Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
RETINOBLASTOMA IN INDIA: Clinical Presentation and Outcome in 1,457 Patients (2,074 Eyes)

Purpose: To study the clinical presentation, treatment, and outcome of patients with retinoblastoma (RB) in India. Methods: Retrospective study of 1,457 patients with RB (2,074 eyes). Results: The mean age at presentation of RB was 29 months (median, 24 months; range, <1–370 months). There were 812 (56%) men and 645 (44%) women with unilateral presentation of RB in 57% (n = 834) and bilateral in 43% (n = 623). Familial RB was present in 4% (n = 55). The most common presenting complaints included leukocoria (n = 1,100; 75%), proptosis (n = 91; 6%), strabismus (n = 77; 5%), and red eye (n = 68; 5%). Most (n = 1,889; 91%) tumors were intraocular in location, and 185 (n = 185; 9%) had extraocular tumor extension at presentation. The most common modalities of primary treatment–included systemic chemotherapy (n = 1,171; 60%) and enucleation (n = 674; 35%). At a mean follow-up period of 44 months (median, 30 months; range, 3–234 months), 92% (n = 1,206) were alive, and 108 (8%) patients died because of RB. Based on Kaplan–Meier analysis, the survival at 1, 3, 5, and 10 years was 94%, 91%, 90%, and 89%, respectively. Conclusion: The most common presenting signs of RB in Asian Indian population are leukocoria and proptosis. With appropriate treatment, the survival rate is favorable at 92%.
Antimicrobial resistance of coagulase-negative staphylococci from bovine subclinical mastitis with particular reference to macrolide-lincosamide resistance phenotypes and genotypes.

OBJECTIVES The aim of this study was to analyse coagulase-negative staphylococci (CoNS) for their resistance to antimicrobial agents approved for the control of pathogens involved in bovine mastitis, with particular reference to macrolide and/or lincosamide (ML) resistance and the resistance genes involved. METHODS A total of 298 CoNS collected between 2003 and 2005 in Germany from cases of subclinical mastitis in dairy cows were identified to the species level and investigated for their MICs by broth microdilution. ML-resistant isolates were subjected to plasmid profiling and electrotransformation experiments. The ML resistance genes were detected using PCR and hybridization. Selected PCR products were cloned and sequenced. RESULTS The CoNS isolates used in this study showed a low level of resistance to all antimicrobial agents tested (0-7.4%) except ampicillin (18.1%). In the erythromycin-resistant and/or pirlimycin-resistant isolates, the ML resistance genes erm(B), erm(C), msr(A), mph(C) and lnu(A) were present, either alone or in different combinations. Isolates carrying erm methylase genes or the exporter gene msr(A) showed higher MICs than those harbouring only the genes mph(C) or lnu(A) coding for inactivating enzymes. Most of the ML resistance genes were found on plasmids. CONCLUSIONS This is the first report of pirlimycin MICs for CoNS collected from cases of bovine subclinical mastitis in Germany. After 3-5 years of veterinary therapeutic use, pirlimycin resistance was rarely detected among CoNS. The finding that five different resistance genes--present in various combinations--were responsible for ML resistance underlines the heterogeneous character of this resistance trait.
The Moon and the Emergency Room

The commonly held superstition of the staff of an emergency room in a mental health center prompted a data analysis. Admissions to that unit on days of a full moon were compared with other periods during the month for the period of a year. Significant moon effects, unrelated to visibility, were found. Suspicions were confirmed.
Basement membrane and extracellular interstitial matrix components in bladder neoplasia—evidence of angiogenesis

Immunohistochemical studies to localise collagen IV, laminin, fibronectin and tenascin were undertaken in 59 bladder biopsies. These were non‐neoplastic or contained foci of flat dysplasia or of transitional cell neoplasia. Collagen IV and laminin were reliably demonstrated in basement membranes but focal loss of reactivity for collagen IV was found in the urothelial basement membrane in some cases of inflammation, dysplasia, and non‐invasive papillary transitional cell tumour. Basement membranes were rarely demonstrated around invasive transitional cell carcinomas. Fibronectin and tenascin were found in the sub‐urothelial lamina propria and in some urothelial basement membranes. The stroma of invasive tumours reacted strongly for both. Increased numbers of sub‐urothelial capillaries were present in association with some cases of cystitis, flat dysplasia or non‐invasive transitional cell neoplasia suggesting an angiogenic stimulus in these circumstances. Immunohistochemical staining of basement membrane components is unlikely to be of value in the routine histopathological assessment of transitional cell neoplasms of the bladder.
Association of occupational physical demands and psychosocial working environment with disabling shoulder pain.

OBJECTIVE To estimate the individual and combined associations of physical and psychosocial working environment with disabling shoulder pain and to identify groups at "high risk" for shoulder pain. METHODS A cross sectional survey was conducted at five manual occupational settings in south Manchester, United Kingdom (n=775, 83%). RESULTS Both the duration of occupational physical demands (working postures, manual handling activities, and repetitive arm movements) and psychosocial working environment (psychological demands and lack of opportunity to learn new skills) were found to be significantly associated with shoulder pain. Three occupational factors identified a high risk group for shoulder pain: duration of lifting with one hand (prevalence rate ratio (PRR) (highest third) 2.0, 95% confidence interval (CI) 1.4 to 2.8), duration of working above shoulder level (PRR (highest third) 2.2, 95% CI 1.5 to 3.3), and whether employees found their work stressful (PRR (highest third) 1.4, 95% CI 1.0 to 2.1). In addition, a measure of psychological distress (General Health Questionnaire (GHQ) score) was found to identify a group at high risk for shoulder pain (PRR (highest third) 1.9, 95% CI 1.3 to 2.9). In employees exposed to three or more of these factors, 79% (23/29) reported shoulder pain compared with only 16% (56/353) of those not exposed to any. CONCLUSION This study has identified a variety of occupational physical demands and psychosocial factors associated with shoulder pain. It has also identified groups of employees at a "high risk" for shoulder pain by their exposure to both physical and psychosocial factors.
2001 Presidential Address: Working with Imperfect Models

Since the early years of psychological research, investigators in psychology have made use of mathematical models of psychological phenomena. Models are now routinely used to represent and study cognitive processes, the structure of psychological measurements, the structure of correlational relationships among variables, the nature of change over time, and many other topics and phenomena of interest. All of these models, in their attempt to provide a parsimonious representation of psychological phenomena, are wrong to some degree and are thus implausible if taken literally. Such models simply cannot fully represent the complexities of the phenomena of interest and at best provide an approximation of the real world. This imperfection has implications for how we specify, estimate, and evaluate models, and how we interpret results of fitting models to data. Using factor analysis and structural equation models as a context, I examine some implications of model imperfection for our use of models, focusing on formal specification of models; the nature of parameters and parameter estimates; the relevance of discrepancy functions; the issue of sample size; the evaluation, development, and selection of models; and the conduct of simulation studies. The overall perspective is that our use and study of models should be guided by an understanding that our models are imperfect and cannot be made to be exactly correct.
The Effect of Botulinum Neurotoxins on the Release of Insulin from the Insulinoma Cell Lines HIT-15 and RINm5F (*)

Western blotting of the insulin-secreting β-cell lines HIT-15 and RINm5F with anti-SNAP-25 (synaptosomal associated protein of 25 kDa), anti-synaptobrevin, and anti-syntaxin 1 antibodies revealed the presence of proteins with the same electrophoretic mobility as found in neural tissue. Permeabilization of both of these insulinoma cell lines to botulinum neurotoxin A by electroporation resulted, after 3 days of culture, in the loss of 90% of SNAP-25 immunoreactivity. A similar permeabilization of these cells with botulinum neurotoxin B resulted in the cleavage of 90% of the synaptobrevin-like immunoreactivities. Botulinum neurotoxin F also cleaved 90% of the synaptobrevin-like immunoreactivity in RINm5F cells. The permeabilization of both insulinoma cells to neurotoxin A resulted in a >90% inhibition of potassium-stimulated, calcium-dependent insulin release. By contrast, permeabilization of the insulinoma cell lines to neurotoxin B resulted in only a 60% inhibition of potassium-stimulated insulin release in HIT-15 cells, and neither neurotoxin B nor F caused inhibition in RINm5F cells. Thus HIT-15 and RINm5F cells contain the components of the putative exocytotic docking complex described in cells derived from the neural crest. In HIT-15 cells both SNAP-25 and synaptobrevin appear to be involved in calcium-dependent insulin secretion, whereas in RINm5F cells SNAP-25 but not synaptobrevin is involved.
Functional inhibition of PAR2 alleviates allergen‐induced airway hyperresponsiveness and inflammation

Proteinase‐activated receptor 2 (PAR2) is a G protein‐coupled receptor activated by trypsin‐like serine proteinases. PAR2 activation has been associated with inflammation including allergic airway inflammation. We have also shown that PAR2 activation in the airways leads to allergic sensitization. The exact contribution of PAR2 in the development of eosinophilic inflammation and airway hyperresponsiveness (AHR) in sensitized individuals is not clear.
Assessing the Offending Activity of Criminal Domestic Violence Suspects: Offense Specialization, Escalation, and De-Escalation Evidence from the Spouse Assault Replication Program

Objective. Over the past quarter century, intimate partner violence research has occupied an increasingly important position in the research agenda of criminology, public policy, and public health. Yet, a number of questions about the criminal careers of domestic violence offenders remain unresolved. This study attempts to determine (1) the extent to which criminal domestic violence offenders specialize in violence, and (2) whether the severity of an offender's attacks against the same victim increase, decrease, or stay about the same over time. Methods. Data from the Spouse Assault Replication Program (SARP) are used to address two questions corresponding to different features of the criminal careers of domestic violence offenders. Results. The specialization analysis reveals that the majority of domestic violence offenders with prior official criminal records have been involved in nonviolent forms of criminal behavior in addition to domestic violence. The escalation analysis identifies groups of escalators and de-escalators as well as individuals who engage in stable low-level aggression and stable high-level aggression. Conclusions. Few SARP domestic violence offenders have been specializing exclusively in violence. There is also a heterogeneous mix of offenders who escalate and de-escalate the severity of their attacks over the short-term follow-up periods. Few studies have presented data consistent with the present study's findings. A longitudinal analysis of the criminal careers of domestic violence offender subtypes is critical for future research.
Serum and semen prostate specific antigen concentrations are different in young spinal cord injured men compared to normal controls.

PURPOSE Recent investigations have indicated that factors within the seminal plasma may contribute to the condition of low sperm motility in men with spinal cord injury. To determine whether the prostate gland functions normally in these men we chose prostate specific antigen (PSA) as a marker of prostatic function, and compared serum and semen concentrations in spinal cord injured and healthy noninjured men. MATERIALS AND METHODS The study included 21 spinal cord injured men (mean age 33.3+/-1.2 years) and 22 noninjured normal men (mean age 30.3+/-1.5 years). Blood was obtained from subjects following at least 24 hours of abstinence from ejaculation and serum PSA was determined by modified enzyme immunoassay. Antegrade ejaculates from all subjects were frozen to -80 C, exactly 15 minutes after collection. Seminal plasma PSA was determined using Hybritech Tandem MP assay. RESULTS Mean serum PSA concentration was 1.20+/-0.19 ng. /ml. in spinal cord injured and 0.69+/-0.07 ng. /ml. in noninjured men (p<0.02). Mean seminal plasma PSA concentration was 0.59+/-0.11 mg. /ml. in spinal cord injured and 1.29+/-0.15 mg. /ml. in noninjured men (p<0.001). CONCLUSIONS Our findings of elevated serum and decreased seminal plasma PSA concentrations indicate that prostatic secretory dysfunction is present in men with spinal cord injury.
Predicting Presupposition Projection : some alternatives in the strong Kleene tradition ∗

This paper presents an architecture for evaluating presuppositional expressions that predicts the projection behavior of functions from their (bivalent) truth-conditional contributions. The resulting system demonstrates how a static, trivalent account can compete with other alternatives to address certain theoretical complaints raised against older projection theories, and makes a number of interesting new predictions. 1 Some Problems for a Theory of Presupposition
Ex Vivo Stimulation and Expansion of both CD4+ and CD8+ T Cells from Peripheral Blood Mononuclear Cells of Human Cytomegalovirus-Seropositive Blood Donors by Using a Soluble Recombinant Chimeric Protein, IE1-pp65

ABSTRACT The transfer of anti-human cytomegalovirus (HCMV) effector T cells to allogeneic bone marrow recipients results in protection from HCMV disease associated with transplantation, suggesting the direct control of CMV replication by T cells. IE1 and pp65 proteins, both targets of CD4+ and CD8+ T cells, are considered the best candidates for immunotherapy and vaccine design against HCMV. In this report, we describe the purification of a 165-kDa chimeric protein, IE1-pp65, and its use for in vitro stimulation and expansion of anti-HCMV CD4+ and CD8+ T cells from peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC) of HCMV-seropositive donors. We demonstrate that an important proportion of anti-HCMV CD4+T cells was directed against IE1-pp65 in HCMV-seropositive donors and that the protein induced activation of HLA-DR3-restricted anti-IE1 CD4+ T-cell clones, as assessed by gamma interferon (IFN-γ) secretion and cytotoxicity. Moreover, soluble IE1-pp65 stimulated and expanded anti-pp65 CD8+ T cells from PBMC of HLA-A2, HLA-B35, and HLA-B7 HCMV-seropositive blood donors, as demonstrated by cytotoxicity, intracellular IFN-γ labeling, and quantitation of peptide-specific CD8+ cells using an HLA-A2–peptide tetramer and staining of intracellular IFN-γ. These results suggest that soluble IE1-pp65 may provide an alternative to infectious viruses used in current adoptive strategies of immunotherapy.
Career Concerns and Policy Intransigence - A Dynamic Signalling Model

A decision-maker might be reluctant to abandon her project when she is concerned both about social welfare and public beliefs about her ability. The decision-maker gets private information over time about whether the project will succeed or fail. Intuition suggests that in this setting the decision-maker will continue with the project for too long, both because persisting signals positive private information and in the hope of a last-minute success. I show, however, that efficiency can be achieved in equilibrium for many information structures. Surprisingly, increasing the informational asymmetry by improving the decision-maker's private information improves efficiency.Creation-Date: 2014-2
Narrowband UVB phototherapy for early-stage mycosis fungoides.

BACKGROUND Narrowband UVB (NB-UVB) phototherapy has been shown to be effective for the treatment of various dermatoses. OBJECTIVE We evaluated the effect of NB-UVB in the treatment of early stage mycosis fungoides (MF). METHODS The response of 24 patients (12 stage IA, 12 stage IB) with patch stage MF to thrice weekly NB-UVB was assessed. Twelve patients had skin phototypes I-III, and 12 had types IV-VI. Seven patients had hypopigmented MF. Mean follow-up period was 29.0 weeks. RESULTS Thirteen patients (54.2%) had a complete response (CR), 7 (29.2%) had partial response (PR), and 4 (16.7%) had no response. Specimens from a repeat biopsy in 10 patients with CR showed histologic clearing in 9 of them. Upon discontinuation of treatment, 4 patients with CR relapsed, with a mean time to relapse of 12.5 weeks. CONCLUSION NB-UVB is a viable, comparably safe, and easily administered alternative in the management of early stage MF.
Prevalence and correlates of alcohol use and DSM-IV alcohol dependence in the United States: results of the National Longitudinal Alcohol Epidemiologic Survey.

OBJECTIVE The purpose of this study was to present updated estimates of the prevalence of, and to examine the correlates of, alcohol use and DSM-IV alcohol dependence in a representative sample of the U.S. population. METHODS This study was based on the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism's National Longitudinal Alcohol Epidemiologic Survey (NLAES), a representative sample (N = 42,862) of the United States population aged 18 years and older. RESULTS The prevalence of lifetime alcohol use was 66.0%, with 44.4% of the respondents reporting alcohol use during the past 12 months. Lifetime and 12-month prevalences of alcohol dependence were estimated at 13.3% and 4.4%, respectively. Men were significantly more likely than women to use alcohol, and alcohol use and dependence were much more common among cohorts born after Prohibition and after World War II. Members of the youngest cohorts, between the ages of 18 and 24 years at the time of the interview, were more likely to use drugs, to become dependent and to persist in dependence compared to the older cohorts. In addition, the conditional probability of dependence among users was greatest in Cohort 1 (born between 1968 and 1974) after early adolescence compared to Cohort 2 (born between 1958 and 1967), despite the finding that the probability of lifetime use was lower in Cohort 1 compared to Cohort 2. The sociodemographic correlates of first use, onset of dependence and persistence of dependence varied as a function of the stage of progression. CONCLUSIONS Implications of these findings are discussed in terms of changes over time in drinking patterns, dependence liability and vulnerability among recent alcohol users.
Osteoinductivity of commercially available demineralized bone matrix. Preparations in a spine fusion model.

BACKGROUND Although autogenous bone is the most widely used graft material for spinal fusion, demineralized bone matrix preparations are available as alternatives or supplements to autograft. They are prepared by acid extraction of most of the mineralized component, with retention of the collagen and noncollagenous proteins, including growth factors. Differences in allograft processing methods among suppliers might yield products with different osteoinductive activities. The purpose of this study was to compare the efficacy of three different commercially available demineralized bone matrix products for inducing spinal fusion in an athymic rat model. METHODS Sixty male athymic rats underwent spinal fusion and were divided into three groups of eighteen animals each. Group I received Grafton Putty; Group II, DBX Putty; and Group III, AlloMatrix Injectable Putty. A control group of six animals (Group IV) underwent decortication alone. Six animals from each of the three experimental groups were killed at each of three intervals (two, four, and eight weeks), and the six animals from the control group were killed at eight weeks. At each of the time-points, radiographic and histologic analysis and manual testing of the explanted spines were performed. RESULTS The spines in Group I demonstrated higher rates of radiographically evident fusion at eight weeks than did the spines in Group III or Group IV (p < 0.05). Manual testing of the spines at four weeks revealed variable fusion rates (five of six in Group I, two of six in Group II, and none of six in Group III). At eight weeks, all six spines in Group I, three of the six in Group II, and no spine in Group III or IV had fused. Histologic analysis of the spines in Groups I, II, and III demonstrated varying amounts of residual demineralized bone matrix and new bone formation. Group-I spines demonstrated the most new bone formation. CONCLUSIONS This study demonstrated differences in the osteoinductive potentials of commercially available demineralized bone matrices in this animal model.
Mycorrhizal Mediation of Soil: Fertility, Structure, and Carbon Storage

Mycorrhizal fungi channel significant amounts of recently fixed plant carbon (C) through the soil, affecting a number of soil processes including the composition and activity of microbial communities and soil organic matter (SOM) mineralization. Some of the mycorrhizal fungi (particularly those establishing ecto-, ericoid and orchid mycorrhizas) can directly mineralize SOM, although often they do not utilize its C, but only the mineral nutrients such as nitrogen and/or phosphorus locked up in it. Arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi lack efficient exoenzymes to mineralize SOM on their own and thus possibly rely on associated microorganisms to do that job. Often, the mycorrhizal fungi effectively deplete their hyphospheres of mineral nutrients such as nitrogen and phosphorus, inducing localized nutrient deficiency of soil microbial communities and resulting in stabilization of soil organic C on a long run. Involvement of mycorrhizal symbiosis in soil C cycling is briefly outlined in this chapter, introducing following chapters that elaborate on this subject from different perspectives.
Plasmid encoding interleukin-4 in the amelioration of murine collagen-induced arthritis.

OBJECTIVE To evaluate the therapeutic effect of the administration of plasmid encoding interleukin-4 (IL-4) via gene-gun delivery and via intradermal injection on collagen-induced arthritis (CIA). METHODS IL-4 plasmid was administered by gene-gun delivery and intradermal injection to DBA/1 mice immunized with type II collagen (CII). The therapeutic effect on the development of CIA was evaluated clinically with a visual scoring method for arthritis and serologically by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays and polymerase chain reaction. RESULTS Treatment with IL-4-expressing plasmid significantly reduced the incidence and severity of CIA, including a reduction in the anti-CII antibody level. In particular, gene-gun delivery had a higher immunosuppressive effect on CIA compared with intradermal injection. As shown by in vitro stimulation assay, the spleen cells from mice immunized with CII and treated with IL-4 plasmid via gene gun exhibited higher Th2 cytokine responses compared with cells treated with control plasmid after in vitro stimulation with CII. CONCLUSION The results of this study suggest that treatment with IL-4 plasmid may constitute a new clinical use of cytokine gene therapy for rheumatoid arthritis.