Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Prion Infection of Mouse Brain Reveals Multiple New Upregulated Genes Involved in Neuroinflammation or Signal Transduction

ABSTRACT Gliosis is often a preclinical pathological finding in neurodegenerative diseases, including prion diseases, but the mechanisms facilitating gliosis and neuronal damage in these diseases are not understood. To expand our knowledge of the neuroinflammatory response in prion diseases, we assessed the expression of key genes and proteins involved in the inflammatory response and signal transduction in mouse brain at various times after scrapie infection. In brains of scrapie-infected mice at pre- and postclinical stages, we identified 15 previously unreported differentially expressed genes related to inflammation or activation of the STAT signal transduction pathway. Levels for the majority of differentially expressed genes increased with time postinfection. In quantitative immunoblotting experiments of STAT proteins, STAT1α, phosphorylated-STAT1α (pSTAT1α), and pSTAT3 were increased between 94 and 131 days postinfection (p.i.) in brains of mice infected with strain 22L. Furthermore, a select group of STAT-associated genes was increased preclinically during scrapie infection, suggesting early activation of the STAT signal transduction pathway. Comparison of inflammatory markers between mice infected with scrapie strains 22L and RML indicated that the inflammatory responses and gene expression profiles in the brains were strikingly similar, even though these scrapie strains infect different brain regions. The endogenous interleukin-1 receptor antagonist (IL-1Ra), an inflammatory marker, was newly identified as increasing preclinically in our model and therefore might influence scrapie pathogenesis in vivo. However, in IL-1Ra-deficient or overexpressor transgenic mice inoculated with scrapie, neither loss nor overexpression of IL-1Ra demonstrated any observable effect on gliosis, protease-resistant prion protein (PrPres) formation, disease tempo, pathology, or expression of the inflammatory genes analyzed. IMPORTANCE Prion infection leads to PrPres deposition, gliosis, and neuroinflammation in the central nervous system before signs of clinical illness. Using a scrapie mouse model of prion disease to assess various time points postinoculation, we identified 15 unreported genes that were increased in the brains of scrapie-infected mice and were associated with inflammation and/or JAK-STAT activation. Comparison of mice infected with two scrapie strains (22L and RML), which have dissimilar neuropathologies, indicated that the inflammatory responses and gene expression profiles in the brains were similar. Genes that increased prior to clinical signs might be involved in controlling scrapie infection or in facilitating damage to host tissues. We tested the possible role of the endogenous IL-1Ra, which was increased at 70 days p.i. In scrapie-infected mice deficient in or overexpressing IL-1Ra, there was no observable effect on gliosis, PrPres formation, disease tempo, pathology, or expression of inflammatory genes analyzed.
Ocular phenotype in a mouse gene knockout model for infantile neuronal ceroid lipofuscinosis

Mutations in the human protein palmitoyl thioesterase‐1 (PPT‐1) gene result in an autosomal recessive neurodegenerative disorder designated neuronal ceroid lipofuscinosis (NCL), type CLN1, or infantile NCL. Among the symptoms of the CLN1 disease are accumulation of autofluorescent lysosomal storage bodies in neurons and other cell types, seizures, motor and cognitive decline, blindness, and premature death. Development of an effective therapy for this disorder will be greatly assisted by the availability of suitable animal models. A mouse PPT‐1 gene knockout model has recently been generated. Studies were performed to determine whether the mouse model exhibits ocular features of the human CLN1 disorder. A progressive accumulation of autofluorescent storage material in all layers of the retina was observed in the PPT‐1 knockout mice. Accompanying the storage body accumulation was a modest loss of cells with nuclei in the outer and inner nuclear layers. As indicated by electroretinogram (ERG) responses, retinal function was only mildly impaired at 4 months of age but was severely impaired by 8 months, despite only modest changes in retinal morphology. The pupillary light reflex (PLR), on the other hand, was exaggerated in the knockout mice. The apparent anomaly between the ERG and the PLR findings suggests that disease‐related PLR changes may be due to changes in extraocular signal processing. The pronounced ocular phenotype in the PPT‐1 knockout mice makes these animals a good model for testing therapeutic interventions for treatment of the human CLN1 disorder. © 2006 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Exploring the Relationship between Human Resource Management Practices and Organizational Commitment: Empirical Evidence from the Banking Sector in China

The purpose of this paper is to measure the impact of human resource management practices individually and as a system on organizational commitment. Data were collected from 304 respondents from banking sector of China. A questionnaire survey for this purpose was conducted in different cities of China. Correlations and multiple regression statistics analysis were used to explore the relationship between the variables involved in the study. The findings of the study provide support for the variables (selection, training, performance appraisal, promotion, performance based rewards, information sharing, job security and human resource management system) and are confirmed by the results of the previous studies. The findings of the current study support the notion that the HR practices relates to organizational commitment, individually and as a system as well. These findings provide important avenues for the banking sector of China and for the debate regarding convergence of the human resource management practices regionally as well as internationally.
Cervicovaginal Self-Sampling Is a Reliable Method for Determination of Prevalence of Human Papillomavirus Genotypes in Women Aged 20 to 30 Years

ABSTRACT Self-sampling by cervicovaginal lavage could be an attractive method to detect high-risk human papillomavirus (hr-HPV) infections to identify women with a risk of cervical precancer. The objective of our study was to use self-sampling for the first time in a cross-sectional approach to determine HPV prevalence and genotype distribution. We evaluated participants' acceptance and laboratory results from self-obtained samples versus endocervical brush samples obtained by gynecologists. To determine the sensitivity of both sampling methods in presumed high- and low-prevalence settings, two groups of women 20 to 30 years of age with (n = 55) and without (n = 101) a recent suspicious cytological smear were compared. Overall, 76% (95% confidence interval [95% CI], 65 to 88) of women with and 40% (95% CI, 30 to 49) of women without a recent suspicious cytological smear tested HPV positive. The prevalences of high-risk HPV strains were 71% (95% CI, 59 to 83) and 32% (95% CI, 22 to 41), respectively, for these two groups. The agreement for hr-HPV between the two sampling methods for women with and without suspicious cytology was 84% (κ = 0.65; 95% CI, 0.44 to 0.86) and 91% (κ = 0.78; 95% CI, 0.64 to 0.92), respectively. Participants rated the user-friendliness of the self-sampling method on a visual analog scale from 0 (easy) to 100 (difficult) with a median of 12. In conclusion, self-sampling by cervicovaginal lavage is a reliable method to determine hr-HPV prevalence and is well accepted by young adult females.
The role of tourism activities on poverty alleviation in Unguja, Zanzibar

This study examines the roles of tourism activities on poverty alleviation in Unguja, Zanzibar. Tourism is one of the fastest growing industries in Zanzibar. Its rapid expansion has been considered as an interesting possibility for poverty reduction. Tourism becomes a significant industry in both poor and rich economies because of its important impacts on economic, livelihoods and socio-cultural development. Zanzibar currently is a poor country, but it has a glorious tourist attraction and will have a glorious economy too if steps are taken in the right direction. One of the sectors where this country has a great future is tourism, which can play a very important role to alleviate poverty in rural areas. It is obvious that tourism development has the potential of directly contributing to poverty reduction through, among other things, the provision of employment opportunities to local people as well as creation of markets for locally made goods. The study adopts descriptive research design. The data were collected through Questionnaire, Interview and Observation methods, while Qualitative and Quantitative data analysis approach was applied. The study findings and analysis showed that tourism activities had contributed immensely in improving the general welfare of the local people through increased income. It has also reduced income poverty by increasing local purchasing power. On the other hand, the price of the commodities has increased due to the development of tourism and address some challenges faced poverty alleviation through tourism such as lack of credits, lack of awareness on how to invest in tourism, lack of qualification to work in the tourist hotel and ineffective local authorities. Finally, this study has come up with some factors addressing the challenges facing tourism in poverty alleviation in the local communities.
Pattern of Industrial Growth in West Bengal during 1980–1991

Three trends in industrial development contribute to the industrial history of West Bengal during the 1980–1991 period—the continuation of a secular decline in terms of employment and value added in manufacturing industries vis-à-vis other states, an ancillarization and flexibilization of production into small-scale factories with less than 20 workers, and a differential impact of this ancillarization on basic goods and consumer goods industries, with the former performing much better than the latter. Viewed through the theoretical lens of structural demand and agriculture–industry relations, the relatively slower growth of consumer goods industries poses a puzzle when the spectacular growth of agricultural output during the 1980s is considered. In this article, I suggest that tying together three factors—the impact of the ‘Green Revolution’ on West Bengal’s agriculture, the nature and effect of the Left Front’s land reforms, and the role of rural commercial capital—can in turn hold together three outcomes for the period 1980–1991 in a single explanation—high agricultural growth, mass poverty among the rural poor despite land reforms and agricultural growth, and the poor growth of consumer goods industries despite high agricultural growth.
Farm Animal Welfare Policy in Comparative Perspective: Determinants of Cross‐national Differences in Austria, Germany, and Switzerland

Societal concerns for the welfare of animals are increasing: a majority of Europeans believe that farm animals should be better protected. Even so, there is no systematic policy analytic assessment of the development and the determinants of animal welfare policy. This paper addresses these research gaps and contributes to the inclusion of the field of animal welfare in policy analysis. Austria, Germany, and Switzerland share comprehensive legislation in the field of farm animal welfare. However, concrete policies vary considerably between the three countries. Through an international comparison, the paper characterizes diverging policy instruments and identifies possible determinants of farm animal welfare policy derived from established theories of policy analysis. While perspectives focusing on party political difference add to the understanding of farm animal welfare policy in Germany and in Austria, this does not apply to the case of Switzerland. Here, theories focusing on the degree of international economic integration have a greater potential in understanding cross‐national differences. The paper thereby presents a first systematic assessment of farm animal welfare from a policy analysis perspective.
Complex Atypical Endometrial Hyperplasia: The Risk of Unrecognized Adenocarcinoma and Value of Preoperative Dilation and Curettage

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate whether preoperative dilation and curettage (D&C) lowers the risk of unexpected cancer at hysterectomy. METHODS: Women with complex atypical endometrial hyperplasia on sampling from January 2000 to May 2008 who underwent hysterectomy within 6 months were identified using a pathology database. Patient age, sampling procedures, and hysterectomy pathology were recorded. Women were categorized as having either an office biopsy-based evaluation or a curettage-based evaluation. The proportion of women with cancer at surgery was estimated and compared for the two groups. RESULTS: Of 824 women with complex atypical endometrial hyperplasia on initial sampling, 48% were found to have cancer. For 100 women, cancer was diagnosed preoperatively by additional sampling before hysterectomy. For the remaining 724, 298 (41%) had unexpected cancer at hysterectomy. The diagnosis of complex atypical endometrial hyperplasia was biopsy-based for 531 (73%) and curettage-based for 193 (27%). The risk of cancer for women who had a D&C was significantly lower than for those who had biopsy, but still of concern (30% compared with 45%, P<.001), as was the risk of myometrial invasion (18% compared with 25%, P=.05). Age was strongly correlated to risk of cancer, invasive cancer, and deeply invasive or grade 3 disease. CONCLUSION: Dilation and curettage lowered the risk of unexpected cancer compared with biopsy, but 18% of women still had invasive cancer found at hysterectomy. The risk of unexpected cancer is strongly related to age. Dilation and curettage can help detect cancer preoperatively but is not reliable for excluding cancer. LEVEL OF EVIDENCE: II
Processo de diagnóstico da surdez em crianças na percepção de familiares e gestores Process diagnosis of deafness in children in the perception of familiar and managers

Purpose: To analyze the perception of family and managers (education and health) on the process of diagnosis of deafness in children in a city in Parana. Methods: The analysis of the material gathered in the focus groups and on the interviews was made based on the analysis of content of the thematic mode. The discussion of the data was organized based on the analysis of the subjects’ testimonies. Results: The thematic categories were: the early diagnosis and hearing health as a human right; and the necessity of adequate support and initial guidance; challenges in the inter-sector and inter-network relations. Conclusion: We have reached the conclusion that the repercussions of a late deafness diagnosis have influence in health and education aspects of the deaf children’s life. Early diagnosis and adequate support did not happen with the majority of the children. An inadequate inter-sector relation between Health and Education municipal authorities was verified.
Essays on housing markets and economic *growth

Essays on Housing Markets and Economic Growth Arzu Sen This dissertation is composed of three essays examining housing markets and economic growth, while carefully considering the role of space. The first chapter serves as an introduction and briefly discusses how each essay contributes to the literature. The second chapter estimates the relationship between residential property values and proximity to coal mines in Monongalia County, West Virginia. The study utilizes a spatial hedonic price model complemented with GIS techniques to estimate the marginal willingness to pay for properties surrounding coal mines. Study findings indicate that proximity to a coal mine translates negatively into property values. The third chapter is related to spatial county growth. Growth theories do not fully specify the prominent factors underlying the data-generating process for growth regressions. Introduction of space in growth regressions further complicates the estimations by adding uncertainty regarding the use of an appropriate spatial weight matrix and spatial regression specification. This study applies Markov Chain Monte Carlo model composition with the Bayesian model averaging methodology on a sample of U.S. counties, to deal with model uncertainty in spatial growth regressions. This study reports model averaged estimates to resolve the uncertainty pertaining to the determinants of U.S. county growth. The fourth chapter is related to the resource curse. An extensive literature has examined the presence and the possible causal mechanisms of a resource curse using a resource dependence indicator. However, a strand of the literature argues that switching from relative measures of resource abundance to absolute measures of resource abundance makes the resource curse disappear across countries. This study contributes to this strand of literature by examining whether coal abundance is a curse or a blessing for county economic growth, using both an absolute and a relative measure of resource abundance. Unlike previous research on resource curse, this study employs spatial county growth regressions to account for spatial dependence. Study findings suggest that introducing spatial dependence into growth regressions changes the results from non-spatial models drastically. When measured as a relative variable, coal dependence has a significant positive direct impact on own-county growth, and positive spillovers on related counties’ growth. When measured as an absolute variable, coal abundance does not impact owncounty growth, nor imposes spatial spillovers. Results imply that switching from nonspatial growth models to spatial growth models reverses the resource curse. Chapter 5 concludes and discusses areas of future research.
Coincidence of L‐glutamate/L‐aspartate transporter (GLAST) and glutamine synthetase (GS) immunoreactions in retinal glia: Evidence for coupling of GLAST and GS in transmitter clearance

Our aim was to identify proteins that mediate the uptake and degradation of synaptically released glutamate, focusing on the rat retina with its well‐defined glutamatergic pathways. Immunoreactivity against the L‐glutamate/L‐aspartate transporter (GLAST) is present in Müller cells. Ultrastructurally, even the finest glial processes, particularly those ensheathing identified structures of glutamatergic transmission (rod spherules), are immunoreactive for GLAST. Further light and electron microscopic observations revealed that also retinal astrocytes and pigment epithelial cells are immunoreactive for GLAST. No neuronal or microglial staining was observed. This is in line with uptake of exogenous [3H]glutamate previously localized specifically in Müller cells and pigment epithelium (Ehinger and Falck: Brain Res 33:157‐172, 1971). Since endogenous glutamate can only be demonstrated in Muller cells if glutamine synthetase (GS) is inhibited (Pow and Robinson: Neuroscience 60:355‐366, 1994), the immunocytochemical localization of GS was determined. GS immunoreactivity was found in all but only those cell types immunoreactive for GLAST. The light and electron microscopic patterns of immunoreactivity were very similar, particularly in the outer plexiform layer: The three cell types containing both GS and GLAST (Müller cells, astrocytes, and retinal pigment epithelium) are related developmentally. In the light of the two references quoted the present data indicate that the proteins mediating retinal uptake and degradation of synaptically released glutamate may be GLAST and GS, respectively, and that they may operate in concert to terminate the neurotransmitter action of glutamate. © 1995 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Pulmonary , gastrointestinal and urogenital pharmacology α , β-meATP mimics the effects of the purinergic neurotransmitter in the human and rat colon

The purine receptor involved in inhibitory responses in the gastrointestinal tract has been recently identified. P2Y1 receptor activation mediates the fast component of the inhibitory junction potential (IJPf) and the non-nitrergic relaxation. The aim of the present work has been to investigate which purinergic agonist better mimics endogenous responses. We used different agonist and antagonist of P2 receptors. Contractility and microelectrode experiments were used to compare the effects of exogenously added purines and electrical field stimulation (EFS)-induced nerve mediated effects in rat and human colonic strips. In rat colon, the IJPf and EFS-induced inhibition of contractions were concentration-dependently inhibited by the P2Y1 antagonist MRS2500 but not by iso-PPADS or NF023 (P2X antagonists) up to 1 μM. In samples from human colon, EFS-induced inhibition of contractions was inhibited by either MRS2500 or apamin (1 μM) but not by iso-PPADS. In both species, α,β-meATP, a stable analog of ATP, caused inhibition of spontaneous contractions. α,β-meATP effect was concentration-dependent (EC50: 2.7 μM rat, 4.4 μM human) and was antagonized by either MRS2500 or apamin but unaffected by P2X antagonists. ATP, ADP, β-NAD and ADP-ribose inhibited spontaneous contractions but did not show the same sensitivity profile to purine receptor antagonists as EFS-induced inhibition of contractions. The effect of α,β-meATP is due to P2Y1 receptor activation leading the opening of sKca channels. Accordingly, α,β-meATP mimics the endogenous purinergic mediator. In contrast, exogenously added putative neurotransmitters do not exactly mimic the endogenous mediator. Quick degradation by ecto-nuclease or different distribution of receptors (junctionally vs extrajunctionally) might explain these results. & 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
Aligning community-based water monitoring program designs with goals for enhanced environmental management

Community-based water monitoring (CBWM) provides essential baseline information on watershed health and engages the public in science, but those involved often encounter barriers to informing environmental management. We conducted qualitative interviews with watershed group coordinators and government counterparts from four CBWM organizations to explore instances where CBWM successfully influenced governmental decision-making. Our findings show that the level of rigor for quality standards, inclusion of volunteers, available resources, and desired goals are important considerations when designing community-based monitoring programs. Integrated program designs that include adequate quality standards and engage volunteers are more apt to maximize resources and realize both scientific and educational goals. Abstract
Effectiveness of an electronic cognitive aid in patients with acquired brain injury: A multicentre randomised parallel-group study

The objective of the study was to examine the effectiveness of a customised personal digital assistant (PDA) as a cognitive aid for people with acquired brain injury, using a randomised parallel-group study. The participants were 34 patients with acquired brain injury in a cognitive rehabilitation setting. The experimental group used a customised PDA, while the control group received care-as-usual (paper-and-pencil aids). Measurements were conducted at baseline (T0), after 8 hours of training (T1), after 16 hours of training (T2), and at 5-month follow-up (T3). The main outcome was the attainment of individualised goals. Both groups showed a significant increase in goal attainment (GAS) (p < .001). There were no significant differences between the groups at T1 or T2 on any of the other outcome measures. It was concluded that the customised PDA was as effective as paper-and-pencil aids, and may therefore serve as a useful alternative when choosing the optimal rehabilitation strategy for a patient.