Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Homeostasis of Human NK Cells Is Not IL-15 Dependent

IL-15 is a proinflammatory cytokine that plays an important role in the development and activation of NK cells and is a potential target for inflammatory disease therapy. Studies conducted in IL-15- and IL-15R knockout mice identified IL-15 as an important cytokine for NK cell homeostasis. Consistent with this information derived from genetically modified mice, we demonstrated that neutralizing IL-15 with a mouse anti-mouse IL-15 mAb (M96) depletes C57BL/6 mouse NK cells. An mAb directed against macaque IL-15 (Hu714MuXHu) was manufactured and demonstrated to block IL-15–induced activation of nonhuman primate (NHP) NK cells in vitro. Neutralization of macaque IL-15 by parenteral administration of Hu714MuXHu reduces (>95%) circulating NK cell counts in NHPs. A blocking mAb directed against human IL-15 (huIL-15; AMG 714) was manufactured. Unexpectedly, when human subjects were treated with the blocking anti–IL-15 Ab AMG 714 in clinical trials, no reductions in circulating NK cell counts were observed despite achieving significantly higher exposures than the levels of Hu714MuXHu needed to cause NK cell count reductions in NHPs in vivo. Both AMG 714 and Hu714MuXHu are able to block huIL-15 activity in a human T cell blast proliferation and IFN-γ production assay. Both Abs block huIL-15–mediated Stat5 activation and CD69 expression in human NK cells. Collectively, these results demonstrate that NK cell homeostasis is obligatorily dependent upon IL-15 in both mice and NHPs, but that IL-15 is dispensable for maintenance of circulating human NK cells.
Type D Personality Is Associated With Increased Anxiety and Depressive Symptoms in Patients With an Implantable Cardioverter Defibrillator and Their Partners

Objective: We investigated the prevalence of anxiety and depressive symptoms in patients with an implantable cardioverter defibrillator (ICD) and their partners, and the role of personality factors and social support as determinants of distress. Methods: Of all surviving patients (n = 221) having had an ICD implanted between October 1998 and January 2003, 182 patients and 144 partners completed the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale, the Type D Personality Scale, and the Perceived Social Support Scale. Type D personality defines those who tend to experience increased negative distress and who do not express these negative emotions in social interactions. Clinical variables for the patients were obtained from medical records. Results: Thirty-one percent of patients versus 42% of partners suffered from symptoms of anxiety (p = .048); symptoms of anxiety were particularly prevalent in male partners. Twenty-eight vs. 29% suffered from depressive symptoms (p = .901). In patients, Type D personality was independently related to anxiety (OR: 7.03; 95% CI: 2.32–21.32) and depressive symptoms (OR: 7.40; 95% CI: 2.49–21.94) adjusting for all other variables. Underlying cardiac disease pathology did not explain differences in patient distress. In partners, Type D personality was independently associated with increased symptoms of anxiety (OR: 8.77; 95% CI: 3.19–24.14) and depression (OR: 4.40; 95% CI: 1.76–11.01). Conclusion: Partners experienced similar levels of depression but higher levels of anxiety compared with ICD patients. Personality was an important explanatory factor of distress in both ICD patients and their partners. Research is now warranted to investigate the implications of this finding for the clinical course of ICD patients, as Type D personality has been associated with adverse prognosis in patients with coronary artery disease. CAD = coronary artery disease; ICD = implantable cardioverter defibrillator; MI = myocardial infarction.
Altered Regulation of the Myocardial Microcirculation in Young Smokers

Smoking is known to affect microcirculatory function in a middle-aged population. However, the effects of smoking on myocardial perfusion in young smokers have not been studied. Myocardial perfusion was measured in 15 smokers (24 ± 2 years) and 15 nonsmokers (24 ± 3 years) using positron emission tomography. Myocardial perfusion was measured at rest, during cold stress and during dipyridamole. Resting myocardial blood flow was similar in the two groups. The well-described correlation between rate-pressure product and myocardial blood flow was present only in the nonsmokers (r2 = 0.61, p < 0.001). Myocardial blood flow corrected for the rate-pressure product declined during cold by 20% in the smokers [1.11 ± 0.28 vs. 0.92 ± 0.20 ml·g–1·min–1 (p = 0.012)], but remained unchanged in nonsmokers [1.11 ± 0.25 vs. 1.09 ± 0.30 ml·g–1·min–1 (p = NS)]. Dipyridamole-induced hyperemia was similar in the two groups [2.23 ± 0.78 vs. 2.42 ± 0.65 ml·g–1·min–1 (p = NS)]. In conclusion, smoking induces abnormalities in myocardial microcirculatory regulation in young otherwise healthy smokers. The coronary flow reserve, however, is not significantly altered.
Protecting expatriates in hostile environments: institutional forces influencing the safety and security practices of internationally active organisations

Abstract The operations of internationally active organisations continue to encroach on hostile locations that are vulnerable to the negative consequences of crises such as political upheaval, terrorist attacks or natural disasters. Yet research into how firms ensure the physical and psychological safety and security of international staff in these locations is limited. This article reports an empirical study exploring the expatriate safety and security practices of 28 internationally active organisations from three industries that commonly operate in hostile environments. We unveil starkly different approaches across the three industries, and label these approaches ‘regulatory’ (mining and resources), ‘informal mentoring’ (news media) and ‘empowering’ (international aid and development). We use institutional theory to propose that these configurations reflect legitimacy-seeking choices that these organisations make in response to the various institutional environments that affect each sector. Our results provide a platform for initial theory building into the interrelated elements of organisations’ safety and security practices, and the institutional factors that shape the design of these.
Static and dynamic friction in sliding colloidal monolayers

In a pioneer experiment, Bohlein et al. realized the controlled sliding of two-dimensional colloidal crystals over laser-generated periodic or quasi-periodic potentials. Here we present realistic simulations and arguments that besides reproducing the main experimentally observed features give a first theoretical demonstration of the potential impact of colloid sliding in nanotribology. The free motion of solitons and antisolitons in the sliding of hard incommensurate crystals is contrasted with the soliton–antisoliton pair nucleation at the large static friction threshold Fs when the two lattices are commensurate and pinned. The frictional work directly extracted from particles’ velocities can be analyzed as a function of classic tribological parameters, including speed, spacing, and amplitude of the periodic potential (representing, respectively, the mismatch of the sliding interface and the corrugation, or “load”). These and other features suggestive of further experiments and insights promote colloid sliding to a unique friction study instrument.
Recovery and serious mental illness: a review of current clinical and research paradigms and future directions

ABSTRACT Introduction: Recovery from serious mental illness has historically not been considered a likely or even possible outcome. However, a range of evidence suggests the courses of SMI are heterogeneous with recovery being the most likely outcome. One barrier to studying recovery in SMI is that recovery has been operationalized in divergent and seemingly incompatible ways: as an objective outcome versus a subjective process. Areas covered: This paper offers a review of recovery as a subjective process and recovery as an objective outcome; contrasts methodologies utilized by each approach to assess recovery; reports rates and correlates of recovery; and explores the relationship between objective and subjective forms of recovery. Expert commentary: There are two commonalities of approaching recovery as a subjective process and an objective outcome: (i) the need to make meaning out of one’s experiences to engage in either type of recovery and (ii) there exist many threats to engaging in meaning making that may impact the likelihood of moving toward recovery. We offer four clinical implications that stem from these two commonalities within a divided approach to the concept of recovery from SMI.
Osseointegration in implant-embedded mandible in rats fed calcium-deficient diet: a radiological study.

OBJECTIVE The purpose of the present study was to investigate osseointegration using radiographs of titanium (Ti) implants into the osteoporotic mandible of rats. MATERIALS AND METHODS Rats were divided into three groups: first group, which were fed a standard diet throughout (control group), second group which were fed a Ca-deficient diet for only 1 week before implantation (group A), and those which were fed the Ca-deficient diet before and after implantation (group B). On the 7th and 42nd days after implantation, bone changes in those rats were examined by microradiographs and autoradiographs. RESULTS On the 7th day after implantation, calcification of newly formed bones was lower in groups A and B than in the control group, 45Ca uptake was seen in surrounding bones adjacent to the implant, as well as throughout the mandible. On the 42nd day after implantation, trabecular bone in group A showed radiopacity as seen in the control group. In the alveolar crest and peri-implanted bones in group B, thin bone formation with active 45Ca incorporation was found. CONCLUSIONS It is suggested that irrespective of the calcium deficiency status in rats, trabecular bones around the implant are restored to a healthy state to some extent by resuming an intake of a necessary amount of dietary calcium. In continued calcium deficiency, osseointegration with the implant and alveolar bone was still observed as in the healthy rats suggesting calcium deficiency is not always a factor to regulate osseointegration of mandibular endosseous implants.
Treatment Patterns and Annual Drug Costs of Biologic Therapies Across Indications from the Humana Commercial Database

BACKGROUND: A variety of biologic therapies are currently used for the treatment of inflammatory autoimmune diseases, including rheumatoid arthritis (RA), psoriasis (PsO), psoriatic arthritis (PsA), and ankylosing spondylitis (AS). These diseases require long-term treatment, and information regarding the use and costs of biologic therapies can be valuable in making treatment and formulary decisions for clinicians and payers. OBJECTIVES: To evaluate current utilization and annual costs of biologic therapies for treatment of RA, PsO, PsA, and AS in a real-world setting. METHODS: This retrospective observational cohort analysis utilized data from the Humana commercial claims database. Eligible patients had an index (first) claim between February 1, 2008, and September 30, 2011, for abatacept, adalimumab, certolizumab pegol, etanercept, golimumab, infliximab, rituximab, or ustekinumab and a diagnosis of RA, PsO, PsA, AS, or combination of these diseases. Patients with and without a claim for their index therapy within 180 days prior to their index dates were defined as continuing and new patients, respectively. Outcomes included 1-year rates of persistence; rates of restarting, discontinuing, or switching for patients who were not persistent; and annual costs. Costs were based on dose and the October 2013 wholesale acquisition cost (WAC). Total expenditure was calculated as the (total index biologic drug utilization × WAC) + (number of administrations × Medicare fee schedule) + Σ(biologic dose after discontinuation × associated WAC price). RESULTS: Of 2,721 patients analyzed, 1,308 (48%) were new patients, and 1,413 (52%) were continuing patients. Across approved indications, the most commonly used biologics were adalimumab, etanercept, and infliximab. Continuing patients had higher rates of persistence on index therapy than new patients. The mean annual cost [SD] per treated patient for new patients across all indications was numerically lowest for adalimumab ($20,916 [$7,572]), followed by infliximab ($22,516 [$8,460]) and etanercept ($23,567 [$8,314]). The mean annual cost [SD] per treated patient for continuing patients across all indications was numerically lowest for etanercept ($21,508 [$6,769]), followed by infliximab ($22,852 [$11,674]) and adalimumab ($24,341 [$8,906]). CONCLUSIONS: The tumor necrosis factor blockers adalimumab, etanercept, and infliximab were the most commonly used biologics across indications. New patients were less persistent than those continuing on therapy. Among new patients, adalimumab had the lowest mean annual cost per treated patient, and etanercept had the lowest mean annual cost per treated patient among those continuing on therapy.
Online politics and grassroots activism in Lebanon: negotiating sectarian gloom and revolutionary hope

This article describes the confluence of online activism and street protests in Lebanon. While Arab protesters have systematically been portrayed as young, urban and wired since the 2011 uprisings, Lebanese activists are also often regarded as trapped between war and sectarianism. This article challenges both frameworks and looks closer at the ways pre-existing waves of discontent crystallised into the mobilisation of thousands of Lebanese onto the streets of Beirut in 2010 and 2011. To achieve this, the article critiques the over-emphasis on network politics that accompanies internet-related hypotheses. The fashioning of a new kind of politics outside the dominant political factions (‘8–14 March’ blocs) was crucial for activists in Lebanon. New independent initiatives that locate feminist and queer politics within an overall analysis of imperialism and capitalism, as well as experimentation with digital technologies, helped forge a unique and non-sectarian camaraderie. By conveying the circumstances that have shaped political involvement, this article avoids the projection of non-ideological/networked politics that dominate concepts of online activism. The internet played a dual role in Lebanese grassroots politics, as illustrated through the experiences of the feminist collective Nasawiya.
Impact of FDI on Tax Revenue in Pakistan

The study attempts to find the impact of foreign direct investment on tax revenue in Pakistan. Foreign direct investment and gross domestic product per person employed are used as independent variables and tax revenue is taken as dependent variable. Augmented Dickey Fuller, Phillips-Perron, Ng-Perron and Zivot-Andrews unit root tests are applied to find the level of integration in the time series. Auto-Regressive Distributive Lag and its error correction model are applied to find long run and short run relationships. The study finds the long run and short run relationships in the model. Foreign direct investment and gross domestic product per person employed have positive and significant impact on tax revenue. So, the study concludes the positive contribution of foreign direct investment in tax revenue in Pakistan.
Dental malpractice in Sweden.

This study reports and analyses the handling of malpractice cases by the Swedish authorities from an odontological and legal point of view, in order to find explanatory factors and create a basis for prevention and discussion of the principles for processing such cases. Women report their dentists more often than men. The main reasons for complaint are "faulty management/performance of treatment," "unsatisfactory technical/esthetic quality," and "wrong diagnosis/indication. " Many cases concern elementary and well-known clinical principles for investigation, treatment planning, and clinical management. Private practitioners from the Stockholm region are most often involved in malpractice cases, and most of the complaints concern prosthodontic treatment. Poor record keeping is not uncommon.
Internet Use and Cancer-Preventive Behaviors in Older Adults: Findings from a Longitudinal Cohort Study

Background: The Internet is a key provider of health information, but little is known about its associations with cancer-preventive behaviors. This study investigated the associations between Internet use and cancer-preventive behaviors among older adults. Methods: Data were taken from Waves 1 to 5 (2002–2011) of the English Longitudinal Study of Aging, a cohort study of men and women 50 years or older in England, United Kingdom. Internet use was recorded at each wave. Breast and colorectal screening, fruit and vegetable consumption, physical activity, and smoking were recorded at Wave 5. Social, cognitive, and physical function variables recorded at Wave 1 were analyzed as predictors of Internet use and included as covariates in analyses linking Internet use to behavior. Results: Of 5,943 respondents, 41.4% did not report any Internet use, 38.3% reported using it in one to three waves (“intermittent users”), and 20.3% used it in all waves (“consistent users”). Internet use was higher in younger, male, White, wealthier, more educated respondents, and those without physical limitations. Multivariable analysis showed that consistent users were more likely than “never users” to report CRC screening, weekly moderate/vigorous physical activity, and five or more daily servings of fruit and vegetables, and less likely to report smoking. There was no significant association between Internet use and breast screening. Conclusions: Internet use showed a quantitative association with cancer-preventive behaviors even after controlling for various social, cognitive, and physical correlates of Internet use. Impact: Promoting Internet use among older adults from all backgrounds could contribute to improving cancer outcomes and reducing inequalities. Cancer Epidemiol Biomarkers Prev; 22(11); 2066–74. ©2013 AACR.
Determinan dan Stabilitas Ekspor Crude Palm Oil Indonesia

We analyze the influence of CPO production, exchange rate, international CPO price and the terms of trade on Indonesian CPO exports in October 2011-December 2015. In doing so, we use the Autoregressive Distributed Lag (ARDL) approach to analyze the monthly time-series data for the periods of 2011:M10-2015:M12. Our findings suggest that both in the short- and long-term, the international CPO price has a significantly negative impact on Indonesia's CPO exports. Meanwhile, the CPO production and exchange rate have negative and significant effects on Indonesia's CPO exports both in short- and long-term. Taken together, all the independent variables have significant effects on Indonesia’s CPO export. Finally, based on CUSUM and CUSUMQ test, it shows that the long-term coefficient of the CPO exports model is stable. Abstrak Tujuan dari studi ini adalah untuk menganalisis seberapa besar pengaruh dari produksi kelapa sawit, nilai tukar rupiah terhadap dollar AS, harga CPO internasional dan Term of Trade terhadap ekspor CPO Indonesia pada periode Oktober 2011 sampai dengan Desember 2015. Penelitian ini menggunakan pendekatan Autoregressive Distributed Lag (ARDL) dengan data sekunder runtut waktu bulanan untuk periode 2011:M10-2015:M12. Hasil dari penelitian ini menunjukkan bahwa harga CPO internasional mempunyai efek negatif dan signifikan, baik dalam jangka pendek maupun jangka panjang terhadap ekspor CPO Indonesia. Variable Term of Trade dalam jangka pendek maupun panjang mempunyai efek positif dan signifikan terhadap ekspor CPO, sedangkan variabel produksi kelapa sawit dan nilai tukar rupiah terhadap dolar Amerika mempunyai pengaruh negatif dan signifikan terhadap ekspor dalam jangka pendek maupun panjang. Lebih lanjut, semua variabel independen secara bersama-sama mempengaruhi ekspor CPO di Indonesia, sehingga hipotesis yang menunjukkan tidak ada hubungan antara variabel independen dan dependen ditolak. Terakhir, berdasarkan pada uji CUSUM dan CUSUMQ dapat disimpulkan bahwa model ekspor CPO stabil dalam jangka panjang.
Intentions Versus Outcomes: Cooperation and Fairness in a Sequential Prisoner's Dilemma with Nature

This paper investigates the importance of concerns about intentions and outcomes in a sequential prisoner’s dilemma game with nature. In the game, there is a chance that the first mover’s choice is reversed. This allows the separation of intended actions from the resulting outcomes. Equilibrium predictions from theoretical models of fairness are tested experimentally by varying the chance the first mover’s choice is reversed and whether the second mover observes the first mover’s choice. The results show that second mover cooperation is higher when the first mover has little control over their choice and when the second mover is not told what the first mover chose. While subject behavior is consistent with concerns for both intentions and outcomes, the results indicate that these concerns work in ways not predicted by current theoretical models. In addition, I find that psychometric measures of empathic concern and perspective taking are correlated with second mover cooperation and provide potential explanations for the experimental results.
Vulnerability to forest loss through altered postfire recovery dynamics in a warming climate in the Klamath Mountains

In the context of ongoing climatic warming, certain landscapes could be near a tipping point where relatively small changes to their fire regimes or their postfire forest recovery dynamics could bring about extensive forest loss, with associated effects on biodiversity and carbon‐cycle feedbacks to climate change. Such concerns are particularly valid in the Klamath Region of northern California and southwestern Oregon, where severe fire initially converts montane conifer forests to systems dominated by broadleaf trees and shrubs. Conifers eventually overtop the competing vegetation, but until they do, these systems could be perpetuated by a cycle of reburning. To assess the vulnerability of conifer forests to increased fire activity and altered forest recovery dynamics in a warmer, drier climate, we characterized vegetation dynamics following severe fire in nine fire years over the last three decades across the climatic aridity gradient of montane conifer forests. Postfire conifer recruitment was limited to a narrow window, with 89% of recruitment in the first 4 years, and height growth tended to decrease as the lag between the fire year and the recruitment year increased. Growth reductions at longer lags were more pronounced at drier sites, where conifers comprised a smaller portion of live woody biomass. An interaction between seed‐source availability and climatic aridity drove substantial variation in the density of regenerating conifers. With increasing climatic water deficit, higher propagule pressure (i.e., smaller patch sizes for high‐severity fire) was needed to support a given conifer seedling density, which implies that projected future increases in aridity could limit postfire regeneration across a growing portion of the landscape. Under a more severe prospective warming scenario, by the end of the century more than half of the area currently capable of supporting montane conifer forest could become subject to minimal conifer regeneration in even moderate‐sized (10s of ha) high‐severity patches.