Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Strain-Dependent Role of BrkA during Bordetella pertussis Infection of the Murine Respiratory Tract

ABSTRACT Bordetella pertussis, the causative agent of whooping cough, expresses many virulence factors believed to be involved in infection and disease progression. While these factors as a group are required for infection, deletion of individual virulence factor genes generally has limited effects on the ability of B. pertussis to efficiently infect the respiratory tract of mice, suggesting they may perform noncritical or redundant functions. We have recently observed that a B. pertussis strain, putatively with a mutation of a single gene, brkA, results in a severe defect in vivo. Although BrkA has been shown to be required for B. pertussis to resist complement-mediated killing in vitro, the relevance of these findings to the in vivo role of BrkA during infection has not been examined. Transducing this mutation into multiple wild-type B. pertussis strains allowed us to confirm the in vitro phenotype of reduced resistance to serum complement. All ΔbrkA mutants were increased in their sensitivity to complement in vitro, both in the presence and absence of antibodies. However, these strains differed substantially in their phenotypes in vivo. ΔbrkA mutants of recent clinical isolates were indistinguishable from wild-type strains in their efficient infection of respiratory organs, suggesting that the function of BrkA in these strains is noncritical or redundant. In contrast, multiple ΔbrkA strains derived from Tohama I were severely defective during the first week postinoculation compared to their wild-type parent. This defect was present even in complement-deficient mice, revealing a complement-independent phenotype for the ΔbrkA mutant in respiratory tract infection.
A Teaching and Learning Practice Incorporating Students" Own Goal and Their Institutional Goal in Big-Sized English Classes

This paper reports a study on a teaching and learning practice in three big-sized English classes incorporating the learning goal set by the students and that by their institution, which investigated three questions: 1) What do the students perceive at a text-based teaching and learning? ; 2) What problems do the students face at the text-based teaching and learning class? ; and 3) What do the students learn at the text-based teaching and learning? The subjects of this study were 208 first year students of a state engineering institute in Lampung, Sumatera, Indonesia. The 208 students were from 3 different classes. The teaching and learning activities were based on academic texts selected by the students in a group of ten. In every meeting a group of the students who had prepared a two-page English academic text presented its title and key words to the class, whereas the other groups asked questions based on the title and key words which had to be answered by the group orally. In every meeting at the end of the class the students were asked to write a journal according to the research questions. The results showed that they perceived the teaching and learning practice differently, they had some problems, but they learnt some linguistic elements and skills, and they realized that they still needed to improve their English skill as well as their participation in speaking.
Why individual thermo sensation and pain perception varies? Clue of disruptive mutations in TRPVs from 2504 human genome data

ABSTRACT Every individual varies in character and so do their sensory functions and perceptions. The molecular mechanism and the molecular candidates involved in these processes are assumed to be similar if not same. So far several molecular factors have been identified which are fairly conserved across the phylogenetic tree and are involved in these complex sensory functions. Among all, members belonging to Transient Receptor Potential (TRP) channels have been widely characterized for their involvement in thermo-sensation. These include TRPV1 to TRPV4 channels which reveal complex thermo-gating behavior in response to changes in temperature. The molecular evolution of these channels is highly correlative with the thermal response of different species. However, recent 2504 human genome data suggest that these thermo-sensitive TRPV channels are highly variable and carry possible deleterious mutations in human population. These unexpected findings may explain the individual differences in terms of complex sensory functions.
PML/RARα fusion protein mediates the unique sensitivity to arsenic cytotoxicity in acute promyelocytic leukemia cells: Mechanisms involve the impairment of cAMP signaling and the aberrant regulation of NADPH oxidase

Acute promyelocytic leukemia (APL) cells are characterized by PML/RARα fusion protein, high responsiveness to arsenic trioxide (ATO)‐induced cytotoxicity and an abundant generation of reactive oxygen species (ROS). In this study we investigated the association among these three features in APL‐derived NB4 cells. We found that NADPH oxidase‐derived ROS generation was more abundant in NB4 cells compared with monocytic leukemia U937 cells. By using PR9, a sub‐line of U937 stably transduced with the inducible PML/RARα expression vectors, we attributed disparities on ROS generation and ATO sensitivity to the occurrence of PML/RARα fusion protein, since PML/RARα‐expressing cells appeared higher NADPH oxidase activity, higher ROS level and higher sensitivity to ATO. On the other hand, the basal intensity of cAMP signaling pathway was compared between NB4 and U937 as well as between PR9 cells with or without PML/RARα, demonstrating that PML/RARα‐expressing cells had an impaired cAMP signaling pathway which relieved its inhibitory effect on NADPH oxidase derived ROS generation. In summary, the present study demonstrated the correlation of PML/RARα with cAMP signaling pathway, NADPH oxidase and ROS generation in APL cells. PML/RARα that bestows NB4 cells various pathological features, paradoxically also endows these cells with the basis for susceptibility to ATO‐induced cytotoxcity. J. Cell. Physiol. 217: 486–493, 2008. © 2008 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Delegation within municipal health care.

AIM To describe how registered nurses (RNs) perceive delegation to unlicensed personnel (UP) in a municipal healthcare context in Sweden. BACKGROUND Within municipal health care RNs often delegate tasks to UP. The latter have practical training, but lack formal competence. METHOD Twelve RNs were interviewed and the material was analysed using a phenomenographic approach. RESULTS Owing to a shortage of RNs, delegation is seen as a prerequisite for a functioning organization. This necessity also involves a number of perceived contradictions in three areas: (1) the work situation of RNs - facilitation and relief vs. lack of control, powerlessness, vagueness regarding responsibility, and resignation; (2) the relationship with unlicensed personnel - stimulation, possibility for mentoring, use of UP competence and the creation of fairness vs. questioning UP competence; and (3) The patients - increase in continuity, quicker treatment, and increased security vs. insecurity (with respect to, for example, the handling of medicine). CONCLUSION Registered nurses perceptions of delegation within municipal healthcare involve their own work situation, the UP and the patients. IMPLICATIONS FOR NURSING MANAGEMENT Registered nurses who delegate to UP must be given time for mentoring such that the nursing care is safe care of high quality.
Measuring usability: preference vs. performance

Simplistically stated, usability engineering aims at improving interactive systems and their user interfaces. Defined slightly more precisely [8], usability is a general concept that cannot be measured but is related to several usability parameters that can be measured. Measurable usability parameters fall into two broad categories: subjective user preference measures, assessing how much the users like the system, and objective performance measures, which measure how capable the users are at using the system
Information, Knowledge, and Attitudes: An Evaluation of the Taxpayer Receipt

To better understand the relationship between information and political knowledge, we evaluate an ambitious government initiative: the nationwide dissemination of “taxpayer receipts,” or personalized, itemized accounts of government spending, by the UK government in fall 2014. In coordination with the British tax authorities, we embedded a survey experiment in a nationally representative panel. We find that citizens became more knowledgeable about government spending because of our encouragement to read their receipt. Although baseline levels of political knowledge are indeed low, our findings indicate that individuals are capable of learning and retaining complex political information. However, even as citizens became more knowledgeable, we uncover no evidence that their attitudes toward government and redistribution changed concomitantly. The acquisition and retention of new information does not necessarily change attitudes. Our results have implications for citizens’ capacity to learn and research on the relationship between knowledge and attitudes.
Cyclobutane Pyrimidine Dimers and Bulky Chemical DNA Adducts Are Efficiently Repaired in Both Strands of Either a Transcriptionally Active or Promoter-deleted APRT Gene*

Both prokaryotic and eukaryotic cells have the capacity to repair DNA damage preferentially in the transcribed strand of actively expressed genes. However, we have found that several types of DNA damage, including cyclobutane pyrimidine dimers (CPDs) are repaired with equal efficiency in both the transcribed and nontranscribed strands of the adenine phosphoribosyltransferase (APRT) gene in Chinese hamster ovary cells. We further found that, in two mutant cell lines in which the entireAPRT promoter region has been deleted, CPDs are still efficiently repaired in both strands of the promoterlessAPRT gene, even though neither strand appears to be transcribed. These results suggest that efficient repair of both strands at this locus does not require transcription of theAPRT gene. We have also mapped CPD repair in exon 3 of theAPRT gene in each cell line at single nucleotide resolution. Again, we found similar rates of CPD repair in both strands of the APRT gene domain in both APRTpromoter-deletion mutants and their parental cell line. Our findings suggest that current models of transcription-coupled repair and global genomic repair may underestimate the importance of factors other than transcription in governing the efficiency of nucleotide excision repair.
In Rural Eastern Ethiopia Hearing Loss Is the Most Frequent Disability during Childhood: A Community Based Survey

Background The type and extent of childhood disability in Ethiopia is unknown due to lack of accurate and reliable data. This study tried to assess the magnitude and types of disabilities among children 0–14 years of age in eastern Ethiopia. Methods We conducted a cross-sectional community-based study among households that are under demographic and health surveillance in eastern Ethiopia. The study population consisted of all children aged 0–14 year. A structured questionnaire was used to assess the type and severity of the disability. Results A total of 21,572 children in the age group 0–14 were screened for disability. Of which 586 (2.7%; 95% CI = 2.5%, 2.9%) had at least one kind of disability at the time of the survey. The proportion of disability increased as children were older; measured by the extended Mantel-Haenszel (M-H) chi square for linear trend (M-H = 48.74; P<0.001). Hearing impairment was the most common reported disability; 417 (71.2%; 95% CI = 67.5%, 74.9%). Among children with a disability, 179 (31.0%; 95% CI = 27.3%, 34.7%) had a combination of multiple disabilities and about a third, 200 (34.1%; 95% CI = 30.3%, 37.9%) had developed the disability during infancy. Magnitude of disability was higher among boys 335 (2.98%; 95% CIs = 2.66%, 3.30%) compared to girls 251 (2.44%; 95% CIs = 2.14%, 2.74%). Conclusion Childhood disability is a health challenge in the study area and is already common at an early age. Permanent disability among children may be prevented by an early screening program in the routine child health services and adequate care, especially for hearing impairment.
Functional erythropoietin deficiency in patients with Type 2 diabetes and anaemia

Aims Anaemia is a common finding in patients with diabetic nephropathy. Impaired production of erythropoietin is thought to be the predominant cause, as a result of renal microvascular disease. This study aims to determine the prevalence of functional erythropoietin deficiency in a cross‐sectional survey of patients with Type 2 diabetes.
Venous Thromboembolism After Surgery for Inflammatory Bowel Disease: Are There Modifiable Risk Factors? Data from ACS NSQIP

BACKGROUND: Although it is commonly reported that IBD patients are at increased risk for venous thromboembolic events, little real-world data exist regarding their postoperative incidence and related outcomes in everyday practice. OBJECTIVE: We aimed to identify the rate of venous thromboembolism and modifiable risk factors within a large cohort of surgical IBD patients. DESIGN: We performed a retrospective review of IBD patients who underwent colorectal procedures. PATIENTS: Patient data were obtained from the American College of Surgeons National Surgical Quality Improvement Program 2004 to 2010 Participant Use Data Files. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: The primary outcomes measured were short-term (30-day) postoperative venous thromboembolism (deep vein thrombosis and pulmonary embolism). Clinical variables were analyzed by univariate and multivariate analyses to identify modifiable risk factors for these events. RESULTS: A total of 10,431 operations were for Crohn’s disease (52.1%) or ulcerative colitis (47.9%), and 242 (2.3%) venous thromboembolic events occurred (178deep vein thromboses, 46 pulmonary embolisms, 18 both) for a combined rate of 1.4% in Crohn’s disease and 3.3% in ulcerative colitis. Deep vein thrombosis and pulmonary embolism each occurred at a mean of 10.8 days postoperatively (range for each, 0–30 days). A multivariate model found that bleeding disorder, steroid use, anesthesia time, emergency surgery, hematocrit <37%,malnutrition, and functional status were potentially modifiable risk factors that remained associated (p < 0.05) with venous thromboembolism on regression analysis. Patients with thromboembolism had longer length of stay (18.8 vs 8.9 days), more complications (41% vs 18%), and a higher risk of death (4% vs 0.9%). LIMITATIONS: This study was limited by its retrospective design and its limited generalizability to nonparticipating hospitals. CONCLUSIONS: Inflammatory bowel disease patients are at increased risk for postoperative venous thromboembolism. Reducing preoperative anemia, steroid use, malnutrition, and anesthesia time may also reduce venous thromboembolism in this at-risk population. Risk-reducing, preventative strategies are needed in this at-risk population.
P0-1 High Resolution Fundamental and Harmonic Imaging Using a MEMS Fabricated Ultrasonic Transducer

Intravascular ultrasound (IVUS) imaging is increasingly employed to assist in selecting and evaluating therapeutic intervention. Recent work in IVUS backscatter analysis demonstrates the capability of IVUS to characterize specific lesions and identify plaques that lead to various clinical syndromes. Correct identification of plaque types depends on their structure, composition and sufficient image resolution (< 30 mum axially). Tissue harmonic imaging (THI) has shown promise to increase quality of IVUS. However, Current IVUS catheters, with unfocused transducers and narrow bandwidths, might not benefit from advantages due to harmonic imaging. Hence, we are developing miniature focused large bandwidth ultrasonic transducers with high resolutions and harmonic imaging capabilities.We made spherically focused broad bandwidth (120%) PVDF- TrFE transducers using MEMS techniques. We characterized the transducers. We also developed a method for multiple ultrasonic modalities using existing hardware and employing pulse-inversion techniques where a single transducer can be used to produce four modes of images. In this study, we obtained images of the coronary ostium in four imaging modes (Fundamental 20 MHz, Fundamental 40 MHz, Harmonic 40 MHz and Harmonic 80 MHz). We also excited our transducer with 40 MHz monocycle pulse for maximal axial resolution to generate standard mode images. Our standard mode images were compared to histology and commercial IVUS Systems. Axial resolutions with a monocycle pulse were typically less than 19 mum with a bandwidth of ~ 120 %. The lateral resolution characterization was done using a 1 mm transducer with an f-number 2.6. Harmonic signals showed better resolution compared to the fundamental signals. Ex vivo circumferential images of the human coronary ostium at F20, F40, H40 and H80 were acquired. The standard mode ultrasonic image of the human aorta using the MEMS transducer clearly displayed better delineation of the media compared to the existing commercial IVUS systems. When comparing the standard mode 40 MHz ultrasonic image to its histology, our ultrasonic image showed near histological resolution and identified various features in the histology. Such promising results suggest that the high resolution transducers with multi modality imaging capabilities can improve the clinical use of IVUS for cardiovascular diseases.
The Human Papillomavirus 16 E6 Protein Binds to Tumor Necrosis Factor (TNF) R1 and Protects Cells from TNF-induced Apoptosis*

High risk strains of human papillomavirus (HPV), such as HPV 16, cause human cervical carcinoma. The E6 protein of HPV 16 mediates the rapid degradation of p53, although this is not the only function of E6 and cannot completely explain its transforming potential. Previous work in our laboratory has demonstrated that transfection of HPV 16 E6 into the tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-sensitive LM cell line protects expressing cells from TNF-induced apoptosis in a p53-independent manner, and the purpose of this study was to determine the molecular mechanism underlying this protection. Caspase 3 and caspase 8 activation were significantly reduced in E6-expressing cells, indicating that E6 acts early in the TNF apoptotic pathway. In fact, E6 binds directly to TNF R1, as shown both by co-immunoprecipitation and mammalian two-hybrid approaches. E6 requires the same C-terminal portion of TNF R1 for binding as does TNF R1-associated death domain, and TNF R1/TNF R1-associated death domain interactions are decreased in the presence of E6. HA-E6 also blocked cell death triggered by transfection of the death domain of TNF R1. Together, these results provide strong support for a model in which HPV E6 binding to TNF R1 interferes with formation of the death-inducing signaling complex and thus with transduction of proapoptotic signals. They also demonstrate that HPV, like several other viruses, has developed a method for evading the TNF-mediated host immune response.
Early and late treatment‐related morbidity following radical cystectomy

Objective: To evaluate treatment‐related morbidity following cystectomy in a cohort of consecutive bladder cancer patients. The impact of age, comorbid condition, previous pelvic radiotherapy and type of urinary diversion was analysed. Material and Methods: Between 1992 and 1998 the treatment‐related early (<30 days after cystectomy) and late morbidity was recorded in 268 consecutive bladder cancer patients (median age 65 years) undergoing cystectomy and the following types of urinary diversion: ileal conduit, n = 195; orthotopic neobladder, n = 36; continent reservoir, n = 33; and ureterocutaneous diversion, n = 4. Twenty‐four patients had received previous pelvic radiotherapy and 79 had pre‐existing morbidity. The median follow‐up period was 5.4 years. Results: The postoperative mortality rate was 2%. Age >70 years and pre‐existing morbidity (especially cardiovascular disease) significantly increased the mortality rate. No relationship was found between early complication (57%) and re‐exploration rates (17%) and either age, previous radiotherapy, pre‐existing morbidity or type of urinary diversion. Patients undergoing orthotopic neobladder or continent reservoir had a significantly increased risk of calculus formation as well as cystectomy‐related surgical procedures compared to patients undergoing ileal conduit. Age had a significant impact on vitamin B 12 deficiency and renal deterioration, whereas previous pelvic irradiation significantly increased the probability of ureteroenteric stricture and lost renal function. Age and urinary diversion had no impact on hernia, ureteroenteric stricture or pyelonephritis. Conclusion: The risk of treatment‐related morbidity was high and careful patient selection before cystectomy seems important. The lack of standard criteria regarding how to report morbidity makes comparison with other studies difficult.
Increased renovascular response to angiotensin II in persons genetically predisposed to arterial hypertension disappears after chronic angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibition

Objective and methods Functional changes in the kidneys of healthy men with (FH+) (n = 15) and without (FH−) (n = 15) family history of primary arterial hypertension were examined during administration of low-dose exogenous angiotensin II (A2) (1 ng/kg per min) before and after acute (1 mg intravenous enalaprilat) and chronic (7 days oral enalapril, 30 mg/day) angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE) inhibition. Results Before chronic ACE inhibition, A2 increased mean arterial blood pressure (FH+, 8.7 ± 0.8 mmHg; FH−, 8.9 ± 0.9 mmHg), plasma immunoreactive A2 (FH+, 21 ± 2 pg/ml; FH−, 18 ± 3 pg/ml) and plasma aldosterone (FH+, 64 ± 7 pg/ml; FH−, 56 ± 6 pg/ml) to a similar degree in both groups. Chronic ACE inhibition had no impact on A2 blood pressure, plasma A2, or plasma aldosterone effects. A2 significantly increased renal vascular resistance in both groups (FH+, 3956 ± 462 dyne s cm–5; FH−, 2219 ± 550 dyne s cm–5), but the effect was more pronounced in FH+ (P = 0.02). Glomerular hemodynamics, estimated by a modified Gomez model, revealed increased afferent and efferent responsiveness to A2 in FH+ subjects. These differences disappeared after chronic ACE inhibition when total, afferent and efferent sensitivities to A2 were similar in both groups. Conclusions Systemic blood pressure and plasma aldosterone responses to A2 were similar in men with or without a genetic disposition to primary arterial hypertension. However, our data demonstrate that men with a family history of hypertension have increased renovascular sensitivity to A2, and that chronic ACE inhibition normalizes their sensitivity.