Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
A c-Jun NH 2 -Terminal Kinase Inhibitor SP600125 (Anthra[1,9- cd ]pyrazole-6 (2 H )-one) Blocks Activation of Pancreatic Stellate Cells

In response to pancreatic injury and in cell culture, pancreatic stellate cells (PSCs) are transformed (“activated”) into highly proliferative myofibroblast-like cells that express (cid:1) -smooth muscle actin and produce extracellular matrix components. Activated PSCs are implicated in the pathogenesis of pancreatic fibrosis and inflammation. We here evaluated the effects of SP600125 (anthra[1,9- cd ]pyrazole-6 (2 H )-one), an inhibitor of c-Jun NH 2 -terminal kinase (JNK), on the activation of PSCs. PSCs were isolated from rat pancreas tissue and used in their culture-activated, myofibroblast-like phenotype unless other- wise stated. Activation of JNK was determined by Western blotting using anti-phosphospecific JNK and c-Jun antibodies. Activation of transcription factors was determined by electrophoretic mobility shift assay. The effects of SP600125 on the key parameters of activation (chemokine production, collagen production, and proliferation) were examined. The effect of SP600125 on the activation of freshly isolated PSCs in culture also was examined. Interleukin-1 (cid:2) activated both 46- and 54-kDa JNK, whereas platelet-derived growth factor-BB activated only 46-kDa JNK. SP600125 inhibited interleukin-1 (cid:2) -induced JNK activity and activator protein-1 activation, but it did not affect the activation of extracellular-regulated kinase, p38 mi-togen-activated protein kinase, and nuclear factor- SP600125 inhibited platelet-derived growth factor-induced proliferation, inducible monocyte chemoattractant protein-1 production, and serum-induced type I collagen production. Although SP600125 did not inhibit the transformation, it atten-uated the proliferation of freshly isolated PSCs in culture. Col- lectively, our results suggest a role of JNK in the activation of PSCs, and a potential application of JNK inhibitors for the treatment of pancreatic fibrosis and inflammation.
Ownership Concentration, Risk and Performance: Comparison between MENA Islamic and Conventional Banks

The aims of this paper are, first, to examine the effects of the ultimate ownership structure on MENA Islamic and conventional banks’ performance and insolvency risk; and, second, to assess the MENA countries supervisory and regulatory regimes and evaluate its role on ensuring sound bank governance. The study employs an econometric analysis using panel data testing the ownership concentration effects on the bank performance and risk of default under different regulatory and supervisory regimes. We propose a methodology that consists on a comparative analysis between 44 Islamic banks and 114 conventional banks during the period 2000 to 2013. The study reveals that conventional banks have more concentrated ownership structures relative to Islamic banks; and family ownership is more dominant among Islamic banks. Moreover, banks with higher concentrated control exhibit poorer performance and higher insolvency risk than widely held banks. This entrenchment effect of ownership concentration is not significantly more pronounced among Islamic banking institutions. The study do not support the opinion that agency problems, expropriation risk and conflict of interest between controlling shareholders and outsiders are significantly influenced by the religiosity of Islamic banks or by the existence of extra governance mechanisms. Nonetheless, ownership concentration has different implications on bank performance and risk depending on the country regulatory regime. There is a positive association between bank ownership concentration and performance in countries with low official bank supervision. Private monitoring plays a key role in limiting insider expropriation. Keywords: Ownership structure; Bank regulation; Insolvency risk; Islamic banks
Palliative medicine review: prognostication.

Prognostication, along with diagnosis and treatment, is a traditional core clinical skill of the physician. Many patients and families receiving palliative care want information about life expectancy to help plan realistically for their futures. Although underappreciated, prognosis is, or at least should be, part of every clinical decision. Despite this crucial role, expertise in the art and science of prognostication diminished during the twentieth century, due largely to the ascendancy of accurate diagnostic tests and effective therapies. Consequently, "Doctor, how long do I have? " is a question most physicians find unprepared to answer effectively. As we focus on palliative care in the twenty-first century, prognostication will need to be restored as a core clinical proficiency. The discipline of palliative medicine can provide leadership in this direction. This paper begins by discussing a framework for understanding prognosis and how its different domains might be applied to all patients with life limiting illness, although the main focus of the paper is predicting survival in patients with cancer. Examples of prognostic tools are provided, although the subjective assessment of prognosis remains important in the terminally ill. Other issues addressed include: the importance of prognostication in terms of clinical decision-making, discharge planning, and care planning; the impact of prognosis on hospice referrals and patient/family satisfaction; and physicians' willingness to prognosticate.
Trends in Academic Library Space: From book boxes to learning commons

Abstract Top management in academic/university libraries must play a more significant role within the academic setting by reorganizing library spaces or building new libraries that will be aligned with the new teaching pedagogies and today’s students’ learning preference styles. The aim of this review is to present and discuss trends related to how librarians are redefining academic libraries’ buildings and spaces in order to be better aligned to current pedagogies and students’ learning styles and needs
Aspek-aspek Syariah Dalam Asuransi Syariah

This study is to analyze aspects of sharia in Islamic insurance. Theories related to this study include about Ijara, Ijara financing, DSN-MUI fatwa, Ijara financing application. This study is qualitative descriptive. Data collection methods used in this research is the study of literature. The results showed that Takaful insurance aspect is clear then can be applied in the system of Islamic insurance. Takaful is a system where the participants / members / participants donate or donate part or all of the contribution that will be used to pay claims, in case of disaster experienced by most participants/members/participants. The role of the company here is limited to the operational management of insurance companies and investment funds / contributions received or transferred to the company. Keyword s : Aspects of Sharia in the Takaful and Insurance Non-Sharia
Numerical and Experimental Investigations of an Elasto-Flexible Membrane Wing at a Reynolds Number of 280,000

This work presents numerical and experimental investigations of an elasto-flexible membrane wing at a Reynolds number of 280,000. Such a concept has the capacity to adapt itself to the incoming flow offering a wider range of the flight envelope. This adaptation is clearly observed in the numerical study: the camber of the airfoil changes with the dynamic pressure and the angle of attack, which permits a smoother and delayed stall. The numerical results, obtained from Fluid Structure Interaction (FSI) simulations, also show that the laminar-turbulent transition influences the aerodynamic characteristics of the wing, as it directly affects the pressure distribution on the membrane and the geometry of the airfoil. Two different turbulence models were therefore tested. Furthermore, experimental investigations are considered in this paper to estimate the precision of the FSI simulations. It appears that the FSI study overestimates the lift coefficient, and the drag coefficient is undervalued, which can be explained by dynamic calibration of the model. Nevertheless, the velocity field obtained with the hot-wire anemometry system shows good agreement on the upper side of the model. The membrane deflection measurements also appear to be consistent with the expected geometry of the deformed airfoil from the FSI simulations.
Relationship of Glycosylated Hemoglobin, Fetal Macrosomia, and Birthweight Macrosomia

Previous studies have shown that glycosylated hemoglobin (Hb A1C) once elevated correlated with fetal malformations, poor perinatal outcome, and macrosomia. To determine whether Hb A1C was related to fetal diabetic complications such as polyhydramnois, fetal macrosomia, and fat line detected on ultrasonographic evaluation, 66 diabetic patient, types I, II, and III, were followed longitudinally. These ultrasound markers were further assessed regarding the reliability of predicting birthweight macrosomia. Fetal macrosomia and birthweight macrosomia were defined by weight greater than the 90th percentile for gestational age based on the Williams growth curve. The Hb A1C values were compared to women with and without fetal diabetic complications. Fetal diabetic complications occurred in 13 (20%) of the cases and birthweight macrosomia occurred in 19 (29%) of the cases. Of those 13 women with fetal diabetic complications, 11 (85%) had Hb A1C greater than 6.3%. This level was significantly different in women with the ultrasound markers vs those without. Ultrasound-determined macrosomia in predicting birthweight macrosomia has a sensitivity, specificity, positive and negative predictive values of 53%, 94%, 77%, and 83%, respectively. There is a critical level of Hb A1C at which ultrasound fetal diabetic markers were observed; this level is greater than 6.3%. We conclude that there is a target level of glycemic control that one must avoid to prevent birthweight macrosomia.
Impact of Human Serum Albumin on Oritavancin In Vitro Activity against Enterococci

ABSTRACT Oritavancin is a lipoglycopeptide with activity against gram-positive pathogens including vancomycin-resistant enterococci. The impact of human serum albumin (HSA) on oritavancin activity against enterococci was compared to those of vancomycin, daptomycin, teicoplanin, and linezolid in vitro using MIC and time-kill methods. Oritavancin MICs increased between 0- and 8-fold in the presence of HSA. In time-kill assays with HSA, oritavancin retained activity, killing or inhibiting enterococci more rapidly than did comparators when peak concentrations were simulated.
IgG4-Related Sclerosing Disease Involving the Superior Vena Cava and the Atrial Septum of the Heart

A 55-year-old woman presented with frequent episodes of syncope due to sinus pauses. During ambulatory Holter monitoring, atrial fibrillation and first-degree atrioventricular nodal block were observed. Magnetic resonance imaging and CT scans showed a tumor-like mass from the superior vena cava to the right atrial septum. Open chest cardiac biopsy was performed. The tumor was composed of proliferating IgG4-positive plasma cells and lymphocytes with surrounding sclerosis. The patient was diagnosed with IgG4-related sclerosing disease. Because of frequent sinus pauses and syncope, a permanent pacemaker was implanted. The cardiac mass was inoperable, but it did not progress during the one-year follow-up.
Macrophages are increased in cervical epithelium of women with cervicitis

Background: Sexually transmitted diseases (STIs) are major causes of morbidity in women. The mechanisms involved in establishment of genital mucosal infection are poorly defined. Objective: To investigate changes in cervical epithelial (CE) CD45+ cell subpopulations in women with microscopic evidence of cervicitis (n=9) and those without (n=12). Methods: CE samples were obtained using cytobrush including matched venous blood. CE and peripheral blood (PB) mononuclear cells were analysed by flow cytometry for CD3+, CD4+, CD8+, CD14+,CD19+, and HLA-DR+ expression. Results: Women with cervicitis had increased CE macrophages compared with those without (p<0.05). MHC class II+ cells were predominant in all cervical samples. Considerably fewer B lymphocytes were found in cervical samples in both groups of women. No changes were observed in cervical T lymphocyte subsets. However, a relative CD8+ lymphocytosis in PB was noted in women with cervicitis. Conclusion: The increased numbers of CE macrophages in women with cervicitis may have important implications for pathogenesis of STIs including human immunodeficiency virus infection.
Adaptive Estimation of High Dimensional Partially Linear Model

Consider the partially linear model (PLM) with random design: $Y=X^T\beta^*+g(W)+u$, where $g(\cdot)$ is an unknown real-valued function, $X$ is $p$-dimensional, $W$ is one-dimensional, and $\beta^*$ is $s$-sparse. Our aim is to estimate $\beta^*$ based on $n$ i.i. d. observations of $(Y,X,W)$ with possibly $n<p$. The popular approaches and their theoretical properties so far have mainly been developed with an explicit knowledge of some function classes. In this paper, we propose an adaptive estimation procedure, with consistency and exact rates of convergence obtained in high dimensions under mild scaling requirements. Two surprising features are revealed: (i) the bandwidth parameter automatically adapts to the model and is actually tuning-insensitive; and (ii) the procedure could even maintain fast rate of convergence for Lipschitz class of unbounded support and $\alpha$-Holder class of $\alpha\leq1/2$.
An additional step in the transport of iron defined by the tonB locus of Escherichia coli.

Abstract The uptake of iron by cells of Escherichia coli involves at least three components. One component is chelators of iron which are excreted into the medium by iron-deficient cells. One function of these dihydroxybenzoylserine-containing compounds is to increase the availability of transportable ferric ion to the cells by solubilization of hydroxypolymers of iron. Another component is a tonB-associated step which is characterized by a high affinity of the cells for ferric ion. Point and deletion mutants of the tonB locus are resistant to phage T1, unable to grow normally on iron-deficient medium, and transport ferric ion with a Km 10-fold higher than for wild type cells. Also involved in the uptake of iron is an energy-dependent component which can be demonstrated by treatment of wild type or tonB- cells with azide (30 mm) and iodoacetamide (1 mm). The energy poisons decrease the Vmax of iron accumulation by approximately 10-fold, but they do not alter the apparent Km.
Home oxygen therapy in COPD patients. Results from the Danish Oxygen Register 1994-2000.

INTRODUCTION Oxygen has been used systematic in the treatment of lung disease since 1922 (9) Treatment with oxygen in the home of the patient is called “home oxygen therapy” or “domiciliary oxygen”. Two randomized studies some 25 years ago showed that continuous oxygen therapy under certain circumstances improved survival in COPD patients (10, 11). Since then, home oxygen therapy has become widely spread. Today, in the western part of the world, the prevalence of home oxygen therapy varies from 15 to 241 per 100,000 inhabitants (12, 13) Home oxygen therapy is prescribed for various reasons (Figure 1). Guidelines for COT are based on three controlled studies (10, 11, 14). The best overall information on adherence to the guidelines comes from Sweden and France (15, 16). In addition there are regional surveys from Poland, United Kingdom, Spain, Italy and the Netherlands (17-26). In most studies, less than 50% of the patients adhered to the criteria for COT. Our knowledge on factors related to compliance with criteria for COT is limited. Despite correction of hypoxaemia, COPD patients on COT have poor survival with a large reduction in life expectancy (27) and a significant number of days spent in hospital (28). Advanced age and male gender increases risk of dying, but other possible predictors of survival have either been addressed with conflicting results or have been studied sparsely. Predictors of hospitalization have only been addressed in one study (28). Besides improving survival, COT may have a positive effect on other outcomes e.g. quality of life and risk of hospitalization, but the evidence is not firm. Today, it is considered unethical to undertake randomized placebo controlled studies in hypoxaemic COPD patients. Therefore, in order to examine these outcomes, studies include non-hypoxaemic patients as controls. Whereas the criteria for COT are well established, the criteria for non-continuous oxygen therapy (NCOT) are less clear (29-38). Nevertheless, many patients are prescribed NCOT in the hope that it will alleviate or diminish pulmonary symptoms. In order to monitor the patients’ characteristics, outcomes and quality of COT, national and regional oxygen registers have been established (15, 39). Through enhanced educational efforts and monitoring of compliance with guidelines on COT, The Danish Oxygen Register aimed at improving the quality of COT.
The Death Domain Kinase RIP Has an Important Role in DNA Damage-induced, p53-independent Cell Death*

Tumor suppressor p53 plays a critical role in cellular responses, such as cell cycle arrest and apoptosis following DNA damage. DNA damage-induced cell death can be mediated by a p53-dependent or p53-independent pathway. Although p53-mediated apoptosis has been well documented, little is known about the signaling components of p53-independent cell death. Here we report that the death domain kinase, RIP (receptor-interacting protein), is important for DNA damage-induced, p53-independent cell death. DNA damage induces cell death in both wild-type and p53–/– mouse embryonic fibroblast cells. We found that RIP–/– mouse embryonic fibroblast cells, which have a mutant form of the p53 protein, are resistant to DNA damage-induced cell death. The reconstitution of RIP protein expression in RIP–/– cells restored the sensitivity of cells to DNA damage-induced cell death. We also found that RIP mediates this process through activating mitogen-activated protein kinase, JNK1. Furthermore, knocking down the expression of RIP blocked DNA damage-induced cell death in the human colon cancer cell line, p53 null HCT 116. Taken together, our study demonstrates that RIP is one of the critical components involved in mediating DNA damage-induced, p53-independent cell death.
Structure of the gene for CAD, the multifunctional protein that initiates UMP synthesis in Syrian hamster cells

Two adjacent fragments of genomic DNA spanning the gene for CAD, which encodes the first three enzymes of UMP biosynthesis, were cloned from a mutant Syrian hamster cell line containing multiple copies of this gene. The mutant was selected for resistance to N-(phosphonacetyl)-L-aspartate, a potent and specific inhibitor of aspartate transcarbamylase, the second enzyme in the pathway. The sizes and positions of about 37 intervening sequences within the 25-kilobase CAD gene were mapped by electron microscopy, and the locations of the 5' and 3' ends of the 7.9-kilobase CAD mRNA were established by electron microscopy and by other hybridization methods. The coding sequences are small (100 to 400 bases), as are most of the intervening sequences (50 to 300 bases). However, there are also several large intervening sequences of up to 5,000 bases each. Two small cytoplasmic polyadenylated RNAs are transcribed from a region just beyond the 5' end of the CAD gene, and their abundance reflects the degree of gene amplification.
Post‐Menopause is the Main Risk Factor for Developing Isolated Pulmonary Hypertension in Systemic Sclerosis

Abstract: In scleroderma patients, isolated pulmonary hypertension (PHT) has been associated with selected HLA haplotypes, severe impairment of the diffusing capacity for carbon monoxide and the diagnosis of CREST. Most patients with CREST have a late‐age onset of the disease, corresponding to the perimenopausal or postmenopausal period. We conducted a retrospective cohort study to determine the role of post‐menopause and of the other known clinical and biological markers in the development of isolated pulmonary hypertension in Italian patients with systemic sclerosis. 189 female patients with scleroderma who had no ecographic signs of pulmonary hypertension (PHT) and radiographic signs of lung fibrosis at the first visit and did not develop significant pulmonary fibrosis during the observation time were included. Sixty‐three out of 189 patients (33.3%) presented isolated pulmonary hypertension. A severe impairment of diffusing capacity for carbon monoxide at admission was found to be an early predictive element for its development. An increased risk was associated with postmenopausal condition (RR= 5.2, p= 0.000), CREST syndrome (RR= 2.8, p= 0.001) and haplotype HLA‐B35 (RR= 2.8; p= 0.002). A significant positive interaction between postmenopausal condition and either HLA‐B35 (RR= 15.2; p= 0.000) or the diagnosis of CREST (RR= 14.1; p= 0.000) was found. Postmenopausal condition alone or in combination with HLA‐B35 and CREST syndrome is the main risk‐factor for developing primary pulmonary hypertension in scleroderma patients. This suggests that hormonal replacement therapy could play a role in preventing isolated PHT in patients with systemic sclerosis.
Robust Beamforming for Nonorthogonal Multiple-Access Systems in MISO Channels

Nonorthogonal multiple access (NOMA) is a promising technology in future mobile communication systems. In this paper, considering that the base station knows imperfect channel state information (CSI), we investigate the robust beamforming design problem for NOMA systems in multiple-input-single-output (MISO) channels. Modeling channel uncertainties by the worst-case model, we aim at maximizing the worst-case achievable sum rate subject to the transmit power constraint at the base station. We propose to decouple the nonconvex optimization problem into four optimization problems and employ an alternating optimization algorithm to solve the problem. Simulation results demonstrate that our proposed robust beamforming scheme outperforms the orthogonal multiple-access scheme.
Framing the Future: Using Investment and Assurance Frames to Encourage Retirement Information Search

Many pension plan participants are inactive. They do not look up information on their retirement income and discover pension gaps too late to take action. We analyze how pension communication framing interventions motivate participants to acquire retirement income information. First, we show that classical loss frames (vs. gain) are an effective intervention, but also evoke negative perceptions and evaluations. Second, we develop new frames (assurance, investment) tapping into the same psychological mechanisms while avoiding loss wording. Based on a field experiment with 7,315 pension plan participants we find assurance framing to be an effective intervention that also avoids evoking negative evaluations.