Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Reduced miR-146a increases prostaglandin E₂in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease fibroblasts.

RATIONALE Persistent inflammation plays a major role in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) pathogenesis, but its mechanisms are incompletely defined. Overproduction of the inflammatory mediator prostaglandin (PG) E₂ by COPD fibroblasts contributes to reduced repair function. OBJECTIVES The present study determined if fibroblasts from subjects with COPD overproduce PGE₂ after stimulation with the inflammatory cytokines IL-1β and tumor necrosis factor-α, and further defined the mechanism for overproduction. METHODS Fibroblasts were isolated from parenchymal tissue obtained from smokers with and without COPD undergoing lung surgery. PGE₂, cyclooxygenases (COX), and miR-146a in these cells were evaluated by in vitro studies. MEASUREMENTS AND MAIN RESULTS After stimulation with inflammatory cytokines, COPD fibroblasts produced 2.7-fold more PGE₂ compared with controls with similar smoking history. The increase in PGE₂ depended on induction of COX-2, which increased to a greater degree in fibroblasts from subjects with COPD. Cytokines also induced microRNA miR-146a expression in both fibroblasts, but significantly less in COPD fibroblasts. miR-146a caused degradation of COX-2 mRNA; reduced expression prolonged COX-2 mRNA half-life in fibroblasts from subjects with COPD. Cytokine-stimulated PGE₂ production and miR-146a expression in cultured fibroblasts correlated with clinical severity assessed by expiratory airflow and diffusion capacity. CONCLUSIONS miR-146a seems to play a pathogenetic role in the abnormal inflammatory response in COPD. Increased half-life of inflammatory mRNAs is a mechanism of abnormal inflammation in this disease.
A series report of autoimmune hypothyroidism associated with Hashimoto's encephalopathy: an under diagnosed clinical entity with good prognosis

Thyroid dysfunctions may be accompanied by numerous neurological and psychiatric disorders. The most well-known is cognitive impairment and depression in hypothyroid patients, as well as an increased risk of cerebrovascular accidents. A separate, although a rare entity, is Hashimoto's encephalopathy. Unlike encephalopathy associated with other conditions, management in Hashimoto's encephalopathy highly responds to steroid treatment and may be associated with normal thyroid profile at presentation. Hashimoto's encephalopathy, while rare, may have been under-recognised since its clinical presentation overlaps several more common disorders, such as depression, seizures or anxiety. We present two cases of hypothyroidism with peculiar presentation. The first case has rapidly progressive neurological dysfunction, normal thyroid function at presentation, normal MRI finding and responds to steroid treatment. The second case has a subacute progressive neurological deterioration with elevated thyroid-stimulating hormone titre at presentation. Both these cases are known hypothyroidism on regular thyroxin replacement therapy with elevated anti-thyroid peroxidase antibodies. We conclude that Hashimoto's encephalopathy can present with a wide spectrum of neurological illnesses in the setting of hypothyroidism. Thyroid status may vary from hypothyroid, normothyroid to even hyperthyroid. This condition usually has an abnormal electroencephalography (EEG) background and usually responds to high dose steroids.
Assessment of Anti-Influenza Activity and Hemagglutination Inhibition of Plumbago indica and Allium sativum Extracts

Background: Human influenza is a seasonal disease associated with significant morbidity and mortality. Anti-flu ayurvedic/herbal medicines have played a significant role in fighting the virus pandemic. Plumbagin and allicin are commonly used ingredients in many therapeutic remedies, either alone or in conjunction with other natural substances. Evidence suggests that these extracts are associated with a variety of pharmacological activities. Objective: To evaluate anti-influenza activity from Plumbago indica and Allium sativum extract against Influenza A (H1N1)pdm09. Materials and Methods: Different extraction procedures were used to isolate the active ingredient in the solvent system, and quantitative HPLTC confirms the presence of plumbagin and allicin. The cytotoxicity was carried out on Madin-Darby Canine kidney cells, and the 50% cytotoxic concentration (CC50) values were below 20 mg/mL for both plant extracts. To assess the anti-influenza activity, two assays were employed, simultaneous and posttreatment assay. Results: A. sativum methanolic and ethanolic extracts showed only 14% reduction in hemagglutination in contrast to P. indica which exhibited 100% reduction in both simultaneous and posttreatment assay at concentrations of 10 mg/mL, 5 mg/mL, and 1 mg/mL. Conclusions: Our results suggest that P. indica extracts are good candidates for anti-influenza therapy and should be used in medical treatment after further research.
FUNDING GAPS: A SYMPOSIUM*

Theoretical and empirical foundations of government policies to plug alleged business fundinggaps are highly controversial but rarely subject to wide-ranging in-depth debate. This sympo-sium from major scholars in the ﬁeld provides a counterbalance. Topics addressed cover thetheory of lending under asymmetric information; its implications for overlending; relationshiplending as a market solution to information asymmetries; government emulation of privatesector decision-making to eliminate underprovision of high tech equity and theoretically-basedempirical work testing for funding deﬁciencies in the high tech sector. Despite the very dif-ferent and potentially contradictory contributions the result is, surprisingly, a set of mutuallyagreed policy conclusions.
Lactate/Pyruvate Ratio as a Marker of Tissue Hypoxia in Circulatory and Septic Shock

In this prospective, observational study, we measured arterial lactate and pyruvate concentrations within the first four hours of shock and at four hour intervals during the first 24 hours in 26 patients with septic and 13 with cardiogenic shock. We also studied 10 intensive care unit patients with normal lactate levels as controls. Seven patients (18%) died during the first 24 hours of shock, 12 (31%) patients died later in the intensive care unit and 21 (54%) were discharged alive from the intensive care unit. Blood lactate values were higher at shock onset in the non-survivors than in the survivors (P=0.02) and remained significantly elevated throughout the study. The lactate/pyruvate ratio at shock onset was significantly higher in the non-survivors (24 [17 to 34] vs 15 [10 to 19], P=0.01) than in the survivors. All patients with cardiogenic shock had hyperlactataemia at the onset of shock and 69% had a high lactate/pyruvate ratio. Only 65% of patients with septic shock had hyperlactataemia at the onset of shock and 76% of these also had a high lactate/pyruvate ratio. In conclusion, the lactate/pyruvate ratio confirms that hyperlactataemia is frequently, but not solely, due to hypoxia, especially at the onset of shock.
The Macroeconomic Effects of Fiscal Policy Shock Under Debt Feedback Rule in Ethiopia: Evidence from A Bayesian VAR Approach

This paper investigated the macroeconomic effects of fiscal policy shocks in Ethiopia using a Bayesian Vector Auto Regression model. We examined the dynamic responses of output, inflation, interest rate and exchange rate to fiscal policy shocks employing quarterly data from 2000/01Q1 to 2015/16Q4. The empirical evidence suggests that government spending shock had a positive impact on output and inflation but the effect was too small. Initially the interest rate responded negatively to government spending shocks and was positive with small effect and the nominal exchange rate showed deterioration. In addition, government revenue shocks had positive effect on real GDP and exchange rate and then they responded negatively. The inflation response to the net tax was medium and negative whereas its effect on interest rate was positive, and persistent. The results support the idea of a ‘crowding-in’ effect and when we take into account the feedback from government debt, the results suggest that the effects of fiscal shocks on the majority of macro variables is too small except for the real GDP for government revenue shock. Therefore, empirical evidence shows that it is important to consider government debt dynamics in the model. Keywords: Ethiopia, Fiscal policy shock, public debt, Bayesian VAR
Enrolling Girls Without Learning: Evidence from Public Schools in Afghanistan

While more girls are now attending school in Afghanistan than a decade ago, there is a lack of evidence on how school attendance is helping their cognitive development. We use data from a large sample of all-girls public school students to estimate for the first time the ‘learning profile’ for Afghanistan. Students enrolled in grades 4 to 9 were assessed using the Early Grade Reading Assessment (EGRA) and the Early Grade Mathematics Assessment (EGMA) test items. We find that higher grade progression (particularly in grades 6–9) leads to almost no gain in numeracy (addition and subtraction) skills that should have been achieved in early grades. Similar results follow from the analysis of student performance in EGRA test, particularly in oral reading fluency (correct words read per minute) and oral reading comprehension (number of correct answers out of 12). These findings warn that simply enrolling girls in school without improving the relationship between grade completion and learning is unlikely to transform the lives of women in Afghanistan. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.
Molecular identification and classification of Cochlonema euryblastum, a zoopagalean parasite of Thecamoeba quadrilineata

Free-living amoebae can serve a great variety of organisms, predominantly bacteria but to a certain extent also fungi, as a suitable host supplying them with nutrients and protecting them from adverse environmental conditions. In the current study 18S rDNA sequencing was performed to identify a fungal parasite in a Thecamoeba quadrilineata isolate. This parasite morphologically resembled Cochlonema euryblastum, a member of the order Zoopagales, which comprises parasitic species on fungi and invertebrates. Sequence analysis corroborated the morphological identification and the fungal parasite clearly can be assigned to the Zoopagales. Phylogenetic analysis revealed C. euryblastum clustering with two representatives of the mycoparasitic family Piptocephalidaceae. This zooparasitic-mycoparasitic clade represents a sister group of a clade including another member of the Piptocephalidaceae and two other zooparasitic families. Thus, the addition of C. euryblastum to the zoopagalean tree further confirms the finding that molecular data do not support the traditional classification of the Zoopageles.
Severe Hemolysis and Pulmonary Hypertension in a Neonate With Upshaw–Schulman Syndrome

Pulmonary involvement is extremely rare in thrombotic thrombocytopenic purpura. In this report, we present a girl patient with congenital thrombotic thrombocytopenic purpura, known as Upshaw–Schulman syndrome (USS), complicated with severe hemolysis and pulmonary hypertension (PH). The assay results of a disintegrin-like and metalloprotease with thrombospondin type 1 motifs 13 (ADAMTS13) activity measured by FRETS-VWF73 and ADAMTS13-act-ELISA were different. Hyperbilirubinemia (total bilirubin, 25.3 mg/dL) interfered strongly with the FRETS-VWF73 assay. Plasma levels of ADAMTS13 activity by act-ELISA were <0.5% of normal. The diagnosis of USS was confirmed by ADAMTS13 gene analysis, which showed compound heterozygous mutations of p.G139Vfs*17 and p.I673F. The p.G139Vfs*17 mutation was previously unreported, and its effect in splicing was confirmed by reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction. The patient received oxygen therapy for PH and exchange blood transfusion for severe hemolysis. The PH resolved without specific treatment. Based on these findings, the PH may have been caused by free hemoglobin that scavenged nitrogen oxide or platelet thrombi in the lungs caused by ADAMTS13 deficiency. Thus, severe PH can occur in neonatal patients with USS, and severe hemolysis might result in overestimation of ADAMTS 13 activity. Both possibilities are important for the diagnosis and management of USS.
The Relationship between Team Hometown Diversity and Team Creativity: From the Chinese Perspective

Since no specialized work has researched the relationship between team members’ hometown diversity (team hometown diversity) and team creativity, we investigated their underlying relationship by conducting a two-wave survey from 304 employees in 54 teams and 54 team leaders from 17 companies. The results proved that team hometown diversity was negatively related to both team information exchange and team creativity, while team information exchange was significantly positively associated with team creativity and the mediation effect of team information exchange between team hometown diversity and team creativity was verified. The moderation role of team identification in the relationship between team hometown diversity and team information exchange as well as the moderation function of team conformity on the relationship between team information exchange and team creativity were both verified. This work made at least four contributions. Firstly, it was among the first to research the impact of team hometown diversity on team creativity, which supplemented the gap and provided a new perspective for exploration of team creativity in future. Secondly, we adopted a two-wave design to check the dynamic impact of earlier team information exchange and team conformity on team creativity afterwards, which can be replicated for future studies. Thirdly, by using supervisor and subordinate ratings together and conducting electronic and paper surveys together, the results were more persuasive. Finally, we included a large dataset from a broad range of companies, which maximized the variables and generated our results. The implications and limitations were also illustrated.
Contact stress aberrations following imprecise reduction of simple tibial plateau fractures

Despite the well‐recognized association between poorly reduced intraarticular fractures and late degenerative changes, current guidelines regarding the reduction precision necessary to avoid excessive cartilage pressures are based largely on anecdotal clinical observations. To gain a quantitative appreciation of the relation between local pressure elevations and fracture reduction imprecision, a simplified laboratory cadaver model of minimally displaced tibial plateau fractures was developed. Cartilage contact stress distributions were measured as a function of depressed fragment malreduction in seven knees, using high‐resolution (100 pixels/mm2) digital image scans of Fuji‐film stain patterns. The contact stress data showed a general trend of increases of peak local pressure with increasing fracture site incongruity, and in a few isolated instances the effect was very pronounced. Across the whole series, however, statistically significant departures from anatomic pressure levels did not occur until the fragment stepoff was >1.5 mm. Even at the 3‐mm stepoff level, for which the depressed fragment usually no longer made contact with the femoral condyle, the peak local pressure values on the intact side of the fracture line averaged only ∼75% greater than those prevailing anatomically. Given the successful clinical outcomes normally achieved for conservatively managed simple tibial plateau fractures having stepoff magnitudes (5–10 mm) clearly sufficient to insure fragment articular noncontact, the present laboratory results suggest that nominally factor‐of‐two peak local pressure elevations, provided that they occur over only small portions of the cartilage surface, are probably within the long‐term overall tolerance range of an articular joint.
Portfolio selection through Maslow’s need hierarchy theory

ABSTRACT Inspired by Maslow’s need hierarchy theory, we construct a new portfolio selection framework using the bi-level optimization technique in which the lower-level need relates to safety (low risk) while the upper-level need is concerned with self-actualization (high payoff). Specially, we consider a bi-level portfolio selection model using variance and conditional value-at-risk associated with the lower-level need and upper-level need, respectively. Accordingly, we propose a procedure to solve this bi-level optimization problem without the normal distribution assumption. Empirical study on the American stock market and U.K. stock market shows that our new model can determine optimal portfolios with moderate diversification. Out of sample performance also confirms that in our framework investors can obtain higher returns in a safe way compared to models in the traditional framework.
EDDIE: EM-based detection of deviations in program execution

This paper describes EM-Based Detection of Deviations in Program Execution (EDDIE), a new method for detecting anomalies in program execution, such as malware and other code injections, without introducing any overheads, adding any hardware support, changing any software, or using any resources on the monitored system itself. Monitoring with EDDIE involves receiving electromagnetic (EM) emanations that are emitted as a side effect of execution on the monitored system, and it relies on spikes in the EM spectrum that are produced as a result of periodic (e.g. loop) activity in the monitored execution. During training, EDDIE characterizes normal execution behavior in terms of peaks in the EM spectrum that are observed at various points in the program execution, but it does not need any characterization of the malware or other code that might later be injected. During monitoring, EDDIE identifies peaks in the observed EM spectrum, and compares these peaks to those learned during training. Since EDDIE requires no resources on the monitored machine and no changes to the monitored software, it is especially well suited for security monitoring of embedded and IoT devices. We evaluate EDDIE on a real IoT system and in a cycle-accurate simulator, and find that even relatively brief injected bursts of activity (a few milliseconds) are detected by EDDIE with high accuracy, and that it also accurately detects when even a few instructions are injected into an existing loop within the application.
Strong antibacterial effect of miswak against oral microorganisms associated with periodontitis and caries.

BACKGROUND The chewing stick (miswak) is used for oral hygiene in many parts of the world. In addition to the mechanical removal of plaque, an antibacterial effect has been postulated; however, tests of miswak extract from Salvadora persica (Arak) disclosed only low to moderate antibacterial effects. This may be attributable to the extraction process. Our aim was to test in vitro the antibacterial effect of miswak pieces, without extraction, on bacteria implicated in the etiology of periodontitis and caries. METHODS Miswak pieces were standardized by size and weight (0.07 and 0.14 g) and tested against Streptococcus mutans, Lactobacillus acidophilus, Aggregatibacter actinomycetemcomitans (previously Actinobacillus actinomycetemcomitans), Porphyromonas gingivalis, and, as a reference, Haemophilus influenzae. The miswak pieces were tested in two ways: embedded in the agar plate or suspended above the agar plate. RESULTS The inhibitory effect was most pronounced on P. gingivalis, A. actinomycetemcomitans, and H. influenzae, less on S. mutans, and least on L. acidophilus. Suspended miswak had comparable or stronger effects than miswak embedded in agar. The 0.14-g suspended miswak exhibited significantly greater inhibition on A. actinomycetemcomitans and H. influenzae than the 0.14-g miswak embedded in agar (P<0.01 and P<0.001, respectively). CONCLUSIONS Miswak embedded in agar or suspended above the agar plate had strong antibacterial effects against all bacteria tested. The antibacterial effect of suspended miswak pieces suggests the presence of volatile active antibacterial compounds.
Comparison of the Efficacy and Safety of Two Different Insulin Infusion Protocols in the Medical Intensive Care Unit

Background New guidelines recommend using less intensive glycemic goals in critically ill patients receiving insulin infusions. Objective To compare the efficacy and safety of a modified insulin infusion protocol (MIIP) with less stringent blood glucose (BG) goals to an intensive insulin infusion protocol (IIIP) in patients in a medical intensive care unit (MICU) Methods Retrospective review of patients receiving an insulin infusion for at least 24 hours. Patients treated for hyperglycemic emergencies were excluded. The primary endpoint of the study was mean area under the BG curve (BG-AUC) at 24 and 48 hours. Other endpoints included mean BG, hours until BG at goal, rate of BG above goal, frequency of BG measurements, and rate of hypoglycemia. Results BG-AUC at 24 hours was similar between the groups (MIIP = 5177.7 ± 1221.3 mg/dL x h vs IIIP = 4850.3 ± 1301.7 mg/dL x h; P = .20). The mean BG level at 24 hours was 225.1 ± 91.1 mg/dL in the MIIP group and 205.7 ± 89.7 mg/dL in the IIIP group (P = .06). In the MIIP group, 61.7% of the BG levels were above goal as compared to 87.5% in the IIIP group (P < .0001). Patients were able to achieve BG goals faster with the MIIP (12.58 ± 10.5 hours vs 29.37 ± 16.8 hours; P < .001). The rate of severe hypoglycemia was lower at 24 hours in the patients following the MIIP (0% vs 0.3%; P = .01). Conclusion The study showed that by having less intensive glycemic goals, goal BG levels can achieved faster and the rate of severe hypoglycemia can decrease.
Vulnerability and resiliency to suicidal behaviours in young people

Background. We aimed to examine factors that influence vulnerability/resiliency of depressed young people to suicidal ideation and suicide attempt. Method. Data were gathered during a 21-year longitudinal study of a birth cohort of 1265 New Zealand young people. Measures included: suicide attempt; suicidal ideation; major depression; childhood, family, individual and peer factors. Results. Young people who developed major depression had increased rates of suicidal ideation (OR=5·4; 95% CI 4·5–6·6) and suicide attempt (OR=12·1; 95% CI 7·9–18·5). However, the majority of depressed young people did not develop suicidal ideation or make suicide attempts, suggesting that additional factors influence vulnerability or resiliency to suicidal responses. Factors influencing resiliency/vulnerability to suicidal responses included: family history of suicide; childhood sexual abuse; neuroticism; novelty seeking; self-esteem; peer affiliations; and school achievement. These factors operated in the same way to influence vulnerability/resiliency among those depressed and those not depressed. Conclusions. Vulnerability/resiliency to suicidal responses among those depressed (and those not depressed) is influenced by an accumulation of factors including: family history of suicide, childhood sexual abuse, personality factors, peer affiliations and school success. Positive configurations of these factors confer increased resiliency, whereas negative configurations increase vulnerability.
Effect of Complete and Partial Bilateral Lesions of the Deep Cerebellar Nuclei on Amygdaloid Kindling in Rats

Summary: Purpose: The roles of the deep cerebellar nuclei in epileptogenesis and seizure expression are not well defined. To determine their properties, we examined the effects of lesions to the dentate, fastigial, and interpositus nuclei in adult rats that were electrically kindled in the amygdaloid complex. Changes in afterdischarge duration (ADD) as well as the expression and progression of behavioral seizures to fully generalized tonic‐clonic convulsions (stage 5) were assessed.