Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Maternal postpartum high-dose vitamin D3 supplementation (6400 IU/day) or conventional infant vitamin D3 supplementation (400 IU/day) lead to similar vitamin D status of healthy exclusively/fully breastfeeding infants by 7 months of age

Commentary on: Hollis BW, Wagner CL, Howard CR, et al. Maternal versus infant vitamin D supplementation during lactation: a randomized controlled trial. Pediatrics 2015;136:625–34. [OpenUrl][1][Abstract/FREE Full Text][2] Routine vitamin D supplementation (400 IU/day) of breastfed infants has been recommended in North America for >50 years.1 Historically, the practice was advocated to prevent rickets; recently, there has been greater emphasis on its role in maintaining serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D concentrations (25(OH)D) above conventional thresholds of sufficiency (eg, 50 nmol/L). 2 Yet, some breastfeeding advocates have argued that this policy conflicts with the message that mother's milk is a complete source of nutrient requirements in the first 6 months of life. The recognition that breast milk vitamin D inadequacy reflects maternal vitamin D insufficiency has prompted efforts to define maternal postpartum vitamin … [1]: {openurl}? query=rft.jtitle%253DPediatrics%26rft_id%253Dinfo%253Adoi%252F10.1542%252Fpeds.2015-1669%26rft_id%253Dinfo%253Apmid%252F26416936%26rft.genre%253Darticle%26rft_val_fmt%253Dinfo%253Aofi%252Ffmt%253Akev%253Amtx%253Ajournal%26ctx_ver%253DZ39.88-2004%26url_ver%253DZ39.88-2004%26url_ctx_fmt%253Dinfo%253Aofi%252Ffmt%253Akev%253Amtx%253Actx [2]: /lookup/ijlink? linkType=ABST&journalCode=pediatrics&resid=136/4/625&atom=%2Febmed%2F21%2F2%2F75.atom
Stackelberg Leadership in a Marketing Channel

This paper provides an answer to the question who should, if any, lead a marketing channel? We consider a channel consisting of one manufacturer and one retailer where each player controls his advertising rate and margin. Supposing that advertising has a carry over effect on demand, we adopt a dynamic model. Nash and Stackelberg equilibria are characterised and outcomes compared with an efficient coordinated solution. Our findings suggest that manufacturer's leadership reduces inefficiency in a channel and is more beneficial to the consumer.
Impacts of differential phase noise caused by amplitude inequality and nonlinearity in optical M-DAPSK systems

Differential phase shift induced by amplitude inequality of M-DAPSK modulation and fibre nonlinearity is evaluated. It constitutes a kind of phase noise to DPSK signal and degrades the signal quality to DPSK path. Finally the amplitude ratio is optimized for 40 Gbit/s M-DPSK systems with different input peak power.
ATP-stimulated Activation of the Mitogen-activated Protein Kinases through Ionotrophic P2X2 Purinoreceptors in PC12 Cells

Extracellular purine nucleotides elicit a diverse range of biological responses through binding to specific cell surface receptors. The ionotrophic P2X subclass of purinoreceptors respond to ATP by stimulation of calcium ion permeability; however, it is unknown how P2X purinoreceptor activation is linked to intracellular signaling pathways. We report that stimulation of PC12 cells with ATP results in the activation of the mitogen-activated protein (MAP) kinases ERK1 and ERK2 and was wholly dependent upon extracellular calcium ions. Treatment of the cells with adenosine, AMP, ADP, UTP, or α,β-methylene ATP was without effect; however, MAP kinase activation was abolished by pretreatment with suramin and reactive blue 2. The calcium-activated tyrosine kinase, Pyk2, acts as an upstream regulator of the MAP kinases and became tyrosine phosphorylated following treatment of the cells with ATP. We have ruled out the involvement of depolarization-mediated calcium influx because specific blockers of voltage-gated calcium channels did not affect MAP kinase activation. These data provide direct evidence that calcium influx through P2X2 receptors results in the activation of the MAP kinase cascade. Finally, we demonstrate that a different line of PC12 cells respond to ATP through P2Y2 purinoreceptors, providing an explanation for the conflicting findings of purine nucleotide responsiveness in PC12 cells.
Impact of direct-acting antiviral agents on the risk for hepatocellular carcinoma.

Liver cancer stands now as the second leading cause of cancer-related death in men and the fifth in women. In 2015 there were 854,000 incident cases of liver cancer, primarily hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) making it the 6 th leading cause of cancer worldwide (1). Most HCC occur in chronic hepatitis or cirrhosis, and the major risk factors include hepatitis B virus and hepatitis C virus (HCV) infections. HCV is responsible for nearly 366,000 deaths annually and one-quarter of all cases of HCC and cirrhosis worldwide (2). The cumulative incidence of HCC in untreated cirrhotic patients with HCV infection has been estimated in 3–5% per year. Viral eradication is associated with a reduction in fibrosis progression and an improvement in clinical outcomes. It is well known that sustained virological response (SVR) following interferon (INF) therapy was associated with a significant reduction in de novo HCC occurrence.
Prediction by a Hybrid of Wavelet Transform and Long-Short-Term-Memory Neural Network

Data originating from some specific fields, for in-stance tourist arrivals, may exhibit a high degree of fluctuations as well as non-linear characteristics due to time varying behaviors. This paper proposes a new hybrid method to perform prediction for such data. The proposed hybrid model of wavelet transform and long-short-term memory (LSTM) recurrent neural network (RNN) is able to capture non-linear attributes in tourist arrival time series. Firstly, data is decomposed into constitutive series through wavelet transform. The decomposition is expressed as a function of a combination of wavelet coefficients, which have different levels of resolution. Then, LSTM neural network is used to train and simulate the value at each level to find the bias vectors and weighting coefficients for the prediction value. A sliding windows model is employed to capture the time series nature of the data. An evaluation is conducted to compare the proposed model with other RNN algorithms, i.e., Elman RNN and Jordan RNN, as well as the combination of wavelet transform with each of them. The result shows that the proposed model has better performance in terms of training time than the original LSTM RNN, while the accuracy is better than the hybrid of wavelet-Elman and the hybrid of wavelet-Jordan.
Genetic and antigenic differences of serologically indistinguishable leptospires of serovar hardjo

Pathogenic leptospires of serovar hardjo isolated from North American cattle were compared genetically and antigenically to reference strain hardjoprajitno of the Sejroe serogroup. Guanine-plus-cytosine (G+C) contents were determined for the genomes, and microscopic agglutination, Western blotting (immunoblotting), and immunoprecipitation were used to characterize antigenic relatedness. Major differences were demonstrated between the isolates and the reference strain. The G+C content of the reference strain was calculated to be approximately 34 +/- 1%, and those of the isolates were calculated at 39 +/- 1%. Antigenic differences between the isolates and the reference strain were identified by using rabbit immune serum raised against a hardjo isolate exhaustively adsorbed with hardjoprajitno whole and sonicated cells. Western blot analysis and immunoprecipitation using this adsorbed serum revealed antigens apparently unique for the hardjo isolates. Microscopic agglutination with the adsorbed rabbit serum did not agglutinate hardjoprajitno when diluted 1:2 but agglutinated bovine isolates to a 1:32 dilution. Bovine antiserum raised against the isolates was also used to identify antigens by immunoprecipitation.
Influence of manufacturing procedure on the compositional and sensory properties of n-3 fatty acid-enriched pecorino cheese

Pecorino cheeses were produced using two different manufacturing procedures (either from raw milk or from milk previously subject to a thermisation at 65 °C for 10 s with the addition of starter culture) using the milk obtained from three groups of ewes fed three different concentrates: (1) control, (2) control enriched with 100 g/kg of extruded linseed, and (3) control enriched with 200 g/kg of extruded linseed. All concentrates were administered with alfalfa hay ad libitum. The extruded linseed-enriched diets increased the concentration of n-3 fatty acids, conjugated linoleic acid, and monounsaturated and polyunsaturated acids in raw milk and thermised milk cheese and decreased the concentration of saturated fatty acids. Changes in the manufacturing procedure did not influence the fatty acid composition of the cheeses but markedly influenced their sensory properties. In particular, heat-treating the milk and adding a starter reduced the differences in cheese odour, flavour and toughness induced by the diet when raw milk was used. Cheeses made with thermised milk and the addition of starter culture were more uniform and obtained a higher score in the preference test compared with the corresponding raw milk cheeses. An appropriate manufacturing process, therefore, can be a possible strategy to obtain cheeses with improved health-promoting properties and an unaltered acceptance level by consumers.
Attachment and non-maternal care: towards contextualizing the quantity versus quality debate

In this commentary to Friedman's and Boyle's review we focus on the context of early child care as it is reflected in the debate on the effects of quality of care versus amount of care and attachment relations. It is argued that cross-national research should be considered along with the NICHD Study of Early Child Care and Youth Development (SECCYD) in order to promote better understanding of the interface of attachment, child care, and context. In addition, some methodological issues are discussed including the status of the Strange Situation assessment, definition of non-maternal care, and longitudinal correlates of attachment.
Detection of adulteration in italian mozzarella cheese using mitochondrial DNA templates as biomarkers

Summary Considering the importance of monitoring adulterations of genuine cheeses in the dairy industry, a polymerase chain reaction–based method was developed to detect bovine-specific mitochondrial DNA sequence in Italian water buffalo Mozzarella cheese. DNA was isolated from cheese matrix and governing liquid by organic extractions and kit purifications. Amplifications of a 134-bp fragment were performed with a bovine–specific set of primers designed on the sequence alignment of bovine and buffalo mitochondrial cytochrome oxidase subunit I. The specificity of the primers was tested using DNA from the blood of two species (water buffalo and bovine), which are present together in adulterated Italian Mozzarella cheese. This method reliably detected a content of 0.5 % of bovine milk, making it suitable for routine fraud monitoring.
Molecular cloning and characterization of DEC2, a new member of basic helix-loop-helix proteins.

DEC1 is a basic helix-loop-helix (bHLH) protein related to Drosophila Hairy, Enhancer of split and HES, and involved in the control of proliferation and/or differentiation of chondrocytes, neurons, etc. We report here the identification and characterization of human, mouse and rat DEC2, a novel member of the DEC subfamily. DEC2 had high (97%) and moderate (52%) similarities in the bHLH region and the Orange domain with DEC1, respectively. However, DEC2, but not DEC1, had alanine and glycine-rich regions in the C-terminal half. Unlike Hairy, Enhancer of split and HES, DEC2 lacked the WRPW motif for interaction with the corepressor Groucho. The DEC2 gene was mapped to human chromosome 12p11.23-p12.1, mouse chromosome 6 G2-G3 and rat chromosome 4q43 distal-q4, where the conserved linkage homology has been identified among these species. Unlike DEC1, which was broadly expressed in many tissues, DEC2 showed a more restricted pattern of mRNA expression. The DEC subfamily proteins may play an important role in tissue development.
Accumulation of Mn(II) in Deinococcus radiodurans Facilitates Gamma-Radiation Resistance

Deinococcus radiodurans is extremely resistant to ionizing radiation. How this bacterium can grow under chronic γ radiation [50 grays (Gy) per hour] or recover from acute doses greater than 10 kGy is unknown. We show that D. radiodurans accumulates very high intracellular manganese and low iron levels compared with radiation-sensitive bacteria and that resistance exhibits a concentration-dependent response to manganous chloride [Mn(II)]. Among the most radiation-resistant bacterial groups reported, Deinococcus, Enterococcus, Lactobacillus, and cyanobacteria accumulate Mn(II). In contrast, Shewanella oneidensis and Pseudomonas putida have high iron but low intracellular manganese concentrations and are very sensitive. We propose that Mn(II) accumulation facilitates recovery from radiation injury.
Parenting Stress Among Low-Income and Working-Class Fathers

Contemporary norms of fatherhood emphasize the dual demands of breadwinning and daily involvement in child care. Recent qualitative research suggests that working-class fathers find it difficult to meet these demands due to job instability and workplace inflexibility. Yet little quantitative research has examined how employment characteristics are related to fathers’ parenting stress, in comparison with mothers’. Analyses using data from the Fragile Families and Child Wellbeing Study (N = 3,165) show that unemployment and workplace inflexibility, but not overwork, multiple jobs, odd jobs, and nonstandard hours, are related to more parenting stress for fathers. Although these two factors are also related to more parenting stress for mothers, nuanced gender differences emerged: these are better predictors than other parental or child characteristics for fathers only, and the effect size of workplace inflexibility is greater for fathers than mothers. In sum, securing a job with flexible schedule is central to reducing fathers’ parenting stress.
Statins Inhibit Growth of Human Endometrial Stromal Cells Independently of Cholesterol Availability1

Abstract Endometriosis is characterized by ectopic growth of endometrial tissues. Statins, inhibitors of 3-hydroxy-3methylglutaryl-coenzyme A reductase (HMGCR), have been shown to decrease proliferation of several mesenchymal tissues. Actions of statins may be related to decreased availability of cholesterol as well as intermediate metabolites of the mevalonate pathway downstream of HMGCR. This study was designed to evaluate effects of statins on growth of endometrial stromal cells and to investigate mechanisms of these effects. Human endometrial stromal cells were cultured in the absence and in the presence of serum and with or without mevastatin and simvastatin. DNA synthesis and viable cell numbers were determined. Effects of statins were also evaluated in the presence of mevalonate and squalene. Furthermore, effects on phosphorylation of mitogen-activated protein kinase 3/1 (MAPK3/1) (also known as extracellular signal-regulated kinase [ERK1/2]) were determined. Mevastatin and simvastatin induced a concentration-dependent inhibition of DNA synthesis and viable cell count in chemically defined media and in the presence of serum. Mevalonate, but not squalene, abrogated inhibitory effects of statins on cell proliferation. Statins inhibited MAPK3/1 phosphorylation. This is the first study demonstrating that statins inhibit growth of endometrial stromal cells. This effect is also demonstrable in the presence of a supply of cholesterol and may be related to decreased activation of MAPK3/1. The present observations may be relevant to potential therapeutic use of statins in conditions such as endometriosis.
Effectiveness of cotrimoxazole prophylaxis on mortality in adults with tuberculosis in rural South Africa

Background:Adults with dual tuberculosis (TB) and HIV infection have a poor outcome. Studies in West Africa suggest that cotrimoxazole prophylaxis may reduce this mortality. Objective:To evaluate the effectiveness of cotrimoxazole in reducing mortality in adults with active TB, irrespective of HIV status, in a high prevalence setting. Design:Cohort study using historical controls. Methods:Adults treated for TB between 1998 and 2000 were traced and vital status at 6 months ascertained (2004: control group). All adults starting treatment for TB between June 2001 and June 2002 were offered cotrimoxazole prophylaxis 960 mg once daily for 6 months during TB treatment irrespective of HIV status (1321: intervention group). Mortality, adverse reactions and adherence were compared between intervention and control groups. Results:HIV seroprevalence in patients with TB at the start of the intervention was estimated to be 78%. Mortality at 6 months was 29% lower in the group given cotrimoxazole than in the control group. The number needed to treat to prevent one death during the period of TB treatment was 24. The benefit was seen across all types of TB but was only evident in new patients; patients being retreated had similar outcomes in both groups. Adverse events were infrequent and minor, with only two participants having treatment stopped for this reason. Conclusion:Cotrimoxazole prophylaxis for all adults with TB, irrespective of HIV status, in an area of high HIV seroprevalence may be a feasible, safe and effective way to reduce mortality for the duration of treatment.
Gene Frequencies of the HPA‐1 and HPA‐2 Platelet Antigen Alleles among the Amerindians

Background and objectives: Platelet‐specific alloantigens are important in neonatal alloimmune thrombocytopenia, posttransfusion purpura, refractoriness to platelet transfusions, and population genetics. Data are scarce on allele frequencies in ethnic groups other than whites and Asians. Materials and methods: Using allele‐specific restriction enzyme analysis, we studied the distribution of HPA‐1 and HPA‐2 alleles in six Brazilian Amazon tribes of Amerindians, belonging to five different language stocks. We compared these with the values obtained for blacks and whites. Results: Only the HPA‐la allele was found among 132 Amerindian chromosomes, compared with a gene frequency of HPA‐lb of 0.115 and 0.133, respectively, among blacks and whites. The frequency of HPA‐2b among the Amerindians (0.042) is lower than that obtained for blacks and whites (0.148 and 0.100, respectively), and the lowest thus far observed in a population of Asian origin. Conclusion: Differences in DNA polymorphisms in Amerindian populations have not only anthropological and genetic interest, but also practical applications when they involve coding regions that may change the functional or immunologic features of the protein.
Efficient and Selective Gene Transfer into Primary Human Brain Tumors by Using Single-Chain Antibody-Targeted Adenoviral Vectors with Native Tropism Abolished

ABSTRACT The application of adenoviral vectors in cancer gene therapy is hampered by low receptor expression on tumor cells and high receptor expression on normal epithelial cells. Targeting adenoviral vectors toward tumor cells may improve cancer gene therapy procedures by providing augmented tumor transduction and decreased toxicity to normal tissues. Targeting requires both the complete abolition of native tropism and the addition of a new specific binding ligand onto the viral capsid. Here we accomplished this by using doubly ablated adenoviral vectors, lacking coxsackievirus-adenovirus receptor and αv integrin binding capacities, together with bispecific single-chain antibodies targeted toward human epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) or the epithelial cell adhesion molecule. These vectors efficiently and selectively targeted both alternative receptors on the surface of human cancer cells. Targeted doubly ablated adenoviral vectors were also very efficient and specific with primary human tumor specimens. With primary glioma cell cultures, EGFR targeting augmented the median gene transfer efficiency of doubly ablated adenoviral vectors 123-fold. Moreover, EGFR-targeted doubly ablated vectors were selective for human brain tumors versus the surrounding normal brain tissue. They transduced organotypic glioma and meningioma spheroids with efficiencies similar to those of native adenoviral vectors, while exhibiting greater-than-10-fold-reduced background levels on normal brain explants from the same patients. As a result, EGFR-targeted doubly ablated adenoviral vectors had a 5- to 38-fold-improved tumor-to-normal brain targeting index compared to native vectors. Hence, single-chain targeted doubly ablated adenoviral vectors are promising tools for cancer gene therapy. They should provide an improved therapeutic index with efficient tumor transduction and effective protection of normal tissue.
The Psychological Impact of Immediate Breast Reconstruction for Women with Early Breast Cancer

Twenty-five patients were evaluated, 13 who had immediate breast reconstruction and 12 who had delayed breast reconstruction for early breast cancer. Data were elicited about the psychological impact of the cancer, the mastectomy, and the reconstruction. Our results support the conclusion that immediate breast reconstruction is accompanied by a lower incidence of psychological morbidity postoperatively, and we recommend that immediate breast reconstruction be offered as an alternative to women with early breast cancer.
A structured analysis of in vitro failure loads and failure modes of fiber, metal, and ceramic post-and-core systems.

PURPOSE This study sought to aggregate literature data on in vitro failure loads and failure modes of prefabricated fiber-reinforced composite (FRC) post systems and to compare them to those of prefabricated metal, custom-cast, and ceramic post systems. MATERIALS AND METHODS The literature was searched using MEDLINE from 1984 to 2003 for dental articles in English. Keywords used were (post or core or buildup or dowel) and (teeth or tooth). Additional inclusion/exclusion steps were conducted, each step by two independent readers: (1) Abstracts describing post-and-core techniques to reconstruct endodontically treated teeth and their mechanical and physical characteristics were included (descriptive studies or reviews were excluded); (2) articles that included FRC post systems were selected; (3) in vitro studies, single-rooted human teeth, prefabricated FRC posts, and composite as the core material were the selection criteria; and (4) failure loads and modes were extracted from the selected papers, and failure modes were dichotomized (distinction was made between "favorable failures," defined as reparable failures, and "unfavorable failures,"defined as irreparable [root] fractures). RESULTS The literature search revealed 1,984 abstracts. Included were 244, 42, and 12 articles in the first, second, and third selection steps, respectively. Custom-cast post systems showed higher failure loads than prefabricated FRC post systems, whereas ceramic showed lower failure loads. Significantly more favorable failures occurred with prefabricated FRC post systems than with prefabricated and custom-cast metal post systems. CONCLUSION The variable "post system" had a significant effect on mean failure loads. FRC post systems more frequently showed favorable failure modes than did metal post systems.
A rapid PCR‐RFLP method for monitoring genetic variation among commercial mushroom species *

We report the development of a simplified procedure for restriction fragment length polymorphism (RFLP) analysis of mushrooms. We have adapted standard molecular techniques to be amenable to an undergraduate laboratory setting in order to allow students to explore basic questions about fungal diversity and relatedness among mushroom species. The streamlined protocols allowed students to practice important molecular techniques within the context of self‐designed investigative projects. This laboratory experience provided opportunities for students to practice strategies for examining molecular diversity among species.