Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
β2‐Microglobulin in non‐malignant and malignant human breast: A feature of differentiation

An indirect immunofluorescent method has been used to study the distribution of the membrane protein β2‐microglobulin in normal, benign and malignant human breast tissue. A uniform staining of epithelial cell membranes has been found in all normal and benign tissues, with only a minor variation in the intensity of reaction between samples. In contrast the carcinomas have shown a variety of reactions, with some behaving in a manner similar to the normal and benign breast tissue, others being heterogeneous with regard to intensity of staining and the remainder having a weak or a negative reaction. The immunohistochemical behaviour of the carcinomas has paralleled the degree of histological differentiation, with poorly differentiated carcinomas showing little reactivity. A comparable relationship with lymph node status has not been found. Although those carcinomas with a staining pattern akin to non‐malignant tissue have a lower incidence of lymph node metastasis it has been the heterogeneous reacting group rather than the weak staining and negative tumours which has shown a higher rate of axillary lymph node metastasis. The prognostic significance of this finding is at present uncertain and can probably only be assessed from information about patient survival.
Measles Vaccine Strains for Virotherapy of Non–Small-Cell Lung Carcinoma

Introduction: Oncolytic virus therapy is a promising therapy for numerous tumor types. Edmonston-strain measles virus (MV) has been tested in clinical trials for ovarian cancer, glioma, and myeloma. Therefore, the antitumor activity of MV against non–small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC) was assessed. Methods: Human NSCLC cells and immortalized lung epithelial cell lines, Beas2B, were infected with either MV-producing green fluorescent protein or MV-producing carcinoembryonic antigen. Cells were assessed for viability, induction of apoptosis by caspase and poly-ADP ribose polymerase cleavage, and for viral transgene production. The dependency of MV entry on CD46 and nectin-4 were determined using blocking antibodies. The role of host translational activity on viral replication was assessed by overexpression of eIF4E and translation inhibition. Antitumor activity was assessed by measuring treated NSCLC xenografts from flanks of nude mice. Results: MV infection of NSCLC cells results in potent cell killing in most of the cell lines compared with immortalized Beas2B cells and induces apoptosis. MV infection was prevented by blocking of CD46, however independent of nectin-4 blockade. Tumor weights are diminished after intratumoral injections of MV-producing carcinoembryonic antigen in one of two cell lines and result in detectable viral transgene in serum of mice. Conclusions: These data indicate that MV is oncolytic for human NSCLC and this was independent of nectin-4 expression. Dysregulated protein translational machinery may play a role in determining tumor tropism in NSCLC. MV combined with gemcitabine could be explored further as chemovirotherapy for NSCLC.
Food swamps and food deserts in Baltimore City, MD, USA: associations with dietary behaviours among urban adolescent girls

Abstract Objective To determine whether living in a food swamp (≥4 corner stores within 0·40 km (0·25 miles) of home) or a food desert (generally, no supermarket or access to healthy foods) is associated with consumption of snacks/desserts or fruits/vegetables, and if neighbourhood-level socio-economic status (SES) confounds relationships. Design Cross-sectional. Assessments included diet (Youth/Adolescent FFQ, skewed dietary variables normalized) and measured height/weight (BMI-for-age percentiles/Z-scores calculated). A geographic information system geocoded home addresses and mapped food deserts/food swamps. Associations examined using multiple linear regression (MLR) models adjusting for age and BMI-for-age Z-score. Setting Baltimore City, MD, USA. Subjects Early adolescent girls (6th/7th grade, n 634; mean age 12·1 years; 90·7 % African American; 52·4 % overweight/obese), recruited from twenty-two urban, low-income schools. Results Girls’ consumption of fruit, vegetables and snacks/desserts: 1·2, 1·7 and 3·4 servings/d, respectively. Girls’ food environment: 10·4 % food desert only, 19·1 % food swamp only, 16·1 % both food desert/swamp and 54·4 % neither food desert/swamp. Average median neighbourhood-level household income: $US 35 298. In MLR models, girls living in both food deserts/swamps consumed additional servings of snacks/desserts v. girls living in neither (β=0·13, P=0·029; 3·8 v. 3·2 servings/d). Specifically, girls living in food swamps consumed more snacks/desserts than girls who did not (β=0·16, P=0·003; 3·7 v. 3·1 servings/d), with no confounding effect of neighbourhood-level SES. No associations were identified with food deserts or consumption of fruits/vegetables. Conclusions Early adolescent girls living in food swamps consumed more snacks/desserts than girls not living in food swamps. Dietary interventions should consider the built environment/food access when addressing adolescent dietary behaviours.
Effects of Fasting and Refeeding on Serum Leptin, Adiponectin and Free Fatty Acid Concentrations in Young and Old Male Rats

Background: Regulatory mechanisms of metabolic homeostasis undergo important alterations during ageing. The age-related changes become often evident only during stimulation of basic functions that occurs, e.g. during fasting and refeeding which represent natural challenge to energy metabolism. Objective: To determine the effect of short-term fasting and subsequent refeeding on serum levels of key hormones and metabolites in young adult 5- and 24-month-old male Wistar rats. Methods: Control rats were fed ad libitum. Animals were fasted for 48 h or fasted and refed for 24 h. Metabolite serum concentrations were measured by standard methods. Leptin and insulin were determined by rat-specific RIA, and adiponectin serum levels by mouse/rat–specific ELISA. Results: (1) Control serum levels of key metabolites and hormones were similar in both age groups except for increased triglycerides (TG) in old fed rats. (2) Fasting caused a significant decrease of leptin, insulin, glucose, and TG serum levels in both age groups, and an increase of free fatty acids (FFA) concentration, however, only in young animals. (3) Upon refeeding serum glucose, TG and insulin reversed to control levels in both age groups, however, FFA concentration decreased to control values only in young rats. (4) In contrast to young animals, refeeding of old rats did not increase serum leptin concentration to control level. (5) Neither fasting nor refeeding changed adiponectin serum levels in both age groups. Conclusion: Aging suppresses leptin secretion and metabolism of FFA during refeeding that follows short-term starvation. In old rats serum levels of FFA are refractive to the alterations induced by fasting/refeeding in young ones.
Vegetation Structure Retrieval in Beech and Spruce Forests Using Spectrodirectional Satellite Data

The structure of vegetation canopies largely controls the functioning of ecosystems. There is a substantial demand for spatial information on canopy structure. This paper examines the retrieval of an important forest structure property, leaf area index (LAI) from spectro-directional satellite observations (PROBA/CHRIS) using a forest reflectance model and a look-up table approach. Retrieved parameter estimates are compared to forest structure measured in 15 spruce stands (Picea abies L. Karst.) and 13 beech stands (Fagus sylvatica). For both species, off-nadir looking significantly reduced the normalized error (NRMSE) of forest LAI (spruce: NRMSE = 18.4%; beech: NRMSE = 26.1%) compared to near-nadir data (spruce: NRMSE = 32.6%; beech: NRMSE = 58.8%). At the same time acceptable R2-values were obtained. The best view angle for beech lies in forward direction due to foliar self shading in the canopy. With spruce, the forward direction is less favorable probably due to the very dark spruce leaves and dark shadows present in the canopy; instead the backward direction is more favorable as the canopy is brightly illuminated and shadows are minimal.
Emergence of planar cell polarity from the interplay of local interactions and global gradients

Planar cell polarity (PCP) – tissue-scale alignment of the direction of asymmetric localization of proteins at cell-cell interface – is essential for embryonic development and physiological functions. Abnormalities in PCP can lead to neural tube closure defects and misaligned hair follicles. Decoding the mechanism responsible for PCP establishment and maintenance remains a fundamental open question. While the roles of various molecules – broadly classified into “global” and “local” modules – have been well-studied, their necessity and sufficiency in explaining PCP and connecting their perturbations to experimentally observed patterns has not been examined. Here, we develop a minimal model that captures the proposed features of these modules – a global tissue-level gradient and local asymmetric distribution of protein complexes. Our model suggests that while polarity can emerge without a gradient, the gradient can provide the direction of polarity and maintain PCP robustly in presence of stochastic perturbations. We also recapitulated swirling patterns seen experimentally and features of domineering non-autonomy, using only three free model parameters - protein binding rate, concentration of proteins forming heterodimer across cell boundaries and gradient steepness. We explain how self-stabilizing asymmetric localizations in presence of tissue-level gradient can lead to robust PCP patterns and reveal minimal design principles for a polarized system.
Intrafamilial transmission of hepatitis C virus in Japan

To clarify the intrafamilial transmission of hepatitis C virus (HCV), the prevalence of antibody to HCV (anti‐HCV) in 107 index patients with type C chronic liver disease was studied and compared with the prevalence of anti‐HCV antibody in their 296 family members. Of the 85 index patients who were positive for anti‐HCV, 15 (8%) of 196 of their family members were also HCV antibody positive, whereas of the 22 index patients who were anti‐HCV antibody negative, none of the family members of the 100 evaluated was positive for anti‐HCV antibody, a statistically significant difference between groups (P < 0.02). No specific relative (spouse, child, parent, and sibling) was linked to HCV positivity in the index cases making it difficult to identify the route of infection that is believed to occur via the parenteral route in the home or community.
Medial temporal lobe activity at recognition increases with the duration of mnemonic delay during an object working memory task

Object working memory (WM) engages a disseminated neural network, although the extent to which the length of time that data is held in WM influences regional activity within this network is unclear. We used functional magnetic resonance imaging to study a delayed matching to sample task in 14 healthy subjects, manipulating the duration of mnemonic delay. Across all lengths of delay, successful recognition was associated with the bilateral engagement of the inferior and middle frontal gyri and insula, the medial and inferior temporal, dorsal anterior cingulate and the posterior parietal cortices. As the length of time that data was held in WM increased, activation at recognition increased in the medial temporal, medial occipito‐temporal, anterior cingulate and posterior parietal cortices. These results confirm the components of an object WM network required for successful recognition, and suggest that parts of this network, including the medial temporal cortex, are sensitive to the duration of mnemonic delay. Hum Brain Mapp 2007. © 2006 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Effects of Information on Adaptation to Cesarean Birth

The effects of cesarean birth information given in childbirth preparation classes on maternal pastpartum reactions to unplanned cesarean delivery were examined. An experimental group received comprehensive cesarean birth information as part of standard childbirth preparation classes. The control group received a standard childbirth preparation class curriculum that included limited cesarean birth information. The control group reported a slight decline in pain intensity from 1–2 days to 6 weeks postpartum, whereas the experimental group showed no change over time. No differences between the two groups were found in perception of the birth experience, physical distress, self-esteem, functional status, feelings about the baby, or quality of the marital relationship. The lack of substantial differences between the groups may be due to the normalizing effect of the high cesarean birth rate and greater attention given to this method of childbirth by expectant parents and childbirth educators.
Crystal structure of NADH-dependent ferredoxin reductase component in biphenyl dioxygenase.

Oxidative biodegradation of aromatic compounds by bacteria usually begins with hydroxylation of the aromatic ring by multi-component dioxygenases like benzene dioxygenase, biphenyl dioxygenase, and others. These enzymes are composed of ferredoxin reductase, ferredoxin, and terminal oxygenase. Reducing equivalents that originate from NADH are transferred from ferredoxin reductase to ferredoxin and, in turn, to the terminal oxygenase, thus resulting in the activation of a dioxygen. BphA4 is the ferredoxin reductase component of biphenyl dioxygenase from Pseudomonas sp. strain KKS102. The amino acid sequence of BphA4 exhibits significant homology with the putidaredoxin reductase of the cytochrome P450cam system in Pseudomonas putida, as well as with various other oxygenase-coupled NADH-dependent ferredoxin reductases (ONFRs) of bacteria. To date, no structural information has been provided for the ferredoxin reductase component of the dioxygenase systems. In order to provide a structural basis for discussing the mechanism of electron transport between ferredoxin reductase and ferredoxin, crystal structures of BphA4 and its NADH complex were solved. The three-dimensional structure of BphA4 is different from those of ferredoxin reductases whose structures have already been determined, but adopts essentially the same fold as the enzymes of the glutathione reductase (GR) family. Also the three-dimensional structure of the first two domains of BphA4 adopts a fold similar to that of adrenodoxin reductase (AdR) in the mitochondrial cytochrome P450 system. Comparing the amino acid sequence with what is known of the three-dimensional structure of BphA4 strongly suggests that the other ONFRs have secondary structural features that are similar to that of BphA4. This analysis of the crystal structures of BphA4 suggests that Lys53 and Glu159 seem to be involved in the hydride transfer from NADH to FAD. Since the amino acid residues around the active site, some of which seem to be important to electron transport, are highly conserved among ONFRs, it is likely that the mechanism of electron transport of BphA4 is quite applicable to other ONFRs.
Emergency medical services dispatcher identification of stroke and transient ischemic attack.

OBJECTIVE Certain forms of stroke can be treated if access to medical care is expeditious. Since many stroke victims first enter medical care through emergency medical services (EMS) access, minimizing delays in the EMS system may translate to improved neurologic outcome. Because EMS dispatchers determine the response priority for these calls, dispatchers should be able to recognize the signs and symptoms of stroke based on their brief phone interviews. The authors studied the abilities of dispatchers in a major urban area to correctly identify stroke and transient ischemic attack (TIA) in victims who access 911 and describe what is communicated in the 911 call. METHODS A retrospective review was conducted of the medical records of patients treated for stroke or TIA at two urban hospitals during 1996. The tape-recorded 911 calls from patients using EMS were transcribed and analyzed. Information regarding dispatcher classification and triage of these calls was collected and described. RESULT The records of 182 patients with acute stroke or TIA were reviewed. Fifty-three percent of patients used EMS. Dispatchers coded 31% of their 911 calls as stroke. The word "stroke" was used without prompting by 51% of callers, yet fewer than half of these calls were coded as stroke by dispatchers. Many callers reported symptoms characteristic of stroke, including impaired communication (36%), weakness (30%), and decreased ability to stand or walk (25%). Only 41% of ambulances were sent at high priority. CONCLUSION People who activate EMS for stroke frequently use the word "stroke" and/or describe symptoms compatible with stroke in their calls. EMS dispatch protocols should be sensitive for these symptoms to ensure more accurate and timely ambulance dispatch.
Medial Prefrontal Cortex Inversely Regulates Toluene-Induced Changes in Markers of Synaptic Plasticity of Mesolimbic Dopamine Neurons

Toluene is a volatile solvent that is intentionally inhaled by children, adolescents, and adults for its intoxicating effects. Although voluntary use of toluene suggests that it possesses rewarding properties and abuse potential, it is unknown whether toluene alters excitatory synaptic transmission in reward-sensitive dopamine neurons like other drugs of abuse. Here, using a combination of retrograde labeling and slice electrophysiology, we show that a brief in vivo exposure of rats to a behaviorally relevant concentration of toluene vapor enhances glutamatergic synaptic strength of dopamine (DA) neurons projecting to nucleus accumbens core and medial shell neurons. This effect persisted for up to 3 d in mesoaccumbens core DA neurons and for at least 21 d in those projecting to the medial shell. In contrast, toluene vapor exposure had no effect on synaptic strength of DA neurons that project to the medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC). Furthermore, infusion of GABAergic modulators into the mPFC before vapor exposure to pharmacologically manipulate output, inhibited, or potentiated toluene's action on mesoaccumbens DA neurons. Together, the results of these studies indicate that toluene induces a target-selective increase in mesolimbic DA neuron synaptic transmission and strongly implicates the mPFC as an important regulator of drug-induced plasticity of mesolimbic dopamine neurons.
Interleukin-8 promoter polymorphism −251A/T is a risk factor for age-related macular degeneration

Background/aims: To determine whether four expression-related cytokine polymorphisms are associated with age-related macular degeneration (AMD). Methods: DNA from 478 cases with AMD and 555 normal controls was genotyped for the pro-inflammatory IL1β −511C/T, IL6 −174C/G, IL8 −251A/T and anti-inflammatory IL10 −1082G/A cytokine polymorphisms using the 5′ nuclease TaqMan® assay for allelic discrimination. Associations with AMD were analysed using allelic frequencies. Results: The −251A allele of the IL8 promoter gene polymorphism was more prevalent in AMD patients than controls (p = 0.037, OR = 1.21, 95% CI = 1.01 to 1.44). Adjusting for age, sex, body mass index (BMI), current smoking and past smoking status did not alter the AMD association significantly (corrected p value = 0.043, OR = 1.23, 95% CI = 1.0 to 1.50). Conclusion: The pro-inflammatory homozygous IL8 –251AA genotype is an important risk factor for AMD. This may have implications for future therapy with biological agents that could target this cytokine.
Medical Volume Noise Reduction Employing a Laplace Distribution with Local Variance for Modeling Contourlet Coefficients

In this paper we introduce a simple shrinkage function employing local Laplace distribution for medical volume noise reduction in contourlet transform domain. Since we implement our denoising algorithm in contourlet domain, we are able to preserve the important details of noise-free images that for medical volume may contain important diagnostic information. It is clear that using maximum a posteriori (MAP) estimator for denoising problem, needs a prior distribution for noise-free data. In this paper we propose a Laplace probability density function (pdf) to model the statistical properties of contourlet coefficients. This distribution is able to simultaneously model the heavy-tailed nature and spatially clustering property of coefficients. We use the produced thresholding function from MAP estimator for denoising of a sequence of CT images corrupted with additive Gaussian noise in various noise levels. The simulation results show that our method has better performance visually and in terms of peek signal-to-noise ratio (PSNR) in comparison with several denoising methods.
Firm Age, Size, and Employment Dynamics: Evidence from Japanese firms

This study examines the effects of firm age and size on employment dynamics based on large scale panel data from Japan. It contributes to the literature by examining age and size effects on firm-level job creation and job destruction, which have not been clear in previous studies. The empirical results indicate that firm age has significantly negative effects on both job creation and destruction rates; however, firm size has a significantly negative effect on job creation while it has a significantly positive effect on job destruction. The theoretical background of this study is the standard theory on job creation and destruction in labor economics theories, which considers that job creation is determined by expected profit from newly created jobs, and job destruction is determined by whether the job is expected to be profitless. The age and size of firms affect their expected profit and therefore lead to effects on the behaviors of job creation and destruction. Finally, the results are similar for manufacturing firms and service firms.