Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Caspase 3 expression in benign prostatic hyperplasia and prostate carcinoma

Apoptotic resistance to androgen ablation represents a significant problem in the treatment of prostate cancer. Over expression of antiapoptotic proteins such as Bcl‐2 and mutations in p53 contribute to this resistance. The caspase family of proteases are central executioners of the cell death pathway. They are expressed in normal prostate secretory epithelial cells. Altered expression may represent an additional component leading to cell resistance. The aim of this study was to determine by immunohistochemistry caspase 3 expression in benign prostatic hyperplasia and prostate cancers.
Temporal discounting in choice between delayed rewards: the role of age and income.

This study examined the effects of age and income temporal discounting (i.e. the decrease in the subjective value of a reward as the delay to its receipt increases). The value of delayed hypothetical monetary rewards was discounted at similar rates by adults of different ages but similar income levels, but at different rates by adults of similar age but different income levels. Specifically, lower income older adults showed a greater degree of temporal discounting than did either upper income older adults or upper income younger adults, but there were no age differences in discounting between the upper income groups. Comparison of these findings with those of a previous study (Green, Fry, & Myerson, 1994) suggests that impulsivity in decision making declines rapidly in young adulthood, reaching stable levels in the 30s. Further, age and income appear to interact in determining the impulsivity of decision making by adults.
Statistical epidemic modeling with hospital outbreak data

The analysis of epidemic data has one special feature: individuals are highly dependent, i.e. infected cases are the cause of further infected cases (cross‐infection). The main epidemiological parameter of interest is the transmission rate: the rate with which an infectious individual has close contacts with other patients in the hospital unit resulting in colonization or infection. In order to estimate this parameter, the statistical analysis should be based on an appropriate compartmental model that describes the transmission dynamics of an epidemic process. Nonparametric methodology is available for closed populations without migration, but especially in hospitals, admission and discharge have to be taken into account in addition. Transmission and discharge have to be considered as competing events. Martingale‐based methodology takes the time‐dependent feature of the rates adequately into account and yields useful estimates. These methods are applied to an outbreak of the specific hospital pathogen vancomycin‐resistant enterococci (VRE) in an onco‐haematological unit at the University Medical Center Freiburg in Germany. Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Cognitive Development and the Immediate Postconcussion Assessment and Cognitive Testing: A Case for Separate Norms in Preadolescents

With youth sports participation and concern about sports-related concussions both on the rise, it is important to properly measure cognitive function to ensure the clinical utility of baseline testing. Computerized testing batteries are often employed as baseline and postinjury measures of cognitive function, with the Immediate Postconcussion Assessment and Cognitive Testing (ImPACT) being the most used of all the current testing platforms. The current study compared 10- to 12-year-old children across the composite scores yielded by the ImPACT and provided normative data on each of the subtests used to calculate the composite scores. Normative data are separated by gender for athletes aged 10 to 12 years old, as this is the current age bracket used by the ImPACT. These norms may be helpful in the interpretation of the ImPACT clinical report and further delineation of areas of neurocognitive dysfunction.
Predicting the distribution of aflatoxin test results from farmers' stock peanuts.

Suitability of the negative binomial function for use in estimating the distribution of sample aflatoxin test results associated with testing farmers' stock peanuts for aflatoxin was studied. A 900 kg portion of peanut pods was removed from each of 40 contaminated farmers' stock lots. The lots averaged about 4100 kg. Each 900 kg portion was divided into fifty 2.26 kg samples, fifty 4.21 kg samples, and fifty 6.91 kg samples. The aflatoxin in each sample was quantified by liquid chromatography. An observed distribution of sample aflatoxin test results consisted of 50 aflatoxin test results for each lot and each sample size. The mean aflatoxin concentration, m; the variance, S2 mean among the 50 sample aflatoxin test results; and the shape parameter, k, for the negative binomial function were determined for each of the 120 observed distributions (40 lots times 3 sample sizes). Regression analysis indicated the functional relationship between k and m to be k = 0.000006425m0. 8047. The 120 observed distributions of sample aflatoxin test results were compared to the negative binomial function by using the Kolmogorov-Smirnov (KS) test. The null hypothesis that the true unknown distribution function was negative binomial was not rejected at the 5% significance level for 114 of the 120 distributions. The negative binomial function failed the KS test at a sample concentration of 0 ng/g in all 6 of the distributions where the negative binomial function was rejected. The negative binomial function always predicted a smaller percentage of samples testing 0 ng/g than was actually observed. (ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)
Draft genome of the sea cucumber Apostichopus japonicus and genetic polymorphism among color variants

Abstract The Japanese sea cucumber (Apostichopus japonicus Selenka 1867) is an economically important species as a source of seafood and ingredient in traditional medicine. It is mainly found off the coasts of northeast Asia. Recently, substantial exploitation and widespread biotic diseases in A. japonicus have generated increasing conservation concern. However, the genomic knowledge base and resources available for researchers to use in managing this natural resource and to establish genetically based breeding systems for sea cucumber aquaculture are still in a nascent stage. A total of 312 Gb of raw sequences were generated using the Illumina HiSeq 2000 platform and assembled to a final size of 0.66 Gb, which is about 80.5% of the estimated genome size (0.82 Gb). We observed nucleotide-level heterozygosity within the assembled genome to be 0.986%. The resulting draft genome assembly comprising 132 607 scaffolds with an N50 value of 10.5 kb contains a total of 21 771 predicted protein-coding genes. We identified 6.6–14.5 million heterozygous single nucleotide polymorphisms in the assembled genome of the three natural color variants (green, red, and black), resulting in an estimated nucleotide diversity of 0.00146. We report the first draft genome of A. japonicus and provide a general overview of the genetic variation in the three major color variants of A. japonicus. These data will help provide a comprehensive view of the genetic, physiological, and evolutionary relationships among color variants in A. japonicus, and will be invaluable resources for sea cucumber genomic research.
Destructive managerial leadership and psychological well-being among employees in Swedish, Polish, and Italian hotels.

OBJECTIVE The aim of this cross-sectional exploratory study was to investigate destructive managerial leadership in the hotel industry in Sweden, Poland, and Italy in relation to psychological well-being among employees. METHODS AND PARTICIPANTS 554 questionnaires were collected from employees in all occupational groups within hotels. The Copenhagen Psychosocial Questionnaire (COPSOQ) measured working conditions, particularly iso-strain or high work demands combined with low control and poor social support, and psychological well-being, defined in terms of mental health, vitality, and behavioural stress. Items adapted from the Global Leadership and Organisational Behaviour Effectiveness (GLOBE) research program questionnaire measured autocratic, malevolent, and self-centred leadership styles. Differences in ratings between countries were estimated, as well as the relationship between destructive managerial leadership on an organisation level and employee psychological well-being on an individual level. The relationship between destructive leadership and psychological well-being among employees was adjusted for employees' reported iso-strain. RESULTS Autocratic and malevolent leadership were at the organisation level related to low vitality among employees and self-centred leadership was significantly associated with poormental health, low vitality, and high behavioural stress. Autocratic and malevolent leadership were more strongly related to iso-strain than was self-centred leadership. Variations in leadership practice between countries were seen in autocratic and malevolent leadership. CONCLUSION This exploratory study suggests a significant association between destructive managerial leadership on the organisation level and poor psychological well-being among employees on an individual level. Interventions to decrease iso-strain and enhance psychological well-being among employees could be directed at an organisation level.
Paenibacillus doosanensis sp. nov., isolated from soil.

A Gram-stain-positive, aerobic, endospore-forming bacterium, designated CAU 1055(T), was isolated from soil and its taxonomic position was investigated using a polyphasic approach. Phylogenetic analysis based on 16S rRNA gene sequence comparison revealed that the strain formed a distinct lineage within the genus Paenibacillus and was most closely related to Paenibacillus contaminans CKOBP-6(T) (similarity, 95.2 %) and Paenibacillus terrigena A35(T) (similarity, 95.2 %). The levels of 16S rRNA gene sequence similarity with other species of the genus Paenibacillus, including the type species of the genus, Paenibacillus polymyxa IAM 13419(T) (similarity, 91.7 %), were all <94.6 %. Strain CAU 1055(T) contained MK-7 as the only isoprenoid quinone and anteiso-C15 : 0 and iso-C16 : 0 as the major fatty acids. The cell-wall peptidoglycan of strain CAU 1055(T) contained meso-diaminopimelic acid. The polar lipids were composed of diphosphatidylglycerol, phosphatidylethanolamine, phosphatidylglycerol, lysyl-phospatidylglycerol and three unidentified aminophospholipids. The DNA G+C content was 48.3 mol%. The results of physiological and biochemical tests allowed phenotypic differentiation of strain CAU 1055(T) from closely related recognized species. On the basis of phenotypic data and phylogenetic inference, strain CAU 1055(T) should be classified in the genus Paenibacillus, as a member of a novel species, for which the name Paenibacillus doosanensis sp. nov. is proposed. The type strain is CAU 1055(T) ( = KCTC 33036(T) = CCUG 63270(T)).
Negative psychotic symptoms and impaired role functioning predict transition outcomes in the at-risk mental state: a latent class cluster analysis study

Background Many research groups have attempted to predict which individuals with an at-risk mental state (ARMS) for psychosis will later develop a psychotic disorder. However, it is difficult to predict the course and outcome based on individual symptoms scores. Method Data from 318 ARMS individuals from two specialized services for ARMS subjects were analysed using latent class cluster analysis (LCCA). The score on the Comprehensive Assessment of At-Risk Mental States (CAARMS) was used to explore the number, size and symptom profiles of latent classes. Results LCCA produced four high-risk classes, censored after 2 years of follow-up: class 1 (mild) had the lowest transition risk (4.9%). Subjects in this group had the lowest scores on all the CAARMS items, they were younger, more likely to be students and had the highest Global Assessment of Functioning (GAF) score. Subjects in class 2 (moderate) had a transition risk of 10.9%, scored moderately on all CAARMS items and were more likely to be in employment. Those in class 3 (moderate–severe) had a transition risk of 11.4% and scored moderately severe on the CAARMS. Subjects in class 4 (severe) had the highest transition risk (41.2%), they scored highest on the CAARMS, had the lowest GAF score and were more likely to be unemployed. Overall, class 4 was best distinguished from the other classes on the alogia, avolition/apathy, anhedonia, social isolation and impaired role functioning. Conclusions The different classes of symptoms were associated with significant differences in the risk of transition at 2 years of follow-up. Symptomatic clustering predicts prognosis better than individual symptoms.
Perioperative Optimization of Autologous Breast Reconstruction

Summary: The authors recently showed that fast-track surgery could reduce the length of stay after a deep inferior epigastric perforator flap procedure from 7.4 days to 6.2 days without increasing complication rates or flap loss. This study improves the protocol and identifies specific factors that kept patients in the hospital. The authors present their results from the first 16 consecutive cases. Multimodal opioid-sparing analgesia was used. Nurses removed suction drains, without consulting the doctors. Fulfilment of functional discharge criteria (e.g., flap monitoring, ambulation) was assessed twice daily, and specified reasons for not allowing discharge were registered. All patients were discharged to home after approximately 72 hours, on the third postoperative day, except one patient who was discharged on day 4. Drains were removed on postoperative day 2 (n = 3) or 3 (n = 13). All patients had normal gastrointestinal tract function and minimal pain, and were eating and managing personal hygiene on the morning of postoperative day 2. All were mobilized by the afternoon of postoperative day 2. Median visual analogue scale score at discharge was 1 (range, 0 to 4). There were no reoperations and no major complications. Length of stay after autologous breast reconstruction using deep inferior epigastric perforator flaps can be reduced to approximately 3 days using the fast-track methodology. CLINICAL QUESTION/LEVEL OF EVIDENCE: Therapeutic, IV.
Evaluating Best-Case and Worst-Case Variances When Bounds are Available

This paper describes procedures for computing the tightest possible best-case and worst-case bounds on the variance of a discrete, bounded, random variable when lower and upper bounds are available for its unknown probability mass function. An example from the application of the Monte Carlo method to the estimation of network reliability illustrates the procedures and, in particular, reveals considerable tightening in the worst-case bound when compared to the trivial worst-case bound based exclusively on range.
Ex Vivo Generated Regulatory T Cells Modulate Experimental Autoimmune Myasthenia Gravis1

Naturally occurring CD4+CD25+ regulatory T (Treg) cells are key players in immune tolerance and have therefore been suggested as potential therapeutic tools for autoimmune diseases. In myasthenia gravis (MG), reduced numbers or functionally impaired Treg cells have been reported. We have observed that PBL from myasthenic rats contain decreased numbers of CD4+CD25highFoxp3+ cells as compared with PBL from healthy controls, and we have tested whether Treg cells from healthy donors can suppress experimental autoimmune MG in rats. Because the number of naturally occurring Treg cells is low, we used an approach for a large-scale ex vivo generation of functional Treg cells from CD4+ splenocytes of healthy donor rats. Treg cells were generated ex vivo from CD4+ cells by stimulation with anti-CD3 and anti-CD28 Abs in the presence of TGF-β and IL-2. The obtained cells expressed high levels of CD25, CTLA-4, and Foxp3, and they were capable of suppressing in vitro proliferation of T cells from myasthenic rats in response to acetylcholine receptor, the major autoantigen in myasthenia. Administration of ex vivo-generated Treg cells to myasthenic rats inhibited the progression of experimental autoimmune MG and led to down-regulation of humoral acetylcholine receptor-specific responses, and to decreased IL-18 and IL-10 expression. The number of CD4+CD25+ cells in the spleen of treated rats remained unchanged, but the subpopulation of CD4+CD25+ cells expressing Foxp3 was significantly elevated. Our findings imply that Treg cells play a critical role in the control of myasthenia and could thus be considered as potential agents for the treatment of MG patients.
Incidence of and Risk Factors for Community-Associated Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus aureus Acquired Infection or Colonization in Intensive-Care-Unit Patients

ABSTRACT The incidence of and risk factors for acquiring community-associated methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (CA-MRSA) among patients staying in intensive care units (ICUs) remain unclear. We enrolled patients staying in two ICUs at the Far Eastern Memorial Hospital during the period of 1 September 2008 to 30 September 2009 to clarify this issue. Surveillance cultures for MRSA were taken from nostril, sputum or throat, axillae, and the inguinal area in all enrolled patients upon admission to the ICU, every 3 days thereafter, and on the day of discharge from the ICU. For each MRSA isolate, we performed multilocus sequence typing, identified the type of staphylococcal cassette chromosome mec, detected the presence of the Panton-Valentine leukocidin gene, and conducted drug susceptibility tests. Among the 1,906 patients who were screened, 203 patients were carriers of MRSA before their admission to the ICU; 81 patients acquired MRSA during their stay in the ICU, including 31 who acquired CA-MRSA. The incidence rates of newly acquired MRSA and CA-MRSA during the ICU stay were 7.9 and 3.0 per 1,000 patient-days, respectively. Prior usage of antipseudomonal penicillins and antifungals and the presence of a nasogastric tube were found to be independent risk factors for acquiring CA-MRSA during the ICU stay when data for CA-MRSA carriers and patients without carriage of MRSA were compared (P = 0.0035, 0.0330, and 0.0262, respectively). Prior usage of carbapenems was found to be a protective factor against acquiring CA-MRSA when data for patients with CA-MRSA and those with health care-associated MRSA acquired during ICU stay were compared (P = 0.0240).
Hemodynamic consequences of renin tachyphylaxis and norepinephrine failure of response.

Renin infusion produced initial increase in blood pressure and peripheral resistance. As infusion continued, blood pressure returned to base-line levels, but peripheral resistance remained slightly elevated. Noradrenaline infusion in the dog did not produce sustained hypertension, but the peripheral resistance remained elevated. Repeated renin injections finally produced no change of blood pressure or peripheral resistance. At this time the animal was nonresponsive to angiotensin. Return of blood pressure to base-line levels despite continued infusion of renin was felt to represent both a ‘cardiovascular failure of response’ and a more specific blockade of angiotensin response.
Antibiotic Resistance and Failure of Eradication of Helicobacter Pylori in Egypt

Background: Helicobacter pyloriis is a Gram negative bacterium that colonizes human gastric mucosa and is one of the most common bacterial pathogens worldwide with a prevalence of upto 90 % in developing Countries.It is the primary cause of peptic ulcer disease and an etiologic agent in the development of gastric cancer. H. pylori infection is curable with regimens of multiple antimicrobial agents. However, antibiotic resistance is a leading cause of treatment failure. The aim of this study is to assess the prevalence of H.pylori in gastric biopsies taken from Egyptian patients by using invasive methods and study the role of antimicrobial agents in elimination of this bacterium. Methodology: From 50 patients,3 antral gastric biopsies were taken from the greater curvature about 2 cm from pylorus.The first biopsy was for direct Gram's stain and culture(using Blood agar) to apply Traditional Biochemical tests and antimicrobial susceptibility test to different antibiotics,The second biopsy was used for rapid urease test (using modified Christensen's urea broth) and the third biopsy was kept in deep freezer at -70 0 C in brain heart infusion broth for PCR assay using Ure c gene. Results :Among 50 patients, 22(44%) were positive by culture, 17(34%) were positive by direct Gram's stain with 77.3% sensitivity, 100% specificity and 90% accuracy,while 19(38%) were positive by rapid urease test with 63.6% sensitivity, 82.1% specificity and 74% accuracy, and 25(50%) were positive by PCR with 95.5% sensitivity, 89.3% specificity and 92% accuracy . By antimicrobial Susceptibility testing using disc diffusion method, it was shown that,the highest susceptibility of the isolated H.pylori strains was to amoxicillin (90.9%) followed by tetracycline (81.8%), Gentamicin (54.5%) Erythromycin (18.2%) and Ciprofloxacin (9.1%). However no one (zero%) were highly sensetive to Metronidazole. Conclusion: Some of antibiotics widely used in Egypt are no longer suitable for treatment of Helicobacter pylori and new antibioticts regimen are needed to eradicate this organism.
Stuck in a job: being “locked-in” or at risk of becoming locked-in at the workplace and well-being over time

ABSTRACT In this study, being “locked-in” at the workplace is conceptualized as being in a non-preferred workplace while at the same time perceiving low employability. The aim of the study was to investigate how being locked-in or at risk of becoming locked-in (being in a non-preferred workplace yet currently satisfied, combined with perceiving low employability) relates to well-being (subjective health and depressive symptoms). The hypotheses were tested in a Swedish longitudinal sample (T1 in 2010 and T2 in 2012) of permanent employees (N = 3491). The results showed that stability with regard to locked-in-related status (being non-locked-in, at risk of becoming locked-in, or locked-in at both T1 and T2) was related to significant and stable differences in well-being. The non-locked-in status was associated with better well-being than being at risk of becoming locked-in. Moreover, those at risk of becoming locked-in showed better well-being than those with stable locked-in status. Changes towards non-locked-in were accompanied by significant improvements in well-being, and changes towards locked-in were associated with impairments in well-being. The relationships that were found could not be attributed to differences in demographic variables and occupational preference. The findings indicate that being locked-in is detrimental to well-being. This has implications for preventative interventions.