Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Clostridium difficile Toxins A and B: Insights into Pathogenic Properties and Extraintestinal Effects

Clostridium difficile infection (CDI) has significant clinical impact especially on the elderly and/or immunocompromised patients. The pathogenicity of Clostridium difficile is mainly mediated by two exotoxins: toxin A (TcdA) and toxin B (TcdB). These toxins primarily disrupt the cytoskeletal structure and the tight junctions of target cells causing cell rounding and ultimately cell death. Detectable C. difficile toxemia is strongly associated with fulminant disease. However, besides the well-known intestinal damage, recent animal and in vitro studies have suggested a more far-reaching role for these toxins activity including cardiac, renal, and neurologic impairment. The creation of C. difficile strains with mutations in the genes encoding toxin A and B indicate that toxin B plays a major role in overall CDI pathogenesis. Novel insights, such as the role of a regulator protein (TcdE) on toxin production and binding interactions between albumin and C. difficile toxins, have recently been discovered and will be described. Our review focuses on the toxin-mediated pathogenic processes of CDI with an emphasis on recent studies.
Women Accountants in the 1880 US Federal Census: A Genealogical Analysis

This historical census micro-data project examines the characteristics of women who self report as accountants in the 1880 US Federal Census. Using the data provided by the actual Census forms the demographic, familial, and economic characteristics of women accountants are examined and found to be quite different from the experience of accountants overall found by Lee [2007]. A fairly clear picture of a typical 1880 female accountant emerged and analysis of their multi-generational families gave insight into the changing occupational landscape of the period. Almost all women accountants were US born of US born parents and most did not migrate within the US thus showing some very mild evidence of exclusionary closure of the occupation for immigrant women. The 1870 and 1900 US Federal Census actual forms are also examined to determine where these women came from and where their lives led on both personal and career dimensions.
Liver receptor homolog 1 controls the expression of the scavenger receptor class B type I

The scavenger receptor class B type I (SR‐BI), which mediates selective cellular cholesterol uptake from high‐density lipoproteins (HDLs), plays a key role in reverse cholesterol transport. The orphan nuclear receptor liver receptor homolog 1 (LRH‐1) and SR‐BI are co‐expressed in liver and ovary, suggesting that LRH‐1 might control the expression of SR‐BI in these tissues. LRH‐1 induces human and mouse SR‐BI promoter activity by binding to an LRH‐1 response element in the promoter. Retroviral expression of LRH‐1 robustly induces SR‐BI, an effect associated with histone H3 acetylation on the SR‐BI promoter. The decrease in SR‐BI mRNA levels in livers of LRH‐1+/− animals provides in vivo evidence that LRH‐1 regulates SR‐BI expression. Our data demonstrate that SR‐BI is an LRH‐1 target gene and underscore the pivotal role of LRH‐1 in reverse cholesterol transport.
Paired-Pulse Inhibition in the Auditory Cortex in Parkinson's Disease and Its Dependence on Clinical Characteristics of the Patients

We aimed to determine the value of the paired-pulse inhibition (PPI) in the auditory cortex in patients with Parkinson's disease (PD) and analyze its dependence on clinical characteristics of the patients. The central (Cz) auditory evoked potentials were recorded in 58 patients with PD and 22 age-matched healthy subjects. PPI of the N1/P2 component was significantly (P < .001) reduced for interstimulus intervals 500, 700, and 900 ms in patients with PD compared to control subjects. The value of PPI correlated negatively with the age of the PD patients (P < .05), age of disease onset (P < .05), body bradykinesia score (P < .01), and positively with the Mini Mental State Examination (MMSE) cognitive score (P < .01). Negative correlation between value of PPI and the age of the healthy subjects (P < .05) was also observed. Thus, results show that cortical inhibitory processes are deficient in PD patients and that the brain's ability to carry out the postexcitatory inhibition is age-dependent.
Intra-Brand Competition , Governance Mechanisms , and Channel Outcomes in Dual Distribution Systems May 2011

The focus of this paper is on firms’ use of dual distribution channels in business-to-business (B2B) markets; namely the simultaneous reliance on vertically integrated (direct) and third-party (indirect) channels for the same product line in a single geographical market. We first outline the particular problems that characterize such systems, which pertain to various forms of intra-brand competition. Next, we link the different manifestations of intra-brand competition with various channel outcomes, both at the distributor and customer level of the channel. Finally, we show how these outcomes are impacted by the relationship governance mechanisms used by the supplier firm in question. Our hypotheses are tested empirically based on a multi-industry field study of distributors. In general, our research paints a complex picture of both the problems and possible governance solutions that exist in dual channels.
Desmin/vimentin intermediate filaments are dispensable for many aspects of myogenesis

An expression vector was prepared containing a cDNA coding for a truncated version of the intermediate filament (IF) protein desmin. The encoded truncated desmin protein lacks a portion of the highly conserved alpha-helical rod region as well as the entire nonhelical carboxy-terminal domain. When transiently expressed in primary fibroblasts, or in differentiating postmitotic myoblasts and multinucleated myotubes, the truncated protein induces the complete dismantling of the preexisting vimentin or desmin/vimentin IF networks, respectively. Instead, in both cell types vimentin and desmin are packaged into hybrid spheroid bodies scattered throughout the cytoplasm. Despite the complete lack of intact IFs, myoblasts and myotubes expressing truncated desmin assemble and laterally align normal striated myofibrils and contract spontaneously in a manner indistinguishable from that of control myogenic cells. In older cultures the spheroid bodies shift from a longitudinal to a predominantly transverse orientation and loosely align along the I-Z-I- regions of striated myofibrils (Bennett, G.S., S. Fellini, Y. Toyama, and H. Holtzer. 1979. J. Cell Biol. 82:577-584), analogous to the translocation of intact desmin/vimentin IFs in control muscle. These results suggest the need for a critical reexamination of currently held concepts regarding the functions of desmin IFs during myogenesis.
Decayed, Missing, and Filled Teeth Index and Periodontal Health in Osteoporotic Patients Affected by BRONJ: An Observational Study

The aim of this paper is to describe the incidence of decayed, missing, and filled teeth (DMFT) and periodontal disease in 32 osteoporotic patients affected by bisphosphonate-related osteonecrosis of the jaw (BRONJ). Moreover, an investigation between the obtained data and 20 patients treated with bisphosphonate drugs and with no evidence of ONJ has been performed. Osteonecrosis of the jaws is a rare complication in a subset of patients receiving bisphosphonate drugs. Based on a growing number of case reports and institutional reviews, this kind of therapy can cause exposed and necrotic bone specifically in the jawbones. From April 2009 to June 2012, 32 osteoporotic patients treated with oral or intravenous (I.V.) bisphosphonates have been recorded. The patients' oral health has been compared with 20 bisphosphonates patients with no ONJ. The incidence of decayed, missing, and filled teeth (DMFT) and periodontal disease was recorded in all patients and student's t-test was applied for comparing the two investigated groups data. Data demonstrated how the poor dental hygiene and periodontal disease of the BRONJ patients' are connected with the occurrence of jawbone necrosis.
Radial artery occlusion after percutaneous coronary interventions – an underestimated issue

The femoral approach is the most common arterial access for percutaneous coronary artery interventions. Despite the convenience and simplicity of this approach, it is burdened with a high risk of arterial puncture bleeding, which worsens the prognosis of the patient. An alternative approach through the radial artery has been gaining more and more popularity in recent years. This is due to a significant reduction of local bleeding complications as compared with the femoral artery approach. The use of the radial approach in patients with ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction improves outcome, reducing the risk of death, subsequent myocardial infarction and stroke, and is the preferred approach according to the latest ESC guidelines. In addition to improving safety, it is beneficial for improving patient comfort, with a shorter recovery after the procedure, shorter hospitalization and lower medical costs. One of the major complications of procedures performed through the radial approach is radial artery occlusion (RAO). Although it usually has an asymptomatic course, RAO eliminates the ability to use the radial artery as an access in the future. A number of factors that contribute to the occurrence of RAO have been identified, such as the size of the sheath and the catheter, diameter ratio of the sheath to the diameter of the radial artery, insufficient anticoagulation and, above all, the way of obtaining hemostasis at the puncture site: the duration of artery compression after sheath removal and the preservation of artery patency during compression (so-called patent hemostasis). This paper presents the current state of the art about the factors that contribute to the occurrence of RAO and methods for preventing this complication.
Black Populations and School Integration--A Research Note.

IN THE COURSE of a detailed investigation of North Carolina school integration in 1967-1968, a potentially significant relationship was discovered between integration levels and the varying racial composition of areas within the state. Utilizing the 94 of 100 counties for which data were available, analysis revealed a strong, negative, curvilinear association between the extent of school integration and the percentage of blacks in each county. ' Several propositions have been offered to account for the importance of percent black in explaining race-related behavior. Large numbers of blacks would naturally increase their visibility and may constitute a threat to the dominant position of the whites.2 Also, as David Heer notes, if whites receive a social and economic "gain" over Negroes in the traditional Southern system, as described by John Dollard,3 whites in "black belt" counties would be expected to gain more than whites in areas with few Negroes.4 Therefore, these black belt whites would be most resistant to changes in the status quo. Equally important, however, percent black may represent a rough indicator of a type of black belt culture, a set of customs and mores designed to keep the Negro "in his place. " V. O. Key notes that the black belt, the heart of the Southern plantation system, has been the backbone of the Confederacy and of the "Solid South. "5 Previous research has tended to confirm the importance of percent black in addition to indicating the nature of the relationship. Several studies find significant associations between large black populations and strong county pro-segregation votes by whites.6 In the field of education,
Cis‐Golgi Cisternal Assembly and Biosynthetic Activation Occur Sequentially in Plants and Algae

The cisternal progression/maturation model of Golgi trafficking predicts that cis‐Golgi cisternae are formed de novo on the cis‐side of the Golgi. Here we describe structural and functional intermediates of the cis cisterna assembly process in high‐pressure frozen algae (Scherffelia dubia, Chlamydomonas reinhardtii) and plants (Arabidopsis thaliana, Dionaea muscipula; Venus flytrap) as determined by electron microscopy, electron tomography and immuno‐electron microscopy techniques. Our findings are as follows: (i) The cis‐most (C1) Golgi cisternae are generated de novo from cisterna initiators produced by the fusion of 3–5 COPII vesicles in contact with a C2 cis cisterna. (ii) COPII vesicles fuel the growth of the initiators, which then merge into a coherent C1 cisterna. (iii) When a C1 cisterna nucleates its first cisterna initiator it becomes a C2 cisterna. (iv) C2‐Cn cis cisternae grow through COPII vesicle fusion. (v) ER‐resident proteins are recycled from cis cisternae to the ER via COPIa‐type vesicles. (vi) In S. dubia the C2 cisternae are capable of mediating the self‐assembly of scale protein complexes. (vii) In plants, ∼90% of native α‐mannosidase I localizes to medial Golgi cisternae. (viii) Biochemical activation of cis cisternae appears to coincide with their conversion to medial cisternae via recycling of medial cisterna enzymes. We propose how the different cis cisterna assembly intermediates of plants and algae may actually be related to those present in the ERGIC and in the pre‐cis Golgi cisterna layer in mammalian cells.
The Impact of Rules of Origin On Trade Flows

Within any preferential trade agreement (PTA) origin rules exist in order to prevent third countries from taking advantage of the PTA concessions. The rules thus are there to preserve the existing external protection of countries within the PTA. However, depending on their formulation, they can also increase that level of external protection, resulting in trade suppression and trade diversion. This paper provides the first serious empirical examination of the possible impact of rules of origin on patterns of trade in the European context. The methodology employed is that of an augmented gravity model where we focus on the impact within the Pan-european system of cumulation. The results suggest that rules of origin do indeed restrict trade, that the cumulation of such rules could increase trade in the order of 50%, and that the impact is greater on intermediate than manufacturing trade.
A Simulation Framework to Automatically Analyze the Communication-Computation Overlap in Scientific Applications

Overlapping communication and computation has been devised as an attractive technique to alleviate the huge application's network requirements at large scale. Overlapping will allow to fully or partially hide the long communication delays suffered when transferring messages through the network. This will relax the application's network requirements, and hence allow to deploy more cost-effective network designs. However, today's scientific applications make little use of overlapping. In addition, there is no support to analyze how overlap could impact the performance of real scientific applications. In this paper we address this issue by presenting a simulation framework to automatically analyze the benefits of communication-computation overlap. The simulation framework consists of a binary translation tool (Valgrind), a distributed machine simulator (Dimemas), and a visualization tool (Paraver). Valgrind instruments the legacy MPI application and generates the execution traces, then Dimemas uses the obtained traces and reconstructs the application's time-behavior on a configurable parallel platform, and finally Paraver visualizes the obtained time-behaviors. Our simulation methodology brings two new features into the study of overlap: 1) automatic simulation of the overlapped execution - as there is no need for code restructuring in applications; and 2) visualization of simulated time behaviors, that further allows useful comparisons of the non-overlapped and the overlapped executions.
The visibility of shell-type supernova remnants in gamma rays

The question of the origin of the cosmic radiation (CR) is a continuing one. The idea that the shocks from supernova remnants (SNR) expanding into the interstellar medium (ISM) accelerate CR is still a popular one but a number of authors have drawn attention to the fact that the experimental evidence for the presence of gamma rays from the expected interaction of CR with gas in the remnant is poor. Indeed, it is claimed that many SNR are not 'seen' in GeV or TeV gamma rays, whereas 'they should have been'. We have looked at this problem and we conclude that the idea of CR production in SNR cannot be faulted in this way, if the evacuation of ambient gas by the stellar wind of the progenitor star and, frequently, by associated earlier close-by SN, is taken into account; such phenomena are expected for the important type II SN which result from very massive stars and which provide the SNR which are thought to accelerate CR. Other SNR have, apparently, been seen and the interaction of SNR-accelerated particles with adjacent molecular clouds has been deemed responsible. However, we worry about this interpretation because of the slow progress of the SNR shock through such clouds, although electron-effects may, indeed, contribute. This paper is devoted mainly to the visibility of nearby (within about1 kpc) SNR in gamma rays although many of the arguments also relate to remote SNR. For the nearby SNR another problem enters the scene: the large angular spread of the remnant. It is especially important for the old SNR, where cosmic rays have already diffused to a large distance from the SNR centre. We have also examined the effect of the 'anomalous diffusion' of CR propagation in the non-homogeneous interstellar medium on the visibility of SNR for gamma rays of different energies.
Comparison of Bayesian Network and Decision Tree Methods for Predicting Access to the Renal Transplant Waiting List

The study compares the effectiveness of Bayesian networks versus Decision Trees for predicting access to renal transplant waiting list in a French healthcare network. The data set consisted in 809 patients starting renal replacement therapy. The data were randomly divided into a training set (90%) and a validation set (10%). Bayesian network and CART decision tree were built on the training set. Their predictive performances were compared on the validation set. The age variable was found to be the most important factor in both models. Both models were highly sensitive and specific: sensitivity 90.0% (95%CI: 76.8-100), specificity 96.7% (95%CI: 92.2-100). Moreover, the models were complementary since the Bayesian network provided a global view of the variables' associations while the decision tree was more easily interpretable by physicians. These approaches provide insights on the current care process. This knowledge could be used for optimizing the healthcare process.
Enhanced Blood Pressure–Lowering Effect of Olmesartan in Hypertensive Patients With Chronic Kidney Disease–Associated Sympathetic Hyperactivity: HONEST Study

To investigate the blood pressure (BP)–lowering effect of olmesartan in relation to chronic kidney disease (CKD)–associated sympathetic nerve activity, a subanalysis was performed using data from the first 16 weeks of the Home BP Measurement With Olmesartan‐Naive Patients to Establish Standard Target Blood Pressure (HONEST) study, a prospective observational study of hypertensive patients. Essential hypertensive patients who took no antihypertensive agent at baseline were classified based on baseline morning home systolic BP (MHSBP) in quartiles. In each class, patients were further classified based on baseline morning home pulse rate (MHPR). A subgroup analysis in patients with/without chronic kidney disease (CKD) was performed. A total of 5458 patients (mean age, 63.0 years; 51.6% women) were included. In the 4th quartile of baseline MHSBP (≥165 mm Hg), patients with MHPR ≥70 beats per minute had a greater BP reduction (by 3.2 mm Hg) than those with MHPR <70 beats per minute after 16 weeks of olmesartan‐based treatment (P=.0005). An even greater BP reduction (by 6.6 mm Hg) was observed in patients with CKD than in patients without CKD in this group (P=.0084). Olmesartan was more effective in hypertensive patients with high MHSBP and MHPR ≥70 beats per minute, especially in patients with CKD. Olmesartan may have enhanced BP‐lowering effects by improving renal ischemia in hypertensive CKD patients with potential increased sympathetic nerve activity.
Trade, Wages, FDI and Productivity

We extend the Behrens et al. (2009) general equilibrium heterogeneous firms framework by horizontal foreign direct investment. The model features endogenously determined firm entrants, wages, productivity cutoff s, flexible price markups and allows for wage differentials across countries in equilibrium. The framework is especially suitable to analyze the welfare consequences of attracting FDI since it allows to study through which channels FDI might raise welfare - including the not yet explored impact on the wage differential and the price markups. From a policy perspective we compare a strategic and a cooperative FDI policy scenario and find that supranational coordination leads to welfare gains.
Use of Online Resources While Using a Clinical Information System

BACKGROUND Clinical information system (CIS) use is likely to evoke information needs, yet information resources use during CIS use has not been studied. METHODS We used CIS log files and a survey to characterize clinicians' use of resources and infobuttons (context-sensitive links from a CIS to specific resources) while using a CIS. RESULTS We examined 38,763 uses of resources and infobuttons by 2,607 users to identify specific sources and contexts (CIS functions) in which they used them. Laboratory results review was the most frequent context and Micromedex was the most popular resource. Differences in resource use were related to context and user type. The survey confirmed that resources and infobuttons were perceived as useful for patient-specific questions while using a CIS. CONCLUSIONS Understanding context- and user-type-specific information needs can guide the development of infobuttons for use in a CIS.
Productivity and the product scope of multi-product firms: A test of Feenstra-Ma

Feenstra and Ma (2008) develop a monopolistic competition model where firms choose their optimal product scope by balancing the profits from a new variety against the costs of “cannibalizing” sales of existing varieties. While more productive firms always have a higher market share, there is no monotonic relationship between firms' productivity level and their choices of product scope. In the model having a higher market share means that firms are hurt more by the “cannibalization effect”. Therefore, the incentive to add more products weakens as productivity rises. This leads to Lemma 3 in Feenstra and Ma (2008): There is an inverted U-shaped relationship between firms' productivities and the range of varieties they choose to produce. This empirical note takes this Lemma to the data for firms from German manufacturing industries. Empirical evidence is in line with the results from the theoretical model.
CUSUM and EWMA multi-charts for detecting a range of mean shifts

The multi-chart consists of several CUSUM or EWMA charts with dif- ferent reference values that are used simultaneously to detect anticipated process changes. We not only prove that the chart can quickly achieve the asymptotic opti- mal bound, but also give an integral equation to determine the reference values to arrive at optimality. Simulation results are used to verify the theoretical optimal properties and to show that the CUSUM multi-chart is superior on the whole to single CUSUM, single EWMA, and EWMA multi-charts in terms of run length and robustness, and can compete with GLR control charts in detecting a range of various mean shifts. We investigate the design of both CUSUM and EWMA multi-charts. Some practical guidelines are provided for determining multi-chart parameters, such as the number of constituent charts and the allocation of their reference values.