Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Survival of patients with chronic myelogenous leukaemia relapsing after bone marrow transplantation: comparison with patients receiving conventional chemotherapy

Treatment with busulphan and/or hydroxyurea rarely produces remission in patients with chronic myelogenous leukaemia (CML) in chronic phase. HLA‐identical sibling transplants almost always produce remission, and only about 20% of patients relapse post‐transplant. The increased anti‐leukaemic efficacy of transplants results from intensive pretransplant treatment and immune‐mediated anti‐leukaemia effects. We studied 433 patients surviving 2 years after diagnosis of CML to determine if patients who have relapsed after a transplant in chronic phase have longer survival from diagnosis than comparable subjects receiving chemotherapy. The chemotherapy cohort included 344 adults < 50 years of age treated on consecutive trials of the Italian Cooperative Study Group on CML between 1973 and 1986. The transplant cohort included 89 patients reported to the International Bone Marrow Transplant Registry who relapsed after an HLA‐identical sibling bone marrow transplant carried out between 1978 and 1992. Survivals in the two groups were compared using Cox proportional hazards regression to adjust for prognostic variables. Median survival was 65 months in the chemotherapy cohort and 86 months in the transplant cohort. The 7‐year probability (95% confidence interval) of survival was 34% (28–39%) in the chemotherapy cohort and 57% (43–70%) in the transplant cohort (P=0.003). There was no difference in survival of patients relapsing after T‐cell depleted and non‐T‐cell‐depleted transplants. We conclude that patients who relapse after an HLA‐identical sibling bone marrow transplant for CML in chronic phase have longer survival from diagnosis than comparable patients receiving chemotherapy. This effect is most likely to be the result of intensive chemotherapy and/or radiation given for pretransplant conditioning.
Two Immunologically Distinct Human DNA Polymerase α-Primase Subpopulations Are Involved in Cellular DNA Replication

ABSTRACT Metabolic labeling of primate cells revealed the existence of phosphorylated and hypophosphorylated DNA polymerase α-primase (Pol-Prim) populations that are distinguishable by monoclonal antibodies. Cell cycle studies showed that the hypophosphorylated form was found in a complex with PP2A and cyclin E-Cdk2 in G1, whereas the phosphorylated enzyme was associated with a cyclin A kinase in S and G2. Modification of Pol-Prim by PP2A and Cdks regulated the interaction with the simian virus 40 origin-binding protein large T antigen and thus initiation of DNA replication. Confocal microscopy demonstrated nuclear colocalization of hypophosphorylated Pol-Prim with MCM2 in S phase nuclei, but its presence preceded 5-bromo-2′-deoxyuridine (BrdU) incorporation. The phosphorylated replicase exclusively colocalized with the BrdU signal, but not with MCM2. Immunoprecipitation experiments proved that only hypophosphorylated Pol-Prim associated with MCM2. The data indicate that the hypophosphorylated enzyme initiates DNA replication at origins, and the phosphorylated form synthesizes the primers for the lagging strand of the replication fork.
Gut Microbiota Differences in Children From Distinct Socioeconomic Levels Living in the Same Urban Area in Brazil

Objective: To compare gut microbiota in impoverished children versus children of high socioeconomic status living in the same urban area in Brazil. Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted to evaluate 100 children living in a slum and 30 children from a private school, ages between 5 and 11 years old, in Sao Paulo State, Brazil. To characterize the groups, data based on socioeconomic status, sanitation, and housing conditions were collected. Anthropometric measurements and neonatal data were obtained from both groups. Gut microbiota were quantified in fecal samples by real-time polymerase chain reaction. Results: The children in the private school group had higher rates of cesarean delivery and premature birth than the children in the slum group. Staphylococcus aureus (90% vs 48.0%) and Clostridium difficile (100% vs 43.0%) were more commonly found in the children from the private school than in the impoverished children (P < 0.0001). C perfringens was most frequently identified in the group of children from the slum (92.0% vs 80%; P = 0.064). Higher counts of total eubacteria, Firmicutes and Bacteroidetes phyla organisms, Escherichia coli, Lactobacillus spp. , and Methanobrevibacter smithii were found in the children living in poverty, whereas higher counts of Salmonella spp. , C difficile, and C perfringens were observed in the children living in satisfactory housing conditions (P < 0.05). Conclusions: Important differences were observed between the gut microbiota of children living under distinct socioeconomic and environmental conditions within the same city. Our findings suggest that children of high socioeconomic status have less favorable gut microbiota than do children who live in poverty.
Dyslexia and Visual-Spatial Talents: No Clear Link

Most research on dyslexia has explored the behavioral and neurological deficits at the core of this syndrome. Some researchers, however, have searched for possible compensatory strengths associated with dyslexia. Orton (1925) suggested that dyslexia is sometimes accompanied by spatial talents. Norman Geschwind and Albert Galaburda (1987) noted a high incidence of individuals with dyslexia in professions requiring spatial abilities, professions such as art, engineering, or architecture, and proposed a theoretical model involving the influence of testosterone on fetal brain development to account for such a link. Several case studies have described individuals with indisputable spatial talents who may also have been dyslexic (Aaron & Guillemard, 1993; Aaron, Phillips, & Larsen, 1988;Gordon, 1983; West, 1997). Three of the four dyslexics whose brains were autopsied by Galaburda, Sherman, Rosen, Aboitiz, and Geschwind (1985) were likely to have had high spatial abilities because one had been an engineer, one a sheet metal sculptor, and one had been athletically gifted. There is also a growing popular view that individuals with dyslexia have compensatory visual-spatial talents that allow them to excel in spatial activities such as computer graphics (West, 1997).
Managing an animal health emergency in Taipei China: foot and mouth disease.

Taipei China had been free from foot and mouth disease (FMD) over 68 years before the disease occurred in March 1997. The first suspected case was recorded on a pig farm in the Hsinchu Prefecture on 14 March 1997. Based on clinical signs, gross histopathological findings, and results of enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays and reverse-transcriptase polymerase chain reaction tests, diagnosis of FMD was confirmed by the Taiwan Animal Health Research Institute on 19 March 1997 and was reconfirmed by the FMD World Reference Laboratory in Pirbright (United Kingdom), on 25 March 1997. By the end of July 1997, 6,147 pig farms (about a quarter of the pig farms in Taipei China), were affected. The disease was well under control within two months by means of stamping-out and blanket vaccination. The Government purchased 21 million doses of inactivated oil-adjuvant FMD vaccine, which allowed for two injections per pig and one injection of other cloven-hoofed animals. Before the vaccine was used, the stamping-out policy was implemented, ensuring that all pigs in the affected farms were destroyed. After blanket vaccination, a partial stamping-out policy was adopted, i.e. only pigs showing clinical signs were destroyed.
Nutritional Status Based on Body Mass Index Is Associated With Morbidity and Mortality in Mechanically Ventilated Critically Ill Children in the PICU*

Objective:To determine the influence of admission anthropometry on clinical outcomes in mechanically ventilated children in the PICU. Design:Data from two multicenter cohort studies were compiled to examine the unique contribution of nutritional status, defined by body mass index z score, to 60-day mortality, hospital-acquired infections, length of hospital stay, and ventilator-free days, using multivariate analysis. Setting:Ninety PICUs from 16 countries with eight or more beds. Patients:Children aged 1 month to 18 years, admitted to each participating PICU and requiring mechanical ventilation for more than 48 hours. Measurements and Main Results:Data from 1,622 eligible patients, 54.8% men and mean (SD) age 4.5 years (5.1), were analyzed. Subjects were classified as underweight (17.9%), normal weight (54.2%), overweight (14.5%), and obese (13.4%) based on body mass index z score at admission. After adjusting for severity of illness and site, the odds of 60-day mortality were higher in underweight (odds ratio, 1.53; p < 0.001) children. The odds of hospital-acquired infections were higher in underweight (odds ratio, 1.88; p = 0.008) and obese (odds ratio, 1.64; p < 0.001) children. Hazard ratios for hospital discharge were lower among underweight (hazard ratio, 0.71; p < 0.001) and obese (hazard ratio, 0.82; p = 0.04) children. Underweight was associated with 1.3 (p = 0.001) and 1.6 (p < 0.001) fewer ventilator-free days than normal weight and overweight, respectively. Conclusions:Malnutrition is prevalent in mechanically ventilated children on admission to PICUs worldwide. Classification as underweight or obese was associated with higher risk of hospital-acquired infections and lower likelihood of hospital discharge. Underweight children had a higher risk of mortality and fewer ventilator-free days.
Involvement of T helper type 17 and regulatory T cell activity in tumour immunology of bladder carcinoma

T helper type 17 (Th17) and regulatory T cells (Treg) play an important role in the pathogenesis of inflammation and autoimmune disorders. Recent studies have suggested that they also had an impact on tumour immunology. However, the relationship between Th17 and Treg cells in the pathogenesis of bladder carcinoma is still unclear. Flow cytometry was used to analyse the numbers, phenotype and cytokine production of Th17 cells in peripheral blood and tumour tissue from bladder carcinoma patients, in parallel with analysis of Treg cells. The suppressor capacity of Treg and the potential effects of interleukin (IL)‐2 on the differentiation of Th17 and Treg cells in vitro were studied in a T cell stimulation and suppression assays. The results were as follows: Th17 cells were enriched in the tumours of patients with bladder carcinoma compared with the peripheral blood of patients and controls; patients with bladder carcinoma had a higher proportion of Treg cells in peripheral blood compared with healthy controls and nearly all patients examined showed a relative enrichment of tumour‐infiltrating Treg with respect to peripheral blood; there appeared to be an inverse relationship between tumour‐infiltrating Th17 and Treg cells; IL‐2 could convert tumour‐infiltrating Treg cells cultured in the presence of the autologous irradiated CD3– fraction into Th17 cells, down‐regulate forkhead box P2 expression and suppressive capacity of Treg cells. This study is the first to define the frequency and characteristics of Th17 cells in bladder carcinoma. We suggest that the balance between Th17 and Treg cells may be involved in the development or progression of bladder carcinoma.
Reply to the comment by A.Revil on "Review of Self-potential methods in Hydrogeophysics", by L. Jouniaux et al. The final version of this article is published in C. R. Geosciences, 342, 810-813, 2010.

HAL is a multi-disciplinary open access archive for the deposit and dissemination of scientific research documents, whether they are published or not. The documents may come from teaching and research institutions in France or abroad, or from public or private research centers. L’archive ouverte pluridisciplinaire HAL, est destinée au dépôt et à la diffusion de documents scientifiques de niveau recherche, publiés ou non, émanant des établissements d’enseignement et de recherche français ou étrangers, des laboratoires publics ou privés. Reply to the comment by A. Revil on ”Review of Self-potential methods in Hydrogeophysics” by L. Jouniaux et al. [C. R. Geoscience 341 (2009) 928-936] Laurence Jouniaux, Alexis Maineult, Véronique Naudet, Marc Pessel, Pascal Sailhac
2-D Numerical analysis of the impact of the highly-doped profile on selective emitter solar cell performance

Two-dimensional (2-D) numerical simulations have been performed to investigate the impact of the doping profile in the metal-contacted highly-doped regions for c-Si selective emitter (SE) solar cells. Numerical results show that the doping profile under the metallization significantly influences the recombination effects on the front-side of the SE cell and consequently its performance. A strong impact on the short-circuit current density of the solar cell has been seen. This is mainly due to the inclusion of large alignment tolerances used in the SE diffusion for the subsequent metallization process, leading to broad highly-doped areas. In this regard, a quantitative analysis of this effect has been carried out. The results reveal that an improved alignment, allowing a reduction of the alignment tolerances, leads to a wider process window of doping profiles and hence better SE cell performance.
Elevated blood pressure in normotensive rats produced by ‘knockdown’ of the angiotensin type 2 receptor

Most of our knowledge of the function of the angiotensin type 2 receptor (AT2R) has been obtained from transgenic mouse models. The aim of the present study was to investigate the role of the AT2R in normotensive Sprague–Dawley (SD) rats by using antisense gene transfer technology to ‘knockdown’ this specific receptor subtype. A retroviral vector containing full‐length AT2R antisense cDNA (AT2R‐AS) was constructed and the effectiveness of the transduction of AT2R‐AS was studied in vitro. In subsequent in vivo studies, 5‐day‐old normotensive SD rats received a single intracardiac bolus (25 μl) of AT2R‐AS viral particles. When animals reached adulthood, direct blood pressure (BP), and both pressor and dipsogenic responses to angiotensin II were investigated. Long‐lasting expression of the AT2R‐AS transcript and a reduction in mRNA and binding of the AT2R was observed in vitro. Expression of AT2R‐AS transcript was maintained for 90 days in heart, kidney, lung and brain, indicating a high degree of transgene transduction in vivo. As adults, systolic BP and the pressor responses to angiotensin were significantly elevated in AT2R‐AS‐treated rats. However, AT2R‐AS‐treated rats displayed significantly reduced dipsogenic responses to both angiotensin and water deprivation. Collectively, these data demonstrate that a single neonatal injection of the retroviral vector containing antisense to the AT2 receptors in rats results in similar cardiovascular and dipsogenic responses as reported in AT2R knockout mice. The actions of the AT2 receptors appear to be antagonistic to the cardiovascular actions of the AT1 receptors, whereas AT1 and AT2 receptors appear to act synergistically in the regulation of water intake.
Genomic Integrity of Mouse Embryonic Stem Cells

Embryonic stem (ES) cells are isolated from the inner cell mass (ICM) of a blastocyst stage embryo, which consists of a layer of trophoblast cells lining the ICM and blastocoel or blastocyst cavity. The ICM and trophoblast cells give rise to the embryo proper and extraembryonic tissue, respectively. Thirthy years ago the in vitro culture of mouse ES (mES) cells was first described (Evans and Kaufman, 1981; Martin, 1981) and later in 1998 also human ES (hES) cells were derived (Thomson et al. 1998). ES cells are characterized by the unique properties of unlimited self-renewal without senescence and pluripotency. The latter infers that ES cells give rise to all cell types of the body. These specific properties led to the great scientific interest in ES cell either for their potential medical applications or as models to address more fundamental questions in development.
Isolation, detection and genomic differentiation of vibrio cholerae and vibrio parahaemolyticus in Bachok, Kelantan

The objective of this study was to determine the genetic diversity and virulence factors of Vibrio cholerae and V. parahaemolyticus from selected aquatic environments in Bachok, Kelantan, Malaysia. Out of 50 water samples, 33 were confirmed with the presence of presumptive V. cholerae and V. parahaemolyticus based on biochemical tests. Primers targeting toxR gene specific for V. cholerae (800bp) and V. parahaemolyticus (368bp), tdh (251bp) and trh (250bp) virulence genes were used in the PCR. Results of PCR showed that only 25 isolates of V. parahaemolyticus and 3 of V. cholerae had the toxR gene. None of the V. parahaemolyticus isolates had the trh and tdh genes. Repetitive extragenic palindromic PCR (REP-PCR) was used to determine the relatedness of these strains at the genomic level. Cluster analysis for REP-PCR showed 2 major clusters A-B, with several isolates from different locations grouped together indicating the geographical relatedness due to interconnected waterways. REPPCR showed that the species of Vibrios are genetically diverse.
The structure of the regulatory region of the rat L1 (L1Rn, long interspersed repeated) DNA family of transposable elements.

Here we report the DNA structure of the left 1.5 kb of two newly isolated full length members of the rat L1 DNA family (L1Rn, long interspersed repeated DNA). In contrast to earlier isolated rat L1 members, both of these contain promoter-like regions that are most likely full length. In addition, the promoter-like region of both members has undergone a partial tandem duplication. A second internal region of the left end of one of the reported members is also tandemly duplicated. The propensity of the left end of rat L1 elements to undergo this form of genetic rearrangement, as well as other structural features revealed by the present work, is discussed in light of the fact that during evolution the otherwise conserved mammalian L1 DNA families have each acquired completely different promoter-like regions. In an accompanying paper [Nur, I. , Pascale, E. , and Furano, A. V. (1988) Nucleic Acids Res. 16, submitted], we report that one of the rat promoter-like regions can function as a promoter in rat cells when fused to the Escherichia coli chloramphenicol acyltransferase gene.
Adenocarcinoma arising in an intrathoracic duplication cyst of foregut origin: A case report with review of the literature

A 41‐year‐old man presented with an asymptomatic superior mediastinal mass. At thoracotomy, a duplication cyst of the foregut was found. Microscopic examination of the cyst revealed mucosal alterations ranging from dysplasia and in situ carcinoma to infiltrating colonic carcinoma. Although malignant change has been reported in intra‐abdominal foregut cysts, this is the first reported instance of carcinoma arising in a mediastinal duplication cyst.
Modelling the light curves of ultraluminous X-ray sources as precession

We present a freely available xspec model for the modulations seen in the long-term light curves of multiple ultraluminous X-ray sources (ULXs). By incorporating the physics of multiple electron scatterings (ray traced with a Monte Carlo routine), we go beyond analytical predictions and show that the geometrical beaming of radiation in the conical outflow can be more than a factor of 100 for opening angles smaller than 10o. We apply our new model to the long-term, well-sampled Swift light curve of the recently confirmed ULX pulsar NGC 5907 X-1 with an established period of 78 d. Our results suggest that geometrical beaming together with a slight precession of the conical wind can describe the light curve with a consistent set of parameters for the wind. The small opening angle of roughly 10o−13o implies a highly supercritical flow and boosting factors of the order of B = 60–90 that would yield a fairly low surface magnetic field strength of 2 × 1010 G.
Total antioxidant activity and radical scavenging capacity of selected fruits and vegetables from south India.

The objective of this present study was to analyse and compare the total antioxidant activity and radical scavenging capacity of selected fruits and vegetables from south India. The selected fruits and vegetables such as mulberries, papaya, red grapes, mango, guava, tomato, red onion, red cauliflower, carrot and beetroot were used in this study. The selected fruits and vegetables showed a high variation in content of total ascorbic acid (ranged from 10.83 to 68.71 mg/100 g fresh weight (FW)); total phenolics (ranged from 26.57 to 57.64 mg/ 100 g FW) and total flavonoids (ranged from 2.49 to 12.69 mg/100 g FW). Total antioxidant capacity of the selected fruits and vegetables were ranged from 31.21 to 61.11 mg/100 g FW. The higher levels of radical scavenging capacity were observed in beetroot, red onion, red cauliflower, red grapes and mulberries as compared to other fruits and vegetables (P < 0.05). Papaya and guava had moderate levels of radical scavenging capacity (P < 0.05). On the other hand, mango and tomato obtained low levels of radical scavenging capacity (P < 0.05). The overall, pigmented fruits and vegetables in this study contained the higher levels of antioxidant and radical scavenging capacity.
Government Debt and Long-Term Interest Rates

This paper examines the relationship between government debt and long-term interest rates. A dynamic general equilibrium model that incorporates debt nonneutrality is specified and solved, and numerical simulations using the model are undertaken. In addition, empirical evidence using panel data for 19 industrial countries is examined. The estimation provides some evidence supporting the theoretical predictions: the paper finds that the simulated and estimated interest rate effects of government debt tend to be small. However, an increase in government consumption and debt leads to a considerably larger effect. The paper also argues that, although the interest rate effects of pure crowding out may be limited, the economic impact of accumulating government debt cannot be ignored.