Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Prothrombin-Related Antigens in Human Aortic Intima

Most plasma proteins are present in both normal and atherosclerotic intima, and their concentrations in intimal interstitial fluid are directly related to plasma concentration and molecular size. All intimal samples also contain soluble fibrin-fibrinogen-related antigens, consisting of variable mixtures of fibrinogen and fibrinogen and fibrin degradation products; the extracted washed tissue contains insoluble fibrin. It appears that the fibrinogen is subjected both to degradation and to conversion to fibrin, which in turn undergoes lysis. Biochemically, insoluble "fibrin" can be detected by incubating the washed tissue with plasmin, and assaying the fibrin degradation products that are released; they are released from all samples, including small amounts from normal intima. The fibrin could arise by incorporation of a mural fibrin clot and/or clotting of the fibrinogen within the intima, which contains a "cocktail" of clotting-related factors including prothrombin/thrombin-related antigens, antithrombin III (AT III), and other protease inhibitors: in recent experiments stripped intima was immediately treated with ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid, minced, extracted with Tris-buffered saline, and the extracts analyzed by sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis and immunoblotting with antisera to prothrombin and AT III. Surprisingly, all blots treated with antiprothrombin antisera showed large bands migrating with free thrombin (36 to 37 kDa) and prothrombin (74 kDa) and four intermediate bands. In addition, in all 10 samples examined a band of high molecular mass (170 kDa) but variable intensity was present. This 170-kDa band comigrated with the major band reacting with anti-serum to AT III. The theoretical 1:1 thrombin:AT III complex (98 kDa) was not detected. Thus active thrombin appears to be present in intima, and this may be a highly atherogenic factor, both causing fibrin deposition and acting as a potent mitogen for arterial smooth muscle cells.
Problematic topic transitions in dysarthric conversation

Abstract Purpose: This study examined the nature of topic transition problems associated with acquired progressive dysarthric speech in the everyday conversation of people with motor neurone disease. Method: Using conversation analytic methods, a video collection of five naturally occurring problematic topic transitions was identified, transcribed and analysed. These were extracted from a main collection of over 200 other-initiated repair sequences and a sub-set of 15 problematic topic transition sequences. The sequences were analysed with reference to how the participants both identified and resolved the problems. Result: Analysis revealed that topic transition by people with dysarthria can prove problematic. Conversation partners may find transitions problematic not only because of speech intelligibility but also because of a sequential disjuncture between the dysarthric speech turn and whatever topic has come prior. In addition the treatment of problematic topic transition as a complaint reveals the potential vulnerability of people with dysarthria to judgements of competence. Conclusion: These findings have implications for how dysarthria is conceptualized and how specific actions in conversation, such as topic transition, might be suitable targets for clinical intervention.
Factors Influencing the Competitiveness of the South African Wheat Industry: A Hedonic Price Model

ABSTRACT The South African wheat industry has been under severe pressure in recent years. Prescribed high wheat quality, which is enforced via cultivar release criteria, is believed to have negatively influenced the productivity and competitiveness of producers. The main hypothesis is that producers deliver lower yields because of high quality requirements and are not compensated for this high quality since prices are still determined by the lowest import parity price. Whether or not this is actually the case must be determined, firstly, by identifying the factors that influence the price of wheat, and secondly, by identifying the factors that do not influence the price of wheat but nevertheless have an adverse effect on producers’ productivity. In this study, a hedonic price model, built on the premise that price is a function of all the characteristics that the product possesses, is used to precisely determine the factors that impact – or otherwise – on price levels in the South African wheat industry. The authors apply the hedonic price model using a three-step process to obtain the best-fitting model for the available data. The results reveal that variations in price are mainly a function of Colour, P/L, Defects and Fall, and that these factors should form the basis of the prescribed quality to producers. By knowing the wheat characteristics that must be included in, and excluded from, the release criteria (prescribed quality) system, producers will be able to produce goods that positively impact their productivity as well as their competitiveness.
Recent Trends in Mean Scores and Characteristics of Test-Takers on "Praxis II" Licensure Tests.

The United States Department of Education asked the Educational Testing Service (ETS) to conduct this study because ETS was in a unique position to conduct these analyses at the lowest cost to the government. ETS maintains all of the Praxis II testing data from all states that administer the Praxis II exams. ETS has permission from the states to conduct analyses on these data as long as the analyses involve the aggregation of the test scores from multiple states and do not identify the names of individual states. In order for another research firm to obtain the data and conduct a comparable analysis, another firm would have had to seek and obtain permission from each state to use that state's Praxis data. Moreover, given the extent of this study, any other research firm would have been required to obtain approval for the collection of data from the Office of Management and Budget (OMB). This process of obtaining OMB approval, including the period for public comment on the information requests, would take at least 120 days, and involves the additional cost of preparing an extensive OMB clearance package.
The Turnover‐Reducing Effects of the Minimum Wage May Harm the Economy

This article surveys the literature on the effects of the minimum wage and argues that the observed reduction in turnover rates is not necessarily desirable. If a curvilinear relationship exists between firm productivity and turnover, the effects of the minimum wage on reducing turnover may create a distance between the actual turnover rate and the optimal rate. Consequently, even if we accept the proposition that minimum wages have little impact on employment, they may reduce productivity or job growth in sectors not directly affected by the minimum wage.
Amplitude and phase dynamics in oscillators with distributed-delay coupling

This paper studies the effects of distributed-delay coupling on the dynamics in a system of non-identical coupled Stuart–Landau oscillators. For uniform and gamma delay distribution kernels, the conditions for amplitude death are obtained in terms of average frequency, frequency detuning and the parameters of the coupling, including coupling strength and phase, as well as the mean time delay and the width of the delay distribution. To gain further insights into the dynamics inside amplitude death regions, the eigenvalues of the corresponding characteristic equations are computed numerically. Oscillatory dynamics of the system is also investigated, using amplitude and phase representation. Various branches of phase-locked solutions are identified, and their stability is analysed for different types of delay distributions.
Differential Activation of Insulin Receptor Substrates 1 and 2 by Insulin-Like Growth Factor-Activated Insulin Receptors

ABSTRACT The insulin-like growth factors (insulin-like growth factor I [IGF-I] and IGF-II) exert important effects on growth, development, and differentiation through the IGF-I receptor (IGF-IR) transmembrane tyrosine kinase. The insulin receptor (IR) is structurally related to the IGF-IR, and at high concentrations, the IGFs can also activate the IR, in spite of their generally low affinity for the latter. Two mechanisms that facilitate cross talk between the IGF ligands and the IR at physiological concentrations have been described. The first of these is the existence of an alternatively spliced IR variant that exhibits high affinity for IGF-II as well as for insulin. A second phenomenon is the ability of hybrid receptors comprised of IGF-IR and IR hemireceptors to bind IGFs, but not insulin. To date, however, direct activation of an IR holoreceptor by IGF-I at physiological levels has not been demonstrated. We have now found that IGF-I can function through both splice variants of the IR, in spite of low affinity, to specifically activate IRS-2 to levels similar to those seen with equivalent concentrations of insulin or IGF-II. The specific activation of IRS-2 by IGF-I through the IR does not result in activation of the extracellular signal-regulated kinase pathway but does induce delayed low-level activation of the phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase pathway and biological effects such as enhanced cell viability and protection from apoptosis. These findings suggest that IGF-I can function directly through the IR and that the observed effects of IGF-I on insulin sensitivity may be the result of direct facilitation of insulin action by IGF-I costimulation of the IR in insulin target tissues.
Expression of osteoprotegerin (OPG), TNF related apoptosis inducing ligand (TRAIL), and receptor activator of nuclear factor κB ligand (RANKL) in human breast tumours

Background: Osteoprotegerin (OPG) is involved in the regulation of bone turnover through binding to the receptor activator of nuclear factor κB ligand (RANKL), and has also been reported to be a potential survival factor for several different cell types. The survival effects are mediated through inhibition of the activity of tumour necrosis factor related apoptosis inducing ligand (TRAIL). Both breast and prostate cancer cells produce sufficient amounts of OPG to be protected against the effects of TRAIL in vitro. Aims: To investigate the spatial expression of OPG, RANKL, and TRAIL in non-neoplastic breast tissue and breast cancer, and its relation with oestrogen receptor (ER) expression. Methods: Forty breast cancers (20 ER+, 20 ER−) and five non-neoplastic breast tissue samples were stained with antibodies against OPG, RANKL, and TRAIL. Results: OPG was not expressed in non-neoplastic breast tissue except when colocalised with altered columnar epithelium. RANKL was expressed at the apical surface of luminal epithelial cells and TRAIL was expressed in myoepithelial cells. All three proteins were expressed in some breast cancers but showed no significant association with tumour type. OPG expression showed a significant positive correlation with ER expression (p = 0.011). Conclusions: This is the first published study of the spatial expression of OPG, RANKL, and TRAIL in breast tissue and breast cancer. The localisation of each protein was specific and they were not colocalised. This specificity may provide a useful marker of functional differentiation in breast cancer; for example, TRAIL expression as a marker of myoepithelial differentiation.
Human and financial costs of noninvasive mechanical ventilation in patients affected by COPD and acute respiratory failure.

STUDY OBJECTIVES It has been suggested that noninvasive mechanical ventilation (NIMV) may be a time-consuming procedure for medical and paramedical personnel. We carried out a prospective trial in 10 consecutive COPD patients aimed at assessing the human and economic resources needed to ventilate patients by NIMV and we compared these with those needed by a group of six patients receiving invasive mechanical ventilation (InMV). DESIGN The daily cost and the minutes spent by medical doctors (MDs), respiratory therapists (RTs), and nurses (Ns) were recorded during the first 48 h of ventilation in 10 patients during NIMV (group A) and in six who received InMV (group B) after an initial unsuccessful attempt with NIMV. In two subgroups of patients (five for group A and four for group B), the analysis was also performed, except for RTs, for the total length of mechanical ventilation. SETTING A respiratory ICU. PATIENTS At hospital admission, the two groups of COPD patients did not differ for blood gas values (PaCO2 = 88.2+/-9.8 mm Hg for group A vs 90.5+/-12.8 mm Hg for group B, and pH = 7.21+0.08 vs 7.20+0.08, respectively) or for clinical and neurologic status, but patients of group B had not tolerated NIMV. MEASUREMENTS AND RESULTS The total time spent at the bedside in the first 6 h did not differ between group A and B (group A = 72.3 min [MD], 87.2 min [RT], and 178.8 min [N] vs 98.8 min [MD], 12.5 min [RT], and 197.6 min [N] for group B). In the following 42 h, a plateau was reached so that there was a significant reduction for both groups in the time of assistance given by Ns (p<0.001) but not by MDs or RTs. The total costs were also not different between the two groups ($806+/-73 [US dollars per day] vs $864+/-44 for group A and B, respectively). In the subgroups monitored for the entire period of ventilation, a significant reduction in the time of assistance, for both MDs and Ns, was observed after approximately the first half. CONCLUSIONS We conclude that in the first 48 h of ventilation, daily NIMV is neither more expensive nor time-consuming and staff demanding than InMV. After the first few days of ventilation, NIMV was significantly less time-consuming than InMV, for MDs and Ns, so that medical and paramedical time expenditure seems not to be a major problem during NIMV.
BrainSTARS: Pilot Data on a Team‐Based Intervention Program for Students Who Have Acquired Brain Injury

To conduct and evaluate an educational/consultation program for parents and teachers of children who have acquired brain injury (ABI). ParticipantsParents, regular and special educators, and related school personnel of 30 students who had ABI and serious school problems. InterventionBrainSTARS (Brain Injury: Strategies for Teams and Re-education for Students), an individualized consultation program that includes a comprehensive manual on pediatric ABI. The intervention included 3 meetings in the school of the child identified with ABI. DesignA pre/post single group design assessed the impact of BrainSTARS on ABI-related competencies in the adult participants as well as on measures of child behaviors. ResultsSignificant improvement was shown in the participants' self-rated proficiency in working with children who have ABI as well as on their ratings of student performance in targeted neurodevelopmental areas. There was no significant change on standardized measures of child behavior (the Behavior Rating Inventory of Executive Functions and the Behavior Assessment System for Children). ConclusionsBrainSTARS appears to increase the competencies of parents and educators related to students who have ABI; further study of BrainSTARS' impact on student performance and capacity to produce long-standing results is called for.
CAPTION-ing the Situation: A Lexically-Derived Taxonomy of Psychological Situation Characteristics

In comparison with personality taxonomic research, there has been much less advancement toward establishing an integrative taxonomy of psychological situation characteristics (similar to personality characteristics for persons). One of the main concerns has been the limited content coverage of the characteristics being used. To address this issue, we present a collection of 4 lexically based studies using the largest-to-date number of situation characteristics to identify the major dimensions of the psychological situation. These studies each implemented a unique sampling and analytic methodology—namely, a qualitative dimensional exploration; the factor analyses of 2, independent samples of large-scale in situ ratings of situations; and the use of lexical-vector representations from neural-network-based models derived from millions of sources of natural-language usage with a total of 146.7 billion words. Across these studies, a clear 7-dimensional structure emerged: Complexity, Adversity, Positive Valence, Typicality, Importance, Humor, and Negative Valence—collectively referred to as the “CAPTION” model, which parsimoniously integrates the diversity of dimensions found in the extant literature. We then introduce both full- and short-form measures of these CAPTION. Data from 2 additional diverse samples of native English speakers suggest that the measures have good psychometric properties, and are able to predict a broad range of important psychological outcomes (e.g., behaviors, affect, motivation, and need satisfaction), even when pitted against extant situation taxonomic frameworks. We conclude by discussing how the CAPTION framework may serve as a useful tool for conceptualizing and measuring a broad range of psychological situations across all areas of psychology.
Good outcomes with cyclosporine very low exposure with everolimus high exposure in renal transplant patients.

INTRODUCTION The aim of the study was to compare efficacy of cyclosporine (CsA) very low exposure with everolimus high exposure, with respect to CsA standard exposure with enteric-coated mycophenolate sodium (EC-MPS) therapy. METHODS In a randomized, prospective, single-center, open-label study, patients were enrolled to receive either everolimus (C0 (trough level) 8-12 ng/mL) + CsA (C2 (CsA level 2 hours after drug administration) 250-300 ng/mL) + steroids, or EC-MPS (1,440 mg/day) + CsA (C2 500-700 ng/mL) + steroids. Fifty-six patients were enrolled in the everolimus group, 50 in the EC-MPS group. Efficacy was evaluated at 3 and 12 months. RESULTS Characteristics of groups were similar. Biopsy-proven acute rejection (BPAR) rates were similar in both groups (everolimus 18.8% vs. EC-MPS 18.2%). Everolimus patients had a lower incidence of delayed graft function (DGF) than EC-MPS patients (22.6% vs. 40.9%; p<0.05; relative risk [RR] = 0.65). One-year graft survival was 95% in the everolimus group and 88% in the EC-MPS group (p=NS). CsA dose at 1 year was lower in the everolimus group (1.52 ± 0.67 vs. 2.55 ± 0.79 mg/kg; p<0.0001). Estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR; Cockcroft-Gault) was higher in the everolimus group (81.64 ± 32.67 vs. 62.62 ± 22.81 ml/min; p<0.001). Systolic blood pressure was lower in the everolimus group (124.9 ± 14.64 mm Hg vs. 131.1 ± 13.23 mm Hg; p=0.03). Hemoglobin blood levels were slightly lower in the everolimus group (12.62 ± 1.42 vs. 13.01 ± 1.3 g/L; p=NS; for anemia, RR=1.302). Serum cholesterol was similar in both groups (everolimus 219.1 ± 47.20 vs. EC-MPS 207.2 ± 38.8 mg/dL; p=NS), but everolimus patients used more statins (RR=1.49). Twenty-four-hour proteinuria was higher in the everolimus group (519.7 ± 77.31 vs. 296.7 ± 33.42 mg/24 hours; p=0.01). CONCLUSIONS Everolimus regimen compared with EC-MPS regimen is associated with lower incidence of DGF, slightly better 1-year graft survival rate, a significantly higher GFR and lower systolic blood pressure.
Associations between adolescent heavy drinking and problem drinking in early adulthood: implications for prevention.

OBJECTIVE We assessed how heavy episodic drinking (HED) in adolescence (Time 1) was related to hazardous drinking as well as symptoms of alcohol problems and dependence in early adulthood (Time 2). The key question was to what extent preventive measures targeted at underage HED may have a potential to reduce problem drinking in early adulthood. METHOD Data are from the 1992 (Time 1, ages 14-17 years) and 2005 (Time 2) waves of the Young in Norway Longitudinal Study (N = 1,764). In addition to odds ratios and relative risks, we calculated population-attributable fractions to estimate how the prevalence of hazardous drinking and alcohol problems in early adulthood would be affected if adolescent HED at various frequencies were eliminated. The results were adjusted for age, gender, and measures on impulsivity and delinquency. RESULTS The risk of problem drinking at Time 2 increased with increasing frequency of HED at Time 1, but a great deal of discontinuity in drinking behaviors was also observed. The population-attributable fractions indicated that if all instances of HED at Time 1 were eliminated, the expected reduction in hazardous drinking and alcohol problems at Time 2 would be 11% and 15%, respectively. CONCLUSIONS Because of a marked discontinuity in drinking behaviors from adolescence to early adulthood, the potential long-term effects of interventions targeted at HED among youth are likely to be limited.
Biosynthesis of the second (C2) and fourth (C4) components of complement in vitro by tissues isolated from guinea-pigs with genetically determined C4 deficiency.

Tissues and cells isolated from guinea-pigs homozygous for a genetically determined deficiency of the fourth (C4) component of complement failed to synthesize C4 and synthesized C2 at a rate approximately 40 per cent of normal. These abnormalities in the biosynthesis of C2 and C4 persisted up to four weeks in tissue culture. Tissues and cells from heterozygous C4-deficient animals produced C4 at a rate intermediate between normal and that of the homozygous deficient. These observations demonstrate that the reduced serum concentrations of C2 and C4 in C4-deficient guinea-pigs can be accounted for by abnormalities in biosynthesis and are probably not the result of hypercatabolism of these proteins.
Mortality and causes of death in adults receiving highly active antiretroviral therapy in Senegal: a 7-year cohort study

Objectives:To evaluate survival and investigate causes of death among HIV-1 infected adults receiving HAART in Senegal. Design:An observational prospective cohort. Methods:Mortality was assessed in the first patients enrolled between August 1998 and April 2002 in the Senegalese antiretroviral drug access initiative. First-line regimen combined two nucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitors and either a non-nucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitor or a protease inhibitor. The most likely causes of death were ascertained through medical records or post-mortem interviews (verbal autopsy). Results:Four hundred and four patients (54.7% women) were enrolled in the study and were followed for a median of 46 months (interquartile range: 32–57 months) after HAART initiation. At baseline, 5% were antiretroviral therapy (ART) non-naive, 39 and 55% were respectively at CDC stage B and C, median age, CD4 cell count and viral load were 37 years, 128 cells/μl and 5.2 log cp/ml, respectively. Ninety-three patients died during follow-up and the overall incidence rate of death was 6.3/100 person-years [95% confidence interval (CI), 5.2–7.7]. During the first year after HAART initiation, 47 patients died and seven were lost to follow-up, yielding to a probability of dying of 11.7% (95% CI, 8.9–15.3%). The death rate, which was highest during the first year after HAART initiation, decreased with time yielding a cumulative probability of dying of 17.4% (95% CI, 13.9–21.5%) and 24.6% (95% CI, 20.4–29.4%) at 2 and 5 years. Causes of death were ascertained in 76 deaths. Mycobacterial infections, neurotropic infections and septicaemia were the most frequent likely causes of death. Conclusions:This study underlines the early mortality pattern after HAART initiation and highlights the leading role of mycobacterial infections in the causes of death.