Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Extract of Prunus persica flesh (PPFE) improves chemotherapeutic efficacy and protects against nephrotoxicity in cisplatin‐treated mice

Cisplatin (cis‐diamminedichloroplatinum II) is one of the most effective chemotherapeutic agents used in the treatment of a variety of human solid tumors. However, its clinical use is rather limited as a result of severe nephrotoxicity. The principal objective of this study was to evaluate the protective effect of Prunus persica flesh extract (PPFE) against cisplatin‐induced nephrotoxicity in animal models, and whether its use influences the therapeutic efficacy of cisplatin. The administration of PPFE alone significantly inhibited the growth of CT‐26 colon carcinoma xenografted onto mice without adverse effects. The combination of PPFE and cisplatin enhanced the inhibitory effect of cisplatin against tumor growth. In a xenograft model involving the repeated administration of low‐dose cisplatin for 15 days, and in an acute toxicity model involving a single administration of high‐dose cisplatin over a 16 h period, the administration of PPFE in combination with and prior to the cisplatin injection reversed the cisplatin‐induced reduction in the kidney weight. PPFE blocked the increases in the serum blood urea nitrogen and creatinine levels associated with the kidney damage. Moreover, the administration of PPFE induced a significant reduction in cisplatin‐induced oxidative stress. These results indicate that PPFE may promote the therapeutic efficacy of cisplatin therapy, while attenuating its inherent nephrotoxicity. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Adaptive Fusion of Human Visual Sensitive Features for Surveillance Video Summarization

Surveillance video camera captures a large amount of continuous video stream every day. To analyze or investigate any significant events, it is laborious and boring job to identify these events from the huge video data if it is done manually. Existing approaches sometime neglect key frames with significant visual contents and/or select some unimportant frames with low/no activity. To solve this problem, in the paper a video summarization technique is proposed by combining three multi-modal human visual sensitive features such as foreground objects, motion information and visual saliency. In a video stream, foreground objects are one of the most important content of a video as they contain more detail information and play a major role for important events. Moreover, motion is another stimulus of a video which attracts human visual attention significantly. To obtain this, motion information is calculated in spatial as well as frequency domain. Spatial motion information can select object motion accurately; however it is sensitive to illumination changes. On the other hand, frequency motion information is robust to illumination change, although it is easily affected by noise. Therefore, motion information both in spatial and frequency domain is employed. Furthermore, visual attention cue is a sensitive feature to measure the indication of user’s attraction label for determining key frames. As these features individually cannot perform every well, they are combined to obtain better results. For this propose, an adaptive linear weighted fusion scheme is proposed to combine the features to rank video frames for summarization. Experimental results reveal that the proposed method outperforms the state of the art method. © 2017 Optical
Zinc Cluster Protein Rdr1p Is a Transcriptional Repressor of thePDR5 Gene Encoding a Multidrug Transporter*

The yeast PDR5 gene encodes an efflux pump that confers multidrug resistance. Expression of PDR5is positively regulated by the transcription factors Pdr1p and Pdr3p that recognize the same pleiotropic drug resistance elements (PDREs) in the PDR5 promoter. Pdr1p and Pdr3p belong to the Gal4p family of zinc cluster proteins. The function of RDR1(YOR380W), which also encodes a member of this family, is unknown. To identify target genes for Rdr1p, we have performed whole-genome analysis of gene expression with DNA microarrays. Our results show that Rdr1p is a transcriptional repressor of five genes, including PDR5. A Δrdr1 strain has increased resistance to cycloheximide, as expected from the overexpression ofPDR5. In addition, the activity of a PDR5-lacZ reporter is increased in a Δrdr1 strain. All (but one) genes affected by removal of Rdr1p contain PDREs in their promoters. We tested if the effect of Rdr1p is mediated through PDREs by inserting this DNA element in front of a minimal promoter. Activity of this reporter was increased in a Δrdr1 strain. Moreover, mutations known to reduce binding of Pdr1/Pdr3p abolished the induction observed in the Δrdr1 strain. Thus, we have identified a transcriptional repressor involved in the control of multidrug resistance.
Membrane Trafficking Pathways in Alzheimer's Disease

Membrane proteins are constantly being trafficked in cells and the relevant proteins in Alzheimer's disease (AD), such as the amyloid precursor protein (APP) and its processing enzymes, are not exempted from that. Molecular cell biologists have been endeavoring to ascertain a roadmap for APP processing and trafficking in various cell types including neurons. This has led to the identification of numerous regulatory sorting mechanisms, protein–protein interactions and lipidic microenvironments that largely define how and where the substrate APP meets its processing enzymes. However, the cell biology of tau, and the formation of neurofibrillary tangles, has long been regarded as a separate field. Nonetheless, recent progress is bringing both worlds together in a new paradigm on how Aβ toxicity and tau are physiologically connected. Here, we discuss an update of our current appraisal on how membrane trafficking may play an important role in the pathogenesis of the disease and how this could be exploited for effective therapy.
Direct Transcriptional Control of the Plasminogen Activator Gene of Yersinia pestis by the Cyclic AMP Receptor Protein

ABSTRACT Horizontal gene transfer events followed by proper regulatory integration of a gene drive rapid evolution of bacterial pathogens. A key event in the evolution of the highly virulent plague bacterium Yersinia pestis was the acquisition of plasmid pPCP1, which carries the plasminogen activator gene, pla. This promoted the bubonic form of the disease by increasing bacterial dissemination from flea bite sites and incidentally enhanced replication in respiratory airways during pneumonic infection. We determined that expression of pla is controlled by the global regulator cyclic AMP (cAMP) receptor protein (Crp). This transcription factor is well conserved among distantly related bacteria, where it acts as a soluble receptor for the ubiquitous signaling molecule cAMP and controls a global network of metabolic and stress-protective genes. Crp has a similar physiological role in Y. pestis since loss of its function resulted in an inability to metabolize a variety of nonglucose substrates. Activation of pla expression requires a transcription activation element of the pla promoter that serves as a Crp binding site. Crp interaction with this site was demonstrated to occur only in the presence of cAMP. Alteration of the Crp binding site nucleotide sequence prevented in vitro formation of Crp-DNA complexes and inhibited in vivo expression of pla. The placement of pla under direct regulatory control of Crp highlights how highly adapted pathogens integrate laterally acquired genes to coordinate virulence factor expression with global gene networks to maintain homeostasis through the infectious life cycle.
Signal Transduction Pathway of Human Fibroblast Growth Factor Receptor 3

Stimulation of fibroblast growth factor receptor 3 (FGFR3) results in a variety of functional effects, including regulation of epithelial cell growth and differentiation. In order to characterize the signaling pathway through which FGFR3 regulates cell growth, L6 cells lacking any endogenous FGFR were stably transfected with the two different human isoforms, FGFR3 IIIb and FGFR3 IIIc, that result from alternative splicing of exon III of the FGFR3 gene encoding the ligand binding domain. Expression of FGFR3 IIIc in stably transfected L6 cells conferred growth responses to several members of the FGF family including FGF-1, −2, −4, and −6, while FGFR3 IIIb-expressing cells responded only to FGF-1. Activation of FGFR3 upon ligand binding resulted in activation of mitogen-activated protein kinase pathway. FGFR3 utilizes two different pools of adapter protein GRB2 to link to Ras. Activated FGFR3 predominantly interacts with GRB2·Sos in complex with a previously identified 90-kDa protein and designated protein 80K-H. In addition, 80K-H·GRB2·Sos complex was found to contain a novel 66-kDa protein. Tyrosine phophorylation of the 66-kDa protein was dependent on ligand activation of FGFR3, suggesting that the 66-kDa protein may play an important role in FGFR3-specific signaling. In addition to this unique pathway, FGFR3 also links to GRB2·Sos complex via the adapter protein Shc. Furthermore, activated FGFR3 was not able to induce dissociation of GRB2·Sos complex following Sos phosphorylation. In summary, FGFR3 signaling pathway utilizes two GRB2-containing complexes; Shc·GRB2·Sos and 80K-H·pp66·GRB2·Sos; these two complexes may alternatively link FGFG3 to mitogen-activated protein kinase. Finally, activated FGFR3 was also found to result in phosphorylation of phospholipase C-γ but reduced phosphorylation of c-Src.
Hormonal Control of Meiosis Initiation in the Testis from Japanese Newt, Cynops pyrrhogaster

Abstract Meiosis is an event that occurs prerequisitely and specifically in gametogenesis. However, the mechanisms of conversion from mitosis to meiosis are poorly understood. I will review the results so far obtained by us using newt testis as a model system, and discuss about the extrinsic mechanism(s) controlling the conversion from mitosis to meiosis. In the newt spermatogonia enter meiosis in the 8th generation after 7 mitotic divisions. We developed organ and reaggregate culture systems with a chemically defined medium in which porcine follicle-stimulating hormone (pFSH) promotes spermatogonial proliferation and differentiation into primary spermatocytes. Human recombinant stem cell factor (RhSCF) in vitro stimulates the spermatogonial proliferation and progression to the 7th generation, but not the differentiation into primary spermatocytes; instead they die of apoptosis. The reason why rhSCF does not stimulate meiosis entrance seems to be due to the low level expression of c-kit protein at the 7th generation of spermatogonia. Ovine PRL induces apoptosis in the 7th generation of spermatogonia in vivo and in vitro. Incubation of newts at low temperature causes spermatogonial apoptosis by the elevation of plasma PRL titer. In the absence of FSH in organ culture spermatogonia can progress until the 7th generation, but the 8th generation never appear due to the apoptosis. Altogether there seems to be a regulatory checkpoint for entrance into meiosis in the 7th generation. Spermatogonia could circumvent the checkpoint by the influence of some factor(s) produced by Sertoli cells upon activation by FSH. Trial to isolate factor(s) responsible for the meiosis-initiation is now underway.
Role of the TCF4 Gene Intronic Variant in Normal Variation of Corneal Endothelium

Purpose: To identify early features of Fuchs endothelial dystrophy (FED) in carriers of the rs613872(G) transcription factor 4 gene (TCF4) aged 20 to 21 years. Methods: Prospective cohort study of people aged 20 to 21 years previously enrolled in the Western Australia Pregnancy (Raine) Cohort. Specular microscopy was performed using a noncontact specular microscopy (EM-3000; Tomey, Nagoya, Japan). Individual genotype data were extracted from the genome-wide Illumina 660 Quad Array. Analysis of the association between the rs613872 risk allele in TCF4 and specular microscopic measurements was conducted. Results: Association between the rs613872 risk allele and corneal endothelial cell density (CD) as well as the coefficient of variation in cell shape was the main outcome measure. Genotype and specular microscopic data were available for a total of 445 participants (46% women). The median CD was 2851 and 2850 cells per square millimeter in the right and left eyes, respectively. No significant differences between intereye variability in endothelial CD were seen (right eye to left eye correlation = 0.64); however, a significant difference in variability of endothelial CD between men and women was observed (male: OD, 2839 ± 124 cells/mm2 and OS, 2845 ± 124 cells/mm2 vs. female: OD, 2838 ± 134 cells/mm2 and OS, 2842 ± 132 cells/mm2; OD, P = 0.0013 and OS, P = 0.0016). Eleven individuals were homozygous for the rs613872 risk allele. We found no association between rs613872 genotype and CD or coefficient of variation. One of 11 homozygous GG individuals was found to have a gutta in 1 sample field on specular microscopy, whereas 2 of 297 TT individuals also had a gutta each in 1 sample field. Conclusions: We were unable to detect an association between TCF4 rs613872 genotype and the variation in corneal endothelial CD or variation in cell morphology in a healthy young adult population.
Note on Learners' Control of the Frequency of Model Presentation during Skill Acquisition

Learners (30 men, 15 women in three groups), given an opportunity to control the frequency with which they viewed a model during initial practice of the badminton long serve, acquired and retained a level of movement form that was equivalent to learners who viewed the model 100% of the time and significantly superior to learners who never viewed the model.
Correlates of physical activity among women from diverse racial/ethnic groups.

OBJECTIVE Women have lower rates of participation in leisure time physical activity than men and have been studied to a lesser extent than men. Because physical activity plays a vital role in overall health, it is important to identify factors than can help increase physical activity rates for women. METHODS Defining and understanding correlates of physical activity is critical for at-risk populations and for planning effective interventions. This paper reviews research conducted in the past two decades on correlates of physical activity in women. An ecological model with an added physical environment component was used to organize the correlates. Studies conducted among adult white, black, American Indian, Asian, and Hispanic women are included. A total of 91 studies were reviewed. Many studies included white women, fewer studies included black and Hispanic women, and even fewer included American Indian women, and only 3 studies included Asian women. RESULTS The correlates most studied are sociodemographic variables, with nonwhite race, lower educational levels, and older age most consistently associated with lower levels of physical activity. Few studies focused on environmental and policy correlates. Social support was an overwhelmingly positive determinant of physical activity for all groups of women. CONCLUSIONS Based on these findings, we recommend that future research include more diverse groups of women and evaluate modifiable factors, such as psychological, interpersonal, and environmental correlates. Future research also should include more intervention and longitudinal studies.
Effects of silver nanoparticles on human dermal fibroblasts and epidermal keratinocytes

Biomedical application of silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) has been rapidly increasing. Owing to their strong antimicrobial activity, AgNPs are used in dermatology in the treatment of wounds and burns. However, recent evidence for their cytotoxicity gives rise to safety concerns. This study was undertaken as a part of an ongoing programme in our laboratory to develop a topical agent for wound healing. Here, we investigated the potential toxicity of AgNPs using normal human dermal fibroblasts (NHDF) and normal human epidermal keratinocytes (NHEK) with the aim of comparing the effects of AgNPs and ionic silver (Ag-I). Besides the effect of AgNPs and Ag-I on cell viability, the inflammatory response and DNA damage in AgNPs and Ag-I–treated cells were examined. The results showed that Ag-I were significantly more toxic than AgNPs both on NHDF and NHEK. Non-cytotoxic concentrations of AgNPs and Ag-I did not induce DNA strand breaks and did not affect inflammatory markers, except for a transient increase in interleukin 6 levels in Ag-I–treated NHDF. The results showed that AgNPs are more suitable for the intended application as a topical agent for wound healing up to the concentration 25 µg/mL.
Validation of Food Frequency Questionnaire for Assessing Dietary Macronutrients and Calcium Intake in Italian Children and Adolescents

Objectives: To validate a food frequency questionnaire to determine calcium and macronutrient intake in healthy children and adolescents. Materials and Methods: The questionnaire consisted of 16 main food groups containing the main foods composing the diet of Italian children, a total of 136 items and 23 questions about food habits, supplements and servings. Color photographs to identify serving size were included. The questionnaire was validated by comparing it with the 7-day weighed record method in 37 healthy volunteers in two different age groups: children aged 6 - 10 years (n = 18) and adolescents aged 16 - 20 years (n = 19). Results: The food frequency questionnaire seemed to overestimate the nutrient intake when compared with 7-day weighed records; however the two methods were highly correlated for all the nutrients considered. The range of Pearson's correlations between energy and nutrient intake (protein, fat, carbohydrates and calcium) determined from food frequency questionnaire and 7-day weighed record were 0.5-0.6 in children and 0.5-0.8 in young adults. Agreement between the two methods in classifying relative intakes was examined by determining the frequency of similar classification into terciles. Two thirds of the subjects were correctly classified for most nutrients, with a very low (2% to 5%) percentage of grossly misclassifications. Discussion: The food frequency questionnaire has proved adequate to rank a pediatric population in terms of calcium and macronutrient intakes. The ranking of subjects is extremely useful for epidemiologic studies evaluating the relation between nutrient intake and disease.
Object Detection and Pose Tracking In Augmented Reality

These papers introduce technique for object detection and pose tracking with a monocular camera for augmented reality applications. To visually merge a virtual object onto a real scene with geometrical consistency, a camera pose with respect to the scene needs to be computed. AR Toolkit is software that provides the facility to create AR systems. This paper is study a fiducially marker based Augmented Reality system, the algorithms it uses and how it can be implemented.
Pediatric acute myeloid leukemia and drug resistance in the context of microarray studies

Genome and transcriptome profiling methods are increasingly used in studies of pediatric acute myeloid leukemia (AML). AML can be distinguished from acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) on the basis of gene expression profiles; so too can the various subclasses of these two forms be further distinguished and genetically characterized. Genome-wide analysis studies (GWAS) have also contributed to new insights into the biological basis of the mechanisms of drug resistance, and allow the identification of new prognostic factors and the potential for targeted therapy. On the basis of changes in gene expression level, it is also possible to predict the risk of early recurrence and prognosis at the time of diagnosis of de novo leukemia. Although the possibility to analyze gene expression profiles already presents significant progress in our understanding of the complex pathobiology of pediatric AML, the introduction of new microarrays formats, such as CGH, SNP, CpG islands or antibodies, should be considered to build a complete picture of the cells in this form of cancer.
A resilience intervention in African-American adults with type 2 diabetes.

OBJECTIVES To explore the feasibility and outcomes of a resilience-based diabetes self-management education (RB-DSME) program to improve psychological and physiological health in African-American adults with type 2 diabetes. METHODS An experimental group (N = 32) received RB-DSME and a comparison group (N = 33) received standard DSME. Psychological and physiological measures were taken at baseline and 6 months. ANCOVAs assessed whether the experimental group improved its overall outcome relative to the comparison group, while controlling for baseline scores. RESULTS The experimental group's outcomes were significantly improved vis-à-vis the comparison group for diabetes knowledge, positive meaning, HDL cholesterol, and fasting blood glucose. CONCLUSIONS The RB-DSME shows feasibility and promise for enhancing health; a full-scale randomized trial is warranted.
E-commerce in the aerial mapping industry: A New Zealand case study

This research describes the adoption and the usage of Internet commerce technologies (EC) in a small to medium‐sized business (SME) in New Zealand. The case study is part of the aerial mapping industry. By relying on the technological innovation theories in the context of small business, this research looks at determinants of EC adoption and success in this SME. The findings in this research highlight the importance of the technological factors in general and the relative advantage characteristic specifically in driving the EC phenomenon in the case study. The individual context has further endorsed the central role of the CEO and his characteristics in adopting new technological innovations. However, EC usage in business in the case study was limited and its success expected to happen in the long terms projections only. The research addresses both theoretical as well as professional contributions and highlights implications in EC research in the case study.
Hyperacute stroke: evaluation with combined multisection diffusion-weighted and hemodynamically weighted echo-planar MR imaging.

PURPOSE To evaluate acute stroke with conventional, multisection diffusion-weighted (DW), and hemodynamically weighted (HW) magnetic resonance (MR) imaging. MATERIALS AND METHODS The three MR imaging techniques were performed in 11 patients within 10 hours of the onset of acute hemiparesis. The volume of DW and HW abnormalities were compared with infarct volumes depicted at initial and/or follow-up MR or computed tomography (CT). RESULTS Findings at DW and HW imaging were abnormal in nine of the 11 patients, despite normal findings at initial CT and/or MR. In all nine patients, infarcts were depicted at follow-up CT or MR. The DW abnormality was generally smaller and the HW abnormality was generally larger than the infarct volume determined at subsequent imaging. In the two patients with normal findings at DW and HW imaging, symptoms resolved completely within 1-48 hours. CONCLUSION Different aspects of hyperacute cerebral ischemia are depicted at DW and HW imaging before infarction is depicted at conventional MR or CT. These techniques may improve stroke diagnosis and may contribute to advances in treatment.