Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Breast cancer knowledge among women with intellectual disabilities and their experiences of receiving breast mammography.

AIM This paper is a report of a descriptive study of understanding of breast cancer and experiences of breast mammography among women with an intellectual disability. BACKGROUND Despite the efforts of government policies and documents to ensure equal access to improve health screening for people with intellectual disability, the uptake for breast mammography in this population still remains lower than that of the general population. METHOD A qualitative approach using four focus groups was undertaken with 19 women identified as having a borderline to moderate intellectual disability all of whom had received a breast mammography. Data collection took place in 2009. Analysis of the data was undertaken using thematic content analysis. RESULTS The women's knowledge of breast cancer including associated risks, preventative factors and signs and symptoms were extremely limited with their sources of knowledge primarily coming from carers or nursing staff on receipt of an invitation for mammography. Although these women expressed a positive attitude towards their experiences of breast mammography, they also described negative feelings of fear and anxiety, attributed to a lack of understanding about the screening process. A lack of information and embarrassment were identified as the main barriers to screening for this group. CONCLUSION This study highlights the need for accessible multi-format information in order to facilitate health promotion and education in women with intellectual disability, their family carers and healthcare staff working with this target group in order to enhance the knowledge and awareness of breast cancer and screening.
Differential inhibitory effects of carbon tetrachloride on the hepatic plasma membrane, mitochondrial and endoplasmic reticular calcium transport systems: implications to hepatotoxicity

Mitochondrial, endoplasmic reticular and plasma membrane fractions were isolated by a new method from control male Fischer 344 rats and rats given CCl4 by gavage. After 1 h of CCl4 treatment, rats were in glucose and pancreatic hormone balance but plasma levels of T3 and T4 were decreased 29 and 22%, respectively. After 24 hours of CCl4 treatment, rats were: hypoglycaemic and insulin and glucagon levels were increased 33‐ and 35‐fold, respectively; total T4 levels were decreased 62%; while total T3 levels were normalized. In liver fractions from CCI4‐treated rats, 1 h after CCl4 administration: (i) calcium binding was decreased 65% in the mitochondrial fraction, 66% in the endoplasmic reticular fraction and 46% in the plasma membrane fraction; (ii) calcium uptake was decreased 59% in the mitochondrial fraction, 46% in the endoplasmic reticular fraction and 37% in the plasma membrane fraction. After 24 h of CCl4 administration: (i) calcium binding was decreased 57% in the mitochondrial fraction, 50% in the endoplasmic reticular fraction and 71% in the plasma membrane fraction; (ii). calcium uptake was decreased 55% in the mitochondrial fraction, 17% in the endoplasmic reticular fraction and 53% in the plasma membrane fraction. In vitro studies indicated the plasma membrane calcium transport system to be rapidly (within a minute) and strongly (>90%) inhibited by CCl4. We conclude that CCl4 produces a differential inhibitory effect on the hepatoctye calcium pumps that are implicated with hepatocellular damage. Copyright © 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Knockout of Slc25a19 causes mitochondrial thiamine pyrophosphate depletion, embryonic lethality, CNS malformations, and anemia

SLC25A19 mutations cause Amish lethal microcephaly (MCPHA), which markedly retards brain development and leads to α-ketoglutaric aciduria. Previous data suggested that SLC25A19, also called DNC, is a mitochondrial deoxyribonucleotide transporter. We generated a knockout mouse model of Slc25a19. These animals had 100% prenatal lethality by embryonic day 12. Affected embryos at embryonic day 10.5 have a neural-tube closure defect with ruffling of the neural fold ridges, a yolk sac erythropoietic failure, and elevated α-ketoglutarate in the amniotic fluid. We found that these animals have normal mitochondrial ribo- and deoxyribonucleoside triphosphate levels, suggesting that transport of these molecules is not the primary role of SLC25A19. We identified thiamine pyrophosphate (ThPP) transport as a candidate function of SLC25A19 through homology searching and confirmed it by using transport assays of the recombinant reconstituted protein. The mitochondria of Slc25a19−/− and MCPHA cells have undetectable and markedly reduced ThPP content, respectively. The reduction of ThPP levels causes dysfunction of the α-ketoglutarate dehydrogenase complex, which explains the high levels of this organic acid in MCPHA and suggests that mitochondrial ThPP transport is important for CNS development.
Thermoregulatory and metabolic responses to jogging prior to and during pregnancy.

Ten joggers were serially studied prior to and during pregnancy at their individual training intensity levels to estimate their thermal and metabolic response to exercise in the field. Prior to conception, a 20-min run at 74% of VO2max (range = 62 to 90%) increased the respiratory exchange ratio to 0.90 +/- 0.01 (range = 0.87 to 0.96) with a rise in whole blood glucose (5.19 +/- 0.14 to 6.63 +/- 0.23 mM X l-1), lactate (0.61 +/- 0.06 to 2.62 +/- 0.74 mM X l-1), and rectal temperature (37.5 +/- 0.1 to 39.0 +/- 0.1 degree C). Despite a spontaneous decrease in exercise intensity to 57 +/- 5% of VO2max (range = 34 to 79%) at 20 and to 47 +/- 2% of VO2max (range = 36 to 59%) at 32 wk gestation, the rise in respiratory exchange ratio with exercise was maintained at 0.92 +/- 0.02 (range = 0.88 to 0.97) and 0.93 +/- 0.01 (range = 0.88 to 0.97), respectively, suggesting a shift to the left in the relationship between exercise intensity and fractional carbohydrate utilization by muscle during exercise in pregnancy. The concomitant changes in whole blood glucose before and after exercise at 20 (4.46 +/- 0.16 to 4.45 +/- 0.08 mM X l-1) and 32 (5.30 +/- 0.19 to 4.55 +/- 0.15 mM X l-1) wk further strengthen this view. Post-exercise, whole blood lactate levels at 20 (0.53 +/- 0.06 to 1.59 +/- 0.30 mM X l-1) and 32 (0.77 +/- 0.07 to 0.89 +/- 0.11 mM X l-1) wk were lower than those observed prior to pregnancy. (ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)
S-Adenosylmethionine-dependent Methylation in Saccharomyces cerevisiae

We used sequence motifs conserved inS-adenosylmethionine-dependent methyltransferases to identify 26 putative methyltransferases from the complete genome of the yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae. Seven sequences with the best matches to the methyltransferase consensus motifs were selected for further study. We prepared yeast disruption mutants of each of the genes encoding these sequences, and we found that disruption of the YJL125c gene is lethal, whereas disruptions of YCR047c and YDR140w lead to slow growth phenotypes. Normal growth was observed when the YDL201w, YDR465c, YHR209w, and YOR240w genes were disrupted. Initial analysis of protein methylation patterns of all mutants by amino acid analysis revealed that the YDR465c mutant has a defect in the methylation of the δ-nitrogen atom of arginine residues. We propose that YDR465c codes for the methyltransferase responsible for this recently characterized type of protein methylation, and we designate the enzyme as Rmt2 (protein arginine methyltransferase). In addition, we show that the methylation of susceptible residues in Rmt2 substrates is likely to take place on nascent polypeptide chains and that these substrates exist in the cell as fully methylated species. Interestingly, Rmt2 has 27% sequence identity over 138 amino acids to the mammalian guanidinoacetate N-methyltransferase, an enzyme responsible for methylating the δ-nitrogen of the small molecule guanidinoacetate.
Obfuscation in Bitcoin: Techniques and Politics

In the cryptographic currency Bitcoin, all transactions are recorded in the blockchain - a public, global, and immutable ledger. Because transactions are public, Bitcoin and its users employ obfuscation to maintain a degree of financial privacy. Critically, and in contrast to typical uses of obfuscation, in Bitcoin obfuscation is not aimed against the system designer but is instead enabled by design. We map sixteen proposed privacy-preserving techniques for Bitcoin on an obfuscation-vs.-cryptography axis, and find that those that are used in practice tend toward obfuscation. We argue that this has led to a balance between privacy and regulatory acceptance.
Salmonella enterica Response Regulator SsrB Relieves H-NS Silencing by Displacing H-NS Bound in Polymerization Mode and Directly Activates Transcription*

The response regulator SsrB activates expression of genes encoded within and outside of a pathogenicity island (SPI-2), which is required for systemic infection of Salmonella. SsrB binds upstream of the sifA, sifB, and sseJ effector genes and directly regulates transcription. SsrB also relieves gene silencing by the nucleoid protein H-NS. Single molecule experiments with magnetic tweezers demonstrated that SsrB displaces H-NS from DNA only when it is bound in a polymerization (stiffening) mode and not when H-NS is bound to DNA in the bridging mode. Thus, in contrast to previous views, the polymerization binding mode of H-NS is the relevant form for counter-silencing by SsrB. Our results reveal that response regulators can directly activate transcription and also relieve H-NS silencing. This study adds to the repertoire of mechanisms by which NarL/FixJ subfamily members regulate transcription. Because SsrB-dependent promoters are diversely organized, additional mechanisms of transcriptional activation at other loci are likely.
How America and China see each other: charting national views and official perceptions

Abstract Based on the premise that perception operates either as a catalyst or a constraint for a hegemonic war, this study examines ‘national perceptions’ (i.e. how the citizens of the two states view each other) and ‘official views’ (i.e. how the two governments perceive each other) between the US and China of the post-Cold War period. As for the national views, (1) American perceptions of China have generally become more negative than Chinese perceptions of America; (2) little congruence is found between the two powers on key values and norms; and (3) perceptions are generally getting far ahead of the realities. As for the official views, formal documents do not fully reveal their real state of minds. Diplomatic courtesy and strategic self-esteem runs through them. Yet, America’s strategic concern and growing will to manage China from a position of strength is increasingly more discernible. From the Chinese documents, on the other hand, signs of inferiority have gradually disappeared. In sum, perceptions between the two are working more as a catalyst for strategic competition than a constraint on it.
Nonspecific suppression of primary antibody responses and presence of plastic-adherent suppressor cells in Toxoplasma gondii-infected mice

The effect of Toxoplasma infection on primary antibody responses to both T-dependent and T-independent antigens was examined in mice. Drastic suppression of primary responses to sheep erythrocytes (SRBC) occurred when mice were immunized 7 days after infection. The suppression was observed in both 2-mercaptoethanol-sensitive and -resistant hemagglutinin responses. Anti-dinitrophenol (DNP) immunoglobulin E and G1 responses to DNP-conjugated keyhole limpet hemocyanin were also suppressed by infection. It was suggested that the suppressive effect is nonspecific for the antigens and immunoglobulin classes produced. Anti-DNP responses to DNP-Ficoll, a T-independent antigen, were suppressed by infection, but the suppressive effect was weaker than that on the responses to SRBC. This suggests that both T and B cells are suppressed by infection. In vitro responses of infected mouse spleen cells to SRBC and DNP-Ficoll confirmed the results of in vivo experiments. In addition, the presence of plastic-adherent suppressor cells was demonstrated in the spleen cells of infected mice, which suppressed the ability of normal mouse spleen cells to mount an SRBC-specific plaque-forming cell response. These plastic-adherent suppressor cells appeared to be a major cause of nonspecific suppression of primary antibody responses in Toxoplasma-infected mice.
Newcastle disease virus induces stable formation of bona fide stress granules to facilitate viral replication through manipulating host protein translation

Mammalian cells respond to various environmental stressors to form stress granules (SGs) by arresting cyto‐plasmic mRNA, protein translation element, and RNA binding proteins. Virus‐induced SGs function in different ways, depending on the species of virus; however, the mechanism of SG regulation of virus replication is not well understood. In this study, Newcastle disease virus (NDV) triggered stable formation of bona fide SGs on HeLa cells through activating the protein kinase R (PKR)/eIF2α pathway. NDV‐induced SGs contained classic SG markers T‐cell internal antigen (TIA)‐1, Ras GTPase‐activating protein‐binding protein (G3BP)‐1, eukaryotic initiation factors, and small ribosomal subunit, which could be disassembled in the presence of cycloheximide. Treatment with nocodazole, a microtubule disruption drug, led to the formation of relatively small and circular granules, indicating that NDV infection induces canonical SGs. Furthermore, the role of SGs on NDV replication was investigated by knockdown of TIA‐1 and TIA‐1‐related (TIAR) protein, the 2 critical components involved in SG formation from the HeLa cells, followed by NDV infection. Results showed that depletion of TIA‐1 or TIAR inhibited viral protein synthesis, reduced extracellular virus yields, but increased global protein translation. FISH revealed that NDV‐induced SGs contained predominantly cellular mRNA rather than viral mRNA. Deletion of TIA‐1 or TIAR reduced NP mRNA levels in polysomes. These results demonstrate that NDV triggers stable formation of bona fide SGs, which benefit viral protein translation and virus replication by arresting cellular mRNA. —Sun, Y. , Dong, L. , Yu, S. , Wang, X. , Zheng, H. , Zhang, P., Meng, C. , Zhan, Y. , Tan, L. , Song, C. , Qiu, X. , Wang, G. , Liao, Y. , Ding, C. Newcastle disease virus induces stable formation of bona fide stress granules to facilitate viral replication through manipulating host protein translation. FASEB J. 31, 1337–1353 (2017) www.fasebj. org
Trade Liberalization - Economic Growth Nexus for Nigeria : 1986 - 2013

Most countries have abandoned trade protectionism for trade liberalization based on the propagated gains from trade. One of such gains is economic growth. However, some studies reveal a dampening relationship between trade liberalization and economic growth, suggesting that the relationship is not water-tight in all scenarios. This paper focuses on ascertaining the relationship between trade liberalization and economic growth in Nigeria from 1986 to 2013. Correlogram, Augmented Dickey-Fuller and Phillips-Perron unit root tests are used to determine the stationarity of the variables or otherwise. The unit results reveal that the variables under consideration are a mixture of I(0) and I(1) variables, which necessitate the use of the ARDL model to analyse the relationship. Also, evidence of cointegration the estimated long-run relationship calls for the use of error correction mechanism (ECM) to capture shortrun dynamics and the speed of adjustment. Results of the analysis reveal that: in the long-run trade liberalization positively impacts on economic growth in Nigeria but the impact is weak; and the relationship is negative in the short-run; and the speed of adjustment is quite slow. The paper recommends that: The export sector should be stimulated for trade liberalization to have a strong positive impact on economic growth both in the short-run and long-run. This could be achieved by diversifying the economy, so that crude oil does not remain the major export product of the country.
Internet-enabled internationalisation: A review of the empirical literature and a research agenda

The purpose of this paper is to review existing empirical research on internet-enabled internationalisation and make suggestions for future research, which could promote theory development and advance the research topic. In total, 47 studies were included in the review. The review demonstrates the need for additional research on numerous issues, including exploring the important role of complementary organisational resources and the long-term effects of internet-enabled internationalisation. The findings from this literature review demonstrate that while research on internet-enabled internationalisation has advanced over the past few decades, numerous questions remain unanswered. This provides fertile ground for continued development in internationalisation research.
Inflammation and Carotid Artery—Risk for Atherosclerosis Study (ICARAS)

Background—Compelling evidence suggests that inflammation is fundamentally involved in the pathogenesis of atherosclerosis; however, temporal correlation between inflammation and morphological features of atherosclerosis progression has not been demonstrated unequivocally. Methods and Results—We prospectively studied 1268 consecutive patients who were initially asymptomatic with respect to carotid artery disease. Patients underwent serial carotid ultrasound investigations at baseline and after a follow-up interval of a median of 7.5 months (range 6 to 9 months), with measurement of carotid flow velocities and categorization of carotid arteries as 0% to 29%, 30% to 49%, 50% to 69%, 70% to 89%, or 90% to 99% stenosed or occluded. High-sensitivity C-reactive protein (hs-CRP) and serum amyloid A (SAA) were measured at baseline and follow-up. Progression of carotid atherosclerosis was found in 103 (8.1%) of 1268 patients. Hs-CRP and SAA, respectively, at baseline (P=0.004 and P=0.014) and follow-up (P<0.001 and P<0.001) and the change from baseline to follow-up (P<0.001 and P<0.001) were significantly associated with progressive atherosclerosis. Adjusted ORs (95% CI) for atherosclerosis progression with increasing quintiles of baseline hs-CRP were 1.65 (0.71 to 3.84), 1.87 (0.8 to 4.37), 3.32 (1.49 to 7.39), and 3.65 (1.65 to 8.08), and with increasing quintiles of baseline SAA, they were 0.86 (0.38 to 1.92), 0.99 (0.49 to 1.99), 1.72 (0.91 to 3.28), and 2.28 (1.24 to 4.20), respectively, compared with the lowest quintiles. Conclusions—These findings supply evidence for a close temporal correlation between inflammation and morphological features of rapidly progressive carotid atherosclerosis, which suggests that elevation or increase of the inflammatory biomarkers hs-CRP and SAA identifies the presence of active atherosclerotic disease.
Market making under a weakly consistent limit order book model

We develop a new market-making model, from the ground up, which is tailored towards high-frequency trading under a limit order book (LOB), based on the well-known classification of order types in market microstructure. Our flexible framework allows arbitrary order volume, price jump, and bid-ask spread distributions as well as the use of market orders. It also honors the consistency of price movements upon arrivals of different order types. For example, it is apparent that prices should never go down on buy market orders. In addition, it respects the price-time priority of LOB. In contrast to the approach of regular control on diffusion as in the classical Avellaneda and Stoikov [1] market-making framework, we exploit the techniques of optimal switching and impulse control on marked point processes, which have proven to be very effective in modeling the order-book features. The Hamilton-Jacobi-Bellman quasi-variational inequality (HJBQVI) associated with the control problem can be solved numerically via finite-difference method. We illustrate our optimal trading strategy with a full numerical analysis, calibrated to the order-book statistics of a popular Exchanged-Traded Fund (ETF). Our simulation shows that the profit of market-making can be severely overstated under LOBs with inconsistent price movements.
Assessment of the bacterial and fungal diversity in home-made yoghurts of Xinjiang, China by pyrosequencing.

BACKGROUND The aim of this study was to gain a deeper knowledge of the bacterial and fungal community diversity in local home-made yoghurts from Zhaosu and Tekesi counties, Xinjiang, China, where a relatively high proportion of the ethnic minority population resides. RESULTS The bacterial and fungal community diversity in 22 home-made yoghurt samples was analyzed by pyrosequencing. This approach revealed the presence of six bacterial and two fungal phyla, comprising 69 bacterial and 20 fungal genera respectively, among all samples. Firmicutes and Ascomycota were the dominant phyla and Lactobacillus and Saccharomyces the predominant genera of bacteria and fungi respectively. Based on redundancy analysis, the bacterial diversity in samples from the two counties differed mainly because of eight responsive operational taxonomic units of Lactobacillus. However, no obvious difference existed in the fungal population of samples from the two counties. CONCLUSION The results indicated that the microbial community of home-made yoghurts varied with their geographical origin and manufacturing process. The study showed that pyrosequencing could provide a better understanding of microbiological diversity as well as useful information for future studies on the selection of starter cultures for yoghurts.
Food intake and fuel deposition in a migratory bird is affected by multiple as well as single-step changes in the magnetic field

SUMMARY Recent studies have shown that migratory thrush nightingales (Luscinia luscinia) experimentally treated with multiple changes of the magnetic field simulating a journey to their target stopover area in northern Egypt, increased fuel deposition as expected in preparation to cross the Sahara desert. To investigate the significance of food intake on the body mass changes observed, in the work described here we analysed food intake of the nightingales under study in those earlier experiments. Furthermore, to study whether a single change in the magnetic field directly to northern Egypt is sufficient to provide information for fuelling decisions, we performed a new experiment, exposing thrush nightingales trapped in Sweden, directly to a magnetic field of northern Egypt. Our results show that an experimentally induced magnetic field of northern Egypt, close to the barrier crossing, triggers the same response in fuel deposition as experiments with multiple changes of the magnetic field simulating a migratory journey from Sweden to Egypt, suggesting that migratory birds do not require successive changes in field parameters to incorporate magnetic information into their migratory program. Furthermore, irrespective of experimental set up (single or multiple changes of the magnetic field parameters) increase in food intake seems to be the major reason for the observed increase in fuelling rate compared with control birds, suggesting that geomagnetic information might trigger hormonal changes in migratory birds enabling appropriate fuelling behaviour during migration.