Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Cumulative Risk of Metabolic Syndrome Correlated with the Coexistence of (-1306C/T) and Altered Circulating MMP2 level.

BACKGROUND Interindividual genetic variations and environmental factors both play pivotal roles in the pathogenesis of metabolic syndrome (MetS). The rationale of this study conducted was to analyze the association of Matrix Metalloproteinase (MMP) gene variants, MMP-1 (-1607 1G/2G) and MMP-2 (-1306 C/T) with susceptibility to MetS and its effect on serum MMP level. METHODS Study involved 370 subjects with 1:1 distribution of cases and controls. Patients were recruited according to modified NCEP-ATP III criteria for MetS. Clinical, biochemical analysis, PCR-RFLP and ELISA methods were employed for genotyping and estimation of serum MMP level. RESULTS Significantly (p<0.001) higher Serum MMP-2 (39.13±19.96 ng/ml) was detected in cases as compared to controls. The MMP-2 (-1306 C/T) was significantly associated with the risk of MetS. The variant genotype TT was significantly associated with increased risk of MetS. (p=0.032; OR=2.31; 95%CI=1.07-4.97). No significant association of MMP-1(-1607 1G/2G) was found with risk of MetS. CONCLUSION Our study concluded that presence of MMP-2 (-1306 C/T) might be associated the risk of MetS. Serum MMP2 level was significantly higher in patients and correlated with clinical parameters of MetS. Clinical implication of the work may help to identify the individuals with high risk of MetS and further complications.
Native breeds demonstrate high contributions to the molecular variation in northern European sheep

Population contribution to genetic diversity can be estimated using neutral variation. However, population expansion or hybridization of diverged ancestries may weaken correlation between neutral and non‐neutral variation. Microsatellite variation was studied at 25 loci in 20 native and 12 modern or imported northern European sheep breeds. Breed contributions to total gene diversity, allelic richness and mean allele‐sharing distance between individuals were measured. Indications of changes in population size and admixtures of divergent ancestries were investigated and the extent of inbreeding was estimated. The northern European sheep demonstrated signs of reduction in effective population size. Many old, small populations made a substantial positive contribution to total molecular variation, but populations with several divergent major ancestries did not contribute substantially to molecular variation, with the exception of the Norwegian Rygja sheep. However, several diverged major ancestries may cause it to contribute less to non‐neutral variation than expected from the microsatellite data. Breed uniqueness and within‐breed variability generally had opposite effects on breed contributions to molecular diversity. The degree of inbreeding did not reflect the breed contribution to total gene diversity or allelic richness, but inbred populations increased the mean allele‐sharing distance between individuals. Our study indicates breed conservation to be especially important in maintaining allelic variation in northern European sheep and supports the evolutionary importance of peripheral populations.
CHRS: Cold Start Recommendation Across Multiple Heterogeneous Information Networks

Nowadays, people are overwhelmingly exposed to various kinds of information from different information networks. In order to recommend users with the information entities that match their interests, many recommendation methods have been proposed so far. And some of these methods have explored different ways to utilize different kinds of auxiliary information to deal with the information sparsity problem of user feedbacks. However, as a special kind of information sparsity problem, the “cold start” problem is still a big challenge not well-solved yet in the recommendation problem. In order to tackle the “cold start” challenge, in this paper, we propose a novel recommendation model, which integrates the auxiliary information in multiple heterogeneous information networks (HINs), namely the Cross-HIN Recommendation System (CHRS). By utilizing the rich heterogeneous information from meta-paths, the CHRS is able to calculate the similarities of information entities and apply the calculated similarity scores in the recommendation process. For the information entities shared among multiple information networks, CHRS transfers item latent information from other networks to help the recommendation task in a given network. During the information transfer process, CHRS applies a domain adaptation matrix to tackle the domain difference problem. We conduct experiments to compare our CHRS method with several widely employed or the state-of-art recommendation models, and the experimental results demonstrate that our method outperforms the baseline methods in addressing the “cold start” recommendation problem.
Immunoreceptor tyrosine‐based inhibition motifs: a quest in the past and future

Summary: Since an immunoreceptor tyrosine‐based inhibition motif (ITIM) was first identified in the intracytoplasmic domain of FcγRIIB, ITIMs have been found in a large number of inhibitory molecules that were shown to negatively regulate cell activation. Due to their wide tissue distribution and to the variety of their extracellular ligands, ITIM‐containing molecules are involved in the control of a large spectrum of biological functions, mostly but not exclusively related to immunity. On the basis of sequence comparison, ITIMs were structurally defined as 6‐amino acid sequences containing a tyrosine (Y) with loosely conserved N‐terminal (Y−2) and C‐terminal (Y+3) residues. Molecular analysis of signaling events demonstrated that when coaggregated with activating receptors, ITIMs are phosphorylated by Src‐family tyrosine kinases, which enables them to recruit Src homology 2 domain‐containing phosphatases that antagonize activation signals. Because ITIM‐dependent negative regulation seems to be a fundamental regulatory mechanism, both in rodents and in humans, and because it can be used either as a target or as a powerful tool in various diseases, we undertook (i) a genome‐wide search of potential novel ITIM‐containing molecules in humans, mice, frogs, birds, and flies and (ii) a comparative analysis of potential ITIMs in major animal phyla, from mammals to protozoa. We found a surprisingly high number of potential ITIM‐containing molecules, having a great diversity of extracellular domains, and being expressed by a variety of immune and non‐immune cells. ITIMs could be traced back to the most primitive metazoa. The genes that encode ITIM‐containing molecules that belong to the immunoglobulin superfamily or to the C‐lectin family seem to derive from a common set of ancestor genes and to have dramatically expanded and diverged in Gnathostomata (from fish to mammals).
Study on Human Resource Strategy in E-commerce Enterprise

Based on the literatures review, the paper try to make up a coordination model of enterprise strategy and human resource strategy. According to the need of E-commerce enterprise’s development in China, this paper discusses the environmental factors of E-commerce enterprise, and explains the different human resource strategies of different development stages. Furthermore, we put forward the essential requirements in human resource management of E-commerce industry.
Limitations of CD95 ligand‐transduced killer dendritic cells to prevent graft rejections

Abstract: As an attempt to experimentally induce antigen (Ag)‐specific immunosuppression, we have previously created CD95 ligand (CD95L)‐transduced dendritic cells (DC), which delivered apoptotic, but not activation, signals to CD4+ T cells in vitro in an Ag‐dependent manner. We have also demonstrated that CD95L‐transduced DC (termed killer DC) injected into syngeneic animals suppressed delayed‐type hypersensitivity responses to an administered Ag. Based on these findings, we tested whether the injection of killer DC derived from A/J mice (H‐2a) into allogeneic BALB/c recipients (H‐2d) could prolong the survival of A/J‐derived skin grafts by depleting A/J‐reactive effector T cells. This attempt has not been successful. In this study, we elucidate the reasons for this failure, especially in terms of in vitro effects of killer DC on in vivo primed alloreactive T cells. We show that killer DC (i) failed to induce the proliferation of naive alloreactive T cells in a CD95/CD95L‐dependent fashion, (ii) inhibited the proliferation of in vivo primed alloreactive T cells, (iii) killed relatively small fractions (up to 30%) of these T cells in vitro in a CD95/CD95L‐dependent fashion and (iv) significantly, but incompletely, inhibited the generation of cytotoxic T‐lymphocyte activities against A/J determinants. Thus, killer DC have significant, but modest, capacities to suppress in vitro alloimmune responses, which may not be sufficient to prolong the survival of alloskin grafts in a stringent allograft model. This study suggests that the current format of killer DC technology requires more modifications for its clinical application to prevent graft rejection.
Spatial negative priming: Location or response?

In tasks requiring a response to the location of a target stimulus (for example, reaching), responses often are slower to a location that was recently occupied by an irrelevant distractor stimulus. In most demonstrations of this “spatial negative priming” (SNP), there is a 1-to-1 correspondence between possible stimulus locations and possible responses. As such, it is ambiguous whether the effect is due to a location-specific processing delay or to inhibition of a response. In the present experiment, subjects were required to press a key corresponding to the ordinal position of a target O in one of four locations, ignoring a distractor X appearing in another location. Location markers were widely or narrowly spaced, such that the inner two locations of wide displays corresponded to the outer two locations of narrow displays (hence, requiring different responses). SNP occurred when a target appeared at the location of a recent distractor, regardless of whether the response was associated with the distractor. In contrast, no SNP occurred for a target sharing the same response as a distractor, but in a different location. The results strongly support a location-specific, rather than response-specific, locus of SNP.
Central Role of the BvgS Receiver as a Phosphorylated Intermediate in a Complex Two-component Phosphorelay*

Two-component systems use phosphorylation reactions to regulate stimulus/response pathways. In Bordetella pertussis, a human respiratory pathogen, the infectious cycle of the organism is controlled by the BvgAS two-component system. BvgS has similarities to sensor and response regulator components and is an autophosphorylating kinase that phosphorylates BvgA. BvgA, a response regulator, is a DNA-binding protein that activates virulence gene transcription. Three phosphorylated BvgS domains, the transmitter, receiver, and C terminus, are essential for signal transduction. We now demonstrate that the BvgS transmitter is sufficient for autophosphorylation but is unable to phosphorylate the C terminus or BvgA. The BvgS receiver regulates several phenotypes: dephosphorylation of both the BvgS transmitter and C terminus as well as transfer of a phosphoryl group from the transmitter to the C terminus. Our results indicate that BvgAS signal transduction initiates with autophosphorylation of the transmitter followed by phosphotransfer to the receiver. The phosphorylated receiver can donate to the C terminus or to water. The phosphorylated C terminus is then able to transfer the phosphoryl group to BvgA.
Transmission-line directional couplers for impedance transforming

Normalized scattering parameters of a two-port circuit terminated in arbitrary impedances are derived and design equations of directional couplers for impedance transforming are derived. To verify the design equations, a microstrip directional coupler is designed at a center frequency of 2GHz, fabricated on a substrate (epsivr=3.5,H= 30mil, tandelta= 0.04) and measured. The measured performance shows good agreement with the simulated one
Increased Adrenocorticotropin Suppression after Dexamethasone Administration in Sexually Abused Adolescents with Posttraumatic Stress Disorder

Abstract: Evidence suggests that individuals with posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) have enhanced sensitization of the hypothalamic‐pituitary‐adrenocortical (HPA) axis. Fourteen adolescent inpatients with DSM‐IV PTSD were compared with 14 adolescent hospitalized controls without current axis I diagnoses. All patients were drug‐naive. The causative trauma had been sexual abuse in all cases. Dexamethasone, 1 mg orally, was given at 11 PM, 5 days after admission. Baseline blood samples were obtained at 8 AM, and on the following day, adrenocorticotropin (ACTH) and cortisol levels were measured at 8 AM, 4 PM, and 11 PM. Clinical assessment included the Impact of Event Scale, Stanford Acute Stress Reaction Questionnaire, Beck Depression Inventory, and Coping Inventory for Stressful Situations. Post‐DST ACTH levels were significantly lower in PTSD than in control adolescents (at 8 AM, P <0.005; at 4 PM, P <0.001; and at 11PM, P <0.05). In patients, post‐DST cortisol levels were reduced but not significantly. No correlations were found between ACTH and cortisol levels and time elapsed since trauma. These results demonstrate that sexually abused adolescents with PTSD show ACTH hypersuppression to DST, suggesting enhanced glucocorticoid receptor sensitivity in the pituitary.
The Crucial Role of Boundary Spanners — Longitudinal Sourcing. Capability Development in Two Danish Offshoring Enterprises

Discourses on dynamic capabilities of organisations tend to rest in an unclear field of tension between structural and individual explanations. Most contributions submit to the structural features of the concept, yet some allow for explanations of a more individual character, such as top management leadership. This paper conceptualises and analyses the individual contribution of boundary spanners (including both top management and key individuals) to macro-level capability development of organisations. We show how two Danish SMEs’ resources and capabilities transform during an offshoring process of more than five years, where individual capabilities contribute to the struggle to implement changes over time when capabilities are ruptured. We thereby further add to the literature and the understanding of how dynamic capabilities evolve over time in organisations. Specifically the use of key boundary spanners emerges as a key capability in both cases for managing more complex constellations. The boundary spanners were not only the usual external middlemen but also internal employees (mainly expats) and top management succeeding in coping with the new challenges of dealing with sensing, seizing and acting (reconfiguration) over time. The chosen study setting is the longitudinal, strategic sourcing processes of manufacturing enterprises in low-value captive offshoring circumstances. Although each case represents important and potentially unique learning about strategic offshore sourcing, it is assumed that the variations between the cases studied will provide insights that will pave the way for examining the complexity of the strategic offshore sourcing process in low-value offshoring circumstances. We therefore allow ourselves to compare the cases.
[Serum resistin and leptin in patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and their relationship to nutritional state].

OBJECTIVE To investigate the serum resistin and leptin levels, their relationship to nutritional state and the associated factors in patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). METHODS The serum resistin and leptin levels in 57 stable COPD patients and 31 healthy controls were measured by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) and radio-immunoassay respectively. Correlated factors of serum resistin and leptin were analyzed. RESULTS The serum resistin and leptin levels in COPD patients [(2.1 +/- 1.2), (0.65 +/- 0.41) microg/L] were significantly lower than those in the healthy controls [(3.6 +/- 2.3), (1.03 +/- 0.71) microg/L, all P < 0.01]. The serum resistin and leptin levels in patients with malnutrition [(1.7 +/- 0.7), (0.43 +/- 0.16) microg/L] were significantly lower than those in patients without malnutrition [(2.2 +/- 1.2), (0.73 +/- 0.48) microg/L, all P < 0.05]. The serum resistin level in the patients was correlated with the serum leptin level, forced expiratory volume in one second (FEV(1)), and FEV(1)/forced vital capacity (FVC) (r = 0.426 - 0.531, all P < 0.01). The serum leptin level in the patients was correlated with serum resistin, FEV(1)/FVC, body mass index (BMI), percentage of ideal body weight (IBW%), chest circumference and abdominal circumference (r = 0.371 - 0.580, all P < 0.01). CONCLUSION The serum resistin and leptin levels in stable COPD patients were significantly lower, especially in patients with malnutrition.
Functional roles for the TATA promoter and enhancers in basal and Tat-induced expression of the human immunodeficiency virus type 1 long terminal repeat

We have analyzed the contributory role of the human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) promoter and enhancers in basal and Tat-induced transcription. We found that a minimal promoter competent for basal expression is contained within sequences spanning nucleotides -43 to +80. Basal expression from this HIV-1 promoter was boosted more by the additional presence of the NF-kappa B elements than by the Sp1 elements. The minimal long terminal repeat promoter (-43 to +80), while having an intact TAR sequence, was not Tat inducible. However, the simple addition of short synthetic enhancer motifs (AP1, Oct, Sp1, and NF-kappa B) conferred Tat responsiveness. This ability to respond to Tat was in part dependent on the presence of the HIV-1 promoter. Changing the HIV-1 TATA to other eucaryotic TATA or non-TATA initiators minimally affected basal expression but altered Tat inducibility. Our findings suggest a specific context of functional promoter and enhancer elements that is optimal for Tat trans activation of the HIV-1 long terminal repeat. Our results do not allow conclusions about whether Tat acts at the level of initiation or at the level of elongation to be drawn.
Sensorimotor organization in patients who have undergone hemispherectomy: a study with 15O‐water PET and somatosensory evoked potentials

To identify cortical structures that subserve residual motor and sensory function in patients with congenital hemiparesis due to a porencephalic cyst, we examined, using [15O]H2O, PET and somatosensory evoked potentials (SEPs) in three patients with left-sided hemiparesis who had undergone hemispherectomy. Motor stimulation of the affected hand produced ipsilateral activation in the premotor area in all patients, the SMA in two patients, and SII in two patients. Vibrotactile stimulation resulted in activation of the ipsilateral SII in all subjects. Median nerve stimulation of the affected hand produced ipsilateral long-latency SEPs in fronto-centro-parietal areas, whereas stimulation of the non-affected hand produced normal early cortical potentials in the contralateral hemisphere. Our results suggest that residual function in the paretic hand is warranted through non-primary motor and sensory areas, and higher order associative areas in the intact hemisphere.
Influence of sports discipline on shoulder rotator cuff balance.

Isokinetic shoulder rotational strength was evaluated in four groups of subjects as follows: 12 nonathletes, 12 runners, 15 tennis players, and 12 baseball players for a total of 51 subjects. The tests were performed in the seated 45 degrees abducted test position in the scapular plane at 60, 180, and 300 degrees.s-1 for both shoulders. Peak torque and mean power values were gathered, and from these values the internal/external rotation ratios were calculated. Intergroup comparison showed a progression of the ratio related to the sports discipline. The nonathletes and runners had ratios close to those reported for nonathletes (1.3 to 1.5). The tennis players had ratios close to 1.5, whereas the baseball players had ratios from 1.6 to 2.2. The comparison between dominant and nondominant side showed no significant differences in the tennis players and higher values for the dominant side in the nonathletes and runners under certain conditions (180 degrees.s-1 for the nonathletes and 300 degrees.s-1 for the runners). Regarding the baseball players, the ratio was systematically higher for the dominant side. These results raise questions about the influence of sports discipline on the internal/external rotator muscle ratio and indicate the need to establish normative values based on the characteristics of the population under study.
What influences a tourist to return to a cultural destination?

This work has the financial support of the UNIAG-Applied Management Research Unit, RD and Lab2PT-Laboratory of Landscapes, Heritage and Territory-AUR/04509 and of FCTMEC through national funds and when applicable of the ERDF co-financing, under the new partnership agreement PT2020.
The new bronchopulmonary dysplasia

Purpose of review Bronchopulmonary dysplasia (BPD) remains the most common severe complication of preterm birth. A number of recent animal models and clinical studies provide new information about pathophysiology and treatment. Recent findings The epidemiology of BPD continues to demonstrate that birth weight and gestational age are most predictive of BPD. Correlations of BPD with chorioamnionitis are clouded by the complexity of the fetal exposures to inflammation. Excessive oxygen use in preterm infants can increase the risk of BPD but low saturation targets may increase death. Numerous recent trials demonstrate that many preterm infants can be initially stabilized after delivery with continuous positive airway response (CPAP) and then be selectively treated with surfactant for respiratory distress syndrome. The growth of the lungs of the infant with BPD through childhood remains poorly characterized. Summary Recent experiences in neonatology suggest that combining less invasive care strategies that avoid excessive oxygen and ventilation, decrease postnatal infections, and optimize nutrition may decrease the incidence and severity of BPD.
The NOD Mouse: A Model for Insulin‐Dependent Diabetes Mellitus

Nonobese diabetic (NOD) mice spontaneously develop autoimmune T cell‐mediated insulin‐dependent diabetes mellitus (IDDM). This unit presents a protocol for maintaining NOD mice under conditions permissive to full expression of their autoimmune potential. Methods are also described for diagnosing IDDM on the basis of glycosuria and glycosemia as well as for the semiquantitation of insulitis, a valuable subphenotype diagnostic of prediabetes in these mice, including a procedure for aldehyde fuchsin staining to identify β granules in β islet cells for diagnostic purposes. An adoptive‐transfer method is also included in which leukocytes, purified T cells, or T cell infiltrates obtained from the insulitic pancreas tissue of NOD mice are injected into prediabetic NOD or diabetes‐resistant F1 mice, which then develop disease in an accelerated fashion. This protocol also includes alternative steps in which bone‐marrow cells from NOD mice are transferred to syngeneic, irradiated NOD mice, allowing for reconsistution with a diabetogenic immune system. Steps for isolating pancreatic islet cells, which can then be used for a variety of purposes (e.g., as a source of islet antigens to establish and maintain autoreactive T cell lines) are included. Finally, steps are outlined that can be used to introduce transgenes into NOD mice. This protocol also discusses important considerations for introduction of targeted mutations produced in embryonic stem cells derived from other inbred strains, or introduction of other genes from non‐diabetes‐prone strains.