Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Generation of interleukin-8 from human monocytes in response to Trichomonas vaginalis stimulation

Neutrophils are the predominant inflammatory cells found in the vaginal discharges of patients with Trichomonas vaginalis infection. We have investigated the possible role of interleukin-8 (IL-8) in the inflammatory response elicited by T. vaginalis infection. This study has shown that T. vaginalis induces blood monocytes to produce large amounts of bioactive IL-8, mainly by membrane components of T. vaginalis (MTV). Monocyte-derived IL-8 induced by MTV was dose and time dependent. The peak level of IL-8 was 102 +/- 11 ng/ml of conditioned media (mean +/- standard error; n = 5) obtained from MTV-stimulated monocytes (MTVCM) at 36 h of cultivation. With a multichamber chemotactic assay, we found an optimal neutrophil chemotaxis (177 +/- 14 migrated cells) induced by MTVCM collected at 16 h of cultivation when the level of IL-8 was 42 +/- 8 ng/ml. A neutralizing monoclonal antibody directed against IL-8, but not the irrelevant antibodies, significantly blocked the neutrophil chemotactic activity (decreased from 153 +/- 6 to 23 +/- 3 migrated cells; n = 3 [P < 0.001]) induced by MTVCM. Moreover, the maximum increase of the IL-8 mRNA level from MTV-treated monocytes was observed after a 5-h cultivation and decreased thereafter. Monocytes cocultured with MTV in the presence of a neutralizing monoclonal antibody directed against tumor necrosis factor alpha, but not against IL-1 beta, decreased IL-8 production by 25% (P < 0.05), indicating that the release of IL-8 in MTV-stimulated monocytes is partially dependent on tumor necrosis factor alpha. The capacity of MTV-induced monocytes to synthesize IL-8 suggests that these cells can contribute to the induction of the acute inflammatory response seen in T. vaginalis infection.
Helping or hindering: the role of nurse managers in the transfer of practice development learning.

AIM This paper reports selected findings from a recent PhD study exploring how graduates from a BSc Specialist Nursing programme, with an NMC-approved Specialist Practitioner Qualification, engage in practice development during their subsequent careers. BACKGROUND The UKCC (1998) defines specialist practice as requiring higher levels of judgement, discretion and decision-making, with leadership in clinical practice development forming a core dimension of this level of practice. However, there is little evidence in the published literature that describes or evaluates the practice development role of graduate specialist practitioners. METHODS This study applied a modified Glaserian approach to grounded theory methods. A preliminary descriptive survey questionnaire was posted to all graduates from the programme, response rate of 45% (n=102). From these respondents, theoretical sampling decisions directed the selection of 20 participants for interview, permitting data saturation. RESULTS The grounded theory generated by this study discovered a basic social process labelled 'making a difference', whereby graduate specialist practitioners are increasingly able to impact in developing patient care at a strategic level by coming to own the identity of an expert practitioner (Currie, 2006). Contextual factors strongly influence the practitioner journey, with organizational position and other people presenting enabling or blocking conditions. IMPLICATIONS FOR NURSING MANAGEMENT The line manager plays a crucial role in helping or hindering graduate specialist practitioners to transfer their learning to the clinical setting and become active in practice development. Recommendations to enhance managerial support for the practice development role of graduate specialist practitioners are proposed. ADDING TO CURRENT KNOWLEDGE: This work adds to currently limited knowledge of the graduate specialist practitioners' role in the leadership of clinical practice development. In addition, the findings emphasize the potential influence of the workplace environment by analyzing organizational factors in the specific context of the graduate specialist practitioner attempting to develop practice.
Expanded carrier screening in reproductive medicine-points to consider: a joint statement of the American College of Medical Genetics and Genomics, American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, National Society of Genetic Counselors, Perinatal Quality Foundation, and Society for Maternal-Feta

The Perinatal Quality Foundation and the American College of Medical Genetics and Genomics, in association with the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, the Society for Maternal-Fetal Medicine, and the National Society of Genetic Counselors, have collaborated to provide education for clinicians and laboratories regarding the use of expanded genetic carrier screening in reproductive medicine. This statement does not replace current screening guidelines, which are published by individual organizations to direct the practice of their constituents. As organizations develop practice guidelines for expanded carrier screening, further direction is likely. The current statement demonstrates an approach for health care providers and laboratories who wish to or who are currently offering expanded carrier screening to their patients.
RNA Recognition by the Caenorhabditis elegans Oocyte Maturation Determinant OMA-1*

Background: OMA-1 is required for oocyte maturation and may function by regulating maternal mRNAs. Results: OMA-1 binds with high affinity to UA(A/U) motifs and regulates glp-1 via its 3′-UTR in live worms. Conclusion: OMA-1 is a sequence-specific RNA-binding protein that represses maternal mRNAs during oocyte maturation. Significance: This work reveals the nature of OMA-1 RNA binding activity, which will help identify targets that contribute to the maturation defective phenotype. Maternally supplied mRNAs encode proteins that pattern early embryos in many species. In the nematode Caenorhabditis elegans, a suite of RNA-binding proteins regulates expression of maternal mRNAs during oogenesis, the oocyte to embryo transition, and early embryogenesis. To understand how these RNA-binding proteins contribute to development, it is necessary to determine how they select specific mRNA targets for regulation. OMA-1 and OMA-2 are redundant proteins required for oocyte maturation—an essential part of meiosis that prepares oocytes for fertilization. Both proteins have CCCH type tandem zinc finger RNA-binding domains. Here, we define the RNA binding specificity of OMA-1 and demonstrate that OMA-1/2 are required to repress the expression of a glp-1 3′-UTR reporter in developing oocytes. OMA-1 binds with high affinity to a conserved region of the glp-1 3′-UTR previously shown to interact with POS-1 and GLD-1, RNA-binding proteins required for glp-1 reporter repression in the posterior of fertilized embryos. Our results reveal that OMA-1 is a sequence-specific RNA-binding protein required to repress expression of maternal transcripts during oogenesis and suggest that interplay between OMA-1 and other factors for overlapping binding sites helps to coordinate the transition from oocyte to embryo.
Bone mineral density and knee osteoarthritis in elderly men and women. The Framingham Study.

OBJECTIVE To examine the possible inverse relationship between osteoporosis and osteoarthritis (OA) by evaluating the association between bone mineral density (BMD) and knee OA in the Framingham Study cohort. METHODS Of the 1,154 Framingham Study cohort subjects in whom BMD measurements were obtained at biennial examination 20, 932 (81%) had had knee OA assessed during the Framingham Knee OA Study 4 years earlier. BMD of the proximal femur and radius was measured by densitometry. Knee OA was assessed from a weight-bearing anteroposterior radiography and graded on a scale of 0 (no OA) to 4 (severe OA). Osteophytes and joint space narrowing were also evaluated separately. Linear regression was used to test the association of BMD with knee OA, with osteophytes, and with joint space narrowing, after adjustment for age, body mass index, and mean number of cigarettes smoked per day. RESULTS The subjects included 572 women and 360 men with an age range of 63-91 years (mean 71 years). Of these, 351 had no OA, 269 had grade 1 OA, 170 had grade 2 OA, 93 had grade 3 OA, and 49 had grade 4 OA. Mean femoral BMD at the 3 proximal femur sites was 5-9% higher in men and women with either grade 1, grade 2, or grade 3 knee OA, compared with those with no knee OA (P < 0.0001). Mean femoral BMD in those with grade 4 OA was not higher than in those with no OA. Radius BMD was not associated with knee OA in subjects of either sex. Women with osteophytes had higher BMD compared with women with no osteophytes. Mean BMD did not differ across levels of joint space narrowing. CONCLUSION We conclude that, among women, femoral BMD is higher in those with osteophytosis of the knee, and BMD is not necessarily associated with joint space narrowing.
Managing Collaborative Effort: How Simmelian Ties Advance Public Sector Networks

The research reported here is a structural analysis of the significance of ties to network leaders in securing the essential effort necessary to whole, goal-directed network functioning. Drawing on the work of Chester Barnard, we focus on one of Barnard’s three functions of the executive, securing essential effort and then examine the importance of certain network ties for securing effort in a goal-directed network. We specifically focus on Simmelian or mutual third-party ties to network leaders and the conditions under which those Simmelian ties are of greater significance for securing effort. Our study examines the Southern Alberta Child and Youth Network (SACYHN), a multisector publicly funded network that worked to facilitate interorganizational connections to improve child and youth health and well-being. Data were collected via an organizational questionnaire and elite interviews and were analyzed using Multiple Regression Quadratic Assignment Procedure (MRQAP). Implications are discussed for network management and leadership, for both theory and practice, focusing especially on the role of ties to network leaders in facilitating connections among member organizations working in different domains.
Adenocarcinoma of the canine prostate: Immunohistochemical examination for secretory antigens

Thirty‐one canine adenocarcinomas of prostatic origin were examined immunohistochemcally with antibodies generated against three prostate‐specific antigens by using a peroxidase‐antiperoxidase technique. Primary antibodies included two generated with human prostatic antigens (PSA, PSAP) and one generated with a canine prostatic antigen (CPSP). Eight of 31 adenocarcinomas were positive with CPSP, two were positive with PSA, and three were PSAP positive. Normal and hyperplastic canine prostatic epithelium was strongly positive with all three markers. These results contrast with those in human studies in which PSA and PSAP stain normal and neoplastic epithelium with comparable intensity in all but the most anaplastic tumors.
Bruton’s Tyrosine Kinase Mediates NF-κB Activation and B Cell Survival by B Cell-Activating Factor Receptor of the TNF-R Family1

Loss of Bruton’s tyrosine kinase (Btk) function results in mouse Xid disease characterized by a reduction in mature B cells and impaired humoral immune responses. These defects have been mainly attributed to impaired BCR signaling including reduced activation of the classical NF-κB pathway. In this study we show that Btk also couples the receptor for B cell-activating factor (BAFF) of the TNF family (BAFF-R) to the NF-κB pathway. Loss of Btk results in defective BAFF-mediated activation of both classical and alternative NF-κB pathways. Btk appears to regulate directly the classical pathway in response to BAFF such that Btk-deficient B cells exhibit reduced kinase activity of IκB kinase γ-containing complexes and defective IκBα degradation. In addition, Btk-deficient B cells produce reduced levels of NF-κB2 (p100) basally and in response to stimulation via the BCR or BAFF-R, resulting in impaired activation of the alternative NF-κB pathway by BAFF. These results suggest that Btk regulates B cell survival by directly regulating the classical NF-κB pathway under both BCR and BAFF-R, as well as by inducing the expression of the components of alternative pathway for sustained NF-κB activation in response BAFF. Thus, impaired BCR- and BAFF-induced signaling to NF-κB may contribute to the observed defects in B cell survival and humoral immune responses in Btk-deficient mice.
Distribution and regulation of expression of serum‐ and glucocorticoid‐induced kinase‐1 in the rat kidney

The serum‐ and glucocorticoid‐induced kinase‐1 (sgk1) increases the activity of a number of epithelial ion channels and transporters. The present study examines the distribution and subcellular localization of sgk1 protein in the rat kidney and the regulation of levels of expression induced by steroids. The results indicate that the kidney expresses predominantly the sgk1 isoform with a distribution restricted to the thick ascending limb of Henle, distal convoluted, connecting and cortical collecting tubules. Within cells, sgk1 strongly associates with the microsomal fraction of homogenates and it colocalizes with the Na+,K+‐ATPase to the basolateral membrane. Analysis of the levels of expression of sgk1 by Western blotting and immunohistochemistry indicates constitutive high expression under basal conditions. Approximately half of the basal level is maintained by glucocorticoids whereas physiological fluctuations of aldosterone produce minor changes in sgk1 abundance in adrenal‐intact animals. These results do not support the notion that physiological changes of aldosterone concentration turn the expression of sgk1 ‘on and off’ in the mammalian kidney. Additionally, localization of sgk1 to the basolateral membrane indicates that the effects mediated by sgk1 do not require a direct interaction with the ion channels and transporters whose activity is modulated, since most of these proteins are located in the apical membrane of renal epithelial cells.
What Concentration of Sufentanil Should be Combined with Ropivacaine 0.2% wt/vol for Postoperative Patient-Controlled Epidural Analgesia?

In this randomized double-blinded study, we sought to determine an optimal dose-combination of sufentanil with ropivacaine 0.2% wt/vol as postoperative epidural analgesics. One hundred twenty patients undergoing major abdominal surgery under general and thoracic epidural anesthesia (T9-11) were assigned to groups receiving patient-controlled epidural analgesia with ropivacaine 0.2% wt/vol (R), ropivacaine 0.2% wt/vol + sufentanil 0.5 &mgr;g/mL (R+S0.5), 0.75 &mgr;g/mL (R+S0.75), 1.0 &mgr;g/mL (R+S1). A visual analog score of less than 40 was considered effective, and all side effects were recorded. In randomized subgroups (10 patients per group), plasma pharmacokinetic data were obtained for both epidural drugs. Four patients in Group R and two in Group R+S0.5 were excluded because of inadequate analgesia. The drug infusion rates (range of means: 5.4–5.9 mL/h) were similar in all patients. Analgesia was superior for sufentanil 0.75 &mgr;g/mL with no further enhancement by the larger sufentanil concentration of 1 &mgr;g/mL. Sufentanil plasma levels were within the range of the minimal effective concentrations (highest in R+S1), and there was no covariation between plasma levels and pain relief. Free ropivacaine plasma concentrations remained stable for 96 h. No severe side effects were detected, although pruritus correlated with an increasing dose of sufentanil. We conclude that the combination of ropivacaine 0.2% wt/vol and 0.75 &mgr;g/mL sufentanil provided the best analgesia with the fewest side effects of the three combinations tested. Implications: Sufentanil is added to epidural infusions of ropivacaine 0.2% wt/vol to improve the effectiveness of postoperative pain management. Regarding the risk of side effects, however, it is still unclear what concentration of sufentanil should be added to the local anesthetic. For postoperative thoracic epidural analgesia after major abdominal surgery, the combination of ropivacaine 0.2% wt/vol and 0.75 &mgr;g/mL sufentanil resulted in an appropriate cost:benefit ratio between good analgesia and side effects.
Simple tests to predict hepatic fibrosis in nonalcoholic chronic liver diseases.

BACKGROUND/AIMS Several simple tests for hepatic fibrosis employ indirect markers. However, the efficacy of using direct and indirect serum markers to predict significant fibrosis in clinical practice is inconclusive. We analyzed the efficacy of a previously reported indirect marker of hepatic fibrosis - the aspartate aminotransferase to platelet ratio index (APRI) - in patients with nonalcoholic chronic liver diseases (CLDs). METHODS A total of 134 patients who underwent a percutaneous liver biopsy with a final diagnosis of chronic hepatitis B (n=93), chronic hepatitis C (n=18), or nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (n=23) were enrolled. A single-blinded pathologist staged fibrosis from F0 to F4 according to the METAVIR system, with significant hepatic fibrosis defined as a METAVIR fibrosis score of >/=2. RESULTS The mean area under the receiver operating characteristic curve (AUROC) of APRI for predicting significant fibrosis in nonalcoholic CLDs was 0.84 [95% confidence interval (CI), 0.78-0.91]. APRI yielded the highest mean AUROC in the patients with chronic hepatitis B (0.85; 95% CI, 0.771-0.926). The positive predictive value of APRI >/=1.5 for predicting significant fibrosis was 89%. The negative predictive value of APRI <0.5 for excluding significant fibrosis was 80%. CONCLUSIONS APRI might be a simple and noninvasive index for predicting significant fibrosis in nonalcoholic CLDs.
Sentiment Spillover Effects for US and European Companies

The fast-growing literature on news analytics provides evidence that financial markets are partially driven by sentiments. In contrast with previous studies that have almost exclusively focused on the direct effects of the news related to single companies or sectors, we investigate the time-varying dynamics of news’ cross-industry influences for a set of US and European stocks over a period of 10 years. The graphical Granger causality of the news sentiments-excess return networks is estimated by applying the adaptive lasso. We find significant spillover effects and show the importance of sentiments related to certain sectors for the whole cross-section of stocks.
Energy and calcium ion dependence of proteolysis during sporulation of Bacillus subtilis cells

Bacterial cells degrade intracellular proteins at elevated rates during starvation and can selectively degrade proteins by energy-dependent processes. Sporulating bacteria can degrade protein with apparent first-order rate constants of over 0.20 h-1. We have shown, with an optimized [14C]leucine-labeling and chasing procedure, in a chemically defined sporulation medium, that intracellular protein degradation in sporulating cells of Bacillus subtilis 168 (trpC2) is apparently energy dependent. Sodium arsenate, sodium azide, carbonyl cyanide m-chlorophenylhydrozone, and N,N'-dicyclohexylcarbodiimide, at levels which did not induce appreciable lysis (less than or equal to 10%) over 10-h periods of sporulation, inhibited intracellular proteolysis by 13 to 93%. Exponentially growing cells acquired arsenate resistance. In contrast to earlier reports, we found that chloramphenicol (100 micrograms/ml) strongly inhibited proteolysis (68%) even when added 6 h into the sporulation process. Restricting the calcium ion concentration (less than 2 microM) in the medium had no effect on rates or extent of vegetative growth, strongly inhibited sporulation (98%), and inhibited rates of proteolysis by 60% or more. Inhibitors of energy metabolism, at the same levels which inhibited proteolysis, did not affect the rate or degree of uptake of Ca2+ by cells, which suggested that the Ca2+ and metabolic energy requirements of proteolysis were independent. Restricting the Ca2+ concentration in the medium reduced by threefold the specific activity in cells of the major intracellular serine proteinase after 12 h of sporulation. Finally, cells of a mutant of B. subtilis bearing an insertionally inactivated gene for the Ca2(+)-dependent intracellular proteinase-1 degraded protein in chemically defined sporulation medium at a rate indistinguishable from that of the wild-type cells for periods of 8 h.
Is inflation targeting or the fixed exchange rate more effective for attracting FDI into developing countries?

ABSTRACT This article investigates which monetary policy regime – inflation targeting or the fixed exchange rate – is more effective for attracting FDI inflows into developing countries. Using propensity score matching and the difference-in-differences estimator, we find no evidence that adopting an inflation targeting regime would be more effective than adopting a fixed exchange rate, and vice versa, in encouraging FDI inflows.
Routine antibiotic therapy in the management of the local inflammatory swelling in venomous snakebites: results of a placebo-controlled study.

OBJECTIVE To evaluate the value of routine antibiotic therapy in the management of the local swelling of patients with venomous snakebites. METHODS A prospective, placebo-controlled study at the General Hospital, Anuradhapura, Sri Lanka where 144 patients with envenoming and local swelling in the leg were allocated to receive either antibiotics (Group A = test group) or placebo (Group B = controls). Benzyl penicillin 2 mega units intravenously 6 hourly and metronidazole 500 mg by intravenous infusion 8 hourly for 5 days from the first day of the bite were given to Group A. Ethical committee approval was obtained from the Committee of General Hospital, Anuradhapura. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES Circumference difference between the affected limb and the normal limb, length of the swelling measured in centimetres, and the physical characteristics of the local swelling of both groups were compared. RESULTS Group A had 69 patients and the Group B 75. The mean circumference difference (MCD) of the leg between the groups showed no significant difference for 4 days (P > 0.05), except at the site of the bite on the third day when the Group B showed a significant improvement (p = 0.02). There was no significant difference in the length of the local swelling or the score of physical characteristics between the two groups (P > 0.05). The proportions of recovery of the local swelling on the fourth and fifth day had no significant difference between the groups (P > 0.05). CONCLUSION The routine use of antibiotics (penicillin and metronidazole) does not seem to be of value in reducing the local inflammatory swelling in venomous snakebite.