, reviewing the structural MRI guided by EEG-fMRI data resulted in considering a suspicious deep sulcus. Two patients were operated. In 1, the resected cortex corresponded with the suspicious sulcus and fMRI results and histology showed cortical dysplasia. In another, histology revealed an extended microdysgenesis not visible on structural MRI. EEG-fMRI had shown activation just adjacent to the resected pathologic area. Conclusions: Our study provides different types of support (topography, concordance with PET and SPECT, structural peculiarities, postoperative histology) that EEG-fMRI may help to delineate the epileptic focus in patients with nonlesional frontal lobe epilepsy, a challenging group in the preoperative evaluation.
Cracking the carbon code: The key to sustainable profits in the new economy

society; a commitment to privilege indigenous and traditional knowledge; and a research model in which locals participate in knowledge production and benefit materially from the research. in general, the text is more multidisciplinary than interdisciplinary. Most chapters read like discrete studies. But this book largely succeeds in carrying these unifying themes throughout. Altogether, this work is a detailed and vivid portrait of development and environment in Cotacachi; nevertheless, there are a few weaknesses. First, the phrase “sustainability science,” despite serving as the text’s principle cohering theme, is never satisfactorily defined. Nor do the authors entertain the common critiques of sustainability as a conceptual framework. Secondly, there is a tendency throughout this book, as with much work on indigenous identity politics, to romanticize and stylize so-called indigenous cosmology. Third, in explaining social and environmental change in Cotacachi, many of the chapters identify the green revolution – the technification and scientization of agriculture from the 1940s to the 1970s – as the predominant factor. while the green revolution certainly played a role, it is curious that the processes of neoliberal globalization beginning in the 1990s didn’t factor more prominently in the work’s explanatory narrative. Finally, the authors largely overlook the crucial role of local politics and idiosyncratic local conditions in explaining Cotacachi’s progressive development outcomes. Cotacachi is a unique site, with a broad, participatory governing coalition and a progressive indigenous mayor. Further, Cotacachi is adjacent to the national Cotacachi Cayapas ecological Reserve, which shapes local perspectives on conservation and draws thousands of tourists and expatriates to Cotacachi. Because of this unique set of local conditions, which do not factor prominently in the book’s explanatory framework, extrapolating the book’s findings to other places may be problematic. This collection of diverse studies is an excellent resource for scholars with specific interests in rural community development in Andean ecuador. The findings dovetail with the arguments of most community development scholars since the 1990s – top down, externally driven development efforts are intermittently effective and generally unsustainable. Locally driven autochthonous efforts, though more laborious, yield superior results in the long term. Rhoades is best known for developing the sub-field of agricultural anthropology, and this text is demonstratively informed by that framework. Development with Identity reflects Rhoades’ long-standing conviction that culture and agriculture must be understood together, particularly through agricultural technology. Linking agricultural anthropology to sustainability science as Rhoades does here makes this an important book both for scholars of the Andes and the people of Cotacachi.
Ginkgetin Blocks Constitutive STAT3 Activation and Induces Apoptosis through Induction of SHP‐1 and PTEN Tyrosine Phosphatases

Ginkgetin, a biflavone from Ginkgo biloba leaves, is known to exhibit antiinflammatory, antifungal, neuroprotective, and antitumor activities, but its precise mechanism of action has not been fully elucidated. Because the aberrant activation of STAT3 has been linked with regulation of inflammation, proliferation, invasion, and metastasis of tumors, we hypothesized that ginkgetin modulates the activation of STAT3 in tumor cells. We found that ginkgetin clearly suppressed constitutive phosphorylation of STAT3 through inhibition of the activation of upstream JAK1 and c‐Src kinases and nuclear translocation of STAT3 on both A549 and FaDu cells. Treatment with sodium pervanadate reversed the ginkgetin‐induced down‐modulation of STAT3, thereby indicating a critical role for a PTP. We also found that ginkgetin strongly induced the expression of the SHP‐1 and PTEN proteins and its mRNAs. Further, deletion of SHP‐1 and PTEN genes by siRNA suppressed the induction of SHP‐1 and PTEN, and reversed the inhibition of STAT3 activation. Ginkgetin induced apoptosis as characterized by an increased accumulation of cells in subG1 phase, positive Annexin V binding, loss of mitochondrial membrane potential, down‐regulation of STAT3‐regulated gene products, and cleavage of PARP. Overall, ginkgetin abrogates STAT3 signaling pathway through induction of SHP‐1 and PTEN proteins, thus attenuating STAT3 phosphorylation and tumorigenesis. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Indoor navigation applied to the detection of allergic reactions during provocation tests

The current method to detect allergies obliges the patient to stay within a room under the observation of the nurse during the allergy tests. Such tests last up to 4 hours. The authors have developed an allergy detection system based on the heart rate variability, which is monitored through electrocardiogram sensors. The detector is based on the correlation between variations of the heart rate and allergic reactions. However, heart rate variations are also due to the patient's physical activity, being necessary to discriminate them. The pocket navigation system will be used to enhance the performance of the allergy detection algorithm, as it is able to identify different physical activities. Additionally, the patient can walk out of the testing room because a 3D localization solution is possible. The experiments described in this article show that it is possible identifying the most important patient's physical activities to avoid false allergic reaction alarms. Moreover, the patient is allowed to move within the hospital during the allergy tests and can be located in case of a severe allergic reaction occurs. The experiments show also long duration walks to assess that our unaided inertial-based navigation system is suited to this particular medical application.
Hypertonic Saline- Hydroxyethyl Starch In Trauma Resuscitation

Hypertonic saline hydroxyethyl starch (HS-HES) is one of a number of hypertonic hyperoncotic solutions which have been investigated for the management of hypovolaemic shock. This article examines the mechanism of action of HS-HES and its clinical applications. As the data regarding HS-HES are sparse, hypertonic saline and hydroxyethyl starch are briefly reviewed individually before the clinical benefits of combining the solutions are considered. Hypertonic saline dextran will be considered in a later article in this series.Where data in a particular area relating specifically to HS-HES is not available, the evidence from studies on the component solutions is given, although extrapolation to the use of the combined solution merits caution.