Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Smooth-muscle hamartoma. Possible congenital Becker's nevus.

The specific diagnosis of a hamartoma may create diagnostic difficulties, both grossly and histologically. We observed an infant who was noted at birth to have a hyperpigmented plaque with follicular accentuation and a slight increase in the amount of hair on the anterior abdominal wall. The clinical differential diagnosis included mastocytoma, epidermal nevus, congenital pigmented nevus, and congenital Becker's nevus. The most striking feature of the biopsy specimen was the presence of large numbers of smooth-muscle fibers permeating the dermis, a finding most consistent with a diagnosis of Becker's nevus, although Becker's nevus has not previously been known to be present at birth. Report of a Case At birth, a 3 × 4-cm, yellow-brown, slightly hairy, barely palpable plaque (Fig 1) was noted on the anterior abdominal wall of an otherwise normal, full-term, 2.1-kg female infant. When the plaque was stroked, a slight accentuation, with rapid, brief elevation of the
Comparing Teachers’ Job Satisfaction across Countries: A Multiple‐Pairwise Measurement Invariance Approach

There is much interest in comparing latent traits, such as teacher job satisfaction, in large international surveys. However, different countries respond to questionnaires in different languages and interpret the questions through different cultural lenses, raising doubts about the psychometric equivalence of the measurements. Making valid comparisons depends on the latent traits displaying scalar measurement invariance. Unfortunately, this condition is rarely met across many countries at once. Different approaches that maximise the utility of such surveys, but remain faithful to the principles of measurement invariance testing, are therefore needed. This paper illustrates one such approach, involving multiple-pairwise comparisons. This enables us to compare teacher job satisfaction in England to 17 of the countries that participated in TALIS 2013. Teacher job satisfaction in England was as low, or lower, than all of the 17 comparable countries. Statistically tests
Spontaneous Delayed Migration/Shortening of the Pipeline Embolization Device: Report of 5 Cases

SUMMARY: Five patients were found to have spontaneous delayed migration/shortening of their Pipeline Embolization Devices on follow-up angiography. The device migrated proximally in 4 patients and distally in 1 patient. One patient had a subarachnoid hemorrhage and died as a result of migration of the Pipeline Embolization Device, and another patient presented with complete MCA occlusion and was left severely disabled. Mismatch in arterial diameter between inflow and outflow vessels was a constant finding. Migration of the Pipeline Embolization Device was managed conservatively, with additional placement of the device, or with parent vessel occlusion. Obtaining complete expansion of the embolization device by using a longer device, increasing vessel coverage, using adjunctive aneurysm coiling, and avoiding dragging and stretching of the device are important preventive measures. Neurointerventionalists should be aware of this potentially fatal complication and take all necessary preventive measures.
Effect of regular physical training on cutaneous microvascular reactivity.

PURPOSE To investigate whether regular intense physical training induces changes in microvascular reactivity of human glabrous and nonglabrous skin. METHODS Subjects were physically trained competitive cyclists (N = 19) and age-matched sedentary controls (N = 20). We measured cutaneous microvascular blood flow on the dorsum of the hand (nonglabrous skin) and on the finger pulp (glabrous skin) using the laser-Doppler (LD) method. Endothelium-dependent vasodilation was assessed by an iontophoretic application of acetylcholine (ACh) on the dorsum of the hand and by an induction of postocclusive reactive hyperemia (PRH) on the finger pulp. Endothelium-independent vasodilation was assessed on the dorsum of the hand by iontophoretically applied sodium-nitroprusside (SNP). RESULTS The ACh-evoked increase in LD flux (LDF) was significantly greater in the group of cyclists (7.5-fold +/- 0.5 increase) as compared with controls (5.9-fold +/- 0.5). We found no differences in the peak LDF during PRH, whereas the recovery time of PRH was significantly longer (241.5 +/- 21.6 s in trained vs 154.6 +/- 9.3 s in sedentary group) and the area under the PRH curve significantly larger in the group of trained subjects (19,066 +/- 2,653 PU x s in trained vs 12,168 +/- 864 PU x s in sedentary). In contrast, we found a significantly smaller response to SNP in the group of cyclists (6.2-fold +/- 0.5 increase) as compared with sedentary subjects (7.8-fold +/- 0.5 increase). CONCLUSION The results of our study point to a greater vasodilator capacity of endothelium in glabrous as well as in nonglabrous skin in the group of physically trained subjects. In addition, our results indicate that regular physical activity also modifies the reactivity of vascular smooth muscle cells.
Smoking, Smoking Cessation, and Disease Activity in a Large Cohort of Patients with Rheumatoid Arthritis

Objective. While cigarette smoking is the best-studied environmental factor contributing to rheumatoid arthritis (RA), no study to date has examined the influence of smoking cessation on disease activity. We examined this relationship in an observational cohort of patients with RA in the United States. Methods. Patients enrolled in the Consortium of Rheumatology Researchers of North America registry (CORRONA) were stratified into never, former, and current smokers at enrollment. Current smokers were further stratified into continued and ceased smoking groups during their followup in the registry. The primary outcome was change in Clinical Disease Activity Index (CDAI) at last visit in a multivariate, random-effects regression model accounting for multiple timepoints. Results. At last visit, there was no significant change in CDAI between ceased smokers and continued smokers (coefficient −0.00091, SE 0.0033, p = 0.7834). The study did confirm prior cross-sectional studies that current smokers have worse disease activity than former or never smokers. Conclusion. In the short term, smoking cessation did not appear to influence change in disease activity over time.
How to support caregivers and the bereaved: Psychoeducation and personal coping techniques

Canada has an increasing and ageing population and because of this it is experiencing an increase in its rate of deaths. Because of this the requirement for hospice and end-of-life support will likely increase. This creates the need for research on best practices regarding supporting individuals in the caregiving role, but also how they personally cope with the challenges they face. The first segment of this study looked at caregivers of individuals with life-limiting illnesses’ experiences of receiving a psychoeducation grief resource package that contained a variety of educational materials that fall into the following categories of support: emotional, spiritual, psychological, and physical. The second segment of this study looked at the caregivers’ personal coping skills in the following areas: emotional, spiritual, psychological, and physical. According to the results, hospices can help to provide a sense of connection to others and social support for their clientele. Additionally, hospices have exceptional employees and volunteers as well as a remarkable environment. Furthermore, psychoeducation about grief and bereavement can provide supportive information that can help to normalize the feelings and emotions of its users as well as give them effective education that they can implement into their lives. The quality and format of the content of psychoeducation is important and the educational information should be presented in an invitational and open manner. Finally, caregivers and the bereaved engage in holistic personal care and support themselves in these four domains: physical, spiritual, social, and emotional.
Alkylation of mu opioid receptors by beta-funaltrexamine in vivo: comparison of the effects on in situ binding and heroin self-administration in rats.

Mu opioid receptors are known to be directly involved in the reinforcing effects of opiates; however, little is known regarding the relationship between alteration of mu opioid receptor binding and opiate reinforcement. Intracerebroventricular (i.c.v.) administration of beta-funaltrexamine (beta-FNA) has been shown to reduce the number of mu opioid receptors throughout the brain and can be used to address questions regarding the relationship of the density of these receptors to the pharmacological effects of opiates. The time course of the effects of beta-FNA on heroin self-administration was compared with the effects on mu opioid receptor binding. beta-FNA (40 nmol) or saline was administered i.c. v. to animals trained to self-administer either 18 or 60 micrograms/kg per infusion of heroin. The number of infusions decreased after beta-FNA administration but steadily returned to base-line levels approximately 10 days after beta-FNA treatment. The time course of the effects of beta-FNA on mu opioid receptor binding was determined in separate groups of animals. beta-FNA treatment decreased the number of [3H]D-Ala2,N-Me-Phe4,Gly5-ol]-enkephalin binding sites by 34 to 50% in rat brain sections; an effect that persisted for up to 18 days. The affinity was unaffected initially, but decreased in a linear manner from days 9 to 18 after beta-FNA administration. The return of heroin self-administration before the return of mu opioid receptor binding suggests that the recovery of mu opioid receptor function after beta-FNA treatment is more complex than merely synthesis of new receptors.
Amino Acid Residues 68–71 Contribute to Influenza A Virus PB1-F2 Protein Stability and Functions

Influenza A virus PB1-F2, encoding a multi-functional protein, is regarded as a virulent gene. Variation in expression pattern and protein stability among PB1-F2 proteins derived from different strains may explain why PB1-F2 functions in a strain- and cell type-specific manner. Because the protein stability of PB1-F2 affects its biological functions, we looked for sequences important for this property. By comparing variants and chimeric of PB1-F2 proteins from A/Hong Kong/156/1997 (H5N1) and A/Puerto Rico/8/1934 (H1N1), we identified amino acid residues 68–71 affect its protein stability. PB1-F2 with T68, Q69, D70, and S71 has a shorter protein half-life than its I68, L69, V70, and F71 counterpart. This is likely to do with proteasome-mediated degradation. Swapping amino acids 68–71 between two proteins reversed not only the length of protein half-life and sensitivity to MG132, but also subcellular localization and interferon antagonization. Our data suggested that composition of amino acids 68–71, which regulates protein stability and therefore its functions, can be a major factor determining strain-specificity of PB1-F2.
BK virus

Infection with BK virus (BKV), a polyoma virus, occurs worldwide with seroprevalence rates as high as 60–80% reported among adults in the USA and Europe (1–3). Seroprevalence studies show the peak incidence of primary infection to occur in children 2–5, years of age (4). BKV antibody may be detected in as many as 50% of children by 3 years of age and in nearly 100% of children by 9–10 years of age (1–3). Clinical disease in immunocompetent hosts is rare although cystitis can occur.
Calcium in sympathetic varicosities of mouse vas deferens during facilitation, augmentation and autoinhibition

1 The sympathetic nerve terminals of the mouse vas deferens were loaded with the calcium indicator Oregon Green 488 BAPTA‐1 by orthograde transport along the postganglionic nerves. Changes in the calcium concentration in the varicosity (Δ[Ca2+]v) were determined following single impulses, and short (5‐impulse) and long (200‐impulse) trains at 5 Hz. 2 All varicosities showed a significant Δ[Ca2+]v in response to every single impulse. The elevated Δ[Ca2+]v declined in two phases with similar kinetics for all varicosities: a fast phase (time constant, 0.42 ± 0.05 s) and a moderate phase (3.6 ± 0.4 s). 3 Line scanning confocal microscopy revealed that the Δ[Ca2+] of a single terminal following single impulses was smaller for the intervaricose regions than for the varicosities. 4 Blockade of the voltage‐sensitive calcium channels with Cd2+ (in calcium‐free solution) completely blocked the Δ[Ca2+]v on stimulation. The addition of either nifedipine (10 μm), ω‐conotoxin GVIA (100 nM) or ω‐agatoxin TK (100 nm) showed that 47 ± 6% of the evoked response was mediated by N‐type calcium channels. 5 Ryanodine (10 μm) did not significantly change the amplitude of Δ[Ca2+]v in response to short trains. 6 Spontaneous increases in Δ[Ca2+]v were observed in individual varicosities, with coupling in the increase of Δ[Ca2+]v between varicosities. 7 The presynaptic α2‐receptor antagonist yohimbine (10 μm) increased the amplitude of Δ[Ca2+]v in response to five impulses (5 Hz) by 54 ± 14%, while the α2‐receptor agonist clonidine (1 μm) decreased the Δ[Ca2+]v by 55 ± 4%. 8 These results are discussed in terms of the hypotheses that the increased probability for secretion at sympathetic nerve terminals which accompanies facilitation and augmentation is due to the residual Δ[Ca2+]v remaining after the calcium influx following impulses and that noradrenaline acts presynaptically to decrease the probability of secretion by modifying calcium influx.
KIR–HLA receptor‐ligand mismatch associated with a graft‐versus‐tumor effect in haploidentical stem cell transplantation for pediatric metastatic solid tumors

Killer immunoglobulin‐like receptors (KIRs) on natural killer cells (NKs) recognize groups of human leukocyte antigen (HLA) class I alleles. Cells without an inhibitory HLA ligand may trigger NK activation. Reduced risk of relapse has been reported in malignant hematologic diseases after haploidentical transplantation when HLA ligands against the inhibitory KIRs present in the donor were absent in the recipient. We performed haploidentical transplant in three children with refractory solid tumors. Our results showed that beneficial antitumor effects could be observed in the presence of inhibitory KIR–HLA mismatch. These preliminary results suggest a possible association between disease control and NK cell alloreactivity. Pediatr Blood Cancer 2009;53:120–124. © 2009 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Arterial stiffness is increased in hypertensive centenarians

Background. The aim of our study was to assess the relationship between blood pressure and arterial stiffness in Polish centenarians. Materials and methods. We examined 59 centenarians with the mean age of 101.3 years. Peripheral blood pressure was estimated upon mean value of three measurements and arterial stiffness by pulse wave analysis (PWA). Pressure waveforms were recorded from the radial artery and the waveform data were then processed by SphygmoCor to produce the estimated aortic pressure waveform. All subjects were divided into the three subgroups: normotensives (<140/90 mmHg), systolic hypertensives (ISH, SBP⩾140 and DBP<90 mmHg) and systolo‐diastolic hypertensives (⩾140/90 or treated). Results. The mean values of peripheral BP for the entire group were: 149.5/76.8 mmHg for SBPP/DBPP and 136.1/77.8 mmHg for central SBPC/DBPC, respectively. The mean value of pulse pressures were: 72.7/58.4 mmHg for peripheral (PPP)/central (PPc). Arterial stiffness indices calculated from PWA were: 96.6%, 33.2% and 32.2% for peripheral (AIxP), central (AIxC) and central normalized for heart rate (AIxC75) augmentation indexes, respectively. The PPc was the lowest in the normotensive group (40.1 mmHg) when compared both with the ISH group (71.1 mmHg) and the systolo‐diastolic group (58.1 mmHg). The lowest arterial stiffness indices (AIxP, AIxC75) calculated from PWA were found in the normotensive group: 85.4% and 28.5%, comparing with 96.1% and 33.7% in the ISH group and 104.8% and 32.9% for the systolo‐diastolic group. Conclusions: In centenarians, similarly to younger subjects, those with hypertension present with arterial stiffness.
Impact of spinal anaesthesia on peri‐operative lung volumes in obese and morbidly obese female patients *

Although obesity predisposes to postoperative pulmonary complications, data on the relationship between body mass index (BMI) and peri‐operative respiratory performance are limited. We prospectively studied the impact of spinal anaesthesia, obesity and vaginal surgery on lung volumes measured by spirometry in 28 patients with BMI 30–40 kg.m−2 and in 13 patients with BMI ≥ 40 kg.m−2. Vital capacity, forced vital capacity, forced expiratory volume in 1 s, mid‐expiratory and peak expiratory flows were measured during the pre‐operative visit (baseline), after effective spinal anaesthesia with premedication, and after the operation at 20 min, 1 h, 2 h, and 3 h (after mobilisation). Spinal anaesthesia and premedication were associated with a significant decrease in spirometric parameters. Spinal anaesthesia and premedication were associated with a significant decrease in spirometric parameters; mean (SD) vital capacities were − 19% (6.4) in patients with BMI 30–40 kg.m−2 and − 33% (9.0) in patients with BMI > 40 kg.m−2. The decrease of lung volumes remained constant for 2 h, whereas 3 h after the operation and after mobilisation, spirometric parameters significantly improved in all patients. This study showed that both spinal anaesthesia and obesity significantly impaired peri‐operative respiratory function.
More Diseases Tracked by Using Google Trends

To the Editor: The idea that populations provide data on their influenza status through information-seeking behavior on the Web has been explored in the United States in recent years (1,2). Two reports showed that queries to the Internet search engines Yahoo and Google could be informative for influenza surveillance (2,3). Ginsberg et al. scanned the Google database and found that the sum of the results of 45 queries that most correlated with influenza incidences provided the best predictor of influenza trends (3). On the basis of trends of Google queries, these authors put their results into practice by creating a Web page dedicated to influenza surveillance. However, they did not develop the same approach for other diseases. To date, no studies have been published about the relationship of search engine query data with other diseases or in languages other than English.
Corepressor for element-1–silencing transcription factor preferentially mediates gene networks underlying neural stem cell fate decisions

The repressor element-1 (RE1) silencing transcription factor/neuron-restrictive silencer factor (REST/NRSF) silences neuronal genes in neural stem cells (NSCs) and nonneuronal cells through its role as a dynamic modular platform for recruitment of transcriptional and epigenetic regulatory cofactors to RE1-containing promoters. In embryonic stem cells, the REST regulatory network is highly integrated with the transcriptional circuitry governing self-renewal and pluripotency, although its exact functional role is unclear. The C-terminal cofactor for REST, CoREST, also acts as a modular scaffold, but its cell type-specific roles have not been elucidated. We used chromatin immunoprecipitation-on-chip to examine CoREST and REST binding sites in NSCs and their proximate progenitor species. In NSCs, we identified a larger number of CoREST (1,820) compared with REST (322) target genes. The majority of these CoREST targets do not contain known RE1 motifs. Notably, these CoREST target genes do play important roles in pluripotency networks, in modulating NSC identity and fate decisions and in epigenetic processes previously associated with both REST and CoREST. Moreover, we found that NSC-mediated developmental transitions were associated primarily with liberation of CoREST from promoters with transcriptional repression favored in less lineage-restricted radial glia and transcriptional activation favored in more lineage-restricted neuronal-oligodendrocyte precursors. Clonal NSC REST and CoREST gene manipulation paradigms further revealed that CoREST has largely independent and previously uncharacterized roles in promoting NSC multilineage potential and modulating early neural fate decisions.
The Management of Pediatric Neck Masses

AbstractNeck masses are a common clinical concern both in adults and children. The differential diagnosis is quite broad, from congenital lesions to malignant tumors. Based on the different pathologic diagnosis, the treatments are varied. To the best of our knowledge, limited reports, which specifically discuss the incidence and distribution of neck diseases in early childhood, have been published. Because of the great population in China, a thorough review of the previous clinical data for pediatric neck masses might be potentially valuable for oral and maxillofacial surgeons, which might provide a deeper understanding and better the accuracy of our clinical diagnosis and management. In this article, a 10-year retrospective review was completed; the whole cases were diagnosed and treated in the same major clinical institute in east China, which might represent as a typical cohort for the patient population and serve as a reference for future clinical management.
MOLECULAR GENETIC ANALYSIS OF A STEPPED MULTILOCUS CLINE IN THE AMERICAN OYSTER (CRASSOSTREA VIRGINICA)

Gulf of Mexico versus Atlantic populations of several coastal species in the southeastern United States are known to differ sharply in genetic composition, but most transitional zones have not previously been examined in detail. Here we employ molecular markers from mitochondrial and nuclear loci to characterize cytonuclear genetic associations at meso‐ and microgeographic scales along an eastern Florida transitional zone between genetically distinct Atlantic and Gulf populations of the American oyster, Crassostrea virginica. The single‐ and multilocus cytonuclear patterns display: (1) a cline extending along 340 km of the east Florida coastline; (2) a pronounced step in the cline centered at Cape Canaveral (shifts in allelic frequencies by 50–75% over a 20 km distance); (3) a close agreement of observed genotypic frequencies with Hardy‐Weinberg expectations within locales; and (4) mild or nonexistent nuclear and cytonuclear disequilibria in most local population samples. These results imply: (1) considerable restrictions to interpopulational gene flow along the eastern Florida coastline; (2) within locales, free interbreeding (as opposed to mere population admixture) between Gulf and Atlantic forms of oysters; and (3) localized population recruitment in the transition zone localities. These findings demonstrate that marine organisms with high dispersal potential via long‐lived pelagic larvae can nonetheless display pronounced spatial population genetic structure, and more generally they exemplify the utility of pronounced genetic transition zones for the study of population level processes.