Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Subclass Characteristics of IgG Autoantibodies in Bullous Pemphigoid and Pemphigus

Immunoglobulin (Ig) G subclasses in anti‐basement membrane zone (BMZ) autoantibodies found in the sera of bullous pemphigoid (BP) and in anti‐intercellular substance (ICS) autoantibodies of pemphigus were investigated using immunofluorescent (IF) staining. In BP, IgG4, IgG1, and IgG2 were detected in 13, 5 and 6 of 15 patients, respectively; IgG3 was not detected. In pemphigus, IgG4 was detected in all of 10 patients, IgG1 in 7, IgG2 in one, and IgG3 in one patient, respectively. In both BP and pemphigus, the most prominent subclass in intensity of IF staining was IgG4. Although one BP and one PV patient had only IgG4 autoantibodies, C3 deposition was detected.
Evaluation of Endocrine Profile and Hypothalamic-Pituitary-Testis Axis in Selective Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitor-Induced Male Sexual Dysfunction

Purpose: To evaluate endocrine profile and hypothalamic-pituitary-testis (HPT) axis in male depressed patients with selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor (SSRI)-induced sexual dysfunction (SDF). Materials and Methods: Eighty-six fertile depressed male patients with SSRI-induced SDF, aged 18 to 50 years, were enrolled in the study (group 1). Sixty-two age-matched depressed fertile patients who currently receive one of the SSRIs but without SDF (group 2), and 68 age-matched healthy fertile men who had never received a psychiatric diagnosis (group 3) served as controls. Pretreatment evaluation included history and physical examination and International Index of Erectile Function. Two blood samples were drawn from each subject at 20-minute intervals for the determination of the resting levels of the following hormones: luteinizing hormone (LH), follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH), testosterone, prolactin, and estradiol. The HPT axis was also assessed using the gonadotropin-releasing hormone test. Results: The prevalence of hormonal abnormalities in groups 1, 2, and 3 were 83.7% (72), 51.6% (32), and 11.8% (7), respectively (P = 0.001 vs group 1 and 0.007 vs group 2). Compared with normal controls, the subjects taking SSRIs had significantly lower serum levels of LH, FSH, and testosterone. In addition, there were significantly decreased LH and FSH responses to gonadotropin-releasing hormone test in groups 1 and 2 compared with normal controls. Of patients in groups 1 and 2, 68 (79.1%) and 27 (43.5%) had elevated serum levels of prolactin (P = 0.0001 vs group 1 and 0.001 vs group 2). Conclusions: Most depressed subjects taking SSRIs with and without SDF had diminished HPT axis function. This should be replicated in further studies.
Human capital in Britain, 1760–2009

ABSTRACT Human capital can be defined as the knowledge, skills, competencies and attributes embodied in individuals that facilitate the creation of personal, social and economic well-being. It is arguably one of the most important determinants of economic growth. In general, human capital has been calculated with two different approaches: (1) retrospective method through the expenditures on education, (2) prospective through the discounted sum of the wages it would receive over the expected number of remaining working years. In this paper we use the prospective method to calculate human capital in the UK from the mid-eighteenth century to the present, providing the by far longest estimate for human capital for any country. To overcome the problems related to the scarcity of historical data, we developed a method which is able to make the most efficient use of the scarce data available for the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. Our calculations show a 112-fold increase of human capital, and a 13-fold increase of human capital per worker and per capita from 1760 to 2009. Using cumulative schooling expenditures from 1833 to 2000, we examine whether increased spending on schooling explains this phenomenal growth in human capital.
WHO COLLABORATIVE STUDY ON BREAST FEEDING

ABSTRACT. WHO, concerned with the declining breast feeding rate in developing countries, has organized investigations in nine different countries of different aspects of breast feeding and breast milk with the ultimate aim of formulating programmes of intervention. The basic epidemiological study on 24 000 mother/child pairs is just completed and some preliminary data are reported on the pattern of breast feeding in the three studied socio‐economic groups—urban elite, urban poor and traditional rural—which differ significantly in their breast feeding rate as well as in the pattern of return of menstruation in breast‐feeding and non‐breast‐feeding mothers.
The effects of medical group practice and physician payment methods on costs of care.

OBJECTIVE To assess the effects of payment methods on the costs of care in medical group practices. DATA SOURCES Eighty-six clinics providing services for a Blue Cross managed care program during 1995. The clinics were analyzed to determine the relationship between payment methods and cost of care. Cost and patient data were obtained from Blue Cross records, and medical group practice clinic data were obtained by a survey of those organizations. STUDY DESIGN The effects of clinic and physician payment methods on per member per year (PMPY) adjusted patient costs are evaluated using a two-stage regression model. Patient costs are adjusted for differences in payment schedules; patient age, gender, and ACG; clinic organizational variables are included as explanatory variables. DATA COLLECTION Patient cost data were extracted from Blue Cross claims files, and patient and physician data from their enrollee and provider data banks. Medical group practice data were obtained by a mailed survey with telephone follow-up. PRINCIPAL FINDINGS Capitation payment is correlated with lower patient care costs. When combined with fee-for-service with withhold provisions, this effect is smaller indicating that these two clinic payment methods are not interchangeable. Clinics with more physician compensation based on measures of resource use or based on some share of the net revenue of the clinic have lower patient care costs than those with more compensation related to productivity or based on salary. Salary compensation is strongly associated with higher costs. The use of physician profiles and clinical guidelines is associated with lower costs, but referral management systems have no such effect. The lower cost clinics are the smaller, multispecialty clinics. CONCLUSIONS This study indicates that payment methods at both the medical group practice and physician levels influence the cost of care. However, the methods by which that influence is manifest is not clear. Although the organizational structure of clinics and their use of managed care programs appear to play a role, this influence is less than expected.
Compomer as a pit and fissure sealant: effectiveness and retention after 24 months.

PURPOSE The aim of this study was to evaluate the effectiveness and retention of occlusal sealing using FluroShield or Compoglass. METHODS The sample consisted of 57 children aged 7 to 9 years who had 4 sound, fully erupted, first permanent molars (total=228 teeth). Both materials were applied on contralateral teeth in a split-mouth design in 2 groups: (1) FluroShield--left upper molar and right lower molar; (2) Compoglass--right upper molar and left lower molar. The materials were applied under cotton roll isolation by the same operator according to the manufacturers' instructions. The evaluations were carried out at 6, 12, and 24 months. The data were subjected to the G2 (likelihood ratio chi-square test; P<.05). RESULTS At the 6-month evaluation, Compoglass showed 60% total retention, 23% partial retention, and 17% total loss. FluroShield showed 53% total retention, 31% partial retention, and 16% total loss. At the 12-month recall, Compoglass and FluroShield, respectively, showed 39% and 43% total retention, 38% and 33% partial retention, and 24% and 25% total loss. At the 24-month evaluation, there was a reduction of 56% of the initial sample numbers (32/57), with 22% and 20% having total retention, 52% and 48% partial retention, and 26% and 32% total loss, respectively, for Compoglass and FluroShield. There was no significant statistical difference between the retention of both materials studied. There was no new caries formation during the evaluation period. CONCLUSION It could be concluded that both materials effectively prevented caries in occlusal surfaces during the follow-up period, although both showed a low retention rates.
New product model representation for decisions in engineering systems

A novel modeling method is presented for knowledge intensive representation of engineering objects in product model in order to establish product-wide coordinated decision making during lifecycle of product. The currently prevailing product model space is extended by entities representing human affect driven change attempt, product behavior, change affect zone, and contextual change chain. The purpose of this modeling is utilization of possibilities offered by integrated application of sophisticated product modeling and intelligent engineering in order to establish a contribution to find solution for an actual product model related problem in communication between engineers. This problem has been emerged by the new style of engineering where cooperating humans use product model as a medium. The extended model is called as virtual engineering space. Term engineering space refers to the emphasis on serving engineering processes in virtual space. In this paper, definition of key concepts and placing the research in related works are followed by characterization of current virtual product spaces and the related engineering methods. Main contribution of the paper explains a three sectored multilevel model of product and application of this concept at definition of virtual engineering space. Finally, a human intent based process for decision making on product object parameters is explained as an example for application of the proposed virtual engineering space.
Assessment Of The Cosmic Radiation Exposure On Canadian-based Routes

Abstract—As a result of the recent recommendations of the ICRP-60 and in anticipation of possible regulation on occupational exposure of commercial aircrew, a two-phase investigation was carried out over a 1-y period to determine the total dose equivalent on representative Canadian-based flight routes. In the first phase of the study, dedicated scientific flights on a Northern round-trip route between Ottawa and Resolute Bay provided the opportunity to characterize the complex mixed-radiation field and to intercompare various instrumentation using both a conventional suite of powered detectors and passive dosimetry. In the second phase, volunteer aircrew carried (passive) neutron bubble detectors during their routine flight duties. From these measurements, the total dose equivalent was derived for a given route with a knowledge of the neutron fraction as determined from the scientific flights and computer code (CARI-3C) calculations. This study has yielded an extensive database of over 3,100 measurements providing the total dose equivalent for 385 different routes. By folding in flight frequency information and the accumulated flight hours, the annual occupational exposures of 20 flight crew have been determined. This study has indicated that most Canadian-based domestic and international aircrew will exceed the proposed annual ICRP-60 public limit of 1 mSv y−1 but will be well below the occupational limit of 20 mSv y−1.
Non-Gaussian diffusion MRI of gray matter is associated with cognitive impairment in multiple sclerosis

Background: Non-Gaussian diffusion imaging by using diffusional kurtosis imaging (DKI) allows assessment of isotropic tissue as of gray matter (GM), an important limitation of diffusion tensor imaging (DTI). Objective: In this study, we describe DKI and DTI metrics of GM in multiple sclerosis (MS) patients and their association with cognitive deficits. Methods: Thirty-four patients with relapsing–remitting MS and 17 controls underwent MRI on a 3T scanner including a sequence for DKI with 30 diffusion directions and 3b values for each direction. Mean kurtosis (MK), mean diffusivity and fractional anisotropy (FA) of cortical and subcortical GM were measured using histogram analysis. Spearman rank correlations were used to characterize associations among imaging measures and clinical/neuropsychological scores. Results: In cortical GM, a significant decrease of MK (0.68 vs. 0.73; p < 0.001) and increase of FA (0.16 vs. 0.13; p < 0.001) was found in patients compared to controls. Decreased cortical MK was correlated with poor performance on the Delis-Kaplan Executive Function System test (r = 0.66, p = 0.01). Conclusion: Mean kurtosis is sensitive to abnormality in GM of MS patients and can provide information that is complementary to that of conventional DTI-derived metrics. The association between MK and cognitive deficits suggests that DKI might serve as a clinically relevant biomarker for cortical injury.
Dreaming during Anesthesia and Anesthetic Depth in Elective Surgery Patients: A Prospective Cohort Study

Background:Dreaming reported after anesthesia remains a poorly understood phenomenon. Dreaming may be related to light anesthesia and represent near-miss awareness. However, few studies have assessed the relation between dreaming and depth of anesthesia, and their results were inconclusive. Therefore, the authors tested the hypothesis that dreaming during anesthesia is associated with light anesthesia, as evidenced by higher Bispectral Index values during maintenance of anesthesia. Methods:With approval, 300 consenting healthy patients, aged 18–50 yr, presenting for elective surgery requiring relaxant general anesthesia with a broad range of agents were studied. Patients were interviewed on emergence and 2–4 h postoperatively. The Bispectral Index was recorded from induction until the first interview. Dream content and form were also assessed. Results:Dreaming was reported by 22% of patients on emergence. There was no difference between dreamers and nondreamers in median Bispectral Index values during maintenance (37 [23–55] vs. 38 [20–59]; P = 0.68) or the time at Bispectral Index values greater than 60 (0 [0–7] vs. 0 [0–31] min; P = 0.38). Dreamers tended to be younger and male, to have high home dream recall, to receive propofol maintenance or regional anesthesia, and to open their eyes sooner after surgery. Most dreams were similar to dreams of sleep and were pleasant, and the content was unrelated to surgery. Conclusions:Dreaming during anesthesia is unrelated to the depth of anesthesia in almost all cases. Similarities with dreams of sleep suggest that anesthetic dreaming occurs during recovery, when patients are sedated or in a physiologic sleep state.
Gamma nailing of pertrochanteric and subtrochanteric fractures: clinical results of a series of 63 consecutive cases.

OBJECTIVE To analyze the use of the gamma nail in the treatment of pertrochanteric fractures. DESIGN Prospective. SETTING University. PATIENTS Sixty-three fractures in sixty-three patients treated with gamma nails. RESULTS Forty-five of the sixty-three patients (71 percent) were followed until the end of treatment, for an average follow-up period of 7.2 months. Of the remaining eighteen, eleven died and seven were lost to follow-up. Reduction was classified as good in thirty-eight cases, acceptable in nineteen, and unsatisfactory in six. CONCLUSION The findings from this series indicate that, compared with other methods, the gamma nail enables the surgeon to treat more types of hip fractures with a less invasive technique and achieve equal or better results.
Actual and predicted coverage of multiuser MIMO based fixed wireless access in rural areas

Coverage prediction is an important tool in designing fixed wireless broadband access networks in rural areas. Recently, the use of multiuser multiple-input multiple-output orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (MU-MIMO-OFDM) was proposed to multiply the spectral efficiency of the fixed wireless broadband access in rural areas by the factor corresponding to the number of space division multiple access (SDMA) users. Due to the complex nature of adaptive beam-forming, inherent in the MU-MIMO, coverage prediction of a MU-MIMO system may be difficult. We propose a simple conversion method where a MU-MIMO system is replaced with a single-transmitter-single-receiver system thereby allowing the use of conventional coverage prediction tools, such as Recommendation ITU-R P. 1546 propagation model. Coverage prediction by the proposed method and actual six-user MU-MIMO-OFDM uplink performance, demonstrated in a rural area in Tasmania, Australia, at a UHF band, have been found to correspond to each other well.
CORNET 2.0: integrating plant coexpression, protein-protein interactions, regulatory interactions, gene associations and functional annotations.

To enable easy access and interpretation of heterogeneous and scattered data, we have developed a user-friendly tool for data mining and integration in Arabidopsis, named CORNET. This tool allows the browsing of microarray data, the construction of coexpression and protein-protein interaction (PPI) networks and the exploration of diverse functional annotations. Here, we present the new functionalities of CORNET 2.0 for data integration in plants. First of all, CORNET allows the integration of regulatory interaction datasets accessible through the new transcription factor (TF) tool that can be used in combination with the coexpression tool or the PPI tool. In addition, we have extended the PPI tool to enable the analysis of gene-gene associations from AraNet as well as newly identified PPIs. Different search options are implemented to enable the construction of networks centered around multiple input genes or proteins. New functional annotation resources are included to retrieve relevant literature, phenotypes, plant ontology and biological pathways. We have also extended CORNET to attain the construction of coexpression and PPI networks in the crop species maize. Networks and associated evidence of the majority of currently available data types are visualized in Cytoscape. CORNET is available at https://bioinformatics.psb. ugent.be/cornet.
Gene Context and DNA Rearrangements in the Carbapenemase Locus of Division II Strains of Bacteroides fragilis

ABSTRACT The cfiA gene is clustered in a bicistronic operon encoding an N-acetyltransferase and an O-acetyltransferase related to resistance markers. This genetic context, exclusively found in strains of Bacteroides fragilis division II, has been highly rearranged by the successive integration of two new mobile sequences, a miniature element and ISBf9. Besides that, among the DNA polymorphisms detected in the cfiA locus, only the integration of IS942 at its promoter was a determinant for expression of carbapenemase activity.
Interacting Fidelity Defects in the Replicative DNA Polymerase of Bacteriophage RB69*

The DNA polymerases (gp43s) of the related bacteriophages T4 and RB69 are B family (polymerase α class) enzymes that determine the fidelity of phage DNA replication. A T4 whose gene 43 has been mutationally inactivated can be replicated by a cognate RB69 gp43 encoded by a recombinant plasmid in T4-infected Escherichia coli. We used this phage-plasmid complementation assay to obtain rapid and sensitive measurements of the mutational specificities of mutator derivatives of the RB69 enzyme. RB69 gp43s lacking proofreading function (Exo− enzymes) and/or substituted with alanine, serine, or threonine at the conserved polymerase function residue Tyr567(PolY567(A/S/T) enzymes) were examined for their effects on the reversion of specific mutations in the T4 rII gene and on forward mutation in the T4 rI gene. The results reveal that Tyr567 is a key determinant of the fidelity of base selection and that the Pol and Exo functions are strongly coupled in this B family enzyme. In vitro assays show that the PolY567A Exo− enzyme generates mispairs more frequently but extends them less efficiently than does a Pol+ Exo− enzyme. Other replicative DNA polymerases may control fidelity by strategies similar to those used by RB69 gp43.
Intra‐arterial infusion and chemo‐embolization for melanoma liver metastases

This article will review the rationale for hepatic arterial administration of agents to treat melanoma liver metastases, the techniques and practical considerations pertinent to hepatic arterial therapy, the variety of agents that have been used and the reported outcomes. Recent and emerging developments will be highlighted and the potential role of liver‐directed therapies in the context of molecular advances and improved systemic therapy will be discussed. J. Surg. Oncol. 2014 109:376–382. © 2014 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
Medical and economic benefit of a comprehensive infection control program that includes routine determination of microbial clonality.

Nosocomial infections are a major part of the problem of reemerging pathogens causing infectious diseases, affecting 5% of patients hospitalized in the United States during 1995. We assessed the medical and economic effects on the overall nosocomial infection rate of an intervention that provided an enhanced, integrated infection control program, including an in-house molecular typing laboratory capability to rapidly assess microbial clonality. Data on nosocomial infections for 24 months prior to the change in approach to infection control were compared with data from the 24 months immediately following implementation of the new program. Infections per 1,000 patient-days and percentage of hospitalized patients in whom nosocomial infection developed were assessed. Overall, nosocomial infections per 1,000 patient-days decreased more than 10% (P = .027), and percentage of patients with nosocomial infection decreased 23% during the post-intervention period compared with the previous control 24 months. This translated to a mean reduction of some 270 patients per year with nosocomial infection, and lowering of actual health care costs for our institution by $4,368,100 over the 2 years of the intervention.
The impact of comorbidities on hormone use

AbstractOBJECTIVE: Determine the impact of fracture, coronary disease, and diabetes on changes in rates of discontinuation and initiation of estrogen therapy with (EPT) and without (ET) progestin, before (September 1, 1999 to June 30, 2002, baseline) versus 5 months after (follow-up) release of the Women’s Health Initiative EPT trial results (WHI). DESIGN, SETTING, AND PARTICIPANTS: Observational cohort; 169,586 women 40 to 80 years old from 5 U.S. HMOs. METHODS: We used pharmacy data to identify ET and EPT users. A woman was a user any month she filled ≥ 1 estrogen prescription and in subsequent months based upon the number of pills/patches dispensed. We used inpatient and outpatient claims to identify fracture January 1, 1999 to June 30, 2002 and pharmacy data to identify disease-based groups of medications for diabetes and cardiovascular disease. MEASURES: EPT/ET prevalence, initiation, and discontinuation rates. RESULTS: Baseline to follow-up EPT and ET prevalence declined 45% and 22%, respectively, with no difference by comorbidity. Follow-up EPT initiation was half the baseline rate irrespective of comorbidity. Compared to baseline, follow-up EPT discontinuation rates increased among women with diabetes (relative risk [RR], 6.9; 95% confidence interval [CI], 5.6 to 8.4), cardiovascular disease (RR, 5.5; 95% CI, 4.9 to 6.2), fracture (RR, 3.8; 95% CI, 2.4 to 5.7), and no comorbidity (RR, 4.4; 95% CI, 3.9 to 4.9). The RRs for follow-up versus baseline EPT discontinuation were higher among women with diabetes (P<.01) and cardiovascular disease (P<.01) versus women without these comorbidities. ET discontinuation rates among these same groups were elevated 2- to 2.8-fold. CONCLUSIONS: Diabetes and cardiovascular disease were associated with higher EPT discontinuation rates post-WHI compared to women without comorbidity; comorbidity had little impact on changes in prevalence or initiation of ET/EPT after release of the WHI.