Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Prevalence of aflatoxin induced p53 mutation at codon 249 (R249s) in hepatocellular carcinoma patients with and without hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg).

BACKGROUND A missense mutation in exon 7 (R249S) of the p53 tumor suppressor gene is characteristic of aflatoxin B1 (AFB1) exposure. AFB1 is believed to have a synergistic effect on hepatitis virus B (HBV) carcinogenesis. However, results of studies comparing R249S prevalence among patients are conflicting. The aim of this study was to determine the prevalence of the R249S mutation in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) patients with or without positive HBsAg. MATERIALS AND METHODS Paraffin embedded liver tissues were obtained from 124 HCC patients who underwent liver resection and liver biopsy in King Chulalongkorn Memorial Hospital. Restriction fragment length polymorphism (RFLP) was utilized to detect the R249S mutation. Positive results were confirmed by direct sequencing. RESULTS Sixty four (52%) patients were positive for HBsAg and 18 (15%) were anti-HCV positive. 12 specimens tested positive by RFLP. Ten HCC patients (8.1%) were confirmed to be R249S positive by Sanger sequencing (AGG to AGT). Out of these 10, six were HBsAg positive, and out of the remaining 4, two were anti-HCV positive. The R249S prevalence among HCC patients with positive HBsAg was 9.4% compared to 6.7% for HBsAg negative samples. Patients with the R249S mutation were younger (55±10 vs 60±13 year-old) and tended to have a more advanced Edmonson-Steiner grade of HCC, although differences did not reach statistical significance. CONCLUSIONS Our study shows moderate prevalence of aflatoxin B1-related p53 mutation (R249S) in HCC with or without HBsAg. HBsAg positive status was not associated with R249S prevalence.
Capital Gains Tax, Venture Capital, and Innovation in Start-ups

We examine the effect of staggered changes in the state-level capital gains tax on venture capital (VC)-backed start-ups and show that an increase in the tax rate of VC firms reduces the quantity and quality of patents by the start-ups. The results are consistent with a reduction in VC firms’ incentives to provide effort: increases in the capital gains tax for VC firms lead to incrementally lower innovation exchanges between start-ups in the VC firm’s portfolio. VC firms also decrease the level of investment in start-ups and the size of their portfolio as well as increase the number of start-ups that they write off.
Cytomegalovirus and Epstein-Barr virus are associated with symptomatic periapical pathosis.

BACKGROUND Recent studies have identified human cytomegalovirus (HCMV) and Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) in symptomatic periapical lesions. Little information exists on HCMV and EBV in asymptomatic periapical lesions. AIM To compare the presence of late transcripts of HCMV, EBV and herpes simplex virus (HSV) in symptomatic and asymptomatic periapical lesions. METHODS Periapical samples were collected from seven symptomatic and seven asymptomatic periapical lesions at the time of apicoectomy. HCMV, EBV and HSV late mRNAs were identified by reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction. RESULTS HCMV mRNA was detected in all seven symptomatic periapical lesions and in one asymptomatic lesion (Chi-squared test, Yates'P-value = 0.007). EBV mRNA was detected in six symptomatic lesions and in one asymptomatic lesion (P = 0.04). One asymptomatic lesion yielded HSV mRNA. CONCLUSIONS HCMV and EBV active infections are associated with acute exacerbation of apical periodontitis. HSV seems to be unimportant in periapical pathosis.
Major Depression, Physical Illness, and Suicidal Ideation in Primary Care

Objective: To determine the association between major depression and suicidal ideation and the role of physical illness in this link among primary care patients. Method: More than 3,000 randomly selected primary care patients at eight sites across the United States completed the PRIME‐MD PHQ, a screen for mental disorders for use in primary care. Physicians independently diagnosed physical illnesses. Multiple logistic regression analyses were used to determine the relationship between PRIME‐MD depression, physical illness, and suicidal ideation. Results: Pulmonary disease was associated with an increased likelihood of suicidal ideation, even among patients without major depression [odds ratio = 1.9 (1.04, 3.4)]. There was evidence of statistical interaction between pulmonary disease and depression in increasing the odds of suicidal ideation. Specifically, patients with pulmonary disease without depression, those with depression without pulmonary disease, and patients with both pulmonary disease and depression had significantly increased odds of suicidal ideation with odd ratios of 1.9 (1.04, 3.4), 7.4 (5.6, 9.7), and 9.6 (5.1, 18.0), respectively. Conclusions: These data suggest that some physical disorders may be associated with increased suicidal ideation in primary care and may also play a role in the relationship between depression and suicidal ideation among primary care patients. Primary care physicians may wish to engage in an in‐depth evaluation of psychiatric problems, especially current suicidal ideation, among patients with specific ongoing physical illnesses.
Urban/rural differences in health insurance coverage among people with multiple sclerosis

Purpose. To present urban/rural analyses of health insurance coverage among people with multiple sclerosis (MS). This research also combined all survey respondents from each urban/rural area into one group of people with MS in health maintenance organizations (HMOs)/managed care and another group of people with MS who have other health insurance plans to compare any differences in coverage. Methods. We interviewed 1,518 people with MS living in all 50 states. Survey results were analyzed using SPSS. Results. Most people with MS in each urban/rural area had health insurance coverage (92 – 95%), with significant urban/rural differences observed in HMO/managed care enrollments. We found no urban/rural differences among people with MS in HMOs/managed care, or among people with MS with other health insurance plans, in satisfaction with coverage of routine care and MS-focused care, or with perceptions of how coverage enables utilization of health services. However, we found that people with MS in HMOs/managed care were more satisfied than people with MS with other health insurance with their coverage of routine care and perceived that their coverage enabled greater utilization of routine care and needed medications. Conclusions. We found no significant differences in satisfaction with MS-focused care or with perceptions of how well coverage enables utilization of MS-focused care or needed assistive devices between people with MS in HMOs/managed care and people with MS who have other health insurance.
Sildenafil and an early stage of chronic hypoxia‐induced pulmonary hypertension in newborn piglets

Devising therapies that might prevent the onset or progression of pulmonary hypertension in newborns has received little attention. Our major objective was to determine whether sildenafil, a selective phosphodiesterase inhibitor, prevents the development of an early stage of chronic hypoxia‐induced pulmonary hypertension in newborn pigs. Another objective was to determine whether sildenafil causes pulmonary vasodilation without systemic vasodilation in piglets with chronic pulmonary hypertension. Piglets were raised in room air (control, n = 5) or 10–11% O2 (hypoxic, n = 17) for 3 days. Some piglets (n = 4) received oral sildenafil, 12 mg/kg/day, throughout exposure to hypoxia. All piglets were anesthetized and catheterized, and pulmonary arterial pressure (Ppa), pulmonary wedge pressure (Pw), aortic pressure (Ao), and cardiac output (CO) were measured. Then for some piglets raised in hypoxia for 3 days, a single oral sildenafil dose (3 mg/kg, n = 6) or placebo (n = 5) was given, and hemodynamic measurements were repeated. For piglets raised in hypoxia for 3 days, mean Ppa and calculated PVR were elevated above respective values in control piglets. Mean Ppa and PVR did not differ between piglets that received sildenafil throughout exposure to hypoxia and those that did not. For piglets with chronic hypoxia‐induced pulmonary hypertension that received a single oral dose of sildenafil, mean Ppa and PVR decreased, while mean Pw, CO, mean Ao, and systemic vascular resistance remained the same. All hemodynamic measurements were unchanged after placebo. Oral sildenafil did not influence the early stage of chronic hypoxia‐induced pulmonary hypertension in newborn piglets. However, a single oral dose of sildenafil caused pulmonary vasodilation, without systemic vasodilation, in piglets with chronic hypoxia‐induced pulmonary hypertension, which may have therapeutic implications. © 2005 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Identification of the rel family members required for virus induction of the human beta interferon gene

We have carried out experiments to determine which members of the rel family of transcription factors are involved in virus induction of the beta interferon (IFN-beta) gene. First, we examined the inducibility of artificial DNA binding sites that preferentially interact with different homo- or heterodimeric combinations of rel proteins in vitro. We found that only those sites capable of binding the p50/p65 heterodimer are virus inducible. Second, we analyzed a series of mutant rel DNA-binding sites in the context of the intact IFN-beta promoter. We found a correlation between (i) sites capable of binding both the p50/p65 heterodimer and the high-mobility-group protein HMG I(Y) and (ii) virus inducibility. Third, cotransfection of the IFN-beta gene enhancer/promoter with plasmids capable of expressing several different rel proteins revealed that only the combination of p50 and p65 efficiently activated transcription. Finally, we have used antibodies directed against different rel proteins to show that virus-inducible protein-DNA complexes assembled on the IFN-beta enhancer in vitro contain both p50 and p65. We conclude that the p50/p65 heterodimer is responsible for the NF-kappa B-dependent activation of the IFN-beta gene promoter in response to virus infection.
Master of Education Students' Reflections: Which Curriculum Reasons Are Promoted or Limited by Skype Resources?

This article presents an interpretive case study of a group of 10 Master of Education students overseen by one supervisor. The objective of the study was to explore and understand students’ reflections on the curriculum or research reasons that are promoted or limited by Skype resources. A curriculum reason is a concept entailing a cognitive process that helps us to manage our actions in order to address our personal, societal, and professional needs. Purposive sampling was used to select the 10 participants for the study, and electronic reflective activities and one-on-one semi-structured Skype interviews were used for data generation. Inductive and deductive methods were followed, therefore guided analysis was used to generate themes for the study. With reference to the objective of the study, the finding was that the students’ reflections were driven by three curriculum reasons (professional, societal, and personal), and it was concluded that this was the case because the students understood the concepts of these curriculum/research reasons, for instance, research goals, content, resources, assessment, time, environment, activities, community, and supervisor roles. The recommendation is made that students be trained to know and understand the three curriculum/research reasons to enable them to use Skype for the intended reason/s so as to address their personal, societal and professional needs.
Causal Models of Reading Disability: A Twin Study

Abstract The genetic and environmental relationships among measures of phoneme awareness, naming speed, Intelligence Quotient (IQ), and reading performance were investigated in 623 identical and fraternal twin pairs tested in the Colorado Learning Disabilities Research Center. A Cholesky decomposition analysis of these measures provided evidence supporting the double deficit hypothesis that difficulties in phonological processing and naming speed both contribute to reading disability. Additionally, the model revealed marginally significant genetic and significant non-shared environmental relationships between IQ and reading independent of naming speed and phoneme awareness. Thus a more complete causal model of reading disability should include IQ as well as measures of phonological processing and naming speed.
Mothers' voice: a qualitative study on feeding children with cerebral palsy.

BACKGROUND Around one third of children with cerebral palsy have severe difficulty eating and drinking and are at risk of undernourishment. A gastrostomy feeding tube may be offered as a way of providing nourishment as it bypasses the main physical difficulties. For the families feeding and concerns about the method of feeding affect many areas of their daily life but we know little about what the experience is actually like. This study aimed to explore mothers' experience of feeding children with cerebral palsy. METHODS Ten principal carers for children with cerebral palsy and severe eating difficulty were interviewed. Four of the children, one girl and three boys aged 2.5 to 4.5 years were being fed solely by mouth and six children, three girls and three boys, aged 4.5 years to 15 years and 10 months, were fed via a gastrostomy feeding tube. Long, loosely structured tape recorded interviews were transcribed and manually analysed using a phenomenological approach. This involved extracting and coding each relevant phrase that contained meaning; then through sequential stages of ordering and reduction into themes the invariant meanings were uncovered. The transcripts were analysed in two groups, oral and gastrostomy feeding, in an identical manner. RESULTS Phenomenological analysis resulted in two prose accounts that described in depth the essence of the experience. The accounts were mutually informative. Both groups treasured feeding by mouth suggesting that support for oral feeding should be given a higher priority. The accounts explained why some professional encounters added to families' stress and why consistency of care is so important. The study gives insight about the kinds of support families find helpful. CONCLUSIONS This study should help those involved to understand the families' predicament better and so make a contribution towards providing more appropriate support.
Stock Market Charts You Never Saw

Investors have seen countless charts of US stock market performance which start in 1926 and end near the present. But US trading long predates 1926, and the foreshortened perspective that results from a focus on post-1926 data can be misleading. To compound the problem, visual and arithmetic frailties, as catalogued in behavioral finance, make it difficult for investors to draw appropriate inferences from long-term records of performance. As a partial corrective, this paper displays a novel set of charts, with some rooted in the 19th rather than the 20th century, and others ending well before the present. The goal is to challenge shibboleths about the expected outcomes of buy-and-hold stock market investing, and to raise questions about the expected performance of stocks versus bonds over long periods.
Role of inhibitory mechanisms in trigeminal neuralgia

Segmental inhibition was elicited in the spinal trigeminal nucleus of cats by delivering a conditioning stimulus to the maxillary nerve 100 msec before the test stimulus. Carbamazepine, baclofen, and phenytoin markedly facilitated this segmental inhibition, as well as depressing the response to an unconditioned maxillary nerve stimulus. Phenobarbital, on the other hand, usually depressed the segmental inhibition. These results suggest that drugs that relieve trigeminal neuralgia both facilitate inhibitory mechanisms and depress excitatory mechanisms in the spinal trigeminal nucleus. The facilitation of inhibitory mechanisms appears to be at least as important as the depression of excitatory mechanisms and suggests that a failure of inhibitory mechanisms may play a significant role in the pathogenesis of trigeminal neuralgia.
Chronic fatigue in the community: ‘A question of attribution’

Synopsis Thirty-eight subjects identified in a large community survey were found to attribute their fatigue to ‘myalgic encephalomyelitis’ (ME). They were matched randomly to two other groups of subjects who attributed their fatigue to either psychological or social factors. All three groups were followed up 18 months later and were asked to complete a series of questionnaires that examined fatigue, psychological distress, number of symptoms, attributional style and levels of disability. At onset the ‘ME’ group were found to be more fatigued, had been tired for longer but were less psychologically distressed than the other two groups. At follow-up the ‘ME’ group were more handicapped in relation to home, work, social and private leisure activities, even when controlling for both duration of fatigue and fatigue at time 1, but were less psychologically distressed. The relationships between psychological distress, specific illness attributions, attributional style and their effect on the experience of illness and its prognosis are discussed. Attributing fatigue to social reasons appears to be most protective.
Social and personal normative influences on healthcare professionals to use information technology: towards a more robust social ergonomics

Social structures and processes are increasingly acknowledged and studied within the human factors/ergonomics (HFE) discipline. At the same time, social phenomena are rarely the focus of HFE work, leaving a knowledge gap. This study directly addresses social and personal normative forces that influence technology use and performance. Social and personal normative influence to use electronic health records were investigated using semi-structured qualitative interviews with 20 attending physicians at two US hospitals. Analyses used a comprehensive framework based on leading social scientific theories and revealed numerous sources of influence, including hospital administration, colleagues, patients, clinical and professional groups, government and one's self. Influence was achieved through different means and invoked different psychological processes. Findings motivate a new view of professionals’ technology use as a highly social process occurring in a social context, with implications for research, policy, design and, in general, the development of a robust social ergonomics.
The quality of depression in adolescents with borderline personality disorder.

OBJECTIVE The quality of depression in borderline adolescent girls was compared with the quality of depression in depressed, nonborderline girls. Psychoanalytic theories led us to expect signs of anaclitic depression in borderlines as well as a depressive sense of being "all bad. " METHOD Quality of depression was examined by means of Rorschach content analysis and the Depressive Experiences Questionnaire (DEQ). Borderline girls were expected to show greater Rorschach imagery pertaining to oral dependency and oral aggression than would depressed, nonborderline control girls. The borderline diagnosis was based on the Diagnostic Interview for Borderlines. DSM-III-R criteria were used to diagnose depression. Subjects were psychiatric inpatients, ages 14 to 18 years. RESULTS As expected, it was found that borderline girls scored significantly higher than did controls on Rorschach scales of oral dependency; borderlines scored significantly higher on DEQ factors of dependency and self-criticism. Significant DEQ items reflected the borderlines' abandonment fears. CONCLUSIONS This study provides empirical support for anaclitic depression in borderline adolescents, and suggests the presence of underlying fears in borderlines of being fundamentally evil or bad.
KYP lemma for internally positive systems and a tractable class of distributed H-infinity control problems

We consider the KYP lemma for internally positive LTI systems and show that the H∞ norm of such systems can be evaluated by checking the existence of a certain diagonal quadratic storage function. Once the existence of such a diagonal quadratic storage function is ensured, the problem of finding the optimal H∞ controller among the class of structured static state feedback controllers attaining internal positivity of the closed loop system becomes convex and tractable.
Dietary patterns in pregnancy and associations with nutrient intakes

Despite the recent popularity in the use of dietary patterns to investigate diet–disease associations, the associations between dietary patterns and nutrient intakes have not been fully explored. This paper determines the linear and non-linear associations between estimated nutrient intake (considered as both absolute and relative intake) and distinct dietary patterns, obtained during the third trimester of pregnancy using principal components analysis (PCA). It also examines the proportion of variability explained by the patterns in food and nutrient intakes. Pregnant women were asked to record the frequency of consumption of a variety of food items as part of regular self-completion questionnaires, the primary source of data collection in the Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children, 12 035 cases were available. Individual dietary components were identified using PCA and scores on these components were related to estimated nutrient intakes. Five individual dietary patterns were established to best describe the types of diet being consumed in pregnancy. Scores on the ‘processed’ and ‘confectionery’ patterns were negatively related to the estimated intake of most nutrients with the exception of energy, fats and sugars, which increased with higher scores. Scores on the ‘health-conscious’ and ‘traditional’ components showed positive linear relationships with all nutrients. The results presented here suggest that dietary patterns adequately characterize dietary intake. There is, therefore, potential for dietary patterns to be used as a valid tool in assessing the relationship between diet and health outcomes, and dietary pattern scores could be used as covariates in specific nutrient–disease studies.
Serotonin and Female Psychopathology

There are sex differences in the prevalence and presentation of many psychiatric disorders. Various trends in symptomatology have emerged that are thought to be linked to periods of hormonal fluctuations such as with menses, pregnancy or menopause. With data from animal and human studies, it has become clear that there is an important interplay between the serotonergic system and gonadal hormones. The majority of the research to date has focused on the influence that estrogen has within the CNS and, in particular, how it leads to an overall increase in serotonin synthesis and availability. In reviewing this female-specific topic we hope to raise awareness to sex/gender differences in psychopathology, help identify at-risk populations and consider development of new treatment options. Future research will also need to consider the influence that progesterone and oxytocin may have on sex-specific psychopathology as well as incorporate neuroimaging and consider the influence of hormones on the serotonergic system at a genetic level.