Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Molecular cloning and the nucleotide sequence of the Mr 28 000 crystal protein gene of Bacillus thuringiensis subsp. israelensis.

The Mr 28.000 crystal protein gene of Bacillus thuringiensis subspecies israelensis has been cloned into pBR322 as part of a 9.7 kb HindIII fragment. From hybridization experiments of recombinant p425 DNA with B.t. subspecies israelensis RNA from different stages of growth it was concluded that transcription of the gene is restricted to early sporulation stages. Nucleotide sequence analysis revealed the presence of a large open reading frame with a coding capacity of 249 amino acids (Mr 27.340). Nuclease S1 mapping demonstrated that transcription starts 44 nucleotides upstream of the initiation codon. A Shine-Dalgarno sequence (AAGGAG) was found 10 nucleotides upstream of the translation startpoint. At the 3'-end of the gene a complex secondary structure was found immediately after the stop-codon. Despite the presence of these regulation signals only limited expression in E. coli was detected. This can be explained by assuming that B.t. subsp. israelensis promotor sequences are poorly recognized by E. coli RNA polymerase.
Evaluation of the syndesmotic screw in low Weber C ankle fractures.

OBJECTIVE To determine the functional and radiographic outcome of low Weber C ankle fractures and to evaluate the contribution of the syndesmotic screw in their outcome. DESIGN Prospective evaluation of a consecutive series. SETTING Level I trauma center. PATIENTS Forty-five patients divided into two groups matched for age, sex, and severity of injury. Twenty-six patients were treated with open reduction, internal fixation, and a supplemental syndesmotic screw, and nineteen patients were treated without a syndesmotic screw. Minimum time to follow-up was three years. METHODS A subjective, objective, and radiographic ankle scoring system was used. Logistical regression analysis was performed to determine whether the presence or absence of a syndesmotic screw was a predictor of a poor outcome. The likelihood ratio test was used to evaluate the significance of each variable in both univariate and multivariate analyses. RESULTS There was no statistically significant difference between either group, either using subjective outcome criteria (p = 0.86) or in ankle range of motion (p = 0.94). Logistical regression analysis indicated that fracture dislocation could be used as a predictor of a poor outcome for either group. Inadequate reduction and advancing age were also found to be significant predictors of a poorer outcome regardless of the use of a syndesmotic screw (p = 0.003, p = 0.004). CONCLUSIONS Judicious fixation of Weber C type injuries within five centimeters of the ankle joint, with or without a syndesmotic screw, gives similar results. Obligatory fixation of these fractures with syndesmotic screws appears to have no benefit and creates the need for an additional procedure.
Patients Utilizing a Hearing Aid and a Cochlear Implant: Speech Perception and Localization

Objective The purpose of this pilot study was to document speech perception and localization abilities in patients who use a cochlear implant in one ear and a hearing aid in the other ear. Design We surveyed a group of 111 cochlear implant patients and asked them whether they used a hearing aid on their unimplanted ear. The first three patients who were available were tested on word and sentence recognition and localization tasks. Speech stimuli were presented from the front in quiet and in noise. In the latter conditions, noise was either from the front, the right, or the left. Localization was tested with noise bursts presented at 45° from the right or left. In addition we asked the patients about their abilities to integrate the information from both devices. Results Speech perception tests in quiet showed a binaural advantage for only one of the three patients for words and none for sentences. With speech and noise both in front of the patient, two patients performed better with both devices than with either device alone. With speech in front and noise on the hearing aid side, no binaural advantage was seen, but with noise on the cochlear implant side, one patient showed a binaural advantage. Localization ability improved with both devices for two patients. The third patient had above-chance localization ability with his implant alone. Conclusions A cochlear implant in one ear and a hearing aid in the other ear can provide binaural advantages. The patient who did not show a clear binaural advantage had the poorest hearing aid alone performance. The absolute and relative levels of performance at each ear are likely to influence the potential for binaural integration.
Metabolic syndrome and the risk of coronary heart disease in 367 patients treated with second-generation antipsychotic drugs.

OBJECTIVE To examine the relationship between presence of metabolic syndrome and the risk of coronary heart disease (CHD) events (angina pectoris, myocardial infarction, and sudden cardiac death) in patients treated with second-generation antipsychotic medications. METHOD 367 adults treated with second-generation antipsychotics randomly selected from consecutive psychiatric admissions to a single hospital between August 1, 2004, and March 1, 2005, underwent assessments evaluating the presence of metabolic syndrome. The 10-year risk of CHD events was calculated according to the Framingham scoring system for age, smoking, total cholesterol, high-density lipoprotein (HDL)-cholesterol, blood pressure, and history of diabetes and was compared in patients with and without the metabolic syndrome. RESULTS Metabolic syndrome, present in 137 patients (37.3%), was associated with a significantly greater age- and race-adjusted 10-year risk of CHD events, i.e., 11.5% vs. 5.3% for men (risk ratio = 2.18, 95% CI = 1.88 to 2.48, p < .0001) and 4.5% vs. 2.3% for women (risk ratio = 1.94, 95% CI = 1.65 to 2.23, p = .0005). The increased risk of CHD events in patients with metabolic syndrome remained significant after the exclusion of diabetic patients. In a logistic regression analysis of variables independent of the Framingham scoring system, triglyceride levels (p < .0001), waist circumference (p = .035), and white race (p = .047) were significantly associated with the 10-year risk of CHD events (R2 = 0.134; p < .0001). CONCLUSIONS These data confirm the high prevalence of metabolic syndrome in patients receiving second-generation anti-psychotics, indicate that metabolic syndrome doubles the 10-year risk of CHD events in this population, and emphasize the importance of the "hypertriglyceridemic waist" for the identification of psychiatric patients at high risk of CHD.
Clinical Benefit and Approach of Ultrafiltration in Acute Heart Failure

Because of the increasing incidence of acute heart failure admissions to critical care units, nephrologists have been asked to become more involved in the management of these patients. Renal dysfunction is a major element in impeding clinical recovery. In acute heart failure, renal function is often abnormal. The judicious application of ultrafiltration techniques may represent an efficacious adjunct to present conventional practice. In patients with refractory congestive heart failure, the ability to provide continuous, daily, large volume removal not only improves volume status but also the clinical symptoms of the decompensated patient. A thorough literature review supports the premise that starting hemofiltration is an appropriate alternative for difficult and unstable cardiac patients. An optimal strategy utilizing continuous renal replacement therapy can dramatically improve the patient’s clinical condition, mitigate the neurohumoral stimulation, increase urinary output and promote absorption of excessive extravascular fluid.
Relationship between subcutaneous adipose tissue expression of leptin and obesity in Tunisian patients.

BACKGROUND The incidence of obesity has dramatically increased in overall the world. It is a consequence of imbalance between energy intake and energy expenditure. Leptin is a fat derived adipokine that has emerged over the past decade as a key hormone in the regulation of food intake and energy expenditure. Elevated leptin levels are found in obese humans, suggesting a role of leptin in regulating body weight and adiposity. AIM The aim of this study was to investigate the change of leptin mRNA expression level and its correlation with obesity and several metabolic variables in Tunisian patients. METHODS Real time quantitative polymerase chain reaction (QPCR) analysis was carried out among two groups who underwent an abdominal surgery: controls (n = 9) and obese patients (n = 7). RESULTS Leptin mRNA expression in subcutaneous adipose tissue was markedly increased in obese patients (p < 0.01). It was positively correlated with measures of obesity waist circumference (WC) (r = 0, 71, p < 0.01) and body mass index (BMI) (r = 0, 68, p < 0.01). Interestingly, leptin gene expression was also correlated to insulin resistance index (r = 0, 72, p < 0.01). CONCLUSION The present study is the first investigation of leptin regulation in subcutaneous adipose tissue of Tunisian population. Our data showed that leptin levels are higher in obese subjects than in control subjects. This indicates that the subcutaneous adipose plays an important role in impaired adipokine regulation, and consequently in developing metabolic disorder.
Higher education and the impact on health outcomes and behaviour: does the degree choice matter?

Given recent increases in higher education tuition fees in the United Kingdom, understanding the returns to education has gained importance. This paper focuses on the evaluation of the wider returns to education, more specifically the impact of education on health outcomes and behaviour considering different choices of higher degrees. It is well known that both monetary and non-monetary returns to education differ according to years of schooling, but recently there has been a renewed interest to also evaluate the difference in monetary returns between subject choices. However, little has been done to understand differences in the wider returns as well. By using panel data from the National Child Development Study (NCDS), a longitudinal data from the UK that followed individuals from birth in 1958 to the latest available sweep in 2008, this study tries to understand if there are any differences between health outcomes and health behaviours between individuals with the same educational attainment but with different degree choices. There are clear significant health returns to having a degree and the finding is very robust, but unlike studies that have shown differences in monetary returns, the results also show that there are no significant differences in the effects of education on health across different degrees.
Global + local = glocal public health.

The WHO Healthy Cities will be 15 years old in the year 2000. It has proved an exceptionally sustainable WHO initiative and is still experiencing growth around the globe. This is all the more noteworthy because the world has changed significantly since the time when the Healthy Cities project was first launched in Europe in 1986. The initial project was driven by two key ideas: the rediscovery of the importance and potential of local public health and the linking of cities from around Europe into a network with a common purpose. At present the interest and discourse has shifted from the “local” to the “global”. Does this mean that the global now dominates the local? Or can the local respond adequately to global pressures? What can Healthy Cities contribute to this debate?
Characterization of the extracellular lipase, LipA, of Acinetobacter calcoaceticus BD413 and sequence analysis of the cloned structural gene

The extracellular lipase from Acinetobacter calcoaceticus BD413 was purified to homogeneity, via hydrophobic‐interaction fast performance liquid chromatography (FPLC), from cultures grown in mineral medium with hexadecane as the sole carbon source. The enzyme has an apparent molecular mass of 32 kDa on SDS‐polyacrylamide gels and hydrolyses long acyl chain p‐nitrophenol (pNP) esters, like pNP palmitate (pNPP), with optimal activity between pH 7.8 and 8.8. Additionally, the enzyme shows activity towards triglycerides such as olive oil and tributyrin and towards egg‐yolk emulsions. The N‐terminal amino acid sequence of the mature protein was determined, and via reverse genetics the structural lipase gene was cloned from a gene library of A. calcoaceticus DNA in Escherichia coli phage M13. Sequence analysis of a 2.1 kb chromosomal DNA fragment revealed one complete open reading frame, lipA, encoding a mature protein with a predicted molecular mass of 32.1 kDa. This protein shows high similarity to known lipases, especially Pseudomonas lipases, that are exported in a two‐step secretion mechanism and require a lipase‐specific chaperone. The identification of an export signai sequence at the N‐terminus of the mature lipase suggests that the lipase of Acinetobacter is also exported via a two‐step translocation mechanism. However, no chaperone‐encoding gene was found downstream of lipA, unlike the situation in Pseudomonas. Analysis of an A. calcoaceticus mutant showing reduced lipase production revealed that a periplasmic disutphide oxidoreductase is involved in processing of the lipase. Via sequence alignments, based upon the crystal structure of the closely related Pseudomonas glumae lipase, a model has been made of the secondary‐structure elements in AcLipA. The active site serine of AcLipA was changed to an alanine, via site‐directed mutagenesis, resulting in production of an inactive extracellular lipase.
Effects of harvest date, wilting and inoculation on yield and forage quality of ensiling safflower (Carthamus tinctorius L.) biomass.

BACKGROUND Safflower (Carthamus tinctorius L.), usually grown as a source of oil crop, can be used as fodder either for hay or ensiling purposes, particularly in semi-arid regions. RESULTS A 2-year trial was conducted in southern Italy to evaluate the production and forage quality of safflower biomass cv. Centennial, harvested at three different stages: 1, at complete appearance of primary buds (PB); 2, at complete appearance of secondary and tertiary buds (STB); and 3, at 25% of flowering stage (FS). For each stage of growth, 50% of the biomass was ensiled in 4 L glass jars without and with inoculation (Lactobacillus plantarum, LAB), and the other 50% was field wilted for 24 h before ensiling. Dry matter (DM) content and yield (DMY), pH, buffering capacity (BC) and water soluble carbohydrates (WSC) were determined on fresh forage. On safflower silages were also evaluated ammonia-N, crude protein (CP), fibre fractions, fat, lactic and acetic acids, Ca and P, and gas losses. DMY ranged from 4.5 t ha(-1) (PB harvesting) to 11.6 t ha(-1) (FS harvesting). DM content varied from 129 g kg(-1) (PB not wilted) to 630 g kg(-1) (FS wilted). The WSC in forage before ensiling with not wilting ranged from 128 (PB stage) to 105 and 100 g kg(-1) DM at STB and FS stages, respectively. The wilted safflower forage showed a lower WSC compared to wilted forage. The high sugar substrate allowed lactic acid fermentation and a good conservation quality in all the harvesting stages. Silages quality was strongly influenced by the treatment performed. Wilting practice increased DM, pH and NDF contents but reduced lactic acid, acetic acid and NH(3) -N values. Inoculation reduced DM, pH and NDF contents, but increased lactic and acetic acids, CP and ash. CONCLUSION As result, wilting the forage for 1 day was very effective in the early harvesting stage because this practice significantly increased DM, reducing on the same time the intensive fermentation and proteolysis processes of silage. When harvesting is performed at the beginning of the flowering stage wilting is not necessary.
Food-chain selenium and human health: emphasis on intake

Following the publication of the landmark trial of Clark et al. in 1996 that appeared to show that Se could reduce the risk of cancer, awareness of the importance of Se to human health has markedly increased. As a result, there is now much more aggressive marketing of Se supplements and functional foods, even in situations where additional consumption of Se is inappropriate. The present review addresses how Se gets into the food chain, the wide variability in Se content of foods and the very different levels of intake between countries and regions. Though it is clear that there are adverse consequences for health of both deficient and excessive intake, health effects at intermediate levels of intake are less certain. Thus it is difficult to define optimal intake which depends on a large number of factors, such as which functions of Se are most relevant to a particular disease state, which species of Se is most prominent in the Se source, which health condition is being considered, the adequacy or otherwise of intake of other nutrients, the presence of additional stressors, and lastly whether the ability to make selenoproteins may be compromised. These complexities need to be understood, particularly by policy makers, in order to make informed judgments. Potential solutions for increasing Se intake, where required, include agronomic biofortification and genetic biofortification or, for individuals, increased intake of naturally Se-rich foods, functional foods or supplements. The difficulties of balancing the risks and benefits in relation to Se intake are highlighted.
Endocranial morphology of Palaeocene Plesiadapis tricuspidens and evolution of the early primate brain

Expansion of the brain is a key feature of primate evolution. The fossil record, although incomplete, allows a partial reconstruction of changes in primate brain size and morphology through time. Palaeogene plesiadapoids, closest relatives of Euprimates (or crown-group primates), are crucial for understanding early evolution of the primate brain. However, brain morphology of this group remains poorly documented, and major questions remain regarding the initial phase of euprimate brain evolution. Micro-CT investigation of the endocranial morphology of Plesiadapis tricuspidens from the Late Palaeocene of Europe—the most complete plesiadapoid cranium known—shows that plesiadapoids retained a very small and simple brain. Plesiadapis has midbrain exposure, and minimal encephalization and neocorticalization, making it comparable with that of stem rodents and lagomorphs. However, Plesiadapis shares a domed neocortex and downwardly shifted olfactory-bulb axis with Euprimates. If accepted phylogenetic relationships are correct, then this implies that the euprimate brain underwent drastic reorganization during the Palaeocene, and some changes in brain structure preceded brain size increase and neocortex expansion during evolution of the primate brain.
Trading Volume, Illiquidity and Commonalities in FX Markets

In a regime of floating FX rates and open economies, it is important to understand the way through which FX rates, volatility, and trading volume interrelate. To uncover this, we provide a simple theoretical framework to jointly explore these factors in a multi-currency environment. Through the use of a unique intraday data representative for the global FX market, the empirical analysis validates our theoretical predictions: (i) more disagreement increases FX trading volume, volatility, and illiquidity, (ii) stronger commonalities pertain to more efficient (arbitrage-free) currencies, and (iii) the Amihud (2002) measure, for which we provide a theoretical underpinning, is effective in measuring FX illiquidity. Not only do these findings support an integrated analysis of FX rate evolution and risk, but our work also offers a straightforward method to measure FX illiquidity and commonality. For investors, these insights should increase the efficiency of trading and risk analysis. For policy makers, our work highlights the developments of FX global volume, volatility, and illiquidity across time and currencies, which can be important for the implementation of monetary policy and financial stability.
A Tribute to Jean Hamburger's Contribution to Organ Transplantation

Jean Hamburger, one of the pioneers of scientific medicine in the mid‐20th century, who was involved in the inception of intensive care, nephrology, hemodialysis and scientific clinical research, has also been one of the very few fathers of human organ transplantation. He was involved in the primary French kidney transplantations in 1950, and in 1952, he realized the first allotransplantation in the world of a kidney removed from a voluntary living donor. At the same time, he was the first to describe the various clinical and pathological aspects of acute rejection. He suggested the use of cortisone for the treatment of rejection as early as 1950 and promoted nonlethal body irradiation, which was successfully used in 1959 both by John Merrill in Boston and by himself in Paris, to prevent allograft rejection. In October 1962, in collaboration with Maurice Goulon, he was the first to use a kidney removed from an individual in ‘coma dépassé’. He and his group contributed to transplant immunosuppression, to transplant immunology, to organ preservation, to acute and chronic rejection pathology and so on. As early as 1956–1957, he understood the potential importance of Jean Dausset's discovery for transplantation.
Kinetics and functional implications of Th1 and Th2 cytokine production following activation of peripheral blood mononuclear cells in primary culture

The importance of cytokine production in some disease processes is now widely recognized. To investigate temporal relationships between cytokines, we stimulated peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC) in vitro using the T cell mitogen phytohemagglutinin (PHA) and various antigens chosen to induce predominantly Th1 (streptokinase: streptodornase or purified protein derivative) or Th2 (Dermatophagoides pteronyssinus, bee or wasp venom: allergens in sensitive subjects) responses. Cytokine production was measured by sensitive bioassays or enzyme‐linked immunosorbent assays. Of the 30 subjects studied, 10 were normal and 20 individuals were allergic to either D. pteronyssinus (n = 10) or bee venom (n = 10) (examined before specific allergen immunotherapy). We examined the temporal profiles of a panel of cytokines produced in prmary culture. In PHA‐driven cultures, cytokines were found to be sequentially produced in the order interleukin (IL)‐2, IL‐4, IL‐5, IL‐3, interferon (IFN)‐γ, IL‐10, IL‐6, IL‐12 and tumor necrosis factor (TNF)‐α. The response to allergen in allergic patients was predominantly Th2 in nature, with the production of IL‐4, IL‐5, IL‐6 and IL‐10, but little or no IFN‐γ. IL‐2, IL‐3, TNF‐α and IL‐12 were also produced in low amounts. The response of both atopic and normal subjects to recall bacterial antigens was predominantly Th1, with high levels of IFN‐γ, IL‐2 and TNF‐α. The relevance of the order, amount and speed of production, characteristic kinetics (production, consumption, homeostatic regulation) and the cell source of the cytokines are discussed.