Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Isoprenylated Proteins in Myelin

Abstract: Incubation of rat brainstem slices with [3H]‐ mevalonate ([3H]MVA) in the presence of lovastatin resulted in the incorporation of label into three groups of myelin‐associated proteins with molecular masses of 47, 21–27, and 8 kDa, as revealed on sodium dodecyl sulfate‐ polyacrylamide rod gel electrophoresis. Although the gel patterns of [3H]MVA‐derived prenylated proteins were similar, the relative level of 3H incorporated into each protein species differed between myelin and the brainstem homogenate. Immunoprecipitation studies identified the 47‐kDa prenylated protein as a 2′‐3′‐cyclic nucleotide phospho‐ diesterase, whereas the 8‐kDa protein proved to be the γ subunit of membrane‐associated guanine nucleotide regulatory protein. The 3H‐labeled 21–27‐kDa group in myelin corresponds to the molecular mass of the extensive Ras‐ like family of monomeric GTP‐binding proteins known to be prenylated in other tissues. Increase in lovastatin concentration resulted in reduced levels of [3H]MVA‐labeled species in myelin and concomitantly increased levels in the cytosol. A cold MVA chase restored to normality the appearance of [3H]MVA‐labeled proteins in myelin. Furthermore, a high lovastatin concentration in the brainstem slice incubation mixture altered the appearance of newly synthesized nonprenylated myelin proteins, including proteolipid protein and the 17‐kDa subspecies of myelin basic protein. Because other myelin proteins were unaffected by the high lovastatin concentration, restricting the availability of MVA in myelin‐forming cells may selectively alter processes required for myelinogenesis. Although the molecular basis for the” different MVA requirements in myelin‐ forming cells remains undefined, it may involve an alteration in the biological activity of certain proteins that require prenylation to be functionally active, and that are responsible for promoting insertion of specific proteins into the myelin membrane.
A PSO-Driven Spline-Based Shaping Approach for Ultrawideband (UWB) Antenna Synthesis

Synthesis of ultrawideband (UWB) antennas by means of a particle swarm optimizer (PSO)-driven spline-based shaping approach is described. In order to devise a reliable and effective solution, such a topic is analyzed according to different perspectives: 1) representation of the antenna shape with a simple and efficient description; 2) definition of a suitable description of the UWB Tx/Rx system; 3) formulation of the synthesis problem in terms of an optimization one; 4) integration of the modelling of the UWB system into a computationally efficient minimization procedure. As a result, an innovative synthesis technique based on the PSO-based iterative evolution of suitable shape descriptors is carefully detailed. To assess the effectiveness of the proposed method, a set of representative numerical simulations are performed and the results are compared with the measurements from experimental prototypes built according to the design specifications coming from the optimization procedure. To focus on the main advantages and features of the proposed approach, comparisons with the results obtained with a standard parametric approach are reported, as well.
A Review of Factors Affecting Fat Absorption in Hot Chips

Referee: Professor David Roberts, Department of Nutrition, University of Newcastle, Newcastle, NSW, Australia Consumption of hot chips is a convenience food in most countries. Unfortunately, these are high in fat and contribute to fat-related diseases in societies with a high fat consumption. There is substantial scope through best-practice deep-frying techniques for producing lower fat, high-quality chips. From a review of the literature, the main factors associated with a lower-fat content of chips are thick (>12 mm), straight cut chips; cryogenic freezing methods; low moisture content of potatoes (specific gravity >1.1); frying fat: chip volume ratio of 6:1; frying at optimal temperature (180 to 185°C) during cooking and turning the temperature down (∼140°C) and covering the vats during slack periods; vigorously shaking the basket and hanging it over the deep fryer to drain after frying; maintaining the quality of the frying fat by regularly skimming the cracklings, filtering the fat, and topping up the fryer with fresh fat; keeping the fat turnover <5 days; regular cleaning of frying equipment. It is important that all deep frying operators are adequately trained in these techniques. It is also important that the frying medium is low in saturated and trans fatty acids (<20%) because of their effects on blood lipids and low in linolenic acid (<3%) because it is readily degraded. The widespread implementation of best-practice deep-frying would reduce fat content of hot chips and thus lower overall fat consumption.
Reliability of maximal voluntary muscle strength and power testing in older men.

BACKGROUND Maximal voluntary muscle strength (MVMS) and leg power are important measures of physical function in older adults. We hypothesized that performing these measures twice within 7-10 days would demonstrate a >5% increase due to learning and familiarization of the testing procedures. METHODS Data were collected from three studies in older adult men (60-87 years) and were divided into two cohorts defined by study site and type of exercise equipment. MVMS was assessed in 116 participants using the one-repetition maximum method at two separate study visits for the chest press, latissimus pull-down, leg press, leg flexion, and leg extension exercises along with unilateral leg extension power. RESULTS Test-retest scores were not different and did not exceed 0.8 +/- 9.0% in Cohort 1 or 2.3 +/- 9.8% in Cohort 2, except for leg extension, which improved by 6.6 +/- 14.4% (p <.009) and 3.4 +/- 6.8% (p <.016), respectively. Repeat tests were closely correlated with initial tests (all p <.001). Pearson correlation coefficients ranged from 0.74 for leg extension power to 0.96 for leg press. Coefficients of variation were <10% (4.2%-9.0%) for all exercises except for leg extension power, which was 15.5%. CONCLUSIONS Our findings demonstrated that test-retest measures of MVMS and power in older adult men do not differ by more than 2.3% except for leg extension, and have relatively low coefficients of variation using data collected from three studies. Moreover, these findings were similar between two study sites using different equipment, which further supports the reliability of MVMS and power testing in older adult men.
Role of the SCFSkp2 Ubiquitin Ligase in the Degradation of p21Cip1 in S Phase*

The cyclin-dependent kinase inhibitor p21Cip1 has important roles in the control of cell proliferation, differentiation, senescence, and apoptosis. It has been observed that p21 is a highly unstable protein, but the mechanisms of its degradation remained unknown. We show here that p21 is a good substrate for an SCF (Skp1-Cullin1-F-box protein) ubiquitin ligase complex, which contains the F-box protein Skp2 (S phase kinase-associated protein 2) and the accessory protein Cks1 (cyclin kinase subunit 1). A similar ubiquitin ligase complex has been previously shown to be involved in the degradation of a related cyclin-dependent kinase inhibitor, p27Kip1. The levels of Skp2 oscillate in the cell cycle, reaching a maximum in S phase. The ubiquitylation of p21 in vitro required the supplementation of all components of the SCF complex as well as of Cks1 and Cdk2-cyclin E. The protein kinase Cdk2-cyclin E acts both by the phosphorylation of p21 on Ser-130 and by the formation of a complex with p21, which is required for its presentation to the ubiquitin ligase. As opposed to the case of p27, the phosphorylation of p21 stimulates its ubiquitylation but is not absolutely required for this process. Levels of p21 are higher in Skp2–/– mouse embryo fibroblasts than in wild-type fibroblasts in the S phase, and the rates of the degradation of p21 are slower in cells that lack Skp2. It is suggested that SCFSkp2 participates in the degradation of p21 in the S phase.
Utilization and purchase of medical care services in Mexico by residents in the United States of America, 1998-1999.

OBJECTIVES We assessed self-reported frequency of purchase of medications and medical care services in Mexico by southern New Mexico (United States, [U.S.]) residents in relation to their medical insurance coverage. METHODS We analyzed data obtained in 1998 and 1999 from a health interview survey of residents in a six-county region of southern New Mexico, using prevalence and logistic regression methods for complex survey data. RESULTS About 22% of southern New Mexico residents had purchased medications and 11% had sought medical care in Mexico at least once during the year preceding the survey. When we adjusted for the effects of other variables, persons able to pay for services out of pocket and those who were uninsured were more likely than persons who were fully covered to purchase medications or medical care in Mexico. CONCLUSIONS Large numbers of people residing near the border in New Mexico traveled south to Mexico to purchase medications and medical care. Lack of medical insurance was associated with higher frequencies of these purchases. There seems to be a need to establish relationships between U.S. private and public care plans and Mexican medical care providers to identify appropriate mechanisms for U.S. residents to purchase medical care in Mexico.
Genetic analysis of mastitis data with different models.

The aim of this study was to analyze different mastitis data sets with different statistical models and compare results. Data recording took place on 3 commercial milk farms with an average herd size of 3,200 German Holstein cows. Recording started in February 1998 and was completed in December 2005. During this period, 63,540 treatments for clinical mastitis were recorded. Five different data sets were analyzed and the number of cows varied between 12,972 and 13,618, depending on the data set. Data collection periods contained either the first 50 or the first 300 d of lactation. When the data-recording period ended after 50 d of lactation, data sets were analyzed with a lactation threshold model (LTM), a multiple threshold lactation model (MTLM), and a test-day threshold model (TDTM). In the LTM analysis, mastitis was treated as a binary trait coded as 0 (no mastitis) or 1 (mastitis), whereas in MTLM mastitis, codes were between 0 and 4, depending on the number of estimated days with mastitis. The TDTM treated each day as a single observation coded similarly to that of the LTM. When the data collection period included the first 300 d of lactation, data sets were analyzed with the LTM or MTLM only, because the TDTM was computationally infeasible. Mastitis frequencies in LTM data sets were 25.8 and 39.2%, and 26.9 and 39.2% in MTLM data sets, when data recording ended after 50 and 300 d of lactation, respectively. The mastitis frequency in the TDTM data set was 5.2%. Respective heritability estimates of liability to clinical mastitis were 0.08 and 0.09 using the LTM, and 0.08 and 0.11 using the MTLM. When the TDTM was used, the estimated heritability was 0.15. Rank correlation between breeding values of the different data sets ranged between 0.40 and 0.97. Rank correlation between the LTM and MTLM were higher (0.78 to 0.97) than those between these 2 models and the TDTM (0.40 to 0.59). The MTLM combined the positive effects of both the LTM, with respect to the size of the data sets, and the TDTM, with respect to the lack of information.
The costs of early inflammatory joint disease: a population‐based study in southern Sweden

Objective: To study the costs and use of healthcare for patients during the first months with early joint inflammation, in a population‐based prospective referral study in Southern Sweden. Methods: Adult patients with arthritis for <3 months and with onset of symptoms between 1 May 1999 and 1 May 2000 were referred from primary health centres to rheumatologists. Four clinical assessments were performed during a 6‐month follow‐up period. The direct medical costs for inpatient stays, outpatient visits, visits to general practitioners, and visits to health professionals, as well as costs for medication, radiographs, and laboratory tests were recorded from the onset of the disease up to 6 months of follow‐up. Indirect costs for sick leave were also recorded. Results: Fifty‐six of 71 referred patients agreed to participate. Thirteen (23%) had RA, 21 (38%) had reactive arthritis (ReA), 14 (25%) had undifferentiated arthritis, and eight (14%) had other arthritides. The median cost per patient in the entire group was USD 3362. The median cost per patient in the RA group was USD 4385, and USD 4085 in the ReA group. There was no statistically significant difference in the median costs per patient in the different diagnostic groups. Sick leave accounted for 44% of the total costs in the entire group, and 46% and 47%, respectively, in the RA and ReA groups. Conclusion: The costs of early arthritis are already considerable during the first months of the disease following the onset of the symptoms. The indirect costs due to sick leave accounted for nearly half of the costs.
Evaluation of centrosome abnormalities and p53 inactivation in chemical induced hepatocellular carcinogenesis.

UNLABELLED Abnormal centrosome frequently found in human cancer is a major cause of mitotic defects and chromosome instability in cancer cells. Centrosome duplication is controlled in a cell cycle-specific manner, whereas cancer cells with dysregulation of centrosome duplication can survive and reenter the cell cycle through defective cell cycle checkpoint systems. Although numerous studies showed that centrosome amplification can be readily induced by loss or mutational inactivation of p53, however, the role of centrosomally localized p53 in the regulation of centrosome duplication had been enigma. To investigate the role of centrosome and p53 in the in vivo carcinogenesis, we performed immunofluorescence and Western blot analysis, respectively, to detect the alteration of centrosome and p53 status as well as immunohistochemical assay to detect cell proliferation in diethyl nitrosoamine (DENA) induced rat hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). The frequencies of the centrosome abnormalities in HCC lesions were significantly higher than that of in their preneoplasitc counterparts as well as cell proliferation expression profile. Intriguingly, there was no correlation between centrosome abnormalities and cell proliferation. As for p53, the level of p53 increased in inflammation lesion, but decreased in hepatocirrhosis lesion, even undetectable in HCC lesion. These findings may imply that in inflammatory lesions aberration centrosome occurred irrespective of p53 background. However, the significantly increased percentage of cells with abnormal centrosome in hepatocirrhosis, particularly in HCC lesion concomitant with p53 inactivation and increased cell proliferation rate might synergistically contribute to carcinogenesis. Taken together, centrosome abnormalities were an early event prior to p53 inactivation in the time course of carcinogenesis, suggesting that p53 inactivation may not be the cause of centrosome aberration and centrosome may be a susceptible organelle responding to cellular insults. KEYWORDS centrosome, p53, hepatocellular carcinoma, cell proliferation.
The security blanket in nursery schools: a private “transitional object” in a public environment

The security blanket or “transitional object” is essential for many young children from Western countries and is now part of the welcoming process in French nursery schools. Its psychoanalytic justification widely spread in society contributes to imposing standards for its use. However, the various actors (parents, professionals, peers) differ in their conceptions and practices related to the security blanket and its contribution to the socialization of young children between the family sphere and the school sphere. These different conceptions may fuel tensions in the relations between parents and professionals in nursery schools.
Retinal gene expression and visually evoked behavior in diabetic long evans rats.

PURPOSE Patients with diabetic retinopathy may experience severe vision loss due to macular edema and neovascularization secondary to vascular abnormalities. However, before these abnormalities become apparent, there are functional deficits in contrast sensitivity, color perception, and dark adaptation. The goals of this study are to evaluate early changes (up to 3 months) in retinal gene expression, selected visual cycle proteins, and optokinetic tracking (OKT) in streptozotocin (STZ)-induced diabetic rats. METHODS Retinal gene expression in diabetic Long Evans rats was measured by whole genome microarray 7 days, 4 weeks, and 3 months after the onset of hyperglycemia. Select gene and protein changes were probed by polymerase chain reaction (PCR) and immunohistochemistry, respectively, and OKT thresholds were measured using a virtual optokinetics system. RESULTS Microarray analysis showed that the most consistently affected molecular and cellular functions were cell-to-cell signaling and interaction, cell death, cellular growth and proliferation, molecular transport, and cellular movement. Further analysis revealed reduced expression of several genes encoding visual cycle proteins including lecithin/retinol acyltransferase (LRAT), retinal pigment epithelium (RPE)-specific protein 65 kDa (RPE65), and RPE retinal G protein-coupled receptor (RGR). These molecular changes occurred simultaneously with a decrease in OKT thresholds by 4 weeks of diabetes. Immunohistochemistry revealed a decrease in RPE65 in the RPE layer of diabetic rats after 3 months of hyperglycemia. CONCLUSIONS The data presented here are further evidence that inner retinal cells are affected by hyperglycemia simultaneously with blood retinal barrier breakdown, suggesting that glial and neuronal dysfunction may underlie some of the early visual deficits in persons with diabetes.
Optimising abdominal space with deep neuromuscular blockade in gynaecologic laparoscopy – a randomised, blinded crossover study

Insufflation of the abdomen during laparoscopy improves surgical space, but may cause post‐operative shoulder pain. The incidence of shoulder pain is reduced using a lower insufflation pressure, but this may, however, compromise the surgical space. We aimed at investigating whether deep neuromuscular blockade (NMB) would enlarge surgical space, measured as the distance from the sacral promontory to the trocar in patients undergoing gynaecologic laparoscopy.
13.2 A 14nm FinFET 128Mb 6T SRAM with VMIN-enhancement techniques for low-power applications

With the explosive growth of battery-operated portable devices, the demand for low power and small size has been increasing for system-on-a-chip (SoC). The FinFET is considered as one of the most promising technologies for future low-power mobile applications because of its good scaling ability, high on-current, better SCE and subthreshold slope, and small leakage current [1]. As a key approach for low-power, supply-voltage (VDD) scaling has been widely used in SoC design. However, SRAM is the limiting factor of voltage-scaling, since all SRAM functions of read, write, and hold-stability are highly influenced by increased variations at low VDD, resulting in lower yield. In addition, the width-quantization property of FinFET device reduces the design window for transistor sizing, and increases the failure probability due to the un-optimized bitcell sizing [1]. In order to overcome the bitcell challenges to high yield, peripheral-assist techniques are required. In this paper, we present 14nm FinFET-based 128Mb 6T SRAM chips featuring low-VMIN with newly developed assist techniques.
The sustainable development goals and business

The Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) agreed at a United Nations General Assembly in 2015 embrace an ambitious and wide ranging set of global environmental, social and economic issues designed to effect a transition to a more sustainable future. The United Nations called on all governments to pursue these ambitious goals but also acknowledged the important role of the business community in addressing the SDG’s. This paper offers a preliminary review of the efforts being made to encourage businesses, and more specifically the consumer goods industry, to address the SDGs and offers some wider reflections on the challenges business face in engaging with the SDGs.
Prevalence of exposure of heavy metals and their impact on health consequences

Even in the current era of growing technology, the concentration of heavy metals present in drinking water is still not within the recommended limits as set by the regulatory authorities in different countries of the world. Drinking water contaminated with heavy metals namely; arsenic, cadmium, nickel, mercury, chromium, zinc, and lead is becoming a major health concern for public and health care professionals. Occupational exposure to heavy metals is known to occur by the utilization of these metals in various industrial processes and/or contents including color pigments and alloys. However, the predominant source resulting in measurable human exposure to heavy metals is the consumption of contaminated drinking water and the resulting health issues may include cardiovascular disorders, neuronal damage, renal injuries, and risk of cancer and diabetes. The general mechanism involved in heavy metal‐induced toxicity is recognized to be the production of reactive oxygen species resulting oxidative damage and health related adverse effects. Thus utilization of heavy metal‐contaminated water is resulting in high morbidity and mortality rates all over the world. Thereby, feeling the need to raise the concerns about contribution of different heavy metals in various health related issues, this article has discussed the global contamination of drinking water with heavy metals to assess the health hazards associated with consumption of heavy metal‐contaminated water. A relationship between exposure limits and ultimate responses produced as well as the major organs affected have been reviewed. Acute and chronic poisoning symptoms and mechanisms responsible for such toxicities have also been discussed.
Palladin regulates cell and extracellular matrix interaction through maintaining normal actin cytoskeleton architecture and stabilizing Beta1‐integrin

Cell and extracellular matrix (ECM) interaction plays an important role in development and normal cellular function. Cell adhesion and cell spreading on ECM are two basic cellular behaviors related to cell‐ECM interaction. Here we show that palladin, a novel actin cytoskeleton‐associated protein, is actively involved in the regulation of cell‐ECM interaction. It was found that palladin‐deficient mouse embryonic fibroblasts (MEFs) display decreased cell adhesion and compromised cell spreading on various ECMs. Disorganized actin cytoskeleton architecture characterized by faint stress fibers, less lamellipodia and focal adhesions can account for the weakened cell‐ECM interaction in palladin−/− MEFs. Furthermore, decreased polymerized filament actin and increased globular actin can be observed in palladin−/− MEFs, strongly suggesting that palladin is essential for the formation or stabilization of polymerized filament actin. Elevated phospho‐cofilin level and proper responses in cofilin phosphorylation to either Rho signal agonist or antagonist in palladin−/− MEFs indicate that disrupted stress fibers in palladin−/− MEFs is not associated with cofilin phosphorylation. More interestingly, the protein level of ECM receptor β1‐integrin is dramatically decreased in MEFs lacking palladin. Down‐regulation of β1‐integrin protein can be restored by proteasome inhibitor MG‐132 treatment. All these data implicate that palladin is essential for cell‐ECM interaction through maintaining normal actin cytoskeleton architecture and stabilizing β1‐integrin protein. J. Cell. Biochem. 100: 1288–1300, 2007. © 2006 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.