Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Energy Expenditure in Lean and Obese Diabetic Patients Using the Doubly Labelled Water Method

Obesity is a common problem among Type 2 diabetic patients. To investigate the role of energy expenditure in the maintenance of obesity in diabetic subjects, total energy output was measured during weight stability in 23 diabetic patients: 8 lean, 5 overweight, and 10 obese. Free living total energy expenditure was measured over 14 days using doubly labelled water method, resting metabolic rate by indirect calorimetry, and urinary energy losses were assessed. Total energy output was higher in the obese (13.66 ± SD 3.18 MJ 24 h−1) than normal weight patients (10.84 ± 2.02 MJ 24 h−1; p < 0.05); 11.96 ± 2.51 MJ 24 h−1 in the overweight. None of the lean but four of the obese had total energy output > 16 MJ 24 h−1. Urinary energy losses accounted for only 0.6% of total energy output in lean, 2.8% in overweight, and 3.1% in obese. Resting metabolic rate was significantly higher in obese (7.47 ± 1.69 MJ 24 h−1) compared to lean (5.87 ± 1.07; p < 0.05) and resting metabolic rate correlated with lean body mass (r = 0.8, p < 0.001). Thermogenesis plus physical activity was substantial and not lower in the obese (5.77 versus lean 4.97 MJ 24 h−1). The mean ratio of total energy expenditure to resting metabolic rate was in the moderate exercise category and similar in lean (1.87) and obese (1.80). Resting metabolic rate, total energy expenditure, and thermogenesis and physical activity were similar in all three groups when corrected for differences in lean body mass. In conclusion, high energy intake and not reduced energy expenditure is the major cause of the maintenance of obesity in diabetic patients. Overall there was no evidence of an energy deficit in the obese. This work emphasized the need for increased patient nutritional education to control energy intake.
Growth in human immunodeficiency virus-infected children receiving ritonavir-containing antiretroviral therapy.

BACKGROUND Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)-infected children often suffer from impaired growth. Highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART) successfully reduces HIV 1 (HIV-1) RNA to 400 copies/mL or less in many children. OBJECTIVES To determine if age- and sex-adjusted growth z scores correlate with HIV-1 RNA level and if control of viral load for 48 and 96 weeks results in improved growth in children receiving highly active antiretroviral therapy. DESIGN Secondary analysis of the cohort of children receiving ritonavir nested in a randomized, open-label, clinical trial. SUBJECTS AND METHODS The Pediatric AIDS Clinical Trials Group Protocol 338 enrolled clinically stable, antiretroviral therapy-experienced, HIV-infected subjects aged 2 through 17 years. Using data from subjects randomized to ritonavir-containing regimens (n = 197), the association of growth z scores and HIV-1 RNA levels were examined. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES Age- and sex-adjusted weight and height z scores. RESULTS Enrollment weights were comparable with age- and sex-adjusted norms, but subjects receiving ritonavir-containing antiretroviral therapy were significantly shorter (mean z score, -0.57 [29th percentile]; 95% confidence interval, -0.73 to -0.40). Higher HIV-1 RNA levels correlated with lower growth z scores (P<.01). Subjects achieving and maintaining HIV-1 RNA of 400 copies/mL or less through 48 and 96 weeks experienced worse growth than subjects with a less controlled viral load. CONCLUSIONS In this pediatric cohort, a significant decline in height and weight z scores was found despite control of viral replication. Further studies of growth are necessary to assess if nutritional and hormonal adjuvants to highly active antiretroviral therapy should be considered to improve growth in HIV-infected children.
Women Do it Better: An Investigation on the Association between Gender Diversity In Board of Directors and the Financial Performance

The aim of this study is to analyse the impact of gender diversity on the financial performance of Italian listed companies. A cross-sectional regression used about the data of the year 2016 of Italian listed firms. The study is a mix of descriptive and explanatory research. The model is a scoring model, composed by two variables: Board of Directors (BoD), and Top Management (TM). We investigate the impact of these variables on the Return on Equity, the Price book value, and the EBITDA. The study shows a positive relationship between financial performance and the composition of the BoD and the operational performance and the composition of the Top management. The cross sectional regression highlights also the non-relation on the Return on Equity. Anyway these contrasting results confirm the properness of the model for this kind of research.
The Role of (De-)Centralized Wage Setting for Industry Dynamics and Economic Growth: An Agent-Based Analysis with the Eurace@Unibi Model

In this paper, we employ the agent-based macroeconomic Eurace@Unibi model to study the economic implications of different degrees of de-centralization in the wage setting. We think of de-centralization as wages being a weighted average of an economy-wide ‘union wage’ and a firm-specific component depending on the firm’s productivity and the experienced tightness of the labor market. Starting from a baseline scenario, corresponding to a high degree of unionization, in which wages are fully centralized and indexed on economy-wide productivity gains and inflation, we investigate how an increasing level of de-centralization affects the dynamics of output, employment, inequality, and market concentration. Our findings suggest that stronger centralization of the wage-setting process induces lower wage inequality and stronger concentration on the consumption goods market. Furthermore, due to more physical investments, an economy with more centralized wage setting is characterized by higher productivity and faster economic growth.
RELATIONSHIP OF TEST ANXIETY WITH STUDENTS ’ ACHIEVEMENT IN SCIENCE

This research was conducted to explore the relationship of secondary and higher secondary school students’ test anxiety and their achievement in the subjects of science i.e. Physics, Chemistry, Biology and Mathematics. Test Anxiety Inventory (TAI) was used to measure students’ test anxiety. Data was collected from a sample of 1,885 secondary school science students studying Physics, Chemistry, Biology, and Mathematics at 10 grade. Simple correlation (r) and standardized regression coefficients (β) were used to investigate the relationships between test anxiety and achievement in science. The results of the study indicated that test anxiety was significantly negative with total achievement scores of all the four science subjects. High test anxiety caused lower achievement scores. Similarly, the Test Anxiety had significant but negative relationship (p < 0.01) with Physics, Chemistry, Biology, and Mathematics achievement measure for simple correlation analysis.
Formaldehyde induces the apoptosis of BMCs of BALB/c mice via the PTEN/PI3K/Akt signal transduction pathway

The International Agency for Research on Cancer has classified formaldehyde (FA) as a leukemogen to humans in 2012; however, the underlying mechanism remains unclear. Phosphatase and tensin homologue deleted on chromosome 10 (PTEN) is a tumor-suppressor gene and can negatively regulate the phosphoinositide 3-kinase (PI3K)/protein kinase B (Akt) signal transduction pathway, which is associated with cell proliferation, apoptosis and carcinogenesis. To determine the association between FA and the PTEN/PI3K/Akt signal transduction pathway, flow cytometry, reverse transcription-quantitative polymerase chain reaction, western blotting and immunohistochemical analysis were conducted. Bone marrow cells were obtained from BALB/c mice, divided into the control (untreated cells) and FA groups, which were treated with various doses of FA (50, 100 and 200 µmol/l). Following treatment with FA for 24 h, cell viability, the cell cycle, apoptosis, and the expression of PTEN, PI3K and Akt, as well as the protein expression of B-cell lymphoma 2 (Bcl-2), Bcl-2-associated X (Bax), and Caspases-3 and −9 were examined. Furthermore, 10 µmol/PI3K inhibitor (LY294002) was applied to inhibit the PTEN/PI3K/Akt signal transduction pathway and 100 µmol/l FA was selected for treatment; alteration in the cell cycle were analyzed. The results demonstrated that FA could suppress cell viability, and downregulate PTEN and Bcl-2; the expression of PI3K, Akt, Bax, and Caspases-3 and −9 were upregulated. Additionally, FA was reported to induce cell cycle arrest at the G0/G1 phase and apoptosis. Following the application of LY294002 to inhibit the PTEN/PI3K/Akt signal transduction pathway, the numbers of cells arrested in the G0/G1 phase were significantly increased in the PI3K inhibitor group compared with the control (P<0.01); however, no significant change in the number of G0/G1 cells compared with FA group was observed (P>0.05). The results of the present study suggested that the PTEN/PI3K/Akt signal transduction pathway served an important role in the process of FA-induced apoptosis, which may be associated with regulating the cell cycle; thus, cell proliferation may be affected.
Messenger RNA vaccine based on recombinant MS2 virus‐like particles against prostate cancer

Prostate cancer (PCa) is the most diagnosed cancer in the western male population with high mortality. Recently, alternative approaches based on immunotherapy including mRNA vaccines for PCa have shown therapeutic promise. However, for mRNA vaccine, several disadvantages such as the instability of mRNA, the high cost of gold particles, the limited production scale for mRNA‐transfected dendritic cells in vitro, limit their development. Herein, recombinant bacteriophage MS2 virus‐like particles (VLPs), which based on the interaction of a 19‐nucleotide RNA aptamer and the coat protein of bacteriophage MS2, successfully addressed these questions, in which target mRNA was packaged by MS2 capsid. MS2 VLP‐based mRNA vaccines were easily prepared by recombinant protein technology, nontoxic and RNase‐resistant. We show the packaged mRNA was translated into protein as early as 12 hr after phagocytosed by macrophages. Moreover, MS2 VLP‐based mRNA vaccines induced strong humoral and cellular immune responses, especially antigen‐specific cytotoxic T‐lymphocyte (CTL) and balanced Th1/Th2 responses without upregulation of CD4+ regulatory T cells, and protected C57BL/6 mice against PCa completely. As a therapeutic vaccine, MS2 VLP‐based mRNA vaccines delayed tumor growth. Our results provide proof of concept on the efficacy and safety of MS2 VLP‐based mRNA vaccine, which provides a new delivery approach for mRNA vaccine and implies important clinical value for the prevention and therapy of PCa.
Enhancement of TRAIL/Apo2L‐mediated apoptosis by adriamycin through inducing DR4 and DR5 in renal cell carcinoma cells

Renal cell carcinoma (RCC) is one of the most drug‐resistant malignancies in humans. We show that adriamycin (ADR) and TNF‐related apoptosis‐inducing ligand (TRAIL)/Apo2L have a synergistic cytotoxic effect against RCC cells. This synergistic cytotoxicity was obtained in ACHN, A704, Caki‐1 and Caki‐2 human RCC cell lines and freshly derived RCC cells from 6 patients. This synergistic effect, however, was not achieved in 5 samples of freshly isolated normal kidney cells. We further explored the mechanisms underlying this synergistic effect and found that the synergistic cytotoxicity of TRAIL/Apo2L and ADR was realized by inducing apoptosis. Sequential treatment with ADR followed by TRAIL/Apo2L induced significantly more cytotoxicity than the reverse treatment. ADR increased the expression of DR4 and DR5 in RCC cells, but not in the normal kidney cells. Furthermore, the synergistic cytotoxicity was significantly inhibited by DR4:Fc and DR5:Fc fusion proteins, which inhibit TRAIL/Apo2L‐mediated apoptosis. In addition, caspase activity assays and treatment of caspase inhibitors demonstrated that the combination treatment with ADR and TRAIL/Apo2L activated caspase cascade, including caspase‐9, ‐8, ‐6 and ‐3, which were the downstream molecules of death receptors. These findings indicate that ADR sensitizes RCC cells to TRAIL/Apo2L‐mediated apoptosis through induction of DR4 and DR5, suggesting that the combination therapy of TRAIL/Apo2L and ADR might be effective for RCC therapy. © 2003 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
High‐pressure systems for gas‐phase free continuous incubation of enriched marine microbial communities performing anaerobic oxidation of methane

Novel high‐pressure biotechnical systems that were developed and applied for the study of anaerobic oxidation of methane (AOM) are described. The systems, referred to as high‐pressure continuous incubation system (HP‐CI system) and high‐pressure manifold‐incubation system (HP‐MI system), allow for batch, fed‐batch, and continuous gas‐phase free incubation at high concentrations of dissolved methane and were designed to meet specific demands for studying environmental regulation and kinetics as well as for enriching microbial biomass in long‐term incubation. Anoxic medium is saturated with methane in the first technical stage, and the saturated medium is supplied for biomass incubation in the second stage. Methane can be provided in continuous operation up to 20 MPa and the incubation systems can be operated during constant supply of gas‐enriched medium at a hydrostatic pressure up to 45 MPa. To validate the suitability of the high‐pressure systems, we present data from continuous and fed‐batch incubation of highly active samples prepared from microbial mats from the Black Sea collected at a water depth of 213 m. In continuous operation in the HP‐CI system initial methane‐dependent sulfide production was enhanced 10‐ to 15‐fold after increasing the methane partial pressure from near ambient pressure of 0.2 to 10.0 MPa at a hydrostatic pressure of 16.0 MPa in the incubation stage. With a hydraulic retention time of 14 h a stable effluent sulfide concentration was reached within less than 3 days and a continuing increase of the volumetric AOM rate from 1.2 to 1.7 mmol L−1 day−1 was observed over 14 days. In fed‐batch incubation the AOM rate increased from 1.5 to 2.7 and 3.6 mmol L−1 day−1 when the concentration of aqueous methane was stepwise increased from 5 to 15 mmol L−1 and 45 mmol L−1. A methane partial pressure of 6 MPa and a hydrostatic pressure of 12 MPa in manifold fed‐batch incubation in the HP‐MI system yielded a sixfold increase in the volumetric AOM rate. Over subsequent incubation periods AOM rates increased from 0.6 to 1.2 mmol L−1 day−1 within 26 days of incubation. No inhibition of biomass activity was observed in all continuous and fed‐batch incubation experiments. The organisms were able to tolerate high sulfide concentrations and extended starvation periods. Biotechnol. Bioeng. 2010; 105: 524–533. © 2009 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
Pressure and frequency dependent linkage between motility and epithelial secretion in human proximal small intestine

BACKGROUND Motor disturbances are sometimes associated with diarrhoea by unknown mechanisms. AIM To determine if there is a quantitative link between intestinal motility and epithelial secretion. SUBJECTS Experiments were performed in 21 healthy volunteers and three patients with villus atrophy. METHODS Duodenal and jejunal motor activities were registered in the fasted state by open tip manometry. Secretion was measured directly by marker perfusion and indirectly by recording transmural potential difference (PD). RESULTS A significant correlation was found between “low pass filtered” pressure and PD, but no correlation was found between amplitudes of isolated contractions and PD changes. During repeated phasic contractions (phase III of migrating motor complex), PD increased at a rate that was higher in the duodenum than in the jejunum, and higher in patients with villus atrophy than in healthy controls. After reaching a peak, PD decreased despite continuing phasic motor activity, provided that there was no concomitant increase in mean pressure. Fluid secretion increased roughly in parallel with PD, except at the very end of the cycle. CONCLUSIONS To explain these findings, one has to postulate participation of at least two types of receptor: a slowly adapting pressure sensitive receptor and another mechanoreceptor, possibly a mucosal touch receptor, to account for the run down phenomenon. This model predicts that short lasting trains of contractions, so called discrete clusters, will be a particularly potent stimulus for activation of mucosal secretion.
Goodbye to a Worn-Out Dichotomy : Law Enforcement , Social Work , and a Balanced Approach ( A Survey of Federal Probation Officer Attitudes )

MUCH HAS BEEN LEARNED over the past three decades about how individual offender rehabilitation—"what works"—relates to reducing recidivism (Andrews, et al., 1990; Palmer, 1995; Gendreau, 1996; Gendreau, French, and Taylor, 2002; Andrews and Bonta, 2010). Far less has been learned about the impact of the professional orientation of probation officers (POs) on offender recidivism, although the significance of the professional orientation of probation and parole officers has been recognized by scholars and practitioners for well over 50 years (Ohlin, Piven and Pappenfort, 1956; Glaser, 1969; Fitzharris, 1979; Paparozzi and Gendreau, 2005).
Monica Taljaard An Ethical Analysis of the SUPPORT Trial : Addressing Challenges Posed by a Pragmatic Comparative Effectiveness Randomized Controlled Trial

The SUPPORT trial highlights ethical challenges raised by comparative effectiveness randomized controlled trials (ceRCTs) involving one or more usual care interventions. Debate about the SUPPORT trial has focused on whether study interventions posed “reasonably foreseeable risks” to enrolled infants and, thereby, reflects a preoccupation with U.S. regulations. As ceRCTs are conducted globally, our analysis of the SUPPORT trial is grounded in internationally accepted ethical principles. We argue that the central ethical issue raised by the SUPPORT trial is the following: should the SUPPORT trial interventions be conceptualized as practice, or research? The answer to this question has important implications for “downstream” ethical requirements—including whether the usual care interventions in ceRCTs require research ethics committee review, undergo harm–benefit analysis, and are included in informed consent documents—and it is antecedent to the development of ethical guidance for ceRCTs.
Day case surgery and developing countries: a review.

BACKGROUND Day case surgery (DCS) is increasingly practiced all over the world but with a lag between the developed and developing continents. While it has witnessed a boom in the continents of America and Europe culminating in the establishment of Freestanding and autonomous units, the developing countries still largely practice hospital based day cases with relatively limited scope and utilization. OBJECTIVE This article reviews the evolution, scope, safety, organisation including the standard necessary for establishing and practicing day case surgery and examines the practice in the developing world. DESIGN Electronic literature search combined with review of both local journals and relevant texts. OUTCOME There is increasing need, applicability, potentials and relevance of day case surgery in the developing world with potential huge economic and social benefits. CONCLUSION As modern day case surgery practice requires dedicated services with meticulous attention equal to that given to in-patients, efforts should be focused on providing efficient services, in well structured centres, ploughing back resources to improve infrastructural/organisational deficiencies and acquiring relevant technology with skills in the developing world.
rainfall effects on sweetpotato Ipomoea batatas L . [ Lam ] ) growth and development

The herbicide S-metolachlor is used to control or suppress annual grasses, nutsedges and several broadleaf weeds in sweetpotato. However, a decline in storage root quality is suspected when an excessive rainfall occurs within 24 h after application. A sunlit, controlled environment experiment was conducted to investigate sweetpotato response to five levels of S-metolachlor (0.00, 0.86, 1.72, 2.58 and 3.44 kg ha−1), and two levels of simulated rainfall (0 and 38 mm at 51 mm h−1) immediately after application. Sweetpotato slips were transplanted into white polyvinyl chloride pots filled with sandy loam soil. S-metolachlor treatments were applied to slips and a simulated rainfall treatment delivered immediately after transplanting and herbicide treatment. All pots were transferred to sunlit growth chambers that were maintained at 30/22 ◦C, day/night temperatures and ambient carbon dioxide concentration (400 L L−1) for 60 days. An evapotranspiration-based irrigation system was used to supply water and nutrients. Plant biomass components and quality of storage roots were recorded 60 days after transplanting. There was no difference between rainfall treatments across S-metolachlor rates for vine lengths, leaf numbers and leaf area. These parameters, however, declined linearly and significantly with increase in S-metolachlor concentration. Total storage root weight declined linearly with increased S-metolachlor concentration; the decline was steeper with simulated rainfall. Yield of marketable storage roots declined by 18 and 31% in the absence of rainfall and 55 and 79% in the presence of rainfall with S-metolachlor at minimum (0.86 kg ha−1) and maximum (1.43 kg ha−1) recommended label rates, respectively, used to control weeds. Yield reduction was directly proportional to the rate of S-metolachlor applied in the absence or presence of rainfall; 77 and 123 g fresh weight kg−1 ha−1 S-metolachlor for no-rainfall and rainfall treatment, respectively. These results can be used to improve management decisions to optimize yield under field conditions as well as to mitigate risk of injury that could be associated with the use of S-metolachlor in sweetpotato production
Directing surgical quality improvement initiatives: comparison of perioperative mortality and long-term survival for cancer surgery.

PURPOSE Quality-improvement initiatives are being developed to decrease volume-based variability in surgical outcomes. Resources for national and hospital quality-improvement initiatives are limited. It is unclear whether quality initiatives in surgical oncology should focus on factors affecting perioperative mortality or long-term survival. Our objective was to determine whether differences in hospital surgical volume have a larger effect on perioperative mortality or long-term survival using two methods. PATIENTS AND METHODS From the National Cancer Data Base, 243,103 patients who underwent surgery for nonmetastatic colon, esophageal, gastric, liver, lung, pancreatic, or rectal cancer were identified. Multivariable modeling was used to evaluate 60-day mortality and 5-year conditional survival (excluding perioperative deaths) across hospital volume strata. The number of potentially avoidable perioperative and long-term deaths were calculated if outcomes at low-volume hospitals were improved to those of the highest-volume hospitals. RESULTS Risk-adjusted perioperative mortality and long-term conditional survival worsened as hospital surgical volume decreased for all cancer sites, except for liver resections where there was no difference in survival. When comparing low- with high-volume hospitals, the hazard ratios for perioperative mortality were substantially larger than for long-term survival. However, the number of potentially avoidable deaths each year in the United States, if outcomes at low-volume hospitals were improved to the level of highest-volume centers, was significantly larger for long-term survival. CONCLUSION Although the magnitude of the hazard ratios implies that quality-improvement efforts should focus on perioperative mortality, a larger number of deaths could be avoided by focusing quality initiatives on factors associated with long-term survival.