Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Magnetic resonance imaging of periventricular leukomalacia and its clinical correlation in children

The prevalence of periventricular leukomalacia and its association with clinical neurological signs in school‐age preterm children are unknown. We matched 42 eight‐year‐old children who were born before term with birth weights lower than 1,750 gm (mean, 1,410 gm; gestational age, 31 weeks) with 42 children who were born at term and of normal birth weight, to compare clinical neurological status and magnetic resonance imaging findings. Of the children born prematurely, 9.5% had cerebral palsy and 31% had minor neurological dysfunction whereas 9% of the children born at term had minor neurological dysfunction and none had cerebral palsy. Deviations in tongue movements, heel walking, Fogs test results, and finger opposition, as well as behavioral disturbances, differentiated the preterm from the full‐term group. The prevalence of periventricular leukomalacia among all children born prematurely was 32%. It was observed in all children with cerebral palsy, in 25% with minor neurological dysfunction, and in 25% of the clinically healthy preterm children. None of the children born at term had evidence of periventricular leukomalacia. Children with periventricular leukomalacia especially demonstrated poor performance on heel walking and Fogs test. Though commonly found in preterm children, periventricular leukomalacia is not uniformly associated with abnormal neurological findings. A through neurological examination is a better predictor of later developmental problems than is magnetic resonance imaging.
Transcriptome analysis of the uniparous and multiparous goats ovaries.

Transcriptome analysis of Inner Mongolia Cashmere goat and Dazu black goat generated 38,772,947 and 38,771,668 clean pair end reads, respectively, which were assembled into 72,422 and 80,069 unigenes by Trinity, respectively. For Inner Mongolia Cashmere goat, 26,051 and 10,100 unigenes were assigned to gene ontology (GO) categories and clusters of orthologous groups, respectively. A total of 32,772 unigenes can comment to SWISS-Prot database, and the Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes Pathway database (KEGG) mapped 24,420 unigenes. While annotating the unigenes about Dazu black goats, we found 29,444(45.42%), 11,271 (38.28%), 36,910(56.94%) and 27,766 (42.83%) unigenes were assigned to GO database, COG database, SWISS-Prot database and KEGG database, respectively. In addition, we performed the bioinformatics analysis of gene expression profiling aimed at the ovarian transcriptome difference between Inner Mongolia Cashmere goat and Dazu black goat. We obtained a sequencing depth of over 5.5 million and 5.8 million tags. There were 1,133 DEGs between two species, of which 632 genes upregulated in the Dazu black goat and 501 genes downregulated compared with which in Inner Mongolia Cashmere goat. By annotating the 1,133 DEGs into KEGG database, we found 525 DEGs. And there were 68 DEGs annotated in metabolic pathways, 31 DEGs annotated in ribosome, 28 DEGs annotated in focal adhesion, 27 DEGs annotated in phagosome, 26 DEGs annotated in pathways in cancer, 25 DEGs annotated in ECM-receptor interaction, 23 DEGs annotated in protein digestion and absorption, 20 DEGs annotated in oxidative phosphorylation, 17 DEGs annotated in lysosome, and 16 DEGs annotated in cell adhesion molecules.
Identification and Characterization of a Novel Golgi Protein, Golgin-67*

In the course of screening a λgt11 human leukemic T-cell cDNA expression library with an antibody specific to the mitotic target of Src, Sam68, we identified and cloned a cDNA encoding a novel protein with a predicted molecular mass of 51.4 kDa. Polyclonal antibodies raised to a His6-tagged construct of this protein, detected a ∼67-kDa protein in immunoprecipitation experiments, and cytological studies showed that this protein localized to the Golgi complex, through colocalization experiments with specific Golgi markers. Therefore, we designated this protein golgin-67. Sequence analysis revealed that golgin-67 is a highly coiled-coil protein, with potential Cdc2 and Src kinase phosphorylation motifs. It has sequence homologies to other Golgi proteins, including the coatamer complex I vesicle docking protein, GM130. Structurally, golgin-67 resembles, golgin-84, an integral membrane Golgi protein with an N-terminal coiled-coil domain and a single C-terminal transmembrane domain. The C-terminal region of golgin-67, which contains a predicted transmembrane domain, was demonstrated to be essential for its Golgi localization.
Morphology of Palpably Abnormal Injection Sites and Effects on Absorption of Isophane(NPH) Insulin

The absorption of isophane(NPH) insulin (Human Insulatard) from palpably abnormal thigh insulin injection sites was determined in 10 C‐peptide negative diabetic patients. Absorption was compared with a control day study when the insulin was injected into normal thigh. Standard meals were given 30 and 240 min after the injection. Within 2 weeks the tissue morphology and adipose tissue depths at both injection sites were assessed by ultrasound scanning. Absorption of isophane(NPH) insulin was markedly defective from the abnormal compared with the normal injection sites (area under the free insulin curve to 10 h 115 ± 15 vs 188 ± 21 mU I−1 h; p < 0.01). The area under the blood glucose curve from 270 min to the end of the study at 600 min was significantly greater after injection into the palpably abnormal injection site compared with normal thigh (80.4 ± 5.2 vs 61.2 ± 7.0 mmol I−1 h; p < 0.05) representing a 22 % improvement in blood glucose control on the normal injection site afternoon. The depth of abnormal injection site tissue was significantly greater than the depth of adipose tissue at the control site (17 ± 6 vs 5 ± 4 mm; p < 0.001) and considerable disruption of the normal anatomy observed. These results demonstrate defective absorption of isophane(NPH) insulin from palpably abnormal injection sites and describe the morphology of the abnormal tissue.
International travel to and from Brazil – Overseas tourism as a luxury good and a status symbol

Using data for the period 1995Q1–2012Q4, single-equation error correction models for real tourism import demand to Brazil and real tourism export demand from Brazil are derived. According to breakpoint tests, two periods (pre-2003 and post-2003) have to be distinguished. While international travel to and from Brazil can be seen as a luxury good for the whole period, low economic growth rates at the global level and the real appreciation of the Brazilian currency “real” from 2003 onward have led to stagnating real tourism exports and decreases in long-term income and price elasticities. However, high economic growth rates in Brazil and the real appreciation from 2003 onward have led to strongly growing real tourism imports and increases in long-term income and price elasticities. In line with international travel being regarded as a status symbol in Brazil, a Veblen effect of conspicuous consumption can be confirmed for the post-2003 period.
Hormonal basis for the gender difference in epidermal barrier formation in the fetal rat. Acceleration by estrogen and delay by testosterone.

Previous studies have shown that ontogeny of the epidermal permeability barrier and lung occur in parallel in the fetal rat, and that pharmacologic agents, such as glucocorticoids and thyroid hormone, accelerate maturation at comparable developmental time points. Gender also influences lung maturation, i.e., males exhibit delayed development. Sex steroid hormones exert opposite effects on lung maturation, with estrogens accelerating and androgens inhibiting. In this study, we demonstrate that cutaneous barrier formation, measured as transepidermal water loss, is delayed in male fetal rats. Administration of estrogen to pregnant mothers accelerates fetal barrier development both morphologically and functionally. Competent barriers also form sooner in skin explants incubated in estrogen-supplemented media in vitro. In contrast, administration of dihydrotestosterone delays barrier formation both in vivo and in vitro. Finally, treatment of pregnant rats with the androgen antagonist flutamide eliminates the gender difference in barrier formation. These studies indicate that (a) estrogen accelerates and testosterone delays cutaneous barrier formation, (b) these hormones exert their effects directly on the skin, and (c) sex differences in rates of barrier development in vivo may be mediated by testosterone.
The Reactions of Glial Cells and Endoneurial Macrophages in the Dorsal Root Ganglion and Their Contribution to Pain-Related Behavior After Application of Nucleus Pulposus Onto the Nerve Root in Rats

Study Design. Controlled, interventional, animal study. Objective. To observe the reaction of glial cells and endoneurial macrophages in the dorsal root ganglion (DRG) after application of nucleus pulposus (NP) and investigate whether activated DRG glial cells play a role in the pathogenesis of neuropathic pain. Summary of Background Data. Peripheral nerve injury activated DRG and spinal cord glial cells and several cytokines and neurotrophins released from these activated glial cells might induce pain hypersensitivity. Methods. Adult male Sprague-Dawley rats were used. NP harvested from the tail was applied to the left L5 DRG. Behavioral testing was performed to investigate the mechanical withdrawal threshold. The numbers of activated satellite glial cells and endoneurial macrophages were counted, and the expressions of tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-&agr;) and glial cell-line derived neurotrophic factor (GDNF) were examined by double-labeled immunohistochemistry and immunoblotting. Results. The mechanical withdrawal threshold was significantly decreased for 28 days and then gradually recovered (P < 0.05). Long-term activation of endoneurial macrophages and satellite glial cells in the DRG was observed, and the reactions of these cells correlated well with pain-related behavior. TNF-&agr; was expressed in both endoneurial macrophages and activated satellite glial cells, and TNF-&agr; expression was significantly increased in the early stage (P < 0.05). Activated satellite glial cells also expressed GDNF, and its expression was significantly increased and persisted for 28 days (P < 0.05). Conclusion. Activation of DRG glial cells and endoneurial macrophages plays an important role in the pathogenesis of the neuropathic pain state. TNF-&agr; actively released from activated glial cells and endoneurial macrophages in the DRG might initiate and maintain the neuropathic pain together with TNF-&agr; derived from the applied NP. In the recovery phase, persistent expression of GDNF from activated satellite glial cells might play an important role to restore the function of damaged neurons and recover from neuropathic pain.
Glomerular podocytes contain neuron‐like functional synaptic vesicles

Although patients with chronic renal failure are increasing worldwide, many aspects of kidney biology remain to be elucidated. Recent research has uncovered several molecular properties of the glomerular filtration barrier, in which podocytes, highly differentiated, ramified cells that enwrap the glomerular basement membrane, have been reported to be mainly responsible for filter's selectivity. We previously described that podocytes express Rab3A, a GTPase restricted to cell types that are capable of highly regulated exocytosis, such as neuronal cells. Here, we first demonstrate by a proteomic study that Rab3A in podocytes coimmmunoprecipitates with molecules once thought to be synapse specific. We then show that podocytes possess structures resembling synaptic vesicles, which contain glutamate, coexpress Rab3A and synaptotagmin 1, and undergo spontaneous and stimulated exocytosis and recycling, with glutamate release. Finally, from the results of a cDNA microarray study, we describe the presence of a series of neuron‐ and synapse‐specific molecules in normal human glomeruli and confirm the glomerular protein expression of both metabotropic and ionotropic glutamate receptors. These data point toward a synaptic‐like mechanism of communication among glomerular cells, which perfectly fits with the molecular composition of the glomerular filter and puts in perspective several previous observations, proposing a different working hypothesis for understanding glomerular signaling dynamics. — Rastaldi, M. P., Armelloni, S. , Berra, S. , Calvaresi, N. , Corbelli, A. , Giardino, L. A. , Li, M. , Wang, G. Q. , Fornasieri, A. , Villa, A. , Heikkila, E. , Soliymani, R. , Boucherot, A. , Cohen, C. D. , Kretzler, M. , Nitsche, A. , Ripamonti, M. , Malgaroli, A. , Pesaresi, M. , Forloni, G. L. , Schlöndorff, D. , Holthofer, H. , D'Amico, G. Glomerular podocytes contain neuron‐like functional synaptic vesicles. FASEB J. 20, E88–E98 (2006)
Three‐Dimensional structure of schistosoma japonicum glutathione s‐transferase fused with a six‐amino acid conserved neutralizing epitope of gp41 from hiv

The 3‐dimensional crystal structure of glutathione S‐transferase (GST) of Schistosoma japonicum (Sj) fused with a conserved neutralizing epitope on gp41 (glycoprotein, 41 kDa) of human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV‐1) (Muster T et al., 1993, J Virol 67:6642–6647) was determined at 2.5 Å resolution. The structure of the 3‐3 isozyme rat GST of the μ gene class (Ji X, Zhang P, Armstrong RN, Gilliland GL, 1992, Biochemistry 31:10169–10184) was used as a molecular replacement model. The structure consists of a 4‐stranded β‐sheet and 3 α‐helices in domain 1 and 5 α‐helices in domain 2. The space group of the Sj GST crystal is P43212, with unit cell dimensions of a = b = 94.7 Å, and c = 58.1 Å. The crystal has 1 GST monomer per asymmetric unit, and 2 monomers that form an active dimer are related by crystallographic 2‐fold symmetry. In the binding site, the ordered structure of reduced glutathione is observed. The gp41 peptide (Glu‐Leu‐Asp‐Lys‐Trp‐Ala) fused to the C‐terminus of Sj GST forms a loop stabilized by symmetry‐related GSTs. The Sj GST structure is compared with previously determined GST structures of mammalian gene classes μ, α, and π. Conserved amino acid residues among the 4 GSTs that are important for hydrophobic and hydrophilic interactions for dimer association and glutathione binding are discussed.
Red Blood Cell Methotrexate Polyglutamate Concentrations in Inflammatory Bowel Disease

Methotrexate (MTX) use in inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) is complicated by unpredictable efficacy and toxicity. In rheumatoid arthritis, total and individual red blood cell MTX polyglutamates (RBC MTXGlu1-5) correlate with disease activity and possibly toxicity, and therefore may be useful in guiding treatment. It is unclear if this applies in IBD. The aim of this pilot study was to measure total and individual RBC MTXGlu1-5 concentrations in patients with IBD to see if these relate to efficacy and adverse effects. RBC MTXGlu1--5 concentrations were measured on three occasions in 18 patients with IBD receiving MTX at a constant dose for 3 or more months. The intrapatient variability, expressed as the coefficient of variation, of RBC MTXGlu1-5 concentrations at steady state was determined, and disease activity and adverse effects were assessed against concentrations. The intrapatient coefficients of variation of individual MTXGlu1-5 varied from 12% to 27%. In Crohn's disease, higher RBC MTXGlu4&5 concentrations correlated with worse disease activity (r2 = 0.42 and 0.53, respectively, P ≤ 0.03). RBC MTXGlu5 concentrations were higher in patients experiencing at least one adverse effect as a result of MTX compared with those without adverse effects (mean, 26.7 versus 11.1 nmol/8 × 1012 RBCs; mean difference, 15.6; 95% confidence interval, 3.5-27.7; P = 0.04). Similar trends were observed for RBC MTXGlu4. Furthermore, patients who specifically experienced gastrointestinal adverse effects had higher RBC MTXGlu4&5 concentrations than patients without (P = 0.03 and 0.04, respectively). In summary, RBC MTXGlu1-5 concentrations can be measured accurately with low intrapatient variation. Unexpectedly, RBC MTXGlu4&5 concentrations correlated inversely with efficacy in Crohn's disease. RBC MTXGlu4&5 concentrations were higher in patients experiencing adverse effects. These findings suggest that RBC MTXGlu1-5 concentration monitoring may be of value in IBD and could assist with planning of larger studies.
Generalized Risk-Based Investing

Risk-based portfolio strategies - such as Minimum Variance, Maximum Diversification, Equally-Weighted and Risk Parity, to name the most famous - have become increasingly popular in the investment industry due to their return-agnostic and risk management features. In this paper, we show that these portfolio construction methodologies are special cases of a generic function defined by two specific parameters: a regularization parameter and a risk tolerance coefficient. We investigate the theoretical properties of this class of strategies, giving expressions for optimized solutions under general and specific risk models. This allows us to discuss important distinctive features of these portfolios, such as market beta, volatility, or exposure to low-vol/low-beta factors, while not being dependent on a specific sample. We illustrate these theoretical results by an empirical investigation of a large sample of international developed market stocks over the 2002-2012 period.
Meaning of College Access and Persistence for Low-income, First-generation College Students

Higher education access and success for first-generation college students from low-income backgrounds is a critical issue for colleges and universities. First-generation, low-income college students face certain challenges related to financial resources, academic preparation, personal support, and knowledge of college processes. The purpose of this study was to examine whether a college access program at a community college mitigated institutional and environmental barriers that have historically impeded the academic success of first-generation college students from low-income backgrounds. The College Access Program (CAP) at Middle State Community College provides a free college education to all high school seniors who graduate with a 2.0 grade point average or higher and reside within a specific county. Using a case study methodology, 10first-generation, low-income students participating in CAP were interviewed using Instant Messaging technology. Five of those students then participated in a follow-up, in-pe
Sera from patients with bullous pemphigoid (BP) associated with neurological diseases recognized BP antigen 1 in the skin and brain

patient preferences was 26%, slightly lower than the other conventional therapies (28–38%). Unfortunately, no statistical analysis of these results could be performed, as pooling of data was impossible due to the heterogeneity of the studies. The 10 studies included varied tremendously in quality. Several studies did not publish data on how they recruited the patients, the survey setting, the questions the patients were asked or their medication history. Moreover, all studies had several shortcomings in methodology. For instance, none of the studies used a validated instrument. Currently, there are validated questionnaires available for investigating patient satisfaction, for instance, the Treatment Satisfaction Questionnaire for Medication (TSQM), which was developed with the co-operation of more than 500 patients with several chronic illnesses, including psoriasis. The TSQM can be used to measure patient satisfaction with every treatment and any chronic disease. A relatively new questionnaire is the Treatment Satisfaction with Medicines Questionnaire (SATMED-Q ). This generic questionnaire was developed to measure satisfaction with drug therapy used in patients with chronic disorders undergoing pharmacological treatment for any disease. In conclusion, we can state that the available evidence on patient preference and satisfaction with the existing systemic and photo(chemo)therapies for psoriasis is surprisingly limited. As a result we cannot rank the therapies based on patient preference. On the other hand we see increasing attention to this subject; the majority of the studies included in our systematic review was published in the past decade. To improve future study design, it is important that investigators use a universal method of sufficient quality to investigate patient satisfaction resulting in comparable study outcomes. Moreover, the patients’ opinion may then be implemented in future clinical guidelines, which will result in better care for patients with moderate to severe psoriasis.
Comparison of patient recall of hormone therapy with physician records

Objective: The objective of this study was to compare patient recall of menopausal hormone therapy, obtained by personal interview, with that recorded in physicians' records. Design: Data were from a case-control study of women aged 55 to 64 years at diagnosis of breast cancer in Los Angeles County, CA, between 1987 and 1989. Medical record information on 1,115 women reporting hormone therapy use (652 case patients and 463 control participants) was sought from 2,734 physicians and obtained from 1,350. Physician records for an additional 126 case patients and 90 control participants not reporting hormone therapy but reporting oral contraceptive use or benign breast disease were also obtained. Results: Agreement between interview and physician records was 85% (&kgr;= 0.59) for ever/never use of estrogen and 84% (&kgr; = 0.59) for progestogen. The correlations for months of use were 0.43 and 0.34, respectively. For both drugs participants tended to report longer use, primarily because they reported earlier starting ages. Older and unmarried women recalled more unconfirmed estrogen use, whereas naturally menopausal women were more likely to report no estrogen use when the medical record was positive. We found no evidence of preferential recall bias by case patients. Conclusions: Interviews provide a moderately reliable measure for ever use of postmenopausal estrogen and progestogen. Recalled details are less reliable and may be affected by age, type of menopause, and recall interval.
Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease in sub-Saharan Africa: a systematic review.

BACKGROUND Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is a major global health problem. Although COPD is the sixth most common cause of mortality in low- and middle-income countries, most research comes from high-income countries. We set out to systematically review existing published research on COPD in sub-Saharan Africa to identify knowledge gaps and opportunities for further research. METHODS A literature search of MEDLINE, EMBASE and CINAHL (Cumulative Index to Nursing and Allied Health Literature) databases, published reviews, reference lists from included publications and abstracts from major thoracic medicine conference proceedings within the previous 2 years was performed using a protocol-driven search strategy. Texts were screened for inclusion by two independent reviewers. Studies were included if they met the following criteria: 1) COPD was an outcome, and 2) the population included people from sub-Saharan Africa. There were no language restrictions. FINDINGS Our search identified 688 studies: 41 were duplicates, 638 were excluded, and 9 met our inclusion criteria. Included studies were all cross-sectional, and included 3673 people from four sub-Saharan African countries. Estimates of COPD prevalence varied between 4% and 25%. Only one study used population-based representative sampling and an adequate case definition. Assessment of risk factors was limited. CONCLUSIONS There is little existing research on COPD in sub-Saharan Africa. Prevalence estimates varied, reflecting the range of populations studied, inconsistent diagnostic criteria and variable methods and methodological quality. Population-representative studies using appropriate case definitions are needed to define the epidemiology of COPD in sub-Saharan Africa and to inform the development of prevention and management strategies for the future.