Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Metabolic and endocrine changes in response to endotoxin administration with or without oral arginine supplementation.

This study was performed to investigate blood metabolite, tumor necrosis factor-alpha, and hormone responses to intravenous administration of lipopolysaccharides (2 microg of endotoxin of Escherichia coli 026:B6/kg body weight at times of feeding) in veal calves orally supplemented with arginine (0.25 g/kg of body weight twice daily for 4 d; group GrA) compared with calves not supplemented with arginine (group GrC). Arginine supplementation alone caused a significant rise of plasma arginine, urea, and insulin concentrations, whereas glucagon concentrations tended to increase, but there were no significant group differences. Concentrations of triglycerides, NEFA, glucose, protein, albumin, growth hormone, insulin-like growth factor-I, 3.5. 3'-triiodothyronine, and thyroxine were not affected by arginine supplementation. Lipopolysaccharide administration alone caused a rise of tumor necrosis-factor-a, lactate, and cortisol concentrations and concentrations of tumor necrosis-factor-a after 1 h, and of triglycerides and urea after 6 h were higher, whereas of glucose after 3 h were lower in GrA than in GrC. Concentrations of NEFA, glucose, protein, albumin, insulin, growth hormone, insulin-like growth factor-I, 3.5. 3'-triiodothyronine, and thyroxine were not affected by lipopolysaccharide administration. In conclusion, arginine supplementation had selective effects on plasma metabolites and hormones, but barely modified lipopolysaccharide effects. Effects of lipopolysaccharides in the postprandial state were different from what is usually seen in the fasted state.
Chemotherapy-induced alopecia: a phenomenological study

Breast cancer accounts for 16 per cent of all cancers in females. The treatment regimen is complex and almost half of all women with breast cancer undergo alopecia-inducing chemotherapy. The aim of this study was to explore the lived experience of chemotherapy-induced alopecia and its effects on women with breast cancer. Five women who had experienced chemotherapy-induced alopecia in the past 12 months were interviewed, revealing four main and four sub-themes. The findings have implications for health professionals, patients and for oncology nursing practice. Chemotherapy-induced alopecia affects each individual differently. The provision of practical information to patients in a caring and sensitive manner is important, even following re-growth of hair.
Perturbation of thymocyte development in nonsense-mediated decay (NMD)-deficient mice

The random nature of T-cell receptor-β (TCR-β) recombination needed to generate immunological diversity dictates that two-thirds of alleles will be out-of-frame. Transcripts derived from nonproductive rearrangements are cleared by the nonsense-mediated mRNA decay (NMD) pathway, the process by which cells selectively degrade transcripts harboring premature termination codons. Here, we demonstrate that the fetal thymus in transgenic mice that ubiquitously express a dominant-negative form of Rent1/hUpf1, an essential trans-effector of NMD, shows decreased cell number, reduced CD4CD8 double-positive thymocytes, diminished expression of TCR-β, and increased expression of CD25, suggesting a defect in pre-TCR signaling. Transgenic fetal thymocytes also demonstrated diminished endogenous Vβ-to-DβJβ rearrangements, whereas Dβ-to-Jβ rearrangements were unperturbed, suggesting that inhibition of NMD induces premature shut-off of TCR-β rearrangement. Developmental arrest of thymocytes is prevented by the introduction of a fully rearranged TCR-β transgene that precludes generation of out-of-frame transcripts, suggesting direct mRNA-mediated trans-dominant effects. These data document that NMD has been functionally incorporated into developmental programs during eukaryotic evolution.
Gate Bias Stress-Induced Threshold Voltage Shift Effect of a-IGZO TFTs with Cu Gate

The gate bias stress-induced threshold voltage shift effect of amorphous indium gallium zinc oxide thin-film transistors (a-IGZO TFTs) with Cu gate is investigated in this brief. It is revealed that the Cu-gated TFTs with SiOx gate insulator suffer from serious electrical performance degradation under gate bias stress owing to Cu diffusion into the gate insulator and channel region. A stacked gate insulator of SiOx/SiNx is then proposed to suppress the Cu diffusion. Experimental results show that the Cu-gated TFTs with the stacked gate insulators have a comparable threshold voltage shift effect with that of the conventional TFTs with Mo electrode and SiOx insulator, under both positive and negative gate bias stresses.
Compilation of a preliminary checklist for the differential diagnosis of neurogenic stuttering.

BACKGROUND Neurogenic stuttering (NS) is the most frequently occurring acquired form of stuttering in children and adults. This form of stuttering is primarily caused by neurological incidents. Owing to controversies with regard to similarities between developmental stuttering (DS) and NS symptomatology, differential diagnosis is problematic. Differential diagnosis will guide the appropriate management of persons who stutter (PWS). OBJECTIVES The aim of this study was to describe and highlight the characteristics of NS in order to compile a preliminary checklist for accurate diagnosis and intervention. METHOD An explorative, applied mixed method, multiple case study research design was followed. Purposive sampling was used to select four participants. A comprehensive assessment battery was compiled for data collection. RESULTS The results revealed a distinct pattern of core stuttering behaviours in NS, although discrepancies existed regarding stuttering severity and frequency. It was also found that DS and NS can co-occur. The case history and the core stuttering pattern are important considerations during differential diagnosis, as these are the only consistent characteristics in people with NS. CONCLUSION It is unlikely that all the symptoms of NS are present in an individual. The researchers scrutinised the findings of this study and the findings of previous literature to compile a potentially workable checklist.
Lung cancer in never-smokers: a case–control study in a radon-prone area (Galicia, Spain)

The aim of the study was to assess the effect of residential radon exposure on the risk of lung cancer in never-smokers and to ascertain if environmental tobacco smoke modifies the effect of residential radon. We designed a multicentre hospital-based case–control study in a radon-prone area (Galicia, Spain). All participants were never-smokers. Cases had an anatomopathologically confirmed primary lung cancer and controls were recruited from individuals undergoing minor, non-oncological surgery. Residential radon was measured using alpha track detectors. We included 521 individuals, 192 cases and 329 controls, 21% were males. We observed an odds ratio of 2.42 (95% CI 1.45–4.06) for individuals exposed to ≥200 Bq·m−3 compared with those exposed to <100 Bq·m−3. Environmental tobacco smoke exposure at home increased lung cancer risk in individuals with radon exposure >200 Bq·m−3. Individuals exposed to environmental tobacco smoke and to radon concentrations >200 Bq·m−3 had higher lung cancer risk than those exposed to lower radon concentrations and exposed to environmental tobacco smoke. Residential radon increases lung cancer risk in never-smokers. An association between residential radon exposure and environmental tobacco smoke on the risk of lung cancer might exist. Residential radon exposure increases risk of lung cancer in never-smokers, ETS exposure may raise radon effect http://ow.ly/xRVte For editorial comments see page 850.
Elimination of Serum Complexed Prostate-Specific Antigen after Radical Retropubic Prostatectomy

Abstract Total prostate-specific antigen (PSA) and complexed PSA were determined in venous blood from 12 patients with prostate cancer before and after radical prostatectomy by using Immuno 1 PSA assays. The elimination kinetics of complexed PSA were compared with that of total PSA. Nearly constant concentrations of complexed PSA were found during the first six hours after surgery, in contrast to the rapid elimination of free PSA and the significant decrease of total PSA. From day one to ten there was a continuous and nearly identical decrease of complexed PSA compared to total PSA. Our findings suggest that the initial rapid decrease of free PSA immediately after operation could be caused by formation of new PSA-complex.
A Double‐Blind, Randomized, Placebo‐Controlled Health‐Outcomes Survey of the Effect of Botulinum Toxin Type A Injections on Quality of Life and Self‐Esteem

BACKGROUND Although studies show that botulinum toxin type A (BoNTA) can positively influence one's first impression, little research has been conducted to measure the effect that BoNTA has on mental well‐being. OBJECTIVE To determine the effects that BoNTA injections for the treatment of facial wrinkles had on quality of life (QOL) and self‐esteem. METHODS AND MATERIALS One hundred participants received treatment with BoNTA or placebo saline in this double‐blind randomized placebo‐controlled survey. All participants completed a health outcomes survey consisting of Quality of Life Enjoyment and Satisfaction Questionnaire—Short Form and Heatherton and Polivy State Self‐Esteem measurements before injection and 2 weeks and 3 months after injection. RESULTS Statistically significant improvements (p<.05) in participants treated with BoNTA were observed in answers to QOL questions regarding physical health, mood, household activities, overall life satisfaction, body satisfaction, self‐consciousness, intellect, self‐worth, appearance, comprehension, weight satisfaction, attractiveness, and sense of well‐being. Increases in overall self‐esteem and appearance‐, social‐, and performance‐related self‐esteem were observed in participants treated with BoNTA. CONCLUSION Our findings showed that BoNTA injections result in improvements in QOL and self‐esteem. In addition, BoNTA‐naïve participants demonstrate greater improvements in QOL and self‐esteem than participants previously exposed to BoNTA. Moreover, BoNTA‐familiar participants demonstrated sustained improvement in QOL and self‐esteem relative to BoNTA‐naïve participants, even when injected with placebo. The authors have indicated no significant interest with commercial supporters.
Private Information and Insurance Rejections: A Comment

We show that a necessary and sufficient condition for entry to be unprofitable in markets with adverse selection is that that no buyer type be willing to trade at a price above the expected unit cost of serving those types who are weakly more eager to trade than her. We provide two applications of this result. First, we characterize cases in which market breakdown occurs, thereby generalizing the main result of Hendren (2013). Second, we characterize entry-proof tariffs on nonexclusive active markets, thereby generalizing the main result of Glosten (1994). Our analysis paves the way to new tests of adverse selection, notably besides the case of inactive markets studied by Hendren (2013).
Down-regulated expression of TWEAK mRNA in acute and chronic inflammatory pathologies.

TWEAK is a newly identified member of the Tumor Necrosis Factor (TNF) family of proteins which are involved in many immunoinflammatory mechanisms. The putative role of TWEAK in inflammation was analyzed in mice treated with lipopolysaccharide (LPS), a strong inducer of the immuno-inflammatory responses. TWEAK mRNA rapidly disappeared in all the tissues tested. Analysis of LPS-treated thioglycolate-elicited peritoneal macrophages revealed that the rapid loss of TWEAK mRNA was due to its active destabilization. In chronic pathologies like autoimmune hemolytic anemia in the NZB mouse strain or systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) in the BXSB mouse strain, TWEAK mRNA was shown to be reduced concomitantly to the development of chronic autoimmune diseases. These results demonstrated that TWEAK mRNA, contrary to TNF mRNA, is stable, ubiquitously distributed in tissues, and is down-regulated after LPS treatment or in chronic inflammation, suggesting that TWEAK could be an important factor, along with TNF, in acute and chronic inflammations.
Bastadin 10 Stabilizes the Open Conformation of the Ryanodine-sensitive Ca2+ Channel in an FKBP12-dependent Manner*

The marine sponge Ianthella bastasynthesizes at least 25 tetrameric bromotyrosine structures that possess a stringent structural requirement for modifying the gating behavior of ryanodine-sensitive Ca2+ channels (ryanodine receptors) (RyR)). Bastadin 5 (B5) was shown to stabilize open and closed channel states with little influence on the sensitivity of the channel to activation by Ca2+ (Mack, M. M., Molinski, T. F., Buck, E. D., and Pessah, I. N. (1994)J. Biol. Chem. 269, 23236–23249). In the present paper, we utilize single channel analysis and measurements of Ca2+ flux across the sarcoplasmic reticulum to identify bastadin 10 (B10) as the structural congener responsible for dramatically stabilizing the open conformation of the RyR channel, possibly by reducing the free energy associated with closed to open channel transitions (ΔG*c → o). The stability of the channel open state induced by B10 sensitized the channel to activation by Ca2+ to such an extent that it essentially obviated regulation by physiological concentrations of Ca2+ and relieved inhibition by physiological Mg2+. These actions of B10 were produced only on the cytoplasmic face of the channel, were selectively eliminated by pretreatment of channels with FK506 or rapamycin, and were reconstituted by human recombinant FKBP12. The actions of B10 were found to be reversible. A structure-activity model is proposed by which substitutions on the Eastern and Western hemispheres of the bastarane macrocycle may confer specificity toward the RyR1-FKBP12 complex to stabilize either the closed or open channel conformation. These results indicate that RyR1-FKBP12 complexes possesses a novel binding domain for phenoxycatechols and raise the possibility of molecular recognition of an endogenous ligand.
Research Becomes You: Cultivating EdD Students’ Identities as Educational Leaders and Researchers and a “Learning by Doing” Meta-Study

We examined how end-of-first-year students in a Carnegie Project on the Education Doctorate (CPED)-affiliated EdD program were developing professional identities as educational leaders and researchers. Quantitative and qualitative data revealed substantial development of leadership skills, but even greater growth in perceptions of research skills. Qualitative data indicated students “tried out” leadership and research skills in their workplaces. These provisional efforts were consistent with the notion of possible selves or provisional selves in which individuals try on identities. Implications for program leaders and students are also discussed. In addition, we reported on a-study-within-a-study: We examined our efforts in learning/teaching research skills as the study was conducted.
Immunohistochemical characterization of endometrial leucocytes in endometritis

Aims: Leucocytes are a normal and variable component of the endometrial stromal cell population. The aim of this study was to characterize endometrial leucocytes in established cases of endometritis in order to determine whether there are objective characteristics of the leucocyte infiltrate which would allow its identification as part of an inflammatory process rather then the normal physiological leucocyte infiltrate.
The Development of Self-Efficacy for Trade and Industrial Career and Technical Education Teachers

The purpose of this study was to review the development of self-efficacy for trade and industrial (T&I) teachers. Specifically, this study investigated how T&I teachers develop self-efficacy in classroom management, pedagogical practices, and content knowledge. Finally, the study reviewed key performance measures that indicate T&I teacher development of efficacious practices. Each performance measure was considered as it related to the aforementioned focus areas. This qualitative study was informed by phenomenology. Twelve T&I teachers were interviewed in an effort to capture the essence of their experience as T&I teachers. The study was conducted at two career technical schools in Southeastern Virginia. Data were collected using open-ended interviews that focused on the participants’ classroom management, pedagogy, and content knowledge. In addition, participants’ levels of motivation, competence, and self-regulation were reviewed as a measure of their development of self-efficacy in the aforementioned areas of focus. The results of this study suggest that the development of trade and industrial teacher self-efficacy is impacted by each of the performance measures. Trade and Industrial teachers learn to become efficacious through a combination of experiences. Some formal training is required for teacher development and preparation for instructional delivery. Nevertheless, the participants expressed a high regard for the informal, collegial, and on-the-job training that prepared them for delivery of relevant content knowledge. Consequently, trade and industrial teacher development of selfefficacy is contingent upon several formal and informal learning experiences.
Comparison of the antiproliferative activity of crude ethanol extracts of nine salvia species grown in Jordan against breast cancer cell line models

Background: The antiproliferative activity of Salvia species grown in Jordan has not been fully evaluated yet. The aim of this work was to study the antiproliferative activity of crude ethanol extracts from nine Salvia species grown in Jordan against a panel of breast cancer cell lines. Material and Methods: Cytotoxic activity was evaluated in human tumor models of breast cancer; MCF-7, T47D, ZR-75-1, and BT 474 by the sulforhodamine B assay. In addition, the extracts were evaluated using a non-transformed cell line (Vero) and normal fibroblast cells in order to demonstrate their selectivity and safety. Results: From the nice ethanol extracts under investigation, those of S. dominica and S. fruticosa showed an inhibitory concentration of 50% of cells (IC50) in concentrations less than 30μg/mL against the four cell lines under investigation. S. syriaca and S. hormium showed an IC50 below 30μg/ml for two out of the four cell lines. S. fruticosa, S. hormium and S. syriaca showed selectivity in their antiproliferative activity against estrogen receptor positive cell lines with minimal toxicity against normal human periodontal fibroblasts. Phytochemical screening using thin layer chromatography indicated the presence of terpenoids, flavonoids and coumarins in all examined extracts. Conclusion: Three of the plant extracts under investigation exhibited antiproliferative activity against breast cancer cells and were shown to be safe and selective. These could be considered as a potential source for novel anticancer therapy.
Skin autoimmunity and blood coagulation

Evidence exists that the immune and coagulation systems are simultaneously activated in some systemic autoimmune disorders. Although proinflammatory mediators induce tissue factor (TF) expression, the main initiator of blood coagulation, activated proteases of coagulation may act on protease-activated receptors (PAR) triggering inflammation. Such a cross-talk amplifies and maintains the activation of both systems. This review focuses on the involvement of immune and coagulation system in two skin disorders as chronic urticaria (CU), autoimmune in about 45% of cases, and bullous pemphigoid (BP), the prototype of autoimmune blistering diseases. Several investigators demonstrated the activation of coagulation in CU through the involvement of eosinophils, of TF pathway with thrombin generation and increased vascular permeability. Preliminary data indicate that anticoagulant treatment with heparin and warfarin may be effective in reducing the symptoms of this disorder. The activation of coagulation seems to display local and systemic implications in BP. Eosinophils' recruitment and thrombin generation locally contribute to the bulla formation and tissue damage. The systemic activation of coagulation may explain the increased thrombotic risk observed in these patients. Taken together, these data provide the rationale for proposing clinical trials on the anticoagulant treatment in both CU and BP patients.
The role of anticholinergics in bronchoscopy. A randomized clinical trial.

BACKGROUND Anticholinergic medications have been utilized frequently prior to bronchoscopy and are thought to facilitate the drying of secretions to limit the amount of required topical anesthetic on the airway mucosa, prevent cardiac arrhythmias during the procedure, and increase patient comfort. OBJECTIVE To determine if atropine or glycopyrrolate, two anticholinergic agents utilized most frequently in this setting, have any significant role for this purpose. DESIGN Double-blind, placebo-controlled study, in which patients were randomly selected to receive atropine (0.01 mg/kg body weight, IM injection), glycopyrrolate (0.005 mg/kg, IM injection), or saline solution placebo (approximately 2 mL, IM injection) 15 to 45 min prior to being sedated with midazolam until judged to be lightly sedated. SETTING A large academic teaching hospital in the midwestern United States. PARTICIPANTS Two hundred seventeen outpatients referred for bronchoscopy who satisfied inclusion and exclusion criteria. MEASUREMENTS AND RESULTS Using a modified visual analog scale (0 to 100 mm), the bronchoscopist and the nurse anesthetist estimated the antisialagogic effect, effectiveness in cough suppression, and overall patient comfort during the procedure. The patients completed a similar questionnaire after recovering from the procedure. Patients were also monitored for complications (cardiac arrhythmias, oxygen desaturation, hypertension, wheezing, or coughing severe enough to curtail the procedure). There was no significant difference found among atropine, glycopyrrolate, and placebo for the primary end point of secretion control. In addition, there was no difference found between either medication and placebo for effectiveness of cough suppression, amount of topical anesthetic used, complication rates, or overall patient comfort. CONCLUSION The use of anticholinergic agents prior to bronchoscopy did not affect performance of bronchoscopy or complication rates, and there was no appreciable benefit from the resultant reduction in airway secretions in a population of patients receiving concurrent sedation with benzodiazepines.