The Lives of Older People With Advanced Cancer Who Live Alone During Outpatient Cancer Chemotherapy: A Descriptive Qualitative Study.

Nursing care for older people with advanced cancer who live alone during outpatient chemotherapy should address their difficulties while respecting their lives. However, their lived experiences remain underexplored. Therefore, we conducted a descriptive qualitative study to explore and describe their lives.

Taxonomic identity of four groups of (Anura, Ranidae) in Japan revealed by the complete mitochondrial genome sequence analysis.

The Japanese phylogenetically consists of four groups. However, the taxonomic identity of these groups still remains unclear. We determined the complete mitogenome sequences of the four groups of .

A threshold dosage of estrogen for male-to-female sex reversal in the Glandirana rugosa frog.

Steroid hormones play very important roles in gonadal differentiation in many vertebrate species. Previously, we have determined a threshold dosage of testosterone (T) to induce female-to-male sex reversal in Glandirana rugosa frogs. Genetic females formed a mixture of testis and ovary, the so-called ovotestis, when tadpoles of G.

A Phylogenetically Distinct Group of Found in Kyushu, Japan.

The Japanese wrinkled frog is separated into five genetically different groups. One group in western Japan is further divided into three subgroups, found in Kyushu, Shikoku, and western Honshu. We collected frogs at 39 sites in Kyushu and determined nucleotide sequences of the mitochondrial and genes for phylogenetic analysis.

PHC Progression Model: a novel mixed-methods tool for measuring primary health care system capacity.

High-performing primary health care (PHC) is essential for achieving universal health coverage. However, in many countries, PHC is weak and unable to deliver on its potential. Improvement is often limited by a lack of actionable data to inform policies and set priorities.

All Oocytes Attach to the Dorsal Ovarian Epithelium in the Ovary of Medaka, Oryzias latipes.

In the teleost fish medaka, an adult ovary simultaneously contains developing oocytes at all phases of oogenesis during the breeding season. However, it remains unclear where oocytes at each developmental stage are located in the ovary by the time of ovulation. To examine the relationship between the developmental stage of oocytes and their positions in the ovary of vertebrate medaka during oogenesis, the stage of oocyte development was determined from the diameter of the oocytes and the cellular morphological characteristics, such as the germinal vesicle and micropyle at the animal pole and attaching filaments at the vegetal pole, and the positions of developing oocytes in the ovary in all sections were observed.

Origin of sex chromosomes in six groups of Rana rugosa frogs inferred from a sex-linked DNA marker.

Each vertebrate species, as a general rule, has either the XX/XY or ZZ/ZW chromosomes by which sex is determined. However, the Japanese Rana (R.) rugosa frog is an exception, possessing both sex-determining combinations within one species, varying with region of origin.

Participation of androgen and its receptor in sex determination of an amphibian species.

Introduction: In the Japanese frog Rana (R.) rugosa the androgen receptor (AR) gene on the W chromosome (W-AR) is barely expressed. Previously we showed that incomplete female-to-male sex-reversal occurred in Z-AR transgenic female frogs.

A Threshold Dosage of Testosterone for Female-to-Male Sex Reversal in Rana rugosa Frogs.

Androgens play a critical role in testicular differentiation in many species of vertebrates. While female-to-male sex reversal can be induced by testosterone (T) in some species of amphibians, the mechanism still remains largely unknown even at the histological level. In this study, we determined a threshold dosage of T to induce female-to-male sex reversal in the Japanese frog Rana (R.

PEPFAR Investments In Governance And Health Systems Were One-Fifth Of Countries' Budgeted Funds, 2004-14.

Launched in 2003, the US President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) is the largest disease-focused assistance program in the world. We analyzed PEPFAR budgets for governance and systems for the period 2004-14 to ascertain whether PEPFAR's stated emphasis on strengthening health systems has been manifested financially. The main outcome variable in our analysis, the first of its kind using these data, was the share of PEPFAR's total annual budget for a country that was designated for governance and systems.

Structural changes in female-to-male sex-reversing gonads of Rana RUGOSA.

The phenotypic sex of many species of amphibians is subject to reversal by steroid hormones. The mechanism of this process, however, still remains largely unknown. As a step toward understanding the histological changes during sex reversal in amphibians, we analyzed two- and three-dimensional (2D and 3D) structures of sex-reversing gonads in Rana rugosa frogs.

Molecular cloning and characterization of oocyte-specific Pat1a in Rana rugosa frogs.

The Pat1 gene is expressed in the immature oocytes of Xenopus, and is reportedly involved in regulating the translation of maternal mRNAs required for oocyte-maturation. However, it is still unknown when Pat1a first appears in the differentiating ovary of amphibians. To address this issue, we isolated the full-length Pat1a cDNA from the frog Rana rugosa and examined its expression in the differentiating ovary of this frog.

Molecular cloning and characterization of anti-Müllerian hormone (AMH) from the Japanese wrinkled frog, Rana rugosa.

The role of anti-Müllerian hormone (AMH) during gonad development has been studied extensively in many species of mammal, bird, reptile, and fish but remains unresolved in amphibians. In male mammalian embryos, Sox9 activates AMH expression, which initiates regression of the Müllerian ducts. However, Sox9 (Sry-related HMG box 9) is unlikely to initiate AMH in chicken, because AMH precedes Sox9 expression in this species.

Cost-effectiveness of genotype testing for primary resistance in Brazil.

Objective: HIV genotype-resistance testing can help identify more effective antiretroviral treatment (ART) regimens for patients, substantially increasing the likelihood of viral suppression and immune recovery. We sought to evaluate the cost-effectiveness of genotype-resistance testing before first-line ART initiation in Brazil.

Design: We used a previously published microsimulation model of HIV disease (CEPAC-International) and data from Brazil to compare the clinical impact, costs, and cost-effectiveness of initial genotype testing (Genotype) with no initial genotype testing (No genotype).

Cost-effectiveness of HIV treatment as prevention in serodiscordant couples.

Background: The cost-effectiveness of early antiretroviral therapy (ART) in persons infected with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) in serodiscordant couples is not known. Using a computer simulation of the progression of HIV infection and data from the HIV Prevention Trials Network 052 study, we projected the cost-effectiveness of early ART for such persons.

Methods: For HIV-infected partners in serodiscordant couples in South Africa and India, we compared the early initiation of ART with delayed ART.

HIV immune activation drives increased Eomes expression in memory CD8 T cells in association with transcriptional downregulation of CD127.

Background: During HIV infection distinct mechanisms drive immune activation of the CD4 and CD8 T cells leading to CD4 T-cell depletion and expansion of the CD8 T-cell pool. This immune activation is polyclonal and extends beyond HIV-specific T cells. One consequence of this immune activation is a profound decrease in IL-7Rα (CD127) expression on memory CD8 T cells.

Clinical impact and cost-effectiveness of expanded voluntary HIV testing in India.

Background: Despite expanding access to antiretroviral therapy (ART), most of the estimated 2.3 to 2.5 million HIV-infected individuals in India remain undiagnosed.

Economic savings versus health losses: the cost-effectiveness of generic antiretroviral therapy in the United States.

Background: U.S. HIV treatment guidelines recommend branded once-daily, 1-pill efavirenz-emtricitabine-tenofovir as first-line antiretroviral therapy (ART).

Up-regulation of FSHR expression during gonadal sex determination in the frog Rana rugosa.

In vertebrates, gonadal production of steroid hormones is regulated by follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH) and luteinizing hormone (LH) via their receptors designated FSHR and LHR, respectively. We have shown recently that steroid hormones are synthesized in the differentiating gonad of tadpoles during sex determination in the frog Rana rugosa. To elucidate the role of gonadotropins (GTHs) and their receptors in the production of gonadal steroid hormones during sex determination, we isolated the full-length FSHβ, LHβ, FSHR and LHR cDNAs from R.

Estrogen biosynthesis in the gonad of the frog Rana rugosa.

In certain species of amphibians gonadal differentiation is influenced by steroid hormones. In the case of the frog Rana rugosa testosterone given to tadpoles reverses sex from female to male, while the opposite reversal - male to female - can be achieved using estradiol-17β. In this study, we investigated whether CYP19 (P450 aromatase), the enzyme responsible for a production of estradiol-17β, was present in the differentiating gonad of R.

Isolation and characterization of Vasa in the frog Rana rugosa.

We cloned a cDNA encoding Vasa, a member of the DEAD (Asp-Glu-Ala-Asp) family of proteins, from the ovary of the frog Rana rugosa. Comparative alignment of amino acid sequences with known Vasa from several species of vertebrate showed that the R. rugosa orthologue shares eight conserved regions with Vasa from other vertebrates.

Structural changes in gonadal basement membranes during sex differentiation in the frog Rana rugosa.

Here we report that structural changes in gonadal basement membranes during sex differentiation in the frog Rana rugosa are revealed using an antibody to its laminin component. Immunohistochemical staining indicated that the first sexual dimorphism appeared in testicular cords and ovarian cavities in differentiating gonads of tadpoles at St. 25-3W, three weeks after they reached St.