Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Effects of positive and negative pressure ventilation on cerebral blood volume of newborn infants

The effects of intermittent positive airway and continuous negative extrathoracic pressure ventilation on cerebral blood volume in preterm infants were studied using near infrared spectroscopy. In 12 infants continuous negative extrathoracic pressure caused a median decrease in cerebral blood volume of 0.14ml/100ml brain (95% confidence intervals (CI) 0.035–0.280) compared with no respiratory support. Oxygenated and deoxygenated haemoglobin also decreased, implying increased venous drainage as the main effect. In 17 infants intermittent positive pressure ventilation also caused a median reduction in cerebral blood volume of 0.06 ml/100 ml brain (95% CI 0.010–0.115) compared with endotracheal positive airway pressure. Deoxygenated haemoglobin increased by 0.07 ml/100 ml brain (95% CI 0.010–0.100) while oxygenated haemoglobin decreased by O.lOml/lOOml brain (95% CI 0.005–0.175). The increase in deoxygenated haemoglobin implies decreased venous drainage and the decrease in oxygenated haemoglobin implies that other factors may also be significant. Heart rate, blood pressure and oxygen saturation were monitored continuously and remained stable.
Is Rifaximin Effective in Maintaining Remission in Crohn's Disease?

Background: Recent studies indicate that persistent intestinal inflammation in patients with Crohn's disease (CD) might be caused by abnormal intestinal microbiota. This hypothesis may suggest a beneficial effect of antibiotics in CD therapy. So far, guidelines do not recommend antibiotics except in the treatment of complicated CD, and there are few studies on the effects of rifaximin in these patients. Methods: Between December 2011 and December 2012, we performed a blinded randomized trial in 168 patients with a previous history of moderately active CD concerning the efficacy of rifaximin. All the patients had previously achieved remission with standard therapy (prednisone/budesonide). Data from patients receiving 800 mg of rifaximin (83 patients) twice a day for 12 weeks were compared with those from patients who received placebo (83 patients). The primary endpoint was maintaining remission during the follow-up. Results: All the patients (100%; 83/83) on 800 mg of rifaximin were in remission after 12 weeks of treatment in comparison with 84% (70/83) of the placebo group. This significant difference was also persistent at the 24-week follow-up [78% (65/83) vs. 41% (34/83), respectively]. The last evaluation performed at 48 weeks revealed disease activity in 45% (38/83) of the patients of the rifaximin group, i.e. a significant decrease compared with the placebo group [75% (63 of 83)]. Conclusions: Remission previously obtained with standard treatment can be sustained in patients with moderately active CD after the administration of 800 mg of rifaximin.
A single institution report of 19 hepatocellular carcinoma patients with bile duct tumor thrombus

Background Obstructive jaundice caused due to bile duct tumor thrombus (BDTT) in a hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) patient is an uncommon event. This study reports our clinical experiences and evaluates the outcomes of HCC patients with BDTT in a single institution. Methods A retrospective review of 19 HCC patients with secondary obstructive jaundice caused due to BDTT during a 15-year period was conducted. Results At the time of diagnosis, 14 (73.7%) patients had obstructive jaundice. Eighteen (94.7%) patients were preoperatively suspected of “obstruction of the bile duct”. Sixteen patients (84.2%) underwent a hepatectomy with curative intent, while two patients underwent removal of BDTT combined with biliary decompression and another patient received only palliative care as his liver reserve and general condition could not tolerate the primary tumor resection. The overall early recurrence (within 1 year) after hepatectomy occurred in more than half (9/16, 56.3%) of our patients. The 1-year survival rate of patients was 75% (12/16). The longest disease-free survival time was >11 years. Conclusion Identification of HCC patients with obstructive jaundice is clinically important because proper treatment can offer an opportunity for a cure and favorable long-term survival.
Comparison of disk I/O power consumption in modern virtualization

In Cloud Computing, the topic about hypervisors is the key research as it concerns management of physical resources and deployment virtual machines. Currently, modern hypervisors obtain new features to increase their performance under different architectures. Cloud data centers start to adopt techniques for power consumption management that can reduce the power, and meanwhile maintain the performance. In this paper, we investigate on the power consumption and performance issues concerning memory and disk I/O, comparing two open-source virtualization platforms: Xen and Kernel-based Virtual Machine (KVM). We compare Xen with raw disk and KVM's different disk I/O types, including the write through, write back and none modes with the block sizes of 8, 64 and 128 KB, relating to web downloading and database query workload. The results show that the KVM write back mode can reduce about a half (56%) of power consumption comparing to Xen with raw disk when writing files and the KVM write through mode with page cache can reduce power consumption to about 3% of that consumed by Xen with raw disk when reading files. In case of performance, the speed of KVM when page cache can increase to about 26 times faster than the speed of Xen with raw disk. In case of memory, the VM's power consumption is rather steady even when the memory usage varies.
A CamKIIalpha iCre BAC allows brain-specific gene inactivation.

We describe the generation of transgenic mouse lines expressing the Cre recombinase enzyme in brain under control of the CamKIIalpha gene present in a BAC expression vector. The CamKIIalpha BAC transgene gave a faithful expression pattern resembling the pattern of the endogenous CamKIIalpha gene. Specifically, high levels of CamKIIalpha Cre were detected in hippocampus, cortex, and amygdala, and lower levels were detected in striatum, thalamus, and hypothalamus. As expected, no expression was detected in the cerebellum or outside of the brain. The expression level of the BAC CamKIIalpha driven Cre was shown to be copy number dependent. To test the activity of the Cre recombinase, the transgenic mice were crossed with mice harbouring the CREB (cAMP response element binding protein) allele with the 10th exon flanked by two loxP sites, and recombination was monitored by the disappearance of the CREB protein. Finally, evaluation of the developmental postnatal expression of the CamKIIalpha Cre BAC revealed the expression of the Cre recombinase as early as P3.
Gluten contamination of naturally gluten-free flours and starches used by Canadians with celiac disease

A large national investigation into the extent of gluten cross-contamination of naturally gluten-free ingredients (flours and starches) sold in Canada was performed. Samples (n = 640) were purchased from eight Canadian cities and via the internet during the period 2010–2012 and analysed for gluten contamination. The results showed that 61 of the 640 (9.5%) samples were contaminated above the Codex-recommended maximum level for gluten-free products (20 mg kg–1) with a range of 5–7995 mg kg–1. For the ingredients that were labelled gluten-free the contamination range (5–141 mg kg–1) and number of samples were lower (3 of 268). This picture was consistent over time, with approximately the same percentage of samples above 20 mg kg–1 in both the initial set and the subsequent lot. Looking at the total mean (composite) contamination for specific ingredients the largest and most consistent contaminations come from higher fibre ingredients such as soy (902 mg kg–1), millet (272 mg kg–1) and buckwheat (153 mg kg–1). Of the naturally gluten-free flours and starches tested that do not contain a gluten-free label, the higher fibre ingredients would constitute the greatest probability of being contaminated with gluten above 20 mg kg–1.
Occupational Medicine Residency Graduate Survey: Assessment of Training Programs and Core Competencies

Objective: This study provides insight into Occupational Medicine (OM) residency graduates and how residency programs are meeting their education goals. Methods: A survey of graduates from nine OM residency program was performed to evaluate the effectiveness of OM residency training in the United States and Canada. Results: Eighty percent of the OM residency graduates were currently practicing OM. Three-quarters worked in clinical practice for a mean of 20 hr/wk. Other activities varied and included management, teaching and consulting. Ninety-five percent were satisfied with their OM residency training. The competencies acquired were mostly ranked highly as practice requisites, although preparation in clinical OM might be better emphasized in training. Recent OM residency graduates were more likely to be board-certified in OM than other American College of Occupational and Environmental Medicine physician members (73% vs 41%). Conclusions: OM residency graduates over the past 10 years were highly satisfied with OM residency training, with the training generally meeting practice needs.
Expression of ecotropic murine leukemia virus in the brains of C58/M, DBA2/J, and in utero-infected CE/J mice

In C58 and AKR mice, endogenous N-tropic, ecotropic murine leukemia virus (MuLV) proviruses become activated in rare cells during embryogenesis. Resultant replication-competent progeny viruses then actively infect a large number of cells throughout the fetus, including cells in the developing central nervous system. By in situ hybridization analyses, we have assessed the presence of ecotropic MuLV RNA in the brains of C58 mice as a function of age. Only a few ecotropic MuLV-positive cells were observed in weanling mice, but the number of positive cells in the brain increased progressively with increasing age of the mice. Throughout the lives of the mice, the ecotropic MuLV RNA-positive cells were primarily located in well-defined white-matter tracts of the brain (commissura anterior, corpus callosum, fimbria hippocampi, optical tract, and striatum) and of the spinal cord. Cells of the subventricular zone also expressed ecotropic MuLV RNA, and in older mice a small number of positive cells were present in the grey matter. Infection of endogenous ecotropic MuLV provirus-less CE/J mice in utero with ecotropic MuLV clone AKR-623 resulted in the extensive infection of brain cells. The regional distribution of ecotropic MuLV RNA-containing cells was the same as observed in the brains of C58 mice, in which cells became infected by endogenously activated virus, but the number of positive cells was higher.
Aggregate financial disclosure practice: evidence from the emerging capital market of Kuwait

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to evaluate the mandatory and voluntary disclosure practice and its determinants in Kuwait, an emerging market that applies International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS). Design/methodology/approachThe study employs two main methods: an index-based analysis of mandatory, voluntary and aggregate disclosure as well as univariate and multivariate regression analysis of the determinants of disclosure levels.FindingsThe results show that the average aggregate disclosure level is 44 per cent. None of the sample companies complied fully with the disclosure requirements of IAS/IFRS. The extent of voluntary disclosure is also relatively low, although the documented amount represents an increase on that revealed in earlier studies in Kuwait. The multivariate regression results reveal that firm size is positively associated with voluntary disclosure, while mandatory disclosure is negatively linked to profit.Research limitations/implicationsThe findings are based on evidence from a single country and further work is needed to ascertain the extent of generalisability.Practical implicationsThe results of the study have implications for policy makers, professional accounting bodies and regulators as they contribute to the debate on to develop and encourage both compliance with mandatory disclosure requirements and voluntary practice. The evidence also has implications for attempts to derive full understanding of the factors driving disclosure practices in the developing world, and how these differ from behaviour in the world’s richest nations.Originality/valueThe study contributes to the existing literature in the area in two main ways. First, as compliance with mandatory disclosure requirements in developed countries is total (or near to total) in most cases, it has been the subject of little empirical enquiry. By focussing instead on a developing nation – one that has adopted IFRS – the analysis facilitates the provision of novel evidence regarding both the nature and determinants of failure to follow disclosure rules. Second, prior studies generally fail to distinguish between financial and non-financial firms, despite differences in reporting standards and norms across the two groups; the present study makes this distinction.
Melancholic and atypical depression as predictor and moderator of outcome in cognitive behavior therapy and pharmacotherapy for adult depression

Melancholic and atypical depression are widely thought to moderate or predict outcome of pharmacological and psychological treatments of adult depression, but that has not yet been established. This study uses the data from four earlier trials comparing cognitive behavior therapy (CBT) versus antidepressant medications (ADMs; and pill placebo when available) to examine the extent to which melancholic and atypical depression moderate or predict outcome in an “individual patient data” meta‐analysis.
Phospholipid molecular species distribution of some medically important Candida species analysed by fast atom bombardment mass spectroscopy

The aim of this study was to obtain detailed information on phospholipids (PL) of the medically important Candida species and to determine their possible chemotaxonomic significance. Lipids were extracted from 22 strains representing 8 Candida species and their PL molecular species distributions were determined by Fast Atom Bombardment Mass Spectroscopy (FAB MS) in negative ion mode. Fifteen major lower mass peaks (m/z 221 to 289) were attributable to the expected presence of carboxylate anions and 24 major higher mass peaks (m/z 557 to 837) were attributable to phospholipid anions. Major carboxylate peaks were of the following m/z and identities : 253, C16:1 ; 255, C16:0 ; 277, C18:3 ; 279, C18:2 ; 281, C18:1 ; and 283, C18:0. The most abundant peaks consistent with the presence of phospholipid molecular species anions include those of m/z 673, 743, 833, 834 and 836 tentatively identified as phosphatidic acid (PA) (34 : 1), phosphatidylglycerol (PG) (34 : 3), phosphtidylinositol (PI) (34 : 2) and two unknown molecular species. This profile is diagnostic for the genus Candida. Quantitative differences were observed between different Candida species. Thus, polar lipid molecular species distribution in Candida spp. has chemotaxonomic significance, especially so in the case of carboxylate anions.
Cardiac Fibroblast GRK2 Deletion Enhances Contractility and Remodeling Following Ischemia/Reperfusion Injury.

RATIONALE G protein-coupled receptor kinase 2 (GRK2) is an important molecule upregulated after myocardial injury and during heart failure. Myocyte-specific GRK2 loss before and after myocardial ischemic injury improves cardiac function and remodeling. The cardiac fibroblast plays an important role in the repair and remodeling events after cardiac ischemia; the importance of GRK2 in these events has not been investigated. OBJECTIVE The aim of this study is to elucidate the in vivo implications of deleting GRK2 in the cardiac fibroblast after ischemia/reperfusion injury. METHODS AND RESULTS We demonstrate, using Tamoxifen inducible, fibroblast-specific GRK2 knockout mice, that GRK2 loss confers a protective advantage over control mice after myocardial ischemia/reperfusion injury. Fibroblast GRK2 knockout mice presented with decreased infarct size and preserved cardiac function 24 hours post ischemia/reperfusion as demonstrated by increased ejection fraction (59.1±1.8% versus 48.7±1.2% in controls; P<0.01). GRK2 fibroblast knockout mice also had decreased fibrosis and fibrotic gene expression. Importantly, these protective effects correlated with decreased infiltration of neutrophils to the ischemia site and decreased levels of tumor necrosis factor-α expression and secretion in GRK2 fibroblast knockout mice. CONCLUSIONS These novel data showing the benefits of inhibiting GRK2 in the cardiac fibroblast adds to previously published data showing the advantage of GRK2 ablation and reinforces the therapeutic potential of GRK2 inhibition in the heart after myocardial ischemia.
Effect of human papillomavirus on patterns of distant metastatic failure in oropharyngeal squamous cell carcinoma treated with chemoradiotherapy.

IMPORTANCE Important differences exist in the pattern and timing of distant metastases between human papillomavirus-initiated (HPV+) and HPV- oropharyngeal squamous cell carcinoma (OPSCC). However, our understanding of the natural history of distant metastases in HPV+ OPSCC and its implications for surveillance is limited. OBJECTIVE To investigate the rate, pattern, and timing of distant metastases in advanced-stage OPSCC treated definitively with concomitant chemoradiotherapy. DESIGN, SETTING, AND PARTICIPANTS In a retrospective review, we identified 291 patients with pathologically diagnosed stages III to IVB OPSCC and known HPV status from a tumor registry at the Cleveland Clinic. Patients were treated from January 1, 1996, through December 31, 2013. Details of treatment failure and the natural history of the disease were retrieved from the electronic medical records. INTERVENTIONS All patients were treated with definitive concomitant chemoradiotherapy. MAIN OUTCOMES AND MEASURES The primary outcome was the rate and timing of distant metastases. Secondary outcomes included the pattern of distant failure and survival after distant metastases. RESULTS Thirty-seven patients developed distant metastatic disease after definitive treatment, including 28 of 252 patients with HPV+ disease and 9 of 39 patients with HPV- disease. The 3-year projected distant control rate was higher in the HPV+ group (88% vs 74%; P = .01). The median time to develop distant metastases was also longer after the completion of treatment for HPV+ disease compared with HPV- disease (16.4 vs 7.2 months; P = .008). We detected a trend in patients with HPV+ disease for more distant metastatic sites involved than in those with HPV- disease (2.04 vs 1.33 sites; P = .09). Although the lung was the most common distant site involved in HPV+ and HPV- disease (HPV+ group, 23 of 28 patients [82%]; HPV- group, 7 of 9 patients [78%]), the HPV+ group had metastases to several subsets atypical for head and neck squamous cell carcinoma, including the brain, kidney, skin, skeletal muscle, and axillary lymph nodes in 2 patients each and in the intra-abdominal lymph nodes in 3 patients. The rate of 3-year overall survival was higher in the HPV+ group (89.9% vs 62.0%; P < .001), as was the median survival after the occurrence of distant metastases regardless of additional treatment (25.6 vs 11.1 months; P < .001). CONCLUSIONS AND RELEVANCE This retrospective review suggests that distant metastases in patients with HPV+ OPSCC occurs significantly later after completion of chemoradiotherapy than in patients with HPV- disease. Human papillomavirus-initiated OPSCC also appears to involve a greater number of subsites and metastatic sites infrequently seen in head and neck squamous cell carcinoma. Distant metastatic disease in HPV+ OPSCC has unique characteristics and a natural history that may require alternative surveillance strategies.
Describing persons with disability: salience of disability, gender, and ethnicity.

PURPOSE Most of the literature in social psychology on social categorization reveals the primacy of gender and ethnicity in person perception. The purpose of the current research was to examine the salience of visible disability (person in a wheelchair) compared with the salience of gender and ethnicity. METHOD In two experiments, the authors compared descriptions of targets with or without disability (in a wheelchair or on a bike), female or male (Experiments 1 and 2), Black or White (Experiment 2). RESULTS Results supported the hypothesized salience of disability: Targets with disability are immediately described by disability, independent of gender and ethnicity, whereas targets without disability are primarily identified by gender and ethnicity. CONCLUSIONS These results suggest that disability can be considered a superordinate social category.
Gender and Political Mobilization Online: Participation and Policy Success on a Global Petitioning Platform

As political life moves online, it is important to know whether online political participation excludes certain groups. Using a dataset of 3.9 million signers of online petitions in 132 countries, we examine the descriptive success (number of successful petitions) and substantive success (topic of successful petitions) of women and men. Women’s participation is higher than expected in the ‘thin’ action of petition signing, but consistently lower in the ‘thick’ action of petition creation. We do not find a link between lower female thick participation and female descriptive success. In terms of substantive success, we find successful petitions reflect female users’ priorities more closely than men’s, independent of the petition initiator’s gender. These results hold both platform-wide and within most countries in the dataset. We show that these results occur due to the low level of petition success (1.2%) on the platform, which increases the importance of thin forms of participation.
Informality, Governance and Growth

This paper develops a growth framework of a typical developing and demarcating setting with formal and informal sectors, which faces trade-off of redistribution through either direct subsidy or strategic regulatory concession to operate informal activities. Inverted U-shaped growth and welfare functions against governance are found, which suggests a deliberated weak governance can raise growth and welfare of the economy with large informal sector keeping taxation at lower level. The governance that maximises growth varies inversely with subsidy given to informal sector and formal labour bargaining power. Unlike the level maximising welfare, the governance that maximises growth becomes independent of the bargaining power in case of no subsidy. Using standard parameters, the calibrated growth and welfare functions support these relations. Econometric results derived from instrumental and system regression models using pooled data for 46 countries during 1995-2009 justify such conjectures. This explains why the growing countries show higher level of informality.