Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Elevated Serum Cardiac Troponin in Non‐acute Coronary Syndrome

Cardiac troponins (CTn) are the most sensitive and specific biochemical markers of myocardial injury and risk stratification. The assay for troponin T (cTnI) is standardized, and results obtained from different institutions are comparable. This is not the case with troponin I (cTnT), and clinicians should be aware that each institution must analyze and standardize its own results. Elevated cTn levels indicate cardiac injury, but do not define the mechanical injury. The differentiation of cTn elevation caused by coronary events from those not related to an acute coronary syndrome (ACS) is tiresome, at times vexing, and often costly. Elevation of cTn in non‐ACS is a marker of increased cardiac and all‐cause morbidity and mortality. The cause of these elevations may involve serious medical conditions that require meticulous diagnostic evaluation and aggressive therapy. At present, there are no guidelines to treat patients with elevated troponin levels and no coronary disease. The current strategy of treatment of patients with elevated troponin and non‐ACS involves treating the underlying causes. Copyright © 2009 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
MALT lymphoma and Kaposi Sarcoma in an HIV‐negative patient

A 77-year-old caucasian man presented on March 2005 with important epigastric pain without any other significant history of gastritis. Patient refers a history of cutaneous Kaposi's sarcoma (KS) treated since 1974 with surgical excision or oncovorin topical injection. He underwent endoscopic evaluation showing a 1.5-cm ulcerated area at the gastric angulus, associated with edematous and erythematous nodular mucosa (Fig. 1).
Local lymph node assay: use in hazard and risk assessment

The murine local lymph node assay (LLNA) was developed as an alternative method for the identification of chemicals that have the ability to cause skin sensitization and allergic contact dermatitis. The assay now has been evaluated extensively in the context of both national and international inter‐laboratory collaborative trials and has been the subject of detailed comparisons with guinea pig test methods and human skin sensitization data. On the basis of these evaluations the LLNA has been endorsed recently by the US Interagency Coordinating Committee on the Validation of Alternative Methods (ICCVAM) as a stand‐alone method for skin sensitization testing. The assay offers a number of important benefits compared with conventional guinea pig test methods, among these being provision of an objective and quantitative endpoint. Moreover, the LLNA provides advantages in the context of animal welfare; compared with guinea pig tests, fewer animals are required and these animals are subject to less trauma. It is important now that the validation status of the LLNA is recognized and the method applied widely so that these advantages may be realized.
A proposed innovation strategy for Turkish port administration policy via information technology

The efficiency of communications among all the organizations which are somewhat connected to a seaport is crucial for effective port administration. The absence of such communication in Turkish maritime industry causes severe problems. Thus, this paper aims to develop a guideline for successful development of a port community system in Turkey on the basis of Strength–Weakness–Opportunity–Threat (SWOT) analysis of the current situation and benchmarking successful cases around the world. For this purpose, in-depth interviews were carried out with field experts of both public and industrial organizations. As a result, a three-stage development strategy was proposed.
How Behavioral Finance Can Inform Retirement Plan Design

Several key lessons for pension design have emerged in the last decade from behavioral economics and finance research. This article analyzes the insights from this literature on how workers decide to save, manage their retirement investments, and draw down their assets in retirement. The aim is to understand how workers and retirees deviate from the rational, well-informed agents that underpin economic theory, public policy, and often retirement plan design. 2006 Morgan Stanley.
Constraints on lithosphere net rotation and asthenospheric viscosity from global mantle flow models and seismic anisotropy

Although an average westward rotation of the Earth's lithosphere is indicated by global analyses of surface features tied to the deep mantle (e.g., hot spot tracks), the rate of lithospheric drift is uncertain despite its importance to global geodynamics. We use a global viscous flow model to predict asthenospheric anisotropy computed from linear combinations of mantle flow fields driven by relative plate motions, mantle density heterogeneity, and westward lithosphere rotation. By comparing predictions of lattice preferred orientation to asthenospheric anisotropy in oceanic regions inferred from SKS splitting observations and surface wave tomography, we constrain absolute upper mantle viscosity (to 0.5–1.0 × 1021 Pa s, consistent with other constraints) simultaneously with net rotation rate and the decrease in the viscosity of the asthenosphere relative to that of the upper mantle. For an asthenosphere 10 times less viscous than the upper mantle, we find that global net rotation must be <0.26°/Myr (<60% of net rotation in the HS3 (Pacific hot spot) reference frame); larger viscosity drops amplify asthenospheric shear associated with net rotation and thus require slower net rotation to fit observed anisotropy. The magnitude of westward net rotation is consistent with lithospheric drift relative to Indo‐Atlantic hot spots but is slower than drift in the Pacific hot spot frame (HS3 ≈ 0.44°/Myr). The latter may instead express net rotation relative to the deep mantle beneath the Pacific plate, which is moving rapidly eastward in our models.
Knowledge of the human body: A distinct semantic domain

BackgroundPatients with selective deficits in the naming and comprehension of animals, plants, and artifacts have been reported. These descriptions of specific semantic category deficits have contributed substantially to the understanding of the architecture of semantic representations. ObjectiveThis study sought to further understanding of the organization of the semantic system by demonstrating that another semantic category, knowledge of the human body, may be selectively preserved. MethodsThe performance of a patient with semantic dementia was compared with the performance of healthy controls on a variety of tasks assessing distinct types of body representations, including the body schema, body image, and body structural description. ResultsDespite substantial deficits on tasks involving language and knowledge of the world generally, the patient performed normally on all tests of body knowledge except body part naming; even in this naming task, however, her performance with body parts was significantly better than on artifacts. ConclusionsThe demonstration that body knowledge may be preserved despite substantial semantic deficits involving other types of semantic information argues that body knowledge is a distinct and dissociable semantic category. These data are interpreted as support for a model of semantics that proposes that knowledge is distributed across different cortical regions reflecting the manner in which the information was acquired.
SICs as Delineators of Economic Markets

The Standard Industrial Classification (SIC) is often used to divide firms into homogeneous markets. Firms classified into the same (n + 1)-digit SIC are thought to be more homogeneous than firms sharing only the same n-digit SIC. This study measures how well the SIC succeeds at combining firms into homogeneous economic markets. Assuming that firms in more similar economic markets should display more similar sales changes, profit rates, or stock price changes than firms in less similar economic markets, the author finds that the SIC is not successful at identifying firms with such similar characteristic variables. Copyright 1989 by the University of Chicago.
Time course of rod influences on hue perception

Stimulation of dark-adapted rods can shift the hues associated with specific wavelengths throughout the spectrum: Rods exert a green bias (strengthen green relative to red) at longer wavelengths and a blue bias (strengthen blue relative to yellow) at short-to-middle wavelengths. A third rod influence at shorter wavelengths is more complicated because it has been shown to reverse direction with change of stimulus duration. Thus, for 30-ms stimuli, rods exert a green bias like that observed at longer wavelengths. However, for 1-s stimuli, rods exert a red bias that is observed nowhere else in the spectrum. We examined the latency (time course) of rod hue biases by measuring the shifts of the three spectral unique hues under dark-adapted versus bleached (cone plateau) conditions. The rod green bias at unique yellow (mean 10 nm) and, in contrast to some prior studies, the rod blue bias at unique green (mean 21 nm) were not systematically affected by test stimulus duration. A quick rod green bias (mean 5 nm) was shown at unique blue for two of three observers but was dominated by a slower rod red bias (mean 11 nm) after 30–50 ms of rod stimulation. These opposing rod influences may reflect competing effects of rod signals on ML-cone and S-cone pathways.
An Experimental Analysis of Cultural Materialism: The Effects of Various Modes of Production on Resource Sharing

The 1980s witnessed an increased interest among behavior analysts regarding a paradigm in cultural anthropology known as cultural materialism. This perspective suggests that all behavior ultimately rests on the relationship between the natural environment and the methods used to obtain resources needed to maintain survival and a high standard of living, known as the mode of production. While useful, scientists in this area have overlooked one valuable resource—the laboratory. We manipulated the amount of resources dyads could harvest within blocks of five trials and across six conditions. Behavior consisted of harvesting and allocating resources. Token retention and a survival analogue were made contingent on resource sharing. Five of the seven dyads shared resources and no sharing occurred when participants could harvest sufficient resources to survive independently. Opportunities to integrate this research with optimal foraging research are discussed along with potential applications to realworld social issues.
Community-based reintegration in Aceh : assessing the impacts of BRA-KDP

This brief summarizes the results of a gender impact evaluation study, entitled Community-based reintegration in Aceh (BRA) : assessing the impacts of BRA-Kecamatan Development Program (KDP), conducted between August 2006 and August 2007 in Indonesia. The study observed the impact of BRA in 1724 targeted villages, about one third of the total villages in Aceh on the village and household level. The program is associated with significant improvements in welfare measures. For example, the program is associated with an 11 point decline in the share of villagers classified as poor as reported by village heads. There is little evidence of improvements in social cohesion dimensions. There is an increase in participation in women's groups, but no evidence of overall increase in associational activities. There is some evidence that the program actually leads to less acceptance of ex-combatants by conflict victims. Funding for the study derived from the Aceh Peace Reintegration Agency and the World Bank.
A Reactive Oxygen Species–Mediated Loop Maintains Increased Expression of NADPH Oxidases 2 and 4 in Skin Fibroblasts From Patients With Systemic Sclerosis

Reactive oxygen species (ROS) contribute to the pathogenesis of fibrosis in systemic sclerosis (SSc; scleroderma), and NADPH oxidase (NOX) is an important source of ROS. Since the role of single NOX isoforms has not been previously investigated in SSc, this study was undertaken to assess the expression of NOX in SSc fibroblasts compared to normal healthy cells and to analyze their role in cell activation.
Linear Approximation of Sensitivity Curve Calibration

Calibration of color cameras requires that a calibration pattern is recorded and color sensitivity curves are estimated from the recorded data. Very often, these curves are sampled at discrete wavelength, so that the calibration problem can be written as a system of linear equations. The solution of the – usually overdetermined – problem is subject to a constrained optimization problem, as these curves need to have a certain shape. In this article we apply different methods to incorporate constraints into the estimation problem while still keeping the problem linear.
A Global House Price Bubble? Evaluation Based on a New Rent-Price Approach

The dividend yield ratio in the stock markets is, to an extent, comparable to the rent-price ratio in the housing market.Taking advantage of this definitional similarity, one can then use the traditional unit root test for log dividend yield in this case, the log rent-price ratio to test for the existence of real estate bubbles.Such unit root tests are conducted for Finland, USA, UK, Spain and Germany, and the simple test results strongly suggest the existence of bubbles in nearly all of these countries.In addition to this, we develop a continuous and monthly rent-price information-based method to track the periods when real estate prices diverge from their fundamental levels.This indicator seems to work quite well in most cases, indicating bubbles during periods which, according to the consensus literature, are seen as periods of sizable upward or downward shifts in house prices. Key words: house price, bubble, unit root JEL classification numbers: G12
A controlled pharmacogenetic trial of sibutramine on weight loss and body composition in obese or overweight adults.

BACKGROUND & AIMS Weight loss in response to sibutramine is highly variable. We assessed the association of specific markers of polymorphisms of candidate alpha2A adrenoreceptor, 5-HT transporter, and GNbeta3 genes and weight loss with sibutramine. METHODS We conducted a randomized, double-blind, pharmacogenetic study of behavioral therapy and sibutramine (10 or 15 mg daily) or placebo for 12 weeks in 181 overweight or obese participants. We measured body weight, body mass index, body composition, gastric emptying, and genetic variation (alpha2A C1291G, 5-HTTLPR, and GNbeta3 C825T genotypes). Analysis of covariance was used to assess treatment effects on and associations of the specific markers of candidate genes with weight loss and body composition. RESULTS Sibutramine, 10 and 15 mg, caused weight loss (P = .009); there was a statistically significant gene by dose interaction for GNbeta3 genotype. For each candidate gene, significant treatment effects at 12 weeks were observed (P < .017) for all specific genotype variants (Delta weight loss in the 2 sibutramine doses vs placebo): alpha2A CC (Delta, approximately 5 kg), GNbeta3 TC/TT (Delta, approximately 6 kg), and 5-HTTLPR LS/SS (Delta, approximately 4.5 kg). Gene pairs resulted in significantly greater sibutramine treatment effects on weight (both P < .002): in participants with 5-HTTLPR LS/SS with GNbeta3 TC/TT; Delta, approximately 6 kg and those with alpha2A CC with GNbeta3 TC/TT; Delta, approximately 8 kg; however, effects were not synergistic. Treatment with sibutramine also resulted in significantly greater reduction of body fat for specific alpha2A CC and GNbeta3 TC/TT genotype variants individually (both P < .02). CONCLUSIONS Patient selection based on candidate genes may enhance response to multidimensional sibutramine and behavioral therapy for obesity.
The cerebellum and motor learning

Author(s): Schlerf, John Edward | Advisor(s): Ivry, Richard B | Abstract: During our daily lives, we make thousands of movements. When we stop and consider that doing something as ordinary as reaching for a glass of juice involves the precise sequential contraction of dozens of muscles simply to move our hand, we appreciate the immense problem that our brains are solving. If we then recognize that both the world and the body are constantly changing, the accuracy with which we move becomes quite staggering. Moving with such proficiency requires the motor system to be continuously learning and adapting. A host of neural structures are important for this behavior. One remarkable part of this system is the cerebellum, or "little brain": a phylogenetically ancient neural structure, containing over half of the neurons in the human central nervous system. Damage to this structure results in a loss of coordination, with marked impairments in the control of eye movements, the timing of simple rhythmic movements, and most intriguingly the ability to adjust well-learned motor skills.The aim of this dissertation is to explore the processes of motor control and learning, with a special emphasis on the functional contribution of the cerebellum. Following a short introduction (Chapter 1), empirical evidence is provided from two classes of behavior. Chapter 2 deals with the production of rhythmic movements in a population of patients with cerebellar pathology. Chapters 3 through 5 involve the production of goal-directed reaching movements, carefully investigating the representation and correction of errors through the combined use of psychophysics, brain imaging, and patient studies.In Chapter 2, patients with cerebellar pathology are observed to be impaired when producing rhythmic movements, particularly when the movements contain a distinct event that can be used to determine the performance error. In Chapter 3, we observe that by reshaping a target region, we can predictably impact the correction of movement errors during reaching movements toward that target. In Chapter 4, we provide physiological evidence of the representation of movement errors within the cerebellum, an effect only observed when appropriate measures are taken to factorout the effects of changes in heart rate. In Chapter 5, we show that patients with cerebellar pathology are impaired in adjusting their movements to counteract a visual perturbation, and furthermore suggest that this impairment is equivalent whether the perturbation is applied suddenly or gradually.Taken together, this work demonstrates that we learn to make better movements by rapidly evaluating our movements with respect to our goals, and correcting any mistakes with the help of the cerebellum.
Is ineffective esophageal motility associated with gastropharyngeal reflux disease?

AIM To evaluate the association between ineffective esophageal motility (IEM) and gastropharyngeal reflux disease (GPRD) in patients who underwent ambulatory 24-h dual-probe pH monitoring for the evaluation of supraesophageal symptoms. METHODS A total of 632 patients who underwent endoscopy, esophageal manometry and ambulatory 24-h dual-pH monitoring due to supraesophageal symptoms (e.g. globus, hoarseness, or cough) were enrolled. Of them, we selected the patients who had normal esophageal motility and IEM. The endoscopy and ambulatory pH monitoring findings were compared between the two groups. RESULTS A total of 264 patients with normal esophageal motility and 195 patients with the diagnosis of IEM were included in this study. There was no difference in the frequency of reflux esophagitis and hiatal hernia between the two groups. All the variables showing gastroesophageal reflux and gastropharyngeal reflux were not different between the two groups. The frequency of GERD and GPRD, as defined by ambulatory pH monitoring, was not different between the two groups. CONCLUSION There was no association between IEM and GPRD as well as between IEM and GERD. IEM alone cannot be considered as a definitive marker for reflux disease.
Real Frictions and Real Exchange Rate Dynamics: The Roles of Distribution Service and Transaction Cost

The fact that fluctuations in real exchange rates are highly volatile and persistent has been the central puzzle in international macroeconomics. This paper studies the role of real frictions in accounting for the puzzling behavior of real exchange rates. We show that the introduction of distribution costs and nontradable goods in an otherwise standard competitive model dramatically improves its ability to rationalize observed real exchange rate dynamics. We view our framework as complementary to those that emphasize the role of nominal rigidities.
Finger displacement in Parkinson disease: up? down? sideways?

We previously reported that patients with tremor preponderant Parkinson disease (PD) displayed upward or lateral displacement of their more tremulous finger when they pointed both their index fingers at a target and closed their eyes for 15 seconds. In this study, we examined the phenomenon in 104 PD patients: 72 patients without tremor and 32 with minimal tremor to see if the displacement is related to the disease or the tremor. Sixty-eight of the 72 patients without tremor, 94%, exhibited finger displacement suggesting the phenomenon is related to the disease. None of the 104 patients were demented: mini-mental status examination (MMSE) score 29.0 ± 0. 75. Ninety patients displayed upward displacement (56 patients) or lateral or medial displacement (34 patients). MMSE score of the 90 patients: 29.2 ± 0.74 with no score < 28. Eight patients (6 without tremor) displayed downward displacement. MMSE score of the 8 patients: 27.5 ± 0.35 with 5 having MMSE score of 27. Although not significant the results suggest that patients with downward displacement and lower MMSE score may be evolving a dementia. Upward displacement with eyes closed for 15 seconds requires an ability to “remember” the position of the finger in space and to alter tone to overcome gravity. Downward displacement implies an inability to “remember” the position of the finger in space an inability to overcome the effects of gravity. This may be more likely in patients who are evolving a dementia. Two patients, with PD-like symptoms, and specific anatomical abnormalities are also presented as they illustrate the anatomy of finger displacement.
Peripheral B‐cell CD5 expansion and CD81 overexpression and their association with disease severity and autoimmune markers in chronic hepatitis C virus infection

Hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection is associated with immune‐mediated abnormalities and B‐cell lymphoproliferation evolving to an overt lymphoma. Recently, CD81 was identified as an HCV receptor on B‐lymphocytes, providing a mechanism by which B cells are infected and activated by the virus. In addition, expansion of CD5+ B lymphocytes was described to be associated with various non‐HCV related autoimmune disorders. Therefore, we studied the possible role of peripheral B cells CD81 and CD5 over‐expression in the development of HCV‐related autoimmunity and their association with disease severity in chronic HCV infection. Peripheral B cells CD5 expression and mean fluorescence intensity (MFI) of CD81 were determined in 30 HCV‐infected patients, 30 healthy controls and 15 patients with hepatitis B virus infection using fluorescence‐activated cell scan (FACS). We have also investigated the association between peripheral CD5 and CD81 B‐cell over‐expression and markers of autoimmunity and disease severity in patients chronically infected by HCV. CD5+ B‐cells were increased in chronic HCV infection (23·2 ± 7·2%) compared with those of healthy controls (15 ± 5·5%) (P < 0·0001) and chronic HBV infection (19 ± 3·7%) (P = 0·08). CD81 MFI was significantly higher in HCV‐infected compared to HBV‐infected patients and healthy controls. Both increased CD81 MFI and CD5+ B‐cell expansion were associated with the production of rheumatoid factor and mixed cryoglobulins and positively correlated with HCV viral load and histological activity index. The overexpression of CD81 and the expansion of CD5+ peripheral B‐cells in HCV‐infected patients may possibly play a role in the development of HCV‐associated autoimmunity and lymphoproliferation.