Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Homocyst(e)ine Decreases Bioavailable Nitric Oxide by a Mechanism Involving Glutathione Peroxidase*

Hyperhomocyst(e)inemia is believed to injure endothelial cells in vivo through a number of mechanisms, including the generation of hydrogen peroxide (H2O2). Earlier in vitro studies demonstrated that homocyst(e)ine (Hcy) decreases the biological activity of endothelium-derived relaxing factor and that this decrease can be reversed by preventing the generation of hydrogen peroxide. Here we show that Hcy treatment of bovine aortic endothelial cells leads to a dose-dependent decrease in NO x (p = 0.001 by one-way analysis of variance) independent of endothelial nitric-oxide synthase activity or protein levels and nos3 transcription, suggesting that Hcy affects the bioavailability of NO, not its production. We hypothesized that, in addition to increasing the generation of H2O2, Hcy decreases the cell’s ability to detoxify H2O2 by impairing intracellular antioxidant enzymes, specifically the intracellular isoform of glutathione peroxidase (GPx). To test this hypothesis, confluent bovine aortic endothelial cells were treated with a range of concentrations of Hcy, and intracellular GPx activity was determined. Compared with control cells, cells treated with Hcy showed a significant reduction in GPx activity (up to 81% at 250 μm Hcy). In parallel with the decrease in GPx activity, steady-state GPx mRNA levels were also significantly decreased compared with control levels after exposure to Hcy, which appeared not to be a consequence of message destabilization. These data suggest a novel mechanism by which Hcy, in addition to increasing the generation of hydrogen peroxide, may selectively impair the endothelial cell’s ability to detoxify H2O2, thus rendering NO more susceptible to oxidative inactivation.
Comparison of Different Methods of Administering Droperidol in Patient-Controlled Analgesia in the Prevention of Postoperative Nausea and Vomiting

We performed a double-blind, placebo-controlled study to evaluate the different methods of administering droperidol in patients using patient-controlled analgesia (PCA) with morphine. Eighty patients undergoing major orthopedic procedures received temazepam 0.2 mg/kg orally followed by induction of general anesthesia with propofol 2.5 mg/kg, fentanyl 2 micro gram/kg, and vecuronium 0.1 mg/kg. Anesthesia was maintained with nitrous oxide, oxygen, and enflurane. At the end of surgery, all patients received PCA with morphine (0.5 mg/mL, bolus dose 1 mg, and lockout interval 5 min. Before commencement of PCA, patients were randomized to receive droperidol 1.25 mg immediately and, in addition, droperidol 0.16 mg with each PCA dose (Group 1), droperidol 1.25 mg immediately (Group 2), droperidol 0.16 mg with each PCA dose (Group 3), and no droperidol (Group 4). Incidence of nausea and vomiting, request for rescue antiemetics, sedation score, and side effects were recorded every 4 h. Droperidol significantly reduced the incidence of postoperative nausea and vomiting (PONV) (P < 0.01) and request for rescue antiemetic (P < 0.01) compared to placebo. However, there was no difference in the incidence of PONV between droperidol given either as a single dose at the end of surgery (Group 2) or mixed in morphine PCA (Group 3). The addition of droperidol in PCA after an initial dose (Group 1) should be avoided, as it resulted in more sedation and no further reduction in the incidence of PONV compared to Groups 2 and 3. (Anesth Analg 1995;80:81-5)
A preliminary study determining the feasibility of electromagnetic tracking for kinematics at the ankle joint complex.

OBJECTIVE To determine the feasibility of using electromagnetic tracking (EMT) for quantifying three-dimensional kinematics at the ankle joint complex (AJC). METHODS AJC kinematics were recorded in 10 normal healthy adults, and 10 rheumatoid arthritis patients presenting with AJC instability and deformity who were undergoing footwear and orthotic intervention. RESULTS Kinematics in normal subjects had strong face validity, curve shape showing moderate (n=9), good (n=8) or excellent (n=4) agreement with data from seven published studies. The range of motion about the x-axis (15.2 degrees ) was similar to reference values (17.0 degrees ), but our technique underestimated rotations about the y- (8.1 degrees vs 14.0 degrees ) and z-axes (7.7 degrees vs 12.2 degrees ). In the rheumatoid arthritis pronated foot group, eversion and internal rotation during the stance phase of gait were between 2 and 5 times greater than for normal subjects. The use of a corrective foot orthosis in this group restored normal kinematics, reducing maximum eversion and internal rotation by 57 and 68%, respectively. CONCLUSION A new technique for measuring kinematics at the AJC is described. Based upon the findings of this pilot study, EMT may be useful for diagnosing AJC dysfunction and quantifying the mechanical efficacy of footwear and orthosis interventions.
Increased myocardial lactate oxidation in lambs with aortopulmonary shunts at rest and during exercise

Beaufort-Krol, Gertie C. M. , Janny Takens, Marieke C. Molenkamp, Gioia B. Smid, Koos J. Meuzelaar, Willem G. Zijlstra, and Jaap R. G. Kuipers. Increased myocardial lactate oxidation in lambs with aortopulmonary shunts at rest and during exercise. Am. J. Physiol. 275 (Heart Circ. Physiol. 44): H1503–H1512, 1998. —Free fatty acids are the major fuels for the myocardium, but during a higher load carbohydrates are preferred. Previously, we demonstrated that myocardial net lactate uptake was higher in lambs with aortopulmonary shunts than in control lambs. To determine whether this was caused by an increased lactate uptake and oxidation or by a decreased lactate release, we studied myocardial lactate and glucose metabolism with 13C-labeled substrates in 36 lambs in a fasting, conscious state. The lambs were assigned to two groups: a resting group consisting of 8 shunt and 9 control lambs, and an exercise group (50% of peak O2 consumption) consisting of 9 shunt and 10 control lambs. Myocardial lactate oxidation was higher in shunt than in control lambs (mean 6 SE, rest: 10.33 6 2.61 vs. 0.17 6 0.82, exercise: 38.05 6 8.87 vs. 16.89 6 4.78 μmol ·min21 · 100 g21; P , 0.05). There was no difference in myocardial lactate release between shunt and control lambs. Oxidation of exogenous glucose, which was approximately zero at rest, increased during exercise in shunt and control lambs. The contribution of glucose and lactate to myocardial oxidative metabolism increased during exercise compared with at rest in both shunt and control lambs. We conclude that myocardial lactate oxidation is higher in shunt than in control lambs, both at rest and during exercise, and that the contribution of carbohydrates in myocardial oxidative metabolism in shunt lambs is higher than in control lambs. Thus it appears that this higher contribution of carbohydrates occurs not only in the case of pressure-overloaded hearts but also in myocardial hypertrophy due to volume overloading.
On the suitability of compressive sampling for the measurement of electrical power quality

The deeper interconnection and the increasing presence of active devices on the electrical networks is raising many issues concerning with the monitoring of Power Quality phenomena. Voltage parameters related to the supply of electricity and current parameters related to the working of electrical apparatuses have to be monitored as accurately as possible. To this aim specific international standards impose strict measurement methods and complex measurement instrument architectures, usually based on the computation of real time Fast Fourier Transforms, to be adopted for the purpose. In particular, considering poly-phase systems, four currents and four voltages have to be detected, synchronized, measured and analyzed with good accuracy and spectral resolution. This imposes to the measurement the calculation of eight FFTs in a very short time. These requirements conflicts with the need of cost-effective measurement instruments required by spread and distributed monitoring systems in many points of the electrical plant. To face this issues this paper proposes the study and the tuning of compressive sampling (CS) techniques capable of assuring reliable reconstruction of the signal of interest from very low acquired samples. In particular, to make the CS use more feasible, the authors have also exploited some peculiarities of the CS approach in order to reduce the computational burden usually associated with the mere application of its acquisition and reconstruction protocol. Preliminary results confirm the applicability of the proposed solution.
Generalized signal alignment for high mobility OFDM channels

Generalized signal alignment (GSA) is recently proposed as a new transmission framework to achieve the maximum degrees of freedom in multi-user MIMO two-way relay channels. In this paper, we apply GSA in high mobility OFDM systems. To handle the inter-carrier interference (ICI) resulted from large Doppler frequency shift effectively, we propose subcarrier extension (SE)-GSA. Its idea is to treat each subcarrier as a virtual antenna and then apply GSA in the extended virtual MIMO channel. We take the MIMO two-way X relay channel as the system model. It well models to the scenario where a high speed train enters the edge of two adjacent cells and two mobile users inside the train are communicating with the base stations (BSs) through a relay station deployed on the train carriage. By jointly designing the compression matrix and precoding matrices in the virtual antenna domain, both inter-user interference and inter-carrier interference can be managed together. To reduce the computation complexity at the relay, a new method is proposed to design the precoding matrix at each source node. Simulation results demonstrate that the proposed SE-GSA achieves 25% and 66% higher throughput than the conventional signal alignment (SA) and time division duplex (TDD) transmission schemes, respectively, at high SNR with the train moving speed of 500 km/h.
BN-LEACH: An improvement on LEACH protocol using Bayesian networks for energy consumption reduction in wireless sensor networks

A Wireless Sensor Network (WSN) consists of thousands number of sensor nodes which have constraints on computation, energy and memory resources. Limited energy resource affects the lifetime of the WSNs. Hence many protocols have been proposed to reduce energy consumption. LEACH is one of the most popular clustering protocols with the aim of maintaining the energy efficiency of sensor nodes. Almost all improvements of LEACH protocol give no guarantee that cluster-heads are uniformly distributed in the network. In this paper, we propose a protocol named BN-LEACH to select cluster-heads using a Bayesian Network (BN) model based on three factors - distance to the Base Station (BS), remaining energy and density. This model calculates the probability of becoming cluster-head for each sensor node. Appropriate cluster-heads are chosen according to a dynamic zoning method and a greedy approach in order to distribute cluster-heads uniformly. By comparison with LEACH, LEACH-C and WEEC protocols, which are improvements on LEACH, simulation results show that our proposed protocol balances the energy consumption of the sensor nodes, prolongs the network lifetime and extends the First Node Death (FND) further more from above-mentioned protocols.
Usage of Facebook by Library and Information Science Female Undergraduate Students in Selected Nigerian Universities

The chapter examines Facebook usage among female undergraduate students of library and information science. Through a survey approach, the study drew on 154 female undergraduate Library and Information Science students from four universities. Questionnaire was used to gather data. Four research questions were developed and answered. The results revealed that the majority of the respondents (female undergraduates) use Facebook on a daily basis. Female undergraduates use Facebook to socialize, connect, and chat with friends, making it the highest purpose of using Facebook. While majority of female students use Facebook on a daily basis, the negative aspects of it were also revealed, including consumption of ones’ precious time; the time they should use for other productive academic work is being channeled to Facebook, thereby making Facebook time consuming. Finally, erratic power supply was identified as the major problem of using Facebook by female LIS undergraduate students.
Design of a structure-controlled variable stiffness actuator based on rotary flexure hinges

This paper presents a new variable stiffness actuator (VSA) based on a structure-controlled method: controlling the mechanical structure of the actuator by rotating four flexure hinges. The VSA possesses a property that the output position and stiffness are independently controlled. This is realized by a serial arrangement of a principle driving motor, a small stiffness variation motor and a novel variable stiffness mechanism (VSM). The VSM consists of four combined notch flexure hinge frames, each of which contains an inner rotary flexure shaft and outer stationary hinge housing. The stiffness is adjusted by rotating the inner flexure shaft to change the second moment of area. Its value is independent to the VSA output angle when the flexure rotational angle is fixed. The working principle of this VSA is elaborated and the optimization mechanical design of the VSM is presented. A prototype has been implemented and its primary characteristic test results validate the design features.
Disruption of PML-associated nuclear bodies mediated by the human cytomegalovirus major immediate early gene product.

The PML gene product is associated with a defined nuclear structure (10-20 per cell) known variously as PML-bodies, ND10, PODs or Kr bodies. Certain conditions are known to compromise the integrity of PML-bodies; these include environmental stress (e.g. heat shock), a chromosomal translocation-associated acute promyelocytic leukaemia, and infection with certain viruses [including human cytomegalovirus (HCMV), herpes simplex virus type 1 and adenovirus]. Expression of the HCMV major immediate early (IE) protein (IE1(491aa)) is by itself sufficient to cause disruption of PML-bodies, resulting in the dispersal of the PML antigen uniformly throughout the nucleus. In uninfected cells undergoing mitosis PML is excluded from chromatin. However, both IE1(491aa) and PML were observed to associate with mitotic chromosomes in cells infected with HCMV or transfected with the IE1 gene. A series of in-frame IE1 deletion mutants was used in DNA transfection experiments to identify two large sequence elements (aa 132-274 and the C-terminal aa 347-491) not required for dispersal of the PML antigen. However, a putative leucine-zipper domain (aa 105-139), a putative zinc-finger domain (aa 267-286) and exon 2 and 3 coding sequences (aa 6-85) were required. The association of the IE1 gene product with chromatin required an acidic domain near the C terminus (aa 421-486). The interaction of IE1(491aa) with chromatin was therefore not required for the disruption of PML-bodies. Exon 2 (aa 1-24) was shown to encode a nuclear localization signal.
Comparison of the RealTime HIV-1, COBAS TaqMan 48 v1.0, Easy Q v1.2, and Versant v3.0 assays for Determination of HIV-1 Viral Loads in a Cohort of Canadian Patients with Diverse HIV Subtype Infections

ABSTRACT HIV clinics in Canada provide care to an increasing number of patients born outside of Canada with HIV-1 non-B subtype infections. Because the Easy Q HIV-1 v1.2 assay (EQ; bioMérieux) failed to detect some non-B subtype infections, a multiassay HIV-1 viral load (VL) study was conducted with patients with diverse HIV subtype infections. Patients were enrolled from the Southern Alberta HIV Clinic (SAC), Calgary, Alberta, Canada (n = 349) and the McGill HIV Clinic (MHC), Montreal, Quebec, Canada (n = 20) and had four or five tubes of blood drawn for testing by EQ and three other commercial HIV VL assays: (i) the Versant 3.0 HIV-1 test, with the Versant 440 instrument (branched DNA [bDNA]; Siemens), (ii) the RealTime HIV-1 test, with the m2000rt instrument (m2000rt; Abbott Molecular Diagnostics), and (iii) the COBAS AmpliPrep TaqMan HIV-1 48 test (CAP-CTM; Roche Molecular Diagnostics). Blood was processed according to the individual manufacturer's requirements and stored frozen at −86°C. The HIV subtype was known for patients who had undergone HIV genotypic resistance testing (Virco, Belgium). Data analyses were done using standard statistical methods within Stata 9.0 (StataCorp, College Station, TX). A total of 371 samples were tested on 369 patients, of whom 291 (81%) had a Virco genotype result of B (195; 53%) or non-B (96; 26%) subtypes A to D and F to K, as well as circulating recombinant forms (CRFs) (i.e., CRF01_AE and CRF02_AG). Most (58/78; 74%) patients of unknown subtype were recent African emigrants who likely have non-subtype B infection. Overall bias was small in pairwise Bland-Altman plots, but the limits of agreement between assays were wide. Discordant viral load results occurred for 98 samples and were due to missing values, false negatives, and significant underquantification that varied by HIV subtype. Results were obtained for all 371 samples with m2000rt, but for only 357 (97%) with CAP-CTM, 338 (92%) with EQ, and 276 (75%) with bDNA due to errors/equipment failures. False-negative results (nondetection of viral RNA versus other assay results) occurred for all platforms, as follows: for m2000rt, 8 (2%) [B(4) and non-B(4) subtypes], CAP-CTM, 9 (2.5%) [B(6) and non-B(3) subtypes]; EQ, 20 (6%) [B(7) and non-B(13) subtypes]; bDNA, 5 (2%) [B(1) and C(4)]. EQ and bDNA had the highest rates of underquantification by ≥1.0 log10 copies/ml, mainly for HIV non-B subtypes. Performance significantly varied between HIV VL platforms according to subtype. HIV viral diversity in the population being tested must be considered in selection of the viral load platform.
Do remittances spur economic growth? Evidence from developing countries

ABSTRACT This paper provides original econometric evidence on whether international remittance transfers spur economic growth based on data for a sample of 49 developing countries during the period 2001-2013. Using Panel Smooth Transition Regression (PSTR), difference and system generalized methods of moment models, we find two main results. First, remittances have a positive and significant impact on economic growth in developing countries, while aid and foreign direct investments have insignificant impact. Secondly, as far as the nonlinear relationship is concerned, we find two extreme regimes with a sharp shift characterizing the remittance–growth relationship, with respect to conditional variables, where the remittances effects are positive and significant under the first regime and negative or insignificant under the second. Our findings suggest that the nonlinear relationship between remittances and growth mainly depends on financial development and investment, and less on remittance level and consumption.
Molecular and functional characterization of the intestinal Na+-dependent multivitamin transporter.

We have cloned a Na+-dependent multivitamin transporter from rabbit intestine (riSMVT). The cDNA codes for a protein of 636 amino acids with 12 putative transmembrane domains. When expressed in mammalian cells, the cDNA induces Na+-dependent uptake of the vitamins pantothenate and biotin. Lipoate is also a substrate for the cDNA-induced uptake process. The affinity constant for the cDNA-specific transport of pantothenate and biotin is approximately 2 and approximately 8 microM, respectively. The Na+:vitamin stoichiometry is greater than 1, indicating that the transport process is electrogenic. The SMVT-specific transcripts of 3.2 kbp are equally distributed throughout the small intestine. We have also cloned SMVT from the human intestinal cell line Caco-2. The Caco-2 SMVT cDNA codes for a protein of 635 amino acids which is homologous to riSMVT and is identical to the SMVT expressed in the human choriocarcinoma cell line JAR. Caco-2 SMVT also catalyzes Na+-dependent uptake of pantothenate, biotin, and lipoate. In oocytes expressing Caco-2 SMVT, all three vitamins evoke inward currents, confirming the electrogenicity of the transport process.
Clinical outcome and predictive factors of failure of highly active antiretroviral therapy in antiretroviral‐experienced patients in advanced stages of HIV‐1 infection

Objective:To verify the effectiveness of highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART) and to identify any factors predictive of clinical outcome in a clinical setting. Design:Observational study. Methods:Treatment failure (i.e., the occurrence of new or recurrent AIDS-defining events, death or any definitive discontinuation) and the course of CD4+ cell counts and HIV RNA copies were evaluated in 250 heavily pretreated HIV-infected patients starting HAART [153 with indinavir (IDV), 55 with ritonavir (RTV), 43 with saquinavir (SQV)]. Univariate and multivariate analyses were performed to identify predictors of worse outcome. Results:During a median follow-up of 8 months, 75 patients (30%) had treatment failure because of the occurrence of an AIDS-defining event or death (n = 24), inefficacy (n = 24), or severe intolerance (n = 27). Twenty new and six recurrent AIDS-defining events, and nine deaths occurred (six out of 20 AIDS-defining events and two out of nine deaths within 1 month of treatment). CD4+ counts were above 200 × 106/l at AIDS diagnosis in only two patients. None of the SQV patients, 12 (7.8%) of the IDV patients, and 15 (27.3%) of the RTV-treated patients were considered non-compliant. The SQV-containing regimens independently correlated with treatment failure (relative risk, 2.46; 95% confidence interval, 1.20–5.03; versus IDV). Low compliance partially determined outcome in RTV-treated patients; both severe immunodepression and AIDS at baseline were predictive of treatment failure. There was a 10-fold increase in CD4+ cell counts in the patients treated with IDV and RTV; the best virological outcome occurred in IDV-treated patients, with 68.4% of patients showing undetectable HIV RNA copies after 6 months. Conclusions:HAART was effective in 70% of patients; low compliance and previous AIDS diagnosis represented predictive factors of therapy failure.
PKCζ-dependent upregulation of p27kip1 contributes to oxidative stress induced retinal pigment epithelial cell multinucleation

Retinal pigment epithelial (RPE) cells increase in size and multinucleate during aging. We have shown using human and mouse cell lines that oxidised photoreceptor outer segments (oxPOS)-induced cytokinesis failure is related to RPE cell multinucleation, although the underlying mechanism remains unknown. This study investigated the role of the PKC pathway in oxPOS-induced RPE multinucleation using ARPE19 cells. oxPOS treatment promoted PKC activity and upregulated the mRNA expression of PKC α, δ, ζ, ι and μ. Inhibition of PKCα with Gö6976 resulted in a 33% reduction of multinucleate ARPE19 cells, whereas inhibition of PKCζ with Gö6983 led to a 50% reduction in multinucleate ARPE19 cells. Furthermore, oxPOS treatment induced a PKCζ-dependent upregulation of the Cdk inhibitor p27kip1, its inhibition using A2CE reduced oxPOS-induced ARPE19 multinucleation. Our results suggest that oxPOS-induced ARPE19 cytokinesis failure is, at least in part, due to the upregulation of p27kip1 through activating the PKC, particularly PKCζ pathway. Targeting the PKCζ-p27kip1 signalling axis may be a novel approach to restore RPE repair capacity during aging.