Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Role of PKC in the late phase of microvascular protection induced by preconditioning.

INTRODUCTION We hypothesized that the late phase of microvascular protection induced by ischemic preconditioning or by adenosine is protein kinase C (PKC) dependent. MATERIALS AND METHODS The cremaster muscle of male Sprague-Dawley rats underwent 45 min of ischemic preconditioning and, 24 h later, 4 h of warm ischemia followed by 60 min of reperfusion. To mimic the effects of IPC, adenosine (ADO; an adenosine receptor agonist) or 4-phorbol 12-myristate 13-acetate (PMA; a PKC activator) was delivered to the vascular network of the cremaster 24 h before the prolonged ischemia via local intra-arterial infusion. To block the microvascular protection induced by ADO or IPC, chelerythrine (CHE; a PKC blocker) was given by local intra-arterial infusion prior to the administration of ADO or the initiation of IPC. Microvascular responses in the cremaster muscle to ischemic preconditioning or pharmacological preconditioning were determined by measuring terminal arteriole diameter and capillary perfusion using intravital microscopy and by the evaluation of the endothelium-dependent nitric oxide system in terminal arterioles. RESULTS Blockade of PKC using CHE on day 1 eliminated both ADO- and IPC-induced microvascular protections seen on day 2. However, the microvascular protection induced by the administration of PMA (without IPC) that was given 24 h before the 4 h of warm ischemia/reperfusion was significantly better than the control group response (sham IPC), but was not as good as the protection induced by IPC or ADO alone. CONCLUSION The overall results from these studies suggest that ischemic or ADO preconditioning induces late-phase microvascular protection in skeletal muscle by a PKC-dependent mechanism.
The significance of motivation in periodontal treatment: the influence of adult patients' motivation on the clinical periodontal status.

UNLABELLED Motivation plays an important role in the treatment process of chronic diseases, as treatment requires behavioural change and lifelong adherence to medical recommendations. Periodontitis is a good example of such health condition as to maintain good periodontal health patients have to adhere to a strict oral hygiene regimen. OBJECTIVE To examine whether the motivation of patients suffering from chronic periodontitis influences their clinical periodontal condition. BASIC RESEARCH DESIGN Cross sectional study. CLINICAL SETTING Department of Periodontology and Oral Medicine, Dental University Clinic, Jagiellonian University, Krakow, Poland. PARTICIPANTS 199 adult periodontal patients, aged 20-78 years. INTERVENTIONS Questionnaire concerning patients' medical and dental history, modified Zychlińscy motivation assessment questionnaire, clinical periodontal examination. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES The extent of motivation. Periodontal status evaluated with the use of periodontal indices (API, BOP, CPITN). RESULTS The mean motivation score was 57.4. The mean API and BOP values were 55.7% and 46.4%, respectively. For most of the patients the recorded CPITN value was 3. Correlations were observed between motivation and both API and BOP, and between API and BOP. CONCLUSION Periodontal patients with greater motivation having better oral health (lower API and BOP) suggests an influence on the quality of their self-management of the disease (i.e. adherence to their oral hygiene regimen).
Live-Cell Fluorescence Imaging Reveals the Dynamics of Protein Kinase CK2 Individual Subunits

ABSTRACT Protein kinase CK2 is a multifunctional enzyme which has long been described as a stable heterotetrameric complex resulting from the association of two catalytic (α or α′) and two regulatory (β) subunits. To track the spatiotemporal dynamics of CK2 in living cells, we fused its catalytic α and regulatory β subunits with green fluorescent protein (GFP). Both CK2 subunits contain nuclear localization domains that target them independently to the nucleus. Imaging of stable cell lines expressing low levels of GFP-CK2α or GFP-CK2β revealed the existence of CK2 subunit subpopulations exhibiting differential dynamics. Once in the nucleus, they diffuse randomly at different rates. Unlike CK2β, CK2α can shuttle, showing the dynamic nature of the nucleocytoplasmic trafficking of the kinase. When microinjected in the cytoplasm, the isolated CK2 subunits are rapidly translocated into the nucleus, whereas the holoenzyme complex remains in this cell compartment, suggesting an intramolecular masking of the nuclear localization sequences that suppresses nuclear accumulation. However, binding of FGF-2 to the holoenzyme triggers its nuclear translocation. Since the substrate specificity of CK2α is dramatically changed by its association with CK2β, the control of the nucleocytoplasmic distribution of each subunit may represent a unique potential regulatory mechanism for CK2 activity.
Economic inefficiency in a revenue setting: the Norwegian whitefish fishery

ABSTRACT The main focus in the inefficiency literature is on suboptimal input use and how this causes increased costs, due to technical and allocative inefficiency. Production or cost functions are then typically used to describe the underlying technology of the firm. The possible revenue loss, due to lower than maximum production levels and suboptimal output mix, has received substantially less attention. By using a revenue function to measure inefficiency, the focus, model and estimation technique presented in this article differ from those of previous studies. A shadow revenue model is used to decompose revenue inefficiency into its technical and allocative components, in which the allocative inefficiency is due to a suboptimal output mix. The approach is illustrated using panel data of Norwegian whitefish trawlers. The results reveal large inefficiencies, with respect to output levels as well as output mix, indicating that this can be an important part of the picture when investigating economic inefficiency. To identify the determinants of revenue inefficiency, we conduct a second-step regression, in which technical and allocative inefficiency is regressed upon a set of explanatory variables. The inefficiencies are partly explained by the management system and fleet structure.
Antibiotics and bioactive natural products in treatment of methicillin resistant Staphylococcus aureus: A brief review

Infections caused by Staphylococcus aureus strains with Methicillin resistance are associated with increased mortality and morbidity, aggressive course, multiple drug resistance and hospital outbreaks. Several first and second line antibiotics are rapidly becoming ineffective for treatment due to emergence of resistance. Extracts of medicinal plants are rich source of unique phytochemicals. Plants used in traditional medicine have been reported to have significant anti-MRSA activity. The objective of this review is to provide a brief overview of antibiotics as well as anti-MRSA natural products and their future prospect.
Experimental evaluation of the service time for industrial hybrid (wired/wireless) networks under non-ideal environmental conditions

In industrial communication systems, the unavailability of models of real components, in particular of their behavior in the presence of non-ideal channels, often leads to consistent differences between theoretical/simulative analysis and experimental results. In this paper we consider a hybrid (Ethernet/IEEE 802.11) network employing access points from different vendors and measure a specific performance index, namely the service time, for various transmission rates focusing on the effects of both internal component behaviors and channel conditions. The obtained results show how, in case of small payload packets transmitted on noisy channels, the choice of a fixed low transmission rate guarantees better service times. Indeed, decreasing the transmission rate on the wireless segment below 54 Mb/s reveals effective, since it limits the occurrence of packet errors and the consequent retransmissions reducing the service time variability to the intrinsic randomness of the employed devices.
Factors affecting time to pregnancy.

BACKGROUND Both lifestyle factors and occupational and environmental factors have been suggested to affect the female reproductive system. In the present study, the separate and joint effects of several such factors are investigated. METHODS Information on time to pregnancy (TTP) was available for 1578 women randomly selected from the general Swedish population. The information was collected retrospectively by using self-administered questionnaires. By means of logistic regression of survival data, fecundability odds ratios were determined for many factors. Multivariate models were used to determine which factors had the most impact on TTP. RESULTS Several lifestyle factors were found to associate with TTP. However, only use of oral contraceptives prior to attempting to conceive, menstrual cycle length, age at conception and parity remained in the multivariate models. Together, these factors explained 14% of the variance in TTP. Excluding first and second month conceptions, only age at conception and menstrual cycle length remained in the multivariate models, together explaining only 8% of the variance in TTP. CONCLUSIONS Although information on several factors was available, the multivariate model explained only a small fraction of the variation in the observed time to pregnancies. Furthermore, female biological factors seemed more important predictors of TTP than lifestyle factors.
A novel A121T mutation in human cationic trypsinogen associated with hereditary pancreatitis: functional data indicating a loss-of-function mutation influencing the R122 trypsin cleavage site

Background: The understanding of genetic risk factors for chronic pancreatitis increased in the last decade with the discovery of mutations in the cationic trypsinogen gene (PRSS1). The first mutation was detected at the R122 autocleavage site of the protein (R122H) and subsequently two other mutations in this region, R122C and V123M, were described that resulted in a similar phenotype of hereditary pancreatitis. This study reports a novel A121T mutation within this region and characterises the resulting molecular properties at the autocleavage site. Methods: Blood samples of a PRSS1 A121T carrier family were analysed for PRSS1 mutations using melting point curve analysis, restriction endonucleases and DNA sequencing. Conformation dependent properties of the mutated sequence were analysed by molecular modelling. The autodegradation kinetic of the mutated trypsin sequence was measured by a novel fluorescence resonance energy transfer (FRET) assay using designed 11 amino acid peptides from PRSS1 aa 118 – aa 127 containing the trypsin cleavage site at aa 122 coupled to a Dabcyl/EDANS FRET system. The kinetic of tryptic peptide cleavage was measured in a fluorescence enzyme linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) reader. Results: DNA sequencing revealed a novel G to A transition at position 133279 of the published genomic sequence (#U66061 GenBank). The mutation results in an amino acid substitution of alanine by threonine at position 121 (A121T) of the cationic trypsinogen. Four additional mutation carriers could be identified among the relatives while only the first patient developed chronic pancreatitis. Molecular modelling of PRSS1 A121T revealed a change in the bond pattern between the R122 region and the calcium binding loop, whereas FRET assays showed an increased trypsin cleavage rate with a reaction kinetic elevated by more than 80%. Conclusion: The novel PRSS1 A121T mutation highlights the surface exposed region PRSS1 A121-R122-V123 as a hotspot for hereditary pancreatitis associated trypsinogen mutations. Molecular modelling and FRET assays provide evidence for an A121T mutation dependent increase in susceptibility to trypsin digestion at the R122 cleavage site suggesting an enhanced autodegradation and a loss-of-function at the autocleavage site.
Hedging News with Cash and Debt

I study the effect of information risk on firms’ financing policies in a model of dynamic leverage and dynamic debt maturity. New information affects credit spreads, and this is distinct from the effect of a cash shortfall on the borrowing need. Exposure to the volatility in credit spreads is value-reducing. To minimize the cost, firms pre-borrow — issue long-term debt before they need the funds, and keep proceeds in cash. Firms also prefer to spread the maturity dates, and use short-term debt only when close to financial distress and expect to delever in the future. ∗WU Vienna University of Economics and Business. Welthandelsplatz 1, A-1020 Vienna, Austria, phone: +43 1 313 36 5071, email: maria.chaderina@wu.ac. at. Previously circulated under the title “Pre-borrowing motive: A Model of Co-existent Cash and Debt Holdings”. I will always be greatfur to Rick Green for guidance and support. I would also like to thank Laurence Ales, Thomas Dangl, Brent Glover, Burton Hollifield, Yaroslav Kryukov, Lars-Alexander Kuehn, Christian Laux, Nicolas Petrosky-Nadeau and seminar participants at BI, WU Vienna University, HEC Lausanne, Copenhagen Business School, KHUST, Delaware, UBC, Washington University, Baruch and VGSF and participants of EFA 2012, SAET 2012 and 2012 Nordic Workshop for helpful comments and suggestions.
Development of T Cells Redirected to Glypican-3 for the Treatment of Hepatocellular Carcinoma

Purpose: The aim of our study is to elucidate whether T cells expressing GPC3-targeted chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) can efficiently eliminate GPC3-positive HCC cells and their potential in the treatment of HCC. Experimental Design: T cells expressing a first-generation and third-generation GPC3-targeted CAR were prepared using lentiviral vector transduction. The in vitro and in vivo cytotoxic activities of the genetically engineered CAR T cells were evaluated against various HCC cell lines. Results: GPC3-targeted CAR T cells could efficiently kill GPC3-positive HCC cells but not GPC3-negative cells in vitro. These cytotoxic activities seemed to be positively correlated with GPC3 expression levels in the target cells. In addition, T cells expressing the third-generation GPC3-targeted CAR could eradicate HCC xenografts with high level of GPC3 expression and efficiently suppress the growth of HCC xenografts with low GPC3 expression level in vivo. The survival of the mice bearing established orthotopic Huh-7 xenografts was significantly prolonged by the treatment with the third-generation GPC3-targeted CAR T cells. Conclusions: GPC3-targeted CAR T cells could potently eliminate GPC3-positive HCC cells, thereby providing a promising therapeutic intervention for GPC3-positive HCC. Clin Cancer Res; 20(24); 6418–28. ©2014 AACR.
Arsenic Metabolism, Genetic Susceptibility, and Risk of Premalignant Skin Lesions in Bangladesh

We conducted a case-control study to investigate interindividual variability in susceptibility to health effects of inorganic arsenic due to arsenic metabolism efficiency, genetic factors, and their interaction. A total of 594 cases of arsenic-induced skin lesions and 1,041 controls was selected from baseline participants in a large prospective cohort study in Bangladesh. Adjusted odds ratios (OR) for skin lesions were estimated in relation to the polymorphisms in the glutathione S-transferase ω1 and methylenetetrahydrofolate reductase genes, the percentage of monomethylarsonous acid (%MMA) and dimethylarsinic acid (%DMA) in urine, and the ratios of MMA to inorganic arsenic and DMA to MMA. Water arsenic concentration was positively associated with %MMA and inversely associated with %DMA. The dose-response relationship of risk of skin lesion with %MMA was more apparent than those with other methylation indices; the ORs for skin lesions in relation to increasing %MMA quartiles were 1.00 (reference), 1.33 [95% confidence interval (95% CI), 0.92-1.93], 1.68 (95% CI, 1.17-2.42), and 1.57 (95% CI, 1.10-2.26; P for trend = 0.01). The ORs for skin lesions in relation to the methylenetetrahydrofolate reductase 677TT/1298AA and 677CT/1298AA diplotypes (compared with 677CC/1298CC diplotype) were 1.66 (95% CI, 1.00-2.77) and 1.77 (95% CI, 0.61-5.14), respectively. The OR for skin lesions in relation to the glutathione S-transferase ω1 diplotype containing all at-risk alleles was 3.91 (95% CI, 1.03-14.79). Analysis of joint effects of genotypes/diplotypes with water arsenic concentration and urinary %MMA suggests additivity of these factors. The findings suggest that arsenic metabolism, particularly the conversion of MMA to DMA, may be saturable and that differences in urinary arsenic metabolites, genetic factors related to arsenic metabolism, and their joint distributions modulate arsenic toxicity. (Cancer Epidemiol Biomarkers Prev 2007;16(6):1270–8)
Aberrant FHIT transcripts in acute myeloid leukaemia

Recently the FHIT gene (fragile histidine triad gene) has been identified at chromosome 3p14.2 and a high frequency of abnormalities in this gene has been demonstrated in various cancers. To determine the role of the FHIT gene in leukaemia, bone marrow or peripheral blood from 62 acute myeloid leukaemia patients and five haemopoietic cell lines (HL60, U937, Raji, KG‐1, K562) were analysed by reverse transcription of the FHIT mRNA followed by PCR amplification and sequencing of the products. To detect the deletion of the FHIT gene, 17 cases were evaluated using microsatellite polymorphism analysis. In this study, 17/62 (27%) AML patients expressed aberrant transcripts which lack two or more exons of the FHIT gene, and all the cell lines exhibited the aberrant FHIT transcripts. No cases exhibited a loss of the FHIT alleles. Our data indicated that the FHIT gene may play a role in myeloid carcinogenesis and may be indicated in the late progression of the disease.
Structure and chromosomal localization of the human and murine genes for the macrophage MARCO receptor.

The structures of the human and mouse genes for the macrophage receptor with collagenous structure were determined. Both genes have 17 exons, of which exons 4-15 encode the collagenous domain. The transcription initiation sites in the mouse gene were identified using primer extension, SI nuclease mapping, and 5' capturing rapid amplification of cDNA ends assays. All three methods revealed two major initiation sites, one starting 27 bp downstream of a TATA box and another at positions -63 and -66 downstream of an AT-rich region. Several potential binding sites for transcription factors were identified in the promoter region, neither gene has a CAAT box or GC boxes. The human and mouse genes were localized to syntenic regions on chromosomes 2 and 1, respectively, using fluorescence in situ hybridization.
A Coupling Relationship between the Eco-Environment Carrying Capacity and New-Type Urbanization: A Case Study of the Wuhan Metropolitan Area in China

Ongoing global urbanization is imposing tremendous pressure on the eco-environment. Research on the coupling of the eco-environment and urbanization has important significance for the sustainable development of urban metropolitan. Looking at the Wuhan Metropolitan Area, which includes nine cities, as a case study area, this paper describes an empirical study done to uncover the interactive coupling relationship between the eco-environment and new-type urbanization in the urban metropolitan area from the perspective of eco-environment carrying capacity. The eco-environment carrying capacity evaluation index system was set up using the pressure-state-response (PSR) model, and then the coupling model was built. The results indicate that the eco-environment carrying capacity in the Wuhan Metropolitan Area is generally sustainable and has three grades. The quality of new-type urbanization in the nine cities in the Wuhan Metropolitan Area shows clear spatial heterogeneity. There are five types of the coupling relationship including moderate coordinated development, elementary coordinated development, reluctant coordinated development, edge of maladjustment, and mild maladjustment between the eco-environment carrying capacity and new-type urbanization level in the Wuhan Metropolitan Area. Therefore, this paper proposes corresponding policies from the aspects of coordinating the industrial division of labor, focusing on the eco-environment carrying threshold and strengthening policy guidance.
Young adults' interpretations of tobacco brands: implications for tobacco control.

INTRODUCTION Marketers have long recognized the power and importance of branding, which creates aspirational attributes that increase products' attractiveness. Although brand imagery has traditionally been communicated via mass media, packaging's importance in promoting desirable brand-attribute associations has increased. Knowledge of how groups prone to smoking experimentation interpret tobacco branding would inform the debate over plain packaging currently occurring in many countries. METHODS We conducted 12 group discussions and four in-depth interviews with 66 young adult smokers and nonsmokers of varying ethnicities from two larger New Zealand cities and one provincial city. Participants evaluated 10 familiar and unfamiliar tobacco brands using brand personality attributes and discussed the associations they had made. RESULTS Participants ascribed very different images to different brands when exposed to the packaging alone, regardless of whether they had seen or heard of the brands before. Perceptual mapping of brands and image attributes highlighted how brand positions varied from older, more traditional, and male oriented to younger, feminine, and "cool. " CONCLUSIONS Our findings emphasize the continuing importance of tobacco branding as a promotion tool, even when communicated only by packaging. The ease with which packaging alone enabled young people to identify brand attributes and the desirable associations these connoted illustrate how tobacco packaging functions as advertising. The results support measures such as plain packaging of tobacco products to reduce exposure to these overt behavioral cues.
Canine Gastrointestinal Stromal Tumors

Gastrointestinal stromal tumors (GISTs), leiomyomas, and leiomyosarcomas are common mesenchymal neoplasms in the gastrointestinal (GI) tract of dogs. As previously diagnosed smooth muscle tumors of the canine GI tract are increasingly reclassified as GISTs, it becomes important to identify additional criteria that may assist in the diagnosis of these neoplasms, provide prognostic information, and offer targets for therapy. Examination of cluster of differentiation (CD), molecule expression (such as KIT [CD117] and CD34) as well as gross, histologic, and immunohistochemical features (such as tumor size, tumor location, mitotic index, AgNOR, and Ki67 labeling) in human GISTs has revealed new and valuable prognostic, diagnostic, and therapeutic information. In this study, GISTs were examined for the gross, histologic, and immunohistochemical features listed above. Forty-nine cases of canine gastrointestinal mesenchymal neoplasms from the Animal Medical Center (New York, NY) were categorized as GISTs (KIT positive), leiomyosarcoma/leiomyoma (KIT negative, smooth muscle actin [SMA], and/or desmin positive), or other (KIT, SMA, and desmin negative). A proportion (55%) of canine cases previously diagnosed as smooth muscle tumors were reclassified as GISTs according to KIT immunoreactivity. Statistical correlations with survival data were not possible because of insufficient follow-up data. However, there was a significant difference between mitotic index, AgNOR, and Ki67 scores depending on the location of the tumor (small vs large intestine). This study represents the first time CD34 immunoreactivity has been demonstrated in canine GISTs.