Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
The "mild-torture economy": exploring the world of professional research subjects and its ethical implications

This paper documents the emergence of the subject of professional research in Phase I clinical trials that test the safety of drugs in development. Based on ethnographic research among subjects self-identified as "professional guinea pigs" in Philadelphia, USA, it examines their experiences and opinions on the conduct of trials and risks they take. The author argues that the risks posed by the continued participation, such as exposure to potentially dangerous drug interactions are minimized or ignored by research subjects because of the prospect of financial gain. Risks to the professional guinea pigs are also ignored by the pharmaceutical industry, which has become dependent on the usual participation of experienced research subjects. Arguing that financial incentives undermine the ethical imperative of informed consent to be given freely by volunteers, this research confirms the need to reform the policies governing the participation of paid subjects in Phase I clinical trials.
Blood Coagulation Factor X Deficiency Causes Partial Embryonic Lethality and Fatal Neonatal Bleeding in Mice

Summary Mice with a total deficiency in blood coagulation Factor X (FX) were generated by targeted replacement of an 18-kb fragment of the FX gene, comprising all exons encoding the mature FX protein, with a neor cassette. The genotype distribution among the offspring from heterozygous breeding pairs suggested that FX deficiency resulted in partial embryonic lethality, with approximately one-third of the FX −/− embryos dying around embryonic day (E) 11.5-12.5. Two of 44 non-resorbed FX −/− embryos analyzed at these stages showed signs of massive bleeding, one of which into the brain ventricles, but no histological defects in the vasculature of these embryos or their yolk sac were observed. The remainder of the FX −/− embryos appeared normal and survived to term, but the majority of neonates (90%) died within 5 days, most frequently from intraabdominal bleeding. The remaining FX −/− animals succumbed between postnatal day (P)5 and P20 with intraabdominal, subcutaneous, or intracranial bleeding or a combination thereof. The lethal phenotype of the FX −/− mice illustrates the importance of FX function in embryonic and postnatal survival and demonstrates that these mice serve as effective models of the bleeding disorders observed in severe FX deficiency in humans.
Stressful Life Events and Smoking Were Associated With Graves' Disease in Women, but Not in Men

Objective Although psychological stress and smoking have been proposed as contributing factors to Graves' disease, their independent roles in the pathogenesis of this disease have not been determined. We assessed the association between Graves' disease and psychological stress and smoking by using multivariate analysis. Methods By a matched case-control method, we investigated the association between Graves' disease and stressful life events, daily hassles, smoking, drinking habits, coping skills, and social support in 228 patients (182 women and 46 men) with newly diagnosed Graves' disease; we used the conditional maximum likelihood method. Results After data were adjusted for daily hassles, smoking, drinking habits, social support, and coping skills, we found that stressful life events were significantly associated with the risk of Graves' disease in women. The relative risk was 7.7 for women with the highest stress score compared with women with the lowest stress score (95% confidence interval, 2.2 to 27, p for trend < .001). Smoking was also independently associated with the risk of Graves' disease in women. The relative risk for women with the highest number group compared with women with the lowest number group for smoking cigarettes was 5.1 (95% confidence interval, 1.0 to 27; p for trend < .001). These factors were not significantly associated with Graves' disease in men. Conclusions Psychological stress and smoking were associated with Graves' disease in women, but not in men.
Digestive symptoms in older adults: prevalence and associations with institutionalization and mortality.

BACKGROUND Digestive symptoms are common in adults. However, little is known about their prevalence in older adults and the association of digestive symptoms with institutionalization and mortality in community-dwelling older adults. OBJECTIVE To determine the prevalence of digestive symptoms among older adults in Canada and whether they are associated with increased risk of institutionalization and mortality, independent of the effect of potential confounders. METHODS The present study was a secondary analysis of data collected from community-dwelling participants 65 years of age and older in the Canadian Study of Health and Aging. Measures incuded age, sex, presence of digestive symptoms, cognition, impairment in activities of daily living (ADL) and self-reported health. Outcome measures included death or institutionalization over the 10 years of follow-up. RESULTS Digestive symptoms were found in 2288 (25.6%) of the 8949 subjects. Those with digestive symptoms were older, with a mean difference in age of six months (P=0.007). Digestive symptoms were more common among women (28.4%) than men (20.3%), among individuals with poor self-reported health and those with an increased number of impairments in their ADLs (P<0.001). The presence of digestive symptoms was associated with higher mortality (HR 1.15 [95% CI 1.05 to 1.25] adjusted for age, sex, cognitive function and ADL impairment); however, this association was not statistically significant after adjusting for self-reported health. CONCLUSION Although digestive symptoms were associated with increased mortality independent of age and sex, cognition and function, this association was largely explained by poor self-assessed health. Digestive symptoms were not associated with institutionalization.
An Alternate Approach for Developing Higher Radix FFT Algorithms

In this paper, the authors propose an alternate method to derive higher radix FFT algorithms by using a recursive approach and by appropriately combining the twiddle factors without increasing the structural complexity. Specifically, efficient radix-8 and radix-16 FFT algorithms are designed and their arithmetic complexities shown to be slightly less than those of the corresponding existing Cooley-Tukey FFT algorithms
Co-Authorship and Co-Citation Networks in the Agricultural Economics Literature: The Case of Central and Eastern Europe

This article analyzes co-authorship and co-citation networks in the agricultural economics literature on Central and Eastern Europe written during the last twenty-five years. It highlights the principal researchers in the field, together with their authorship and citation networks, on the basis of 238 articles written between 1990 and 2013. Most of the articles were written by a small number of researchers, indicating that clusters and central authors play an important role in scientific progress. Contrary to expectations, it turns out that number of articles and central role in network are not related. Finally, clusters are found to cite themselves more than the average, thereby boosting scientific progress for their members.
Fenofibrate , a PPAR agonist , decreases atrogenes and myostatin expression and improves arthritis-induced skeletal muscle atrophy

Estíbaliz Castillero, María Paz Nieto-Bona, Carmen Fernández-Galaz, Ana Isabel Martín, María López-Menduiña, Miriam Granado, María Angeles Villanúa, and Asunción López-Calderón Department of Physiology, Faculty of Medicine, Complutense University of Madrid; Department of Histology, Faculty of Health Sciences, Rey Juan Carlos University; and Department of Physiology, Faculty of Medicine, Autónoma University of Madrid, Madrid, Spain
Lateralizing signs in intractable partial epilepsy

We evaluated the accuracy and interobserver variability of selected ictal and postictal behavioral changes. Three observers, blinded to clinical history, EEG, and side of surgical resection, analyzed videotapes of 166 seizures in 38 patients, looking for lateralizing signs. Twenty-seven patients with temporal lobe resections were seizure-free for ≥1 year postoperatively, and 11 with extratemporal resections had at least 90% reduction in seizures ≥1 year postsurgery. The epileptogenic region (ER) was lateralized by analyzing lateralizing signs in 78% of patients; positive predictive value (PPV) was 94% (90% CI = 87% to 100%). Overall kappa was 0.68. Signs were considered present if seen by two or more observers. Forty-five percent had version, ie, forced and sustained head deviation (kappa = 0.76, PPV = 94%); 37% had dystonic posturing of the upper extremity (kappa = 0.47, PPV = 93%); and 34% had unilateral mouth deviation (kappa = 0.83, PPV = 92%). These signs indicated a contralateral ER. Twenty-one percent had unilateral upper extremity automatisms, all ipsilateral to the ER (kappa = 0.65, PPV = 100%); 21% had postictal dysnomia, indicating a dominant-hemisphere ER (kappa = 0.89, PPV = 100%); and 16% had ictal speech, usually indicating a nondominant-hemisphere ER (kappa = 0.75, PPV = 83%). Dystonic posturing, postictal dysnomia, ictal speech, and unilateral upper extremity automatisms may indicate a higher probability of temporal lobe epilepsy. Analysis of lateralizing signs shows good interobserver agreement and provides useful clinical information.
Build Your Dream (Not Just Big) Analytics Program

This paper reports on a panel discussion held at AMCIS 2014 and subsequent panel member research and findings. We focus on curriculum design, program development, and sustainability in business analytics (BA) in higher education. We address some of the burning questions the IS community has asked concerning the various stages of BA program building, and we elaborate challenges that institutions face in constructing successful and competitive analytics programs. Furthermore, given that the panelists have achieved outstanding accomplishments in academic and industrial leadership, we share our experiences and vision of a “dream” analytics program. We hope that our community will continue a dialog that encourages and engages faculty members and administrators to reflect on challenges and opportunities to build dream programs that meet industry needs.
RELATIVE PERFROMANCE OF COMMERCIAL BANKS IN INDIA USING CAMEL APPROACH

Due to the nature of banking and the important role of banks in the economy in capital formation, banks should be more closely watched than any other type of economic unit in the economy. The CAMEL supervisory system in banking sector is a substantial improvement over the earlier systems in terms of frequency, coverage and focus. In the present study an attempt is made to evaluate relative performance of banks in India using CAMEL approach. It is found that public sector banks have significantly improved indicating positive impact of the reforms in liberalizing interest rates, rationalizing directed credit and Investments and increasing competition.
Estimation of 123I-IMP Arterial Blood Activity Using 123I-IMP Acquisition Data From the Lungs and Brain Without Any Blood Sampling: Validation of Its Usefulness for Quantification of Regional Cerebral Blood Flow

Objective: The conventional methods for the estimation of regional cerebral blood flow (rCBF) using 123I-labeled N-isopropyl-p-iodoamphetamine (123I IMP) autoradiography (ARG) require continuous or 1-point arterial blood sampling. Patients who need rCBF quantification benefit from the avoidance of arterial puncture. In this study, we attempted to develop a method without any blood sampling to estimate 123I IMP activity in the arterial blood sample at 10 minutes after injection of 123I IMP (Ca10) for the purpose of rCBF quantification. For the evaluation of validity of this method, the mean of rCBFs in various regions of the brain (mean CBF) calculated by 123I IMP ARG method using the estimated Ca10 was compared with that calculated using the Ca10 directly measured with the actual arterial blood sample. Both groups of the mean CBF values were also compared with those measured by O-15 H2O PET ARG method. Methods: I-123 IMP ARG study was applied to 23 patients, and O-15 H2O PET ARG was applied to 20 patients of them. Dynamic images of the lungs, time series of static images of the brain, and brain SPECT images were acquired after injection of 123I IMP. Arterial blood sampling was done 10 minutes after injection of 123I IMP. Multiple regression analysis was used to estimate Ca10 using 5 parameters from the lung washout counts, time series of brain static counts, and brain SPECT average counts as the explanatory variables and the Ca10 directly measured with the actual arterial blood sample as the objective variable, and the regression equation was calculated. Results: The regression equation was calculated by multiple regression analysis as follows: Estimated Ca10 = (2.09 × 10−2 · LW3) − (2.29 × 10−4 · Cb5) − (9.87 × 10−3 · Cbpre-SPECT) + (1.06 · CbSPECTav) + (1.03 × 10−2 · Cbpost-SPECT) + 165 (counts/s/g), where LW3: lung washout count at 3 minutes after injection, Cb5: brain count at 5 minutes, Cb pre-SPECT: brain count before SPECT, Cb SPECT av: average brain count during SPECT, and Cb post-SPECT: brain count after SPECT. The estimated Ca10 values closely correlated with the directly measured Ca10 values (r = 0.907, P < 0.01). The mean CBF values (mL/min/100 g) calculated by 123I IMP ARG method using the estimated Ca10 also closely correlated with those calculated using the directly measured Ca10 (r = 0.818, P < 0.01). The mean CBF values calculated by the 123I IMP ARG method using either the directly measured or the estimated Ca10 significantly correlated (r = 0.698 and 0.590, respectively; P < 0.01) with those measured by O-15 H2O PET ARG method. Conclusions: The 123I IMP arterial blood activity can be estimated reliably without any blood sampling using the 123I IMP acquisition data from the lungs and brain. This method can serve for a convenient and noninvasive rCBF quantification technique instead of the conventional methods requiring arterial blood sampling.
Therapeutic Effect of Human Amniotic Membrane–Derived Cells on Experimental Arthritis and Other Inflammatory Disorders

Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is an autoimmune disease caused by loss of immunologic self tolerance and characterized by chronic joint inflammation. Cells isolated from human amniotic membrane (HAMCs) were recently found to display immunosuppressive properties. The aim of this study was to characterize the effect of HAMCs on antigen‐specific T cell responses in RA patients and to evaluate their therapeutic potential in a preclinical experimental model of RA.
The Availability of Substances in Adolescence: Influences in Emerging Adulthood

ABSTRACT This study examines the availability of substances in the home during adolescence and its influence on substance use in young adulthood. Data are drawn from the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health (Add Health). The final sample consisted of approximately 15,000 cases from Waves 1, 3, and 4. Multivariate analyses indicate that the availability of substances in the home affects young adult substance use and substance use in later young adulthood. We also find that the availability of substances in the home during adolescence is associated with an earlier age at first substance use. This study offers further evidence for understanding how the home environment affects substance use behavior among young adults. In this case, exposure to substances in adolescence, and their easy availability, increase the likelihood of substance use in adolescence and increases use in young adulthood.
What Did You Do Last Night?: How Sharing Hookup Narratives Impacts Friendships and Displays Status Among College Women

Women’s use of hookup narratives was examined through their understanding of hookup culture and the benefits and consequences of conversations with their female friends. The traditional sexual script has dictated that women are not supposed to engage in uncommitted sexual relationships; if they so engage, they should not talk about them. Today, however, some women are choosing to take part in the college hookup culture and talk to their friends about their experiences. The purpose of the present study was to understand why women talk to their friends about their hookups and if it transcends the traditional sexual script for these women. Ten college women who had discussed a hookup in college with their female friends were interviewed individually to get an understanding of how each woman constructed her understanding of these conversations and their impact on their friendships. Nine of the interviews were analyzed using thematic analysis and one with narrative analysis. The five major themes that were identified in the thematic analysis were social position and appearance, entertainment, communicating friendship, social pressures, and freedom. The narrative analysis was used to analyze the story of a woman who is still a virgin, and included themes of pressure and personal growth. These findings shed light on the changing sexual scripts for women and the impact of hookup culture on female friendships in college.
Analysis of Breast Reduction Complications Derived from the BRAVO Study

Background: Analysis of complication data derived from the Breast Reduction Assessment: Value and Outcomes (BRAVO) study, a 9-month prospective, multicenter trial, is presented. Methods: Data derived from 179 patients were analyzed, including bivariate associations between complications and single predictor variables (Fisher's exact test or chi-square testing) or continuous variables (two-sample t test) and, finally, logistic regression. Results: The overall complication rate was 43 percent (77 patients). Simple, bivariate analysis linked preoperative breast volume, shoulder strap grooving, and a vertical incision with an increased incidence of complications (p < 0.05, 0.02, and 0.02, respectively). Delayed wound healing, the most common complication, correlated directly with average preoperative breast volume (p < 0.045), average resection weight/breast (p < 0.027), and smoking (p < 0.029) and inversely with age (p < 0.011). Vertical incision techniques were associated with an increased complication frequency (p < 0.05) without a link to specific complications. Logistic regression analysis associated resection weight as the sole variable for increased risk of complications (p = 0.05) and with absolute number of complications [mean resection weight of 791 g for patients without complications versus 847, 882, and 1752 g for patients with one, two, and three complications, respectively (p = 0.0022)]. Each 10-fold increase in resection weight increased the risk of complication 4.8 times and increased the risk of delayed healing 11.6 times. Conclusions: Complication data revealed several significant features: (1) resection weight correlated with increased risk and absolute number of complications; (2) delayed healing correlated directly with resection weight and inversely with increasing age, anesthesia times, and preoperative Short Form-36 bodily pain score; (3) a vertical incision may be associated with increased incidence of complications but requires further analysis; and most importantly, (4) the presence of complications had no negative effect on improvement in Short Form-36 and Multidimensional Body-Self Relations Questionnaire scores.
Completeness of Treatment in Hepatocellular Carcinomas Treated With Image-guided Tumor Therapies: Evaluation of Positive Predictive Value of Contrast-enhanced CT with Histopathologic Correlation in the Explanted Liver Specimen

Objective: To evaluate the positive predictive value of contrast-enhanced multiphase computed tomography (CT) in determining the completeness of treatment, after radiofrequency (RF) ablation and/or transcatheter arterial chemoembolization, based on histopathologic correlation in the explanted liver specimen. Materials and Methods: During a recent 10-year period, 84 consecutive patients who had a history of RF ablation and/or transcatheter arterial chemoembolization for hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) underwent liver transplantation in our institution. Among them, we selected the patients in whom complete treatment had been considered at periodic follow-up CT (29 tumors in 20 patients, M:F = 18:2, mean age, 47.2 years). The mean size of the tumor at the initial CT was 2.2 cm (range, 0.7-3.6 cm). We investigated the necrosis rate of HCC on the basis of microscopic examinations of the explanted liver specimen and calculated the positive predictive value of CT in determining the completeness of treatment. Results: The last CT examinations had been obtained 1-37 days before surgery. The overall necrosis rate of HCC for both RF ablation and transcatheter arterial chemoembolization on microscopic examination was 92.9% ± 12.3%. The positive predictive value of contrast-enhanced CT in determining completeness of treatment was 69.0% (20/29). The tumor necrosis rate for the RF ablation-only group (n = 12) was 91.5% ± 15.2% with a positive predictive value of 58.3% (7/12) and that of the transcatheter arterial chemoembolization-only group (n = 11) was 91.4% ± 19.2% with a positive predictive value of 72.7% (8/11). Conclusions: Our results suggest that contrast-enhanced CT is limited in accurately determining the completeness of treatment after image-guided tumor ablation for HCC.
Central corneal volume and endothelial cell count following femtosecond laser-assisted refractive cataract surgery compared to conventional phacoemulsification.

PURPOSE To compare the effect of conventional phacoemulsification and femtosecond laser-assisted cataract surgery on the cornea using Scheimpflug imaging and noncontact specular microscopy. METHODS In each group, 38 eyes (38 patients) underwent cataract surgery using either femtosecond laser-assisted (Alcon LenSx laser) (femtolaser group) or conventional phacoemulsification (phaco group). Central corneal thickness, 3-mm corneal volume, and Pentacam Nucleus Staging (PNS) were determined by a rotating Scheimpflug camera (Pentacam HR, Oculus Optikgeräte GmbH), and the volume stress index was calculated at 1 day and 1 month postoperatively. Endothelial cell count was measured by noncontact specular microscopy preoperatively, 1 day, 1 week, and 1 month postoperatively. RESULTS Central corneal thickness was significantly higher in the phaco group (607±91 μm) than in the femtolaser group (580±42 μm) on day 1, but did not differ significantly preoperatively and at 1 week and 1 month. Volume stress index at day 1 was significantly lower in the femtolaser group than in the phaco group (P<.05) but did not differ significantly at 1 month. Multivariate regression analysis showed that the type of surgery had a significant effect on central corneal thickness. CONCLUSIONS Femtosecond laser-assisted cataract surgery causes less corneal swelling in the early postoperative period and may cause less trauma to corneal endothelial cells than manual phacoemulsification.