Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Two-step tuberculin skin test and booster phenomenon prevalence among Brazilian medical students.

SETTING Five medical schools in three cities in Rio de Janeiro State, Brazil, with different tuberculosis (TB) incidence rates. OBJECTIVE To evaluate the prevalence of the booster phenomenon and its associated factors in a young universally BCG-vaccinated TB-exposed population. DESIGN A two-step tuberculin skin test (TST) was performed among undergraduate medical students. Boosting was defined as an induration > or =10 mm in the second TST (TST2), with an increase of at least 6 mm over the first TST (TST1). The association of boosting with independent variables was evaluated using multivariate analysis. RESULTS Of the 764 participants (mean age 21.9 +/- 2.7 years), 672 (87.9%) had a BCG scar. The overall booster phenomenon prevalence was 8.4% (95%CI 6.5-10.6). Boosting was associated with TST1 reactions of 1-9 mm (aOR 2.5, 95%CI 1.04-5.9) and with BCG vaccination, mostly after infancy, i.e., after age two years (aOR 9.1, 95%CI 1.2-70.7). CONCLUSION The prevalence of the booster phenomenon was high. A two-step TST in young BCG-vaccinated populations, especially in those with TST1 reactions of 1-9 mm, can avoid misdiagnosis as a false conversion and potentially reduce unnecessary treatment for latent TB infection.
Title Bandpass characteristics of high-frequency sensitivity andvisual experience in blindsight

Patient RP suffers a unilateral right homonymous quadrant anopia but demonstrates better than chance discrimination for stimuli presented in the blind field at temporal frequencies between 33 and 47 Hz (all significant at p < .05, binomial). Examination of her reports of visual experience during blind-field discrimination suggests a more complex picture in which experiences particular to correct discrimination are not found at low-mid-gamma frequencies, but are significantly more likely than average (76%, p < .001) at a lower frequency (22 Hz) at which blindsight is not observed. We believe that visual experience may serve to support blindsight if discrimination tasks are generally impaired at frequencies outside of the low-mid-gamma band. If this is so, although generally experienced as non-specific and unstructured light, the visual experience that accompanies discrimination performance must be based upon a neural representation which includes information on the visual features present in the stimulus. 2010 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
Hormonal and dietary adaptation of rat pancreatic hydrolases before and after weaning.

All levels of digestive enzymes did not change in constant proportion in the rat pancreas before weaning, and different stimuli were probably responsible for their emergence. The high levels of amylase and chymotrypsinogen observed during the late fetal period were followed by a marked depression in the newborn period. Prompt administration of hydrocortisone prevented the drop of these hydrolases and enhanced the low activity of trypsinogens in 1 to 23 day old pups. This observation together with the reported decreasing activity of the pituitary adrenal axis during the first neonatal weeks suggests that glucocorticoid secretion is a stimulus effective in evoking a series of pancreatic hydrolases. On the other hand, the emergence of lipase was slow, responding poorly to hydrocortisone and to nutritional controls only after 25 days. L Thyroxine, glucagon, or dibutyryl cyclic AMP was unable to increase the specific activities of all hydrolases tested. Nutritional controls were predominant in regulating levels of hydrolases in adult rats. The time course of variation in specific activities of amylase and lipase on high corn oil and high starch diets was unaffected by 7 days of glucagon administration. Adrenalectomy tended to decrease and hydrocortisone treatment tended to increase the level of pancreatic amylase in rats submitted to the same dietary manipulations. The accumulation of amylase required the presence not only of starch but also of protein in the diet.
Identifying FGA peptides as nasopharyngeal carcinoma‐associated biomarkers by magnetic beads

Early diagnosis and treatment is known to improve prognosis for nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC). The study determined the specific peptide profiles by comparing the serum differences between NPC patients and healthy controls, and provided the basis for the diagnostic model and identification of specific biomarkers of NPC. Matrix‐assisted laser desorption/ionization time‐of‐flight mass spectrometry (MALDI‐TOF‐MS) can be used to detect the molecular mass of peptides. Mass spectra of peptides were generated after extracting and purification of 40 NPC samples in the training set, 21 in the single center validation set and 99 in the multicenter validation set using weak cationic‐exchanger magnetic beads. The spectra were analyzed statistically using FlexAnalysis™ and ClinProt™ bioinformatics software. The four most significant peaks were selected out to train a genetic algorithm model to diagnose NPC. The diagnostic sensitivity and specificity were 100% and 100% in the training set, 90.5% and 88.9% in the single center validation set, 91.9% and 83.3% in the multicenter validation set, and the false positive rate (FPR) and false negative rate (FNR) were obviously lower in the NPC group (FPR, 16.7%; FNR, 8.1%) than in the other cancer group (FPR, 39%; FNR, 61%), respectively. So, the diagnostic model including four peptides can be suitable for NPC but not for other cancers. FGA peptide fragments identified may serve as tumor‐associated biomarkers for NPC. J. Cell. Biochem. 113: 2268–2278, 2012. © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
Electron microscopic heteroduplex study and restriction endonuclease cleavage analysis of the DNA genomes of three lactic streptococcal bacteriophages

Three lactic streptococcal bacteriophages were compared with one another by electron microscopic analysis of heteroduplex DNA molecules. The phages were almost identical in morphology and had been isolated over a period of 10 years on different strains of Streptococcus cremoris from cheese plants situated in different parts of New Zealand. There was a high degree of homology between the DNAs, in agreement with Southern blot hybridization data reported earlier. There were, however, distinct regions of nonhomology, mostly between 0.45 and 1.71 kilobases in length, suggestive of the occurrence of block recombination events. A deletion of 2.23 kilobases in the two more recently isolated phages, or an insertion in the first isolate, was found. All three phage DNAs showed differences in restriction endonuclease cleavage sites. Alignment of the restriction endonuclease maps with the heteroduplex maps showed that differences in cleavage sites occurred most frequently in regions of nonhomology. However, differences in cleavage sites in regions of apparent homology were also detected, indicating that point mutations may have occurred in addition to block recombination events.
A Value Network Approach for Modelling and Measuring Intangibles

Interest in intangibles and corporate transparency has increased as business thinking evolves from bureaucratic and mechanistic models to more organic perspectives emerging from biology and living systems theory. Yet, many people working in the intangibles arena, including knowledge management, inappropriately apply traditional business methods, tools, and frameworks to intangibles. This fundamentally different understanding of business and economic activities requires new approaches. Mastering value creation in the knowledge economy requires appreciating the pivotal role of intangibles in the business model and a thorough understanding of network dynamics. Although important groundwork has been laid with recent breakthroughs in managing intangibles as assets, current thinking and practice does not go far enough in applying the new thinking about intangibles with a true systems thinking perspective. This paper describes a way of modeling business relationships that incorporates new thinking around knowledge and intangibles, networks and organizational complexity. The methodology is grounded in principles of living systems, and represents a decided shift away from mechanistic models. It expands current thinking about intangibles in three important ways. 1. It goes beyond the asset view of intangibles to also consider intangibles as negotiables and as deliverables. 2. It proposes a way to model organizations and business relationships as living networks of tangible and intangible value exchanges. 3. It provides a way to link scorecards and indexes to specific business activities, allowing people to more fully understand the impact of their decisions and actions in both tangible and intangible terms.
Differences in Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging Activation by Category in a Visual Confrontation Naming Task

Objective. Cortical processing involved in seemingly similar tasks may differ in important ways. The authors mapped cortical regions engaged in a commonly performed picture naming task, seeking differences by semantic category. Functional magnetic resonance imaging was used during presentation of standardized line drawings in 18 healthy right‐handed female participants, comparing living versus nonliving entities. During visual naming, across categories there was strong activation of left frontal (BA45/47), bilateral temporo‐occipital junction (BA19), and inferior temporal regions (BA36/37). Activation of right inferior temporal cortex (BA19 & 37) was greater during naming of living versus nonliving category items. No category differences in activation strength in the left temporal lobe were observed. The authors conclude that visual semantic operations may involve visual association cortex in the right temporal lobe in women.
Cash Signing Bonus and Labor Market Condition

Since 1998, increasing number of firms issue signing bonus to both internally and externally hired new CEOs. In 2012, about 35% new CEOs in general and 70% external hires received signing bonus. Among signing bonus usage, more than 60% uses cash only signing bonus. This paper studies the determinants of cash signing bonus and its relationship with the labor market conditions. We find that, controlling for other firm and CEO characteristics, the likelihood and the amount of cash signing bonus are positively correlated to CEOs’ outside job opportunities and negatively correlated to firms alternative choices. This suggests that the payment of cash signing bonus are resulted from labor market negotiations during the searching period. Cash signing bonus enables firms to beat other rivals in the labor market and to attract qualified candidates in the labor market.
Upper thoracic shape in children with pectus excavatum: Impact on lung function

Pectus excavatum (PE) can present with respiratory complaints in childhood. However severity of the PE, measured by the Pectus Severity Index (PSI), correlates only modestly with reduced vital capacity (VC). We hypothesized that another upper thoracic feature, a pectus gracilis (PG) or slender chest, co‐exists with PE, and impacts lung function.
Algorithms for library-specific sizing of combinational logic

Examined is a problem of choosing the proper sizes from a cell library for the logic elements of a Boolean network to meet timing constraints on the propagation delay along every path from the primary input to the primary output. It is shown that, if the Boolean network has a tree topology, there exists a pseudo-polynomial time algorithm for finding the optimal solution to this problem. A backtracking-based algorithm for finding feasible solutions for networks that are not trees is also suggested and evaluated. <<ETX>>
Bidding behavior in multi-item auctions - an experimental study

The focus of this work is the experimental study of bidding behavior in multi-item auctions On the one hand it is shown that experimental participants are able to mimic a risk-neutral Bayesian Nash strategy for reverse auctions with two goods under certain conditions. On the other hand, the impact of auction formats, bid languages and payment rules on the auction results in an environment with a large number of possible combinations of items is analyzed.
Financial Competence of Micro, Small, and Medium Enterprises in Ponorogo

The purpose of this study was to know and analyze the accounting capability in an eﬀort to improve fnancial competence for the Micro, Small and Medium (MSM) entrepreneurs in Ponorogo. The method used was survey, through interview and observation. Accounting competence was viewed from the aspect of sales turnover, capital resources used, net income every month, fnancial statement preparation, fnancial statement preparation forms, constraints in the preparation of fnancial statements, and training that had been participated. The results showed the majority of MSM entrepreneurs in Ponorogo including micro-entrepreneurs and the capital resource had an income per month of < Rp 5.000. 000,-. Most of them did not prepare for fnancial statements. The fnancial statement that was prepared was income statement. Most of them had also not been trained, and fnancial statement preparation constraints were experienced because they did not understand accounting. MSME fnancial competence in Ponorogo needed to be improved by accounting training, with the target of being able to prepare fnancial statements, bankable, increase income to develop the business. Further research was required in the formulation of modules and accounting training for target achievement.
Analysis of sulfated peptides using positive electrospray ionization tandem mass spectrometry.

Presented is a method for analyzing sulfated peptides, and differentiating the post-translational modification (PTM) from its isobaric counterpart phosphorylation, using quadrupole time-of-flight (Qq/TOF) mass spectrometry (MS) and positive ion nanoelectrospray MS/MS. A set of commercially available sulfo- and phosphopeptide standards was analyzed via in-source dissociation and MS/MS to generate fragmentation signatures that were used to characterize and differentiate the two modifications. All of the phosphorylated peptides retained their +80 Da modifications under collision-induced decomposition (CID) conditions and peptide backbone fragmentation allowed for the site-specific identification of the modification. In sharp contrast, sulfated peptides lost SO3 from the precursor as the collision energy (CE) was increased until only the non-sulfated form of the peptide was observed. The number of 80 Da losses indicated the number of sulfated sites. By continuing to ramp the CE further, it was possible to fragment the non-sulfated peptides and obtain detailed sequence information. It was not possible to obtain site-specific information on the location of the sulfate moieties using positive ion MS/MS as none of the original precursor ions were present at the time of peptide backbone fragmentation. This method was applied to the analysis of recombinant human B-domain deleted factor VIII (BDDrFVIII), which has six well-documented sulfation sites and several potential phosphorylation sites located in two of the sulfated regions of the protein. Seven peptides with single and multiple +80 Da modifications were isolated and analyzed for their respective PTMs. The fragmentation patterns obtained from the BDDrFVIII peptides were compared with those obtained for the standard peptides; and in all cases the peptides were sulfated. None of the potential phosphorylation sites were found to be occupied, and these results are consistent with the literature.
INSTRUCTIONAL DESIGN AND ASSESSMENT Developing Health Literacy Knowledge and Skills Through Case-Based Learning

Objective. To evaluate the efﬁcacy of case-based learning to teach pharmacy students health literacy concepts and skills in managing patients with limited health literacy. Design. A health literacy patient case was developed and incorporated into a case-based learning laboratory. The case involved a patient with limited health literacy and required students to evaluate and formulate a care plan. Assessment. A comparison of pretest and posttest scores demonstrated that students gained health literacy knowledge and skills through completion of the patient case. Students believed that the case-based exercise was successful in meeting speciﬁc learning objectives for the course. Conclusions. Addition of a case-based learning was effective in teaching pharmacy students health literacy concepts and skills.
Neuroendocrine Aspects of Chronic Fatigue Syndrome

Chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS) is a serious health concern affecting over 800,000 Americans of all ages, races, socioeconomic groups and genders. The etiology and pathophysiology of CFS are unknown, yet studies have suggested an involvement of the neuroendocrine system. A symposium was organized in March 2001 to explore the possibility of an association between neuroendocrine dysfunction and CFS, with special emphasis on the interactions between neuroendocrine dysfunction and other abnormalities noted in the immune and autonomic nervous systems of individuals with CFS. This paper represents the consensus of the panel of experts who participated in this meeting.
Conserved and divergent mechanisms in left-right axis formation.

Vertebrates appear bilaterally symmetric but an internal left–right (L–R) axis is revealed by the placement of asymmetric organs about the midline. For example, the human heart is located to the left of the body cavity, whereas the liver is located to the right. Paired organs can also display L–R differences, as seen in human lungs, in which the right lung has three lobes and the left lung two. Alterations in L–R axis formation can lead to variations in the normal arrangement of organs, including complete inversion of the axis (situs inversus), randomized placement of organs (heterotaxia or situs ambiguus), and mirror image duplications of paired organs (isomerism). In the past 5 years important progress has been made in clarifying the embryological and molecular mechanisms underlying the development of laterality in different vertebrates. Surprisingly, however, it is still unclear if many of the strategies employed in one group of vertebrates are also applied in other groups. In this review, we compare the roles in L–R development ascribed to various molecules and embryological structures in the four common vertebrate model systems.
Prescribing Errors in a Pediatric Clinic

Objective: This project was completed to determine the frequency and type of prescribing errors occuring in a pediatric clinic. Study design: Records for all patient encounters in the pediatric acute care clinic from February through April 2007 were reviewed. Prescriptions entered into the electronic medical records (EMR) were reviewed the day after they were written. Results: A total of 3523 records containing 1802 new prescriptions were reviewed. Prescribing errors were found in 175 prescriptions (9.7%). The most common type of error was an incomplete prescription (42%), followed by dosing errors (34%). Anti-infectives were most commonly written in error followed by anti-inflammatories. Conclusions: Prescribing errors were commonly identified in a pediatric clinic utilizing electronic medical records. Incomplete prescriptions and dosing errors were the most commonly occurring errors. Recognizing the types of errors has been beneficial for developing educational programs intended to decrease prescribing errors and recommending improvements to the EMR system and its utilization.
Structure and mechanism of alkaline phosphatase.

Alkaline phosphatase was the first zinc enzyme to be discovered in which three closely spaced metal ions (two Zn ions and one Mg ion) are present at the active center. Zn ions at all three sites also produce a maximally active enzyme. These metal ions have center-to-center distances of 3.9 A (Zn1-Zn2), 4.9 A (Zn2-Mg3), and 7.1 A (Zn1-Mg3). Despite the close packing of these metal centers, only one bridging ligand, the carboxyl of Asp51, bridges Zn2 and Mg3. A crystal structure at 2.0-A resolution of the noncovalent phosphate complex, E.P, formed with the active center shows that two phosphate oxygens form a phosphate bridge between Zn1 and Zn2, while the two other phosphate oxygens form hydrogen bonds with the guanidium group of Arg166. This places Ser102, the residue known to be phosphorylated during phosphate hydrolysis, in the required apical position to initiate a nucleophilic attack on the phosphorous. Extrapolation of the E.P structure to the enzyme-substrate complex, E.ROPO4(2-), leads to the conclusion that Zn1 must coordinate the ester oxygen, thus activating the leaving group in the phosphorylation of Ser102. Likewise, Zn2 appears to coordinate the ester oxygen of the seryl phosphate and activate the leaving group during the hydrolysis of the phosphoseryl intermediate. Both of these findings suggest that there may be a significant dissociative character to each of the two displacements at phosphorous catalyzed by alkaline phosphatase. A water molecule (or hydroxide) coordinated to Zn1 following formation of the phosphoseryl intermediate appears to be the nucleophile in the second step of the mechanism. Dissociation of the product phosphate from the E.P intermediate is the slowest, 35 s-1, and therefore the rate-limiting, step of the mechanism at alkaline pH. Since the determination of the initial crystal structure of alkaline phosphatase, two other crystal structures of enzymes involved in phosphate ester hydrolysis have been completed that show a triad of closely spaced zinc ions present at their active centers. These enzymes are phospholipase C from Bacillus cereus (structure at 1.5-A resolution) (43) and P1 nuclease from Penicillium citrinum (structure at 2.8-A resolution) (74). Both enzymes hydrolyze phosphodiesters. Substrates for phospholipase C are phosphatidylinositol and phosphatidylcholine, while P1 nuclease is an endonuclease hydrolyzing single stranded ribo- and deoxyribonucleotides. P1 nuclease also has activity as a phosphomonoesterase against 3'-terminal phosphates of nucleotides. The Zn ions in both enzymes form almost identical trinuclear sites. (ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 400 WORDS)