Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Disease burden and risk profile in referred patients with moderate chronic kidney disease: composition of the German Chronic Kidney Disease (GCKD) cohort.

BACKGROUND A main challenge for targeting chronic kidney disease (CKD) is the heterogeneity of its causes, co-morbidities and outcomes. Patients under nephrological care represent an important reference population, but knowledge about their characteristics is limited. METHODS We enrolled 5217 carefully phenotyped patients with moderate CKD [estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) 30-60 mL/min per 1.73 m(2) or overt proteinuria at higher eGFR] under routine care of nephrologists into the German Chronic Kidney Disease (GCKD) study, thereby establishing the currently worldwide largest CKD cohort. RESULTS The cohort has 60% men, a mean age (±SD) of 60 ± 12 years, a mean eGFR of 47 ± 17 mL/min per 1.73 m(2) and a median (IQR) urinary albumin/creatinine ratio of 51 (9-392) mg/g. Assessment of causes of CKD revealed a high degree of uncertainty, with the leading cause unknown in 20% and frequent suspicion of multifactorial pathogenesis. Thirty-five per cent of patients had diabetes, but only 15% were considered to have diabetic nephropathy. Cardiovascular disease prevalence was high (32%, excluding hypertension); prevalent risk factors included smoking (59% current or former smokers) and obesity (43% with BMI >30). Despite widespread use of anti-hypertensive medication, only 52% of the cohort had an office blood pressure <140/90 mmHg. Family histories for cardiovascular events (39%) and renal disease (28%) suggest familial aggregation. CONCLUSIONS Patients with moderate CKD under specialist care have a high disease burden. Improved diagnostic accuracy, rigorous management of risk factors and unravelling of the genetic predisposition may represent strategies for improving prognosis.
Uncovered Interest Parity Puzzle: Cross-Sectional and Time-Series Analysis

This paper proposes a new explanationfor the UIP puzzle by analyzing a large number of cross-country bilateral exchange rates in two dimensions, cross-sectional and time-series. The exchange rates analyzed here includes a broad spectrum of developed and developing countries. The UIP relationship holds up well in cross-sectional analysis and the slope estimates remain largely between zero and one throughout the sample periods, with a few exceptions. There does not appear to be a well-publicized UIP puzzle for cross-sectional UIP. For time-series UIP, short-term (one month) UIP holds up well and UIP puzzle is largely confined to the key currencies. We introduce the key currency bias to explain the empirical failure of UIP in these cases. The key currency concept is a similar to the home bias for portfolio holdings. UIP seems to fail more often when a key currency is involved in the bilateral exchange rate relationship than when only non-key currencies are involved, especially when the key currency offers higher return on capital. This paper presents an empirical evidence for a state-dependent asymmetric response in exchange rate changes depending on the direction of the forward premium.
Transcriptional Regulation of the CO2-Concentrating Mechanism in a Euryhaline, Coastal Marine Cyanobacterium, Synechococcus sp. Strain PCC 7002: Role of NdhR/CcmR

ABSTRACT Cyanobacterial photosynthesis occurs in radically diverse habitats and utilizes various forms of a CO2-concentrating mechanism (CCM) featuring multiple inorganic carbon (Ci) transporters. Cyanobacteria from dynamic environments can transform CCM activity depending on Ci availability, and yet the molecular basis for this regulation is unclear, especially in coastal strains. LysR family transcription factors resembling the Calvin cycle regulator CbbR from proteobacteria have been implicated in the expression of Ci transporter genes in freshwater cyanobacteria. Our survey of related factors revealed a group of divergent CbbR-like sequences confined to freshwater and coastal or offshore cyanobacteria. Inactivation of the single gene (termed ccmR) from this variable cluster in the euryhaline (coastal) strain Synechococcus sp. strain PCC 7002 led to constitutive expression of a high-affinity CCM. Derepression of HCO3− transporter gene transcription, including that of BicA, a recently discovered HCO3 − transporter (G. D. Price et al., Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 101:18228-18233, 2004), was observed. A unique CcmR-regulated operon containing bicA plus 9 open reading frames encoding likely Na+/H+ antiporters from the CPA1 and Mnh families was defined that is essential for maximal HCO3 −-dependent oxygen evolution. The promoter region required for Ci-regulated transcription of this operon was defined. We propose that CcmR (and its associated regulon) represents a specialization for species inhabiting environments subject to fluctuating Ci concentrations.
Co-inoculation Effect of Rhizobia and Plant Growth Promoting Rhizobacteria on Common Bean Growth in a Low Phosphorus Soil

Nitrogen (N) fixation through legume-Rhizobium symbiosis is important for enhancing agricultural productivity and is therefore of great economic interest. Growing evidence indicates that other soil beneficial bacteria can positively affect symbiotic performance of rhizobia. Nodule endophytic plant growth promoting rhizobacteria (PGPR) were isolated from common bean nodules from Nakuru County in Kenya and characterized 16S rDNA partial gene sequencing. The effect of co-inoculation of rhizobium and PGPR, on nodulation and growth of common bean (Phaseolus vulgaris L.) was also investigated using a low phosphorous soil under greenhouse conditions. Gram-positive nodule endophytic PGPR belonging to the genus Bacillus were successfully isolated and characterized. Two PGPR strains (Paenibacillus polymyxa and Bacillus megaterium), two rhizobia strains (IITA-PAU 987 and IITA-PAU 983) and one reference rhizobia strain (CIAT 899) were used in the co-inoculation study. Two common bean varieties were inoculated with Rhizobium strains singly or in a combination with PGPR to evaluate the effect on nodulation and growth parameters. Co-inoculation of IITA-PAU 987 + B. megaterium recorded the highest nodule weight (405.2 mg) compared to IITA-PAU 987 alone (324.8 mg), while CIAT 899 + B. megaterium (401.2 mg) compared to CIAT 899 alone (337.2 mg). CIAT 899 + B. megaterium recorded a significantly higher shoot dry weight (7.23 g) compared to CIAT 899 alone (5.80 g). However, there was no significant difference between CIAT 899 + P. polymyxa and CIAT 899 alone. Combination of IITA-PAU 987 and B. megaterium led to significantly higher shoot dry weight (6.84 g) compared to IITA-PAU 987 alone (5.32 g) but no significant difference was observed when co-inoculated with P. polymyxa. IITA-PAU 983 in combination with P. polymyxa led to significantly higher shoot dry weight (7.15 g) compared to IITA-PAU 983 alone (5.14 g). Plants inoculated with IITA-PAU 987 and B. megaterium received 24.0 % of their nitrogen demand from atmosphere, which showed a 31.1% increase compared to rhizobium alone. Contrast analysis confirmed the difference between the co-inoculation of rhizobia strains and PGPR compared to single rhizobia inoculation on the root dry weight. These results show that co-inoculation of PGPR and Rhizobia has a synergistic effect on bean growth. Use of PGPR may improve effectiveness of Rhizobium biofertilizers for common bean production. Testing of PGPR under field conditions will further elucidate their effectiveness on grain yields of common bean.
Lv4 Is a Capsid-Specific Antiviral Activity in Human Blood Cells That Restricts Viruses of the SIVMAC/SIVSM/HIV-2 Lineage Prior to Integration

HIV-2 and SIVMAC are AIDS-causing, zoonotic lentiviruses that jumped to humans and rhesus macaques, respectively, from SIVSM-bearing sooty mangabey monkeys. Cross-species transmission events such as these sometimes necessitate virus adaptation to species-specific, host restriction factors such as TRIM5. Here, a new human restriction activity is described that blocks viruses of the SIVSM/SIVMAC/HIV-2 lineage. Human T, B, and myeloid cell lines, peripheral blood mononuclear cells and dendritic cells were 4 to >100-fold less transducible by VSV G-pseudotyped SIVMAC, HIV-2, or SIVSM than by HIV-1. In contrast, transduction of six epithelial cell lines was equivalent to that by HIV-1. Substitution of HIV-1 CA with the SIVMAC or HIV-2 CA was sufficient to reduce HIV-1 transduction to the level of the respective vectors. Among such CA chimeras there was a general trend such that CAs from epidemic HIV-2 Group A and B isolates were the most infectious on human T cells, CA from a 1° sooty mangabey isolate was the least infectious, and non-epidemic HIV-2 Group D, E, F, and G CAs were in the middle. The CA-specific decrease in infectivity was observed with either HIV-1, HIV-2, ecotropic MLV, or ALV Env pseudotypes, indicating that it was independent of the virus entry pathway. As2O3, a drug that suppresses TRIM5-mediated restriction, increased human blood cell transduction by SIVMAC but not by HIV-1. Nonetheless, elimination of TRIM5 restriction activity did not rescue SIVMAC transduction. Also, in contrast to TRIM5-mediated restriction, the SIVMAC CA-specific block occurred after completion of reverse transcription and the formation of 2-LTR circles, but before establishment of the provirus. Transduction efficiency in heterokaryons generated by fusing epithelial cells with T cells resembled that in the T cells, indicative of a dominant-acting SIVMAC restriction activity in the latter. These results suggest that the nucleus of human blood cells possesses a restriction factor specific for the CA of HIV-2/SIVMAC/SIVSM and that cross-species transmission of SIVSM to human T cells necessitated adaptation of HIV-2 to this putative restriction factor.
Learnable Representations of Language A course at ESSLLI 2010

Learnability is a vital property of formal grammars: representation classes should be defined in such a way that they are learnable. One way to build learnable representations is by making them objective or empiricist: the structure of the representation should be based on the structure of the language. Rather than defining a function from representation to language we should start by defining a function from the language to the representation: following this strategy gives classes of representations that are easy to learn. We illustrate this approach with three classes, defined in analogy to the lowest three levels of the Chomsky hierarchy. First, we recall the canonical deterministic finite automaton, where the states of the automaton correspond to the right congruence classes of the language. Secondly, we define context free grammars where the non-terminals of the grammar correspond to the syntactic congruence classes, and where the productions are defined by the syntactic monoid; finally we define a residuated lattice structure from the Galois connection between strings and contexts, which we call the syntactic concept lattice, and base a representation on this, which allows us to define a class of languages that includes some non-context free languages, many context-free languages and all regular languages. All three classes are efficiently learnable under suitable learning paradigms.
Anterior Shoulder Instability with Concomitant Superior Labrum from Anterior to Posterior (SLAP) Lesion Compared to Anterior Instability without SLAP Lesion

Background The aims of this study were to investigate the clinical characteristics of patients with combined anterior instability and superior labrum from anterior to posterior (SLAP) lesions, and to analyze the effect of concomitant SLAP repair on surgical outcomes. Methods We retrospectively reviewed patients who underwent arthroscopic stabilization for anterior shoulder instability between January 2004 and March 2013. A total of 120 patients were available for at least 1-year follow-up. Forty-four patients with reparable concomitant detached SLAP lesions (group I) underwent combined SLAP and anterior stabilization, and 76 patients without SLAP lesions (group II) underwent anterior stabilization alone. Patient characteristics, preoperative and postoperative pain scores, Rowe scores, and shoulder ranges of motion were compared between the 2 groups. Results Patients in group I had higher incidences of high-energy trauma (p = 0.03), worse preoperative pain visual analogue scale (VAS) (p = 0.02), and Rowe scores (p = 0.04). The postoperative pain VAS and Rowe scores improved equally in both groups without significant differences. Limitation in postoperative range of motion was similar between the groups (all p-value > 0.05). Conclusions Anterior instability with SLAP lesion may not be related to frequent episodes of dislocation but rather to a high-energy trauma. SLAP fixation with anterior stabilization procedures did not lead to poor functional outcomes if appropriate surgical techniques were followed.
Soluble cytotoxic T-lymphocyte antigen 4: a favorable predictor in malignant tumors after therapy

Purpose Soluble cytotoxic T-lymphocyte antigen 4 (sCTLA-4), one of the isoforms of CTLA-4, was discovered to be critical in downregulating the negative signal of CTLA-4 in T-cell responses. Contrary to the classical immunosuppressive effect of CTLA-4, its immunoregulatory function might be complicated. However, the clinical significance of sCTLA-4 to immune regulation and the variation in cancer therapy have not been elucidated. We postulated that the level of sCTLA-4 might affect the outcome of cancer prognosis. Patients and methods Serum concentrations of sCTLA-4 before and after therapy in 141 locally advanced and advanced cancer patients were measured and survival analyses was performed. Hazard ratio and 95% confidence interval for overall survival (OS) were calculated. Cutoffs were determined by median across the sCTLA-4 level of entire patients. Results High expression of sCTLA-4 after therapy indicated significant longer OS and progression-free survival (PFS) (all P<0.01). Among all subgroups, sCTLA-4 levels after therapies were found to be significantly higher than that of 1 day before, which was also negatively correlated with tumor node metastasis stage and lymph node metastasis (all P<0.05). Multivariate analysis revealed that sCTLA-4 level was a strong independent prognostic factor for OS and PFS (all P<0.05). Conclusion Our data demonstrated the favorable prognostic significance of sCTLA-4 and may lead to the development of new immunotherapy options for cancer patients.
The Impact of Team Empowerment on Virtual Team Performance: The Moderating Role of Face-to-Face Interaction

We investigated the relationship between team empowerment and virtual team performance and the moderating role of the extent of face-to-face interaction using 35 sales and service virtual teams in a high-technology organization. Team empowerment was positively related to two independent assessments of virtual team performance— process improvement and customer satisfaction. Further, the number of face-to-face meetings moderated the relationship between team empowerment and process improvement: team empowerment was a stronger predictor for teams that met face-toface less, rather than more, frequently.
The Effect of Semicircular Feet on Energy Dissipation by Heel-strike in Dynamic Biped Locomotion

This paper investigates the effect of semicircular feet on dynamic bipedal walking. It has been clarified by Asano and Luo (2006) that underactuated virtual passive dynamic walking can be realized by using the rolling effect, which acts as the ankle-joint torque virtually. It has been also shown that, throughout parameter studies, the rolling effect dramatically increases the stable domain of limit cycles. Now that the effect of semicircular feet during stance phase has been discussed, this paper then focuses the effect on mechanical energy dissipation by heel-strike. It is theoretically clarified that, through modeling and analysis of an inelastic collision, increasing walking speed is achieved not by the rolling effect during stance phase but by the effect of reducing mechanical energy dissipation by heel-strike.
Tilapia: Both Fish and Fowl?

Tilapia aquaculture production is now around one million tonnes and is widely tipped to become an even bigger player in the international arena. This paper considers the case for such claims by reviewing the production environment, costs, the key characteristics of the product and its marketing with particular reference to the emergent EU markets and the increasingly established North American market. It is concluded that tilapia has quite distinct comparative advantages, not least being its diverse production scenarios, low cost, and product attributes which are commonly sought by consumers. Coupled with potentially green marketing attributes, it is concluded that this species is likely to appear in a broadening product range including more added value products.
Investigating the Relationship between Personality Traits and General Health with Addiction to Purchase (Obsessive Purchase)

The aim of this study was to investigate the relationship between personality traits and general health with addiction to purchase (obsessive purchase) among the students of Islamic Azad University of Yazd. Using personality traits and mental health variables as independent variables and addiction to purchase as the dependent variable, hypothesis of research is formed. The study was an applied research adopting a survey method and it was based on survey correlation using questionnaires. The statistical population of this research was students of business management. Simple random sampling method was used and a total valid sample of 224 was collected. Data analysis using the PLS software was done and the results showed that the trait neuroticism, flexibility, agreeableness trait, somatic symptoms and impaired social functioning as personality characteristics do not have significant effect on obsessive purchase but extraversion personality characteristic have a significant impact on obsessive purchase and the impact value is 0.20 and positive. Therefore, it can be concluded that as soon as the members have more extraversion characteristic, their obsessive purchase increases and compulsive personality trait has a significant impact on obsessive purchase. The impact value is 16.0 and negative; so we can conclude that if people have less responsibility, obsessive purchase will increase. Anxiety has a significant impact on obsessive purchase and the impact value is 24.0 and positive. So it can be stated that as soon as people have more anxiety, the obsessive purchase increases.
Excessive heart rate increase during mild mental stress in preparation for exercise predicts sudden death in the general population.

AIMS The aim of this study involves the early identification, among apparently healthy individuals, of those at high risk for sudden cardiac death. We tested the hypothesis that individuals who respond to mild mental stress in preparation for exercise test with the largest heart rate increases might be at highest risk. METHODS AND RESULTS Data from 7746 civil servants participating in the Paris Prospective Study I, followed-up for 23 years, allowed to compare heart rate changes between rest and mild mental stress (preparation prior to an exercise test) between subjects who suffered sudden cardiac death (n = 81), non-sudden (n = 129) coronary death, or death from any cause (n = 1306). The mean heart rate increase during mild mental stress was 8.9 +/- 10.8 b.p.m. Risk of sudden cardiac death increased progressively with heart rate increase during mental stress and the relative risk of the third vs. the first tertile was 2.09 (95% confidence interval, 1.13-3.86) after adjustment for confounders. This relationship was not observed for non-sudden coronary death. CONCLUSION An important heart rate increase produced by a mild mental stress predicts long-term risk for sudden cardiac death. Heart rate changes before an exercise test may provide a simple tool for risk stratification.
Roles of illness attributions and cultural views of cancer in determining participation in cancer-smart lifestyle among Chinese and Western youth in Australia.

BACKGROUND The study investigated the influence of culturally-based health beliefs on engagement in healthy lifestyle behaviour. Specifically, the study compared levels of engagement between Western and Chinese youth in Australia and assessed the extent to which culture-specific attributions about the causes of illness, and health beliefs, predict engagement in healthy lifestyle behaviour. MATERIALS AND METHODS Ninety-four Western and 95 Chinese (N=189; Mean Age=20.8 years, SD=3 years) young adults completed an online questionnaire. Predictor variables were cultural health beliefs measured by the Chinese Cultural Views on Health and Illness scale (CCVH, Liang et al., 2008), and illness attributions beliefs measured by the Cause of Illness Questionnaire (CIQ, Armstrong and Swartzman, 1999). Outcomes variables were levels of engagement in healthy lifestyle behaviour. RESULTS Results indicated that Chinese participants have a significantly lower exercising rate and healthy dietary habits compared to the Western sample. Moreover, Chinese participants were found to believe more strongly than Westerners that cancer was associated with factors measured by the Traditional-Chinese-Model (TCM). Finally, the observed relationship between cultural health beliefs and physical inactivity was mediated by attributions of illness, in particular to the supernatural subscale, with the Sobel Test showing a significant mediation (z=-2.63, p=0.004). CONCLUSIONS Mainstream approaches to encourage healthy lifestyles are unlikely to be effective when educating Chinese youth. Instead, health promotion programs should attempt to address the illness attribution beliefs and educate Chinese youth about the role of diet and exercise in prevention of diseases such as cancer.
Features of Lactobacillus Sakei Isolated from Italian Sausages: Focus on Strains from Ventricina del Vastese

In this study bacterial isolates from Ventricina del Vastese sausage, previously identified as Lactobacillus (L.) sakei, were characterised genotypically, physiologically and on the basis of some technologically relevant traits. A total of 70 L. sakei isolates from sausages manufactured with spontaneous fermentation in the same producing plant were taken into account. Six genotypic groups were distinguished on the basis of Rep-polymerase chain reaction with the GTG5 primer, some of which were found only in the sausages ripened at temperatures lower than 10°C for the first two months and lower than 16°C for the remaining three months, according to the traditional ripening process. Six strains were selected as representative of the genotypic profiles and further characterised. A high diversity in their fermentation profiles was observed, and different groups were separated on the basis of growth and acidifying capacity in meat extract. None of the strains produced histamine or tyramine in vitro. One strain was able to slightly inhibit Listeria (L.) monocytogenes and L. innocua and all six strains were able to slightly inhibit Enterobacteriaceae isolated from Ventricina del Vastese sausages in vitro. Results showed that most L. sakei strains can have a role in improving the safety of low acidity fermented sausages, even though a limited acidifying capacity was observed in a meat-like substrate, and that L. sakei strains able to produce biogenic amines are unlikely to occur in spontaneously fermented meat products.