Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
IGF1R signaling is necessary for FSH-induced activation of AKT and differentiation of human Cumulus granulosa cells.

CONTEXT FSH is routinely administered to in vitro fertilization patients to induce follicle maturation. During this process, granulosa cells differentiate and acquire specific functional characteristics that are required to coordinate ovulation and oocyte maturation. OBJECTIVE The objective of the study was to gain insight into the molecular mechanisms regulating human granulosa cell differentiation. Design, Setting, Patients, and Interventions: Cumulus and mural granulosa cells were isolated from the follicular aspirates of in vitro fertilization patients and analyzed immediately or cultured in serum-free media in the presence of FSH, IGFs, or an inhibitor of type I IGF receptor (IGF1R) activity. MAIN OUTCOME We quantified the mRNA and protein levels of steroidogenic enzymes, components of the IGF system, and gonadotropin receptors; measured 17β-estradiol levels; and examined the activation of intracellular signaling pathways to assess the granulosa cell differentiation as well as the FSH and IGF actions in both cumulus and mural cells. RESULTS In freshly isolated cells, LH receptor (Lhr) and steroidogenic acute regulator (Star) were expressed at lower levels in cumulus than mural cells, whereas FSH receptor (Fshr) and anti-Müllerian hormone (Amh) were expressed at higher levels in cumulus than mural cells. In vitro, the expression of Igf2, the differentiation markers Lhr, Star, and Cyp19a1 (aromatase) as well as 17β-estradiol production remained low in untreated cumulus cells but increased significantly after FSH treatment. Strikingly, this stimulatory effect of FSH was abolished by the inhibition of IGF1R activity. FSH-induced activation of v-akt murine thymoma viral oncogene homolog 3 (AKT) required IGF1R activity, and overexpression of constitutively active AKT rescued the induction of differentiation markers and 17β-estradiol production by FSH in the presence of the IGF1R inhibitor. CONCLUSIONS The cumulus cell response to FSH resembles the differentiation of preantral to preovulatory granulosa cells. This differentiation program requires IGF1R activity and subsequent AKT activation.
Outbreak of diarrhea in a day care center with spread to household members: the role of Cryptosporidium

From August 1 to November 1, 1984, 80 (43%) of 186 children attending a day care center (DCC) in Tulsa, OK, had diarrhea. Seventy-one percent of children less than 3 years of age had diarrhea, compared with 17% of children 3 to 8 years old. The duration of illness was 1 to 42 days (median, 8 days). At least one stool specimen was obtained from 142 (76%) of the 186 children. Children who had had diarrhea were more likely to have a specimen positive for Cryptosporidium (27 of 77, 35%) than were children who had not had diarrhea (8 of 65, 12%) (P less than 0.01). The presence of Giardia, Campylobacter, enterovirus, or rotavirus was not statistically associated with diarrhea. These results suggest Cryptosporidium as a causative agent. The secondary attack rate for diarrhea among household contacts exposed to DCC children with diarrhea was 77 of 204 (38%) compared with 25 of 273 (9%) for household contacts of children in the DCC who did not have diarrhea (P less than 0.001). Stool specimens were obtained from 79 household contacts. Six (23%) of 26 household members exposed to a Cryptosporidium-positive child had a stool specimen positive for Cryptosporidium, compared with 1 (2%) of 53 household contacts exposed to a DCC child whose stool specimen was negative for Cryptosporidium (P less than 0.01). The outbreak resolved within 2 weeks after cohorting children with diarrhea and stressing the importance of handwashing among staff and older children. cryptosporidium can cause outbreaks of diarrhea in DCC settings, can be spread within households and may be more common than previously recognized among DCC attendees and their household members.
Evaluation of cytogenetic conversion to Ph− haemopoiesis in long‐term bone marrow culture for patients with chronic myeloid leukaemia on conventional hydroxyurea therapy, on pulse high‐dose hydroxyurea and on interferon‐alpha

Long‐term bone marrow culture (LTBMC) has been used successfully in autologous transplantation in chronic myeloid leukaemia (CML). However, variation between patients in the recovery of Ph− cells in culture limits the application of this procedure to a minority. Treatment that effectively reduces in vivo tumour burden prior to initiation of LTBMC may improve the selection of Ph− cells in culture. To test this hypothesis we evaluated the frequency and degree of cytogenetic conversion to Ph− haemopoiesis in LTBMC from four independent groups of CML patients: Untreated (n = 19); conventional dosage of hydroxyurea (HU) (n = 10); pulse high‐dose HU (P‐HU) (n = 22) and interferon (IFN)‐α (n = 12). In this study IFN‐α therapy resulted in a significantly higher incidence of patients with detectable Ph− clonogenic cells in the marrow (P = 0.01) and with ≥50% Ph− haemopoiesis in LTBMC as compared to newly diagnosed patients (P = 0.05). Also, sequential culture studies undertaken in 14 CML patients at diagnosis and following the start of pulse high‐dose HU therapy showed that in eight patients the average proportion of Ph− metaphases detected in LTBMC substantially increased from 1.7% (range 0–7) at diagnosis to levels of 71% (range 14–100) after treatment. Therefore we conclude that the use of IFN or pulse high‐dose HU in early stage disease appears to create an opportunity to harvest the marrow for long‐term culture (LTC) purging with reduced leukaemic burden.
Comparison of low molecular weight heparin vs. unfractionated heparin in gynecological surgery: II: Reduced dose of low molecular weight heparin

In a double blind, randomized trial the hemorrhagic complications of a reduced dose of low molecular weight heparin (LMWH) (Fragmin, KabiPharmacia) were compared to those of the conventional dose of unfractionated heparin (UH). 2500 anti‐XaU of LMWH was given once daily and UH in a dose of 5000 anti‐XaU twice daily. During a one year period 141 patients undergoing gynecological surgery were included in this study. The patients were examined clinically for hematomas and for deep venous thrombosis (DVT) on the third and fifth day. Venography was performed when DVT was suspected. No patients developed clinical DVT. One woman in the LMWH group had pulmonary embolism 3 days after the prophylaxis was stopped. Two women in the LMWH group died, one from a stroke on day 2, one from cancer on day 39. There was no significant difference in serious bleeding complications between the two regimens, 20% in the LMWH group and 14% in the UH group. Even with the reduced dose of LMWH the mean plasma concentration of heparin in the LMWH group was higher (mean 0.14 anti‐XaU/ml) than in the UH group (0.029 anti‐XaUlml) 3 hours after injection on the 2nd postoperative day. A reduced dose of LMWH (2500 anti XaU once daily) does not cause more bleeding complications than the conventional heparin rcgimen to prevent thrombosis, as was the case in our previous study with 5000 anti Xa17 of LMWH once daily.
Application of Empowerment Scale to patients with schizophrenia: Japanese experience

Abstract Rogers et al. invented the Empowerment Scale, and conducted a factor analysis, which found five factors: self‐esteem, power, activism, righteous anger and optimism. Hata et al. translated this scale into Japanese and named it Empowerment Scale‐J. They found that the score of the righteous anger factor does not have a significant correlation with the overall score of the Empowerment Score‐J. With the aim of clarifying the characteristics of the Empowerment Scale‐J, the purpose of the present study was to assess the levels of empowerment in 72 Japanese patients with chronic schizophrenia using the scale, and examine the relationship between the results of the scale and the results of the following two batteries: Social Adjustment Scale II (SAS II), and Expanded Attributional Style Questionnaire (EASQ; a questionnaire to assess some aspects of attitude toward negative circumstances). Four results were obtained as follows. No significant correlation was found between the score of righteous anger factor and overall score. No significant correlation was found between the Empowerment Scale‐J score and the degree of social adjustment. Significant correlations were found between some subscales of Empowerment Scale‐J and the degree of social adjustments: self‐esteem and optimism, but inverse correlations were obtained between the power factor and the righteous anger factor and the degree of social adjustment. Results for the EASQ showed that subjects with a higher righteous anger score have a tendency opposite to that of subjects with higher social adjustment. On the basis of these results it is suggested that behavior related to the righteous anger among Japanese persons with schizophrenia may have some negative influence on their social adaptation and that in applying Empowerment scale‐J attention should be paid to the significance of the righteous anger factor.
Trends in Noncitizens' and Citizens' Use of Public Benefits Following Welfare Reform: 1994-97

This report uses the Census Bureau's Current Population Survey to document national trends in immigrants' use of public benefits in 1994-1997, the period following welfare reform. It builds on an earlier Urban Institute study that found evidence of a chilling effect of welfare reform among legal noncitizen families in Los Angeles County: applications among legal noncitizens for Medi-Cal and Temporary Assistance for Needy Families fell even though there was no change in legal immigrants' eligibility for these programs.
Beclin 1 is Highly Expressed in Papillary Thyroid Carcinoma and Correlates with Lymph Node Metastasis

Abstract Background : Autophagy is believed to be important in tumorigenesis and tumor progression. The human beclin-1 gene, a key regulator of autophagy formation, located on chromosome 17q21, has been identified as the mammalian orthologue of Atg6 (autophagy-related gene) and may be a haploinsufficient tumor suppressor gene. Loss of expression or point mutation could serve as a mechanism of loss of beclin-1 tumor suppressor function in cancers. However, our recent study revealed that point mutation of the beclin-1 gene is a rare event in papillary thyroid carcinoma (PTC). Methods : We investigated the expression of beclin-1 in human PTC. Tissue samples from 86 cases of papillary thyroid carcinoma were used for the present study. 57 cases of papillary thyroid carcinoma were with lymph node metastasis. The expression of beclin-1 in tumor, normal tissue adjacent to tumor, distant normal tissue, metastatic lymph node and normal lymph node was examined with immunohistochemistry. The beclin-1 expression between tumor and normal tissue, metastatic and normal lymph node was also analyzed. Results : The expression of beclin-1 was detected in 88.4% (76/86) of the tumors and 98.2% (56/57) of metastatic lymph nodes. In contrast, normal tissues adjacent to tumor, distant normal tissues and normal lymph nodes showed no or very weak expression of beclin-1. Beclin-1 was significantly correlated with tumorigenesis and lymph node metastasis in human PTC. Conclusions : High expression of beclin-1 in PTC and metastatic lymph node suggest that neo-expression of beclin-1 may play a role in tumorigenesis and lymph node metastasis in human PTC.
Union wage effects in Australia: an endogenous switching approach

ABSTRACT Using data from the Household and Labour Income Dynamics Australia (HILDA), an endogenous switching model is employed to analyse union wage effects in Australia between 2001 and 2013. An advantage of this approach is that the decision to join a union is treated as potentially endogenous, a function of the wage differential between union and non-union workers, rather than exogenous as is the case in virtually all previous Australian studies. The article finds that the decision to join a union is highly sensitive to the wage differential between union and non-union workers. The article also finds that male (female) union workers with average union characteristics earn 12% (18%) more than male (female) non-union workers with average non-union characteristics. However, a decomposition analysis finds that this difference is due to union workers having better human capital endowments than their non-union counterparts. In addition, they also receive a lower return for those endowments. These decomposition results suggest that union wage effects in Australia may be negative, rather than the small positive effects typically found in the Australian literature.
Factors effecting the Th2-like immune response after gamma-irradiation: low production of IL-12 heterodimer in antigen-presenting cells and small expression of the IL-12 receptor in T cells

Ionizing radiation is known to reduce the helper T (Th) 1-like function, but not the Th2-like function, resulting in a Th1/Th2 imbalance. While this has been known for some time, the mechanism behind the preferential suppression of the Th1 cell activation has not yet been explained. The aim is to elucidate the mechanism in the Th cell imbalance after ionizing irradiation. C57BL/6 mice, 7 weeks old, received whole-body γ-irradiation (WBI) of 5 Gy. In all instances, the spleen and peritoneal cells were obtained from mice 7 weeks after irradiation. To distinguish Th1 and Th2 cell function, interferon (IFN)-γ and interleukin (IL)-4 produced by these cells were analysed by an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). To isolate the primary T cells, the anti-CD90.2 microbead-conjugated antibody was used and the labelled cells were separated by magnetic cell sorting (MACS). To investigate the influence of the IL-12p70 secreted by the antigen-presenting cells, ovalbumin (OVA)-primed peritoneal adherent cells (PAC) were fixed by 1% paraformaldehyde and co-cultured with OVA-specific Th cells in the presence of supernatant of PAC culture with OVA for 16 h. IL-12 receptor, signal transducers and activators of transcription 4 (STAT4) and IFN-γ expression in the T cells of the WBI mice were detected by reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR). The spleen lymphocytes of WBI mice showed a depression of IFN-γ production against OVA, although the total IL-12 was highly secreted. However, the heterodimer IL-12, biologically active protein, was induced less in WBI mice. Although the OVA-specific Th cells were co-cultured with fixed OVA-primed PAC obtained from normal mice, the OVA-specific Th cells showed a decreased IFN-γ secretion in the presence of the culture supernatant of the activated PAC from the WBI mice. In addition, recombinant IL-12p70 restored the cytokine balance of the OVA-specific Th cells. However the cytokine balance of primary T cells from WBI mice was not completely restored by the normal antigen-presenting cells that abundantly secrete IL-12p70. It was assumed that after WBI, the regenerated T cells also have some problems. It was then observed that the IL-12 receptor expression and intracellular levels of the STAT4 were much lower in the T cells of the WBI mice. The results suggest that the shifted response of the helper T cells after WBI exposure is due not only due to a significant suppression of the secretion of the IL-12p70 in the antigen-presenting cells, but also to the lower expression of the IL-12 receptor on T cells.
EFFECT SIZE PROFITABILITY FINANCIAL LEVERAGE ITS DEBT TO EQUITY RATIO AND NET PROFIT PROFIT MARGIN OF ALIGNMENT(On the company PROPERTY AND REAL ESTATE listed in Indonesia Stock Exchange year period from 2013 to 2015)

The purpose of this study was to determine the effect of smoothing earnings in property and real estate company listed on the Indonesia Stock Exchange in the period 2013-2015, with testers factors affecting the practice of income smoothing is profitability, company size, financial leverage, DER, and NPM. Income smoothing is the way that the management to reduce fluctuations in reported to match the desired target. In this study using 37 property companies and real estate secondary data used in the form of financial statements period 2013-2015. Income smoothing was measured using Eckel index to classify companies that do or do not practice income smoothing. Dialanilisis data using multiple linear regression. Penelilitan results showed that only size companies that show significant negative influence terhadapat smoothing earnings, while profitability, financial leverage, DER, and NPM significant positive effect on income smoothing practices. Keywords: Smoothing Profit, Profitability, Size Companies, Financial Leverage, DER, NPM
Effect of HIV serological status on outcome in patients with cancer of cervix treated with radiotherapy.

OBJECTIVES To investigate and compare the outcomes of invasive cervical cancer patients with known HIV serostatus treated with radiotherapy. DESIGN A retrospective study. SETTING Mulago Hospital Radiotherapy Department, Kampala, Uganda. SUBJECTS Medical records of thirty six patients treated in our department between May and July 2000, whose serostatus and CD4 counts were known, was done after a four-year period to determine the outcomes and survival after radiotherapy. RESULTS Of these, 29 (80.6%) were HIV seronegative and seven (19.4%) were HIV seropositive. All the seropositive patients had advanced disease (stage IIB and above) and only two (6.9%) among the seronegative patients had early disease (less than stage IIB) at presentation. The mean CD4 count was 289 (+/-122 SD) for the seropositive and 550 (+/- 237 SD) for the seronegative patients (p = 0.008). About 60% of all the patients received both external beam and intracavitary treatment. The one, two and three year survival probabilities (Kaplan-Meier) for the seropositive were 67%, 40% and 27% respectively while they were 89%, 62% and 51% for the seronegative patients. By the fourth year the survival probabilities had fallen to 0% for the seropositive while it was 46% for the seronegative patients. CONCLUSION Radiotherapy was effective in both sets of patients with comparable good objective response. The survival probabilities for the seropositive patients were significantly lower than for the seronegative patients at all periods with a P-value of 0.0001 by the fourth year.
Characterization of a Subtype D Human Immunodeficiency Virus Type 1 Isolate That Was Obtained from an Untreated Individual and That Is Highly Resistant to Nonnucleoside Reverse Transcriptase Inhibitors

ABSTRACT Human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) isolates derived from HIV-infected, treatment-naive Ugandan infants were propagated and tested for sensitivity to antiretroviral (ARV) drugs. Although most subtype A and D isolates displayed inhibition profiles similar to those of subtype B strains, a subtype D isolate identified as D14-UG displayed high-level resistance to nevirapine in peripheral blood mononuclear cell cultures (>2,000-fold) and in MT4 cell cultures (∼800-fold) but weaker resistance to delavirdine (∼13-fold) and efavirenz (∼8-fold) in MT4 cell cultures. To investigate the possible mechanism for this resistance to nonnucleoside reverse transcriptase (RT) inhibitors (NNRTIs), the RT coding region in pol was sequenced and compared to the consensus RT sequence of NNRTI-resistant and NNRTI-sensitive subtype A, B, and D HIV-1 isolates. D14-UG did not contain the classic amino acid substitutions conferring NNRTI resistance (e.g., Y181C, K103N, and G190A) but did have some putative sites associated with drug resistance, I135L, T139V, and V245T. Wild-type and mutated protease-RT genes from D14-UG and an NNRTI-sensitive subtype D isolate from Uganda (D13-UG) were cloned into pNL4-3 to produce recombinant viruses and to determine the effects of the mutations on susceptibility to ARV drugs, specifically, NNRTIs. The results showed that I135L and/or V245T mutations can confer high-level resistance to nevirapine and delavirdine as well as low level cross-resistance to efavirenz. Finally, ex vivo fitness analyses suggested that NNRTI-resistant sites 135L and 245T in wild-type isolate D14-UG may reduce RT fitness but do not have an impact on the fitness of the primary HIV-1 isolate.
The Prevalence of Absence of the Palmaris Longus Muscle Tendon in the North of Iran: A Comparative Study

Background: The palmaris longus is a degenerating weak flexor muscle in the anterior of the forearm. Many techniques for clinically determining the presence of the palmaris longus have been described. Ethnic variations in the prevalence of the absence of the palmaris longus are well known. Objectives: This study considered the prevalence of absence of the palmaris longus muscle tendon in the north of Iran. Patients and Methods: The presence of the palmaris longus was clinically determined in 562 men and women from the Guilan population, using the standard technique (Schaeffer’s test). In subjects with an absent palmaris longus, three other tests (Thompson, Pushpakumar and Mishra tests) were performed to confirm the absence. Results: The overall prevalence of right, left, bilateral and total absence of the palmaris longus were 4.1%, 5.2%, 3.9% and 13.2%, respectively. There was no significant difference in its absence with regard to the body side or gender (P > 0.05). Conclusions: This study demonstrated that the presence of the palmaris longus muscle tendon in the Guilan population was considerably higher than the absence of the palmaris longus tendon. The overall prevalence of right, left, bilateral and total absence of the palmaris longus was not significantly different between men and women. The prevalence of the left-absent palmaris longus was more common in the present study.