Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Association of gene variants with susceptibility to type 2 diabetes among Omanis.

AIM To investigate the association of 10 known common gene variants with susceptibility to type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2D) among Omanis. METHODS Using case-control design, a total of 992 diabetic patients and 294 normoglycemic Omani Arabs were genotyped, by an allelic discrimination assay-by-design TaqMan method on fast real time polymerase chain reaction system, for the following gene variants: KCNJ11 (rs5219), TCF7L2 (rs7903146), CDKAL1 (rs10946398), CDKN2A/B (rs10811661), FTO (rs9939609 and rs8050136), IGF2BP2 (rs4402960), SLC30A8 (rs13266634) CAPN10 (rs3792267) and HHEX (rs1111875). T2D patients were recruited from the Diabetes Clinic (n = 243) and inpatients (n = 749) at Sultan Qaboos Univesity Hospital (SQUH), Muscat, Oman. Adult control participants (n = 294) were volunteers from the community and from those visiting Family Medicine Clinic at SQU, for regular medical checkup. The difficulty in recruiting Omani participants with no family history of diabetes was the main reason behind the small number of control participants in this study. Almost all volunteers questioned had a relative with diabetes mellitus. Inspite of the small number of normoglycemic controls in this study, this sample was sufficient for detection of genes and loci for common alleles influencing T2D with an odds ratio of ≥ 1.3 reaching at least 80% power. Data was collected from June 2010 to February 2012. RESULTS Using binary logistic regression analysis, four gene variants showed significant association with T2D risk: KCNJ11 (rs5219, P = 5.8 × 10(-6), OR = 1.74), TCF7L2 (rs7903146, P = 0.001, OR = 1.46), CDKAL1 (rs10946398, P = 0.002, OR = 1.44) and CDKN2A/B (rs10811661, P = 0.020, OR = 1.40). The fixation index analysis of these four gene variants indicated significant genetic differentiation between diabetics and controls {[KCNJ11 (rs5219), P < 0.001], [TCF7L2 (rs7903146), P < 0.001], [CDKAL1 (rs10946398), P < 0.05], [CDKN2A/B (rs10811661), P < 0.05]}. The highest genotype variation % between diabetics and controls was found at KCNJ11 (2.07%) and TCF7L2 (1.62%). This study was not able to detect an association of T2D risk with gene variants of IGF2BP2 (rs4402960), SLC30A8 (rs13266634), CAPN10 (rs3792267) and HHEX (rs1111875). Moreover, no association was found between FTO gene variants (rs9939609 and rs8050136) and T2D risk. However, T2D risk was found to be significantly associated with obesity (P = 0.002, OR = 2.22); and with the Waist-to-Hip ratio (n = 532, P = 1.9 ×10(-7), OR = 2.4), [among males (n = 234, P = 1.2 × 10(-4), OR = 2.0) and females (n = 298, P = 0.001, OR = 6.3)]. CONCLUSION Results confirmed the association of KCNJ11 (rs5219), TCF7L2 (rs7903146), CDKAL1 (rs10946398) and CDKN2A/B (rs10811661) gene variants with susceptibility to T2D among Omani Arabs.
Domestic Political Audiences and the Escalation of International Disputes

International crises are modeled as a political “war of attrition” in which state leaders choose at each moment whether to attack, back down, or escalate. A leader who backs down suffers audience costs that increase as the public confrontation proceeds. Equilibrium analysis shows how audience costs enable leaders to learn an adversary's true preferences concerning settlement versus war and thus whether and when attack is rational. The model also generates strong comparative statics results, mainly on the question of which side is most likely to back down. Publicly observable measures of relative military capabilities and relative interests prove to have no direct effect once a crisis begins. Instead, relative audience costs matter: the side with a stronger domestic audience (e.g., a democracy) is always less likely to back down than the side less able to generate audience costs (a nondemocracy). More broadly, the analysis suggests that democracies should be able to signal their intentions to other states more credibly and clearly than authoritarian states can, perhaps ameliorating the security dilemma between democratic states.
Treatment of hairy-cell leukemia with cladribine: response, toxicity, and long-term follow-up.

PURPOSE To analyze initial and long-term outcomes after treatment of patients with active hairy-cell leukemia (HCL) with a single cycle of cladribine (2-CdA). PATIENTS AND METHODS Forty-nine patients with active HCL were treated with 2-CdA by continuous intravenous infusion at 0.1 mg/kg/d for a total of 7 days at the Long Island Jewish Medical Center between September 1990 and August 1992. Here we report on all patients followed-up until April 1996. RESULTS At 3 months after treatment, complete response (CR) occurred in 37 patients (76%) and partial response (PR) occurred in 12 patients (24%), for an overall response rate of 100% (95% confidence interval, 94% to 100%). At a median follow-up of 55 months, the relapse-free survival is 80% and overall survival is 95%. Ten patients (20%) have relapsed. Of the 26 patients in whom lymphocyte phenotyping was performed, four were found to have a CD25-negative phenotype. All four of these patients had PRs only and all relapsed. Eight patients have been re-treated with 2-CdA, and all achieved at least a partial remission; two of these have already relapsed with remission durations of less than 1 year. Five second malignancies have occurred in four patients. CONCLUSION With a median follow-up of more than 4 years, 39 patients (80%) continue in remission. Only two deaths have occurred. A CD25-negative phenotype may predict for a poorer response to 2-CdA. Patients who relapse may be re-treated with 2-CdA, but subsequent remissions may be of shorter duration. There has not been a markedly increased incidence of second malignancies or late opportunistic infections.
“I See Death around the Corner”: Nihilism in Rap Music

Rap is one of the most salient music genres of the late twentieth and early twenty-first centuries. Gangsta rap, in particular, with its focus on urban street life, has become a dominant means of expression within contemporary African American adolescent culture. As such, it speaks directly to issues of identity, culture, violence, and nihilism—themes that permeate recent research on inner-city black communities. Mostly ethnographic in nature, this work describes how structural disadvantage, social isolation, and despair create a black youth culture, or street code, that influences adolescent behavior. The current work builds on the community literature by exploring how the street code is present not only on “the street” but also in rap music. It addresses two important questions: (1) To what extent does rap music contain elements of the street code—and particularly nihilism—identified by Anderson (1999) and others? (2) How do rappers experience and interpret their lives, and how do they respond to conditions in their communities? These questions are explored in a content analysis of over four hundred songs on rap albums from 1992 to 2000.
The Recognition of Proteins and Peptides by Antibodies

Immunological recognition is mediated by T and B lymphocytes and by immunoglobulin molecules secreted by plasmocytes. The T cells recognize protein antigens by means of their T-cell receptors (TCRs) after the antigen has been processed into peptide fragments, a topic discussed in Chapter 13. The B cells recognize antigens by means of B-cell immunoglobulin receptors, which are actually antibody molecules anchored in the B-cell membrane. Unlike T-cell receptors, B-cell receptors are able to recognize the native tertiary structure of a protein antigen. The antibody molecules that are subsequently released by the B cell, after its differentiation into a plasmocyte. possess the same specificity as the receptors of the triggered B cell; therefore, they are also able to recognize the native conformation of the protein antigen. The first selective theory of antibody diversity was developed at the beginning of the century by Paul Ehrlich, who proposed his “side chain” theory to explain the appearance of specific antibodies. According to this theory, lymphocytes possess on their surface a variety of side chain groups or receptors that are able to combine in a specific manner with different antigens. The interaction of the antigen with one of the side chains was believed to result in the release of that side chain group from the cell surface and to trigger the subsequent synthesis and release of large numbers of the same side chains. According to Ehrlich, the antigen selects, on the surface of the lymphocyte, a receptor with a complementary shape, and it induces the cells to excrete large numbers of this receptor in the form of specific antibodies. This side chain theory is remarkably modern, since it is similar to the currently accepted clonal selection mechanism, which links the specificity of antibodies appearing in the serum with the presence of preexisting clones of cells possessing the same antibodies immobilized at the cell surface. The molecular mechanisms of antigen recognition by an antibody anchored in the B-cell membrane or by a free antibody molecule are the same. However, it is much easier to study the binding of antigens to free antibodies than to antibodies attached to B cells, and most of our knowledge concerning antigen-antibody binding has been derived from studies with free antibody molecules. The term antigen refers to any entity that is able to generate an immune response in higher vertebrates and to be recognized by the products of the immune response. The ability of antigens to react specifically with complementary antibodies is known as antigenic reactivity, and their
De acceptatie van innovaties in de context van een netwerksamenleving

De acceptatie van nieuwe producten is in de literatuur uitgebreid bestudeerd. Maar er is weinig aandacht besteed aan de acceptatie van nieuwe producten in de context van een netwerksamenleving. In een netwerksamenleving hangt de acceptatie van een nieuw product niet alleen af van de bereidheid van klanten om het nieuwe product te kopen en gebruiken, maar ook van verschillende andere stakeholdergroepen. In dit conceptuele artikel onderscheiden wij drie belangrijke consequenties van de aanwezigheid van meerdere stakeholdergroepen voor het onderzoek naar en management van de acceptatie van nieuwe producten. Deze consequenties hangen samen met het feit dat (1) stakeholdergroepen kunnen verschillen in het belang dat zij hechten aan de diverse innovatiekarakteristieken, (2) er verschillen kunnen zijn in de betekenis die de verschillende stakeholdergroepen hechten aan de innovatiekarakteristieken, en (3) stakeholdergroepen elkaars beslissingsprocessen kunnen beinvloeden. Op basis van deze consequenties presenteren wij enkele suggesties voor onderzoekers en managers.
Clinicians' response to radiologists' reports of isolated subsegmental pulmonary embolism or inconclusive interpretation of pulmonary embolism using MDCT.

OBJECTIVE The purpose of our study was to investigate clinician response and patient outcome associated with the radiologist's report of isolated subsegmental pulmonary emboli (ISSPE) or indeterminate or inconclusive results on MDCT for venous thromboembolism. MATERIALS AND METHODS All patients were examined using 8- or 16-MDCT. Reported findings on combined CT pulmonary angiography and CT venography of 1,435 consecutive patients were analyzed retrospectively. The charts of patients of interest with ISSPE or with indeterminate or inconclusive pulmonary embolism results were analyzed for clinician response and recurrent symptoms of venous thromboembolism in both treated and untreated patients during the following 3 months. RESULTS We studied 207 patients of interest, and follow-up was available on 192 (92.8%) (67 ISSPEs, 125 inconclusive). Of the 192 patients, 25 (37%) of 67 patients with ISSPE and 108 (86%) of 125 patients with inconclusive results did not receive anticoagulation. Two patients with ISSPE and two patients with inconclusive results returned with new symptoms suggesting recurrent venous thromboembolism, but no venous thromboembolism was found. Thirteen (10%) of 133 untreated patients died without clinical evidence of recurrent venous thromboembolism. In 61 patients who received anticoagulation (42/67 [63%] ISSPE and 17/125 [14%] inconclusive), five patients returned with venous thromboembolism symptoms. None had recurrent emboli. Two (3%) of 61 patients who received anticoagulation died of other diseases. CONCLUSION Patients with ISSPE more commonly received anticoagulation than not. In the patients who did not receive anticoagulation, no recurrent pulmonary embolism was identified on follow-up. In most patients with inconclusive findings on CT pulmonary angiography, clinicians chose to withhold anticoagulation without additional imaging workup. No adverse effects of this clinical decision were uncovered.
Caractérisation et modélisation des propretés électriques et du bruit à basse fréquence dans les transistors organiques à effet de champ (OFETs)

Les transistors organiques attirent actuellement beaucoup d'attention en raison des avantages uniques par rapport a leur homologue inorganique. En revanche, la comprehension physique du fonctionnement et du transport des porteurs de charge est tres limitee. L'objectif de cette these est de contribuer a apporter une meilleure comprehension des transistors organiques. Le Chapitre 1 presente les semi-conducteurs organiques : le mecanisme de conduction, les parametres essentiels, les materiaux typiques etc. Le Chapitre 2 discute des transistors organi-ques en termes de structures, de mecanismes de fonctionnement, de parametres principaux et des procedes de fabrication. Le Chapitre 3 etudie la caracterisation statique. Apres les methodes classiques, la methode de la fonc-tion Y est introduite. Subsequemment, des techniques pour extraire les parametres principaux sont presentees se-parement. Enfin, les resultats experimentaux sur nos echantillons sont exposes. Sur la base des donnees mesurees, les travaux de modelisation sont presentes dans le chapitre 4. Premierement, une solution de l'equation Poisson est introduite qui donne la distribution de potentiel et donc la distribution de porteurs dans le film organique. Avec la prise en compte des pieges, les resultats obtenus par simulation sont en bon accord avec les donnees experimen-tales. A partir de mesures des caracteristiques de courant –tension effectuees a basse temperature, on propose une procedure d'analyse de la mobilite en utilisant l'integrale de Kubo-Greenwood. Ensuite, prenant en compte la dis-tribution de porteurs dans le film organique, une solution de l'equation de Poisson est donnee et la mobilite effec-tive est calculee en fonction de la tension de grille et de la temperature. Le Chapitre 5 est consacre a l'analyse du bruit a basse frequence. On etudie d'abord le bruit du canal ou une domination du bruit provenant des contacts est observee. En consequence, une methode TLM pour l'extraction du bruit des contacts est presentee. Ensuite, un procedure d'analyse des sources de bruit du au contact est aussi proposee. Les resultats de bruit obtenus sur des transistors organiques de differentes origines sont egalement discutes a la fin.
Familial confounding of the association between maternal smoking during pregnancy and offspring criminality: a population-based study in Sweden.

CONTEXT The association between maternal smoking during pregnancy (SDP) and offspring disruptive behaviors has been well documented, but it is unclear whether exposure to SDP or the effects of factors correlated with SDP account for the increased risk. OBJECTIVE To test whether the association between SDP and offspring criminal convictions was consistent with a causal connection or due to familial background factors by controlling for measured covariates and using a quasi-experimental approach. DESIGN We used a population-based study of children born in Sweden from 1983 to 1989 (N = 609,372) to examine the association between SDP and offspring criminal convictions while controlling for measured traits of both parents. We also compared siblings differentially exposed to SDP (n = 50,339) to account for unmeasured familial factors that could account for the association. SETTING Population-based study of all children born in Sweden from 1983 to 1989 with information on maternal SDP and offspring criminal convictions based on national registries collected by the Swedish government. PATIENTS OR OTHER PARTICIPANTS Children born in Sweden from 1983 to 1989 (N = 609,372) and siblings differentially exposed to SDP (n = 50,339). MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES Violent and nonviolent convictions, based on the Swedish National Crime Register, a register with detailed information on all convictions in the country. RESULTS Moderate (hazard rate [HR], 2.47; 95% confidence interval [CI], 2.34-2.60) and high (HR, 3.43; 95% CI, 3.25-3.63) levels of maternal SDP were associated with an increased risk for offspring violent convictions, even when controlling for maternal and paternal traits. There was no association between SDP and violent convictions, however, when comparing differentially exposed siblings (HR(moderate), 1.02; 95% CI, 0.79-1.30; HR(high), 1.03; 95% CI, 0.78-1.37). Smoking during pregnancy also was associated with nonviolent convictions in the entire population (HR(moderate), 1.62; 95% CI, 1.58-1.66; HR(high), 1.87; 95% CI, 1.82-1.92) and when controlling for covariates. But, there was no association when comparing siblings who were differentially exposed (HR(moderate), 0.89; 95% CI, 0.78-1.01; HR(high), 0.89; 95% CI, 0.78-1.02). CONCLUSION The results suggest that familial background factors account for the association between maternal SDP and criminal convictions, not the specific exposure to SDP.
Selective Laser Trabeculoplasty Reduces Intraocular Pressure Peak in Response to the Water Drinking Test

Purpose:To determine the effect of selective laser trabeculoplasty (SLT) on intraocular pressure (IOP) peak and fluctuation induced by the water drinking test (WDT) in patients with open-angle glaucoma and ocular hypertension. Methods:Patients with open-angle glaucoma or ocular hypertension underwent the WDT before and after SLT within a 12-month period. No other changes to therapeutic regimen were permitted. IOP was measured with a Goldmann applanation tonometer at baseline and every 15 minutes for 45 minutes following a fluid challenge of 800 mL over 15 minutes. Baseline, peak, and percentage fluctuation in IOP from baseline were compared using a repeated measures analysis of variance with Bonferroni adjustment. Results:Twenty eyes from 20 patients were included in this study. The median patient age was 73±15 years (interquartile range) and 70% of patients were female. Ten eyes (50%) had a diagnosis of primary open-angle glaucoma and 10 eyes had ocular hypertension. Following SLT there was a statistically significant reduction in mean baseline IOP from 16.9±2.4 to 14.2±2.3 mm Hg (P<0.001), peak IOP from 21.9±3.7 to 16.9±3.1 mm Hg (P<0.001). Conclusions:Patients with open-angle glaucoma and ocular hypertension treated with SLT have significantly reduced peak IOPs and fluctuation in IOP in response to the WDT.
An Empirical Analysis of the Interactions Between Environmental Regulations and Economic Growth

The purpose of this research is to examine the relationship between environmental regulation and economic growth. A four-equation regional growth model is used to analyze the simultaneous relationships among changes in population, employment, per capita income, and environmental regulations for the 410 counties in Appalachia. Our results reveal that initial conditions for environmental regulation are negatively related to regional growth factors of change in population, per capita income, and total employment. From this, we infer that the diversion of resources from production and investment activities to pollution abatement is inadvertently transmitted to other sectors of the economy—thereby resulting in a slow-down of regional growth. We also find robust evidence that show that changes in environmental regulations positively influence changes in population, total employment, and per capita income. Thus, we parsimoniously conclude that in the long-run, environmental regulations are not detrimental to economic growth.
Activation of alloreactive T cells by allogeneic nonprofessional antigen-presenting cells and interleukin-12 from bystander autologous professional antigen-presenting cells.

BACKGROUND After solid organ transplantation most alloantigens are presented to the recipient's immune system by normal tissue cells, which can be considered to act as nonprofessional antigen-presenting cells (APC). It is well accepted that such nonprofessional APC fail to activate recipient resting T cells due to their inability to deliver costimulatory activity. In our study, we tested a hypothesis that such costimulatory activity may be provided by "bystander" recipient professional APC. METHODS We set up mixed lymphocyte cultures (MLC) of purified T cell responders and T cell stimulator cells, the latter as nonprofessional APC carrying allogeneic MHC class I and II, and tested if responder-type autologous APC could facilitate responder T cell proliferation. In this assay also the effects of anti-CD28 antibody and interleukin- (IL) 1beta, IL-6, or IL-12 mediated costimulation on responder T cell proliferation and IL-2 production were investigated. RESULTS Autologous APC, i.e., monocytes, were found to facilitate the proliferative response of resting T cells stimulated by allogeneic nonprofessional APC. IL-12 was identified as the most important costimulatory factor for induction of proliferation. IL-1beta enhanced IL-2 production and proliferation of allostimulated resting T cells but its presence was not essential. Although CD28 triggering alone was ineffective, this costimulatory pathway enhanced IL-2 production and proliferation when combined with IL-12 or IL-1beta. CONCLUSIONS We conclude that costimulatory activity for activation of resting human T cells by nonprofessional donor APC can be delivered through activity of bystander recipient-type autologous APC. This mechanism of allostimulation may contribute to the induction and perpetuation of alloreactivity "in vivo" in a time frame when intragraft professional donor-type APC have been replaced with professional recipient-type APC.
Synthesis of methods, rules, and issues of standardizing nursing intervention language mapping.

TOPIC Nursing language mapping. PURPOSE To synthesize the methods, rules and issues described in two studies that mapped nonstandardized nursing orders/interventions into the Nursing Interventions Classification (NIC). SOURCES The methods and results of studies conducted by Moorhead & Delaney and Coenen et al. CONCLUSIONS Results indicate that the NIC is an effective classification of mapping nursing orders/interventions to support across-site comparisons of nursing treatments. A set of decision rules to support mapping of interventions to the NIC is outlined.