Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Differential expression patterns of S100a2, S100a4 and S100a6 during progression of human malignant melanoma

Three members of the S100 gene family, S100A2, S100A4 and S100A6, have been suggested to be associated with cancer development and metastasis. To study their involvement in the tumorigenesis of human melanoma, we examined the mRNA expression levels of the 3 genes in 45 melanoma metastases and in 20 benign nevi. Interestingly, whereas none of the metastases expressed S100A2 mRNA, and the expression level was low in 6 cell lines established from primary melanomas, all nevi showed moderate to high expression levels. Our results suggest that loss of S100A2 gene expression may be an early event in melanoma development. A significant correlation was found between the expression of S100A6 in melanoma metastases and both the survival time of the patients and the thickness of the corresponding primary tumors. For the S100A4 gene, however, no relationship was found between gene expression and clinical parameters of melanoma malignancy. The observed differences in expression patterns of the 3 S100 genes suggest distinct roles of their products in melanoma tumorigenesis and/or metastasis, and the results encourage studies to evaluate the potential value of using S100A2 and S100A6 expression levels as markers in the clinical management of melanoma. Int. J. Cancer 74:464–469, 1997. © 1997 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Multilayered Protection Strategy for Developing Community Microgrids in Village Distribution Systems

Village or community microgrids are being encouraged to improve resiliency against unexpected events. They also improve energy efficiency and reliability of power delivery to critical loads. However, many protection challenges exist in making the shift away from conventional distribution systems. In this paper, a multilayered protection strategy is presented for developing a community microgrid in a village within the 69-bus distribution system. The proposed strategy is verified by simulation studies in MATLAB/Simulink against various fault conditions. A comparison between the proposed strategy and existing distribution protection schemes is also provided.
Ca++ mobilization mediated by endothelin ETA receptor in endothelium of rabbit aortic valve.

The mechanism of Ca++ mobilization induced by endothelins (ETs) and the receptor subtype responsible for this effect were examined in the endothelium of rabbit aortic valve. In the endothelium loaded with fura-2, ET-1 (1-100 nM) induced large transient increase followed by small sustained increase in cytosolic Ca++ level ([Ca++]i) in a concentration-dependent manner. ET-3 induced only a small increase in [Ca++]i at higher concentrations (100-300 nM) than ET-1, whereas a selective ETB agonist, 100 nM IRL 1620 (succinyl-[Glu9, Ala11,15]ET-1 8-21), was ineffective. A selective ETA antagonist, 3 microM BQ-123, (cyclo [-Asp-Pro-Val-Leu-Trp-]) but not a selective ETB antagonist, 10 microM RES-701-1 [cyclic (Gly1-Asp9) (Gly-Asn-Trp-His-Gly-Thr-Ala-Pro-Asp- Trp-Phe-Phe-Asn-Tyr-Tyr-Trp)], inhibited the effects of ET-1 and ET-3. The sustained increase in [Ca++]i induced by ET-1 was abolished by 30 microM La , although 100 nM nicardipine was ineffective. In the absence of external Ca++ (with 0.5 mM EGTA), ET-1 induced only a transient increase in [Ca++]i, which was inhibited by an inhibitor of Ca+(+)-ATPase in endoplasmic reticulum, 1 microM thapsigargin. However, an inhibitor and an activator of Ca+(+)-induced Ca+(+)-release channel, 10 microM ryanodine and 10 mM caffeine, did not change [Ca++]i. These results suggest that, in the endothelium of rabbit aortic valve, only the ETA receptor mediates the effects of ETs to increase [Ca++]i, which is attributable to the release of Ca++ from thapsigargin-sensitive and ryanodine-insensitive Ca++ stores and also to the Ca++ influx through La (-)sensitive and dihydropyridine-insensitive Ca++ channels.
Therapeutic value of a cardioprotective agent in patients with severe ischaemic cardiomyopathy.

Trimetazidine (TMZ) has been shown to have anti-ischaemic properties improving exercise tolerance without haemodynamic effects. A 6-month double-blind placebo-controlled study was carried out in 20 patients, mean age 59 +/- 6 years, to examine the benefit of adding 60 mg of TMZ vs placebo to the classical therapy, excluding those previously treated with calcium-antagonists, conversion enzyme inhibitors, vasodilators and antiplatelet agents. All patients had severe ischaemic cardiomyopathy, confirmed by coronary angiography; six were in NYHA class IV; 14 in NYHA class III; four had mild recurrent angina pectoris. assessment included clinical and biological evaluation, electrocardiography (ECG), 24-h ECG monitoring, cardiac volume evaluation with chest X-ray, left ventricular fractional shortening by echocardiography, left ventricular ejection fraction by radionuclide angiography. Baseline characteristics were similar in placebo (11 patients) and TMZ (nine patients) groups. Eighteen patients (nine in each group) were followed up for 6 months. In eight patients of the placebo group, treatment had to be modified (addition of calcium antagonists: four patients, conversion enzyme inhibitors: two patients; digitalics: one patient; diuretics: one patient). In the TMZ group, digitalic therapy was withdrawn in one patient and added in one patient (P less than 0.01). At 6 months, all TMZ group patients were free from angina; dyspnoea was improved in all TMZ patients and in only one placebo patient (P less than 0.001). Ejection fraction, increased by 9.3% in the TMZ group and decreased by 15.6% in the placebo group (P less than 0.018), CV decreased by 7% with TMZ, increased by 4% with placebo. (P = 0.034). (ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)
Results of research on the energetic and economic efficiency of the use of biomass for heating an agricultural farm

ABSTRACT In this article the authors present an example of an agricultural farm that produces wheat corn, soya, and other plants. After harvesting granular products, large amounts of plant remains (biomass) are used as biofuel at the boiler in order to heat the agricultural farm. We present the results of research of energetic characteristics and boiler efficiency of thermal power of 750 kW that serves for farm heating. At the boiler biomass is burned and the boiler is adapted for burning dead animals and other remains using liquid petroleum gas) as additional fuel. Biomass that is used as biofuel is wheat or soya straw. Using the straw as an alternative biofuel significant cuts are achieved on conventional fuel LPG. The annual expense of soya straw is 1,700 tons, from an area of 565 ha, or 1,970tons of wheat straw from an area of 660 ha. Expenses of gathering, transport and storage are approximately 0.021 €/kg. Economic validity of using biomass as an energent had been proven by the fact that using straw is six times cheaper than using LPG. The ecological significance of using the biomass is investigated.
A novel analytical-heuristic approach for placement of multiple distributed generator in distribution network

This study proposes an effective analyticalheuristic approach for solving optimal placement and sizing of multiple distributed generator problem to achieve a high loss reduction in large-scale distribution network. Proposed analytical- heuristic method (AHM) is based on improvement of LSF (loss sensitivity factor) method. AHM utilizes PSO (particle swarm optimization) algorithm to find the optimal active and reactive power generation of DG and utilizes priority list of LFS method to identify the best location for DG allocation. It is shown in simulation results that, proposed approach is more effective than all the analytical methods which are able to solve the multiple DGs placement problem, including LSF and IA (improved analytical) methods. The superiority of the proposed approach is providing better solution with lower simulation time; in fact, proposed technique can offer the optimal power factor for DG directly. Moreover, some interesting discussions are also conducted about simulation time and voltage profile improvement of AHM.
The GM(1,2) short-term spot price forecasting grey model

In power market,it is important for market participants to accurately forecast the electricity price.This paper tests the performance of GM(1,2) model on spot price forecasting.The GM(1,2) model is improved to forecast the spot price.The factors of load or the price an hour before forecasted time are introduced in the forecasting model.The equal-dimension and new-information method is also used in this model.It has been used to forecast the LMP at low load period,medium load period and peak load period in American PJM power market.The results show that the improved GM(1,2) model with the price an hour before forecasted time work reasonably well.
Efficient gene transfer into human normal and cystic fibrosis tracheal gland serous cells with synthetic vectors.

Submucosal gland serous cells are believed to play a major role in the physiopathology of cystic fibrosis (CF) and may represent an important target for CF gene therapy. We have studied the efficiency of reporter gene transfer into immortalized normal (MM-39) and CF (CF-KM4) human airway epithelial gland serous cells using various synthetic vectors: glycosylated polylysines (glycofectins), polyethylenimine (PEI) (25 and 800 kD), lipofectin, and lipofectAMINE. In both cell lines, a high luciferase activity was achieved with various glycofectins, with PEI 25 kD, and with lipofectAMINE. After three transfections applied daily using alpha-glycosylated polylysine, 20% of the cells were transfected. At 24 h after CF transmembrane conductance regulator (CFTR) gene transfer into CF-KM4 cells using alpha-glycosylated polylysine, the immunolocalization of CFTR was analyzed by laser scanning confocal microscopy and the transgenic CFTR was detected by an intense labeling of the plasma membrane. The presence of membrane lectins, i. e. , cell surface receptors binding oligosaccharides, was also examined on MM-39 and CF-KM4 cells by assessing the binding and uptake of fluorescein-labeled neoglycoproteins and fluorescein-labeled glycoplexes (glycofectins complexed to plasmid DNA). Among all the neoglycoproteins and glycoplexes tested, those bearing alpha-mannosylated derivatives were most efficiently taken up by both normal and CF gland serous cells. However, alpha-mannosylated polylysine was quite inefficient for gene transfer, indicating that the efficiency of gene transfer is determined both by the uptake of the complexes and also by their intracellular trafficking. Moreover, our results show that an efficient in vitro gene transfer was achieved in human airway gland serous cells with the same synthetic vectors described to efficiently transfect human airway surface epithelial cells.
Measuring Transitions through Stages of Exercise: Application of Latent Transition Analysis

In this longitudinal study of 504 nursing staff members from seven Dutch nursing homes, which transitions in exercise behaviour had occurred over a 12-mo. period were investigated. For this purpose, latent transition analyses were employed. Latent transition analysis is an extension of Markov chain modelling and of Latent class analysis and has been especially developed to study dynamic latent variables. The data supported the notion that natural change in exercise occurs through various stages and that these are sequential in nature. Latent transition analysis was an effective method for the comparison of various models describing possible transitions over time and for estimation of the likelihood of the occurrence of such transitions.
Epidemiologic Factors Associated with Seropositivity to Human Papillomavirus Type 16 and 18 Virus–Like Particles and Risk of Subsequent Infection in Men

Our understanding of humoral response to human papillomavirus (HPV) infection has been mainly derived from studies in women. The role of serum antibodies in the natural history of HPV in men has yet to be investigated. Data from 285 male participants of a natural history study were used to determine the epidemiologic factors associated with HPV 16/18 seropositivity and explore the role of HPV 16 and 18 serum antibodies in subsequent HPV infections. Serum antibodies were detected by use of HPV 16– and 18 virus–like particles enzyme-linked immunoassay. Logistic regression and Generalized Estimating Equation was used for the evaluation of risk factors. The risk of subsequent HPV infection by baseline antibody status was assessed by incidence rate ratio and its confidence intervals. Men ages 36 to 44 years compared with men ages 18 to 25 years were four times more likely to be seropositive to HPV 16/18. In addition, being divorced, separated, or widowed; being a former smoker; and having sex with men was positively and independently associated with HPV 16/18 seropositivity. Our findings on the potential role of HPV 16 or 18 serum antibodies in subsequent infection were inconclusive. Large prospective studies are warranted to adequately address questions on the role of natural immunity in the natural history of HPV infections in men. Cancer Epidemiol Biomarkers Prev; 19(2); 511–6
Guest Editorial Governance and ethics: an indispensable relationship

One of the fascinating questions of our time is why, when so much effort has gone into implementing corporate governance guidelines and raising the awareness of business ethics, stories of unethical conduct and poor governance continue to emerge on the front pages in our newspapers. Around the world financial scandals continue to occur and each time seekers of an antidote to the latest disaster call for more governance. This was evident after the 1987 securities market collapses when the Cadbury Committee and the OECD (Cadbury 1992; OECD 1999) were among many organisations which were to introduce governance regulations and guidelines over the next decade, and it is again prominent today.
Interleukin-7 in HIV pathogenesis and therapy.

Interleukin-7 (IL-7) is a γ-chain cytokine that plays a key role in T cell development and homeostasis by signaling through its cognate receptor, IL-7R or CD127, and inducing T cell survival and/or proliferation. Owing to its ability to promote CD4+ T cell homeostasis, IL-7 has elicited significant interest as a potential immunotherapy for HIV-infected individuals. Indeed, several studies have indicated that progressive HIV infection is associated with a complex dysregulation of the IL-7/IL-7R pathway consisting of increased plasma levels of this cytokine coupled with decreased percentages of CD4+ and CD8+ T cells expressing CD127. Administration of IL-7 to antiretroviral-treated HIV-infected individuals results in a selective increase in the fraction of naive and central-memory CD4+ T cells, suggesting a beneficial effect on overall CD4+ T cell function. For this reason, and given its potential role in depleting the reservoirs of latently infected CD4+ T cells, IL-7 therapy can be considered a promising approach for improving immune function in HIV-infected individuals.
Hepatitis C Virus Infection in Iran; Viral Spread Routes in General Population and Safety Measures

Dear Editor, Hepatitis C virus (HCV) is the leading cause of liver related morbidity and mortality in the world; with more than 180 million infected patients (1). HCV prevalence is very low in Iran. The recent reports from Iran showed that HCV prevalence in general population was about 0.05% - 0.2% (2, 3). Due to globalization and traveling worldwide, especially to the neighboring countries, there is a chance of viral spread (4). The major factors involved in HCV spread are intravenous drug abuse, unhealthy medical practices, sharing contaminated objects such as needles and barbers' unawareness (5). Host factors are also involved in disease susceptibility, progression and viral self-clearance (6, 7). Recently, Zamani et al. (3) showed that unsterile punctures and history of infection in family members were associated with HCV spread. Despite obligatory blood screening for HCV, the prevalence of HCV infection raised dramatically in recent decades in the Middle-Eastern region. Currently, HCV prevalence in general Iranian population is very low; massive awareness campaigns should be done on a regular basis to educate general population to control the viral spread.
Elements essential for accumulation and function of small nucleolar RNAs directing site‐specific pseudouridylation of ribosomal RNAs

During site‐specific pseudouridylation of eukaryotic rRNAs, selection of correct substrate uridines for isomerization into pseudouridine is directed by small nucleolar RNAs (snoRNAs). The pseudouridylation guide snoRNAs share a common ‘hairpin–hinge– hairpin–tail’ secondary structure and two conserved sequence motifs, the H and ACA boxes, located in the single‐stranded hinge and tail regions, respectively. In the 5′‐ and/or 3′‐terminal hairpin, an internal loop structure, the pseudouridylation pocket, selects the target uridine through formation of base‐pairing interactions with rRNAs. Here, essential elements for accumulation and function of rRNA pseudouridylation guide snoRNAs have been analysed by expressing various mutant yeast snR5, snR36 and human U65 snoRNAs in yeast cells. We demonstrate that the H and ACA boxes that are required for formation of the correct 5′ and 3′ ends of the snoRNA, respectively, are also essential for the pseudouridylation reaction directed by both the 5′‐ and 3′‐terminal pseudouridylation pockets. Similarly, RNA helices flanking the two pseudouridylation pockets are equally essential for pseudouridylation reactions mediated by either the 5′ or 3′ hairpin structure, indicating that the two hairpin domains function in a highly co‐operative manner. Finally, we demonstrate that by manipulating the rRNA recognition motifs of pseudouridylation guide snoRNAs, novel pseudouridylation sites can be generated in yeast rRNAs.
Prognostic value of double product reserve

Background Although the prognostic power of exercise capacity has been demonstrated, the relative prognostic potential of other hemodynamic responses has not been thoroughly investigated. We aimed to assess the prognostic power of double product (DP) parameters in patients referred for standard exercise testing. Design A retrospective cohort study. Methods Analyses were performed on 1959 patients referred for exercise testing at the Palo Alto Veterans Affairs Medical Center from 1997 to 2006. After removal of female and heart failure patients, 1759 male veterans (mean age 57 ± 12 years) remained. DP was calculated by multiplying systolic blood pressure (SBP) and heart rate (HR); variables and their products were subtracted to obtain the differences between rest and maximal exercise (reserve), and recovery. Results Multivariate Cox survival analysis was performed for 157 all-cause and 53 cardiovascular deaths during a mean follow-up of 5.4 ± 2.1 years. Although most of the hemodynamic variables were individually significant in Cox survival analysis, when age, DP reserve, exercise capacity (in metabolic equivalents), and HR recovery were entered together, only age and DP reserve were chosen. Of all hemodynamic measurements considered, DP reserve was the strongest predictor of cardiovascular prognosis after adjustment for age (Wald Z-score,-5.12; P < 0.0001) and when considering other potential confounders such as age, β-blocker use, and the Duke treadmill Score (Wald Z-score, –3.84; P < 0.0001). Conclusion In this study population, DP reserve had greater prognostic power than metabolic equivalents, maximal HR or systolic blood pressure, or HR recovery.
Protein–protein alternative binding modes do not overlap

Proteins often bind other proteins in more than one way. Thus alternative binding modes is an essential feature of protein interactions. Such binding modes may be detected by X‐ray crystallography and thus reflected in Protein Data Bank. The alternative binding is often observed not for the protein itself but for its structural homolog. The results of this study based on the analysis of a comprehensive set of co‐crystallized protein–protein complexes show that the alternative binding modes generally do not overlap, but are spatially separated. This effect is based on molecular recognition characteristics of the protein structures. The results are also in excellent agreement with the intermolecular energy funnel size estimates obtained previously by an independent methodology. The results provide an important insight into the principles of protein association, as well as potential guidelines for modeling of protein complexes and the design of protein interfaces.
Truthful Streaming in Selfish DONet

Data-driven overlay network (DONet) is especially suitable for live stream because it can tolerant node dynamics well. However, optimal streaming demands the cooperation of individual nodes. If selfish nodes in DONet cheat about their buffer maps to reduce the forwarding burden, the overall streaming quality might be negatively affected. To defend this kind of cheating behavior, we design a trustworthy service- differentiation based incentive mechanism with low complexity in this paper. The mechanism is composed of the service- differentiation algorithm and the contribution-evaluation algorithm. Compared with other studies in this area, the primary characteristic of our mechanism lies in two aspects. Firstly, the contribution of each node is evaluated considering the characteristic of live stream, not just by the transferring bytes. Secondly, the potential cheating behavior of overlay nodes during the fulfillment of incentive algorithms can be defended, which is usually not considered by other studies.
A conserved region in the σ54‐dependent activator DctD is involved in both binding to RNA polymerase and coupling ATP hydrolysis to activation

Rhizobium melioti DctD activates transcription from the dctA promoter by catalysing the isomerization of closed complexes between σ54‐RNA polymerase holoenzyme and the promoter to open complexes. DctD must make productive contact with σ54‐holoenzyme and hydrolyse ATP to catalyse this isomerization. To define further the activation process, we sought to isolate mutants of DctD that had reduced affinities for σ54‐holoenzyme. Mutagenesis was confined to the well‐conserved C3 region of the protein, which is required for coupling ATP hydrolysis to open complex formation in σ54‐dependent activators. Mutant forms of DctD that failed to activate transcription and had substitutions in the C‐terminal half of the C3 region were efficiently cross‐linked to σ54 and the β‐subunit of RNA polymerase, suggesting that they bound normally to σ54‐holoenzyme. In contrast, some mutant forms of DctD with amino acid substitutions in the N‐terminal half of the C3 region had reduced affinities for σ54 and the β‐subunit in the cross‐linking assay. These data suggest that the N‐terminal half of the C3 region of DctD contains a site that may contact σ54‐holoenzyme during open complex formation.