Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Polyamine Depletion Attenuates Isoproterenol-Induced Hypertrophy and Endoplasmic Reticulum Stress in Cardiomyocytes

Background/Aim: Polyamines (putrescine, spermidine and spermine) play an essential role in cell growth, differentiation and apoptosis. Hypertrophy is accompanied by an increase in polyamine synthesis and endoplasmic reticulum stress (ERS) in cardiomyocytes. The present study was undertaken to elucidate the molecular interactions between polyamines, ERS and cardiac hypertrophy. Methods: Myocardial hypertrophy was simulated by incubating cultured neonatal rat cardiomyocytes in 100 nM isoproterenol (ISO). Polyamine deletion was achieved using 0.5 mM difluoromethylornithine (DFMO). Hypertrophy was estimated using cell surface area measurements, total protein concentrations and atrial natriuretic peptide (ANP) gene expression. Apoptosis was measured using flow cytometry and transmission electron microscopy. Expression of ornithine decarboxylase (ODC) and spermidine/spermine N1-acetyltransferase (SSAT) were analyzed via real-time PCR and Western blotting. Protein expression of ERS and apoptosis factors were analyzed using Western blotting. Results: DFMO (0.5 mM and 2 mM) treatments significantly attenuated hypertrophy and apoptosis induced by ISO in cardiomyocytes. DFMO also decreased lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) and malondialdehyde (MDA) level in the culture medium. In addition, DFMO (0.5 mM) down regulated the expression of ODC, glucose-regulated protein 78 (GRP78), C/EBP homologous protein (CHOP), cleaved caspase-12, and Bax and up regulated the expression of SSAT and Bcl-2. Finally, these changes were partly reversed by the addition of exogenous putrescine (0.5 mM). Conclusion: The data presented here suggest that polyamine depletion could inhibit cardiac hypertrophy and apoptosis, which is closely related to the ERS pathway.
Financial Flexibility, Bidder’s MaA Performance, and the Cross-Border Effect

This study investigates the effect of the value of financial flexibility on bidder’s merger and acquisition (M&A) performance, including the differences between domestic and cross-border M&As and the effect of the financial crisis. Using data gathered between 2005-2012 of 3,882 M&As with the bidder from developed Europe or the U.S., OLS regressions are used to predict the effect of value of financial flexibility on the bidder’s cumulative abnormal returns (CARs). Findings reveal partial evidence to support a positive effect of the value of financial flexibility and the cross-border effect on bidder’s M&A performance. Collectively, these findings increase understanding of the interdependence of financial flexibility and investments.
Incorporating patient reported outcome measures in clinical practice: development and validation of a questionnaire for inflammatory arthritis.

BACKGROUND Rheumatology is embarking on a fundamental redesign of rheumatic disease care. It has become mandatory not only to recognise disease activity core set data, but also the risks for other co-morbidities associated with inflammatory arthritis. Measurement of patient reported outcomes have become critical in both standard clinical practice and long term observational studies. OBJECTIVES To assess validity, reliability and responsiveness to change of a patient self-reported questionnaire which can assess construct outcome measures of patients with inflammatory arthritis. METHODS Four hundred and sixty-two patients with inflammatory arthritis were included in this work. The questionnaire was developed by integrating information obtained from patients suffering from inflammatory arthritis based on the Rasch model for ordered response options. The questionnaire includes assessment for functional disability, quality of life, VAS for joint pain, global status, fatigue, duration of morning stiffness, review of the systems, falls and cardiovascular risks, self-helplessness, as well as self reported joint pain. RESULTS The questionnaire was reliable as demonstrated by a high-standardised alpha (0.891-0.992). The questionnaire items correlated significantly (p<0.01) with clinical parameters of disease activity. RA patient reported tender joints correlated significantly with the physician's scores (0.842). Changes in functional disability, quality of life as well as self-helplessness scores showed significant (p<0.01) variation with disease activity status. The PROMs questionnaire also showed a high degree of comprehensibility. (9.4). CONCLUSIONS Integrating patient reported outcome measures into standard clinical practice is feasible and applicable. This version of a multidimensional questionnaire was found to be valid and reliable. It provides informative quantitative measures for the disease activity core set data, and in the mean time, facilitates assessing the patients' health related quality of life measure, cardiovascular and falls risks on an individual basis.
COMPARING SITUATION AWARENESS MEASUREMENT TECHNIQUES IN A LOW FIDELITY AIR TRAFFIC CONTROL SIMULATION

Changes to the National Airspace System will occur as part of the Next Generation Air Transport System. The consequences of these changes on the situation awareness of pilots and air traffic controllers need to be identified. Before situation awareness metrics can be deployed towards this goal, metrics that can unambiguously capture baseline levels of situation awareness in the current day National Airspace System must be developed. Towards the ends of developing such a measure we investigated the usefulness of three existing measures of situation awareness, a subjective technique, an offline probe technique, and an online probe technique, in predicting performance on a low fidelity air traffic control simulation. Existing situation awareness metrics demonstrated a capacity to predict performance metrics relating to airspace safety, but none were able to effectively predict important elements of airspace efficiency, viz. enroute and handoff delay. In some cases, the subjective technique and online probe technique interacted with a measure of workload.
Internationalisation strategies of technology-driven small- and medium-sized enterprises

SMEs are increasingly active in international markets. Absence of sufficient resources limits the strategic options available to SMEs. This study examines SMEs’ use of the cooperation strategy to internationalise, both from a cross-sectional and longitudinal perspective. An analysis of data collected in 54 multinational SMEs operating in technology-driven industries suggests an inverted U-shaped relationship between SMEs’ size and their tendency to cooperate with partners to internationalise. In addition, SMEs’ internationalisation strategies are relatively inert. The results of the paper suggest that SMEs can make more effective use of different internationalisation strategies by acquiring knowledge of the pros and cons of the different strategies and by evaluating their choices on a periodical, structural basis, using their resource position as a guiding parameter.
Sex‐specific association of the reelin gene with bipolar disorder

The Reelin gene (RELN) encodes a secretory glycoprotein critical for brain development and synaptic plasticity. Post‐mortem studies have shown lower Reelin protein levels in the brains of patients with schizophrenia and bipolar disorder (BP) compared with controls. In a recent genome‐wide association study of schizophrenia, the strongest association was found in a marker within RELN, although this association was seen only in women. In this study, we investigated whether genetic variation in RELN is associated with BP in a large family sample. We genotyped 75 tagSNPs and 6 coding SNPs in 1,188 individuals from 318 nuclear families, including 554 affected offspring. Quality control measures, transmission‐disequilibrium tests (TDTs), and empirical simulations were performed in PLINK. We found a significant overtransmission of the C allele of rs362719 to BP offspring (OR = 1.47, P = 5.9 × 10−4); this withstood empirical correction for testing of multiple markers (empirical P = 0.048). In a hypothesis‐driven secondary analysis, we found that the association with rs362719 was almost entirely accounted for by overtransmission of the putative risk allele to affected females (ORFemale = 1.79, P = 8.9 × 10−5 vs. ORMale = 1.12, P = 0.63). These results provide preliminary evidence that genetic variation in RELN is associated with susceptibility to BP and, in particular, to BP in females. However, our findings should be interpreted with caution until further replication and functional assays provide convergent support. © 2009 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
A Novel Active Differential/Common-Mode Load for True Mixed-Mode Load-Pull Systems

A novel active load-pull system with differential and common-mode load tuning capability is presented in this paper. The system is able to measure and tune, without the limitations of passive systems, both differential and common-mode loads independently, and to monitor most of the interest performances, as differential and common-mode output power, in real-time. The novel system has proven to be a crucial tool for the characterization of active differential devices
Pharmacogenomics of blood pressure response to antihypertensive treatment

Purpose identification Inter-individual variability in blood pressure response to treatment is well documented, but a clinically useful means to distinguish responders from non-responders has been elusive. With the advent of new technologies and genomic knowledge, more investigators are seeking to identify genetic determinants of blood pressure response to therapy. Study selection We identified studies of candidate polymorphisms from an initial PubMed search using the MESH terms ‘Hypertension: Drug Therapy’ and ‘Genetics’ or ‘Pharmacogenetics’, limiting results to English-language publications on studies in human adults. We further identified specific polymorphisms of interest noted in earlier reviews and performed additional PubMed searches based on these candidate genes. Pertinent studies were further extracted from the references of studies already identified. We focused on clinical trials that measured blood pressure response to a medication or class of medications over a minimum of 4 weeks. Data extraction We evaluated studies looking at blood pressure response to commonly used classes of antihypertensive medications by major genetic variants. Results of analysis Although many studies show that blood pressure response to a given class of antihypertensive medications varies by genotype for different polymorphisms, none of the genotypes identified consistently predicted blood pressure response. Conclusions Common variants may influence response to diuretics, beta-blockers, angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitors, and angiotensin receptor blockers, but studies of polymorphisms have generally yielded conflicting results. The inclusion of pharmacogenomic studies in large clinical trials and other more innovative investigative methods may provide greater clarity of the potential role for genotyping in the treatment of patients with hypertension.
Are women with polycystic ovary syndrome at increased cardiovascular disease risk later in life?

Abstract To date, the world’s leading cause of death amongst women is cardiovascular disease. Polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) is associated with an unfavorable cardiometabolic profile in early life. Apart from dyslipidemia, obesity and onset of type 2 diabetes mellitus, androgens are thought to influence cardiovascular health. The question rises whether women with PCOS are truly at risk for cardiovascular disease in later life. In this review paper, we aim to reflect on this assumed relation based on studies in different stages of life in women with PCOS. Cardiovascular risk factors (type 2 diabetes mellitus, obesity and metabolic syndrome), surrogate outcomes (flow-mediated dilation, carotid intima-media thickness and coronary artery calcium) and clinical long-term outcomes (cardiovascular disease and mortality) will be summarized. Data on cardiovascular disease and mortality in peri- and postmenopausal women with PCOS appear to be controversial. Whether androgens have a protective or unfavorable influence on the manifestation of cardiovascular disease remains uncertain. The need for large, prospective, well-phenotyped cohort studies of women with PCOS is high. Only then will we be able to answer this research question.
Histopathological examination of internal limiting membrane surface after scraping with diamond‐dusted membrane scraper

Editor, T he intentional removal of the internal limiting membrane (ILM) and epiretinal membrane and the detachment of the posterior vitreous cortex for various forms of traction maculopathy is being performed more frequently (Eckardt et al. 1997). Technically, the most difficult step during ILM removal is the creation of an ILM flap; the diamond-dusted membrane scraper (DDMS) can be used to create an ILM flap that can be grasp with forceps (Lewis et al. 1997; Oshima et al. 1998). However, the underlying neurosensory retina may be damaged by the diamonddusted tip (Kuhn et al. 1998). We have examined the histological effect of abrading the ILM surface with the DDMS in eyes undergoing vitrectomy with ILM removal. Written informed consent was obtained from the three patients after a full explanation of the experimental aspects of the treatment. Patient 1 was a 51-year-old woman with a retinal detachment associated with a macular hole in a highly myopic left eye; patient 2 was a 61-year-old woman with macular oedema associated with a branch retinal vein occlusion in the left eye; patient 3 was a 45-year-old man with a macular hole in the left eye. In patients 1 and 2, a posterior vitreous detachment was created, the ILM was abraded over the macula with the DDMS and an ILM flap was created. The ILM was then stained by indocyanine green (Ophthagreen ; Santen Pharmacy Corp., Osaka, Japan). The flap was grasped with microforceps and the ILM was removed from the area around the fovea. Patient 3 underwent the same procedures except that the ILM was not scraped with the DDMS before removal. The excised ILM was routinely processed for scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The inner smooth surface of the ILM specimen that was facing the vitreous was evaluated by comparing it with the outer rough surface facing the retina through observation under a dissecting microscope. Examination of the specimen from patient 1 under a dissecting microscope showed that several areas of the ILM surface appeared irregular because of a loss of the tissue on the ILM (Fig. 1A). Low-magnification SEM showed that multiple, dark smooth surfaces with
Five-year trends in patterns of drug use among people who use stimulants in dance contexts in the United Kingdom.

AIMS To describe and evaluate trends in the use of stimulant drugs over a 5-year period using an under-studied data collection method. DESIGN Repeated-measures cross-sectional survey. SETTING AND PARTICIPANTS Annual magazine-based survey targeting people who use stimulant drugs in dance contexts. MEASUREMENTS Life-time use prevalence (ever used), age of first use, current use prevalence (any use within the last month) and extent of use within the last month (number of days used) for a range of stimulant drugs. Additional measures of quantity of ecstasy used were also collected. FINDINGS Trends in life-time and current prevalence over time have been detected and comparisons made between different stimulant drugs. Evidence is obtained of broad stability in patterns of stimulant use in respect of age of first use and frequency of use among ongoing users. Despite an apparent reduction in the current prevalence of ecstasy use, the proportion of heavy users (usually >4 pills per session) has more than doubled between 1999 and 2003. CONCLUSIONS This purposively sampled population study has yielded time trend data broadly consistent with other indicators, where they exist, and also has demonstrable potential to identify new drug trends. Further comparisons of purposive samples and randomly formed samples are needed.
Resveratrol inhibits right ventricular hypertrophy induced by monocrotaline in rats

1. Resveratrol (RSV), a polyphenol in red wine, exhibits cardioprotective effects in vitro, such as inhibition of angiotensin II‐ or phenylephrine‐induced cardiomyocyte hypertrophy in rat neonatal myocyte cultures and suppression of cardiac fibroblast proliferation. The aim of the present study was to investigate the protective effects of RSV against monocrotaline (MCT)‐induced right ventricular (RV) hypertrophy in rats.
Economic Competitiveness in the Global Textile Supply Chain: Examination of Logistics Cost Structures

Cesca, Lynsey Anne, Economic Competitiveness in the Global Textile Supply Chain: Examination of Logistics Cost Structures. (Under the direction of Dr. Nancy Cassill and Dr. Michelle Jones). The purpose of this research was to examine the logistical cost structures along the global textile and apparel supply chain and their relationship to competitive advantage, strategy, performance and overall economic competitiveness. The topics were developed in accordance with the model proposed in Logistics, Strategy and Structure: A Conceptual Framework written by Stock, Greis & Kasarda in 1999. The research focused on the supply chains within the US Bed-bath and Bottom weights markets with companies using purely domestic, global and mixed strategies. A sample group involving US retailers, US/US manufacturers, US/US-Offshore manufacturers and sourcing agents was chosen for each market. As part of a collaborative research study focusing on economic competitiveness, a questionnaire was developed and administered during information interviews to the selected sample. Section II of the survey posed questions directly dealing with logistics costs, competitive advantage, strategy and performance. With regard to logistics costs, the research sought to determine the most significant costs, as pertaining to the textile and apparel supply chain, as well as define them. It also examined each logistics cost structure and its relation to the finished product cost. Regarding competitive advantage, the research was used to provide and verify a definition. It also determined the advantages resulting from the use of specific logistical chains and cost optimization plans with their relationship to economic competitiveness. The research was also used in order to determine whether there was a relationship between logistical cost structures and economic competitiveness in terms of strategy and performance. Companies used for the information interview process were selected on the basis of annual sales and growth rates from 1999-2003, reputation, sourcing strategies and product mixes. The finalized sample contained 18 companies with 33 total respondents having an average of 25 years of experience. Four trips were made in order to individually interview executives from each sample company; each to Hong Kong, New York City, Miami and a driving trip of the Southeastern US. ECONOMIC COMPETITIVENESS IN THE GLOBAL TEXTILE SUPPLY CHAIN: EXAMINATION OF LOGISTICS COST STRUCTURES
Osteoporosis due to Glucocorticoid Use in Children with Chronic Illness

Osteoporosis is increasingly recognized as a complication of chronic childhood illnesses, particularly when glucocorticoids (GCs) are necessary for treatment. Elucidation of the mechanisms leading to bone fragility in these settings requires disentanglement of the relative contributions of myriad risk factors, including disease activity, muscle weakness, immobilization, delayed growth and puberty, compromised nutrition, and osteotoxic medications. Over the years, bone mass and density evaluations by dual energy X-ray absorptiometry (DXA) have become popular for assessing bone health in children; however, such measurements are difficult to interpret because of the confounding effect of bone size and the lack of DXA-based densitometric criteria for defining osteoporosis in childhood. Recently, a new diagnostic approach for evaluation of densitometric data in children has been suggested, driven by Frost’s mechanostat theory. A diagnostic algorithm based on the mechanostat theory of bone-muscle development is proposed for the characterization of bone disease in children with chronic illness. In addition to DXA-based assessments, techniques such as peripheral quantitative computerized tomography and ilial histomorphometry, for which there are pediatric reference data, are gaining ground in the characterization of skeletal changes due to chronic illness. Although these diagnostic techniques expand our understanding of osteoporosis in children, they do not replace clinical assessment. Concrete clinical evidence for GC-induced bone fragility can be seen in spinal changes due to vertebral compression, with spinal morphometry emerging as an essential, but frequently overlooked, tool in the evaluation of children’s bone health. Presently, osteoporosis treatment in the chronic illness setting remains experimental and should be restricted to clinical studies. Following an understanding of the natural history of GC-induced osteoporosis in children, randomized, placebo-controlled prevention and intervention trials will be the next step toward the development of clinical practice guidelines.
Correlation between the potency of flavonoids for cytochrome c reduction and inhibition of cardiolipin‐induced peroxidase activity

There are large differences between flavonoids to protect against apoptosis, a process in which cytochrome c (Cyt c) plays a key role. In this work, we show that 7 of 13 flavonoids studied have a capacity to reduce Cyt c similar or higher than ascorbate, the flavonols quercetin, kaempferol and myricetin, flavanol epigallocatechin-gallate, anthocyanidins cyanidin and malvidin, and the flavone luteolin. In contrast, the kaempferol 3(O)- and 3,4'(O)-methylated forms, the flavanone naringenin, and also apigenin and chrysin, had a negligible reducing capacity. Equilibrium dialysis and quenching of 1,6-diphenyl-1,3,5-hexatriene fluorescence experiments showed that flavonoids did not interfere with Cyt c binding to cardiolipin (CL)/phosphatidylcholine (PC) vesicles. However, the CL-induced loss of Cyt c Soret band intensity was largely attenuated by flavonoids, pointing out a stabilizing action against Cyt c unfolding in the complex. Moreover, flavonoids that behave as Cyt c reductants also inhibited the pro-apoptotic CL-induced peroxidase activity of Cyt c, indicating that modulation of Cyt c signaling are probable mechanisms behind the protective biological activities of flavonoids. © 2016 BioFactors, 43(3):451-468, 2017.