Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Serial Review : The Role of Oxidative Stress in Diabetes mellitus Serial Review

Diabetes diagnoses are increasing at an alarming rate worldwide. The majority of diabetes-related deaths arise from cardiovascular complications such as myocardial infarction, stroke, and peripheral vascular disease. Oxidative stress has been demonstrated to be present in animal models as well as in patients with diabetes and has been suggested as a possible contributor to the accelerated atherosclerosis seen in diabetics. The generation of reactive oxygen species in diabetes occurs via several mechanisms and is initiated not only by glucose, but also by other substances that are found at elevated levels in diabetic patients. The resulting oxidative stress leads to a number of proatherogenic events. The elucidation of the mechanisms of oxidative stress in diabetes and their relationship with atherosclerosis could potentially identify molecular targets of therapy for this condition and its cardiovascular consequences. D 2005 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
Determinants of participating in life after spinal cord injury – advice for health professionals arising from an examination of shared narratives

Abstract Purpose: To explore the perceived determinants of participation in life after spinal cord injury and incorporate these into a framework for the promotion of participation suitable for use by rehabilitation professionals. Method: Four people with spinal cord injury and one health service researcher engaged in a process of sharing narratives of life after spinal cord injury over a period of one year. The narratives were distilled using thematic analysis. Results: The relevant subset of data from the narratives categorized as This is what we think determines our participation in life was analyzed in depth to reveal nine themes (1) The world can be my friend or foe; (2) I am who I am; (3) It is a personal journey; (4) Some like to talk, others like to do; (5) We have the technology; (6) A support network is vital and it can be built; (7) Life involves tradeoffs; (8) Push; and (9) Be flexible. These themes were combined into a framework for the promotion of participation to be used by rehabilitation professionals. The collaboratively developed framework has three aspects – Help me, Encourage me and Accept. Conclusion: The proposed participation promotion framework is grounded in the narratives of the research group but needs to be tested before it can be endorsed for practice. Implications for Rehabilitation In order to promote participation in life after spinal cord injury rehabilitation professionals can help people with spinal cord injury to negotiate the world, build and maintain a support crew and access equipment and technology. Spinal cord injury rehabilitation professionals can encourage people with spinal cord injury to push themselves, be assertive and be flexible, as these attributes can assist participation in life after spinal cord injury. In the pursuit of participation goals, rehabilitation professionals must accept the individuality of each person with spinal cord injury, respect that they may or may not be willing to make tradeoffs to achieve participation goals and that they are on an ever changing life journey.
Twenty‐four‐hour ambulatory blood pressure profiles in liver transplant recipients

Abstract: Twenty‐four‐hour ambulatory blood pressure monitoring (ABPM) has proven to have better reproducibility than office blood pressure (BP) and is increasingly used for the study of hypertension in children and adolescents. The aim of our study was to assess 24‐h BP profiles and to compare the results of office BP measurements with ABPM in stable liver transplant recipients transplanted before the age of 18 yr. ABPM was performed in 29 patients (nine males, 20 females), aged 3.9–24.8 yr (median 10.8 yr). The investigation was conducted 1.1–11.5 yr (median 5.1 yr) following transplantation. ABPM confirmed hypertension in one out of three office hypertensive patients. Seven patients (24%), whose office BP recordings were within the normotensive range, were reclassified as hypertensive. Non‐dippers (n = 17), arbitrarily defined as patients with less than 10% nocturnal fall in BP, were similarly distributed among patients with ambulatory normotension and ambulatory hypertension (χ2, p = 0.79). In addition, non‐dippers showed a negative correlation between 24‐h total urinary albumin excretion and both systolic and diastolic nocturnal decline in BP (Rho = −0.48, p < 0.05 and Rho = −0.86, p < 0.01, respectively). Our study found office BP readings to be poorly representative of 24‐h BP profile. Larger studies are needed to confirm our observations as well as to determine whether routine BP measurements in the follow‐up of paediatric liver transplant recipients should be based solely on office BP.
The Role of Trade Policies in Building Regional Value Chains - Some Preliminary Evidence from Africa

The occurrence of regional value chains (RVCs) and global value chains (GVCs) allow more developing countries to participate in international trade without the need to develop the full production process. However, African countries are not only at the lowest rung of GVCs, they also trade little value added with each other. Based on an extensive literature review this paper analyzes the role of trade costs in building RVCs in Africa. In doing so, I estimate a panel model using trade in value added data from 2006 to 2012 for 37 African countries. Among tariff barriers, the charged tariff on capital goods has the strongest negative effect on foreign value added. In addition, lower time to trade, higher regulatory quality and a higher telecommunication infrastructure significantly increase a country’s ability to participate in RVCs.
Perceptions of Adolescent Patients of the “Lived Experience” of Type 1 Diabetes

The care and management of adolescents with type 1 diabetes presents numerous challenges that are inherent to the fears, attitudes, and perceptions of their illness. This qualitative study aimed to explore the “lived experience” of individuals with type 1 diabetes. In-depth interviews were conducted with 20 patients diagnosed with type 1 diabetes in their adolescent years to elicit their views, perceptions, and concerns regarding living with diabetes. All interviews were conducted and analyzed using the principles of grounded theory. Five categories defining the patients’ lived experience were elicited: Barriers, Develop Skills, Manage Emotion, Social World, and Health Care Professionals. The problems experienced by adolescents with type 1 diabetes are multifactorial. Existentially, type 1 diabetes affects their daily activities and impinges on their academic achievement and personal aspirations. They have great difficulty coping with their health status and highlight a lack of empathy from health care professionals (HCPs). Their major fear is of hypoglycemia, resulting in their subsequent focus of preventing hypoglycemic episodes. Indeed, regardless of consequence, blood glucose levels are often deliberately kept above recommended levels, which serves to decrease the effectiveness of their health care management. This study shows that the quality of care provided for adolescent patients with type 1 diabetes is failing to meet their expectations and falls short of the essential standards commensurate with current health care policy. Improvements in long-term care management for these patients require changes in both patients’ and professionals’ understanding of the disease and of the ways it is managed.
Patterns and Predictors of Swallowing Resolution Following Adult Traumatic Brain Injury

ObjectiveTo examine the patterns of swallowing resolution and outcomes of traumatic brain injury (TBI) patients in an acute care setting and document the risk factors or predictors of resolution of swallowing function. Participants117 consecutive TBI patients who had received speech pathology intervention for dysphagia during acute postinjury care. Main outcome measureTemporal measures relating to pattern of resolution of dysphagia postinjury. Results75% of patients were assessed by 2 weeks postinjury, commenced oral intake by 17 days, and ceased supplementation by 3 weeks. By an average of 22 days after admission, 47% had progressed to normal-consistency diet and fluids. Duration to the first swallowing assessment was a predictor for achieving total oral intake and returning to normal intake. There was some preliminary support for severity of CT data and presence/absence of a tracheostomy as predictors for return to normal intake. ConclusionThe current data document the natural history of swallowing resolution and proposes prognostic factors for patients with impaired swallowing following TBI. Establishing clinical parameters that can help predict patterns of swallowing resolution over the course of acute care admission may greatly assist inpatient management and discharge/rehabilitation planning.
The consumer labelling turn in farmed animal welfare politics

“Free range” and other higher welfare label claims are increasingly visible on Australian egg, pork and chicken meat products. This paper critically examines the way in which these claims have shifted animal welfare concerns from the “margins” of the animal advocacy movement to the “mainstream” of everyday consumer choice. It asks what has been lost and what gained as mainstream producers and retailers have adopted these label claims. The chapter argues that the growing market share of higher welfare labelled foods and the increasing public discussion and contestation of the meaning of terms such as “free range”, “free to roam” and “bred free range” does represent the success of animal advocacy campaigns aimed at activating mainstream consumers to express their concern about animal welfare. At the same time label claims also exhibit the creativity of industry and retailers in appropriating and accommodating civil society critiques of dominant production and distribution systems by narrowing down the range of contested issues, and sentimentalising, simplifying and de-radicalising potential solutions. This indicates a governance gap - a chasm between what can be achieved via voluntary certification and labelling and the need for a more inclusive, sustainable and official government regulation of animal welfare.
Association of retinal vessel calibers and longitudinal changes in arterial stiffness: the Nagahama study

Objective: Morphological change in retinal vessel calibers has been reported as a marker of cardiovascular risk, but its association with arterial stiffening, a possible factor relating retinal vessel sings and cardiovascular outcomes, is not clear. The study aim was to clarify the relationship between retinal small vessel calibers and longitudinal change in large arterial stiffness in a sample of the general population. Methods: The study included 6720 Japanese participants (52.1 ± 12.8 years). Central retinal arteriolar equivalent (CRAE) and venular equivalent were measured by fundus photography. Arterial stiffness was evaluated by brachial-to-ankle pulse wave velocity (baPWV) at baseline and at 5 years. Results: The overall change in baPWV (&Dgr;baPWV) during a mean follow-up 1814 ± 136 days was 41 ± 131 cm/s (3.4 ± 9.9%), and was significantly increased in individuals with narrower CRAE (quartiles: Q1, 4.3 ± 10.6%; Q2, 3.3 ± 10.0%; Q3, 3.1 ± 9.3%; Q4, 3.1 ± 9.7%, P = 0.001). No significant association was observed with central retinal venular equivalent. Multivariate analysis identified CRAE as a significant inverse determinant of &Dgr;baPWV (&bgr; = −0.033, P = 0.006) independent of possible covariates including age, sex, blood pressure, and baseline baPWV. The association between CRAE and &Dgr;baPWV was prominent in a middle-aged (age Q2, &bgr; = −0.078, P = 0.002), but not younger (Q1, P = 0.232) or older (Q3, P = 0.427; Q4, P = 0.542) participants. Conclusion: Narrower CRAE in middle-age was associated with the long-term risk of arteriosclerosis in a general population sample.
Chloride Channels in Physiological Volume Regulation of Human Spermatozoa1

Abstract As with other mammalian species, human spermatozoa experience a decrease in extracellular osmolarity in cervical mucus upon ejaculation, which requires the efflux of osmolytes and water to counteract swelling that hinders mucus penetration. Recent evidence for the operation of K+ channels in the process of volume regulation suggests parallel involvement of Cl−/anion channels for electro-neutrality as in somatic cells. This was studied using ejaculated spermatozoa washed at seminal osmolality and incubated for 30 min in a medium of mucus osmolality in the presence of Cl− channel blockers. Increases in cell size measured as laser forward-scatter by flow cytometry were detected in the presence of 100 μM 5-nitro-2(3-phenylpropylamino) benzoic acid, 400 μM diisothiocyanato-stilbene-2,2′-disulphonic acid, and 20 μM tamoxifen. No volume changes were found with 400 μM 4-acetamido-4′-isothiocyanato-stilbene-2,2′-disulphonic acid, 200 μM verapamil, or niflumic acid, whereas 1 mM niflumic acid induced shrinkage. Among the candidate channel proteins, Western blotting revealed the presence of ClC-3 (CLCN3) at 87 kDa, but the absence of ClC-2 (CLCN2) from sperm proteins in all samples tested. ICln (CLNS1A) was found in only one of eight samples. Immunocytochemistry localized CLCN3 to the sperm tail. To confirm molecular identities, sperm mRNA was extracted and checked for quality by the presence of protamine 2 transcripts and the absence of sperm DNA and leukocyte mRNA using reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction. Transcripts of Clcn3 were found in all samples and that of Clns1a in some but not all samples. Clcn3 was therefore considered the most likely candidate of Cl− channel involved in volume regulation of human sperm.
Dopamine transporter inhibition is necessary for cocaine‐induced increases in dendritic spine density in the nucleus accumbens

Repeated exposure to cocaine produces changes in the nervous system that facilitate drug‐seeking behaviors. These drug‐seeking behaviors have been studied with animal models, such as cocaine‐induced locomotor sensitization. Cocaine is hypothesized to induce locomotor sensitization by neural changes, including an increase in the density of spines on the dendrites of neurons in the nucleus accumbens (NAC). However, how cocaine increases dendritic spine density in the NAC has been difficult to discern because cocaine inhibits the function of multiple targets, including the transporters for dopamine, serotonin, and norepinephrine. Previously, our lab created a tool that is useful for determining how inhibiting the dopamine transporter (DAT) contributes to the effects of cocaine by generating mice that express a cocaine‐insensitive DAT (DAT‐CI mice). In this study, we used DAT‐CI mice to determine the contribution of DAT inhibition in cocaine‐induced increases in dendritic spine density in the NAC. We repeatedly injected DAT‐CI mice with either cocaine or saline, and measured both dendritic spine density in the NAC and locomotor activity. Unlike wild‐type mice, DAT‐CI mice did not show an increase in dendritic spine density in the NAC or in locomotor activity in response to repeated injections of cocaine. These data show that cocaine‐induced increases in dendritic spine density in the NAC require DAT inhibition. Thus, DAT‐inhibition may play a role in mediating the long‐lasting neural changes associated with drug addiction. Synapse, 2011. © 2010 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
NPO 2.0? Exploring the Web Presence of Environmental Nonprofit Organizations in Canada

This paper maps the web presence of environmental nonprofit organizations (ENPOs) in Canada. It focuses upon a sample of 43 websites which were examined in April/May 2009. All of the websites belong to member organizations of the Climate Action Network-Canada, a peak ENPO with collaborative networks in the United States and Europe. Our interest is in examining the extent to which the online activities of ENPOs correspond with a ‘broadcast’ paradigm—based on the principle of one-way information flow—or a two-way ‘dialogical’ paradigm of communication. Special attention is given to addressing the use of social media technologies (Web 2.0) by these ENPOs, including Facebook, Twitter, RSS feeds and blogs. The findings interrogate the tension between instrumental and dialogical forms of communication. They also demonstrate that although there are cases of effective web-based communication by ENPOs, most are not leveraging the potential these technologies afford for constituency engagement, relationship building and conversation. The findings contribute to scholarship on nonprofit communication, environmental communication, social media and public relations.
Configurational patterns of competitive advantage factors for smart tourism: an equifinality perspective

ABSTRACT This study identifies how factors affecting competitive advantage for smart tourism are configured in countries with high tourism performance from an equifinality perspective. Fuzzy-set qualitative comparative analysis is conducted using data collected from 141 countries. Four configurational patterns for high performance on international tourist arrivals and one configurational pattern for high performance on international tourism receipts are derived. Two propositions are put forward on the basis of the analysis results. The results reveal that information technology readiness plays a key role in developing competitive smart tourism.
A NATIONAL INTERNET‐BASED SURVEY OF CEREBRAL ANEURYSM PREFERENCE‐BASED QUALITY OF LIFE

OBJECTIVEPreference-based quality of life (QOL) instruments integrate all factors contributing to QOL and provide a comprehensive valuation of a health state. QOL values of the general public for cerebral aneurysm health states are not well understood. METHODSIn an internet-based survey of a nationally representative sample of the United States population, we measured standard gamble QOL values for the subjects' own health and for low-, medium-, and high-risk cerebral aneurysm health state scenarios and determined the effect of depicting aneurysm-associated stroke and death risk as annual or cumulative. RESULTSThe 1654 subjects matched the United States population demographics. The subjects' mean (standard deviation) QOL for their current health was 0.82 (0.19), and for a cerebral aneurysm it was 0.78 (0.19) (P < 0.001). Mean low-, medium-, and high-risk aneurysm QOL values were 0.01, 0.06, and 0.13 lower than for current health, respectively (P < 0.001). The average discrepancy between aneurysm QOL and current health narrowed with age: 18 to 25 years, 0.09; 24 to 44 years, 0.06; 45 to 64 years, 0.03; and 65+ years, 0.01 (trend P < 0.001). Subjects who received only annual risk data provided the highest mean aneurysm QOL values (0.81 [0.18]); those who received both annual and 20-year cumulative risk information gave intermediate values (0.79 [0.18]), and those who received only data on cumulative 20-year risk provided the lowest values (0.76 [0.20]) (P < 0.001). CONCLUSIONPreference-based QOL values for cerebral aneurysms derived from the general public vary with the subjects' age, the risk of aneurysmal stroke and death, and the mathematical terminology used to convey the risk of stroke and death.
Does FDG-PET Add Information to EUS and CT in the Initial Management of Esophageal Cancer? A Prospective Single Center Study

PURPOSE:There is no algorithm for the initial staging of esophageal cancer that is considered standard of care. This prospective blinded study analyzes the utility of FDG-PET as an adjunct to EUS and CT for the management of patients with esophageal cancer.METHODS:Between December 2003 and October 2006, patients diagnosed with esophageal carcinoma underwent EUS, CT, and FDG-PET at their initial evaluation. Two thoracic surgeons were given staging EUS results and CT scan reports. They were asked if the patient needed surgical resection, neoadjuvant chemotherapy followed by resection, or palliation. With each case, one surgeon was unblinded to the FDG-PET results. The treatment decisions of each surgeon were compared to determine if PET altered clinical management.RESULTS:A total of 50 patients (45 male, 5 female) were enrolled and data were prospectively collected. Forty-three (86%) had adenocarcinoma and 7 (14%) had squamous cell carcinoma. EUS was completed in 88% (44) of cases while 6 (12%) were incomplete secondary to tight stenosis. Nineteen were treated with surgery, 25 with neoadjuvant chemotherapy and surgery, and 6 with palliative chemoradiation. In 49 of 50 patients, the surgeons came to identical management decisions independent of PET results. In the one case that the treatment decision differed, the EUS was incomplete. The agreement on treatment strategy was 98% (κ= 0.97, 95% CI 0.93–0.99). CONCLUSION:This study shows that the addition of FDG-PET to EUS and CT offers little information to the initial treatment stratification of patients with esophageal cancer. However, in patients with incomplete EUS, FDG-PET may have some clinical utility.
Cross-border suburbanisation around Bratislava - changing social, ethnic and architectural character of the “Hungarian suburb” of the Slovak capital

Rajka is a village in Northwest Hungary with a special geographical location, only fifteen kilometres from Bratislava, the capital of Slovakia. This settlement is an excellent example of the phenomenon of cross-border suburbanisation which means the migration of the urban population from the city to the not too distant rural area even if it is in another country. This process is transforming the original character of Rajka. There are huge differences between the lifestyles of the indigenous and the immigrant community. The autochthonous inhabitants are worried about Rajka’s fast alteration, there are considerable problems in between Hungarians and Slovaks due to language differences and a lot of tensions because of the village’s changing atmosphere, congested local traffic and the new challenges in Rajka’s educational institution. Besides the presentation of social changes, this paper focuses on the ethnic and residential ancestry of the immigrants to show new linguistic and social patterns in Rajka. On the other hand, examining the specifics of the dramatic transformation of the architectural character of this settlement is also an important element of the study.
A Tale of (Almost) 1001 Coefficients: Deep and Heterogeneous Effects of the Eu-Turkey Customs Union

In view of the deferred start of negotiations for the modernization of the Customs Union between the EU and Turkey (CU-EUT), we look back and analyse the ex post trade consequences of the CU-EUT. Employing up-to-date econometric best practices for regional integration agreements, we quantify both total and heterogeneous trade effects of the CU-EUT. In contrast to most previous studies, our results indicate a significantly positive, large, and robust impact of the CU-EUT, implying an additional increase in EU-Turkey manufacturing trade by 55-65% compared to the previously active Ankara Agreement. We also provide evidence that the CU-EUT significantly increased Turkey’s trade with third countries. Additionally, a substantial heterogeneity in the CUEUT effect is found across different industries as well as for each of its member countries and the direction of trade. We link the heterogeneity of our up to 911 coefficient estimates to differences in initial trade costs and show that it cannot be ascribed to reductions in bilateral tariff rates.