Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Visualization of Global Disease Burden for the Optimization of Patient Management and Treatment

BACKGROUND The assessment and treatment of complex disorders is challenged by the multiple domains and instruments used to evaluate clinical outcome. With the large number of assessment tools typically used in complex disorders comes the challenge of obtaining an integrative view of disease status to further evaluate treatment outcome both at the individual level and at the group level. Radar plots appear as an attractive visual tool to display multivariate data on a two-dimensional graphical illustration. Here, we describe the use of radar plots for the visualization of disease characteristics applied in the context of tinnitus, a complex and heterogeneous condition, the treatment of which has shown mixed success. METHODS Data from two different cohorts, the Swedish Tinnitus Outreach Project (STOP) and the Tinnitus Research Initiative (TRI) database, were used. STOP is a population-based cohort where cross-sectional data from 1,223 non-tinnitus and 933 tinnitus subjects were analyzed. By contrast, the TRI contained data from 571 patients who underwent various treatments and whose Clinical Global Impression (CGI) score was accessible to infer treatment outcome. In the latter, 34,560 permutations were tested to evaluate whether a particular ordering of the instruments could reflect better the treatment outcome measured with the CGI. RESULTS Radar plots confirmed that tinnitus subtypes such as occasional and chronic tinnitus from the STOP cohort could be strikingly different, and helped appreciate a gender bias in tinnitus severity. Radar plots with greater surface areas were consistent with greater burden, and enabled a rapid appreciation of the global distress associated with tinnitus in patients categorized according to tinnitus severity. Permutations in the arrangement of instruments allowed to identify a configuration with minimal variance and maximized surface difference between CGI groups from the TRI database, thus affording a means of optimally evaluating the outcomes in individual patients. CONCLUSION We anticipate such a tool to become a starting point for more sophisticated measures in clinical outcomes, applicable not only in the context of tinnitus but also in other complex diseases where the integration of multiple variables is needed for a comprehensive evaluation of treatment response.
The development of cerebral cortex in hypothyroid and starved rats

Both congenital hypothyroidism (Benda, '47) and chronic starvation during childhood (Keys, Broiek, Henschel, Michelson and Taylor, 'SO) cause a serious and permanent impairment to bodily growth, and in either condition the basal metabolic rate may be depressed to as much as 40% of the normal level. Thyroid deficiency and inanition also have similar effects on the development of the nervous system for, in the rat, the growth of the brain is retarded, but less severely than that of the body. I n each case, therefore, the experimental animal has a central nervous system which is heavier than would be expected for a normal animal of the same weight (Hammett, '26a). Furthermore, the brains of both hypothyroid (Hammett, '26b) and starved (Donaldson, '11 ; Hatai, '04) rats contain less water in relation to their size than the brains of normal animals of the same age. This similarity of effect applies equally to the maturation of behaviour in the rat. Biel ('39) showed that chronic starvation retarded the time of first appearance of a number of automatic reactions and similar results have been reported in cretinous rats (Eayrs and Taylor, '51). These findings suggested that the changes in cortical structure which are associated with impairment to the maturation of behaviour in the cretin, such as reduced myelination (Barrnett, '48) and closer aggregation of cell bodies (Eayrs and Taylor, '51) might also occur in the starved animal. It is widely accepted, though not undisputed, that medication with thyroid hormone, unless started early in life, does
Efficient Killing of Planktonic and Biofilm-Embedded Coagulase-Negative Staphylococci by Bactericidal Protein P128

ABSTRACT Coagulase-negative staphylococci (CoNS) are the major causative agents of foreign-body-related infections, including catheter-related bloodstream infections. Because of the involvement of biofilms, foreign-body-related infections are difficult to treat. P128, a chimeric recombinant phage-derived ectolysin, has been shown to possess bactericidal activity on strains of Staphylococcus aureus, including methicillin-resistant S. aureus (MRSA). We tested the killing potential of P128 on three clinically significant species of CoNS, S. epidermidis, S. haemolyticus, and S. lugdunensis, under a variety of physiological conditions representing growing and nongrowing states. The MIC90 and minimum bactericidal concentration at which 90% of strains tested are killed (MBC90) of P128 on 62 clinical strains of CoNS were found to be 16 and 32 μg/ml (0.58 and 1.16 μM), respectively, demonstrating the bactericidal nature of P128 on CoNS strains. Serum showed a potentiating effect on P128 inhibition, as indicated by 4- to 32-fold lower MIC values observed in serum. P128 caused a rapid loss of viability in all CoNS strains tested. Persisters of CoNS that were enriched in the presence of vancomycin or daptomycin were killed by P128 at 1× the MIC in a rapid manner. Low concentrations of P128 caused a 2- to 5-log reduction in CFU in stationary-phase or poorly metabolizing CoNS cultures. P128 at low concentrations eliminated CoNS biofilms in microtiter plates and on the surface of catheters. Combinations of P128 and standard-of-care (SoC) antibiotics were highly synergistic in inhibiting growth in preformed biofilms. Potent activity on planktonic cells, persisters, and biofilms of CoNS suggests that P128 is a promising candidate for the clinical development of treatments for foreign-body-related and other CoNS infections.
Insulin‐like growth factor‐I is expressed by avian flexor tendon cells

Cells in normal tendon are in a resting G0 state, performing maintenance functions. However, traumatic injury introduces growth factors such as platelet‐derived growth factor and insulin‐like growth factor from blood as well as activates endogenous growth factors. These factors stimulate migration and proliferation of tendon cells at the wound area. Tendon cells require growth‐promoting factors to transit the cell cycle. To evaluate the contribution of endogenous growth factors in tendon, extracts of the epitenon and internal compartment of avian flexor tendon as well as medium of cultured cells from the epitenon (tendon surface cells) and internal tendon (tendon internal fibroblasts) were collected to assess their ability to stimulate DNA synthesis. Acid‐ethanol extracts of tissues and medium were chromatographed on a P‐30 molecular sieve column and assayed for mitogenic activity by quantitating [3H]thymidine incorporation into tendon cell DNA. The extract from the internal tendon compartment was more stimulatory for DNA synthesis than that from the epitenon, particularly when tested on tendon internal fibroblasts. However, conditioned medium fractions from surface epitenon cells stimulated DNA synthesis to a high degree on both tendon surface cells and tendon internal fibroblasts. Conditioned medium from tendon internal fibroblasts was also stimulatory. An anti‐insulin‐like growth factor‐I antibody ablated most of the mitogenic activity present in both tissues and conditioned medium. The levels of acid‐extractable insulin‐like growth factor‐I in tendon were determined by competitive radioimmunoassay as 1.48 ± 0.05 ng/g tissue for the epitenon and 3.83 ± 0.03 ng/g tissue for the internal compartment. Results of Western immunoblots of conditioned medium revealed insulin‐like growth factor‐I at the 7.5 kDa position. Cultured tendon surface cells and tendon internal fibroblasts as well as cells in intact flexor tendon expressed insulin‐like growth factor‐I mRNA detected by reverse transcriptase‐polymerase chain reaction. In situ hybridization histochemistry positively identified insulin‐like growth factor‐I mRNA in tendons from 52‐day‐old chickens. Platelet‐derived growth factor was not detected at the protein or message levels. Furthermore, tendon surface cells and tendon internal fibroblasts both expressed receptors for insulin‐like growth factor‐I detected by flow cytometry. These data suggest that tendon cells express insulin‐like growth factor‐I mRNA and synthesize insulin‐like growth factor‐I in both the epitenon and the internal compartment of tendon, which is present in an inactive from, most likely bound to insulin‐like growth factor‐binding proteins.
Steroidal Glycosides from Reineckia carnea herba and Their Antitussive Activity

Abstract Two new steroidal glycosides, 1α,3α-dihydroxy-5β-pregn-16-en-20-one 3-O-α-L-rhamnopyranoside (1) and 1β,3β,27-trihydroxycholest-16-en-22-one 1,3-di-O-α-L-rhamnoside (2), along with seven known steroidal glycosides (3–9), were isolated from Reineckia carnea herba. Their structures were determined by detailed analysis of their 1D- and 2D-NMR and MS spectra. Compound 9 was isolated for the first time from the Reineckia genus. Except for 8, compounds 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, and 9 displayed clear in vitro antitussive activity.
Molecular detection of sorbitol-fermenting Escherichia coli O157 in patients with hemolytic-uremic syndrome

Shiga-like toxin-producing Escherichia coli strains of serogroup O157 were identified in 26 of 104 patients with hemolytic-uremic syndrome and in 18 of 668 patients with diarrhea. All strains were identified by colony hybridization with DNA probes complementary to Shiga-like toxin I and Shiga-like toxin II gene sequences and characterized by biochemical tests and serotyping. Seventeen of these 44 patients had E. coli O157 strains which were unusual because they fermented sorbitol within 24 h of incubation and were positive for beta-glucuronidase activity. Culture filtrates of these sorbitol-fermenting strains were highly toxic to Vero cells in culture. Serological tests and DNA analysis performed by restriction endonuclease digestion of B-subunit toxin genes revealed that all 17 isolates produced Shiga-like toxin II. Although by using molecular probes we established a high frequency of sorbitol-fermenting E. coli O157 strains in the patients we examined, further studies on the prevalence of such isolates in other areas of endemic disease are clearly warranted.
TDP‐43 in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis – is it a prion disease?

Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis is a devastating disease characterized by rapidly progressive paresis. The neuropathological hallmark of most amyotrophic lateral sclerosis cases are neuronal and glial aggregates of phosphorylated 43‐kDa TAR DNA‐binding protein (pTDP‐43). The accumulation of similar proteins into insoluble aggregates is now recognized as a common pathological hallmark of neurodegenerative diseases in general. Importantly, many of these proteins such as tau and amyloid‐β in Alzheimer's disease and α‐synuclein in Parkinson's show a stereotypical sequential distribution pattern with progressing disease. In this review, we discuss recent evidence that TDP‐43 in ALS may propagate similarly to other neurodegenerative disease proteins. We furthermore delineate similarities and important differences of TDP‐43 proteinopathies to prion diseases.
African Descent and Glaucoma Evaluation Study: Asymmetry of Structural Measures in Normal Participants

Purpose:The purpose of the study is to determine the degree of intereye asymmetry of optic disc topography and retinal nerve fiber layer (RNFL) thickness in healthy individuals of African descent (AD) and European descent (ED). Design:Observational, clinical study. Methods:Five hundred nineteen healthy individuals (AD, n=262, mean age=44.9 years; ED, n=257, mean age=47.1 years) from the African Descent and Glaucoma Evaluation Study and Diagnostic Innovations in Glaucoma Study were tested using Heidelberg retina romograph (HRT), GDx variable corneal compensation (GDx-VCC), and standard, automated perimetry within 6 months of one another. HRT-II measurements included cup area, cup volume, rim area, and rim volume. GDx-VCC measurements included average RNFL thickness. Intereye asymmetry was calculated as the absolute value of the differences in measurements between the right and left eye. Results:AD participants showed significantly higher median asymmetry in cup volume and rim volume (P<0.001 and 0.033, respectively) compared with ED participants. The effect of race lost significance after adjustment for mean disc area and disc area asymmetry in multivariable models. Axial length asymmetry was not correlated with increased asymmetry in any of this study’s asymmetry parameters. Normal ranges of asymmetry for the HRT-II measurements of cup area (up to 0.39 mm2), cup volume (up to 0.15 mm3), rim area (up to 0.45 mm2), and rim volume (up to 0.22 mm3) were derived, as were asymmetry ranges for GDx-VCC-measured average RNFL thickness (up to 6.25 &mgr;m). Conclusions:The effect of race was no longer significant after adjustment for mean disc area and disc area asymmetry. Individuals with asymmetries with magnitudes greater than those of the normal ranges could be considered as suspicious for glaucoma.
Digital Services for the Aging Society: The Impact of Previous Workplace Priviliges on Mature Adults’ Use of the Internet

—Developed economies face severe challenges from demographic change. A popular measure to counter this development is to empower the aging society for longer independent living. Digital services offered through the Internet are discussed as major enabling factor. However, although this seems the natural way to help this clientele, our knowledge on Internet usage habits of the elderly is still limited. Therefore, we conducted a quantitative study targeting the 50+ population to assess the effect previous Internet usage at work has on current private Internet use. Our findings underline the high importance which Internet self-efficacy and anxiety have on the actual use of Internet services.
The Bain, ADE, and Enclosed Magill breathing systems A comparative study during controlled ventilation

The Enclosed Magill, Humphrey ADE and the Bain breathing systems are all used for controlled ventilation of the lungs. This study compares the three systems in vitro with a lung model and in clinical practice. No difference was observed, with ventilatory variables commonly used in clinical practice, between the Bain and the ADE, while significantly lower end‐tidal carbon dioxide values were observed with the Enclosed Magill (about 7%). Lower fresh gas flows can be used under these circumstances to maintain normocapnia with the Enclosed Magill than either the Bain or the Humphrey ADE.
STRATEGI PENGEMBANGAN MEREK USAHA MIKRO, KECIL, DAN MENENGAH

Usaha Mikro, Kecil, dan Menengah terbukti mampu bertahan pada masa krisis ekonomi nasional tahun 2009. UMKM bahkan mampu menyediakan lapangan pekerjaan, barang-barang murah, dan melahirkan wirausaha-wirausaha baru. Perkembangan UMKM mengalami beberapa masalah salah satunya adalah masalah pemasaran khususnya terkait branding. Kajian ini bertujuan untuk mendapatkan gambaran mengenai permasalahan yang dihadapi oleh UMKM pada saat pengembangan merek sehingga bisa mendapatkan masukan untuk proses pengembangannya. Analisis dilakukan menggunakan pendekatan deskriptif. Hasil kajian menunjukkan bahwa UMKM memang harus melakukan branding sehingga memiliki keunggulan kompetitif untuk bisa bersaing di pasar global.
Performance assessment of joint transmission (JT) multi - user downlinks with multi - element transmit antennas

Joint transmission (JT), a novel downlink transmission scheme, was introduced and described in recent papers. Questions still open concern the performance assessment of JT and the comparison of JT with conventional downlink transmission schemes. In order to answer these questions, quantities termed SNR degradation and transmission efficiency are presented in this paper. Based on these quantities, exemplary system assessments and comparisons are performed, which clearly show the suitability of these measures and also the advantages of the novel downlink transmission scheme JT.
Strategic CSR and firm performance: Aligning subsidiary CSR practices in emerging markets

or in the key terms. The journals were selected from the annually produced Journal Quality overview (Kostova & Roth, 2002, p. 216). This quality lists compiles the quality rankings from 21 different academic institutions across the globe, while I focused on the listings of the Erasmus Research Institute of Management Journals Listing (EJL 2012) and the Australian Business Deans Council Journal Rankings List of November 2013 (ABDC 2013). Journals were sampled from four different categories namely, ‘General & Strategy’, ‘IB’ and ‘Organisation Behaviour/Organisation Studies/HRM/Industrial Relations’. In order to be included it had to have a ranking of ‘S, PA, P or STAR’ or in the EJL 2012 or ‘B, A or A*’ in the ABCD 2013. Domain Journal Ranking EJL 2012 Ranking ABCD 2013 Results International Business (IB) International Business Review International Journal of Management and Organization Journal of International Business Studies Journal of International Management Journal of World Business (Colombia) Management International Review S S STAR S S S A B A* A A A 0 0 0 0 0 0 General Management Academy of Management Journal Academy of Management Review Administrative Science Quarterly British Journal of Management European Management Journal Journal of Management Journal of Management Inquiry Journal of Management Studies Long Range Planning Management and Organization Review Organization Science Organization Studies Organization and Environment Scandinavian Journal of Management Strategic Management Journal STAR STAR STAR S S P S STAR P S STAR STAR S S STAR A* A* A* A B A* A A* A A A* A* B B A* 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 CSR Business Ethics: A European Review Journal of Business Ethics S P B A 2 3 Total located papers 6
Estrogen Receptors α and β in Human Testis: Both Isoforms are Expressed

Currently, clinical and experimental evidence point to an essential role of estrogens and estrogen receptors in male fertility. The expression of estrogen receptor α (ERα) and β (ERβ) in human testis has been described. However, some studies were unable to detect ERα, while others report the expression of both isoforms, with ERβ presenting a wide distribution within somatic and germinal testicular cells. This has suggested that estrogens may exert their testicular effects exclusively through ERβ. The present work aims to study the expression of ERα and ERβ in testicular biopsies of men with conserved and disrupted spermatogenesis, in order to better clarify the positive cell populations. Human testicular tissue was obtained from 10 men undergoing testicular biopsy for infertility relief due to azoospermia: two patients had secondary obstructive azoospermia with conserved spermatogenesis, five had Sertoli cell-only syndrome, two had hypospermatogenesis and one had meiotic arrest. Reverse-transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) allowed the detection of both ERα and ERβ mRNAs in all samples. Immunohistochemistry revealed that ERα was present in Leydig cells, Sertoli cells, spermatogonia, spermatocytes, round spermatids and elongated spermatids/spermatozoa, while ERβ was present in the same cell types except spermatogonia and Sertoli cells. This study demonstrates ERα mRNA expression in human testis and describes its localization in somatic and germ cell subtypes. These findings suggest that both ER isoforms are involved in the control of testicular function.
The Timing of Annual Report Disclosure: Characteristics and Economic Consequences—Evidence from Two Stock Exchanges in China

Abstract: This paper analyzes the annual reports (from 1997 to 2011) of firms listed on two stock exchanges in China and reveals four significant characteristics of disclosure timing. These characteristics have significant economic implications for stock market movement, including positive contributions to stock price, trading volume and abnormal return. It thereby demonstrates that the CSRC’s “balanced disclosure” policy has not been working as expected and needs further review and improvement.
The effect of hematocrit on assay bias when using DBS samples for the quantitative bioanalysis of drugs.

BACKGROUND As hematocrit levels are known to vary between individuals and with disease state, its effect on the physical characteristics of dried blood spot (DBS) samples and on the accurate quantification of analytes within these samples is examined. RESULTS The area of DBS samples decreases with increasing hematocrit levels in a linear manner on the three cellulose paper substrates tested. Furthermore, a bias was observed in the concentrations of two analytes determined in DBS samples at different hematocrits, which in some cases exceeded acceptable values, particularly for hematocrits outside normal values. CONCLUSION If it is expected that the hematocrit of study samples will vary from values considered normal, then its effect on the quantitative determination of an analyte in DBS samples should be investigated as part of the method development and validation. If an unacceptable effect is observed, then this will need to be addressed, by modification of the analytical method, or the inclusion of quality control samples at different hematocrit levels to show control of the assay.
The Service–Profit Chain: A Meta-Analytic Test of a Comprehensive Theoretical Framework

The service–profit chain (SPC) has served as a prominent guidepost for service managers and researchers alike. This meta-analysis provides the first comprehensive test of the SPC, showing that all the proposed links are statistically significant and substantial. However, the effect sizes vary considerably, partly according to the type of service provided. Meta-analytic structural equation models show that internal service quality translates into service performance through various mechanisms beyond employee satisfaction, and they highlight the importance of the service encounter and customer relationship characteristics for customer responses. The findings not only indicate the need to integrate complementary paths in the SPC framework but also challenge the implicit SPC rationale that firms should always maximize employee satisfaction and external service quality to optimize firm performance.