Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Congenital malformations and intrauterine growth retardation: a population study.

The relationship between congenital malformations and intrauterine growth retardation was investigated using data from the population-based Metropolitan Atlanta Congenital Defects Program. Between 1970 and 1984, the system ascertained 13,074 infants with major structural malformations diagnosed in the first year of life and born to metropolitan Atlanta residents. These infants were classified as having intrauterine growth retardation if their birth weight was below the race-, sex-, and gestational age-specific tenth percentile limits for all Atlanta births. Overall, the frequency of intrauterine growth retardation among malformed infants was 22.3% (relative risk 2.6). Of 48 defect categories evaluated, 46 were associated with excess intrauterine growth retardation, most notably chromosomal anomalies (eg, 83.7% for infants with trisomy 18, relative risk 46) and anencephaly (73.3%, relative risk 25). Only a few isolated defects (such as isolated polydactyly, pyloric stenosis, and congenital hip dislocation) were not associated with excess intrauterine growth retardation. Among infants with multiple malformations, the frequency of intrauterine growth retardation increased markedly with increasing number of defects--from 20% for infants with two defects to 60% for infants with nine or more defects. The relationship between malformations and intrauterine growth retardation can be explained by one or more of three mechanisms: (1) intrauterine growth retardation can be a secondary disturbance to the presence of malformations; (2) intrauterine growth retardation can predispose the fetus to malformations; and (3) intrauterine growth retardation can coexist with malformations because of common etiologic factors. (ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)
Quality‐Speed Competition in Customer‐Intensive Services with Boundedly Rational Customers

We consider a system in which two competing servers provide customer‐intensive services and the service reward is affected by the length of service time. The customers are boundedly rational and choose their service providers according to a logit model. We demonstrate that the service provider revenue function is unimodal in the service rate, its decision variable, and show that the service rate competition has a unique and stable equilibrium. We then study the price decision under three scenarios with the price determined by a revenue‐maximizing firm, a welfare‐maximizing social planner, or two servers in competition. We find that the socially optimal price, subject to the requirement that the customer actual utility must be non‐negative, is always lower than the competition equilibrium price which, in turn, is lower than the revenue‐maximizing monopoly price. However, if the customer actual utility is allowed to be negative in social optimization, the socially optimal price can be higher than the other two prices in a large market.
Internationalization and Domestic Politics: An Introduction

Rapid increases in international economic exchanges during the past four decades have made national economies very open, by historical standards, to the world economy. Much recent economic analysis has been devoted to exploring the effects of such internationalization on macroeconomic policy options, national competitiveness, and rewards to various factors of production. Since economics and politics are so closely linked, there is reason to expect profound political effects as well: in particular, domestic politics in countries around the world should show signs of the impact of the world economy. The central proposition of this volume is that we can no longer understand politics within countries – what we still conventionally call “domestic” politics – without comprehending the nature of the linkages between national economies and the world economy, and changes in such linkages. “Internationalization” is a broad concept used by a variety of writers in a variety of ways. In Chapter 2, Jeffry Frieden and Ronald Rogowski attempt to introduce some precision into its analysis by distinguishing between observable flows of goods, services, and capital, on the one hand, and the “exogenous easing of international exchange that such flows reflect,” on the other. Measurable flows, such as the vast increases in international capital movements over the past few decades, reflect more basic shifts in the costs of international relative to domestic transactions. Indeed, shifting opportunity costs are more fundamental than the flows themselves: the potential for international movements of capital, in response to shifts in interest rates or changing expectations about exchange rates, can exert profound effects on national economic conditions and policies even if no capital movement actually takes place.
Ultrasound imaging for the rheumatologist XL. Sonographic assessment of the hip in rheumatoid arthritis patients.

OBJECTIVES The aim of the present study was to correlate clinical and laboratory data with those obtained by ultrasound (US) evaluation of the hip in a cohort of patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA). METHODS Fifty-two RA patients attending the Rheumatology Departments involved in the present study were enrolled. Demographic (age, gender), clinical (body mass index, disease duration, treatments, history or current hip pain, tenderness by internal or external hip rotation or palpation of the greater trochanteric region), laboratory (erythrosedimentation rate, C-reactive protein, rheumatoid factor and antibodies anti-citrullinated peptides) and clinimetric data (disease activity score 28 - DAS28, Health Assessment Questionnaire - HAQ, Lequesne index) were collected. All patients underwent an US examination of both hips according to international guidelines. RESULTS A total of 100 hips were scanned in 52 patients with RA. Approximately half of the patients reported a history of hip pain, one fourth complained of current pain, and the physical examination (internal and/or external rotation and palpation of the greater trochanteric region) evocated pain up to 19% and 22% of the patients, respectively. US examination found signs of hip joint abnormalities in 42% of the patients; US changes indicative of hip joint inflammation and damage were detected respectively in 24% and 32% of the cases. No patient presented power Doppler signal in the hip joint. A significant correlation between US pathological findings at hip level was found with clinical data (current pain and evocated pain by internal or external hip rotation). Furthermore, US cartilage lesion correlated with age of the patient, and US bone erosions with the disease duration. No correlation was found between the sonographic assessment and laboratory data, DAS 28, and Lequesne index. CONCLUSIONS US abnormalities at hip joint level obtained in the present study correlated with clinical findings, while no correlation was found with DAS28 or laboratory data. Further investigations are encouraged to clarify the US additional value at hip level in patients with RA.
Factors Affecting the Outcomes of Double-Bundle Medial Patellofemoral Ligament Reconstruction for Recurrent Patellar Dislocations Evaluated by Multivariate Analysis

Background: Many factors are involved in causing patellar instability or recurrent patellar dislocations. However, factors affecting the outcomes of anatomic medial patellofemoral ligament (MPFL) reconstruction have not been fully documented. Purpose: To evaluate the rate of recurrent patellar instability after isolated MPFL reconstruction and to elucidate factors affecting the outcomes of isolated MPFL reconstruction using multivariable statistics. Study Design: Case-control study; Level of evidence, 3. Methods: A total of 42 patients (44 knees) who underwent isolated, anatomic MPFL reconstruction using a semitendinosus autograft without any additional patellar stabilization procedures for treating recurrent patellar dislocations were included in this study. All patients were followed for more than 2 years; the mean follow-up period was 3.2 years (range, 2-9 years). Postoperative patellofemoral instability was diagnosed when the patient complained of recurrent patellar subluxations or dislocations or had a positive apprehension sign during follow-up. Preoperative radiographic findings were obtained using plain radiography and computed tomography. Femoral tunnel positions were assessed on postoperative radiographs. The strength of the relationship between postoperative patellofemoral instability and potential risk factors such as preoperative age, sex, body mass index, patellar type, sulcus angle, congruence angle, lateral tilt angle, patellar height, tibial tubercle–trochlear groove (TT-TG) distance, degree of trochlear dysplasia, and femoral bone tunnel position were evaluated by univariate and multivariate logistic regression analyses. Results: At follow-up, 2 knees had experienced a redislocation (4.5%). A positive apprehension sign was still evident in 8 knees (18.2%). Three factors, including the sulcus angle, the congruence angle, and trochlear dysplasia, were extracted by single linear regression analysis. Univariate logistic regression analysis showed that the sulcus angle (odds ratio [OR], 1.11; 95% CI, 1.01-1.22; P = .04) and trochlear dysplasia (OR, 3.04; 95% CI, 1.39-6.63; P = .01) were associated with postoperative patellofemoral instability. Trochlear dysplasia was independently associated with postoperative patellofemoral instability by multivariable logistic regression analysis (P < .05). An increased TT-TG distance exerted a significant effect on the outcomes of MPFL reconstruction, particularly in patients with type D trochlea. Conclusion: Severe trochlear dysplasia is the most important predictor of residual patellofemoral instability after isolated MPFL reconstruction. In addition, an increased TT-TG distance affected the outcomes in patients with type D trochlea. Additional patellar stabilization procedures should be considered for patients with severe trochlear dysplasia and an increased TT-TG distance.
Parkinson Disease With Dementia: Comparing Patients With and Without Alzheimer Pathology

Subjects with Parkinson disease (PD) frequently develop dementia with greater than one-third meeting neuropathologic diagnostic criteria for Alzheimer disease (AD). The objective is to identify clinical and neuropathologic differences between Parkinson disease with dementia (PDD) subjects, with and without coexistent AD pathology. Neuropathologic examination was available on subjects diagnosed by clinicopathologic criteria with PDD−AD (N=23) and PDD+AD (N=28). A small subset of subjects with PDD−AD and PDD+AD had received at least 1 standardized neuropsychologic assessment. PDD+AD subjects were significantly older at age of PD onset and death, progressed to onset of dementia in less time, and had a shorter duration of PD symptoms before the onset of dementia. Education, responsiveness of L-dopa and dopaminergic medications, presence of cognitive fluctuations and hallucinations, and mean Mini-Mental State Examination, Global Deterioration Scale, Functional Assessment Staging, and Unified Parkinson Disease Rating Scale scores did not differ significantly between the 2 groups. The PDD+AD group had significantly greater total plaques, neuritic plaques, total tangles, and Braak stages compared with PDD−AD. This study suggests that it is difficult to distinguish PDD+AD and PDD−AD on the basis of movement, clinical, and neuropsychologic assessment. PDD−AD and PDD+AD have similar degrees of dementia and approximately half of PDD subjects have enough AD pathology to attain a neuropathologic diagnosis of AD. PDD can develop in the absence of significant Alzheimer pathology.
Immunotherapy of cancer in 2012

The immunotherapy of cancer has made significant strides in the past few years due to improved understanding of the underlying principles of tumor biology and immunology. These principles have been critical in the development of immunotherapy in the laboratory and in the implementation of immunotherapy in the clinic. This improved understanding of immunotherapy, enhanced by increased insights into the mechanism of tumor immune response and its evasion by tumors, now permits manipulation of this interaction and elucidates the therapeutic role of immunity in cancer. Also important, this improved understanding of immunotherapy and the mechanisms underlying immunity in cancer has fueled an expanding array of new therapeutic agents for a variety of cancers. Pegylated interferon‐α2b as an adjuvant therapy and ipilimumab as therapy for advanced disease, both of which were approved by the United States Food and Drug Administration for melanoma in March 2011, are 2 prime examples of how an increased understanding of the principles of tumor biology and immunology have been translated successfully from the laboratory to the clinical setting. Principles that guide the development and application of immunotherapy include antibodies, cytokines, vaccines, and cellular therapies. The identification and further elucidation of the role of immunotherapy in different tumor types, and the development of strategies for combining immunotherapy with cytotoxic and molecularly targeted agents for future multimodal therapy for cancer will enable even greater progress and ultimately lead to improved outcomes for patients receiving cancer immunotherapy. CA Cancer J Clin 2012. © 2012 American Cancer Society.
Concurrent OCT imaging of stimulus evoked retinal neural activation and hemodynamic responses

It is well established that major retinal diseases involve distortions of the retinal neural physiology and blood vascular structures. However, the details of distortions in retinal neurovascular coupling associated with major eye diseases are not well understood. In this study, a multi-modal optical coherence tomography (OCT) imaging system was developed to enable concurrent imaging of retinal neural activity and vascular hemodynamics. Flicker light stimulation was applied to mouse retinas to evoke retinal neural responses and hemodynamic changes. The OCT images were acquired continuously during the pre-stimulation, light-stimulation, and post-stimulation phases. Stimulus-evoked intrinsic optical signals (IOSs) and hemodynamic changes were observed over time in blood-free and blood regions, respectively. Rapid IOSs change occurred almost immediately after stimulation. Both positive and negative signals were observed in adjacent retinal areas. The hemodynamic changes showed time delays after stimulation. The signal magnitudes induced by light stimulation were observed in blood regions and did not show significant changes in blood-free regions. These differences may arise from different mechanisms in blood vessels and neural tissues in response to light stimulation. These characteristics agreed well with our previous observations in mouse retinas. Further development of the multimodal OCT may provide a new imaging method for studying how retinal structures and metabolic and neural functions are affected by age-related macular degeneration (AMD), glaucoma, diabetic retinopathy (DR), and other diseases, which promises novel noninvasive biomarkers for early disease detection and reliable treatment evaluations of eye diseases.
Proteasome inhibitor-induced apoptosis of B-chronic lymphocytic leukaemia cells involves cytochrome c release and caspase activation, accompanied by formation of an approximately 700 kDa Apaf-1 containing apoptosome complex.

Proteasome inhibitors, including lactacystin and MG132 (carbobenzoxyl-leucinyl-leucinyl-leucinal), potently induce apoptosis in leukaemic B cells from patients with B cell chronic lymphocytic leukaemia (B-CLL). This pro-apoptotic effect occurs in cells from patients at all stages of the disease, including those resistant to conventional chemotherapy, suggesting that proteasome inhibitors may be useful for treatment of B-CLL. Following initial inhibition of proteasomal activity, these agents induce mitochondrial cytochrome c release and caspase-dependent apoptosis, involving cleavage/activation of caspases -2, -3, -7, -8 and -9. Pre-treatment with the cell permeable caspase inhibitor, benzyloxycarbonyl-Val-Ala-Asp (OMe)fluoromethyl ketone (Z-VAD.fmk), did not prevent the release of cytochrome c or partial processing of caspase-9 but prevented activation of effector caspases and the induction of apoptosis. These results suggest that the release of cytochrome c is caspase independent and that caspase-9 is the initiator caspase in proteasome inhibitor-induced apoptosis of B-CLL cells. Activation of B-CLL lysates with dATP results in the formation of an approximately 700 kDa caspase-activating apoptosome complex containing Apaf-1. We describe for the first time the formation of a similar approximately 700 kDa caspase-activating apoptosome complex in B-CLL cells induced to undergo apoptosis by proteasome inhibitors.
Training and Detraining of a Tetraplegic Subject: High-Volume FES Cycle Training

Objective:To test the effect of high-volume FES cycle training on cardiopulmonary fitness and bone parameters in a tetraplegic subject. Design:Case study of 1 yr of functional electrical stimulated (FES) cycle training with the highest possible power output in a tetraplegic subject. Results:Depending on the training compliance (varying from 22.9 to 82.9%) maximal power output and peak oxygen uptake increased by 113 and 103%, respectively. After reduction in training intensity, these parameters reduced correspondingly. Bone mineral density of the distal femoral epiphysis showed an increase of 3.9% after 12 mos of cycle training. Conclusions:It is possible to increase maximal power output, cardiopulmonary fitness, and bone parameters of the paralyzed limbs in tetraplegia by high-volume cycle training. However, if training is not maintained, these improvements are lost. In tetraplegic subjects, it may be difficult to maintain the high level of training required to achieve benefits.
R&D as a source of innovation in South Africa

In investigating the link between R&D and innovation, data was used from the South African Innovation Survey of 2001 (SAIS2001). The SAIS2001 results showed that South African enterprises had a relatively high level of innovation with a low level of R&D related innovation costs. A cross tabulation was performed and a statistically significant link between innovation and R&D was found. The group of firms who innovated had a higher tendency to conduct R&D. Universities or Public Research Organisations (PROs) - the dasiaconventionalpsila sources of R&D - was rated mostly as unimportant external sources of innovation. This is ascribed to the fact that most R&D that is conducted internally is at the experimental development level and requires little basic or applied research. Sectors also differ in their use of R&D as a source of innovation. Based on the above mentioned data, a positive correlation between R&D and innovation was found in the SAIS2001 data. However, the majority of R&D reported in SAIS2001 is in-house R&D. In contrast, national R&D programmes focus on science intensive industries where R&D (basic and applied) is an important source of innovation. These can be easily quantified by the annual R&D surveys. However, at the national industry level, the link between R&D and innovation requires more frequent quantification as an input into STI policy. It is therefore recommended that in a developing country such as South Africa, R&D should be closer aligned to enable innovation at industry level.
Relationship between adipokines and manifestations of childhood asthma

Although the prevalences of asthma and obesity are increasing substantially in recent decades, very little is known about the possible association between them. We evaluated the roles of leptin, adiponectin, and resistin, which are adipokines produced by adipose tissue, on childhood asthma, and their association with pulmonary function and bronchial hyperresponsiveness. We studied 149 atopic asthmatic children, 37 non‐atopic asthmatic children, and 54 healthy children. Body mass index was calculated using height and weight, which were measured on the same day that pulmonary function tests and methacholine challenge tests were performed. Skin prick tests were performed, and total eosinophil count, total serum immunoglobulin E (IgE), serum eosinophil cationic protein, leptin, adiponectin, and resistin were measured in all subjects. Atopic asthmatics had lower resistin levels compared with non‐atopic asthma and control groups, but leptin and adiponectin did not show any difference among these three groups. Resistin demonstrated positive correlation with methacholine PC20 and negative correlations with eosinophil count and serum total IgE. Leptin and adiponectin showed associations with forced expiratory volume in 1 s or forced expiratory flow between 25–75%. Multiple regression analysis revealed that resistin was a significant predictive factor for asthma. There was no direct association between asthma and leptin or adiponectin. Our findings suggest that resistin may play a negative predictive role in asthma. Adiponectin and leptin showed close associations with pulmonary function and may have disease‐modifying effects in children with asthma.
Understanding Transport Demands and Elasticities: How Prices and Other Factors Affect Travel Behavior

Transport demand refers to the amount and type of travel that people would choose under specific conditions. This report describes concepts related to transport demand, investigates the influence that factors such as prices and service quality have on travel activity, and how these impacts can be measured using elasticity values. It summarizes research on various types of transport elasticities and describes how to use this information to predict the impacts of specific transport price and service quality changes. Understanding Transport Demands and Elasticities Victoria Transport Policy Institute 1
Respiratory response to experimentally induced anaemia in the pinfish (Lagodon rhomboides).

1. Injection of phenylhydrazine hydrochloride produced surviving pinfish with as low as 0.26 g. % haemoglobin (2.9% of the normal value). Haematocrits dropped as low as 1-2%, against a normal value of about 30%. 2. Measurements of resting metabolism showed no significant difference related to haemoglobin level, but anaemic fish were slightly higher. 3. Tolerance times at low oxygen levels were not clearly related to haemoglobin levels. 4. Cardiac rates show a compensatory increase in response to haemoglobin reduction which accounts for about 50% of the predicted increase in cardiac output 5. Haemoglobin is thought to provide a reserve capacity in circulatory ability for oxygen transport through its influence on cardiac output. 6. The reserve capacity is important in meeting unusual demands of migration or escape, and may prove useful in comparing different species.