Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
[Possible association between HLA-HRB1 and DQB1 genes frequency and susceptibility or resistance to Helicobacter pylori infection in Kunming Yi ethnic group children].

OBJECTIVE To study if there is any association between frequency of HLA-DRB1 and DQB1 genes and susceptibility or resistance to Helicobacter pylori (Hp) infection among children of Yi ethnic group in Kunming for understanding the immunogenetic features of the digestive diseases associated with Hp infection. METHODS Peripherial blood samples were collected from 156 children of Yi ethnic group in a primary school in Kunming city by cluster sampling and the blood Hp-IgG tests (ELISA) were performed. The samples were divided into two groups (Hp-IgG-positive group and Hp-IgG-negative group) according to the blood Hp-IgG test results. There were 61 children in Hp-IgG-positive group and 95 children in Hp-IgG-negative group. Forty children who were chosen from each group by simple random sampling underwent (13)carbon-urea breath test ((13)C-UBT). Thirty-three children who were Hp-IgG-positive and (13)C-UBT-positive were defined as currently Hp- infected group; 39 children who were Hp-IgG-negative and (13)C-UBT-negative were defined as Hp-non-infected group. DNA specimens were extracted from the lymphocytes of their peripheral blood samples. HLA-DRB1 and DQB1 DNA typing was performed by using polymerase chain reaction with sequence specific primers (PCR-SSP). HLA-DRB1, DQB1 allelic frequency distribution among currently Hp infected and non-infected children was compared. RESULTS HLA-DRB1 * 12 gene frequency among children in Hp non-infected group was higher than that in the currently Hp-infected group (42.31% vs. 14.52%, P < 0.001, Pc < 0.012); however, HLA-DRB1 * 11 gene frequency in the Hp-non-infected group was lower than that in the currently Hp-infected group (3.85% vs. 12.9%, P < 0.05, Pc > 0.05). HLA-DQB1 * 0301 gene frequency in the Hp non-infected group was higher than that in the currently Hp-infected group (55.13% vs. 32.26%, P < 0.007, Pc < 0.05); however, HLA-DQB1 * 04 gene frequency in the Hp non-infected group was lower than that in currently Hp infected group (2.56% vs. 11.29%, P < 0.05, Pc > 0.05). CONCLUSIONS HLA-DRB1 * 12 and HLA-DQB1 * 0301 gene may be associated with protection against Hp infection in Kunming Yi ethnic group children. Further studies with larger sample size are needed to clarify if HLA-DRB1 * 11 and HLA-DQB1 * 04 are associated with susceptible gene to Hp infection.
Erythropoietin‐resistant anaemia in a predialysis patient with Klinefelter syndrome

SUMMARY: A diabetic predialysis patient who had significantly reduced sensitivity to erythropoietin therapy was admitted to Tsukuba University Hospital. Many factors that might have been the cause of the erythropoietin resistance were examined, and a diagnosis of refractory anaemia was made based on a bone marrow aspiration biopsy. A cytogenetic abnormality (47, XXY) was also detected in the bone marrow biopsy specimen, and hence the patient was also diagnosed with Klinefelter syndrome. It was suspected that the sex chromosome abnormality influenced glucose intolerance, renal insufficiency, and erythropoietin resistance due to myelodysplastic changes in the bone marrow.
Swimming and Central Venous Catheter-Related Infections in the Child With Cancer

Although there have been many studies evaluating risk factors for catheter-related infections in children with cancer, none have examined whether swimming presents such a risk. Families of children with cancer were asked about specific swimming practices and central line care to determine whether there is an association between swimming and infection. Parents completed a self-report questionnaire and medical records were reviewed to document catheter-related intraluminal, tunnel, and exit-site infections. Ninety-one children with a total of 101 tunneled catheters participated in the study. Forty-nine children with a total of 50 catheters were swimmers; 46 children with 51 catheters were nonswimmers (four children had two catheters and swam with one catheter but not the other, therefore, these children were counted twice). There were no statistically significant differences in rates of catheter-related infections between the two groups (0.04/catheter-month in swimmers versus 0.25/in non-swimmers, relative risk; RR = 1.6, p = .16). When the analysis was confined to summertime infections per summertime catheter month, there were no significant differences in the rates of infections per summer month (0.06 for swimmers vs. 0.05 for non-swimmers, RR = 1.4; p = .50). When the analyses were performed to compare frequent swimmers with infrequent/non-swimmers, once again there were no differences found in rates of catheter-related infections between the two groups. These results suggest that swimming does not increase the risk of catheter-related infections in children with tunneled catheters.
How a fish can fry: scientists uncover evolutionary clues behind electric fish.

Take a muscle cell, modify it over millions of years, and you end up with an exciting and literally shocking evolutionary result: the electric fish. Electric fish have evolved several times in varying levels of complexity. Two groups of electric fish, one in Africa (Mormyroids) and one in South America (Gymnotiforms), have independently evolved sophisticated communication systems using these cells. By emitting and sensing weak electrical signals, the fish have bypassed the usual means of communication, such as with sounds and visual signals, and go directly to electrical signals. This allows them to quietly "talk" to each other in the dark so that most predators can't eavesdrop. Both groups of fish are incredibly diverse; one species, the famous electric eel of South America, even evolved such strong and intense electric signals that it can electrocute its prey.
Specific restrictions in the progression of Venezuelan equine encephalitis virus-induced disease resulting from single amino acid changes in the glycoproteins.

The pathogenesis of Venezuelan equine encephalitis virus (VEE) was examined in the mouse model using V3000, a virus derived from a molecular clone of the Trinidad donkey strain of VEE. These results were compared in parallel experiments with avirulent mutants of VEE derived by site-directed mutagenesis of the clone. Adult mice, inoculated subcutaneously in their left rear footpad with V3000, were followed in a time course study for 6 days in which 15 organs were tested for histopathological changes, for the presence of viral antigen by immunohistochemical staining, for the presence of viral nucleic acid by in situ hybridization analysis, and for content of viable virus. Virus was detected in the footpad inoculation site, but until 12 hr postinoculation (pi), the level of virus did not suggest early viral replication. By 4 hr pi, however, replication of V3000 was evident in the draining popliteal lymph node. At this early time point, no virus could be isolated from any other organ examined. At 12 hr, a significant serum viremia was observed, and virus was detected at a low level in a number of well vascularized organs, including spleen, heart, lung, liver, kidney, and adrenal gland. By 18 hr, high virus titers were present in serum and all the lymphoid organs examined, and these tissues appeared to be the major peripheral sites of V3000 replication. Virus in serum and peripheral organs was cleared by 3-4 days pi. In a second phase of the infection, V3000 invaded the central nervous system (CNS), replicated predominantly in neurons, and persisted in the brain until death by encephalitis. Pathologic findings as well as the results of immunocytochemical and in situ hybridization examination were generally coordinate with virus titration. A site-directed mutant of V3000, V3010, contained a mutation in the gene for the E2 glycoprotein at codon 76 (Glu to Lys) which rendered it avirulent after footpad inoculation. Detection of V3010 replication in the draining lymph node was sporadic and was sometimes delayed to as long as 3 days pi. Infrequent and/or delayed virus spread to other sites also was observed. Analogous experiments were performed with other mutants which were avirulent by the footpad inoculation route: V3014, a mutant differing from V3000 at three loci (E2 Lys 209, E1 Thr 272, and E2 Asn 239), as well as single-site mutants V3032 (E2 Lys 209) and V3034 (E1 Thr 272). (ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 400 WORDS)
Characterization of Tyrosine Phosphorylation of Paxillin in Vitro by Focal Adhesion Kinase (*)

The concomitant tyrosine phosphorylation of the focal adhesion protein, paxillin, and the tyrosine kinase, focal adhesion kinase (FAK), in response to multiple stimuli including integrin-mediated cell adhesion suggests that paxillin phosphorylation is closely coupled to FAK activity. In the present study, we have identified a specific tyrosine residue within paxillin, tyrosine 118 (Tyr-118), that represents the principle site of phosphorylation by FAK in vitro. The identification of this site as a target for FAK phosphorylation was accomplished by immunoprecipitating FAK and performing in vitro kinase assays, using as substrate either glutathione S-transferase (GST)-paxillin fusion proteins containing truncations in paxillin sequence or fusion proteins with phenylalanine substitutions for tyrosine residues. GST-paxillin containing a phenylalanine substitution at Tyr-118 (Y118F) was not phosphorylated by FAK immunoprecipitates; however, this mutant was shown to bind FAK equally as well as the wild type fusion protein. As a first step toward assessing the function of paxillin phosphorylation on Tyr-118, a Y118F paxillin cDNA construct was transiently transfected into NIH 3T3 cells. Similar to wild type paxillin, mutated paxillin localized to focal adhesions, indicating that the phosphorylation of paxillin on Tyr-118 is not essential for the recruitment of paxillin to sites of cell adhesion.
Roles of hydrogen peroxide in thyroid physiology and disease.

CONTEXT The long-lived thyroid cell generates, for the synthesis of thyroid hormones, important amounts of H2O2 that are toxic in other cell types. This review analyzes the protection mechanisms of the cell and the pathological consequences of disorders of this system. EVIDENCE ACQUISITION The literature on H2O2 generation and disposal, thyroid hormone synthesis, and their control in the human thyroid is analyzed. EVIDENCE SYNTHESIS In humans, H2O2 production by dual-oxidases and consequently thyroid hormone synthesis by thyroperoxidase are controlled by the phospholipase C-Ca2+-diacylglycerol arm of TSH receptor action. H2O2 in various cell types, and presumably in thyroid cells, is a signal, a mitogen, a mutagen, a carcinogen, and a killer. The various protection mechanisms of the thyroid cell against H2O2 are analyzed. They include the separation of the generating enzymes (dual-oxidases), their coupling to thyroperoxidase in a proposed complex, the thyroxisome, and H2O2 degradation systems. CONCLUSIONS It is proposed that various pathologies can be explained, at least in part, by overproduction and lack of degradation of H2O2 (tumorigenesis, myxedematous cretinism, and thyroiditis) and by failure of the H2O2 generation or its positive control system (congenital hypothyroidism).
Clinically achievable plasma deferoxamine concentrations are therapeutic in a rat model of Pneumocystis carinii pneumonia

The iron-chelating drug deferoxamine (DFO) has been shown to be active in animal models of Pneumocystis carinii pneumonia (PCP), with effective daily intraperitoneal bolus dosages being 400 and 1,000 mg of DFO mesylate kg of body weight-1 in mouse and rat models, respectively. Continuous infusion produced a moderately improved response in a rat model. The data reported here demonstrate that the response achieved by continuous infusion of 195 and 335 mg of DFO mesylate kg-1 day-1 in the rat model is associated with mean concentrations in plasma of 1.3 and 2.5 micrograms of DFO ml-1 and mean concentrations in lung tissue of 4.9 and 6.0 micrograms of DFO g of lung tissue-1, respectively. Since current clinical use of DFO mesylate for the treatment of iron overload produces higher concentrations in the plasma of patients, DFO may prove to be a useful anti-PCP treatment. The 2.4- to 3.8-fold higher DFO concentration observed in lung tissue compared with that observed in plasma may be important in the response of PCP to DFO.
Neuropsychological functioning in detoxified alcoholics between 18 and 35 years of age.

OBJECTIVE The authors determined 1) cognitive functioning in detoxified alcoholics who had alcohol-related problems for a relatively brief time and 2) relationships between neuropsychological test scores and recent and chronic alcohol consumption patterns, childhood symptoms of hyperactivity/minimal brain dysfunction, and extent of familial alcoholism. METHOD The subjects were 101 detoxified, drug-free alcoholics between 18 and 35 years of age who had consumed excessive amounts of alcohol (average of 114 g four to five times per week) for an average of 6 years. An average of 39 days after the last drink each alcoholic was given an extensive battery of neuropsychological tests assessing language skills, attention, motor skills, intelligence, memory, and cognitive functioning related to the frontal regions of the brain. RESULTS Only four individuals evidenced mild cognitive dysfunction. Current psychiatric condition, anxiety and depressive states, and liver dysfunction were not related to cognition. Relationships of cognition of lifetime estimates of alcohol consumption (average of 189 kg) and number of days from last drink to testing were determined to be nonlinear and suggested that greater lifetime consumption predicted worse performance and that longer abstinence predicted better performance. Neither extent of familial alcoholism nor number of childhood signs and symptoms of hyperactivity/minimal brain dysfunction was predictive of cognition except that more antisocial behavior predicted poorer cognitive functioning. CONCLUSIONS Cognition in young alcoholics, averaging 6 years of excessive alcohol consumption, was within normal limits, even though greater lifetime consumption predicted lower test scores and longer abstinence predicted higher scores.
Adding Exploration to Greedy Best-First Search

While greedy best-first search (GBFS) is a popular algorithm for solving automated planning tasks, it can exhibit poor performance if the heuristic in use mistakenly identifies a region of the search space as promising. In such cases, the way the algorithm greedily trusts the heuristic can cause the algorithm to get stuck performing a lot of unnecessary work. In this report, we consider simple techniques that help GBFS to avoid overly trusting the heuristic. The first technique, heuristic perturbation, will be shown to lead to large increases in coverage in some domains, and large decreases in others. Over all problems tested, this technique does increase the average coverage by up to 9.5% over standard GBFS when it is parameterized effectively. The second technique, -greedy node selection, will be shown to lead to smaller improvements than heuristic perturbation in many domains, though it does so without hurting the algorithm’s performance in any other domains. Over all tested problems, this technique will be shown to increase coverage even when used with a wide range of parameter values, with the best setting leading to a 11.0% increase in coverage when compared to standard GBFS. We will also show that these techniques can be paired together effectively in an algorithm portfolio due to the complementary way they introduce exploration into the search, with our best portfolio having an expected coverage that is 22.5% higher than standard GBFS.
The Effect of Both Earnings Management and Tax Planning To The Value of The Company With Corporate Governance As Variable Moderating

The primary objective of this study is to determine the impact of both earnings management and tax planning towards the value of the firm, corporate governance is measured by using score CGPI as moderating variable. This study uses purposive sampling method that generates 40 samples of company listings on the Indonesia Stock Exchange (IDX) and registered in participation Corporate Governance Perception Index (CGPI) during 2012 until 2015.Based on the test result of regression analysis it showed that earnings management practices which is measured by using discretionary accrual shows regression coefficients of 2,557 with p-value of 0,015 or p-value is below 0,05, so it has negative impact to the value of the firm, then it can be concluded that the existence of earnings management can reduce the value of the firm. Tax planning activity is measured by using Cash_ETR which shows regression coefficients -0.956 with a p-value of 0,005 or p-value is below 0,05, which means it gives a negative impact to the value of the firm, so it can be concluded that the higher level of tax planning by management will have an impact on the declining value of the firm. Furthermore, corporate governance which is measured using the CGPI’s score is not a moderating variable between earnings management and value of the firm, showed by p-value of 0,090, whereas the relationships of tax planning and value of the firm can be moderated by corporate governance, showed by p-value of 0,024.Keywords: CGPI’s Score, Corporate Governance, Discretionary Accrual, Earnings Management, Tax Planning, Value of the Firm
Improved techniques in light and electron microscopy

THE importance of good fixation of tissues for study by both the light and electron microscope is generally accepted, as limitations are imposed on morphological studies by the structural preservation of the tissue. Ideally the fixed material should resemble the tissue in the living state, maintaining the correct structure and spatial relationships between the cells and among the organelles within the cells. Immersion fixation techniques for minute pieces of tissue for electron microscopy are available (Trump and Bulger, 1966), but material for light microscopy is frequently poorly fixed, distorted and findings difficult to interpret. In addition, difficulties arise as many pathological changes in tissues are focal. It seemed essential, therefore, to develop methods for good fixation of large pieces of tissue for examination with the light microscope so that focal lesions localised on these sections could be subsequently studied in the electron microscope. Using perfuse-fixation of the tissues and epoxy resins as embedding media, this can be achieved and details of the methods of perfusing, processing and staining of sections of various rat tissues are described in this paper.
New performance measurement and management control systems

Purpose - Focusing on how performance management systems support control, this article seeks to provide two “next-generation” performance scorecards – the Performance Wheel, suitable for most organizations and the Small Business Performance Pyramid, which acknowledges the unique requirements of small business. This development considers the historical development, increasing variety and often the poorly integrated status of performance measurement systems – one of business management's most important tools. Design/methodology/approach - The paper considers the issues of various performance measurement models – the Performance Pyramid, the Results and Determinants mode, the Balanced Scorecard – through the integration of perspectives, metrics and terminology. Further, it integrates the emphases of different approaches into a menu from which each enterprise can select the wisest option. Findings - The Performance Wheel and the Small Business Performance Pyramid suggest these seemingly different models of control can be reduced to one overarching model. It incorporates and addresses the identified weaknesses of previous models and provides a comprehensive model of performance management that can be adapted to meet the needs of any form of enterprise – small to large, service to not-for-profit to manufacturing. Research limitations/implications - The implication for business is the development of two equally important models that allow the optimal application of practice to align with organizational-specific decision making. Originality/value - These new models overcome the “top-down” or “bottom-up” shortcomings of popular systems, incorporate the insights of enterprise control and integrate the importance of mission, strategy, critical success factors and key performance indicators as they apply to organizations.
Defining the cellular precursors to human breast cancer

Human breast cancers are broadly classified based on their gene-expression profiles into luminal- and basal-type tumors. These two major tumor subtypes express markers corresponding to the major differentiation states of epithelial cells in the breast: luminal (EpCAM+) and basal/myoepithelial (CD10+). However, there are also rare types of breast cancers, such as metaplastic carcinomas, where tumor cells exhibit features of alternate cell types that no longer resemble breast epithelium. Until now, it has been difficult to identify the cell type(s) in the human breast that gives rise to these various forms of breast cancer. Here we report that transformation of EpCAM+ epithelial cells results in the formation of common forms of human breast cancer, including estrogen receptor-positive and estrogen receptor-negative tumors with luminal and basal-like characteristics, respectively, whereas transformation of CD10+ cells results in the development of rare metaplastic tumors reminiscent of the claudin-low subtype. We also demonstrate the existence of CD10+ breast cells with metaplastic traits that can give rise to skin and epidermal tissues. Furthermore, we show that the development of metaplastic breast cancer is attributable, in part, to the transformation of these metaplastic breast epithelial cells. These findings identify normal cellular precursors to human breast cancers and reveal the existence of a population of cells with epidermal progenitor activity within adult human breast tissues.
On the numbers and division rates of stem cells in human tissues

Both the fraction of stem over differentiated cell numbers, $N_s$ / $N_d$, and the cell division rate, $m_s$, experience relatively large variations (three decades) when different human tissues are considered. However, in a two-dimensional plot points are not randomly scattered. Two groups of tissues and a "transition region" at $m_s$ \approx 8/yr are apparently identified. I present an analysis of the data from the point of view of the master equations for the number of cells and the rate of energy consumption under tissue homeostasis.
Optimal rate irregular low-density parity-check codes in binary erasure channel

In this study the authors design the optimal rate capacity approaching irregular low-density parity-check code ensemble over binary erasure channel, by using practical semi-definite programming approach. The method does not use any relaxation or any approximate solution unlike previous works. The simulation results include two parts. First, we present some codes and their degree distribution functions that their rates are close to the capacity. Second, the maximum achievable rate behaviour of codes in our method is illustrated through some figures.