Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Itraconazole to prevent fungal infections in chronic granulomatous disease.

BACKGROUND Chronic granulomatous disease is a rare disorder in which the phagocytes fail to produce hydrogen peroxide. The patients are predisposed to bacterial and fungal infections. Prophylactic antibiotics and interferon gamma have reduced bacterial infections, but there is also the danger of life-threatening fungal infections. We assessed the efficacy of itraconazole as prophylaxis against serious fungal infections in chronic granulomatous disease. METHODS Thirty-nine patients at least 5 years old (6 female and 33 male; mean age, 14.9 years) were enrolled in a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled study. After the initially assigned treatment, each patient alternated between itraconazole and placebo annually. Patients 13 years of age or older and all patients weighing at least 50 kg received a single dose of 200 mg of itraconazole per day; those less than 13 years old or weighing less than 50 kg received a single dose of 100 mg per day. The primary end point was severe fungal infection, as determined by histologic results or culture. RESULTS One patient (who had not been compliant with the treatment) had a serious fungal infection while receiving itraconazole, as compared with seven who had a serious fungal infection while receiving placebo (P=0.10). No patient receiving itraconazole but five patients receiving placebo had a superficial fungal infection. No serious toxic effects were noted, although one patient had a rash and another had elevated results on liver-function tests; both of these effects resolved with the discontinuation of itraconazole. CONCLUSIONS Itraconazole prophylaxis appears to be an effective and well-tolerated treatment that reduces the frequency of fungal infections in chronic granulomatous disease, but monitoring for long-term toxic effects is warranted.
Pictures Speak Louder than Words: Motivations for Using Instagram

While Instagram, the rising photo-sharing social networking service, has received increasing attention from scholars and practitioners, little is known about the social and psychological factors that lead consumers to become fanatics of this app. To provide a baseline understanding of Instagram users, the current study aims to uncover the structural dimensions of consumers' motives for using Instagram and to explore the relationships between identified motivations and key attitudinal and behavioral intention variables. A comprehensive survey was developed in which a total of 212 Instagram users evaluated their motivation, primary activities, use intention, and attitude regarding Instagram. The results suggest that Instagram users have five primary social and psychological motives: social interaction, archiving, self-expression, escapism, and peeking. The implications of this study's findings are discussed.
Artificial Intelligence and Behavioral Economics

This paper describes 2-1/2 highly speculative ideas about how artificial intelligence (AI) and behavioral economics may interact, particular in future developments in the economy and in research frontiers. First note that I’ll use the terms AI and machine learning (ML) interchangeably (although AI is broader) because the examples I have in mind all involve ML and prediction. A good introduction to ML for economists is Mullainathan and Spiess (2017).
Using a passive coordinate measurement arm for motion tracking of a rigid endoscope for augmented‐reality image‐guided surgery

One of the main sources of error in commercial surgical navigation systems is the tracking of surgical tools. Mainstream systems typically use optical or electromagnetic tracking technologies, which exhibit accuracies of the order of 1 mm. The objective of this study was to introduce a lightweight high‐precision passive coordinate measurement arm into an augmented reality‐based surgical navigation system to track a rigid endoscope.
The Rate of Breast‐Conserving Surgery for Early Breast Cancer Is Not Influenced by the Surgical Strategy of Excisional Biopsy Followed by the Definitive Procedure

Abstract: Increased emphasis on breast conservation and the primacy of the patient's preferences has led to the promotion and increased use of a two‐step surgical strategy (definitive operation only after a final tissue diagnosis from a biopsy done on a previous visit) in the treatment of early breast cancer, with the assumption being that this is more conducive to the performance of breast‐conserving surgery (BCS). We sought to test this by examining the effect of the surgical strategy (one‐step versus two‐step) on the operation performed (BCS versus mastectomy). A random sample of women with node‐negative breast cancer diagnosed in 1991 in Ontario was drawn from the Ontario Cancer Registry database and matched to the Canadian Institute of Health Information and Ontario Health Insurance Plan databases (n = 643). This provided information on the timing and nature of all surgical procedures performed as well as patient, tumor, hospital, and surgeon characteristics. The surgical strategy was defined as either a one‐step procedure (biopsy and definitive surgery performed at the same time) or a two‐step procedure (surgical biopsy and pathologic diagnosis, followed by definitive surgery at a later date). The axillary lymph node dissection was used to define the definitive procedure. BCS was employed in 68% of patients, and this did not differ significantly between the one‐step and two‐step groups (66% versus 70%). Patients with palpable lesions had a significantly lower rate of breast conservation than those with nonpalpable lesions. Other variables associated with a lower rate of BCS were larger tumor size, presence of extensive ductal carcinoma in situ (DCIS), and central or multifocal tumors. The use of a one‐step procedure was associated with a patient age of more than 50 years, a palpable mass, tumor size larger than 1 cm, previous fine needle aspiration (FNA) biopsy, absence of extensive DCIS, and surgery in an academic setting. Breast conservation was not affected by the surgical strategy used or the timing of the decision, but was associated with several accepted tumor factors. This study shows that, contrary to the opinion of some, there is a group of breast cancer patients in whom treatment in a one‐step manner is appropriate.
Sustainability and Economic Performance of the Companies in the Renewable Energy Sector in Romania

In this paper, we focus on the sustainability and economic performance of the renewable energy sector of Romania. In our analysis, we have used Total Quality Management (TQM) model, which is an economic modern tool used for improving the quality of management for all companies. The aim of this study is to bring into discussion the conceptualized TQM model of Edward Deming underlying different stages of its evolution as it is described in the economic literature. Conceptual model is applied in a case study of the renewable energy sector of Romania. The quantitative research evaluates the impact of the total quality management to achieve the sustainable development, performance objectives and the competitive advantage of the companies in the renewable energy sector. Data was collected through a survey and the questionnaire was addressed to the management and employees in the renewable energy sector. Structural equation modelling (SEM) was used and the hypotheses were tested by partial least square (PLS) equations. Data was analyzed through the Smart PLS 3 software. The main contribution of this paper is to identify and evaluate the relationship among sustainable development, economic performance of the companies and TQM model indicators. The conclusions of our research are in line with the existing literature and confirm the theoretical assumptions, underlining the fact that the undertaking’s performance and sustainable development is a direct consequence of the combination among a series of factors like decisional power quality, motivated workforce as well as integrity of operational process.
Midshaft Clavicular Fracture and Titanium Elastic Intra-medullary Nail.

INTRODUCTION Clavicular injury is common in active and younger age group with male preponderance (male-female ratio is 2:1). Purpose of this study was to analyze the outcome of surgically treated displaced fracture midshaft clavicular fracture using Intra-medullary fixation by titanium elastic nail. MATERIALS AND METHODS We present a series of cases of midshaft clavicular fracture who were subjected to Intra medullary fixation with the average nail diameter of 2.5 to 3 mm titanium elastic nail system by the closed/open reduction method under Image intensifier control. RESULTS Average time taken for full clinical and radiological union was nine weeks (with minimum six weeks to maximum eleven weeks). Time taken for fully functional recovery (time of functional disability) was 35±7 days in all patients except in two cases of floating shoulder and one case of poly-traumatic patient in which it was 50 days. Follow-up period ranged between 9 months and 24 months with an average of 18 months. Average Constant-Murley-Score after assessment of shoulder function was 96.8. CONCLUSION Titanium elastic intra-medullary nailing is a promising surgery with excellent functional outcome, safer percutaneous method with less invasive nature and rapid healing tendency with fewer complications in contrast to plate osteosynthesis.
The importance of considering optimal government policy when social norms matter for the private provision of public goods

Social pressure can help overcome the free rider problem associated with public good provision. In the social norms literature concerned with the private provision of public goods there seems to be an implicit belief that it is best to have all agents adhere to the `good' social norm. We challenge this view and study optimal government policy in a reference model (Rege, 2004) of public good provision and social approval in a dynamic setting. We discuss the problem with the standard crowding in and out argument and analyze the relationship with Pigouvian taxes. We show that even if complete adherence to the social norm maximizes social welfare it is by no means necessarily optimal to push society towards it. We stress the different roles of the social externality and the public good problem. We discuss the role of the cost of public funds and show how it can create path dependency, multiplicity of optimal equilibria and optimal paths, and discuss the role of parameter instability. We argue that extreme care must be taken when formulating policies and subsequent results will fully depend on this formulation.
Dynamic brain connectivity is a better predictor of PTSD than static connectivity

Using resting‐state functional magnetic resonance imaging, we test the hypothesis that subjects with post‐traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) are characterized by reduced temporal variability of brain connectivity compared to matched healthy controls. Specifically, we test whether PTSD is characterized by elevated static connectivity, coupled with decreased temporal variability of those connections, with the latter providing greater sensitivity toward the pathology than the former. Static functional connectivity (FC; nondirectional zero‐lag correlation) and static effective connectivity (EC; directional time‐lagged relationships) were obtained over the entire brain using conventional models. Dynamic FC and dynamic EC were estimated by letting the conventional models to vary as a function of time. Statistical separation and discriminability of these metrics between the groups and their ability to accurately predict the diagnostic label of a novel subject were ascertained using separate support vector machine classifiers. Our findings support our hypothesis that PTSD subjects have stronger static connectivity, but reduced temporal variability of connectivity. Further, machine learning classification accuracy obtained with dynamic FC and dynamic EC was significantly higher than that obtained with static FC and static EC, respectively. Furthermore, results also indicate that the ease with which brain regions engage or disengage with other regions may be more sensitive to underlying pathology than the strength with which they are engaged. Future studies must examine whether this is true only in the case of PTSD or is a general organizing principle in the human brain. Hum Brain Mapp 38:4479–4496, 2017. © 2017 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
Who Bears Interest Rate Risk?

We study the allocation of interest rate risk within the European banking sector using novel data. Banks’ exposure to interest rate risk is small on aggregate, but heterogeneous in the cross-section. Contrary to conventional wisdom, net worth is increasing in interest rates for approximately half of the institutions in our sample. Cross-sectional variation in banks’ exposures is driven by cross-country differences in loan-rate fixation conventions for mortgages. Banks use derivatives to partially hedge on-balance-sheet exposures. Residual exposures imply that changes in interest rates have redistributive effects within the banking sector. Received October 31, 2017; editorial decision August 30, 2018 by Editor Philip Strahan. Authors have furnished an Internet Appendix, which is available on the Oxford University Press Web site next to the link to the final published paper online.
Analysis of Market Participation and Rural Poverty among Farmers in Northern Part of Taraba State, Nigeria

Abstract Market access plays a remarkable role in ensuring better income and welfare for smallholder farmers through diverse channels. By raising income, markets increase purchasing power, which, in turn, creates demand for consumer goods, ipso facto enhancing farmer welfare. The study examined market participation and poverty in rural Nigeria with a focus on selected rural communities in northern Taraba State. Multi-stage stratified random and purposive random sampling techniques were used to select respondents. On 120 rural farmers, 120 questionnaires were administered, retrieved and analyzed. About 110 out of the 120 sampled farmers were market participants operating at various levels of market participation as revealed by the total market participation index (TMPI); 10 farmers, 15 farmers, 25 farmers and 60 farmers participated in the market at levels 1, 2, 3 and 4 respectively. About 70.83 percent, 7.5 percent and 21.67 percent of the respondents were very poor, poor and non-poor respectively. Data were fitted to logit and tobit models. The results revealed concordant R2 s of 0.89, 0.20 and 0.43 and the fits of the data and log likelihoods were statistically significant at 0.01 percent for probability of market participation, factors influencing poverty and level of sales of produce respectively. Seven covariates (X1=market information, X3=distance, X4=output size, X5=extension visit, X6=cooperative membership, X8=family size and X9=education) out of nine covariates, eight covariates (X1=age, X2=farming experience, X3=distance, X4=infrastructure, X6=transport cost, X7=dependency ratio, X10=farm size and X11=market participation) out of eleven covariates and five covariates (X2=output size, X3=distance, X5=cooperative membership, X7=extension visit and X8=family size) out of nine covariates used carried appropriate signs in consonance with a priori expectation for probability of market participation, factors affecting poverty and factors influencing level of sale of produce respectively. Socioeconomic variables such as distance, cooperative membership, family size, high output commercialization ratio and education and institutional variables such as supportive infrastructure and institutions have been found to be important variables affecting market participation while high transportation costs, poor infrastructure, high dependency ratio, age and poor market participation were found to have positive correlation with poverty in the study area. Governmental intervention is recommended to better the lots of these farmers.
The genetic architecture of domestication in the chicken: effects of pleiotropy and linkage

The extent of pleiotropy and epistasis in quantitative traits remains equivocal. In the case of pleiotropy, multiple quantitative trait loci are often taken to be pleiotropic if their confidence intervals overlap, without formal statistical tests being used to ascertain if these overlapping loci are statistically significantly pleiotropic. Additionally, the degree to which the genetic correlations between phenotypic traits are reflected in these pleiotropic quantitative trait loci is often variable, especially in the case of antagonistic pleiotropy. Similarly, the extent of epistasis in various morphological, behavioural and life‐history traits is also debated, with a general problem being the sample sizes required to detect such effects. Domestication involves a large number of trade‐offs, which are reflected in numerous behavioural, morphological and life‐history traits which have evolved as a consequence of adaptation to selective pressures exerted by humans and captivity. The comparison between wild and domestic animals allows the genetic analysis of the traits that differ between these population types, as well as being a general model of evolution. Using a large F2 intercross between wild and domesticated chickens, in combination with a dense SNP and microsatellite marker map, both pleiotropy and epistasis were analysed. The majority of traits were found to segregate in 11 tight ‘blocks’ and reflected the trade‐offs associated with domestication. These blocks were shown to have a pleiotropic ‘core’ surrounded by more loosely linked loci. In contrast, epistatic interactions were almost entirely absent, with only six pairs identified over all traits analysed. These results give insights both into the extent of such blocks in evolution and the development of domestication itself.
Connections of the lateral hypothalamic area juxtadorsomedial region in the male rat

The connections of the lateral hypothalamic area juxtadorsomedial region (LHAjd) were investigated in a series of pathway‐tracing experiments involving iontophoretic co‐injection of the tracers Phaseolus vulgaris‐leucoagglutinin (PHA‐L; for outputs) and cholera toxin B subunit (CTB; for inputs). Results revealed that the LHAjd has connections with some 318 distinct gray matter regions encompassing all four subsystems—motor, sensory, cognitive, and behavioral state—included in a basic structure–function network model of the nervous system. Integration of these subsystems is necessary for the coordination and control of emotion and behavior, and in that regard the connections of the LHAjd indicate that it may have a prominent role. Furthermore, the LHAjd connections, together with the connections of other LHA differentiations studied similarly to date, indicate a distinct topographic organization that suggests each LHA differentiation has specifically differing degrees of involvement in the control of multiple behaviors. For the LHAjd, its involvement to a high degree in the control of defensive behavior, and to a lesser degree in the control of other behaviors, including ingestive and reproductive, is suggested. Moreover, the connections of the LHAjd suggest that its possible role in the control of these behaviors may be very broad in scope because they involve the somatic, neuroendocrine, and autonomic divisions of the nervous system. In addition, we suggest that connections between LHA differentiations may provide, at the level of the hypothalamus, a neuronal substrate for the coordinated control of multiple themes in the behavioral repertoire. J. Comp. Neurol. 520:1831–1890, 2012. © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
Benign Neglect or Malign Select?: Entry Cost to GATS/WTO

WTO was established in 1995 and as many as 36 new members joined WTO until December 2017. Thus it would be interesting to see if new members have committed higher or lower levels of market opening compared to the original members. In this regard, a sophisticated scoring scheme is needed to quantify market opening commitments. After proper econometric model is established for the original members, same model can be applied to the new members for comparison. It was found that new members committed a much higher level of commitment than the original members. In addition, it was also found that transition economies committed higher levels than the non-transition economies. More interesting finding is that among the new members, the larger the economies or the larger the trading volume are, the closer was the level of commitment to the predicted level. Then the question is whether this difference was due to benign neglect by the new members or due to malign select by the original members.
Overexpression of transforming growth factor-&bgr;1 in fetal monkey lung results in prenatal pulmonary fibrosis

Altered transforming growth factor (TGF)-&bgr; expression levels have been linked to a variety of human respiratory diseases, including bronchopulmonary dysplasia and pulmonary fibrosis. However, a causative role for aberrant TGF-&bgr; in neonatal lung diseases has not been defined in primates. Exogenous and transient TGF-&bgr;1 overexpression in fetal monkey lung was achieved by transabdominal ultrasound-guided fetal intrapulmonary injection of adenoviral vector expressing TGF-&bgr;1 at the second or third trimester of pregnancy. The lungs were then harvested near term, and fixed for histology and immunohistochemistry. Lung hypoplasia was observed where TGF-&bgr;1 was overexpressed during the second trimester. The most clearly marked phenotype consisted of severe pulmonary and pleural fibrosis, which was independent of the gestational time point when TGF-&bgr;1 was overexpressed. Increased cell proliferation, particularly in &agr;-smooth muscle actin-positive myofibroblasts, was detected within the fibrotic foci. But epithelium to mesenchyme transdifferentiation was not detected. Massive collagen fibres were deposited on the inner and outer sides of the pleural membrane, with an intact elastin layer in the middle. This induced fibrotic pathology persisted even after adenoviral-mediated TGF-&bgr;1 overexpression was no longer evident. Therefore, overexpression of TGF-&bgr;1 within developing fetal monkey lung results in severe and progressive fibrosis in lung parenchyma and pleural membrane, in addition to pulmonary hypoplasia.
SSP1, a gene necessary for proper completion of meiotic divisions and spore formation in Saccharomyces cerevisiae

During meiosis, a diploid cell undergoes two rounds of nuclear division following one round of DNA replication to produce four haploid gametes. In yeast, haploid meiotic products are packaged into spores. To gain new insights into meiotic development and spore formation, we followed differential expression of genes in meiotic versus vegetatively growing cells in the yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae. Our results indicate that there are at least five different classes of transcripts representing genes expressed at different stages of the sporulation program. Here we describe one of these differentially expressed genes, SSP1, which plays an essential role in meiosis and spore formation. SSP1 is expressed midway through meiosis, and homozygous ssp1 diploid cells fail to sporulate. In the ssp1 mutant, meiotic recombination is normal but viability declines rapidly. Both meiotic divisions occur at the normal time; however, the fraction of cells completing meiosis is significantly reduced, and nuclei become fragmented soon after meiosis II. The ssp1 defect does not appear to be related to a microtubule-cytoskeletal-dependent event and is independent of two rounds of chromosome segregation. The data suggest that Ssp1 is likely to function in a pathway that controls meiotic nuclear divisions and coordinates meiosis and spore formation.