Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Diagnostic and therapeutic management of hereditary angioedema due to C1-inhibitor deficiency: the Italian experience.

PURPOSE OF REVIEW Hereditary angioedema (HAE) due to C1-inhibitor (C1-INH) deficiency (C1-INH-HAE) is a rare disease, with a reported prevalence of about 1 : 50 000. C1-INH-HAE causes disabling symptoms, which may be life-threatening if swelling affects upper airways. Diagnostic procedures are now well established and the role of bradykinin as the main mediator of plasma outflow eliciting angioedema formation has been clearly elucidated. RECENT FINDINGS Increased understanding of the pathogenesis of C1-INH-HAE allowed in recent years the development of new drugs targeted to inhibit bradykinin synthesis (Ecallantide) or activity (Icatibant). At the same time, a recombinant C1-INH concentrate (Ruconest) was produced from the milk of transgenic rabbits and two plasma-derived C1-INHs (Berinert, Cinryze) underwent controlled trials to obtain marketing authorization. In 2012, an Italian network for C1-INH-HAE (ITACA) was established by physicians of 17 HAE reference centres to collect data from Italian patients and to homogenize and improve the diagnostic and therapeutic approach to the disease. SUMMARY Although there is a widespread agreement on therapeutic goals and treatment of C1-INH-HAE acute attacks, different approaches to prophylaxis are still present among HAE experts. The clinical experience of ITACA on a large population of C1-INH-HAE patients followed for several years may help in identifying the most effective strategies for the management of the disease.
Psychopathology in young adults born at extremely low birth weight

Background Little is known about the long-term mental health of extremely low birth weight (ELBW) (<1000 g) survivors. We test whether young adults aged 22 to 26 years born at ELBW differ from normal birth weight (NBW) controls in self-reported levels of psychopathology. Method Participants included 142 ELBW survivors (86% response) born between 1977 and 1982 to residents of central-west Ontario, Canada and 133 NBW control subjects (92% response). The Young Adult Self-Report measure was used to create five DSM-IV oriented scales aggregated to form internalizing (depressive problems, anxiety problems, avoidant personality problems) and externalizing (attention deficit-hyperactivity disorder problems and antisocial personality problems) scales. Results After adjusting for family background characteristics, mean scores for ELBW survivors were 3.02 [95% confidence interval (CI) 0.78–5.26] points higher for internalizing problems and no different, i.e. 0.00 (95% CI −1.17 to 1.17), for externalizing problems. There was a sex×group statistical interaction such that being male muted the risk for externalizing problems among those born at ELBW: −2.11 (95% CI −4.21 to −0.01). Stratifying ELBW adults as born small for gestational age (SGA) versus appropriate weight for gestational age (AGA) revealed a significant gradient of risk for levels of internalizing problems that was largest for SGA, i.e. 4.75 (95% CI 1.24–8.26), and next largest for AGA, 2.49 (95% CI 0.11–4.87), compared with NBW controls. Conclusions Depression, anxiety and avoidant personality problems (internalizing problems) are elevated in young adulthood among ELBW survivors. This effect is relatively small overall but noticeably larger among ELBW survivors born SGA.
CsgA is a pathogen‐associated molecular pattern of Salmonella enterica serotype Typhimurium that is recognized by Toll‐like receptor 2

Knowledge about the origin and identity of the microbial products recognized by the innate immune system is important for understanding the pathogenesis of inflammatory diseases. We investigated the potential role of Salmonella enterica serotype Typhimurium fimbriae as pathogen‐associated molecular patterns (PAMPs) that may stimulate innate pathways of inflammation. We screened a panel of 11 mutants, each carrying a deletion of a different fimbrial operon, for their enteropathogenicity using the calf model of human gastroenteritis. One mutant (csgBA) was attenuated in its ability to elicit fluid accumulation and GROα mRNA expression in bovine ligated ileal loops. The mechanism by which thin curled fimbriae encoded by the csg genes contribute to inflammation was further investigated using tissue culture. The S. Typhimurium csgBA mutant induced significantly less IL‐8 production than the wild type in human macrophage‐like cells. Purified thin curled fimbriae induced IL‐8 expression in human embryonic kidney (HEK293) cells transfected with Toll‐like receptor (TLR) 2/CD14 but not in cells transfected with TLR5, TLR4/MD2/CD14 or TLR11. Fusion proteins between the major fimbrial subunit of thin curled fimbriae (CsgA) and glutathione‐S‐transferase (GST) elicited IL‐8 production in HEK293 cells transfected with TLR2/CD14. Proteinase K treatment abrogated IL‐8 production elicited in these cells by GST–CsgA, but not by synthetic lipoprotein. GST–CsgA elicited more IL‐6 production than GST in bone marrow‐derived macrophages from TLR2+/+ mice, while there was no difference in IL‐6 secretion between GST–CsgA and GST in macrophages from TLR2–/– mice. These data suggested that CsgA is a PAMP that is recognized by TLR2.
Multiple Market Contact between Savings and Loans: A Note

When firms diversify into new product or geographic markets (via entry or merger) they may encounter firms with whom they are already competing. An important question for study is whether multiple market contact between firms affects their behavior. Although most traditional theory assumes that behavior of firms in a market is determined by factors in that market alone, Edwards (1955) advanced the "mutual forbearance" or "linked oligopoly" hypothesis. Starting from the premise that dominant firms in a market are likely to meet one another in other markets, Edwards hypothesized that a multimarket firm may not take aggressive actions against a competitor in one market if it fears retaliatory actions by that competitor in another market. The crux of the hypothesis is that as the number of contact points between dominant firms of a given market increases, the less competitive that market will be, regardless of the market's level of concentration. Although Edwards suggested that multimarket contact might reduce competition, others, including Solomon ( 1970) who studied geographic banking markets, and Scott ( 1982) who investigated the diversification of manufacturing firms across different lines of business, recognized that contact might increase competition. Neither Edwards, Solomon, nor Scott presented a formal model. However, game theoretic models have been constructed that can be used to study the effects of diversification. Investigators of the chain store paradox (e.g., Kreps and Wilson 1982) have shown that in a very simple environment rational strategies in one market cannot be influenced by behavior in a second indepen-
Usefulness of the Berg Balance Scale to Predict Falls in the Elderly

Objective:The purpose of this systematic review was to complete a comprehensive search and review of the literature to determine the ability of the Berg Balance Scale (BBS) to predict falls in the elderly with and without pathology. Specifically, the cutoff score that is most predictive of falls in the older adults and the sensitivity and specificity of the BBS in predicting falls. Methods:A search of English-language–based literature with relevant search terms using the OVID, CINAHL, PubMed, and MEDLINE search engines from 1985 to March 2009. Results:Nine studies warranted inclusion in this systematic review after evaluation for article objectives, inclusion criteria, and scoring 5 or more out of 10 on the Physiotherapy Evidence Database scale. Five studies addressed the elderly population ( = 65 years) without pathology. The remaining 4 studies addressed elderly participants with neurological disorders. All 9 studies reported sensitivity and specificity of the BBS in predicting falls. Sensitivity and specificity results varied greatly depending on the cutoff score and the author's objectives. Eight of the 9 studies recommended specific cutoff scores. Discussion and Conclusion:The BBS alone is not useful for predicting falls in the older adults with and without pathological conditions. Given the varied recommended cutoff scores and psychometric values, clinicians should use the BBS in conjunction with other tests/measures considering unique patient factors to quantify the chances of falls in the older adults. This study recommends research to formulate a scoring algorithm that can further enhance the clinician's ability to predict falls in the older adults.
Knowledge workers: what keeps them committed; what turns them away

There is a well established literature on the antecedents of organizational commitment, though the relative importance of these antecedents to particular groups of workers remains unclear. Relying on a general set of antecedents for all workers may result in the application of inappropriate HRM policies and practices. Our focus is on knowledge workers as they have been identified as important to organizational success.The literature is, however, divided on what constitutes knowledge work so we develop and apply a measure that focuses on what these workers do.We then use this measure to examine attitudinal and behavioural commitment. We find, using responses from 1969 employees, knowledge workers have higher attitudinal commitment and lower intention to quit than routine-task workers. Further, the antecedents of commitment for knowledge workers and routine-task workers differ in many important respects, creating challenges for organizational decision makers.
A multikey secure multimedia proxy using asymmetric reversible parametric sequences: theory, design, and implementation

Because of limited server and network capacities for streaming applications, multimedia proxies are commonly used to cache multimedia objects such that, by accessing nearby proxies, clients can enjoy a smaller start-up latency and receive a better quality-of-service (QoS) guarantee-for example, reduced packet loss and delay jitters for their requests. However, the use of multimedia proxies increases the risk that multimedia data are exposed to unauthorized access by intruders. In this paper, we present a framework for implementing a secure multimedia proxy system for audio and video streaming applications. The framework employs a notion of asymmetric reversible parametric sequence (ARPS) to provide the following security properties: i) data confidentiality during transmission, ii) end-to-end data confidentiality, iii) data confidentiality against proxy intruders, and iv) data confidentiality against member collusion. Our framework is grounded on a multikey RSA technique such that system resilience against attacks is provably strong given standard computability assumptions. One important feature of our proposed scheme is that clients only need to perform a single decryption operation to recover the original data even though the data packets may have been encrypted by multiple proxies along the delivery path. We also propose the use of a set of encryption configuration parameters (ECP) to trade off proxy encryption throughput against the presentation quality of audio/video obtained by unauthorized parties. Implementation results show that we can simultaneously achieve high encryption throughput and extremely low video quality (in terms of peak signal-to-noise ratio and visual quality of decoded video frames) for unauthorized access.
Non-Executive Employee Stock Options and Corporate Innovation

We provide empirical evidence on the positive effect of non-executive employee stock options on corporate innovation. The positive effect is more pronounced when employees are more important for innovation, when free-riding among employees is weaker, when options are granted broadly to most employees, when the average expiration period of options is longer, and when employee stock ownership is lower. Further analysis reveals that employee stock options foster innovation mainly through the risk-taking incentive, rather than the performance-based incentive created by stock options.
Neoliberalism is dead, long live neoliberalism? Neostructuralism and the international aid regime of the 2000s

In the 2000s a new aid regime evolved. This promised to move beyond the former neoliberal approach in a number of ways. It would involve greater consultation between donors and recipients, shift the focus from economic growth to broader factors, including poverty, and hand back the responsibility for this to the nation-state. This approach bears strong resemblance to the rise of neostructuralism, a development paradigm that has become highly influential in Latin America. In this article we trace the shifts in the aid regime and ask to what extent the contemporary regime can be defined a postneoliberal paradigm.
Decimals And Liquidity: A Study Of The Nyse

Using a carefully constructed matched sample of control (nondecimal) stocks, we isolate the effects of decimalization for a sample of NYSE-listed common stocks trading in decimals. We find that the quoted depth as well as the quoted and effective bid-ask spreads declined significantly following decimalization. Additionally, both the number of trades and trading volume declined significantly. Stock return volatilities display an initial increase but a decline over the longer term, probably as traders become more comfortable in their new milieu.
A paleointensity technique for multidomain igneous rocks

We developed a paleointensity technique to account for concave‐up Arai diagrams due to multidomain (MD) contributions to determine unbiased paleointensities for 24 trial samples from site GA‐X in Pleistocene lavas from Floreana Island, Galapagos Archipelago. The main magnetization carrier is fine‐grained low‐titanium magnetite of variable grain size. We used a comprehensive back‐zero‐forth (BZF) heating technique by adding an additional zero‐field heating between the Thellier two opposite in‐field heating steps in order to estimate paleointensities in various standard protocols and provide internal self‐consistency checks. After the first BZF experiment, we gave each sample a total thermal remanent magnetization (tTRM) by cooling from the Curie point in the presence of a low (15 µT) laboratory‐applied field. Then we repeated the BZF protocol, with the laboratory‐applied tTRM as a synthetic natural remanent magnetization (NRM), using the same laboratory‐applied field and temperature steps to obtain the synthetic Arai signatures, which should only represent the domain‐state dependent properties of the samples. We corrected the original Arai diagrams from the first BZF experiment by using the Arai signatures from the repeated BZF experiment, which neutralizes the typical MD concave‐up effect. Eleven samples meet the Arai diagram post‐selection criteria and provide qualified paleointensity estimates with a mean value for site GA‐X of 4.23 ± 1.29 µT, consistent with an excursional geomagnetic field direction reported for this site.
Credibility and usefulness of health information on Facebook: a survey study with U.S. college students

Introduction. This study examines ways in which college students perceive the credibility and usefulness of health information on Facebook, depending on topic sensitivity, information source and demographic factors. Method. With self-selection sampling, data were collected from two universities through an online survey; 351 responses were used for analysis. Analysis. The data were analysed using analysis of variance and t-tests. Results. Overall, college students tend to consider health information with low sensitivity levels as significantly more credible and useful than health information with high sensitivity levels on Facebook. Regardless of topic sensitivity, college students tend to consider professional information sources as more credible and useful than non-professional information sources on Facebook. However, among non-professional information sources, they prefer an experienced person over family when it comes to serious health issues. Female students tend to trust highly sensitive health information more than male students. Students living in campus residence halls are less likely to consider health information on Facebook as credible or useful. The more students are educated, the more credible or useful they consider professional information sources. Conclusions. This study demonstrates critical factors influencing students' perceptions of health information on a social networking site and provides implications for healthcare marketers and health educators.
Implementation, communication and the benefits of corporate codes of ethics in Taiwan and Turkey : A comparison across contexts

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to examine the corporate codes of ethics (CCE) that are put in place by companies in Taiwan and Turkey. Design/methodology/approach – This study examines the use of CCE among the top companies in Taiwan and Turkey. It is a replication of a study performed in Australia, Canada and Sweden and a follow-up study. Findings – The empirical findings show many similarities with top companies in Australia, Canada and Sweden, but more importantly identify key differences distinctly unique to each of the two countries under investigation. Statistical analysis suggests that the implementation, communication and benefits of CCE are paramount to Turkish companies operating in a domestic environment where the aspiration to participate globally and join the European Union is high, whereas in Taiwan it is low in favor of more traditional business practices (similar to the Chinese concept of guanxi) that focus on individual relationships in favor of formalized regulatory frameworks (such as CCE). Originality/value – This study makes a complementary contribution to the accumulated knowledge in the area of CCE, particularly given the cultural and historical differences these countries possess in comparison to each other and those previously studied and documented in the literature.
RELATIVE RISK AVERSION.

An individual's preference for risky alternatives is influenced by the strength of preference he feels for the consequences and his attitude toward risk taking. Conventional measures of risk attitude confound these two factors. In this paper we formally separate these factors and explore how this separation might significantly enhance our understanding of decision making under risk. We introduce a new measure of risk attitude defined relative to strength of preference. This measure is based on comparing an individual's von Neumann-Morgenstern utility function to his strength of preference function. The properties of this measure of relative risk attitude are developed. The concept of relative risk attitude has several important implications. First, it provides a better description of an individual's attitude toward risk. Second, it provides a better way to combine preferences of various experts in the context of multicriteria decision making. Finally, it provides a better insight into the implications of some commonly employed preference aggregation rules in group decision making.
Lost in Cyberspace: The Web @ Work

Most U.S. businesses provide Internet access for their employees. The current study surveyed representatives from 224 organizations on issues related to Internet abuse. Nearly 70% of companies surveyed had more than half of their employees online. Almost all companies had Internet access policies (IAP) in place (82.6%), outlining appropriate and inappropriate use of the Internet in the workplace. Despite IAPs, U.S. businesses are facing a severe problem. More than 60% of companies had disciplined-and more than 30% had terminated--employees for inappropriate use of the Internet. Accessing pornography, online chatting, gaming, investing, or shopping at work were the leading causes for disciplinary action or termination. Many companies were not concerned about the severity of the problem (49.6%) and/or had done very little to enforce their IAPs (59.4% use self or managerial oversight, and only 37.5% use filtering software).
Convergence: News Production in a Digital Age

A paradox of contemporary sociology is that the discipline has largely abandoned the empirical study of journalistic organizations and news institutions at the moment when the media has gained visibility in political, economic, and cultural spheres; when other academic fields have embraced the study of media and society; and when leading sociological theorists have broken from the disciplinary cannon to argue that the media are key actors in modern life. This article examines the point of journalistic production in one major news organization and shows how reportersand editors manage constraints of time, space, and market pressure under regimes of convergence news making. It considers the implications of these conditions for the particular forms of intellectual and cultural labor that journalists produce, drawing connections between the political economy of the journalistic field, the organizational structure of multimedia firms, new communications technologies, and the qualities of content created by media workers.
Adverse effects of hyperlipidemia on bone regeneration and strength

Hyperlipidemia increases the risk for generation of lipid oxidation products, which accumulate in the subendothelial spaces of vasculature and bone. Atherogenic high‐fat diets increase serum levels of oxidized lipids, which are known to attenuate osteogenesis in culture and to promote bone loss in mice. In this study, we investigated whether oxidized lipids affect bone regeneration and mechanical strength. Wild‐type (WT) and hyperlipidemic (Ldlr−/−) mice were placed on a high‐fat (HF) diet for 13 weeks. Bilateral cranial defects were introduced on each side of the sagittal suture, and 5 weeks postsurgery on the respective diets, the repair/regeneration of cranial bones and mechanical properties of femoral bones were assessed. MicroCT and histological analyses demonstrated that bone regeneration was significantly impaired by the HF diet in WT and Ldlr−/− mice. In femoral bone, cortical bone volume fraction (bone volume [BV]/tissue volume [TV]) was significantly reduced, whereas cortical porosity was increased by the HF diet in Ldlr−/− but not in WT mice. Femoral bone strength and stiffness, measured by three‐point bending analysis, were significantly reduced by the HF diet in Ldlr−/−, but not in WT mice. Serum analysis showed that the HF diet significantly increased levels of parathyroid hormone, tumor necrosis factor (TNF)‐α, calcium, and phosphorus, whereas it reduced procollagen type I N‐terminal propeptide, a serum marker of bone formation, in Ldlr−/−, but not in WT mice. The serum level of carboxyl‐terminal collagen crosslinks, a marker for bone resorption, was also 1.7‐fold greater in Ldlr−/− mice. These findings suggest that hyperlipidemia induces secondary hyperparathyroidism and impairs bone regeneration and mechanical strength. © 2012 American Society for Bone and Mineral Research