Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Control of antidonor antibody production with tacrolimus and mycophenolate mofetil in renal allograft recipients with chronic rejection.

BACKGROUND In renal transplantation, chronic rejection is a major cause of late allograft loss. Recent studies indicate that a subset of chronic rejection is associated with anti-HLA donor specific antibodies (DSA) and complement C4d deposition in peritubular capillaries (PTC). Since rescue therapy with tacrolimus and mycophenolate mofetil has been found to limit antidonor B-cell responses in recipients with acute humoral rejection, we sought to determine whether a similar immunosuppressive regimen might be effective in patients with 'chronic humoral rejection'. METHODS Four renal allograft recipients with 'chronic humoral rejection' were prospectively identified. The diagnosis was based on: (1) progressive rise in serum creatinine over 12 months; (2) typical pathologic features by light microscopy (transplant arteriopathy and glomerulopathy); (3) widespread C4d deposits in PTC by immunofluorescence; (4) detection of 'de novo' DSA at the time of biopsy. Maintenance immunosuppression was CsA, prednisone and azathioprine (n=3) or prednisone and azathioprine (n=1). Rescue therapy with tacrolimus and mycophenolate mofetil was initiated in all patients, 12 hr after cyclosporine and azathioprine discontinuation. RESULTS At diagnosis, the mean serum creatinine was 3.9 mg/dl (range: 3.3 to 5.4 mg/dl). DSA was an IgG directed against HLA class II (n=3) or class I (n=2), that is one patient had both anti-HLA class I and class II antibodies. Pretreatment antibody titers varied between 1:8 and 1:128. Rescue therapy was associated with a rapid and sustained decrease in antibody titers. In two patients, DSA became undetectable after 9 months and a repeat biopsy performed after 12 months revealed a decrease in C4d deposition in PTC. CONCLUSION These results suggest that a decrease in DSA production can be induced in renal allograft recipients with 'chronic humoral rejection' by using an immunosuppressive regimen that combines tacrolimus and mycophenolate mofetil. Limitation of antidonor antibody synthesis may be important for the treatment or the prevention of chronic rejection in organ transplantation.
Towards a Taxonomy of International Competitiveness

Abstract Purpose: A wide range of approaches to defining, modelling, and measuring international competitiveness can be found in the scholarly literature across various fields of management and economics. Such number of perspectives enhances scientific research, but confuses public debate. Despite certain definitional ambiguities, there is a consensus that international competitiveness is a multifaceted concept that should be analysed at different levels of aggregation: company level (micro), industry/cluster level (mezzo) and national level (macro). This paper addresses international competitiveness at all three levels and tracks the interlinkages between them with the aim to find a common ground for understanding this economic phenomenon in a systemic perspective: as a complex whole. Methodology: The paper constitutes an in-depth literature review, forming a basis for a new approach to categorizing the main perspectives on international competitiveness. A synthesis of the latest international competitiveness literature sources has been performed in order to categorize the existing approaches to defining, modelling, and measuring international competitiveness. Following Chandhuri’s and Ray’s (1997) two-dimensional classification approach (the level of analysis and the variable), the paper introduces new insights into the existing taxonomy of international competitiveness. Findings: Based upon the developed taxonomy, the paper offers an interdisciplinary, multi-layered model of international competitiveness. Originality: The offered findings enhance the active shaping of modern competitiveness research directions to support the competitiveness policy on the regional and national level.
Incidence of hip fracture in Kuwait.

BACKGROUND Hip fracture as a consequence of osteoporosis is an important cause of morbidity and mortality among the elderly. Due to improving life expectancy, the number of elderly individuals is increasing more rapidly in the developing countries of Asia, the Middle East, Africa, and South America. Incidence of hip fracture, which rises exponentially with age, varies substantially between countries and according to the age, sex, and ethnic distribution of the population. Highest rates are observed in Scandinavia and in whites in the US, intermediate in western Europe, and the lowest rates in Asia. Little is known about the epidemiology of hip fractures in the Middle Eastern populations. In particular, there are no published reports from any of the Arab countries. We have therefore estimated the incidence of hip fracture in Kuwait and compared it with other populations. METHODS The study was conducted at a specialized orthopaedic hospital which provides services to residents in the three governorates--representing about 70% of the total population of Kuwait. All new hip fracture patients who were operated on or treated conservatively during the 4-year period (1992-1995) were included in the study. Hip fracture was defined as clinical and radiological evidence of fracture of the proximal femur. For comparison with other populations, age-specific incidence rates in females and males aged > or =50 years were standardized to the 1985 US population. RESULTS A total of 513 cases of hip fracture (205 females, 308 males) were recorded during the study period: 293 (57.1%) cases occurred among Kuwaiti nationals and 220 (42.9%) among non-Kuwaitis (expatriates). Age-standardized rates (per 100,000) of hip fractures were, in Kuwaitis, 295 for females (95% CI: 238.8-350.8) and 200 for males (95% CI: 163.3-236.5)--much higher than those observed in other Asian countries such as Korea, Singapore, China, Malaysia, and Japan (41-202 for females, 49-100 for males). Rates in Kuwaiti females were similar to those observed in some of the European countries (Italy, UK, France) and in Asian females in the US. In contrast, rates in Kuwaiti males, which were relatively high, were almost equal to those observed in white males in the US. Rates of hip fracture in non-Kuwaitis (374 for females [95% CI: 247.6-500.8], 215 for males [95% CI: 126.5-302.9]), who predominantly (96%) originate from southeast Asian and Arab countries, were similar to those observed in Kuwaiti nationals. CONCLUSIONS The incidence of hip fracture in the Kuwaiti population is higher than that reported from other countries in Asia and is comparable to the incidence in some of the western European and North American populations.
Lipid II-Based Antimicrobial Activity of the Lantibiotic Plantaricin C

ABSTRACT We analyzed the mode of action of the lantibiotic plantaricin C (PlnC), produced by Lactobacillus plantarum LL441. Compared to the well-characterized type A lantibiotic nisin and type B lantibiotic mersacidin, which are both able to interact with the cell wall precursor lipid II, PlnC displays structural features of both prototypes. In this regard, we found that lipid II plays a key role in the antimicrobial activity of PlnC besides that of pore formation. The pore forming activity of PlnC in whole cells was prevented by shielding lipid II on the cell surface. However, in contrast to nisin, PlnC was not able to permeabilize Lactococcus lactis cells or to form pores in 1,2-dioleoyl-sn-glycero-3-phosphocholine liposomes supplemented with 0.1 mol% purified lipid II. This emphasized the different requirements of these lantibiotics for pore formation. Using cell wall synthesis assays, we identified PlnC as a potent inhibitor of (i) lipid II synthesis and (ii) the FemX reaction, i.e., the addition of the first Gly to the pentapeptide side chain of lipid II. As revealed by thin-layer chromatography, both reactions were clearly blocked by the formation of a PlnC-lipid I and/or PlnC-lipid II complex. On the basis of the in vivo and in vitro activities of PlnC shown in this study and the structural lipid II binding motifs described for other lantibiotics, the specific interaction of PlnC with lipid II is discussed.
Advances in the clinicopathological and molecular classification of cutaneous mesenchymal neoplasms

In recent years, there have been several important refinements in the classification of cutaneous mesenchymal neoplasms, including the description of new tumour types, along with the identification of novel and recurrent molecular genetic findings. In addition to providing new insights into tumour biology, many of these advances have had significant clinical consequences with regard to diagnostics, management, and prognostication. Newly described entities include pseudomyogenic haemangioendothelioma, haemosiderotic fibrolipomatous tumour, and fibroblastic connective tissue naevus, which are reviewed in the context of the principal differential diagnoses and significant clinical implications. Genetic characterization of several soft tissue tumour types that occur in the skin has resulted in the identification of diagnostically useful markers: ALK gene rearrangement with corresponding ALK protein expression by immunohistochemistry in epithelioid fibrous histiocytoma; the WWTR1–CAMTA1 fusion gene with CAMTA1 protein expression in epithelioid haemangioendothelioma; MYC amplification and overexpression in radiation‐associated angiosarcoma; and EWSR1 gene rearrangement in cutaneous myoepithelial tumours. Finally, the classification of intradermal smooth muscle tumours and unclassified/pleomorphic dermal sarcoma has been refined, resulting in both improved classification and improved prognostication. Many of the tumour types listed above are encountered not only by specialist dermatopathologists, but also by practising general surgical pathologists, and this review should therefore provide a widely applicable update on the histological and molecular classification of cutaneous mesenchymal neoplasms, along with the appropriate use of ancillary diagnostic tests, in particular immunohistochemistry, in the evaluation of such lesions and their histological mimics.
American Journal of Agricultural Economics Volume 100: A Century of Publishing the Frontiers of the Profession

&NA; The American Journal of Agricultural Economics reached its 100th volume this year. We take this landmark volume as an opportunity to reflect on the evolution of this leading field journal—and one of the original research journals in economics. We document changes in the editorial structure of the journal—from a sole editor‐in‐chief to the present system of four rotating co‐editors—and in the management of the publication process overseen by these editors. Using bibliometric analysis, we then track various trends in the journal over the past century. We assess changes in the structure of articles, including increased article length, reliance on mathematical modeling and empirical analysis, and the dramatic rise in collaborative publication in the form of expanding co‐author teams. We also explore changes in the degree of topical specialization and the geographic coverage of research published in AJAE. We use co‐authoring relationships to construct collaboration networks specific to the journal and document the striking increase in the density of these networks. We conclude with some perspectives on the implications of this century‐long evolution of the journal for the coming decades of pushing and publishing the frontiers of the profession.
The American academic profession

Philip G. Altbach and Martin J. Finkelstein Philip G. Altbach is professor of higher education and director of the Center for International Higher Education at Boston College. Martin J. Finkelstein is director of the New Jersey Institute for Collegiate Teaching and Learning and professor of education at Seton Hall University. Address: Alfieri Hall, Seton Hall University, South Orange, NJ 07079. Fax: (201) 761-9758
Invasion of primary nasopharyngeal epithelial cells by Neisseria meningitidis is controlled by phase variation of multiple surface antigens

We have investigated bacterial factors required for the entry of Neisseria meningitidis serogroup B into mucosal cells using a novel in vitro infection model of primary cultures of human nasopharyngeal epithelium. An invasive meningococcal phenotype was obtained after several cycles of selection for intracellular bacteria with gentamicin. Invasive bacteria differed from those in the initial inoculum in that they lacked a capsule and pili, exhibited a nonsialylated low-molecular-weight type of lipopolysaccharide (LPS), and produced a new 28-kDa opacity outer membrane protein. LPS revertants of the selected meningococci expressed a nonsialylated L3,(7,9) type of LPS and were also invasive, while after LPS sialylation bacterial entry was inhibited. Variants lacking the 28-kDa opacity protein were poorly invasive. Coexpression of the outer membrane protein Opc and the 28-kDa opacity protein strongly inhibited microbial invasion into the primary cultured nasopharyngeal cells. Conversely, meningococcal internalization by cells of various epithelia] cell lines was correlated with the expression of Opc rather than the 28-kDa opacity protein. Our data indicate that a concurrent phase switching of multiple phase-variable bacterial surface components may be a prerequisite for meningococcal invasion into nasopharyngeal epithelium and that meningococcal class 5 proteins (Opa and Opc) may promote tissue tropism.
Potential for Methane Generation by Lignocellulosic Household Waste

The contribution of domestic lignocellulosic waste and its potential for biodegradation by components, for each category of paper and cardboard, have scarcely been reported. To achieve integral proposals, for managing this type of waste, is essential to know each individual contribution to the “paper and cardboard” category. The objective of this study was to characterize the paper and cardboard waste from the domestic solid waste stream, in the city of Morelia, Mexico, and estimate its methane generation potential (CH4). The generation of lignocellulosic waste was studied in a housing complex of social interest. The domestic lignocellulosic residues (DLW) that were chemically characterized were derived from paper and cardboard. The average daily generation was 0.5 kg/inhabitant. The highest content of lignin was found in newspaper (24.5%), and toilet paper was the material with the lowest lignin content (1%). The bond paper had a DLW of higher YCH4, when degraded anaerobically, in a semi-solid phase and a mesophilic regime. The variety of paper and cardboard, such as DLW, presented differences in their generation (kg/person), chemical composition (lignin content), and their potential for anaerobic biodegradability.
The Trouble with Harrod: The Fundamental Instability of the Warranted Rate in the Light of the Sraffian Supermultiplier

The paper argues that Harrodian instability is an instance of what Hicks in his book Capital and Growth (1965) called static instability, related to the direction (and not to the intensity) of the disequilibrium adjustment process. We show why such instability obtains in demand‐led growth models in which the ratio of capacity creating private investment to output ratio is given exogenously by the aggregate marginal propensity to save. We also show that Sraffian Supermultiplier model overcomes the Harrodian instability and that its demand‐led equilibrium is statically stable. It is explained that the latter results do not follow from the presence of autonomous non‐capacity creating expenditure component as such but from its presence within a model in which investment is driven by the capital stock adjustment principle (i.e., the flexible accelerator). Finally, we argue that, although being statically stable, the equilibrium growth path of the Sraffian Supermultiplier model can be dynamically stable or unstable depending on the intensity of the reaction of investment to demand. We then provide a discrete time sufficient condition for the dynamic stability of such equilibrium that implies that the marginal propensity to invest remains lower than the marginal propensity to save during the adjustment process, a modified Keynesian stability condition.
Notch regulates IL-10 production by T helper 1 cells

T helper 1 (Th1) cells mediate powerful cellular immune responses. However, if unbalanced, Th1 immunity eventually may cause pathology. Recently, it has been shown that IL-10, an antiinflammatory cytokine strongly antagonizing Th1-mediated effects, can be produced by Th1 cells and is indeed essential for self-regulation of Th1 immunity. Here, we show that Notch induces IL-10 production in newly developing and already established Th1 cells via a signal transducer and activator of transcription 4 (STAT4)-dependent process. Notch signaling in the presence of the cytokines IL-12 or IL-27 induces Th1 cells to produce large amounts of IL-10 without diminishing IFN-γ production. Notch-modified Th1 cells completely lose their inflammatory capacity and instead are able to actively suppress a Th1 cell-induced delayed-type hypersensitivity (DTH) reaction in an IL-10-dependent fashion. IL-10 production can be elicited by active forms of all four mammalian Notch receptors but was found to be specific for the Delta-like family of Notch ligands. Dendritic cells (DC) selectively acquire Delta-like 4 expression upon stimulation with various Toll-like receptor (TLR) ligands and concomitantly induce IL-10 production by Th1 cells in vitro and in vivo. This effect can be selectively reversed by pharmacological inhibitors of Notch signaling (γ-secretase inhibitor). Our data suggest that Notch regulates IL-10 production in Th1 cells by a STAT4-dependent process that converts proinflammatory Th1 cells into T cells with regulatory activity. This pathway may provide unique opportunities for therapeutic intervention in Th1-driven immune diseases and for Th1-associated vaccination strategies.
Functional Analysis of the Tandem-Duplicated P450 Genes SPS/BUS/CYP79F1 and CYP79F2 in Glucosinolate Biosynthesis and Plant Development by Ds Transposition-Generated Double Mutants1

A significant fraction (approximately 17%) of Arabidopsis genes are members of tandemly repeated families and pose a particular challenge for functional studies. We have used the Ac-Ds transposition system to generate single- and double-knockout mutants of two tandemly duplicated cytochrome P450 genes, SPS/BUS/CYP79F1 and CYP79F2. We have previously described the Arabidopsis supershoot mutants in CYP79F1 that exhibit massive overproliferation of shoots. Here we use a cytokinin-responsive reporter ARR5::uidA and an auxin-responsive reporter DR5::uidA in the sps/cyp79F1 mutant to show that increased levels of cytokinin, but not auxin, correlate well with the expression pattern of the SPS/CYP79F1 gene, supporting the involvement of this gene in cytokinin homeostasis. Further, we isolated Ds gene trap insertions in the CYP79F2 gene, and find these mutants to be defective mainly in the root system, consistent with a root-specific expression pattern. Finally, we generated double mutants in CYP79F1 and CYP79F2 using secondary transpositions, and demonstrate that the phenotypes are additive. Previous biochemical studies have suggested partially redundant functions for SPS/CYP79F1 and CYP79F2 in aliphatic glucosinolate synthesis. Our analysis shows that aliphatic glucosinolate biosynthesis is completely abolished in the double-knockout plants, providing genetic proof for the proposed biochemical functions of these genes. This study also provides further demonstration of how gluconisolate biosynthesis, regarded as secondary metabolism, is intricately linked with hormone homeostatis and hence with plant growth and development.
The Causal Effect of Trust

Trust affects almost all human relationships – in families, organizations, markets and politics. However, identifying the conditions under which trust, defined as people's beliefs in the trustworthiness of others, has a causal effect on the efficiency of human interactions has proven to be difficult. We show experimentally and theoretically that trust indeed has a causal effect. The duration of the effect depends, however, on whether initial trust variations are supported by multiple equilibria. We study a repeated principal-agent game with multiple equilibria and document empirically that an efficient equilibrium is selected if principals believe that agents are trustworthy, while players coordinate on an inefficient equilibrium if principals believe that agents are untrustworthy. Yet, if we change the institutional environment such that there is a unique equilibrium, initial variations in trust have short-run effects only. Moreover, if we weaken contract enforcement in the latter environment, exogenous variations in trust do not even have a short-run effect. The institutional environment thus appears to be key for whether trust has causal effects and whether the effects are transient or persistent.
Intravenous immunoglobulin therapy in systemic onset juvenile rheumatoid arthritis: a followup study.

OBJECTIVE To report the short and longterm effect of intravenous immunoglobulin (IVIG) in patients with systemic onset juvenile rheumatoid arthritis (SOJRA). METHODS A retrospective chart review of 27 patients with SOJRA treated with IVIG and followed for 37.1 +/- 18.2 months was undertaken. Indications for treatment were fever, arthritis, or steroid dependency. RESULTS We treated 27 patients with SOJRA with IVIG monthly for 3-54 months. Six months after IVIG therapy, 20 patients had a least a 50% decrease in at least one of the following: the number of days of fever; prednisone dose; or the number of active joints. Five patients failed to respond to IVIG, and 2 dropped out after 3 and 4 months. At last followup visit (mean 37.6 +/- 18 months), 11 of the initial 20 responder group patients were in remission, while 3 had significantly improved but still had active arthritis, and 6 were now unresponsive. Of the initial 5 patients in the nonresponder group, 4 had nonresponsive arthritis and 1 had improved at last followup. Three patients in the responder group subsequently developed other diseases. CONCLUSION The main benefit of IVIG therapy to most of our patients was a significant improvement in the systemic features, with resolution of fever and a significant reduction in the steroid dose. The efficacy of IVIG in altering the course of arthritis was less predictable. We suggest that IVIG has a role in the management of SOJRA, but it should be limited to patients with severe SOJRA in whom prolonged unresponsiveness to standard therapy is present.