Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
The ecdysteroidogenic P450 Cyp302a1/disembodied from the silkworm, Bombyx mori, is transcriptionally regulated by prothoracicotropic hormone

During larval and pupal development of insects, ecdysone is synthesized in the prothoracic gland (PG). Although several Drosophila genes, including Halloween P450 genes, are known to be important for ecdysteroidogenesis in PG, little is known of the ecdysteroidogenic genes in other insects. Here we report on Cyp302a1/disembodied (dib‐Bm), one of the Halloween P450s in the silkworm Bombyx mori that is a carbon‐22 hydroxylase. dib‐Bm is predominantly expressed in PG and its developmental expression profile is correlated with a change in the ecdysteroid titre in the haemolymph. Furthermore, dib‐Bm expression in cultured PGs is significantly induced by treatment with prothoracicotropic hormone. This is the first report on the transcriptional induction of a steroidogenic gene by the tropic hormone in insects.
Ultrastructure, inferred porosity, and gram-staining character of Methanospirillum hungatei filament termini describe a unique cell permeability for this archaeobacterium

By light microscopy, Methanospirillum hungatei GP1 stains gram positive at the terminal ends of each multicellular filament and gram negative at all regions in between. This phenomenon was studied further by electron microscopy and energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy of Gram-stained cells, using a platinum compound to replace Gram's iodine (J. A. Davies, G. K. Anderson, T. J. Beveridge, and H. C. Clark, J. Bacteriol. 156:837-845, 1983). Crystal violet-platinum precipitates could be found only in the terminal cells of each filament, which suggested that the multilamellar plugs at the filament ends were involved with stain penetration. When sheaths were isolated by sodium dodecyl sulfate-dithiothreitol treatment, the end plugs could be ejected and their layers could be separated from one another by 0.1 M NaOH treatment. Each plug consisted of at least three individual layers; two were particulate and possessed 14.0-nm particles hexagonally arranged on their surfaces with a spacing of a = b = 18.0 nm, whereas the other was a netting of 12.5-nm holes with spacings and symmetry identical to those of the particulate layers. Optical diffraction and computer image reconstruction were used to clarify the structures of each layer in an intact plug and to provide a high-resolution image of their interdigitated structures. The holes through this composite were three to six times larger than those through the sheath. Accordingly, we propose that the terminal plugs of M. hungatei allow the access of larger solutes than does the sheath and that this is the reason why the end cells of each filament stain gram positive whereas more internal cells are gram negative. Intuitively, since the cell spacers which partition the cells from one another along the filament contain plugs identical in structure to terminal plugs, the diffusion of large solutes for these cells would be unidirectional along the filament-cell axis.
Highly sensitive nano-photonic embedded sensor

This paper will detail a novel enabling fiber optic sensor based on the use of a photonic crystal structure embedded in the core of a fiber. We will start by briefly introducing photonic crystals (PCs) and reviewing fiber optics (FOs) used as sensors for mechanical deformations. We will then show that embedding PC structures into standard monomode FOs allows for highly sensitive detection of mechanical deformations. Finally, we will detail the sensing mechanism principle and evaluate its sensitivity. Extensive simulation results have been performed. They support our claim that embedded PCs can be used to sense mechanical deformations down to tens of pico-meters range.
Sialyl Lewisa Ganglioside in Pancreatic Cancer Tissue Correlates with the Serum CA 19‐9 Level

&NA; CA 19–9 ganglioside antigen was extracted from the tumors of 16 patients with pancreatic cancer and the antigen was confirmed by mass spectrometry to be a sialyl Lewisa ganglioside. Ductal adenocarcinomas from four patients, two whose Lewis blood phenotype was Le(a- b-), one with undifferentiated carcinoma, and one with an acinar cell carcinoma, did not contain detectable amounts of sialyl Lea ganglioside. A significant correlation was found between serum CA 19–9 levels and the recovery of ganglioside antigen from respective tumors, but not tumor burden.
Evaluation of a step-test for assessing the cardiorespiratory capacity of workers in Thailand: a pilot study.

The aim of this pilot study was to evaluate the accuracy of a simple step-test procedure supplemented by the measurement of heart rate (HR) (STEP1) to assess the cardiorespiratory capacity i.e., maximal oxygen consumption (VO2max) of Thai workers. The subjects comprised 18 men and 17 women. Their ages varied from 19 to 20 years and all were physically active. The subjects performed three tests: a submaximal incremental cycle-ergometer (CYCLE) test supplemented by HR recordings and respiratory gas exchange, and two step-tests (STEP1 and STEP2). In the STEP1 test HR was recorded continuously. The STEP2 test included the measurements of HR and respiratory gas exchange. For the male subjects the mean difference of the estimated VO2 max values obtained from the CYCLE and STEP1 test was 15% (p < 0.05). With the female subjects the mean VO2 max values were equal when predicted according to the CYCLE and STEP1 tests. The present STEP1 test is not sufficiently accurate to predict the VO2 max of Thai men. The results of this pilot study need to be confirmed with larger samples of subjects with various backgrounds in terms of individual characteristics and occupations.
Methylation, mutation and cancer

The fifth base in human DNA, 5‐methylcytosine, is inherently mutagenic. This has led to marked changes in the distribution of the CpG methyl acceptor site and an 80% depletion in its frequency of occurrence in vertebrate DNA. The coding regions of many genes contain CpGs which are methylated in sperm and serve as hot spots for mutation in human genetic diseases. Fully 30–40% of all human germline point mutations are thought to be methylation induced even though the CpG dinucleotide is under‐represented and efficient cellular repair systems exist. Importantly, tumor suppressor genes such as p53 also contain methylated CpGs and these serve as hot spots for mutations in some, but not all, human cancers. Comparison of the spectrum of mutations present in this gene in different human cancers allows for predictions to be made on the molecular mechanisms of tumorigenesis.
Asthma: A Case Study, Review of Pathophysiology, and Management Strategies

Purpose To review the pathophysiology of asthma, present a case study, and provide management strategies for treating this common, yet complex disorder in children and adults. Data Sources Selected clinical guidelines, clinical articles, and research studies. Conclusions Asthma is a chronic inflammatory airway disorder with acute exacerbations that currently affects approximately 14 million‐15 million children and adults in the United States. Costs for asthma are staggering and nurse practitioners (NPs) are frequently presented with management decisions for the acute treatment and chronic management of this disorder. Disparities exist with the occurrence of asthma between race and gender. Additionally, there an increased incidence in acute exacerbations resulting from poor long‐term control and follow‐ up care among the socioeconomically disadvantaged. Implications for Practice Standards of care, along with new and emerging treatment strategies, guide NPs in providing the most comprehensive care to those affected with this chronic disorder. Knowledge about the pathophysiology of asthma and correlated to the case presentation enhances understanding treatment strategies for NPs who are often faced with providing care for patients with this chronic disorder that may sometimes present in an acute exacerbation.
Identification of new protein kinase-related genes in three herpesviruses, herpes simplex virus, varicella-zoster virus, and Epstein-Barr virus

By using amino acid sequence patterns (motifs) diagnostic of conserved regions within the catalytic domains of protein kinases, homologous open reading frames of three herpesviruses were identified as protein kinase-related genes. The three sequences, herpes simplex virus gene UL13, varicella-zoster virus gene 47, and Epstein-Barr virus gene BGLF4, resemble serine/threonine kinases rather than tyrosine kinases.
Park Use Among Youth and Adults

This article examines park use in relation to neighborhood social (safety and poverty) and urban form (pedestrian infrastructure and street network pattern) characteristics among youth and adult subpopulations defined by age and gender. We utilized System for Observing Play and Recreation in Communities (SOPARC) and Geographic Information Systems to objectively measure park use and park and neighborhood characteristics in 20 neighborhood parks. Heterogeneous negative binomial regression models indicated that the relationship between park use and types of activity settings, and park use and neighborhood attributes vary by age and gender. In general, the study found that park and activity setting size; activity settings such as playgrounds, basketball courts, pool and water features, shelters, and picnic areas; and availability of sidewalks and intersections in the park’s neighborhood were positively associated with park use, whereas crime, poverty, and racial heterogeneity of the surrounding neighborhood were negatively associated with park use.
Macrocell placement with temperature profile optimization

With the dramatic increase of power consumption by modern high-performance circuits, cross-chip temperature differentials as large as 10/spl sim/20 degrees have been commonly observed. It is thus imperative to address the thermal issue as early in the design process as possible, to avoid the associated performance and reliability problems. In this paper we present a temperature sensitive macro cell placement tool aiming at improving the quality of the temperature distribution of a circuit design. Our placement tool uses the concept of transfer thermal resistance and the principle of superposition to calculate the optimal power and temperature distributions under the given power budget and boundary conditions, and to efficiently update incremental temperature profile changes during the placement process. The tool has been tested with several benchmark circuits. Simulation results show good compatibility with conventional physical design constraints, with noticeable improvements on the final temperature profile and very little area increase.
Source-target mapping model of streaming data flow for machine translation

Streaming information flow allows identification of linguistic similarities between language pairs in real time as it relies on pattern recognition of grammar rules, semantics and pronunciation especially when analyzing so called international terms, syntax of the language family as well as tenses transitivity between the languages. Overall, it provides a backbone translation knowledge for building automatic translation system that facilitates processing any of various abstract entities which combine to specify underlying phonological, morphological, semantic and syntactic properties of linguistic forms and that act as the targets of linguistic rules and operations in a source language following professional human translator. Streaming data flow is a process of mining source data into target language transformation during which any inference impedes the system effectiveness by producing incorrect translation. We address a research problem of exploring streaming data from source-target parallels for detection of linguistic similarities between languages originated from different groups.
Evaluation of a breast cancer risk prediction model expanded to include category of prior benign breast disease lesion

Benign breast diseases (BBD) encompass several histologic subtypes with various risks of subsequent breast cancer. Information on previous benign breast disease biopsies has been incorporated into breast cancer risk prediction models; however, the type of histologic lesion has not been taken into account. Given the substantial heterogeneity in breast cancer risk dependent on the type of benign lesion, the authors evaluated whether incorporating this level of detail would improve the discriminatory power of risk classification models.
Regulation of Cell Adhesion and Migration by Kindlin-3 Cleavage by Calpain*

Background: Kindlin-3 is a novel integrin activator with unclear mechanism. Results: Calpain cleaves Kindlin-3 at Y-373. Cleavage-resistant mutant Y373N Kindlin-3 promotes cell adhesion but hinders migration by altering the pattern of interaction with β integrins. Conclusion: Kindlin-3 cleavage by calpain controls dynamics of integrin complexes. Significance: A novel mechanism regulating kindlin-dependent integrin functions in hematopoietic cells is identified. Integrin activation on hematopoietic cells is essential for platelet aggregation, leukocyte adhesion, and transmigration through endothelium and extracellular matrix into inflamed tissues. To migrate through matrix, leukocyte integrin adhesion complexes undergo dynamic changes. Here we show that Kindlin-3, a main activator and binding partner of integrins in hematopoietic cells, can be cleaved by calpain in an activation-dependent manner. This calpain-mediated cleavage occurs in platelets and leukocytes as well as in endothelial cells. We determined the calpain I cleavage site in Kindlin-3 at tyrosine 373 in the N-terminal part of Kindlin-3 pleckstrin homology domain. Expression of the calpain-resistant Y373N mutant of Kindlin-3 promotes stronger cell adhesion to extracellular matrix under flow as well as to activated endothelium. In contrast, Y373N mutation in Kindlin-3 hinders cell migration. Mechanistically, calpain-resistant Y373N mutant of Kindlin-3 exhibited an activation-independent association with β integrin cytoplasm domain. Thus, cleavage of Kindlin-3 by calpain controls the dynamics of integrin-Kindlin-3 interaction and as a result, integrin-dependent adhesion and migration of hematopoietic cells. This represents a novel mechanism regulating reversibility of integrin adhesion complexes in leukocytes, which, in turn, is critical for their successful transmigration through the extracellular matrix.
Protein Kinase C and Cerebral Vasospasm

Twenty-five years after the discovery of protein kinase C (PKC), the physiologic function of PKC, and especially its role in pathologic conditions, remains a subject of great interest with 30,000 studies published on these aspects. In the cerebral circulation, PKC plays a role in the regulation of myogenic tone by sensitization of myofilaments to calcium. Protein kinase C phosphorylates various ion channels including augmenting voltage-dependent Ca2+ channels and inhibiting K+ channels, which both lead to vessel contraction. These actions of PKC amplify vascular reactivity to different agonists and may be critical in the regulation of cerebral artery tone during vasospasm. Evidence accumulated during at least the last decade suggest that activation of PKC in cerebral vasospasm results in a delayed but prolonged contraction of major arteries after subarachnoid hemorrhage. Most of the experimental results in vitro or in animal models support the view that PKC is involved in cerebral vasospasm. Implication of PKC in cerebral vasospasm helps explain increased arterial narrowing at the signal transduction level and alters current perceptions that the pathophysiology is caused by a combination of multiple receptor activation, hemoglobin toxicity, and damaged neurogenic control. Activation of protein kinase C also interacts with other signaling pathways such as myosin light chain kinase, nitric oxide, intracellular Ca2+, protein tyrosine kinase, and its substrates such as mitogen-activated protein kinase. Even though identifying PKC revolutionized the understanding of cerebral vasospasm, clinical advances are hampered by the lack of clinical trials using selective PKC inhibitors.
Reliability, validity and factor structure of the Appraisal of Self-Care Agency Scale-Revised (ASAS-R).

RATIONALE, AIMS AND OBJECTIVES Self-care agency is a fundamental concept in nursing and health care research. Having self-care agency enhances an individual's health-promoting behaviours and/or specific capabilities for chronic disease self-management. The purpose of this study was to continue the development and psychometric testing of the Appraisal of Self-Care Agency - Revised (ASAS-R). METHODS A cross-sectional methodological design was used to examine the reliability, validity and factor structure of the ASAS-R among individuals from the general population. The sample consisted of 629 adults who were randomly selected to conduct an exploratory factor analysis (EFA; n=240) and a confirmatory factor analysis (CFA; n=389) of the scale. A demographic questionnaire, the ASAS-R and the Health-Promoting Lifestyle Profile (HPLP-II) were the measures used to collect the data. RESULTS The final 15-item three-factor ASAS-R had an overall Cronbach's alpha (α) of 0.89. The three factors extracted, rotated and scored in this study were labelled: having power for self-care, developing power for self-care and lacking power for self-care. All inter-items and item-to-total correlations met recommended criteria of r=0.30 to r=0.70, except for one of the items that had an item-to-total correlation of 0.71, slightly exceeding the maximum recommended item-to-total correlation. The three factors had Cronbach's alphas of 0.86, 0.83 and 0.79, respectively. The three factors together explained 61.7% of the scale items variance. Each item of the scale had a strong factor loading ranging from 0.52 to 0.81. All measures of model fit exceeded the recommended criteria, indicating that the 15-item ASAS-R had a very good fit (χ(2) /d.f. =1.97, GFI=0.94, AGFI=0.92, CFI=0.96, TLI=0.95, RMSEA=0.05, RMR=0.05 and the PCLOSE=0.48). CONCLUSIONS The 15-item three-factor ASAS-R is a short, reliable and valid instrument to measure self-care agency among individuals from the general population, but further psychometric evaluation is needed among individuals with chronic diseases, especially those with diabetes mellitus.
Efecto del tratamiento antirretroviral en la respuesta virológica a interferón pegilado y ribavirina en pacientes coinfectados por el virus de la inmunodeficiencia humana y el virus de la hepatitis C

Introduccion: En los pacientes coinfectados VIH/VHC, la influencia del tratamiento antirretroviral sobre la respuesta al tratamiento de la hepatitis C con interferon pegilado y ribavirina no se conoce bien. El objetivo de este estudio es investigar el efecto del tratamiento antirretroviral sobre la respuesta al tratamiento en los pacientes coinfectados. Metodos: Los pacientes se seleccionaron de dos cohortes de pacientes coinfectados por VIH y VHC de GESIDA y tratados con interferon pegilado y ribavirina entre 2001 y 2007. La respuesta viral sostenida se definio como una carga viral indetectable a las 24 semanas de haber finalizado el tratamiento. Se utilizaron metodos de regresion logistica para estudiar posibles asociaciones entre la ausencia de respuesta y las caracteristicas basales, incluyendo los farmacos antirretrovirales acompanantes. Resultados: Se incluyeron 1701 pacientes: el 63% tenia el genotipo 1 o 4 del VHC y el 88% estaba tomando TARGA. Los factores asociados de forma independiente con mayor probabilidad de RVS fueron el genotipo 2 o 3, la concentracion de ARN-VHC<500000 UI/ml y la categoria clinica A o B. Se realizo un analisis ajustado a los factores pronosticos y la dosis de ribavirina /kg de peso, obteniendo una OR ajustada de RVS en los pacientes sin TARGA de 1,31 (IC95% 0,91-1,88, p=0,144). Tomando la pauta de TDF+FTC/3TC como referencia, se vio que solamente el AZT se asocio a una menor probabilidad de RVS, con una OR ajustada de RVS de 0,65 (IC95% 0,46-0,93, p=0,017). Conclusiones: El hecho de estar recibiendo TAR no tuvo ningun efecto sobre la respuesta al tratamiento de la hepatitis C. El unico farmaco antirretroviral que se asocio de forma significativa con menor probabilidad de RVS fue el AZT.
Prevalence of Intestinal Parasitic Infections in Mojo Health Center, Eastern Ethiopia: A 6-year (2005-2010) Retrospective Study

The aim of this cross-sectional study was to determine the prevalence of intestinal parasites and to evaluate changes in the annual rates by retrospective screening of the data from Mojo Health Center’s laboratory between the period of 2005 and 2010, in Eastern central Ethiopia. To strengthen clinical study, the survey was supplemented with observational study and pre-coded questionnaires for the assessment of awareness level of treatment seeking respondents towards specific health indicators and disease transmission, prevention and control mechanisms and outsourcing and handling of drinking water and food as well as the health Center staff to observe the status of common intestinal parasites across the 6 years. The present study showed that the prevalence of intestinal parasite infection during 6 years ranged from 7.4 to 15.2%. The total average prevalence of parasites was 5007 (9.3%). Of the nine parasites detected, multi-infection was common, especially with the two most prevalent protozoan parasites (E. histolytica and G. lamblia). In 2006, a peak prevalence of 8.3% for E. histolytica/E. dispar and 6.5% for G. lamblia was experienced. The least prevalent intestinal parasite was Trichuris trichiura with about 0.001% prevalence. Even though a slight decline in the annual prevalence of parasitosis was apparent, it was noticed that the parasitic diseases are still a significant health problem in this country. Environmental sanitation improvement and health education promotion at different levels of Mojo district and empowering the laboratory department of the health center can be quite indispensable for control and prevention of parasitic infections in the area.
Correlation and Volatility Dynamics in REIT Returns: Performance and Portfolio Considerations

In this article, the authors examine the dynamics of the correlation and volatility of REITs, stocks, and direct real estate returns using monthly data from January 1987 to May 2008. In order to explore asymmetries in conditional correlation, the authors use a multivariate asymmetric dynamic diagonal conditional correlation (AD-DCC) GARCH specification. They document that the time-varying conditional correlations can be explained by macroeconomic variables, such as term and credit spreads, inflation, and the unemployment rate, and they find a strong relationship between correlations and REIT returns and that the patterns are distinguishable for different types of REITs. Interestingly, when the correlation between REITs and the S&P 500 is at its lowest, the future performance of REITs is at its highest. For equity REITs, a robust relationship exists between correlations and future returns; that is, the higher (lower) correlation between equity REITs and direct real estate, the higher (lower) the future returns of equity REITs. The authors’ results have economic implications regarding the time-dependent diversification benefits of REITs in a mixed-asset portfolio and the unique risk and return characteristics of REITs.