Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Noninvasive Indices of Fibrosis in NAFLD: Starting to Think About a Three-Hit (At Least) Phenomenon

NAFLD is a highly prevalent, phenotypically diverse condition. A small minority of patients with NAFLD progress to clinically important stages of fibrosis. Identifying patients at risk for progressive disease is one of the great challenges of hepatology. There are an increasing number of models that have been reported to provide noninvasive indices of histological severity of NAFLD, including a new report by Gholam et al. in this issue of the Journal. All models estimating risk of severity of NAFLD lack predictivity for future progression of fibrosis. Although conceptually considered to be a “two-hit” phenomenon, the combination of steatosis, necroinflammation, and progressive fibrosis is likely to be much more complex. Because the phenotypic expression of NAFLD, like so many liver diseases, is an interaction among genes, behavior, and environment, predicting future outcomes for patients with NAFLD (and liver diseases in general) will likely require models that combine genetic susceptibility, biological environment, and behavior. Emerging data are reviewed that suggest that it will not be long before studies like that of Gholam et al. are combined with those of clinical genomics to deliver tools that we can apply to the individual patient.
Ethnic Chinese in Contemporary Indonesia: Changing Identity Politics and the Paradox of Sinification

 Almost two decades after post-Suharto reforms began, Chinese Indonesians no longer face the forced assimilation and legislative discrimination they endured under Suharto’s New Order regime. Since 1998, Chinese Indonesian identity politics and culture have flourished, and Chinese organizations, media and Mandarin language education are once again back in the public domain. Scholars term the phenomenon ‘(re)Sinification’ or a ‘return’ to Chinese culture.
Loan guarantees and the cost of debt: evidence from China

ABSTRACT In this article, we examine the potential influence of loan guarantees and the nature of ownership on a company’s cost of debt. Using data on Chinese A-share listed companies from 2007 to 2014, we find that guaranteeing another entity’s debt significantly increases the guarantor’s cost of its own debt. Regarding the nature of ownership, our results indicate that the cost of debt for state-owned enterprises (SOEs) is lower than that for non-SOEs. Among SOEs, firms controlled by the central government have lower cost of debt than firms controlled by local governments. We also find some evidence that local government ownership mitigates the effects of loan guarantees on the cost of a guarantor’s own debt.
Neuron‐Enriched cultures of adult rat dorsal root ganglia: Establishment, characterization, survival, and neuropeptide expression in response to trophic factors

It is unknown whether adult dorsal root ganglion (DRG) neurons require trophic factors for their survival and maintenance of neuropeptide phenotypes. We have established and characterized neuron‐enriched cultures of adult rat DRGs and investigated their responses to nerve growth factor (NGF), ciliary neuronotrophic factor (CNTF), pig brain extract (PBE, crude fraction of brain‐derived neuronotrophic factor, BDNF), and laminin (LN).
Public–Private Collaboration in International Education: A New Zealand Case Study

In New Zealand, educational institutions at all levels are being encouraged by the nation's central government to develop international markets, largely to generate revenue and to therefore decrease dependence on state funding. This chapter presents research findings which show that some managers in education are responding to this challenge by establishing and maintaining relationships to respond to international student demand, a core focus of educational marketing work. These relationships seem to allow high schools, particularly resource-constrained ones, to be able to add value to the international student experience. In this case, this includes offering language tuition and access to support people who speak the students’ languages and are familiar with their cultural frameworks as part of the experience. Given the benefits to international students, and to the schools themselves, could this kind of relational approach be considered an example of leadership in international education marketing?
Actin-Based Motility of Intracellular Microbial Pathogens

SUMMARY A diverse group of intracellular microorganisms, including Listeria monocytogenes, Shigella spp. , Rickettsia spp. , and vaccinia virus, utilize actin-based motility to move within and spread between mammalian host cells. These organisms have in common a pathogenic life cycle that involves a stage within the cytoplasm of mammalian host cells. Within the cytoplasm of host cells, these organisms activate components of the cellular actin assembly machinery to induce the formation of actin tails on the microbial surface. The assembly of these actin tails provides force that propels the organisms through the cell cytoplasm to the cell periphery or into adjacent cells. Each of these organisms utilizes preexisting mammalian pathways of actin rearrangement to induce its own actin-based motility. Particularly remarkable is that while all of these microbes use the same or overlapping pathways, each intercepts the pathway at a different step. In addition, the microbial molecules involved are each distinctly different from the others. Taken together, these observations suggest that each of these microbes separately and convergently evolved a mechanism to utilize the cellular actin assembly machinery. The current understanding of the molecular mechanisms of microbial actin-based motility is the subject of this review.
Pharmacokinetics and Tolerability of an Antiangiogenic Ribozyme (ANGIOZYME™) in Healthy Volunteers

The pharmacokinetics and tolerability of a chemically stabilized synthetic ribozyme (ANGIOZYME™) targeting the Flt‐1 VEGF receptor mRNA were evaluated in healthy volunteers. In a placebo‐controlled, single‐dose escalation study, ribozyme was administered as a 4‐hour IV infusion of 10 or 30 mg/m2 or as a SC bolus of 20 mg/m2. Peak ribozyme plasma concentrations of 1.5 and 3.8 μg/mL were observed after the 10 and 30 mg/m2 IV infusions, respectively. When normalized to dose, AUC values as well as peak concentrations increased proportionally as the dose was increased from 10 to 30 mg/m2. Peak concentrations of 0.9 μg/mL were observed approximately 3.25 hours after a 20 mg/m2 SC bolus of ribozyme. The dose‐normalized AUCs obtained after SC dosing were compared to the mean dose‐normalized AUC after IV dosing to estimate an absolute SC bioavailability (f) of approximately 69%. An average elimination half‐life of 28 to 40 minutes was observed after IV administration, which increased to 209 minutes after SC administration. Only 4 of 12 reported adverse events were possibly related to administration of ribozyme (headache and somnolence). Thus, ribozyme administration was well tolerated after a single 4‐hour IV infusion of up to 30 mg/m2 or a single SC bolus of 20 mg/m2.
Retention of social recognition after hibernation in Belding's ground squirrels

The retention of social memory during long periods of separation, such as hibernation or migration, has not been well documented, despite evidence for long-term social relationships in migrating species or in long-lived sedentary species. We investigated the ability of captive Belding's ground squirrels, Spermophilus beldingi, to remember previously familiar individuals as well as littermates after 9 months of isolation. Before hibernation, young ground squirrels discriminated between odours of familiar and unfamiliar individuals, as shown by greater investigation of a novel individual's odour. The following spring, these yearlings did not respond differentially to odours of previously familiar and unfamiliar individuals, suggesting that memory for familiar conspecifics was lost during hibernation. In contrast, both female and male yearlings continued to discriminate between odours of littermates and previously familiar nonlittermates. Thus, recognition of close kin was maintained during prolonged social isolation, but recognition of familiar, unrelated individuals was not. If re-establishment of familiarity is not costly or if adults rarely interact with the same individuals in successive years, then selection may not favour retention of individual memories of particular conspecifics over the winter. Even though males rarely encounter kin after dispersal, yearling males did recognize their siblings, suggesting that the relative costs of maintaining kin-recognition abilities year-round may be low. Possible mechanisms underlying the formation and maintenance of individual and kin recognition are discussed. Copyright 2000 The Association for the Study of Animal Behaviour.
Awareness of palliative medicine among Pakistani doctors: a survey.

OBJECTIVE To establish the awareness of palliative medicine in Pakistani doctors through a questionnaire. METHODS A questionnaire was developed after consultation with the professionals working in palliative medicine. It was distributed, by hand, to a convenience sample of doctors who worked at various teaching hospitals in Pakistan. The distribution and collection of questionnaires was carried out within six months. RESULTS The results suggested that 74% doctors felt that cancer was the commonest reason for the palliative care teams to be involved. Forty five percent mentioned tht pain control was their prime job; 54% said that they had some experience of palliative medicine; 64% wanted to be involved in palliative medicine; 60% thought that they broke bad news properly to the patients; 59% were satisfied with their own performance while dealing with an incurable patient (57% said that they had heard about a hospice). There was a wide range of drugs for the cancer pain. CONCLUSION Amongst Pakistani doctors, there is a lack of training in palliative medicine. A significant number of doctors are interested and they are willing to have more training in pain control, breaking bad news, communication skills and terminal care.
Handovers in primary healthcare in Norway: A qualitative study of general practitioners’ collaborative experiences

Worldwide demographic development increases the pressure on healthcare services. In Norway, municipal acute wards (MAWs) have been established as a 24-hr acute healthcare service as a primary healthcare alternative to hospitalisation. General practitioners (GPs) are key holders of referrals to different healthcare service levels, yet studies of GPs' experiences with these wards are sparse. Suboptimal handovers could lead to hospital readmissions, avoidable morbidity and even mortality. The aim of this study was to explore GPs' experiences with patient handovers to MAWs as well as to hospitals. A qualitative study including semi-structured interviews with 23 GPs in a county in south-eastern Norway was conducted. Data were analysed using thematic analysis. The results show that GPs preferred to collaborate with others in their own profession for patient handovers. The GPs had positive collaborative experiences with MAW doctors, while collaboration with doctors in hospitals was viewed more negatively, particularly as GPs had the impression that hospital doctors felt they had superior medical competence. After patient transfer, GPs felt uncertainty related to their own responsibilities for the patient. This study contributes new knowledge about GPs' experiences with collaboration and distribution of responsibility between primary and tertiary healthcare services. This information is essential when developing acceptable alternatives to general hospitals.
Changes in Eurofit test performance of Estonian and Lithuanian children and adolescents (1992-2002).

INTRODUCTION Both Estonia and Lithuania have a long history of pediatric fitness testing, but due to a lack of standardized test batteries spanning a substantial number of years, secular changes in fitness test performance have not been previously reported. Using the Eurofit test battery, the aim of this study was to quantify the secular changes in fitness test performance of Estonian and Lithuanian children and adolescents during the first ten years of independence. METHODS Two cross-sectional surveys of Estonian and Lithuanian 11- to 17-year-old tested on the Eurofit in 1992 and 2002 were compared. Secular changes were calculated by first, expressing mean values (at the country x age x sex x test level) in 2002 as a percentage of mean values in 1992, and second, by subtracting 100 from the resultant and then dividing 10 to express the changes as percentage changes per annum (p.a.). Negative values indicated secular declines, and positive values secular improvements. RESULTS Secular changes in Eurofit test performance were calculated for 12,226 Estonian and Lithuanian children and adolescents over the 10-year period. Across all Eurofit tests, secular changes ranged on average from -0.98 to +0.49% p.a. , with performances less variable for Estonian children than for Lithuanian children. Secular changes were strikingly consistent across age and sex groups. DISCUSSION/CONCLUSION This is the first study to have described the secular changes in Eurofit test performance of children and adolescents from the Baltic states. It shows that between 1992 and 2002, changes in Eurofit performance varied among tests and were not always in line with European and global changes.
Hypermethylation of RAS effector related genes and DNA methyltransferase 1 expression in endometrial carcinogenesis

Epigenetic aberration is known to be important in human carcinogenesis. Promoter methylation status of RAS effector related genes, RASSF1A, RASSF2A, hDAB2IP (m2a and m2b regions) and BLU, was evaluated in 76 endometrial carcinomas and their non‐neoplastic endometrial tissue by methylation specific PCR. Hypermethylation of at least one of the 5 genes was detected in 73.7% of carcinomas. There were significant correlations between methylation of hDAB2IP and RASSF1A, RASSF2A (p = 0.042, p = 0.012, respectively). Significantly, more frequent RASSF1A hypermethylation was found in Type I endometrioid carcinomas than Type II carcinomas (p = 0.049). Among endometrioid cancers, significant association between RASSF1A hypermethylation and advanced stage, as well as between methylation of hDAB2IP at m2a region with deep myometrial invasion (p < 0.05) was observed. mRNA expression of RASSF1A, RASSF2A and BLU in endometrial cancer cell lines significantly increased after treatment with the demethylating agent 5‐Aza‐2′‐deoxycytidine supporting the repressive effect of hypermethylation on their transcription. Immunohistochemical study of DNMT1 on eight normal endometrium, 16 hyperplastic endometrium without atypia, 40 atypical complex hyperplasia and 79 endometrial carcinomas showed progressive increase in DNMT1 immunoreactivity from normal endometrium to endometrial hyperplasia and endometrioid carcinomas (p = 0.001). Among carcinomas, distinctly higher DNMT1 expression was observed in Type I endometrioid carcinomas (p < 0.001). DNMT1 immunoreactivity correlated with RASSF1A and RASSF2A methylation (p < 0.05). The data suggested that hypermethylation of RAS related genes, particularly RASSF1A, was involved in endometrial carcinogenesis with possible divergent patterns in different histological types. DNMT1 protein overexpression might contribute to such aberrant DNA hypermethylation of specific tumor suppressor genes in endometrial cancers. © 2008 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Anti-apoptotic Effect of cGMP in Cultured Astrocytes

Reperfusion of cultured astrocytes with normal medium after exposure to H2O2-containing medium causes apoptosis. We have recently shown that ibudilast, which has been used for bronchial asthma and cerebrovascular disorders, attenuated the H2O2-induced apoptosis of astrocytes via the cGMP signaling pathway. This study examines the mechanism underlying the protective effect of cGMP. The membrane-permeable cGMP analog dibutyryl-cGMP attenuated the H2O2-induced decrease in cell viability, DNA ladder formation, nuclear condensation, reduction of the mitochondrial membrane potential, cytochrome c release from mitochondria, and caspase-3 activation in cultured astrocytes. These effects of dibutyryl-cGMP were almost completely inhibited by the cGMP-dependent protein kinase (PKG) inhibitor KT5823. In isolated rat brain mitochondria, cGMP in the presence of cytosolic extract from astrocytes inhibited the mitochondrial permeability transition pore (PTP) as determined by monitoring Ca2+-induced mitochondrial swelling. This ability of the cytosolic extract was inactivated by heat treatment and was mimicked by exogenous PKG. The effect of cGMP on the mitochondrial swelling was blocked by KT5823. The PTP inhibitors cyclosporin A and bongkrekic acid prevented the H2O2-induced decrease in cell viability and caspase-3 activation. These findings demonstrate that cGMP inhibits the mitochondrial PTP via the activation of PKG, and the prevention of mitochondrial dysfunction contributes to its anti-apoptotic effect.
Lessons learned from measuring health-related quality of life in oncology.

PURPOSE Measurement of health-related quality of life (HQL) is becoming more common in oncology, particularly in clinical trials. The purpose of this report is to review our progress and assess whether we are learning anything new from these studies. DESIGN The subject was reviewed by a literature search and selection of available literature in the English language. The results emerged from this review. RESULTS Six lessons that emerged from measurement of HQL in oncology were chosen for emphasis. These are (1) HQL is a multidimensional construct and should be measured with multidimensional instruments, (2) observers are poor judges of how patients feel about their HQL, (3) it is possible to achieve high rates of compliance in the collection of self-report HQL data, (4) aggressive therapy may result in improved HQL, (5) symptoms are associated with quantifiable disruptions in HQL, and (6) pretreatment HQL may be predictive of on-treatment HQL and of survival. CONCLUSION None of the six points chosen for emphasis was known with certainty as little as 10 years ago. Although other points for emphasis may be chosen, those emphasized in this review could have a major impact on how we judge success in future clinical trials.
Feasibility of integrating early stimulation into primary care for undernourished Jamaican children: cluster randomised controlled trial

Abstract Objectives To assess the feasibility of integrating early psychosocial stimulation into primary care for undernourished children and to determine the effect on children's development and mothers' knowledge and practices of childrearing. Design Cluster randomised controlled trial. Setting 18 clinics in three Jamaican parishes. Participants 139 undernourished children aged 9 to 30 months and their mothers enrolled in intervention or control clinics. Interventions Weekly home visits by community health aides for one year in addition to usual duties. Parenting issues were discussed with the mothers and play activities were demonstrated with the children using homemade materials. Main outcome measures Children's scores on the Griffiths mental development scales and mothers' knowledge and practices of childrearing measured by questionnaires. Results Children from the intervention group showed significant improvements in development: developmental quotient, 7.8 points (95% confidence interval 4.5 to 11.1); hearing and speech, 10.7 (5.9 to 15.4 points); hand and eye coordination, 6.8 (3.4 to 10.1 points); and performance subscale, 11.0 (5.6 to 16.4 points). No improvements were shown on the locomotor subscale. The mothers from the intervention group showed improved knowledge and practices of childrearing. Change in children's body mass index and height independently affected change in development. Conclusion Integrating parenting skills and early psychosocial stimulation for undernourished children into primary care was feasible and effective in improving the children's development and mothers' knowledge and practices of childrearing.
Parietal cell carcinoma of the stomach

Two cases of parietal cell carcinoma are reported and compared with seven cases previously described. Eight of nine patients have been male. The tumours grow mainly outside the mucosa and can macro‐and microscopically be misinterpreted as leiomyoblastomas or lymphomas. The survival, also with metastases, is long. The proper diagnosis requires ultrastructural investigation.
Midkine‐b regulates cell specification at the neural plate border in zebrafish

Midkines compose a family of secreted, heparin‐binding growth factors with neurotrophic activity in vitro, but largely unknown functions in mammals in vivo. Here we show that one member of this family, Midkine‐b (Mdkb), is responsible for establishment of the neural plate border in zebrafish. We propose that MdkB acts downstream of several signaling factors, most notably retinoic acid, implicated in neural crest cell (ncc) induction and refines a zone of competence for ncc and Rohon‐Beard (RB) sensory neuron formation. Overexpression of Mdkb expands the cell numbers of various ncc precursor subtypes and results in a significant increase in the number of RB neurons at the neural plate border. On the other hand, Morpholino‐mediated knockdown of Mdkb leads to a dramatic reduction of ncc and a loss of sensory neurons. Our results imply that Mdkb is required for the earliest steps of cell specification at the neural plate border in zebrafish. Developmental Dynamics 237:62–74, 2008. © 2007 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Mining People Analytics from StackOverflow Job Advertisements

Skills and competences of people participating in online professional networks constitute an ever-increasing new source for data collection and analysis. An important sub-domain of human resources management (HRM) is the recruitment process. Job advertisements and people profiles are main parts of recruitment and since are now available online, they constitute a key factor of a new e-recruitment era. Data mining for erecruitment analysis is important in order to extract a knowledge base for people analytics. Skills and competences are the key variables for people analytics and can be drawn from job advertisements. Leveraging the raw information of online job offers, provides a rich source for people analytics. Detecting the appropriate skills and competences for a job from raw text data and associate them with a job seeker is an increasing challenge. The main objective of this paper is the proposal of a framework aiming to collect online job advertisements from a web source which concerns IT job offers and to extract from the raw text the required skills and competences for specific jobs. The selected professional networking web source is StackOverflow and multivariate statistical data analysis was used to test the correlations between skills and competences in the job offers dataset. The present work falls in a relatively new field of research, concerning the competence mining of peopleware data with special focus on software development.