Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
[Examination of the retinal nerve fiber layer in diabetic retinopathy treated by argon laser panphotocoagulation].

PURPOSE To evaluate the alterations in the retinal nerve fiber layer in diabetic retinopathy treated by argon laser panphotocoagulation. METHODS Prospective study of patients with diabetic retinopathy submitted to retinal panphotocoagulation. Initially, complete ophthalmologic examination and optical coherence tomography were performed. All patients were submitted to panphotocoagulation with argon laser in one of the eyes. The retinal fiber layer was evaluated by means of optical coherence tomography in the first week, in the first, third and sixth months after treatment. RESULTS The sample was composed of 27 patients (27 eyes) with type 2 diabetes mellitus. The age varied from 41 to 64 years (mean of 53.7 +/- 6.2 years), with 10 (37%) males and 17 (63%) females. Regarding the retinopathy, 22.2% presented proliferative DR and 77.8% very severe non proliferative DR. There was a significant increase in the fiber layer thickness measurements, remaining in the temporal sectors, 3 and 4 hours, after 6 months of follow-up. Reduction of thickness was not observed in any of the analyzed parameters. CONCLUSIONS Reduction of the fiber layer thickness, identifiable by means of optical coherence tomography, in short and average term, was not observed in patients with diabetic retinopathy treated with panphotocoagulation. On the other hand, some sectors showed thickness increase during the follow-up.
Alix regulates egress of hepatitis B virus naked capsid particles in an ESCRT‐independent manner

Hepatitis B virus (HBV) is an enveloped DNA virus that exploits the endosomal sorting complexes required for transport (ESCRT) pathway for budding. In addition to infectious particles, HBV‐replicating cells release non‐enveloped (nucleo)capsids, but their functional implication and pathways of release are unclear. Here, we focused on the molecular mechanisms and found that the sole expression of the HBV core protein is sufficient for capsid release. Unexpectedly, released capsids are devoid of a detectable membrane bilayer, implicating a non‐vesicular exocytosis process. Unlike virions, naked capsid budding does not require the ESCRT machinery. Rather, we identified Alix, a multifunctional protein with key roles in membrane biology, as a regulator of capsid budding. Ectopic overexpression of Alix enhanced capsid egress, while its depletion inhibited capsid release. Notably, the loss of Alix did not impair HBV production, furthermore indicating that virions and capsids use diverse export routes. By mapping of Alix domains responsible for its capsid release‐mediating activity, its Bro1 domain was found to be required and sufficient. Alix binds to core via its Bro1 domain and retained its activity even if its ESCRT‐III binding site is disrupted. Together, the boomerang‐shaped Bro1 domain of Alix appears to escort capsids without ESCRT.
A theoretical and experimental investigation of the tagging efficiency of pseudocontinuous arterial spin labeling

Arterial spin labeling (ASL) is capable of noninvasively measuring blood flow by magnetically tagging the protons in arterial blood, which has been conventionally achieved using instantaneous (PASL) or continuous (CASL) RF pulses. As an intermediate method, pseudocontinuous ASL (pCASL) utilizes a train of discrete RF pulses to mimic continuous tagging that is often unavailable on imagers due to the requirement of continuous RF transmit capabilities. In the present study, we implemented two versions of pCASL (balanced and unbalanced gradient waveforms in tag and control scans) for both transmit/receive coils and array receivers. Experimental data show a 50% ± 4% increase of signal‐to‐noise ratio (SNR) compared with PASL and a higher tagging efficiency than amplitude‐modulated (AM) CASL (80% vs. 68%). Computer simulations predict an optimal tagging efficiency of 85% for flow velocities from 10 to 60 cm/s. It is theoretically and experimentally demonstrated that the tagging efficiency of pCASL is dependent upon the resonance offset and flip angle of the RF pulse train. We conclude that pCASL has the potential of combining the merits of PASL, including less hardware demand and higher tagging efficiency, and CASL, which includes a longer tagging bolus and thus higher SNR. These improvements provide a better balance between tagging efficiency and SNR. Magn Reson Med 58:1020–1027, 2007. © 2007 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Thrombotic Events during Oral Anticoagulant Treatment: Results of the Inception-cohort, Prospective, Collaborative ISCOAT Study

Summary The paper reports on rate and type of thrombotic events occurring during the observational, prospective, inception-cohort, multicenter ISCOAT study. 2,745 unselected, daily practice patients, consecutively referring to 34 Italian anticoagulation clinics to monitor the oral anticoagulant treatment, were included in the study from beginning of their first anticoagulant course. During a total follow-up of 2,011 patient-years of treatment 70 thrombotic events (3.5 per 100 patient years) were recorded in 67 patients: 20 fatal (1%), 39 major (1.9%) and 11 minor (0.6%). 34/70 events occurred within the first 90 days of treatment (relative risk - at multivariate analysis - of <90 days vs. >90 = 20.6, C.I. 12.7-33.5; p <0.0001). The risk was higher in patients aged >70 y (1.62, C.I. 1.0-2.61; p <0.05), and when indication for anticoagulant treatment was peripheral/cerebral arterial disease (1.84, C.I. 1.01-3.36; p <0.05). The frequency of thrombotic events was 17.5% when international normalised ratio (INR) levels were <1.5, decreasing to 2.3% for INRs within the 2-2.99 category (relative risk of INRs <2.0 vs. >2 = 1.88, C.1.1.16-3.07; p <0.05). The recorded rate of thrombotic events was lower than that reported in the few available studies. A greater risk should be expected during the first 90 days of treatment, when anticoagulation levels are <2.0 INR, in patients > 70 years and in those with cerebrovascular/peripheral arterial disease.
Antibody Cross-linking of the Glycosylphosphatidylinositol-linked Protein CD59 on Hematopoietic Cells Induces Signaling Pathways Resembling Activation by Complement*

CD59 is a glycosylphosphatidylinositol-anchored cell surface glycoprotein involved in protecting cells from host-mediated complement attack. Studies have shown that antibody cross-linking of CD59 induces a series of intracellular signaling events including the activation of protein-tyrosine kinases (PTK). To further characterize these events, antibodies and complement 8, one of the natural ligands of CD59, were used to activate CD59. Antibody-induced cross-linking of CD59 on the surface of THP-1 and U937 hematopoietic cell lines as well as exposure to complement 8 induces a rapid increase in the tyrosine phosphorylation of several proteins within the cell. Consistent with an early role for the Src family PTKs in these signaling events, we found that transient activation of Hck- and CD59-mediated signaling was abrogated in the presence of the Src family PTK-selective inhibitor PP1. Although the molecular mechanism by which CD59 communicates to Hck is unknown, cellular fractionation studies indicated that both CD59 and Hck are compartmentalized in plasma membrane microdomains. We also detected tyrosine phosphorylation of the adaptor proteins p120 and Shc, and the cytoplasmic nonreceptor tyrosine kinase Syk. The identification of CD59-mediated signaling events may help explain why paroxysmal nocturnal hemoglobinuria patients, who are deficient in glycosylphosphatidylinositol-linked proteins including CD59, are susceptible to proliferative disorders.
A Randomized Clinical Trial of Clinician Feedback to Improve Quality of Care for Inner-city Children With Asthma

CONTEXT. Barriers impede translating recommendations for asthma treatment into practice, particularly in inner cities where asthma morbidity is highest. METHODS. The purpose of this study was to test the effectiveness of timely patient feedback in the form of a letter providing recent patient-specific symptoms, medication, and health service use combined with guideline-based recommendations for changes in therapy on improving the quality of asthma care by inner-city primary care providers and on resultant asthma morbidity. This was a randomized, controlled clinical trial in 5- to 11-year-old children (n = 937) with moderate to severe asthma receiving health care in hospital- and community-based clinics and private practices in 7 inner-city urban areas. The caretaker of each child received a bimonthly telephone call to collect clinical information about the child's asthma. For a full year, the providers of intervention group children received bimonthly computer-generated letters based on these calls summarizing the child's asthma symptoms, health service use, and medication use with a corresponding recommendation to step up or step down medications. We measured the number and proportion of scheduled visits resulting in stepping up of medications, asthma symptoms (2-week recall), and health care use (2-month recall). RESULTS. In this population, only a modest proportion of children whose symptoms warranted a medication increase actually had a scheduled visit to reevaluate their asthma treatment. However, in the 2-month interval after receipt of a step-up letter, 17.1% of the letters were followed by scheduled visits in the intervention group compared with scheduled visits 12.3% of the time by the control children with comparable clinical symptoms. Asthma medications were stepped up when indicated after 46.0% of these visits in the intervention group compared with 35.6% in the control group, and when asthma symptoms warranted a step up in therapy, medication changes occurred earlier among the intervention children. Among children whose medications were stepped up at any time during the 12-month study period, those in the intervention group experienced 22.1% fewer symptom days and 37.9% fewer school days missed. The intention-to-treat analysis showed no difference over the intervention year in the number of symptom days, yet there was a trend toward fewer days of limited activity and a significant decrease in emergency department visits by the intervention group compared with controls. This 24% drop in emergency department visits resulted in an intervention that was cost saving in its first year. CONCLUSIONS. Patient-specific feedback to inner-city providers increased scheduled asthma visits, increased asthma visits in which medications were stepped up when clinically indicated, and reduced emergency department visits.
Investing in the size factor

This paper investigates the role of the size factor for constructing investment portfolios and proposes a dynamic extension that accommodates the risk-free asset and time-varying weights. These weights are determined by a set of state variables given by the term structure of sovereign interest rates, variables describing market risk aversion such as the VIX index and the CRB Industrial return, and indexes reflecting investor sentiment towards the economic outlook. The empirical section explores the suitability of these state variables and analyses the out-of-sample performance of size factors idiosyncratic to the US, the UK and European financial markets that are compared against the dynamic version that optimizes the weights in each period. The results provide support to the different size factors except for periods of economic distress in which the optimal dynamic strategies are clearly superior.
Profit Evaluations When Adaptation by Design Is Applied

Background Adaptation by design consists in conservatively estimating the phase III sample size on the basis of phase II data; it is also called conservative sample size estimation (CSSE). The usual assumptions are that the effect size is the same in both phases and that phase II data are not used for phase III confirmatory analysis. CSSE has been introduced to increase the rate of successful trials, and it can be applied in most clinical areas. CSSE reduces the probability of underpowered experiments and can improve the overall success probability of phase II and III, but it also increases phase III sample size, increasing the time and cost of experiments. Thus, the balance between higher revenue and greater cost is the issue. Methods A profit model was built assuming that CSSE was applied and considering income per patient, annual incidence, time on market, market share, phase III success probability, fixed cost of the 2 phases, and cost per patient under treatment. Results Profit turns out to be a random variable depending on phase II sample size and conservativeness. Profit moments are obtained in a closed formula. Profit utility, which is a linear function of profit expectation and volatility, is evaluated in accordance with the modern theory of investment performances. Indications regarding phase II sample size and conservativeness can be derived on the basis of utility, for example, through utility optimization. Conclusions CSSE can be adopted in many different statistical problems, and consequently the profit evaluations proposed here can be widely applied.
Explaining and forecasting bank loans. Good times and crisis

ABSTRACT This article aims to develop a parsimonious model to explain and forecast bank loans to nonfinancial companies during calm periods as well as in situations of financial turmoil. It focuses on the French context, over a period including financial, banking and sovereign debt crises. Theoretical views and intuitions led us to gauge the marginal informational content of a large set of leading indicators in VAR and VECM models, and to investigate potential nonlinearity in credit dynamics. In accordance with firms and banks’ balance sheet effects, the growth rate of equity prices appears to be one of the most interesting leading indicator as well as a significant threshold variable for explaining regime switching. However, it appears difficult to accurately predict the right credit dynamics regimes. A simple VAR model finally performs better.
Functional variation in promoter region of monoamine oxidase A and subtypes of alcoholism: Haplotype analysis

Monoamine oxidase (MAO) is a mitochondrial enzyme involved in the degradation of certain neurotransmitter amines. MAO‐A, due to its function in central nervous system, has been one of the important candidate genes involved in the development of neuropsychiatric disorders. A functional polymorphism in the promoter region of the MAO‐A gene has been identified. This variation affects the transcriptional efficiency of the gene. To determine the role of this MAO‐A functional polymorphism in the development of subtypes of alcoholism, a sample of alcoholics and normal controls were screened with this marker. The allele frequency differences between total alcoholics, Types I and II alcoholics, and normal controls was not significant. Comparison of male alcoholics to male normal controls for the frequencies of two‐loci and three‐loci haplotypes was statistically significant. After Bonferroni's correction for multiple tests none of the results remained significant at P < 0.05. Our results indicate that MAO‐A may play a role in the development of alcoholism but the gene effect is very small. © 2003 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Panic Attacks and Related Disorders in Alcohol-Dependent, Depressed, and Nonclinical Samples

Although several studies have indicated that a substantial portion of alcoholics have an anxiety disorder, relatively little information exists specifically regarding panic disorders. In addition, prior studies have been marred by the absence of appropriate contrast groups. The present investigation compared the lifetime prevalence of panic attacks and panicrelated disorders diagnosed according to DSM-III criteria in a group of 79 alcohol-dependent patients, 64 depressed patients, and 70 nonclinical subjects. Panic attacks, panic disorder, and agoraphobia with panic attacks were more prevalent in the alcohol-dependent and depressed samples than among nonclinical subjects. Men in both clinical samples were more likely than women to have had nonagoraphobic panic disorder, but male alcoholics were less likely to have developed agoraphobia than were female alcoholics or depressed patients of either sex. No consistent chronological relationship between onset of panic attacks and alcohol abuse was found. Results indicate that there is an unusually high prevalence of panic attacks and panic-related disorders among alcoholics, but comparable prevalence rates can be found in depressed and perhaps some other psychiatric populations. Implications for the assessment and treatment of alcohol-dependent and panic-disordered patients are discussed.
The Social Network within a Management Recruiting Firm: Network Structure and Output

To understand the relationship between information flows and white-collar output, we collected unique data on email communications to study the network connecting individuals in a management recruiting firm. We also gathered data on revenues and contracts at the individual level. Our empirical results suggest that the size of an individual's internal email network is more highly correlated with output than with the number of email messages, the time spent communicating, the external network size, and with all other measures of communication. This result suggests that a more favorable position in the network structure is associated with higher individual output.
Reduction of the Longitudinal Multi-Modes Dynamics of a Driven Semiconductor Amplifier to a Single Scalar Partial Differential Equation

In the plane wave approximation, we analytically study spatio-temporal dynamics of a semiconductor amplifier driven by a coherent injected field in a Fabry-Perot configuration. We manage to reduce the dynamics to a single evolution equation for the slow variable represented by the carrier density, to analytically compute the stationary field configurations and to predict their stability. The numerical simulations, performed by implementing an efficient and accurate split-step code, perfectly agree with the analytical results.
Reverse Delta-III total shoulder replacement combined with latissimus dorsi transfer. A preliminary report.

BACKGROUND Reverse total shoulder arthroplasty allows the restoration of active overhead elevation in patients with a massive rotator cuff tear and pseudoparesis of elevation. However, it does not restore active external rotation, the lack of which can also constitute a substantial functional handicap and compromise the outcome of this arthroplasty. Latissimus dorsi tendon transfer reliably restores control of active external rotation in rotator-cuff-deficient shoulders. In this preliminary study, we assessed the results of the combination of a latissimus dorsi transfer to the greater tuberosity and a reverse total shoulder arthroplasty in the presence of lost active external rotation. METHODS Twelve shoulders in eleven patients (ten women and one man; average age, seventy-three years) with combined pseudoparesis of anterior elevation and external rotation were enrolled in the study. All demonstrated severe dysfunction of the teres minor with an external rotation lag sign, a hornblower's sign, and fatty degeneration of the teres minor classified as stage 2 or greater according to the system of Goutallier et al. or Fuchs et al. All were treated with a reverse total shoulder arthroplasty and a latissimus dorsi transfer during one operative procedure. One patient had a postoperative infection necessitating removal of the prosthesis. Another patient could not be examined because of an unrelated medical disability, leaving ten shoulders in nine patients available for evaluation on the basis of the history, results of a physical examination, and patient-based outcomes. RESULTS On the average, forward flexion improved from 94 degrees preoperatively to 139 degrees at the time of follow-up (p = 0.028), abduction improved from 87 degrees to 145 degrees (p = 0.007), and strength improved from 0.25 to 4.12 kg (p = 0.005). The subjective shoulder value increased from 23% to 64% (p = 0.005), the relative Constant score increased from 47% to 93% (p = 0.005), and the pain score improved from 6.1 to 10.9 points (p = 0.012). While improvement in active external rotation with the arm at the side (from 12 degrees to 19 degrees ) was not significant, the score for functional active external rotation improved from 4.6 to 8.2 of 10 points according to the system of Constant and Murley (p = 0.024). The score for activities of daily living improved from 2.3 to 7.9 of 10 points (p = 0.005). CONCLUSIONS In the presence of severe loss of active elevation and external rotation, combined latissimus dorsi transfer and reverse total shoulder arthroplasty can restore elevation and external rotation, at least in the short term.
The Properties of Multilayer CrCN/CrN Coatings Dependent on Their Architecture

CrN based multilayer coatings are possible replacements for chromium nitride monolayer coating because of their good mechanical and chemical properties. This paper reports an investigation of CrCN/CrN coatings deposited on HS6-5-2 steel substrate using cathodic arc evaporation. The investigated coatings of the total thickness of ca. 2.5 μm were composed of six bilayers, each of them with alternating CrCN and CrN layers. The thickness of the bilayer was ca. 400 nm and the ratio of layer thickness partition (CrCN/CrN) was 1:5, 1:2 and 1:1. The chemical composition was determined with the EDS method. The microstructure of thin films was examined with the SEM. A micro Vickers hardness tester and pin-on-disc wear tests were used to determine the hardness and tribological properties of the coatings: the coefficient of the friction and wear rate. In order to assess the adhesion of the coatings to the substrate, the scratch test and Rockwell test were applied. All the coatings investigated are characterized by a good adhesion which decreases with the rise of the CrCN layer thickness in the bilayer. When the CrCN layer thickness in bilayer rises, the hardness and compressive stress increase, but the wear rate decreases.
Migrant sex workers in Australia

There has been little research conducted on the experiences of migrant sex workers both internationally and within Australia. This is despite widespread media and other reports highlighting the perception of migrant sex workers as particularly vulnerable to exploitation and human trafficking. This report focuses on consolidating current knowledge of migrants in the Australian sex industry, based on a review of the existing literature and an analysis of responses to a survey conducted among migrant and non-migrant sex workers in a range of states and territories in Australia in 2010. This analysis explores the demographic profile, work conditions and access to services of migrant sex workers and how they differ from Australian-born sex workers. It also seeks to gather information on the migration experiences of migrant sex workers and their motivations for migrating to Australia.