Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Role of Host Protein Tyrosine Phosphatase SHP-1 in Leishmania donovani-Induced Inhibition of Nitric Oxide Production

ABSTRACT In order to survive within the macrophages of its host organism, the protozoan parasite Leishmania inhibits a number of critical, gamma interferon (IFN-γ)-inducible, macrophage functions, including the generation of nitric oxide. We have previously shown that the protein tyrosine phosphatase SHP-1 (Src-homology 2 domain containing phosphatase-1) is activated during Leishmania infection and plays an important role in both the survival of Leishmania within cultured macrophages and disease progression in vivo by inhibiting nitric oxide production. Here we use a SHP-1−/− macrophage cell line derived from motheaten mice to address the mechanisms by which SHP-1 prevents IFN-γ-dependent nitric oxide production during Leishmania donovani infection. We show that Leishmania inhibits nitric oxide production in response to IFN-γ poorly in SHP-1-deficient macrophages. This correlates with the inability of Leishmania to alter JAK2 and mitogen-activated protein kinase extracellular signal-regulated kinase 1 and 2 (ERK1/2) phosphorylation and to prevent nuclear translocation of transcription factors NF-κB and AP-1, although the latter two to a lesser extent. Surprisingly, Leishmania inactivated the transcription factor STAT1 to a similar extent in SHP-1-deficient and wild-type macrophages, so STAT1 is not necessary for nitric oxide production by infected macrophages. Overall, this study demonstrates that induction of SHP-1 by Leishmania is vital for inhibition of nitric oxide generation and that this inhibition occurs through the inactivation of JAK2 and ERK1/2, and transcription factors NF-κB and AP-1.
Listening strategies in infancy: The roots of music and language development.

There has been growing interest in the perception of complex auditory (non-speech) patterns but surprisingly" little concern for the origins of such abilities. Nevertheless, contemporary perspectives in this domain often embody implicit, if not explicit, claims about such origins. For some (e.g. Leek 1987; Watson 1987), pattern perception processes are not stable and 'hardwired' but rather have considerable plasticity, being dependent on the experience, training, and expectations of the listener. Indeed, the perceptual organization of particular patterns is thought to depend on extensive formal or informal training with similar materials, with attention, listening strategy, and task demands playing a prominent role (Espinoza-Varas and Watson 1989). The assumption, moreover, is that the amount and kind of information that listeners can extract from a sound pattern is determined primarily by the relative difficulty of the task and secondarily by features of the pattern itself. Accordingly, a difficult task would lead to a synthetic or global mode of listening (i.e. poor sensitivity for pattern components) in contrast to an easy task, which would engage analytic listening skills (i.e. enhanced resolution of individual components) and make alternative representations available to the listener. What is clear, however, is that prolonged practice is deemed essential for fully developed perceptual representations of patterns' (Espinoza-Varas and Watson 1989, p. 90). This position implies that auditory pattern perception is almost entirely, learned. Conceivably, however, pattern perception could be given in its entirety by nature, in which case the perception of auditory events would . be uniform across individuals, with learning involved only in such things· • as the memory for specific patterns (e.g. individual voices, tunes) as well ·
Prevalence of obstructive sleep apnea syndrome and associated symptoms in 3–11‐year‐old Turkish children

Our objective was to investigate the prevalence of sleep‐disordered breathing (SDB) and obstructive sleep apnea syndrome (OSAS) in 3–11‐year‐old Turkish children. A cross‐sectional study was conducted in Zonguldak, northwestern Turkey. Symptomatic children were identified by using a self‐administered questionnaire and were classified into three groups: nonsnorers, occasional snorers, and habitual snorers. All habitual snoring children were invited to undergo polysomnography (PSG). Nine hundred fifty‐four children (79.5%) were nonsnorers, 205 (17.2%) were occasional snorers, and 39 (3.3%) were habitual snorers. There was no significant relationship between gender and habitual snoring (male, 3.4%; female, 3.1%; P > 0.05; odds ratio (OR), 1.13; 95% confidence interval (CI), 0.59–2.14). There was a statistically significant relationship between habitual snoring and allergic rhinitis (OR, 4.23; 95% CI, 2.14–8.35). Four children who snored every night, and who had apnea spells and/or troubled sleep, underwent adenoidectomy and/or tonsillectomy before polysomnographic evaluation because of clinical detoriation. Twenty‐eight of 39 children with habitual snoring participated in PSG evaluation. PSG revealed that 11 children (0.9% of the total population) had OSAS. When 4 operated children were added to these 28 children, we found the minimum prevalence of OSAS to be 1.3% in our study group. There was a significant correlation between OSAS and troubled sleeping (P < 0.001; OR, 4.37; 95% CI, 1.33–14.3). We found the prevalence of habitual snoring to be 3.3% in Turkish children by using self‐administered questionnaires. Allergic rhinitis was significantly correlated with habitual snoring. Minimum estimated prevalence of OSAS was found to be 1.3%. Pediatr Pulmonol. 2005; 39:251–256. © 2005 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
A P ] 1 0 A ug 2 01 7 UNIQUENESS IN INVERSE ELASTIC SCATTERING WITH ONE INCIDENT PLANE WAVE

In this paper, we give a positive answer to a longstanding open problem for determining the shape of an obstacle from the knowledge of the far field pattern for the scattering of time-harmonic elastic wave. We show that the elastic far field pattern by an incoming plane wave with a fixed frequency, a fixed incident direction and a fixed polarization determines the obstacle D and the boundary condition on ∂D uniquely. The boundary condition on ∂D is either the Dirichlet, or the Neumann, or the Robin one.
Contrast media in diagnosis and the attendant risks; the tolerance of the organism to some common contrast media.

The contrast media of greatest relevant interest are those belonging to the diodonum group and it is only to these media that I shall refer; they consist of the diethanolamine and dietylamine salts of 3,5-diiodo-4pyridone-N-acetic acid diethanolamine. The nomenclature is bewildering. The former salt is classed in WHO's nomenclature as diodonum. However, by diodonum as used by the N ordiska Farmalcopeniimnden. (Scandinavian Pharmacopeia) is to be understood the acid itself. In U. S. A. the diethanolamine salt goes under the name of iodopyracet. The mixture of the diethanolamine and dietylamine salts is called 'iodopyracet compound solution'. The media are marketed under different names, such as Diodrast, Diodone, Perabrodil and Umbradil. For convenience I call all these media contrast media of the diodonum group.
The role of vitamin D in improving physical performance in the elderly

There is an ongoing debate over the role of serum 25(OH) vitamin D [25(OH)D] levels in maintaining or improving physical performance and muscle strength. Much of the controversy is because of the variability between studies in participants' characteristics, baseline serum 25(OH)D levels, and baseline physical functioning. The aim of this ancillary study conducted within a randomized controlled clinical trial was to investigate whether supplementation with 400 or 2000 IU vitamin D3 daily for 6 months would improve measures of physical performance and muscle strength in a community‐dwelling elderly population aged 65 to 95 years. Those with the slowest gait speed improved their ability to do chair‐stand tests after vitamin D supplementation. This finding remained significant after controlling for potential confounding variables. There was also an inverse correlation between serum 25(OH)D levels and fat mass index (FMI) among women, suggesting that higher supplementation with vitamin D is needed as weight increases. The results of this study suggest that supplementation with vitamin D may be most beneficial in older populations who have low baseline physical functioning. © 2013 American Society for Bone and Mineral Research.
Mindfulness, Self-Compassion, and Empathy Among Health Care Professionals: A Review of the Literature

The relationship between mindfulness and self-compassion is explored in the health care literature, with a corollary emphasis on reducing stress in health care workers and providing compassionate patient care. Health care professionals are particularly vulnerable to stress overload and compassion fatigue due to an emotionally exhausting environment. Compassion fatigue among caregivers in turn has been associated with less effective delivery of care. Having compassion for others entails self-compassion. In Kristin Neff's research, self-compassion includes self-kindness, a sense of common humanity, and mindfulness. Both mindfulness and self-compassion involve promoting an attitude of curiosity and nonjudgment towards one's experiences. Research suggests that mindfulness interventions, particularly those with an added lovingkindness component, have the potential to increase self-compassion among health care workers. Enhancing focus on developing self-compassion using MBSR and other mindfulness interventions for health care workers holds promise for reducing perceived stress and increasing effectiveness of clinical care.
GENDER AND FORGIVENESS : A META – ANALYTIC

A meta–analysis was conducted with 53 articles reporting 70 studies that addressed gender and forgiveness. The mean d was . 28 indicating that females are more forgiving than males. Potential methodological moderators were examined: (a) type of sample, (b) target of forgiveness, (c) trait, state, or familial/marital forgiveness, (d) actual versus hypothetical transgressions, (e) measurement modalities (i.e., questionnaire, experiment, or survey), (f) type of forgiveness measure, (g) published or not published, (h) validated measures versus non–validated measures, and (i) culture. No methodological variables moderated the relationship between gender and forgiveness. However, there were larger gender differences on vengeance than any other forgiveness–related measure. Other potential moderators were suggested as possibly influencing the gender difference including functional differences processing forgiveness, differences in dispositional qualities, and situational cues.
Two cytotoxic pathways of natural killer cells in human cord blood: implications in cord blood transplantation

Using K562 cells as a target we investigated cord blood (CB)–natural killer (NK) cytolytic pathways. The cytotoxicity of fresh CB‐NK cells was significantly lower than that of peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PB MNCs). When CB was incubated with IL‐2, the level of CB‐NK cytotoxicity was increased and boosted to the level observed in PB‐NK cells. Fresh CB‐NK cells induced apoptosis in target cells. Activated CB cells induced apoptosis and necrosis in target cells, at the same level as PB MNCs. CB stem cell transplantation may also induce graft‐versus‐host disease (GVHD)/graft‐versus‐leukaemia (GVL), similar to bone marrow transplantation.
Evaluation of the suitability and acceptability of a newly designed infant flour for infant feeding in the district of Bopa in south of Benin

Infant feeding practices do not always fit with quantity and quality requirements, leading to low expression of growth potential. In Benin, 43.1% of children less than6 months old are exclusively breastfed with 68% of children aged 6-8 months receiving complementary food. The study aimed to produce infant flour from raw food ingredients available in Bopa district and to test its acceptability by 6-12 months old children. In a first step of the study, formulation and determination of nutritional characteristics of the infant flour occurred. A second step concerned acceptability tests of gruel made from formulated infant flour. The study sample was composed of sixty five mothers and their children. Children�s acceptability test took place in the morning for three consecutive days. The gruel was consumed ad libitum. Mothers� acceptability test consisted of appreciation of organoleptic characteristics of the gruel and the infant flour processing.The infant flour was made of maize (65 %), bean (20 %) and peanut (15 %) and was manually processed. Chemical analysesshowed that it contains 4.3% of moisture, 69.3% of carbohydrates, 15.1% of proteins, 10.7% of lipids, less than 5% of crude fibres and 1.9% of ash. Its energy density (433.9 kcal/100g) was significantly greater than Codex Alimentarius standards (p<0.05). The infant flour contained microbial germs up to 4.8log CFU/g which was closed to maximum standard values. Total coliforms (1.7log CFU/g) were significantly lower than standard values. The flour was yeast, mould and pathogen (Escherichia coli) free. Hundred grams gruel was made from 40g of infant flour, 6g of malted maize and 250ml of stock of boiled greens leaves (Solanummacrocarpum). Dry matter content of gruel was 19.2% and its energy density was 81.5 kcal/100g. Basedon the ratio of intake and amount served, 83.3% of children accepted the gruel. However based on the ratio of the amount of porridge consumed during the testto the amount usually consumed by the children, 65.2% of the childrenaccepted the gruel. Mothers� appreciation of the gruel ranged from unpleasant to very pleasant with 40% as pleasant. Sixty percent of mothers judged the infant flour processing as easy and feasible. All mothers expressed their desire to feed their children with the gruel. Improving nutritional status of their children motivated their decision. It is concluded that integrating this infant flour in nutrition and counselling package targeted to mothers may be of a great benefit to the children.
Atypical Spitzoid Neoplasms in Childhood: A Molecular and Outcome Study

Abstract: The natural history of atypical Spitz neoplasms remains poorly understood, resulting in significant patient and clinician anxiety. We sought to better characterize outcomes that correlated with molecular features by performing a prospective cohort study of pediatric atypical spitzoid neoplasms in which fluorescence in situ hybridization studies were obtained for diagnosis. Cases with sufficient tissue underwent additional retrospective assessment for translocations in ALK, NTRK1, BRAF, RET, and ROS1. Among 246 total patients assessed, 13% had a positive fluorescence in situ hybridization result. Follow-up data was available in 85 patients. Two patients had a recurrence of whom 1 had distant metastasis. Both patients had homozygous deletions in 9p21. Homozygous deletions in 9p21 significantly correlated with recurrence of disease (P = 0.027). Fifteen (36%) of 42 cases were found to have a kinase fusion protein. However, the presence of kinase fusions was nonprognostic of recurrence (P > 0.99). This study was limited by the availability and length of follow-up data and the number of adverse outcomes. The majority of atypical spitzoid neoplasms in childhood have indolent behavior. Although the subgroup of patients with homozygous deletions in 9p21 is at higher risk for aggressive clinical behavior, their prognosis seems considerably better than similarly staged conventional melanoma.
Breathing pattern associated with respiratory comfort during automatic tube compensation and pressure support ventilation in normal subjects

Background: Automatic tube compensation (ATC) is a new option to support spontaneously breathing tracheally intubated patients. We have previously demonstrated an increased respiratory comfort compared to pressure support ventilation (PSV) in volunteers. Here we characterized the breathing pattern during ATC associated with respiratory comfort in comparison to PSV. Furthermore, we studied whether ATC can be substituted by a simple modification of PSV.
Unifying model for molecular determinants of the preselection Vβ repertoire

Significance The assembly of immunoglobulin and T-cell receptor genes by V(D)J (variable, diversity, joining) recombination must strike a balance between maximum diversification of antigen receptors and favoring gene segments with specialized functions. We quantified the use of V gene segments in the primary T-cell receptor β repertoire, defining the relative contribution of 13 parameters in shaping their recombination efficiencies. Computational analysis of these data provides a unifying model, revealing a minimal set of five parameters that predict Vβ use. This model building approach will help predict how natural alterations of large V clusters impact immune receptor repertoires. The primary antigen receptor repertoire is sculpted by the process of V(D)J recombination, which must strike a balance between diversification and favoring gene segments with specialized functions. The precise determinants of how often gene segments are chosen to complete variable region coding exons remain elusive. We quantified Vβ use in the preselection Tcrb repertoire and report relative contributions of 13 distinct features that may shape their recombination efficiencies, including transcription, chromatin environment, spatial proximity to their DβJβ targets, and predicted quality of recombination signal sequences (RSSs). We show that, in contrast to functional Vβ gene segments, all pseudo-Vβ segments are sequestered in transcriptionally silent chromatin, which effectively suppresses wasteful recombination. Importantly, computational analyses provide a unifying model, revealing a minimum set of five parameters that are predictive of Vβ use, dominated by chromatin modifications associated with transcription, but largely independent of precise spatial proximity to DβJβ clusters. This learned model-building strategy may be useful in predicting the relative contributions of epigenetic, spatial, and RSS features in shaping preselection V repertoires at other antigen receptor loci. Ultimately, such models may also predict how designed or naturally occurring alterations of these loci perturb the preselection use of variable gene segments.
Diet and ovarian cancer risk: A case‐control study in Italy

To assess the dietary correlates of cancer of the ovary, the consumption of a wide range of food groups has been investigated in a case‐control study conducted between January 1992 and September 1999 in 4 Italian areas. Cases were 1,031 women with incident, histologically confirmed epithelial ovarian cancer; controls were 2,411 women admitted to the same network of hospitals as the cases for acute, non‐malignant and non‐gynecological conditions, unrelated to hormonal or digestive tract diseases or to long‐term modifications of diet. The subjects' usual diet was investigated through a validated food frequency questionnaire including 78 foods and recipes, then grouped into 18 food groups. Odds ratios (OR), and the corresponding 95% confidence intervals (CI) were estimated using unconditional multiple logistic regression models including terms for age, study center, education, year at interview, parity, oral contraceptive use and energy intake. Significant trends of increasing risk emerged for red meat (OR = 1.53 for the highest compared with the lowest quintile of consumption), whereas inverse associations were observed for consumption of fish (OR = 0.51), raw (OR = 0.47) and cooked vegetables (OR = 0.65), and pulses (OR = 0.77). © 2001 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Association of cervical SIL and HIV-1 infection among Zimbabwean women in an HIV/STI prevention study

A cross-sectional study was conducted on women attending family planning clinics in Harare, Zimbabwe to determine the prevalence of cervical neoplasia among HIV-1 positive women relative to an HIV-1 negative control group. Five hundred and fifty four women were recruited and the prevalence of HIV-1 was 36.8%. Cervical cytology was abnormal in 25.6% of HIV-infected women compared to only 6.7% HIV-1 seronegative women. Cervical neoplasia was significantly associated with HIV infection (χ2=42.4, P<0.001). Cellular changes typical of HPV infection (koilocytocis) were recorded in 6.4% of HIV infected women compared with 1.7% of HIV-1-uninfected women (χ2=8.43, P=0.004). HIV-1-positive women had twice the risk of having abnormal cervical cells than HIV-negative women (relative risk 2.47, odds ratio 10.14, P<0.001). Therefore the introduction of national cervical screening programme in HIV-1 endemic countries like Zimbabwe where the highest burden of pre-malignant lesions is among HIV-1-infected women needs careful planning because these women have other competing health needs including high rates of opportunistic infections.
Atomic disorder scattering in emerging transistors by parameter-free first principle modeling

A parameter-free first principle modeling methodology is reported with emphasis on simulating effects of atomistic disorder in nano-scale transistors. The technique is based on the developed theory of nonequilibrium coherent potential approximation and a linear scaling sparse Hamiltonian implementation. Using this technique, effects of disorder scattering to the quantum transport properties of a boron-nitrogen (B-N) co-doped graphene tunnel field effect transistor (TFET) is investigated.
Antibiotic resistance and genetic diversity of Escherichia coli isolates from traditional and integrated aquaculture in South China

This study investigated antibiotic resistance profiles including antibiotic resistance frequencies, resistance genes and resistance patterns in Escherichia coli strains isolated from traditional and integrated aquaculture systems in South China by using antibiotic susceptibility testing and real time polymerase chain reaction (PCR) technique. The E. coli isolates were found to be resistant to at least one antibiotic among 12 antibiotics. Higher resistance frequencies to ampicillin, sulfamethoxazole, trimethoprime, streptomycin and tetracycline were found compared to the rest antibiotics. Among the 10 tetracycline resistance genes detected in the resistant isolates, the most prevalent tetracycline resistance genes were tetA, tetW and tetB with the frequency of 69.7%, 63.5% and 21.9%, respectively. Three sulfonamide resistance genes were detected in these resistant isolates, with their detection frequencies in the following order: sul2 (55.3%) > sul3 (28.2%) > sul1 (6.2%). Four resistance genes mainly encoding extended-spectrum β-lactamases (ESBLs) were detected in these resistant isolates, with the detection frequencies of blaTEM (28.4%) > blaOXA (9.7%) > blaCTX (9.3%) > blaCARB (5.2%) > blaSHV (0.0%). It was found that the integrated aquaculture system exhibited generally higher prevalence of antibiotic resistance than the traditional aquaculture system. An integrated aquaculture system could facilitate development of bacterial resistance and spread of the antibiotic resistance genes, and consequently become an important reservoir of resistance genes.