Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Leisure activities among older Germans - a qualitative study.

BACKGROUND Leisure activities contribute to well-being and health in old age. Community nurses should consequently promote such activities among older persons. To do so they need an understanding of older persons' interest in leisure activities. Social contacts, volunteering and pursuit of hobbies and interests constitute the main aspects of leisure. AIMS AND OBJECTIVES This study aimed to determine the attitudes of older Germans to these aspects to identify user types of leisure time facilities. DESIGN A qualitative study was conducted within a community-based project in an industrial town in West Germany. METHODS Data were collected with semi-structured guideline interviews and evaluated with qualitative content analysis according to Mayring. RESULTS With regard to social contacts attitudes ranged from limited need for contacts to being a reliable member in an older persons' club. Social engagement is only found among the latter. Pursuit of hobbies and interest ranged from being a minimal user of leisure time facilities to refined expectations. Inflexible group structures may prevent potential users from participation despite having a programme in accordance with target group needs. CONCLUSIONS Attitudes to leisure activities can be described as a combination of two dimensions: the degree of social involvement and the desired refinement of hobbies and interest. IMPLICATIONS FOR PRACTICE Community nurses who organise social afternoons need to assess these attitudes and should steer social dynamics of in a way that facilitates access for newcomers.
Minor Pilins of the Type IV Pilus System Participate in the Negative Regulation of Swarming Motility

ABSTRACT Pseudomonas aeruginosa exhibits distinct surface-associated behaviors, including biofilm formation, flagellum-mediated swarming motility, and type IV pilus-driven twitching. Here, we report a role for the minor pilins, PilW and PilX, components of the type IV pilus assembly machinery, in the repression of swarming motility. Mutating either the pilW or pilX gene alleviates the inhibition of swarming motility observed for strains with elevated levels of the intracellular signaling molecule cyclic di-GMP (c-di-GMP) due to loss of BifA, a c-di-GMP-degrading phosphodiesterase. Blocking PilD peptidase-mediated processing of PilW and PilX renders the unprocessed proteins defective for pilus assembly but still functional in c-di-GMP-mediated swarming repression, indicating our ability to separate these functions. Strains with mutations in pilW or pilX also fail to exhibit the increase in c-di-GMP levels observed when wild-type (WT) or bifA mutant cells are grown on a surface. We also provide data showing that c-di-GMP levels are increased upon PilY1 overexpression in surface-grown cells and that this c-di-GMP increase does not occur in the absence of the SadC diguanylate cyclase. Increased levels of endogenous PilY1, PilX, and PilA are observed when cells are grown on a surface compared to liquid growth, linking surface growth and enhanced signaling via SadC. Our data support a model wherein PilW, PilX, and PilY1, in addition to their role(s) in type IV pilus biogenesis, function to repress swarming via modulation of intracellular c-di-GMP levels. By doing so, these pilus assembly proteins contribute to P. aeruginosa's ability to coordinately regulate biofilm formation with its two surface motility systems.
Smart tetrazole-based antibacterial nanoparticles as multifunctional drug carriers for cancer combination therapy

Abstract Due to multidrug resistance of cancer tissues and immune-suppression of cancerous patients during chemotherapy in one hand and the use of tetrazole derivatives in medicine because of its anticancer, antifungal, and antiviral properties, on the other, we were encouraged to design novel smart antibacterial nanocomposites-based polymer of tetrazole as dual anticancer drug delivery systems. The structures of nanocomposites characterized by FTIR, 1H NMR, FESEM-EDX, and TGA analyzes and antibacterial activity of smart carriers were evaluated by determination of minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) values against some bacteria and fungi. Then, the pH-responsive manner of both nanocomposites was proved by checking their release profiles at pH of the physiological environment (pH 7.4) and pH of tumor tissues (mildly acidic). Finally, the potential antitumoral activity of these nanocomposite systems against MCF7 cell lines was evaluated by MTT assay and cell cycle studies. The results demonstrated that the novel developed nanocomposites not only meet our expectations about simultaneous release of two anticancer drugs according to the predicted profile but also showed antibacterial and anticancer properties in vitro experimental. Moreover, it was proved that these carriers have tremendous potential in multifunctional drug delivery in cancer therapy.
Plasminogen activator inhibitor 1 in human carcinoma tissues

The content of PAI‐1 was measured in carcinoma tissues from the stomach and colorectum divided macroscopically into 3 portions: the central part of the carcinoma, the marginal part of the carcinoma containing some normal mucosa, and the normal mucosa. Among these tissues, the highest levels of PAI‐1 antigen were found in the central part of the carcinoma. On the other hand, no PAI‐1 antigen or activity was observed in the normal mucosae. The PAI‐1 produced in the stomach and colorectal carcinoma tissues showed a non‐lytic zone with a molecular weight of 54 kDa by reverse fibrin autography, and this 54‐kDa band reacted with anti‐PAI‐1 IgG on an immunoblotted nitrocellulose membrane by the avidinbiotin complex method. The contents of PAI‐2 in the carcinoma tissues were not significantly different from those in the normal mucosa of the stomach and colorectum. In both the stomach and colorectal carcinomas, the highest value of u‐PA/total PA (sum of u‐PA and t‐PA) was observed in the central part of the carcinoma, followed by the marginal part of the carcinoma, and was lowest in the normal mucosa. We conclude that increased levels of PAI‐1 in malignant tissue of the stomach and colorectal tract may serve to modulate extra‐cellular proteolysis by u‐PA.
IL‐17s adopt a cystine knot fold: structure and activity of a novel cytokine, IL‐17F, and implications for receptor binding

The proinflammatory cytokine interleukin 17 (IL‐17) is the founding member of a family of secreted proteins that elicit potent cellular responses. We report a novel human IL‐17 homolog, IL‐17F, and show that it is expressed by activated T cells, can stimulate production of other cytokines such as IL‐6, IL‐8 and granulocyte colony‐stimulating factor, and can regulate cartilage matrix turnover. Unexpectedly, the crystal structure of IL‐17F reveals that IL‐17 family members adopt a monomer fold typical of cystine knot growth factors, despite lacking the disulfide responsible for defining the canonical ‘knot’ structure. IL‐17F dimerizes in a parallel manner like neurotrophins, and features an unusually large cavity on its surface. Remarkably, this cavity is located in precisely the same position where nerve growth factor binds its high affinity receptor, TrkA, suggesting further parallels between IL‐17s and neurotrophins with respect to receptor recognition.
Intensive lipid lowering with simvastatin and ezetimibe in aortic stenosis.

BACKGROUND Hyperlipidemia has been suggested as a risk factor for stenosis of the aortic valve, but lipid-lowering studies have had conflicting results. METHODS We conducted a randomized, double-blind trial involving 1873 patients with mild-to-moderate, asymptomatic aortic stenosis. The patients received either 40 mg of simvastatin plus 10 mg of ezetimibe or placebo daily. The primary outcome was a composite of major cardiovascular events, including death from cardiovascular causes, aortic-valve replacement, nonfatal myocardial infarction, hospitalization for unstable angina pectoris, heart failure, coronary-artery bypass grafting, percutaneous coronary intervention, and nonhemorrhagic stroke. Secondary outcomes were events related to aortic-valve stenosis and ischemic cardiovascular events. RESULTS During a median follow-up of 52.2 months, the primary outcome occurred in 333 patients (35.3%) in the simvastatin-ezetimibe group and in 355 patients (38.2%) in the placebo group (hazard ratio in the simvastatin-ezetimibe group, 0.96; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.83 to 1.12; P=0.59). Aortic-valve replacement was performed in 267 patients (28.3%) in the simvastatin-ezetimibe group and in 278 patients (29.9%) in the placebo group (hazard ratio, 1.00; 95% CI, 0.84 to 1.18; P=0.97). Fewer patients had ischemic cardiovascular events in the simvastatin-ezetimibe group (148 patients) than in the placebo group (187 patients) (hazard ratio, 0.78; 95% CI, 0.63 to 0.97; P=0.02), mainly because of the smaller number of patients who underwent coronary-artery bypass grafting. Cancer occurred more frequently in the simvastatin-ezetimibe group (105 vs. 70, P=0.01). CONCLUSIONS Simvastatin and ezetimibe did not reduce the composite outcome of combined aortic-valve events and ischemic events in patients with aortic stenosis. Such therapy reduced the incidence of ischemic cardiovascular events but not events related to aortic-valve stenosis. (ClinicalTrials.gov number, NCT00092677.)
The relationship between body mass index and the prevalence of obesity‐related diseases based on the 1995 National Health Interview Survey in Korea

This study estimated the body mass index (BMI) distribution of Koreans and examined the relationship between BMI and obesity‐related diseases, in particular hypertension and diabetes mellitus. We also attempted to provide primary data to determine suitable BMI cut‐off points for obesity in Korea. The 1995 National Health Interview Study (NHIS) data were used to estimate BMI and the prevalence of hypertension and diabetes mellitus. A random sample of 5750 Koreans (15–69 years of age) were investigated. BMI was calculated by self‐reported weights and heights. The diagnoses of hypertension and diabetes mellitus were obtained from self‐reported conditions specified in response to consultations with physicians. The mean BMI was 22.6 ± 2.6 kg m−2 for males and 21.7 ± 4.8 kg m−2 for females. The prevalence of hypertension and diabetes mellitus increased with BMI. The odds ratios of the third quartile of BMI (21.9–23.8 kg m−2) for hypertension and diabetes mellitus compared with the first quartile were 6.04 and 3.22, respectively. The odds ratio of the fourth quartile (>23.8 kg m−2) of BMI was not significantly different from that of the third quartile. The risk of hypertension and diabetes mellitus increased at the third quartile of BMI (21.9–23.8 kg m−2), this quartile being much lower than both the current World Health Organization (WHO) BMI cut‐off point of overweight of 25.0 kg m−2, and the 90th percentile proposed in the Monica project, BMI 26.4 kg m−2. This finding was notable considering the fact that both hypertension and diabetes mellitus occur in Koreans with lower BMIs than whites. Further studies are necessary to identify the BMI cut‐off point for obesity in Korea.
Visual performance of the Akreos Adapt AO intraocular lens in patients with different corneal profiles measured with an adaptive optics visual simulator

Aims To evaluate the visual performance of an aberration-free intraocular lens (IOL) in patients with different corneal profiles using adaptive optics visual simulation. Methods A crx1 adaptive optics visual simulator was used to simulate the aberration pattern of an aberration-free IOL combined with five corneal profiles: virgin corneas and corneas with low and high myopic ablations and low and high hyperopic ablations. Ten eyes of 10 subjects were evaluated, and monocular distance visual acuity (VA) at 100%, 50% and 10% of contrast was measured. Results At 100% of contrast, no differences were found in VA values among virgin corneas, low and high myopic ablations and low hyperopic ablation groups (p=0.06). All these groups achieved better results than the high hyperopic ablation group (p<0.001). At 50% and 10%, the best values of VA were obtained for the virgin corneas and for the low myopic and low hyperopic ablation groups (p>0.1, for both levels of contrast). Significant differences were found between these three corneal profiles and the other two corneal profiles (p<0.002 for high myopic and p<0.001 for high hyperopic, for both levels of contrasts). Conclusions The results suggest that the aberration-free IOL design gives an excellent visual performance for a range of corneal spherical aberrations that could correspond to patients with virgin corneas and patients in which the corneal spherical aberration has been slightly modified by a hyperopic or myopic laser ablation.
Complete fiber structures of complex trimeric autotransporter adhesins conserved in enterobacteria

Trimeric autotransporter adhesins (TAAs) are modular, highly repetitive surface proteins that mediate adhesion to host cells in a broad range of Gram-negative pathogens. Although their sizes may differ by more than one order of magnitude, they all follow the same basic head-stalk-anchor architecture, where the head mediates adhesion and autoagglutination, the stalk projects the head from the bacterial surface, and the anchor provides the export function and attaches the adhesin to the bacterial outer membrane after export is complete. In complex adhesins, head and stalk domains may alternate several times before the anchor is reached. Despite extensive sequence divergence, the structures of TAA domains are highly constrained, due to the tight interleaving of their constituent polypeptide chains. We have therefore taken a “domain dictionary” approach to characterize representatives for each domain type by X-ray crystallography and use these structures to reconstruct complete TAA fibers. With SadA from Salmonella enterica, EhaG from enteropathogenic Escherichia coli (EHEC), and UpaG from uropathogenic E. coli (UPEC), we present three representative structures of a complex adhesin that occur in a conserved genomic context in Enterobacteria and is essential in the infection process of uropathogenic E. coli. Our work proves the applicability of the dictionary approach to understanding the structure of a class of proteins that are otherwise poorly tractable by high-resolution methods and provides a basis for the rapid and detailed annotation of newly identified TAAs.
Factors predictive of response to hormone therapy in breast cancer.

AIMS AND BACKGROUND Approximately half of metastatic breast cancers expressing estrogen and/or progesterone receptors responds to endocrine therapy, and postoperative adjuvant endocrine therapy provides about a 50% reduction in the development of recurrent disease. A number of publications have focused on the correlation of biomarkers, in particular estrogen and progesterone receptors and HER-2/neu status as well as different gene profiles, multigene assays and genetic polymorphisms with response to hormone therapy. The purpose of this article is to review the literature to identify biological markers predictive of response to tamoxifen and aromatase inhibitors. METHODS A computerized literature search through Medline and ASCO abstract databases was performed, applying the words "endocrine therapy" and "predictive markers" and each of the following: early and metastatic breast cancer, estrogen receptors, progesterone receptors, HER2/neu, multigene assays, polymorphisms. The last search was updated in June 2007. In the examined literature, biological markers were retrospectively assayed to establish whether such variables were predictive for endocrine therapy efficacy. RESULTS The role of estrogen receptor content as a predictor of response to endocrine treatment was confirmed: benefit from endocrine treatment was directly proportional to estrogen receptor levels. Progesterone receptor status was only a strong time-dependent prognostic value, and it has not yet been validated as a predictive factor of tamoxifen efficacy. Retrospective clinical data from upfront and sequential studies of aromatase inhibitors were discordant regarding the degree of benefit of these drugs over tamoxifen according to progesterone receptor status. HER-2 positivity was associated with a significantly greater risk of endocrine therapy failure in metastatic and neoadjuvant settings. The current generation of genomic assays for tamoxifen sensitivity all contain a combination of prognostic information that it is difficult to integrate into clinical practice. CONCLUSIONS Available clinical data are inconclusive to support preferential use of aromatase inhibitors over tamoxifen in progesterone-receptor-negative and HER-2-positive tumors, but it was also clear that lower estrogen receptors, lower progesterone receptors, and positive HER-2 are associated with lower responsiveness to any type of endocrine therapy. Tumors overexpressing HER-2 are endocrine resistant and they require the blockage of the HER-2 pathway in addition to estrogen deprivation. Recent molecular studies have shown that endocrine responsiveness is to a large extent influenced by estrogen-receptor-related pathways. In the future, the key to the correct tailoring of hormone therapy will probably be the ability to subtype estrogen-receptor-positive breast cancer.
On creating reference data for performance analysis in image processing

This thesis investigates methods for the creation of reference datasets for image processing, especially for the dense correspondence problem. Three types of reference data can be identified: Real datasets with dense ground truth, real datasets with sparse or missing ground truth and synthetic datasets. For the creation of real datasets with ground truth a existing method based on depth map fusion was evaluated. The described method is especially suited for creating large amounts of reference data with known accuracy. The creation of reference datasets with missing ground truth was examined on the example of multiple datasets for the automotive industry. The data was used succesfully for verification and evaluation by multiple image processing projects. Finally, it was investigated how methods from computer graphics can be used for creating synthetic reference datasets. Especially the creation of photorealistic image sequences using global illumination has been examined for the task of evaluating algorithms. The results show that while such sequences can be used for evaluation, their creation is hindered by practicallity problems. As an application example, a new simulation method for Time-of-Flight depth cameras which can simulate all relevant error sources of these systems was developed.
Rapid assessment of single‐copy nuclear DNA variation in diverse species

We investigated the use of PCR primers designed to conserved exons within nuclear DNA to amplify potentially variable regions such as introns or hypervariable exons from a wide range of species. We then explored various approaches to assay population‐level variation in these PCR products. Primers designed to amplify regions within the histone H2AF, myoglobin, MHC DQA, and aldolase (ALD) genes gave clean amplifications in diverse mammals (DQA), and in birds, reptiles and mammals (aldolase, H2AF, myoglobin). The sequenced PCR products generally, but not always, confirmed that the correct locus had been amplified. Several primer sets produced smaller size fragments consistent with preferential amplification of intronless pseudogenes; this was confirmed by sequencing seal and reptile H2AF PCR products. Digestion with randomly selected four‐base recognizing enzymes detected variation in some cases but not in others. In species/gene combinations with either low (e.g. seal H2AF, ALD‐A) or high (e.g. skink ALD‐1) nucleotide diversity it was more efficient to sequence a small number of distantly related individuals (e.g. one per geographic population) and from these data to identify informative or potentially informative restriction enzymes for ‘targeted’ digestion. We conclude that for studies of population‐level variation, the optimal approach is to use a battery of primers for initial PCR of both mtDNA and scnDNA loci, select those that give clean amplifications, and sequence one sample from each population to (i) confirm gene identity, (ii) estimate the amount of variation and, (iii) search for diagnostic restriction sites. This will allow determination of the most efficient approach for a large‐scale study.
INTRACEREBRAL ALLOTRANSPLANTATION OF PURIFIED PANCREATIC ENDOCRINE CELLS AND PANCREATIC ISLETS IN DIABETIC RATS

Allogeneic pancreatic endocrine cells (PEC) and whole islets from inbred Lewis (AgB 1/1) and outbred Wistar rats were implanted intracerebrally (i.c.) into two designated areas of streptozotocin-induced diabetic ACI (AgB 4/4) rats across the major histocompatibility barrier. All the transplants of PEC from Lewis (n=12) and Wistar (n=7) donors remained functional for an observation period in excess of 200 days. In contrast, only 3/6 Lewis and 3/9 Wistar whole-islet transplants were able to maintain function for a prolonged period. Recipients with functional PEC or islet allografts had normalized nonfasting blood glucose (BG) in the 24-hr. BG profile, and they maintained a steady body weight gain. ACI recipients of PEC from Lewis rats had glucose disappearance K rates of 1.3±0.3 (mean ± SE) and a normal basal BG level in 4 hr following the i.v. glucose load. Histological section of the brain tissues with successful i.c. islet or PEC grafts up to a duration of 51/2 months revealed healthy endocrine cells in the cortex and the subarachnoid space. These grafts were permeated with capillaries but devoid of exocrine tissues or lymphoid cell infiltration. These observations suggest that the brain is an immunologically privileged site, and that it is a hospitable site for the pancreatic endocrine cell suspension. However, the immunological protection offered to allogeneic transplants by the brain is incomplete, and purified PEC must be employed to ensure consistent long-term allograft survival.
Pyochelin-mediated iron transport in Pseudomonas aeruginosa: involvement of a high-molecular-mass outer membrane protein

An iron-regulated outer membrane protein of 75,000 daltons was strongly expressed following iron limitation of strains of Pseudomonas aeruginosa which fail to produce pyoverdine. A mutant nonderepressible for this protein (K372) was deficient in pyochelin-mediated iron transport at 150 nM FeCl3, consistent with a role for the 75-kDa protein in ferripyochelin transport. Moreover, ferripyochelin specifically protected the 75-kDa protein against trypsin digestion, supporting an interaction between ferripyochelin and the 75-kDa protein. Previous reports implicated a 14,000-dalton outer membrane protein as the receptor for ferripyochelin (P.A. Sokol and D.E. Woods, Infect. Immun. 40:665-669, 1983) and demonstrated that a mutant (FBP-28) expressing a defective 14-kDa outer membrane protein did not exhibit pyochelin-mediated iron transport (P.A. Sokol, J. Bacteriol. 169:3365-3368, 1987). Nonetheless, we were able to demonstrate (i) that FBP-28 was inducible for the 75-kDa protein under iron-limiting conditions and (ii) that concomitant with the induction of this protein in FBP-28, pyochelin-mediated iron uptake at 150 nM FeCl3 was observed. Interestingly, strain K372 did transport ferripyochelin at higher (750 nM) FeCl3 concentrations, suggesting that a second pyochelin-mediated iron transport system, perhaps involving the 14-kDa outer membrane protein identified previously, operates in P. aeruginosa.