Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Analysis of Expression Profiles of Islet-associated Transcription and Growth Factors During &bgr;-Cell Neogenesis from Duct Cells in Partially Duct-ligated Mice

Introduction &bgr;-cell neogenesis from pancreatic duct cells has been reported to occur in duct-ligated rat. Nevertheless, detailed process of this phenomenon has not been clarified. Aims and Methodology To clarify the mechanism of &bgr;-cell neogenesis, a partial pancreatic duct ligation mouse model was created. Proliferation of duct cells, &bgr;-cell neogenesis, and expression of transcription factors and differentiation/growth factors were studied by immunohistochemistry, cDNA array, and RT-PCR methods. Results In the duct-ligated portion of the pancreas, newly formed islet-like cell clusters (ICCs) were observed arising from the ducts on day 7 and afterward. Transcription factors, such as pancreatic and duodenal homeobox gene-1 (PDX-1), paired box factor 6 (Pax6), islet1 and Nkx2.2-positive cells, and protein gene product 9.5 (PGP9.5) were also induced in duct lining cells. By cDNA microarray analysis, expression of insulin-like growth factor-1 (IGF-1) and transforming growth factor &bgr;1 (TGF-&bgr;1) were above control levels on day 5, and RT-PCR showed an increase from day 5 to day 28. IGF-1 and activin A–positive cells were detected in ducts. In addition, expression of betacellulin (BTC), heparin-binding epidermal growth factor–like growth factor (HB-EGF), and TGF-&agr; were also increased from day 3 or 5. Conclusion These findings suggest that &bgr;-cell or endocrine precursors are localized among duct lining cells. Induction of several islet cell–associated transcription factors and differentiation and/or growth factors may play important roles during &bgr;-cell neogenesis in this model.
Effect of Visible Light on Normal and P23H-3 Transgenic Rat Retinas: Characterization of a Novel Retinoic Acid Derivative Present in the P23H-3 Retina

Abstract Transgenic rats with the P23H mutation in rhodopsin exhibit increased susceptibility to light damage, compared with normal animals. It is known that light-induced retinal damage requires repetitive bleaching of rhodopsin and that photoreceptor cell loss is by apoptosis; however, the underlying molecular mechanism(s) leading to photoreceptor cell death are still unknown. Photoproducts, such as all-trans retinal or other retinoid metabolites, released by the extensive bleaching of rhodopsin could lead to activation of degenerative processes, especially in animals genetically predisposed to retinal degenerations. Using wild-type and transgenic rats carrying the P23H opsin mutation, we evaluated the effects of acute intense visible light on retinoid content, type and distribution in ocular tissues. Rats were exposed to green light (480–590 nm) for 0, 5, 10, 30 and 120 min. Following light treatment, rats were sacrificed and neural retinas were dissected free of the retinal pigment epithelium. Retinoids were extracted from retinal tissues and then subjected to HPLC and mass spectral analysis. We found that the light exposure affected relative levels of retinoids in the neural retina and retinal pigment epithelium of wild-type and P23H rat eyes similarly. In the P23H rat retina but not the wild-type rat retina, we found a retinoic acid–like compound with an absorbance maximum of 357 nm and a mass of 304 daltons. Production of this retinoic acid–like compound in transgenic rats is influenced by the age of the animals and the duration of light exposure. It is possible that this unique retinoid may be involved in the process of light-induced retinal degeneration.
CONCEPTUALIZING THE PREVENTION OF HUMAN TRAFFICKING: SURVIVORS PERSPECTIVES

OF DISSERTATION CONCEPTUALIZING THE PREVENTION OF HUMAN TRAFFICKING: SURVIVORS PERSPECTIVES. The following study seeks to conceptualize the prevention of human trafficking from the perspective of survivors. The study design was informed through a Public Health Framework and the application of Postmodernism, Social Constructionist Theory, Ecological Perspective and Empowerment Perspective. An integrative mixed-method, participatory research design was applied, namely Concept Mapping. Data was collected over approximately two-months, and included 35 survivors of human trafficking from 4 different states. Data collected from survivors resulted in a statement set (N = 108) and a 10-Cluster Final solution depicting the ways in which survivors conceptualized prevention. Additional outputs provide insight as to survivors’ perspectives on importance and feasibility of the prevention data.
Haemophilus influenzae: recent advances in the understanding of molecular pathogenesis and polymicrobial infections

Purpose of review Non-typeable Haemophilus influenzae (NTHi) is a human-specific mucosal pathogen and one of the most common causes of bacterial infections in children and patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. It is also frequently found in polymicrobial superinfections. Great strides have recently been made in the understanding of the molecular mechanisms underlying NTHi pathogenesis. Recent findings By using new methodology, such as experimental human colonization models and whole-genome approaches, investigators have shed light upon the various strategies of NTHi that are involved in pathogenesis. These include the escape of the mucociliary elevator, evasion of host immunity, survival in environments with scarce nutrients, and finally participation in polymicrobial infections. Lipooligosaccharide branching, proteinous adhesins, metabolic adaption to nutrient availability and many scavenging systems are implicated in these processes. Interestingly, genome-based studies comparing virulent and commensal strains have identified many hypothetical proteins as virulence determinants, suggesting that much regarding the molecular pathogenesis of NTHi remains to be solved. Summary NTHi is an opportunistic pathogen and highly specialized colonizer of the human respiratory tract that has developed intricate mechanisms to establish growth and survival in the human host. Continued research is needed to further elucidate NTHi host–pathogen and pathogen–pathogen interactions.
Measuring the Impact of Traceability Information on Oyster Consumer Behavior Following a Contamination Event

We fuse and jointly estimate revealed and stated preference data over the BP Deepwater Horizon oil spill time horizon to analyze the potential for a new seafood traceability system to mitigate long-run decreases in product demand following a major contamination event. Findings indicate that traceability information flows that provide more precise information to oyster consumers regarding the location of harvest ameliorate consumers’ perceived risk of eating oyster meals after the spill, leading to a significant increase in demand. Further, the magnitude of the increase is greater than the negative long-term, post-spill effects, leading to overall welfare gains. However, any price increase associated with the information will mitigate the initial welfare gains. Overall, our findings suggest that the potential success of a new seafood traceability system depends on implementation costs and the extent to which price increases are passed on to consumers.
Karmel oration - leading schools and school systems in times of change: a paradox and a quest

Abstract The ‘paradox’ in this title refers to a set of contradictions that sit at the heart of education policy in many school systems. Policymakers in these systems want things that, if not inherently at odds, are nevertheless in tension— such as a tightly defined set of national standards and a broad and balanced curriculum; academic stretch for the most able and a closing of the gap between high and low performers; choice and diversity and equity; and so on. The ‘quest’ is for leaders and leadership to resolve these tensions in practice. School autonomy policies have placed huge power in the hands of, and pressure on the shoulders of, leaders in high-autonomy–highaccountability quasi-market systems. Research has often focused on the values, characteristics and behaviours of effective leaders and leadership teams, but there can also be a darker, toxic side to leadership, and it is clear that leadership agency is constrained by the influence of hierarchy and markets. Meanwhile, policymakers have become increasingly concerned with how to foster innovation as they wrestle with the question of how education might adapt to the needs of an increasingly complex, globalised world. Critics argue that change has been constrained by narrowly defined criteria for success and an instrumental focus on improvement, leading to a crisis of legitimacy. What seems clear is that change will require new approaches that somehow unlock leadership agency while supporting the development of new forms of leadership that can—and consistently do—resolve the paradox. This lecture will focus on England’s efforts to create a ‘self-improving school system’, which can be seen as one response to these issues. It will draw on the findings from a three-year study of the changes in England to draw out the wider implications for research and policy on leadership and school system reform.
QAM Receiver with Band-Pass Sampling and blind synchronization

In this paper we propose a methodology for designing a fully-digital reconfigurable receiver for QAM signals. Band-Pass Sampling (BPS) is used as a first stage with a unique Analog-to-Digital Converter (ADC) positioned immediately after the receiver antenna. The band-pass sampling is analyzed with reference to noise aliasing deriving from band-pass filter and the results in the numerical frequency domain are presented. The inescapable frequency, symbol and phase synchronization problem in our model of receiver is approached and solved blindly with an information-theoretic criterion: joint entropy maximization is utilized for frequency and symbol synchronization while mutual information minimization is utilized for phase recovery. The innovative contribution of this paper consists in matching band-pass sampling and blind synchronization with a design of a synchronized reconfigurable receiver for QAM signals.
Fluorescent chemical cleavage of mismatches for efficient screening of the factor VIII gene

The detection of mutations in large and complex genes represents a practical challenge in research and diagnostic laboratories. Available methods are either time‐consuming or lack sensitivity. Mutation detection in the factor VIII gene, responsible for haemophilia A, is hampered by its large size, its many exons, and the high frequency of de novo mutations that result in different mutations in unrelated patients. For an exhaustive analysis of mutations in the factor VIII gene, we established a nonradioactive screening method based on chemical cleavage of mismatches (CCM). PCR‐fragments of ˜ 1 kb were generated from genomic DNA (exon 14) or after reverse transcription from mRNA isolated from blood cells. Some modifications have been made to improve the CCM strategy. First, using a fluorescent tag, the method gains safety and flexibility. Second, fluorescent detection allows an accurate sizing of digested fragments when measured on an automated DNA sequencer. Third, by labelling both 5′ ends of the PCR‐fragment, the detection rate is virtually 100%. Finally, in the case of an X‐linked disease, samples from two patients can be mixed, which reduces the workload without losing information. In a pilot experiment, mutations were detected in 20 of 20 patients. In this series, three small insertions, two small deletions, one nonsense mutation, 13 missense mutations, and one splice mutation were found. Fifteen of these mutations are new. Thus virtually all kind of mutations are detectable by this method. Moreover, the analysis of the gene can be completed in 2 days. Hum Mutat 11:470–479, 1998. © 1998 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Rapid diagnosis of respiratory syncytial virus infections in immunocompromised adults

Although rapid antigen detection methods for the documentation of respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) infections are widely used with pediatric patients, these tests have not been prospectively evaluated in immunocompromised (IC) adults. For bone marrow transplant recipients and adult patients undergoing chemotherapy for leukemia who had recent onset of respiratory symptoms, respiratory samples (combined nasal wash [NW]-throat swab [TS], endotracheal tube [ET] aspirate, or bronchoalveolar lavage [BAL] samples) were collected for simultaneous culture and rapid antigen detection with the Directigen test kit (Becton Dickinson, Cockeysville, Md.). NW specimens from hospitalized pediatric patients with suspected RSV infection were also evaluated. Viral quantitation was performed on aliquots of the original specimens. A total of 539 samples from 372 adult patients were evaluated. RSV was isolated from 56 specimens (40 NW-TS, 7 ET aspirate, and 9 BAL specimens). By using culture as the "gold standard," rapid antigen detection had a sensitivity of 15% for adult NW-TS specimens, 71.4% for ET aspirate specimens, and 88.9% for BAL specimens; the specificity was > or = 97% for all specimen types. Significantly greater viral quantities were present in pediatric NW specimens than in adult NW specimens. In adults, more virus was present in BAL and ET aspirate specimens than in NW-TS specimens. Rapid detection of antigen respiratory samples obtained from the lower respiratory tracts of IC adults is sensitive and specific, but detection in upper respiratory tract samples is insensitive. The lower sensitivity of antigen detection in NW-TS specimens may be due to decreased viral load. A BAL specimen is more sensitive than an NW-TS specimen for the rapid diagnosis of RSV disease in IC adults.
In vitro study of the photocytotoxicity of bathochromically-shifted hypericin derivatives

Hypericin has excellent photosensitizing properties and displays favorable tumouritropic characteristics, but at the same time exhibits minimal dark toxicity. As such, the compound is a promising photosensitizer in the context of clinical photodynamic therapy (PDT). The present study was undertaken to investigate whether a newly-synthesized series of hypericin derivatives with a bathochromic shift shows promise for future PDT applications. Potentially these structures offer an advantage over the parent compound by being photo-activated by red light, which penetrates deeper into tumour tissue. Our results show that 3 compounds (a dibenzoxazole, a pyridazinone, and especially a dibenzthiazole derivative of hypericin), designed to exhibit a bathochromic shift in their absorption spectrum, demonstrated an efficient singlet oxygen yield and intracellular uptake, and concomitantly a potent photocytotoxic effect under white-light conditions. These results indicate that it is possible to synthesize bathochromically-shifted compounds based on hypericin chemistry which maintain their PDT potential. However, the data also show that the present derivatives are only poor photosensitizers when used under red-light conditions.
Glycosylation of human glomerular basement membrane collagen: increased content of hexose in ketoamine linkage and unaltered hydroxylysine-O-glycosides in patients with diabetes.

To study the glycosylation of glomerular basement membrane collagen (GBMC) in diabetes, kidneys were obtained at autopsy from 5 patients with insulin-requiring diabetes of long duration and diabetic complications, and from 5 control subjects. Glomeruli were prepared by sieving and collagen was isolated by limited pepsin proteolysis followed by salt precipitations. Amino acid analyses of the collagen preparations, after acid hydrolysis, indicated a composition consistent with that of type IV collagen. No differences in the relative contents of various amino acids, and in particular, 3-hydroxyproline, 4-hydroxyproline and hydroxylysine, were noted between diabetic and control samples. Non-enzymatic glucosylation was assessed by measuring hexose in ketoamine linkage with thiobarbituric acid after conversion to 5-hydroxymethylfurfural. In 4 of the 5 patients studied, glucosylation values exceeded the mean +2 S.D. of the controls; in the fifth subject glucosylation was in the high normal range. No correlation between the severity of diabetes and hexose content of GBMC was noted, however. In further studies, enzymatic glycosylation of GBMC was assayed after alkaline hydrolysis by separation of glucosylgalactosyl-O-hydroxylysine, galactosyl-O-hydroxylysine, and unsubstituted hydroxylysine in an amino acid analyzer. No differences in the relative contents of hydroxylysine-O-glycosides were evident between diabetic and control GBMC. The results suggest that non-enzymatic glucosylation, but not glycosylation catalyzed by collagen glucosyl and galactosyl transferases, is increased in diabetes. The increased carbohydrate content of collagen may lead to decreased turnover and/or excessive accumulations of basement membrane collagen thus contributing to the vascular complications of diabetes.
Vaginoplasty Using Acellular Porcine Small Intestinal Submucosa Graft in Two Patients with Meyer-von-Rokitansky-Küster-Hauser Syndrome: A Prospective New Technique for Vaginal Reconstruction

The objective of this case study is to present our experience of a surgical approach for vaginal agenesis using an acellular porcine small intestinal submucosa (SIS) graft. The present report involved 2 patients diagnosed as having vaginal agenesis due to Meyer-von-Rokitansky-Küster-Hauser syndrome. The operation procedure involved the creation of a neovaginal tunnel and then a mold wrapped with the SIS graft was placed in the neovagina. The duration of surgery was less than 45 min with minimal blood loss and no operative and postoperative complications. Epithelialization of the neovagina was achieved within 2 months after surgery. The neovagina created with this procedure was the same as that of a normal adult vagina histologically and physiologically. In conclusion, the creation of a neovagina using a SIS graft resulted in a favorable outcome and this approach may be a potential alternative to the management of vaginal agenesis.
Freud and his critics.

Every word to utter from the writer involves the element of this life. The writer really shows how the simple words can maximize how the impression of this book is uttered directly for the readers. Even you have known about the content of freud and his critics so much, you can easily do it for your better connection. In delivering the presence of the book concept, you can find out the boo site here.
The Impact of the Volatility of the US Government Bonds Rate on the Islamic Index Return

This study investigates the impact of the US monetary policy, represented through the volatility of the US government bonds rate, on the return of Dow Jones UK Islamic index. Monthly observations spans, in the period between December 2006 and June 2017, are obtained from the International Monetary Fund database. The OLS regression and granger causality analysis are used to investigate the impact. The results of the analysis show that there is significant impact of the US monetary policy on the Dow Jones UK Islamic index return.
Blues du post-partum : prévalence et facteurs associés parmi des francophones primipares et représentations chez des sages-femmes

Objectif : Le but premier de cette étude était d’explorer la prévalence du blues post-partum (BPP) ainsi que des facteurs psychosociaux et obstétricaux associés dans un échantillon de femmes francophones primipares. L’objectif secondaire était d’explorer les représentations de ce phénomène parmi des sages-femmes exerçant en suites de couches. Méthodologie : Il s’agit d’une enquête transversale descriptive et à visée étiologique réalisée auprès de mères primipares et de sages-femmes. Les mères, âgées de 18 à 45 ans, ayant accouché depuis moins de six mois, ont répondu en ligne au Maternity Blues Questionnaire et à un questionnaire sociodémographique. De plus, une série de questions a été soumise à des sages-femmes exerçant depuis au moins un an, portant sur leurs connaissances et leurs représentations du BPP. Leur recrutement s’est fait par e-mail, sur la base du volontariat, ainsi qu’au sein d’une maternité parisienne, entre février et mai 2017. Résultats : Cinq cent onze mères ont été recrutées pour cette étude. Plus de la moitié (60 %) ont présenté un BPP, la plupart ayant présenté un blues classique (49,7 %) et 10,2 % un blues sévère. Les résultats montrent que le fait d’avoir eu précédemment une dépression, d’avoir un vécu de la grossesse négatif ou d’avoir manqué de soutien durant celle-ci est associé à l’émergence d’un blues post-partum. Trente sages-femmes ont été recrutées. Bien que ses manifestations soient bien repérées, le BPP fait l’objet de représentations en partie lacunaires ou approximatives parmi ces dernières. Ainsi, des expressions variées et laissant apparaître des caractéristiques ou causes supposées et inexactes du BPP sont utilisées pour le décrire. De même, alors que la variation hormonale est citée en cause principale par 80%de celles-ci, seulement 13,3 % évoquent le manque de soutien, pourtant un facteur prépondérant selon les études antérieures. Conclusion : Au-delà de sa prévalence importante, la prise en compte d’antécédents obstétricaux et de facteurs psychosociaux associés à la survenue du BPP paraît importante afin de mieux le prévenir et l’accompagner. Une étude sur les modalités d’accompagnement du BPP par les sagesfemmes et les attentes des mères à cet égard serait bienvenue.
Surgical treatment of extracranial internal carotid artery aneurysms.

PURPOSE Extracranial internal carotid artery aneurysms (EICAs) can be treated by carotid ligation or surgical reconstruction. In the consideration of the risk of stroke after internal carotid artery (ICA) occlusion, the aim of this study was to report the results of reconstructive surgery for these aneurysms, including lesions located at the base of the skull. METHODS From 1980 to 1997, 25 ICA reconstructions were performed for EICA: 22 male patients and 3 female patients (mean age, 54.4 years). The cause was atherosclerosis (n = nine patients), dysplasia (n = 12 patients), trauma (n = three patients), and undetermined (n = one patient). The symptoms were focal in 15 cases (12 hemispheric, three ocular), nonfocal in three cases (trouble with balance and visual blurring), and glossopharyngeal nerve compression in one case. Six cases were asymptomatic, including three cases that were diagnosed during surveillance after ICA dissection. In nine cases, the upper limit of the EICA reached the base of the skull. A combined approach with an ear, nose, and throat surgeon allowed exposure and control of the ICA. RESULTS After operation, there were no deaths, one temporary stroke, two transient ischemic attacks, and 11 cranial nerve palsies (one with sequelae). The ICA was patent on the postoperative angiogram in all but one case. During follow-up (mean, 66 months), there were two deaths (myocardial infarction), one occurrence of focal epileptic seizure at 2 months, and one transient ischemic attack at 2 years. In December 1998, duplex scanning showed patency of the reconstructed ICA in all but one surviving patient. CONCLUSION Surgical reconstruction is a satisfactory therapeutic choice for EICA, even when located at the base of the skull.