Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Effect of initial moisture content and chip size on the bioconversion efficiency of softwood lignocellulosics

Previous optimization strategies for the bioconversion of lignocellulosics by steam explosion technologies have focused on the effects of temperature, pH, and treatment time, but have not accounted for changes in severity brought about by properties inherent in the starting feedstock. Consequently, this study evaluated the effects of chip properties, feedstock size (40‐mesh, 1.5 × 1.5 cm, 5 × 5 cm), and moisture content (12% and 30%) on the overall bioconversion process, and more specifically on the efficacy of removal of recalcitrant lignin from the lignocellulosic substrates following steam explosion. Increasing chip size resulted in an improvement in the solids recovery, with concurrent increases in the water soluble, hemicellulose‐derived sugar recovery (7.5%). This increased recovery is a result of a decrease in the “relative severity” of the pretreatment as chip size increases. Additionally, the decreased relative severity minimized the condensation of the recalcitrant residual lignin and therefore increased the efficacy of peroxide fractionation, where a 60% improvement in lignin removal was possible with chips of larger initial size. Similarly, increased initial moisture content reduced the relative severity of the pretreatment, generating improved solids and hemicellulose‐derived carbohydrate recovery. Both increased chip size and higher initial moisture content results in a substrate that performs better during peroxide delignification, and consequently enzymatic hydrolysis. Furthermore, a post steam‐explosion refining step increased hemicellulose‐derived sugar recovery and was most effectively delignified (to as low as 6.5%). The refined substrate could be enzymatically hydrolyzed to very high levels (98%) and relatively fast rates (1.23 g/L/h). © 2004 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
Nondiabetic retinal pathology - prevalence in diabetic retinopathy screening.

OBJECTIVE To determine the prevalence of photographic signs of nondiabetic retinal pathology in Australian general practice patients with diabetes. METHOD Three hundred and seven patients with diabetes underwent retinal photography at two general practices, one of which was an indigenous health centre. The images were assessed for signs of pathology by an ophthalmologist. RESULTS Signs of nondiabetic retinal pathology were detected in 31% of subjects with adequate photographs. Features suspicious of glaucoma were detected in 7.7% of subjects. Other abnormalities detected included signs of age related macular degeneration (1.9%), epiretinal membranes (2.4%), vascular pathology (9.6%), chorioretinal lesions (2.9%), and congenital disc anomalies (2.9%). Indigenous Australian patients were more likely to have signs of retinal pathology and glaucoma. CONCLUSION Signs of nondiabetic retinal pathology were frequently encountered. In high risk groups, general practice based diabetic retinopathy screening may reduce the incidence of preventable visual impairment, beyond the benefits of detection of diabetic retinopathy alone.
Analysis of Connexin43 phosphorylated at S325, S328 and S330 in normoxic and ischemic heart

The functional consequences of Connexin43 (Cx43) phosphorylation remain largely unexplored. Using an antibody that specifically recognizes Cx43 phosphorylated at serine residues 325, 328 and/or 330 (pS325/328/330-Cx43), we show that labeling of this form of Cx43 as well as of total Cx43 is restricted to the intercalated disk region of normal ventricular tissue. In ischemic heart, significant relocalization of total Cx43 to the lateral edges of myocytes was evident; however pS325/328/330-Cx43 remained predominately at the intercalated disk. Western blots indicated a eightfold decrease in pS325/328/330-Cx43 in ischemic tissue. Peptide-binding- and competition-experiments indicated that our antibody mainly detected Cx43 phosphorylated at S328 and/or S330 in heart tissue. To evaluate how this change in Cx43 phosphorylation contributes to ischemia-induced downregulation of intercellular communication, we stably transfected Cx43-/- cells with a Cx43 construct in which serine residues 325, 328 and 330 had been mutated to alanine (Cx43-TM). Cx43-TM was not efficiently processed to isoforms that have been correlated with gap junction assembly. Nevertheless, Cx43-TM cells were electrically coupled, although development of coupling was delayed. Fully opened channels were only rarely observed in Cx43-TM cells, and Lucifer-Yellow-dye-coupling was significantly reduced compared with wild-type cells. These data suggest that phosphorylation of Cx43 at serine residues 325, 328 and/or 330 influences channel permselectivity and regulates the efficiency of gap junction assembly.
Heterologous Viral Promoters Incorporated into the Human Cytomegalovirus Genome Are Silenced during Experimental Latency

ABSTRACT Human cytomegalovirus (HCMV) lytic phase gene expression is repressed upon entry into myeloid lineage cells where the virus establishes latency. Lytic infection is not initiated because the tegument-delivered transactivator protein pp71 fails to enter the nucleus and inactivate the Daxx-mediated cellular intrinsic defense that silences the viral genome. When pp71 is expressed de novo in THP-1 monocytes, it localizes to the nucleus, inactivates the Daxx defense, and initiates lytic infection. We speculated that replacing the native viral promoter that drives pp71 expression with one that is highly and constitutively active in myeloid cells would permit pp71 de novo expression upon infection and that this newly expressed pp71 would accumulate in the nucleus, inactivate the intrinsic defense, and initiate the cascade of lytic gene expression. Surprisingly, we found that this promoter was still subject to normal silencing mechanisms in THP-1 monocytes and primary CD34+ cells, two independent myeloid lineage cells. A second constitutively active heterologous viral promoter located in a different region of the HCMV genome was also silenced in THP-1 and CD34+ cells. Furthermore, these two independent heterologous viral promoters inserted into three different regions of the HCMV genome in three different viral strains all required prior expression of the viral immediate early proteins for activation in fibroblasts. From this, we conclude that incorporation within the HCMV genome impacts the proclivity of heterologous viral promoters to initiate transcription. These observations have mechanistic implications for the expression of viral genes and transgenes during both lytic infection and latency.
An algorithm to discover the approximate probabilistic frequent itemsets with sampling method

Probabilistic frequent itemset mining is a challenging problem when mining uncertain databases. We address this problem and present an algorithm named APFIMSample. It presents a probabilistic support estimating method to reduce the computing cost, which together with a sampling technique, can significantly improve the performance. We evaluate our algorithm over two datasets, and the experimental studies show that the APFIMSample algorithm is effective.
Reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction (RT‐PCR) detection of HLP gene expression in Candida glabrata and its possible role in in vitro haemolysin production

Although haemolysins are known to be putative virulence factors contributing to pathogenicity in Candida species, the haemolytic activity of Candida glabrata and its genetic expression is ill understood at present. Thus, we studied a total of 34 Candida glabrata isolates for their in vitro haemolytic activity using a previously described plate assay system. The mRNA expression of HLP, a putative haemolysin gene, of these isolates was also evaluated using a semi‐quantitative, non‐competitive RT‐PCR assay. All 34 C. glabrata isolates exhibited both partial (α) and complete (β) haemolytic activity to varying degrees. In parallel with the haemolytic activity, all isolates were also positive for HLP mRNA expression. The expression levels of HLP mRNA (as relative units) ranged from 1.01 to 1.82, with a mean value of 1.32. On regression analysis of latter values and the haemolytic activity (in terms of the dimension of the haemolytic zone in the plate assay) of the C. glabrata isolates a highly significant positive correlation was noted (r=0.759, p<0.0001). Taken together, our data illustrate not only the phenotypic characteristics of haemolysin(s) and HLP expression of a battery of C. glabrata clinical isolates, but also, for the first time, evidence for a role of HLP in haemolysis.
The effect of African-American acculturation on neuropsychological test performance in normal and HIV-positive individuals

Two studies were conducted to examine the relationship of acculturation to neuropsychological test performance among (1) medically healthy, neurologically normal African Americans (N = 170); and (2) HIV positive (HIV+) subgroups of African Americans and Whites (Ns = 20) matched on age, education, sex, and HIV disease stage. Acculturation was measured through self report for all participants, and linguistic behavior (Black English use) was assessed in a subset of medically healthy individuals (N = 25). After controlling for the effects of age, education, and sex, medically healthy African Americans who reported less acculturation obtained lower scores on the WAIS–R Information subtest and the Boston Naming Test than did more acculturated individuals. Black English use was associated with poor performance on Trails B and the WAIS–R Information subtest. HIV+ African Americans scored significantly lower than their HIV+ White counterparts on the Category Test, Trails B, WAIS–R Block Design and Vocabulary subtests, and the learning components of the Story and Figure Memory Tests. However, after accounting for acculturation, ethnic group differences on all measures but Story Learning became nonsignificant. These results suggest that there are cultural differences within ethnic groups that relate to neuropsychological test performance, and that accounting for acculturation may improve the diagnostic accuracy of certain neuropsychological tests. (JINS, 1998, 4, 291–302.)
Macrophage reverse cholesterol transport: key to the regression of atherosclerosis?

The concept of “reverse cholesterol transport” (RCT) was first introduced in 1968 by Glomset1 to describe the process by which extrahepatic (peripheral) cholesterol is returned to the liver for excretion in the bile and ultimately the feces. The physiological need for this process is clear, as nonhepatic cells acquire cholesterol through uptake of lipoproteins and de novo synthesis and yet (with the exception of steroidogenic tissues that convert cholesterol to steroid hormones) are unable to catabolize it. Excess unesterified cholesterol (UC) is toxic to cells, and therefore, cells have developed several ways to protect themselves against cholesterol toxicity. One key pathway is the efflux of cholesterol to extracellular “acceptors. ” The return of this “peripheral” cholesterol to the liver is necessary to balance cholesterol intake and de novo synthesis and thus to maintain whole-body steady-state cholesterol metabolism. The relationship of RCT to atherosclerosis was first suggested by Ross and Glomset,2 who hypothesized that atherosclerotic lesions develop when an imbalance occurs between the deposition and removal of arterial cholesterol after endothelial injury. This concept was further developed by Miller and Miller,3 who suggested that on the basis of the inverse relation between HDL cholesterol (HDL-C) and cardiovascular disease, emphasis should be placed on increasing HDL as a way to increase clearance of cholesterol from the arterial wall to prevent cardiovascular disease. Despite 3 decades of work, the relationship of RCT to atherosclerosis remains more of a hypothesis than an established fact. Because the physiological process of RCT clearly occurs from all peripheral tissues, it has often been measured and discussed as a general peripheral process. However, in atherosclerotic lesions, the primary cell type that is overloaded with cholesterol is the macrophage, and therefore, it makes more sense to conceptualize and measure RCT as a macrophage-specific phenomenon when it comes …
Changes in neuronal activity of cortico‐basal ganglia–thalamic networks induced by acute dopaminergic manipulations in rats

The basal ganglia are thought to be particularly sensitive to changes in dopaminergic tone, and the realization that reduced dopaminergic signaling causes pronounced motor dysfunction is the rationale behind dopamine replacement therapy in Parkinson's disease. It has, however, proven difficult to identify which neurophysiological changes that ultimately lead to motor dysfunctions. To clarify this, we have here recorded neuronal activity throughout the cortico‐basal ganglia–thalamic circuits in freely behaving rats during periods of immobility following acute dopaminergic manipulations, involving both vesicular dopamine depletion and antagonism of D1 and D2 type dopamine receptors. Synchronized and rhythmic activities were detected in the form of betaband oscillations in local field potentials and as cortical entrainment of action potentials in several basal ganglia structures. Analyses of the temporal development of synchronized oscillations revealed a spread from cortex to gradually also include deeper structures. In addition, firing rate changes involving neurons in all parts of the network were observed. These changes were typically relatively balanced within each structure, resulting in negligible net rate changes. Animals treated with D1 receptor antagonist showed a rapid onset of hypokinesia that preceded most of the neurophysiological changes, with the exception of these balanced rate changes. Parallel rate changes in functionally coupled ensembles of neurons in different structures may therefore be the first step in a cascade of neurophysiological changes underlying motor symptoms in the parkinsonian state. We suggest that balanced rate changes in distributed networks are possible mechanism of disease that should be further investigated in conditions involving dopaminergic dysfunction.
The contribution of NOD2 gene mutations to the risk and site of disease in inflammatory bowel disease.

BACKGROUND & AIMS Mutations in the NOD2 gene are strongly associated with susceptibility to Crohn's disease (CD). We analyzed a large cohort of European patients with inflammatory bowel disease to determine which mutations confer susceptibility, the degree of risk conferred, their prevalence in familial and sporadic forms of the disease, and whether they are associated with site of disease. METHODS Individuals were genotyped for 4 NOD2 mutations: P268S, R702W, G908R, and 3020insC. Allelic transmission distortion to 531 CD- and 337 ulcerative colitis-affected offspring was assessed by the transmission disequilibrium test. Association was also tested in an independent cohort of 995 patients with inflammatory bowel disease and 290 controls. Cases were stratified by disease site and compared across NOD2 genotypes. RESULTS R702W, G908R, and 3020insC were strongly associated with CD but not with ulcerative colitis. Linkage disequilibrium was observed between P268S and the other mutations, forming 3 independent disease haplotypes. Genotype relative risks were 3.0 for mutation heterozygotes and 23.4 for homozygotes or compound heterozygotes. The frequency of NOD2 mutations was higher in cases from families affected only with CD and was significantly increased in ileal-specific disease cases compared with colon-specific disease (26.9% vs. 12.7%, P = 0.0004). CONCLUSIONS The R702W, G908R, and 3020insC mutations are strong independent risk factors for CD and are associated particularly with ileal disease.
Membrane fatty acids of breast carcinoma: Contribution of host fatty acids and tumor properties

To assess the part that host fatty‐acid supply and tumor‐specific fatty‐acid utilization contribute to the membrane lipid composition of tumor tissue, intra‐individual comparisons of membrane fatty acids were carried out between breast‐carcinoma tissue and non‐tumorous breast tissue adjacent to the tumor and taken as reference. Phospholipids were purified by thin‐layer chromatography from tumor biopsies obtained from 59 patients with a localized presentation of breast cancer, and fatty acids analyzed by capillary gas chromatography. Elevated levels of palmitic, palmitoleic and arachidonic acids, along with a low level of linoleic acid, were observed in membrane phospholipids of tumors with poor histoprognostic grade. The level of mono‐unsaturated fatty acids was higher, and the level of essential fatty acids was lower in the tumor than in the reference breast tissue. Fatty‐acid‐desaturating activity was not detectable in tumors. A positive relationship was observed among patients for most of the fatty acids between carcinoma and non‐tumorous breast tissue, except for mono‐unsaturated and essential fatty‐acid levels, which were not correlated between both tissues. These data suggest that mechanisms specifically related to malignant transformation and tumor progression influence the membrane fatty‐acid profile of breast carcinoma. Fatty acid supply to the tumor, possibly modified by metabolic conditions related to the host, also seems to play a decisive role in this composition.
Wheat Aleurone: Separation, Composition, Health Aspects, and Potential Food Use

Over the last three decades substantial attention has been given to the role of dietary fiber in health and disease, in particular diabetes, cardiovascular disease, intestinal health, and some types of cancer. As a result the food industry started to add back fiber to refined foods and develop fiber rich foods. Scientists suggested that whole grain foods are superior to foods enriched with fibers obtained/synthesized using enzyme treatment, and thermal or chemical processing because the content of bioactive components and micronutrients in whole grain is more abundant. This triggered interest in how to isolate the micronutrient rich aleurone fiber fraction from wheat. Aleurone is a single cell layer at the inner site of the bran. It contains most of the minerals, vitamins, phenolic antioxidants, and lignans of the wheat grain. Novel milling and dry-fractionation techniques have recently allowed for full-scale separation of aleurone cells from the other layers of wheat bran, yielding a fiber rich concentrate which potentially contains many of the “whole grain kernel bioactives,” which recently have been used in a variety of studies. The present review highlights available data on aleurone isolation, composition, intestinal physiology, and its metabolism and potential health benefits as well as its use in food.
Neuroimaging and clinical characteristics of brain metastases from esophageal carcinoma in Chinese patients.

OBJECTIVE The objective was to describe the magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and clinical characteristics of brain metastases from esophageal carcinoma diagnosed in patients from the Zhejiang Province of China, in order to provide a useful reference for the future diagnosis and treatment of similar patients. MATERIALS AND METHODS Medical data were obtained for 31 patients who received treatment for brain metastases from esophageal carcinoma at the Zhejiang Provincial Cancer Hospital between January 1998 and July 2013. For this retrospective analysis, the primary tumors were pathologically confirmed. In addition, 6 cases had both pathologic records of brain metastasis events and complete MRI records available. Survival follow-up data were also obtained. RESULTS Thirty-one patients (30 males, 1 female) with a total of 62 tumors were diagnosed with squamous cell carcinoma (n = 26), adenocarcinoma (n = 3), and small cell carcinoma (n = 2). While most patients complained of movement disturbance (51.6%) and headaches (32.3%), MRI characterized tumors with cystic elements (80.6%), tumors with thin cyst walls and enhancement (59.7%), and tumors with a peripheral edema zone <2 cm in diameter (59.7%). Moreover, a major radiological indicator for prognosis was a shift of midline. CONCLUSION Most of the patients with brain metastases from esophageal carcinoma were male. Furthermore, many of the T1-weighted MRI images detected thin wall, enhanced single or multiple cystic lesions with an edema zone <2 cm in diameter. These imaging characteristics may represent this type of brain metastasis.
Family interdependencies : partnerships, parenthood and well-being in context

markdownabstractThis research adopted a life course perspective to provide new insights into the relation between family interdependencies and well-being. In four quantitative studies, it examined how partnerships and parenthood affect people’s well-being and how this is dependent on the national context. The _first study_ examined the relation between marriage and men’s wages across countries. The _second study_ focused on the relation between partnerships and health and its dependence on the country context. In the _third study_ the effect of motherhood on women’s earnings was examined for Dutch women. The _fourth study_ looked at the relation between working hours and happiness for men and women in dual earner couples, with a partial focus on the impact of the country of residence. The results of the four studies showed that family interdependencies are intricately linked to social inequalities and that this relation is indeed shaped by the country in which people live.
The role of alpha-blockers in the management of acute urinary retention caused by benign prostatic obstruction.

OBJECTIVES To consider theories concerning the etiology of acute urinary retention (AUR), which may influence the outcome of a trial without catheter (TWOC), and to discuss evidence regarding the use of medical therapy in the management and secondary prevention of AUR. METHODS AND MATERIALS A search of the literature discussing measurable parameters that may identify patients at risk for AUR and who require further intervention after initial treatment was undertaken. Studies of the effect of medical interventions for benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH) and AUR were also identified. RESULTS The etiology of acute urinary retention remains unknown in many cases, which are often described as spontaneous, but catheterization remains standard management followed by a TWOC and bladder outlet surgery in those who do not void satisfactorily. Alpha-blockers (alpha(1)-adrenoreceptor antagonists) effectively reduce the symptoms associated with BPH and improve the urodynamic parameters of obstruction, without the sexual adverse events associated with the 5alpha-reductase inhibitors. They may diminish the incidence of AUR and the need for surgical intervention in symptomatic men. There is now good evidence that alfuzosin, in particular, improves the success rate of a TWOC, although other uroselective alpha-blockers have also been shown to improve the success rates of TWOC. CONCLUSIONS The proven effects of alpha-blockers support the hypothesis that they will increase the chances of a successful TWOC following AUR, which has now been proven in several well-designed and conducted studies. However, it is not yet clear whether these or other medical therapies have a role to play in the secondary prevention of further AUR or the need for further surgery. It is clear that certain measurable parameters may be used to identify patients at highest risk of a further episode of AUR following a successful TWOC; these patients may then be offered urgent surgical intervention.