Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Placebo-controlled trial of rituximab in IgM anti-myelin–associated glycoprotein neuropathy

Objective: To determine whether rituximab 375 mg/m2 was efficacious in patients with immunoglobulin M (IgM) anti-myelin–associated glycoprotein antibody demyelinating neuropathy (IgM anti-MAG demyelinating neuropathy). Methods: Fifty-four patients with IgM anti-MAG demyelinating neuropathy were enrolled in this randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial. The inclusion criteria were inflammatory neuropathy cause and treatment (INCAT) sensory score (ISS) ≥4 and visual analog pain scale >4 or ataxia score ≥2. The primary outcome was mean change in ISS at 12 months. Results: Twenty-six patients were randomized to a group receiving 4 weekly infusions of 375 mg/m2 rituximab, and 28 patients to placebo. Intention-to-treat analysis, with imputation of missing ISS values by the last observation carried forward method, showed a lack of mean change in ISS at 12 months, 1.0 ± 2.7 in the rituximab group, and 1.0 ± 2.8 in the placebo group. However, changes were observed, in per protocol analysis at 12 months, for the number of patients with an improvement of at least 2 points in the INCAT disability scale (p = 0.027), the self-evaluation scale (p = 0.016), and 2 subscores of the Short Form–36 questionnaire. Conclusions: Although primary outcome measures provide no evidence to support the use of rituximab in IgM anti-MAG demyelinating neuropathy, there were improvements in several secondary outcomes in per protocol analysis. Level of evidence: This study provides Class I evidence that rituximab is ineffective in improving ISS in patients with IgM anti-MAG demyelinating neuropathy.
Oral, short-term exposure to titanium dioxide nanoparticles in Sprague-Dawley rat: focus on reproductive and endocrine systems and spleen

Abstract The study explored possible reproductive and endocrine effects of short-term (5 days) oral exposure to anatase TiO2 nanoparticles (0, 1, 2 mg/kg body weight per day) in rat. Nanoparticles were characterised by scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and transmission electron microscopy, and their presence in spleen, a target organ for bioaccumulation, was investigated by single-particle inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry and SEM/energy-dispersive X-ray. Analyses included serum hormone levels (testosterone, 17-β-estradiol and triiodothyronine) and histopathology of thyroid, adrenals, ovary, uterus, testis and spleen. Increased total Ti tissue levels were found in spleen and ovaries. Sex-related histological alterations were observed at both dose levels in thyroid, adrenal medulla, adrenal cortex (females) and ovarian granulosa, without general toxicity. Altered thyroid function was indicated by reduced T3 (males). Testosterone levels increased in high-dose males and decreased in females. In the spleen of treated animals TiO2 aggregates and increased white pulp (high-dose females) were detected, even though Ti tissue levels remained low reflecting the low doses and the short exposure time. Our findings prompt to comprehensively assess endocrine and reproductive effects in the safety evaluation of nanomaterials.
Effects of R&D and foreign technology transfer on productivity and innovation: an enterprises-level evidence from Bangladesh

ABSTRACT This paper examines the effects of in-house Research and Development (R&D) efforts and access of foreign technology on productivity and innovation for the Bangladeshi manufacturing firms. The Bangladesh case is important because its manufacturing sector has performed stunningly well in recent years. At the first stage of analysis, we apply the Kernel density technique, which indicates that firms of R&D and foreign technology acquirers perform better in productivity. Subsequently, a more comprehensive regression analysis confirms that R&D firms have a total factor productivity (TFP) superiority; however, it is not very sizable. While the use of foreign technology has a larger effect on TFP, some results also indicate that there is a substitutive relationship between in-house R&D and technology transfer activities. Our results further point out that firms which engaged in both activities, R&D and foreign technology transfer, have a lesser labour productivity. Our results on product innovation also provide some important insights. Specifically, the estimated elasticity suggests that firms that engage in R&D have around 0.30 higher probability of product innovation. But, the effects of foreign technology on product innovation could not be established. We also test the effect of R&D capital and intensity on innovation. Both are not found to be crucial implying that the dynamic effect of R&D is not working for product innovation activities.
The Paradox of Innovation Non-Disclosure: Evidence from Licensing Contracts

Innovation is difficult to finance as mere disclosure reduces its value. We study intellectual property licenses mandatorily disclosed by US public firms. Firms may temporarily redact information from these filings, offering a counterfactual to full-disclosure. Firms with valuable IP in competitive markets redact more often. Despite increased information asymmetry, investors react positively, inferring redaction signals IP worth hiding. Redactors experience better reactions when concealing tacit knowledge and worse reactions when IP is less protected (natural experiment) or redaction is less credible (repeated redaction, high competition). Our findings show credible non-disclosure partially resolves information frictions for innovative firms in public markets.
Systemic Inflammatory Response Syndrome in Heart Surgery : New possibilities for treatment through the use of a cytokine adsorber during ECC ?

The ECC is still the key technology in the performance of cardiac surgery. Currently used conventional extracorporeal circulation (CECC) systems need to be further optimized [14]. At LMU Munich positive experiences with minimized perfusion were consistently implemented. Minimized/optimized perfusion can reduce the inflammation by advanced perfusion technology [15, 16, 17, 18], but in complex interventions such as reoperations, hypothermic arrest or multiple interventions you reach the limits. Despite the use of modern perfusion technology, it is possible that a post-perfusion syndrome (PPS) can develop during long operations leading to SIRES in 2-10% of all cases. The newly introduced CytoSorb technology is a promising treatment option in patients with SIRS due to cardiopulmonary bypass surgery and increased cytokine values. Procedures involving the aortic arch, selective antegrade cerebral perfusion and hypothermic arrest require extralong perfusion and ischemic time. It is postulated that the preventative use of a cytokine adsorber during open heart surgery with heart-lung machine has a positive impact on significant clinical and inflammatory parameters. In a retrospective study two patient groups (n=20) were evaluated. The aim of this retrospective observational study is thus to analyze the effect of CytoSorb on the inflammatory response evolving. The IL-6 differs significantly in control and investigatory group during the postoperative course; fibrinogen reacts with significantly lower activation. The leucocyte shows a positive trend in the CytoSorb group. The CRP in the CS group showed a lower rise and a faster normalization. The procalcitonin increased with high significance in the control group.
Impact of higher education on income and economic growth: A cross country evidence

Education is commonly used as indicator for human capital and can be divided into three levels: primary, secondary and tertiary. Each level of education designed with different skills and knowledges for population from different ages and hence produce human capital stock with different quality. Higher education leads to higher individual income or earning and thus contribute to income and economic growth. Middle income nations are investing less in higher education compared to high income nations in higher education. This study provides evidence on the impact of higher education on income and economic as a reference to middle income nations. This study applies dynamic panel data using PMG method and data from 2000 to 2015 for 30 high income countries. Empirical results suggest that tertiary education have positive and significant impact on income and economic growth. Besides, investment on nonfinancial assets, household consumption and trade openness also contribute positively on income growth. The result of this study suggest that government should allocate more fund on expansion of higher education in order to produce more labor with higher education, particularly middle income nations which aiming at achieving high income nation’s status.
Patient, Treatment, and Anatomical Predictors of Outcome in Electroconvulsive Therapy: A Prospective Study

Objectives Baseline predictors of effectiveness and cognitive adverse effects of electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) were prospectively examined. Methods Before and after ECT, the Montgomery-Åsberg Depression Rating Scale (MADRS) and Mini Mental State Examination (MMSE) were assessed. Before ECT, a magnetic resonance imaging of the head was performed. Outcome predictors were investigated using multivariable regression analyses. Results Of 83 patients (mean ± SD age, 59.2 ± 15.3 years; 39% men), 28% had a psychotic depressive disorder, 16% had a bipolar depression, 30% had had previous ECT course(s), and 66% used concomitant antipsychotics. Presence of psychotic depression (&bgr; = −0.25; P = 0.04) and having had previous ECT (&bgr; = −0.35; P = 0.003) predicted lower post-ECT MADRS score. Baseline magnetic resonance imaging characteristics were not predictive of post-ECT MADRS and MMSE scores. The use of concomitant antipsychotics predicted a lower post-ECT MMSE score (&bgr; = −0.21; P = 0.02), whereas the presence of bipolar depression at baseline predicted higher post-ECT MMSE score (&bgr; = 0.23; P = 0.01). The post-ECT MADRS score seemed to be a confounder for the post-ECT MMSE score (&bgr; = −0.20; P = 0.02). Conclusions Effectiveness of ECT was better in the patients with a baseline psychotic depression and those who had had ECT before. Cognitive outcome was better in the patients with baseline bipolar depression but worse in those who used antipsychotics during ECT and those who showed more persistent depressive symptoms after ECT.
The Karyophilic Properties of Human Immunodeficiency Virus Type 1 Integrase Are Not Required for Nuclear Import of Proviral DNA

ABSTRACT Integrase (IN) is a key component of the preintegration nucleoprotein complex (PIC), which transports the retroviral genome from the cytoplasm to the nucleus of newly infected cells. Retroviral IN proteins have intrinsic karyophilic properties, which for human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) are currently attributed to regions that display sequence homology to previously characterized nuclear localization signals. We asked here whether the karyophilic properties of HIV-1 IN are involved in the nuclear import of PIC. We mutated three conserved basic regions in the C-terminal domain of IN and analyzed the effects of mutations on subcellular localization of the protein, viral particle composition, IN dimerization within virions, and infectivity. Alteration of two sequences caused the loss of nuclear accumulation of IN and drastically reduced the capacity of the protein to multimerize. Mutation of the most C-terminal sequence had no effect on the subcellular localization and dimerization of IN. Nevertheless, conservation of all three sequences was required for viral infectivity. Despite the perturbation of IN subcellular localization, all mutant viruses displayed normal reverse transcription and nuclear transport of PICs in newly infected cells. The replicative defect was instead at the level of integration, for which all mutants were markedly affected in vivo. Besides reinforcing the association between dimerization of IN and nuclear accumulation of the enzyme, our data demonstrate that subcellular localization of IN alone cannot predict the fate of the PICs.
Human papillomavirus infection in male patients with STI‐related symptoms in Hanoi, Vietnam

This cross‐sectional study investigated the prevalence, genotypes, and risk factors for human papillomavirus (HPV) infection in Hanoi, Vietnam. The study included 192 males (mean age, 32.9 years) with symptoms related to sexually transmitted infections (STI). Urinary, penile, and urethral samples were collected in April and May, 2014. HPV DNA was detected with PCR, performed with modified and/or original GP5+/GP6+ primers. HPV genotypes were determined with a gene array assay. Neisseria gonorrhoeae (NG) and Chlamydia trachomatis (CT) DNA were detected with loop‐mediated isothermal amplification. HPV DNA, NG, and CT were detected in 48 (25.0%), 23 (12.0%), and 41 (21.4%) patients, respectively. HPV DNA appeared in penile samples (21.0%, 39/186) more frequently than in urinary (3.1%, 6/191, P < 0.001) and urethral (9.4%, 18/192, P = 0.002) samples. Among patients with HPV, genotype prevalence was: HPV81 (22.9%), HPV52 (18.8%), HPV18 (16.7%), and HPV16 (6.3%). Multiple‐type and high risk‐type HPV infections were determined in 33.3% and 64.6%, respectively. Multivariate analysis showed a significant association of HPV infection in urethra with younger sexual debut age. HPV52 was the most prevalent high‐risk HPV genotype, whereas HPV16 was less common in the male Vietnamese patients with STI‐related symptoms. Younger sexual‐debut age was a risk factor for HPV infection in urethra. J. Med. Virol. 88:1059–1066, 2016. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
Impulse Buying Behavior on Modern Retail

Retail business has a rapid development, especially in Indonesia. It is indicated by the increasing number of traditional retail business which begins to fix itself into a modern retail business or an independent modern retail business. The increased number of modern retail pushes the competition of the business world to the next level, so it requires retail entrepreneurs to optimize their strategy which known as marketing mix retail. Impulse Buying Behavior as a result of the successful strategic marketing mix retail often wished to happen to indicate the existence of the retail business. Similarly, with the modern retail which exists in Denpasar city, who is trying to develop its marketing mix strategy in the hope of impulse buying behavior. This research has a purpose of explaining the influence of Merchandise, Atmospheric outlet and promotion toward Impulse Buying Behavior with positive emotion variable as an Intervening variable on modern retail in Denpasar city. To reach that purpose, 100 (one hundred) respondents are used which selected by purposive sampling with a questionnaire as the method for data gathering. The data is processed with the SEM PLS analysis tool. The result shows that Merchandise variable, Atmospheric outlet, and promotion has a positive influence significantly on Positive emotion. The same with Merchandise variable, Atmospheric outlet and Promotion, and positive Emotion significantly influence the Impulse buying behavior. Positive Emotion variable significantly partially mediates the influence of Merchandise, Atmospheric outlet, and Promotion about Impulse buying behavior.
Differentiation of oligodendrocytes cultured from developing rat brain is enhanced by exogenous GM3 ganglioside

Cultures consisting primarily of O‐2A progenitor cells and immature oligodendrocytes with a few microglia and astrocytes were obtained by shaking primary cultures from neonatal rat brain after 12‐‐14 days in vitro. Addition of 50 μg/ml exogenous Neu‐NAcα2‐3Galβ1‐1′ ceramide (GM3 ganglioside) to the cultures resulted in an increase in the number and thickness of cell processes that stained intensely for sulfatide and galactocerebroside (galC) in comparison to control cultures without added GM3. The treated cultures also contained fewer astrocytes than control cultures as revealed by immunostaining for glial fibrillary acidic protein (GFAP). Cells that immunostained for both GFAP and sulfatide/galC were very rare in control cultures but were frequently seen in the GM3‐treated cultures, suggesting that these may represent cells changing their direction of differentiation away from type II astrocytes toward oligodendrocytes under the influence of GM3. These effects on the developing rat oligodendrocytes were specific for GM3 ganglioside and were not produced by adding GM1, GM2, GD3, or GD1a to the cultures. Lactosyl ceramide and neuraminyl lactose were also ineffective. When control cultures were initially plated on polylysine and incubated with [14C]galactose, GD3 was the principal labeled ganglioside. However, as the control cells differentiated over time in culture without the addition of exogenous GM3 and produced increasing amounts of myelin‐related components, the incorporation of [14C]galactose into endogenous GM3 increased to become the predominant labeled ganglioside by 6 days after plating. Metabolic labeling of the GM3‐treated oligodendrocytes with [14C]galactose revealed increased incorporation into galC and sulfatide in comparison to control cultures, but a decreased labeling of endogenous GM3. Similarly, incorporation of an amino acid precursor into the myelin‐associated glycoprotein (MAG) was increased by GM3 treatment, but incorporation into myelin basic protein (MBP) was not affected. Although the overall effect of added GM3 was to decrease the phosphorylation of most proteins in the oligodendrocytes, including MBP, GM3 enhanced the phosphorylation of MAG. These findings indicate that GM3 ganglioside has an important role in the differentiation of cells of the O‐2A lineage toward myelin production, since differentiation is associated with increased metabolic labeling of endogenous GM3 in control cultures and is enhanced by the addition of exogenous GM3. © 1994 Wiley‐Liss, Inc. This article is a US Government work and, as such, is in the public domain in the United States of America.
Macrophage Depletion Suppresses Cardiac Allograft Vasculopathy in Mice

Cardiac allograft vasculopathy (CAV) is a major source of late posttransplant mortality. Although numerous cell types are implicated in the pathogenesis of CAV, it is unclear which cells actually induce the vascular damage that results in intimal proliferation. Because macrophages are abundant in CAV lesions and are capable of producing growth factors implicated in neointimal proliferation, they are leading end‐effector candidates. Macrophages were depleted in a murine heterotopic cardiac transplant system known to develop fulminant CAV lesions. C57BL/6 hearts were transplanted into (C57BL/6 × BALB/c)F1 recipients, which then received anti‐macrophage therapy with intraperitoneal carrageenan or i.v. gadolinium. Intraperitoneal carrageenan treatment depleted macrophages by 30–80% with minimal effects upon T, B or NK cells as confirmed by flow cytometry and NK cytotoxicity assays. Carrageenan treatment led to a 70% reduction in the development of CAV, as compared to mock‐treated controls (p = 0.01), which correlated with the degree of macrophage depletion. Inhibition of macrophage phagocytosis alone with gadolinium failed to prevent CAV. Macrophages may represent the end‐effector cells in a final common pathway towards CAV independent of T‐cell or B‐cell alloreactivity and exert their injurious effects through mechanisms related to cytokine/growth factor production rather than phagocytosis.
Maturation time of new granule cells in the dentate gyrus of adult macaque monkeys exceeds six months

We studied two groups of adult macaque monkeys to determine the time course of adult neurogenesis in the dentate gyrus of the hippocampus. In the first group, six adult monkeys (Macaca mulatta) received a single injection of the thymidine analog BrdU (75 mg/kg), which is incorporated into replicating DNA and serves as a marker for new cell birth. Brain tissue was collected 48 h, 2 wk, and 6 wk after BrdU injection to examine the initial stages of neurogenesis. Because mature neurons were not evident at 6 wk, we examined tissue collected over a longer time course in a second study. In this study, eight monkeys (Macaca fascicularis) who were subjects in a separate exercise study received 10 weekly injections of BrdU (75 mg/kg), and brain tissue was collected at 16 and 28 wk from the first injection. Based on the timing of expression of neuronal cell markers (βIII-tubulin, doublecortin, NeuN), the extent of dendritic arborization, and acquisition of mature cell body morphology, we show that granule cell maturation in the dentate gyrus of a nonhuman primate is protracted over a minimum of a 6-mo time period, more than 6 times longer than in rodents. The lengthened time course for new cell maturation in nonhuman primates may be appropriate for preservation of neural plasticity over their longer life span and is relevant to our understanding of antidepressant and other therapies that have been linked to neurogenesis in humans.
Aceticlastic and NaCl-Requiring Methanogen “Methanosaeta pelagica” sp. nov., Isolated from Marine Tidal Flat Sediment

ABSTRACT Among methanogens, only 2 genera, Methanosaeta and Methanosarcina, are known to contribute to methanogenesis from acetate, and Methanosaeta is a specialist that uses acetate specifically. However, Methanosaeta strains so far have mainly been isolated from anaerobic digesters, despite the fact that it is widespread, not only in anaerobic methanogenic reactors and freshwater environments, but also in marine environments, based upon extensive 16S rRNA gene-cloning analyses. In this study, we isolated an aceticlastic methanogen, designated strain 03d30qT, from a tidal flat sediment. Phylogenetic analyses based on 16S rRNA and mcrA genes revealed that the isolate belongs to the genus Methanosaeta. Unlike the other known Methanosaeta species, this isolate grows at Na+ concentrations of 0.20 to 0.80 M, with an optimum concentration of 0.28 M. Quantitative estimation using real-time PCR detected the 16S rRNA gene of the genus Methanosaeta in the marine sediment, and relative abundance ranged from 3.9% to 11.8% of the total archaeal 16S rRNA genes. In addition, the number of Methanosaeta organisms increased with increasing depth and was much higher than that of Methanosarcina organisms, suggesting that aceticlastic methanogens contribute to acetate metabolism to a greater extent than previously thought in marine environments, where sulfate-reducing acetate oxidation prevails. This is the first report on marine Methanosaeta species, and based on phylogenetic and characteristic studies, the name “Methanosaeta pelagica” sp. nov. is proposed for this novel species, with type strain 03d30q.