Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Epidemiology and clinical characteristics of patients with glaucoma: An analysis of hospital data between 2003 and 2012

Purpose: To assess demographic and clinical characteristics of glaucoma patients in an Ophthalmologic Hospital of Jinan, China from 2003 to 2012. Materials and Methods: Medical charts of patients with primary open-angle glaucoma (POAG), primary angle closure glaucoma (PACG), and secondary glaucoma (SG) were reviewed. The main outcome measures of patients with glaucoma included basic demographic data (age at presentation, gender, and residence), clinical characteristics (admission date, intraocular pressure, and naked vision), and previous history (injury, cardiovascular disease, diabetes mellitus, hypertension, smoking, and alcohol consumption). Results: Data from 1458 glaucoma patients were reviewed, of which PACG and SG patients accounted for 45.40% and 47.19%, respectively. The average age of all patients with glaucoma increased from 56.05 years in 2003 to 57.83 years in 2012, and the proportion of patients from rural areas rose from 46.43% to 59.13% during 10-year period. Female gender, cardiovascular disease, and hypertension were associated with PACG. POAG was related to smoking and alcohol consumption. There was positive correlation between SG and history of injury and diabetes mellitus. Conclusion: PACG and SG are the major types of glaucoma. Gender, injury, diabetes mellitus, cardiovascular disease, hypertension, smoking, and alcohol consumption were associated with different types of glaucoma.
Tuberculosis antigen‐specific immune responses can be detected using enzyme‐linked immunospot technology in human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)‐1 patients with advanced disease

There are limited data on the efficacy of T cell‐based assays to detect tuberculosis (TB) antigen‐specific responses in immune‐deficient human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) patients. The aim of this study is to determine whether TB antigen‐specific immune responses can be detected in patients with HIV‐1 infection, especially in those with advanced disease (CD4 T cell count < 300 cells/µl). An enzyme‐linked immunospot (ELISPOT) assay, which detects interferon (IFN)‐γ secreted by T cells exposed to TB antigens, was used to assess specific immune responses in a prospective study of 201 HIV‐1‐infected patients with risk factors for TB infection, attending a single HIV unit. The performance of the ELISPOT assay to detect TB antigen‐specific immune responses is independent of CD4 T cell counts in HIV‐1 patients. The sensitivity and specificity of this assay for the diagnosis of active tuberculosis does not differ significantly from values obtained in immunocompetent subjects. The negative predictive value of the TB ELISPOT test is 98·2%. A positive predictive value of 86% for the diagnosis of active tuberculosis was found when the combined number of early secretory antigen target‐6 (ESAT‐6) and culture filtrate protein‐10 (CFP‐10) IFN‐γ spots to CD4 T cell count ratio was > 1·5. TB antigen‐specific immune responses can be detected in HIV patients with low CD4 T cell counts using ELISPOT technology in a routine diagnostic laboratory and is a useful test to exclude TB infection in immune‐deficient HIV‐1 patients. A combination of TB antigen‐specific IFN‐γ responses and CD4 T cell counts has the potential to distinguish active tuberculosis from latent infection.
Giving the People What They Want? Legislative Polarization and Public Approval of State Legislatures

The relationship between approval of the state legislature and political polarization in the legislature is investigated by matching responses from a large national survey to Shor and McCarty’s ideological scores for state parties. In contrast to popular wisdom, citizens do not have a negative view of more polarized legislatures or more extreme majority parties, all else constant. Instead, legislative approval is filtered primarily through a partisan lens; partisans are more approving when their party is in control and more extreme (and less approving when the opposing party is in control and more extreme).
Music therapy services for individuals with autism spectrum disorder: a survey of clinical practices and training needs.

BACKGROUND Over the past decade, the definitions, diagnoses, prevalence rates, theories about the causes, evidence-based treatment options, and practice guidelines pertaining to Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) have undergone numerous changes. While several recent studies evaluate the effects of music therapy interventions for individuals with ASD, no current review reflects the latest music therapy practices and trends. OBJECTIVES The purpose of this study was to evaluate the status of music therapy practices for serving clients with ASD, the implementation of national ASD standards and guidelines, the awareness of recent developments, and training needs of music therapists. METHOD Professional members of the American Music Therapy Association who are working with individuals with ASD served as the sample for this national cross-sectional survey study (N = 328). A 45-item online questionnaire was designed and distributed through email and social media. Participants accessed the online survey through SurveyMonkey®. RESULTS Findings suggest music therapy practices and services for individuals with ASD have shifted and now reflect a slightly higher percentage of caseload, a broader age range of clients, and a trend to serve clients in home and community settings. Most therapeutic processes align with recommended practices for ASD and incorporate several of the recognized evidence-based practices. Less understood or recognized are inclusion practices and latest developments in the field of ASD. CONCLUSIONS Music therapists have a solid understanding of providing services for individuals with ASD, but would benefit from advanced online training and improved information dissemination to stay current with the rapidly changing aspects pertinent to this population.
Metformin Plus Low-Dose Glimeperide Significantly Improves Homeostasis Model Assessment for Insulin Resistance (HOMAIR) and β-Cell Function (HOMAβ-cell) Without Hyperinsulinemia in Patients With Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus

Objective:Type 2 diabetes mellitus is characterized by insulin resistance and defects in insulin secretion from pancreatic β-cells, which have been studied by using euglycemic/hyperinsulinemic clamps. However, it is difficult to study insulin resistance and β-cell failure by these techniques in humans. Therefore, the aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of three different antidiabetic therapeutic regimens on insulin resistance and β-cell activity by using a mathematical model, Homeostasis Model Assessment for insulin resistance (HOMAIR) and β-cell function (HOMAβ-cell). Research design and methods:Seventy type 2 diabetic patients were randomly assigned to one of three therapeutic regimens: (A) metformin + American Diabetic Association (ADA)-recommended diet + physical activity; (B) metformin + low-dose glimepiride + ADA diet + physical activity; or (C) ADA diet + physical activity (no drugs). Blood samples were obtained before and after the treatment to determine serum levels of fasting and post-prandial blood glucose, fasting insulin, and glycosylated hemoglobin (HbA1c), and HOMAIR and HOMAβ-cell were calculated. Results:Fasting and post-prandial levels of glucose, HbA1c, and fasting insulin and calculated HOMAIR and HOMAβ-cell values before treatment were significantly higher than the respective values after treatment for all groups of patients (P < 0.01). Significant differences were also found when comparing the treatment-induced reduction in fasting blood glucose (51.8%; P < 0.01), post-prandial blood glucose (55.0%; P < 0.05), and HOMAIR (65.3%; P < 0.01) in patients of Group B with that in patients receiving other therapeutic options (Groups A and C). Conclusions:Metformin plus low-dose glimepiride (plus ADA diet and physical activity) is a more effective treatment for type 2 diabetes than either metformin plus ADA diet and physical activity or ADA diet and physical activity alone. Determination of HOMAIR and HOMAβ-cell values is an inexpensive, reliable, less invasive, and less labor-intensive method than other tests to estimate insulin resistance and β-cell function in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus.
Lack of association between HoxA1 and HoxB1 gene variants and autism in 110 multiplex families.

A recent report suggested that the HoxA1 and/or HoxB1 genes play a role in susceptibility to autism. To determine whether these findings could be confirmed, we screened these genes for DNA polymorphisms by sequencing all exons in 24 individuals with autism. We identified the same sequence variants in the genes that appeared in this report, which include one single-base substitution variant in HoxA1 and a common haplotype in HoxB1. We performed an association study by applying the transmission disequilibrium test to detect possible association of these variants to autism in 110 multiplex families. Our results demonstrated no deviation from the null hypothesis of no association. We have also separately examined transmissions within individual mating types, for paternal versus maternal alleles, to affected versus unaffected children, and for transmission to affected boys versus girls. None of these subsets revealed significant deviation from the null expectation. Our interpretation of these findings is that it is unlikely that HoxA1 and HoxB1 play a significant role in the genetic predisposition to autism.
3,3′-Dimethyl-1,1′-(propane-1,3-diyl)diimidazol-1-ium bis(1,2-dicyanoethene-1,2-dithiolato-κ2 S,S′)nickelate(II)

In the title compound, (C11H18N4)[Ni(C4N2S2)2], the asymmetric contains one half-complex, with the cation placed on a twofold axis and the anion located on an inversion center. The NiII ion in the anion is coordinated by four S atoms of two maleonitriledithiolate ligands, and exhibits the expected square-planar coordination geometry.
The Market Reaction to Earnings Announcements in Public Family Firms

This paper investigates the market reaction to earnings announcements in public family firms and whether this type of announcements affect firm’s return, liquidity and cost of capital, providing also evidence on whether family businesses differ from non-family ones in what concerns the earnings announcements effects. To do so, we analyse a sample of Portuguese listed firms for the period 2000-2013, using the event study and a panel data approach. Overall, we find no support for the earnings-signalling hypothesis and for the efficient markets hypothesis. In addition, we find no significant differences between family and non-family firms in what concerns performance. We conclude that ROA appears to fit better than ROE or MB to relate earnings and firm performance. The results show that firm’s size and age contribute positively to the firm’s performance. Finally, we find no evidence of a significant relationship between earnings changes and both the firm’s liquidity and weighted average cost of capital, giving no support for the pecking order theory. This study is of interest to scholars and practitioners in the finance field, namely the information content of earnings and the differences between listed family and non-family firms in what concerns the earnings announcements effects.
The influence of CSR on firm value: an application of panel smooth transition regression on Taiwan

ABSTRACT Previous studies on the relationship between corporate social responsibility (CSR) and firm value generally belong to one of the two opposing schools of thought: the social impact hypothesis and the shift of focus hypothesis. This study, however, proposes that the relationship between CSR and company value is non-linear and neither wholly positive nor negative. We employed the corporate social responsibility index (CRSI) to test this hypothesis. The panel smooth transition regression (PSTR) model was used to analyse listed Taiwanese firms from 2010 to 2012 and calculate the value transition threshold of CSR, using CSRI as the transition variable. We then applied PSTR to determine whether CSRI shows a two-regime, non-linear relationship, as inferred by our model. Empirical findings show that the threshold value of CSRI is 13.082, thus, we concluded that investment in CSR does not contribute to enhancing company value until it exceeds the value transition threshold.
The Cardioselective and Hypotensive Effects of Bisoprolol in Hypertensive Asthmatics

&NA; The cardioselectivity and hypotensive properties of the &bgr;1‐specific &bgr;‐blocker bisoprolol were investigated using a single‐dose comparison of 10 and 20 mg bisoprolol, 100 mg atenolol, and placebo in 12 hypertensive asthmatic patients. The study was of a randomised four‐way crossover design with 1 week's washout between each treatment. &bgr;1‐Selectivity was determined by using lung function parameters — vital capacity (VC), airway resistance (AWR), peak expiratory flow rate (PEFR), forced expiratory volume (FEV1) — at baseline and at predetermined intervals following each medication and salbutamol challenge. Potency of &bgr;‐blockade was determined using heart rate (HR), systolic blood pressure (SBP), and diastolic blood pressure (DBP). 100 mg atenolol and 10 and 20 mg bisoprolol reduced HR, SBP, and DBP 2 h postmedication. All active treatments produced only small nonsignificant reductions in PEFR, FEV1, and VC, compared with baseline, without any significant differences between the four groups. Bisoprolol at both dose levels had only a minor nonsignificant influence on AWR. 100 mg atenolol significantly increased AWR, compared with placebo. Following all treatments, salbutamol did not affect cardiovascular parameters, but significantly reduced AWR and increased PEFR, FEV1, and VC without any significant differences between groups. Bisoprolol, at both dose levels tested, was found to possess a strong &bgr;1‐adrenoceptor‐blocking activity without affecting bronchial &bgr;2‐adrenoceptors. An equipotent &bgr;1‐adrenoceptor‐blocking dose of atenolol (100 mg), compared with 10 and 20 mg bisoprolol, was found to increase airway resistance in the population of asthmatic patients studied. Bisoprolol has been shown to exhibit a greater &bgr;1‐selectivity than atenolol.
Immunomodulating anticancer alkylating drugs: targets and mechanisms of activity.

CY and L-PAM potentiated specific anti-tumor response in addition to their killing effect. The immunomodulating effect of a low dose of either CY or L-PAM was expressed in mice bearing large s.c. MOPC-315 plasmacytoma tumors. Cured mice were resistant to a challenge dose of the syngeneic tumor and their spleens contained specific cytotoxic T cells. Induction of specific anti-tumor response by a low dose of alkylating drugs was due to expression of "latent anti-tumor" capability. This fitted with the conception that "suppressed concomitant immunity" occurring in tumor-bearing animals can be activated. The immunomodulating activity of alkylating drugs was related to enhancement of T-cell functions:impairment of suppressor T-cell activity,enhancement of effector T-cell activity and increase in production of cytokines at the tumor site. The target tumor killing activity of a low dose alkylating drug was dissociated from its immunomodulating activity by treating mice bearing a tumor resistant to an alkylating drug. A low dose of CY had an immunomodulating effect in human cancer such as reduction of ConA-induced suppressor cell activity in melanoma, some improvement in addition to use of melanoma vaccine, and potentiation of DTH in cancer patients. The immunomodulating effect of alkylating drugs suggest that their use might be beneficial not only for killing tumor cells but also for promoting specific anti-tumor immune response.
Modulation of phosphatidylinositol‐3‐kinase/protein kinase B‐ and mitogen‐activated protein kinase‐pathways by tea polyphenols in human prostate cancer cells

We have earlier shown that oral infusion of a polyphenolic fraction isolated from green tea, at a human achievable dose (equivalent to six cups of green tea per day), significantly inhibits prostate cancer (PCA) development and metastasis in transgenic adenocarcinoma of mouse prostate (TRAMP) model that closely mimics progressive form of human prostatic disease (Gupta et al. [ 2001 ]: Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A. 98:10350–10355.). A complete understanding of the mechanism(s) and molecular targets of PCA chemopreventive effects of tea polyphenols may be useful in developing novel approaches for its prevention. In this study, we employed two distinct human PCA cell lines viz. DU145 (androgen‐unresponsive prostate carcinoma cells) and LNCaP (androgen‐responsive prostate carcinoma cells) and, employing immunoblot analysis, we evaluated the effect of epigallocatechin‐3‐gallate (EGCG), the major polyphenol present in green tea and theaflavins (TF), the major polyphenol present in black tea on phosphatidylinositol‐3‐kinase (PI3K)/protein kinase B (PKB) and mitogen‐activated protein kinase (MAPK) pathways. Both EGCG and TF treatment were found to (i) decrease the levels of PI3K and phospho‐Akt and (ii) increase Erk1/2 in both DU145 and LNCaP cells. Our data showing the inhibition of the constitutive levels of PI3K and the phosphorylation of Akt could be important because the treatment approaches should be aimed at the inhibition of the constitutive levels of PI3K and Akt. Our data also suggest that Erk1/2 could be involved in the anti‐cancer effects of EGCG and TF. Taken together, our study, for the first time demonstrated the modulation of the constitutive activation of PI3K/Akt and Erk1/2 pathways by EGCG as well as TF. We suggest that detailed studies in appropriate tumor model system are needed to establish the relevance of the cell culture work to in vivo models. © 2003 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Neutrophil inhibition contributes to cardioprotection by postconditioning

Postconditioning (postcon) reduces infarct size, myocardial superoxide (•O2) generation, and neutrophil (PMN) accumulation. It is unknown whether inhibition of PMNs influence cardioprotection by postcon. The present study tested the following hypotheses: (1) myocardial salvage by postcon is modified by inhibition of PMNs and (2) postcon directly inhibits PMN •O2 generation.
Language Analysis for the Determination of Origin (LADO): An Investigative Study

Language analysis for the determination of origin (LADO) has been used as part of the asylum process since 1993. A language analysis can be requested when the origin of an asylum claimant is unverified or unknown. In most cases, an analysis of the claimant’s speech is conducted in order to determine whether it shows the characteristics expected of a particular place of origin. Today there are five established commercial and government owned agencies based in Sweden, the Netherlands and Switzerland, as well as independent experts, that offer this service. Though it is now 23 years since LADO began, there is minimal research surrounding the use of such language analysis. Detailed information pertaining to the methodologies and practices of agencies who conduct this work remains largely unavailable to the public, direct empirical research on any aspect of the field is scarce, and yet governments throughout the world continue to utilise LADO regularly in problematic asylum cases. Public interest is also growing, with the media questioning the overall validity of the field and the professionalism of practitioners. The aim of this thesis is to take a detailed look at LADO, its history, the research surrounding it, and current issues. It also collates all readily available information on practices adopted by the aforementioned language analysis agencies. Finally, it puts forward suggestions and plans for future research that is desperately needed, both for the field to progress and for LADO to be validated as a worthy contribution to an asylum seeker’s case.
The Plant Cuticle Is Required for Osmotic Stress Regulation of Abscisic Acid Biosynthesis and Osmotic Stress Tolerance in Arabidopsis[W]

The plant cuticle is well known as a physical cover for the plant’s aerial parts, preventing water loss and invasion by pathogens and pests. This study found a surprising role of cutin, a major component of the cuticle, in osmotic stress induction of biosynthesis of the stress hormone abscisic acid. Osmotic stress activates the biosynthesis of abscisic acid (ABA). One major step in ABA biosynthesis is the carotenoid cleavage catalyzed by a 9-cis epoxycarotenoid dioxygenase (NCED). To understand the mechanism for osmotic stress activation of ABA biosynthesis, we screened for Arabidopsis thaliana mutants that failed to induce the NCED3 gene expression in response to osmotic stress treatments. The ced1 (for 9-cis epoxycarotenoid dioxygenase defective 1) mutant isolated in this study showed markedly reduced expression of NCED3 in response to osmotic stress (polyethylene glycol) treatments compared with the wild type. Other ABA biosynthesis genes are also greatly reduced in ced1 under osmotic stress. ced1 mutant plants are very sensitive to even mild osmotic stress. Map-based cloning revealed unexpectedly that CED1 encodes a putative α/β hydrolase domain-containing protein and is allelic to the BODYGUARD gene that was recently shown to be essential for cuticle biogenesis. Further studies discovered that other cutin biosynthesis mutants are also impaired in osmotic stress induction of ABA biosynthesis genes and are sensitive to osmotic stress. Our work demonstrates that the cuticle functions not merely as a physical barrier to minimize water loss but also mediates osmotic stress signaling and tolerance by regulating ABA biosynthesis and signaling.
Modeling Dengue Fever Subject to Temperature Change

Mosquito-borne diseases cause considerable human mortality and morbidity around the globe, particularly in tropical countries. Mosquito-borne diseases such as dengue, malaria and yellow fever exhibit a distinct seasonal pattern. This leads to the hypothesis that episodes of mosquito-borne diseases are related to climatic conditions. It is observed that global atmospheric temperature has increased significantly over the last decades due to global warming, leading to a concern that mosquito-borne diseases may become more prevalent with the increase in temperature and precipitation. The changes in climate are expected to disrupt seasonal weather patterns, to increase the incidence rate of these diseases and to cause the disease to spread over a broader geographical range. This paper investigates the potential effect of climate change on mosquito population distribution and on the incidence rate of dengue fever.
Forecasting and decision-making in electricity markets with focus on wind energy

This paper presents an analysis of how day-ahead electricity spot prices are affected by day-ahead wind power forecasts. Demonstration of this relationship is given as a test case for the Western Danish price area of the Nord Pool’s Elspot market. Impact on the average price behaviour is investigated as well as that on the distributional properties of the price. By using a non-parametric regression model to assess the effects of wind power forecasts on the average behaviour, the non-linearities and time variations in the relationship are captured well and the effects are shown to be quite substantial. Furthermore, by evaluating the distributional properties of the spot prices under different scenarios, the impact of the wind power forecasts on the price distribution is proved to be considerable. The conditional price distribution is moreover shown to be non-Gaussian. This implies that forecasting models for electricity spot prices for which parameters are estimated by a least squares techniques will not have Gaussian residuals. Hence the widespread assumption of Gaussian residuals from electricity spot price models is shown to be inadequate for these model types. The revealed effects are likely to be observable and qualitatively similar in other day-ahead electricity markets significantly penetrated by wind power.