Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Electric fingerprint of voltage sensor domains

Significance A central paradigm in the subject of cellular excitability is whether or not a dynamic membrane voltage field contributes to the operation of voltage sensor proteins. This issue has challenged an entire generation of scientists because static and dynamic contributions of the field cannot be discriminated from electrophysiology measurements. The dilemma imposes that structure-based calculations are required to solve the issue. By following this approach, we report that reshaping or dynamics of the field does not impact significantly the domain energetics or operation. As such, the functional diversity of voltage sensors observed in nature originates from variations in the detailed atom–atom interactions of the domain (chemical free energy) rather than in its coupling with the membrane voltage. A dynamic transmembrane voltage field has been suggested as an intrinsic element in voltage sensor (VS) domains. Here, the dynamic field contribution to the VS energetics was analyzed via electrostatic calculations applied to a number of atomistic structures made available recently. We find that the field is largely static along with the molecular motions of the domain, and more importantly, it is minimally modified across VS variants. This finding implies that sensor domains transfer approximately the same amount of gating charges when moving the electrically charged S4 helix between fixed microscopic configurations. Remarkably, the result means that the observed operational diversity of the domain, including the extension, rate, and voltage dependence of the S4 motion, as dictated by the free energy landscape theory, must be rationalized in terms of dominant variations of its chemical free energy.
PERIOPERATIVE FASTING AND CHILDREN: A REVIEW ARTICLE

This review provides an overview of the present knowledge on the aspects of preoperative fasting with the assessment of the evidence quality. A systematic research was conducted in electronic databases in order to identify trials published between 1990 and 2014 concerning preoperative fasting, early resumption of oral intake and the effects of oral carbohydrate mixtures on gastric emptying and postoperative recovery. The publications were classified in terms of their evidence level, scientific validity and clinical relevance. The key recommendations are that children be encouraged to drink clear fluids within up to 2 hours before elective surgery (including Caesarean section) and all but one member of the guideline groups consider that tea or coffee, with milk added (up to about one fifth of the total volume), are still clear fluids . Furthermore, solid food consumption should be prohibited for up to 6 hours before elective surgery for children. However, patients should not have their operation cancelled or delayed only because they are chewing gums or sucking a boiled sweet immediately prior to the induction of anaesthesia. These recommendations also apply to those patients with obesity, gastro-oesophageal reflux and diabetes. There is insufficient evidence to support the routine use of antacids, metoclopramide or H2-receptor antagonists before elective surgery in non-obstetric patients. Infants should be fed before elective surgery. Breast milk is considered a safe option for up to 4 hours and other kinds of milk for up to 6 hours. The present review takes into account the safety and possible benefits of preoperative carbohydrates while offering advice on the postoperative resumption of oral intake.
Haematopoietic lineage‐committed bone marrow cells, but not cloned cultured mesenchymal stem cells, contribute to regeneration of renal tubular epithelium after HgCl2‐induced acute tubular injury

Abstract. Objective: Our previous studies have demonstrated that endogenous bone marrow cells (BMCs) contribute to renal tubular regeneration after acute tubular injury. The aim of this study was to examine which fraction of BMCs, haematopoietic lineage marrow cells (HLMCs) or mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs), are effective. Materials and methods: Six‐week‐old female mice were lethally irradiated and were transplanted with female enhanced green fluorescent protein‐positive (GFP+), plastic non‐adherent marrow cells (as a source of HLMCs) plus cloned cultured male GFP− MSCs. Four weeks later, they were assigned into two groups: control mice with vehicle treatment and mice treated with HgCl2. Tritiated thymidine was given 1 h before animal killing which occurred at intervals over 2 weeks. Kidney sections were stained for a tubular epithelial marker, cell origin indicated by GFP immunohistochemistry or Y chromosome in situ hybridization; periodic acid‐Schiff staining was performed, and samples were subjected to autoradiography. One thousand consecutive renal tubular epithelial cells per mouse, in S phase, were scored as either female (indigenous) GFP+ (HLMC‐derived) or male (MSC‐derived). Results: Haematopoietic lineage marrow cells and MSCs stably engrafted into bone marrow and spleen, but only HLMC‐derived cells, not MSCs, were found in the renal tubules and were able to undergo DNA synthesis after acute renal injury. A few MSCs were detected in the renal interstitium, but their importance needs to be further explored. Conclusion: Haematopoietic lineage marrow cells, but not cloned cultured MSCs, can play a role not only in normal wear‐and‐tear turnover of renal tubular cells, but also in repair after tubular injury.
Disruption of the Na+ ion binding site as a mechanism for positive allosteric modulation of the mu-opioid receptor

Significance Morphine and related compounds are the gold standard for the management of pain. Such drugs bind to the orthosteric site on the mu-opioid receptor (MOPr), a G protein-coupled receptor (GPCR). We have proposed that targeting an allosteric site on MOPr could result in improved pain management and have reported positive allosteric modulators (PAMs) of MOPr. High-resolution X-ray structures have identified a Na+ binding site on multiple GPCRs and have shown how bound Na+ stabilizes inactive receptor states. Here we demonstrate that PAM activity at MOPr allosterically disrupts Na+ binding, thereby forming an active-state receptor. The Na+ binding site is highly conserved across class A GPCRs so this may represent a fundamental mechanism of allosteric modulation. Positive allosteric modulation of the mu-opioid receptor (MOPr), the site of action of all clinically used opioids, represents a potential approach for the management of pain. We recently reported on positive allosteric modulators of MOPr (mu-PAMs), a class A G protein coupled receptor (GPCR). This study was designed to examine the mechanism of allostery by comparing the degree to which opioid ligand structure governs modulation. To do this we examined the interaction of the mu-PAM, BMS-986122, with a chemically diverse range of MOPr orthosteric ligands. Generally, for full agonists BMS-986122 enhanced the binding affinity and potency to activate G protein with no alteration in the maximal effect. In contrast, lower efficacy agonists including morphine were insensitive to alterations in binding affinity and showed little to no change in potency to stimulate G protein. Instead, there was an increase in maximal G protein stimulation. Antagonists were unresponsive to the modulatory effects of BMS-986122. Sodium is a known endogenous allosteric modulator of MOPr and alters orthosteric agonist affinity and efficacy. The sensitivity of an orthosteric ligand to BMS-986122 was strongly correlated with its sensitivity to NaCl. In addition, BMS-986122 decreased the ability of NaCl to modulate agonist binding in an allosteric fashion. Overall, BMS-986122 displayed marked probe dependence that was based upon the efficacy of the orthosteric ligand and can be explained using the Monod–Wyman–Changeux two-state model of allostery. Furthermore, disruption of the Na+ ion binding site may represent a common mechanism for allosteric modulation of class A GPCRs.
Dehydration and Lameness in a Broiler Flock

A case study is described in which a high incidence of lameness in broiler chickens (Gallus gallus domesticus) is associated with rearing to 84 days of age; broilers are normally slaughtered at less than 50 days of age. A sample of 185 birds was scored for walking ability, and 24 birds from this group were assessed for dehydration by measuring plasma osmolality. The proportion of the group having gait abnormalities was compared with that recorded during a recent survey of Danish flocks and was found to be higher. A relationship is established between the degree of gait impairment and the level of dehydration. The degree of dehydration is related to the findings for plasma osmolality from previous research, and the results indicate that some of the birds in this case may have been deprived of access to water for periods in excess of 60 hours.
Use of Modern Medical Care for Pregnancy and Childbirth Care: Does Female Schooling Matter?

Controversy exists over whether the estimated effects of schooling on health care use reflect the influence of unobserved factors. Existing estimates may overstate the schooling effect because of the failure to control for unobserved variables or may be downwardly biased due to measurement error. This paper contributes to the resolution of this debate by adopting an instrumental variable approach to estimate the impact of female schooling on maternal health care use. A school construction program in Indonesia in the 1970s is used to construct an instrumental variable for education. The choice between use and non-use of maternal health services is estimated as a function of schooling and other variables. Data from the Indonesia Family Life Survey are used for this paper. Standard regression models estimated in the paper indicate that each additional year of schooling does indeed have a significant, positive effect on maternal health care use. Instrumental variable estimates of the schooling effect are larger. The results suggest that schooling has a positive impact on maternal health care use even after eliminating the effect of unobserved variables and measurement error. This paper moves beyond previous work on the impact of education on health care use by adopting an IV approach to address the problem of endogeneity and measurement error. IV methods have been used widely in the labour economics literature to examine the impact of schooling on wages and other labour market outcomes but rarely to estimate the effect of schooling on health outcomes.
EFEK PEMBERIAN EKSTRAK ETHANOL PEGAGAN (Centella asiatica) TERHADAP KINERJA TIKUS (Rattus novergicus) DALAM MAZE RADIAL DELAPAN LENGAN PASCA RESTRAINT STRES

Baarid Luqman Hamidi, G0006052, 2009, THE EFFECT OF EXTRACT ETHANOL PEGAGAN (Centella asiatica) ON THE EIGHT ARM RADIAL MAZE PERFORMANCE OF RATS (Rattus Novergicus) AFTER RESTRAINT STRESS. Medical Faculty, Sebelas Maret University, Surakarta. The aim of this research was to investigate the effects of Extract Ethanol Pegagan (Centella asiatica) treatment after stressed restraint stress by measuring the eight arms radial maze performance of rats. Pre test and post test controlled group design was applied in this research. Male Wistar rats (Rattus novergicus) with the mean age of 8 weeks and the body weight of 150-200 grams which used for sample were divided randomly into 4 groups, each consists of 6 rats i.e. Control Group (without any treatment), Stress Group (was given restraint stress 2 hours/days for each rats), Pegagan Group (was given 0.3 mg/gBW/day/rat Extract Ethanol Pegagan (Centella asiatica)), Pegagan and Stress Group (was given 0.3 mg/gBW/day/rat Extract Ethanol Pegagan (Centella asiatica) and restraint stress 2 hours/days for each rats). The treatment was given for 21 days. Within 12 days for each pre and post treatment, a test on the Eight Arm Radial Maze was conucted for individual rat to observe its performance. Assesment of rats performance in the Eight Arm Radial Maze test was based error type B. Kruskall-Wallish and Mann-Whitney tests with SPSS for Windows 16 version were applied to statistically analyzed the difference between four groups. By using Kruskall-Wallish test showed that significant performance level difference between four groups of rats with p=0.001. By using Mann-Whitney test, it was found that significantly different between Stress Group and Pegagan Group (p=0.001), also Stress Group and Pegagan and Stress Group (p=0.001). There was no significant differences are showed between Control Group and Stress Group (p=0.051), Control Group and Pegagan Group (p=0.143), Control group and Pegagan and Stress Group (p=0.143) also Pegagan Group and Pegagan and Stress Group (p=0,952). It is concluded that Extract Ethanol Pegagan (Centella asiatica) improve performances of rats on the Eight Arm Radial Maze after restraint stress. Keywords: Pegagan (Centella asiatica), performance, restraint stress
Inzidenz von kardialen Reizleitungsstörungen und Schrittmacher-Implantationen nach transfemoralem Aortenklappenersatz mit dem CoreValve(R)-System - Ein Single-Center-Erfahrungsbericht

Occurrence of Conduction Disorders Requiring Pacemaker Implantation after Transfemoral Aortic Valve Replacement with the Core Valve® Revalving system – a Single Center Experience. Conduction disorders are a well known complication after transfemoral aortic valve implantation (TAVI) with the Core Valve® revalving system. The aim of our retrospective observational study was to assess the incidence of permanent pacemaker requirement after TAVI in our patients and to evaluate potential risk factors to predict this condition. Seven out of our 59 patients who received a TAVI at our center between November 2008 and February 2012 were excluded from analysis because they had previously undergone pacemaker implantation. Twenty-six (50%) of the remaining 52 patients developed a high degree AV block (HDAVB) or a new left bundle branch block (LBBB) with a PR interval prolongation during the procedure or
The perlecan LDL-binding receptor needs sugar: Implication of perlecan core protein interaction with LDL for atherosclerosis

Cardiovascular disease (CVD) is the deadliest disease in the US and finding cures for CVD has been a pressing and challenging problem in biomedical science. Atherosclerosis is a pathological condition caused by an elevated plasma LDL cholesterol level and its deposition in the arterial wall. Although cholesterol-lowering therapies are currently effective in reducing circulating LDL cholesterol level, clinical trials have shown limited impact on reducing CVD risk. Thus, a supplemental treatment is urgently needed. Subendothelial LDL retention in the arterial wall is an early step in the atherogenic process, and finding the regulators that can be targeted to block this retention offers an alternative approach for early prevention. This review first presents the current understanding about the mechanism of the atherosclerosis development, and then focus on perlecan and its role in atherosclerosis. Perlecan is a major arterial proteoglycan consisting of a core protein and three heparan sulfate (HS) side chains. Many studies have linked perlecan to atherosclerosis because its HS side chains interact with LDL. Recently, we reported that the perlecan core protein also interacts with LDL via its LDL receptor (LDLR)-like domain II. Critical to the interaction is the sialic acid modification on the domain. In this review, the recent findings and the potential role of the arterial sialic acid in the early subendothelial LDL retention are discussed.
Robust Anti‐Icing Performance of a Flexible Superhydrophobic Surface

A material with superhydrophobic and anti-ice/de-icing properties, which has a micro-/nanostructured surface, is produced by a straightforward method. This material comprises a poly(dimethylsiloxane) (PDMS) microstructure with ZnO nanohairs and shows excellent water and ice repellency even at low temperatures (-20 °C) and relatively high humidity (90%) for over three months. These results are expected to be helpful for designing smart, non-wetting materials that can be adapted to low-temperature environments for the development of anti-icing systems.
In Situ Environmental TEM in Imaging Gas and Liquid Phase Chemical Reactions for Materials Research

Gas and liquid phase chemical reactions cover a broad range of research areas in materials science and engineering, including the synthesis of nanomaterials and application of nanomaterials, for example, in the areas of sensing, energy storage and conversion, catalysis, and bio‐related applications. Environmental transmission electron microscopy (ETEM) provides a unique opportunity for monitoring gas and liquid phase reactions because it enables the observation of those reactions at the ultra‐high spatial resolution, which is not achievable through other techniques. Here, the fundamental science and technology developments of gas and liquid phase TEM that facilitate the mechanistic study of the gas and liquid phase chemical reactions are discussed. Combined with other characterization tools integrated in TEM, unprecedented material behaviors and reaction mechanisms are observed through the use of the in situ gas and liquid phase TEM. These observations and also the recent applications in this emerging area are described. The current challenges in the imaging process are also discussed, including the imaging speed, imaging resolution, and data management.
Pre‐culturing human adipose tissue mesenchymal stem cells under hypoxia increases their adipogenic and osteogenic differentiation potentials

Hypoxia is an important factor in many aspects of stem‐cell biology including their viability, proliferation, differentiation and migration. We evaluated whether low oxygen level (2%) affected human adipose tissue mesenchymal stem‐cell (hAT‐MSC) phenotype, population growth, viability, apoptosis, necrosis and their adipogenic and osteogenic differentiation potential.
Excited State Modulation for Organic Afterglow: Materials and Applications

Organic afterglow materials, developed recently by breaking through the difficulties in modulating ultrafast‐decayed excited states, exhibit ultralong‐lived emission for persistent luminescence with lifetimes of several orders of magnitude longer than traditional fluorescent and phosphorescent emissions at room temperature. Their exceptional properties, namely ultralong luminescent lifetime, large Stokes shifts, facile excited state transformation, and environmentally sensitive emission, have led to a diverse range of advanced optoelectronic applications. Here, the organic afterglow is reviewed from the perspective of fundamental concepts on both phenomenon and mechanism, examining the technical challenges in relation to excited state tuning and lifetime elongation. In particular, the advances in material design strategies that afford a large variety of organic afterglow materials for a broad utility in optoelectronics including lighting and displays, anti‐counterfeiting, optical recording, chemical sensors and bio‐imaging are highlighted.
Controlled Coalescence of AlGaN Nanowire Arrays: An Architecture for Nearly Dislocation‐Free Planar Ultraviolet Photonic Device Applications

Nearly dislocation-free semipolar AlGaN templates are achieved on c-plane sapphire substrate through controlled nanowire coalescence by selective-area epitaxy. The coalesced Mg-doped AlGaN layers exhibit superior charge-carrier-transport properties. Semipolar-AlGaN ultraviolet light-emitting diodes demonstrate excellent performance. This work establishes the use of engineered nanowire structures as a viable architecture to achieve large-area, dislocation-free planar photonic and electronic devices.
Thinness, overweight and obesity in a national sample of Iranian children and adolescents: CASPIAN Study.

BACKGROUND This study was conducted to assess the national prevalence of different grades of nutritional status (underweight, normal weight, overweight and obesity) among Iranian school-students and to compare the prevalence of overweight and obesity using three different sets of criteria. METHODS This cross-sectional national survey was conducted on a representative sample of 21 111 school students including 10 253 boys (48.6%) and 10 858 girls (51.4%) aged 6-18 years, selected by multistage random cluster sampling from urban (84.6%) and rural (15.4%) areas of 23 provinces in Iran The percentage of subjects in the corresponding body mass index (BMI) categories of the Centers of Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the International Obesity Task Force (IOTF) and the obtained national percentiles were assessed and compared. RESULTS There was no gender differences in BMI, but was higher in boys living in urban than in rural areas (18.4 +/- 3.88 vs. 17.86 +/- 3.66 kg/m(2) respectively, P < 0.05). The prevalence of underweight was 13.9% (8.1% of boys and 5.7% of girls) according to the CDC percentiles, and 5% (2.6% of boys and 2.4% of girls) according to the obtained percentiles. According to the CDC, IOTF and national cut-offs, the prevalence of overweight was 8.82%, 11.3% and 10.1% respectively; and the prevalence of obesity was 4.5%, 2.9% and 4.79% respectively. The prevalence of overweight was highest (10.98%) in the 12-year-old group and that of obesity (7.81%) in the 6-year-old group. The kappa correlation coefficient was 0.71 between the CDC and IOTF criteria, 0.64 between IOTF and national cut-offs, and 0.77 between CDC and national cut-offs. CONCLUSIONS The findings of this study warrant the necessity of paying special attention to monitoring of the time trends in child obesity based on uniform definitions, as well as to design programmes to prevent and control associated factors.
Elation or frustration? Outcomes following the provision of equipment during the Communication Aids Project: data from one CAP partner centre.

BACKGROUND The Communication Aids Project (CAP) was a 4-year initiative by the UK Department for Education and Skills to provide communication equipment for students who were unable to speak in order to facilitate their access to education. Each child was given three goals or targets which were then evaluated after 6 months of provision of the communication aid. METHODS We evaluated the targets of 60 children, between the ages of 3 and 18 years. Six months after receipt of equipment, the targets were mailed to the initial referrer who was requested to record whether the child had achieved, partially achieved or not achieved each target. Evidence and explanations of these outcomes were also requested. Data were analysed using descriptive statistics, and the explanations were grouped into common themes using a keyword analysis. RESULTS Sixty-three per cent of targets were not achieved and 36% were achieved. We investigated any possible associations to attempt to explain some of the possible reasons for the children's non-achievement of targets. Targets were grouped into operational, linguistic, social and academic, but there were no differences between the successes because of target type. Age may be an influence on success, but neither school placement or type of communication aid influenced success. The explanations for non-achievement highlighted the misunderstanding or interpreting of the underlying skills of the communication aid user as a potential cause. CONCLUSION The CAP raised the profile of children with Augmentative and Alternative Communication needs within education. However, only one-third of the targets of children using the equipment were achieved. The reasons for this include inappropriate provision of equipment, demands of the equipment, lack of appropriate support and targets. The major consequence, however, is the need for detailed assessment and provision appropriate to the individual needs of each child. There is a need for research into the best methods of providing communication aids and the support needed for successful communication.