Contribution of an alveolar cell of origin to the high-grade malignant phenotype of pregnancy-associated breast cancer.

Pregnancy-associated breast cancers (PABCs) are tumors diagnosed during pregnancy or up to 5 years following parturition, and are usually high-grade, connective tissue-rich, and estrogen receptor (ER)/progesterone receptor-negative. Little is known about the cellular origin of PABCs or the mechanisms by which PABCs are initiated. Using the RCAS retrovirus to deliver the ErbB2 oncogene into the mammary epithelium of our previously reported MMTV-tva transgenic mice, we detected high-grade, poorly differentiated, stroma-rich and ER-negative tumors during pregnancy and lactation. These high-grade and stroma-rich tumors were less frequent in involuted mice or in age-matched nulliparous mice. More importantly, by generating a WAP-tva transgenic line for expression of ErbB2 selectively in WAP(+) mammary alveolar cells, we found that tumors had similar morphological phenotypes (high grade, poorly differentiated, stroma-rich and ER-negative), irrespective of the time since pregnancy and even in the absence of pregnancy. These data suggest that PABCs arise preferentially from an alveolar cell population that expands during pregnancy and lactation. This somatic mouse model may also be useful for preclinical testing of new prophylactic and therapeutic strategies against PABC

Marital Satisfaction Amongst Nigerian Immigrants In North America (NINA): A Pilot Study

Background: It has been observed that some Nigerian Families that immigrated to North America (NINA) seem to have very stressful marital relationships that lead to separation or divorce. The goal of this study was to determine the level of marital satisfaction among NINA Method: A simple, standardized survey tool was utilized to measure the index of marital satisfaction (IMS). The score varied from 0-100 with a lower score (\u3c30 \u3epoints) indicating marital satisfaction. A demographic questionnaire was also administered to the subjects. Descriptive data analysis and level of marital satisfaction were computed in SPSS (version 25). Results: Forty-five of the fifty questionnaires were returned completed. Fifty-one percent of respondents were female. The majority (44%) were between the ages of 41-50 years. 81% were married and living with spouses. Average year of marriage was 13.5 years. The majority (85%) of respondents were married in Nigeria with only one spouse immigrating first (35%). The primary reason for immigration was employment for most subjects (48%). Seventy-two percent of the respondents scored \u3c 30 on the IMS scale, indicating marital satisfaction. The scores were not significant when compared within the demographic variable groups. Most participants (71.4%) reported significant marital satisfaction (Z=-3.209, p=0.001. r = 0.47). Conclusion: Initial pilot study did not support the observation in the Nigeria community regarding stressful marital relationships among NINA. The IMS tool may not be sensitive to the Nigerian marriage culture and possible factors affecting marital satisfaction with cultural influence. The authors plan to conduct a more extensive study with a qualitative approach to elicit the Nigerian culturally sensitive factors

Phytopharmacotherapeutic and Antimicrobial Attributes of Bitter Apple (Citrullus colocynthis) - A Review

Emergence of drug-resistant microorganisms over the past few decades has resulted in the search for bioactive compounds potent against these microorganisms. Phytochemicals derived from plants have shown positive curative properties and can be extracted from any part of the plant such as the roots, stem or flower. Bitter apple (Citrullus colocynthis) has been used traditionally for the treatment of infectious diseases and this has stimulated pharmacological interest in the active ingredients responsible for its medicinal properties. The plant also possesses several biological and pharmacological activities including anti-inflammatory, antidiabetic, antimicrobial, anticancer, and antioxidant. This review discussed the phytochemicals present in C. colocynthis, their mode of action and their antimicrobial attributes

Phytopharmacotherapeutic and Antimicrobial Attributes of Bitter Apple (Citrullus colocynthis) - A Review

Emergence of drug-resistant microorganisms over the past few decades has resulted in the search for bioactive compounds potent against these microorganisms. Phytochemicals derived from plants have shown positive curative properties and can be extracted from any part of the plant such as the roots, stem or flower. Bitter apple (Citrullus colocynthis) has been used traditionally for the treatment of infectious diseases and this has stimulated pharmacological interest in the active ingredients responsible for its medicinal properties. The plant also possesses several biological and pharmacological activities including anti-inflammatory, antidiabetic, antimicrobial, anticancer, and antioxidant. This review discussed the phytochemicals present in C. colocynthis, their mode of action and their antimicrobial attributes

Factors Affecting Marital Disruption Amongst Nigerian Immigrants in North America (NINA): A Pilot Study

Background: It has been observed that some Nigerian Families that immigrated to North America (NINA) seem to have very stressful marital relationships that lead to separation or divorce. The goal of this study was to determine the level of marital satisfaction among NINA Method: A simple, standardized survey tool was utilized to measure the index of marital satisfaction (IMS). The score varied from 0-100 with a lower score (\u3c30 \u3epoints) indicating marital satisfaction. A demographic questionnaire was also administered to the subjects. Descriptive data analysis and level of marital satisfaction were computed in SPSS (version 25). Results: Forty-five of the fifty questionnaires were returned completed. Fifty-one percent of respondents were female. The majority (44%) were between the ages of 41-50 years. 81% were married and living with spouses. Average year of marriage was 13.5 years. The majority (85%) of respondents were married in Nigeria with only one spouse immigrating first (35%). The primary reason for immigration was employment for most subjects (48%). Seventy-two percent of the respondents scored \u3c 30 on the IMS scale, indicating marital satisfaction. The scores were not significant when compared within the demographic variable groups. Most participants (71.4%) reported significant marital satisfaction (Z=-3.209, p=0.001. r = 0.47). Conclusion: Initial pilot study did not support the observation in the Nigeria community regarding stressful marital relationships among NINA. The IMS tool may not be sensitive to the Nigerian marriage culture and possible factors affecting marital satisfaction with cultural influence. The authors plan to conduct a more extensive study with a qualitative approach to elicit the Nigerian culturally sensitive factors

Photoluminescence characterization of single heterojunction quantum well structures

A photoluminescence emission band at 830 nm has been detected in single heterojunction quantum well structures (modulation‐doped structures) in the range of 250–400 K. This emission band is observed neither in heterojunction structures without a two‐dimensional electron gas (2DEG), nor in n+ AlGaAs and GaAs. The intensity of the emission band increases as the mobility of the samples with 2DEG and shows excitonic behavior in its variation with incident laser excitation intensity. This photoluminescence emission was observed in samples grown by both molecular beam epitaxy and by organometallic vapor phase epitaxy. This effect may be useful as a rough identification of high quality, modulation‐doped heterostructures.Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/71007/2/APPLAB-50-1-43-1.pd

Spontaneous expression classification in the encrypted domain

To date, most facial expression analysis have been based on posed image databases and is carried out without being able to protect the identity of the subjects whose expressions are being recognised. In this paper, we propose and implement a system for classifying facial expressions of images in the encrypted domain based on a Paillier cryptosystem implementation of Fisher Linear Discriminant Analysis and k-nearest neighbour (FLDA + kNN). We present results of experiments carried out on a recently developed natural visible and infrared facial expression (NVIE) database of spontaneous images. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first system that will allow the recog-nition of encrypted spontaneous facial expressions by a remote server on behalf of a client