Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Significance of the invasive strategy after acute myocardial infarction on prognosis and secondary preventive medication: a nationwide study of 6364 women and 11,915 men.

OBJECTIVE To describe gender-specific long-term outcome and initiation of secondary preventive medication among patients with acute myocardial infarction (AMI). DESIGN Observational cohort study. SETTING Nationwide registries. PATIENTS We included 18,279 patients: 6364 women (35%) and 11,915 men (65%), admitted with AMI (median age, 67 years; range, 30-90 years) surviving for at least 2 months. INTERVENTIONS According to sex, patients were stratified by invasive treatment strategy: (1) revascularized; (2) examined with coronary angiography (CAG) but not revascularized; and (3) not examined with CAG. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES All-cause mortality and readmission with AMI. Initiation of secondary preventive medication. RESULTS Of 18,279 patients with a first AMI who survived 2 months, 1857 women (29%) and 1756 men (15%) were not examined with CAG (P<.001), 1295 women (20%) and 1563 men (13%) were examined but not revascularized (P<.001), and 3212 women (51%) and 8596 men (72%) were revascularized (P<.001). Not being examined with CAG after AMI was associated with a three-fold increase in risk of death and, importantly, a 50% increase in the risk of a recurrent AMI compared with patients who were revascularized. Among patients who were revascularized, 85-92% initiated recommended secondary preventive medication compared to 46-71% in patients not examined with CAG (P<.001). Initiation of secondary preventive medication was higher in men (81-84%) than in women (73-79%; P<.001), which could be ascribed to the differences in invasive strategy. CONCLUSIONS In both sexes, those who were not examined had a highly increased risk of both recurrent AMI and death. Moreover, initiation of secondary preventive medication was closely related to the choice of invasive strategy disfavoring the women.
Improving the Outage and Tifr Capacity of Spectrum Sharing Cognitive Radio Networks

The potential of the cognitive radio technology to alleviate the spectrum scarcity problem by allowing access of unlicensed (secondary) users to licensed frequency bands has attracted an increasing amount of interest over the past few years, whereas several approaches have been proposed regarding the way that this coexistence can be achieved in practice. One of the most promising methods studied so far is spectrum sharing, according to which the secondary users coexist with the licensed (primary) users under the condition of protecting the latter from harmful interference. In this paper, we aim to enhance the throughput of spectrum sharing cognitive radio networks by employing a novel receiver and frame structure. More specifically, we study the outage and truncated channel inversion with fixed rate TIFR capacity of the novel cognitive radio system under a combination of various constraints that include average transmit, average interference and peak interference power constraints. Finally, simulation results are provided, in order to demonstrate the improved outage throughput that can be achieved under the proposed cognitive radio system compared to conventional spectrum sharing cognitive radio systems.
Optimal mean-variance reinsurance with delay and multiple\\ classes of dependent risks

In this paper, we consider an optimal proportional reinsurance problem for the compound Poisson risk model with delay and multiple dependent classes of insurance business. Under the criterion of maximizing the mean-variance utility of the terminal wealth, we formulate the time-inconsistent problem within a game theoretic framework and look for a subgame perfect Nash equilibrium strategy. Based on the technique of stochastic control theory and the corresponding extended Hamilton-Jacobi-Bellman equation, the explicit expressions of the optimal equilibrium strategy and the value function are derived for the case of insurance business $n=2$. Meanwhile, we derive the closed-form expressions of optimal solutions for the case of $n=3$ by the method of dimension reduction which can be used to get the optimal results for the case of $n>3$. Finally, some numerical examples are presented to show the impact of model parameters on the optimal strategies.
Two Vicinal Cysteines Confer a Peculiar Redox Regulation to Low Molecular Weight Protein Tyrosine Phosphatase in Response to Platelet-derived Growth Factor Receptor Stimulation*

Low molecular weight protein tyrosine phosphatase (LMW-PTP) is an enzyme involved in platelet-derived growth factor (PDGF)-induced mitogenesis and cytoskeleton rearrangement because it is able to bind and dephosphorylate the activated receptor. LMW-PTP presents two cysteines in positions 12 and 17, both belonging to the catalytic pocket; this is a unique feature of LMW-PTP among all protein tyrosine phosphatases. Our previous results demonstrated that in vitro LMW-PTP is oxidized by either H2O2or nitric oxide with the formation of a disulfide bond between Cys-12 and Cys-17. This oxidation leads to reversible enzyme inactivation because treatment with reductants permits catalytic activity rescue. In the present study we investigated the in vivo inactivation of LMW-PTP by either extracellularly or intracellularly generated H2O2, evaluating its action directly on its natural substrate, PDGF receptor. LMW-PTP is oxidized and inactivated by exogenous oxidative stress and recovers its activity after oxidant removal. LMW-PTP is oxidized also during PDGF signaling, very likely upon PDGF-induced H2O2 production, and recovers its activity within 40 min. Our results strongly suggest that reversibility of in vivo LMW-PTP oxidation is glutathione-dependent. In addition, we propose an intriguing and peculiar role of Cys-17 in the formation of a S–S intramolecular bond, which protects the catalytic Cys-12 from further and irreversible oxidation. On the basis of our results we propose that the presence of an additional cysteine near the catalytic cysteine could confer to LMW-PTP the ability to rapidly recover its activity and finely regulate PDGF receptor activation during both extracellularly and intracellularly generated oxidative stress.
ERp29 Is a Ubiquitous Resident of the Endoplasmic Reticulum with a Distinct Role in Secretory Protein Production

ERp29 was recently characterized biochemically as a novel protein that resides in mammalian endoplasmic reticulum (ER). Here we applied immunochemical procedures at the cellular level to investigate the hypothesized role of ERp29 in secretory protein production. ERp29 was localized exclusively to the ER/nuclear envelope of MDCK cells using confocal immunocytochemistry and comparative markers of the ER lumen, ER/Golgi membrane, nuclei, and mitochondria. A predominant association with rough ER was revealed by sucrose-gradient analysis of rat liver microsomes. Immunohistochemistry showed ERp29 expression in 35 functionally distinct cell types of rat, establishing ERp29 as a general ER marker. The ERp29 expression profile largely paralleled that of protein disulfide isomerase (PDI), the closest relative of ERp29, consistent with a role in secretory protein production. However strikingly different ERp29/PDI ratios were observed in various cell types, suggesting independent regulation and functional roles. Together, these findings associate ERp29 primarily with the early stages of secretory protein production and implicate ERp29 in a distinct functional role that is utilized in most cells. Our identification of several ERp29-enriched cell types suggests a potential selectivity of ERp29 for non-collagenous substrates and provides a physiological foundation for future investigations.
The moderating effect of higher education on the intergenerational transmission of residing in poverty neighbourhoods

It is well-known that socioeconomic outcomes and (dis)advantage over the life course can be transmitted from parent to child. It is increasingly suggested that these intergenerational effects also have a spatial dimension, although empirical research into this topic remains scarce. Previous research from Sweden and the United States shows that children who grow up in disadvantaged neighbourhoods experience long-term exposure to such neighbourhoods in their adult lives. This study contributes to the literature by examining to what extent educational attainment can break the link between parental neighbourhood disadvantage and the neighbourhood experiences of children as adults up to 12 years after leaving the parental home. We use longitudinal register data from the Netherlands to study a complete cohort of parental home leavers, covering 119,167 individuals who were followed from 1999 to 2012. Using sequence analyses as a visualisation method, and multilevel logit models, we demonstrate that children who lived in deprived neighbourhoods with their parents are more likely to live in similar neighbourhoods later in life than children who grew up in more affluent neighbourhoods. We find that intergenerational neighbourhood patterns of disadvantage can be discontinued when individuals attain higher education over time. Discontinuation is however less prevalent among individuals from ethnic minority groups.
Reflective practice: Building a culturally responsive pedagogical framework to facilitate safe bicultural learning

Two Indigenous educators, from Aotearoa New Zealand and Canada, endeavoured to enhance the pedagogy of a second-year social work course at the University of Auckland. This article outlines the reflective practice approach and the literature that was used to develop “Porotaka Kõrero: A culturally responsive pedagogical framework”. Throughout its implementation, the educators reflect on the resultant reciprocal learning environment in the classroom, and the space cultivated for deeper reflection on cultural competence material. These experiences are presented in this article, highlighting that Porotaka Kõrero holds promise as a method to facilitate safe bicultural learning, noting that further evaluative research is needed in this area. They further emphasise the importance of taking a reflective practice approach in the development and application of culturally responsive pedagogy.
HOXB4 Immunoreactivity in Endometrial Tissues From Women With or Without Endometriosis

Endometriosis is a common disease characterized by the presence of ectopic endometrial tissue. Although the pathogenesis of endometriosis remains unclear, several factors have been implicated, including the dysregulation of homeobox (HOX) genes. Our objective was to investigate the localization and immunoreactivity of HOXB4 in endometrial tissues from women with or without endometriosis. We studied samples of eutopic endometrium (EE), endometriomas (Eoma), superficial endometriosis (SE), and deep infiltrating endometriosis (DIE) from 34 women with endometriosis, as well as eutopic endometrium from 38 women without endometriosis (EC). HOXB4 localization and immunoreactivity was assessed using immunohistochemistry and histoscore analysis. Data were analyzed with and without stratification by menstrual cycle phase. HOXB4 protein was present in the nuclei of endometrial glandular epithelial cells but not in stromal cells. HOXB4 immunoreactivity was reduced in DIE samples compared to all other groups. A smaller reduction in HOXB4 immunoreactivity was observed in SE samples compared to EC samples. HOXB4 immunoreactivity was significantly greater in proliferative compared to secretory phase samples in the EC group but not in EE, Eoma, or DIE groups. Among only proliferative phase samples, HOXB4 immunoreactivity was reduced in EE, Eoma, and DIE groups compared to EC. Based on these data, we suggest that an impaired capacity of eutopic and ectopic endometrial tissue to upregulate levels of HOXB4 during the proliferative phase may play a role in the pathogenesis of endometriosis and that further downregulation of HOXB4 may enhance ectopic implant invasiveness.
18F-FDG PET Increases Visibility of Bone Lesions in Relapsed Multiple Myeloma: Is This Hypoxia-Driven?

Introduction Whole-body x-ray (WBX) is used for detecting skeleton abnormalities in patients with multiple myeloma (MM). An alternative might be 18F-FDG PET, which makes use of metabolic changes of malignant cells. The aims of this study were to evaluate whether 18F-FDG PET detects more lesions compared with WBX in patients with relapsing MM and to define its prognostic value. In addition 1-&agr;-D: -(5-deoxy-5-[18F]-fluoroarabinofuranosyl)-2-nitroimidazole (18F-FAZA) scan and immunohistochemical staining on bone marrow were performed to define whether FDG uptake coincides with angiogenesis-related tumor hypoxia. Patients and Methods 18F-FDG PET (n = 44) and 18F-FAZA-PET (n = 5) were performed in patients with relapsed MM. Bone marrow biopsies (n = 20) were evaluated for hypoxia inducible factors (HIF) 1&agr; and 2&agr;, vascular endothelial growth factor, glucose transport proteins 1 and 3, and the microvessel density. Results New lesions were more frequently demonstrated on 18F-FDG PET than on WBX (P = 0.000001). 18F-FDG PET was not predictive for progression-free survival and overall survival. Immunohistochemical staining on bone marrow biopsies demonstrated a significant increase in microvessel density and elevated expression of vascular endothelial growth factor, HIF-2&agr;, and glucose transport protein 3 by the malignant plasma cells. However, HIF-1&agr; expression and 18F-FAZA scan results were negative. Conclusions Our results demonstrate that 18F-FDG PET is relevant for diagnostic purposes compared with WBX in relapsing MM. The enhanced uptake of 18F-FDG PET is likely related to the activation of the HIF-2&agr; signaling pathway but probably independent of hypoxia-induced signaling in view of the negative findings on both 18F-FAZA-PET and HIF-1&agr; expression.
A Randomized, Comparative Trial of a Potassium-Competitive Acid Blocker (AZD0865) and Esomeprazole for the Treatment of Patients With Nonerosive Reflux Disease

OBJECTIVES:AZD0865 is a gastric acid-suppressing agent that has a rapid onset of action and long duration of effect. This double-blind, randomized, multicenter study investigated the efficacy and safety of AZD0865 in the treatment of patients with nonerosive reflux disease (NERD). METHODS:Patients with troublesome heartburn for at least 6 months and no evidence of erosions at endoscopy were randomized to receive AZD0865 (25, 50, or 75 mg/day) or esomeprazole 20 mg/day, for 4 wk. Throughout the treatment period, patients reported the presence and intensity of heartburn and other NERD symptoms twice daily using an electronic diary. Twenty-four-hour ambulatory intraesophageal/intragastric pH monitoring was performed in a subset of patients on day 14.RESULTS:A total of 1,469 patients were randomized. The median time to sustained absence of heartburn (for 7 consecutive days) was approximately 12 days for all treatment groups and did not differ significantly for any of the AZD0865 doses or compared with esomeprazole. There were no significant differences among treatment groups in the cumulative incidence of sustained absence of heartburn during 4 wk treatment (i.e., 65–70%). The percentage of time for which intragastric pH was greater than 4 was significantly greater for AZD0865 75 mg/day compared with esomeprazole 20 mg (75% vs 60%, P < 0.05). AZD0865 was generally well tolerated although reversible elevations of liver transaminases occurred in some patients receiving the agent.CONCLUSIONS:AZD0865 did not provide clinical benefit over esomeprazole 20 mg in the management of patients with NERD.
Did Investors Seeking Short Exposure Move to the CDS Market after the 2011 Short-Sale Bans in European Financial Stocks?

This paper addresses the effects that the August 2011 ban on covered short selling has had on the trading behavior of credit default swap (CDS) contracts. Overall, the results obtained suggest that CDS protection buying is not viewed by investors as a viable substitute for taking short interest in stocks. An initial analysis demonstrates that the CDS open interest of firms included in the ban lists actually declined after the ban. There is also no evidence of price pressure on CDSs written on firms on the ban lists. Surprisingly, CDSs on European financial firms and, in particular, on firms subject to the ban saw a decline in volatility after the ban. CDS bid-ask spreads evolved positively after the ban, but that increase was economically modest. Finally, there is evidence that the ability of CDS spreads to predict stock prices fell with the ban, which is inconsistent with the migration of informed traders to the CDS markets.
Emergence of new hydrologic regimes of surface water resources in the conterminous United States under future warming

Despite the importance of surface water to people and ecosystems, few studies have explored detectable changes in surface water supply in a changing climate, given its large natural variability. Here we analyze runoff projections from the Variable Infiltration Capacity hydrological model driven by 97 downscaled and bias-corrected Coupled Model Intercomparison Project Phase 5 climate projections over the conterminous United States (CONUS). Our results show that more than 40% of the CONUS land area will experience significant changes in the probability distribution functions (i.e. PDFs) of summer and winter runoff by the end of the 21st century, which may pose great challenges to future surface water supply. Sub-basin mean runoff PDFs are projected to change significantly after 2040s depending on the emission scenarios, with earliest occurrence in the Pacific Northwest and northern California regions. When examining the response as a function of changes in the global mean temperature (ΔGMT), a linear relationship is revealed at the 95% confidence level. Generally, 1 °C increase of GMT leads to 11% and 17% more lands experiencing changes in summer and winter runoff PDFs, respectively. Such changes in land fraction scale with ΔGMT at the country scale independent of emission scenarios, but the same relationship does not necessarily hold at sub-basin scales, due to the larger role of atmospheric circulation changes and their uncertainties on regional precipitation. Further analyses show that the emergence of significant changes in sub-basin runoff PDFs is indicative of the emergence of new hydrology regimes and it is dominated by the changes in variability rather than shift in the mean, regardless of the emission scenarios.
Essays in Health and Development Economics

v Chapter 1: Health and Development in Africa: An Introduction . 1 Economic Development and the Millennium Development Goals . 1 Statement of Research Problem. 2 1.3 Objectives of the Study . 4 1.4 Testable Hypotheses . 5 1.5 Scope of the Study. 5 1.6 Major Findings. 6 1.7 Contributions and Relevance of the Study . 6 1.8 Limitations of the Study . 7 1.9 References. 8 Chapter 2: The Impact of Debt Relief on Child Mortality in Sub-Saharan Africa . 9 2.
Cold season soil NO fluxes from a temperate forest: drivers and contribution to annual budgets

Soils, and here specifically acidic forest soils exposed to high rates of atmospheric nitrogen deposition, are a significant source for the secondary greenhouse gas nitric oxide (NO). However, as flux estimates are mainly based on measurements during the vegetation period, annual NO emissions budgets may hold uncertainty as cold season soil NO fluxes have rarely been quantified. Here we analyzed cold season soil NO fluxes and potential environmental drivers on the basis of the most extensive database on forest soil NO fluxes obtained at the Höglwald Forest, Germany, spanning the years 1994 to 2010. On average, the cold season (daily average air temperature <3 °C) contributed to 22% of the annual soil NO budget, varying from 13% to 41% between individual cold seasons. Temperature was the main controlling factor of the cold season NO fluxes, whereas during freeze-thaw cycles soil moisture availability determined NO emission rates. The importance of cold season soil NO fluxes for annual NO fluxes depended positively on the length of the cold season, but responded negatively to frost events. Snow cover did not significantly affect cold season soil NO fluxes. Cold season NO fluxes significantly correlated with cold season soil carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions. During freeze-thaw periods strong positive correlations between NO and N2O fluxes were observed, though stimulation of NO fluxes by freeze-thaw was by far less pronounced as compared to N2O. Except for freeze-thaw periods NO fluxes significantly exceeded those for N2O during the cold season period. We conclude that in temperate forest ecosystems cold season NO emissions can contribute substantially to the annual NO budget and this contribution is significantly higher in years with long lasting but mild (less frost events) cold seasons.
HIGH VOLUME HEMOFILTRATION IMPROVES HEMODYNAMICS AND SURVIVAL OF PIGS EXPOSED TO GUT ISCHEMIA AND REPERFUSION

This study assesses the influence of high volume continuous hemofiltration on hemodynamics of pigs subjected to bowel ischemia/reperfusion. Twelve anesthetized and ventilated pigs were studied for 60 min during clamping of the superior mesenteric artery (SMA) and subsequently for 90 min after release of the clamp, while measuring global hemodynamics, SMA flow, and jejunal pCO2. They were randomly divided into two groups: pigs in “control” group were subjected to SMA clamping only. Pigs in “hemofiltered” group received zero-balanced, high volume, veno-venous hemofiltration with the removal of 6000 ml of ultrafiltrate/h, starting 30 min before clamping until 90 min after removal of the SMA clamp. Thereafter, pigs were allowed to awake and sacrificed after 24 h for macroscopic assessment of bowel damage. The drop in cardiac output (CO) during SMA clamping in the hemofiltered group was 2.5 ± . 3 L/min (mean ± SE) (1.1/4.0; 95% confidence interval) smaller than in the control group. At the end of the experiment, mean arterial pressure (MAP) in the hemofiltered group was 33 ± 6 (19/48) mmHg higher than in the control group, CO was 2.0 ± . 2 (1.2/2.8) L/min higher in the hemofiltered group. After 60 min of SMA clamping, left ventricular stroke work in the hemofiltered group was 35 ± 4 (14/56) g higher than in the control group, and higher by 33 ± 3 (21/46) g at 90 min after release of the SMA clamp. The mean pulmonary artery pressure, right atrial pressure, pulmonary artery wedge pressure, SMA flow and bowel wall pCO2 at different time points did not differ between groups. None of the pigs in the control group survived until 24 after the start of the experiment, versus four pigs in the hemofiltered group. Macroscopic bowel damage at autopsy was less severe in the hemofiltered group than in the control group. We conclude that in this model, high volume veno-venous hemofiltration not only improves short-term hemodynamics, but also reduces bowel damage and improves survival after gut ischemia/reperfusion.