Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
IMMUNOLOGIC STUDIES OF GLYCINE-INDUCED SPHEROPLASTS OF SALMONELLA TYPHI.

The ser-oloqical activity of glycine-induced spheroplasts and normal intact cells of Salnto? rella lyphi \\,as assessed. No nlajor differences could be detected in the somatic 0 and in the Vi antigens of spheroplasts ancl intact cells. 'I'he only rnajor change associated with transfornlation of normal typhoid organisms into spheroplasts seems to be associated with thc flagellar antigen. Spheroplasts evolced a high H agglutinin response in immuni~ed rabbits but were poorly agglutinated by standard 13 antiserum. The immunogenic ability of the sphcroplasts to protect mice from the typhoid challenge was about live times highcr than that of intact cells and the toxicity \\as reduced at least 10-fold.
The Determinants of Capital Structure Decisions: Evidence from Chinese Listed Companies

In this paper, we examine the determinants of leverage in the context of China using a sample of 1844 Chinese non-financial firms over the period 2003 to 2010. This study shows that that the average leverage ratio of Chinese listed firms is similar to those observed in other developing countries. The study also finds thatsize, tangibility,volatilityand firm age are positively and significantly associated with leverage. Furthermore, firm’s profitability has statistically significantnegativeimpact on leverage. Furthermore, we find that we find that firm size, profitability, tangibility, volatility and firm age are the robust determinants of leverage of Chinese listed firms.
The Efficency of Loan Recovery Rate in Deposit Money Banks in Nigeria

This study assessed the efficiency of loan recovery rate in deposit money banks in Nigeria. The main objective was to examine the effect of loans recovery rate and its effect on the performance of selected deposit money banks in Nigeria. The descriptive result for the analysis of the effect of loan recovery rate on bank performance revealed that there is a negative relationship between loan recovery rate and banks performance. The study also identified that a positive correlation exists between loan recovery rate and risk of credit default. The result further revealed that a negative and significant relationship exists between loan recovery rate and bank performance. It was discovered that a negative and significant relationship exists between loss-given default (LGD) and bank performance. The study recommended that borrowers should be adequately informed of penalties for loan default because, for any bank to survive it must have a sound credit policy that enables it achieve profitability. Keyword: Loss-given default, Loan recovery rate, Return on capital employed
Can public transit subsidies be warranted for improving air quality and health outcomes?: evidence from the São Paulo metropolitan area for a second-best policy

This research investigates the impacts of public transit on air pollution and health in the Sao Paulo Metropolitan Area. Subsidies for public transport systems are highly controversial and there is no consensus in the literature on their efficiency. One of the reasons advanced to support public transit subsidization refers to the negative externalities that automobile use generates, such as air pollution and its adverse health effects, assuming that these external costs are not fully internalized by automobile users through other policies. However, the empirical question remains as to whether increasing transit provision is welfare-enhancing in this respect, especially in megacities of developing countries. To be able to infer a causal relationship, we adopted a quasi-experimental approach using public transit strikes to identify exogenous variations in the outcomes of interest. The results suggest significant benefits for providing public transit, especially with regard to impacts on traffic-related air pollutants and respiratory illness in young children, with stronger effects for those residing near more congested arterial roads. It is expected that the findings will inform policy makers’ efforts to evaluate existing fare subsidies and potential pricing reforms, especially in times of fiscal stress.
Determination of the Value of Intangible Assets in the Companies of Lithuania

Abstract In accordance with generally accepted accounting standards, most intangibles are not accounted for and not reflected in the traditional financial accounting. For this reason, most companies account intangible assets (IAs) as expenses. In the research, 57 sub-elements of IAs were applied, which are grouped into eight main elements of IAs. The classification of IAs consists in two parts of assets: accounting and non-accounting. This classification can be successfully applied in different branches of enterprises, to expand and supplement the theoretical and practical concepts of the company's financial management. The article proposes to evaluate not only the value of financial information for IAs (accounted) but also the value of non-financial information for IAs (non-accounted), thus revealing the true value of IAs that is available to the companies of Lithuania. It names a value of general IAs. The results of the research confirmed the IA valuation methodology, which allows companies to calculate the fair value of an IA. The obtained extended IAs valuation information may be valuable to both the owners of the company and investors, as this value plays an important practical role in assessing the impact of IAs on the market value of companies.
The Influence of Job Role, Job Opportunity, Satisfaction and Stress on Employees Turnover Intention. In Three Government Bureau of Dire Dawa Administration

The overall purpose of this research was to examine the influence of job role, job opportunity, satisfaction and stress on employees turnover intention in public service sectors of Dire Dawa Administration namely, Trade, Industry and Investment bureau, Land Development bureau, and Administration City Manager Office. All permanent employees were included as a target population from purposively selected bureaus. Descriptive research design method was utilized to identify the influence of independent variables on dependent variable. The research incorporated both primary and secondary data. The collected data were processed and analyzed through descriptive analysis and inferential statistical techniques, the finding revealed that job role, satisfaction have significant negative relationship where as stress and job opportunity have significant positive relationship with employee turnover intention. Those organizations have to take in to consideration in advance to improve work related problem which have their own influence on employees turnover intension. Keywords: Turnover intension, job role, satisfaction, stress and job opportunity.
Long-term follow-up after limb salvage in skeletally immature children with a primary malignant tumor of the distal end of the femur.

BACKGROUND Skeletally immature children with a primary malignant tumor in the distal end of the femur are candidates for limb-salvage surgery; however, functional impairment due to subsequent limb-length discrepancy must be considered. Our aim was to evaluate the long-term clinical outcome of limb salvage in patients with a sarcoma of the distal end of the femur who were eleven years old or less, focusing on limb-length discrepancy and complications. METHODS The cases of forty children were retrospectively reviewed in a multicenter study based on the responses to a questionnaire. Twenty-eight patients had had endoprosthetic reconstruction, and twelve had had biological reconstruction. Functional evaluation was based on the Musculoskeletal Tumor Society scoring system, with numerical values from 0 to 5 points assigned for each of the following six categories: pain, function, emotional acceptance, use of supports, walking ability, and gait. These values were added, and the functional score was presented as a percentage of the maximum possible score. Limb-length discrepancy was measured with orthoroentgenograms. Complications and their treatment were analyzed. Patient survival and the survival of the reconstructions were analyzed with use of the Kaplan-Meier method. RESULTS Seven patients died and thirty-three remained alive, for a survival rate of 82% at ten years postoperatively. For the surviving patients, the mean follow-up periods (and standard deviations) were similar for the twenty-two who had endoprosthetic reconstruction (13.2 +/- 3.9 years) and the eleven who had biological reconstruction (10.4 +/- 4.4 years). All patients had reached skeletal maturity. The mean final functional score was 74% +/- 18% in the endoprosthetic reconstruction group and 68% +/- 17% in the biological reconstruction group (p = 0.37). For the nineteen patients who underwent limb-lengthening, the mean functional score increased significantly from 65% +/- 21% before the procedure to 81% +/- 11% after the lengthening (p = 0.0016). There were five early and twenty-eight late complications. In the endoprosthetic reconstruction group, the most frequent complications were deep infection and aseptic loosening. In the biological reconstruction group, the most frequent complications were implant breakage and nonunion. Revision surgeries were required in seventeen patients, including five who had an amputation. The rate of survival of the endoprosthetic reconstructions was 77% at five years and 51% at ten years postoperatively, whereas the rate of survival of the biological reconstructions was 46% at both five and ten years postoperatively. CONCLUSIONS Endoprosthetic or biological reconstructions as limb salvage provided good functional outcome in skeletally immature children with a malignant bone tumor of the distal aspect of the femur despite a high rate of revisions and limb-lengthening procedures.
Analgesic potency of mu and kappa opioids after systemic administration in amphibians.

The relative analgesic potency of 11 opioid agents was assessed by using the acetic acid test in amphibians. Systemic administration of the mu agonists, fentanyl, levorphanol, methadone, morphine, meperidine and codeine; the partial mu agonist, buprenorphine; and the kappa agonists nalorphine, bremazocine, U50488 and CI-977 was made by s.c. injection into the dorsal lymph sac of the Northern grass frog, Rana pipiens. All agents produced a dose-dependent and long-lasting analgesia which persisted for at least 4 hr. The analgesic effects of single doses of each agent were significantly blocked or reduced by pretreatment with naltrexone. Systemic opioids produced log dose-response curves which yielded ED50 values ranging from 1.4 nmol/g for fentanyl to 320.9 nmol/g for nalorphine. Comparison of ED50 values gave a rank order of analgesic potency = fentanyl > CI-977 > levorphanol > U50488 > methadone > bremazocine > morphine > buprenorphine > meperidine > codeine > nalorphine. The relative analgesic potency of mu opioids in amphibians was significantly correlated with relative analgesic potency of these same agents obtained on the mouse writhing and hot plate tests. These data suggest that the amphibian model may serve as an adjunct or alternative model for the testing of opioid agents. Furthermore, given the inactivity of kappa opioids on rodent hot plate and tail-flick tests, the acetic acid test in amphibians may be especially well-suited for the assessment of opioid analgesia after administration of kappa-selective opioids.
Prospective sonographic study of 3093 breast tumors.

To evaluate the predictive ability of sonographic tumor characteristics to differentiate benign from malignant tumors, we examined 3093 breast tumors (2360 benign and 733 malignant tumors) with ultrasonography. The ratio of the longest dimension to the anteroposterior diameter of benign tumors was significantly larger than that of malignant tumors (1.88+/‐0.1 versus 1.69+/‐0.02, P < 0.0001). Shape, margins, echogenicity, internal echo pattern, retrotumor acoustic shadowing, compressibility, and microcalcification were significant factors in the logistic regression model. The sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value, negative predictive value, and accuracy of breast sonography for malignancy were 86.1, 66.1, 44.1, 93.9, and 70.8%, respectively. Biopsy of the tumor for pathologic diagnosis is recommended if sonographic features are suggestive of malignancy.
Prelytic and lytic conformations of erythrocyte-associated Escherichia coli hemolysin

Flow cytometry was developed as a method to assess the conformation of erythrocyte-bound Escherichia coli hemolysin polypeptide (HlyA). Topology of membrane-associated hemolysin (HlyA(E)) was investigated by testing surface accessibility of HlyA regions in lytic and nonlytic bound states, using a panel of 12 anti-HlyA monoclonal antibodies (MAbs). Hemolysin associates nonlytically with erythrocytes at 0 to 2 degrees C. To test the hypothesis that the nonlytic HlyA(E) conformation at 0 to 2 degrees C differs from the lytic conformation at 23 degrees C, MAb epitope reactivity profiles at the two temperatures were compared by flow cytometry. Four MAbs have distinctly increased reactivity at 0 to 2 degrees C compared to 23 degrees C. HlyA requires HlyC-dependent acylation at lysine residues 563 and 689 for lytic function. Toxin with cysteine substitution mutations at each lysine (HlyA(K563C) and HlyA(K689C)) as well as the nonacylated form of hemolysin made in a HlyC-deficient strain were examined by flow cytometry at 0 to 2 and 23 degrees C. The three mutants bind erythrocytes at wild-type toxin levels, but there are conformational changes reflected by altered MAb epitope accessibility for six of the MAbs. To test further the surface accessibility of regions in the vicinity of MAb-reactive epitopes, HlyA(E) was proteolytically treated prior to testing for MAb reactivity. Differences in protease susceptibility at 0 to 2 degrees and 23 degrees C for the reactivities of three of the MAbs further support the model of two distinct conformations of cell-associated toxin.
Selective activation of AMPK‐PGC‐1α or PKB‐TSC2‐mTOR signaling can explain specific adaptive responses to endurance or resistance training‐like electrical muscle stimulation

Endurance training induces a partial fast‐to‐slow muscle phenotype transformation and mitochondrial biogenesis but no growth. In contrast, resistance training mainly stimulates muscle protein synthesis resulting in hypertrophy. The aim of this study was to identify signaling events that may mediate the specific adaptations to these types of exercise. Isolated rat muscles were electrically stimulated with either high frequency (HFS; 6×10 repetitions of 3 s‐bursts at 100 Hz to mimic resistance training) or low frequency (LFS; 3 h at 10 Hz to mimic endurance training). HFS significantly increased myofibrillar and sarcoplasmic protein synthesis 3 h after stimulation 5.3‐ and 2.7‐fold, respectively. LFS had no significant effect on protein synthesis 3 h after stimulation but increased UCP3 mRNA 11.7‐fold, whereas HFS had no significant effect on UCP3 mRNA. Only LFS increased AMPK phosphorylation significantly at Thr172 by ∼2‐fold and increased PGC‐1α protein to 1.3 times of control. LFS had no effect on PKB phosphorylation but reduced TSC2 phosphorylation at Thr1462 and deactivated translational regulators. In contrast, HFS acutely increased phosphorylation of PKB at Ser473 5.3‐fold and the phosphorylation of TSC2, mTOR, GSK‐3β at PKB‐sensitive sites. HFS also caused a prolonged activation of the translational regulators p70 S6k, 4E‐BP1, eIF‐2B, and eEF2. These data suggest that a specific signaling response to LFS is a specific activation of the AMPK‐PGC‐1α signaling pathway which may explain some endurance training adaptations. HFS selectively activates the PKB‐TSC2‐mTOR cascade causing a prolonged activation of translational regulators, which is consistent with increased protein synthesis and muscle growth. We term this behavior the “AMPK‐PKB switch. ” We hypothesize that the AMPK‐PKB switch is a mechanism that partially mediates specific adaptations to endurance and resistance training, respectively.
Comparative histology of malignant lymphomas in lymph node and bone marrow

Summary. Lymph node and bone marrow biopsies of 226 patients with malignant lymphomas were available for evaluation and comparison. 120 of the 226 lymphoma patients had classifiable infiltration in both lymph node and bone marrow and these were used for comparison. Congruence in the histologic subtypes in lymph node and bone marrow was found in 91 patients (76%). The majority of the 29 cases with divergent histologies showed ML of low grade malignancy in the bone marrow even with long time intervals between the two biopsies. The most notable in this group were seven cases who had ML centroblastic/centrocytic in the lymph node biopsy and ML immunocytic in the bone marrow, although none had a serum M‐component. 65 of the 106 patients excluded from comparison had involvement in only one organ, the others had unclassifiable or equivocal histologies in either lymph node or bone marrow or in both. The findings are discussed with respect to the histologic behaviour of the lymphomas. The results show that comparison between lymph node and bone marrow findings in patients with ML is feasible and clinically relevant.
Normal levels of soluble transferrin receptor in Friedreich ataxia

To the Editor: Friedreich ataxia (FRDA) is an autosomal recessive neurodegenerative disease caused by an intronic GAA repeat expansion in the gene coding for frataxin (1–3). Reduced synthesis of frataxin in FRDA is associated with mitochondrial iron accumulation (4,5). Serum transferrin receptor (sTfR) levels have recently been reported to be elevated in FRDA patients (6,7), supporting the hypothesis of abnormal intracellular iron distribution in Friedreich ataxia. Transferrin receptors may therefore be useful as surrogate markers to monitor therapeutic approaches for FRDA. The aim of this study was to examine the levels of sTfR in our patient population. Because 80%a95% of sTfR is derived from the erythropoietic system (8), and erythropoiesis is unaffected in FRDA, measurements of cell surface TfR levels on lymphocytes, a tissue shown to be affected in Friedreich ataxia (9), should constitute a much more sensitive assay. To that end, cell surface TfR was also measured on freshly isolated leukocytes and cultured lymphoblasts.
Dysautonomia Differentially Influences the Effect of Affective Pain Perception on Quality of Life in Parkinson's Disease Patients

Background. Our aim was to evaluate the real effect of dysautonomic symptoms on the influence of affective pain perception on quality of life in PD patients. Methods. An observational cross-sectional study was carried out using 105 Parkinson's disease (PD) patients of the Movement Disorders Unit, Hospital de Cruces (Bilbao, Spain) [men 59 (56.2%), women 46 (43.85%)]. Statistical analysis was made in order to evaluate the possible association of pain with life quality. Results. Quality of life measured by PDQ-39 (Parkinson's Disease Questionnaire for quality of life) was statistically associated with affective dimension of pain (PRIA, affective pain rating index). However, the influence of this dimension on PDQ-39 was different in the specific case of PD patients that experimented a high score (>12) in SCOPA-AUT (Scale for Outcomes in PD-Autonomic scale). Conclusions. These results confirm the effect of affective perception of pain in life quality of PD patients, indicating the critical role of autonomic symptoms in the modulation of the influence of pain on quality of life and showing the possible utility of dysautonomia as clinical prognostic indicator of quality of life in PD patients affected by pain.
USP9X stabilizes XIAP to regulate mitotic cell death and chemoresistance in aggressive B‐cell lymphoma

The mitotic spindle assembly checkpoint (SAC) maintains genome stability and marks an important target for antineoplastic therapies. However, it has remained unclear how cells execute cell fate decisions under conditions of SAC‐induced mitotic arrest. Here, we identify USP9X as the mitotic deubiquitinase of the X‐linked inhibitor of apoptosis protein (XIAP) and demonstrate that deubiquitylation and stabilization of XIAP by USP9X lead to increased resistance toward mitotic spindle poisons. We find that primary human aggressive B‐cell lymphoma samples exhibit high USP9X expression that correlate with XIAP overexpression. We show that high USP9X/XIAP expression is associated with shorter event‐free survival in patients treated with spindle poison‐containing chemotherapy. Accordingly, aggressive B‐cell lymphoma lines with USP9X and associated XIAP overexpression exhibit increased chemoresistance, reversed by specific inhibition of either USP9X or XIAP. Moreover, knockdown of USP9X or XIAP significantly delays lymphoma development and increases sensitivity to spindle poisons in a murine Eμ‐Myc lymphoma model. Together, we specify the USP9X–XIAP axis as a regulator of the mitotic cell fate decision and propose that USP9X and XIAP are potential prognostic biomarkers and therapeutic targets in aggressive B‐cell lymphoma.
A scoring model for predicting prognosis of patients with severe fever with thrombocytopenia syndrome

Severe fever with thrombocytopenia syndrome (SFTS) is an emerging epidemic infectious disease caused by the SFTS bunyavirus (SFTSV) with an estimated high case-fatality rate of 12.7% to 32.6%. Currently, the disease has been reported in mainland China, Japan, Korea, and the United States. At present, there is no specific antiviral therapy for SFTSV infection. Considering the higher mortality rate and rapid clinical progress of SFTS, supporting the appropriate treatment in time to SFTS patients is critical. Therefore, it is very important for clinicians to predict these SFTS cases who are more likely to have a poor prognosis or even more likely to decease. In the present study, we established a simple and feasible model for assessing the severity and predicting the prognosis of SFTS patients with high sensitivity and specificity. This model may aid the physicians to immediately initiate prompt treatment to block the rapid development of the illness and reduce the fatality of SFTS patients.
Charge and matter distributions and form factors of light, medium, and heavy neutron-rich nuclei

Results of charge form factors calculations for several unstable neutron-rich isotopes of light, medium, and heavy nuclei (He, Li, Ni, Kr, Sn) are presented and compared to those of stable isotopes in the same isotopic chain. For the lighter isotopes (He and Li) the proton and neutron densities are obtained within a microscopic large-scale shell-model, while for heavier ones Ni, Kr, and Sn the densities are calculated in deformed self-consistent mean-field Skyrme HF+BCS method. We also compare proton densities to matter densities together with their rms radii and diffuseness parameter values. Whenever possible comparison of form factors, densities and rms radii with available experimental data is also performed. Calculations of form factors are carried out both in plane wave Born approximation (PWBA) and in distorted wave Born approximation (DWBA). These form factors are suggested as predictions for the future experiments on the electron-radioactive beam colliders where the effect of the neutron halo or skin on the proton distributions in exotic nuclei is planned to be studied and thereby the various theoretical models of exotic nuclei will be tested.