Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Genetic epidemiology of female breast cancer.

Population-based studies of the genetic epidemiology of female breast cancer have shown that only a small proportion of familial aspects of the disease can be explained by what is currently known about its causes. These include mutations in the genes BRCA1 and BRCA2, associated with a 10- to 20-fold increased risk of developing breast cancer. There may be genetic or environmental factors that modify cancer risks in mutation carriers, not necessarily in the same way as they do in non-carriers. The "typical BRCA1/2 family" consists of a "sporadic case", not a multiple-case family. There are likely to be other dominantly- and even recessively-inherited genetic risks, including those influencing intermediate markers like mammographic densities. Unravelling all the causes of familial aggregation will be a major step in understanding the causes of female breast cancer.
Development of mouse skin tumors by 7, 12- dimethylbenz (a) anthracene and its prevention by C-phycocyanin involve the regulators of cell cycle and

We evaluated the 7, 12- dimethylbenz (a) anthracene (DMBA) induced mouse skin tumor development as a function of time and its control by C-Phycocyanin (C-PC, a phycobiliproteins from Spirulina). Oral administration of C-PC inhibited the DMBA induced skin tumor development in term of number and the size of tumors. C-PC administration also prevented the DMBA caused molecular alterations in terms of mutp53, Bcl-2, Cdc25A and p27, Bcl-2 at different end points. There were no tumors at 1 week or 1 month after DMBA exposure but appeared after 4 months which were prevented in presence of C-PC. We show that C-PC prevented the skin tumor development possibly due to its involvement in the inhibition of DMBA mediated p53 mutation, increasing apoptosis and modulating cell cycle regulators in terms of higher expression of Bcl-2 and Cdc25A or p27genes. These results make the basis of detailed study of C-PC as a potentially safe antitumor agent.
Swan song for the Swan-Ganz catheter?

An American study published earlier this month has shown that the use of a pulmonary artery catheter is associated with increased mortality in a wide range of conditions, including many of the accepted indications for using a catheter.1 Is this finding unexpected—and what should we do about it? Connors et al retrospectively reviewed 5735 critically ill patients with one of nine prespecified disease categories treated in 1989-94. They assessed the severity of illness in all patients and compared the outcome in those who received and those who did not receive a pulmonary artery catheter within the first 24 hours of care. The patients receiving a pulmonary artery catheter had higher APACHE III scores and lower predicted survival at two months. They also had higher mortality, length of stay, and financial costs. To compare with those who did not receive a pulmonary artery catheter, propensity scores (a new statistical method) were used to adjust for treatment selection. The results strongly suggest that in all groups mortality, the length of intensive care, and hospital costs were higher when a pulmonary catheter was used. Catheters seemed to have the highest associated risk in postoperative patients and those who were not severely ill. …
Influence of Apa1 (rs7975232), Taq1 (rs731236) and Bsm1 (rs154410) polymorphisms of vitamin D receptor on preterm birth risk in the Polish population.

OBJECTIVES Vitamin D receptor (VDR) is expressed in the placenta and tissues related to the immune system occurrence of various variants of VDR may modify the effects of vitamin D on pregnancy. The aim of this study was to evaluate the association between the parturients' Apa1, Taq1, and Bsm1 polymorphisms of the VDR and their combinations and the risk of preterm birth in the Polish population. MATERIAL AND METHODS Determination of polymorphism for VDR was assayed using the RT-PCR method. 199 Caucasian women at childbirth were qualified:100 patients who had a spontaneous preterm birth and 99 patients who had a term birth. RESULTS Three separate genotypes of the Apa1, Taq1, and Bsm1 polymorphisms were detected. No significant differences in the frequency of particular genotypes in the compared groups were found. Some of the genotype combinations were significantly more frequent in the preterm group - the bb/AA/TT genotype (28.0% vs. 10.1%; p = 0.0013) and the BB/aa/tt genotype (14.0% vs. 4.04% p = 0.0277). The Bb/AA/Tt and the BB/Aa/tt genotypes were found only in the control group (16.1% and 7.0% of patients, respectively). The bb/aa/TT was significantly more frequent in the control group (2.0% vs. 11.1%; p = 0,0207). Two genotype combinations reduced the risk of preterm birth - the Bb/AA/Tt genotype by 94% (OR = 0.43, 95% CI: 0.002-0.885, p = 0.041) and the BB/Aa/tt genotype by 98% (OR = 0.029, 95% CI: 0.001-0.838, p = 0.039). CONCLUSIONS Our result suggests that there may be a relationship between certain VDR genotype combinations and the risk of preterm birth. Further research is needed in order to substantiate this finding.
Glucose, bronchial secretions and MRSA

Association of MRSA infection with abnormal glucose levels in respiratory tract secretions Strains of Staphylococcus aureus resistant to first line antibiotic therapy (the penicillinase resistant penicillins cloxacillin, flucloxacillin and methicillin), termed methicillin resistant S aureus (MRSA), first appeared in 1961 and are now widespread worldwide.1 In the UK MRSA is particularly prevalent, especially on intensive care wards, causing a variety of important nosocomial infections. Infection with MRSA usually requires parenteral therapy with a glycopeptide antibiotic and frequently substantially prolongs the patient’s hospital admission. Isolation of carriers places considerable stress on available bed resources and local outbreaks can even result in temporary ward closures. As a consequence, the human and financial burden of MRSA is significant, and this is reflected by the adoption of improved control of hospital acquired infections by a major political party as a major election “pledge”. The paper by Philips et al 2 in this issue of Thorax reports a possible association between a positive culture for MRSA from bronchial aspirates from patients in an intensive care ward and abnormally high levels of glucose in the bronchial aspirates (ranging from 2.7 to 4.4 mmol/l). MRSA infection was just over twice as likely in patients with abnormal glucose levels in bronchial aspirates, but the overall incidence of 45% for isolation of MRSA from the respiratory tract is surprisingly high and may limit the applicability of these results to other hospitals. However, if the association of MRSA with abnormal …
c-Jun NH2-Terminal Kinase Inhibits Targeting of the Protein Phosphatase Calcineurin to NFATc1

ABSTRACT The protein phosphatase calcineurin is a critical mediator of calcium signals during T-cell activation. One substrate of calcineurin is the transcription factor NFATc1, which is retained in the cytoplasm of quiescent cells. NFATc1 activation requires the translocation of the transcription factor into the nucleus, a process that is mediated by calcineurin. This interaction with calcineurin requires a targeting domain (PxIxIT motif) located in the NH2-terminal region of NFATc1. Here we demonstrate that the calcineurin targeting domain of NFATc1 is phosphorylated and inactivated by the c-Jun NH2-terminal kinase (JNK). This disruption of calcineurin targeting inhibits the nuclear accumulation and transcription activity of NFATc1 and accounts for the observation thatJnk1 −/− T cells exhibit greatly increased NFATc1-dependent nuclear responses.
Manganese is required for oxidative metabolism in unstressed Bradyrhizobium japonicum cells

Recent studies of Mn2+ transport mutants indicate that manganese is essential for unstressed growth in some bacterial species, but is required primarily for induced stress responses in others. A Bradyrhizobium japonicum mutant defective in the high‐affinity Mn2+ transporter gene mntH has a severe growth phenotype under manganese limitation, suggesting a requirement for the metal under unstressed growth. Here, we found that activities of superoxide dismutase and the glycolytic enzyme pyruvate kinase were deficient in an mntH strain grown under manganese limitation. We identified pykM as the only pyruvate kinase‐encoding gene based on deficiency in activity of a pykM mutant, rescue of the growth phenotype with pyruvate, and pyruvate kinase activity of purified recombinant PykM. PykM is unusual in that it required Mn2+ rather than Mg2+ for high activity, and that neither fructose‐1,6‐bisphosphate nor AMP was a positive allosteric effector. The mntH‐dependent superoxide dismutase is encoded by sodM, the only expressed superoxide dismutase‐encoding gene under unstressed growth conditions. An mntH mutant grew more slowly on pyruvate under manganese‐limited conditions than did a pykM sodM double mutant, implying additional manganese‐dependent processes. The findings implicate roles for manganese in key steps in unstressed oxidative metabolism in B. japonicum.
21-hydroxylase Autoantibody-negative Addison's Disease in a 5-year-old Boy with Adrenal Crisis and Type 1 Diabetes Mellitus

ABSTRACT Patients with type 1 diabetes mellitus (T1DM) have an increased risk of other autoimmune disorders. The combination of Addison's disease with T1DM and/or autoimmune thyroid disease is known as autoimmune polyendocrinopathy type 2 (APS-2). 21-hydroxylase autoantibody (21OHAb) is considered as a valuable marker for identifying patients with autoimmune Addison's disease (AD); however, it is not available in some countries. Here we present a 5-year-old boy with newly diagnosed T1DM, who developed AD with adrenal crisis within only six months, and after 1-year treatment, the test of 21OHAb was negative. This was a rare and the first APS-2 case in Taiwan, because APS-2 affects female adults more often, but not boys. At diagnosis of T1DM, we suggest that checking diurnal cortisol and adrenocorticotropic hormone levels as a baseline evaluations, and if it is available, checking 21OHAb as well. If there is subtle evidence of AD, such as unexplained hypoglycemia or unreasonably reduced insulin requirements, adrenal functions must be studied as soon as possible, even in the 21OHAb-negative T1DM patients. Even if nothing is abnormal, the patient still needs an annual measurement.
Effect of degree of corn processing on urinary nitrogen composition, serum metabolite and insulin profiles, and performance by finishing steers.

Two experiments were conducted to determine the effect of degree of corn processing on urinary ammonia and urea N concentrations, serum metabolite and insulin concentrations, and feedlot performance of steers. Corn was processed by either dry rolling to . 54 kg/L bulk density (DR42; 42 lb/bushel) or steam flaking to a bulk density of . 36 or . 26 kg/L (28 [SF28] and 20 [SF20] lb/bushel, respectively). Degrees of processing were selected to generate final products with 25, 50, or 75% enzymatically available starch. Available starch, expressed as a percentage of total starch for DR42, SF28, and SF20, averaged 24.5, 56.4, and 81.1% in Exp. 1 and 22.4, 60.1, and 80.1% in Exp. 2. In Exp. 1, 29 steers were housed in individual outdoor pens and adapted to a 90% concentrate diet over 21 d. Whole blood and urine were collected before feeding and at 4 and 8 h after feeding on d 0, 7, 14, 21, 28, 84, and 140. Daily DMI decreased linearly (P < .03) as degree of processing increased, whereas water intake did not differ (P > .42) among treatments. Average daily gain, ADG:DMI, and hot carcass weight responded quadratically (P < .04) to an increasing degree of processing. Urinary ammonia and urea N concentrations were not influenced (P > .30) by degree of processing. Whole blood packed cell volume, serum glucose, creatinine, D(-)-lactate, L(+)-lactate, and lactate dehydrogenase activity did not differ (P > .15) among treatments. For insulin data, ME intake on the day of sample collection was evaluated as a covariate. On d 28, serum insulin (2.49, 2.95, and 1.80+/-.33 ng/mL) responded quadratically (P = .04) as degree of processing increased. Serum insulin did not differ (P = .52) on d 84, whereas insulin (5.77, 7.51, and 4.12+/-.98 ng/mL) responded quadratically (P = .02) on d 140. In Exp. 2,216 steers were blocked by BW into two blocks (18 pens; 12 steers/pen) and assigned to the same treatments used in Exp. 1. Daily DMI and carcass weight responded quadratically (P < .05), whereas ADG and ADG:DMI increased linearly (P < .04) with increasing degree of processing. Results suggest that the degree of corn processing influences serum insulin concentrations of feedlot steers; however, serum metabolites, urinary nitrogen composition, and carcass characteristics were generally not affected by degree of corn processing.
Frequencies and Prognostic Role of KRAS and BRAF Mutations in Patients With Localized Pancreatic and Ampullary Adenocarcinomas

Objectives The frequencies and prognostic role of KRAS and BRAF mutations in patients operated on for pancreatic ductal adenocarcinomas (PDACs) and ampullary adenocarcinomas (A-ACs) are scantily studied. Methods KRAS and BRAF mutations were analyzed in formalin-fixed, paraffin-embedded tumor samples from primarily chemotherapy-naive patients operated on with radical intentions for PDAC (n = 170) and A-AC (n = 107). Results Eighty percent of PDAC patients had KRAS mutations (codon 12 mutations: 74%) and 67% with A-AC (codon 12 mutations: 54%). BRAF mutations were less common, 16% in PDAC and 12% in A-AC, and no V600E mutations were found. Fourteen percent with PDAC and 7% with A-AC had mutations in both KRAS and BRAF. Multivariate analysis, including KRAS status, stage, and American Society of Anesthesiologists physical status classification system score, demonstrated that KRAS mutations in patients with A-AC were associated with short recurrence-free survival (RFS) (hazard ratio, 2.45; 95% confidence interval, 1.19–5.06; P = 0.015) and overall survival (OS) (1.93, 95% 1.12–3.31; P = 0.018). KRAS mutations in patients with PDAC were not associated with RFS and OS. BRAF mutations were not associated with RFS and OS. Conclusions KRAS mutations frequencies were high in PDAC and A-AC. KRAS mutations were associated with poor prognosis in patients with A-AC, but not in patients with PDAC.
Effects of sleeping position on back pain in physically active seniors: A controlled pilot study.

BACKGROUND The increase in life expectancy of elderly population has aroused the interest of different knowledge areas in understanding the variables that are involved in the aging process, linking them to other concepts such as active aging, healthy aging and the bio-psycho-social changes. OBJECTIVE This paper presents the results of the first controlled, experimental pilot study that aimed to analyze the relationship between the perception of back pain and the sleeping position adopted by physically active female seniors. METHODS Twenty female seniors (mean age 62.70 ± 3.827) participated in this study. The individuals were separated in 2 groups (Experimental and Control Group). For the carrying out of this study, the Visual Analogue Scale (VAS) was used to measure the intensity of back pain in the spine before and after four consecutive weeks an Intervention program. Individuals in the Experimental Group were instructed regarding the recommended way to sleep position (Intervention program) according to the pathological problems or the amount of pain reported. RESULTS The Experimental Group (N = 10) presented significantly (p = 0.009) fewer complaints of back pain after an Intervention program in comparison to individuals who did not receive this type of information (Control Group).
Enhancement of Behavioral and Electroencephalographic Indices of Waking following Stimulation of Noradrenergic β-Receptors within the Medial Septal Region of the Basal Forebrain

Previous studies in halothane-anesthetized rat documented potent electroencephalographic (EEG) modulatory actions of the locus coeruleus (LC) noradrenergic system, with LC neuronal activity causally related to the maintenance of EEG activity patterns associated with enhanced arousal/alertness. Recent studies, also in halothane-anesthetized rat, demonstrated that the region of the basal forebrain encompassing the medial septum/vertical limb of the diagonal band of Broca (MS) is a site at which noradrenergic efferents act to influence EEG state via actions at β-receptors. These and other observations are consistent with the hypothesis that the LC noradrenergic system participates in the modulation of behavioral state. However, the degree to which this system modulates EEG state in the absence of anesthesia and to what extent such actions are accompanied by behavioral modulatory actions remain to be determined. The current studies examined whether small infusions of isoproterenol (ISO), a β-adrenergic agonist, into MS alter behavioral, EEG, and electromyographic (EMG) measures of sleep and waking in the resting, undisturbed rat. These infusions resulted in a significant increase in time spent awake, defined by both behavioral and EEG/EMG measures, and in the nearly complete suppression of REM sleep. EEG/EMG responses either coincided with or preceded behavioral responses by 10–320 sec. The pattern of behavioral responses observed following MS–ISO infusions was qualitatively similar to that associated with normal waking. Infusions of vehicle into MS or ISO into sites adjacent to MS did not elicit consistent alterations in behavioral state. These results suggest that the LC noradrenergic system exerts potent behavioral and EEG-activating effects via actions of norepinephrine at β-receptors located within MS.
Écoulements de fluides à seuil autour d'un cylindre en milieu confiné : études expérimentale et numérique

Ce travail de these concerne les ecoulements de fluides a seuil de contrainte autour d‘un obstacle cylindrique en milieu confine avec une configuration d‘ecoulement de Poiseuille.Experimentalement, un banc d‘essai permettant d‘obtenir un ecoulement en continu dans un circuit ferme a ete mis en place. Les regimes d‘ecoulement rampant, recirculant et instationnaire periodique ont ete etudies. De nouveaux resultats ont ete obtenus avec un fluide newtonien et des solutions de Carbopol, polymere permettant de realiser des fluides a seuil modeles utilises en recherche et developpement et dans l‘industrie. Une camera rapide et un eclairage plan laser a servi pour l‘etablissement d‘images qui ont ensuite ete traitees par PIV. Les champs de vitesses cinematiques, les morphologies d‘ecoulement et les parametres critiques de transitions de regimes ont ete determines.Numeriquement, un modele viscoplastique base sur la loi de Herschel-Bulkley regularisee a ete utilise. Des resultats comme les morphologies d‘ecoulement, la localisation des zones rigides, les champs de vitesses ont ete obtenus. Ceci a permis de comparer les differences entre les effets lies a la nature des gels de Carbopol et la modelisation viscoplastiques. Une etude specifique sur le glissement a l‘interface fluide-structure a egalement ete realisee avec l‘utilisation d‘un modele de lubrification elasto-hydrodynamique.
Phishing Web page detection

An approach to detection of phishing Web pages based on visual similarity is proposed, which can be utilized as a part of an enterprise solution to antiphishing. A legitimate Web page owner can use this approach to search the Web for suspicious Web pages which are visually similar to the true Web page. The approach first decomposes the Web pages into salient (visually distinguishable) block regions. The visual similarity between two Web pages is then evaluated in three metrics: block level similarity, layout similarity, and overall style similarity. A Web page is reported as a phishing suspect if any of them (with regards to the true one) is higher than its corresponding preset threshold. Preliminary experiments show that the approach can successfully detect those phishing Web pages with few false alarms at a speed adequate for online application.
Social determinants and their interference in homicide rates in a city in northeastern Brazil.

OBJECTIVE This paper aims to analyze the possible relationship between social determinants and homicide mortality in Fortaleza (CE), Brazil. METHOD To investigate whether the rate of mortality by homicides is related to social determinants, an ecological study with emphasis on spatial analysis was conducted in the city of Fortaleza. Social, economic, demographic and sanitation data, as well as information regarding years of potential life lost, and Human Development Index were collected. The dependent variable was the rate of homicides in the period 2004 to 2006. In order to verify the relationship between the outcome variable and the predictor variables, we performed a multivariate linear regression model. RESULTS We found associations between social determinants and the rate of mortality by homicides. Variables related to income and education were proven determinants for mortality. The multiple regression model showed that 51% of homicides in Fortaleza neighborhoods are explained by years of potential life lost, proportion of households with poor housing, average years of schooling, per capita income and percentage of household heads with 15 or more years of study. The coefficients for years of potential life lost and households with poor housing were positive. CONCLUSION The findings indicate that the mortality by homicide is associated with high levels of poverty and uncontrolled urbanization, which migrates to the peripheries of urban centers.
Cultural Competency in Baccalaureate Nursing Education

This article presents the work of the American Association of Colleges of Nursing Advisory Committee in developing an integrated curriculum for cultural competence in baccalaureate nursing education. Five competencies for Cultural Competency in Baccalaureate Nursing Education were developed with supporting rationale. Suggestions for developing and implementing curricula for cultural competency, teaching content, specific integrative learning strategies, methods for evaluating nursing students' cultural competence and recommendations for effective implementation of the integrated curriculum are presented.
To Region Transition Probability Tensor R 1 R 3 R 2 Spatial Group Structure r 11 Group Sparsity RegularizationTensor Factorization

The de-anonymization attack using personalized transition matrices is known as one of the most successful approaches to link anonymized traces with users. However, since many users disclose only a small amount of location information to the public in their daily lives, the amount of training data available to the adversary can be very small. The aim of this paper is to quantify the risk of de-anonymization in this realistic situation. To achieve this aim, we utilize the fact that spatial data can form group structure, and propose group sparsity tensor factorization to train the personalized transition matrices that capture spatial group structure from a small amount of training data. We apply our training method to the de-anonymization attack, and evaluate it using the Geolife dataset. The results show that the training method using tensor factorization outperforms the Maximum Likelihood estimation method, and is further improved by incorporating group sparsity regularization.