Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Safety and efficacy of adalimumab in treatment of patients with psoriatic arthritis who had failed disease modifying antirheumatic drug therapy.

OBJECTIVE To demonstrate the safety and efficacy of adalimumab for the treatment of active psoriatic arthritis (PsA) in patients with an inadequate response to disease modifying antirheumatic drugs (DMARD). METHODS In a placebo controlled, double-blind, randomized, multicenter study, patients were treated for 12 weeks with subcutaneous injections of adalimumab 40 mg every other week (eow) or placebo, followed by a period of open-label treatment with adalimumab 40 mg eow. The primary efficacy endpoint was the percentage of patients who met the American College of Rheumatology (ACR20) core criteria at Week 12. Secondary efficacy measures included the modified Psoriatic Arthritis Response Criteria (PsARC) and assessments of disability, psoriatic lesions, and quality of life. For missing data, nonresponder imputation was used for ACR and PsARC scores and last observation carried forward for other measures. RESULTS A total of 100 patients received study drug (51 adalimumab, 49 placebo). At Week 12, an ACR20 response was achieved by 39% of adalimumab patients versus 16% of placebo patients (p = 0.012), and a PsARC response was achieved by 51% with adalimumab versus 24% with placebo (p = 0.007). At Week 12, measures of skin lesions and disability were statistically significantly improved with adalimumab. After Week 12, open-label adalimumab provided continued improvement for adalimumab patients and initiated rapid improvement for placebo patients, with ACR20 response rates of 65% and 57%, respectively, observed at Week 24. Serious adverse events had similar frequencies during therapy with placebo (4.1%), blinded adalimumab (2.0%), and open-label adalimumab (3.1%). No serious infections occurred during adalimumab therapy. CONCLUSION In this study of patients who had active PsA and a previous, inadequate response to DMARD therapy, adalimumab was well tolerated and significantly reduced the signs, symptoms, and disability of PsA during 12 weeks of blinded and 12 weeks of open-label therapy. Adalimumab also improved psoriasis in these patients.
Understanding Exercise Intention in an Ethnically Diverse Sample of Postpartum Women

Research examining the determinants of exercise motivation among ethnically diverse women is scant. The purpose of this study was to examine the predictive utility of the theories of reasoned action and planned behavior (TRA/TPB) for explaining exercise intention among postpartum women and to examine the moderating influence of ethnicity. Participants were 63 low-income postpartum women (n = 16 white, 47 non-white) who completed self-reported measures of their exercise attitude, subjective norm, perceived behavioral control (PBC), and intention. Hierarchical regression analyses indicated that (a) attitude (β = .59, p .05) was not a significant predictor, and (c) the contributions of the theory constructs predicting intention were not moderated by ethnicity. The study findings provide preliminary support for the utility of the TRA as a framework for understanding exercise intention among ethnica.
Melatonin sensitizes human hepatoma cells to endoplasmic reticulum stress–induced apoptosis

Abstract: Endoplasmic reticulum stress–mediated cell apoptosis is implicated in the development of cancer. Melatonin induces apoptosis in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) in experimental studies, but the effects of melatonin on endoplasmic reticulum (ER) stress–induced apoptosis in HCC have not been tested. Differences in ER stress–induced apoptosis in human hepatoma cells and normal human hepatocyte were investigated by exposure to tunicamycin (ER stress inducer). Significant differences were observed in the rate of apoptosis between HepG2 cells (hepatoma cells) and HL‐7702 cells (normal human hepatocyte cells). The expression of cyclooxygenase‐2 (COX‐2) was increased in HepG2 cells but not in HL‐7702 cells. Furthermore, down‐regulation of COX‐2 expression using the COX‐2 inhibitor, celecoxib, increased tunicamycin‐induced apoptosis concomitant with the up‐regulation of pro‐apoptotic transcription factor CHOP (GADD153) and down‐regulation of B‐cell lymphoma 2/Bcl‐2–associated X protein (Bcl‐2/Bax) ratio, suggesting that inhibition of COX‐2 sensitized human hepatoma cells to ER stress–induced apoptosis. Interestingly, co‐treatment with tunicamycin and melatonin also decreased the expression of COX‐2 and significantly increased the rate of apoptosis by elevating the levels of CHOP and reducing the Bcl‐2/Bax ratio. These results demonstrate that melatonin sensitizes human hepatoma cells to ER stress–induced apoptosis by down‐regulating COX‐2 expression, increasing the levels of CHOP and decreasing the Bcl‐2/Bax ratio.
Predictors and Prevalence of Latent Tuberculosis Infection in Patients Receiving Long-Term Hemodialysis and Peritoneal Dialysis

Background Tuberculosis is a common infectious disease in long-term dialysis patients. The prevalence of latent tuberculosis infection (LTBI) in this population is unclear, particularly in those receiving peritoneal dialysis (PD). This study investigated the prevalence of LTBI in patients receiving either hemodialysis (HD) or PD to determine predictors of LTBI and indeterminate results of interferon-gamma release assay. Methods Patients receiving long-term (≥3 months) HD or PD from March 2011 to February 2012 in two medical centers were prospectively enrolled. QuantiFERON-Gold in tube (QFT) test was used to determine the status of LTBI after excluding active tuberculosis. The LTBI prevalence was determined in patients receiving different dialysis modes to obtain predictors of LTBI and QFT-indeterminate results. Results Of 427 patients enrolled (124 PD and 303 HD), 91 (21.3%) were QFT-positive, 316 (74.0%) QFT-negative, and 20 (4.7%) QFT-indeterminate. The prevalence of LTBI was similar in the PD and HD groups. Independent predictors of LTBI were old age (OR: 1.034 [1.013–1.056] per year increment), TB history (OR: 6.467 [1.985–21.066]), and current smoker (OR: 2.675 [1.061–6.747]). Factors associated with indeterminate QFT results were HD (OR: 10.535 [1.336–83.093]), dialysis duration (OR: 1.113 [1.015–1.221] per year increment), anemia (OR: 8.760 [1.014–75.651]), and serum albumin level (OR: 0.244 [0.086–0.693] per 1 g/dL increment). Conclusion More than one-fifth of dialysis patients have LTBI. The LTBI prevalence is similar in PD and HD patients but is higher in the elderly, current smokers, and those with prior TB history. Such patients require closer follow-up. Repeated or alternative test may be required for malnutrition patients who received long length of HD.
Strengthening classroom emotional support for children following a family member’s death

National and international organizations have identified schools as having an unparalleled potential to offer supportive services for children’s mental health needs. This article reviews research and practice related to children’s grief and specifies strategies for classroom-based interventions. In particular, school psychologists are encouraged to assist teachers in addressing the needs of children following the death of a family member. A list of resources is included to assist school psychologists in sharing critical information with teachers, preparing them to implement suggested strategies. Additionally, two ready-to-use classroom lesson plans integrate classroom discussion and activities with grief-themed children’s literature.
Geographies of development II

Since the mid-1990s, a number of governments in the global South have instituted programmes which provide regular cash grants to poor people. The results of cash transfer programmes have impressed those searching for ways to improve welfare: the depth of poverty has been reduced, more children are being educated and vaccinated, and the poor are more likely to get jobs and start enterprises. Advocates of social democracy are hopeful that this heralds the possibility of comprehensive social protection. Experiments in welfare in the global South do not, however, inevitably signal an epochal shift to a postneoliberal era. They form part of an increasingly heterodox approach which combines an enduring emphasis on liberalized economic growth with bolder biopolitical interventions for the poor.
Intrinsic Motivation and Employee Attitudes

Motivation scholars have argued that intrinsic motivation is an important driver of employee attitudes. This research tests the influence of intrinsic motivation on employee attitudes and explores three factors conditioning the effects of intrinsic motivation: managerial trustworthiness, goal directedness, and extrinsic reward expectancy. The analysis demonstrates that intrinsic motivation is substantively associated with both employee satisfaction and turnover intention. It also reveals that the three conditional factors interact with intrinsic motivation. Managerial trustworthiness and goal directedness increase the leverage of intrinsic motivation on employee satisfaction, whereas extrinsic rewards expectancy decreases the leverage. With respect to turnover intention, the factors directly influence it rather than affect it indirectly through intrinsic motivation. The implications of the results for theory and managerial strategies for employee motivation are discussed.
Dimensions and basic emotions

Emotions are crucial to explaining consumer behavior. Following an in-depth review of the literature, we identified three types of emotional stimuli affecting consumers: emotions produced by the item being purchased, emotions related to various aspects of the evaluation process, and emotions stemming from factors unrelated to the purchase itself. Previous studies have identified two approaches to analyzing emotions, namely, a categorical approach, which looks at basic emotions, and a dimensional one, which studies the dimensions of the emotions. Although these approaches are thought to be complementary, very few studies have been conducted on the subject, and none have specifically examined it in the context of the tourism industry. We have thus conducted a detailed and empirical study measuring the basic emotions and emotional dimensions elicited by hotels in 841 tourists. We demonstrate the existence of differences in both basic emotions and emotional dimensions among tourists and the additional benefit of using both approaches to study them. The results of this research will facilitate the design of appropriate marketing strategies, thereby helping hospitality managers adapt to the different established tourism segments defined by emotions.
Expression of Two Major Chitinase Genes of Trichoderma atroviride (T. harzianum P1) Is Triggered by Different Regulatory Signals

ABSTRACT Regulation of the expression of the two major chitinase genes,ech42 (encoding the CHIT42 endochitinase) andnag1 (encoding the CHIT73N-acetyl-β-d-glucosaminidase), of the chitinolytic system of the mycoparasitic biocontrol fungusTrichoderma atroviride (= Trichoderma harzianumP1) was investigated by using a reporter system based on theAspergillus niger glucose oxidase. Strains harboring fusions of the ech42 or nag1 5′ upstream noncoding sequences with the A. niger goxAgene displayed a glucose oxidase activity pattern that was consistent under various conditions with expression of the nativeech42 and nag1 genes, as assayed by Northern analysis. The expression product of goxA in the mutants was completely secreted into the medium, detectable on Western blots, and quantifiable by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. nag1gene expression was triggered during growth on fungal (Botrytis cinerea) cell walls and on the chitin degradation productN-acetylglucosamine. N-Acetylglucosamine, di-N-acetylchitobiose, or tri-N-acetylchitotriose also induced nag1 gene expression when added to mycelia pregrown on different carbon sources.ech42 expression was also observed during growth on fungal cell walls but, in contrast, was not triggered by addition of chitooligomers to pregrown mycelia. Significant ech42expression was observed after prolonged carbon starvation, independent of the use of glucose or glycerol as a carbon source, suggesting that relief of carbon catabolite repression was not involved in induction during starvation. In addition, ech42 gene transcription was triggered by physiological stress, such as low temperature, high osmotic pressure, or the addition of ethanol. Four copies of a putative stress response element (CCCCT) were found in the ech42promoter.
An Ultra-Sensitive Liquid-Level Indicator Based on an Etched Chirped-Fiber Bragg Grating

A novel ultra-sensitive liquid-level indicator using an etched chirped fiber Bragg grating is experimentally demonstrated with a sensitivity of 1.214 nm/mm for detecting tens of micro-meter liquid-level variation. The operation mechanism is based on the superposition wavelength-peak shift created by the overlap between the spectrum of the etched CFBG section immersed in the liquid and the spectrum of the rest of the grating in air. This sensor may be used to precisely measure the liquid-level variation in bio-hazardous systems or industrial containers that demand accurate interrogation of the amounts of the contents.
Bacteriophage Transport in Sandy Soil and Fractured Tuff

Bacteriophage transport was investigated in laboratory column experiments using sandy soil, a controlled field study in a sandy wash, and laboratory experiments using fractured rock. In the soil columns, the phage MS-2 exhibited significant dispersion and was excluded from 35 to 40% of the void volume but did not adsorb. Dispersion in the field was similiar to that observed in the laboratory. The phage f2 was largely excluded from the porous matrix of the two fractured-rock cores studied, coming through 1.2 and 2.0 times later than predicted on the basis of fracture flow alone. Because of matrix diffusion, nonsorbing solutes were retarded by over a factor of three relative to fracture flow. The time for a solute tracer to equilibrate with the porous matrix of 6.5-cm-diameter by 25-cm-long cores was measured in days. Results of both granular-medium and fractured-rock experiments illustrate the inability of a solute tracer to provide estimates for dispersion and effective porosity that are applicable to a colloid. Bacteriophage can be used to better estimate the maximum subsurface transport rate of colloidal contaminants through a porous formation.
An analysis of electronic health record-related patient safety concerns

Objective A recent Institute of Medicine report called for attention to safety issues related to electronic health records (EHRs). We analyzed EHR-related safety concerns reported within a large, integrated healthcare system. Methods The Informatics Patient Safety Office of the Veterans Health Administration (VA) maintains a non-punitive, voluntary reporting system to collect and investigate EHR-related safety concerns (ie, adverse events, potential events, and near misses). We analyzed completed investigations using an eight-dimension sociotechnical conceptual model that accounted for both technical and non-technical dimensions of safety. Using the framework analysis approach to qualitative data, we identified emergent and recurring safety concerns common to multiple reports. Results We extracted 100 consecutive, unique, closed investigations between August 2009 and May 2013 from 344 reported incidents. Seventy-four involved unsafe technology and 25 involved unsafe use of technology. A majority (70%) involved two or more model dimensions. Most often, non-technical dimensions such as workflow, policies, and personnel interacted in a complex fashion with technical dimensions such as software/hardware, content, and user interface to produce safety concerns. Most (94%) safety concerns related to either unmet data-display needs in the EHR (ie, displayed information available to the end user failed to reduce uncertainty or led to increased potential for patient harm), software upgrades or modifications, data transmission between components of the EHR, or ‘hidden dependencies’ within the EHR. Discussion EHR-related safety concerns involving both unsafe technology and unsafe use of technology persist long after ‘go-live’ and despite the sophisticated EHR infrastructure represented in our data source. Currently, few healthcare institutions have reporting and analysis capabilities similar to the VA. Conclusions Because EHR-related safety concerns have complex sociotechnical origins, institutions with long-standing as well as recent EHR implementations should build a robust infrastructure to monitor and learn from them.
Investigation into Mall Visitation Motivation and Demographic Idiosyncrasies in Ghana

Article history: Received September 15, 2012 Received in revised format 20 December 2012 Accepted 20 December 2012 Available online December 24 2012 This paper aims to investigate shoppers’ motivations for visiting the mall in respect of their demographic characteristics. The study was Cross-sectional and adopted the quantitative method. Structure questionnaire was used to collect data through a mall intercept approach. Factor analysis was conducted to determine the mall visitation motivations of shoppers and Chi-square test and regression analysis used to help answer the research questions. The paper found eight (8) key mall visitation motivations attract Ghanaian shoppers. Escapism influences the shoppers most, followed by pleasure flow, safety, aesthetic and architectural leisure, respectively. The least motivational factor is exploration. The result suggests that shoppers in Ghana are most likely to see the mall as an escape route from their daily hectic conditions and a place for relaxation.
College Student Effort Expenditure in Online Versus Face-to-Face Courses

The study investigated the differential impact of sense of classroom community on effort in online versus face-to-face courses while controlling for potential effects of gender and team learning orientation. The interaction effects from ANOVA results suggested a gender difference across the two course delivery formats, with male students expending more effort than females in online courses while females put more energy than males in face-to-face courses. The hierarchical regression analyses results showed differential predictive patterns of student effort, with multiple predictors of student effort in face-to-face courses in contrast to a single value-interest predictor in online courses after controlling for individual differences. The results suggested the need of instructional differentiation of the two course delivery formats and the importance of enhancing the value and interest of online courses to promote student effort in distance education programs.
Stratified Threshold Values of QuantiFERON Assay for Diagnosing Tuberculosis Infection in Immunocompromised Populations

Background. The detection of latent tuberculosis (TB) is essential for TB control, but T-cell assay might be influenced by degree of immunosuppression. The relationship between immunocompetence and interferon (IFN)-γ response in QuantiFERON-TB Gold (QFT) is uncertain, especially in HIV-negative populations. Methods and Results. QFT has been performed for healthy subjects and TB suspected patients. Of 3017 patients, 727 were diagnosed as pulmonary TB by culture. The absolute number of blood lymphocyte in TB patients was significantly associated with QFT. Definitive TB patients were divided into eight groups according to lymphocyte counts. For each subgroup, receiver operating characteristic curve analysis was conducted from 357 healthy control subjects. The optimal cut-off for the patient group with adequate lymphocyte counts was found, but this was reduced for lymphocytopenia. Conclusions. The lymphocyte count was positively associated with QFT. Positive criteria should be calibrated in consideration of cell-mediated immunocompetence and risk of progression to active TB.
Interference Alignment for Uplink Cellular Systems with Limited Feedback

Assuming perfect channel state information, the existing interference alignment (IA) algorithm proposed in [2] suppresses inter-cell interference (ICI) by aligning ICI to a randomly selected reference vector. However, IA in practice relies on limited feedback, resulting in residual ICI. In this letter, we propose the optimization of the reference vector for regulating the residual ICI. Specifically, it is shown that the reference vector that minimizes an upper bound on the residual ICI power is the eigenvector corresponding to the largest eigenvalue of the sum of the interference-channel matrices multiplied by their corresponding Hermitian matrices. Moreover, the performance gain of the proposed IA algorithm compared with the existing one in [2] is analyzed and demonstrated by simulation to be significant.
Pharmacokinetic-pharmacodynamic modelling of intravenous buprenorphine in conscious horses.

OBJECTIVE Describe the pharmacokinetics of buprenorphine and norbuprenorphine in horses and to relate the plasma buprenorphine concentration to the pharmacodynamic effects. STUDY DESIGN Single phase non-blinded study. ANIMALS Six dedicated research horses, aged 3-10 years and weighing 480-515 kg. METHODS Thermal and mechanical nociceptive thresholds, heart and respiratory rates and locomotor activity were measured before and 15, 30, 45 & 60 minutes and 2, 4, 6, 8, 12 & 24 hours post-administration of 10 μg kg(-1) buprenorphine IV. Intestinal motility was measured 1, 6, 12 & 24 hours after buprenorphine administration. Venous blood samples were obtained before administration of buprenorphine 10 μg kg(-1) IV and 1, 2, 4, 6, 10, 15, 30, 45 & 60 minutes, and 2, 4, 6, 8, 12 & 24 hours afterwards. Plasma buprenorphine and norbuprenorphine concentrations were measured using a liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectroscopy (LC-MS/MS) assay with solid-phase extraction. A non-compartmental method was used for analysis of the plasma concentration-time data and plasma buprenorphine concentrations were modelled against two dynamic effects (change in thermal threshold and mechanical threshold) using a simple Emax model. RESULTS Plasma buprenorphine concentrations were detectable to 480 minutes in all horses and to 720 minutes in two out of six horses. Norbuprenorphine was not detected. Thermal thresholds increased from 15 minutes post-buprenorphine administration until the 8-12 hour time points. The increase in mechanical threshold ranged from 3.5 to 6.0 Newtons (median: 4.4 N); and was associated with plasma buprenorphine concentrations in the range 0.34-2.45 ng mL(-1) . CONCLUSIONS AND CLINICAL RELEVANCE The suitability of the use of buprenorphine for peri-operative analgesia in the horse is supported by the present study.