Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
The Tanzanian human albino skin. Natural history

Three hundred fifty albinos in the city of Dar‐es‐Salaam have been registered at the Tanzania Tumor Centre. Their skin changes were followed for at least 2 years. Chronic skin damage was evident in all albinos by the first year of life; by 20 years, the skin of every subject demonstrated subclinical malignant change, and some had clinical epitheliomas. Untreated, the latter tumors become intractable and disseminate, usually causing death in the third or fourth decade of life. Four clinical stages could be identified, each one associated with distinct pathologic changes: Stage 1, erythema; Stage 2, epidermal atrophy with dermal hypertrophy; Stage 3, solar keratosis; and Stage 4, clinical carcinoma (under 3 cm). It was found that clinical Stage 2 only occurs in those skin areas that show evidence of previous Stage 1 change. Similarly, Stage 3 occurs only in areas that have gone through Stages 1 and 2. Stage 4 cancers were only found in those areas that had gone through all of the three prior stages. During the 2‐year period of this study, 104 skin cancers, both early and advanced, were recorded at the albino skin clinic. Thirty‐three of the 104 cancers were advanced (over 4 cm in diameter). The median age of the latter group was 31.0 years. Whereas there was no sex bias in the distribution of clinical cancer, 28 of the 33 advanced cancers were in men. Histologically, the great majority of the advanced tumors were squamous cell carcinomas: 29 of 33. There was one melanoma and three basal cell tumors. The predominant site of advanced cancers in the study group was the head and neck region (30 patients); the other three occurred on the trunk, which is generally covered by clothes.
Binding of Orthosteric Ligands to the Allosteric Site of the M2 Muscarinic Cholinergic Receptor

The M2 muscarinic receptor has two topographically distinct sites: the orthosteric site and an allosteric site recognized by compounds such as gallamine. It also can exhibit cooperative effects in the binding of orthosteric ligands, presumably to the orthosteric sites within an oligomer. Such effects would be difficult to interpret, however, if those ligands also bound to the allosteric site. Monomers of the hemagglutinin (HA)- and FLAG-tagged human M2 receptor therefore have been purified from coinfected Sf9 cells and examined for any effect of the antagonist N-methyl scopolamine or the agonist oxotremorine-M on the rate at which N-[3H]methyl scopolamine dissociates from the orthosteric site (kobsd). The predominantly monomeric status was confirmed by coimmunoprecipitation and by cross-linking with bis(sulfosuccinimidyl)suberate. Both N-methyl scopolamine and oxotremorine-M acted in a cooperative manner to decrease kobsd by 4.5- and 9.1-fold, respectively; the corresponding estimates of affinity (log KL) are -2.55 ± 0.13 and -2.29 ± 0.14. Gallamine and the allosteric ligand obidoxime decreased kobsd by more than 100-fold (log KL = -4.12 ± 0.04) and by only 1.1-fold (log KL = -1.73 ± 0.91), respectively. Obidoxime reversed the effect of N-methyl scopolamine, oxotremorine-M, and gallamine in a manner that could be described by a model in which all four ligands compete for a common allosteric site. Ligands generally assumed to be exclusively orthosteric therefore can act at the allosteric site of the M2 receptor, albeit at comparatively high concentrations.
Macroeconomic uncertainty, growth and inflation in the Eurozone: a causal approach

ABSTRACT In this article, we evaluate the causal relationship between macroeconomic uncertainty indices, inflation and growth rate for 17 Eurozone countries on a county-level examination. In performing a series of linear and nonlinear causality tests, we find little evidence of a causal relationship between uncertainty and macroeconomic variables. Thus, macroeconomic analysis based on uncertainty indices should be treated with caution.
Modeling Stock Market Volatility Using GARCH Models: A Case Study of Nairobi Securities Exchange (NSE)

The aim of this paper is to use the General Autoregressive Conditional Heteroscedastic (GARCH) type models for the estimation of volatility of the daily returns of the Kenyan stock market: that is Nairobi Securities Exchange (NSE). The conditional variance is estimated using the data from March 2013 to February 2016. We use both symmetric and asymmetric models to capture the most common features of the stock markets like leverage effect and volatility clustering. The results show that the volatility process is highly persistent, thus, giving evidence of the existence of risk premium for the NSE index return series. This in turn supports the positive correlation hypothesis: that is between volatility and expected stock returns. Another fact revealed by the results is that the asymmetric GARCH models provide better fit for NSE than the symmetric models. This proves the presence of leverage effect in the NSE return series.
Mutational Analysis of Catalytic Sites of the Cell Wall Lytic N-Acetylmuramoyl-l-alanine Amidases CwlC and CwlV*

The Bacillus subtilis CwlC and theBacillus polymyxa var. colistinus CwlV are the cell wall lytic N-acetylmuramoyl-l-alanine amidases in the CwlB (LytC) family. Deletion in the CwlC amidase from the C terminus to residue 177 did not change the amidase activity. However, when the deletion was extended slightly toward the N terminus, the amidase activity was entirely lost. Further, the N-terminal deletion mutant without the first 19 amino acids did not have the amidase activity. These results indicate that the N-terminal half (residues 1–176) of the CwlC amidase, the region homologous to the truncated CwlV (CwlVt), is a catalytic domain. Site-directed mutagenesis was performed on 20 highly conserved amino acid residues within the catalytic domain of CwlC. The amidase activity was lost completely on single amino acid substitutions at two residues (Glu-24 and Glu-141). Similarly, the substitution of the two glutamic acid residues (E26Q and E142Q) of the truncated CwlV (CwlV1), which corresponded to Glu-24 and Glu-141 of CwlC, was critical to the amidase activity. The EDTA-treated CwlV1 did not have amidase activity. The amidase activity of the EDTA-treated CwlV1 was restored by the addition of Zn2+, Mn2+, and Co2+ but not by the addition of Mg2+ and Ca2+. These results suggest that the amidases in the CwlB family are zinc amidases containing two glutamic acids as catalytic residues.
Epoetin alfa use in patients with ESRD: an analysis of recent US prescribing patterns and hemoglobin outcomes.

BACKGROUND It is unknown to what degree physicians adjust erythropoietin doses to achieve hemoglobin levels (11.0 to 12.0 g/dL [110 to 120 g/L]) recommended by the National Kidney Foundation-Kidney Disease Outcomes Quality Initiative (NKF-K/DOQI) for patients with end-stage renal disease receiving hemodialysis. Our objective is to examine epoetin alfa prescribing patterns for achieving the target hemoglobin level range in this population. METHODS Monthly hemoglobin levels and epoetin alfa doses from 2 large databases were retrospectively analyzed. One data set comprised 31,267 patients from the Fresenius Medical Care-North America (FMC-NA) database, and the other comprised 128,761 patients based on claims for Medicare services. RESULTS Longitudinal evaluation of the FMC-NA data set showed that hemoglobin levels in patients administered epoetin alfa cycled in and out of the NKF-K/DOQI hemoglobin target range, and doses were decreased in 98.8% of patients with persistent hemoglobin levels greater than 12.0 g/dL (> 120 g/L). Hemoglobin levels in patients from the Medicare data set that initially were outside the target range migrated into the range with epoetin alfa dose titration. FMC-NA patients with a 3-month average hemoglobin level less than 11.0 g/dL (< 110 g/L) were administered significantly greater epoetin alfa doses than those with average hemoglobin levels greater than 12.0 g/dL (> 120 g/L; 21,838 versus 13,503 U/wk; P < 0.0001). Less than 0.4% of patients administered epoetin alfa were persistently anemic (hemoglobin < 11.0 g/dL [< 110 g/L]) and were administered persistently high doses (> 30,000 U/wk), but failed to respond with a 0.5-g/dL or greater (> or = 5-g/L) increase in hemoglobin levels. CONCLUSION In these analyses, few hemodialysis patients experienced persistent anemia while being administered high epoetin alfa doses. Physicians appeared to appropriately adjust doses to achieve hemoglobin levels recommended by the NKF-K/DOQI guidelines.
In vitro cytotoxicity of dental composites based on new and traditional polymerization chemistries.

UNLABELLED The biological response to dental restorative polymer composites is mediated by the release of unpolymerized residual monomers. Several new composite formulations claim to reduce unpolymerized residual mass. The current study assessed the cytotoxic responses to several of these new formations and compared them with more traditional formulations. Our hypothesis predicted that if these new polymerization chemistries reduce unpolymerized residual mass, the cytotoxicity of these materials also should be reduced relative to traditional formulations. METHODS Materials (HerculiteXRV, Premise, Filtek Supreme, CeramxDuo, Hermes, and Quixfil) were tested in vitro in direct contact with Balb mouse fibroblasts, initially, then after aging in artificial saliva for 0, 1, 3, 5, or 8 weeks. The toxicity was determined by using the MTT assay to the estimate SDH activity. Knoop hardness of the materials also was measured at 0 and 8 weeks to determine whether surface breakdown of the materials in artificial saliva contributed to cytotoxic responses. RESULTS Materials with traditional methacrylate chemistries (Herculite, Premise, Filtek Supreme) were severely (>50%) cytotoxic throughout the 8-week interval, but materials with newer chemistries or filling strategies (Hermes, CeramXDuo, and Quixfil) improved over time of aging in artificial saliva. Hermes showed the least cytotoxicity at 8 weeks, and was statistically equivalent to Teflon negative controls. Hardness of the materials was unaffected by exposure to artificial saliva. CONCLUSIONS Newer polymerization and filling strategies for dental composites show promise for reducing the release of unpolymerized components and cytotoxicity.
Reduced numbers of circulating group 2 innate lymphoid cells in patients with common variable immunodeficiency

Recent studies identified an emerging role of group 2 and 3 innate lymphoid cells (ILCs) as key players in the generation of T‐dependent and T‐independent antibody production. In this retrospective case‐control study, CD117+ ILCs (including the majority of ILC2 and ILC3) were reduced in patients with common variable immunodeficiency (CVID). The reduction in CD117+ ILCs was distinctive to CVID and could not be observed in patients with X‐linked agammaglobulinemia. Patients with a more pronounced reduction in CD117+ ILC numbers showed significantly lower numbers of peripheral MZ‐like B cells and an increased prevalence of chronic, non‐infectious enteropathy. Subsequent phenotyping of ILC subsets in CVID revealed that the reduction in CD117+ ILC numbers is due to a reduction in ILC2 numbers. In vitro expansion of CVID ILC2 in response to IL‐2, IL‐7, IL‐25 and IL‐33 was impaired. Furthermore, upregulation of MHCII and IL‐2RA in response to IL‐2, IL‐7, IL‐25 and IL‐33 was impaired in CVID ILC2. Thus, our results indicate a dysregulation of ILC subsets with a reduction in ILC2 numbers in CVID, however, further studies are needed to explore whether ILC abnormalities are a primary finding or secondary to disease complications encountered in CVID.
Phenotype of NK Cells and Cytotoxic/Apoptotic Mediators Expression in Ectopic Pregnancy

Citation Laskarin G, Redzovic A, Vukelic P, Veljkovic D, Gulic T, Haller H, Rukavina D. Phenotype of NK cells and cytotoxic/apoptotic mediators expression in ectopic pregnancy. Am J Reprod Immunol 2010
Allergic reaction to spinal cord stimulator.

OBJECTIVE The objective was to report on the possibility of allergic reaction to the components of a spinal cord stimulator. DESIGN We describe a severe allergic reaction after the insertion of a spinal cord stimulator in a patient with complex regional pain syndrome type 1. SETTING The patient was being followed in an office-based pain management practice. PATIENT The patient is a 41-year-old woman with complex regional pain syndrome type 1, posttrauma. INTERVENTION Insertion of a cervical and lumbar spinal cord stimulator. OUTCOME MEASURES The outcome measures were a numerical scale of pain intensity and the ability to perform the activities of daily living. RESULTS Adequate pain control complicated by allergic reaction. CONCLUSIONS There exists a possibility that a patient may experience an allergic reaction to spinal cord stimulator components. Recognition of such contact sensitivity is important for physicians implanting such devices. Patients may be misdiagnosed as having infections, which can delay appropriate management; definitive diagnosis can be confirmed with a patch test. Treatment consists of removal of such devices.
Short-term effects of olanzapine in Huntington disease.

OBJECTIVE The aim was to describe the short-term (6 months) effects of olanzapine on behavioral and motor clinical manifestations in a group of 11 patients with Huntington disease. METHOD An open-pilot study of olanzapine (5 mg) in patients with clinical and genetic diagnosis of Huntington disease was used. The Unified Huntington Disease Rating Scale for clinical assessment and the Total Functional Capacity score for the disease-stage evaluation were used. A statistical analysis was performed to compare the effects of olanzapine on the Unified Huntington Disease Rating Scale scores at time 0 (baseline) and at time 1 (6 months). Comparisons of motor scores, of single behavioral items, and of TFC scores were performed within the group. RESULTS The behavioral assessment score of items regarding depression, anxiety, irritability, and obsessions showed a significant improvement (range of p, 0.0134-0.048). Given the total behavioral scores (sum of all the items investigated), five patients significantly improved their behavioral score after a 6-month treatment (range of p, 0.013-0.047). Choreic movements improved, although not significantly (0.05 < or = p < or = 1). CONCLUSIONS Olanzapine is a potentially useful antipsychotic drug, with significant short-term effects on behavioral changes, mainly in patients with severe psychiatric symptoms at the onset. It might be considered as a possible therapeutic choice for treatment of Huntington disease.
Knowledge composition, Jacobs externalities and innovation performance in European regions

ABSTRACT Knowledge composition, Jacobs externalities and innovation performance in European regions. Regional Studies. This paper analyses the role of the composition of the regional stock of knowledge in explaining innovation performance. It provides three main contributions. First, it investigates the relevance of Jacobs knowledge externalities in characterizing the technological capabilities at the regional level. Second, it applies the Hidalgo–Hausmann (HH) methodology to analyze knowledge composition by looking at patent data of 214 regions, located in 27 state members of the European Union during the years 1994–2008. Third, it econometrically assesses the role of knowledge base composition in a knowledge-generation function. The results of the empirical analysis confirm that the characterization of the regional knowledge base through the HH indicators provides interesting information to understanding its composition and to qualify it as a provider of the Jacobs knowledge externalities that account for the dynamics of regional innovative performance.
Ultrasound-guided Central Line Insertion and Standard Peripherally Inserted Catheter Placement in Preterm Infants: Comparing Results from Prospective Study in a Single-center

Background: Among preterm infants, the peripherally inserted central catheter (PICC) is the standard line for central venous access; however, its placement exposes them to hypothermia and pain. Ultrasound (US)-guided central line insertion may be less morbid than standard PICC line. Aims: To determine the ease, success rate, and morbidity associated with US-guided central line insertion in the internal jugular vein (IJV) by comparing it to the standard PICC line placement. Materials and Methods: This is a single-center nonrandomized prospective study evaluating preterm infants between October 2013 and June 2014. Patients were allocated into two groups: The standard group (control group) who underwent blind PICC line insertion and the intervention group who underwent a percutaneous US-guided central line insertion in the IJV. The epicutaneo-cava-catheter was used in both groups. Results: Fifty neonates were enrolled on study. A statistically difference in favor of US-IJV insertion was noted concerning the rate of successful first attempt (P < 0.001), insertion (P = 0.001), and procedure duration (P < 0.001) and number of trials (P < 0.001) compared to PICC. No difference in complications (P = 1.000) was noted. Conclusion: US guided catheterization of the IJV technique is faster than PICC line insertion with higher rates of successful first attempt and insertion, less procedure duration and fewer number of trials compared to PICC line insertion. There were no differences in complications.
E2F2 induces MCM4, CCNE2 and WHSC1 upregulation in ovarian cancer and predicts poor overall survival.

OBJECTIVE To explore the genes co-upregulated with E2F2 in ovarian cancer and their association with survival outcomes in ovarian cancer patients. MATERIALS AND METHODS The raw data of GDS3592 was downloaded from GEO datasets for reanalysis. The overlapping subset between the top 150 upregulated genes in ovarian cancer epithelial cells (CEPIs) and the E2F2 positively correlated genes (Pearson's r≥0.5) in ovarian cancer cohort in TCGA was identified. The association between E2F2, MCM4, CCNE2 and WHSC1 and overall survival (OS) and recurrence-free survival (RFS) in ovarian cancer patients were assessed using Kaplan-Meier plotter. RESULTS E2F2 is a significantly upregulated transcription factor in CEPIs. MCM4, CCNE2, and WHSC1 are co-upregulated with E2F2 among the 308 ovarian cancer samples (Pearson's r=0.5159, 0.3963 and 0.4941 respectively). Enforced E2F2 expression significantly enhanced MCM4, CCNE2 and WHSC1 transcription in SKOV3 and A2780 cells. High E2F2 and CCNE2 expression are associated with worse OS (high E2F2, HR: 1.48, 95%CI: 1.17-1.85, p<0.01; high CCNE2, HR: 1.36, 95%CI: 1.15-1.6, p<0.01). High MCM expression might be associated with worse RFS at the margin of significance (HR: 1.18, 95%CI: 1.00-1.39, p=0.055). CONCLUSIONS MCM4, CCNE2, and WHSC1 are co-upregulated with E2F2 in ovarian cancer. Enforced E2F2 expression significantly increased MCM4, CCNE2, and WHSC1 expression in ovarian cancer cells. High E2F2 and CCNE2 expression are associated with worse OS among ovarian cancer patients.
PENGARUH PELATIHAN PASAR MODAL, RETURN, PERSEPSI RISIKO, GENDER, DAN KEMAJUAN TEKNOLOGI PADA MINAT INVESTASI MAHASISWA

This research aims to test an effect of capital market training, return, perception of risk, gender and technological advances to interest of investment. The researcher wish to see factors that affect investment interest of university student which notabene have no experience at stock investment in capital market . Data in this research obtained directly using a questionnaire from 95 respondents. The sampling method was Purposive sampling. The nominal form of primary data then converted to interval quantitative data using method of successive interval. Based on analytic regression, capital market training and return significantly affect interest of investment. Test also found “interesting” matter, perception of risk, gender and technological advances variable are not affecting interest of investment significanly . Differ from previous researches, university student’s perception about risk does not affect their interest to investing in capital market.
Precious metals, oil and the exchange rate: contemporaneous spillovers

ABSTRACT We investigate the contemporaneous spillovers among precious metals, crude oil and the US$ exchange rate. We contend that conventional reduced-form vector autoregressive (VAR) models based on lead/lag relations do not fully capture the interactions among these series as these models ignore the contemporaneous effects. Using a Structural VAR model, we identify these contemporaneous spillovers, which are shown to be strong and asymmetric. We further show that not taking into consideration the contemporaneous interactions among these assets leads to inaccurate findings and inevitably to inaccurate interpretations of the causal relations among them.
Professional Fee Ratios for US Hospital Discharge Data

Background:US hospital discharge datasets typically report facility charges (ie, room and board), excluding professional fees (ie, attending physicians’ charges). Objectives:We aimed to estimate professional fee ratios (PFR) by year and clinical diagnosis for use in cost analyses based on hospital discharge data. Subjects:The subjects consisted of a retrospective cohort of Truven Health MarketScan 2004–2012 inpatient admissions (n=23,594,605) and treat-and-release emergency department (ED) visits (n=70,771,576). Measures:PFR per visit was assessed as total payments divided by facility-only payments. Research Design:Using ordinary least squares regression models controlling for selected characteristics (ie, patient age, comorbidities, etc.), we calculated adjusted mean PFR for admissions by health insurance type (commercial or Medicaid) per year overall and by Major Diagnostic Category (MDC), Diagnostic Related Group, Healthcare Cost and Utilization Project Clinical Classification Software, and primary International Classification of Diseases, 9th Edition, Clinical Modification (ICD-9-CM) diagnosis, and for ED visits per year overall and by MDC and primary ICD-9-CM diagnosis. Results:Adjusted mean PFR for 2012 admissions, including preceding ED visits, was 1.264 (95% CI, 1.264, 1.265) for commercially insured admissions (n=2,614,326) and 1.177 (1.176, 1.177) for Medicaid admissions (n=816,503), indicating professional payments increased total per-admission payments by an average 26.4% and 17.7%, respectively, above facility-only payments. Adjusted mean PFR for 2012 ED visits was 1.286 (1.286, 1.286) for commercially insured visits (n=8,808,734) and 1.440 (1.439, 1.440) for Medicaid visits (n=2,994,696). Supplemental tables report 2004–2012 annual PFR estimates by clinical classifications. Conclusions:Adjustments for professional fees are recommended when hospital facility-only financial data from US hospital discharge datasets are used to estimate health care costs.
Different Roles of Runx2 During Early Neural Crest–Derived Bone and Tooth Development

We compared gene expression profiles between Runx2 null mutant mice and their wildtype littermates. Most Runx2‐dependent genes in bones were different from those in teeth, implying that the target genes of Runx2 are tissue‐dependent. In vitro experiments determined that Runx2 is a part of the FGF and BMP signaling pathways in tooth and bone development, respectively.
Relationship between liquidity and profitability: Empirical study from the Czech Republic

The paper deals with relationship between liquidity and profitability ratios in the Czech Republic to investigate whether there exists correlation (a) within selected liquidity ratios and (b) selected liquidity ratios and selected profitability ratio in the Czech Republic during the period 2003-2013. Empirical data from Bureau van Dijk, Amadeus database were analysed from the point of both time-series and cross-sectional analysis. The main findings of the paper are that correlation within selected liquidity ratios is fairly strong while correlation between selected liquidity ratios and selected profitability ratio is relatively weak.