Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Decapeptide with fibroblast growth factor (FGF)‐5 partial sequence inhibits hair growth suppressing activity of FGF‐5

Earlier studies demonstrated that knock‐out of fibroblast growth factor‐5 gene (Fgf‐5) prolonged anagen VI phase of hair cycle, resulting long hairs in the mice. We showed the activities on hair growth of the two Fgf‐5 gene products, one of which, FGF‐5 suppressed hair growth by inhibiting anagen proceeding and inducing the transition from anagen to catagen, and FGF‐5S, a shorter polypeptide with FGF‐5‐antagonizing activity translated from alternatively spliced mRNA, suppressed this activity of FGF‐5. As the results suggested that FGF‐5 antagonist would increase hair growth, we synthesized various peptides having partial sequences of human FGF‐5 and FGF‐5S and determined their FGF‐5 antagonist activity. Among them, a decapeptide designated P3 (95‐VGIGFHLQIY‐104) that aligns with receptor binding sites of FGF‐1 and FGF‐2 suppressed FGF‐5‐induced proliferation of BALB/3T3 A31 and NIH/3T3 murine fibroblasts, and FGF receptor‐1c (FGFR‐1c)‐transfected Ba/F3 cell line (FR‐Ba/F3 cells). IC50s of this peptide on these cell proliferations were 64, 28, 146 μM, respectively. On the other hand, IC50 of this peptide on binding of FGF‐5 to the FGFR‐1(IIIc)/Fc chimera was 483 μM. Examination in dorsal depilated mice revealed that the P3 peptide reduced the activity of FGF‐5 to recover hair pigmentation and hair follicle lengths. The classification of histologically observed skin sections showed FGF‐5‐induced delations of anagen procedure had reduced by the P3 peptide. The anti‐Ki67 antibody staining of hair follicles was inhibited by administration of FGF‐5, and this inhibition by FGF‐5 was recovered by administration of the P3 peptide. The P3 peptide alone did not affect hair follicle length and hair cell proliferation. These results indicate that the decapeptide antagonized FGF‐5 activity in vivo, and reduced the inhibition of FGF‐5 in hair growth, confirming that FGF‐5 inhibitors are promising substances against hair loss and/or for promoting hair growth. J. Cell. Physiol. 197: 272–283, 2003. © 2003 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Maternal Use of Selective Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitors and Risk of Congenital Malformations

Background: Human data on the teratogenicity of selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) are limited. We examined the association between SSRI use during early pregnancy and the risk of congenital malformations in the offspring. Methods: In a population-based cohort study from Denmark, we identified 1051 women who filled prescriptions for SSRIs from 30 days before conception to the end of the first trimester; of those, 453 filled the prescription during the second or third pregnancy month. We included 150,780 women with no SSRI prescriptions as a reference cohort. Drug use data were extracted from prescription databases. Data on congenital malformations and potential confounders were extracted from hospital discharge registries and the National Birth Registry. Results: The 150,780 women with no SSRI prescriptions gave birth to 5112 (3.4%) children with congenital malformations. The 1051 women with SSRI prescriptions any time during early pregnancy gave birth to 51 (4.9%) children with congenital malformations. The corresponding adjusted relative risk (aRRs) was 1.34 (95% confidence interval = 1.00–1.79). The 453 women with prescriptions during the second or third month of pregnancy gave birth to 31 (6.8%) children with congenital malformations. The corresponding aRR was 1.84 (1.25–2.71). Conclusions: We found an increased risk of congenital malformations after exposure to SSRIs in early pregnancy. It is unclear whether the effects were causal or due to factors related to the underlying disease. There was no evidence that the association was specific to particular malformations.
Vitamin D insufficiency and prognosis in non-Hodgkin's lymphoma.

PURPOSE Vitamin D insufficiency is common in the United States, with low levels linked in some studies to higher cancer incidence, including non-Hodgkin's lymphoma (NHL). Recent data also suggest that vitamin D insufficiency is related to inferior prognosis in some cancers, although there are no data for NHL. PATIENTS AND METHODS We tested the hypothesis that circulating 25-hydroxyvitamin D [25(OH)D] levels are predictive of event-free survival (EFS) and overall survival (OS) in a prospective cohort of 983 newly diagnosed patients with NHL. 25(OH)D and 1,25-dihydroxyvitamin D [1,25(OH)(2)D] levels were measured by liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry. RESULTS Mean age at diagnosis was 62 years (range, 19 to 94 years); 44% of patients had insufficient 25(OH)D levels (< 25 ng/mL) within 120 days of diagnosis. Median follow-up was 34.8 months; 404 events and 193 deaths (168 from lymphoma) occurred. After adjusting for known prognostic factors and treatment, 25(OH)D insufficient patients with diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL) had inferior EFS (hazard ratio [HR], 1.41; 95% CI, 0.98 to 2.04) and OS (HR, 1.99; 95% CI, 1.27 to 3.13); 25(OH)D insufficient patients with T-cell lymphoma also had inferior EFS (HR, 1.94; 95% CI, 1.04 to 3.61) and OS (HR, 2.38; 95% CI, 1.04 to 5.41). There were no associations with EFS for the other NHL subtypes. Among patients with DLBCL and T-cell lymphoma, higher 1,25(OH)(2)D levels were associated with better EFS and OS, suggesting that any putative tumor 1-α-hydroxylase activity did not explain the 25(OH)D associations. CONCLUSION 25(OH)D insufficiency was associated with inferior EFS and OS in DLBCL and T-cell lymphoma. Whether normalizing vitamin D levels in these patients improves outcomes will require testing in future trials.
Political Agency, Oversight, and Bias: The Instrumental Value of Politicized Policymaking

We develop a theory of policymaking between an agent and an overseer, with a principal whose welfare is affected by agent-overseer interactions. The agent can increase the quality of policy outcomes through costly capacity investments. Oversight and agent bias jointly determine optimal agent capacity investments. We show that when oversight improves agent investment incentives the principal always benefits from an agent with biases opposite the overseer. Competing agent-overseer biases translate into higher quality policy outcomes than the principal could induce were she monitoring the agent. Effective oversight is necessary for these incentive effects. The results imply that political principals ought to consider the nature of the broader policymaking environment when appointing agents to make policy on their behalf and when designing managerial strategies aimed at motivating agents. (JEL D73, D82, H11)
Unusual Charge Stabilization of NADP+ in 17β-Hydroxysteroid Dehydrogenase*

Type 1 17β-hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase (17β-HSD1), a member of the short chain dehydrogenase reductase (SDR) family, is responsible for the synthesis of 17β-estradiol, the biologically active estrogen involved in the genesis and development of human breast cancers. Here, we report the crystal structures of the H221L 17β-HSD1 mutant complexed to NADP+ and estradiol and the H221L mutant/NAD+ and a H221Q mutant/estradiol complexes. These structures provide a complete picture of the NADP+-enzyme interactions involving the flexible 191–199 loop (well ordered in the H221L mutant) and suggest that the hydrophobic residues Phe192-Met193 could facilitate hydride transfer. 17β-HSD1 appears to be unique among the members of the SDR protein family in that one of the two basic residues involved in the charge compensation of the 2′-phosphate does not belong to the Rossmann-fold motif. The remarkable stabilization of the NADP+ 2′-phosphate by the enzyme also clearly establishes its preference for this cofactor relative to NAD+. Analysis of the catalytic properties of, and estradiol binding to, the two mutants suggests that the His221-steroid O3hydrogen bond plays an important role in substrate specificity.
Bilingual Language Switching: Production vs. Recognition

This study aims at assessing how bilinguals select words in the appropriate language in production and recognition while minimizing interference from the non-appropriate language. Two prominent models are considered which assume that when one language is in use, the other is suppressed. The Inhibitory Control (IC) model suggests that, in both production and recognition, the amount of inhibition on the non-target language is greater for the stronger compared to the weaker language. In contrast, the Bilingual Interactive Activation (BIA) model proposes that, in language recognition, the amount of inhibition on the weaker language is stronger than otherwise. To investigate whether bilingual language production and recognition can be accounted for by a single model of bilingual processing, we tested a group of native speakers of Dutch (L1), advanced speakers of English (L2) in a bilingual recognition and production task. Specifically, language switching costs were measured while participants performed a lexical decision (recognition) and a picture naming (production) task involving language switching. Results suggest that while in language recognition the amount of inhibition applied to the non-appropriate language increases along with its dominance as predicted by the IC model, in production the amount of inhibition applied to the non-relevant language is not related to language dominance, but rather it may be modulated by speakers' unconscious strategies to foster the weaker language. This difference indicates that bilingual language recognition and production might rely on different processing mechanisms and cannot be accounted within one of the existing models of bilingual language processing.
Neutralization of Plasmodium falciparum Merozoites by Antibodies against PfRH5

There is intense interest in induction and characterization of strain-transcending neutralizing Ab against antigenically variable human pathogens. We have recently identified the human malaria parasite Plasmodium falciparum reticulocyte-binding protein homolog 5 (PfRH5) as a target of broadly neutralizing Abs, but there is little information regarding the functional mechanism(s) of Ab-mediated neutralization. In this study, we report that vaccine-induced polyclonal anti-PfRH5 Abs inhibit the tight attachment of merozoites to erythrocytes and are capable of blocking the interaction of PfRH5 with its receptor basigin. Furthermore, by developing anti-PfRH5 mAbs, we provide evidence of the following: 1) the ability to block the PfRH5–basigin interaction in vitro is predictive of functional activity, but absence of blockade does not predict absence of functional activity; 2) neutralizing mAbs bind spatially related epitopes on the folded protein, involving at least two defined regions of the PfRH5 primary sequence; 3) a brief exposure window of PfRH5 is likely to necessitate rapid binding of Ab to neutralize parasites; and 4) intact bivalent IgG contributes to but is not necessary for parasite neutralization. These data provide important insight into the mechanisms of broadly neutralizing anti-malaria Abs and further encourage anti-PfRH5–based malaria prevention efforts.
Debt, Recovery Rates and the Greek Dilemma

Most discussions of the Greek debt overhang have focussed on the implications for Greece. We show that when additional funds released to the debtor (Greece), via debt restructuring, are used efficiently in pursuit of a practicable business plan, then both debtor and creditor can benefit. We examine a dynamic two country model calibrated to Greek and German economies and support two-steady states, one with endogenous default and one without, depending on creditors expectations. In the default steady state, debt forgiveness lowers the volatility of both German and Greek consumption whereas demanding higher recovery rates has the opposite effect.
Whole-genome Sequencing Used to Investigate a Nationwide Outbreak of Listeriosis Caused by Ready-to-eat Delicatessen Meat, Denmark, 2014.

BACKGROUND Listeriosis is a serious foodborne infection. Outbreaks of listeriosis occur rarely, but have often proved difficult to solve. In June 2014, we detected and investigated a listeriosis outbreak in Denmark using patient interviews and whole-genome sequencing (WGS). METHODS We performed WGS on Listeria monocytogenes isolates from patients and available isolates from ready-to-eat foods and compared them using single-nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) analysis. Case patients had L. monocytogenes with ≤3 SNPs (the outbreak strain) isolated in September 2013-December 2014. Through interviews, we established case patients' food and clinical histories. Food production facilities were inspected and sampled, and we performed trace-back/trace-forward of food delivery chains. RESULTS In total, 41 cases were identified; 17 deaths occurred (41%). An isolate from a delicatessen meat (spiced meat roll) from company A was identical to the outbreak strain. Half of the patients were infected while hospitalized/institutionalized; institutions were supplied food by company A. The outbreak strain was repeatedly isolated from further samples taken within this company and within companies in its distribution chain. Products from company A were traced and recalled from >6000 food establishments, after which the outbreak ended. CONCLUSIONS Ready-to-eat spiced meat roll from a single production facility caused this outbreak. The product, served sliced and cold, is popular among the elderly; serving it at hospitals probably contributed to the high case-fatality rate. WGS used for patient isolates and isolates from food control inspections, coupled with routine epidemiological follow-up, was instrumental in swiftly locating the source of infections, preventing further illnesses and deaths.
A system based on 3D and 2D educational contents for true and false memory prediction using EEG signals

Electroencephalography (EEG) has been widely adopted for investigating brain behavior in different cognitive tasks e.g. learning and memory. In this paper, we propose a pattern recognition system for discriminating the true and false memories in case of short-term memory (STM) for 3D and 2D educational contents by analyzing EEG signals. The EEG signals are converted to scalp-maps (topomaps) and city-block distance is applied to reduce the redundancy and select the most discriminative topomaps. Finally, statistical features are extracted from selected topomaps and passed to Support Vector Machine (SVM) to predict brain states corresponding to true and false memories. A sample of thirty four healthy subjects participated in the experiments, which consist of two tasks: learning and memory recall. In the learning task, half of the participants watched 2D educational contents and half of them watched the same contents in 3D mode. After 30 minutes of retention, they were asked to perform memory recall task, in which EEG signals were recorded. The classification accuracy of 97.5% was achieved for 3D as compared to 96.5% for 2D. The statistical analysis of the results suggest that there is no significant difference between 2D and 3D educational contents on STM in terms of true and false memory assessment.
Analyst information acquisition and the relative informativeness of analyst forecasts and managed earnings

Mixed empirical evidence exists on whether equity analyst forecasts complement (‘interpretation role’) or rather substitute for (‘information role’) the informativeness of corporate earnings. This paper develops a theoretical model in which an analyst acquires costly information to forecast the fundamental information contained in a subsequently released and strategically manipulated earnings announcement. The manager is assumed to manipulate earnings such that his objectives – an uncertain price interest and meeting-or-beating the analyst forecast incentives – are optimized. The model shows that the manager’s incentives are the source of the two roles of the analyst information in the valuation of earnings. In a theoretical regression of share price on earnings and the analyst forecast, it can be shown that a positive forecast response coefficient, and thus the dominance of the information role of analyst forecasts, is only obtained if the analyst’s information acquisition costs are sufficiently low.
Five-year follow-up of 23 asymmetrical Parkinson's disease patients treated with unilateral subthalamic nucleus stimulation

In this study, 23 asymmetrical Parkinson's disease patients were treated with unilateral deep brain stimulation of the subthalamic nucleus and followed up for 5 years. At 5 years after stimulation treatment, Unified Parkinson's Disease Rating Scale II, III and axial symptom scores in the off-drug condition were significantly increased compared those at baseline. However, total Unified Parkinson's Disease Rating Scale II, III and axial symptom scores were significantly lower with stimulation-on compared with the synchronous stimulation-off state in off-drug condition, and the motor symptoms of contralateral side limbs were effectively controlled. Only low Hoehn-Yahr stage was correlated with good long-term postoperative improvement in motor symptoms. The mean levodopa-equivalent daily dose after stimulation treatment was significantly lower than that before treatment, but dyskinesias became worse. Our experimental findings indicate that unilateral deep brain stimulation of the subthalamic nucleus is an effective treatment for improving motor symptoms in well selected asymmetrical Parkinson's disease patients presenting no severe axial symptoms and dyskinesias.
Brief report: Comparison of continuous glucose monitoring and finger-prick blood glucose levels in hospitalized patients administered basal-bolus insulin.

BACKGROUND Previous studies have assessed the efficacy of basal-bolus insulin (BBI) in hospitalized patients by measuring four finger-prick blood glucose levels (BGLs) per day. The aim of this study was to investigate whether this BGL monitoring regimen provides an accurate reflection of glycemia in hospitalized patients administered BBI. We hypothesized that, as three of four readings are preprandial, finger-prick BGLs would underestimate the mean glucose concentration. SUBJECTS AND METHODS Twenty-six consecutive consenting subjects with type 1 (n=3) or type 2 (n=23) diabetes mellitus admitted to the hospital and administered insulin glargine once daily and rapid-acting insulin before meals underwent continuous glucose monitoring for up to 72 h. Finger-prick BGLs were performed before each main meal (0700, 1200, and 1700 h) and at 2100 h. RESULTS Mean daily glucose concentration was not significantly different when assessed by continuous glucose monitoring and finger-prick BGLs (9.6±2.4 vs. 9.6±2.7 mmol/L, P=0.84). A Bland-Altman plot revealed some variability but no bias between the two methods of measurement of glucose concentration. There were 88 postprandial hyperglycemic excursions recorded on continuous glucose monitoring; 61 (69%) were identified by finger-prick BGL monitoring. There were 10 glucose excursions <4 mmol/L during continuous glucose monitoring; only one was detected by finger-prick BGL monitoring. CONCLUSIONS Traditional finger-prick BGL monitoring provides a reasonable approximation of mean daily glucose concentration in the majority of hospitalized patients receiving BBI but underestimates the prevalence of postprandial hyperglycemia and hypoglycemia.
Mutational Spectrum of the MEFV Gene in AA Amyloidosis Associated With Familial Mediterranean Fever.

INTRODUCTION Familial Mediterranean fever (FMF) is a recessively inherited disease which is characterized by recurrent episodic fever, abdominal pain, and polyserositis. It is caused by mutations in the MEFV gene, encoding the pyrin protein. The most important complication of FMF is secondary (AA) amyloidosis that leads to kidney failure. This study aimed to identify the frequency and distribution of MEFV mutations in Turkish patients with FMF-associated AA amyloidosis. MATERIALS AND METHODS A total of 57 patients with FMF-associated AA amyloidosis and 60 healthy controls were included in this study. We analyzed the MEFV gene for E148Q, M694V, M680I, and V726A mutations and R202Q variant by polymerase chain reaction and restriction fragment length polymorphism methods. Results. The male-female ratio was 0.72. The mean age of the patients was 29.8 ± 12.8 years. Among the patients, the rate of the MEFV mutations was found to be 77.2%. The most frequently observed genotype was homozygous M694V mutation, which was present in 17 patients (29.8%, P < .001), followed by compound heterozygous M680I/M694V (14.3%, P = .01). The R202Q allele frequencies were significantly different between patients and control group (P = .02; odds ratio, 0.53; 95% confidence interval, 0.30 to 0.94). CONCLUSIONS In this study, mutation analysis of MEFV gene confirmed that the most frequent mutation was homozygous M694V genotype. R202Q may be important in patients with FMF-associated AA amyloidosis. Thus, it is suggested that investigation of R202Q should be considered as a genetic test for Turkish FMF patients.
Attitudes and Practices of Obstetrician–Gynecologists Regarding Influenza Vaccination in Pregnancy

OBJECTIVE: To assess knowledge, attitudes, and practices of obstetrician–gynecologists (ob-gyns) regarding vaccination of pregnant women during the 2009 H1N1 pandemic. METHODS: From February to July 2010, a self-administered mail survey was conducted among a random sample of American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (the College) members involved in obstetric care. To assess predictors of routinely offering influenza vaccination, adjusted prevalence ratios and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) were calculated from survey data. RESULTS: Among 3,096 survey recipients, 1,310 (42.3%) responded to the survey, of whom 873 were eligible for participation. The majority of ob-gyns reported routinely offering both seasonal and 2009 H1N1 influenza vaccination to their pregnant patients (77.6% and 85.6%, respectively) during the 2009–2010 season; 21.1% and 13.3% referred patients to other specialists. Reported reasons for not offering vaccination included inadequate reimbursement, storage limitations, or belief that vaccine should be administered by another provider. Seasonal and 2009 H1N1 influenza vaccination during the first trimester was not recommended by 10.6% and 9.6% of ob-gyns, respectively. Predictors of routinely offering 2009 H1N1 influenza vaccine included: considering primary care and preventive medicine a very important part of practice (adjusted prevalence ratio 1.2, CI 1.01–1.4); observing serious conditions attributed to influenza-like illness (adjusted prevalence ratio 1.1, CI 1.02–1.1); personally receiving 2009 H1N1 influenza vaccination (adjusted prevalence ratio 1.2, CI 1.1–1.4); and practicing in multispecialty group (adjusted prevalence ratio 1.1, CI 1.1–1.2). Physicians in solo practice were less likely to routinely offer influenza vaccine (adjusted prevalence ratio 0.8, CI 0.7–0.9). CONCLUSION: Although most ob-gyns routinely offered influenza vaccination to pregnant patients, vaccination coverage rates may be improved by addressing logistic and financial challenges of vaccine providers. LEVEL OF EVIDENCE: III