Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
New Effective Treatment Regimen for Children Infected With a Double-resistant Helicobacter pylori Strain

Background: The increasing number of pediatric patients infected with multiresistant Helicobacter pylori strains calls for evaluation of treatment regimens. Second-line antibiotics such as tetracycline or quinolones are not licensed for children. Because in vivo resistance to metronidazole may be overcome in vivo by a high dose and prolonged intake, we evaluated the eradication rate and side effects of a high-dose triple therapy in pediatric patients with culture-proven double resistance. Patients and Methods: In this open multicentre trial, 62 children (<18 years, body weight >15 kg) infected with an H pylori strain resistant to metronidazole and clarithromycin were treated according to body weight classes with amoxicillin (∼75 mg/kg/day), metronidazole (∼25 mg/kg/day) and esomeprazole (∼1.5 mg/kg/day) for 2 weeks. Adherence and adverse events were assessed by a 2-week diary and telephone interviews at days 7 and 14 of treatment. Primary outcome was a negative 13C-urea breath test after 6 weeks. Results: Of 62 patients, 5 were lost to follow-up, 12 were nonadherent, and 45 treated per protocol. Eradication rates were 66% (41/62) [confidence interval 54–78] (intention to treat) and 73% (33/45) [confidence interval 60–86] (per protocol). Success of treatment was not related to dose per kilogram body weight. Mild to moderate adverse events were reported by 21 patients, including nausea (10.8%), diarrhoea (8.9%), vomiting (7.1%), abdominal pain (5.4%), and headache (3.6%), and led to discontinuation in 1 child. Conclusion: High-dose amoxicillin, metronidazole, and esomeprazole for 2 weeks is a good treatment option in children infected with a double resistant H pylori strain.
Upstream CREs participate in the basal activity of minute virus of mice promoter P4 and in its stimulation in ras-transformed cells

The activity of the P4 promoter of the parvovirus minute virus of mice (prototype strain MVMp) is stimulated in ras-transformed FREJ4 cells compared with the parental FR3T3 line. This activation may participate in the oncolytic effect of parvoviruses, given that P4 drives a transcriptional unit encoding cytotoxic nonstructural proteins. Our results suggest that the higher transcriptional activity of promoter P4 in FREJ4 cells is mediated at least in part by upstream CRE elements. Accordingly, mutations in the CRE motifs impair P4 function more strongly in the FREJ4 derivative than in its FR3T3 parent. Further evidence that these elements contribute to hyperactivity of the P4 promoter in the ras transformant is the fact that they form distinct complexes with proteins from FREJ4 and FR3T3 cell extracts. This difference can be abolished by treating the FREJ4 cell extracts with cyclic AMP-dependent protein kinase (PKA) or treating original cultures with a PKA activator. These findings can be linked with two previously reported features of ras-transformed cells: the activation of a PKA-inhibited protein kinase cascade and the reduction of PKA-induced protein phosphorylation. In keeping with these facts, P4-directed gene expression can be up- or downmodulated in vivo by exposing cells to known inhibitors or activators of PKA, respectively.
Regeneration of severed nerve fibers in the spinal cord of the adult cat

The concept that severed spinal cord neurons of mammals are incapable of significant regeneration was at one time firmly established, but recent investigations employing novel experimental methods have led to a reconsideration of the subject. Histological studies of transected mammalian spinal cords reveal some attempts on the part of severed intraspinal neurons to begin regenerating. Unfortunately, certain obstacles arise in the healing of transections of spinal cords of higher mammals to curb or completely obliterate these regenerative capacities. If it were possible to eliminate the obstacles encountered by regenerating spinal cord fibers, a more favorable physiological outcome might result. It is the purpose of this communication to evaluate the reasons why significant intraspinal neuronal regeneration does not occur spontaneously in the normal course of events following spinal cord transection in adult cats
Fourier and Laplace Transform Inversion with Applications in Finance

It is becoming standard for modeling and analysis to include algorithms for computing probability distributions of interest. Therefore, advances in computational probability increase the value of stochastic models in among others quantitative finance, queueing, reliability, and inventory management. Several tools have been developed for this purpose, of which one of the most powerful tools in numerical Fourier transform inversion. The reason is that proba bility distributions can be characterized in terms of Laplace transforms, or more generally, Fourier transforms. Many results in among others quantitative finance, queueing and relia bility theory, are given in the form of transforms and become amenable for practical computations once fast and accurate methods for numerical Laplace and Fourier transform inversion are available. This thesis presents advanced numerical inversion techniques of Laplace and Fourier transforms and their innovative application in quantitative finance. Although our applications are mainly focused on quantitative finance, the presented inversion techniques also tackles important problems from logistics, queuing, probability theory.
Insulin sensitivity indices calculated from basal and OGTT-induced insulin, glucose, and FFA levels.

Insulin Sensitivity Indices for glycemia [ISI(gly)] and blood FFA [ISI(ffa)] can be calculated with the formulas: ISI(gly) = 2/[(INSp x GLYp) + 1], and ISI(ffa) = 2/[(INSp x FFAp) + 1], where INSp, GLYp and FFAp = insulinemic, glycemic, and FFA areas during OGTT (75 g glucose) of the person under study, simplified by considering only data at 0 and 2 h (0-2 h areas), according to WHO criteria or, better, at 0, 1 and 2 h (0-1-2 h areas). Expressed as unit/ volume.h-1, 0-1-2 h area is equal to 1/2 value at 0 min + value at 1 h + 1/2 value at 2 h, while 0-2 h area is equal to value at 0 + value at 2 h. Instead of areas, basal levels can also be used. Basal levels and areas are expressed taking the mean normal value as unit, so that in normal subjects ISI(gly) and ISI(ffa) are always around 1, with maximal variations between 0 and 2. Each laboratory should have its normal reference values for basal levels and OGTT areas. However, reliable mean normal values were selected from literature. Based on meta-analysis of published data, ISI(gly) and ISI(ffa) were reduced in subjects who were overweight and/or IGT and in NIDDM patients and their relatives. Moreover, correlation of ISI(gly) with the euglycemic clamp data was significant. However, it should be stressed that the clamp procedure is performed under artificially induced steady-state whereas ISI(gly) and ISI(ffa) are obtained under rather physiological conditions, with hormonal and metabolic variables unmodified, thus being suitable to assess whole-body insulin sensitivity in the clinical setting.
Magnetic Resonance Imaging of Articular Cartilage in the Knee. An Evaluation with Use of Fast-Spin-Echo Imaging*

The purpose of this study was to demonstrate that specialized magnetic resonance imaging provides an accurate assessment of lesions of the articular cartilage of the knee. Arthroscopy was used as the comparative standard.Eighty-eight patients who had an average age of thirty-eight years were evaluated with magnetic resonance imaging and subsequent arthroscopy because of a suspected meniscal or ligamentous injury. The magnetic resonance imaging was performed with a specialized sequence in the sagittal, coronal, and axial planes. Seven articular surfaces (the patellar facets, the trochlea, the femoral condyles, and the tibial plateaus) were graded prospectively on the magnetic resonance images by two independent readers with use of the 5-point classification system of Outerbridge, which was also used at arthroscopy.Six hundred and sixteen articular surfaces were assessed, and 248 lesions were identified at arthroscopy. Eighty-two surfaces had chondral softening; seventy-five, mild ulceration; fifty-three, deep ulceration, fibrillation, or a flap without exposure of subchondral bone; and thirty-eight, full-thickness wear. To simplify the statistical analysis, grades 0 and 1 were regarded as disease-negative status and grades 2, 3, and 4 were regarded as disease-positive status. When the grades that had been assigned by reader 1 were used for the analysis, magnetic resonance imaging had a sensitivity of 87 per cent (144 of 166), a specificity of 94 per cent (424 of 450), an accuracy of 92 per cent (568 of 616), a positive predictive value of 85 per cent (144 of 170), and a negative predictive value of 95 per cent (424 of 446) for the detection of a chondral lesion. Interobserver variability was minimum, as indicated by a weighted kappa statistic of 0.93 (almost perfect agreement). With use of this readily available modified magnetic resonance imaging sequence, it is possible to assess all articular surfaces of the knee accurately and thereby identify lesions that are amenable to arthroscopic treatment.
Taxes and the Valuation of Dividends: A Study of Dividend Announcements in Germany

This paper investigates the impact of the 2001 tax reform in Germany on dividend announcement returns. With this major tax reform, the full imputation system was replaced by the half-income system, which had a significant impact on the relative taxation of dividends and capital gains for most investor classes. In an event study framework, we separate the tax effect of dividends from their positive signaling and agency cost effects to offer a more comprehensive picture of the valuation implications of dividends in Germany. Controlling for signaling and agency cost effects of dividends we find that the market response to positive dividend surprises is more pronounced under the full imputation system, where dividends are generally more favorable to investors from a tax perspective, than under the half-income system. Our results suggest that the observed decline in the dividend response coefficient is synchronized with the 2001 tax reform and hence attributable to the 2001 tax reform.
Tonic seizures of Lennox‐Gastaut syndrome: Periictal single‐photon emission computed tomography suggests a corticopontine network

Lennox‐Gastaut syndrome (LGS) is a severe epileptic disorder with characteristic electroclinical features but diverse etiologies. The shared electroclinical characteristics suggest that common cerebral networks are involved in generating seizures. We sought to reveal these networks by comparing ictal and interictal single‐photon emission computed tomography (SPECT).
The Financial Reporting Quality Effect on European Firm Performance

This paper analyses whether accounting quality produces any impact on firm performance using only accounting data: the abnormal accruals methodology to evaluate accounting quality and ROA to determine firm performance. This is important because accounting information guides investment decisions (Bradshaw et al., 2004 and Verdi, 2006). For 17 European countries, findings confirm the mechanical relationship between accruals and accounting measures of performance: income increasing abnormal accruals, which mean decreasing accounting quality, will increase ROA and vice-versa. In addition, the lag effect is analysed, as per Chan et al. (2004). When current performance is compared with the abnormal accruals of the previous year, results suggest that the reverse effect does not occur for two consecutive years.
Physical Activity and Behavioral Medicine

such analysis was offered. This was particularly surprising since the gay community of West Hollywood is demarcated in part by race and class boundaries. The sample itself was overwhelmingly white; and although there was an attempt to locate the case study presentations inside the history of the epidemic, the unmentioned point of reference seemed to be white middle-class gay male culture. White middleclass gay men have and continue to be the normative point of reference in sexuality and prevention research with gay male populations. What Turner lacks in analysis he makes up in his wonderful descriptions of gay male sexuality. In the end, Risky Sex is a passionate testimonial to the beauty of gay male sex and the power of personal agency. We come to understand anal sex without a condom as a natural extension of the particular psychosexual histories of individual gay men. In this respect, when men engage in risky sex, it is not because they are somehow deficient, or that there is something inherently wrong with them. It is because there is something inherently human about gay sex. And in this age of AIDS, when there is a reactionary tendency to moralize and pathologize sexual behavior, Turner’s work is a welcome contribution to prevention research and a reminder to us all about the importance of understanding sex in all its complexity.
Innovation Culture in Five Dimensions - Identifying Cultural Success Factors and Barriers for Innovation

Innovation is widely regarded as a key factor for creating both societal and economic progress. On the level of the firm, innovation has been argued to be crucial for the firm’s competitive survival. Scholars also argue that firms have capabilities for innovation that can be understood as a system of several interdependent elements. Culture has been claimed to be one such element. The importance of a firm’s culture has also been emphasized in other fields of organizational research. Despite the high level of attention dedicated to both innovation and culture, few studies have tried to understand the concept of an “innovation culture” or how to develop such a culture. The purpose of this study is to contribute to the understanding of innovation culture by proposing a framework that explains the concept and by identifying success factors and barriers that influence its development. To fulfill the purpose of the study, a research design was used in which a literature study was combined with an interview study. The interviews were conducted with managers from eight Swedish firms that have been ranked among the top 100 most innovative firms in the world. The literature study resulted in an initial framework which was subsequently revised based on empirical findings. In the empirical study, cases of innovation culture in the responding firms were described and the cases were also used as a basis for identifying success factors and barriers that influence the development of innovation culture. The proposed innovation culture framework consists of five dimensions: innovation readiness, creativity and learning, leadership and entrepreneurship, market orientation, and motivations and relations. In addition, each dimension consists of a number of themes whose relations to previous literature are clarified. A number of success factors and barriers that influence the innovation culture are identified. They are initially organized according to the dimensions of the innovation culture framework but are then aggregated into overall factors. The success factors and barriers may be used to guide managers in the development of innovation culture. The identified overall success factors are: a shared purpose, supportive leadership, willingness to dedicate resources, and an organizationwide customer focus. The barriers are: risk-aversion, excessive control, and insufficient crossfunctional collaboration.
Debt Maturity and Financial Integration

This study applies the panel convergence methodology developed by Philips and Sul (2007) on the debt maturity ratios of a set of firms in developed economies, to explore the effects of credit market integration on debt maturity choices. In contrast to prior studies, our methodology allows for a formal quantification of the integration process. Therefore, we are able to track the evolution of integration over time and identify the conditions under which it is stronger. Firms that are able to integrate with international credit markets face a lower degree of informational asymmetries and have higher collateral value. Furthermore, as firms integrate with international credit markets, they extend their debt maturity. This evidence provides support to the argument that financial integration has a positive impact on firms, by facilitating access to long-term capital. On the contrary, firms not affected by credit market integration, experience a decrease in their debt maturity, as integration continues.
Predictors of mortality in adult patients with congestive heart failure receiving nesiritide--retrospective analysis showing a potential adverse interaction between nesiritide and acute renal dysfunction.

BACKGROUND A recent meta-analysis has suggested that nesiritide (NES), a new agent for the treatment of congestive heart failure (CHF), is associated with an increased risk of short-term mortality. METHODS We retrospectively examined this issue among 1407 consecutive elderly CHF patients by Pearson's chi-squared test, and determined independent risk factors for 60-day mortality by multivariate analysis in a cohort of 682 patients for whom we had sufficient clinical and laboratory data. RESULTS Univariate analysis revealed that NES usage was associated with increased mortality (n=1407, 10 vs 6%, P=0.011; n=682, 19 vs 12.5%, P=0.046). However, by forward stepwise regression analysis, NES usage did not survive as an independent predictor of mortality. The following variables were independent predictors of mortality: development of acute renal failure (ARF) defined as an increase of serum creatinine (SCr) >or= 0.5 mg/dl; lack of beta-adrenergic blockade; increased admission blood urea nitrogen; digoxin use; and increased admission brain natriuretic peptide. When patients were stratified according to NES usage, ARF emerged as an independent risk factor for mortality only among patients who received NES. Strikingly, among CHF patients who developed ARF (n=102), NES usage emerged as the only independent predictor of mortality (P=0.006, OR=3.73, 95% CI 1.45-9.56). CONCLUSION We conclude that, while NES per se is not independently associated with an increased risk for mortality, the development of ARF in association with NES use may confer an increased risk of mortality.
Offshoring: Facts and figures at the country level

Offshoring has received wide attention lately. Its potential effects, mainly to be materialized in employment and productivity dislocations, are yet to be fully assessed. However, some consensus has been attained as to how to proxy its theoretical definition at an aggregate level. Here we review the most conventional indices the economic literature has so far produced, and employ them to provide an overview of the extent of the phenomenon for a group of countries. Contrary to common belief, our data reveal that offshoring is not exclusive to large developed economies. Further, we highlight the continuing prominence of the manufacturing over the services sector, and observe that, while services offshoring is on the rise, it still represents a small fraction of total offshoring. This is not to deny the employment creation brought about by this higher value-added offshoring or its potential to create more jobs in the future.
Stress and coping in hospice nursing staff. The impact of attachment styles

Previous research suggests that the attachment style developed during childhood informs adult attachment styles, which in turn affects adult relationships and responses to stress. This study considers the sources of stress in hospice nurses and addresses the potential impact of their attachment styles on stress and coping experiences. Adult attachment style, stress and coping were measured in 84 nurses recruited from five hospices.
From the Cover: Abnormal development of Purkinje cells and lymphocytes in Atm mutant mice

The autosomal recessive disease ataxia–telangiectasia (A-T) is characterized by the early onset of progressive ataxia, ocular telangiectasias, and susceptibility to infections and tumors (1, 2). A-T is caused by mutations in the ATM gene (3). The ATM protein encodes a serine/threonine kinase and induces p53, c-Abl, and Brca1 activation after DNA damage (4–8). ATM-deficient cells exhibit cell-cycle checkpoint defects, resulting in hypersensitivity to genotoxic stress (9). However, it is less clear whether the abnormal cellular physiology of various ATM-deficient cell types also results from defective DNA repair. For example, potassium-mediated depolarization is attenuated in A-T fibroblasts (10), and calcium mobilization and phospholipase-Cγ activation are reduced in A-T B cells after antigen receptor stimulation (11). Altered cellular physiology may independently contribute to the clinical manifestations of A-T. Several lines of Atm mutant mice recapitulate numerous aspects of A-T (12–15). These Atm mutant mice exhibit growth retardation, immune system defects including defects in T cell maturation, germ cell dysfunction, and increased sensitivity to ionizing radiation (IR). Although behavioral abnormalities were observed (14), altered cerebellar histology or degeneration was not reported (12–15). The diversity of ATM mutations and the variability in the clinical progression of A-T raises questions concerning how individual ATM mutations and genetic factors contribute to the clinical severity of A-T. Likewise, independently generated Atm-deficient mice may also vary in their phenotypic manifestations, reflecting mutagenesis strategies and/or genetic backgrounds. Murine Atm is expressed in both embryonic and adult tissues and likely functions at multiple developmental stages (16). It remains unclear whether Atm deficiency alters developmental processes and how this may contribute to neurodegeneration and immunodeficiency in A-T patients. Clinical studies documenting the early onset of ataxia (17–19) and early abnormalities in Purkinje cell morphology and localization (20, 21) support the hypothesis that ATM function is essential for normal cerebellar development. To further evaluate the potential Atm functions, we have generated and characterized a line of Atm mutant mice.
Antibody‐Dependent Lymphocyte‐Mediated Cytotoxicity

The effector cells in antibody‐dependent lymphocyte‐mediated cytotoxicity (ADLMC) have been studied. The cells do not adhere to glass and bear Fc receptors independent of surface Ig and complement receptors. Whereas monocytes have IgG1 and IgG3 Fc receptors, these Fc receptor lymphocytes appear to have receptors for aggregates of all four IgG subclasses.
Testing the Superiority and Dimensionality of SERVQLAL vs. SERVPERF in Higher Education

SERVQUAL is being used as a tool to measure service quality in almost every service industry. Doubts have been raised, however, about the fitness of this instrument to each service sector, and there have been criticisms on conceptual and empirical issues related to SERVQUAL. In some studies, SERVPERF is deemed to be more valid and reliable than SERVQUAL. In this study, the goal is to explore and compare the fitness of SERVQUAL and SERVPERF in higher-education services. This study was conducted in the faculty of business of a state university in Turkey with a sample of 421 students. Confirmatory factor analysis was used to test the model fit of SERVQUAL and SERVPERF. The results of this analysis support each of the five-dimensional service quality constructs with a greater support for SERVQUAL, which had an excellent model fit. In addition, SERVPERF and SERVQUAL measurements were found to have very close convergent validity and reliability scores. The tangibility dimension was found to have the lowest reliability and covariance scores, which may point to the lower relevancy of the tangibility dimension in the higher-education sector where there is high personal interaction. The researchers conclude that both of the service measurement scales have a good model fit and both can be used in measuring service quality in higher-education services.