Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Herpes simplex virus type 1 protein IE63 affects the nuclear export of virus intron-containing transcripts

Using in situ hybridization labelling methods, we have determined that the herpes simplex virus type 1 immediate-early protein IE63 (ICP27) affects the cellular localization of virus transcripts. Intronless transcripts from the IE63, UL38, and UL44 genes are rapidly exported to and accumulate in the cytoplasm throughout infection, in either the presence or absence of IE63 expression. The intron-containing transcripts from the IE110 and UL15 genes, while initially cytoplasmic, are increasingly retained in the nucleus in distinct clumps as infection proceeds, and the clumps colocalize with the redistributed small nuclear ribonucleoprotein particles. Infections with the IE63 mutant virus 27-lacZ demonstrated that in the absence of IE63 expression, nuclear retention of intron-containing transcripts was lost. The nuclear retention of UL15 transcripts, which demonstrated both nuclear and cytoplasmic label, was not as pronounced as that of the IE110 transcripts, and we propose that this is due to the late expression of UL15. Infections with the mutant virus 110C1, in which both introns of IE110 have been precisely removed (R.D. Everett, J. Gen. Virol. 72:651-659, 1991), demonstrated IE110 transcripts in both the nucleus and the cytoplasm; thus, exon definition sequences which regulate viral RNA transport are present in the IE110 transcript. By in situ hybridization a stable population of polyadenylated RNAs was found to accumulate in the nucleus in spots, most of which were separate from the small nuclear ribonucleoprotein particle clumps. The IE63 protein has an involvement, either direct or indirect, in the regulation of nucleocytoplasmic transport of viral transcripts, a function which contrasts with the recently proposed role of herpes simplex virus type 1 Us11 in promoting the nuclear export of partially spliced or unspliced transcripts (J.-J. Diaz, M. Duc Dodon, N. Schaerer-Uthurraly, D. Simonin, K. Kindbeiter, L. Gazzolo, and J.-J. Madjar, Nature [London] 379:273-277, 1996), the significance of which is discussed.
Working Mothers Represent: How Children Affect the Legislative Agenda of Women in Congress

Issues and policies pertaining to children and families are often labeled “women’s issues” and assumed to be on the radar of all women, but we argue that they are more salient for mothers, particularly working mothers, than for other women. This study examines the role of motherhood as an identity for women in Congress by looking at the introduction of bills that affect children and families from 1973 through 2013. We define working mothers as women who have children below 18 years of age at home while they are in office, as opposed to those who have adult children or no children. Our findings show that Congressional working mothers are more likely to introduce legislation that address issues specific to parents and children. We also find that legislation specifically dealing with children’s health and welfare is more likely to be introduced by members with children than those without.
Chemoradiotherapy plus surgery versus surgery alone for resectable esophageal cancer: A systematic review of randomized control trials.

94 Background: Several trials have demonstrated better survival when surgery is combined with neoadjuvant chemotherapy and concurrent radiotherapy (CRT) in the treatment of esophageal cancer (EC). However, it is unclear whether survival benefits are counterbalanced by a poor quality of life due to the adverse effects of the combination therapy. The aim of this study was to compare the efficacy and safety of CRT plus surgery versus surgery alone. METHODS Two authors independently conducted a comprehensive search of the Cochrane library PUBMED, MEDLINE, and published proceedings from major oncologic cancer meetings from January 1980 to July 2011. The titles and abstracts of all potentially relevant studies were screened for eligibility. In addition to overall outcome measures, subgroup analysis by histology of EC (squamous cell cancer [SCC] and adenocarcinoma [AC]), was also performed. Analysis was done using the fixed effect model. The Begg's and Egger's tests with visual inspection of the funnel plot were used to assess for population bias. RESULTS Fifteen studies involving 1,957 patients were included in the analysis. There was an overall statistically significant increase in the 5-year survival for the CRT plus surgery group versus the surgery only group (RR 1.47, 95% CI 1.24-1.76). By histological type, only patients with SCC showed prolonged survival: RR 1.53, 95% CI 1.26-1.85. We equally found an overall significant increase in grade 3 and 4 adverse events in the CRT plus surgery group compared to the group with surgery alone (RR 1.73, 95% CI 1.15-2.60). Again, a significant increase in serious adverse events was observed only in the sub-group of patients with SCC (RR 1.81, 95% CI 1.14-2.86). There was no evidence of heterogeneity or publication bias in these analyses. CONCLUSIONS Overall, CRT plus surgery can improve long-term survival in EC patients. The results seem to be limited only to patients with SCC and not AC. However, the prolonged survival comes at the cost of poorer quality of life due to a higher incidence of adverse events. For the moment we recommend that the decision on what treatment strategy to use be based on informed patient preference.
Immunostaining of PD-1/PD-Ls in liver tissues of patients with hepatitis and hepatocellular carcinoma.

AIM To investigate the expression of programmed death (PD)-1, PD ligand 1 (PD-L1) and PD-L2 in liver tissues in the context of chronic hepatitis and hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). METHODS Liver biopsies and HCC specimens from patients were collected and histologically examined. The expression of PD-1, PD-L1, and PD-L2 in biopsy specimens of chronic hepatitis and HCC specimens was evaluated by immunohistochemical staining. The association between the expression level of PD-1, PD-L1, and PD-L2 and clinical and pathological variables was analyzed statistically. RESULTS Expression of PD-1 was found in liver-infiltrating lymphocytes. In contrast, PD-L1 and PD-L2 were expressed in non-parenchyma liver cells and tumor cells. The expression of PD-L1 was significantly correlated with hepatitis B virus infection (1.42 ± 1.165 vs 0.50 ± 0.756, P = 0.047) and with the stage of HCC (7.50 ± 2.121 vs 1.75 ± 1.500 vs 3.00 ± 0.001, P = 0.018). PD-1 and PD-Ls were significantly up-regulated in HCC specimens (1.40 ± 1.536 vs 5.71 ± 4.051, P = 0.000; 1.05 ± 1.099 vs 4.29 ± 3.885, P = 0.004; 1.80 ± 1.473 vs 3.81 ± 3.400, P = 0.020). CONCLUSION PD-L1 may contribute to negative regulation of the immune response in chronic hepatitis B. PD-1 and PD-Ls may play a role in immune evasion of tumors.
BIOMED-2 protocols to detect clonal immunoglobulin and T-cell receptor gene rearrangements in B- and T-cell lymphomas in southern Taiwan

Monoclonal expansions of immunoglobulin (Ig) and T-cell receptor (TCR) genes are, respectively, important markers for B- and T-cell malignancies. We used BIOMED-2 protocols to detect clonality of these genes in B- (BCL) and T-cell lymphoma (TCL) in southern Taiwan. Heteroduplex analysis was used after PCR reactions. Ig/TCR clonality rates were 95% (22 in 23 cases) for BCL and 76% (19 in 25 cases) for TCL. These results reveal overall satisfactory detection rates for both BCL and TCL. None of the four natural killer (NK)/T-cell lymphomas detected showed TCR gene clonality, which suggested that BIOMED-2 protocols distinguished the NK/T-cell lymphoma from TCL. In addition, three of the five tested precursor T-cell lymphoblastic lymphomas showed no TCR gene clonality, probably because the immature T-cells in this type of TCL had not undergone TCR gene rearrangements. We conclude that BIOMED-2 protocols are suitable for detecting Ig and TCR clonalities in B- and T-cell malignancies in southern Taiwan.
Myocardial Homing of Nonmobilized Peripheral‐Blood CD34+ Cells After Intracoronary Injection

Granulocyte– colony‐stimulating factor administered for autologous hematopoietic stem cell isolation from blood may favor restenosis in patients implanted after acute myocardial infarction (AMI). We therefore tested the isolation of peripheral‐blood CD34+ cells without mobilization in six patients with AMI. After large‐volume cytapheresis and positive CD34+ cell selection, 3.6 to 27.6 million CD34+ cells were obtained. We performed intra‐coronary implantation of these cells and recorded no restenosis or arrhythmia. We used positron emission tomography (PET) to assess myocardial‐labeled CD34+ cell homing, which accounted for 5.5% of injected cells 1 hour after implantation. In conclusion, large amounts of CD34+ cells, in the range reported in previous studies, can be obtained from nonmobilized peripheral blood. PET with [18F]‐fluorodeoxyglucose cell labeling is an efficient imaging method for homing assessment.
Reduction of up-converted flicker noise in differential LC-VCO designed in 32nm CMOS technology

This paper deals with the design of LC Voltage Controlled Oscillator (LC-VCO) for GSM applications, implemented in a state-of-the-art 32nm Planar CMOS technology. A standard VCO is compared with a topology featuring tail decoupling, which, to best of our knowledge, is used for the first time for a wide tuning-range application (i.e. 700MHz centered at 3.65GHz). The Decoupled VCO significantly reduces the Phase-Noise, up to 9dB, by lowering the impact of the flicker noise introduced by the switching-pair on the 1/ f 3 region, with comparable current consumption and tuning-range with respect to the standard VCO.
Risk‐neutral moment‐based estimation of affine option pricing models

This paper provides a novel methodology for estimating option pricing models based on risk-neutral moments. We synthesize the distribution extracted from a panel of option prices and exploit linear relationships between risk-neutral cumulants and latent factors within the continuous time affine stochastic volatility framework. We find that fitting the Andersen, Fusari, and Todorov (2015b) option valuation model to risk-neutral moments captures the bulk of the information in option prices. Our estimation strategy is effective, easy to implement, and robust, as it allows for a direct linear filtering of the latent factors and a quasi-maximum likelihood estimation of model parameters. From a practical perspective, employing risk-neutral moments instead of option prices also helps circumvent several sources of numerical errors and substantially lessens the computational burden inherent in working with a large panel of option contracts.
Twilight zone sponges from Guam yield theonellin isocyanate and psammaplysins I and J.

From the organic extracts of two Guam sponges, Rhaphoxya sp. and Suberea sp. , determined to have cytotoxic and chemopreventive activities, three new compounds, theonellin isocyanate (1) and psammaplysins I and J (5, 6), and six previously reported compounds (2-4, 7-9) were isolated and characterized spectroscopically ((1)H and (13)C NMR, MS, IR, UV, [α](D)). The two new metabolites (5 and 6) isolated from the Suberea sp. sponge are rare examples of compounds containing a bromotyramine moiety rather than the more usual dibromo analogue. For the compounds isolated from the Rhaphoxya sp. , this is the first report of the known compounds 2-4 being found in a single sponge. For previously reported compounds 2-4 complete unambiguous (1)H and (13)C NMR data are provided.
Disruption of the Epithelial Apical-Junctional Complex by Helicobacter pylori CagA

Helicobacter pylori translocates the protein CagA into gastric epithelial cells and has been linked to peptic ulcer disease and gastric carcinoma. We show that injected CagA associates with the epithelial tight-junction scaffolding protein ZO-1 and the transmembrane protein junctional adhesion molecule, causing an ectopic assembly of tight-junction components at sites of bacterial attachment, and altering the composition and function of the apical-junctional complex. Long-term CagA delivery to polarized epithelia caused a disruption of the epithelial barrier function and dysplastic alterations in epithelial cell morphology. CagA appears to target H. pylori to host cell intercellular junctions and to disrupt junction-mediated functions.
A review of the nursing role in central venous cannulation: implications for practice policy and research.

AIMS AND OBJECTIVES The aim of this article is to review published studies about central vein cannulation to identify implications for policy, practice and research in an advanced practice nursing role. DESIGN Modified integrative literature review. METHODS Searches of the electronic databases: Cumulative Index of Nursing and Allied Health Literature (CINAHL); Medline, Embase, and the World Wide Web were undertaken using MeSH key words. Hand searching for relevant articles was also undertaken. All studies relating to the nurses role inserting central venous cannulae in adult populations met the search criteria and were reviewed by three authors using a critical appraisal tool. RESULTS Ten studies met the inclusion criteria for the review, all reported data were from the UK. There were disparate models of service delivery and study populations and the studies were predominantly non experimental in design. The results of this review need to be considered within the methodological caveats associated with this approach. The studies identified did not demonstrate differences in rates of adverse events between a specialist nurse and a medical officer. CONCLUSIONS There were only a small number of studies found in the literature review and the limited availability of clinical outcome data precluded formal analysis from being generated. RELEVANCE TO CLINICAL PRACTICE Central vein cannulation is potentially an emerging practice area with important considerations for policy practice and research. Training specialist nurses to provide such a service may facilitate standardising of practice and improving surveillance of lines, and possibly improve the training and accreditation process for CVC insertions for junior medical officers. For this to occur, there is a need to undertake well-conducted clinical studies to clearly document the value and efficacy of this advanced practice nursing role.
Mode of action of antimicrobial peptide P45 on Listeria monocytogenes

The mode of action of an antimicrobial peptide produced by Bacillus sp. P45 isolated from the intestine of the Amazonian basin fish Piaractus mesopotamicus was investigated. The antimicrobial peptide was purified from culture supernatants by precipitation with ammonium sulfate and gel filtration chromatography. The peptide has an EC50 of 300 AU (activity units) ml–1 and kills all viable cells of Listeria monocytogenes with a concentration of 800 AU ml–1. A decrease in OD was observed when L. monocytogenes cultures were treated with the peptide, suggesting that cells were lysed. Transmission electron microscopy showed damage of the cell envelope and loss of protoplasmic material. The peptide P45 was bactericidal and bacteriolytic to L. monocytogenes. There is evidence that the mode of action is interefering at cell membranes and the cell wall. The knowledge of the mode of action of antimicrobial peptides is an essential step to consider their utilization in food or clinic. (© 2008 WILEY‐VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)
Autotransporter Genes pic and tsh Are Associated with Escherichia coli Strains That Cause Acute Pyelonephritis and Are Expressed during Urinary Tract Infection

ABSTRACT We have identified two chromosomal open reading frames in uropathogenic Escherichia coli (UPEC) strain CFT073 which are highly homologous to serine protease autotransporters Pic and Tsh. Both cloned determinants were correlated with the presence of 105- to 110-kDa proteins in the culture supernatants. Furthermore, in cellular fractionation experiments, 30-kDa polypeptides were identified in the outer membrane; we speculated that these proteins are the β-barrel portions of the autotransporter homologues. Furthermore, Pic-containing culture supernatants have serine protease activity. In reverse transcription-PCR analyses, the expression of the pic and tsh genes in E. coli CFT073 was higher in broth cultures grown at 37°C than at 25°C. Moreover, pic and tsh were expressed by bacteria isolated from urine of transurethrally infected mice. The tsh determinant was identified in 63% of our clinical UPEC strain isolates (n = 87) and in 33% of fecal strains (n = 27), whereas pic was present in 31% of the pyelonephritis (n = 67) and 7% of the fecal strains. There was no significant correlation between cystitis strains (n = 20) and the pic determinant.
Competition and Coopetition for Two-Sided Platforms

Two-sided platforms have become omnipresent (e.g., ride-sharing and on-demand delivery services). In this context, firms compete not only for customers but also for flexible self-scheduling workers who can work for multiple platforms. We consider a setting where two-sided platforms simultaneously choose prices and wages to compete for both sides of the market. We assume that customers and workers each follow an endogenous Multinomial Logit choice model that accounts for network effects. In our model, the behavior of an agent depends not only on the price or wage set by the platform, but also on the strategic interactions among agents on both sides of the market. We show that a unique equilibrium exists and that it can be computed using a tatonnement scheme. The proof technique for the competition between two-sided platforms is not a simple extension of the traditional (one-sided) setting and involves different arguments. Armed with this result, we study the impact of coopetition between two-sided platforms, that is, the business strategy of cooperating with competitors. Motivated by recent practice in the ride-sharing industry, we analyze a setting where two competing platforms engage in a profit sharing contract by introducing a new joint service. We show that a well-designed profit sharing contract (e.g., under Nash bargaining) will benefit every party in the market (both platforms, riders, and drivers).
Conformational Changes Monitored on the Glutamate Transporter GLT-1 Indicate the Existence of Two Neurotransmitter-bound States (*)

Membrane vesicles from rat brain have been subjected to trypsin treatment in the absence and presence of substrates of the (Na + K)-coupled L-glutamate transporter GLT-1. The fragments of this transporter have been detected upon immunoblotting employing several antibodies raised against sequences from this transporter. At the amino terminus, initially a fragment of an apparent molecular mass of 30 kDa is generated. This fragment is subsequently cleaved to one of 16 kDa. The generation of these bands is greatly inhibited in the presence of lithium. Moreover, lithium abolishes the positive cooperative activation of the transporter by sodium. The generation of the 30- and 16-kDa fragments is accelerated in the presence of L-glutamate and other transportable analogues, provided sodium is present as well. The 30-kDa fragment also contains an epitope from the loop connecting the putative membrane-spanning α-helices 3 and 4. This epitope, in contrast with the amino-terminal one, is destroyed with time. The carboxyl-terminal epitope is predominantly located on a 43-kDa fragment which is slowly converted to one of 35 kDa. This conversion is not inhibited by lithium. It is, however, stimulated by L-glutamate and other transportable analogues, but only in sodium-containing media. Potassium also stimulates this conversion regardless of the presence of L-glutamate. The stimulation of generation of amino- and carboxyl-terminal fragments by L-glutamate is not mimicked by the non-transportable analogue dihydrokainate. However, the analogue blocks the stimulation exerted by L-glutamate. In addition to new experimental information on the transporters topology, our observations provide novel information on the function of the GLT-1 transporter. Although lithium by itself does not sustain transport, it may occupy one of the sodium sites and be transported. Furthermore, the transporter-glutamate complex appears to exist in at least two states. After the initial binding (suggested to be important for the decay of synaptic glutamate), it undergoes a conformational change which represents, or is tightly associated with, the transport step.
Arrays for chronic functional microstimulation of the lumbosacral spinal cord

Our objective is to develop neural prostheses based on an array of microelectrodes implanted into the sacral spinal cord, that will allow persons with spinal cord injuries to regain control of their bladder and bowels. For our chronic cat model, we have developed two microelectrode arrays, one type containing nine discrete activated iridium microelectrodes and the second utilizing silicon substrate probes with multiple electrode sites on each probe. Both types can elicit an increase in the pressure within the urinary bladder of more than 40-mm Hg and/or relaxation of the urethral sphincter. A stimulus of 100 /spl mu/A and 400 /spl mu/s/ph at 20 Hz (charge-balanced pulses) was required to induce a large increase in bladder pressure or relaxation of the urethral sphincter. We found that 24 h of continuous stimulation with these parameters induced tissue injury (disrupted neuropil, infiltration of inflammatory cells, and loss of neurons close to the tip sites). However, a neural prosthesis that is intended to restore bladder control after spinal cord injury would not operate continuously. Thus, when this stimulus was applied for 24 h, at a 10% duty cycle (1 min of stimulation, then 9 min without stimulation) only minimal histologic changes were observed.
Do Predictive Power of Fibonacci Retracements Help the Investor to Predict Future? A Study of Pakistan Stock Exchange

There are number of ways like Technical Analysis, Fundamental Analysis and The Efficient Market Hypothesis that helps to know the behaviour of investor which helps to predict future. In this study author used Fibonacci numbers/series analysis which consider for forecasting future stock prices trends. For the purpose of this study four listed companies are selected at random by convenience sampling from Cement Sector for the period of 1st quarter of 2017. Closing prices of open days of market are taken from Karachi Stocks and graphs are made. This study concluded that in four companies of cement sector, there were total 63 support levels out of which 17 (27%) and total 66 resistance level from which 24 (36%) were followed Fibonacci retracements. So the study findings accept the hypothesis that the trend reversals in Cement sector listed in PSX follow Fibonacci retracements to some extent. Analysis of this study showed that there is at least one strong support and one strong resistance in every company and some small resistant and support levels.
Education and Work in movements for different economies: new envisaged scenarios and grass-roots political practices

We present a study that pertains to the discussion about educational dimensions in the field of different economies (Solidarity Economy Networks, Solidarity Purchasing Groups, Degrowth movement, etc.). These organisations have developed their own practices and values that have given rise to new ways of living and new models of work. In terms of adult education, we ask under which conditions these informal contexts can be environments for self-education in citizenship and political engagement. They are witnessing the creation of practices that demonstrate an enthusiasm for learning, participation, justice and responsibility, all against the backdrop of a rejection of the prevailing neo-liberal model. This study employed a qualitative methodology based on Case Studies and Grounded Theory. The results reveal that (transition) workers in different economies are experiencing new types of education and work in which the group involved, and the processes of self-education in play, all have a pivotal role to play.