Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Three‐Fold Induction of Renal 25‐Hydroxyvitamin D3‐24‐Hydroxylase Activity and Increased Serum 24,25‐Dihydroxyvitamin D3 Levels Are Correlated with the Healing Process After Chick Tibial Fracture

To investigate the possible biological actions of 24,25‐dihydroxyvitamin D3 (24,25(OH)2D3), a tibial fracture‐healing model was established in White Leghorn chicks. Three‐week‐old White Leghorn chicks fed a vitamin D3–replete diet were divided into four groups (control, anesthetized, sham, and fractured). On varying days after tibial fracture (F) or sham manipulation (S), renal 25(OH)D3‐1α‐hydroxylase and 25(OH)D3‐24‐hydroxylase (24‐hydroxylase) activities and serum Ca2+ concentrations were measured. Metofane anesthesia was found to have no effect on the activity of either of the hydroxylases; the activities of the hydroxylases in the control, anesthetized, and sham‐operated birds were similar. By 10 days after tibial fracture, the renal 24‐hydroxylase activity increased more than 3‐fold in F (1.33 ± 0.07 pmol/mg of protein) as compared with S (0.42 ± 0.03 pmol/mg of protein) (p < 0.0001). A time‐dependent study of the renal 24‐hydroxylase activity during the fracture repair process revealed a slow increase from the first day after fracture, a higher activity at 8 days, which peaked at 10–11 days, which is consistent with the formation of the callus. The 24‐hydroxylase activity then returned to the same level as the sham group 14 days after fracture. There was no significant difference in serum Ca2+ levels between the F and S groups over the 3‐week postfracture period. Serum levels of vitamin D3 metabolites were also measured during the fracture healing process: a 3.4× increase of the 24,25(OH)2D3 level in the fractured group (3.64 ± 1.16 nM) was observed as compared with the control groups (1.08 ± 0.49 nM) at 10 days after fracture (p = 0.068). No significant differences were observed in the plasma levels of 25(OH)D3 or 1α,25(OH)2D3 between the group with a fracture and the controls. Exposure of primary chick kidney cells in culture to serum obtained from chicks with a tibial fracture for 20 h resulted in an ∼40% increase in the activity of the 24‐hydroxylase as compared with cells exposed to serum from control birds. These results suggest that 24,25(OH)2D3 is involved in the early process of fracture repair and that there is some form of physiological communication between the fractured bone and the kidney so as to increase the renal 24‐hydroxylase and the circulating concentration of this metabolite.
The Impact of Chronic Kidney Disease on Hospitalized Patients With Peripheral Arterial Disease and Critical Limb Ischemia

Peripheral arterial disease (PAD) and chronic kidney disease (CKD) are major public health problems worldwide. Evaluations of large-scale data on morbidity, outcome, and costs in patients having PAD with CKD are essential. Cross-sectional nationwide population-based analysis of all hospitalizations for PAD during 2009 in Germany focused on the stage-related impact of CKD on morbidity, in-hospital mortality, amputations, length of hospital stay, and health-related expenditure. The total number of hospitalizations was 483 961. Of those, 132 993 (27.5%) had CKD. Chronic kidney disease caused 1.8-fold higher amputation rate (P < .001) with a stepwise increasing rate with higher CKD stage. Chronic kidney disease doubled in-hospital mortality of patients with PAD (7.8%; n = 10 421) versus 4.0% (n = 14 174, P < .001) with a stepwise increasing risk with higher CKD stage (P < .001). The highest in-hospital mortality occurred in patients with coprevalence of CKD stage 4 and Fontaine stage IV (16.4%, n = 1176, P < .001). Chronic kidney disease caused 15% higher costs and 21% increased length of stay compared to the whole PAD cohort. This analysis demonstrates the stage-related influence of CKD on morbidity, in-hospital mortality, amputations, length of hospital stay, and reimbursement costs of hospitalized patients with PAD.
Pitfalls in the role of standardized preadmission laboratory screening for ambulatory surgery.

We conducted a one-year retrospective analysis to determine the effect of a standardized preadmission screening (PAS) program on the cancellation rate of ambulatory surgery. Patients were divided into two groups. Group One patients had selective PAS lab work based on history and physical examination. Group Two patients underwent a standardized PAS consisting of history, physical examination, biochemical profile, complete blood count, and urinalysis. Patients in both groups received a prothrombin/partial thromboplastin time (PT/PTT) if one anticoagulation therapy, an electrocardiogram (EKG) with age greater than 40 years, and a chest X ray with age greater than 50 years. We found that the frequency of surgery cancellation before and after instituting a standardized PAS remained the same (6.9% vs 6.4%); furthermore, only 38.5 per cent of the cancellations in Group One and 16.4 per cent in Group Two were due to laboratory, EKG, or chest X-ray results. The rest were due to intercurrent illness, scheduling conflicts, and other uncontrollable factors. A closer analysis of Group Two shows that of 4,058 standardized preadmission screens performed, 4,015 (99%) were normal; only 43 (1%) had abnormal results that led to cancellation of ambulatory surgery. Similarly, 99.93 per cent of all EKGs and 99.97 per cent of all chest X-rays performed in both groups were normal, having no influence on operational performance or patient management. We suggest that selective use of laboratory and diagnostic studies, in conjunction with a thorough history and physical examination, is as effective as a standardized PAS in identifying patients at risk for ambulatory surgery. (ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)
The effect of including a conventional snack (cereal bar) and a nonconventional snack (almonds) on hunger, eating frequency, dietary intake and body weight.

BACKGROUND With the increasing prevalence of being overweight and obesity, dietary strategies to curb hunger levels and increase satiety at lower energy intakes are sought. The frequency of eating and type of snack may influence total energy intake. The present study aimed to assess the impact of providing either a conventional snack (cereal bar) or a nonconventional snack (almonds) on eating frequency, hunger rating, dietary intake, body weight and blood lipids. METHODS Forty-five healthy men (aged 25-50 years, body mass index = 25-35 kg m(-2)) were recruited and allocated to a control, cereal bar or almond snack group. Two packets of cereal bars and almonds were introduced for 12 weeks to the cereal bar group and the almond snack group, respectively. Dietary intakes and eating frequency were assessed by 4-day unweighed diet diaries; visual analogue scales were used to assess hunger ratings; and fasting blood parameters (i.e. glucose, insulin, total cholesterol, triglycerides, low-density lipoprotein cholesterol and high-density lipoprotein cholesterol) were measured at baseline, 6 and 12 weeks. In addition, anthropometric measures (height, weight, skinfold thickness, waist and hip circumference) were measured at baseline, 6 and 12 weeks. RESULTS The present study found no significant change in the eating frequency within groups at 12 weeks. However, the almond snack group had a significantly higher eating frequency than the control group (P < or = 0.05) and cereal bar group (P < or = 0.01). This did not result in higher energy intake, body weight or percentage body fat in the almond snack group. CONCLUSION The present study demonstrated that snacking on almonds, in comparison to cereal bars, promoted a higher eating frequency, but not a higher energy intake. Advice to snack on either almonds or cereal bars did not result in weight gain, suggesting that energy compensation took place.
Influence of graft size matching on outcomes of infantile living donor liver transplantation

We aimed to assess the impact of size mismatching between grafts and recipients on outcomes of infants or small children after LDLT. Between October 2006 and December 2014, 129 LDLT recipients weighing no more than 8 kg were retrospectively analyzed. The entire cohort was categorized into three groups by GRWR: GRWR<3.0% (group A, n = 38), 3.0%≤GRWR<4.0% (group B, n = 61), and GRWR≥4.0% (group C, n = 30). Baseline characteristics were similar among groups A, B, and C. Compared with groups A and B, post‐transplant alanine aminotransferase and aspartate aminotransferase within seven days were significantly higher in group C; however, differences between total bilirubin and albumin after transplantation were not prominent. Moreover, incidences of surgical complications, perioperative deaths, infections, and acute rejections were all comparable among the three groups. Five‐yr patient survival rates for groups A, B, and C were 89.5%, 88.9%, and 81.6%, respectively (p = 0.872), and the graft survival rates were 89.5%, 86.6%, and 81.6%, respectively (p = 0.846). In conclusion, GRWR between 1.9% and 5.8% would not cause noticeable adverse events for infantile LDLT recipients ≤8 kg. However, there is still a role for considering reduction in the graft mass as an applicable strategy in selected cases.
Use of real‐time polymerase chain reaction for the diagnosis of Pneumocystis pneumonia in immunocompromised patients: a meta‐analysis

Background The diagnosis of Pneumocystis pneumonia (PCP) in immunocompromised patients is still challenging today due to the absence of an in vitro culture system and the low diagnostic accuracy of microscopic examinations. Herein, we performed a meta‐analysis to evaluate the accuracy of real‐time polymerase chain reaction (PCR) in the diagnosis of PCP. Methods We searched Web of Knowledge and Medline from 1990 to May 2010 for studies reporting diagnostic accuracy data regarding the use of real‐time PCR in the diagnosis of PCP in immunocompromised patients. Results Ten individual studies were included. Overall, the sensitivity of real‐time PCR was 97% (95% CI: 93%‐99%); the specificity was 94% (95% CI: 90%‐96%). The area under the HSROC curve (95% CI) for real‐time PCR was 0.99 (0.97‐0.99). In a subgroup analysis regarding studies involving HIV patients among the study population, the sensitivity and specificity were 97% (95% CI: 93%‐99%) and 93% (95% CI: 89%‐96%), respectively. Regarding studies using Bronchoalveolar lavage (BAL) samples only: sensitivity =98% (95% CI: 94%‐99%); specificity =93% (95% CI: 89%‐96%), respectively. Regarding studies using microscopy as a reference standard: sensitivity =97% (95% CI: 92%‐99%); specificity =93% (95% CI: 88%‐96%). However, high between‐study statistical heterogeneity was observed in all analyses. Conclusions Real‐time PCR has a good diagnostic accuracy and may provide a useful adjunctive tool for the diagnosis of PCP in immunocompromised patients. Further studies are needed in order to identify any differences in the diagnostic performance of real‐time PCR in HIV and non‐HIV immunocompromised patients.
Estimating the Effects of Social Safety Net Programmes in Bangladesh on Calorie Consumption of Poor Households

The Social Safety Net (SSN) programmes play a key role in Bangladesh to protect the poor households from food insecurity. This study examines the effect of these programs on calorie consumption of poor households using the 2005 Household Income and Expenditure Survey data. Three treatment effect evaluation designs are applied to compare the estimated effects. Mean difference and matching estimators that do not consider endogeneity of treatment dummy produce significant negative effects when applied to the whole sample. Unconfoundedness and overlap assumptions do not exist and the assumptions are satisfied after dropping some observations using the criteria of propensity score. The effect of the SSN programmes on calorie consumption is estimated in the reduced sample using the same econometric methods, and it is found that there are insignificant positive effects in all cases. However, the treatment dummy has serious endogeneity problem, as selection for treatment is also determined by some unobserved factors such as corruption. In this case, instrumental variables regressions taking regional dummies as instruments that do not have relation with calorie consumption are applied, and produce significant positive average treatment effect.
School readiness of children with language impairment: predicting literacy skills from pre-literacy and social-behavioural dimensions.

BACKGROUND School readiness generally captures the notion that children do best when they arrive at formal schooling with a certain threshold of skill that will help them thrive in the classroom's academic and social milieu. AIMS To examine the dimensionality of the construct of school readiness among children with language impairment (LI), as well as the extent to which these dimensions relate to children's end-of-kindergarten literacy skills. METHODS & PROCEDURES Participants were 136 preschool-aged children with LI. Children were assessed on measures of pre-literacy, social, and behavioural skills in preschool and reading and spelling in kindergarten. OUTCOMES & RESULTS Confirmatory factor analyses indicated that school readiness for this sample of children with LI is best characterized as two dimensions: pre-literacy and socio-emotional. Of the two dimensions, pre-literacy readiness was predictive of children's future performance in reading and spelling. CONCLUSIONS & IMPLICATIONS The results further our theoretical understanding of the dimensions of school readiness, as well as our knowledge of how these skills are related among children with LI. Identifying domain-specific readiness skills that are predictive of kindergarten success can help to identify means of early assessment and targets for speech-language intervention.
Asymptotic Methods applied to an American Option under a CEV Process

We consider an American put option under the Constant Elasticity of Variance (CEV) process. This corresponds to a free boundary problem for a partial differential equation (PDE). We show that this free boundary satisfies a nonlinear integral equation, and analyze it in the limit of small $\rho$ = $2r/ \sigma^2$, where $r$ is the interest rate and $\sigma$ is the volatility. We find that the free boundary behaves differently for five ranges of time to expiry. We then analyze option price $P(S,t)$, as a function of the asset price $S$ and time to expiry $t$. We obtain the asymptotic expansion of $P$ as $\rho \rightarrow 0$, first via an integral equation formulation, and then using the PDE satisfied by $P$, and analyzing it by perturbation theory and matched asymptotic expansions.
Predicting Available Bandwidth of Internet Path with Ultra Metric Space-Based Approaches

Internet path available bandwidth is an important metric for distributed application performance optimization. However, current network coordinate system causes large errors when being used to predict such performance metric. In this paper, based on theoretical and Internet measurement data analysis result, we show that though not strictly satisfy the constraint, Internet path available bandwidth does have some degree of ultra metric space feature. Then we propose an available bandwidth prediction mechanism PathGuru based on this feature. In PathGuru, each node obtains an outgoing and an incoming bandwidth vector using measurement data to and from landmarks, and the available bandwidth between any two nodes is predicted according to the two vectors as well as ultra metric space constraint. Experimental results on Internet measurement dataset show that PathGuru has reasonable prediction accuracy and can also deal with the available bandwidth symmetry violation problem.
Prospects for economic growth in the 21st century:A survey covering mainstream, heterodox and scientifically oriented perspectives

Despite the importance of economic growth for the current economy, business and societal planning there are few long-term growth projections undertaken. There is, however, a vivid debate on what is called the 'new normal', secular stagnation, which is undertaken within academic disciplines. This overview covers mainstream, heterodox and scientifically oriented economic perspectives on the prospects for economic growth in the 21st century. The survey shows that existing long-term projections and scenarios indicate growth rates ranging from around half a percentage point less than during the last two decades (projected by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, OECD), to dramatically lower growth rates). Differences stem from different perspectives on the determinants of economic growth and the potential for improvements in productivity. Headwinds are: an aging population, especially in OECD countries; resource constraints, including energy; increasing environmental costs in particular due to the consequences of climate change; overaccumulation; increasing income differences; and declining social capital. One conclusion is that policymaking based on the assumption that economic growth will continue at pre-crisis levels is unwise and risky.
Locus-specific ancestry to detect recent response to selection in admixed Swiss Fleckvieh cattle.

Identification of selection signatures is one of the current endeavors of evolutionary genetics. Admixed populations may be used to infer post-admixture selection. We calculated local ancestry for Swiss Fleckvieh, a composite of Simmental (SI) and Red Holstein Friesian (RHF), to infer such signals. Illumina Bovine SNP50 BeadChip data for 300 admixed, 88 SI and 97 RHF bulls were used. The average RHF ancestry across the whole genome was 0.70. To identify regions with high deviation from average, we considered two significance thresholds, based on a permutation test and extreme deviation from normal distribution. Regions on chromosomes 13 (46.3-47.3 Mb) and 18 (18.7-25.9 Mb) passed both thresholds in the direction of increased SI. Extended haplotype homozygosity within (iHS) and between (Rsb) populations was calculated to explore additional patterns of pre- and post-admixture selection signals. The Rsb score of admixed and SI was significant in a wide region of chromosome 18 (6.6-24.6 Mb) overlapped with one area of strong local ancestry deviation. FTO, with pleiotropic effect on milk and fertility, NOD2 on dairy and NKD1 and SALL1 on fertility traits are located there. Genetic differentiation of RHF and SI (Fst ), an alternative indicator of pre-admixture selection in pure populations, was calculated. No considerable overlap of peaks of local ancestry deviations and Fst was observed. We found two regions with significant signatures of post-admixture selection in this very young composite, applying comparatively stringent significance thresholds. The signals cover relatively large genomic areas and did not allow pinpointing of the gene(s) responsible for the apparent shift in ancestry proportions.
Are there gender differences in diabetes care among elderly medicare enrolled veterans?

AbstractOBJECTIVE: To examine gender differences in diabetes care process measures and intermediate outcomes among veteran clinic users. DESIGN: A retrospective cohort study using Veterans Health Administration (VHA) and Medicare files of VHA clinic users with diabetes. Diabetes care process measures were tests for hemoglobin A1c (HbA1c), low-density lipoprotein (LDL-C) values, and eye exams. Intermediate outcomes were HbA1c and LDL-C values below recommended thresholds. Chi-square tests and logistic regressions were used to assess gender differences. PARTICIPANTS: Study population included 3,225 women and 231,922 men veterans with diabetes, enrolled in Medicare fee-for-service and alive at the end of fiscal year 2000. RESULTS: Overall, there were no significant gender differences in HbA1c or LDL-C testing. However, women had higher rates in these process measures than men among the non-African American minorities. Women were more likely to have completed eye exams (odds ratio [OR]=1.11; 99% confidence interval [CI]=1.10, 1.23) but were less likely to have LDL-C under 130 mg/dL (OR=0.77; 99% CI=0.69, 0.87). CONCLUSIONS: Among VHA patients with diabetes, clinically significant gender inequality was not apparent in most of diabetes care measures. However, there was evidence of better care among nonwhite and non-African American women than their male counterparts. Further research on interaction of race and gender on diabetes care is needed. This includes evaluation of integrated VHA women’s health programs as well as cultural issues. Lower LDL-C control among women suggests areas of unmet needs for women and opportunities for future targeted quality improvement interventions at system and provider levels.
Faculty Deployment in Research Universities

Deploying faculty efficiently (or more efficiently) should surely part of any optimizing strategy on the part of a college or university. Basic microeconomics about the “theory of the firm” provide some insight as to how a university would achieve productive efficiency given differences in the price (salary rate) of faculty across disciplines and variation in compensation within departments. The prices of faculty activities demonstrate substantial variation across institutions, disciplines, within disciplines and over time. These observations about variation in input prices raise fundamental questions about whether and, if so, how differences in the cost of faculty affect resource allocation at research universities. We examine how teaching allocations and costs vary both between departments and within departments. This allocation is complicated because teaching and research are jointly produced by universities, while they are also substitutes at some margin in faculty time allocation. We examine the link between departmental compensation (payroll) and student course offerings at two major public research universities. Strikingly, we find that faculty compensation per student taught varies much less across departments than salary levels. In turn, changes over time in relative salaries by discipline are much larger than changes in faculty compensation per student as universities adjust to these cost pressures by increasing class size and increasing teaching inputs from other sources. We also find that within departments the highest-paid faculty teach fewer undergraduates and fewer undergraduate courses than their lower-paid colleagues. This finding confirms our hypothesis that salaries are determined principally by research output and associated reputation, and that universities respond rationally to relative prices in deploying faculty.
Engaging Business Practitioners to Develop Students’ Faith and Talents

Bringing business practitioners into our classrooms provides unique opportunities to develop our student’s faith and talents. We discuss the benefits of guest experts in terms of informing and inspiring our students as well as broadening our networks for internships, jobs, and philanthropy. We confront two challenges: 1) persuading the experts to come to offer advice, and 2) convincing the students to take it. We offer ten suggestions to maximize the benefits of engaging business experts in our classes.