Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Potential‐dependent calcium inward current in a single isolated smooth muscle cell of the guinea‐pig taenia caeci.

A single glass micropipette voltage‐clamp technique was used to study a potential‐dependent calcium inward current in isolated smooth muscle cells of the guinea‐pig taenia caeci. Experiments were performed at 22‐24 degrees C. With potassium as the main cation in the pipette solution, a transient inward current appeared in response to a depolarizing pulse, followed by an outward current. The replacement of potassium ions by caesium ions and TEA (tetraethyl‐ammonium) in the pipette solution resulted in an effective suppression of potassium outward current permitting a study of the calcium current solely. The calcium inward current was blocked by 5 mM‐cobalt and 5 X 10(‐6) M‐verapamil. Activation of the calcium current occurred at a membrane potential of between ‐35 and ‐25 mV. The calcium current was maximal in the potential range +10 to +20 mV and did not reverse even at +60 mV. Inactivation of the calcium current had a complex nature. It did not inactivate completely even during depolarizations lasting many seconds. During the first 400 ms the decay of the calcium current followed a time course described by two exponentials. The fast time constant of decay was in the range of 40 to 53 ms (n = 3) and the slow time constant was approximately 10‐fold greater (at 0 mV). The fast time constant did not depend on the membrane potential while the slow time constant decreased with depolarization. Availability of the calcium current was estimated in double‐pulse experiments. It had a U‐shaped dependence on the conditioning potential; maximal inactivation was observed at potentials corresponding to the maximal calcium current. It was suggested that a component of inactivation was dependent on the calcium current which flowed. Calculations of calcium entry at various depolarizations showed that large amounts of calcium ions enter the cell. Also, it was suggested that calcium ions are effectively bound within the smooth muscle cell.
Generation and analysis of bacteriorhodopsin mutants with the potential for biotechnological applications

The properties of bacteriorhodopsin (BR) can be manipulated by genetic engineering. Therefore, by the methods of gene engineering, Asp85 was replaced individually by two other amino acids (D85V, D85S). The resulting recombinant proteins were assembled into soybean vesicles retinylated to form functional BR-like nano-particles. Proton translocation was almost completely abrogated by the mutant D85S, while the D85V mutant was partially active in pumping protons. Compared with wild type, maximum absorption of the mutants, D85V and D85S, were 563 and 609 nm, which illustrated 5 nm reductions (blue shift) and 41 nm increases (red shift), respectively. Since proton transport activity and spectroscopic activities of the mutants are different, a wide variety of membrane bioreactors (MBr) have been developed. Modified proteins can be utilized to produce unique photo/Electro-chromic materials and tools.
Effort sensation, chemoresponsiveness, and breathing pattern during inspiratory resistive loading.

Although inspiratory resistive loading (IRL) reduces the ventilatory response to CO2 (VE/PCO2) and increases the sensation of inspiratory effort (IES), there are few data about the converse situation: whether CO2 responsiveness influences sustained load compensation and whether awareness of respiratory effort modifies this behavior. We studied 12 normal men during CO2 rebreathing while free breathing and with a 10-cmH2O.l-1.s IRL and compared these data with 5 min of resting breathing with and without the IRL. Breathing pattern, end-tidal PCO2, IES, and mouth occlusion pressure (P0.1) were recorded. Free-breathing VE/PCO2 was inversely related to an index of effort perception (IES/VE; r = -0.63, P less than 0.05), and the reduction in VE/PCO2 produced by IRL was related to the initial free-breathing VE/PCO2 (r = 0.87, P less than 0.01). IRL produced variable increases in inspiratory duration (TI), IES, and P0.1 at rest, and the change in tidal volume correlated with both VE/PCO2 (r = 0.63, P less than 0.05) and IES/VE (r = -0.69, P less than 0.05), this latter index also predicting the changes in TI with loading (r = -0.83, P less than 0.01). These data suggest that in normal subjects perception of inspiratory effort can modify free-breathing CO2 responsiveness and is as important as CO2 sensitivity in determining the response to short-term resistive loading. Individuals with good perception choose a small-tidal volume and short-TI breathing pattern during loading, possibly to minimize the discomfort of breathing.
Therapeutic nursing or unblocking beds? A randomised controlled trial of a post-acute intermediate care unit.

Abstract Objectives: To compare post-acute intermediate care in an inpatient nurse-led unit with conventional post-acute care on general medical wards of an acute hospital and to examine the model of care in a nurse-led unit. Design: Randomised controlled trial with six month follow up. Setting: Urban teaching hospital and surrounding area, including nine community hospitals. Participants: 238 patients accepted for admission to nurse-led unit. Interventions: Care in nurse-led unit or usual post-acute care. Main outcome measures: Patients' length of stay, functional status, subsequent move to more dependent living arrangement. Results: Inpatient length of stay was significantly longer in the nurse-led unit than in general medical wards (14.3 days longer (95% confidence interval 7.8 to 20.7)), but this difference became non-significant when transfers to community hospitals were included in the measure of initial length of stay (4.5 days longer (−3.6 to 12.5)). No differences were observed in mortality, functional status, or living arrangements at any time. Patients in the nurse-led unit received significantly fewer minor medical investigations and, after controlling for length of stay, significantly fewer major reviews, tests, or drug changes. Conclusions: The nurse-led unit seemed to be a safe alternative to conventional management, but a full accounting of such units' place in the local continuum of care and the costs associated with acute hospitals managing post-acute patients is needed if nurse-led units are to become an effective part of the government's recent commitment to intermediate care.
Arterial pressure oscillations are not associated with muscle sympathetic nerve activity in individuals exposed to central hypovolaemia

Non‐Technical Summary The body adjusts the level of sympathetic nervous system activation to regulate blood pressure in health and disease. Therefore, knowing the level of sympathetic activation is important to treat patients with abnormal sympathetic nervous system function. Directly measuring sympathetic activation is difficult, however, and not possible in most clinical settings. Previous investigators have shown that the variability in blood pressure increases during sympathetic activation. To determine if this is a good non‐invasive index of sympathetic activation, we compared blood pressure variability to the direct measurement of sympathetic activation in healthy humans. We activated the sympathetic nervous system by redistributing blood volume away from the head and brain, which also occurs with prolonged standing or haemorrhage. We show that the relationship between variability in blood pressure and sympathetic activation is not the same in all individuals, indicating that blood pressure variability cannot be reliably used to measure sympathetic activation.
Applying Negative Permittivity Media to Microstrip Patch Antennas for Harmonic Supression

This paper presents a microstrip patch antenna integrated with complementary split ring resonator (CSRR) etched in the ground plane. It is demonstrated that the application of the resonating ring eliminates the higher order resonances harmonics associated with the original structure. Furthermore the return loss at resonance is improved by the inclusion of the CSRRs reaching 20 dB compared with 12 dB achieved by the original structure.
The American Association of Museums' Accreditation Program: An Analysis of Benefits Perceived by Museums

This study conducted a mail survey of 210 museum directors whose institutions had undergone accreditation through a program sponsored by the American Association of Museums. The study sought to ascertain directors' perceptions ofthe overall benefit and cost of the program, as well as their perceptions of the degree to which their museums both expected to receive and actually received 16 individually specified benefits. It further sought to determine the extent to which museum size and accreditation history may have impacted their perceptions. The study found that while the time burden associated with the accreditation process was considered fairly high, most museums felt that the program was very beneficial. In many cases, significant associations were found between perceptions of accreditation benefits and museum size. The smaller and medium-sized museums (defined as those with budgets under $1 million and $1 to $3 million, respectively) were found to have perceived the greatest benefit from the program. There was no association between the number of times accredited and program benefits, although there was a positive association between number of times accredited and perception of program costs. Significant positive associations were revealed between the number of years since a museum was last accredited and the degree to which it perceived benefits in the area of enhanced credibility.
Pivotal Roles of the Outer Membrane Polysaccharide Export and Polysaccharide Copolymerase Protein Families in Export of Extracellular Polysaccharides in Gram-Negative Bacteria

SUMMARY Many bacteria export extracellular polysaccharides (EPS) and capsular polysaccharides (CPS). These polymers exhibit remarkably diverse structures and play important roles in the biology of free-living, commensal, and pathogenic bacteria. EPS and CPS production represents a major challenge because these high-molecular-weight hydrophilic polymers must be assembled and exported in a process spanning the envelope, without compromising the essential barrier properties of the envelope. Emerging evidence points to the existence of molecular scaffolds that perform these critical polymer-trafficking functions. Two major pathways with different polymer biosynthesis strategies are involved in the assembly of most EPS/CPS: the Wzy-dependent and ATP-binding cassette (ABC) transporter-dependent pathways. They converge in an outer membrane export step mediated by a member of the outer membrane auxiliary (OMA) protein family. OMA proteins form outer membrane efflux channels for the polymers, and here we propose the revised name outer membrane polysaccharide export (OPX) proteins. Proteins in the polysaccharide copolymerase (PCP) family have been implicated in several aspects of polymer biogenesis, but there is unequivocal evidence for some systems that PCP and OPX proteins interact to form a trans-envelope scaffold for polymer export. Understanding of the precise functions of the OPX and PCP proteins has been advanced by recent findings from biochemistry and structural biology approaches and by parallel studies of other macromolecular trafficking events. Phylogenetic analyses reported here also contribute important new insight into the distribution, structural relationships, and function of the OPX and PCP proteins. This review is intended as an update on progress in this important area of microbial cell biology.
[Iodine and thyroid gland with or without nuclear catastrophe].

INTRODUCTION Iodine, as a trace element, is a necessary and limiting substrate for thyroid gland hormone synthesis. It is an essential element that enables the thyroid gland to produce thyroid hormones thyroxine (T4) and triiodothyronine (T3). Synthesis of Thyroid Hormones and Iodine Metabolism. Three iodine molecules are added to make triiodothyronine, and four for thyroxine - the two key hormones produced by the thyroid gland. Iodine deficiency The proper daily amount of iodine is required for optimal thyroid function. Iodine deficiency can cause hypothyroidism, developmental brain disorders and goiter. Iodine deficiency is the single most common cause of preventable mental retardation and brain damage in the world. It also decreases child survival, causes goiters, and impairs growth and development. Iodine deficiency disorders in pregnant women cause miscarriages, stillbirths, and other complications. Children with iodine deficiency disorders can grow up stunted, apathetic, mentally retarded, and incapable of normal movements, speech or hearing. Excessive Iodine Intake. Excessive iodine intake, which can trigger a utoimmune thyroid disease and dysfunction. is on the other side. Iodine use in Case of Nuclear Catastrophe. In addition to other severe consuquences of radioactivity, high amount of radioactive iodine causes significant increase in incidence of thyroid gland carcinoma after some of the nuclear catastrophes (Hiroshima, Nagasaki, Chernobyl, Fukushima). The incidence of thyroid carcinoma was increased mostly in children. This paper was aimed at clarifying some of the possibilities of prevention according to the recommendations given by the World Health Organization.
Modulation of Ca2+ Sensitivity by Cyclic Nucleotides in Smooth Muscle from Protein Kinase G-deficient Mice*

The cGMP-dependent protein kinase (PKG) is the main mediator of nitric oxide-induced relaxation of smooth muscle. Although this pathway is well established, the cellular action of PKG, nitric oxide, and cGMP is complex and not fully understood. A cross-talk between the cGMP-PKG and other pathways (e.g. cAMP-protein kinase A) seems to exist. We have explored cGMP- and cAMP-dependent relaxation of smooth muscle using PKG-deficient mice (cGKI–/–). In intact ileum strips of wild type mice (cGKI+/+), 8-Br-cGMP inhibited the sustained phase of carbachol contractions by ∼80%. The initial peak was less inhibited (∼30%). This relaxation was associated with a reduction in intracellular [Ca2+] and decreased Ca2+ sensitivity. Contractions of cGKI–/– ileum were not influenced by 8-Br-cGMP. EC50 for 8-Br-cGMP for PKG was estimated to be 10 nm. PKG-independent relaxation by 8-Br-cGMP had an EC50 of 10 μm. Relaxation by cAMP (∼50% at 100 μm), Ca2+ sensitivity of force, and force potentiation by GTPγS were similar in cGKI+/+ and cGKI–/– tissues. The results show that PKG is the main target for cGMP-induced relaxation in intestinal smooth muscle. cGMP desensitize the contractile system to Ca2+ via PKG. PKG-independent pathways are activated at 1000-fold higher cGMP concentrations. Relaxation by cAMP can occur independently of PKG. Long term deficiency of PKG does not lead to an apparent up-regulation of the cAMP-dependent pathways or changes in Ca2+ sensitivity.
FALSE ELEVATION OF BLOOD GLUCOSE LEVELS MEASURED BY GDH-PQQ-BASED GLUCOMETERS OCCURS DURING ALL DAILY DWELLS IN PERITONEAL DIALYSIS PATIENTS USING ICODEXTRIN

♦ Objective: False elevation of blood glucose levels measured by glucose dehydrogenase pyrroloquinoline quinone (GDH-PQQ)-based glucose self-monitoring systems; glucometer) in peritoneal dialysis (PD) patients using icodextrin solution has been well documented. However, adverse hypoglycemic events caused by misreadings for blood glucose are still being reported. We aimed to study blood glucose levels measured simultaneously using different methods in PD patients with switching of icodextrin, and throughout daily exchanges either using icodextrin or not. ♦ Design: We recruited 100 PD patients, including 40 using icodextrin; 128 hemodialysis patients served as a reference. Fasting serum glucose was measured using our laboratory reference method (LAB) and 2 glucose self-monitoring systems based on glucose dehydrogenase nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide (GDH-NAD) and GDH-PQQ respectively. 80 PD patients had a second follow-up study. A time course study was performed in 16 PD patients through measuring fingertip glucose using the 2 glucose self-monitoring systems during daily exchanges. ♦ Result: The differences in measured serum glucose levels in (PQQ minus LAB) versus (NAD minus LAB) were markedly increased in PD patients using icodextrin compared to other patient groups, and was further confirmed by the follow-up study in patients that switched to icodextrin. The high serum glucose levels measured by the GDH-PQQ-based glucose self-monitoring system were present throughout all exchanges during the day in patients using icodextrin solution. ♦ Conclusion: False elevation of blood glucose measured by GDH-PQQ-based glucose self-monitoring systems exists in patients using icodextrin. To avoid misinterpretation of hyperglycemia and subsequent over-injection of insulin, GDH-PQQ-based glucose self-monitoring systems should not be used in PD patients.
Ki‐67 and biological behaviour in meningeal haemangiopericytomas

The biological behaviour of meningeal haemangiopericytomas was retrospectively studied using immunohistochemical staining with MIB1, a monoclonal antibody against the Ki‐67 antigen, a nuclear protein related to cell proliferation. Paraffin‐embedded material from 62 tumours from 40 patients were investigated. The proliferating compartment of the tumours was estimated by evaluating the MIB1 staining index, i.e. the percentage of MIB1 positive nuclei in at least 1000 counted tumour cells in representative areas. The staining index ranged from 1.24% to 39.01%. Statistical analysis revealed no significant correlation between the staining index and recurrence‐free survival (χ2 = 0.3922, P = 0.5311). Long‐term observation (>100 months), however, revealed a tendency to longer survival in the group with a staining index less than 5%. According to our results, the MIB1 staining index does not contribute to the accuracy of predicting the clinical outcome of meningeal haemangiopericytomas.
Neighborhood Effects on the Self-Rated Health of Older Adults from Four Racial/Ethnic Groups

Building upon the sizable literature on individual-level predictors of self-rated health, this study examined the impact of neighborhood characteristics, using older adult samples of four racial/ethnic groups. The considered neighborhood characteristics include (a) the proportion of individuals age 65 and older, (b) the proportion of individuals below poverty, and (c) the proportion of individuals from the same racial/ethnic background in the Census-block group. The samples were drawn from the 2004–2005 Survey of Older Floridians, which includes Whites (n = 488), Blacks (n = 345), Cubans (n = 319), and non-Cuban Latinos (n = 230). Using the reported residential address, each participant was linked to the 2000 Census at block-group level to retrieve the above-mentioned neighborhood characteristics. Multilevel analysis of self-rated health was estimated for each racial/ethnic group, considering individual-level variables (e.g., age, gender, marital status, education, financial strain, and chronic conditions) and each of the neighborhood characteristics. Regardless of racial/ethnic groups, those living in the neighborhood with a higher proportion of residents below poverty were likely to report poorer health. The proportion of older adults in the neighborhood was significant only in Cubans, and the proportion of residents with the same ethnic background was only in Whites. The findings show the overall importance of neighborhood context in the health of older adults and indicate different implications of neighborhood characteristics for diverse racial/ethnic groups.
Wpływ czynników makroekonomicznych na poziom marży odsetkowej banków

Streszczenie Celem artykułu jest identyfikacja makroekonomicznych determinant marży odset­ kowej (NIM) w polskim sektorze bankowym. W tym celu zastosowano dyna­ miczny model panelowy na bazie danych z lat 1993-2013 o 45 bankach komercyj­ nych. Wyniki badania wskazują, że krótkoterminowe rynkowe stopy procentowe oraz dynamika PKB mają istotny wpływ na kształtowanie marży odsetkowej. Ponadto stwierdzono, że wartość opóźniona NIM jest kluczową zmienną wpływa­ jącą na poziom marży odsetkowej w długim okresie.
Quality of sleep and health-related quality of life in haemodialysis patients.

BACKGROUND Sleep complaints are common in haemodialysis patients. In the general population, insomnia impacts negatively on health-related quality of life (HRQoL). The objective of this study was to examine the association between quality of sleep and HRQoL in haemodialysis patients independent of known predictors of HRQoL. METHODS Quality of sleep was measured using the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI) and HRQoL was measured using the Medical Outcomes Study 36-item Short Form (SF-36) in 89 haemodialysis patients. RESULTS Sixty-three (71%) subjects were 'poor sleepers' (global PSQI >5). The SF-36 mental component summary (MCS) and physical component summary (PCS) correlated inversely with the global PSQI score (MCS, r = -0.28, P < 0.01; PCS, r = -0.45, P < 0.01). The PCS score also correlated with age (r = -0.24, P = 0.02), haemoglobin (r = 0.21, P = 0.048) and comorbidity (r = -0.40, P < 0.01), and mean PCS was lower in depressed subjects (26.2 vs 35.9, P = 0.02). Subjects with global PSQI >5 had a higher prevalence of depression, lower haemoglobin and lower HRQoL in all SF-36 domains. The global PSQI score was a significant independent predictor of the MCS and PCS after controlling for age, sex, haemoglobin, serum albumin, comorbidity and depression in multivariate analysis. CONCLUSIONS Poor sleep is common in dialysis patients and is associated with lower HRQoL. We hypothesize that end-stage renal disease directly influences quality of sleep, which in turn impacts on HRQoL.
The effects of fusimotor stimulation during small amplitude stretching on the frequency‐response of the primary ending of the mammalian muscle spindle.

Single fusimotor fibres to the de‐efferented soleus of the anaesthetized cat were stimulated repetitively while recording the response of single primary afferents to small amplitude sinusoidal stretching at frequencies of 0‐5‐‐500 HZ. The response of the ending was determined by averaging its firing for many cycles to construct a 'cycle histogram'. When small enough, the stretching modulated the firing sinusoidally; as the frequency increased the requisite amplitude fell to a fraction of a micron. The amplitude of the modulation (in impulses/sec) divided by be amplitude of stretchin (in mm) gave the sensitivity of the ending for the particular frequency in question. 2. The passive frequency‐‐response curve obtained in the absence of fusimotor stimulation agreed with those obtained before.