Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
[Liver involvement in secondary infections in HIV-infected patients].

AIM To determine spectrum and frequency of hepatic lesions, clinical, laboratory and morphological characteristics of hepatic pathology in secondary diseases in HIV-infected patients. MATERIAL AND METHODS In 1991 to 2002 the authors observed 59 HIV-infected patients with hepatic affection caused by opportunistic infections and tumors. The examination included biochemical tests of blood, immunological tests, biopsies and tests of the autopsy material for CMVDNA, T. Gondii, M. Tuberculosis. Polymerase chain reaction, puncture biopsy of the liver, ultrasound investigation of the abdominal organs. 57 lethal outcomes were registered. RESULTS Hepatic lesion was of tuberculous origin in 42.4%, CMV--in 16.9%, toxoplasmic--in 6.8%. 3 patients had fungal infection. Cancer of the liver was diagnosed in 18.6%. Clinical picture in most of the examinees was not clear and did not correspond to morphological severity of the condition. Ultrasound detected hepatic lesions if they were caused by CMV infection, toxoplasmosis and malignant tumors. Biochemical parameters were changed moderately. Patients with CMV hepatitis showed significant rise in the activity of GGT and AP. CONCLUSION Apart from virus hepatitis B, C and D, the liver of HIV-infected patients got affected with tuberculosis, CMV-infection, toxoplasmosis, cancer. Hepatitis in HIV-infected subjects unrelated to viruses or medicines indicates a generalized disease, late stage of HIV-infection with a fall of the number of CD4-lymphocytes under 100 cells/microl.
Patterns and predictors of paternal involvement in early adolescents' type 1 diabetes management over 3 years.

OBJECTIVE To document trajectories of paternal involvement in diabetes management and examine bidirectional associations with diabetes outcomes across early adolescence. METHODS 3-year prospective assessment of paternal involvement, diabetes self-management, and glycemic control among 136 youth (age 9-12 at baseline) and their mothers and fathers. RESULTS Unconditional growth curves demonstrated decreasing amount (maternal report: F(1,128) = 14.79; paternal report: F(1,111) = 12.95, ps < 0.01) and level of contribution (maternal report: F(1,131) = 23.6, p < . 01) of paternal involvement. Controlling for covariates, lower youth self-management predicted an increasing slope in fathers' self-reported amount of involvement (b = -0.15 to -0.22, p < .05), and higher levels of fathers' self-reported level of contribution predicted a decreasing slope in youths' self-reported self-management (b = -0.01, p < .05). CONCLUSIONS Like mothers, fathers' involvement declines modestly during early adolescence. Different aspects of paternal involvement influence or are influenced by youths' self-management. Communication about ways to enhance fathers' involvement before this transition may help prevent or reduce declining diabetes management and control common in adolescence.
Sleep in mother and child dyads during treatment for pediatric acute lymphoblastic leukemia.

PURPOSE/OBJECTIVES To compare the sleep of children with acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) during maintenance treatment with controls and to measure the effect on maternal sleep. DESIGN Comparative, descriptive. SETTING Pediatric oncology clinic and communities in Colorado. SAMPLE 26 dyads of mothers and children with ALL and matched controls. METHODS Mothers completed insomnia severity, mood, and stress questionnaires and wore a wrist actigraph, and mothers and children completed a seven-day sleep diary. MAIN RESEARCH VARIABLES Mother and child sleep parameters (e.g., total sleep time, sleep latency, sleep efficiency, awakenings); maternal insomnia severity, mood, and stress; child sleep habits. FINDINGS Mothers of children with ALL reported greater insomnia compared to controls, which was correlated with anxiety, depressive symptoms, and stress. Maternal groups did not differ on diary- and actigraph-measured sleep outcomes; both groups experienced sleep fragmentation. Children with ALL took longer to fall asleep and had more variable sleep patterns. CONCLUSIONS Actigraph and sleep diary data indicated adequate maternal sleep duration and sleep latency. Self-reported insomnia severity in mothers of children with ALL suggested sleep fragmentation that may be undetected by these measures. IMPLICATIONS FOR NURSING Oncology nurses are in a unique position to identify sleep problems in mothers and children with ALL, which may lead to recommendations for improved sleep and referrals for treatment.
Comparative Evaluation of Predictive Modeling Techniques on Credit Card Data

Credit Scoring studies are very important for any financial house. Both traditional statistical and modern data mining/machine learning tools have been evaluated in the credit scoring problem. But very few of the studies facilitate the comparison of majority of the commonly employed tools in single comprehensive study. All the tools such as LDA (Linear Discriminant Analysis), SVM (support vector machines), Kernel density estimation, LR (logistic regression), GP(genetic programming), K neighborhood, which are available in SAS enterprise miner 6.2. The results revealed that support vector machine and genetic programming are superior tools for the purpose of classifying the loan applicant as their misclassification rates were least as compared to others. whether to grant credit or not. The precise judgment of the creditworthiness of applicants allows financial institutions to increase the volume of granted credit while minimizing possible losses. The increasing number of potential applicants has driven the need for the development of sophisticated fraud detection techniques that automate the credit approval procedure. Earlier credit scoring was restricted to statistical techniques such as discrimination between several groups in a data sample. History reveals that credit scoring came into existence in early thirties of the nineteenth century when some financial institution decided to classify their applicants with respect to default status. In late 1950's the first automated system was used to develop predictive model of the applicants based on their historical data. After the card holders default, several data collection procedures are undertaken. These procedures are expensive relative to the size of most loans. They are often useless when the card holder has gone bankrupt. Therefore, it is significant for the card issuers to identify card holder type at early stage in order to minimize lending to risky customers before the default occurs. It means that it becomes necessary to maximize the 'True positives' (TP). The true positive rate (TRP) is known as sensitivity and the true negative rate (TNR) is sometimes called specificity.
Altered dynamics and differential infection profiles of lymphoid and myeloid cell subsets during acute and chronic HIV‐1 infection

The dynamics of immune cell populations during acute HIV‐1 infection are not fully deciphered, especially for non‐T cells. In this study, we tested whether specific cellular subsets of the innate arm of the immune response are affected early after HIV‐1 infection. Using a cohort of HIV‐1‐infected individuals, we have monitored the relative frequency of blood T lymphocytes, monocytes, and DCs at various infection stages and measured their respective intracellular HIV‐1 DNA loads. The HIV‐1 DNA load in naive CD4+ T lymphocytes, which are lost very early during acute infection, was ten‐ to 100‐fold lower than in CD57– and CD57+ memory CD4+ T lymphocytes. We observed that despite rapid, persistent loss after HIV‐1 infection, pDCs represented a non‐negligible HIV‐1 DNA reservoir. CD16+ proinflammatory cDCs and monocytes accumulated gradually, and HIV‐infected CD16+ monocytes contained higher HIV‐1 DNA loads than their CD16– counterpart during acute infection. During chronic infection, CD16+ cDCs exhibited higher HIV‐1 DNA loads than the CD16– population. Overall, our results demonstrate that non‐T cell compartments are a major HIV‐1 DNA reservoir, and CD16+ monocytes and CD16+ cDCs potentially play an important role in HIV‐1 dissemination.
Decreased peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor gamma gene expression is correlated with poor prognosis in patients with esophageal cancer.

BACKGROUND Peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor gamma (PPAR gamma) induces apoptosis by ligand stimulation in various tumor cell lines. In esophageal cancer cell lines, PPAR gamma activation also has suppressed the proliferation. METHODS In 55 primary esophageal squamous cell carcinomas (ESCCs) we examined the correlation between the expression of PPAR gamma mRNA with prognosis of esophageal cancer patients. The expression of PPAR gamma mRNA was quantified by real-time reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction using LightCycler. Immunohistochemistry was used to study the expression of PPAR gamma protein. RESULTS The expression of PPAR gamma mRNA was significantly decreased in esophageal cancer cells compared with normal esophageal mucosa (P = 0.0084). Among the clinical factors, PPAR gamma mRNA expression was lower in the tumors with extensive lymph node metastasis (n4) than those with less extensive lymph node metastasis (n0-3) (P = 0.0059). Patients with low PPAR gamma mRNA expression had significantly shorter postoperative survival time than those with high PPAR gamma mRNA expression (P = 0.0191). In immunohistochemistry, PPAR gamma protein was expressed in the nuclei of cells in some cases and expressed in the nuclei and cytoplasm in others. The expression of PPAR gamma protein is decreased in esophageal cancer tissue compared with normal esophageal squamous epithelium. However, we could not deduce the apparent relation for the expression between PPAR gamma mRNA and PPAR gamma proteins in immunohistochemistry (P = 0.284). CONCLUSIONS In esophageal cancer tissues, the expression of PPAR gamma was decreased compared with normal esophageal epithelium. The mRNA expression level of PPAR gamma may be a marker of prognosis after operation in esophageal cancer patients.
tuf Gene Sequence Analysis Has Greater Discriminatory Power than 16S rRNA Sequence Analysis in Identification of Clinical Isolates of Coagulase-Negative Staphylococci

ABSTRACT We compared and analyzed 16S rRNA and tuf gene sequences for 97 clinical isolates of coagulase-negative staphylococci (CNS) by use of the GenBank, MicroSeq, EzTaxon, and BIBI databases. Discordant results for definitive identification were observed and differed according to the different databases and target genes. Although higher percentages of sequence identity were obtained with GenBank and MicroSeq for 16S rRNA analysis, the BIBI and EzTaxon databases produced less ambiguous results. Greater discriminatory power and fewer multiple probable identifications were observed with tuf gene analysis than with 16S rRNA analysis. The most pertinent results for tuf gene analysis were obtained with the GenBank database when the cutoff values for the percentage of identity were adjusted to be greater than or equal to 98.0%, with >0.8% separation between species. Analysis of the tuf gene proved to be more discriminative for certain CNS species; further, this method exhibited better distinction in the identification of CNS clinical isolates.
The Antecedents of Facebook Check in Adoption Intention: The Perspective of Social Influence

— Recently, the competition between websites becomes intense. How to make users “adopt” their websites is an issue of urgent importance for online communities companies. Social procedures (such as social influence) can possibly explain how and why users’ technologies usage behaviors affect other people to use the technologies. This study proposes two types of social influences on the initial usage of Facebook Check In-friends and group members. Besides, this study combines social influences theory and social network theory to explore the factors influencing initial usage of Facebook Check In. This study indicates that Facebook friends’ previous usage of Facebook Check In and Facebook group members’ previous usage of Facebook Check In will positively influence focal actors’ Facebook Check In adoption intention, and network centrality will moderate the relationships among Facebook friends’ previous usage of Facebook Check In, Facebook group members’ previous usage of Facebook Check In and focal actors’ Facebook Check In adoption intention. The article concludes with contributions to academic research and practice.
Role of protein synthesis in the protection conferred by ozone‐oxidative‐preconditioning in hepatic ischaemia/reperfusion

The liver is damaged by sustained ischaemia during liver transplantation, and the reperfusion after ischaemia results in further functional impairment. Ozone oxidative preconditioning (OzoneOP) protected the liver against ischaemia/reperfusion (I/R) injury through different mechanisms. The aim of this study was to investigate the influence of the inhibition of protein synthesis on the protective actions conferred by OzoneOP in hepatic I/R. Rats were treated with cycloheximide (CHX) in order to promote protein synthesis inhibition after OzoneOP treatment. Plasma transaminases, malondialdehyde and 4‐hydroxyalkenals and morphological characteristics were measured as an index of hepatocellular damage; Cu/Zn‐superoxide dismutase (SOD), Mn‐SOD, catalase, total hydroperoxides and glutathione levels as markers of endogenous antioxidant system. OzoneOP increased Mn‐SOD isoform and ameliorated mitochondrial damage. CHX abrogated the protection conferred by OzonoOP and decreased Mn‐SOD activity. Cellular redox balance disappeared when CHX was introduced. Protein synthesis is involved in the protective mechanisms mediated by OzoneOP. Ozone treatment preserved mitochondrial functions and cellular redox balance.
Appearance of a new trimethoprim resistance gene, dhfrIX, in Escherichia coli from swine

A new gene, dhfrIX, coding for a trimethoprim-resistant dihydrofolate reductase (DHFR), was found in porcine isolates of Escherichia coli. The new enzyme, DHFR IX, containing 178 amino acids, showed an amino acid similarity of about 26% with DHFR I and the chromosomal DHFR of E. coli K-12. The dhfrIX gene was observed to occur on two distinctly different transferable plasmids, although a fragment of about 2.9 kb, including dhfrIX, had an identical restriction enzyme digestion map in each case. The new plasmid-borne dhfrIX gene mediates resistance to a drug level of only about 250 micrograms/ml, as compared with more than 1,000 micrograms/ml for the more frequently encountered dhfrI gene. The new plasmid-borne trimethoprim resistance gene could have been selected and spread as a consequence of the extensive use of trimethoprim in veterinary practice in Sweden. It will be important to try to follow its possible occurrence in human pathogens as well.
Continuation theory for general contractions in gauge spaces

A continuation principle of Leray-Schauder type is presented for contractions with respect to a gauge structure depending on the homotopy parameter. The result involves the most general notion of a contractive map on a gauge space and in particular yields homotopy invariance results for several types of generalized contractions.
Sonographic correlation of foetal neck circumference and area with gestational age among pregnant women in Port Harcourt, Nigeria

Abstract The purpose of this study was to create a reference range nomogram of foetal neck circumference (FNC) and foetal neck area (FNA) in a Nigerian population using polynomial regression models. This cross-sectional study involved 723 pregnant women between 14 and 40 weeks of gestation. Axial measurements of the FNC and FNA were obtained in three measurements and the mean taken as the final value and the 5th, 50th and 95th percentiles for each foetal gestational age (FGA) were calculated. FNC and FNA correlated strongly with FGA, biparietal diameter, abdominal circumference, head circumference, and femoral length. Cubic models fitted the FNC vs FGA, and FNA vs. FGA values, and the mathematical relationships are given as: . Nomograms of FNC and FNA are thus generated. Impact statement The foetal neck circumference (FNC) and foetal neck area (FNA) can serve as predictors of foetal gestational age (FGA) since they correlate strongly and positively with FGA and known biometric parameters. The measurements obtained vary with the population studied. This study provides a nomogram of the FNA and FNC for an African population. The values correlate with that of the Caucasian population up to 32 weeks FGA. Interestingly, FNA and FNC measurements demonstrate high correlation but poor agreement in measurements between sonographers. Even though FNA and FNC could be used as predictors of foetal gestational age, the measurements vary significantly between sonographers. This is attributable to the difficulty in obtaining a satisfactory axial view of foetal neck, which is dependent on foetal presentation.
Optimization Theory for Induction-Coil Magnetometers at Higher Frequencies

An optimization theory for iron-cored induction-coil magnetometers in the audiofrequency range and above is described. The article shows, in a closed mathematical form, that for a given sensor weight a limited length of the ferromagnetic core and a chosen high-end cutoff frequency in combination with an available preamplifier there exists one particular magnetometer configuration, exhibiting minimum equivalent magnetic-field noise. The optimum parameters can be determined for any set of boundary conditions with only a few calculations.
Oscillatory eye movements resembling pendular nystagmus in normal juvenile macaques.

PURPOSE Juvenile monkeys being trained on smooth-pursuit tasks exhibit ocular oscillations resembling pendular nystagmus. The purpose of this study was to analyze these oscillations, the effects of gabapentin on them, and responses of cerebellar floccular neurons to understand possible neuronal mechanisms. METHODS Four monkeys were trained for horizontal and vertical smooth pursuit; in two, saccades were also tested. Frequency, peak-to-peak eye velocity, and amplitude of the ocular oscillations were measured. In one monkey, the effect of gabapentin on the oscillations was measured, and oscillation-related neuronal discharge was recorded in the cerebellar floccular region. RESULTS Ocular oscillations, with features of pendular nystagmus, appeared early during training of both horizontal and vertical pursuit in all four monkeys. Although these oscillations were observed both in the direction of pursuit and orthogonally, the velocity and amplitude of oscillation were larger in the direction of pursuit, implicating pursuit mechanisms in their generation. Corrective saccades were often superimposed on the oscillations during pursuit and fixation. Gabapentin suppressed oscillations in the monkey tested. Recordings in the floccular region revealed a subset of neurons discharged during both the oscillations and corrective saccades. Many of them exhibited burst-tonic discharge during visually guided saccades, similar to discharge of brain stem burst-tonic neurons, suggesting contributions of the neural integrator to the oscillations. CONCLUSIONS The developmentally transient ocular oscillations occurring in monkeys during pursuit training has properties resembling pendular nystagmus. Both smooth pursuit and a neural integrator may contribute to these ocular oscillations. Analysis using an efference-copy pursuit model supports the interpretation herein.
The Application of a Generativity Model for Older Adults

Generativity is a concept first introduced by Erik Erikson as a part of his psychosocial theory which outlines eight stages of development in the human life. Generativity versus stagnation is the main developmental concern of middle adulthood; however, generativity is also recognized as an important theme in the lives of older adults. Building on the work of Erikson, McAdams and de St. Aubin (1992) developed a model explaining the generative process. The aims of this article are: (a) to explore the relationship between generativity and older adults as it appears in research literature; and (b) to examine McAdam's model and use it to explain the role of generativity in older adults who share life stories with gerontology students through an oral history project.
Characterization of a Thermophilic ATP-Dependent DNA Ligase from the Euryarchaeon Pyrococcus horikoshii

ABSTRACT Archaea encode a DNA ligase composed of a C-terminal catalytic domain typical of ATP-dependent ligases plus an N-terminal domain similar to that found in eukaryotic cellular and poxvirus DNA ligases. All archaeal DNA ligases characterized to date have ATP-dependent adenylyltransferase and nick-joining activities. However, recent reports of dual-specificity ATP/NAD+ ligases in two Thermococcus species and Pyrococcus abyssi and an ATP/ADP ligase in Aeropyrum pernix raise the prospect that certain archaeal enzymes might exemplify an undifferentiated ancestral stage in the evolution of ligase substrate specificity. Here we analyze the biochemical properties of Pyrococcus horikoshii DNA ligase. P. horikoshii ligase catalyzes autoadenylylation and nick sealing in the presence of a divalent cation and ATP; it is unable to utilize NAD+ or ADP to promote ligation in lieu of ATP. P. horikoshii ligase is thermophilic in vitro, with optimal adenylyltransferase activity at 90°C and nick-joining activity at 70 to 90°C. P. horikoshii ligase resembles the ligases of Methanobacterium thermautotrophicum and Sulfolobus shibatae in its strict specificity for ATP.
Association of psychosis, affective disorders and diseases affecting the immune system

Abstract Purpose of the article: There are indications of altered immune activity in depressed and psychotic patients compared to healthy controls in several studies. To explore the clinical importance of this phenomenon we examined the relation between different disorders affecting the immune system and psychoses and depression, respectively. Materials and methods: A total of 276 patients consecutively admitted to a psychiatric acute ward were included in the study. Of these 41 patients fulfilled the criteria for ICD-10 F20–29 (psychotic) diagnosis and 157 patients a F30–39 (affective) diagnosis. Information on diseases affecting the immune system in patients themselves and family members of the patients were obtained by a self-report questionnaire. Results: Comparing the two groups showed a significant correlation between the F20–29 group and eczema (r = −0.116, p = .037). Comparing what patients reported for family members showed a significantly higher frequency of epilepsy (p = .033) in the F20–29 group. Summarizing all immunological diseases for family members showed a significantly higher frequency in the F30–39 group compared to the F20–29 group (χ2 = 4, 82, df = 1, p = .028). Conclusions: There may be differences between the F20–29 and F30–39 groups and their family members regarding risk for diseases affecting the immune system. This is in line with different activity of the immune system measured in blood for the disorders and may add information regarding etiology and pathology of these psychiatric diseases. Further studies including a greater number of subjects, as well as confirmation of the immunological diseases through blood samples are needed.