Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Effects of a Long-Term Dietary Xylitol Supplementation on Collagen Content and Fluorescence of the Skin in Aged Rats

Background: Dietary xylitol has been shown to increase the amounts of newly synthesized collagen, and to decrease fluorescence of the collagenase-soluble fraction in the skin of both healthy and diabetic rats. As in diabetic rats, a decreased rate of collagen synthesis and increased collagen fluorescence has also been detected in the skin of aged rats. We hypothesize that dietary xylitol supplementation may protect against these changes during aging. Objective: The purpose of the present study was to investigate whether a long-term dietary supplementation can protect against the decrease in the amounts of newly synthesized collagen, and against the increase in fluorescence in the collagenase-soluble fraction in the skin of aged rats. Methods:Twenty-four male Sprague-Dawley rats were used in the study. After weaning, the rats were divided into 2 groups of 12 animals. The rats in the control group were fed a basal RM1 diet, while the rats in the experimental group were fed the same diet supplemented with 10% xylitol. After 20 months, the rats were killed and pieces of skin from their dorsal areas were excised. The thickness of the samples was measured with a micrometer screw gauge. The collagen contents of rat skin were measured as hydroxyproline, and glycosylation as fluorescent intensity of collagen. Statistical significances of the differences between the groups were determined using the unpaired t test. Results: No general side effects were detected in the rats during the experimental period. The skin of the xylitol-fed rats was a little thicker than that of the control rats. The hydroxyproline content of the acid-soluble fraction was significantly greater in the xylitol group as compared to the controls. However, there were no significant differences in the hydroxyproline content of the collagenase-soluble fraction between the groups. The fluorescence of the collagenase-soluble fraction was significantly smaller in the xylitol-fed aged rats than in the aged rats fed the basal diet. Conclusions: The results of this study indicate that xylitol caused an increase in the amount of newly synthesized collagen and a decrease in collagen fluorescence in the skin of aged rats.
Aligning Organizational Values in Systems Development Projects: An Empirical Study

This paper examines the concept of alignment between the organizational values embedded in a systems development approach and the organizational values of a project team. Though past research has suggested that firm performance relates to the degree of strategic and structural alignment, the role of organizational values alignment remains ambiguous at the project level. Using a multiple case study approach, this research explores systems development project teams at three organizations, each using a development approach that incorporates different organizational value dimensions. By comparing the dominant values between the project teams and their development approach, we find varying degrees of alignment. Where alignment is high, perceptions of the systems development process are associated with satisfaction and enthusiasm; where alignment is low, perceptions focus on frustration and discontent. Based on the study's findings, four propositions are outlined for examination in future research.
Microarray analysis reveals overexpression of IBSP in human carotid plaques.

PURPOSE Vascular calcification was considered to be a passive, degenerative, and end-stage process of vascular disease. However, bone associated proteins such as bone morphogenetic proteins, osteopontin, osteonectin, osteocalcin, and matrix Gla protein (MGP) have been found in the calcified atherosclerotic lesions. We studied by microarray analysis whether intact tissue and carotid plaque from the same patient differ in transcriptional profiling in response to arterial calcification. MATERIAL AND METHODS mRNA gene expression was measured by an Affymetrix GeneChip Human Gene 1.0 ST arrays (Affymetrix, Santa Clara, CA, USA) using RNA prepared from 68 specimens of endarterectomy from 34 patients. RESULTS Integrin-binding sialoprotein (IBSP) was found to be differentially expressed. IBSP mRNA is over expressed in atheroma plaque (3.74 fold, p = 1.41E-09) in an intraindividual comparison. Besides, Carbonic anhydrase II (CA2) which known to be a putative calcification inhibitory molecule is over expressed more than 1.7 fold in carotid plaque (p = 1.26E-06). CONCLUSION Although further evidence is needed, our results support previously available data. To our knowledge, this is the first report comparing gene expression between intact arterial tissue and carotid plaque using microarray analysis in order to identify calcification related genes. We suggest that plaques show a more pronounced induction of IBSP that may cause arterial calcification.
Inflammatory mediators and radiographic changes in temporomandibular joints of patients with rheumatoid arthritis

The aim of this study was to investigate the relation between the inflammatory mediators tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF ! ) and serotonin (5-HT), the inflammatory markers erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR) and C-reactive protein (CRP), as well as rheumatoid factor (RF) and thrombocyte particle concentration (TPC) in blood versus temporomandibular joint (TMJ) radiographic changes in patients with clinical TMJ involvement by rheumatoid arthritis (RA). Twenty patients were included. Venous blood was collected for quantification of the mediators, markers, and TPC. The radiographic signs of erosion, flattening, sclerosis, subchondral pseudocyst, and osteophyte as well as radiographic grade were investigated with computed tomography. The median (IQR) plasma levels of TNF ! and 5-HT were 0 (13) r pg/mL and 13 (22) r nmol/L, respectively, while serum level of 5-HT was 1360 (874) nmol/L. ESR, CRP, and TPC were abnormally high in 53%, 25%, and 15% of the patients, respectively. The most frequent radiographic signs were sclerosis (75%), erosion (50%), and flattening (30%). Erosion was found to be associated with high TPC and flattening with high plasma level of TNF ! In conclusion, patients with clinical TMJ involvement by RA show an association between high level of TPC and TNF ! in plasma versus radiographic signs of joint bone destruction.
Identification and initial topological analysis of the Rickettsia prowazekii ATP/ADP translocase

The Rickettsia prowazekii ATP/ADP translocase was identified by sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS)-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (PAGE) and immunoblot analysis using antibodies raised against a synthetic peptide corresponding in sequence to the carboxyl-terminal 17 amino acids of the carrier. Both the translocase of R. prowazekii and that expressed by Escherichia coli transformants containing the rickettsial gene had an apparent molecular mass of 36,500 Da by SDS-PAGE analysis, a mass considerably less than that deduced from the sequence of the gene. The SDS-solubilized translocase aggregated upon heating at 100 degrees C in the presence of disulfide bond-reducing agents. Similar concentrations of disulfide bond-reducing agents inhibited the exchange transport of adenine nucleotides by both R. prowazekii and translocase-expressing E. coli. These data suggested that an intramolecular disulfide bond in the translocase was essential for transport activity. The antipeptide antibodies used for identification of the translocase bound preferentially to inside-out membrane vesicles of translocase-expressing E. coli relative to right-side-out spheroplasts, thus indicating that the carboxyl terminus of the carrier is located on the cytoplasmic side of the bacterial inner membrane. Protease studies were unable to localize the carboxyl terminus because of the resistance of this region of the native translocase to proteolytic cleavage. These data in conjunction with hydrophobicity analysis were used to construct an initial topological model of the translocase within the cell membrane.
Characterization of activated retinal microglia following optic axotomy

Microglia are prominently involved in neural degenerative diseases of the CNS and the retina. In this study, we determined the activation and phagocytotic function of different subtypes of retinal microglial cells at 1 week and 1 month following optic axotomy. Fluorescent DiI crystals were placed at the stumps of the cut optic nerves of Lewis rats to retrolabel retinal ganglion cells. Microglial cells were indirectly labeled as they phagocytosed the dye particles in the dying ganglion cells. OX‐42, 5D4, ED1, and OX‐6 antibodies were used for immunohistochemical study. The OX‐42‐ and 5D4‐positive microglial cells were increased in the inner retinal layers after optic axotomy. The increase of OX‐42‐positive cells was considerably greater than that of 5D4‐positive cells. The 5D4‐positive cells were ramified in shape, whereas OX‐42‐positive cells were ameboid and ovoid. Both 5D4‐ and OX‐42‐positive cells phagocytosed dying ganglion cells at 1 week and 1 month after axotomy. Scattered ameboid ED1‐positive cells were detected in the normal retina and showed phagocytotic activity at 1 month after optic axotomy. The number of ED1‐positive cells in the retina was unchanged after axotomy. In optic axotomy, three types of microglial cells were activated, namely, 5D4‐positive ramified cells and OX‐42‐ and ED1‐positive ameboid cells. All of them exhibited the phagocytosis of dying ganglion cells. Insofar as the blood–retinal barrier presumably remained intact in optic axotomy, the OX‐42‐ and 5D4‐positive cells might derive from resident microglial cells. The ED1‐positive cells, presumably recently blood‐borne macrophage in the CNS, remained the same number in the axotomized retina. © 2003 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Is a Stern and diffuse layer model appropriate to ionic liquids at surfaces?

According to a recent article in PNAS by Gebbie et al., ionic liquids (ILs) should be considered as dilute electrolyte solutions, consisting of ion pairs of which only a small fraction are dissociated (1). This claim is based upon measurements of weak attractive forces between a mica surface and a gold surface across ILs, attributed to double-layer attraction. From the decay length of the attractive force (10–13 nm), an effective free-ion concentration is deduced by fitting to a modified Derjaguin–Landau–Verwey–Overbeek (DLVO) theoretical expression. However, the overwhelming evidence from the thermodynamic and transport properties of similar ILs is that they are not composed of neutral ion pairs with simple dissociation equilibria, and, as such, the DLVO framework is inappropriate. Rather, the liquid should be considered as strongly dissociated with ions interacting to varying extents with several nearby counterions (2, 3). The authors support their assertion of weak dissociation by calculating the binding energy of an ion pair, relative to isolated ions in a dielectric medium. However, they do not contrast this with the energetics of a dense, locally charge-ordered ionic melt that is the likely state of the fluid. In the same limited framework, NaCl would be expected to be an ion-pair fluid.
The Chronic Fatigue Syndrome: A Comparative Pathway Analysis

In this paper, we introduce a method to detect pathological pathways of a disease. We aim to identify biological processes rather than single genes affected by the chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS). So far, CFS has neither diagnostic clinical signals nor abnormalities that could be diagnosed by laboratory examinations. It is also unclear if the CFS represents one disease or can be subdivided in different categories. We use information from clinical trials, the gene ontology (GO) database as well as gene expression data to identify undirected dependency graphs (UDGs) representing biological processes according to the GO database. The structural comparison of UDGs of sick versus non-sick patients allows us to make predictions about the modification of pathways due to pathogenesis.
Comparative cost‐effectiveness of strategies to prevent postoperative clinical recurrence of Crohn's disease

Background: A number of treatments have been shown to reduce the risk of postoperative recurrence of Crohn's disease (CD). The optimal strategy is unknown. The aim was to evaluate the comparative cost‐effectiveness of postoperative strategies to prevent clinical recurrence of CD. Methods: Three prophylactic strategies were compared to “no prophylaxis”; mesalamine, azathioprine (AZA) / 6‐mercaptopurine (6‐MP), and infliximab. The probability of clinical recurrence, endoscopic recurrence, and therapy discontinuation due to adverse drug reactions (ADRs) were extracted from randomized controlled trials (RCTs). Quality‐of‐life scores and treatment costs were derived from published data. The primary model evaluated quality‐adjusted life years (QALYs) and cost‐effectiveness at 1 year after surgery. Sensitivity analysis assessed the impact of a range of recurrence rates on cost‐effectiveness. An exploratory analysis evaluated cost‐effectiveness outcomes 5 years after surgery. Results: A strategy of “no prophylaxis” was the least expensive one at 1 and 5 years after surgery. Compared to this approach, AZA/6‐MP had the most favorable incremental cost‐effectiveness ratio (ICER) ($299,188/QALY gained), and yielded the highest net health benefits of the medication strategies at 1 year. Sensitivity analysis determined that the ICER of AZA/6‐MP was preferable to mesalamine up to a recurrence rate of 52%, but mesalamine dominated at higher rates. In the 5‐year exploratory analysis, mesalamine had the most favorable ICER over 5 years ($244,177/QALY gained). Conclusions: Compared to no prophylactic treatment, AZA/6‐MP has the most favorable ICER in the prevention of clinical recurrence of postoperative CD up to 1 year. At 5 years, mesalamine had the most favorable ICER in this model. (Inflamm Bowel Dis 2012;)
Psoriasis Targeted Therapy: Characterization of Interleukin 17A Expression in Subtypes of Psoriasis.

INTRODUCTION Psoriasis is a chronic, inflammatory autoimmune disease that affects about 3% of the general population in the United States with 17% suffering from moderate to severe psoriasis. The disease process is believed to be mediated by tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-α and cytokines secreted by specialized T-cell populations including Interleukin (IL)-17, IL-22, and Interferon (IFN) γ. IL-17 plays an important role in psoriasis. In this study we evaluated the expression of IL-17A in variants of psoriasis including plaque, palmoplantar, scalp, pustular, and guttate subtypes via immunohistochemistry (IHC). METHODS AND MATERIALS A search of the University of Miami Dermatopathology database was performed to identify all available patient specimens within the various subtypes of psoriasis. IL-17A IHC staining was performed using 4 μm paraffin skin sections. 1:25 dilution of IL-17A antibody was used. Stained slides were analyzed using a semi-quantitative scoring method ranging from negative to three plus. RESULTS Palmoplantar and pustular psoriasis cases showed consistently strong IL-17A staining. Plaque psoriasis cases showed intermittent to strong IL-17A staining. The results in the scalp and guttate psoriasis cases showed variable results. CONCLUSION The results of our study suggests the significant role of the cytokine IL-17A in the development of palmoplantar and pustular psoriasis. However, scalp and guttate subtypes showed variable expression from negative to strongly positive, which demonstrates a case by case basis expression of IL-17A. Therefore, exploring the IHC characterization of subtypes of psoriasis will help dermatologists better understand the pathogenesis of each subtype and help clinicians optimize treatments.
A method for uni‐directional reconstitution of human erythrocyte glucose transporter

The glucose transporter of human erythrocytes (Glutl) was reconstituted into soybean phospholipid liposomes by a method of direct incorporation using the nonionic detergent n‐octyl β‐D‐glucopyranoside. The reconstituted proteoliposomes were proved to be intact and low ionic permeability. Freeze‐fracture electron microscopy study showed that the diameter of the proteoliposomes was about 150±50 nm and the protein was randomly distributed. The kinetic parameters of the reconstituted transporter were: Km=16.23 mmol/L, Vmax=34.48 nmol/sec.mg protein. Furthermore, about 90% of the glucose transporter in the reconstituted proteoliposomes were orientated inside‐out. Until now it is a more efficient method for uni‐directional reconstitution of Glut 1 with good reproducibility and higher transport activity.
Self-aggregation of clouds in conditionally unstable moist convection

The behavior of moist Rayleigh–Bénard convection is investigated using a Boussinesq model with a simplified thermodynamics for phase transitions. This idealized configuration makes the problem accessible to high-resolution three-dimensional direct numerical simulations without small-scale parameterizations of the turbulence for extended layers with aspect ratios up to 64. Our study is focused on the frequently observed conditionally unstable environment that is stably stratified for unsaturated air, but is unstable for cloudy air. We find that no sharp threshold for the transition to convective turbulence exists, a situation similar to wall-bounded shear flows. Rather, the transition depends on the amplitude of the initial perturbation of the quiescent equilibrium and on the aspect ratio of the convective domain. In contrast to the classical dry Rayleigh–Bénard case, convection is highly asymmetric with respect to the vertical direction. Moist upwelling air inside turbulent cloud aggregates is surrounded by ambient regions of slowly descending unsaturated air. It is also found that conditionally unstable moist convection is inefficient at transporting energy. Our study suggests that there is an upper bound on the Nusselt number in moist convection that is lower than that of the classical dry case.
Sleep Spindle Density Predicts the Effect of Prior Knowledge on Memory Consolidation

Information that relates to a prior knowledge schema is remembered better and consolidates more rapidly than information that does not. Another factor that influences memory consolidation is sleep and growing evidence suggests that sleep-related processing is important for integration with existing knowledge. Here, we perform an examination of how sleep-related mechanisms interact with schema-dependent memory advantage. Participants first established a schema over 2 weeks. Next, they encoded new facts, which were either related to the schema or completely unrelated. After a 24 h retention interval, including a night of sleep, which we monitored with polysomnography, participants encoded a second set of facts. Finally, memory for all facts was tested in a functional magnetic resonance imaging scanner. Behaviorally, sleep spindle density predicted an increase of the schema benefit to memory across the retention interval. Higher spindle densities were associated with reduced decay of schema-related memories. Functionally, spindle density predicted increased disengagement of the hippocampus across 24 h for schema-related memories only. Together, these results suggest that sleep spindle activity is associated with the effect of prior knowledge on memory consolidation. SIGNIFICANCE STATEMENT Episodic memories are gradually assimilated into long-term memory and this process is strongly influenced by sleep. The consolidation of new information is also influenced by its relationship to existing knowledge structures, or schemas, but the role of sleep in such schema-related consolidation is unknown. We show that sleep spindle density predicts the extent to which schemas influence the consolidation of related facts. This is the first evidence that sleep is associated with the interaction between prior knowledge and long-term memory formation.
iPhones, iPads, and Medical Applications for Antimicrobial Stewardship

One of the most important antimicrobial stewardship activities of the infectious diseases pharmacist and physician is to provide education and clinical information about antimicrobials to health care professionals and patients; however, clinician training and continuing education in appropriate antimicrobial use in the United States are highly variable and nonstandardized. The iPhone, iPad, and the availability of more than 12,000 medical applications (referred to as “apps”) allow stewardship programs the ability to integrate novel technology with point‐of‐care education. This article reviews medical apps for antimicrobial stewardship programs to use on the iPhone or iPad.
Integrating visual and haptic shape information to form a multimodal perceptual space

In this study we want to address the question to what extent the visual and the haptic modalities contribute to the final formation of a complex multisensory perceptual space. By varying three shape parameters a physical shape space of shell-like objects was generated. Participants were allowed to either see or touch the objects or use both senses to explore the objects. Similarity ratings were performed and analyzed using multidimensional scaling (MDS) techniques. By comparing the unimodal perceptual spaces to the multimodal perceptual space we tried to resolve the impact of the visual and the haptic modalities on the combined percept. We found that neither the visual nor the haptic modality dominated the final percept, but rather that the two modalities contributed to the combined percept almost equally. To investigate to which degree these results are transferrable to natural objects, we performed the same visual, haptic, and visuo-haptic similarity ratings and multidimensional scaling analyses using a set of natural sea shells. Again, we found almost equal contributions of the visual and the haptic modalities to the combined percept. Our results suggest that multisensory perceptual spaces are based on a complex combination of object information gathered by different senses.
Long-term survival of intratesticular porcine islets in nonimmunosuppressed beagles

Background. The testis is an immunoprivileged organ, and at 37°C, the intratesticular microenvironment supports the survival of allogeneic islets. The objective of this study was to determine whether the immunoprotection afforded by the intratesticular environment is potent enough to prevent the rejection of xenogeneic porcine islets in a large-animal model. Methods. A bilateral cryptorchid condition was surgically created in sexually mature beagle dogs. Porcine islets were prepared from neonatal pigs by collagenase digestion and 9 days of culture, after which they were injected into each of the cryptorchid testes. Control dogs received liver subcapsular space transplants of porcine islets and autologous islets. After 100 days, the testes and relevant portions of liver were studied immunohistochemically for the presence of islet tissue. Results. The testicular interstitial space of all dogs contained abundant islet tissue. No evidence of lymphocytic infiltration or inflammation was observed. In contrast, porcine islets transplanted to the liver subcapsular space do not survive, although autologous islets engraft well in that position. This occurs even though the recipient’s serum contains preformed cytotoxic antibodies to porcine islets that persist after transplantation. Conclusions. These results demonstrate that the microenvironment existing within the surgically repositioned intra-abdominal testis supports the survival of xenogeneic tissue. The survival of xenogeneic tissue in the absence of immunosuppression in this large-animal model raises the possibility that xenogeneic porcine islet tissue will also survive in humans if transplanted into a similar environment.