Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Prognostic significance of T-cell or cytotoxic molecules phenotype in classical Hodgkin's lymphoma: a clinicopathologic study.

PURPOSE Classical Hodgkin's lymphoma (CHL) is characterized by Hodgkin's and Reed-Sternberg (H-RS) cells, most of which are derived from germinal-center B cells. Nevertheless, one or more markers for T cells and follicular dendritic cells (FDC) may be expressed in a minority of H-RS cells in some CHL patients, although the clinical significance of this remains controversial. The aim of this study was to clarify the association between phenotypic expression and clinical outcome in CHL. PATIENTS AND METHODS Participants were 324 consecutive CHL patients, comprising 132 patients with nodular sclerosis (NS), 35 patients with NS grade 2 (NS2), and 157 patients with mixed cellularity (MC). We evaluated the presenting features and prognosis of patients on categorization into four phenotypically defined groups: B-cell (CD20+ and/or CD79a+; n = 63), T-cell and/or cytotoxic molecules (CD3+, CD4+, CD8+, CD45RO+, TIA-1+, and/or granzyme B+; n = 27), FDC (CD21+ without B-cell marker; n = 22), and null-cell types (n = 212). Other potential prognostic factors were examined. RESULTS The T-cell and/or cytotoxic molecules group showed a significantly poorer prognosis than the other three groups (P < .0001). This finding was seen consistently in multivariate analyses. Morphologic subtyping (NS/NS2/MC) and Epstein-Barr virus positivity were not identified as independent prognostic factors. CONCLUSION The presence of T-cell and/or cytotoxic antigens in H-RS cells may represent a poor prognostic factor in CHL, even if their expression is not regarded as lineage specific. Examination of T-cell and/or cytotoxic molecules phenotype in CHL patients is recommended as a routine pathologic practice.
Effects of dopamine on posttraumatic cerebral blood flow, brain edema, and cerebrospinal fluid glutamate and hypoxanthine concentrations

ObjectivesDopamine is often used in the treatment of traumatic brain injury to maintain cerebral perfusion pressure. However, it remains unclear whether dopamine contributes to secondary brain injury caused by vasoconstriction and resulting diminished cerebral perfusion. The present study investigated the effects of dopamine in different concentrations on posttraumatic cortical cerebral blood flow (CBF), brain edema formation, and cerebrospinal fluid concentrations of glutamate and hypoxanthine. DesignRandomized, placebo-controlled trial. SettingAnimal laboratory. SubjectsEighteen male Sprague-Dawley rats subjected to a focal cortical brain injury. InterventionsFour hours after controlled cortical impact, rats were randomized to receive physiologic saline solution (n = 6), 10–12 &mgr;g/kg/min dopamine (n = 6), or 40–50 &mgr;g/kg/min dopamine (n = 6), for 3 hrs. Cortical CBF was measured over both hemispheres by using laser-Doppler flowmetry before trauma and before, during, and after the infusion period. At 8 hrs after trauma, brains were removed to determine hemispheric swelling and water content. Cisternal cerebrospinal fluid was sampled to measure glutamate and hypoxanthine. Measurements and Main ResultsAfter trauma, cortical CBF was significantly decreased by 46% within the vicinity of the cortical contusion in all rats. Infusion of saline and 10–12 &mgr;g/kg/min dopamine did not change mean arterial blood pressure (MABP) or cortical CBF. However, infusion of 40–50 &mgr;g/kg/min dopamine, which elevated MABP from 89 to 120 mm Hg, significantly increased posttraumatic CBF within and around the contusion by 35%. Over the nontraumatized hemisphere, CBF remained unchanged. Hemispheric swelling, water content, cerebrospinal fluid glutamate, and hypoxanthine levels were not affected by dopamine in the given dosages. ConclusionsUnder the present study design, there was no evidence for a dopamine-mediated vasoconstriction, because posttraumatic cortical CBF was increased by dopamine-induced elevation of MABP. However, the increase in CBF did not significantly affect edema formation or cerebrospinal fluid glutamate and hypoxanthine levels.
Social Network Informed Design for Learning with Educational Technology

This chapter discusses and illustrates how knowledge of social networks can be used to inform social and technical design for learning and teaching in higher education. The chapter introduces the social network perspective and how this can be used to explore learning. It shows how a relational approach can be used to explore the basis of learning ties, uncover social roles and positions, and form a basis for a network’s social capital. This is followed by a discussion of current research directions illustrating how this approach can be applied in education. This research indicates how knowledge of informal learning networks can facilitate informed design for learning, teaching, and professional development. DOI: 10.4018/978-1-61350-080-4.ch018
Nebivolol Effects on Nitric Oxide Levels, Blood Pressure, and Renal Function in Kidney Transplant Patients

In hypertensive kidney transplant recipients, the effects of nebivolol vs metoprolol on nitric oxide (NO) blood level, estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR), and blood pressure (BP) have not been previously reported. In a 12‐month prospective, randomized, open‐label, active‐comparator trial, hypertensive kidney transplant recipients were treated with nebivolol (n=15) or metoprolol (n=15). Twenty‐nine patients (nebivolol [n=14], metoprolol [n=15]) completed the trial. The primary endpoint was change in blood NO level after 12 months of treatment. Secondary endpoints were changes in eGFR, BP, and number of antihypertensive drug classes used. After 12 months of treatment, least squares mean change in plasma NO level in the nebivolol kidney transplant recipient group younger than 50 years was higher by 68.19% (99.17% confidence interval [CI], 13.02–123.36), 69.54% (99.17% CI, 12.71–126.37), and 66.80% (99.17% CI, 12.95–120.64) compared with the metoprolol group younger than 50 years, the metoprolol group 50 years and older, and the nebivolol group 50 years and older, respectively. The baseline to month 12 change in mean arterial BP, eGFR, and number of antihypertensive drug classes used was not significantly different between the treatment groups. In hypertensive kidney transplant recipients, nebivolol use in patients younger than 50 years increased blood NO.
Midwives in Victoria, Australia: a survey of current issues and job satisfaction.

OBJECTIVE To describe demographic and work profiles of registered practising midwives, to assess their job satisfaction and their knowledge of and attitudes to the 1990 Victorian Birthing Services review. DESIGN A questionnaire posted in 1995 to a population-based random sample of registered midwives. PARTICIPANTS Two hundred and forty midwives currently using their midwifery skills in their work. SETTING One thousand names and addresses were randomly selected from a database of midwives registered to practise in Victoria, Australia in 1993. FINDINGS There was a 72% response rate to the postal questionnaire. Two hundred and forty practising midwives returned completed questionnaires. Seventy-three per cent were in full time employment, 49% lived in rural Victoria, 80% were born in Australia, more than half were aged 40 or more years and 72% had at least one child. Twenty-six per cent worked in postnatal wards, 9% in each the labour ward and the neonatal nursery, 2% in birthing centres and 12% in out of hospital settings. Eighty per cent were satisfied with their work and interactions with women were the most important aspect. Satisfaction was associated with working in a labour ward, feeling adequately prepared by midwifery education and training, nursing for more than 15 years and having continuing education. Neonatal and rotating positions were significantly associated with dissatisfaction. Less than one-half of the midwives had read some of the Birthing Services Review, and of these only one-half had changed their attitudes or practice. One-third knew little of the imminent changes to the Midwifery Regulations. CONCLUSION Although most midwives enjoyed their work there was little evidence of increasing autonomy or involvement in change.
Destabilization of Quadruplex DNA by 8‐Aminoguanine

Oligonucleotides can interact in a very specific manner with homopurine–homopyrimidine sequences of double-stranded DNA by forming triple helices (triplexes) that can be used to design sequence-specific DNA-binding molecules with diagnostic or therapeutic purposes. 2] Depending on the orientation of the third strand with respect to the central polypurine Watson–Crick strand, the triplexes are classified into two main categories: i) parallel and ii) antiparallel. Parallel triplexes require protonation of N3 of cytosine to form proper Hoogsteen bonding with N7 of guanine; this implies that its formation is strongly pH dependent. On the other hand, antiparallel triplexes require no protonation and exhibit largely pH-independent binding. 8-Amino-2’-deoxyguanosine (8AG) can be found in cellular DNA as a possible intermediate in the mutagenesis of nitroalkanes. Moreover, it has been stated that 8AG stabilizes parallel and antiparallel triplexes as well as parallel duplexes, causing an increase in the free energy of formation of 1– 4 kcalmol 1 per substitution. By using parallel and antiparallel clamps carrying the 8AG-containing strand linked to the Hoogsteen strand, it is possible to obtain DNA probes with very high affinity to single-stranded polypyrimidine targets. 8] Unfortunately, G-rich oligonucleotides easily form undesired intraor intermolecular G-tetrad structures. Thus, the ability of antiparallel clamps to form a triple-helical structure with its polypyrimidine target can be reduced by the formation of Gquartets. This has fueled the design of modified nucleobases that can destabilize the tetraplex; unfortunately, in most cases, these nucleobases also destabilize the triplex. Considering the large triplex-stabilizing effect of 8AG, we decided to test whether G tetrads were affected by the presence of 8AG residues. We selected the 15-base-long thrombin aptamer 5’GGTTGGTGTGGTTGG-3’ as a model for quadruplex-forming oligonucleotides (Scheme 1). It was shown that this oligonucleotide adopts a monomeric chair quadruplex structure in the presence of potassium and is characterized by a denaturation–renaturation profile that is reversible and can be observed by different techniques.
Levels of B 2 B e-commerce adoption and competitive advantage in SMEs : A 1 comparison study between Egypt and USA

Business-to-business e-commerce adoption has become increasingly important for small and 11 medium-sized enterprises, allowing them to gain and sustain competitive advantage. B2B 12 adopted at different levels based on different resource endowments leads to competitive 13 advantage being gained and sustained in proportion to that level of adoption. This study uses 14 structural equation modelling to investigate how levels of B2B e-commerce adoption affects and 15 contributes to gaining and sustaining competitive advantage in both US and Egyptian 16 manufacturing small and medium-sized enterprises. The key finding is that small and medium17 sized enterprises can achieve growth in market share and sales that helps them to improve their 18 position in the global market through higher levels of business-to-business e-commerce adoption. 19 Implications of the study, its limitations and directions for future research are also discussed. 20
Partnering with Secondary Schools to Prepare Highly Qualified Teachers: Alternative Certification through a Professional Development School Model.

Recruiting Educators through Alternative Licensure (Project REAL) is funded through the Transition to Teaching grant initiative. Project REAL is designed to enable university faculty and classroom teachers to work collaboratively within a professional development school model in order to provide secondary pre-service teachers with a high quality, fast-track, alternative certification program. Not only does this article document our implementation of a unique project design, but it also analyzes our pilot cohort’s perceptions of those characteristics that are necessary for effective teacher preparation and instruction. Emergent issues described within this article include those raised by others as to the quality of alternative certification programs. Data sources collected from the pilot semester suggest that establishing “mentoring mosaics,” expanding field experiences, and collaborating with professional development schools hold the potential to ensure that any certification program—even of the fast-track variety—can be of high quality. Implications for further studies are also discussed.
A Literature Review of Studies on Decision-making in Socio-scientific Issues

Article history: Received 25 September 2015 Received in revised form 21 October 2015 26 October 2015 Accepted 26 October 2015 This study aims to investigate the definition of and factors in decision on socio-scientific issues and to analyze the standards for the quality of decision-making, based on the review of studies in socio-scientific issues. This study analyzed 147 articles published in journals of the social science citation index, and the research method was followed by taxonomy analysis and analytic induction. The results showed that many of the studies did not explicitly articulate the decision-making and only dealt with a specific element of the process, not as a whole. Decision-making was categorized into the steps of identification, option, criteria, information, survey, choice, and review. In terms of the factors, the literature tackled diverse things: science knowledge, nature of science, type of issue, discussion type, belief & values, and culture. This study examined the relationship between the factors and each element of decision-making. Among the relationships, only six kinds were shown as relevant and most of factors were connected to survey. With regard to the standards, the literature relied upon balance, justification and multiplicity since many of the studies made use of Toulmin-based argumentation. This study gives some implications for standards for decision-making regarding the nature of risk and uncertainty.
Towards solving inverse optimal control in a bounded-error framework

In this paper, we apply inverse optimal control approaches in order to recover the cost function that can explain given observations, for a class of constrained optimization problems. The inverse optimal control was recently solved in an approximately optimal framework, meaning that the interest is in finding the proper criteria suitable for the system for which the decisions are approximately optimal. This method benefits of computational time efficiency and simplicity while solving the inverse optimal control problem, by simplifying the initial optimization problem into least square ones, easier than the first one. We focused on solving problems where systems and observations are both imperfect and uncertain. First, we test this method when working with uncertain observations, and results show that the method is sensitive to model uncertainties, encountering bias problems. Being inspired by the approximately optimal approach, we, secondly, use the idea given by this approach and propose a bounded-error approach to inverse optimal control; where all uncertainty and disturbances acting on observation or modeling are assumed bounded but otherwise unknown. A set membership algorithm is then proposed that compute bounds on the set of criteria that make the uncertain observations optimal. Then we show that the bounds computed for the criterion contains the actual solution.
Drivers of apoplastic freezing in gymnosperm and angiosperm branches

Abstract It is not well understood what determines the degree of supercooling of apoplastic sap in trees, although it determines the number and duration of annual freeze–thaw cycles in a given environment. We studied the linkage between apoplastic ice nucleation temperature, tree water status, and conduit size. We used branches of 10 gymnosperms and 16 angiosperms collected from an arboretum in Helsinki (Finland) in winter and spring. Branches with lower relative water content froze at lower temperatures, and branch water content was lower in winter than in spring. A bench drying experiment with Picea abies confirmed that decreasing branch water potential decreases apoplastic ice nucleation temperature. The studied angiosperms froze on average 2.0 and 1.8°C closer to zero Celsius than the studied gymnosperms during winter and spring, respectively. This was caused by higher relative water content in angiosperms; when branches were saturated with water, apoplastic ice nucleation temperature of gymnosperms increased to slightly higher temperature than that of angiosperms. Apoplastic ice nucleation temperature in sampled branches was positively correlated with xylem conduit diameter as shown before, but saturating the branches removed the correlation. Decrease in ice nucleation temperature decreased the duration of freezing, which could have an effect on winter embolism formation via the time available for gas escape during ice propagation. The apoplastic ice nucleation temperature varied not only between branches but also within a branch between consecutive freeze–thaw cycles demonstrating the stochastic nature of ice nucleation.
Positron emission tomography and magnetic resonance spectroscopy of cerebral glycolysis in children with congenital lactic acidosis

Congenital lactic acidosis with neurological symptoms may be due to a variety of disorders of energy metabolism. We investigated whether positron emission tomography (PET) and proton magnetic resonance spectroscopy (1H MRS) are capable of demonstrating specific changes to facilitate diagnosis. A corresponding increase of cerebral lactate (with MRS) and rate of glycolysis (with PET) was observed in 2 children with biochemical evidence of defective mitochondrial respiration. No such increase was noted in a child with lactic acidosis due to stress and exercise but normal respiratory chain activity, and in a control case with an epilepsy syndrome without evidence of primary changes of energy metabolism. The results suggest that defects of oxidative phosphorylation may cause a massive increase of glycolysis to cover energy requirements, with corresponding accumulation of lactate in brain tissue. This mechanism can now be demonstrated in vivo and, with further experience, may potentially be used as a diagnostic marker of respiratory chain disorders in brain tissue.
Autoinhibitory control of the CaV1.2 channel by its proteolytically processed distal C‐terminal domain

Voltage‐gated Ca2+ channels of the CaV1 family initiate excitation–contraction coupling in cardiac, smooth, and skeletal muscle and are primary targets for regulation by the sympathetic nervous system in the ‘fight‐or‐flight’ response. In the heart, activation of β‐adrenergic receptors greatly increases the L‐type Ca2+ current through CaV1.2 channels, which requires phosphorylation by cyclic AMP‐dependent protein kinase (PKA) anchored via an A‐kinase anchoring protein (AKAP15). Surprisingly, the site of interaction of PKA and AKAP15 lies in the distal C‐terminus, which is cleaved from the remainder of the channel by in vivo proteolytic processing. Here we report that the proteolytically cleaved distal C‐terminal domain forms a specific molecular complex with the truncated α1 subunit and serves as a potent autoinhibitory domain. Formation of the autoinhibitory complex greatly reduces the coupling efficiency of voltage sensing to channel opening and shifts the voltage dependence of activation to more positive membrane potentials. Ab initio structural modelling and site‐directed mutagenesis revealed a binding interaction between a pair of arginine residues in a predicted α‐helix in the proximal C‐terminal domain and a set of three negatively charged amino acid residues in a predicted helix–loop–helix bundle in the distal C‐terminal domain. Disruption of this interaction by mutation abolished the inhibitory effects of the distal C‐terminus on CaV1.2 channel function. These results provide the first functional characterization of this autoinhibitory complex, which may be a major form of the CaV1 family Ca2+ channels in cardiac and skeletal muscle cells, and reveal a unique ion channel regulatory mechanism in which proteolytic processing produces a more effective autoinhibitor of CaV1.2 channel function.
Polyclonal expansion of CD3+/CD4+/CD56+ large granular lymphocytes and autoimmunity associated with dysregulation of Fas/FasL apoptotic pathway

Evidence is accumulating regarding CD95/CD95 ligand (Fas/FasL) pathway dysregulation in clonal diseases of the lymphohaemopoietic lineages. According to these observations, it has been proposed that this defect may represent one of the mechanisms of tumour progression. In large granular lymphocyte (LGL) leukaemia, dysregulated apoptosis may represent a key event in the development of malignancy and autoimmunity. This case report describes dysregulation of the Fas/FasL pathway in a chronic polyclonal expansion of CD3+ LGLs associated with numerous serological immune abnormalities.
Indication for Spinal Fusion and the Risk of Adjacent Segment Pathology: Does Reason for Fusion Affect Risk? A Systematic Review

Study Design. A systematic review. Objective. To determine whether different indications or reasons for spinal fusion are associated with different risks of subsequent adjacent segment pathology (ASP) in the lumbar and cervical spine. Summary of Background Data. Pre-existing degeneration at levels adjacent to an arthrodesis may play a role in the development of symptomatic adjacent segment pathology. Although most spinal arthrodeses occur in patients with degenerative spinal disease, spinal fusion occurs in the pediatric and trauma population, and also congenitally. Evaluating the risk of ASP in these populations may shed light on its etiology. Methods. A systematic search was conducted in PubMed and the Cochrane Library for articles published between January 1, 1990, and December 31, 2011. We included all articles that described the risk of radiographical adjacent segment pathology (RASP) following surgical fusion for degenerative disease, for trauma, or for conditions requiring fusion in pediatrics in the lumbar or cervical spine. In addition, we included studies recording ASP in patients with congenital fusion. Results. Nineteen studies met our inclusion criteria. In patients who underwent fusion in the lumbar spine for degenerative reasons, the RASP rate averaged 12.4% during an average of 5.6-year follow-up. For patients who underwent fusion in the cervical spine for degenerative reasons, the average RASP rate was 25.3% during a 2.3-year follow-up. For patients with Klippel-Feil syndrome and congenital fusion, the RASP rate averaged 49.7% during an average of 23.5-years of follow-up. In patients who were fused for scoliosis, the average RASP rate was 20.3% of 3.9-year follow-up. However there is significant variation between studies in patient population, follow-up, and definition of RASP. Conclusion. In the cervical spine, the rate of RASP in patients with fusion for degenerative reasons indications is greater than the rate of RASP in patients with congenital fusion suggesting that the pre-existing health and status of the adjacent level at the time of fusion may play a contributory role in the development of ASP. There is insufficient evidence in the literature to determine whether the indication/reason for fusion affects the risk of RASP in the lumbar spine Consensus Statement In the cervical spine, the rate of RASP in patients with fusion for degenerative reasons indications is greater than the rate of RASP in patients with congenital fusion suggesting that the pre-existing health and status of the adjacent level at the time of fusion may play a contributory role in the development of ASP. Strength of Statement: Weak