Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Stromal cell-derived factor-1 but not its receptor, CXCR4, gene variants increase susceptibility and pathological development of hepatocellular carcinoma

Abstract Background: Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is one of the most frequent malignant neoplasms worldwide. Genetic polymorphism has been reported as a predictive factor related to a higher risk for HCC. Because the stromal cell-derived factor-1 (SDF-1) and its receptor, CXCR4, have been reported to play important roles in tumor cell proliferation, angiogenesis, and metastasis of HCC, the aim of this study was to estimate the relationship between SDF-1 and CXCR4 gene variants to HCC risk and clinicopathological status. Methods: Polymerase chain reaction-restriction fragment length polymorphism was used to measure SDF-1 (rs1801157) and CXCR4 (rs2228014) gene polymorphisms in 311 healthy controls and 102 patients with HCC. Results: Compared to controls, individuals with at least one A allele had a higher risk of 1.57-fold (95% CI: 1.00–2.47) to induce HCC and had a risk of 2.81-fold (95% CI: 1.04–7.58) to develop a status of stage III or stage IV disease, after being adjusted for other confounders. However, there was no significant association between CXCR4 gene polymorphism and either HCC risk or pathological status. Additionally, both gene polymorphisms were not associated with the serum expression of liver-related clinical pathological markers. Conclusions: SDF-1–3′A gene polymorphism could be considered as a factor related to an increased susceptibility to the risk and pathological development of HCC. Clin Chem Lab Med 2009;47:412–8.
SEQUENCE VARIATION OF THE RIBOSOMAL DNA SECOND INTERNAL TRANSCRIBED SPACER REGION IN TWO SPATIALLY DISTINCT POPULATIONS OF AMBLYOMMA AMERICANUM (L.) (ACARI: IXODIDAE)

Sequence analysis of the ribosomal DNA second internal transcribed spacer (ITS 2) region in 2 spatially distinct populations of Amblyomma americanum (L.) revealed intraspecific variation. Nucleotide sequences from multiple DNA extractions and several polymerase chain reaction amplifications of eggs from mixed-parentage samples from both populations of ticks revealed that 12 of 1,145 (1.0%) sites varied. Three of the 12 sites of variation were distinct between the 2 A. americanum populations, which corresponded to a rate of 0.26%. Phylogenetic analysis based on ITS 2 sequences provided strong support (i.e., bootstrap value of 80%) that wild A. americanum clustered into a distinguishable group separate from those derived from colony ticks.
SHORT-TERM FINANCIAL MANAGEMENT

Course Objectives: Upon completion of this course, students should be able to: a) Develop the appropriate cash flows and analyze short-term financial problems. b) Appreciate the importance of working capital investments necessary to operate a business. c) Develop simple cash collection and cash disbursement systems. d) Forecast cash needs on a weekly, monthly and annual basis. e) Understand the relationship between credit policy and accounts receivable. f) Understand the need for inventory management as well as how to manage inventories. g) Think critically and analytically to arrive at appropriate policy decisions regarding short-term financial decisions.
[Hospital nurse staffing and quality of care].

Although hospitals with low nurse staffing levels tend to have higher rates of poor patient outcomes, increasing staffing levels is not easy. Major factors contributing to lower staffing levels include the needs of today's higher acuity patients for more care and a nationwide gap between the number of available positions and the number of registered nurses (RNs) qualified and willing to fill them. This is evident from an average vacancy rate of 13 percent.
The meanings older adolescents attach to spirituality.

PURPOSE The purpose of this study was to explore the details of the experiences and meanings that adolescents associate with spirituality. DESIGN AND METHODS This exploratory qualitative study used focus group discussions to uncover the experiences of 22 adolescents ages 16-19 years from two midwestern Canadian high schools. RESULTS Three themes emerged: understandings of spirituality, the influence of spirituality on wellness, and the moderating influences of spirituality. PRACTICE IMPLICATIONS The unique stories and experiences of this study's participants provide nurses with some possible starting points and ideas for dialogue related to spirituality with their adolescent clients.
Psychological Functioning in Headache Sufferers

&NA; The present study examined the psychological test responses of 99 headache sufferers and 30 matched nonheadache controls. Headache subjects were of four types: migraine (n = 26), muscle contraction (n = 39), combined migraine‐muscle contract ion (n = 22), and cluster (n = 12). Measures consisted of the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory, a modified hostility scale derived from the MMPI, Back Depression Inventory, State‐Trait Anxiety Inventory, Autonomic Perception Questionnaire, Rathus Assertiveness Schedule, Social Readjustment Rating Scale, Psychosomatic Symptom Checklist, Schalling‐Sifneos Scale, Need for Achievement, and Hostile Press. Significant differences were found on five clinical scales of the MMPI—1, 2, 3, 6, and 7. Of the non‐MMPI scales, only the Psychosomatic Symptom Checklist and Trait Anxiety Inventory were significant. Control subjects revealed no significant findings on any tests. The headache groups fell along a continuum, beginning with cluster subjects, who showed only minimal distress, continuing through migraine and combined migraine‐muscle contraction, and ending with muscle contraction subjects, who revealed the greatest degree of psychological disturbance. However, none of the headache groups could be characterized by marked elevations on any of the psychological tests, which contrasts with past research findings. It is suggested that the present results may be more representative of the “typical” headache sufferer.
The Impact of 68Ga-DOTATOC Positron Emission Tomography/Computed Tomography on the Multimodal Management of Patients With Neuroendocrine Tumors

Objective:To evaluate the impact of 68Ga-DOTATOC positron emission tomography (PET)/computed tomography (CT) on the multimodal management of neuroendocrine tumors (NET). Background:Establishment of the extent and progression of NET are necessary to decide which treatment option to choose. However, morphological imaging with CT or magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) is often inadequate in identifying the primary tumor and/or in detecting small metastatic lesions. Methods:In total, 52 patients (27 women and 25 men) with histologically proven NET could be included in the protocol of comparison between 68Ga-DOTATOC PET/CT and CT and/or MRI. The examinations were performed in terms of tumor staging and, in some instances, also of primary tumor site identification to evaluate the patient's eligibility for treatment. Each patient presented with either CT and/or MRI performed elsewhere and consecutively underwent 68Ga-DOTATOC PET/CT in our institution. Results:In all 52 patients, 68Ga-DOTATOC PET/CT demonstrated pathologically increased uptake for at least 1 tumor site, yielding a sensitivity of 100% on a patient basis. In 3 of 4 patients with unknown primary tumor site, 68Ga-DOTATOC PET/CT visualized the primary tumor region (jejunum, ileum, and pancreas, respectively) not identified on CT and/or MRI. 68Ga-DOTATOC PET/CT detected additional hepatic and/or extrahepatic metastases in 22 of the 33 patients diagnosed with hepatic metastases on CT and/or MRI. Of the 15 patients evaluated for liver transplantation, we omitted 7 (46.6%) from further screening because of evidence of metastatic deposits not seen by conventional imaging. Overall, 68Ga-DOTATOC PET/CT altered our treatment decision based on CT and/or MRI alone, in 31 (59.6%) of the 52 patients. Conclusions:In this study, 68Ga-DOTATOC PET/CT proved clearly superior to CT and/or MRI for detection and staging of NET. More important, 68Ga-DOTATOC PET/CT impacted our treatment decision in more than every second patient.
Radiologic Study of Intracranial Calcifications in Congenital Toxoplasmosis

Many clinical reports of toxoplasmic infections have been published since WOLF, COWEN & PAIGE (1939) proved that toxoplasmosis could occur in human subjects. While the postnatal type of infection mostly pursues a subclinical course with some glandular involvement, the fetal form selectively affects the nervous system and may result in hydrocephalus and mental retardation. Lesions of the choroids, ciliary body or retina of the eyes are also almost invariably present. The lesions in the brain and eye start as acute vasculitis followed by necrosis and cellular infiltration in the cortex, meninges, white matter, basal ganglia, brain stem and spinal cord. The toxoplasmic parasites are found in clusters intracellularly as pseudocysts and may also be sparsely distributed between the cells. As necrosis continues, calcium is deposited and organisation takes place (POTTER 1961). Lesions of the skeletal and heart muscles and the lungs have been described (ZUELZER 1944, Wolf et coll. 1937, KEAN & GROCOTT 1948, DUBLIN 1954) but calcifications have been found to be limited to the intracranial structures.
Segment Disclosure Quantity and Quality under IFRS 8: Determinants and the Effect on Financial Analysts' Earnings Forecast Errors (formerly titled The Interplay between Segment Disclosure Quantity and Quality)

This paper investigates managers’ choices with respect to both disclosure quantity and quality, and the usefulness of these two characteristics for financial analysts. Focusing on segment disclosures under the management approach, we measure quantity as the number of segment-level line items and quality as the cross-segment variation in profitability, and argue that more managerial discretion can be exercised over quality than over quantity. We hypothesize and find that managers solve proprietary concerns either by deviating from the suggested line-item disclosure in the standard, or, if following standard guidance, by decreasing segment reporting quality. Moreover, financial analysts do not always understand the quality of segment disclosures suggesting that a business-model type of standard creates difficulties even for sophisticated users. Our results inform standard setters as they start working on a disclosure framework and as they seem to consider the business model approach to financial reporting.
Assessment of human sperm protein tyrosine phosphorylation by immunocytochemistry in a clinical andrology laboratory. Preliminary data

Abstract We propose that evaluation of protein tyrosine phosphorylation (TP) status in ejaculated spermatozoa under capacitating conditions in an experiment that mimics “in vitro” the physiology of sperm from ejaculation through the female genital tract could potentially be used as a prognostic test for functional competence of sperm in fertilization. Our purpose was to elucidate whether there is a relation between conventional sperm parameters, occurrence of TP and pregnancy outcome obtained from intrauterine insemination (IUI). Semen samples were analyzed according to WHO criteria. TP levels were determined by immunocytochemistry under four different conditions: 1) ejaculated sperm, 2) postselection sperm, 3) postselection sperm incubated 5 h at 37° C and 5% CO2, and 4) postselection sperm incubated overnight at 37° C and 5% CO2. Data on sperm tyrosine phosphorylated proteins did not correlate with sperm concentration, progressive motility or normal sperm morphology. TP increased under capacitating conditions and showed a time dependent pattern except for five outlier cases. IUI was performed in 12 selected couples who had neither female nor male infertility factors. The three pregnancies had a time dependent pattern for TP. Of the unsuccessful cases, one had an outlier TP pattern. It appears that a TP time dependent pattern is necessary for fertilization.
Corporate Responsibility in Communication

The paper examines how the tensions of corporate responsibility are articulated and reconciled in a controversial situation of a foreign investment. We conducted a conventionalist analysis on the company press releases in a case where a Finnish forest industry company invested in a pulp mill in South America. The findings show that the use of language in press releases mobilizes certain stakeholders while reassuring others, and that the argumentation used creates value-neutral communication, making it possible to pursue strategic goals despite competing values. For teaching, we provide insights on how to communicate in a conflict situation.
Acute pyogenic hepatitis: sonographic and angiographic findings.

Technetium-99m sulfur colloid hepatic scintigmaphy continues to be the initial screening procedure of choice for evaluation of patients with suspected hepatic abscess [1 3]. However, the scintigraphic findings are nonspecific and angiography generally has been required for diagnosis [4, 5]. Since angiography primarily has been used to evaluate focal scintigraphic abnormalities, it usually has been performed only during the late stage of abscess development when the lesion consists of a chronic, walled-off cavity [29]. The findings during the early, acute stage are virtually unknown, since scintigraphy is usually normal and angiography is rarely performed. Gray-scale sonogmaphy now permits rapid, inexpensive, and noninvasive evaluation of the liver in patients with suspected hepatic abscess [1 0, 1 1 ]. Use of this technique early in the course of abscess formation may suggest the diagnosis of acute pyogenic hepatitis before development of scintigmaphic abnormalities, and may therefore permit earlier treatment and more favorable prognosis [1 2]. This paper describes the sonognaphic and angiographic findings in two patients with acute pyogenic hepatitis.
Decoding the neural representation of story meanings across languages

Drawing from a common lexicon of semantic units, humans fashion narratives whose meaning transcends that of their individual utterances. However, while brain regions that represent lower‐level semantic units, such as words and sentences, have been identified, questions remain about the neural representation of narrative comprehension, which involves inferring cumulative meaning. To address these questions, we exposed English, Mandarin, and Farsi native speakers to native language translations of the same stories during fMRI scanning. Using a new technique in natural language processing, we calculated the distributed representations of these stories (capturing the meaning of the stories in high‐dimensional semantic space), and demonstrate that using these representations we can identify the specific story a participant was reading from the neural data. Notably, this was possible even when the distributed representations were calculated using stories in a different language than the participant was reading. Our results reveal that identification relied on a collection of brain regions most prominently located in the default mode network. These results demonstrate that neuro‐semantic encoding of narratives happens at levels higher than individual semantic units and that this encoding is systematic across both individuals and languages. Hum Brain Mapp 38:6096–6106, 2017. © 2017 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
An Evaluation of Needs in Elderly Continuing-Care Settings

This article describes the met and ummet needs of elderly residents of nursing care (NC) and residential care (RC) settings. Thirty-four residents of an RC home and 40 residents of two NC settings were assessed. Each resident and a respective staff member were interviewed using the Camberwell Assessment of Need for the Elderly (CANE) to indicate the resident's current met and unmet needs. The Clifton Assessment Procedure for the Elderly–Behaviour Rating Scale (CAPE-BRS) was completed by the staff member to indicate the participant's current level of dependency. In addition, the Mini-Mental State Examination was administered to participants and DSM-IV diagnosis was recorded. A high number of needs were found in both RC and NC settings, the level of dependency being proportional to level of need. There was a core set of needs in both samples related to difficulties with accommodation, food preparation, and self-care. Both NC and RC homes were meeting these needs; however, RC residents had a significantly greater level of unmet need for suitable daytime activities. The greatest predictor of type of setting was gender and there were significantly more females in RC. Controlling for gender, participants in NC had greater levels of dependency, particularly problems with apathy and social skills, as measured on the CAPE-BRS. It is possible that the greater level of social needs in NC residents had led to their placement in the more specialized NC settings. On the other hand, NC settings may be left caring for a group of residents that, because of their specific needs, have been difficult to place into RC. These findings have clinical implications for the future development of continuing care for the elderly. This study also highlighted that there is a substantial need for specialist services to address the unmet needs in these two types of continuing-care settings, such as interventions for social disturbances in NC and suitable daytime activities in RC. The CANE is a useful instrument to evaluate such needs in long-term-care settings.
THE UNIVERSAL STELLAR MASS–STELLAR METALLICITY RELATION FOR DWARF GALAXIES

We present spectroscopic metallicities of individual stars in seven gas-rich dwarf irregular galaxies (dIrrs), and we show that dIrrs obey the same mass–metallicity relation as the dwarf spheroidal (dSph) satellites of both the Milky Way and M31: . The uniformity of the relation is in contradiction to previous estimates of metallicity based on photometry. This relationship is roughly continuous with the stellar mass–stellar metallicity relation for galaxies as massive as M* = 1012 M☉. Although the average metallicities of dwarf galaxies depend only on stellar mass, the shapes of their metallicity distributions depend on galaxy type. The metallicity distributions of dIrrs resemble simple, leaky box chemical evolution models, whereas dSphs require an additional parameter, such as gas accretion, to explain the shapes of their metallicity distributions. Furthermore, the metallicity distributions of the more luminous dSphs have sharp, metal-rich cut-offs that are consistent with the sudden truncation of star formation due to ram pressure stripping.
CHEMICAL ANALYSIS AND INHIBITION REACTIONS OF THE GROUP AND TYPE ANTIGENS OF GROUP F STREPTOCOCCI.

Summary: Qualitative and quantitative analyses of formamide extracts of group F streptococci revealed rhamnose, glucose, galactose, glucosamine and galactosamine as main components. The rhamnose content was high. Streptococci, carrying a type antigen in the cell wall, excreted into the medium also a polysaccharide with the same serological activity. These soluble polysaccharides contained no muramic acid, small amounts of rhamnose, but had a high glucosamine and mannose content. Column chromatography on DEAE-cellulose revealed the formamide extracts to be heterogeneous. Over 90 % of the serological activity could be recovered in one of the fractions. Inhibition reactions of the quantitative precipitation with a number of simple sugars gave indications about the composition of the determinant groups of group and type antigens. Rhamnose was inactive in all cases. The determinant group of the group F antigen is at least a disaccharide with a β-glucosidic moiety. The determinants of the type antigens I and II probably contain N-acetyl-galactosamine. There is evidence for a second determinant in type antigen II. The determinants of type antigens III and V contain a β-glucosidic moiety, that of antigen IV a β-galactosidic moiety.
The Association between Executive Turnover and Financial Misreporting: Evidence from Germany

This paper investigates personal consequences for management executives in the context of financial misreporting exposed by German enforcement institutions. More specifically, we examine CEO and CFO turnover in the context of an error announcement. By doing so, we compare 103 firms that issued an error announcement between 2006 and 2013 with industry-and-size-matched control firms. First, we find notable differences in executive turnover for the five-year period including two years before and after the year of the error announcements. Second, we show that the likelihood for executive turnover is significantly associated with executive tenure, firm size, firm performance, and chairperson turnover. However, multivariate analysis does not provide similar evidence for financial misreporting. Third, our analysis of the error announcements’ characteristics indicates that the probability for executive turnover particularly increases for errors related to professional judgment and management report issues. That is, executives face personal consequences for non-appropriate use of its discretion.
Genetic basis of atrial fibrillation

Purpose of review Atrial fibrillation, the most common cardiac supraventricular arrhythmia, affects more than 5 million people worldwide. Increasing evidence has demonstrated that genetic factors play an important role in the pathogenesis of atrial fibrillation, and multiple genes responsible for atrial fibrillation have been identified. This review will focus on the recent findings in atrial fibrillation genetic studies and discuss the clinical implications of exploring the atrial fibrillation genetic basis. Recent findings The advent of the candidate gene approach and genome-wide association studies has facilitated the process of investigating the complex genetic background underlying the pathogenesis of atrial fibrillation. Recent genetic investigations have offered further insights into the predisposing genes encoding ion channels, connexin, atrial natriuretic peptide, RyR2, T-box transcription factor, nucleoporins and zinc-finger transcription factor. Common single-nucleotide polymorphisms are important factors in the development of lone atrial fibrillation, recurrent atrial fibrillation or atrial fibrillation complicated with cardiac disorders. Summary Analyses of candidate genes have revealed a growing number of atrial fibrillation-related genes. A better understanding of the genetic mechanism underlying atrial fibrillation would be expected to lead to more accurate risk stratification of atrial fibrillation and the discovery of optimal clinical treatment strategies that carry maximal efficacy and minimal risk in a manner that is consistent with the vision of pharmacogenomics.
Brand personality and brand equity: evidence from the sportswear industry

Purpose – This paper aims to explore the personalities of sportswear brands and their relationship to brand equity using Aaker’s methodology in the context of sportswear brands. Design/methodology/approach – This paper used Aaker’s brand personality framework to empirically investigate the personality of sportswear brands and the impact of brand personality on brand equity based on data collected from 420 college students. Findings – Results revealed that the personality of sportswear brands can be described in seven dimensions and 53 personality traits: competence, attractiveness, sincerity, innovation, activity, excitement and ruggedness. The study identified that four dimensions among all the seven personality dimensions, namely, competence, attractiveness, Sincerity and innovation, are the positive and significant contributing factors to the creation and enhancement of sportswear brand equity. Originality/value – This study makes an important contribution to the understanding of brand personality and .