Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
“Competitive Quenching”: A Mechanism by Which Perihydroxylated Perylenequinone Photosensitizers Can Prevent Adverse Phototoxic Damage Caused by Verteporfin During Photodynamic Therapy

Incorporation of photodynamic therapy into clinical practice for induction of vascular photo‐occlusion highlights the need to prevent adverse phototoxicity to sensitive juxtaposed tissues, particularly in the retina. We developed a system termed “competitive quenching” to prevent adverse phototoxic damage. It involves differential compartmentalization of a photoactivator to the intravascular compartment for photoexcitation and delivery of phototoxicity to targeted vessels. A different photodynamic agent is partitioned to the extravascular retinal space to quench reactive oxygen species generated by photosensitization, thereby protecting the adjacent retinal tissues from adverse phototoxicity. The absorption spectra of quenchers must span wavelengths that are shorter and excluded from the spectral range of photoexcitation light to prevent photoactivation of the quencher. Perihydroxylated perylenequinones were found to be suitable to function as “competitive quenchers” with the prototype hypericin identified as a potent quencher. Here we examined the mechanisms operative in competitive quenching and suggest that hypericin forms a complex with verteporfin, thereby quenching singlet oxygen formation. Furthermore, we show that hypericin, with six phenolic hydroxyls, protects retinal and endothelial hybridoma cells from phototoxicity more effectively than the dimethyl tetrahydroxy helianthrone structural analog with only four such phenolic hydroxyls. The findings suggest that hydroxyl numbers contribute to the efficacy of competitive quenching.
The Use of Error Components Models in Combining Cross Section with Time Series Data

A mixed model of regression with error components is proposed as one of possible interest for combining cross section and time series data. For known variances, it is shown that Aitken estimators and covariance estimators are in one sense asymptotically equivalent, even though the Aitken estimators are more efficient in small samples. Turning to unknown variance components, Zellner-type iterative estimators are compared with covariance estimators. Here, few small sample properties are obtained. However, it is shown that covariance and Zellner-type estimators have equivalent asymptotic distributions and equivalent limits of sequences of first and second order moments for weakly nonstochastic regressors. For the model analyzed, the theoretical results obtained, as well as ease of computation, tend to support traditional covariance estimators of the regression parameters. An additional interesting result presented in an appendix is that ordinary least squares estimates of the fl's (ignoring the error components) have unbounded asymptotic variances. On efficiency grounds, this argues rather strongly for some care in combining data from alternative sources in regression analysis.
Sequential changes of the DMBT1 expression and location in normal lung tissue and lung carcinomas

Deleted in Malignant Brain Tumors 1 (DMBT1) at chromosome region 10q25.3–q26.1 has been proposed as a candidate tumor‐suppressor gene for brain, digestive tract, and lung cancer. Recent studies on its expression in lung cancer have led to divergent results and have raised a controversial discussion. Moreover, DMBT1 has been implicated with epithelial protection in the respiratory tract. We thus wondered how a loss of its expression could be related to carcinogenesis in the lung. To address these issues, we investigated the DMBT1 expression and location in the normal lung and lung cancer. By reverse‐transcription PCR, a down‐regulation of the DMBT1 expression in lung cancer cell lines is commonly detected. Immunohistochemical studies in situ demonstrate that there are also low steady‐state levels of DMBT1 in the normal respiratory epithelium. However, an up‐regulation takes place in the tumor‐flanking epithelium and upon respiratory inflammation. Lung carcinomas show increased DMBT1 expression compared to that of undiseased lung tissue, but decreased DMBT1 levels compared to that of tumor‐flanking and inflammatory tissue. A switch from a lumenal secretion to a secretion to the extracellular matrix takes place during lung carcinogenesis. Our data may resolve the controversial discussion on its expression in lung carcinomas. We hypothesize that the changes of the DMBT1 expression and location do reflect a time course that may point to possible mechanisms for its role in epithelial cancer. © 2002 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Stock Market Expectations and Risk Aversion of Individual Investors

We study the relationship between stock market return expectations and risk aversion of individuals and test whether the joint effects arising from the interaction of these two variables affect investment decisions. Using data from the Dutch National Bank Household Survey, we find that higher risk aversion is associated with lower stock market expectations. We identify significant and negative effects on the probability that individuals invest in stocks arising from the interaction between stock market expectations and risk aversion. These effects are in addition to a significant and positive impact from stock market return expectations as well as a significant and negative effect from risk aversion separately. However, once individuals participate in the stock market, their stock market expectations alone remain significant in determining their portfolio allocation decisions.
Earnings Management When Incentives Compete: The Role of Tax Accounting in Russia

We test the earnings management behavior of Russian companies in the years 2001 and 2002. We analyze the effects of ownership structure on the extent of tax management. We first hypothesize that Russian firms manage earnings downward to reduce income taxes. We test for irregularities in the distribution of earnings in the subsamples of the companies with relatively high and low marginal tax rates in 2001 and 2002, distinguishing between low incentives versus high incentives for tax management. Conducting univariate and multivariate tests, we find evidence consistent with our hypothesis. We secondly hypothesize that incentives to provide high quality financial information constrain tax management. Consistently we find that public companies manage taxes to a lesser extent than private companies. We thirdly test whether the interaction among market forces, political forces, and the changing tax law from 2001 to 2002 caused a change in the reporting practices. We find evidence consistent with public firms rep.
Noninvasive diagnosis of BK virus nephritis by measurement of messenger RNA for BK VP1 virus in urine.

Background. Polyoma virus type BK (BKV) nephritis has emerged as an important cause of renal allograft dysfunction and graft failure. Its diagnosis is contingent on the invasive procedure of allograft biopsy. A noninvasive diagnostic test for BKV nephritis could improve clinical outcome. Methods. We obtained 25 urine specimens from 8 renal allograft recipients with biopsy-confirmed BKV nephritis, 31 samples from 28 recipients in whom BKV nephritis was excluded by allograft biopsy, and 74 specimens from 34 patients with stable allograft function. RNA was isolated from the urinary cells and reverse transcribed to complementary DNA. We designed gene-specific oligonucleotide primers and probes for the measurement of messenger RNA (mRNA) encoding BKV VP1 protein and a constitutively expressed 18S ribosomal RNA (rRNA) by realtime quantitative polymerase chain reaction. We explored the hypothesis that BKV VP1 mRNA levels predict BKV nephritis. Results. The levels of BKV VP1 mRNA but not the levels of 18S rRNA predicted BKV nephritis. Analysis involving the receiver operating characteristic curve demonstrated that BKV nephritis can be predicted with a sensitivity of 93.8% and a specificity of 93.9% with the use of a cutoff value of 6.510 5 BKV VP1 mRNA copy number per nanogram of total RNA (P 0.2) for 18S rRNA.
A patient with type 2 diabetes mellitus associated with mutations in calcium sensing receptor gene and mitochondrial DNA.

A 44-year-old female with familial hypocalciuric hypercalcemia (FHH) due to a homozygous missense mutation (Pro40Ala) in calcium sensing receptor (CaSR) gene has type 2 diabetes mellitus. The identical heterozygous mutation of CaSR gene was observed in consanguineous parents and all other family members examined except her two sisters. Many subjects with abnormal glucose tolerance were observed in this family, which is compatible with maternal inheritance. Mitochondrial function of complex I (NADH-coenzyme Q reductase) activity in cybrid cells between mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA)-deleted (rho(0)) HeLa cells and mtDNA from the proband was decreased by 35%. The proband has eight substitutions and among these 4833 A/G is a missense substitution in NADH dehydrogenase 2 gene and may probably be a major pathogenic mutation of impaired complex I activity. These results suggest that coexistence of nuclear gene and mtDNA mutations may have caused or modified the development of abnormal glucose tolerance in this family.
Modeling tariff rate quotas in the South African livestock industry

The Uruguay Round of trade negotiations resulted in three main areas of trade liberalization in agriculture, namely market access, domestic support, and export subsidies. In terms of market access, the introduction of tariff rate quotas (TRQs) was one of the main tools to facilitate greater market access. After the liberalization of the agricultural sector and phasing out of past protection mechanisms South Africa introduced a process of tariff reform in compliance with WTO regulations. Furthermore, a system of TRQs was introduced in compliance with WTO regulations. Literature on South African agricultural trade shows that very little research has been conducted on the impacts of TRQs. In this study the impacts of further TRQ liberalization on the South African livestock industry were investigated using four TRQ liberalization scenarios, namely: 33 per cent expansion of import quotas, 33 per cent reduction in ad valorem MFN tariffs, a combination of the first two scenarios and a complete removal of tariffs. The approach followed in this study is spatial partial equilibrium in nature and consists of the primary (beef cattle, broilers, pigs, and sheep) and secondary (beef, poultry, pork and sheep meat) sub-sectors. The model delineates South Africa into its nine provinces, as well as neighbouring important meat producers Namibia and Botswana. For the four secondary products (beef, poultry, pork and sheep meat) the border prices declined by between 0.89 and 2.39 per cent for scenario one, 2.35 and 7.96 per cent for scenario two, 2.96 and 9.97 per cent for scenario three and 8.25 and 25.19 per cent for scenario four. The largest decline in beef and sheep meat prices due to liberalization was recorded in the Eastern Cape and KwaZulu-Natal Provinces. Cattle and sheep numbers owned by emerging producers are more than those of the established commercial farmers in these two provinces. The implication is that the development efforts by government aimed at commercializing emerging commercial stock farming in order to address equity and poverty may be slowed down considerably with further trade liberalization. The study used the consumer and producers surplus concepts, as well as the equivalent variation concept to measure the impact on welfare of potential trade policy changes mentioned. Welfare as measured by consumer surplus increases by R230.8 million in scenario 1 to R1 880.8 million in scenario 4. Producer surplus decreases by R77.6 million in scenario 1 to R656.89 million in scenario 4. Welfare as measured by equivalent variation increased by R60.6 million in scenario 1 to R468.2 million in scenario 4. The equivalent variation concept revealed much more moderate changes to consumer well being. The reason for this is that consumer and producer surplus estimations assume linearity of the demand and supply curves, whereas the model used in this study accounts for the non-linearity of demand and supply curves. Consumer and producers surplus estimates nevertheless provide useful insight into the relative impact of trade policy changes.
Epidemiology of hepatitis C virus among hemodialysis patients in the Middle East and North Africa: systematic syntheses, meta-analyses, and meta-regressions

SUMMARY We aimed to investigate hepatitis C virus (HCV) epidemiology among hemodialysis (HD) patients in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA). Our data source was an HCV biological measures database populated through systematic literature searches. Descriptive epidemiologic syntheses, effects meta-analyses and meta-regressions, and genotype analyses were conducted. We analyzed 289 studies, including 106 463 HD patients. HCV incidence ranged between 0 and 100% as seroconversion risk, and between 0 and 14·7 per 1000 person-years as incidence rate. The regional pooled mean estimate was 29·2% (95% CI: 25·6–32·8%) for HCV antibody positive prevalence and 63·0% (95% CI: 55·4–70·3%) for the viremic rate. Region within MENA, country income group, and year of data collection were associated with HCV prevalence; year of data collection adjusted odds ratio was 0·92 (95% CI: 0·90–0·95). Genotype diversity varied across countries with four genotypes documented regionally: genotype 1 (39·3%), genotype 2 (5·7%), genotype 3 (29·6%), and genotype 4 (25·4%). Our findings showed that one-third of HD patients are HCV antibody positive and one-fifth are chronic carriers and can transmit the infection. However, HCV prevalence is declining. In context of growing HD patient population and increasing HCV treatment availability, it is critical to improve standards of infection control in dialysis and expand treatment coverage.
Extensive Stage Small Cell Lung Cancer Presenting as an Acute Perforated Appendix: Case Report and Review of the Literature

Malignancies of the appendix are uncommon; a small subset of these lesions are actually metastatic cancers. In some rare cases, these lesions can cause obstruction, appendicitis, and perforation. M.K. is a 54-year-old man who presented to our institution with a 1-day history of right lower quadrant pain and a past medical history significant only for a 75-pack-year smoking history. CT scan revealed a perforated appendix, and the patient was taken to the operating room where a gangrenous appendix was removed uneventfully. Two days post-procedure, the patient was found to have acute mental status changes, requiring intubation and transfer to the surgical intensive care unit. As part of a workup, a CT scan of the head revealed multiple lesions compatible with metastatic disease. At that point, the pathology from the appendix came back as small cell lung cancer. Chest CT revealed hilar adenopathy and a hilar mass. The patient received emergent whole-brain irradiation therapy with improvement in his mental status, allowing him to be extubated and discharged from the hospital within 10 days of admission. Surgeons should remember that an underlying oncologic process may be the etiology of appendicitis in a small but important subgroup of patients.
Aberrant Effective Connectivity of the Right Anterior Insula in Primary Insomnia

Objective Daytime cognitive impairment is an essential symptom of primary insomnia (PI). However, the underlying neural substrate remains largely unknown. Many studies have shown that the right anterior insula (rAI) as a key node of salience network (SN) plays a critical role in switching between the executive control network (ECN) and the default mode network (DMN) for better performance of cognitively demanding tasks. Aberrant effective connectivity (directional functional connectivity) of rAI with ECN or DMN may be one reason for daytime cognitive impairment in PI patients. Up to now, no effective connectivity study has been conducted on patients with PI during resting state. Our aim is to investigate the effective connectivity between the rAI and the other voxels in the whole brain in PI. Materials and methods Fifty drug-naive patients with PI and forty age- and sex-matched healthy controls were scanned using resting-state functional MRI. Seed-based Granger causality analysis was used to examine effective connectivity between the rAI, including ventral and dorsal part, and the whole brain. The effective connectivity was compared between the two groups and was correlated with clinical characteristics. Results Compared with controls, patients showed decreased effective connectivity from the rAI to the bilateral precuneus, the left postcentral gyrus (extending to bilateral precuneus) and the bilateral cerebellum posterior lobe, and decreased effective connectivity from the bilateral orbitofrontal cortex (OFC) to the rAI (single voxel P < 0.001, AlphaSim corrected with P < 0.01). In addition, effective connectivity from the ventral rAI to the left postcentral gyrus and from the left OFC to the ventral rAI were significantly negatively correlated with Insomnia Severity Index scores (r = −0.28/P = 0.046 and r = −0.29/P = 0.038, respectively). Conclusion The present study is the first to reveal aberrant effective connectivity between the SN hub (rAI) and the posterior DMN hub (precuneus) as well as decision-making region (OFC) and sensori-motor region in PI. These findings suggest an aberrant salience processing system of the rAI in PI patients.
When East meets West: corporate governance challenges in emerging markets of Central and Eastern Europe – the case of Polish Aggregate Processors

The countries of Central and Eastern Europe (CEE) have multiple areas where the corporate governance function can fail. These challenges are multidimensional, complex and intertwined and relate to five key areas (financial control and accountability, conflict of interest resolution, corporate performance enhancement, value generation and transferability). The complexities of corporate governance in the CEE region are illustrated in the context of Polish Aggregate Processors, a Poland-based joint venture between two venture capital firms, a Western strategic partner and a state-owned enterprise. Notwithstanding the challenges, the article shows that most of the problems in the venture were self-inflicted, the result of poor co-operation between the partners and self-interest.
OPTIMAL PRICE-QUALITY SCHEDULES AND SUSTAINABILITY*

This paper derives a general solution for optimal price-quality scheduling under imperfect information. The solution is general in the sense that it generates the first-best, the second-best, and the profit-maximizing solutions depending on the weights in the objective function. The important assumption is that the fixed setup cost is related to the range of qualities produced by a firm. This paper also demonstrates a nonlinear version of the occasional incompatibility between the second-best pricing and sustainability, and derives the conditions for sustainability of the second-best price-quality schedule. Copyright 1987 by Blackwell Publishing Ltd.
Leading and learning? Knowledge transfer in the Beacon Council Scheme

This paper examines the Beacon Council Scheme as a distinct policy element within the UK government’s wide-ranging local government modernization agenda. The aim of the Beacon scheme is two-fold. First, reward for high performing councils and second, the achievement of substantial change by sharing ‘best practice’ from identified centres of excellence. The scheme presupposes an implicit theory of organizational change through learning. The Beacon Council Scheme is based on the assumption that the organizational preconditions exist which will facilitate learning, and through its application to practice, improve service delivery. The paper analyses the presumed and possible conditions which facilitate or impede interorganizational learning and service improvement through the scheme. The paper then examines empirical data from 59 local authority elected members and officers about their attitudes towards and motivation to take part in the Beacon scheme during the first year of its existence. The data indicate that there are differing motivations for participation in the scheme and that these reflect different learning needs. The experiences of local authority participants suggest that the formulators of the dissemination strategy at the heart of the scheme have not yet given sufficient consideration to the processes of interorganizational learning, the conditions that support such learning between authorities and the embedding of new understandings, practices and organizational cultures in the receiving authority. This suggests that the underlying theories of organizational learning and cultural change may be insufficiently developed to create and sustain the kind of transformational change that is intended by central government.
Testing the Muscat Securities Market for Weak-Form Efficiency

This dissertation examines the weak-form market efficiency of Muscat Securities Market. Daily and monthly observations are employed over the period (2005-2009) for Muscat Securities Market general index and nine stocks from different sectors. The study uses descriptive statistics for normality test, autocorrelation; runs; and variance ratio tests to examine randomness of returns, Augmented Dickey-Fuller unit root for non-stationary, and the delay tests to measure the response to market information. Results reveal that stock and index returns show significant departure from random walk according to daily data. However, monthly data show some signs of market efficiency. The study concludes that the Muscat Securities Market is inefficient in the weak-form. This finding is in line with the previous studies of weak-form efficiency in Oman. The reasons for market inefficiency can be due to infrequent trading and market imperfections.
Human Properdin Modulates Macrophage: Mycobacterium bovis BCG Interaction via Thrombospondin Repeats 4 and 5

Mycobacterium tuberculosis can proficiently enter macrophages and diminish complement activation on its cell surface. Within macrophages, the mycobacterium can suppress macrophage apoptosis and survive within the intracellular environment. Previously, we have shown that complement regulatory proteins such as factor H may interfere with pathogen–macrophage interactions during tuberculosis infection. In this study, we show that Mycobacterium bovis BCG binds properdin, an upregulator of the complement alternative pathway. TSR4+5, a recombinant form of thrombospondin repeats 4 and 5 of human properdin expressed in tandem, which is an inhibitor of the alternative pathway, was also able to bind to M. bovis BCG. Properdin and TSR4+5 were found to inhibit uptake of M. bovis BCG by THP-1 macrophage cells in a dose-dependent manner. Quantitative real-time PCR revealed elevated pro-inflammatory responses (TNF-α, IL-1β, and IL-6) in the presence of properdin or TSR4+5, which gradually decreased over 6 h. Correspondingly, anti-inflammatory responses (IL-10 and TGF-β) showed suppressed levels of expression in the presence of properdin, which gradually increased over 6 h. Multiplex cytokine array analysis also revealed that properdin and TSR4+5 significantly enhanced the pro-inflammatory response (TNF-α, IL-1β, and IL-1α) at 24 h, which declined at 48 h, whereas the anti-inflammatory response (IL-10) was suppressed. Our results suggest that properdin may interfere with mycobacterial entry into macrophages via TSR4 and TSR5, particularly during the initial stages of infection, thus affecting the extracellular survival of the pathogen. This study offers novel insights into the non-complement related functions of properdin during host–pathogen interactions in tuberculosis.