Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Expression of Functional Chemokine Receptors of Human Placental Cells

PROBLEM: Chemokine receptors of placental trophoblasts possibly act as co‐receptors or alternative receptors of maternal–fetal infection by HIV. To clarify their possible expression and the physiological roles of chemokines on human placentae, we studied chemokine/chemokine receptor expression and the effects of exogenous chemokines on choriocarcinoma cell lines. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Placental samples were obtained from 13 placentae of various gestational ages. Villous tissue was mechanically dissected from samples. Trophoblasts were enriched by anti‐human chorionic gonadotropin (hCG)‐coated magnetic beads. Human choriocarcinoma cell lines (JAR, BeWo, JEG‐3) were maintained in RPMI 1640 media supplemented with 10% FCS. Expression of chemokine receptors was studied by RT‐PCR. The effects of MIP‐1α, RANTES, MCP‐1 on hCG production were estimated by EIA. Effects of chemokines on proliferation of choriocarcinoma cell lines were examined by MTT assay. RESULTS: We observed mRNA expression of CCR‐1, 2, 3, 4, 5 and CXCR‐1, 2, 4 in 1st trimester placental villi, CCR‐1, 2, 4 and CXCR‐1, 2, 4 in 2nd trimester placental villi, CCR‐1, 2, 4 and CXCR‐4 in 3rd trimester placental villi. Using MACS enriched trophoblasts, we observed identical results. A choriocarcinoma cell line BeWo expressed CCR‐1, 3, 4 and CXCR‐1, 2, 4 while JEG‐3 and JAR expressed CCR‐1, 3, 4, 5 and CXCR‐1, 2, 4. Expression of the CCR‐5 and CXCR‐4 protein in choriocarcinoma cell lines and MACS‐enriched trophoblats were confirmed by flow cytometry. Chemokine MCP‐3, MIP‐1α, RANTES mRNA were expressed by the 1st, 2nd and 3rd trimester placental samples and the three choriocarcinoma cell lines examined. MCP‐1 was expressed by 1st and 2nd trimester placental villi. Administration of chemokines up‐regulated proliferation (10−1–10 ng/mL) and hCG production (10−1–10−2ng/mL) of the three choriocarcinoma cell lines examined. CONCLUSIONS: Our results suggest possible roles of chemokines/chemokine receptors on placental physiology and their involvement in HIV transmission as alternative receptors.
PTPσ functions as a presynaptic receptor for the glypican-4/LRRTM4 complex and is essential for excitatory synaptic transmission

Significance This paper documents and systematically characterizes the molecular interactions of protein tyrosine phosphatase σ (PTPσ) with glypicans (GPCs). The identified interactions require heparan sulfate (HS), suggesting that GPCs are a major source of HS for PTPσ at excitatory synapses. Strikingly, we found that leucine-rich repeat transmembrane protein 4 (LRRTM4) induces presynaptic differentiation via the PTPσ/GPC interaction, suggesting that PTPσ may function as a coreceptor for GPCs in presynaptic neurons. More importantly, we found that HS-binding ability of PTPσ is critical for excitatory synaptic transmission. These results expand our previous understanding of how synaptic adhesion pathways regulate excitatory synapse development and shed light on GPCs/LRRTM4 trans-synaptic signaling. Moreover, to our knowledge, this is the first study to document the physiological significance of HS in the presynaptic function of mammalian neurons. Leukocyte common antigen-related receptor protein tyrosine phosphatases—comprising LAR, PTPδ, and PTPσ—are synaptic adhesion molecules that organize synapse development. Here, we identify glypican 4 (GPC-4) as a ligand for PTPσ. GPC-4 showed strong (nanomolar) affinity and heparan sulfate (HS)-dependent interaction with the Ig domains of PTPσ. PTPσ bound only to proteolytically cleaved GPC-4 and formed additional complex with leucine-rich repeat transmembrane protein 4 (LRRTM4) in rat brains. Moreover, single knockdown (KD) of PTPσ, but not LAR, in cultured neurons significantly reduced the synaptogenic activity of LRRTM4, a postsynaptic ligand of GPC-4, in heterologous synapse-formation assays. Finally, PTPσ KD dramatically decreased both the frequency and amplitude of excitatory synaptic transmission. This effect was reversed by wild-type PTPσ, but not by a HS-binding–defective PTPσ mutant. Our results collectively suggest that presynaptic PTPσ, together with GPC-4, acts in a HS-dependent manner to maintain excitatory synapse development and function.
Serum Sialic Acid Concentration and Coronary Heart Disease in NIDDM

OBJECTIVE To examine the association between serum sialic acid concentrations and coronary heart disease (CHD) in a cross-sectional study of non-insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus (NIDDM). RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS NIDDM patients (n = 145) attending a diabetic clinic were studied. CHD status was assessed by questionnaire and electrocardiogram coding, and potential risk factor assessment included measurement of fasting serum lipid and lipoprotein concentrations, blood pressure, and urinary albumin excretion rate (AER). RESULTS Male NIDDM patients with CHD had a higher serum sialic acid level than those without CHD: 2.56 (2.24, 2.72) mmol/l vs. 2.24 (2.18, 2.30) mmol/l, P = 0.01, mean (95% confidence interval). They were also older, had a longer duration of diabetes, had a higher AER, had higher total triglyceride, very-low-density lipoprotein triglyceride and cholesterol, and lipoprotein(a) concentrations, and had a lower apolipoprotein A1 concentration. In an age adjusted multiple lipoprotein(a), hypercholesterolemia, and hypertension were associated with CHD. In women, only hypertension treatment was associated with CHD. CONCLUSIONS There is a strong univariate association between elevated serum sialic acid and CHD in men (but not women) with NIDDM.
Rare disease centers for periodic paralysis: China versus the United States and United Kingdom

Introduction: We have developed a rare disease center in China. Methods: In this study we analyzed how patients with periodic paralysis accessed centers in China vs. in the USA and UK. Results: A total of 116 patients with periodic paralysis were evaluated in Beijing and Hangzhou (2003–2012). These patients traveled long distances for outpatient specialist care without an appointment or physician referral. In contrast, at the University of Rochester in the USA, >90% of patients were referred from physicians throughout the country by identifying physician expertise or by referrals from a patient advocacy group. In the UK, a single center, supported by the National Health Service, provides assessment/genetic testing for all UK patients. Conclusions: Rare disease centers in China require: (1) establishing a center for clinical characterization of the disease (e.g., periodic paralysis); (2) establishing a genetic diagnostic platform; (3) placing the center at a major city hospital; and (4) facilitating patient access through internet websites. Muscle Nerve 49: 171–174, 2014
Are There Permanent Valuation Gains from Becoming Investable?

In this paper, I examine whether the “investable premium” documented by Mitton and O’Connor (2010) is permanent. In a series of firm-fixed effects regressions, I show that the “investability premium” disappears after five years of becoming investable, but subsequently reappears, and appears permanent. At the very least, the “investable premium” tends to last at least as long as some other “internationalization premia” documented in the literature, and remains even after 12 years of becoming investable. The premium persists, even after controlling for observable and unobservable firm-level characteristics, industry growth, and indirect investability.
Ximelagatran: A new type of oral anticoagulant

Objectives: This assessment sought to evaluate the comparative benefit and adverse effect profile of ximelagatran, as well as the clinical issues surrounding its potential use. Methods: We performed a Dialog OneSearch across BIOSIS Previews, EMBASE, MEDLINE, PASCAL, and ToxFile to identify published literature. PubMed and The Cochrane Library were also searched. Gray literature was identified by searching a variety of Web sites of health technology assessment and related agencies and their associated databases. The manufacturer's Canadian office, AstraZeneca, was invited to submit information. Results: Ximelagatran is the first oral agent from a new class of anticoagulants called direct thrombin inhibitors. Other oral anticoagulants require routine blood monitoring; ximelagatran does not. Ximelagatran has been evaluated in the areas of venous thromboembolism management, particularly after orthopedic surgery, and stroke prevention in patients with atrial fibrillation. Overall, ximelagatran's efficacy appears comparable to other anticoagulants in these clinical settings. Also, bleeding rates were generally similar between ximelagatran and comparators but, as for warfarin, bleeding risk increases with higher ximelagatran doses. In addition, there is no specific antidote to help manage ximelagatran-induced bleeding. Finally, significantly more patients exposed to long-term ximelagatran developed elevated liver enzymes more than three times the upper normal limit, compared with patients on comparator anticoagulants. Conclusions: Given its apparent simplicity of use, ximelagatran carries the potential to replace, at least in part, anticoagulants currently used in the management of venous thromboembolism or for preventing stroke in atrial fibrillation patients. However, the safety of ximelagatran will not be fully known without further evaluation and surveillance for potential liver toxicity. There is also a need to evaluate its use in special populations such as patients with renal failure and patients using several concurrent medications.
Baumol's Productive and Unproductive Entrepreneurship after 25 Years

Purpose - – The purpose of this paper is to consider the impact of Baumol’s work on entrepreneurship has had on framing the economic development puzzle. Design/methodology/approach - – In many ways, the intuition behind the paper is straightforward. Entrepreneurs allocate their time and attention based on the relative payoffs they face in any given social setting. If the institutional environment rewards productive entrepreneurship, then the time and attention of entrepreneurial actors in the economy will be directed toward realizing the gains from trade and the gains from innovation. If, on the other hand, there are greater returns from the allocation of that time and attention toward rent-seeking and even criminal activity, alert individuals will respond to those incentives accordingly. The simplicity of the point being made is part of the brilliance in Baumol’s article. As with other classics in economics, once stated the proposition seems to be so basic it is amazing that others did not put it that way beforehand. Findings - – It has been 25 years since Baumol published his paper in the Originality/value - – In this paper, the authors will focus on the contribution made by Baumol’s 1990 paper on the field of comparative political economy, and in particular on the literature on transitional political economy. Section 2 places Baumol’s argument in the context of the failure of neoclassical growth theory. Section 3, the authors argue that although the Baumol framing was an improvement over the old comparative economic systems literature, contemporary transitional political economists have failed to fully realize the implications of the institutional revolution. They have therefore been unable to understand the causes of the heterogeneity of outcomes among those countries that transitioned from communism to the market economy in the 1990s. In Section 4, the authors argue that the political economy of transition will gain from a more sophisticated view of the economic process of the market economy, an appreciation of the entrepreneurial function, and a deeper understanding of the role of formal and informal institutions and their effect on entrepreneurship. The authors will illustrate the point with some examples from the recent history of the Russian political and economic transition. Credible commitment problems and the deficiencies of the institutional reforms of the early 1990s were responsible for the failure of reallocating the entrepreneurial talent that existed in the Soviet economy to productive economic activities. The framework can therefore be used to solve the puzzle of why the announced liberalization of Russian markets and privatization of previously state-owned resources led to economic stagnation, the growth of black markets, and the rise of organized crime, instead of economic development through the operations of smoothly operating markets. Section 5 briefly concludes.
Advances in the non-surgical treatment of melanoma

Immune responses appear to play a role in the natural history of melanoma and immunotherapy has therefore been the subject of a number of studies. The results of several large randomised studies using allogeneic melanoma vaccines have shown minimal benefit and Phase I/II studies with gene transfected melanoma cells do not appear particularly encouraging. The majority of current interest now centres on development of vaccines using defined melanoma antigens recognised by T-cells and given as dendritic vaccines or injected directly as melanoma peptides or DNA. It can be expected that the most effective antigens and method of administration will become apparent over the next few years. It is clear, however, that melanoma shows low response rates to immunotherapy, as for chemotherapy. Both forms of therapy appear to kill melanoma by induction of apoptosis, so it is possible that resistance to apoptosis may underlie the low responses to these forms of therapy. Much is already known about agents that may sensitise melanoma to apoptosis and combining these with chemotherapy and/or immunotherapy provides a promising new approach in treatment of melanoma.
The dissociation of explicit and implicit memory in depressed patients

Synopsis Twenty-three in-patients fulfilling DSM-III-R criteria for major depressive disorder were submitted to a standard cued recall test, and to a word-stem completion test devised to assess the effect of the initial presentation without the explicit retrieval of the words being necessary. Results show that depressed patients are impaired on the cued recall task in comparison with controls matched for sex, age, and educational level. However, the two groups do not differ in the word-stem completion task. This dissociation between explicit and implicit expressions of memory disappeared when patients recovered, although they were still hospitalized and under psychotropic medication. These results are examined in the light of the distinction between effortful and automatic processes.
A High-Density Single Nucleotide Polymorphism Map for Neurospora crassa

We report the discovery and validation of a set of single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) between the reference Neurospora crassa strain Oak Ridge and the Mauriceville strain (FGSC 2555), of sufficient density to allow fine mapping of most loci. Sequencing of Mauriceville cDNAs and alignment to the completed genomic sequence of the Oak Ridge strain identified 19,087 putative SNPs. Of these, a subset was validated by cleaved amplified polymorphic sequence (CAPS), a simple and robust PCR-based assay that reliably distinguishes between SNP alleles. Experimental confirmation resulted in the development of 250 CAPS markers distributed evenly over the genome. To demonstrate the applicability of this map, we used bulked segregant analysis followed by interval mapping to locate the csp-1 mutation to a narrow region on LGI. Subsequently, we refined mapping resolution to 74 kbp by developing additional markers, resequenced the candidate gene, NCU02713.3, in the mutant background, and phenocopied the mutation by gene replacement in the WT strain. Together, these techniques demonstrate a generally applicable and straightforward approach for the isolation of novel genes from existing mutants. Data on both putative and validated SNPs are deposited in a customized public database at the Broad Institute, which encourages augmentation by community users.
Attitudes of rural general practitioners towards undergraduate medical student attachments.

OBJECTIVE Increasing exposure of undergraduate medical students to rural practice is a key component of the national effort in Australia to redress the rural workforce shortage. For this exposure to be successful, willing cooperation of current rural general practitioners is essential. To date there has been no formal assessment of rural general practitioners' attitudes to having undergraduate medical students attached to their practice. METHOD A descriptive survey, using a mailed questionnaire was sent to all 316 general practitioners currently practising in rural areas of South Australia, as identified from the database maintained by the South Australian Rural Practice Training Unit. RESULTS A 71.5% response rate (n = 225) was achieved, of which 203 were eligible for inclusion. Of these, 176 doctors had medical student attachments in their practice on at least one occasion; 74.4% of whom (n = 131) perceived the attachments to have a positive experience on their continuing medical education experience, and 81.1% (n = 142) described a positive experience on their professional development. However, 52.6% (n = 92) felt the attachments had a negative effect on their income. Almost all the doctors who were included in the survey (94.6%, n = 192) were willing to have students attached to their practice in the future for between one to two weeks. Of these, 169 wanted quality assurance points, 112 wanted financial reimbursement, and 108 wanted 'academic status' with a university. CONCLUSION The results suggest that rural general practitioners are willing to have students attached to their practice for periods between one to two weeks, providing they receive quality assurance points, and to a lesser extent, financial reimbursement and academic status.
Tourism: a viable option for pro poor growth in Gamo Gofa Zone? Southern Ethiopia.

The research ‘Tourism: A Viable Option for Pro Poor Growth in Gamo Gofa Zone? Southern Ethiopia’ attempted to uncover how far tourism development is emerged to be a viable option for pro poor growth. The study is confined to Arba Minch town, Nech Sar National Park, Crocodile Ranch and Dorze Cultural Village. Qualitative and quantitative research strategies; household survey design, multi stage, purposive and simple random sampling techniques and common poverty measurements instruments were used. The findings revealed that tourism has generated cash incomes for the local poor in the form of wages, collective income, dividends, outsourcing of services and informal sector earnings and established on areas where the poor are active, could become active, and can be made active and uses the means of production the local poor uses. Nevertheless, it hardly improved the physical and human capitals of the local poor. Moreover, its contribution in the reduction of poverty and inequality among the local population is not sound enough. The benefits acquired from tourism are disproportionately captured by few individuals and its viability in fostering pro poor growth is seemed to be rather weak. Key words: Pro poor growth, pro poor tourism, livelihood, pro poor income.
Enhanced Fecal Excretion of Selected Immune Factors in Very Low Birth Weight Infants Fed Fortified Human Milk

ABSTRACT. The amounts of lactoferrin, lysozyme, total IgA, secretory IgA (SIgA), and specific SIgA antibodies to a pool of Escherichia coli O antigens were measured in 96- h collections of feces obtained from 28 very low birth weight infants, 28-30 wk of gestation, studied at 2.5 and 6 wk of age. Eighteen of these infants were fed their mothers' milk fortified with fractions of skim and cream derived from pasteurized, lyophilized, mature human milk (FM) and 10 infants were fed commercial cow's milk-based formula. The concentrations of these selected immune factors in the FM and formula also were measured. Specific SIgA antibodies to E. coli O antigens were detected in the feces of 90% of the FM-fed infants, but in none of the feces of the formula-fed infants. The feces obtained from FM-fed infants had markedly greater quantities of lactoferrin (j><0.001), lysozyme (p=0.006), and IgA (p<0.001) than those of cow's milk formula-fed infants. The concentrations of total and secretory IgA were correlated significantly (r=0.88, p<0.001) and 95% of total IgA was SIgA. The fecal concentration of specific SIgA antibodies to E. coli O antigens in FM-fed infants correlated with the concentration of these antibodies in their milk (p<0.001). However, there were no direct relationships between the milk concentrations or the infants' intakes of the other selected immune factors and the excretion of these factors in the feces. Significant relationships were noted among the immune factors in the feces, but not among the concentrations of these factors in the fortified human milk. The increased quantity of selected immune factors in the feces of very low birth weight infants fed FM may have resulted not only from passive ingestion and persistence of these factors throughout the gastrointestinal tract but also from endogenous synthesis induced by the feeding of human milk.
Silent new ischemic lesions after index stroke and the risk of future clinical recurrent stroke

Objective: To test whether a silent new ischemic lesion (SNIL) on MRI after stroke predicted future recurrent ischemic stroke or vascular events. Methods: In this prospective study, we analyzed data from patients presenting with acute ischemic stroke who underwent MRI <24 hours and 5 and 30 days after symptom onset. The presence of a SNIL at 5 (5D-SNIL) and 30 (30D-SNIL) days was determined on diffusion-weighted and fluid-attenuated inversion recovery images. Patients were contacted every 3–6 months to identify recurrent clinical events. The log-rank test and Cox proportional hazard model were used to estimate the hazard ratio of recurrent ischemic stroke and composites of recurrent ischemic stroke, transient ischemic attack, acute coronary syndrome, and vascular death. Results: The 5D- and 30D-SNILs were found in 24.4% (66/270) and 7.4% (19/256) of patients. During the 5-year follow-up, clinical events were observed in 42 patients (15.6%). The 5D- and 30D-SNIL independently predicted recurrent ischemic stroke (hazard ratio [95% confidence interval] 2.9 [1.3–6.4] and 9.6 [4.1–22.1], respectively) and composite vascular events (2.4 [1.3–4.5] and 6.1 [3.1–12.4], respectively). Conclusions: Patients with a SNIL within the first few weeks after index stroke have an increased risk of recurrent ischemic stroke or vascular events. The presence of a SNIL on MRI could serve as a surrogate endpoint for clinical recurrence in secondary prevention clinical trials.