Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Quality of care for depressed elderly patients hospitalized in the specialty psychiatric units or general medical wards.

BACKGROUND Studies to assess quality of care have become increasingly important for research and policy purposes. OBJECTIVE To evaluate the difference in quality of care between elderly depressed patients hospitalized in specialty psychiatric units and those hospitalized in general medical wards. METHODS We reviewed retrospectively the medical charts of 2746 patients with depression hospitalized in 297 general medical hospitals in five different states. Quality of care was assessed by clinical review of explicit and implicit information contained in the medical records of patients in specialty psychiatric units (n = 1295) and general medical wards (n = 1451). We also used other secondary data sources to determine postdischarge outcomes. RESULTS We found that (1) a higher percentage of admissions on the psychiatric units were considered appropriate, (2) overall psychological assessment was better on the psychiatric unit, (3) patients were more likely to receive psychological services on the psychiatric wards but more likely to receive traditional general medical services on medical wards, (4) there were more inpatient general medical complications on the psychiatric wards, and (5) implicit measures of clinical status at discharge were better for those on the psychiatric unit. CONCLUSIONS Although limited by reliance on medical record abstraction and a retrospective study design, our data indicate that the quality of care for the psychological aspects of the treatment of depression may be better on psychiatric units, while the quality of general medical components of care may be better on general medical wards.
A comparison of long-term outcome in first-episode schizophrenia following treatment with risperidone or a typical antipsychotic.

BACKGROUND Most reports assessing the efficacy and tolerability of risperidone have involved patients previously treated with typical antipsychotics. Such patients are more likely to have a greater resistance or intolerance to treatment, thus restricting our interpretation of the impact a new treatment might have on the course of schizophrenia and possibly biasing the results. The present study examines the relative effectiveness of risperidone and typical antipsychotics in patients being treated for their first episode of schizophrenia. METHOD From a cohort of 126 patients, 2 groups of 19 first-episode DSM-III-R/DSM-IV schizophrenia patients matched for age, gender, length of illness, and length of treatment and treated with either a typical antipsychotic or risperidone for a minimum of 1 year were compared on a number of outcome dimensions during their course of treatment and at follow-up. Treatment allocation was not random, and patients were judged to be compliant with medication. Patients treated with typical antipsychotics were followed up for a statistically nonsignificantly longer time (mean = 2.7 vs. 1.9 years). RESULTS Six patients (31.6%) from the typical antipsychotic group were admitted to the hospital within the first year following the index admission compared with 1 patient (5.3%) in the risperidone group (admitted at month 14). Patients in the risperidone group showed a statistically significantly lower length of first hospitalization (p < .01), utilization of inpatient beds during the course of treatment (p < .001), and use of anticholinergic medication (p < .05). There were no statistically significant differences in symptom levels, either during the course of treatment or at follow-up; in the use of antidepressant, antianxiety, or mood-stabilizing drugs; or in changes in living circumstances or employment. CONCLUSION These findings confirm at least equal long-term efficacy of typical antipsychotics and risperidone, but a possible advantage for risperidone in decreased service utilization and decreased use of anticholinergic drugs.
Left renal vein hypertension as a cause of occult hematuria: Multi-detector computed tomography demonstration

The illustrated case is a 55-year-old asymptomatic multiparous post-menopausal female who was diagnosed to have microscopic hematuria on serial urine cytology examinations [Phase contrast microscopy 3 100; mid-stream early-morning centrifuged specimens of urine]. There were 5-10 isomorphic erythrocytes per high-power Þ eld, without any proteinuria or pus cells in any examination. There was no history of diabetes, hypertension or any major illness in the past. The complete blood cell count, serum biochemistry and coagulation proÞ le were within normal limits. Ultrasound examination did not reveal any deÞ nite structural abnormality in the urinary system. The multi-detector computed tomography examination, however, showed signiÞ cant dilatation of the left ovarian vein with formation of pelvic varices in the broad ligament [Figure 1a and b]. There was Grade 3 venous reß ux from the left renal vein (LRV) into the left ovarian vein and LRV ratio was found to be approximately 5 in this case [Figure 2a and b]. The right-sided pelvic varix in this case is secondary to contrast reflux through the intercommunicating anastomotic veins along the para-uterine venous plexus. The formation of pelvic varix on the right side and delineation of right ovarian vein suggest severity of venous reß ux from LRV into left ovarian vein. No structural abnormality was detected in the urinary system. These set of images illustrates LRV hypertension as an unusual cause of occult hematuria which was diagnosed on MDCT. The patient was treated by conservative management and is currently under close follow-up, since the last six months. The role of invasive venography, therapeutic endovascular interventions and surgical options was explained to
Targeted inhibition of wound-induced PAI-1 expression alters migration and differentiation in human epidermal keratinocytes.

In the adult epidermis, keratinocytes do not normally express the type-1 inhibitor of plasminogen activator (PAI-1). Basal epithelial cell-specific PAI-1 synthesis, however, accompanies epidermal wound repair in vivo in which PAI-1 transcripts and immunoreactive protein are confined to epithelial cells in the migrating tongue and the hyperproliferative zone. A model system using human keratinocytes (HaCaT cells) was developed to assess functional relationships between epithelial growth state transitions and PAI-1 expression. PAI-1 synthesis was maximal in low population density, exponentially growing HaCaT cultures; relative PAI-1 mRNA and protein levels progressively declined as cells attained, and were maintained in, a postconfluent condition. While the fraction of PAI-1(+) keratinocytes remained stable (at approximately 85-90% of the population) throughout the culture period, both PAI-1 mRNA abundance and mean cell-associated PAI-1 protein declined by >90% during prolonged (i.e., 8-day) growth arrest. Similar to epidermal trauma in vivo, scrape wounding of HaCaT monolayers resulted in the rapid and location-specific induction of PAI-1 protein (an increase of 11- to 16-fold relative to unwounded cultures) in cells immediately bordering the injury site. PAI-1 expression was evident in keratinocytes that comprised the opposed migrating fronts and remained elevated until wound closure. Down-regulation of PAI-1 synthesis in HaCaT cells transfected with an inducible LacSwitch-based antisense vector system markedly impaired both the rate and the extent of wound closure. All injuries created in antisense PAI-1 monolayers remained unhealed at day 8 postinjury compared to the 3-day complete repair typical of control cultures. Vector-driven modulation of PAI-1 synthesis was also associated with an increase in the percentage of suprabasal-type keratinocytes within the wound field. PAI-1 expression by migrating HaCaT cells appears necessary to maintain the basal epidermal phenotype and/or appropriate cell-to-substrate adhesion during injury repair.
Enterprise Adoption of Internet Banking in China

Abstract Internet banking allows companies to access banking services via the Internet without traditional temporal and spatial limitations. From a bank's viewpoint, Internet banking provides opportunities to expand markets, increase service efficiency, lower the cost of operations, and improve customer loyalty. However, the enterprise adoption of Internet banking in China is still low, compared to the developed countries. Therefore, understanding the factors that influence the adoption of enterprise Internet banking will help both service providers and enterprise clients develop strategies for incorporating Internet banking into their businesses for new opportunities. This paper investigates Internet banking adoption by Chinese companies. An empirical study is conducted using data from 174 Chinese companies. The results indicate that perceived benefits, perceived transactional risk, organizational readiness, and external pressure exert significant effects on enterprise adoption of Internet banking in China. Based on the research findings, suggestions are provided on how to promote the usage of Internet banking in China.
Economists’ salaries and lifetime productivity

One of the advantages of studying academic labor markets is that many facets of productivity are easily measured. This makes it possible to study the relationship between pay and productivity. There has been some debate whether labor markets are auction markets, where salaries equal expected near-term productivity, or are characterized by implicit long-term contracts. In this paper, we test these propositions directly, and perhaps for the first time, using data from the academic labor market. We show that economists' salaries are best described as reflecting implicit long-term contracts. Weiss and Lillard [14] modelled the determination of academic salaries when a professor's productivity changes over time, perhaps due to luck in creativity or shifts in opportunities for productive research. They concluded that if there are no costs to mobility, then the salary must equal the professor's immediate expected productivity. Competition among universities for faculty forces salaries to equal expected productivity in the near term. With positive costs of mobility, this spot market relationship is severed, causing salaries to be less sensitive to new information about expected productivity. In particular, the cost of mobility creates a wedge that allows increases (decreases) in expected near term productivity to not always be matched by wage increases (decreases). In fact, if mobility is sufficiently costly, "the contract provides perfect insurance against individual failure and a stable salary stream over time" [14, 162]. Since salary does vary over an academic's career, the stable salary stream scenario is empirically irrelevant. The question then is whether professors are paid according to their expected near-term productivity or according to some implicit long-term contract that might place a greater weight on early productivity. What factors determine a faculty member's productivity in a university? Let us assume that universities are concerned with their contribution to the advancement of knowledge (or their reputation for doing so) and teaching. A university's current reputation for advancing knowledge depends on its current publications and citations.1 A university is not directly interested in re-
Indigenous Peoples and Human Rights: International and Regional Jurisprudence

Introduction: Indigenous Peoples and Human Rights: Institutions and Influences UN Treaty Committee Jurisprudence Regional Jurisprudence Background Influences on International and Regional Jurisprudence 1. Identifying 'Indigenous' Peoples in International Law International Labour Organization Approaches United Nations Approaches Regional Approaches Conclusion 2. The United Nations Human Rights Committee and Indigenous Peoples Right to Self-Determination (ICCPR, Article 1) Right to Take Part in Cultural Life (ICCPR, Article 27) Other Civil and Political Rights Conclusion 3. Other UN Human Rights Treaty Bodies and Indigenous Peoples UN Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights UN Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination UN Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women UN Committee on the Rights of the Child UN Committee Against Torture Conclusion 4. Regional Human Rights Systems: Indigenous Property Rights in Land and Natural Resources Indigenous Rights in Property: Land and Natural Resources Inter-American Commission on Human Rights Inter-American Court of Human Rights African System: African Commission on Human and Peoples' Rights Conclusion 5. Regional Human Rights Systems: Indigenous Cultural, Socio-economic and Physical Integrity Rights Cultural Rights in Regional Jurisprudence Socio-economic Rights Violence and Excessive Law Enforcement Against Indigenous Peoples Indigenous Peoples in the European Human Rights Systems Conclusion Conclusion: Future Normative and Implementation Challenges
Purification of Protease from a Mixture of Exfoliative Toxin and Newborn-Mouse Epidermis

ABSTRACT Although the role of exfoliative toxin in staphylococcal scalded-skin syndrome has been suggested to be that of a serine protease, it has not been demonstrated to show proteolytic activity. Our purpose was to purify a proteolytic enzyme from a mixture of exfoliative toxin and newborn-mouse epidermis. We used gel filtration and ion-exchange and hydroxyapatite chromatography with a high-pressure liquid chromatography system. A casein-hydrolyzing enzyme was isolated from the mixture. The molecular mass of the enzyme was confirmed to be 20 kDa by sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis. Subcutaneous injection of the purified enzyme into newborn mice reproduced the epidermal splitting that is seen in staphylococcal scalded-skin syndrome. These results suggest that exfoliative toxin does not work as a protease itself but that some reaction between exfoliative toxin and an epidermal component(s) first produces a protease, after which epidermal splitting occurs.
Brief femoral artery ischaemia provides protection against myocardial ischaemia–reperfusion injury in rats: the possible mechanisms

The present study was conducted to examine the role of nitric oxide (NO), mitochondrial ATP‐sensitive K+ channels (mito K+ATP channels) and reactive oxygen species (ROS) and their interdependence in brief femoral artery ischaemia‐induced myocardial preconditioning. To assess myocardial injury, myocardial infarction was induced by occlusion followed by reperfusion of the left anterior descending (LAD) coronary artery in anaesthetized rats and was assessed by triphenyl tetrazolium chloride (TTC) staining. Left ventricular function was assessed by left ventricular end‐diastolic pressure (LVEDP) and the maximal rate of rise of left ventricular pressure [LV(dP/dt)max]. Serum creatine kinase‐MB (CK‐MB) and lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) were determined by colorimetric kits. Remote preconditioning (RPC) was induced by 15 min occlusion of femoral arteries followed by 10 min of reperfusion just before LAD coronary artery occlusion. Brief femoral artery ischaemia led to a 61% reduction in myocardial infarct size, 57% reduction in elevated serum LDH and 72% reduction in elevated CK‐MB activities, and a significant improvement in LVEDP and LV(dP/dt)max compared with control animals. Pretreatment with 5‐hydroxydecanoate (5‐HD) or l‐NAME or N‐acetylcystein (NAC) blocked this protective effect of femoral artery ischaemia. Moreover, infusion of l‐arginine or diazoxide before coronary artery occlusion markedly reduced the myocardial infarction and improved the left ventricular function. This effect of l‐arginine was found to be abolished by the blockade of mito K+ATP channels with 5‐HD and, similarly, the effect of diazoxide was blocked in the presence of a ROS scavenger, NAC. The results suggest that brief femoral artery ischaemia‐induced RPC is mediated by a combination of increased NO synthesis, opening of mito K+ATP channels and increased ROS production. Moreover, it appears that NO is working upstream and acts via activation of mito K+ATP channels, which subsequently increases the production of ROS.
Are Hypnotic Benzodiazepine Receptor Agonists Teratogenic in Humans?

Background: Hypnotic benzodiazepine receptor agonists (HBRAs; zolpidem, zopiclone, and zaleplon) are used in the treatment of insomnia. Little is known about the safety of HBRAs during pregnancy. Methods: Data from the Swedish Medical Birth Registry from July 1, 1995, up to 2007 were used to identify 1318 women who reported the use of HBRAs in early pregnancy. They gave birth to 1341 infants. Maternal characteristics and the presence of congenital malformations were compared with all other women who gave birth (n = 1,106,001) and all other infants (n = 1,125,734) born during the study period. Results: Use and/or reporting of HBRAs increased with maternal age and were higher at first than higher parity. Maternal smoking was strongly associated with reported use of HBRAs. The probability of using HBRAs increased in women who had had 3 or more earlier miscarriages or 5 or more years of involuntary childlessness. An excess use of other drugs and above all psychoactive drugs were seen in women reporting use of HBRAs. Hypnotic benzodiazepine receptor agonists were not associated with an increased risk for congenital malformations. A statistically significant high risk for other intestinal malformations than atresias/stenosis was based on only 4 infants. Conclusions: Maternal use of HBRAs does not seem to increase malformation risk. The tentative association with some intestinal malformations may be due to chance because of multiple testing and needs confirmation.
A study of genes that may modulate the expression of hereditary hemochromatosis: transferrin receptor-1, ferroportin, ceruloplasmin, ferritin light and heavy chains, iron regulatory proteins (IRP)-1 and -2, and hepcidin.

We have examined transferrin receptor-1, ferroportin, ceruloplasmin, ferritin light and heavy chains, iron regulatory proteins (IRP)-1 and -2, and hepcidin for mutations that might modulate the iron burden of individuals harboring the common mutant hemochromatosis HFE genotype C282Y/C282Y or cause hemochromatosis independent of mutations in the HFE gene. In a group of white, Asian, and African-American normal and iron-overloaded individuals, the coding and flanking regions of these genes were completely sequenced. Numerous coding region and promoter polymorphisms were detected. These were further examined for association with differences in iron accumulation as measured by plasma transferrin saturation and ferritin levels, but no such association could be documented.
Serum Preadipocyte Factor-1 Concentrations in Females with Obesity and Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus: The Influence of Very Low Calorie Diet, Acute Hyperinsulinemia, and Fenofibrate Treatment

Abstract Appropriate differentiation capacity of adipose tissue significantly affects its ability to store lipids and to protect nonadipose tissues against lipid spillover and development of insulin resistance. Preadipocyte factor-1 (Pref-1) is an important negative regulator of preadipocyte differentiation. The aim of our study was to explore the changes in circulating Pref-1 concentrations in female subjects with obesity (OB) (n=19), females with obesity and type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) (n=22), and sex- and age-matched healthy control subjects (C) (n=22), and to study its modulation by very low calorie diet (VLCD), acute hyperinsulinemia during isoglycemic-hyperinsulinemic clamp, and 3 months’ treatment with PPAR-α agonist fenofibrate. At baseline, serum Pref-1 concentrations were significantly higher in patients with T2DM compared to control group, while only nonsignificant trend towards higher levels was observed in OB group. 3 weeks of VLCD decreased Pref-1 levels in both OB and T2DM group, whereas 3 months of fenofibrate treatment had no significant effect. Hyperinsulinemia during the clamp significantly suppressed Pref-1 levels in both C and T2DM subjects and this suppression was unaffected by fenofibrate treatment. In a combined population of all groups, circulating Pref-1 levels correlated positively with insulin, leptin and glucose levels and HOMA (homeostasis model assessment) index. We conclude that elevated Pref-1 concentrations in T2DM subjects may contribute to impaired adipose tissue differentiation capacity associated with insulin resistance in obese patients with T2DM. The decrease of Pref-1 levels after VLCD may be involved in the improvement of metabolic status and the amelioration of insulin resistance in T2DM patients.
Unique Effects of Setting Goals on Behavior Change: Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

Objective: Goal setting is a common feature of behavior change interventions, but it is unclear when goal setting is optimally effective. The aims of this systematic review and meta-analysis were to evaluate: (a) the unique effects of goal setting on behavior change, and (b) under what circumstances and for whom goal setting works best. Method: Four databases were searched for articles that assessed the unique effects of goal setting on behavior change using randomized controlled trials. One-hundred and 41 papers were identified from which 384 effect sizes (N = 16,523) were extracted and analyzed. A moderator analysis of sample characteristics, intervention characteristics, inclusion of other behavior change techniques, study design and delivery, quality of study, outcome measures, and behavior targeted was conducted. Results: A random effects model indicated a small positive unique effect of goal setting across a range of behaviors, d = . 34 (CI [.28, .41]). Moderator analyses indicated that goal setting was particularly effective if the goal was: (a) difficult, (b) set publicly, and (c) was a group goal. There was weaker evidence that goal setting was more effective when paired with external monitoring of the behavior/outcome by others without feedback and delivered face-to-face. Conclusions: Goal setting is an effective behavior change technique that has the potential to be considered a fundamental component of successful interventions. The present review adds novel insights into the means by which goal setting might be augmented to maximize behavior change and sets the agenda for future programs of research.
Elevated Serum Selenium in Diabetic Children

ABSTRACT. Twenty‐seven diabetic children, 16 girls and 11 boys, 5–18 years of age, with a duration of the disease ranging from 2–15 years, comprised the study group. Thirteen children with a similar age and sex distribution, living in the same area served as healthy controls. All 40 children had a normal growth pattern. The mean serum selenium concentration in the diabetic children, determined by neutron activation analysis, was 7.4 ± 0.8 μg/100 ml (mean ± SD) and in the healthy controls 6.5 ± 0.8 μg/100 ml. The difference between the two groups was statistically highly significant (p < 0.01). Boys and girls in both groups had nearly identical mean serum selenium levels and no correlation was observed between the selenium concentrations and either the age, weight or height of the children or the indicators of diabetic control. The selenium status in diabetic children has not been reported previously. The possibility of elevated serum selenium in diabetic children in response to altered lipid metabolism is discussed.