Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Relationship between injury severity, random blood glucose and management outcome in a cohort of Nigerian patients with head injury

Objective: This study was designed to evaluate the relationship between injury severity, admission Random Blood Glucose [RBG] and management outcome in a cohort of Nigerian patients with Head Injury [HI]. Materials and Methods: RBG was determined at admission, twenty four hours as well as seventy two hours after admission in patients with head injury. Severity of injury was graded using Glasgow Coma Scale (GCS). Outcome of management was determined by Glasgow Outcome Score at discharge. Serum glucose level of ≥ 11.1 mmol/l was taken as hyperglycaemia. Analyses of variance [ANOVA] was used to determine level of significance and a P value of < 0.05 was considered significant. Results: There were 146 male and 30 female patients (range: 2 years to 78 years; mean; 34.4 years, SD: 16.4 years). Most (36.4%) of the patients had severe HI. Only 2.5% of the patients had hyperglycaemia at admission. Death occurred in 25% of the patients, moderate disability occurred in 30.1% and good outcome occurred in 35.8%. Hyperglycaemia occurred in one patient each in mild and severe head injuries and in two patients with moderate head injury. All the patients with hyperglycaemia had favourable outcome. Conclusion: Random blood glucose of ≥ 11.1 mmol/l was not common at admission in head injured patients in this cohort of patients and the value was not associated with severe injury or poor outcome.
Home Blood Pressure Monitoring. Current Knowledge and Directions for Future Research

Home blood pressure (BP) monitoring has become popular in clinical practice and several automated devices for home BP measurement are now recommendable. Home BP is generally lower than clinic BP, and similar to daytime ambulatory BP. Home BP measurement eliminates the white coat effect and provides a high number of readings, and it is considered more accurate and reproducible than clinic BP. It can improve the sensitivity and statistical power of clinical drug trials and may have a higher prognostic value than clinic BP. Home monitoring may improve compliance and BP control, and reduce costs of hypertension management. Diagnostic thresholds and treatment target values for home BP remain to be established by longitudinal studies. Until then, home BP monitoring is to be considered a supplement. However, high home BP may support or confirm the diagnosis made in the doctor's office, and low home BP may warrant ambulatory BP monitoring. During long-term follow-up, home BP monitoring provides an opportunity for close attention to BP levels and variations. The first international guidelines have established a consensus document with recommendations, including a proposal of preliminary diagnostic thresholds, but further research is needed to define the precise role of home BP monitoring in clinical practice.
The use of 1H magnetic resonance spectroscopy in inflammatory bowel diseases: distinguishing ulcerative colitis from Crohn's disease

OBJECTIVES:The distinction between the two major forms of inflammatory bowel diseases (IBD), i.e., ulcerative colitis (UC) and Crohn's disease is sometimes difficult and may lead to a diagnosis of indeterminate colitis. We have used 1H magnetic resonance spectroscopy (MRS) combined with multivariate methods of spectral data analysis to differentiate UC from Crohn's disease and to evaluate normal-appearing mucosa in IBD.METHODS:Colon mucosal biopsies (45 UC and 31 Crohn's disease) were submitted to 1H MRS, and multivariate analysis was applied to distinguish the two diseases. A second study was performed to test endoscopically and histologically normal biopsies from IBD patients. A classifier was developed by training on 101 spectra (76 inflamed IBD tissues and 25 normal control tissues). The spectra of 38 biopsies obtained from endoscopically and histologically normal areas of the colons of patients with IBD were put into the validation test set.RESULTS:The classification accuracy between UC and Crohn's disease was 98.6%, with only one case of Crohn's disease and no cases of UC misclassified. The diagnostic spectral regions identified by our algorithm included those for taurine, lysine, and lipid. In the second study, the classification accuracy between normal controls and IBD was 97.9%. Only 47.4% of the endoscopically and histologically normal IBD tissue spectra were classified as true normals; 34.2% showed “abnormal” magnetic resonance spectral profiles, and the remaining 18.4% could not be classified unambiguously.CONCLUSIONS:There is a strong potential for MRS to be used in the accurate diagnosis of indeterminate colitis; it may also be sensitive in detecting preclinical inflammatory changes in the colon.
Modulation of Epidermal Growth Factor stimulated ERK phosphorylation and cell motility by inositol trisphosphate kinase

Epidermal growth factor [EGF] mediated stimulation of its receptor in endothelial cell [EC] is accompanied by phosphorylation of the EGF‐receptor [EGFR] and activation of phospholipase C‐γ, resulting in the breakdown of phosphatidylinositol(4,5)‐bisphosphate and generating inositol (1,4,5)‐trisphosphate [IP3] and diacylglycerol. IP3 thus formed can be further converted to inositol (1,3,4,5)‐tetrakisphosphate [IP4] by an enzyme called IP3‐kinase [IP3K]. In this study we have investigated the effect of modulation of intracellular IP3K activity by the use of an inhibitor, 2‐trifluoromethyl [6‐(4‐nitrobenzyl)‐purine] [IP3KI] and siRNA against IP3KB on EGF‐induced ERK‐phosphorylation and cell motility. EC cells were stimulated with EGF in presence or absence of IP3KI. Cells were lysed, and proteins separated by SDS gel electrophoresis; the western blots were probed with polyclonal antibody to designated proteins. IP3KI, at 10 μM and 20 μM concentrations inhibited both EGF‐stimulated ERK phosphorylation and motility in a dose‐dependent manner. Interestingly, at the above concentrations, IP3KI also inhibited EGFR phosphorylation at Y1173. To further establish whether any of the above effects of IP3KI can be attributed to the IP3K activity rather than the direct inhibition of EGFR kinase by IP3KI, we downregulated intracellular IP3KB with siRNA. Lipofectamine transfection of the EC with 50 pmole and 75 pmole siRNA against IP3KB was accompanied by decreased level of IP3KB [as determined by western blot], as well as inhibition of phosphorylation of both EGFR [at Y1173] and ERK1/2. Based on these data, we conclude that IP3KB, and therefore its resulting product IP4, is capable of modulating EGF stimulated response at the receptor level.
Sufficient Image Appearance Transfer Combining Color and Texture

Traditional color transfer methods can achieve satisfactory results for transferring the color style from a reference image to a source image, provided that the source image shares the similar color mood with the reference image. However, color transfer solutions are always sensitive to color category, which cannot generate natural results when the contents of the reference image and the source image are different, e.g., a lush tree in the reference image and a bare tree in the source image. In this situation, it is insufficient only through color transfer to transfer the appearance from the reference image to the source image only through color transfer, since other information such as texture should also be considered. To obtain sufficient appearance transfer results, we propose a new image appearance transfer method combining both color and texture features. Given a source image and a reference image, our method starts with feature detection and matching between the source image and the reference image. Then, we design a new method for expanding feature point sets to get texture transfer mark (TTM) and color transfer mark (CTM). TTM and CTM will guide texture transfer and color transfer, respectively. We demonstrate our appearance transfer algorithm between quantities of images and compare with results of existing methods. Experiment results show that given only a single reference image, our approach can produce more sufficient appearance transfer results than the state-of-the-art algorithms.
Perception of chemotherapy side effects cancer versus noncancer patients.

PURPOSE This study was conducted to identify and compare perceptions regarding the disruption in quality of life caused by chemotherapy side effects in patients with cancer receiving chemotherapy and in noncancer, chemotherapy-naive patients. DESCRIPTION OF STUDY One hundred forty-six patients with cancer and 224 patients without cancer completed two instruments to assess the perceived magnitude of 41 physical and psychosocial chemotherapy side effects. Instrument 1 used a 5-point Likert scale (1 = not at all; 2 = a little bit; 3 = somewhat; 4 = quite a bit; and 5 = very much) to summarize patient responses to the question, "How much did or would each of the following side effects of chemotherapy bother you? " Instrument 2 was a serial ranking questionnaire that asked patients to select the 10 most bothersome side effects to numerically rank the top five. An index of the relative magnitude of chemotherapy side effects was calculated for each instrument. RESULTS For patients with cancer, loss of hair 50%), changes in taste (46%), constantly being tired (42%), affects work duties (39%), changes in smell perception (35%) were most frequently perceived as bothering them "quite a bit" or "very much. " Nausea and vomiting were ranked 11th and 22nd, respectively. With instrument 2, the five side effects perceived as most troublesome were, in decreasing order: nausea, loss of hair, constantly tired, vomiting, and changes in the way things taste. For noncancer patients, those factors potentially bothersome "quite a bit" or "very much" were: financial hardship (82%), hardship on family (78%), vomiting (73%), shortness of breath (70%), and ability to perform work duties (69%). Via instrument 2, the top five side effects, in decreasing order were: vomiting, hardship on family, loss of hair, financial hardship, nausea, having to move close to a treatment center. CLINICAL IMPLICATIONS Noncancer, chemotherapy-naive patients perceived most chemotherapy-associated side effects as having greater impact on the quality of life than did cancer patients who had received chemotherapy. These findings can be used to direct patient education, education of the public, specific materials concerning cancer chemotherapy. The expertise of various members of the healthcare team can maximize the patient's comprehension of the adverse effects of the treatment options. The physician's knowledge of the overall treatment plan can assist in patient understanding; oncology pharmacists nurses are in a unique position to educate patients their families regarding potential chemotherapy side effects.
Welfare Effects of Labor Migration

The developed theoretical model analyzes the welfare effects of labor migration. I find that for the receiving country immigration enhances welfare as long as the marginal benefits to the natives' income exceed the social costs of immigration. Over-emigration of workers generated by free mobility is welfare detrimental to the source country because of the diaspora effect - migrants negatively affect their own income. The source country prefers to coordinate the immigration quota with the destination country, because the coordinated solution internalizes the negative diaspora effect. Contrary to popular opinion, under certain conditions unilateral enforcement of the immigration quota benefits the source country also, because it reduces the extent of the migrants' income decline.
Establishment of a Rat Long-Term Culture Expressing the Osteogenic Phenotype: Dependence on Dexamethasone and FGF-2

Rat stromal bone-marrow cells cultured in the presence of dexamethasone, ascorbic acid, g -glycerophosphate, and fibroblast growth factor-2 (FGF-2) express the osteogenic phenotype (Pitaru et al., J. Bone Miner. Res . 8:919-929, 1993). The purpose of this study was to establish a long-term homogeneous culture expressing the osteogenic phenotype. The cultures were routinely passaged every 5 days in the absence or presence of either or both dexamethasone and FGF-2, and the cumulative doubling number and the expression of the osteogenic phenotype were determined. Cultures treated with dexamethasone (10 m 7 M) ceased proliferation and only upon addition of FGF-2 (3 ng/ml) was a spontaneous immortalization achieved, as expressed by sustained proliferation for about 1 year, with a doubling time of 22 h and more than 300 doublings in 72 passages. Both FGF-2 and dexamethasone are required and act synergistically to maintain cell propagation, alkaline phosphatase expression, and osteocalcin secretion; however, protein content was FGF-2 dependent and the mineralization was dexamethasone dependent. Repetitive single-cell cloning tested the homogeneity and stability of the cells expressing the osteogenic phenotype in these long-term cultures. It was shown that 25% to 50% of subclones derived from clones with an osteogenic phenotype do not further express the osteogenic phenotype. In conclusion, we have established a spontaneously immortalized dexamethasone- and FGF-2-dependent rat stromal bone-marrow-derived long-term culture expressing the osteogenic phenotype. The cultures tend to lose the osteogenic phenotype, and dexamethasone supports the long-term preservation of the osteogenic phenotype.
Newer Inotropes in Pediatric Heart Failure

In the cardiac setting in pediatrics, inotropic support is often employed based on the extrapolation from adult studies, the underlying pathophysiology, pharmacodynamics of inotropes, and anecdotal experience. Large pediatric critical care studies involving inotropic support are rare. Levosimendan, a calcium-sensitizing agent with inotropic and lusitropic properties, is a pyridazole dinitrate derivative with linear pharmacokinetics and a relatively short half life, although an active metabolite, namely, OR-1876, has a half life of 70-80 hours accounting for a prolonged effect. Albeit few, pediatric studies involving levosimendan suggest similar pharmacokinetics to adults with heart failure, an efficacy at least equal to that of milrinone, favorable myocardial oxygen effects, and an ability to decrease concomitant catecholamine dosing. Levosimendan may be a promising new agent in pediatrics, but further experience and study are warranted. Finally, istaroxime, a calcium cycling agent that is in the beginning of adult study, may be another inotrope with lusitropic properties that might be applicable to pediatric patients.
Celiac Disease and its Link to Type 1 Diabetes Mellitus

Celiac disease (CD) is a small intestinal disorder with overt malabsorption in the minority and with subclinical or atypical symptoms in the majority of patients. It is triggered by gluten and related cereal proteins in a unique genetic background (HLA-DQ2 or DQ8 and other unmapped genes). CD is characterized by a highly specific mucosal autoantibody response to tissue transglutaminase. In the intestine this enzyme creates antigenic neoepitopes in gluten peptides which are more efficiently presented to the immune system in the context of HLA-DQ2 or DQ8. Between 3% and 6% of patients with type 1 diabetes mellitus (DM) have (atypical) CD, and the prevalence of a variety of autoimmune diseases in patients with CD correlates with the time of gluten exposure, reaching 35% after 20 years. It is still unknown whether oligosymptomatic CD favors the development of type 1 DM and whether a gluten-free diet modifies the progression of DM in general. Apart from shared or adjacent HLA loci in both diseases, post-translational modification of potential autoantigens by enzymes such as tissue transglutaminase could play a role in the autoimmunity of type 1 DM.
Breaking down the wall between nature and nurture: An exploration of gendered work preferences in East and West Germany

We study a possible nurture effect of political systems on the evolution of gender differences in work preferences by exploiting the 41-year division of Germany and its reunification in 1990 as a natural experiment. We investigate whether disparate political and social systems produced different gender gaps in preferences with respect to work and specific job attributes (high income, promotion opportunities) as, e.g., the higher female labour force participation in the former German Democratic Republic (GDR) suggests. Based on the German General Social Survey (ALLBUS) in years 1991, 1998/2000 and 2010/2012, our analyses reveal substantial differences between East and West gender gaps in preferences for work directly after reunification and hardly any convergence over the following 20 years. Regarding job attributes, gender-specific preferences in 1991 do not differ between East and West regions. Until 2010, the gaps vanish in the East but remain stable, or even widen, in the West. Cohort analyses confirm that the effect is driven by respondents who lived their adolescence in separated Germany. Accordingly, our results provide strong evidence for the impact of nurture on preference formation, while age and length of exposure are important determinants of the extent of such impact.
Perk consumption as a suboptimal outcome under pay regulations

Abstract We examine how perk consumption is determined and whether it impacts firm value in China where executive pay is regulated. We find that perks are provided when the relative pay between top executives and average employees is low, in firms with high free cash flows, economic rent, and growth. Perks are positively associated with firm value, but to a much lesser extent than monetary compensation. This suggests that if perks are converted to cash compensation, shareholder wealth can be further enhanced. However, under China’s regulated compensation structure, this conversion may not be easily achieved and perks likely represent a second-best suboptimal solution in motivating executives.
Forecasting Value-at-Risk Under Temporal and Portfolio Aggregation

textabstractWe examine the impact of temporal and portfolio aggregation on the quality of Value-at-Risk (VaR) forecasts over a horizon of ten trading days for a well-diversified portfolio of stocks, bonds and alternative investments. The VaR forecasts are constructed based on daily, weekly or biweekly returns of all constituent assets separately, gathered into portfolios based on asset class, or into a single portfolio. We compare the impact of aggregation to that of choosing a model for the conditional volatilities and correlations, the distribution for the innovations and the method of forecast construction. We find that the degree of temporal aggregation is most important. Daily returns form the best basis for VaR forecasts. Modelling the portfolio at the asset or asset class level works better than complete portfolio aggregation, but differences are smaller. The differences from the model, distribution and forecast choices are also smaller compared to temporal aggregation
Relationships between organizational justice, organizational trust and organizational commitment: a cross-cultural study of China, South Korea and Australia

Abstract In an increasingly globalized world, organizations that operate in more than one country are a substantial part of the world economy. It is therefore beneficial to understand the attitudes of employees in different countries and their impact on the organization. One important area is organizational justice and its relationships with organizational trust (OT) and organizational commitment. This empirical study collected survey data from university employees across China, South Korea and Australia. We proposed that OT would mediate the relationships between affective organizational commitment (AOC) and both distributive justice (DJ) and procedural justice (PJ) in all three countries. In Australia, we found that PJ and AOC were significantly related, and OT fully mediated the PJ-AOC relationship. In China and South Korea, both DJ and PJ were significantly related to AOC, and OT fully mediated the PJ-AOC relationship. OT partially mediated the DJ-AOC relationship in China but fully mediated this relationship in South Korea. Implications for theory and for management practitioners are discussed, and areas for future investigation are identified.
The cardiac murmur from the patent ductus arteriosus in newborn lambs

Artificial ventilation of the lungs of the newborn lamb delivered under general anaesthesia leads to a decrease in pulmonary vascular resistance so great that, although pulmonary arterial pressure falls, yet pulmonary blood flow increases from threeto tenfold. One consequence is that blood now passes through the ductus arteriosus from the aorta to the pulmonary trunk, that is, in the opposite direction to the course of the blood stream in foetal life. This reversal of flow through the ductus arteriosus is independent of the tying of the umbilical cord, though this will of course favour its development by raising systemic arterial resistance (Dawes, Mott, Widdicombe & Wyatt, 1953). No evidence of closure of the ductus arteriosus was obtained in the course of these experiments, and since it had previously been thought that the ductus arteriosus became functionally closed very shortly after birth (Barclay, Franklin & Prichard, 1944), the reversal of blood flow through the ductus arteriosus seemed to merit closer attention. One possible consequence of this reversal of blood flow would be the development of a murmur from the ductus arteriosus, similar to that heard in most human beings whose ductus arteriosus is still patent. We therefore examined newborn lambs, delivered naturally or by caesarian section, and observed the development of a murmur and thrill from the junction of the ductus arteriosus with the pulmonary trunk. This paper describes the natural history and artificial production of these phenomena.
DMD065615 102..114

N-Methyl-2-[3-((E)-2-pyridin-2-yl-vinyl)-1H-indazol-6-ylsulfanyl]benzamide (axitinib) is an oral inhibitor of vascular endothelial growth factor receptors 1–3, which is approved for the treatment of advanced renal cell cancer. Human [C]-labeled clinical studies indicate axitinib’s primary route of clearance is metabolism. The aims of the in vitro experiments presented herein were to identify and characterize the enzymes involved in axitinib metabolic clearance. In vitro biotransformation studies of axitinib identified a number of metabolites including an axitinib sulfoxide, several less abundant oxidative metabolites, and glucuronide conjugates. The most abundant NADPHand UDPGA-dependent metabolites, axitinib sulfoxide (M12) and axitinib N-glucuronide (M7) were selected for phenotyping and kinetic study. Phenotyping experiments with human liver microsomes (HLMs) using chemical inhibitors and recombinant human cytochrome P450s demonstrated axitinib was predominately metabolized by CYP3A4/5, with minor contributions fromCYP2C19 and CYP1A2. The apparent substrate concentration at half-maximal velocity (Km) and Vmax values for the formation of axitinib sulfoxide by CYP3A4 or CYP3A5 were 4.0 or 1.9 mM and 9.6 or 1.4pmol·min·pmol, respectively.UsingaCYP3A4-specific inhibitor (Cyp3cide) in liver microsomes expressing CYP3A5, 66% of the axitinib intrinsic clearance was attributable to CYP3A4 and 15% to CYP3A5. Axitinib N-glucuronidation was primarily catalyzed by UDPglucuronosyltransferase (UGT) UGT1A1, which was verified by chemical inhibitors and UGT1A1 null expressers, with lesser contributions fromUGTs 1A3, 1A9, and 1A4. The Km and Vmax values describing the formation of the N-glucuronide in HLM or rUGT1A1 were 2.7 mM or 0.75 mM and 8.9 or 8.3 pmol·min·mg, respectively. In summary, CYP3A4 is themajor enzyme involved in axitinib clearancewith lesser contributions from CYP3A5, CYP2C19, CYP1A2, and UGT1A1.