Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
In Vitro Proteolytic Processing of the MD145 Norovirus ORF1 Nonstructural Polyprotein Yields Stable Precursors and Products Similar to Those Detected in Calicivirus-Infected Cells

ABSTRACT The MD145-12 strain (GII/4) is a member of the genus Norovirus in the Caliciviridae and was detected in a patient with acute gastroenteritis in a Maryland nursing home. The open reading frame 1 (ORF1) (encoding the nonstructural polyprotein) was cloned as a consensus sequence into various expression vectors, and a proteolytic cleavage map was determined. The virus-encoded cysteine proteinase mediated at least five cleavages (Q330/G331, Q696/G697, E875/G876, E1008/A1009, and E1189/G1190) in the ORF1 polyprotein in the following order: N-terminal protein; nucleoside triphosphatase; 20-kDa protein (p20); virus protein, genome linked (VPg); proteinase (Pro); polymerase (Pol). A time course analysis of proteolytic processing of the MD145-12 ORF1 polyprotein in an in vitro coupled transcription and translation assay allowed the identification of stable precursors and final mapped cleavage products. Stable precursors included p20VPg (analogous to the 3AB of the picornaviruses) and ProPol (analogous to the 3CD of the picornaviruses). Less stable processing intermediates were identified as p20VPgProPol, p20VPgPro, and VPgPro. The MD145-12 Pro and ProPol proteins were expressed in bacteria as active forms of the proteinase and used to further characterize their substrate specificities in trans cleavage assays. The MD145-12 Pro was able to cleave its five mapped cleavage sites in trans and, in addition, could mediate trans cleavage of the Norwalk virus (GI/I) ORF1 polyprotein into a similar proteolytic processing profile. Taken together, our data establish a model for proteolytic processing in the noroviruses that is consistent with nonstructural precursors and products identified in studies of caliciviruses that replicate in cell culture systems.
Deep Vein Thrombosis of Inferior Limbs: Are Thrombolytic Agents Superior to Heparin?

The treatment of deep vein thrombosis of the lower limbs with thrombolytic agents has been pro posed and utilized for approximately 20 years. Al though superior results have been claimed with thrombolytic agents, the use of this type of treat ment is still limited. In order to compare the results obtained with thrombolytic drugs and heparin, three questions must be raised and answered:
Subclinical Brain Hemorrhages in Alzheimer's Disease: Evaluation by Magnetic Resonance T2*‐Weighted Images

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The effect of an adenosine and lidocaine intravenous infusion on myocardial high-energy phosphates and pH during regional ischemia in the rat model in vivo.

We have previously shown that an intravenous infusion of adenosine and lidocaine (AL) solution protects against death and severe arrhythmias and reduces infarct size in the in vivo rat model of regional ischemia. The aim of this study was to examine the relative changes of myocardial high-energy phosphates (ATP and PCr) and pH in the left ventricle during ischemia-reperfusion using 31P NMR in AL-treated rats (n = 7) and controls (n = 6). The AL solution (A: 305 microg.(kg body mass)-1.min-1; L: 608 microg. (kg body mass)-1.min-1) was administered intravenously 5 min before and during 30 min coronary artery ligation. Two controls died from ventricular fibrillation; no deaths were recorded in AL-treated rats. In controls that survived, ATP fell to 73% +/- 29% of baseline by 30 min ischemia and decreased further to 68% +/- 28% during reperfusion followed by a sharp recovery at the end of the reperfusion period. AL-treated rats maintained relatively constant ATP throughout ischemia and reperfusion ranging from 95% +/- 6% to 121% +/- 10% of baseline. Owing to increased variability in controls, these results were not found to be significant. In contrast, control [PCr] was significantly reduced in controls compared with AL-treated rats during ischemia at 10 min (68% +/- 7% vs. 99% +/- 6%), at 15 min (68% +/- 10% vs. 93% +/- 2%), and at 20 min (67% +/- 15% vs. 103% +/- 5%) and during reperfusion at 10 min (56% +/- 22% vs. 99% +/- 7%), at 15 min (60% +/- 10% vs. 98% +/- 7%), and at 35 min (63% +/- 14% vs. 120% +/- 11%) (p < 0.05). Interestingly, changes in intramyocardial pH between each group were not significantly different during ischemia and fell by about 1 pH unit to 6.6. During reperfusion, pH in AL-treated rats recovered to baseline in 5 min but not in controls, which recovered to only around pH 7.1. There was no significant difference in the heart rate, mean arterial pressure, and rate-pressure product between the controls and AL treatment during ischemia and reperfusion. We conclude that AL cardioprotection appears to be associated with the preservation of myocardial high-energy phosphates, downregulation of the heart at the expense of a high acid-load during ischemia, and with a rapid recovery of myocardial pH during reperfusion.
Joint effusion in children with an irritable hip: US diagnosis and aspiration.

Ninety-six children with an irritable hip possibly representing septic arthritis underwent clinical and laboratory evaluation, radiography, and ultrasonography (US). Forty had normal US scans; none were later shown to have septic arthritis, although three had osteomyelitis. Fifty-six children had effusion at US. Thirty-one of these underwent US-guided aspiration, two unsuccessfully. On the basis of results of aspirate analysis, 15 of these 31 patients underwent surgical drainage, and septic arthritis was diagnosed in all 15. The mean peripheral white blood cell (WBC) count was not significantly higher in patients with septic arthritis (n = 21) than in patients with toxic synovitis (n = 24) (P = .44). However, the erythrocyte sedimentation rate and synovial fluid WBC count were significantly greater in those with septic arthritis than in those with toxic synovitis (P = .002 and P < .0001, respectively). Clinical evaluation, radiographs, and sonograms together determined the need for US-guided aspiration. US-guided aspiration allowed selection of only those with septic arthritis for operative drainage and shortened that procedure. Negative sonograms allow exclusion of septic arthritis but not osteomyelitis.
Does Corruption really affect the Growth of Entrepreneurship in Zimbabwe?

Like in most developing countries, the level of entrepreneurship growth as measured by the number of new firm start-ups has become a central economic issue in Zimbabwe. Necessity and opportunity-driven entrepreneurial activities in the country are being driven by weakening economic growth, poverty, idiosyncratic macro-uncertainties and high levels of unemployment. The country has consistently been listed by the Transparent International Perception of Corruption Index as one of the most corrupt countries in Sub-Saharan Africa outside a war zone. The study examined the nexus between entrepreneurial activities and corruption in Zimbabwe using Ordinary Least Regression equation for the period 1998 to 2016. Our findings suggest that productive entrepreneurial activities in Zimbabwe are significantly being curtailed by regressive tax regimes coupled with enfeebled public institutions. We also demonstrate a positive one way causality running from entrepreneurial activities to corruption and, hence proving the applicability of the greasing hypothesis of corruption in Zimbabwe. The study recommends a number of policy prescriptions that include: reducing levels of taxes on entrepreneurial activities, eliminating red-tape and regulations that add costs on opportunity-driven entrepreneurship, increasing the effectiveness of public institutions especially those that deal with entrepreneurs, introducing robust legislation aimed at reducing public officials’ opportunities for rent seeking in entrepreneurial activities that are most prone to corrupt practices. In addition, there is need to monitor bureaucrats and impose severe penalties in order to make corruption payoffs too risky. Our study contributes to the literature on the greasing effect of corruption on entrepreneurial activities in developing countries.
Managing Service Quality Using Data Envelopment Analysis

This study introduces a new managerial tool for evaluating and managing service quality. This new approach treats service quality as an intermediate variable, not the ultimate managerial goal, and makes use of data envelopment analysis (DEA), a nonparametric technique that allows for the relative comparison of a number of comparable organizational decision-making units (Sexton 1986). Using data from 497 customer surveys collected at 13 different grocery store locations for a major supermarket chain in the southeast region of the United States, relative efficiency scores and prescriptive guidance for improvement were generated for each store. These results were then used to compare the benefits of this new approach to that of existing service quality performance evaluation techniques. The evidence suggests the DEA technique provides a unique and much needed perspective that would help a manager to obtain optimal levels of service quality dimensions that are directly linked to critical performance outcomes for the organization.
Oral Voriconazole Versus Intravenous Low Dose Amphotericin B for Primary Antifungal Prophylaxis in Pediatric Acute Leukemia Induction: A Prospective, Randomized, Clinical Study

Purpose: Invasive fungal infections (IFI) are a major cause of infection-related mortality during induction chemotherapy of acute leukemia (AL) patients. Data on antifungal prophylaxis (AFP) in children are limited by retrospective design, small sample size, and variability of chemotherapy phases having different risk of IFI. There are no data comparing voriconazole versus amphotericin B (AmB) as AFP in either adult/pediatric AL. The objectives of this study were to compare efficacy and toxicity of AmB and voriconazole as AFP in pediatric AL patients. Patients and Methods: As a pilot study, total 100 children (⩽15 y) with denovo acute myeloid leukemia and acute lymphoblastic leukemia were randomized to either oral voriconazole or low dose intravenous AmB as AFP during induction chemotherapy. Results: Failure of prophylaxis occurred in 14/50 patients in voriconazole arm (1 proven mucormycosis, 1 possible IFI, 11 empirical antifungal therapy, and 1 withdrawal owing to hepatotoxicity) and 17/50 patients in AmB arm (3 possible IFI, 13 empirical antifungal therapy, and 1 withdrawal owing to difficult venous access) (P=0.66). Of the 29 patients who had failure of prophylaxis unrelated to drug toxicity, computed tomography of the chest showed infiltrates in 10 patients with 3/12 in voriconazole arm and 7/16 in AmB arm (P=0.43). Drug-related serious adverse events were 6% versus 30% in voriconazole and AmB arms, respectively (P<0.01). Further, total number of toxicities per patient in AmB arm were significantly higher as compared with voriconazole arm (P<0.0001). Conclusion: This is the first randomized study comparing voriconazole with AmB in pediatric AL patients as AFP during induction chemotherapy; our results showed that oral voriconazole seems to be comparable with AmB with less toxicity and more convenience. (ClinicalTrials.gov identifier: NCT00624143).
Increased expressions of vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF), VEGF-C and VEGF receptor-3 in prostate cancer tissue are associated with tumor progression.

AIM To investigate the differences in microvessel densities (MVD) and the expressions of vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF), VEGF-C and VEGF receptor-3 (VEGFR-3) between prostate cancer (PCa) tissues and adjacent benign tissues, and to explore the correlations among MVD, Jewett-Whitmore staging, Gleason scores and expressions of VEGF, VEGF-C and VEGFR-3 in the progression of PCa. METHODS An immunohistochemical approach was adopted to detect the expressions of CD34, VEGF, VEGF-C and VEGFR-3 in both cancer areas and peripheral benign areas of 71 primary prostatic adenocarcinoma specimens. A statistic analysis was then performed according to the experimental and clinic data. RESULTS Significantly upregulated expressions of VEGF, VEGF-C and VEGFR-3 were all found in malignant epithelium/cancer cells compared with adjacent benign epithelium (P<0.01). Patients in stage D had a significantly higher score than patients in stage A, B or C when comparing the expression of VEGF-C or VEGFR-3 in the tumor area (P<0.01). In addition, significant correlations were observed between Jewett-Whitmore staging and VEGF-C (r(s)=0.738, P<0.01), clinical staging and VEGFR-3 (r(s)=0.410, P<0.01), VEGF-C and Gleason scores (r(s)=0.401, P<0.01), VEGFR-3 and Gleason scores (r(s)=0.581, P<0.001) and MVD and VEGF (r(s)=0.492, P<0.001). CONCLUSION Increased expressions of VEGF and VEGF-C were closely associated with progression of PCa. The main contribution of increased VEGF expression for PCa progression was to upregulate MVD, which maintained the growth advantage of tumor tissue. However, the chief role of increased expressions of VEGF-C and VEGFR-3 was to enhance lymphangiogenesis and provide a main pathway for cancer cells to disseminate.
Identification of P-cadherin in Primary Melanoma Using a Tissue Microarrayer: Prognostic Implications in a Patient Cohort With Long-Term Follow Up

Sentinel lymph node biopsy is the most accurate technique for establishing melanoma patient prognosis but is associated with morbidity and is of little value in those tumors that first metastasize to sites other than the regional nodal basin. Noninvasive methods of establishing prognosis are therefore desirable. We have used the novel technology of tissue microarray to study a cohort of 120 patients with melanoma with long-term follow-up data for the expression of P-cadherin. The tissue microarray was successfully constructed and stained. Loss of P-cadherin expression was found to be significantly correlated with outcome (log rank &khgr;2 = 10.1336, P = 0.0015). The results suggest a fundamental role for P-cadherin in melanoma progression and identify it as a potential prognostic marker and a possible target for therapeutic manipulation.
The Formation of Return Migration Intentions: An Intra-Household Analysis of Foreign Families Residing in Italy

This study inspects the micro-determinants of return intentions for foreign nuclear families in Italy. In particular, I argue against the unitary nature of households and focus on intra-household patterns of decision-making, which have been largely neglected by previous studies. Using data from the “Statistics of Income and Living Conditions of Households with Foreigners” (Istat, 2009), I find that return intentions are indeed affected by both partners’ and their shared household’s characteristics. Analysis based on origin and regional fixed effects shows that some foreign nuclear families are target-earners complying with New Economics of Labour Migration hypotheses on return migration; yet interesting heterogeneity across spouses arises for transnational ties, which also maintain a strong crosswise effect, thus influencing the partner’s decision. The presence of daughters attending school is the strongest predictor of staying in Italy. Given the enhanced possibilities for wives and daughters, husbands display a remarkably increased propensity to settle abroad. (Less)
[Clinical observation on electroacupuncture combined with catgut implantation at acupoints for treatment of simple obesity of heart and spleen deficiency type].

OBJECTIVE To observe the interventional effect of electroacupuncture combined with catgut implantation at acupoints for treatment of simple obesity of heart and spleen deficiency type. METHODS Sixty five cases were randomly divided into an observation group (33 cases) and a control group (32 cases). The observation group was treated with electroacupuncture combined with catgut implantation at acupoint therapy, the electroacupuncture was applied at Zhongwan (CV 12), Xiawan (CV 10), Guanyuan (CV 4), Tianshu (ST 25), ect. and catgut implantation was given at Zhongwan (CV 12), Tianshu (ST 25), Qihai (CV 6), etc. The control group was treated with electroacupuncture only. The body weight, body mass index (BMI), waistline, waist hip ratio (WHR), Pittsburgh sleep quality index (PSQI), Hamilton anxiety scale (HAMA) and Hamilton depression scale (HAMD, 17 items) were evaluated before and after treatment, and these were also compared with those of 35 nomal cases. RESULTS The total effective rate of 93.9% in the observation group was higher than that of 84.4% in the control group (P < 0.05); the body weight, BMI, waistline, WHR, PSQI, HAMD and HAMA of simple obesity cases were obviously higher than those of normal cases (all P < 0.05). The scores of above indexes were all obviously decreased in both groups after treatment (all P < 0.05), and the improvement was more significant in observation group (P < 0.05). CONCLUSION The sleep quality reduction and mental and psychology disorder exist in simple obesity patients, and electroacupuncture combined with catgut implantation at acupoints can reduce weight effectively, and at the same time improve the sleep quality and regulate psychological state.
A Comparison of Burnout Between Undergraduate Music and Non-Music Majors

The principal purpose of the study was to compare perceived burnout levels (emotional exhaustion, depersonalization, and lack of personal accomplishment) of college students by year in school (freshman, sophomore, junior, or senior), and academic major (music or non-music). The secondary purpose was to examine relationships among perceived burnout, academic, and personal variables (average number of hours per week of academic credit, classes, homework, exercise, sleep, work, and relaxation). Subjects were 320 undergraduate students from a liberal arts university in the northeast United States. While no significant differences in burnout were reported based on year in school, music majors reported higher levels of emotional exhaustion and depersonalization than non-music majors. Additionally, for combined subjects, moderate to weak relationships were observed among emotional exhaustion, depersonalization, personal accomplishment, hours of classes, homework, sleep, and relaxation. Researchers and practitioners have reported recent increases in the number of college students with severe psychological problems and in the demand for school counseling services (e.g., Kitzrow, 2003). Ross, Niebling, and Heckert (1999) surveyed 100 university students to determine perceived sources of stress and found that sleeping habits, vacations and breaks, changes in eating habits, increased academic workload, and new responsibilities were significant factors. In a study of college students’ social interactions, Edwards, Hershberger, Russell, and Market (2001) found that negative social interaction was the most significant predictor of physical ailments. Similarly, Jacobs and Dodd (2003) studied relationships among burnout, social support, personality, 1 Bernhard II: A Comparison of Burnout Published by OpenCommons@UConn, 2007
Genetic population structure, clonal phylogeny, and pathogenicity of Salmonella paratyphi B

Genetic diversity and relationships among 123 strains of Salmonella paratyphi B (serotype 1,4,[5],12:b:[1,2]) were estimated from an assessment of electrophoretically demonstrable allelic variation at 24 chromosomal enzyme gene loci. Fourteen electrophoretic types, marking clones, were distinguished, the phylogeny of the clonal lineages was reconstructed, and biotype and other phenotypic characters were mapped onto this structure. Most d-tartrate-negative strains are members of an abundant, globally distributed clone (Pb 1) that is polymorphic for many biotype characters (including d-tartrate utilization), bacteriophage type, rRNA pattern, and colicin M and phage ES18 sensitivity. This clone is largely responsible for S. paratyphi B enteric fever in humans. In contrast, d-tartrate-positive strains (formerly known as S. java) occurred in all seven of the clonal lineages identified by population genetic analysis, although most d-tartrate-positive isolates belong to only two clones (Pb 3 and Pb 4), which vary in frequency geographically. Monophasic strains represent four closely related clones forming a distinctive phylogenetic lineage. The Kauffmann hypothesis of convergence in serotype among distantly related cell lineages through recombination (via phage transduction or other means) may account for the considerable genotypic diversity among clones of S. paratyphi B. Pb 4, Pb 6, and Pb 7 are more closely allied with clones of S. typhimurium and S. saintpaul than with other clones of S. paratyphi B. Sensitivity or resistance to colicin M and phage ES18 and the electrophoretic pattern of the rRNA, which were incorporated into a recently proposed scheme for the identification of types of S. paratyphi B, individually or in combination fail to mark clones or other meaningful phylogenetic subdivisions.
Ir gene control of carrier recognition III.cooperative recognition of two or more carrier determinants on insulins of different lspecies

When crosses between different nonresponder strains to pig and bovine insulin were tested, some cases of complementation could only be achieved if one of the strains had C3H bavkgrounmd,e.g.(C3H.SW × C3H/He)F1 and (C57BL/6 × C3H/He)F1 show complementation, whereas (C57BL/10 × B10.BR)F1 do not.
Gold Nanoparticle as an Alternative Tool for Urine Microalbumin Test: The First World Report

Urine microalbuminuria is a common indicator for occult preclinical nephropathy. At present, urine microalbumin test is routinely performed by clinical chemistry test. Here, the authors used the advanced nanomedicine technique for modification of the urine microalbumin test. Materials and methods. The preparation of gold nanoparticle solution in this study was according to the standard method reported by Frenkel et al. The author performed an experiment on both microalbumin positive and negative urine samples. First, the mixture between equal amount (500 microliter) of gold nanoparticle solution and urine sample was prepared. Results. The microalbumin-positive mixture becomes purple, while the pregnancy-negative mixture becomes gray. Conclusion. This application can help the diagnosis of microalbumin and can be the alternative way for this urine microalbumin test. This is the first world report on this application.