Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Sexual size dimorphism predicts the frequency of multiple mating in the sex‐role reversed pipefish Syngnathus typhle

The sex‐role reversed pipefish Syngnathus typhle is a member of the Syngnathidae, a family of fishes in which males brood embryos on their body surface. As in most ectotherms, embryonic development is highly temperature dependent in syngnathids and male brooding periods are extended when water temperatures are reduced. The influence of temperature on reproduction is expected to effectively truncate the breeding season and reduce fecundity in cold waters, potentially enhancing the opportunity for both fecundity and sexual selection. We studied spatial variation in the morphology and reproductive biology of S. typhle in five European populations which vary in latitude and water temperature. Microsatellite analyses indicated that the average number of male mates per population ranged between 1.3 and 3.7. The frequency of multiple mating by males was negatively correlated with the degree of sexual size dimorphism in each population, suggesting that disproportionate increases in female fecundity may be able to compensate for increased male brood pouch capacity. Both sexes were larger and males had an increased brood size where water temperatures during the breeding season were lower. Morphological variation among populations may be mediated by differences in fecundity selection associated with different optimal reproductive strategies in cold and warm water environments.
CD8-positive primary cutaneous anaplastic large cell lymphoma with a fair prognosis.

induced cutaneous infarct. J Am Acad Dermatol 1982; Cutaneous ulceration after injection of polyethyleneglycol-modi ed interferon-alpha associated with visual 7: 674–677. 8. Rasokat H, Bendick C, Wemmer U, Steigleder GK. disturbances in a melanoma patient. Dermatol 2000; 201: 154–157. Aseptische Hautnekrose nach subkutaner Injektion von Interferon-a. Dtsch med Wschr 1989; 114: 458–560. 12. Müller-Vahl H. Aseptische Gewebsnekrose: eine schwerwiegende Komplikation nach intramuskulärer Injektion. 9. Sickler JB, Simmons RA, Cobb DK, Sherman KE. Cutaneous necrosis associated with interferon alpha-2b. Dtsch Med Wochenschr 1984; 109: 786–792. 13. Bork K. Cutaneous side eVects of drugs. Philadelphia: Am J Gastroenterol 1998; 93: 463–464. 10. Christian B, Derrienic X, Aymard JP. Nécrose cutanée WB Saunders, 1988: 364–369. 14. Albrecht KH, Littmann K, Richter HJ, Eigler FW. Animal locale après injection d’interféron alpha. La Presse médicale. 1–8 Mai 1993; 22: 783. experiment studies of embolia cutis medicamentosa. Langenbecks Arch Chir 1984; 362: 17–23. 11. Heinzerling L, Dummer R, Wildberger H, Burg G.
The Pros and Cons of Preserving a Functioning Arteriovenous Fistula after Kidney Transplantation

The autologous arteriovenous fistula (AVF) for hemodialysis burdens the cardiovascular system with increased cardiac output and pulmonary artery pressure, increasing cardiovascular risk. This article reviews literature on the benefits and drawbacks of a functioning AVF after kidney transplantation and discusses the cardiovascular effects of AVF closure. Several cohort studies demonstrate a significant cardiac burden of an AVF and improvement of cardiac dimensions after AVF ligation. However, no randomized trials have been conducted on routine AVF closure after successful kidney transplantation. Therefore, clinical trials are warranted to evaluate whether the cardiovascular benefits of routine AVF closure outweigh the potential harm for patients after successful kidney transplantation.
18F-Radiolabeled porous silicon particles for drug delivery : Tracer development and evaluation in rats

Poor biopharmaceutical properties such as low solubility and low permeability in the gastrointestinal (GI) tract plight many existing drugs and new chemical entities, presenting an impediment for efficient drug therapy. Incorporation of the drug to a delivery system based on a nanostructured material is increasingly investigated as a strategy to overcome these limitations and to achieve controlled and targeted delivery. Porous silicon (PSi) is a promising material for carrier-mediated drug delivery because of its biocompatibility, high chemical stability, and facile elimination from the body. Moreover, the physicochemical properties of PSi can be tailored by variation of the fabrication parameters and surface modifications to suit diverse payloads. Positron emission tomography (PET), a sensitive and quantitative method of molecular imaging, is a potent tool for drug delivery system development. Already at the preclinical stage PET can be employed for the investigation of drug delivery carrier biodistribution in vivo, thereby facilitating the selection of the most promising material candidates for further development and future drug delivery studies. In this dissertation, a direct nucleophilic radiolabeling method with a short-lived positron emitter fluorine-18 (18F) was developed for three different surface-modified PSi materials: thermally hydrocarbonized PSi (THCPSi), thermally carbonized PSi (TCPSi), and thermally oxidized PSi (TOPSi). Out of the investigated materials, nanosized [18F]THCPSi emerged as the one with the highest potential for imaging and drug delivery in terms radiolabeling yield, label stability, and bio­ compatibility in cell models in vitro, and was therefore forwarded to bio­ distribution studies in rats. After oral administration, [18F]THCPSi nanoparticles were shown to pass intact through the GI tract in 4 to 6 hours. Modification of [18F]THCPSi with a self-assembled layer of a fungal hydrophobin (HFBII) changed the hydrophilicity of the material bringing about bioadhesive properties that promoted gastric retention of the protein-coated nanoparticles. Intravenous delivery of [18F]THCPSi nanoparticles resulted in their rapid accumulation to the liver and spleen alluding to rapid immune recognition and removal of the particles from the bloodstream by macrophages of the mononuclear phagocyte system (MPS). HFBII-coating of the nanoparticles altered the adsorption of plasma proteins to the particle surface, which translated also to a change in the biodistribution pattern in vivo. In conclusion, the present work establishes 18F-radiolabeled particle tracers as useful means for the evaluation of new PSi-based drug delivery systems with PET.
Refining the Process of Sharing Problem-Solving Experience across Domain: A Hermeneutic Study

This paper demonstrates the application of hermeneutics to studying and refining an established process. While tradition sets hermeneutic inquiry in the realms of text interpretation, its analytic features can assist in dealing with many aspects of dynamic phenomena under study, such as development processes, which can be re-cast and subsequently re-interpreted as text analogues. In our research, we specifically focus on hermeneutic emphasis of historical and factual context, on iterative development of emergent understanding of information sources, and on dealing with the prejudices and biases of both researchers and their subjects. In this paper, hermeneutics was applied to studying a process of eliciting domain experience from multimedia developers, and recording this knowledge in the form of design patterns. As a result, a well-known process of “pattern mining” was elucidated and then refined and improved through the circles of hermeneutic revisions.
Takotsubo syndrome: not as benign as once believed

Takotsubo syndrome (TS), also known as stress-induced cardiomyopathy, was first reported in 1991 in Japan.1 It is more frequent in women than in men and is often triggered by emotional stress.1 The syndrome is characterized by a distinctive type of reversible left and/or right ventricular dysfunction with extensive akinesis typically affecting midventricular and apical segments of the heart.2,3 Although in the majority of cases the patients recover quickly, some patients experience severe cardiac dysfunction causing fulminant heart failure, cardiogenic shock, heart rupture, and ventricular fibrillation leading to death. The late recognition of TS in contemporary medicine may be partly explained by the fact that the initial clinical course of TS is indistinguishable from that of a myocardial infarction and acute heart failure. The first case of TS in Sweden was recognized and diagnosed in February 2005 at our clinic at Sahlgrenska University Hospital in Gothenburg (a tertiary healthcare centre serving a population of ∼1 000 000) but retrospective analysis identified some cases as early as 1989. Over the past 10 years, the number of diagnosed cases has increased steadily and, at present, we diagnose 3–5 new TS cases every month. Because of increasing awareness about the importance of TS, a national TS registry was established within the Swedish Coronary Angiography and Angioplasty Registry (SCAAR) platform4 in June 2009. Based on data from SCAAR, we estimate that as many as ∼2000 patients develop TS every year in Sweden. The true incidence of TS is probably much higher if we consider that subclinical and milder forms of TS do not receive medical attention. Therefore, despite its late recognition in Europe and worldwide, TS may be the most common form of cardiomyopathy. This syndrome thus deserves our full attention and engagement if we are going to advance our knowledge and use it to improve health outcomes in TS.
Establishing epigenetic domains via chromatin‐bound histone modifiers

The eukaryotic nucleus harbors the DNA genome, which associates with histones and other chromosomal proteins into a complex referred to as chromatin. It provides an additional layer of so‐called epigenetic information via histone modifications and DNA methylation on top of the DNA sequence that determines the cell's active gene expression program. The nucleus is devoid of internal organelles separated by membranes. Thus, free diffusive transport of proteins and RNA can occur throughout the space accessible for a given macromolecule. At the same time, chromatin is partitioned into different specialized structures such as nucleoli, chromosome territories, and heterochromatin domains that serve distinct functions. Here, we address the question of how the activity of chromatin‐modifying enzymes is confined to chromatin subcompartments. We discuss mechanisms for establishing activity gradients of diffusive chromatin‐modifying enzymes that could give rise to distinct chromatin domains within the cell nucleus. Interestingly, such gradients might directly result from immobilization of the enzymes on the flexible chromatin chain. Thus, locus‐specific tethering of these enzymes to chromatin could have the potential to establish, maintain, or modulate epigenetic patterns of characteristic domain size.
Diabetes Is Associated with Increased Rate of Cognitive Decline in Questionably Demented Elderly

Background: This study examines whether the association of diabetes with the rate of cognitive decline varies according to dementia severity. Methods: Longitudinal study on subjects residing in nursing homes and assisted living (n = 342). The Mini Mental State Examination (MMSE) was used to measure the rate of cognitive decline in diabetic and nondiabetic subjects who were nondemented (Clinical Dementia Rating, CDR = 0; n = 125), questionably demented (CDR = 0.5; n = 58) or frankly demented (CDR ≧1; n = 89) at baseline. Diagnosis of diabetes was ascertained by review of medical records and history. Results: Diabetes was associated with an increased rate of decline in the MMSE score of questionably demented subjects (p < 0.0001). In frankly demented subjects, diabetes tended to be associated with less cognitive decline (p = 0.04). Diabetes was not associated with the rate of MMSE decline in nondemented subjects (p = 0.89). Conclusion: In individuals with questionable dementia (CDR = 0.5), diabetes is associated with a faster rate of cognitive decline as measured by the MMSE, but not in nondemented (CDR = 0) or frankly demented (CDR ≧1) individuals.
The relationship between the INTERMED patient complexity instrument and Level of Care Utilisation System (LOCUS)

Abstract Objective: To investigate the concurrent and criterion validity of two independently developed measurement instruments, INTERMED and LOCUS, designed to improve the treatment and clinical management of patients with complex symptom manifestations. Methods: Participants (N = 66) were selected from hospital records based on the complexity of presenting symptoms, with tripartite diagnoses across biological, psychiatric and addiction domains. Biopsychosocial information from hospital records were submitted to INTERMED and LOCUS grids. In addition, Global Assessment of Functioning (GAF) ratings were gathered for statistical analyses. Results: The product moment correlation between INTERMED and LOCUS was 0.609 (p = .01). Inverse zero-order correlations for INTERMED and LOCUS total score and GAF were obtained. However, only the beta weight for LOCUS and GAF was significant. An exploratory principal components analysis further illuminated areas of convergence between the instruments. Conclusions: INTERMED and LOCUS demonstrated shared variance. INTERMED appeared more sensitive to complex medical conditions and severe physiological reactions, whereas LOCUS findings are more strongly related to psychiatric symptoms. Implications are discussed.
Comparative Study Among Drying Techniques in the Development of Nimesulide Tablet

Objective: The present work has as objective to evaluate the influence of the drying process of the granules in the drying stove and in the fluidized bed, as well as, as stages of compression in the formation of nimesulide drug polymorphism. Method: Two tests, TB02 and TB06 were produced in the same way, from weighing to granulation, but during the drying process the TB02 test was dried using the fluidized bed, while the TB06 test was oven dried. X-ray diffraction tests show that, in all samples, the nimesulide active remains crystalline. Result: Although both batches of test drugs show 85% release of nimesulide in 30 mins and the coefficient of variation values for the TB06 test weight and hardness tests are lower than the TB02 test, it was observed that the TB02 test showed the greater similarity factor (F2) when compared to the reference drug. Conclusion: Thus, it can be concluded that the fluidized bed as a drying apparatus shows a greater efficiency and that the test drug TB02 can be considered as a pharmaceutical alternative to the reference medicine. Key words: Nimesulide, Polymorphism, Comparative dissolution, Drying techniques, Similarity factor.
The effect of perindopril and enalapril on plasma resistin levels in normotensive patients with coronary heart disease.

INTRODUCTION It has been suggested that adipose tissue hormones are involved in the mechanism of action of angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE) inhibitors. Very little is known as to whether the action on resistin contributes to the clinical effectiveness associated with the use of these agents. MATERIAL AND METHODS The aim of this study was to compare the effects of plasma- and tissue-type ACE inhibitors (enalapril and perindopril) on plasma resistin content in coronary artery disease (CAD) individuals without arterial hypertension. The samples used in our analysis were obtained at baseline, and again after 30 and 90 days of treatment, from 22 patients receiving enalapril (20 mg/d), 24 receiving perindopril (4 mg/d), 20 receiving no angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitors, and 20 healthy subjects. Each group consisted of patients sensitive and resistant to insulin. RESULTS Plasma resistin content was higher in normotensive CAD patients, particularly in the subgroup with reduced insulin sensitivity, than in the control group. Both ACE inhibitors produced a weak effect on blood pressure. Perindopril treatment reduced resistin levels, while enalapril only tended to decrease its content. The effect of perindopril was stronger in insulin-resistant than in insulin-sensitive subjects. CONCLUSIONS Our results demonstrate the superiority of perindopril over enalapril in reducing plasma resistin levels, particularly in insulin-resistant subjects. They justify the choice of a tissue-type ACE inhibitor in normotensive CAD individuals, requiring administration of this group of agents.
Creation of an In-House Matrix-Assisted Laser Desorption Ionization–Time of Flight Mass Spectrometry Corynebacterineae Database Overcomes Difficulties in Identification of Nocardia farcinica Clinical Isolates

ABSTRACT Nocardiosis is a rare disease that is caused by Gram-positive actinobacteria of the Nocardia genus and affects predominantly immunocompromised patients. In its disseminated form, it has a predilection for the central nervous system and is associated with high mortality rates. Therefore, prompt identification of the pathogen is critical. Matrix-assisted laser desorption ionization–time of flight (MALDI-TOF) mass spectrometry is a relatively novel technique used for identification of microorganisms. In this work, an upgraded MALDI-TOF Biotyper database containing Corynebacterineae representatives of strains deposited in the Polish Collection of Microorganisms was created and used for identification of the strain isolated from a nocardial brain abscess, mimicking a brain tumor, in an immunocompetent patient. Testing with the API Coryne system initially incorrectly identified Rhodococcus sp. , while chemotaxonomic tests, especially mycolic acid analysis, enabled correct Nocardia identification only at the genus level. Subsequent sequence analysis of 16S rRNA and secA1 genes confirmed the identification. To improve the accuracy of the results, an in-house database was constructed using optimized parameters; with the use of the database, the strain was eventually identified as Nocardia farcinica. Clinical laboratories processing various clinical strains can upgrade a commercial database to improve and to accelerate the results obtained. This is especially important in the case of Nocardia, for which valid microbial diagnosis remains challenging; reference laboratories are often required to identify and to survey these rare actinobacteria.
Evaluating Journal Quality and the Association for Information Systems Senior Scholars' Journal Basket Via Bibliometric Measures: Do Expert Journal Assessments Add Value?

Information systems journal rankings and ratings help scholars focus their publishing efforts and are widely used surrogates for judging the quality of research. Over the years, numerous approaches have been used to rank IS journals, approaches such as citation metrics, school lists, acceptance rates, and expert assessments. However, the results of these approaches often conflict due to a host of validity concerns. In the current scientometric study, we make significant strides toward correcting for these limitations in the ranking of mainstream IS journals. We compare expert rankings to bibliometric measures such as the ISI Impact Factor™, the h-index, and social network analysis metrics. Among other findings, we conclude that bibliometric measures provide very similar results to expert-based methods in determining a tiered structure of IS journals, thereby suggesting that bibliometrics can be a complete, less expensive, and more efficient substitute for expert assessment. We also find strong support for seven of the eight journals in the Association for Information Systems Senior Scholars' "basket" of journals. A cluster analysis of our results indicates a two-tiered separation in the quality of the highest quality IS journals--with MIS Quarterly, Information Systems Research, and Journal of Management Information Systems belonging, in that order, to the highest A+ tier. Journal quality metrics fit nicely into the sociology of science literature and can be useful in models that attempt to explain how knowledge disseminates through scientific communities.
Productivity in Services in Latin America and the Caribbean

This paper studies productivity in Latin America and the Caribbean, with an emphasis on the service sector. It shows that the low levels of productivity observed in the region are not only a consequence of low productivity at the firm level, but also of misallocation of workers across firms. These problems are more severe in services than in manufacturing. We also found that the determinants of productivity and employment growth at the firm level are different in manufacturing and services. Furthermore, results suggest that institutional factors might be important for determining productivity growth and resource allocation, as there are large differences across countries in the region in the effect of productivity on employment growth as well as on the speed at which less productive firms can close their productivity gaps.
PERSONALITY TRAITS AS CORRELATES OF LEARNED HELPLESSNESS AMONG LOW ACHIEVING STUDENTS IN MATHEMATICS

This study investigated the relationship between personality traits and learned helplessness among low achieving students in mathematics. It was conducted in public secondary schools in Obio/Akpor Local Government Area of Rivers State, Nigeria. Two research questions and two null hypotheses guided the study. From a population of 552 low achieving students in Mathematics in 14 secondary schools, a sample of 210 low achieving students in mathematics were drawn from 7 secondary schools using purposive and simple random sampling techniques respectively. Three instruments named ‘Big five Personality Traits Assessment Scale (BPAS), Learned Helplessness Scale (LHS) and Diagnostic Mathematics Test (DMT) were used for data collection. The instruments were validated in terms of content and face values. The reliability of the instruments was also determined through test-retest method. Multiple regression, Pearson product moment correlation statistics, Anova and t-test associated with multiple regression were used to analyze the data collected. Results got after data analysis indicated that the joint personality traits and personality trait of extraversion when taken independently, showed significant relationship with learned helplessness; while neuroticism, openness to experience, agreeableness and conscientiousness did not have significant relationship with learned helplessness. Based on these findings, appropriate recommendations were made, among which was that government should ensure that trained guidance counselors are employed in public secondary schools in order to help students with the problem of learned helplessness in studying in mathematics.
The Trimmed Lasso: Sparsity and Robustness

Nonconvex penalty methods for sparse modeling in linear regression have been a topic of fervent interest in recent years. Herein, we study a family of nonconvex penalty functions that we call the trimmed Lasso and that offers exact control over the desired level of sparsity of estimators. We analyze its structural properties and in doing so show the following: 1) Drawing parallels between robust statistics and robust optimization, we show that the trimmed-Lasso-regularized least squares problem can be viewed as a generalized form of total least squares under a specific model of uncertainty. In contrast, this same model of uncertainty, viewed instead through a robust optimization lens, leads to the convex SLOPE (or OWL) penalty. 2) Further, in relating the trimmed Lasso to commonly used sparsity-inducing penalty functions, we provide a succinct characterization of the connection between trimmed-Lasso- like approaches and penalty functions that are coordinate-wise separable, showing that the trimmed penalties subsume existing coordinate-wise separable penalties, with strict containment in general. 3) Finally, we describe a variety of exact and heuristic algorithms, both existing and new, for trimmed Lasso regularized estimation problems. We include a comparison between the different approaches and an accompanying implementation of the algorithms.