Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Diagnostic Uses of Pax5 Immunohistochemistry

Pax5, or B-cell–specific activator protein, is a nuclear protein in the paired-box containing (PAX) family of transcription factors involved in control of organ development and tissue differentiation. Pax5 is mostly expressed in B lymphocytes and B-cell lymphomas, although recent data have shown expression in the developing central nervous system, some neuroendocrine tumors, and occasional myeloid leukemias. Pax5 immunohistochemistry shows robust nuclear staining, and has become a valuable tool in the diagnosis and subclassification of lymphomas. Pax5 staining is positive in most Hodgkin and B-cell non-Hodgkin lymphomas, and also precursor B-cell lymphoblastic neoplasms. Plasma cell neoplasms, multiple myeloma, and plasmablastic lymphomas typically are negative. T-cell lymphomas are, to date, consistently negative. Recently, Pax5 expression has been described in the majority of small cell carcinomas and Merkel cell carcinomas. Rare cases of Pax5 expression in other carcinomas have been reported. With these exceptions, Pax5 immunohistochemistry is fairly specific for B-cell lineage and is a valuable addition to the armamentarium of markers available for lymphoma subtyping.
Induction of mixed lymphocyte reaction nonresponsiveness after chimeric thymus transplantation

Discussion still continues regarding whether self-tolerance is imparted within the thymus by the thymic epithelial cells (TEC) or by the bone marrow-derived (BMD) dendritic cells and macrophages. Many experiments suggest that BMD cells may be the major cells responsible for inducing tolerance within the thymus. In order to address this question and to see whether thymus chimerism could play a role in establishing transplantation tolerance, we looked in the present experiments at the induction of in vitro tolerance after transplantation of chimeric thymuses. Chimeric thymuses were constructed by injecting T-depleted C3H (H2k) bone marrow into lethally irradiated BALB/c (H2d) mice and were thus composed of TEC of BALB/c and BMD cells of C3H origin, something which was verified with immunoperoxidase staining. Subsequently, chimeric thymuses were transplanted into thymectomized BALB/c mice that were lethally irradiated and reconstituted with T-depleted syngeneic BALB/c bone marrow. In 8 out of 11 BALB/c mice this procedure was successful, and in all chimeric thymus graft-bearing mice, specific tolerance for C3H (H2k) antigens was documented in the mixed lymphocyte reaction (MLR). These experiments thus show that: (1) immunological tolerance can be imparted by BMD cells in the thymus and (2) the presence of chimerism within the thymus could be one of the mechanisms involved in the establishment or maintenance of transplantation tolerance.
The program structure does not reliably recover the correct population structure when sampling is uneven: subsampling and new estimators alleviate the problem

Inferences of population structure and more precisely the identification of genetically homogeneous groups of individuals are essential to the fields of ecology, evolutionary biology and conservation biology. Such population structure inferences are routinely investigated via the program structure implementing a Bayesian algorithm to identify groups of individuals at Hardy–Weinberg and linkage equilibrium. While the method is performing relatively well under various population models with even sampling between subpopulations, the robustness of the method to uneven sample size between subpopulations and/or hierarchical levels of population structure has not yet been tested despite being commonly encountered in empirical data sets. In this study, I used simulated and empirical microsatellite data sets to investigate the impact of uneven sample size between subpopulations and/or hierarchical levels of population structure on the detected population structure. The results demonstrated that uneven sampling often leads to wrong inferences on hierarchical structure and downward‐biased estimates of the true number of subpopulations. Distinct subpopulations with reduced sampling tended to be merged together, while at the same time, individuals from extensively sampled subpopulations were generally split, despite belonging to the same panmictic population. Four new supervised methods to detect the number of clusters were developed and tested as part of this study and were found to outperform the existing methods using both evenly and unevenly sampled data sets. Additionally, a subsampling strategy aiming to reduce sampling unevenness between subpopulations is presented and tested. These results altogether demonstrate that when sampling evenness is accounted for, the detection of the correct population structure is greatly improved.
Travelling alone or travelling far? Meso-level value co-creation by social marketing and for-profit organisations

Purpose This paper aims to explore the potential contributions of the for-profit sector in integrating resources with social marketing organisations for value co-creation at the meso level (midstream) of the social marketing eco-system. The paper addresses calls for further theorisation and understanding of value co-creation beyond the micro level (downstream). Design/methodology/approach The paper draws from social marketing, value co-creation and eco-systems literature to present a conceptual model for meso-level value co-creation between social marketing and for-profit organisations. Findings The paper proposes four dimensions of resources which can be integrated: cognitive, labour, economic and network. Additionally, it is proposed that from these integrated resources, three co-creation outcomes can be achieved – co-learning, co-design and co-production – which lead to improved value propositions. Practical implications This paper offers a framework for strategic planning and evaluation regarding partnerships and collaborations with for-profit organisations, which potentially lead to greater value propositions being offered. Originality/value This paper furthers the theoretical discussions and understanding of value co-creation in social marketing at the meso level. The paper identifies a new actor – for-profits – as a potential collaborator for value co-creation with social marketing organisations and contributes new understanding about value co-creation at the meso level between social marketing and for-profit organisations. Further, the paper describes and reviews the potential contributions of for-profits to social marketing efforts.
Radiation Dose Optimization in CT Planning of Corrective Scoliosis Surgery

The aim of the study was to explore the possibility of obtaining a helical CT scan of a long segment of vertebral column, optimally reduce the radiation dose, compare the radiation dose of the low dose helical CT with that of some of the CT protocols used in clinical practice and finally assess the impact of such a dose reduction on the image quality. A chest phantom was examined with a 16-slice CT scanner. Six scans were performed with different radiation doses. The lowest radiation dose which had no impact on image quality with regard to the information required for surgical planning of patients with scoliosis, was 20 times lower than that of routinely used protocol for CT examination of the spine in children (0.38 mSv vs 7.76 mSv). Patients with scoliosis planned for corrective spinal surgery can be examined with low dose helical CT scan. The dose reduction systems (DRS) available in modern CT scanners contribute to dose reduction and should be used.
Two-Step Sparse Coding for the Pan-Sharpening of Remote Sensing Images

Remote sensing image pan-sharpening is an important way of enhancing the spatial resolution of a multispectral (MS) image by fusing it with a registered panchromatic (PAN) image. The traditional pan-sharpening methods often suffer from color distortion and are still far from being able to synthesize a real high-resolution MS image, as could be directly acquired by a better sensor. Inspired by the rapid development of sparse representation theory, we propose a two-step sparse coding method with patch normalization (PN-TSSC) for image pan-sharpening. Traditional one-step sparse coding has difficulty in choosing dictionary atoms when the structural information is weak or lost. By exploiting the local similarity between the MS and PAN images, the proposed sparse coding method deals with the dictionary atoms in two steps, which has been found to be an effective way of overcoming this problem. The experimental results with IKONOS, QuickBird, and WorldView-2 data suggest that the proposed method can effectively improve the spatial resolution of a MS image, with little color distortion. The pan-sharpened high-resolution MS image outperforms those images fused by other traditional and state-of-the-art methods, both quantitatively and perceptually.
Attitudes and beliefs about prostate cancer and screening among rural African American men.

PURPOSE The research study purpose was to describe the personal attitudes and beliefs of rural African American men related to prostate cancer and screening. PROCEDURE Audio taped interviews were conducted with nine (9) African American men living in rural communities of West Central Alabama. FINDINGS Six common themes were found among the rural African American men participants. The themes identified were: (1) Disparity; (2) Lack of understanding; (3) Tradition; (4) Mistrust in the system; (5) Fear; and (6) Threat to manhood. CONCLUSIONS The results support the general significance of understanding the views of the target population and specifically its culture and offer opportunities for adapting health promotion to the population.
Vulnerability of Small Island Developing States to Natural Disasters

Small island developing states (SIDS) have been identified as particularly vulnerable to natural disasters and climate change. However, although SIDS have similar geographical features, natural hazards produce different outcomes in different states, indicating variation in vulnerability. The objective of this article is to explore the sources of this variation. With the point of departure in theories about how political institutions affect adaptive capacities, this article sets out to investigate whether government effectiveness has an impact on the vulnerability of SIDS. While claims over the importance of institutions are common in the literature, there is a lack of empirical accounts testing the validity of such claims. This shortcoming is addressed by this study’s time-series cross-sectional analysis using data from the International Disaster Risk database and the Quality of Government data set. The results show that government effectiveness has strong and significant effects on the number of people killed and affected by natural disasters.
Photorejuvenation with Topical Methyl Aminolevulinate and Red Light: A Randomized, Prospective, Clinical, Histopathologic, and Morphometric Study

BACKGROUND Photodynamic therapy (PDT) is an option for skin rejuvenation. Although many studies report clinical improvement with PDT in photodamaged skin, histologic and morphometric evidence is not documented in most cases. OBJECTIVE To evaluate clinical and histopathologic changes induced by methyl aminolevulinate (MAL)‐PDT and to morphometrically quantify collagen and elastic fibers in skin remodeling induced by MAL‐PDT in photodamaged skin. METHODS AND MATERIALS Fourteen patients were treated with two sessions of MAL‐PDT. The light source was a light‐emitting diode: 635 nm, 37 J/cm2. Skin biopsies were performed before and 3 and 4 months after treatment. All fragments were stained using the hematoxylin‐eosin, orcein, and picrosirius techniques. Morphometric studies were done of three samples from each patient. RESULTS Global clinical improvement was observed in 10 of 14 patients. The histopathologic study showed increased collagen fibers 3 and 6 months after treatment. The decrease in the amount of elastic fiber was statistically significant 3 (p=.016) and 6 (p=.008) months after treatment. The increase in the amount of collagen fiber was statistically significant 6 months after treatment (p=.048). CONCLUSION Clinical improvement with regard to texture, firmness, wrinkle depth, skin coloration, and clearance of actinic keratoses was observed. Histopathologic and morphometric studies were consistent with the clinical findings. Dr. M. Issa is a consultant to Galderma (Brazil). Galderma Industries provided the Metvix used in this study.
Diagnosis of Human Leptospirosis by Monoclonal Antibody-Based Antigen Detection in Urine

ABSTRACT Hybridomas secreting specific monoclonal antibodies (MAb) to all members of the genus Leptospira (clone LF9) and those that are specific only to the pathogenic species (clones LD5 and LE1) were produced. MAb LF9, which was immunoglobulin G1 (IgG1), reacted to a 38-kDa component of the sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis-separated whole-cell lysates of all Leptospira spp. , while MAb LD5 and MAb LE1, which were IgG1 and IgG2a, respectively, reacted to the 35- to 36-kDa components of all serogroups of the pathogenic species of Leptospira. The MAb LD5 was used in a dot blot-enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (dot-ELISA) for detecting Leptospira antigen in urine samples serially collected from two groups of patients diagnosed with leptospirosis, i.e., 36 clinically diagnosed patients and 25 Leptospira culture confirmed patients. Their serum samples were tested serologically by IgM Dipstick assay, indirect immunofluorescence assay (IFA), and/or microscopic agglutination test (MAT). Urine samples of 26 patients diagnosed with other illnesses and 120 healthy individuals served as controls. For the first group of patients, who had been ill for an average of 3.4 days before hospitalization, the IgM Dipstick test, IFA, and MAT were positive for 69.4, 70.0, and 85.7% of patients, while the Leptospira antigenuria tested by the MAb-based dot-ELISA was positive for 75.0, 88.9, 97.2, 97.2, and 100% of patients on days 1, 2, 3, 7, and 14 of hospitalization, respectively. All but 1 of 11 patients whose serum samples collected on the first day of hospitalization were IgM seronegative, were positive by urine antigen test on day 1. This is strong evidence that detection of antigen in urine can provide diagnostic information that could be useful in directing early therapeutic intervention. The MAT was positive in 10 of 12 patients (83.3%) of the 25 culture-positive Leptospira patients who had been ill for an average of 5.04 days before hospitalization, and the Leptospira antigen was found in 64.0, 84.0, 96.0, 100, 100, 100, and 100% of the patients' urine samples collected on days 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, and 7 of hospitalization, respectively. Leptospira antigenuria was found in 3 of the 26 patients diagnosed with other illnesses and 1 of the 120 healthy controls. The reasons for this positivity are discussed. The detection of antigen in urine by the monoclonal antibody-based dot-ELISA has high potential for rapid, sensitive, and specific diagnosis of leptospirosis at a low cost.
Differential replication and pathogenic effects of HIV‐1 and HIV‐2 in Macaca nemestrina

Objective.HIV-1 and HIV-2 isolates representing various geographic regions and distinct viral subtypes were examined for their ability to establish both in vitro and in vivo productive infections of Macaca nemestrina (pigtail macaque) peripheral blood mononuclear cells. Methods.Animals were inoculated with either autologous cell-associated or cell-free viral preparations of selected isolates. HIV-specific immune responsiveness, hematologic changes, genetic variation, and virus burden were monitored as delineators of HIV pathogenesis. Results.HIV-2 replication in vitro and in vivo correlated with nascent antigen production and rising viral titers as determined by infectious center assays. Infection was detectable by polymerase chain reaction amplification of proviral sequences in macaque cells as early as 1 week postinoculation. Two distinct patterns of CD4+ cell depletion induced by HIV-2 infection were observed during the first month postinoculation and characterized by a moderate loss sustained through 20 weeks postinoculation or a substantial loss maintained long-term (> 90 weeks). Identity between inoculating viral stocks and subsequent viral isolates from animals was established comparatively by limited sequence analysis of specific domains within the HIV-2 pol and env genes. In contrast, replication of HIV-1 isolates was limited or only semipermissive in vitro. Intravenous inoculation of HIV-1 field isolates, using conditions successful for HIV-2 (for example, identical viral titers), failed to establish a productive viral infection leading to seroconversion or fluctuations in hematologic cell markers. Infection with a high-titer inoculum of a laboratory-adapted HIV-1 strain in vivo, as demonstrated by polymerase chain reaction analysis, produced seroconversion in the absence of overt viral replication or hematologic variations in one out of four animals. Conclusions.This system provides for multifaceted modeling of HIV pathogenesis, primarily with HIV-2 and potentially with HIV-1/-2 chimerics, in support of immunotherapeutic developments and critical evaluation of intervention practices.
Spinal Glia Division Contributes to Conditioning Lesion–Induced Axon Regeneration Into the Injured Spinal Cord: Potential Role of Cyclic AMP–Induced Tissue Inhibitor of Metalloproteinase-1

Abstract Regeneration of sensory neurons after spinal cord injury depends on the function of dividing neuronal-glial antigen 2 (NG2)–expressing cells. We have shown that increases in the number of dividing NG2-positive cells through short-term pharmacologic inhibition of matrix metalloproteinases contributes to recovery after spinal cord injury. A conditioning sciatic nerve crush (SNC) preceding spinal cord injury stimulates central sensory axon regeneration via the intraganglionic action of cyclic adenosine monophosphate. Here, using bromodeoxyuridine, mitomycin (mitosis inhibitor), and cholera toxin B tracer, we demonstrate that SNC-induced division of spinal glia is related to the spinal induction of tissue inhibitor of metalloproteinase-1 and contributes to central sensory axon growth into the damaged spinal cord. Dividing cells were mainly NG2-positive and Iba1-positive and included myeloid NG2-positive populations. The cells dividing in response to SNC mainly matured into oligodendrocytes and microglia within the injured spinal cord. Some postmitotic cells remained NG2-reactive and were associated with regenerating fibers. Moreover, intraganglionic tissue inhibitor of metalloproteinase-1 expression was induced after administration of SNC or cyclic adenosine monophosphate analog (dbcAMP) to dorsal root ganglia in vivo and in primary adult dorsal root ganglia cultures. Collectively, these findings support a novel model whereby a cyclic adenosine monophosphate–activated regeneration program induced in sensory neurons by a conditioning peripheral nerve lesion uses tissue inhibitor of metalloproteinase-1 to protect against short-term proteolysis, enabling glial cell division and promoting axon growth into the damaged CNS.
Identification of Type A, B, E, and F Botulinum Neurotoxin Genes and of Botulinum Neurotoxigenic Clostridia by Denaturing High-Performance Liquid Chromatography

ABSTRACT Denaturing high-performance liquid chromatography (DHPLC) is a recently developed technique for rapid screening of nucleotide polymorphisms in PCR products. We used this technique for the identification of type A, B, E, and F botulinum neurotoxin genes. PCR products amplified from a conserved region of the type A, B, E, and F botulinum toxin genes from Clostridium botulinum, neurotoxigenic C. butyricum type E, and C. baratii type F strains were subjected to both DHPLC analysis and sequencing. Unique DHPLC peak profiles were obtained with each different type of botulinum toxin gene fragment, consistent with nucleotide differences observed in the related sequences. We then evaluated the ability of this technique to identify botulinal neurotoxigenic organisms at the genus and species level. A specific short region of the 16S rRNA gene which contains genus-specific and in some cases species-specific heterogeneity was amplified from botulinum neurotoxigenic clostridia and from different food-borne pathogens and subjected to DHPLC analysis. Different peak profiles were obtained for each genus and species, demonstrating that the technique could be a reliable alternative to sequencing for the rapid identification of food-borne pathogens, specifically of botulinal neurotoxigenic clostridia most frequently implicated in human botulism.
Body Fat and Cardiovascular Risk Factors in Indian Men in Three Geographical Locations

We studied cardiovascular risk factors in 149 rural, 142 slum dwellers, and 150 urban middle class Indian men (30 to 50 years, mean 40 years) in relation to their body fat. Mean body mass index (BMI) was 21.0, 22.3, and 24.3 kg/m2 and mean body fat percent (bioimpedance) was 20.4, 22.5, and 30.4, respectively. A 75g oral glucose tolerance test showed no diabetes in rural subjects; 4% of urban slum dwellers and 10% of urban middle class men were diabetic. Hypertension (blood pressure ≥ 140/90 mm Hg) was present in 2% of the rural, 4% of the urban slum, and 10% of the urban middle class men. All cardiovascular risk factors were strongly related the percentage of body fat and waist to hip ratio. Two hour plasma glucose concentration and blood pressure were, in addition, independently related to geographical location (urban middle class were higher than slums who were higher than rural men). Our results suggest that urbanization increases the risk of hyperglycemia and hypertension independent of the percentage of body fat or its central distribution.
Evidence that oxytocin is a physiological component of LH regulation in non-pregnant women.

BACKGROUND Regulation of the LH surge is central to the functioning of the female ovulatory cycle. In animal models, oxytocin has been shown to alter LH activity. Oxytocin advanced the LH surge and, conversely, oxytocin receptor antagonists inhibited full production of the LH surge in rats. Few data exist on the possibility that oxytocin modulates LH in women. METHODS Ten non-pregnant women participated in this study over two menstrual cycles. One cycle was a control cycle, and the other a trial cycle; the two were separated by at least one cycle. When the diameter of an ovarian follicle was >15 mm, a subject was allocated at random into either a control or treatment group. In a control cycle, volunteers received normal saline; in a treatment cycle, volunteers received an oxytocin antagonist (atosiban). RESULTS For treatment cycles, the maximum LH concentration was significantly less than that in control cycles (42.1 +/- 6.2 versus 60.3 +/- 8.3 IU/l respectively; P < 0.05). Maximum FSH and estradiol concentrations were not significantly different between the two groups. CONCLUSIONS The results indicated that inhibition of endogenous oxytocin affects the endocrinology of the ovulatory cycle in women, and strongly suggest that oxytocin has a role in the physiological processes of LH regulation.
Hippocampal Slices and Their Electrophysiogy in the Study of Brain Energy Metabolism

Dorland’s Illustrated Medical Dictionary in its 24th Edition (1965), describes the term “Electrophysiology” as “The Science of physiology in its relations to electricity; the study of the electric reactions of the body in health. ” The ability of scientists to observe and record physiology’s electrical phenomena long preceded the understanding of the membranous ionic processes that are responsible for them. Consequently, for a while, electrophysiology has been considered a subfield of physiology, aiming at improving our understanding of cellular, organ and bodily functions. With the advances made in molecular biology, genetics and neuroscience, the role of electrophysiology has shifted, where today it is being employed as one of the best, most accurate and least expensive real-time monitoring tools in basic science research and clinical studies and practice alike.