Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Metabolic bone disease of prematurity: causes, recognition, prevention, treatment and long-term consequences

Metabolic bone disease of prematurity (MBDP) is characterised by skeletal demineralisation, and in severe cases it can result in fragility fractures of long bones and ribs during routine handling. MBDP arises from prenatal and postnatal factors. Infants who are born preterm are deprived of fetal mineral accumulation, 80% of which occurs in the third trimester. Postnatally, it is difficult to maintain a comparable intake of minerals, and medications, such as corticosteroids and diuretic therapy, lead to bone resorption. With improvements in neonatal care and nutrition, the incidence of MBDP in preterm infants appears to have decreased, although the recent practice of administering phosphate supplements alone will result in secondary hyperparathyroidism and associated bone loss, worsening MBDP. Postnatal immobilisation and loss of placental supply of oestrogen also contribute to skeletal demineralisation. There is no single diagnostic or screening test for MBDP, with pitfalls existing for most radiological and biochemical investigations. By reviewing the pathophysiology of calcium and phosphate homeostasis, one can establish that plasma parathyroid hormone is important in determining the aetiology of MBDP – primarily calcipaenia or phosphopaenia. This will then direct treatment with the appropriate supplements while considering optimal physiological calcium to phosphate ratios.
Novel Plasmid-Borne Gene qacJ Mediates Resistance to Quaternary Ammonium Compounds in Equine Staphylococcus aureus, Staphylococcus simulans, and Staphylococcus intermedius

ABSTRACT We identified a novel plasmid-borne gene (designated qacJ) encoding resistance to quaternary ammonium compounds (QACs) in three staphylococcal species associated with chronic infections in four horses. qacJ was located on a 2,650-bp plasmid (designated pNVH01), a new member of the pC194 family of rolling-circle replication plasmids. The 107-amino-acid protein, QacJ, showed similarities to known proteins of the small multidrug resistance family: Smr/QacC (72.5%), QacG (82.6%), and QacH (73.4%). The benzalkonium chloride MIC for a qacJ-containing recombinant was higher than those for otherwise isogenic recombinants expressing Smr, QacG, or QacH. Molecular epidemiological analyses by pulsed-field gel electrophoresis suggested both the clonal spread of a qacJ-harboring Staphylococcus aureus strain and the horizontal transfer of pNVH01 within and between different equine staphylococcal species. The presence of pNVH01 of identical nucleotide sequence in different staphylococcal species suggests that recent transfer has occurred. In three of the horses, a skin preparation containing cetyltrimethylammonium bromide had been used extensively for several years; this might explain the selection of staphylococci harboring the novel QAC resistance gene.
Effects of Anticonvulsant Medication on EEG Sleep Architecture

Quality-of-life surveys identify fatigue and tiredness as common complaints adversely impacting patients with epilepsy (1, 2). The mechanism underlying these complaints are not well defined, although antiepileptic drugs (AEDs) are frequently implicated (3). Starting an AED is frequently associated with lethargy. This effect is thought to result from the interference of AEDs on normal sleep architecture. Differences between specific AEDs, their dosage, and duration of their use, however, are not well defined. The relationship between sleep and epilepsy itself is a complicated one (2). Seizures and epileptiform discharges are more likely to occur during certain portions of sleep structure. Generally, non-rapid-eye movement (NREM) sleep increases epileptiform discharge and seizures, whereas, rapid-eye-movement (REM) sleep appears to suppress seizures (4–6). Sleep disorders, including sleep apnea, can exacerbate seizures. The postictal period is frequently associated with difficulty in the maintenance of wakefulness. The effects of individual AEDs on sleep architecture have been reported, although there is often a lack of preand posttreatment data and limitations in protocol length. This review of the literature was conducted to examine the effect of AEDs on sleep architecture.
Prevalence and impact of self-reported irritable bowel symptoms in the general population

Background and aims The symptom-based diagnostic criteria for irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) have recently been revised in the Rome IV consensus. On the other hand, with rising public awareness of IBS, self-diagnosis and self-management is also increasing. We compared the prevalence and impact of Rome IV-based IBS vs self-diagnosed IBS in the general population. Methods An internet panel filled out an online survey on bowel symptoms and their impact on health care utilization and daily activities. Results A representative internet panel of 1012 individuals completed the online survey. Bowel symptoms were present in 68.6% of the population. Of these, 21% consulted a physician for these symptoms in the last year and 42% earlier. Rome IV IBS criteria were fulfilled by 5.5%, and these were younger and more likely to be female. In this subset, 37% had consulted a physician for IBS symptoms in the preceding year and 29% had done so earlier. A colonoscopy had been performed in 22%. Based on a brief description, 17.6% of the population self-identified as suffering from IBS (p < 0.001 compared to Rome IV IBS prevalence), and these were more likely to be female. Concordance with the Rome IV criteria was only 25%, but except for a lower reporting of pain, the symptom pattern, severity, impact on daily life, inability to work and health care utilization were similar to the Rome IV group. A total of 134 days of absence from work were attributed to bowel symptoms in those self-reporting with IBS. Conclusion In the general population, bowel symptoms are highly prevalent, and the self-reported “IBS” is three times more prevalent than according to Rome IV criteria. Self-reported IBS is associated with a similar impact on health care utilization and quality of life but a higher impact on absence from work.
Single case studies vs. multiple case studies: A comparative study

There are several different definitions and kinds of case studies. Because of different reasons the case studies can be either single or multiple. This study attempts to answer when to write a single case study and when to write a multiple case study. It will further answer the benefits and disadvantages with the different types. The literature review, which is based on secondary sources, is about case studies. Then the literature review is discussed and analysed to reach a conclusion. The conclusion is that there are several different opinions if a single case study or a multiple case study is the best choice. Different causes to consider in the choice to make a single case study or a multiple case study are presented. Some causes are that the amount depends on the context, upon how much is known and how much new information the cases bring. Another conclusion from the case studies I looked among is that it is generally more number of pages in the multiple case studies than in the single case studies.
Capital investments, capabilities, and uncertainty: An empirical analysis of incumbent adaptation to radical technological change

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to empirically examine the impact of capital investments on new capabilities development during competence‐destroying change. The moderating role of uncertainty is also explored.Design/methodology/approach – This paper utilizes two distinct but related research streams; the literature on organizational capabilities and real options, to build the theory and hypotheses.Findings – Data from a sample of 767 alliances between incumbent pharmaceutical firms and new biotechnology firms reveal that incumbent firms who increase capital investments in emerging technological domains despite the uncertainty present in them, are more likely to develop new products based on emerging technology.Research limitations/implications – The results encourage future research on the nexus of managerial cognition, capital investments, uncertainty and the adaptation process.Originality/value – Extant literature implicitly suggests that capital investments are critical for developing new capab.
US-guided renal transplant biopsy: efficacy of a cortical tangential approach.

PURPOSE To describe the cortical tangential approach to ultrasonographically (US) guided renal transplant biopsy and evaluate its efficacy in obtaining sufficient cortical tissue. MATERIALS AND METHODS This HIPAA-compliant retrospective study was exempted from review by the institutional review board. Informed consent was not required. The number of core biopsy samples, glomeruli, and small arteries obtained during 294 consecutive US-guided renal transplant biopsies in 254 patients (134 men, 120 women; age range, 19-79 years; mean age, 52.2 years) in one department between June 1 and December 31, 2008, were recorded, along with any ensuing complications. Procedural success was assessed according to Banff 97 criteria. RESULTS There were 1.2 +/- 0.4 (standard deviation) biopsy core samples taken per case by 11 radiologists using the cortical tangential approach. In 290 cases, biopsy results showed 21.7 +/- 10.1 glomeruli and 5.0 +/- 2.8 small arteries. Two hundred seventy-six (95%) cases were adequate or minimal according to Banff 97 assessment criteria. Of the 14 inadequate cases (5%), six were lacking only one glomerulus to achieve minimal status. Only one biopsy core sample was taken in all 14 inadequate cases and in 233 successful cases (success rate, 85%). None of the 43 cases with two or more biopsy core samples taken were inadequate (success rate, 100%). Two patients (0.7%) had a hemorrhagic complication requiring transfusion, and another four patients (1.4%) experienced a minor self-limiting complication. CONCLUSION The cortical tangential approach can be used by a cohort of radiologists to achieve 95% or higher collective success in obtaining cortical tissue during renal transplant biopsy, with few complications. The success rate is higher, without increased complications, when more than one core specimen is taken.
Global Histone H3K27 Methylation Levels are Different in Localized and Metastatic Prostate Cancer

Global histone modification patterns have been shown to be a predictive factor of recurrence in various cancers. We analyzed global histone-3-lysine-27 (H3K27) methylation in prostate cancer (PCA) tissues. H3K27 mono-, di-, and tri-methylation patterns were different in nonmalignant prostate tissue, localized PCA, metastatic PCA, and castration-resistant PCA. H3K27 mono-methylation was correlated with pT-stage, capsular penetration, seminal vesicle infiltration, and Gleason score in localized PCA and may therefore indicate adverse prognosis.
A caudorostral wave of RALDH2 conveys anteroposterior information to the cardiac field

Establishment of anteroposterior (AP) polarity is one of the earliest decisions in cardiogenesis and plays an important role in the coupling between heart and blood vessels. Recent research implicated retinoic acid (RA) in the communication of AP polarity to the heart. We utilized embryo culture, in situ hybridization, morphometry, fate mapping and treatment with the RA pan-antagonist BMS493 to investigate the relationship between cardiac precursors and RA signalling. We describe two phases of AP signalling by RA, reflected in RALDH2 expression. The first phase (HH4-7) is characterized by increasing proximity between sino-atrial precursors and the lateral mesoderm expressing RALDH2. In this phase, RA signalling is consistent with diffusion of the morphogen from a large field rather than a single hot spot. The second phase (HH7-8) is characterized by progressive encircling of cardiac precursors by a field of RALDH2 originating from a dynamic and evolutionary-conserved caudorostral wave pattern in the lateral mesoderm. At this phase, cardiac AP patterning by RA is consistent with localized action of RA by regulated activation of the Raldh2 gene within an embryonic domain. Systemic treatment with BMS493 altered the cardiac fate map such that ventricular precursors were found in areas normally devoid of them. Topical application of BMS493 inhibited atrial differentiation in left anterior lateral mesoderm. Identification of the caudorostral wave of RALDH2 as the endogenous source of RA establishing cardiac AP fates provides a useful model to approach the mechanisms whereby the vertebrate embryo confers axial information on its organs.
ON THE SECOND ORDER DIFFERENTIAL EQUATION SATISFIED BY PERTURBED CHEBYSHEV POLYNOMIALS

In some applications one is led to consider perturbations of orthogonal polynomials translated by a modification on the first coefficients of the second order recurrence relation satisfied by these polynomials. Moreover, the four Chebyshev families are among the most useful orthogonal sequences due to their exceptional features. Thus, it is important to clarify and explicit the properties of perturbed Chebyshev polynomials, in special the second order linear differential equation that assures their semi-classical character. This is the main goal of this work. By means of a symbolic algebraic algorithm based on Stieltjes equations, we are able to explicit new properties for the complete perturbation of order one and an special perturbation of order two for all four Chebyshev families.
Improved bactericidal activity of Q-35 against quinolone-resistant staphylococci

The bactericidal effects of Q-35, sparfloxacin, tosufloxacin, and ofloxacin on 18 strains of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) and 3 strains of Staphylococcus epidermidis were studied by a viable-count method. Staphylococci as used in this study were clearly divided into two groups with respect to their susceptibilities to sparfloxacin. MICs of Q-35 and tosufloxacin were 0.05 to 0.78 microgram/ml for sparfloxacin-susceptible strains (MICs, 0.05 to 0.2 microgram/ml) and 1.56 to 12.5 micrograms/ml for sparfloxacin-resistant strains (6.25 to 25 micrograms/ml). All the sparfloxacin-resistant strains of MRSA tested contained the gyrA mutation at codon 84. Time-kill studies showed that Q-35 decreased the viable counts from approximately 10(7) CFU/ml to 10(3) to 10(5) CFU/ml within 3 h at concentrations greater than the MICs against both sparfloxacin-susceptible and -resistant strains. In contrast, sparfloxacin, tosufloxacin, and ofloxacin produced bacteriostatic effects at 3 h after exposure against sparfloxacin-resistant strains at concentrations which were greater than the respective MICs, whereas these quinolones were bactericidal against sparfloxacin-susceptible strains. The rapid bactericidal activities of Q-35 against sparfloxacin-resistant MRSA were reduced when the methoxy group of Q-35 at the 8 position was substituted with fluorine or hydrogen. Thus, our data suggest that the introduction of a methoxy group into the 8 position of quinolones contributes to the bactericidal activities of fluoroquinolones against quinolone-resistant staphylococci.
Unconscious Aesthetics in Financial Public Management: Political Science on a Ubiquitous, Deceivingly Uninteresting Topic

Financial public management (FPM) is ubiquitous in modern governance, but tends to maintain some degree of invisibility because of its technical appearance and the analogous nature of much of the associated research. This study seeks to encourage intellectual interest in this topic from a political science perspective that incorporates the research traditions of the aesthetics of the unconscious, which in turn builds upon selected psychoanalytic ideas. First, FPM is considered in terms of its spatial aspects, including ‘accounting entities’ and ‘quasi-markets’, both of which reflect the fashionable forcing of public sector organisations to conform to idealised forms of business despite the fact that this has been questioned even by accounting scholars. Second, there is a focus on the sight and visibility aspects of FPM, including ‘accountability’, which is characteristically modelled according to business and economic ideals. It nevertheless engenders problematic side effects, including the psychological circulation of shame by political decision-makers and business companies towards public sector organisations and their professionals. Third, FPM is examined in the light of certain acts that take place in and through language, namely perlocutionary speech acts. This is addressed in the article with special reference to the frequent FPM substitution of the rhetorical economic root figure ‘oikos’ for the generic and venerable political root figure ‘polis’. This, in turn, entails simulated rivalry for the sheer preference for competition to take place between newly designed public sector units and between the individuals working in them. Fourth, there are FPM procedures that are downright humiliating, such as forced ‘self-evaluations’ preceding the ruthless external imposition of accountability, although fortu
Loss of the Polarity Protein PAR3 Activates STAT3 Signaling via an Atypical Protein Kinase C (aPKC)/NF-κB/Interleukin-6 (IL-6) Axis in Mouse Mammary Cells*

Background: Loss of PAR3 triggers accelerated growth and invasion of mammary tumors via STAT3 activity. Results: PAR3 silencing induces aPKC activity, which triggers NF-κB-IL-6 signaling. Conclusion: Regulation of aPKC activity is a key tumor suppressor function of PAR3. Significance: This work contributes to our understanding of mechanisms by which polarity proteins restrain tumor progression. PAR3 suppresses tumor growth and metastasis in vivo and cell invasion through matrix in vitro. We propose that PAR3 organizes and limits multiple signaling pathways and that inappropriate activation of these pathways occurs without PAR3. Silencing Pard3 in conjunction with oncogenic activation promotes invasion and metastasis via constitutive STAT3 activity in mouse models, but the mechanism for this is unknown. We now show that loss of PAR3 triggers increased production of interleukin-6, which induces STAT3 signaling in an autocrine manner. Activation of atypical protein kinase C ι/λ (aPKCι/λ) mediates this effect by stimulating NF-κB signaling and IL-6 expression. Our results suggest that PAR3 restrains aPKCι/λ activity and thus prevents aPKCι/λ from activating an oncogenic signaling network.
Real Asset Returns and Components of Inflation: A Structural VAR Analysis

We shed new light on the negative relationship between real stock returns or real interest rates and (i) ex post inflation, (ii) expected inflation, (iii) unexpected inflation and (iv) changes in expected inflation. Using the structural vector autoregression methodology, we propose a decomposition of those series into economically interpretable components driven by aggregate supply, real demand and money market shocks. Our empirical results support Fama’s ’proxy hypothesis’ and the predictions of several general equilibrium models. Concerning the negative relation between the real rate of interest and inflation, we find that the Mundell-Tobin model and the explanation of Fama and Gibbons (1982) are not competitors: both add insight in their own way about the reasons for the negative correlation between those variables. However, the importance of the latter explanation has decreased since the 1980’s.
The track record of the Commission's forecasts - an update

This paper has updated the assessment of the Commission's forecasts' track record from 1999 by extending the observation period from 1969-1997 to also take into account the forecasts and outcome for the years 1998-2005. This update has also included some further tests on e.g. informational efficiency and undertaken a comparison with the forecasts of other international institutions and those of market participants. The tests were carried out on the forecasts for real GDP growth, total investment, inflation, the unemployment rate, the general government balance and the current account to GDP ratio. Data have been processed in a broadly similar manner compared to the study of 1999 to ensure comparability to the greatest degree possible. Overall, the Commission's forecasts continue to dispose a reasonable track record. For instance, the forecast error for the GDP forecast, as measured by the mean absolute error, has improved by 0.03 percentage point (pp.) to 0.5 pp. for the current-year outlook and by 0.08 pp. to 0.86 pp. for the year ahead. This implies that the Commission's forecasts for GDP growth has, on average, proven to be 0.5 pp. too high / low for the current year. Forecasts for the EU generally seem to be unbiased, efficient and display a high success rate for directional accuracy. The same holds true for the outlook for most Member States, although there are individual examples to the contrary. Moreover, in view of the importance of the international environment in explaining past forecast errors, it is reassuring to note that the forecasts for the largest non-EU countries generally seem to perform well. Finally, the Commission's forecasts' track record for GDP is broadly comparable with the ones of Consensus, the IMF and the OECD.
Labeling of cell therapies: How can we get it right?

ABSTARCT Labeling cells for non-invasive tracking in vivo using magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) is an emerging hot topic garnering ever increasing attention, yet it is fraught with numerous methodological challenges, which merit careful attention. Several of the current procedures used to label cells for tracking by MRI take advantage of the intrinsic phagocytic nature of cells to engulf nanoparticles, though cells with low intrinsic phagocytic capacity are also commonly studied. Before we take the next steps towards administering such cells in vivo, it is essential to understand how the nanolabel is recognized, internalized, trafficked and distributed within the specific host cell. This is even more critical when contemplating labeling of cells that may ultimately be applied in vivo to patients in a therapeutic context.