Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Country-wide HIV incidence study complementing HIV surveillance in Germany.

Serological methods exist that allow differentiating between recent and long-standing infections in persons infected with HIV. During a pilot study in Berlin between 2005 and 2007 methodologies have been evaluated. In a cross-sectional study blood samples, demographic, laboratory, clinical and behavioural data based on a KABP survey were collected from patients with newly diagnosed HIV infections. The BED-CEIA was used to determine recency of infection. Recent HIV infections contributed 54% (CI [95%]: 45; 64) in MSM and 16% (CI [95%]: 0; 39) in patients with other transmission risks (p=0.041). Proportions of recent infections were significantly higher in MSM <or=30 years (p=0.019). The mean age was 33.9 (median 34 years) in recent compared with 38.6 years (median: 38 years) in long-standing infections (p=0.011). High-risk behaviour indicated through very low condom use in recently HIV infected MSM could be identified. The results of the pilot study support expectations that the modified application of the method may contribute to improving HIV prevention efforts in Germany. On this basis the Robert Koch Institute implemented a countrywide HIV incidence study to complement HIV surveillance in early 2008. The study is funded by the German Ministry of Health. Data on recent HIV infections and current HIV transmission risks are collected. Design, methods and impact are described in detail.
Eating-related thought suppression in high and low disinhibitors.

OBJECTIVE This study examined the effects of the attempts by high and low disinhibitors to suppress thoughts about food and eating. METHOD Seventy-seven females who differed in level of disinhibition were asked to monitor their thoughts about food and eating for three 5-min periods. Participants were administered either a suppression or a nonsuppression instruction relating to thoughts about food and eating. The number of food-related thoughts were recorded. Self-report ratings of anxiety, distress, perceived frequency of thoughts, control over thoughts, and strategies used to control thoughts were also obtained. RESULTS Low disinhibitors who were instructed to suppress had more food-related thoughts than high disinhibitors who were instructed to suppress. The reverse was true in the nonsuppression condition. High disinhibitors reported higher levels of anxiety and distress. Furthermore, high disinhibitors had less difficulty controlling their thoughts than low disinhibitors when asked to suppress, whereas the reverse was true when they did not receive suppression instructions. Thought control strategies were found to correlate significantly with anxiety ratings, self-reported frequency of intrusions, actual number of thought intrusions, and distress. DISCUSSION High disinhibitors are able to successfully suppress their thoughts about food and eating, at least across relatively short periods of time. However, there appears to be associated negative consequences.
Serum zinc status of children with persistent diarrhoea admitted to the diarrhoea management unit of Mulago Hospital, Uganda.

INTRODUCTION Despite great advances in the management of diarrhoeal diseases, persistent diarrhoea remains a major problem in developing countries due to its syndromic nature. Zinc depletion ranks high among the factors contributing to the detrimental effects of persistent diarrhoea on the human body. This however, has not been investigated in the Ugandan population. OBJECTIVE To determine the serum zinc status of children with persistent diarrhoea. DESIGN Cross-sectional descriptive study. METHODS Children aged 6-36 months with persistent diarrhoea were enrolled from the diarrhoea management unit of Mulago hospital. Socio-demographic and morbidity data were collected, and laboratory investigations were carried out after recruitment. Healthy children of similar age and sex were recruited to determine reference levels of serum zinc for comparison. RESULTS The mean serum zinc level in the children with persistent diarrhoea was 5.83 mol/l while that of children without diarrhoea was 8.99 mol/l with no age or sex difference. The serum zinc concentration of children with persistent diarrhoea was significantly lower than that of children without diarrhoea (p<0.001). The prevalence of zinc deficiency in children with persistent diarrhoea was 47.9%. Of the children with persistent diarrhoea, 64 (66.7%) were stunted, wasted or both. However no significant association was observed between nutritional status and serum zinc levels. Only hypoproteinaemia was significantly associated with serum zinc levels in these children (p=0.03). CONCLUSION There is a high prevalence of zinc deficiency and malnutrition among Ugandan children with persistent diarrhoea.
Effects of hypoxia on rat hippocampal neurones in vitro.

1. The effects of hypoxia on the rat hippocampal CA1 neurones in tissue slices of the rat brain were studied in vitro by intracellular recording. 2. In response to superfusion of a hypoxic medium equilibrated with 95% N2‐5% CO2, a majority of the neurones showed a hyperpolarization of 5‐15 mV in amplitude and 4‐12 min in duration. The hyperpolarization was, in turn, followed by a slow depolarization which within 20 min of hypoxic exposure reached a plateau level of about 25 mV above the pre‐hypoxic resting potential. Both the initial hyperpolarization and subsequent depolarization were associated with a reduction in membrane resistance. 3. The hyperpolarization reversed in polarity at a membrane potential of ‐83 mV. There was an almost linear relationship between amplitude of the hyperpolarization and membrane potential. The hyperpolarization was markedly enhanced in potassium‐free media and was depressed in high‐potassium solutions. 4. The hyperpolarization was not significantly affected by low‐chloride or low‐sodium medium or by solution containing tetraethylammonium (10 mM), 4‐aminopyridine (1.5 mM) or caesium (3 mM). Moreover, intracellular injection of ethyleneglycol‐bis‐(beta‐aminoethylether)N,N‐tetraacetic acid (EGTA) did not alter the hyperpolarization. On the other hand, barium (0.5 mM)‐containing medium reduced the amplitude of the hyperpolarization by 20‐40%. 5. Superfusion of ouabain (5‐7 microM)‐containing medium in normoxic conditions produced hyperpolarizing and depolarizing responses similar to those elicited by hypoxic exposure. The slow depolarization was also mimicked by elevation of the extracellular potassium concentration to 10‐20 mM. 6. Evoked i.p.s.p.s were abolished within 4 min of hypoxic exposure while evoked e.p.s.p.s were maintained for about 20 min of hypoxic superfusion. Soma spikes of the neurones elicited by a depolarizing pulse were also well preserved. Their threshold was, however, raised, concomitant with a decrease in the peak amplitude. 7. When the slice was reoxygenated after 20‐40 min of hypoxic exposure, the neurones immediately began to repolarize and showed a transient hyperpolarization of 5‐10 mV in amplitude and 1‐2 min in duration. The membrane potential, input resistance and action potential returned to the pre‐hypoxic levels after 15‐20 min of reoxygenation. The amplitude of the reoxygenation‐induced hyperpolarization was not significantly changed when the membrane was hyperpolarized or depolarized. The hyperpolarization was eliminated by potassium‐free medium or solution containing ouabain (1 microM). (ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 400 WORDS)
Assessing undergraduate palliative care education: validity and reliability of two scales examining perceived efficacy and outcome expectancies in palliative care

Background Medical students have traditionally received little education in palliative care. However, in 1999, as part of a revised medical curriculum, Year 4 undergraduates at Liverpool University participated in a 2‐week programme of education in palliative care. To assess the effect of the education programme, 2 assessment scales were identified: the Self‐efficacy in Palliative Care Scale (SEPC) (assessing efficacy in communication, patient management and multiprofessional teamworking) and the Thanatophobia Scale (assessing attitudes towards palliative care). The aim of this study was to examine the psychometric properties of these scales.
Characteristics of HIV-1-associated Kaposi's sarcoma among women and men in South Africa

Summary: Despite the increase of HIV-1-associated Kaposi's sarcoma (KS), little is known about HIV-associated KS in the African setting, particularly among women. A descriptive study of the demographic, clinical, immunological and virological features of AIDS-associated KS from KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa was undertaken. Consecutively, recruited patients were clinically staged; CD4/CD8 cell counts, HIV-1 viral loads and clinical parameters were evaluated. Of the 152 patients (77 male and 75 female) 99% were black. Females were significantly younger (P = 0.02) and had poorer disease prognosis (odds ratio [OR] = 2.7, 95% confidence interval [CI] = 1.4-5.4, P = 0.003) and were more likely to have extensive cutaneous KS when compared with males (OR = 3.1, 95% CI = 1.4-6.7, P = 0.003). One-third of patients had coexisting HIV-related disease, most commonly tuberculosis, and these were more frequent in females (56.7 vs. 43.3%). In conclusion, HIV-associated KS in South Africans has an equal female-to-male ratio. Females are younger and have more severe disease than males.
The impact of recurrent rectal cancer on quality of life.

AIMS To determine, in patients operated upon for rectal cancer, the impact that tumour recurrence has on quality of life. METHODS Twenty-five patients, who had curative surgery for rectal cancer from 1992 to 1997, and who subsequently developed tumour recurrence, participated. Each patient was individually matched with two patients who also had rectal cancer surgery during the same period of time but were considered to be free of cancer. The patients were matched for age, gender, type of operation and socioeconomic status. They answered the European Organization for the Research and Treatment of Cancer (EORTC) QLQ-C30 and CR38 quality of life questionnaires, as well as the SF36 II questionnaire, at least 1 year after surgery. RESULTS Patients with recurrent rectal cancer had significantly lower quality of life scores than cured patients in most dimensions, as measured by the three questionnaires. A significant difference was also seen in the global quality of life score on the QLQ-C30 (median scores 50 vs 75, z = 4.015, P = 0.0001). CONCLUSION Recurrence of rectal cancer has a profound effect on quality of life, affecting most measurable dimensions. Treatment of recurrent cancer should not only be directed at the physical aspect of the disease, but also at its psychological and social aspects.
Functional N‐methyl‐D‐aspartate receptors in clonal rat phaeochromocytoma cells.

1. To characterize from a molecular and functional point of view the endogenous NMDA receptors expressed by phaeochromocytoma (PC12) cells, experiments involving polymerase chain reaction (PCR) amplification, Western blotting and patch‐clamp analysis of undifferentiated and nerve growth factor (NGF)‐differentiated PC12 cells were performed. 2. Analysis of PC12 mRNA demonstrated the presence of NMDAR1 and NMDAR2C transcripts. The NMDAR1 subunits lack the amino terminal insert of twenty‐one amino acid residues, where as transcripts with and without deletions I and II at the 3' end of the coding region were detected. Thus, NMDA receptors of the PC12 cells might include NMDAR1A, NMDAR1E, NMDAR1C and NMDAR1D subunits. 3. Differentiation by NGF treatment of PC12 cells did not alter mRNA expression for NMDA receptor subunits significantly but induced an increase in both the NMDAR1 protein and the total amount of functional receptors that correlated well with a parallel increase in membrane area. 4. NMDA receptors in differentiated PC12 cells had a high affinity for both glutamate and glycine. These were estimated kinetically as 0.59 microM and 74 nM, respectively. Responses to glutamate or NMDA were non‐desensitizing in the presence of saturating glycine, but slowly desensitized with low concentrations of glycine. Currents were completely blocked by D‐aminophosphonovalerate (APV), 7‐Cl‐kynurenate and phencyclidine, and showed a voltage‐dependent magnesium blockade. Spermine did not potentiate but inhibited NMDA receptor‐mediated responses in a voltage‐independent manner. 5. With 0.5 mM Ca2+, single‐channel analysis revealed very brief openings (mean open time (t(o)) = 0.42 ms), with at least two conductive states, 55 and 33 pS, both having markedly low open probability. At 2 mM Ca2+, conductances were reduced to 39 and 19 pS, without an effect in open probability or mean open time. 6. The functional properties of NMDA receptors in PC12 cells were very similar to those described for NMDAR1A‐NMDAR2C heteromers recombinantly expressed. The PC12 cell line provides a simple and reproducible system to analyse some specific NMDA receptor properties.
Language and identity in the literature of the seventeenth-century New England Puritans

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Renal Functions During Positive Pressure Respiration

Summary Dogs under barbiturate anesthesia with one kidney acutely denervated and respiring air at greater than atmospheric pressure show two types of renal functional changes. In half the animals studied, a reduction in glomerular filtration rate, renal plasma flow, maximal tubular transport of glucose, urine volume, and sodium excretion occurred in the intact kidney. No change in these functions occurred in the denervated kidney. In the rest of the animals, changes in glomerular filtration, renal plasma flow, and urine formation were smaller, while the TmG increased. The renal functions of these animals appear to have been depressed during control observations, perhaps due to trauma or deep anesthesia. but positive pressure respiration caused partial restoration. Since both kidneys participated, the mechanism must be independent of the renal nerves.
Local Radiation Therapy of B16 Melanoma Tumors Increases the Generation of Tumor Antigen-Specific Effector Cells That Traffic to the Tumor1

Immunotherapy of cancer is attractive because of its potential for specificity and limited side effects. The efficacy of this approach may be improved by providing adjuvant signals and an inflammatory environment for immune cell activation. We evaluated antitumor immune responses in mice after treatment of OVA-expressing B16-F0 tumors with single (15 Gy) or fractionated (5 × 3 Gy) doses of localized ionizing radiation. Irradiated mice had cells with greater capability to present tumor Ags and specific T cells that secreted IFN-γ upon peptide stimulation within tumor-draining lymph nodes than nonirradiated mice. Immune activation in tumor-draining lymph nodes correlated with an increase in the number of CD45+ cells infiltrating single dose irradiated tumors compared with nonirradiated mice. Similarly, irradiated mice had increased numbers of tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes that secreted IFN-γ and lysed tumor cell targets. Peptide-specific IFN-γ responses were directed against both the class I and class II MHC-restricted OVA peptides OVA257–264 and OVA323–339, respectively, as well as the endogenous class I MHC-restricted B16 tumor peptide tyrosinase-related protein 2180–188. Adoptive transfer studies indicated that the increased numbers of tumor Ag-specific immune cells within irradiated tumors were most likely due to enhanced trafficking of these cells to the tumor site. Together these results suggest that localized radiation can increase both the generation of antitumor immune effector cells and their trafficking to the tumor site.
Effect of dehydroleucodine on meiosis reinitiation in Bufo arenarum denuded oocytes

Summary In amphibian oocytes meiosis, the transition from G2 to M phase is regulated by the maturation promoting factor (MPF), a complex of the cyclin-dependent kinase p34/cdc2 and cyclin B. In immature oocytes there is an inactive complex (pre-MPF), in which cdc2 is phosphorylated on both Thr-161 and Thr-14/Tyr-15 residues. The dephosphorylation of Thr-14/Tyr-15 is necessary for the start of MPF activation and it is induced by the activation of cdc25 phosphatase. Late, to complete the activation, a small amount of active MPF induces an auto-amplification loop of MPF stimulation (MPF amplification). Dehydroleucodine (DhL) is a sesquiterpenic lactone that inhibits mammalian cell proliferation in G2. We asked whether DhL interferes with MPF activation. For this question, the effect of DhL (up to 30 μM) on the resumption of meiosis was evaluated, and visualized by germinal vesicle break down (GVBD), of Bufo arenarum oocytes induced in vitro by either: (i) removing follicle cells; (ii) progesterone stimulation; (iii) VG-content injection; or (iv) injection of mature cytoplasm. The results show that DhL induced GVBD inhibition, in a dose-dependent manner, in spontaneous and progesterone-induced oocyte maturation. Nevertheless, DhL at the doses assayed had no effect on GVBD induced by mature cytoplasm injection, but exerted an inhibitory effect on GVBD induced by GV content. On the basis of these results, we interpreted that DhL does not inhibit MPF amplification and that the target of DhL is any event in the early stages of the cdc25 activation cascade.
Heparin Binding and Oligomerization of Hepatocyte Growth Factor/Scatter Factor Isoforms

Hepatocyte growth factor/scatter factor (HGF/SF) is a heparin-binding polypeptide that stimulates cell proliferation, motility, and morphogenesis by activation of its receptor, the c-Met tyrosine kinase. HGF/SF consists of a series of structural units, including an amino-terminal segment with a hairpin loop, four kringle domains, and a serine protease-like region. In this study, we demonstrate that the amino-terminal (N) domain retains the heparin-binding properties of full-length HGF/SF. In contrast to a previous hypothesis, selected basic amino acid residues in the hairpin loop are not critical for heparin binding, although alanine substitution at a subset of these sites markedly reduced the biological activity of the HGF/SF isoform, HGF/NK1. Covalent cross-linking experiments performed with wild-type and heparan sulfate glycosaminoglycan (HSGAG)-deficient Chinese hamster ovary (CHO) cells revealed that Met-HGF/NK1 binding was strongly dependent on HSGAG. Addition of heparin to HSGAG-deficient CHO cells not only restored ligand binding, but also increased ligand-dependent Met tyrosine phosphorylation and c-fos expression. Moreover, our results showed that heparin stimulated ligand oligomerization through an interaction with the N domain. These findings establish the importance of the N domain for heparin-ligand and ligand-ligand interactions, and demonstrate a crucial role for HSGAG in receptor binding and signal transduction.
An Application of Latin Hypercube Sampling Strategy for Cogging Torque Reduction of Large-Scale Permanent Magnet Motor

An adaptive response surface method with Latin hypercube sampling strategy is employed to optimize a magnet pole shape of large-scale brushless direct current (BLDC) motor to minimize the cogging torque. The proposed algorithm consists of the multi-objective Pareto optimization and (1+ lambda) evolution strategy to find the global optimal points with relatively fewer sampling data. In the adaptive response surface method (RSM), an adaptive sampling point insertion method is developed utilizing the design sensitivities computed by using finite-element method to get a reasonable response surface with a relatively small number of sampling points. The developed algorithm is applied to the shape optimization of PM poles for 6 MW BLDC motor, and the cogging torque is reduced to 19% of the initial one.
Allogeneic hematopoietic cell transplantation (allogeneic HCT) for treatment of pediatric Philadelphia chromosome‐positive acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL)

Allogeneic hematopoietic cell transplant (HCT) with best available donor for children with Philadelphia positive (Ph+) acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) has previously been considered standard practice. Since the introduction of imatinib into the treatment of this disease, the role of allogeneic HCT is more uncertain.
Hepatocarcinogenicity of benzo[a]pyrene to rainbow trout by dietary exposure and intraperitoneal injection.

The influence of benzo[a]pyrene [(BP) CAS: 50-32-8] on the induction of certain enzymes within the hepatic mixed-function oxidase (MFO) system and its potential carcinogenicity were examined in rainbow trout (Salmo gairdneri). Nine-week feeding trials were performed with 500 and 1,000 ppm BP to determine trout tolerance to BP. Levels of MFO enzymes, including ethoxyresorufin-O-deethylase (EROD), ethoxycoumarin-O-deethylase (ECOD), benzo[a]pyrene monooxygenase (BPMO), and cytochrome P450 were measured during this time. An 18-month feeding trial of a 1,000-ppm BP dose was initiated in duplicate groups of 100 fingerling rainbow trout. Samples of trout were killed at 6, 12, and 18 months for gross and histologic examination of the internal organs for neoplasms. A group of fifty 10-month-old rainbow trout were given 12 monthly ip injections of 1 mg BP in 0.4 ml propylene glycol (PG), and comparable controls were given PG injections only. The trout were held for an additional 6 months, killed at age 28 months, and examined as in the dietary study. Mean MFO enzyme levels of EROD, ECOD, BPMO, and cytochrome P450 were significantly (P less than .001) elevated, showing dose- and time-response relationships when compared to MFO enzyme levels in control fish. Twelve months after BP exposure was initiated, 15% of the BP-fed fish had histologically confirmed neoplasms of the liver. After 18 months the incidence increased to 25%. No evidence of neoplasia was observed in control fish. BP injected ip resulted in a 50% incidence of hepatocellular neoplasms and in a fibrosarcoma of the liver and papillary adenomas of the swim bladder in 1 fish. These results indicate that BP is a potent inducer of selected hepatic MFO enzymes and establish, for the first time, the hepatocarcinogenicity of BP in an aquatic species.