Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Human immunodeficiency virus‐1 reverse transcriptase heterodimer stability

Structural and biochemical evidence strongly supports a heterodimeric (p66p51) active form for human immunodeficiency virus‐1 reverse transcriptase (RT). Heterodimer stability was examined by sedimentation analysis as a function of temperature and ionic strength. Using NONLIN regression software, monomer‐dimer‐trimer and monomer‐dimer‐tetramer association models gave the best fit to the analytical ultracentrifuge sedimentation equilibrium data. The heterodimer is the predominant form of RT at 5 °C, with a dimerization Ka value of 5.2 × 105 M−1 for both models. Ka values of 2.1 × 105 and 3.8 × 105 M−1 were obtained for the respective association models at 20 °C. RT in 50 and 100 mM Tris, pH 7.0, completely dissociates at 37 °C and behaves as an ideal monomeric species. The dissociation of RT as a function of increasing temperature was also observed by measuring the decrease in sedimentation velocity (sw,20). If the stabilization of the heterodimer was due primarily to hydrophobic interactions we would anticipate an increase in the association from 21 °C to 37 °C. The opposite temperature dependence for the association of RT suggests that electrostatic and hydrogen bond interactions play an important role in stabilizing heterodimers. To examine the effect of ionic strength on p66p51 association we determined the changes in sw,20 as a function of NaCl concentration. There is a sharp decrease in sw,20 between 0.10 and 0.5 M NaCl, leading to apparent complete dissociation. The above results support a major role for electrostatic interactions in the stabilization of the RT heterodimer.
Hypogammaglobulinemia with a selective delayed recovery in memory B cells and an impaired isotype expression after rituximab administration as an adjuvant to autologous stem cell transplantation for non‐Hodgkin lymphoma

Abstract: Objectives: Some studies have indicated patients who received rituximab as adjuvant to stem cell transplantation had an increased risk of developing severe hypogammaglobulinemia. The mechanism of this hypogammaglobulinemia is unknown, although investigators have hypothesized a further delay in the B‐cell recovery as one potential etiology. The aim of this study is to clarify the mechanism(s) of this hypogammaglobulinemia. Methods: A total of 14 patients with high‐risk CD20+ lymphoma underwent an autologous peripheral blood stem cell transplantation (APBSCT). After a hematological recovery, rituximab was given weekly for up to four doses as an adjuvant therapy. Results: After a median follow up of 33.5 months, we found six patients (group A) who had hypogammaglobulinemia, while the eight other patients (group B) had normal serum immunoglobulin levels. A phenotypical analysis revealed that group A patients had already achieved B‐cell recovery. However, we found a severe delay in the recovery of CD27+ memory B cells, especially in the IgD−/CD27+ switched populations in group A, but CD27 negative naive B‐cells reverted to a normal range in both groups. Consistent with this, reverse transcriptase‐polymerase chain reaction studies with peripheral blood mononuclear cells revealed that most patients in group A lacked more than two classes of isotype transcripts. Conclusions: Abnormal repertoires and impaired isotype expression are seen in patients with common variable immunodeficiency, these data suggested that rituximab after APBSCT can affect not only the B‐cell quantities, but also the recovery of the B‐cell repertoires.
Recovery of Articular Cartilage Metabolism following Thermal Stress is Facilitated by IGF-1 and JNK Inhibitor

Background The safety of intra-articular use of thermal probes is related to whether chondrocytes can tolerate exposure to high temperatures and whether cytoprotective agents may improve chondrocyte survival after thermal injury. Purpose This study was conducted to characterize the metabolic responses of articular cartilage after short-term exposure to temperatures between 50 ° C and 60 ° C with and without addition of insulin-like growth factor 1 (IGF-1) and c-Jun N-terminal kinase (JNK) inhibitor. Methods Human articular cartilage from osteoarthritic knees was subjected to defined thermal stress. Results Although significant reduction of proteoglycan synthesis was observed after 5 seconds of exposure to 55 ° C and 60 ° C and after 10- to 30-second exposures to 53 ° C, recovery of metabolic activity levels was observed after 7 days. Conclusion Addition of IGF-1 and JNK inhibitor Sp600125 enabled the cartilage to maintain significantly higher levels of proteoglycan synthesis immediately after thermal stress. IGF-1 also enhanced recovery of metabolic activity after 7 days. Clinical Significance Results from this study indicate that there may be time and temperature parameters within which thermal chondroplasty can be safely performed. The data additionally suggest that inadvertent chondrocyte injury may be minimized through potential addition of substances like IGF-1 or JNK inhibitor.
[Non-canonical Wnt signaling contributes to development of non-alcoholic steatohepatitis in a rat model of type 2 diabetes mellitus].

OBJECTIVE To investigate the role of the non-canonical Wnt signaling pathway in development of non-alcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH) related to type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) using a rat model. METHODS Twenty-four male Sprague-Dawley rats were randomly divided into two equal groups: control group, fed a stand diet; T2DM-NASH model group, fed a high sucrose and fat diet for 4 weeks and intraperitoneally injected with streptozotocin (30 mg/kg). Twelve weeks after model establishment, all rats were sacrificed. Serum levels of glucose, alanine aminotransferase (ALT) and aspartate aminotransferase (AST) were detected by biochemical analysis. Liver pathological changes were assessed microscopically by hematoxylin-eosin and oil red O staining. The liver expression of Wnt5a and NF-kB p65 were detected by immunohistochemistry and western blotting (protein), and quantitative real-time PCR (mRNA). RESULTS The T2DM-NASH model group showed significantly higher levels of glucose (control group: 6.25 +/- 1.28 vs. 31.21 +/- 0.86 mmol/L, t = -36.204, P less than 0.01), ALT (31.00 +/- 3.69 vs. 301.50 +/- 8.62 U/L, t = -99.94, P less than 0.01), and AST (77.58 +/- 1.83 vs. 344.75 +/- 1.82 U/L, t = -358.85, P less than 0.01). The T2DM-NASH group also showed remarkable signs of steatosis and inflammation in hepatic tissues. The T2DM-NASH group had significantly higher integral optical density (IOD) detection of Wnt5a (control group: 1.15E4 +/- 577.45 vs. 4.04E5 +/- 2.42E4, t = -56.24, P less than 0.01) and NF-kB p65 (1.28E4 +/- 1.59E3 vs. 4.21E5 +/- 1.68E4, t = -83.895, P less than 0.01), as well as protein levels detected by western blot (Wnt5a: 4.21 +/- 0.34 vs. 1.00 +/- 0.25, t = 17.030, P less than 0.01; NF-kB p65: 4.93 +/- 0.76 vs. 1 +/- 0.13, t = 11.438, P less than 0.01). The hepatic mRNA levels followed the same trend (Wnt5a: 9.53 +/- 0.64 vs. 1.04 +/- 0.35, t = 20.165, P less than 0.01; NF-kB p65: 0.60 +/- 0.13 vs. 0.74 +/- 0.10, t = -1.802, P = 0.125). In the T2DM-NASH group, hepatic Wnt5a protein expression was positively correlated with ALT (r = 0.64, P less than 0.05), AST (r = 0.59, P less than 0.05), and NF-kB p65 protein expression (r = 0.58, P less than 0.05). CONCLUSION Wnt5a may activate NF-kB to stimulate an inflammatory response leading to development of NASH related to T2DM.
Black Faces, Black Interests: The Representation of African Americans in Congress

How does congress represent the interests of American Americans? Must blacks be represented by blacks to be properly heard? How do members of Congress respond to the needs of blacks in their districts, and what do congressional voting records reveal? In this incisive book Carol Swain examines the problems of representing the interests of African Americans by studying the constituency relations and roll-call voting of black members of congress from a variety of districts - historically black, newly black, heterogeneous, and primarily white-and of white members from districts with either a black majority or a significant black minority. Included are analyses of well-known figures such as William Gray, Ron Dellums, Lindy Boggs, and Peter Rodino as well as others such as Mike Espy, Mississippi's first black member of Congress since Reconstruction; Robin Tallon, a white moderate from South Carolina who has succeeded in winning broad support among blacks; and Alan Wheat, a black serving a Missouri district that is 80 percent white. What strategies, Swain asks, are most likely to lead to greater representation of black interests? She challenges the proposition that only African Americans can represent black interests effectively, and shows that creating additional black-majority districts is in any case a limited possibility. She contends that an increase in the number of black representatives in the near future can come only from the election of blacks in predominantly nonblack districts. In addition, she argues, blacks must form coalitions with white representatives to serve black needs. BLACK FACES, BLACK INTERESTS is a major contribution to our understanding of the capacity of the Americanpolitical system to respond to the varied and complex interests of African Americans. Scholars and others interested in public affairs will discover valuable lessons for the future in black politics, campaigning, the workings of Congress, minority voting rights, and representati
The Truth About Soviet Whaling

I have always condemned (and to do anything more was not within our power or abilities) the illegal and sometimes destructive whaling by the Soviet Union. This opinion was expressed in numerous documents, including reports and records of presentations at scientific and other meetings; these documents are the witnesses to this condemnation. However, none of these documents ever saw the light of day: all of them were marked with the sinister stamp “secret. ” When necessary in this memoir, my opinion of the whaling will be supported by data drawn from these docume
Evaluating language environment analysis system performance for Chinese: a pilot study in Shanghai.

PURPOSE The purpose of this study was to evaluate performance of the Language Environment Analysis (LENA) automated language-analysis system for the Chinese Shanghai dialect and Mandarin (SDM) languages. METHOD Volunteer parents of 22 children aged 3-23 months were recruited in Shanghai. Families provided daylong in-home audio recordings using LENA. A native speaker listened to 15 min of randomly selected audio samples per family to label speaker regions and provide Chinese character and SDM word counts for adult speakers. LENA segment labeling and counts were compared with rater-based values. RESULTS LENA demonstrated good sensitivity in identifying adult and child; this sensitivity was comparable to that of American English validation samples. Precision was strong for adults but less so for children. LENA adult word count correlated strongly with both Chinese characters and SDM word counts. LENA conversational turn counts correlated similarly with rater-based counts after the exclusion of three unusual samples. Performance related to some degree to child age. CONCLUSIONS LENA adult word count and conversational turn provided reasonably accurate estimates for SDM over the age range tested. Theoretical and practical considerations regarding LENA performance in non-English languages are discussed. Despite the pilot nature and other limitations of the study, results are promising for broader cross-linguistic applications.
Antioxidant activity and polyphenol content in cultivated and wild edible fruits grown in Panama

Objectives: The present research was undertaken to determine the antioxidant activity and total polyphenol content of cultivated and wild edible fruits consumed in Panama. Materials and Methods: 39 cultivated and wild edible fruits antioxidant activity and total polyphenol content was assessed by using the DPPH and the Folin-Ciocalteu assays, respectively. Results and Discussion: The antioxidant composition of the fruits varied between 1083.33 and 16.22 mg TEAC/100 g fresh weight. On the other hand, the total phenolic content of the 39 fruits tested ranged from 604.80 to 35.10 mg GAE/100 g FW. Ziziphus mauritania presented the highest antioxidant activity and the largest phenolic content, whereas most fruits had a moderate TEAC value. Conclusion: Fruits polyphenol content was strongly correlated with antioxidant properties, which pointed out the important role of these compounds in the prevention of many types of cancer, neurological ailments, and cardiovascular diseases through diverse antioxidant mechanisms.
Simultaneous Spectroscopic and Elastographic Measurement by Multifunctional Optical Coherence Tomography

Optical coherence tomography (OCT) is a non-invasive and non-contact technique to measure cross-sectional structural images of samples at micrometer resolution. Functional extensions of OCT has been developed to enhance contrast based on physical properties, such as absorption spectrum and elasticity or stiffness. This research develops a multi-functional optical coherence tomography by combining spectroscopic OCT and optical coherence elastography (OCE) to simultaneously measure spectroscopic and mechanical properties of samples. Both spectroscopic OCT and OCE are basically additional data processing of a conventional frequency domain OCT (FD-OCT) without requirement of hardware modification.
Recognition of schematic facial displays of emotion in parents of children with autism

Performance on an emotional labeling task in response to schematic facial patterns representing five basic emotions without the concurrent presentation of a verbal category was investigated in 40 parents of children with autism and 40 matched controls. ‘Autism fathers’ performed worse than ‘autism mothers’, who performed worse than controls in decoding displays representing sadness or disgust.This indicates the need to include facial expression decoding tasks in genetic research of autism. In addition, emotional expression interactions between parents and their children with autism, particularly through play, where affect and prosody are ‘physiologically’ exaggerated, may stimulate development of social competence. Future studies could benefit from a combination of stimuli including photographs and schematic drawings, with and without associated verbal categories. This may allow the subdivision of patients and relatives on the basis of the amount of information needed to understand and process social-emotionally relevant information.
Coupled reductive and oxidative sulfur cycling in the phototrophic plate of a meromictic lake

Mahoney Lake represents an extreme meromictic model system and is a valuable site for examining the organisms and processes that sustain photic zone euxinia (PZE). A single population of purple sulfur bacteria (PSB) living in a dense phototrophic plate in the chemocline is responsible for most of the primary production in Mahoney Lake. Here, we present metagenomic data from this phototrophic plate – including the genome of the major PSB, as obtained from both a highly enriched culture and from the metagenomic data – as well as evidence for multiple other taxa that contribute to the oxidative sulfur cycle and to sulfate reduction. The planktonic PSB is a member of the Chromatiaceae, here renamed Thiohalocapsa sp. strain ML1. It produces the carotenoid okenone, yet its closest relatives are benthic PSB isolates, a finding that may complicate the use of okenone (okenane) as a biomarker for ancient PZE. Favorable thermodynamics for non‐phototrophic sulfide oxidation and sulfate reduction reactions also occur in the plate, and a suite of organisms capable of oxidizing and reducing sulfur is apparent in the metagenome. Fluctuating supplies of both reduced carbon and reduced sulfur to the chemocline may partly account for the diversity of both autotrophic and heterotrophic species. Collectively, the data demonstrate the physiological potential for maintaining complex sulfur and carbon cycles in an anoxic water column, driven by the input of exogenous organic matter. This is consistent with suggestions that high levels of oxygenic primary production maintain episodes of PZE in Earth's history and that such communities should support a diversity of sulfur cycle reactions.
Ad hoc legal mechanisms governing transboundary aquifers: current status and future prospects

In recent years, different international institutions have repeatedly called for states to enter into agreements on the transboundary aquifers they share. Nevertheless, very few agreements have been established. This article examines the few ad hoc legal mechanisms that are in existence, and identifies some possible reasons for states’ reluctance. Finally, this article suggests that there is a need for the international community to stimulate a more cooperative approach to the management of this natural resource based on the preventive and precautionary principles.
Is the Cadherin/Catenin Complex a Functional Unit of Cell-Cell Actin-Based Adherens Junctions in the Rat Testis?1

Abstract Much controversy exists regarding the presence of the cadherin/catenin complex and its intracellular attachment site in the testis, which is the functional unit for actin-based cell-cell adherens junctions (AJs) in multiple epithelia. Furthermore, whether germ and Sertoli cells are equipped with the necessary AJ-associated signaling molecules to regulate this cadherin/catenin complex during spermatogenesis is not known. In the present study, it was shown that both Sertoli and germ cells indeed express N-cadherin, E-cadherin, α-catenin, β-catenin, and p120ctn by semiquantitative reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction and immunoblotting. Furthermore, the assembly of AJs between Sertoli and germ cells was associated with a transient induction in the steady-state mRNA and protein levels of cadherins and catenins. These analyses reveal, to our knowledge for the first time, that the testis may indeed be using the cadherin/catenin complex as one of the functional units to regulate AJ dynamics between Sertoli and germ cells in addition to α6β1 integrin and the nectin/afadin complex. To further confirm the existence of such a complex between Sertoli and germ cells, immunoprecipitation experiments were performed using Sertoli-germ cell lysates during AJ assembly. An anti-N-cadherin antibody can pull out β-catenin, whereas N-cadherin can also be pulled out using an anti-β-catenin antibody. To further expand and validate these in vitro biochemical studies, immunofluorescent histochemistry was performed, which colocalized N-cadherin and β-catenin to the same site of Sertoli-Sertoli and Sertoli-germ cell AJs, possibly ectoplasmic specializations near the basal compartment, at the lower third of the seminiferous epithelium in vivo as well as between Sertoli cells cultured in vitro. Furthermore, studies by cross-linking using dithiobis(succinimidylpropionate) confirmed that the cadherin/catenin complex between Sertoli cells as well as between Sertoli and germ cells indeed structurally linked to actin but not to vimentin (an intermediate filament protein) or to tubulin (a microtubule protein). These results thus unequivocally demonstrate that the cadherin/catenin complex, which can be up-regulated by testosterone, is indeed present between Sertoli and germ cells and is used for the assembly of functional AJs.
Delegative Democracy Revisited: More Inclusion, Less Liberalism in Bolivia

Abstract: Bolivia under the MAS government of Evo Morales (2006–present) has offered weak protection for liberal rights, politicized the courts, and threatened opponents and the press. While some scholars have characterized Bolivia as nondemocratic, it is best described as “democratic with an adjective”—one that exhibits delegative features, like the dominance of a personalistic leadership and weak horizontal accountability. However, unlike the classic cases of “delegative democracy,” those features are not linked to “deactivation” of subordinate groups, but rather to continued levels of social organization, expanded opportunities for citizen input through channels of representation and contestation, and greater governmental responsiveness to those groups. This has led to important shifts in domestic power relations.
Increased incidence of solid malignant tumors after bone marrow transplantation for severe aplastic anemia.

From May 1980 to December 1989, 107 consecutive patients with non-constitutional severe aplastic anemia underwent bone marrow transplantation at our institution using cyclophosphamide and thoraco-abdominal irradiation as conditioning regimen. During the same period, 40 patients with Fanconi anemia were also grafted after a similar conditioning, giving a total series of 147 patients. With a mean follow-up of 64 months, four male patients developed a solid malignant tumor, a number that leads to an 8-year cumulative incidence rate of 22% (eg, relative risk to general population = 41, P less than .001). These results should be considered as a warning to clinicians who follow these successfully grafted long-term patients.
On the equivalence of two recent control over network results

In a recent work we considered the infimal signal-to-noise (SNR) ratio for stabilisability for an additive coloured Gaussian noise (ACGN) channel with bandwidth limitation. For an additive white Gaussian noise (AWGN) channel and a minimum phase plant with m unstable poles pi, i = 1, ⋯, m (each with multiplicity ni) such result should coincide with Σmi=1 2niRe {pi}, a result independently developed by other authors. However, this is not obvious and what observed for just one unstable real pole p in our recent previous work, is instead the factor 2p times a sum of alternating binomial coefficients. Here we study the properties of the finite Blaschke product containing the plant unstable poles and then explicitly prove the link between our recent result and the result independently developed by other authors, all for an AWGN channel and a minimum phase unstable plant. As a third contribution in this note, we prove the alternating binomial coefficients identity observed for the first time in our previous work (to the best knowledge of the author).
A CDC25 family protein phosphatase gates cargo recognition by the Vps26 retromer subunit

We describe a regulatory mechanism that controls the activity of retromer, an evolutionarily conserved sorting device that orchestrates cargo export from the endosome. A spontaneously arising mutation that activates the yeast (Saccharomyces cerevisiae) CDC25 family phosphatase, Mih1, results in accelerated turnover of a subset of endocytosed plasma membrane proteins due to deficient sorting into a retromer-mediated recycling pathway. Mih1 directly modulates the phosphorylation state of the Vps26 retromer subunit; mutations engineered to mimic these states modulate the binding affinities of Vps26 for a retromer cargo, resulting in corresponding changes in cargo sorting at the endosome. The results suggest that a phosphorylation-based gating mechanism controls cargo selection by yeast retromer, and they establish a functional precedent for CDC25 protein phosphatases that lies outside of their canonical role in regulating cell cycle progression. DOI: http://dx.doi. org/10.7554/eLife.24126. 001
Photooxidation of cyanobacteria in natural conditions

Photodynamic effects were demonstrated and assayed under field conditions in a number of different laboratory strains and pond isolates of cyanobacteria; parameters assayed for resistance to photooxidation were viable count, turbidity of the cyanobacterial suspension, and protein and pigment contents. The effects of density, colonial structure, and internal gas vacuoles on the lethal outcome were investigated. The stability and formation of superoxide dismutase under photooxidative conditions in the field and laboratory were studied in the different strains. An isolate of Microcystis from blooms in ponds exhibited extremely high resistance to photooxidation, which was abolished by exposure to chloramphenicol.