Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Ischemia-modified albumin is a highly sensitive serum marker of transient myocardial ischemia induced by coronary vasospasm

BackgroundIschemia-modified albumin, a new marker of myocardial ischemia, is known to elevate during ischemia induced by percutaneous coronary intervention. It is, however, not known whether ischemia-modified albumin also elevates during transient coronary vasospasm. MethodsWe evaluated ischemia-modified albumin in patients undergoing intracoronary ergonovine spasm provocation test (n=26). For additional comparison, ischemia-modified albumin was also evaluated in elective percutaneous coronary intervention patients (n=18) and in patients with normal coronary angiography (n=10). Blood samples were taken from the arterial sheath before the procedure, just after procedural completion, or balloon inflation. ResultsMedian ischemia-modified albumin level elevated significantly in patients with positive provocation test compared with baseline [n=16, 106.0 (interquartile range 96.5, 115.5) versus 128.5 (114.8, 171.8) U/ml, P<0.001], whereas it did not change in patients with negative provocation test [n=10, 109.5 (103.3, 115.0) versus 113.5 (104.0, 118.3) U/ml, P=0.108]. Ischemia-modified albumin was also higher after percutaneous coronary intervention [113.5 (101.0, 131.5) versus 151.0 (129.3, 231.0) U/ml, P<0.0001] and did not change in patients with normal coronary angiography [108.5 (99.3, 114.0) versus 110.0 (108.0, 114.0) U/ml, P=0.085]. Ischemia-modified albumin elevation higher than 9 U/ml after provocation test could detect the presence of coronary vasospasm, with an area under the receiver operating characteristic curve of 0.975 (95% confidence interval 0.921–1.000), with a sensitivity of 94% and a specificity of 99%. Serum albumin levels were within reference range for all patients and there was no significant relationship between albumin and baseline ischemia-modified albumin or postischemic ischemia-modified albumin. ConclusionThus, ischemia-modified albumin may have a role as a biochemical marker for transient myocardial ischemia induced by coronary vasospasm.
Social Conflict in the South - South Nigeria: Implications for Foreign Investment

This paper investigated social conflict in the South-South region of Nigeria, and the challenges it posed to foreign investment in Nigeria. Non-parametric statistical and content analyses were essentially used as measuring tools. The results showed that dissatisfaction of the people of South-South especially the youths on the level of attention given to the development of their region and the damages to their ecology by oil spillage are the major causes of the alarming rate of youth restiveness. Surprisingly, the Niger Delta region constitutes about 80% to the revenue of Nigeria. It is against this backdrop that the paper suggests an immediate review of the current revenue sharing formula. The new formula should be made to address poverty, and neglect of the South-South region. Oil companies operating in the region should pay a greater percentage of their royalty directly to the host communities in the region.
Long-memory and shifts in the unconditional variance in the exchange rate euro/US dollar returns

In this paper two characteristics a priori contradictory and yet coexistent in the daily returns of exchange rate euro/US dollar are drawn. The non-stationarity of the covariance structure of the series is shown and, after the extraction of the unstable variance using the algorithm based on the cumulative sums of squares of Inclan and Tiao (Journal of the American Statistical Association, 1994, 89(427), 913–23), the existence of long-memory in the filtered series. Does the non-stationarity of the unconditional variance explain the phenomenon of long-memory? Thus a classic debate is found of which the exit does not again elucidate.
Natural prevalence of hepatitis C virus variants with decreased sensitivity to NS3.4A protease inhibitors in treatment-naive subjects.

BACKGROUND The prevalence and clinical implications of naturally occurring variants that are resistant to hepatitis C virus (HCV) protease inhibitors in treatment-naive patients has not been reported. We report here the prevalence of such variants and their effect on clinical response. METHODS Population sequence analysis of the NS3.4A protease was conducted in 570 treatment-naive subjects. RESULTS Most subjects (98%) had wild-type virus. The remaining subjects had the following variants present in significant proportions (100%): V36M, 0.9%; R155K, 0.7%; V170A, 0.2%; and R109K, 0.2%. The V36M, R109K, and V170A substitutions confer low-level resistance (<7-fold) to protease inhibitors in replicon cells. The R155K substitution confers low-level resistance to telaprevir (TVR) and boceprevir and confers high-level resistance (>70-fold) to BILN 2061 and ITMN-191. Five subjects with the V36M or R109K variant were treated with 8-24 weeks of TVR and peginterferon-alpha2a (P) with or without ribavirin (R). Four achieved a sustained viral response, and 1 was lost to follow-up. In subjects with the R155K variant, TVR/PR provided greater antiviral activity than PR alone; however, the antiviral response was lower than that observed in subjects with wild-type virus. CONCLUSION High levels of naturally occurring protease inhibitor-resistant variants were uncommon (<1% each) in HCV treatment-naive patients. TVR/PR efficiently inhibited V36M and R109K variants and contributed partial antiviral activity against the R155K variant. As new HCV agents are evaluated in clinical trials, it will be important to monitor the effect of baseline variants on sensitivity.
The Contingency of the Mass Media's Political Agenda Setting Power: Toward a Preliminary Theory

Recently the study of the relationship between the media and the political agenda has received growing attention of both media and political science scholars. However, these research efforts have not led to a general discussion or a real theory on the media’s political agenda setting power. This article first analytically confronts the often contradictory results of the available evidence. Then, it sketches the broad outline of a preliminary theory. Political agenda setting by the media is contingent upon a number of conditions. The input variables of the model are the kind of issues covered, the specific media outlet, and the sort of coverage. Political context variables, the features of the political actors at stake, are at the heart of the model. The model proposes five sorts of output ranging from no political adoption to fast substantial adoption of media issues.
Reference values and changes in infant sleep–wake behaviour during the first 12 months of life: a systematic review

This paper is a systematic review on the reference values and changes in infant sleep–wake behaviour during the first 12 months of life. This systematic review was conducted according to the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta‐Analysis (PRISMA). Seventy‐four papers were included, and the reference values and changes in sleep–wake behaviour during the first 12 months of life were identified. Sleep duration during the 24‐h period, and day and sleep periods during the night decreased over the first 12 months of life. Night wakings and bedtime/sleep‐onset time decreased, while the longest sleep period increased at night during the first 6 months. High discrepancy was noted between studies in the reference values of sleep–wake behaviour, while more congruence was noted regarding changes, especially those occurring in the first 6 months of life. Several methodological differences were identified between studies and may partially explain inconsistencies in the results, including the assessment of different sleep–wake behaviours, the focus on specific ages or age ranges, the use of self‐report, observational or direct measures, the recruitment of small or large representative samples, and the countries where the research was conducted. These aspects should be considered in future research and caution should be taken when generalizing results from studies with diverse methodological characteristics. Nonetheless, this review identifies normative reference values and the changes occurring in infant sleep–wake behaviour, and could inform both practitioners and researchers, helping them identify infants with sleep delays or problems.
Prospects for More Healthful, Local, and Sustainably Produced Food in School Meals

The problem of serving more healthful, local, and sustainably grown foods in school meals has many elements of a “wicked problem” and therefore an engaged, participatory approach is essential. This article discusses efforts by a national farm-to-school project, School Food FOCUS, and its efforts to engage school districts in participatory supply chain research. It describes the methods, activities, and findings of the project and its initial impacts on changes in procurement practices and food availability. It concludes with overarching observations on the efficacy of this approach, key lessons learned, and future plans for the project.
The Distribution of Laminins and Fibronectins Is Modulated During Extravillous Trophoblastic Cell Differentiation and Decidual Cell Response to Invasion in the Human Placenta

We studied the distribution of laminin (Ln) α1–α3, β1–β3, and γ1 chains, and of the extradomain-A (EDA) and EDB and the oncofetal epitope of fibronectin (Onc-Fn) in extravillous trophoblastic cells and decidua in the human placenta by immunohistochemistry. We found that the transition from villous to extravillous trophoblast was accompanied by emergence of immunoreactivity for EDA-, EDB-, and Onc-Fn among the cells. Furthermore, whereas the villous trophoblastic basement membrane (BM) contains Ln α1, α2, β1, β2, and γ1 chains, immunoreactivity for Ln α1, β1, and γ1, but not for Ln α2 and β2 chains, was detected in association with extravillous trophoblastic cells. Interestingly, although immunoreactivity for the Ln α1, α2, β1, β2, and γ1 chains was detected in all decidual cell BMs, EDB-Fn and Onc-Fn were detected only in decidua that had been invaded by the trophoblast. In summary, our results describe distinct changes in the distribution of Ln and Fn isoforms during the differentiation of villous trophoblast into extravillous trophoblastic cells. Furthermore, EDB- and Onc-Fn are preferentially found in decidua that has been invaded by the trophoblast, indicating that the deposition of these Fn isoforms reflects a decidual cell response to invasion.
Preclinical development of TLR ligands as drugs for the treatment of chronic viral infections

Introduction: Toll-like receptors (TLRs) have been identified as key regulators of innate and adaptive immune responses in viral infection. Recent progress in this field revealed that there are significant interactions between the TLR system and pathogens in chronic viral infections. Therefore, TLR ligands have great potential for the treatment of chronic viral infections. Areas covered: This review provides an overview of the methodology for preclinical testing of TLR ligands for three major viral infections: hepatitis B virus (HBV), hepatitis C virus (HCV) and human immunodeficiency virus (HIV). TLR ligands have shown potent antiviral activity in different cell culture systems as well as animal models for these infections and induce the production of antiviral cytokines, modulated cellular immunological functions and antiviral effects in vivo. Expert opinion: The recent progress in this field demonstrated that activation of a large number of TLR ligands is effective against viral infections in cell culture systems and animal models. Exploring these models, further in-depth elucidation of the molecular and immunological mechanisms of the antiviral activity of TLR ligands will be necessary to develop them into clinical useful drugs.
Does Government Ownership Reduce Cost of and Improve Access to External Financing

This paper has examined the connection between government ownership and cost of financing in Indonesia, Singapore, and Malaysia. Other than that, this paper analyzes whether or not political connection influence the access to external finance through government ownership. Estimates established are tested with balanced panel data during 2009-2013. The fixed-effects model also utilized in order to adjust firm-specific and time-specific intercept effects. Findings from the regression support hypothesis that the government ownership is negatively affect the cost of external finance. Further results bolster another hypothesis that government ownership is positively associated with access to external finance. These findings provide insight as a decision making base for public investors whether or not to invest in companies with higher government ownership.
Response of the GABAergic and dopaminergic mesostriatal projections to the lesion of the contralateral dopaminergic mesostriatal pathway in the rat

Although dopamine is the main neurotransmitter in the mesostriatal system, recent studies indicate the existence of two nigrostriatal GABAergic projections: one arising from neurons immunoreactive for GABA, glutamic acid decarboxylase (GAD67), and parvalbumin (PV) lying in the substantia nigra pars reticulata (nigrostriatal GABA cells) and the other arising from a subpopulation of dopaminergic neurons lying in the substantia nigra pars compacta and ventral tegmental area, which under normal conditions, contains mRNA for GAD65 (one of the two isoforms of glutamic acid decarboxylase), but which is not immunoreactive for GABA and GAD65 (nigrostriatal dopaminergic [DA]/GABA cells). With the aim of improving our knowledge about the interaction between the nigrostriatal system of both brain hemispheres, we have studied the response of these three components of the mesostriatal system (GABA, DA/GABA, and DA) to the lesion of the contralateral mesostriatal DA pathway, by using morphological and neurophysiological techniques. Our findings show that, in the side contralateral to the lesion, (1) the number of nigrostriatal GABA cells increases from 6% to 17% with respect to the total number of nigrostriatal cells, (2) the soma of DA/GABA cells becomes immunoreactive for GABA and GAD65, and (3) there is an increase in the firing rate and burst activity of DA‐neurons, except in those projecting to the striatum, which may be under the action of the GABA hyperactivity. Taken together, our results suggest that the GABAergic components of the mesostriatal projection play a regulatory role on the DA component, activated or upregulated after contralateral DA lesion and are probably addressed to restoring the functional symmetry in basal ganglia and to slowing down the contralateral progression of DA‐cell degeneration in Parkinson's disease. © 2004 Movement Disorder Society
Light and dark in chromatin repair: repair of UV‐induced DNA lesions by photolyase and nucleotide excision repair

Nucleotide excision repair (NER) and DNA repair by photolyase in the presence of light (photoreactivation) are the major pathways to remove UV‐induced DNA lesions from the genome, thereby preventing mutagenesis and cell death. Photoreactivation was found in many prokaryotic and eukaryotic organisms, but not in mammals, while NER seems to be universally distributed. Since packaging of eukaryotic DNA in nucleosomes and higher order chromatin structures affects DNA structure and accessibility, damage formation and repair are coupled intimately to structural and dynamic properties of chromatin. Here, I review recent progress in the study of repair of chromatin and transcribed genes. Photoreactivation and NER are discussed as examples of how an individual enzyme and a complex repair pathway, respectively, access DNA lesions in chromatin and how these two repair processes fulfil complementary roles in removal of UV lesions. These repair pathways provide insight into the structural and dynamic properties of chromatin and suggest how other DNA repair processes could work in chromatin.
Systematic Liquidity and the Funding Liquidity Hypothesis

In order to reconcile weak evidence of supply-side determinants of commonality in liquidity in previous studies, we examine commonality in liquidity in China over the period 1995–2012. Consistent with supply-side explanations, we find that market declines and market volatility increase liquidity commonality. To identify the direct relationship between the supply-side determinants and commonality in liquidity, we provide two specific tests and show that an increase in market participants has a negative effect on liquidity commonality, while the split-share-structure reform in 2005–2007 that results in a large increase in shares supply has a positive impact on liquidity commonality. Finally, we find that commonality in liquidity also has a real impact on the economy.
MAODV: To Identify a Secure Route Selection in MANET under Blackhole

Mobile Ad-hoc Network (MANET) is an open loop infrastructure, having independent movement of each node without any decentralized control. Due to dynamic nature. MANET has a many security issues than conventional networks. In this paper AdHoc on Demand Distance Vector (AODV) is used as a routing protocol in MANET. Many types of attack are introduced in MANET such as blackhole attack, wormhole attack,routing table overflow attack, routing cache poisoning attack etc.,which occur due to the malicious node and degrade the achievement of AODV. In this paper, blackhole attack is taken into consideration which is more dangerous than other attacks. To maintain a secure route selection under blackhole attack, it is necessary to make a strong security proposal, which maintain the performance of network. This paper introduces a new security scheme which deals with MAODV (Modified AdHoc on Demand Distance Vector) which enlarges the performance of network and eliminates the risk of blackhole attack in the presence of malicious node.
Examining the Effect of Microcredit on Poverty in Malaysia

This study employs a cross-sectional design with stratified random sampling method to examine if the microcredit programme of the Amanah Ikhtiar Malaysia (AIM) improves the income of hardcore poor households. This study uses a quasi-experimental approach and selected control and treatment group members from AIM’s client’s base — new and old clients respectively. It is evident that the AIM’s microcredit programme increased the household’s income and reduced the poverty rate among their hardcore poor clients in Peninsular Malaysia. Findings of the study indicate the effectiveness of microcredit in eradicating poverty. This programme should, therefore, focus on diversifying their products and services in order to increase outreach and decrease inactive borrowers and dropouts.
Comparison of Variable Number Tandem Repeat and IS6110-Restriction Fragment Length Polymorphism Analyses for Discrimination of High- and Low-Copy-Number IS6110 Mycobacterium tuberculosis Isolates

ABSTRACT The present study was designed to evaluate the use of variable number tandem repeat (VNTR) and IS6110-restriction fragment length polymorphism (RFLP) analyses in combination as a two-step strategy for discrimination (as measured by the Hunter-Gaston Discrimination Index [HGDI]) of both high- and low-copy-number IS6110 Mycobacterium tuberculosis isolates compared to IS6110-RFLP alone with an unselected collection of isolates. Individually, IS6110-RFLP fingerprinting produced six clusters that accounted for 69% of the low-copy-number IS6110 isolates (five clusters) and 5% of the high-copy-number IS6110 isolates (one cluster). A total of 39% of all the isolates were clustered (HGDI = 0.97). VNTR analysis generated a total of 35 different VNTR allele profile sets from 93 isolates (HGDI = 0.938). Combining IS6110-RFLP analysis with VNTR analysis reduced the overall percentage of clustered isolates to 29% (HGDI = 0.988) and discriminated a further 27% of low-copy-number isolates that would have been clustered by IS6110-RFLP alone. The use of VNTR analysis as an initial typing strategy facilitates further analysis by IS6110-RFLP, and more importantly, VNTR analysis subdivides some IS6110-RFLP-defined clusters containing low- and single-copy IS6110 isolates.
The changing governance of biotechnology: The politics of public trust in the agrifood sector

There has been much recent debate about the declining public trust in science, scientific institutions and the regulation of science. Negative attitudes towards genetic modification on the part of the public politicised the processes associated with its governance. It is argued that public trust in science is a statement about the legitimacy of the activities that take place as part of science, including regulation. However, those involved in the process of governance must also manage the tensions between public trust and industrial need. Scientific authority cannot be the sole arbiter of relevant standards and judgements. Governance of biotechnology (and, indeed, other technologies) has to move from an elitist model where science can act as the authoritative source for risk regulation to one where citizens have a voice as one of the constituent elements of the political discourse. Engaging the public in the governance process without explicitly demonstrating that there is a policy impact resulting from such involvement will, however, increase public distrust in the motives of institutional and industrial actors within the agri-food biotechnology sector
Market and Welfare Effects of Second‐Generation, Consumer‐Oriented GM Products

We examine the economic effects of the introduction of consumer-oriented genetically modified (GM) products into the food system by developing a model of heterogeneous consumers and producers that allows for vertical and horizontal differentiation between the products available to consumers. The model facilitates the estimation of consumer and producer surpluses in the product/utility and product/net returns spaces. Results show that the introduction of consumer-oriented GM products can change the relationship between GM and conventional and organic products from one of vertical to one of horizontal product differentiation and can enhance both economic welfare and the market acceptance and growth of agricultural biotechnology.
[Fluid-based thin-layer method for screening of squamous intraepithelial lesions in pregnant women].

OBJECTIVE To investigate the clinical significance and safety of liquid-based cytology (thinprep cytologic test, TCT) in pregnant women and cytological characteristics of the smears during pregnancy. METHODS TCT were performed in 1951 pregnant women (group A), 3752 gynecological out-patients (group B) and 5069 routine screening women (group C). The age of the women was ranged from 20 to 39 years. The cytological preparations were analyzed using TCT method following the Bathesda system (TBS) standard. RESULTS (1) The incidence of abnormal epithelial patterns in groups A, B and C was 23.58% (460/1951), 19.22% (721/3752) and 13.40% (679/5069) respectively (P < 0.01). (2) The incidence of infection in three groups was 19.02% (371/1951), 10.66% (400/3752) and 9.23% (468/5069) respectively (P < 0.05). (3) The incidence of cervical intraepithelial neoplasia (CIN) in three groups was 1.13%, 1.87% and 0.77% respectively. No significant difference was found between pregnant group (A) and non-pregnant group (B + C, P > 0.05). CONCLUSIONS TCT smear screening is necessary, safe and acceptable for routine prenatal tests. There is no difference in the cervical squamous intraepithelial lesions between pregnant and non-pregnant women.