Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Treatment-related changes in urinary excretion of high and low molecular weight proteins in patients with idiopathic membranous nephropathy and renal insufficiency.

BACKGROUND In patients with idiopathic membranous nephropathy, an increased urinary excretion of high (IgG) and low [beta(2)-microglobulin (beta(2)M), alpha(1)-microglobulin (alpha(1)M)] molecular weight proteins predicts prognosis and precedes renal insufficiency. We have studied the changes in the urinary excretion of these proteins in patients with idiopathic membranous nephropathy and renal insufficiency during and after treatment with cyclophosphamide and steroids, and investigated their value in predicting long-term outcome. METHODS Standardized measurements of urinary IgG, albumin, beta(2)M and alpha(1)M were performed at 0, 2, 6 and 12 months in 11 patients, at 12 months in 25 patients and in 17 of these last patients after 2-5 years. RESULTS We observed a rapid improvement of glomerular permselectivity and tubular protein reabsorption within 2 months after the start of therapy. Despite a partial remission of proteinuria within 12 months in most patients, evidence of tubulo-interstitial injury remained apparent. Neither absolute levels of urinary IgG, beta(2)M or alpha(1)M at baseline or at 12 months nor the percentage reduction between baseline and 12 months clearly predicted the occurrence of a remission or a relapse to nephrotic range proteinuria. In the case of a persistent stable remission, we observed a gradual decrease of urinary beta(2)M towards normal values. CONCLUSIONS In patients with idiopathic membranous nephropathy and renal insufficiency, treatment with cyclophosphamide and steroids resulted in an improvement of glomerular permeability and tubular proteinuria. Tubular proteinuria remained present for many years, even in patients with stable remission of proteinuria. Measurements of urinary proteins at 12 months after treatment start lacked predictive accuracy.
Effect of a crude extract of Mandevilla velutina on contractions induced by bradykinin and [des‐Arg9]‐bradykinin in isolated vessels of the rabbit

1 The effect of a crude aqueous/alcoholic extract of Mandevilla velutina on the contractile responses induced by bradykinin (Bk), [des‐Arg9]‐Bk and noradrenaline (NA) in rings of arterial and venous rabbit vessels was analysed. 2 The contractile responses induced by Bk, [des‐Arg9]‐Bk differed between the rings of the aorta, jugular and mesenteric veins. Rings of the aorta and mesenteric vein were stimulated by both peptides, but were more sensitive to [des‐Arg9]‐Bk. The jugular vein was not only more sensitive to Bk but also did not respond to [des‐Arg9]‐Bk, even in the presence of a high concentration of this peptide. 3 Pre‐incubation for 20 min with the crude extract of Mandevilla velutina rhizomes (1 mg ml−1) antagonized the contractions produced by both peptides. This blockade was surmountable by about a 10–30 fold increase in the concentration of both Bk and [des‐Arg9]‐Bk. In the aorta and mesenteric vein the NA‐induced contractions were not affected by 1 mg ml−1 of the extract. 4 Bk (1 to 100 nm) caused a concentration‐related contractile response in rings of the rabbit jugular vein. Incubation for 20 min with the crude extract (0.25−1 mg ml−1) caused a concentration‐dependent displacement to the right of the Bk concentration‐response curves and depressed the maximal response. 5 The onset of action of the crude extract was rapid and was reversible after intermittent washing of the preparations for 30–60 min. 6 These findings confirm and extend our previous work and indicate that the crude extract of Mandevilla velutina selectively antagonizes the action of Bk and related peptides on both B1‐ and B2‐receptors present in rabbit vascular muscle.
ERP Implementation and Information Systems Success: A Test of DeLone and McLean's Model

The present research develops and tests a theoretical extension of DeLone and McLean's model of information system (IS) success that explains personnel belief that contributes to user's utilization of ERP (enterprise resource planning) systems. The extended model is tested using the structural equation model (SEM); a survey of 202 end-users from ten Taiwanese enterprises that has implemented Data Systems' workflow ERP systems is conducted. The theoretical model proposed in this study provides insight into how the concept of useful perception is incorporated into DeLone and McLean model and plays a critical mediated role to influence system usage and its associated satisfaction. The implications of these findings for researchers and practitioners are discussed
The Tobamovirus Turnip Vein Clearing Virus 30-Kilodalton Movement Protein Localizes to Novel Nuclear Filaments To Enhance Virus Infection

ABSTRACT Plant viruses overcome the barrier of the plant cell wall by encoding cell-to-cell movement proteins (MPs), which direct newly replicated viral genomes to, and across, the wall. The paradigm for how a single MP regulates and coordinates these activities is the Tobacco mosaic virus (TMV) 30-kDa protein (MPTMV). Detailed studies demonstrate that TMV multiplies exclusively in the cytoplasm and have documented associations of MPTMV with endoplasmic reticulum (ER) membrane, microtubules, and plasmodesmata throughout the course of infection. As TMV poorly infects Arabidopsis thaliana, Turnip vein clearing virus (TVCV) is the tobamovirus of choice for studies in this model plant. A key problem, which has contributed to confusion in the field, is the unproven assumption that the TVCV and TMV life cycles are identical. We engineered an infectious TVCV replicon that expressed a functional fluorescence-tagged MPTVCV and report here the unexpected discovery that MPTVCV, beyond localizing to ER membrane and plasmodesmata, targeted to the nucleus in a nuclear localization signal (NLS)-dependent manner, where it localized to novel F-actin-containing filaments that associated with chromatin. The MPTVCV NLS appeared to be conserved in the subgroup 3 tobamoviruses, and our mutational analyses showed that nuclear localization of MPTVCV was necessary for efficient TVCV cell-to-cell movement and systemic infection in Nicotiana benthamiana and Arabidopsis thaliana. Our studies identify a novel nuclear stage in TVCV infection and suggest that nuclear MP encoded by TVCV and other subgroup 3 tobamoviruses interacts with F-actin and chromatin to modulate host defenses or cellular physiology to favor virus movement and infection.
Resource Cost Comparison of Implant-Based Breast Reconstruction versus TRAM Flap Breast Reconstruction

Relatively little has been published to date comparing the resource costs of transverse rectus abdominis musculocutaneous (TRAM) flap and prosthetic breast reconstruction. The data that have been published reflect the experience at just one medical center with a previously known clear preference for autologous breast reconstruction. The goal of this study was to compare the resource costs of TRAM flap and prosthetic reconstruction in an institution where both procedures continue to be performed using modern techniques and at a relatively equivalent frequency. All available medical records were reviewed for patients who had completed their breast reconstruction between 1987 and 1997. Records of patients who had undergone TRAM flap or prosthetic reconstruction were reviewed to compare resource costs, including hospital stay, operating room time, anesthesia time, prosthetic devices, and physician’s fees. Of 835 patients reviewed who had completed breast reconstruction, a total of 140 suitable patients were identified who had all the necessary financial information available. The patient population comprised 64 patients who received TRAM flaps and 76 patients who had undergone prosthetic reconstruction. The length of stay for the TRAM flap group, including all subsequent admissions for each patient, ranged from 2 to 24 days (mean, 6.25 days), and that for the prosthetic reconstruction group ranged from 0 to 20 days (mean, 4.36 days). Operating room time for the complete multistage reconstructive process for a TRAM flap ranged from 5 hours, 20 minutes to 12 hours, 25 minutes (mean, 7 hours, 34 minutes); with implant-based reconstruction, operating time ranged from 1 hour, 45 minutes to 8 hours, 56 minutes (mean, 4 hours, 6 minutes). With prostheses costing from $600 to $1200, a surgeon’s fee of $160/hour, and an assistant’s fee of $45/hour, the average cost of TRAM flap reconstructions was $19,607 (range, $11,948 to $49,402), compared with $15,497 for prosthetic reconstructions (range, $6422 to $40,015). The results were statistically significant (p < 0.001). Several factors weigh into the decision as to which reconstructive operation best suits the patient’s needs. These factors include surgical risk, potential morbidity, and aesthetic results. On the basis of this review of autologous and prosthetic breast reconstruction in an institution where both are performed frequently, during a 10-year period with a mean time elapsed since reconstruction of 7.45 years, prosthetic reconstruction was significantly less expensive.
Tyrosine phosphorylation of specific proteins after mitogen stimulation of chicken embryo fibroblasts

We found that stimulation of density-inhibited chicken embryo fibroblasts with serum, epidermal growth factor (EGF), platelet-derived growth factor, (PDGF), or multiplication-stimulating activity (MSA) leads to an increase in tyrosine phosphorylation of proteins in the region of Mr 40,000 (40K) to 42K. The increase in tyrosine phosphorylation after serum or EGF stimulation was transient, reaching a maximum at about 5 min and then declining. By fine-resolution analysis of proteins separated on sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gels, we found that after EGF stimulation, the major increase in phosphotyrosine content was in a 42K Mr protein, with a smaller increase in a 40K Mr protein. The increased phosphorylation in the 40K to 42K Mr region accounted for almost all of the increase in phosphotyrosine observed in these cells. These phosphotyrosine-containing proteins were different from the major phosphotyrosine-containing protein of Rous sarcoma virus-transformed chicken embryo fibroblasts, which migrates at an approximate Mr of 36K. Increased tyrosine phosphorylation of proteins of similar Mr was found in 3T3 cells treated with EGF, but not in NR-6 cells, which lack detectable EGF receptors. It is possible that the 40K to 42K Mr phosphotyrosine-containing proteins are involved in the integration of the biological response to a number of different growth factors.
Cardiac dysfunction is reversed upon successful treatment of Cushing's syndrome.

OBJECTIVE In patients with active Cushing's syndrome (CS), cardiac structural and functional changes have been described in a limited number of patients. It is unknown whether these changes reverse after successful treatment. We therefore evaluated the changes in cardiac structure and dysfunction after successful treatment of CS, using more sensitive echocardiographic parameters (based on two-dimensional strain imaging) to detect subtle changes in cardiac structure and function. METHODS In a prospective study design, we studied 15 consecutive CS patients and 30 controls (matched for age, sex, body surface area, hypertension, and left ventricular (LV) systolic function). Multidirectional LV strain was evaluated by two-dimensional speckle tracking strain imaging. Systolic (radial thickening, and circumferential and longitudinal shortening) and diastolic (longitudinal strain rate at the isovolumetric relaxation time (SR(IVRT))) parameters were measured. RESULTS At baseline, CS patients had similar LV diameters but had significantly more LV hypertrophy and impaired LV diastolic function, compared to controls. In addition, CS patients showed impaired LV shortening in the circumferential (-16.5+/-3.5 vs -19.7+/-3.4%, P=0.013) and longitudinal (-15.9+/-1.9 vs -20.1+/-2.3%, P<0.001) directions and decreased SR(IVRT) (0.3+/-0.15 vs 0.4+/-0.2/ s, P=0.012) compared to controls. After normalization of corticosteroid excess, LV structural abnormalities reversed, LV circumferential and longitudinal shortening occurred, and SR(IVRT) normalized. CONCLUSION CS induces not only LV hypertrophy and diastolic dysfunction but also subclinical LV systolic dysfunction, which reverses upon normalization of corticosteroid excess.
Evaluation of Feasibility and Image Quality of 68Ga-DOTATOC Positron Emission Tomography/Magnetic Resonance in Comparison With Positron Emission Tomography/Computed Tomography in Patients With Neuroendocrine Tumors

ObjectivesThe primary aims of this study were to evaluate the feasibility of simultaneous 68(DOTA0-Phe1-Tyr3)octreotide positron emission tomography (PET)/magnetic resonance (MR) acquisition on a fully integrated PET/MR scanner in patients and to compare the quality of PET images acquired with a PET/MR device with those acquired with a PET/computed tomography (CT) scanner. Patients and MethodsSequential PET/CT and PET/MR imaging was performed in 24 patients with neuroendocrine tumors using a single-injection/dual-imaging protocol. After intravenous injection of 68Ga-DOTATOC (mean, 120 MBq), PET/CT imaging including low-dose CT was performed at a mean time of 17 minutes post injection, and subsequently, PET/MR imaging including a Dixon sequence for attenuation correction was started at a mean time of 82 minutes post injection. The PET/CT and PET/MR images were analyzed visually using a 4-point scale for quality, coregistration, anatomical correlation, and lesion conspicuity. The standardized uptake value of background organs and focal lesions was measured and compared between the PET/CT and PET/MR acquisitions. Results68Ga-DOTATOC PET acquired on the PET/MR delivered images with a good diagnostic quality (average visual rating PET/CT, 2.83; PET/MR, 2.08; P <; 0.01). The standardized uptake value of focal lesions did not differ between the PET/CT and PET/MR acquisitions (P >; 0.3) and correlated in a linear fashion (correlation coefficient &rgr; = 0.90). Lesion conspicuity was slightly, but significantly, higher on the PET/CT acquisitions (PET/CT, 2.71; PET/MR, 2.62; P = 0.01). Positron emission tomography/MR detected 153 of 157 lesions identified by PET/CT; however, there was no difference in sensitivity on a patient basis or organ system basis. Anatomical correlates for focal PET lesions could significantly more often be delineated using MR Dixon images compared with low-dose CT (average visual rating PET/CT, 1.78; PET/MR, 2.30; P <; 0.01). Coregistration of functional and morphological data was better on PET/MR compared with PET/CT, which, however, did not reach significance (average visual rating PET/CT, 2.17; PET/MR, 2.46; P = 0.10). Conclusions68Ga-DOTATOC PET/MR imaging is feasible in patients, with good image quality, and detectability of focal PET lesions was equivalent to PET/CT on a patient basis and organ system basis. Now, the clinical value of 68Ga-DOTATOC PET/MR with additional diagnostic MR protocols has to be evaluated against PET/CT with multiphase contrast-enhanced CT protocols in future studies.
Migration networks and Mexican migrants' spatial mobility in the US

Mexican low-skilled migrants are found to be highly mobile when they face labor demand shocks. This paper examines the role of migration networks in Mexican-born immigrants’ location choices. We rely on the sizable variation in labor demand declines across states during the Great Recession to identify migration responses to demand shocks and use a novel set of data, the Matricula Consular de Alta Seguridad (MCAS) data, to construct migration network measures. We find that migration networks indeed play an important part in Mexican migrants’ responsiveness to local demand shocks.In particular, migrants respond to local economic conditions and conditions in network-connected locations when making location decisions.
Assessing the Impact of Incentive Regulation for Innovation on RES Integration

Investing in innovative Smart Grids (SGs) technology can reduce overall investments in distribution systems with unpredictable renewable energy sources (RES). Regulators should, therefore, decide what incentives are desirable and design a flexible economic regulatory framework able to encourage distribution system operators (DNOs) to decide for innovation in the SGs. An innovative method that can support the regulators in encouraging RES exploitation by determining the right incentives to favor investments in innovation in an electrical distribution network is proposed in this paper. The method allows stakeholders like regulators, distribution companies and developers evaluating the long-term economic effects of their decisions. The effectiveness of the proposed method, based on non-dominated sorting genetic algorithm (NSGA-II) and on multi-period optimal power flow (MP-OPF), is verified on an 84-bus network.
Co-CEOs and Asymmetric Cost Behavior

This study investigates the effect of co-CEO structure on asymmetric cost behavior. A firm’s cost behavior reflects managers’ decision making about resources, which can be influenced by various factors. One of them relates to a manager’s decision to inefficiently reallocate their company’s resources when sales decline in pursuit of their incentives for empire-building and disincentives for downsizing. These inefficient resource allocations may result in asymmetric cost behavior, and ultimately be harmful to a firm’s sustainability. We consider the co-CEO structure as an alternative corporate governance mechanism that prevents managers from making inappropriate decisions. By doing so, we investigate whether the degree of cost stickiness differs between co-CEO and single-CEO structures, and whether the former complements external governance mechanisms, particularly foreign ownership, in mitigating cost stickiness. We analyze data from Korean listed companies for 2000–2013, and find that the cost stickiness is lower in the co-CEO structure than in the single-CEO structure. Thus, the co-CEO structure works as an alternative corporate governance mechanism to control the agency problem by inducing mutual monitoring among co-CEOs. Furthermore, the reduction in cost stickiness is greater for firms with higher foreign ownership, indicating that the co-CEO structure complements external governance mechanisms.
Acute anemia increases lactate production and decreases clearance during exercise.

We evaluated whether elevated blood lactate concentration during exercise in anemia is the result of elevated production or reduced clearance. Female Sprague-Dawley rats were made acutely anemic by exchange transfusion of plasma for whole blood. Hemoglobin and hematocrit were reduced 33%, to 8.6 +/- 0.4 mg/dl and 26.5 +/- 1.1%, respectively. Blood lactate kinetics were studied by primed continuous infusion of [U-14C]lactate. Blood flow distribution during rest and exercise was determined from injection of 153Gd- and 113Sn-labeled microspheres. Resting blood glucose (5.1 +/- 0.2 mM) and lactate (1.9 +/- 0.02 mM) concentrations were not different in anemic animals. However, during exercise blood glucose was lower in anemic animals (4.0 +/- 0.2 vs. 4.6 +/- 0.1 mM) and lactate was higher (6.1 +/- 0.4 vs. 2.3 +/- 0.5 mM). Blood lactate disposal rates (turnover measured with recyclable tracer, Ri) were not different at rest and averaged 136 +/- 5.8 mumol.kg-1.min-1. Ri was significantly elevated in both control (260.9 +/- 7.1 mumol.kg-1.min-1) and anemic animals (372.6 +/- 8.6) during exercise. Metabolic clearance rate (MCR = Ri/[lactate]) did not differ during rest (151 +/- 8.2 ml.kg-1.min-1); MCR was reduced more by exercise in anemic animals (64.3 +/- 3.8) than in controls (129.2 +/- 4.1). Plasma catecholamine levels were not different in resting rats, with pooled mean values of 0.45 +/- 0.1 and 0.48 +/- 0.1 ng/ml for epinephrine (E) and norepinephrine (NE), respectively. (ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)
Optimal Consumption and Investment Problem Incorporating Housing and Life Insurance Decisions: The Continuous Time Case

This study considers the optimal consumption&#8208;investment&#8208;insurance problem incorporating housing decisions of a household when interest rates and labor income are stochastic. Under the complete market assumption, we derive the closed&#8208;form solution of the optimal insurance demand, portfolio choice, and housing consumption. We calibrate the model using data from the financial market of Taiwan. We find that the insurer's pricing strategy has a significant impact on the household's consumption pattern. Specifically, additional loading in insurance premium allows the life&#8208;cycle model to produce hump&#8208;shaped consumptions of both perishable goods and housing. Loading also creates an unfair background risk to households. However, we only find a small portfolio risk reduction, because households optimally choose a large coverage to mitigate the mortality exposure. This suggests empirical background risk studies overestimate the risk reduction when insurance is available.
Viral and Bacterial Etiology of Acute Diarrhea among Children under 5 Years of Age in Wuhan, China

Background:Acute diarrhea remains the serious problem in developing countries, especially among children under 5 years of age. Currently, only two or three common diarrhea pathogens were screened at most hospitals in China. The aim of this study was to provide a wide variety of diarrhea pathogens and their antimicrobial resistance patterns in children under 5 years of age. Methods:Totally 381 stool samples collected from Tongji Hospital between July 1, 2014 and June 30, 2015 were tested by culture and/or polymerase chain reaction for eight kinds of bacteria and five kinds of viruses. An antimicrobial sensitivity test was performed using dilution method recommended by the Clinical and Laboratory Standards Institute. Results:Viral infections were mainly identified in infants (0–11 months), whereas bacterial infections were more prevalent in the age of 24–59 months. About 69.8% of samples were positive for at least one pathogen, 51.7% of samples were virus positive, followed by bacteria positive cases (19.4%), and 12.6% of cases displayed co-infections with two viruses or a virus and a bacterium. Rotavirus was the most prevalent pathogen, followed closely by norovirus, while Salmonella was the most commonly isolated bacteria, followed by diarrheagenic Escherichia coli (DEC) and Campylobacter. More than 40% of Salmonella spp. and DEC isolates were resistant to first-line antibiotics (ampicillin, trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole, and tetracycline). Around 10% of Salmonella spp. isolates were resistant to ceftriaxone and ciprofloxacin simultaneously. Campylobacter spp. displayed high resistance to ciprofloxacin but kept low resistance to azithromycin and doxycycline. Conclusions:The etiology of acute diarrhea varies in children of different age groups. The high frequency of infection with viruses suggests the urgent demand for new viral vaccine development. Proper use of antibiotics in the treatment of acute diarrhea is crucial due to the high level of antibiotic resistance.