Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Sex-Dependent Attenuation of Plaque Growth After Treatment With Bone Marrow Mononuclear Cells

There are clinically relevant differences in symptomatology, risk stratification, and efficacy of therapies between men and women with coronary artery disease. Sex-based differences in plaque attenuation after administration of bone marrow mononuclear cells (BMNCs) are unknown. Forty-five male and 57 female apolipoprotein-E knockout (apoE−/−) mice were fed a high-fat diet. At 14 weeks of age, animals received 4 biweekly intravenous sex-matched (males, n=11; females, n=13) or -mismatched (males, n=12; females, n=14) BMNCs obtained from C57BL6/J mice. The rest of the apoE−/− mice were vehicle treated (males, n=13; females, n=20) or were age-matched untreated controls (males, n=9; females, n=10). Aortic plaque burden, progenitor cell profiles in bone marrow (BM) and 22 circulating cytokines/chemokines were examined 1 week following the final injection. Only female BMNCs infused into male apoE−/− recipients significantly decreased plaque formation (P<0.001). This reparative response univariately correlated with increased CD34+ (P=0.02), CD45+ (P=0.0001), and AC133+/CD34+ (P=0.001) cell percentages in the BM of recipients but not with total serum cholesterol or percentage of BM-CD31+/CD45low cells. In a multivariate analysis, BM-AC133+/CD34+ and BM-CD45+ percentage counts correlated with a lower plaque burden (P<0.05). Increased granulocyte colony-stimulating factor levels highly correlated with plaque attenuation (r=−0.86, P=0.0004). In untreated apoE−/− mice of either sex, BM-AC133+/CD34+ cells rose initially and then fell as plaque accumulated; however, BM-AC133+/CD34+ percentages were higher in females at all times (P≤0.01). We have demonstrated an atheroprotective effect of female-derived BMNCs administered to male atherosclerotic apoE−/− mice; this reparative response correlated with the upregulation of BM-AC133+/CD34+ and CD45+ cells and of circulating granulocyte colony-stimulating factor. Atherosclerotic female apoE−/− mice did not exhibit atheroprotection after BMNCs of either sex. Our findings may have implications for clinical cell therapy trials for coronary artery disease. Further exploration of sex-based differences in atheroprotection and vascular repair is warranted.
Challenges with routine data sources for PMTCT programme monitoring in East Africa: insights from Tanzania

Routinely collected clinic data have the potential to provide much needed information on the uptake of services to prevent mother-to-child transmission (PMTCT) of HIV, and to measure HIV prevalence in pregnant women. This article describes the methodological challenges associated with using such data, based on the experiences of researchers and programme implementers in Tanzania and drawing from other examples from East Africa. PMTCT data are routinely collected in maternal and child health (MCH) clinics in East Africa using paper-based registers corresponding to distinct services within the PMTCT service continuum. This format has inherent limitations with respect to maintaining and accurately recording unique identifiers that can link patients across the different clinics (antenatal, delivery, child), and also poses challenges when compiling aggregate data. Recent improvements to recording systems include assigning unique identifiers to HIV-positive pregnant women in MCH clinics, although this should ideally be extended to all pregnant women, and recording mother and infant identifiers alongside each other in registers. The use of ‘health passports’, as in Malawi, which maintains the same antenatal clinic identifier over time, also holds promise. Routine data hold tremendous potential for clinic-level patient management, surveillance, and evaluating PMTCT/MCH programmes. Linking clinic data to community research datasets can also provide population-level estimates of coverage with PMTCT services, currently a problematic but vital statistic for monitoring programme performance and negotiating donor funding. Enhancements to indexing and recording of routine PMTCT/MCH data are needed if we are to capitalise on this rich data source.
Interpersonal pathoplasticity in the course of major depression.

OBJECTIVE The identification of reliable predictors of course in major depressive disorder (MDD) has been difficult. Evidence suggests that the co-occurrence of personality pathology is associated with longer time to MDD remission. Interpersonal pathoplasticity, the mutually influencing nonetiological relationship between psychopathology and interpersonal traits, offers an avenue for examining specific personality vulnerabilities that may be associated with depressive course. METHOD This study examined 312 participants with and without a co-occurring personality disorder diagnosis who met criteria for a current MDD episode at baseline and who were followed for 10 years in the Collaborative Longitudinal Personality Disorders Study. RESULTS Latent profile analysis (LPA) identified 6 interpersonal groups (extraverted, dominant, arrogant, cold, submissive, and unassuming), and circular statistical profile analysis confirmed group interpersonal distinctiveness. No significant differences between groups were found in comorbid Axis I disorders or baseline MDD severity. Chronicity and functioning analyses found significantly greater chronicity and poorer functioning in individuals with a submissive interpersonal style over 10 years. CONCLUSIONS These findings support the relevance of interpersonal pathoplasticity in depressive course and that this heterogeneity has clinical significance. This study is the first to use LPA and circular profiles to examine interpersonal heterogeneity within a diagnostic group. The implications of these findings for therapeutic intervention, interpersonal functioning, and psychopathological course are discussed.
Retinal microglia and uveal tract dendritic cells and macrophages are not CX3CR1 dependent in their recruitment and distribution in the young mouse eye.

PURPOSE The chemokine receptor CX3CR1 is expressed by monocyte-derived dendritic cells (DCs) and macrophages. CX3CR1 mediates leukocyte migration and adhesion in homeostatic and inflammatory conditions. Mice lacking Cx3cr1 have altered distribution and function of DC subpopulations in some tissue microenvironments. The present study compares the distribution of monocyte-derived cells in the normal retina and uveal tract as a prelude to the investigation of the role of CX3CR1 in murine models of ocular disease. METHODS Transgenic mice in which either one (Cx3cr1 gfp/+, heterozygous) or both (Cx3cr1 gfp/gfp, homozygous) copies of the Cx3cr1 gene have been replaced by the enhanced green fluorescent protein (eGFP) reporter gene were used to investigate the role of Cx3cr1 expression on macrophages and DCs in the normal uveal tract and retina. Chimeric mice were used to investigate turnover of these cells in the normal, uninflamed eye. RESULTS Confocal analysis found no significant differences in the density, phenotype or morphology of eGFP+ cells between Cx3cr1 gfp/+ and Cx3cr1 gfp/+ mice in immunostained iris, ciliary body, or choroidal and retinal wholemounts. Flow cytometry also failed to detect any difference in the density or cell shape of eGFP+ cells between Cx3cr1 gfp/+ and Cx3cr1 gfp/+ mice. Chimeras revealed 73% turnover of monocyte-derived cells in the iris and 63% in the choroid by 6 weeks after transplantation. CONCLUSIONS These data illustrate that homing or migration of DCs and macrophages to the uveal tract and retina in normal young mice is not Cx3cr1 dependent and provide a solid foundation for future studies of monocyte-derived cells and the role of Cx3cr1 in models of ocular disease.
The Demand for Military Spending in Egypt

Egypt plays a pivotal role in the security of the Middle East as the doorway to Europe and its military expenditure reflects its involvement in the machinations of such an unstable region, showing considerable variation over the last 40 years. These characteristics make it a particularly interesting case study of the determinants of military spending. This paper specifies and estimates an econometric model of the Egyptian demand for military spending, taking into account important strategic and political factors. Both economic and strategic factors are found to play a role in determining military burden/spending, with clear positive effects of lagged military burden, suggesting some sort of institutional inertia, plus negative output and net exports effects. The strategic effect as a result of the impact of Israel’s military burden is mostly positive and significant, though its impact is reduced when the impact of important strategic events are taken into account. The military spending of Egypt’s allies Jordan and Syria generally seems to have had no effect on Egypt’s spending. These results are consistent over a range of econometric techniques.
Content and Language Integrated Learning: Panacea or Policy Borrowing Myth?

Abstract This paper examines the spread of Content and Language Integrated Learning (CLIL) through a number of lenses. It argues that the supporters and promoters of CLIL position it as a near-panacea and attribute to it a large number of benefits, not all of which are supported by research. Looking at the issues arising from recent attempts to define CLIL, the paper proposes a distinction between weak and strong CLIL. The paper points to the lacunae in the research into CLIL, and suggests that these gaps are the result of educational policies that privilege a second language over other curricular subjects. Looking at the contexts where CLIL seems to succeed, as well as places where such teaching has been acknowledged to fail, it emerges that success is often connected to a high level of student selection on a number of criteria, as well as a high level of investment in teachers and teaching, and that CLIL often privileges those students who are already high achievers both in language and content. The paper then looks at the way in which the spread of CLIL policies can be understood through theories of policy borrowing and educational transfer.
Liquidity and the Law of One Price: The Case of the Futures‐Cash Basis

Deviations from no-arbitrage relations should be related to market liquidity, because liquidity facilitates arbitrage. At the same time, a wide futures-cash basis may trigger arbitrage trades and, in turn, affect liquidity. We test these ideas by studying the dynamic relation between stock market liquidity and the index futures basis. There is evidence of two-way Granger causality between the short-term absolute basis and liquidity, and liquidity Granger-causes longer-term absolute bases. Shocks to the absolute basis predict future stock market liquidity. The evidence suggests that liquidity enhances the efficiency of the futures-cash pricing system. Copyright 2007 by The American Finance Association.
Novel intronic polymorphisms in the RET proto‐oncogene and their association with Hirschsprung disease

Germline mutations of the RET proto‐oncogene have been found in familial and sporadic forms of Hirschsprung disease (HSCR), but also in the autosomal dominantly inherited multiple endocrine neoplasia type 2 (MEN2) syndromes, which comprise the medullary thyroid carcinoma (MTC) as an obligatory feature. Besides mutations various polymorphisms of the RET proto‐oncogene are associated with the HSCR. In this study, we have characterized seven intronic RET polymorphisms (IVS2+9G>A, IVS4+48A>G, IVS12+47C>T, IVS14–24G>A, IVS19+47T>C, IVS20+96C>T, 3'UTR+124A>G) and investigated these variants by DNA sequencing in populations of 76 HSCR patients and 40 sporadic MTC patients as well as in a control population. Variants of four of these seven polymorphisms have a strong association with the HSCR phenotype. In contrast, none of the investigated polymorphisms show a significant difference in the genotype distribution and the allele frequencies in patients with sporadic MTC when compared to controls. These findings support the hypothesis that specific RET haplotypes cause or modify the HSCR phenotype. © 2003 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
The government of poverty and the arts of survival: mobile and recombinant strategies at the margins of the South African economy

The paper is concerned with marginal populations affected by the ‘truncated agrarian transitions’ of the twentieth and twenty-first centuries: people displaced out of land-based employment without reasonable prospects for accumulation in the non-farm economy. It analyses the forms of economic agency of people living in the migrant routes and networks connecting the shantytowns of Cape Town and the rural Eastern Cape in South Africa. It describes the artful and hybrid nature of their livelihood strategies – strategies that involve the integration from ‘below’ of urban and rural spaces, formal and informal income, and which simultaneously take shape outside the regulatory spaces conferred by the state, and make use of the rights and opportunities created by law and formality. Far from being reduced to the ‘outcast’ condition of ‘bare life’, marginalized and poor people in South Africa pursue inventive strategies on uneven terrain, cutting across the dichotomies of official discourse and teleological analysis. This allows a more nuanced analysis of the nature and specificity of the agrarian transition in South Africa.
DNA conformational changes at the primer-template junction regulate the fidelity of replication by DNA polymerase

Local conformational changes in primer-template (P/T) DNA are involved in the selective incorporation of dNTP by DNA polymerases (DNAP). Here we use near UV CD and fluorescence spectra of pairs of base analogue probes, substituted either at the primer terminus or in the coding region of the template strand, to monitor and interpret conformational changes at and near the coding base of the template in P/T DNA complexes with Klenow fragment (KF) DNAP as the polymerase moves through the nucleotide addition cycle. Incoming dNTPs and rNTPs encounter binary complexes in which the 3′-end of the primer shuttles between the polymerization (pol) and exonuclease (exo) sites of DNAPs, even for perfectly complementary P/T DNA sequences. We have used spectral changes of probes inserted in both strands to monitor this two-state distribution and determine how it depends on the formation of ternary complexes with both complementary (“correct”) and noncomplementary (“incorrect”) NTPs and on the local sequence of the P/T DNA. The results show that the relative occupancy of the exo and pol sites is coupled to conformational changes in the P/T DNA of the complex that are partially regulated by the incoming NTP. We find that the coding base on the template strand is unperturbed by the binding of incorrect dNTPs, while binding of complementary rNTPs induces a novel template conformation. We conclude that, in addition to its editing function, primer strand occupancy of the 3′-exo site may also serve as a regulatory checkpoint for accurate dNTP selection in DNA synthesis.
Coordinated expression of ER, PR and HER2 define different prognostic subtypes among poorly differentiated breast carcinomas

Aims: Histological grade is one of the most important prognostic factors in breast carcinomas, but poorly differentiated neoplasms still have quite heterogeneous biological behaviour, since they can be genetically classified as basal‐like, HER2+ or even luminal. The aim was to analyse the frequency of oestrogen receptor (ER), progesterone receptor (PR) and HER2 expression profiles among breast carcinomas with <10% tubular formation, and their correlation with classic prognostic factors.
Postural sway modifications induced by backpack carriage in primary school children: a case study in Italy

The aim of this investigation is to assess modifications in sway parameters introduced by backpack carriage in Italian primary school children (6–10 years old, n = 447). Two 30-s trials (without and with backpack) were performed directly at a school on a regular school day to collect data on sway area, centre of pressure path length and maximum displacement range in antero–posterior and medio–lateral directions. The results show a significant load-induced increase in all sway parameters and the existence of a linear relationship between sway area and backpack weight. Since postural sway represents an effective indicator of balance abilities, the alterations observed suggest that backpack carriage originates balance impairment and thus may increase the risk of unintentional falls in children. Statement of Relevance: Loss of balance is among the primary causes of unintentional falls and postural sway represents an effective indicator of balance abilities. In this study, sway parameters were assessed in primary school children wearing backpacks. The differences that were observed show that backpack carriage potentially increases the risk of falls.
Tumor Necrosis Factor Alpha Promoter Polymorphism and Severity of Acute Kidney Injury

Background: Tumor necrosis factor-alpha is a proinflammatory cytokine that has been implicated in the pathobiology of acute kidney injury (AKI). Methods: We explored the association of a functional polymorphism in the promoter region (rs1800629) of the TNFA gene with severity of AKI, as defined by level of glomerular filtration (serum cystatin C and creatinine) and tubular injury (urinary NAG, KIM-1, α-GST, and π-GST) markers, in 262 hospitalized adults. Results: In unadjusted analyses, compared with the GG genotype, the TNFA GA and AA genotype groups tended to have higher enrollment (p = 0.08), peak (p = 0.004), and discharge (p = 0.004) serum creatinine levels, and the AA genotype tended to have a higher enrollment serum cystatin C level (p = 0.04). Compared with the GG genotype, the TNFA GA and AA genotype groups tended to have a higher urinary KIM-1 level (p = 0.03), and the AA genotype group tended to have a higher urinary π-GST level (p = 0.03). After adjustment for sex, race, age, baseline estimated glomerular filtration rate, sepsis, and dialysis requirement, compared with the GG genotype, the TNFA minor A-allele group had a higher peak serum creatinine of 1.03 mg/dl (0.43, 1.63; p = 0.001) and a higher urinary KIM-1 (relative ratio: 1.73; 95% CI: 1.16, 2.59; p = 0.008). The TNFA minor A-allele group also had a higher Multiple Organ Failure score of 0.26 (95% CI: 0.03, 0.49; p = 0.024) after adjustment for sex, race, age, and sepsis. Conclusions: The TNFA rs1800629 gene polymorphism is associated with markers of kidney disease severity and distant organ dysfunction among patients with AKI. Larger studies are needed to confirm these relationships.
Towards Recoupling? Assessing the Impact of a Chinese Hard Landing on Commodity Exporters: Results from Conditional Forecast in a GVAR Model

China’s rapid growth over the past decade has been one of the main drivers of the rise in mineral commodity demand and prices. At a time when concerns about the sustainability of China’s growth model are increasingly rising, this paper assesses to what extent a hard landing in China would impact commodity exporters. After reviewing the main arguments pointing to a hard landing scenario – historical rebalancing precedents, overinvestment, unsustainable debt trends, and a growing real estate bubble – we focus on a sample of twenty-five countries, and use a global VAR methodology adapted to conditional forecasting to simulate the impact of a Chinese hard landing. We model metal and oil price separately to account for their different end-use patterns and consumption intensity in China, and we identify two specific transmission channels to commodity exporters: through exports (with both volume and price effects), and through investment (a fall in commodity prices reducing incentives to invest in the mining sector). According to our estimates, Latin American countries would be hardest hit – with a 6 percent cumulated growth loss after five years – followed by Asia (ex. China); advanced economies would be less affected. The "growth gap" between emerging and advanced economies would be considerably reduced, leading to partial recoupling.
The application of physiologically based pharmacokinetic modelling to assess the impact of antiretroviral‐mediated drug–drug interactions on piperaquine antimalarial therapy during pregnancy

Antimalarial therapy during pregnancy poses important safety concerns due to potential teratogenicity and maternal physiological and biochemical changes during gestation. Piperaquine (PQ) has gained interest for use in pregnancy in response to increasing resistance towards sulfadoxine–pyrimethamine in sub‐Saharan Africa. Coinfection with HIV is common in many developing countries, however, little is known about the impact of antiretroviral (ARV) mediated drug–drug interaction (DDI) on piperaquine pharmacokinetics during pregnancy. This study applied mechanistic pharmacokinetic modelling to predict pharmacokinetics in non‐pregnant and pregnant patients, which was validated in distinct customised population groups from Thailand, Sudan and Papua New Guinea. In each population group, no significant differences in day 7 concentrations were observed during different gestational weeks (GW) (weeks 10–40), supporting the notion that piperaquine is safe throughout pregnancy with consistent pharmacokinetics, although possible teratogenicity may limit this. Antiretroviral‐mediated DDIs (efavirenz and ritonavir) had moderate effects on piperaquine during different gestational weeks with a predicted AUCratio in the range 0.56–0.8 and 1.64–1.79 for efavirenz and ritonavir, respectively, over GW 10–40, with a reduction in circulating human serum albumin significantly reducing the number of subjects attaining the day 7 (post‐dose) therapeutic efficacy concentrations under both efavirenz and ritonavir DDIs. This present model successfully mechanistically predicted the pharmacokinetics of piperaquine in pregnancy to be unchanged with respect to non‐pregnant women, in the light of factors such as malaria/HIV co‐infection. However, antiretroviral‐mediated DDIs could significantly alter piperaquine pharmacokinetics. Further model refinement will include collation of relevant physiological and biochemical alterations common to HIV/malaria patients.
Evidence for Neglected linearity in Noisy Chaotic Models

In practice it is very difficult to distinguish between stochastic and chaotic non-linearity. It is also difficult to identify non-linear structures in time series when the hidden dynamics are complex. In this paper we provide evidence that in presence of specific high-dimensional underlying structures the White (1989) and Theiler et al. (1992) tests fail to detect non-linearity.
Analysis of prion protein mRNA by in situ hybridization in brain and placenta of sheep.

In this study, prion protein (PrP) mRNA was focally detected in brain and placenta of pregnant sheep by Northern blot analysis. In addition, host-encoded cellular prion protein (PrP(C)) was observed in brain and placenta of the ruminant by Western blot analysis as well. Localization of PrP mRNA in pregnant sheep tissues was rendered possible with in situ hybridization. In sheep brain, PrP mRNA was predominantly localized within large neocortical neurons in the cerebrum, Purkinje cells and neurons of the molecular and granule cell layers in the cerebellum. In the placenta, signals were observed in the myometrium, including stratum longitudinale tunicae muscles and circular layers of muscular tunics. In the caruncle and placentome, signals were stronger by in situ hybridization. Since accumulation of the scrapie isoform PrP (PrP(Sc)) is required to PrP(C), these results suggest that brain and placenta of sheep may be important organs and sites for the conversion of PrP(C) to PrP(Sc).