Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Morphological Changes and Apoptosis in Radial Growth Phase Melanoma Cell Lines Following Ultraviolet-B Irradiation

BackgroundKnowledge about the morphologic changes following ultraviolet irradiation in the earliest stages of melanomas is still lacking. MethodsTo investigate these changes, an in vitro system consisting of radial growth phase Wistar melanoma cell lines (WM35 and WM3211) was established. Cells were irradiated with a single erythemogenic dose of UVB (10 mJ/cm2) and evaluated for morphologic changes. ResultsWhen compared with the non-irradiated cells, inverted light microscopy revealed increased cellular branching, cytoplasmic size, and multinucleation in the irradiated cells. Transmission electron microscopy revealed the features of increased metabolic activity (hyperplasia of the mitochondria and Golgi) and those of ultrastructural atypia (pleomorphism of the nuclei and nucleoli, increased euchromatin, and nucleolar margination) in the irradiated cells. Moreover, UVB irradiation caused an increase in the apoptotic activity. These alterations were associated with up-regulation of p53, Bcl-2, and the second mismatch repair protein (hMSH2), as revealed by Western blot analysis. ConclusionsUVB irradiation can induce apoptosis, morphologic changes, and altered expression of p53, Bcl-2, and hMSH2 in radial growth phase melanoma cell lines. Up-regulation of p53, Bcl-2, and hMSH2 suggests that these factors are involved in the altered balance between survival and apoptosis induced by UVB. Further investigation will be needed to determine if apoptosis and ultrastructural atypia reflect underlying DNA damage and genomic instability induced by UVB.
Quantitative methods for ranking critical events

A technique using the Choquet integral will be investigated that will monitor the environment by sampling current utility values of criteria and aggregate this information to provide a means to determine the most suitable surface naval asset to be re-deployed in order to accomplish an unscheduled mission. This paper will present promising initial findings which supports the claim that the Choquet integral can be used to represent expert knowledge in the situation where the criteria are dependent. The results will be applied to the ranking of destroyers for re-deployment.
Cerebrospinal Fluid Amino Acids in Pathological Gamblers and Healthy Controls

Amino acids, such as valine, isoleucine and leucine compete with tyrosine and tryptophan for transport into the brain and might thus affect the central serotonin and catecholamine patterns. Furthermore, the excitatory amino acids glutamic acid, aspartic acid and glycine are known to act on the N-methyl-D-aspartate receptor, which is part of the reward system. Based on these facts, we have explored the role of cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) amino acids in pathological gambling. Concentrations of amino acids were determined in CSF obtained from one female and 11 pathological male gamblers and 11 healthy male controls. In an ANCOVA with best subset regression, pathological male gamblers had higher CSF levels of the excitatory glutamic and aspartic acids, as well as of phenylalanine, isoleucine, citrulline and glycine. A negative contribution of glycine in interaction with the neuraxis distance might mirror a reduced spinal supply or an altered elimination of glycine in pathological gamblers. A decreasing CSF gradient from the first (0–6 ml) to the third (13–18 ml) CSF fraction was found for glutamic acid, glycine, leucine, isoleucine, lysine, ornithine and glutamine in both pathological gamblers and healthy controls. A decreasing gradient was found, however, for aspartic acid and phenylalanine in pathological male gamblers. The altered pattern of CSF amino acids in pathological gamblers might exert an influence on central monoamines as well as on N-methyl-D-aspartate receptor function.
Influence of pregnancy on neuromyelitis optica spectrum disorder

Objective: To investigate the influence of pregnancy on patients with neuromyelitis optica spectrum disorder (NMOSD). Methods: A total of 190 women with NMOSD were enrolled from 7 referral hospitals in 4 countries. We reviewed medical records and used a structured questionnaire to investigate gravidity, parity, and the number of relapses during the 2 years before pregnancy, during each trimester of pregnancy, during the first and second trimesters after delivery, and for 6 months thereafter. The annualized relapse rate (ARR) was calculated for each period. Results: Of the 190 women with NMOSD, 40 patients experienced 54 informative pregnancies, and all of them were seropositive for aquaporin-4 antibody. Fourteen patients developed the first symptoms of NMOSD either during the pregnancy (3 patients) or within a year after delivery or abortion (8 and 3 patients, respectively). Twenty-six patients experienced 40 pregnancies after the onset of NMOSD (26 deliveries and 14 abortions [1 spontaneous and 13 elective]). There was one preterm delivery with birth defects and no stillbirths. The ARR during pregnancy did not differ from that before pregnancy, but it increased significantly during the first and second trimesters after delivery (5.3 and 3.7 times, respectively). Moreover, 77% of the deliveries were associated with postpartum relapses. Conclusion: The significantly increased relapse rate and numerous cases of NMOSD onset after pregnancy suggest that delivery adversely affects the course of NMOSD. Prospective studies are needed to confirm our findings.
Development of a Persistence Scale for Online Education in Nursing

AIM The objective of this research was to develop a psychometric instrument to measure the ability of nursing students to persist in online courses. BACKGROUND Despite the popularity of online education, lack of persistence and attrition are problems faced by many colleges. There is no current means for identifying students at risk of attrition from an online course. METHOD Factor analysis techniques were used to assess the potential for measuring persistence of the nursing student in an online program. RESULTS Results indicated that the persistent student can be characterized as enjoying discussion, confident of passing, and rarely upset by unexpected events. Nonpersistent students do not enjoy discussion and do not believe completing a challenging course will help them achieve goals. CONCLUSION The Persistence Scale for Online Education (PSOE‐N) has the potential to discriminate between nursing students who are persistent and those at risk for dropping an online course.
Nucleic acid amplification in vitro: detection of sequences with low copy numbers and application to diagnosis of human immunodeficiency virus type 1 infection

The enzymatic amplification of specific nucleic acid sequences in vitro has revolutionized the use of nucleic acid hybridization assays for viral detection. With this method, the copy number of a pathogen-specific sequence is increased several orders of magnitude before detection is attempted. The sensitivity and specificity of detection are thus markedly improved. Mullis and Faloona devised the first method of sequence amplification in vitro, the polymerase chain reaction (K.B. Mullis and F.A. Faloona, Methods Enzymol. 155:355-350, 1987). By this method, synthetic oligonucleotide primers direct repeated, target-specific, deoxyribonucleic acid-synthetic reactions, resulting in an exponential increase in the amount of the specific target sequence. The application of sequence amplification to viral detection was initially performed with human immunodeficiency virus type 1 and human T-cell lymphoma virus type I. In principle, however, this approach can be applied to the detection of any deoxyribonucleic or ribonucleic acid virus; the only requirement is that sufficient nucleotide sequence data exist to allow the synthesis of target-specific oligonucleotide primers. The use of target amplification in vitro will permit a variety of studies of viral pathogenesis which have not been feasible because of the low copy number of the viral nucleic acids in infected material. This approach is particularly applicable to the study of human retroviral infections, which are chronic and persistent and are characterized by low titers of virus in tissues. In addition, target amplification in vitro will facilitate the development of new methods of sequence detection, which will be useful for rapid viral diagnosis in the clinical laboratory.
Straight‐run vs. sex separate rearing for 2 broiler genetic lines Part 1: Live production parameters, carcass yield, and feeding behavior

&NA; The objective of this experiment was to evaluate the effects of raising broilers under sex separate and straight‐run conditions for 2 broiler strains. Day‐old Ross 308 and Ross 708 chicks (n = 1,344) were separated by sex and placed in 48 pens according to the rearing type: sex separate (28 males or 28 females) or straight‐run (14 males + 14 females). There were 3 dietary phases: starter (zero to 17 d), grower (17 to 32 d), and finisher (32 to 48 d). Birds' individual BW and feed intakes were measured at 12, 17, 25, 32, 42, and 48 d to evaluate performance. At 33, 43, and 49 d, 4 birds per pen were sampled for carcass yield evaluation. Additionally, from 06:00 to 06:30, 13:00 to 13:30, and 22:00 to 22:30, video records were taken to assess behavior at 45 days. Data were analyzed as CRD with a 2 × 3 factorial arrangement of treatments over time. Throughout the experiment Ross 308 were heavier than the 708, and after 17 d, male pens had the heavier birds, followed by straight‐run and then females. Straight‐run pens had higher BW CV in comparison with sex separate pens. Sex separate male BW was negatively impacted from 17 to 32 days. On the other hand, females raised sex separate were heavier than females raised straight‐run with lower CV from 25 to 41 days. Post 25 d, FCR was the lowest in male pens whereas feed intake was the highest for these pens after 17 days. Overall, males had total carcass cut‐up weights higher than straight‐run and females at the 3 processing times. The Ross 708 had higher white meat yields, whereas 308 had higher yields for dark meat. Feeding behavior results were not consistent over time. However, from 13:00 to 13:30, birds in female pens spent more time eating, followed by straight‐run and then males. In conclusion, raising females in a straight‐run system negatively impacted performance and CV, whereas males benefited from straight‐run rearing, with the differences being possibly related to feeder space competition.
Enzymatically degradable versatile hydrogel platform for cell sheet engineering

The structural organization of cells and their associated extracellular matrix (ECM) is critical to overall tissue function. Recapitulating the complex, highly organized structure of a target tissue is a key to achieve the unique functional characteristics of native tissue. However, achieving this goal requires a system in which substrate physicochemical properties such as modulus, topology and surface chemistry can be modulated. Here, we developed a cell sheet-based harvest and transfer system that can rapidly produce patterned 2D cell sheets in any physiologically relevant size and shape for various cell types. We further show that these cell sheets can be stacked one on top of the other with high cell viability while preserving the patterns, and that they remain sufficiently intact in vivo to allow neovascularization. We can thus use this system to mimic both the 2D and 3D structure of native tissue structure. A further advantage of our system is its substrate modulus tuning capability, which allows us to provide an optimal biomechanical environment for the differentiation and phenotypic stabilization of specific cell types. Because hydrogels theoretically have no limit in 2D shape and size, this system is scalable for producing quality controlled multiple cell sheets in a short period of time. Our model should also aid in understanding the mechanisms that underlie cell-
The Relationship of Personal Assistance Service Utilization to Other Medicaid Payments Among Working-Age Adults with Disabilities

ABSTRACT This study examined changes in Medicaid provider payments prior to and following approval for personal assistance services (PAS) among 471 PAS users compared to 295 nonusers who qualified for but did not use PAS, adjusting for differences between users and nonusers using propensity scores. PAS users showed a significantly greater increase in total monthly payments from pre- to post-PAS approval compared to nonusers (35% vs. −9%) due to high average monthly payments for PAS ($1325). However, users showed a decrease in non-PAS payments compared to nonusers (1%–9% vs. −9%), with significant decreases in payments for both acute/rehabilitation hospitalizations and for nursing home/other long-term residential stays among users. While costly, savings in other areas may help reduce the net cost of PAS.
Parents’ attitudes to smoking and passive smoking and their experience of the tobacco preventive work in child health care

The purpose of this study was to describe parents’ attitudes to smoking and their experience of the tobacco preventive work in antenatal care and in Child Health Care (CHC) in Sweden. A population based survey in which 62 percent of 3000 randomly selected parents with 1- and 3-year-old children answered a questionnaire. Fifty-six percent stated that smoking was registered in the health record of the child yet no further discussion regarding passive smoking took place. The parents’ educational level and smoking status was related to the attitudes and experiences of the tobacco preventive work. The results indicated that the dialogue with parents regarding children and environmental tobacco smoke (ETS) exposure has to be redesigned and intensified in order to meet the needs of parents with different backgrounds.
Lack of Electron Transfer from Cytochrome b5 in Stimulation of Catalytic Activities of Cytochrome P450 3A4

Many catalytic activities of cytochrome P450 (P450) 3A4, the major human liver P450 enzyme, require cytochrome b5 (b5) for optimal rates. The stimulatory effect of b5 on P450 reactions has generally been thought to be due to transfer of electrons from ferrous b5 to the ferrous P450-O2-substrate complex. We found that apo-b5, devoid of heme, could substitute for b5 in stimulating two prototypic activities, testosterone 6β hydroxylation and nifedipine oxidation. The stimulatory effect was not seen with albumin, hemoglobin, catalase, or cytochrome c. Apo-b5 could not substitute for b5 in a testosterone 6β hydroxylation system composed of NADH-b5 reductase and P450 3A4. Rates of electron transfer from NADPH-P450 reductase to ferric P450 3A4 were too slow (<2 min−1) to support testosterone 6β hydroxylation (∼14 min−1) unless b5 or apo-b5 was present, when rates of ∼700 min−1 were measured. The oxidation-reduction potential (Em,7) of the ferric/ferrous couple of P450 3A4 was unchanged (∼−310 mV) under different conditions in which the kinetics of reduction were altered by the addition of substrate and/or apo-b5. Rapid reduction of P450 3A4 required substrate and a preformed complex of P450 3A4, NADPH-P450 reductase, and b5; the rates of binding of the proteins to each other were 2-3 orders of magnitude less than reduction rates. We conclude that b5 can facilitate some P450 3A4-catalyzed oxidations by complexing with P450 3A4 and enhancing its reduction by NADPH-P450 reductase, without directly transferring electrons to P450.
Using sensation seeking to target adolescents for substance use interventions.

AIMS This study examines the predictive validity of sensation seeking as a predictor of adolescent substance use, in order to optimize targeting for substance use prevention programs. DESIGN Longitudinal study. SETTING Random-digit dial telephone survey. Participants A total of 6522 US adolescents aged 10-14 years at baseline, resurveyed at 8-month intervals for three subsequent waves. MEASUREMENTS Two outcomes were assessed-onset of binge drinking (more than five drinks in a short time) and established smoking (>100 cigarettes life-time). Sensation seeking level was assessed at baseline. Logistic regression was used to predict onset of substance use at any follow-up wave as a function of sensation seeking. The receiver operating characteristics curve was used to illustrate how well sensation seeking predicted substance use as a function of different cut-off points for defining high sensation seeking, and area under the receiver operating characteristics curve (AROC) was the metric of predictive validity. FINDINGS Of 5834 participants with one or more follow-up assessments, 5634 reported no binge drinking and 5802 were not established smokers at baseline, of whom 717 (12.7% of 5634) reported binge drinking and 144 (2.5% of 5802) reported established smoking at one or more follow-up interviews. Sensation seeking predicted binge drinking moderately well [AROC = 0.71 (95% confidence interval 0.69, 0.73)] and was a significantly better predictor of established smoking onset [AROC = 0.80 (0.76, 0.83)]. For binge drinking, predictive validity was significantly lower in blacks; for established smoking it was significantly higher for Hispanics. Implications for two targeting interventions are discussed. CONCLUSIONS Sensation seeking works moderately well at identifying adolescents at risk for onset of binge drinking and established smoking. This study offers a guide for determining the appropriate targeting cut-off value, based on intervention efficacy, costs and risks.
OPTIMAL FISCAL AND MONETARY POLICY, DEBT CRISIS, AND MANAGEMENT

The initial government debt-to-gross domestic product (GDP) ratio and the government's commitment play a pivotal role in determining the welfare-optimal speed of fiscal consolidation in the management of a debt crisis. Under commitment, for low or moderate initial government debt-to-GDP ratios, the optimal consolidation is very slow. A faster pace is optimal when the economy starts from a high level of public debt implying high sovereign risk premia, unless these are suppressed via a bailout by official creditors. Under discretion, the cost of not being able to commit is reflected into a quick consolidation of government debt. Simple monetary–fiscal rules with passive fiscal policy, designed for an environment with “normal shocks,” perform reasonably well in mimicking the Ramsey-optimal response to one-off government debt shocks. When the government can issue also long-term bonds—under commitment—the optimal debt consolidation pace is slower than in the case of short-term bonds only, and entails an increase in the ratio between long- and short-term bonds.
Prognostic Value Comparison Between 18F-FLT PET/CT and 18F-FDG PET/CT Volume-Based Metabolic Parameters in Patients with Head and Neck Cancer

Purpose The present study compared the potential of pretreatment 3′-deoxy-3′-[18F]-fluorothymidine (18F-FLT) uptake parameters and those of 18F-FDG to predict the clinical outcome of head and neck squamous cell carcinoma treated with chemoradiotherapy. Methods A total 53 patients undergoing pretreatment 18F-FLT PET/CT and 18F-FDG PET/CT from May 2006 to April 2013 were evaluated. The SUVmax, metabolic tumor volume (MTV), total lesion glycolysis, and total lesion proliferation (TLP) were determined semiquantitatively. Associations between clinical factors and PET/CT parameters and prognostic value were analyzed. Results In univariate analyses, 18F-FLT SUVmax, MTV, TLP, 18F-FDG MTV, and total lesion glycolysis correlated with locoregional control (P = 0.02, P = 0.0007, P = 0.0001, P = 0.007, and P = 0.013, respectively). Clinical T stage, 18F-FLT SUVmax, MTV, TLP, and 18F-FDG SUVmax correlated with overall survival (P = 0.012, P = 0.0057, P = 0.0018, P = 0.0012, and P = 0.047, respectively). On multivariate analyses, 18F-FLT TLP was an independent factor for locoregional control (P = 0.002; hazards ratio [HR], 5.13; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.81-14.54), as were 18F-FLT SUVmax and MTV for overall survival (P = 0.021; HR, 3.47; 95% CI, 1.2–10.01 and P = 0.029; HR, 3.17; 95% CI, 1.12–8.95). Conclusions Pretreatment 18F-FLT PET/CT volume-based metabolic parameters are superior prognostic predictors to those of 18F-FDG PET/CT. 18F-FLT SUVmax and MTV can provide important prognostic information for patients with head and neck squamous cell carcinomas administered with chemoradiotherapy.
Comparison of Calibration Curve Method and Partial Least Square Method in the Laser Induced Breakdown Spectroscopy Quantitative Analysis

The Laser Induced Breakdown Spectroscopy (LIBS) is a fast, non-contact, no sample preparation analytic technology; it is very suitable for on-line analysis of alloy composition. In the copper smelting industry, analysis and control of the copper alloy concentration affect the quality of the products greatly, so LIBS is an efficient quantitative analysis technology in the copper smelting industry. But for the lead brass, the components of Pb, Al and Ni elements are very low and the atomic emission lines are easily submerged under copper complex characteristic spectral lines because of the matrix effects. So it is difficult to get the online quantitative result of these important elements. In this paper, both the partial least squares (PLS) method and the calibration curve (CC) method are used to quantitatively analyze the laser induced breakdown spectroscopy data which is obtained from the standard lead brass alloy samples. Both the major and trace elements were quantitatively analyzed. By comparing the two results of the different calibration method, some useful results were obtained: both for major and trace elements, the PLS method was better than the CC method in quantitative analysis. And the regression coefficient of PLS method is compared with the original spectral data with background interference to explain the advantage of the PLS method in the LIBS quantitative analysis. Results proved that the PLS method used in laser induced breakdown spectroscopy was suitable for simultaneous quantitative analysis of different content elements in copper smelting industry.
Home-based care for parents with AIDS: impact on children's psychological functioning

Objective: This study explored the concept of home-based care for people living with full-blown AIDS and the impact of this on their children's psychological functioning. There were 30 children in the study whose parents had full-blown AIDS. The comparison group comprised 30 children. The parents of the children in the comparison group reported that they did not have full-blown AIDS and were not registered as AIDS patients with their community home-based care group. Method: The children's psychological functioning and performance on cognitive tasks were examined, using the Impact of Event Scale — Revised, the Secondary Traumatic Stress Scale (STSS), the Stress Symptoms Checklist, the Child Behaviour Checklist (CBCL), the British Ability Scales and Daniel and Diack's Graded Spelling Test. Result: The results of the study showed that children whose parents had full-blown AIDS showed mental distress and low cognitive performance on numerical and spelling skills. Conclusion: The findings of the study seem to suggest that although the home-based care concept is a noble and global idea, it should be accompanied by psychological support mechanisms to mitigate the effects of traumatic stress that normally follow exposure to a traumatic event. Suggestions for further research on the topic are discussed.