julilili42/papers huggingface dataset:
Heat Stress- and Heat Shock Transcription Factor-Dependent Expression and Activity of Ascorbate Peroxidase in Arabidopsis
2002-06-01

Abstract To find evidence for a connection between heat stress response, oxidative stress, and common stress tolerance, we studied the effects of elevated growth temperatures and heat stress on the activity and expression of ascorbate peroxidase (APX). We compared wild-type Arabidopsis with transgenic plants overexpressing heat shock transcription factor 3 (HSF3), which synthesize heat shock proteins and are improved in basal thermotolerance. Following heat stress, APX activity was positively affected in transgenic plants and correlated with a new thermostable isoform, APXS. This enzyme was present in addition to thermolabile cytosolic APX1, the prevalent isoform in unstressed cells. In HSF3-transgenic plants, APXS activity was detectable at normal temperature and persisted after severe heat stress at 44°C. In nontransgenic plants, APXS was undetectable at normal temperature, but could be induced by moderate heat stress. The mRNA expression profiles of known and three new Apx genes were determined using real-time PCR. Apx1 and Apx2 genes encoding cytosolic APX were heat stress and HSF dependently expressed, but only the representations of Apx2 mRNA met the criteria that suggest identity between APXS and APX2: not expressed at normal temperature in wild type, strong induction by heat stress, and HSF3-dependent expression in transgenic plants. Our data suggest thatApx2 is a novel heat shock gene and that the enzymatic activity of APX2/APXS is required to compensate heat stress-dependent decline of APX1 activity in the cytosol. The functional roles of modulations of APX expression and the interdependence of heat stress and oxidative stress response and signaling mechanisms are discussed.
Gated Communities in Latin American Megacities: Case Studies in Brazil and Argentina
2002-06-01

Within recent years, the expansion of gated communities has become an increasingly important element in the changing Latin American megacities and their suburban areas. In this paper, the internal structure and differentiation as well as sociospatial consequences of gated communities will be discussed, based on case studies from Rio de Janeiro, São Paulo, and Buenos Aires. The increasing fortification of the privileged is a visible consequence of the continuing intensification of social disparities and spatial fragmentation. Gated communities in Latin American cities which are generally planned as a whole by project developers and designed with sophisticated security measures, can be classified according to their location into innercity and suburban types. They represent an especially dynamic real estate product with a high return of capital. Public control has, by far, less relevance than private interests. Therefore, gated communities can be seen as ‘new extraterritorial spaces’. Within recent years, particularly, large edge-city-like projects have emerged in suburban areas. The success of gated communities can mainly be accounted for by the fear of crime. In this sense, they respond to social conflict and violence in the everyday life of the cities. At the same time, they are an expression of the increasingly diverging lifestyles of urban society under the influence of globalisation. With gated communities, new islands of wealth emerge in the ocean of poverty, which characterise the increasingly fragmented structure of the Latin American city.
Automated Extraction of Genomic DNA from Medically Important Yeast Species and Filamentous Fungi by Using the MagNA Pure LC System
2002-06-01

ABSTRACT A fully automated assay was established for the extraction of DNA from clinically important fungi by using the MagNA Pure LC instrument. The test was evaluated by DNA isolation from 23 species of yeast and filamentous fungi and by extractions ( n = 28) of serially diluted Aspergillus fumigatus conidia (10 5 to 0 CFU/ml). Additionally, DNA from 67 clinical specimens was extracted and compared to the manual protocol. The detection limit of the MagNA Pure LC assay of 10 CFU corresponded to the sensitivity when DNA was extracted manually; in 9 of 28 runs, we could achieve a higher sensitivity of 1 CFU/ml blood, which was found to be significant (p ≤ 0.004). DNA from all fungal species analyzed could be extracted and amplified by real-time PCR. Negative controls from all MagNA Pure isolations remained negative. Sixty-three clinical samples showed identical results by both methods, whereas in 4 of 67 samples, discordant results were obtained. Thus, the MagNA Pure LC technique offers a fast protocol for automated DNA isolation from numerous fungi, revealing high sensitivity and purity.
Cytokinesis-Defective Mutants of Arabidopsis
2002-06-01

Abstract We have identified mutations in six previously uncharacterized genes of Arabidopsis, named club,bublina, massue, rod,bloated, and bims, that are required for cytokinesis. The mutants are seedling lethal, have morphological abnormalities, and are characterized by cell wall stubs, gapped walls, and multinucleate cells. In these and other respects, the new mutants are phenotypically similar to knolle,keule, hinkel, and pleiademutants. The mutants display a gradient of stomatal phenotypes, correlating roughly with the severity of their cytokinesis defect. Similarly, the extent to which the different mutant lines were capable of growing in tissue culture correlated well with the severity of the cytokinesis defect. Phenotypic analysis of the novel and previously characterized loci indicated that the secondary consequences of a primary defect in cytokinesis include anomalies in body organization, organ number, and cellular differentiation, as well as organ fusions and perturbations of the nuclear cycle. Two of the 10 loci are required for both cytokinesis and root hair morphogenesis. The results have implications for the identification of novel cytokinesis genes and highlight the mechanistic similarity between cytokinesis and root hair morphogenesis, two processes that result in a rapid deposition of new cell walls via polarized secretion.
Serotonin type‐4 receptors modulate the sensitivity of intramural mechanoreceptive afferents of the cat rectum
2002-06-01

Abstract It has been suggested that serotonin (5‐hydroxytryptamine) type‐4 (5‐HT 4 ) receptors modulate the sensitivity of intrinsic afferents of the intestinal mucosa. We studied the involvement of 5‐HT 4 receptors in the modulation of extrinsic afferent sensitivity of the intestinal wall. During distension ramps, mechanoreceptive rectal afferents in sacral dorsal roots were examined in decerebrate anaesthesia‐free cats using the selective 5‐HT 4 receptor partial agonist, tegaserod (HTF 919), and the 5‐HT 4 receptor antagonist, SB 203186. The static discharge rate of the afferents evoked by rectal distension decreased after intravenous (i.v.) administration of tegaserod at intraluminal pressures above 30 mmHg, with the most effective reduction occurring at 50 mmHg. The effect was dose‐dependent, with maximal reduction occurring at 1.2 mg kg −1 bodyweight, and could be partly reversed by i.v. administration of SB 203186. Tegaserod did not alter the pressure–volume relationship (compliance) of the rectum. It is tentatively concluded that 5‐HT 4 receptor activation has an inhibitory effect on intramural mechanoreceptors in the cat's rectum. Our results are in line with the observation that tegaserod relieves the sensory symptoms of patients suffering from irritable bowel syndrome.
Transcription of Clumping Factor A in Attached and Unattached Staphylococcus aureus In Vitro and during Device-Related Infection
2002-06-01

ABSTRACT Staphylococcus aureus is one of the pathogens most frequently isolated in device-related infections. S. aureus is equipped with surface-associated proteins promoting specific binding to matrix molecules. Clumping factor A (ClfA, encoded by clfA ) mediates adhesion to fibrinogen. Whereas the contribution of ClfA to pathogenicity is well documented, the influence of different growth and host parameters on gene activity is unclear. To elucidate this question, we investigated clfA transcript levels in an animal model of device-related infection and in planktonic and sessile bacteria grown in vitro. Specific mRNA from the S. aureus strains Newman, Reynolds, and RN6390 was quantified by LightCycler reverse transcription-PCR. In vitro, clfA transcript levels were low in the early logarithmic growth phase, but a clear increase was observed after the late logarithmic phase. Quantities of clfA transcripts were four to six times higher in the planktonic than in the sessile bacterial subpopulations grown to the stationary phase. During infection, in strains Newman and Reynolds levels of clfA transcripts in exudates accumulating in the infected devices were lower than those in the bacteria grown in vitro to stationary phase. clfA mRNA levels in the exudates increased during the initial phase of infection and remained constant after 96 h postinoculation. In contrast to the in vitro results, quantities of clfA transcripts in the unattached bacteria of the exudates never exceeded the level of clfA transcripts in the sessile bacteria attached to glass beads. However, a clear increase in clfA quantities in the sessile bacteria was observed late in infection after 144 h. In conclusion, maximal clfA transcript levels are reached late during growth in vitro and in vivo.
Cloning and expression of two novel aldo‐keto reductases from Digitalis purpurea leaves
2002-06-01

The aldo‐keto reductase (AKR) superfamily comprises proteins that catalyse mainly the reduction of carbonyl groups or carbon–carbon double bonds of a wide variety of substrates including steroids. Such types of reactions have been proposed to occur in the biosynthetic pathway of the cardiac glycosides produced by Digitalis plants. Two cDNAs encoding leaf‐specific AKR proteins (DpAR1 and DpAR2) were isolated from a D. purpurea cDNA library using the rat Δ 4 ‐3‐ketosteroid 5β‐reductase clone. Both cDNAs encode 315 amino acid proteins showing 98.4% identity. DpAR proteins present high identities (68–80%) with four Arabidopsis clones and a 67% identity with the aldose/aldehyde reductase from Medicago sativa . A molecular phylogenetic tree suggests that these seven proteins belong to a new subfamily of the AKR superfamily. Southern analysis indicated that DpARs are encoded by a family of at most five genes. RNA‐blot analyses demonstrated that the expression of DpAR genes is developmentally regulated and is restricted to leaves. The expression of DpAR genes has also been induced by wounding, elevated salt concentrations, drought stress and heat‐shock treatment. The isolated cDNAs were expressed in Escherichia coli and the recombinant proteins purified. The expressed enzymes present reductase activity not only for various sugars but also for steroids, preferring NADH as a cofactor. These studies indicate the presence of plant AKR proteins with ketosteroid reductase activity. The function of the enzymes in cardenolide biosynthesis is discussed.
Induction of HA‐1‐specific cytotoxic T‐cell clones parallels the therapeutic effect of donor lymphocyte infusion
2002-06-01

Summary. Donor lymphocyte infusions (DLI) can induce a graft‐versus‐leukaemia (GvL) reaction in patients with relapsed disease. However, the mechanisms involved in remission induction are not completely known. A patient with chemotherapy‐refractory relapse 1 year after human leucocyte antigen (HLA)‐identical, unrelated stem cell transplantation (SCT) for bcr/abl‐positive common acute lymphoblastic leukaemia (ALL) received a DLI from the original donor, and achieved complete cytogenetic and molecular remission concomitantly with extensive graft‐versus‐host disease (GvHD). Seven CD8 + , donor‐derived, alloreactive T‐cell clones were generated by stimulating post‐DLI remission cells with the patient's pretransplant mature dendritic cells. The minor histocompatibility antigen (mHag) recognized by these T‐cell clones was identified as HA‐1, a mHag associated with acute GvHD after SCT. Our finding provides evidence of HA‐1‐associated GvL effects after DLI that paralleled the eradication of full‐blown, chemotherapy‐refractory ALL relapse after allogeneic SCT.
New emerging Plasmodium falciparum genotypes in children during the transition phase from asymptomatic parasitemia to malaria.
2002-06-01

Semi-immunity against Plasmodium falciparum occurs after many infections. In areas of high malaria transmission, the prevalence of asymptomatic parasite carriers increases with age. We investigated P. falciparum genotypes in a cohort of asymptomatic carriers who were followed until they became symptomatic. Blood spots on filter paper and blood smears were collected daily from 10 children in LambarÃ©nÃ©, Gabon. The parasite genotypes present on successive days were determined by a polymerase chain reaction using the polymorphic region of the merozoite surface antigen-2 for typing. The same parasite genotypes persisted in eight out of ten children and parasite densities were low throughout the asymptomatic phase indicating inhibition of parasite growth. Appearance of symptoms was associated with an increase in parasitemia and appearance of novel parasite genotypes. The results suggest that the parasites causing a clinical episode are those against which a child has not yet mounted an efficient protective immune response.
Resolution and the Origins of Structural Reasoning: Early Proof-Theoretic Ideas of Hertz and Gentzen
2002-06-01

Abstract In the 1920s, Paul Hertz (1881–1940) developed certain calculi based on structural rules only and established normal form results for proofs. It is shown that he anticipated important techniques and results of general proof theory as well as of resolution theory, if the latter is regarded as a part of structural proof theory. Furthermore, it is shown that Gentzen, in his first paper of 1933, which heavily draws on Hertz, proves a normal form result which corresponds to the completeness of propositional SLD-resolution in logic programming.
Prenatal diagnosis and perinatal management of left coronary artery to right atrium fistula
2002-06-01

Abstract Serious complications due to coronary artery fistulae have been described. Most authors recommend early intervention at the time of diagnosis. We present a case of a fistula originating from a dilated left coronary artery and draining into the right atrium, which was diagnosed prenatally by color Doppler echocardiography. During pregnancy, the echocardiographic findings remained unchanged, and there were no signs of heart failure. After birth, the fistula was confirmed by angiography. Additionally, a persistent left superior vena cava draining into the coronary sinus and a very small ventricular septal defect were detected. The fistula was closed successfully by transcatheter coil embolization. At 17 months old the child was in good clinical condition. Prenatal diagnosis of coronary artery fistulae may be possible and may improve perinatal management and outcome. Copyright © 2002 ISUOG
Phase II study of weekly paclitaxel plus 24-h continuous infusion 5-fluorouracil, folinic acid and 3-weekly cisplatin for the treatment of patients with advanced gastric cancer
2002-06-01

The aim of this study was to evaluate the toxicity and efficacy of combination chemotherapy with weekly 24-h continuous infusion of 5-fluorouracil (5-FU)/folinic acid, weekly paclitaxel and 3-weekly cisplatin in patients with unresectable, locally advanced or metastatic gastric adenocarcinoma. Between November 1999 and November 2001, 29 chemotherapy-naive patients (13 male and 16 female) with a median age of 56 years (range 22-72) were consecutively enrolled at three centers. 5-FU 2 g/m2 was given weekly over 24 h i.v. preceded by folinic acid 500 mg/m2 as a 2-h infusion. Paclitaxel 80 mg/m2 was administered as a 1-h infusion weekly and cisplatin 50 mg/m2 as 1-h infusion on days 8 and 29. Six weeks of therapy (days 1, 8, 15, 22, 29 and 36) followed by 1 week of rest was considered one cycle. A median of 3 cycles (range 1-5) was administered to 29 patients with a total of 73 cycles applied. All patients were assessable for toxicity and survival, 28 patients were assessable for response (one patient received less than one complete cycle and could not be evaluated for response). Four patients (14%) obtained a complete response and 10 patients (34%) a partial response (overall response rate 48%, 95% CI 29-68%). Seven patients (24%) had stable disease. Seven patients (24%) had progressive disease during or within 4 weeks after treatment. The median progression-free and overall survival times were 8 months (range 1-23) and 11 months (range 1-23), respectively. Overall toxicity was acceptable. Hematological toxicity was favorable with only one patient (3%) experiencing WHO grade 3/4 leukocytopenia and one patient (3%) WHO grade 3/4 anemia. Non-hematologic WHO grade 3/4 toxicities included alopecia in 19 (66%), nausea/vomiting in six (21%), diarrhea in six (21%), neurotoxicity grade 3 in three (10%) and infection in three (10%) patients. A total of 42 applications (10%) (range 0-5) had to be postponed and dose reductions of at least one drug was necessary in 37% of applications. In three patients (10%) treatment was stopped because of toxicity. All patients were treated on an outpatient basis. Thus, the combination of weekly paclitaxel, cisplatin and continuously infused 5-FU/folinic acid appears to be a highly active regimen for the treatment of patients with advanced gastric cancer. Compared with our previous experience with the same combination of drugs but using paclitaxel at 175 mg/m2 given every 3 weeks, the protocol with weekly application of paclitaxel 80 mg/m2 shows a reduced incidence of hematologic toxicity, particularly leukopenia. Other organ toxicities apart from a slightly higher incidence of peripheral neuropathy were comparable between the two treatment protocols. Efficacy with a response rate of 50% was well preserved by this weekly regimen.
Is pushing constraints deeply into the mining algorithms really what we want?
2002-06-01

The common approach to exploit mining constraints is to push them deeply into the mining algorithms. In our paper we argue that this approach is based on an understanding of KDD that is no longer up-to-date. In fact, today KDD is seen as a human centered, highly interactive and iterative process. Blindly enforcing constraints already during the mining runs neglects the process character of KDD and therefore is no longer state of the art. Constraints can make a single algorithm run faster but in fact we are still far from response times that would allow true interactivity in KDD. In addition we pay the price of repeated mining runs and moreover risk reducing data mining to some kind of hypothesis testing. Taking all the above into consideration we propose to do exactly the contrary of constrained mining: We accept an initial (nearly) unconstrained and costly mining run. But instead of a sequence of subsequent and still expensive constrained mining runs we answer all further mining queries from this initial result set. Whereas this is straight forward for constraints that can be implemented as filters on the result set, things get more complicated when we restrict the underlying mining data. Actually in practice such constraints are very important, e.g. the generation of rules for certain days of the week, for families, singles, male or female customers etc. We show how to postpone such row-restriction constraints on the transactions from rule generation to rule retrieval from the initial result set.
Models to Study Ischemia in Chronic Wounds
2002-06-01

Wound healing is a complex immune response designed to achieve tissue repair following injury. Imbalance of stimulating and inhibiting factors cause failure of healing. Ischemia is a major cause of wound repair dysregulation and may be limb and life threatening. Investigating ischemic wound healing using animal models minimizes the complex accompanying factors that are usually present in humans, such as age or diabetes. This paper presents a limited review on normal physiological healing and on models that are used to study compromised healing under ischemic conditions.
PORTFOLIO OPTIMIZATION, HIDDEN MARKOV MODELS, AND TECHNICAL ANALYSIS OF P&F-CHARTS
2002-06-01

In this work we introduce an adaptive method of portfolio optimization. The basic idea is to describe essential movements of the stock price using a hidden Markov model and to calculate the optimal portfolio using a recursive algorithm. The portfolio optimization is adaptive in the sense that the standard EM-algorithm fits the model to historical data, which improves the portfolio performance.
Continuous Brachial Plexus Analgesia and NMDA-receptor Blockade in Early Phantom Limb Pain: A Report of Two Cases
2002-06-01

The combination of long-term regional analgesia with prolonged block of NMDA receptors might be effective for treatment and prevention of phantom limb pain following traumatic amputations. The absence of clinically relevant side effects, together with maintained motor function suggests this treatment to be a promising preventive strategy for phantom limb pain following traumatic amputations.
Synthesis of the Core Structure of Salicylihalamide A by Intramolecular Suzuki Reaction
2002-06-01

[reaction: see text] An intramolecular Suzuki coupling was used to establish the core structure of the benzolactone enamide salicylihalamide A. This strategy combines a diastereoselective hydroboration with a subsequent cross-coupling.
Regulation of theLegionella mip-promotor during infection of human monocytes
2002-06-01

The opportunistic pathogen Legionella pneumophila, the etiologic agent of Legionnaires disease, is able to invade and multiply intracellularly in human macrophages. This process is controlled by several bacterial virulence factors. As recently demonstrated, one of these virulence factors, the macrophage infectivity potentiator (Mip) protein, is important for invasion and proper intracellular establishment of L. pneumophila in macrophages and protozoa. Knockout mutants devoid of a functional mip-gene enter host cells much less effectively but intracellular replication is not affected. Using a P(mip)-green fluorescent protein reporter construct in L. pneumophila substrain Corby, P(mip) was recently shown to be constitutively active in replicating bacteria. A stringent regulation during the infection process could not be observed, neither in intracellular nor in BYE broth-grown bacteria. For enhanced temporal and quantitative resolution, we examined the activity of mip on RNA level in order to detect short transient regulatory events. Our results show that P(mip) of L. pneumophila is temporarily repressed directly after invasion of the monocytic human cell line MonoMac 6 and regains activity after 24 h of intracellular replication.
Redescription of the Skull of Dacquemys Williams, 1954, a Podocnemidid Side-Necked Turtle from the Late Eocene of Egypt
2002-06-01

Abstract The known material of the side-necked turtle Dacquemys paleomorpha Williams, 1954, consists of the type skull and a new skull from the late Eocene of Egypt. Dacquemys is reaffirmed as a member of the Podocnemididae because of its well-developed cavum pterygoideus. Within the Podocnemididae Dacquemys uniquely possesses a fully roofed temporal region produced by a posteriorly extensive parietal and wide supraoccipital, a very wide interorbital area, and two accessory maxillary ridges meeting anteriorly to form an enclosed trough.
Influence of ACE Inhibition on Myocardial Damage, the Kallikrein-Kinin System and Hemostasis during Cardiopulmonary Bypass Surgery
2002-06-01

Reduction of ischemic injury during CPB is not achieved with ACE inhibitors. However, treatment of patients with ACE inhibitors before and during CPB is fully feasible without side effects affecting the kallikrein contact phase or significant influence on hemostasis.