Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Degradation of Mos by the N‐terminal proline (Pro2)‐dependent ubiquitin pathway on fertilization of Xenopus eggs: possible significance of natural selection for Pro2 in Mos.

The c‐mos proto‐oncogene product (Mos), an essential component of the cytostatic factor responsible for meiotic arrest in vertebrate eggs, undergoes specific proteolysis soon after fertilization or activation of Xenopus eggs. To determine the degradation pathway of Mos on egg activation, various Mos mutants were expressed in Xenopus eggs and their degradation on egg activation was examined. Mos degradation absolutely required its penultimate proline (Pro2) residue and dephosphorylation of the adjacent serine (Ser3) residue. These degradation signals were essentially the same as those of Mos in meiosis I of Xenopus oocyte maturation, where Mos has been shown to be degraded by the ‘second‐codon rule’‐based ubiquitin pathway. To test whether Mos degradation on egg activation is also mediated by the ubiquitin pathway, we attempted to identify and abrogate a specific ubiquitination site(s) in Mos. We show that the major ubiquitination site in Mos is a Lys34 residue and that replacement of this residue with a non‐ubiquitinatable Arg residue markedly enhances the stability of Mos on egg activation. These results indicate that the degradation of Mos on egg activation or fertilization is mediated primarily by the N‐terminal Pro2‐dependent ubiquitin pathway, as in meiosis I of oocyte maturation. The N‐terminal Pro2 residue of Mos appears to be naturally selected primarily for its degradation on fertilization, rather than that in meiosis I.
Effects of 0.4g/kg alcohol on attentional bias and alcohol-seeking behaviour in heavy and moderate social drinkers

Alcohol intoxication is known to influence attentional biases for alcohol-related cues and alcohol-seeking behaviour. It is unknown if heavier drinkers are more or less sensitive to these effects of alcohol, or whether the effects of alcohol on attentional bias are associated with subsequent alcohol-seeking behaviour. In the present study, 55 social drinkers were administered either 0.4 g/kg alcohol or placebo in a repeated measures, double-blind experimental design. Participants completed a visual probe task with eye movement monitoring (to measure attentional bias) and a bogus taste test (to measure alcohol-seeking) in both alcohol and placebo sessions. Heavy drinkers showed an attentional bias for alcohol cues that was unaffected by alcohol, whereas in moderate drinkers attentional bias was present after alcohol administration, but was absent after placebo. All participants voluntarily consumed more beer during the taste test after administration of alcohol compared with placebo. The effects of alcohol on attentional bias were unrelated to the effects of alcohol on beer consumption. Results are consistent with the development of tolerance, rather than sensitization, to the acute effects of alcohol on attentional biases in heavy drinkers. However, alcohol-induced increases in attentional bias were not related to the effects of alcohol on the motivation to drink.
Modulated metasurface for circular polarization

A modulated metasurface has been proposed with a ability to manipulate polarization of signal. The metasurface is made of 2-dimentional arrangement of angle modulated split ring resonators (SRRs) that can convert linearly polarized signal to circularly polarized signal. As a proof-of-concept, by placing the modulated metasurface over a linearly polarized microstrip patch antenna, circularly polarized radiation is observed at far-field.
Spatial learning with unilateral and bilateral hippocampal networks

This study investigated the ability of animals to learn both reference memory and delayed matching‐to‐place variants of the watermaze after large lesions of the hippocampus that deliberately spared only small remnants of the structure. Groups were created that had differing blocks of residual tissue in the septal pole of the hippocampus (15% or 30% of total volume), located either unilaterally (30 or 50% on one side, 0% on the other) or bilaterally (30 + 30%). These groups were capable of learning the reference memory task, as indexed by normal spatially focused searching in a probe trial, but their rate of learning was slower than that of sham‐lesioned rats. An impairment in the rate of learning was also seen in the delayed match–to‐place task, where one‐trial memory was observed only at the shortest (5 s) intertrial interval in the lesioned groups with the largest sparing. In both tasks performance was proportional to the volume of hippocampus spared and independent of whether this was unilaterally or bilaterally located. The findings are compatible with distributed processing accounts of hippocampal memory storage.
Nurse-child interaction on an inpatient paediatric unit.

AIM This paper reports a study to evaluate patterns of nurse-child-parent interaction and identify the characteristics nurse-child and nurse-parent interactions in an inpatient paediatric unit. BACKGROUND Positive nurse-patient interaction is a critical component of effective nursing care. The ability to interact positively with patients and their families who are facing crisis during illness and hospitalization is essential for professional nursing care. However, little is known about the patterns of interaction between nurses, hospitalized children and their parents. METHODS Eight triads of nurses, patients and their mothers were videotaped. The triads were videotaped for 4 hours each day over a 2-day period as they interacted with each other on the inpatient unit. Both verbalizations and descriptions of nonverbal behaviour were recorded from the videotapes. The data were coded and analysed using Bales' Interaction Process Analysis. The interactions were evaluated for frequency, time, purpose of interaction and interaction dynamics. The data were collected between December 2001 and February 2002. RESULTS The total amount of interaction over the 2-day period (8 hours) was 39.75 minutes and the average per interaction was 4.24 minutes. Interaction episodes consisted of nursing activities, which included nurses making patient rounds to monitoring their patient as well as providing patient care. Nurses initiated the majority of interactions between child and nurse. Affective (both positive and negative) behaviours were more frequent between nurses and children, whereas neutral behaviours were more common between nurses and mothers. CONCLUSION Children remained passive participants in the interactions. Interaction strategies are needed to help children to learn how they can actively interact with their nurses. These strategies may contribute to the children feeling more in control in these interactions and in their care.
Effect of High Voltage Monophasic Stimulation on Pressure Ulcer Healing: Results From a Randomized Controlled Trial

Objective. To investigate the effect of high voltage monopha- sic stimulation (HVMS) on pressure ulcer healing. Methods. Fifty-eight patients with pressure ulcers were included and ultimately allocated into two comparative groups. Patients in group A and B were treated pharmacologically (a local bath of potassium permanganate, com- presses of fibrolan, colistin, iruxol, and wet dressings containing 10% sodium chloride). Patients in group A were additionally treated with HVMS (100 µs, 100 Hz, 100 V) once daily, five times a week for 6 weeks. Results. The relative changes in total surface area were (85.38% in group A versus 40.08% in group B); length (71.22% in group A versus 30.38% in group B); width (76.09% in group A ver- sus 32.48% in group B); and volume (20.69% in group A versus 9.39% in group B). The Gilman Index (0.64 cm in group A versus 0.28 cm in group B) indicated a difference in favor of group A (P ≤ 0.001). More efficient decrease of pus and greater granulation growth were observed in group A. Conclusion. HVMS appears to be a promis- ing and useful treatment modality for pressure ulcers.
In vitro invasiveness of CTL clones and in vivo dissemination of CTL hybridomas

Activated spleen T cells are invasive in hepatocyte and fibroblast cultures, and this property is dominantly expressed in T cell hybridomas. The invasive potential of the hybrids correlates with their capacity to disseminate in vivo. We have used this model to study the invasive and migratory properties of cytotoxic T lymphocytes (CTLs). TWo murine CTL clones were highly invasive, independent of their state of activation. CTL hybridomas, derived from one of the clones, were similarly invasive. In vivo, CTL hybridoma cells disseminated to extravascular sites in the liver, kidneys, lungs, ovaria, tubae, uterus, and lymphoid, mesenchymal, and fat tissues. Within 7 to 14 days, 106 cells were lethal in 100% of mice. The adhesion molecules CD2, CD8, CD54, L‐selectin, and CD49d (VLA‐4 and LPAM‐1 α‐chain) were not expressed by all CTL hybridomas and therefore not indispensable for invasion in vitro and dissemination in vivo. In contrast, LFA‐1 (CDlla/CD18), CD44, and VLA‐6 (CD49f/CD29) were expressed on all hybrids. LFA‐1 antibodies inhibited CTL hybridoma invasion in vitro, but antibodies inhibiting CD44‐hyaluronate and VLA‐6‐laminin interaction had no effect. These results suggest that migration of cytotoxic T cells into non‐ inflamed tissues is independent of their activation state and does not require L‐selectin, LPAM‐1, CD2, and VLA‐4.
VEGFA and VEGFR2 gene polymorphisms and response to anti-vascular endothelial growth factor therapy: comparison of age-related macular degeneration treatments trials (CATT).

IMPORTANCE Individual variation in response and duration of anti-vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) therapy is seen among patients with neovascular age-related macular degeneration. Identification of genetic markers that affect clinical response may result in optimization of anti-VEGF therapy. OBJECTIVE To evaluate the pharmacogenetic relationship between genotypes of single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in the VEGF signaling pathway and response to treatment with ranibizumab or bevacizumab for neovascular age-related macular degeneration. DESIGN, SETTING, AND PARTICIPANTS In total, 835 of 1149 patients (72.7%) participating in the Comparison of Age-Related Macular Degeneration Treatments Trials (CATT) at 43 CATT clinical centers. INTERVENTION Each patient was genotyped for 7 SNPs in VEGFA (rs699946, rs699947, rs833069, rs833070, rs1413711, rs2010963, and rs2146323) and 1 SNP in VEGFR2 (rs2071559) using TaqMan SNP genotyping assays. MAIN OUTCOMES AND MEASURES Genotypic frequencies were compared with clinical measures of response to therapy at 1 year, including the mean visual acuity, mean change in visual acuity, at least a 15-letter increase, retinal thickness, mean change in total foveal thickness, presence of fluid on optical coherence tomography, presence of leakage on fluorescein angiography, mean change in lesion size, and mean number of injections administered. Differences in response by genotype were evaluated with tests of linear trend calculated from logistic regression models for categorical outcomes and linear regression models for continuous outcomes. The method of controlling the false discovery rate was used to adjust for multiple comparisons. RESULTS For each of the measures of visual acuity evaluated, no association was observed with any of the genotypes or with the number of risk alleles. Four VEGFA SNPs demonstrated an association with retinal thickness: rs699947 (P = .03), rs833070 (P = .04), rs1413711 (P = .045), and rs2146323 (P = .006). However, adjusted P values for these associations were all statistically nonsignificant (range, P = .24 to P = .45). Among the participants in 2 as-needed groups, no association was found in the number of injections among the different genotypes or for the total number of risk alleles. The effect of risk alleles on each clinical measure did not differ by treatment group, drug, or dosing regimen (P > .01 for all). CONCLUSIONS AND RELEVANCE This study provides evidence that no pharmacogenetic associations exist between the studied VEGFA and VEGFR2 SNPs and response to anti-VEGF therapy. TRIAL REGISTRATION clinicaltrials.gov Identifier: NCT00593450.
Systematic functional analysis of calcium‐signalling proteins in the genome of the rice‐blast fungus, Magnaporthe oryzae, using a high‐throughput RNA‐silencing system

We developed an RNA‐silencing vector, pSilent‐Dual1 (pSD1), with a convergent dual promoter system that provides a high‐throughput platform for functional genomics research in filamentous fungi. In the pSD1 system, the target gene was designed to be transcribed as a chimeric RNA with enhanced green fluorescent protein (eGFP) RNA. This enabled us to efficiently screen the resulting transformants using GFP fluorescence as an indicator of gene silencing. A model study with the eGFP gene showed that pSD1‐based vectors induced gene silencing via the RNAi pathway with slightly lower efficiency than did hairpin eGFP RNA‐expressing vectors. To demonstrate the applicability of the pSD1 system for elucidating gene function in the rice‐blast fungus Magnaporthe oryzae, 37 calcium signalling‐related genes that include almost all known calcium‐signalling proteins in the genome were targeted for gene silencing by the vector. Phenotypic analyses of the silenced transformants showed that at least 26, 35 and 15 of the 37 genes examined were involved in hyphal growth, sporulation and pathogenicity, respectively, in M. oryzae. These included several novel findings such as that Pmc1‐, Spf1‐ and Neo1‐like Ca2+ pumps, calreticulin and calpactin heavy chain were essential for fungal pathogenicity.
New Persistent Opioid Use After Minor and Major Surgical Procedures in US Adults

Importance Despite increased focus on reducing opioid prescribing for long-term pain, little is known regarding the incidence and risk factors for persistent opioid use after surgery. Objective To determine the incidence of new persistent opioid use after minor and major surgical procedures. Design, Setting, and Participants Using a nationwide insurance claims data set from 2013 to 2014, we identified US adults aged 18 to 64 years without opioid use in the year prior to surgery (ie, no opioid prescription fulfillments from 12 months to 1 month prior to the procedure). For patients filling a perioperative opioid prescription, we calculated the incidence of persistent opioid use for more than 90 days among opioid-naive patients after both minor surgical procedures (ie, varicose vein removal, laparoscopic cholecystectomy, laparoscopic appendectomy, hemorrhoidectomy, thyroidectomy, transurethral prostate surgery, parathyroidectomy, and carpal tunnel) and major surgical procedures (ie, ventral incisional hernia repair, colectomy, reflux surgery, bariatric surgery, and hysterectomy). We then assessed data for patient-level predictors of persistent opioid use. Main Outcomes and Measures The primary outcome was defined a priori prior to data extraction. The primary outcome was new persistent opioid use, which was defined as an opioid prescription fulfillment between 90 and 180 days after the surgical procedure. Results A total of 36 177 patients met the inclusion criteria, with 29 068 (80.3%) receiving minor surgical procedures and 7109 (19.7%) receiving major procedures. The cohort had a mean (SD) age of 44.6 (11.9) years and was predominately female (23 913 [66.1%]) and white (26 091 [72.1%]). The rates of new persistent opioid use were similar between the 2 groups, ranging from 5.9% to 6.5%. By comparison, the incidence in the nonoperative control cohort was only 0.4%. Risk factors independently associated with new persistent opioid use included preoperative tobacco use (adjusted odds ratio [aOR], 1.35; 95% CI, 1.21-1.49), alcohol and substance abuse disorders (aOR, 1.34; 95% CI, 1.05-1.72), mood disorders (aOR, 1.15; 95% CI, 1.01-1.30), anxiety (aOR, 1.25; 95% CI, 1.10-1.42), and preoperative pain disorders (back pain: aOR, 1.57; 95% CI, 1.42-1.75; neck pain: aOR, 1.22; 95% CI, 1.07-1.39; arthritis: aOR, 1.56; 95% CI, 1.40-1.73; and centralized pain: aOR, 1.39; 95% CI, 1.26-1.54). Conclusions and Relevance New persistent opioid use after surgery is common and is not significantly different between minor and major surgical procedures but rather associated with behavioral and pain disorders. This suggests its use is not due to surgical pain but addressable patient-level predictors. New persistent opioid use represents a common but previously underappreciated surgical complication that warrants increased awareness.
KIT/KIT Ligand in Mammalian Oogenesis and Folliculogenesis: Roles in Rabbit and Murine Ovarian Follicle Activation and Oocyte Growth1

Abstract In rodent ovaries Kit ligand (KITL) and its receptor KIT have diverse roles, including the promotion of primordial follicle activation, oocyte growth, and follicle survival. Studies were undertaken to determine whether KITL and KIT carry out similar activities in rabbits.KitlandKitmRNA and protein were localized to oocytes and granulosa cells, respectively, in the rabbit ovary. Ovarian cortical explants from juvenile rabbits and neonatal mouse ovaries were subsequently cultured with recombinant mouse KITL and/or KITL neutralizing antibody. Indices of follicle growth initiation were compared with controls and between treatment groups for each species. Recombinant mouse KITL had no stimulatory effect on primordial follicle recruitment in cultured rabbit ovarian explants. However, the mean diameter of oocytes from primordial, early primary, primary, and growing primary follicles increased significantly in recombinant mouse KITL-treated explants compared with untreated tissues. In contrast, recombinant mouse KITL promoted both primordial follicle activation and an increase in the diameter of oocytes from primordial and early primary follicles in the mouse, and these effects were inhibited by coculture with KITL-neutralizing antibody. Recombinant mouse KITL had no effect on follicle survival for either species. These data demonstrate that KITL promotes the growth of rabbit and mouse oocytes and stimulates primordial follicle activation in the mouse but not in the rabbit. We propose that the physiologic roles of KITL and KIT may differ between species, and this has important implications for the design of in vitro culture systems for folliculogenesis in mammals, including the human.
[The MRI study of upper airway on obstructive sleep apnea hypopnea syndrome].

OBJECTIVE To investigate the character of upper airway and to offer the reference for clinical treatment through observing the upper airway caliber and its corresponding pharyngeal wall of OSAHS patients by magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). METHOD The upper airway of 33 obstructive sleep apnea hypopnea syndrome (OSAHS) patients diagnosed by PSG were analyzed and compared by MRI. The cross-sectional area of the upper airway and thickness of lateral parapharyngeal wall were calculated. The cross-sectional area of the upper airway and thickness of lateral and posterior pharyngeal wall were also measured in 20 nonsnoring age-matched normal subjects selected as the control group. RESULT The cross-sectional areas of upper airway of OSAHS patients were smaller than that of the control. The Thickness of posterior pharyngeal wall and lateral pharyngeal wall of the retropalatal region, retroglossal region and epiglottal region were thicker in patients group than that of the control. The thickness and length of the palate in patients group were larger than that of the control. The cross-sectional areas of retropalatal region of OSAHS patients had negative correlation with apnea hypopnea index (AHI). There was also negative correlation between the retroglossal region cross-sectional area and the neck circumference. CONCLUSION Measurement of upper airway with MRI could observe the change of pharynx cross-sectional area and had reference value in guiding the clinical diagnosis and treatment.
Radiographic grading for knee osteoarthritis. A revised scheme that relates to alignment and deformity.

OBJECTIVE To develop a radiographic grading scheme for osteoarthritis of the knee that would relate to arthritic progression and deformity. METHODS The scheme of Scott, et al was revised to include new fields of Tibial Erosion and Subluxation; the fields of Tibial Osteophytes and Sclerosis were removed. The worst affected compartment only was scored on frontal Standardized Knee Images, which were used to define knee alignment variables. RESULTS The interreader reliability (kappa = 0.92) and correlation for total scores (r = 0.94) were both excellent (p < 0.001). Individual field scores and total knee scores both correlated well with most limb alignment variables, especially the hip-knee-ankle angle (r = 0.77, p < 0.001). CONCLUSION These findings encourage further evaluations for outcome measurement, diagnostic sensitivity, and sensitivity to define arthritic change over time.
Prevention of oxidative stress injury to sperm.

The greatest paradox of aerobic respiration is that oxygen, which is essential for energy production, may also be detrimental because it leads to the production of reactive oxygen species (ROS) (Saleh and Agarwal, 2002). When levels of reactive oxygen species (ROS) overwhelm the body’s antioxidant defense system, oxidative stress (OS) occurs. OS is a condition in which the elevated levels of ROS damage cells, tissues, or organs (Moller et al, 1996; Sharma and Agarwal, 1996; Saleh et al, 2003). ROS are free radicals that play a significant role in many of the sperm physiological processes such as capacitation, hyperactivation, and sperm-oocyte fusion (Aitken et al, 2004; Allamaneni et al, 2004; de Lamirande et al, 1998). However, they also trigger many pathological processes in the male reproductive system, and these processes have been implicated in cancers of the bladder and prostate, as well as in male infertility (Bankson et al, 1993; Hietanen et al, 1994; Agarwal and Saleh, 2002). Spermatozoa are sensitive to OS because they lack cytoplasmic defenses (Donnelly et al, 1999; Saleh and Agarwal, 2002). Moreover, the sperm plasma membrane contains lipids in the form of polyunsaturated fatty acids, which are vulnerable to attack by ROS. ROS, in the presence of polyunsaturated fatty acids, triggers a chain of chemical reactions called lipid peroxidation (Agarwal et al, 1994; Kobayashi et al, 2001; Zalata et al, 2004). ROS can also damage DNA by causing deletions, mutations, and other lethal genetic effects (Moustafa et al, 2004; Tominaga et al, 2004). It is difficult to block the OS-
Hb Lepore in the Indian Population

A study of the spectrum of β‐thalassemia mutations in 230 patients with thalassemia major and 90 patients with thalassemia intermedia revealed mutations producing Hb Lepore in four patients. Two were homozygous and two were compound heterozygous for Hb Lepore and β‐thalassemia. Among the six δ β fusion genes found in these four patients five were those producing Hb Lepore‐Hollandia and one producing Hb Lepore‐Washington–Boston. We also describe a possible misdiagnosis in the heterozygous state of Hb Lepore, as Hb Lepore and Hb A2 are not distinctly separated by cation exchange high performance liquid chromatography.