Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Structure of the VH and VL segments of monoreactive and polyreactive IgA autoantibodies to DNA in patients with systemic lupus erythematosus.

Anti-DNA IgA autoantibodies play an important immunopathologic role in SLE patients. To analyze the cellular origin and the VH and VL structure of anti-DNA IgA autoantibodies, we generated five IgA1 mAbs to DNA using B lymphocytes from three SLE patients. Two mAbs bound to ssDNA only and one to both ssDNA and dsDNA (monoreactive antibodies). The remaining two mAbs bound to DNA (one to ssDNA and the other to both ssDNA and dsDNA) and to other self and foreign Ag (polyreactive antibodies). The IgA mAb relative avidity for DNA ranged from 7.5 x 10(-8) to 8.0 x 10(-10) g/microliters. The anti-DNA IgA mAb used VH segments of the VHI(VI-3b), VHII (VH2-MC2), VHIII (WHG16G and VH26c), and VHIV (V71-2) families in conjunction with V kappa I, V kappa IIIb, or V lambda I segments. All IgA mAb VH segments were juxtaposed with JH4b segments. The heavy chain CDR3 sequences were divergent in composition and length. When compared with those of the closest reported germ line genes, the IgA mAb VH and VL gene sequences displayed a number of differences. That these differences represented somatic point mutations was formally proved in both the monoreactive IgA mAb 412.67. F1.3 and the polyreactive IgA mAb 412.66. F1 VH segments by differential PCR amplification and cloning and sequencing of genomic DNA from the mAb-producing cell lines and autologous polymorphonuclear cells. The sequences of the germ line genes that putatively gave rise to the mAb 412.67. F1.3 and mAb 412.66. F1 VH segments were identical with those of the WHG16G and VH26c genes, respectively. In not only the monoreactive mAb 412.67. F1.3 but also the polyreactive mAb 412.66. F1 and mAb 448.9G. F1 VH segments, the higher concentration of replacement (R) mutations and the higher R:S (silent) mutation ratios in the complementarity-determining region (infinity; 19:0) than in the framework region (1.0) (p = 0.00001, chi 2 test) were highly consistent with selection by Ag. In the five IgA mAb VH and VL segments, the putative and verified somatic point mutations yielded 68 amino acid replacements, of which 38 were nonconserved. Twenty of these yielded positively charged or polar residues that play a major role in DNA binding, including seven Arg, five Lys, three Tyr, two Gln, two His, and a Thr. The conserved amino acid changes included seven Asn. These findings suggest that anti-DNA IgA autoantibodies use a broad selection of VH and VL genes and enhance their fit for Ag by undergoing somatic hypermutation and Ag selection. (ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 400 WORDS)
Relative frequency and morphology of cancers in STK11 mutation carriers.

BACKGROUND & AIMS There is limited data on the spectrum and risk for cancer associated with germline serine/threonine protein kinase 11 (STK11) mutations that cause Peutz-Jeghers syndrome (PJS). METHODS We analyzed the incidence of cancer in 240 individuals with PJS possessing germline mutations in STK11. RESULTS Fifty-four cancers were found among carriers. Overall, the risk for developing cancer at ages 20, 30, 40, 50, 60, and 70 years was 1%, 3%, 19%, 32%, 63%, and 81%, respectively. Kaplan-Meier analysis showed similar cancer risks between missense and truncating mutation carriers (log-rank chi(2) = 2.48; P = 0.12). There was some evidence that mutations in exon 3 of STK11 were associated with a higher cancer risk than mutations within other regions of the gene. We found no difference in overall cancer risk between male and female carriers (log-rank chi(2) = 1.31; P = 0.25) or between familial and sporadic cases (log-rank chi(2) = 1.16, with 1 df; P = 0.28). The most common cancers represented were gastrointestinal in origin--gastroesophageal, small bowel, colorectal, and pancreatic--and the risk for these cancers at ages 30, 40, 50, and 60 years was 1%, 10%, 18%, and 42%, respectively. In women, the risk for breast cancer was substantially increased, being 32% by age 60 years. CONCLUSIONS These results quantitatively show the spectrum of cancer risk associated with STK11 germline mutations in the context of PJS and provide a valuable reference for defining surveillance regimens.
Chart-based, case-based learning.

CONTEXT The current trend in medical education is to encourage self-directed learning and problem-solving skills while decreasing passive learning. To support this educational trend, one needs to identify and develop new methods of providing problem-based and case-based learning. OBJECTIVE Developing, implementing and evaluating a chart-based case that more closely models traditional primary care for use in the second year of medical education. DESIGN, SETTING AND SUBJECTS A total of 45 second year medical students participated in a case-based study incorporating patient charts, SOAP note and test acquisition forms. RESULTS A statistically significant increase was observed in student self-rated proficiency in eight domains of clinical medical management. CONCLUSION Chart-based, case-based learning is an effective methodology for introducing and increasing the knowledge about clinical medical management for second year medical students.
Dietary habits during the postpartum period among a sample of lactating women in Sudan

Period and the beginning of the end of the third stage of labor until 42 days after the birth, a critical period if that many deaths occur in this period, infected mother to many diseases. The device needs this time to nutritional care and aim of this study was to determine the pattern of daily food intake and dietary habits of practice in this period of women attending of Singa city maternal and child care centers at the end of the period of confinement to vaccinate their children. The study was conducted on 165 women . And applied the questionnaire was filled out by the interview. The results showed that the pattern of food consumption during the postnatal period focusing on eating meat and eggs 53.33%, fish and chicken 73.93% and not eating fruits and vegetables and high energy snacks like porridge ring 30.30% and 57.57 % and 29.94% date milk porridge with butter and your favorite foods 72.84% lamb Soup, 64.84% bird meat soup 72.84% tea ring with milk 90.90% alhargl grass with milk 90.90% hot milk with butter 57.57% and 75.75% prefer not to eat your vegetables and gain prominent causes of weight during this The period of appearance of the social bottom line results that good food in content of protein, carbohydrate ,vitamins by frequency high power foods can cause obesity, which causes many health problems for women, and one of the most important recommendations of the moderation in eating food that contains sugar and animal fat, and increase physical activity to burn excess calories daily.
Degree and correlates of patient trust in their cardiologist.

RATIONALE AND OBJECTIVES Trust in one's doctor has been associated with increased treatment adherence, patient satisfaction and improved health status. This study investigated the level and correlates of patient trust in their cardiac specialist. METHODS All 386 urban cardiologists in Southern Ontario (95 participating, response rate = 30%) were approached to recruit a sample of their coronary artery disease outpatients. A total of 1111 recent and consecutive patients consented to participate (approximately 13 patients per cardiologist, 317 female (26.7%); response rate = 60%), and clinical data were extracted from their medical charts. Participants completed a mailed survey including the Trust in Physicians scale, in addition to an assessment of socio-demographic, clinical and psychosocial correlates. RESULTS The mean trust score was equivalent to that reported in studies of primary care patients. Results of the significant multivariate model (F = 7.631, P < 0.001) revealed that less education (P < 0.001), higher systolic blood pressure (P = 0.022), less perceived cyclical/unpredictable illness timeline (P = 0.007) and greater perceived personal control over their heart condition (P = 0.004), were significant correlates of greater trust in cardiologist care. CONCLUSIONS The significance of education is corroborated by findings of lower satisfaction with cardiac care among those of higher socio-economic status, despite having generally greater access to care in Ontario. Moreover, the relationship between hypertension and greater trust may suggest that such perceptions are not based on doctor competence. Future studies should further investigate the correlates of trust, as well as the impact of trust on cardiac health outcomes.
Pupillary Responses to Static Images of Men and Women: A Possible Measure of Sexual Interest?

The pupil dilates to images that are arousing. In Experiment 1, we examined if the pupil’s response to brief presentations (2,000 ms) of static images could be used to identify individuals’ sexual orientation. Participants were grouped according to their self-reported gender and sexual orientation (male heterosexual, N = 20; male bisexual, N = 13; male homosexual, N = 19; female heterosexual, N = 28; female bisexual, N = 21; female homosexual, N = 17). Pupil size was monitored to images of men in seminude poses, women in seminude poses, or neutral images. Every group showed the same pattern of responses, with the greatest dilation to male images, then female images, and least dilation to the neutral images. Experiment 2 used more tightly controlled stimuli and tested at two different image durations (150 and 3,000 ms). Both heterosexual men (N = 18) and women (N = 20) showed greater pupil dilation to images of nude men than to nude women. However, in Experiment 3, where we reduced the erotic content by using images of clothed models, both heterosexual men and women showed greater pupil dilation to images of women. The results showed that while the pupil does dilate strongly to sexual imagery, its response to these brief static images does not correspond to a person’s sexual orientation in a simple manner.
Tumor-Associated Macrophages: Therapeutic Targets for Skin Cancer

Tumor-associated macrophages (TAMs) and regulatory T cells (Tregs) are significant components of the microenvironment of solid tumors in the majority of cancers. TAMs sequentially develop from monocytes into functional macrophages. In each differentiation stage, TAMs obtain various immunosuppressive functions to maintain the tumor microenvironment (e.g., expression of immune checkpoint molecules, production of Treg-related chemokines and cytokines, production of arginase I). Although the main population of TAMs is immunosuppressive M2 macrophages, TAMs can be modulated into M1-type macrophages in each differential stage, leading to the suppression of tumor growth. Because the administration of certain drugs or stromal factors can stimulate TAMs to produce specific chemokines, leading to the recruitment of various tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes, TAMs can serve as targets for cancer immunotherapy. In this review, we discuss the differentiation, activation, and immunosuppressive function of TAMs, as well as their benefits in cancer immunotherapy.
On the Relationship between Lifestyle and Happiness in the UK

In the present paper we attempt to analyse the relationship between ‘lifestyle’ and happiness in the UK using an instrumental variable approach. Our lifestyle variables have a significantly positive impact on happiness and the impact increases with the use of instruments. This suggests that a ‘healthy lifestyle’ has a positive impact on happiness and that any policy improving our lifestyle proxies would also make people happier in the UK.
FiberSCIP - A Shared Memory Parallelization of SCIP

Recently, parallel computing environments have become significantly popular. In order to obtain the benefit of using parallel computing environments, we have to deploy our programs for these effectively. This paper focuses on a parallelization of SCIP (Solving Constraint Integer Programs), which is a mixed-integer linear programming solver and constraint integer programming framework available in source code. There is a parallel extension of SCIP named ParaSCIP, which parallelizes SCIP on massively parallel distributed memory computing environments. This paper describes FiberSCIP, which is yet another parallel extension of SCIP to utilize multi-threaded parallel computation on shared memory computing environments, and has the following contributions: First, we present the basic concept of having two parallel extensions, and the relationship between them and the parallelization framework provided by UG (Ubiquity Generator), including an implementation of deterministic parallelization. Second, we discuss th.
Nonlinear Panel Data Methods for Dynamic Heterogeneous Agent Models

Recent developments in nonlinear panel data analysis allow the identification and estimation of general dynamic systems. We review some results and techniques for nonparametric identification and flexible estimation in the presence of time-invariant and time-varying latent variables. This opens up the possibility of estimating nonlinear reduced forms in a large class of structural dynamic models with heterogeneous agents. We show how such reduced forms may be used to document policy-relevant derivative effects and to improve the understanding and implementation of structural models.
Social Judgments are Influenced By Both Facial Expression and Direction of Eye Gaze

In the current study we examined how emotional expressions influence two social judgments, approachability and trustworthiness, and how the effect of emotional expression is modulated by the direction of the signaller's eye gaze. For both social judgments, happy faces were judged more positively than all other emotions, while neutral faces were judged more favorably than faces displaying negative emotions. Angry and disgusted faces were given the most negative ratings, significantly more so than sad and fearful faces. Direction of eye gaze modulated the degree to which angry, happy, and neutral expressions influenced social judgments, which reflected the manner in which direction of eye gaze influenced the perceived intensity of these emotional expressions. The results suggest that the perception of direct threat, coupled with emotional intensity, both play a key role in the process of making social judgments.
Women's psychological health according to their maternal status: a study in France

This study explored the extent to which the psychological distress of women is related to their motherhood status. A representative sample of 6970 women, aged 20–59, living in France, was interviewed. This analysis was restricted to the 2799 women aged between 25 and 39, 307 of whom had had a baby in the last year. Several indicators of psychological distress were used, including the 12-item General Health Questionnaire, psychotropic drug use and suicide attempts. Women with babies under the age of 12 months presented no more psychological problems than the other women. The proportion of respondents with scores above 5 for the GHQ was 8.7% for mothers with young babies, 11.4% for mothers of an older child and 12.0% for childless women. Adjusting for age, education, employment and couple status, no differences were observed between the three groups of women, except for a lower level of psychotropic drug use among the mothers of young babies. Overall, regardless of maternal status, a high proportion of women showed symptoms of anxiety and depression. Thus, research and clinical efforts should focus on risk factors for psychological distress in women and on preventive measures beyond the post-partum period.
VIP boosts regulatory T cell induction by trophoblast cells in an in vitro model of trophoblast–maternal leukocyte interaction

Inducible regulatory T cells (Tregs) exert a timely and efficient immunosuppressive action at the critical peri‐implantation stage essential for maternal tolerance to the conceptus. Vasoactive intestinal peptide (VIP) promotes anti‐inflammatory and tolerogenic profiles through binding to VIP receptors on immune cells. We evaluated whether VIP produced by trophoblast cells induces Tregs during the early interaction of maternal leukocytes with trophoblast cells, thus contributing to maternal tolerance. We used an in vitro model of maternal leukocyte–trophoblast cell interaction represented by cocultures of fertile women's PBMCs with a human trophoblast cell line (Swan‐71) and evaluated the effect of VIP added exogenously and of the endogenous polypeptide. VIP increased the frequency of CD4+CD25+FoxP3+ cells after coculture, and these cells were able to suppress the maternal alloresponse. VIP also increased the frequency of CD4+IL10+ and CD4+TGFβ+ cells, but it did not modulate IFN‐γ or IL‐17 production. Swan‐71 secreted VIP, and their coculture with maternal PBMCs significantly increased the frequency of Tregs. This effect was even more pronounced if the trophoblast cells had been pretreated with VIP. In both situations, the VIP antagonist prevented the increase in the frequency of CD4+Foxp3+ cells, reflecting a specific effect of the polypeptide after the interaction with Swan‐71 cells. Finally, the increase in CD4+CD25+FoxP3+ frequency was prevented by an anti–TGF‐β Ab and a VIP antagonist. These results suggest that VIP could have an active role in the immunoregulatory processes operating in the maternal–placental interface by contributing to the induction of Tregs through a mechanism involving TGF‐β1.
Objective Evaluation of Nasal Dimensions in Children with Acoustic Rhinometry

Lotta Haavisto. Objective evaluation of nasal dimensions in children with acoustic rhinometry. The Department of Otorhinolaryngology – Head and Neck Surgery, University of Turku, Turku, Finland. Annales Universitatis Turkuensis, Medica-Odontologica, Painosalama Oy 2011, Turku, Finland. aims: This study was carried out to investigate the usefulness of acoustic rhinometry in the evaluation of intranasal dimensions in children. The aim was to define reference values for school children. In addition, the role of the VAS scale in the subjective evaluation of nasal obstruction in children was studied. materials and methods: Measurements were done with Acoustic Rhinometry A1. The values of special interest were the minimal cross-sectional area (MCA) and the anterior volume of the nose (VOL). The data for reference values included 124 voluntary school children with no permanent nasal symptoms, aged between 7 and 14 years. Data were collected at baseline and after decongestion of the nose; the VAS scale was filled in before measurements. The subjects in the follow-up study (n=74, age between 1 and 12 years) were receiving intranasal spray of insulin or placebo. The nasal symptoms were recorded and acoustic rhinometry was measured at each control visit. results: In school children, the mean total MCA was 0.752 cm2 (SD 0.165), and the mean total VOL was 4.00 cm3 (SD 0.63) at baseline. After decongestion, a significant increase in the mean TMCA and in the mean TVOL was found. A correlation was found between TMCA and age, and between TVOL and height of a child. There was no difference between boys and girls. A correlation was found between unilateral acoustic values and VAS at baseline, but not after decongestion. No difference was found in acoustic values or symptoms between the insulin and placebo group in the follow-up study of two years. conclusions: Acoustic rhinometry is a suitable objective method to examine intranasal dimensions in children. It is easy to perform and well tolerated. Reference values for children between 7 and 14 years were established.
Protein requirements and ageing: metabolic demand and efficiency of utilization

The protein requirements of the elderly were investigated with [13C]leucine balance studies of metabolic demand, the efficiency of postprandial protein utilization (PPU) and the consequent apparent protein requirement. Ten elderly subjects aged 68–91 years (five men and five women) and ten young adult subjects aged 21–31 years (five men and five women) were infused with L-[1-13C]leucine for 9h commencing in the postabsorptive state (0–3h), continuing during the half-hourly feeding of low-protein meals (LP; protein 3% energy, 3–6 h), and during similar feeding of isoenergetic higher protein meals (HP; protein 15% energy, 6–9h). Leucine oxidation and balance were determined from plasma [l-13C]-α-ketoisocaproate enrichment and expired 13CO2 excretion measured during the 3rd hour of each 3h period. The protein intake during the HP phase was similar to the habitual intake estimated in the subjects from 24h urinary N excretion. Metabolic demand was defined as equal to twice the body-protein equivalent of measured postabsorptive leucine oxidation. The efficiency of PPU was calculated from the increased leucine oxidation observed during feeding, and the apparent protein requirement was defined as metabolic demand/PPU and calculated in relation to both body weight (BW) and fat-free mass (FFM) determined by densitometry or bioimpedance. Metabolic demand in the young adults was 0·83g protein/kg per d; in both elderly groups it was 36% lower when expressed per kg BW and 30% lower when expressed per kg FFM. The apparent protein requirement calculated from metabolic demand and PPU was 0·99g protein/kg per d in the young adults and this was also lower in the elderly, although this was only significant in the men (0·66g per kg BW, P=0·013; 0·79g per kg FFM, P=0·02). The results show that in this group of healthy elderly adults protein requirements as assessed from leucine balance studies were either similar to or less than those of younger adults.
Are individual or consecutive letters the unit affected by repetition blindness?

When 2 similar words (e.g., react reach) are briefly sequentially displayed, the 2nd word may be omitted from the report, a phenomenon known as repetition blindness (RB). Previous researchers have suggested that consecutive letters are the unit affected by RB. Six experiments provided new data on orthographic RB. Two letters at the beginning or end of words resulted in RB, as did alternating interior letters (tactile earthly) and 3 letters with different relative positions (arid bird). However, no RB was found with a single final letter (show view). Observed RB may reflect pattern completion because RB for pairs like throat theory was reduced when the nonrepeated letters (eory) were consistent with only a single word. The experiments point to a model of orthographic RB in which both individual letters and letter sequences of length 2 or more play a role.
Detection of pathogenic Yersinia enterocolitica using a digoxigenin labelled probe targeting the yst gene

A 145 base pair digoxigenin‐d‐UTP‐labelled probe, specific for pathogenic Yersinia enterocolitica heat‐stable enterotoxin yst gene, was prepared by PCR. The probe was used in DNA‐DNA colony hybridization and dot‐blot hybridization assays. The specificity of the probe was confirmed using 52 strains representing all Yersinia spp. , except Y. pestis. Out of a total of 25 Y. enterocolitica strains screened, the probe correctly identified all 18 pathogenic strains. Among the other Yersinia spp. screened, only one strain of Y. kristensenii was positively detected by the yst probe but could be differentiated by its weak signal response as compared with that obtained by pathogenic strains of Y. enterocolitica.