Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Chest radiographic and computed tomographic manifestations in allergic bronchopulmonary aspergillosis.

AIM To investigate the chest radiographic and high resolution computed tomography (HRCT) chest manifestations in glucocorticoid-naïve allergic bronchopulmonary aspergillosis (ABPA) patients. METHODS This is a prospective observational study and includes 60 consecutive glucocorticoid-naïve patients with ABPA who underwent chest radiography and HRCT of the chest (1.25 mm every 10 mm) in the routine diagnostic workup for ABPA. RESULTS Chest radiographs were normal in 50% of cases. Of the remainder, most patients demonstrated permanent findings in the form of parallel line and ring shadows suggesting bronchiectasis. Consolidation was detected in 17 cases but in the majority, the corresponding HRCT chest scan showed mucus-filled bronchiectatic cavities. Chest HRCT was normal in 22 patients, while central bronchiectasis (CB) was demonstrated in the remaining 38 patients. Bronchiectasis extended to the periphery in 33%-43% depending on the criteria used for defining CB. The other findings observed on HRCT were mucoid impaction, centrilobular nodules and high-attenuation mucus in decreasing order of frequency. CONCLUSION Patients with ABPA can present with normal HRCT chest scans. Central bronchiectasis cannot be considered a characteristic feature of ABPA as peripheral bronchiectasis is commonly observed. Consolidation is an uncommon finding in ABPA.
The Prevalence of Serum Antibodies toHepatitis C Virus Is Not Increased in Patients with Sarcoidosis

Sarcoidosis is a multisystemic disease of unknown origin characterized by noncaseating granulomas in affected organs. Although many infectious agents (viral and bacterial ) have been implicated, the responsibility of a specific agent has yet to be proven [1–5]. The emergence or exacerbation of sarcoidosis following interferon-· therapy for chronic HCV infection was reported in several studies [5–8]. As a search of Medline (1990–1999) had shown that no research work had been published on the prevalence of HCV antibodies in sarcoidosis we decided to initiate such a study since HCV has putative relationships with some autoimmune diseases and, on the other hand, an exaggerated immune response to a class of antigens or selfantigens may play a role in the pathogenesis of sarcoidosis. Between 1978 and 2000, 200 patients were followed with the diagnosis of sarcoidosis and 55 patients (44 females, 11 males, mean age: 40 years, range: 18–70) were recruited for testing of anti-HCV. All patients had tissue diagnoses by transbronchial biopsy, mediastinoscopy, lymph node or skin biopsies as well as radiologic tests. Voluntary blood donors of our institution were taken as controls. Anti-HCV antibodies were studied by second-generation ELISA. Anti-HCV antibodies were not found in any patients with sarcoidosis. In the control group, 104 out of 12,515 patients (0.8%) had anti-HCV antibodies. These limited data did not show any relationship between sarcoidosis and HCV.
Measurement of the magnitude of the occlusal forces during articulation.

INTRODUCTION The magnitude and direction of occlusal forces are important factors for the balanced force load of the teeth during articulation. There are no studies available on the magnitude of the occlusal force in the literature. PURPOSE To analyze the data from the apparatus T-SCAN in order to extend its possibilities in determining specific values of occlusal forces during the process of dynamic articulation. MATERIALS AND METHODS The apparatus T-SCAN registers occlusal contacts with the help of a sensitive element (sensor) in a net of points. The apparatus scans all these points at specific intervals and depending on the magnitude of the force acting in each one of them enters a number in the range between 0-255 in the memory of the computer. The combination of the points coloured proportionately to the acting force in a given moment form one frame of the film of the occlusion. The sum of all occlusal forces acting in the contact points gives the total occlusal force. RESULTS The apparatus with the program developed by us showed the following: 1. It shows in numerical and graphic mode the size of the total force of occlusal contacts as well as that one in the left and right half of the dentition or in another zone chosen by the dentist. 2. The size of the area of occlusal contacts is evaluated in a numeric or graphic mode. CONCLUSION The data for the magnitude of the occlusal forces during the process of dynamic articulation provide valuable information about masticatory load on the teeth or prosthetic constructions. These data can be used in the diagnosis and prosthetic treatment.
Evaluation of Chronic Wound Treatment with the SNaP Wound Care System versus Modern Dressing Protocols

Background: Traditional negative-pressure wound therapy systems use an electrically powered pump to generate negative pressure at the wound bed. The SNaP Wound Care System is a novel, ultraportable device that delivers negative-pressure wound therapy without the use of an electrically powered pump. Methods: At an outpatient wound care clinic, 21 subjects with difficult-to-treat lower extremity ulcers received treatment with the SNaP System and were evaluated for wound healing for up to 4 months. Outcomes were then compared with 42 patient-matched controls treated at the same center with modern wound care protocols that included the use of Apligraf, Regranex, and skin grafting. Results: In the SNaP-treated group, 100 percent of subjects demonstrated improvement in wound size and 86 percent (18 of 21) exhibited a statistically significant healing trend (p < 0.05). Using Kaplan-Meier estimates of wound healing, SNaP-treated subjects healed in an average of 74.25 ± 20.1 days from the start of SNaP treatment and the matched controls healed in an average of 148.73 ± 63.1 days from the start of conventional treatment. This significantly faster healing time represents a 50 percent absolute reduction in time to healing (p < 0.0001) for subjects treated with the SNaP device. Conclusions: The findings reported here for the SNaP Wound Care System are similar to published reports for powered negative-pressure wound therapy devices for the treatment of highly challenging lower extremity wounds. This study suggests that the SNaP Wound Care System may be a useful addition to the techniques available to the wound care clinician.
Combined Scraping, Coagulation, and Subconjunctival Bevacizumab in Descemet Stripping Automated Endothelial Keratoplasty for Bullous Keratopathy

Purpose This study evaluated the clinical outcomes of a combined method of scraping corneal epithelium, coagulating vessels, and subconjunctival bevacizumab in Descemet stripping automated endothelial keratoplasty (DSAEK) for bullous keratopathy with corneal neovascularization (NV). Methods The study included patients with bullous keratopathy undergoing DSAEK. Indications for DSAEK were advanced pseudophakic bullous keratopathy with superficial and deep corneal vascularization and failed corneal grafts. Patients were treated by scraping the corneal epithelium and lightly coagulating the corneal superficial stromal NV and the feeding vessels in the sclera, with a subconjunctival bevacizumab injection at the end of surgery. Subconjunctival and perilimbal bevacizumab dose of 2.5 mg/0.1 mL/affected quadrant was injected at the site of NV in each patient at the end of surgery. One or 2 injections were applied. At each visit, a full eye examination with photographic documentation was performed. Mean follow-up period was 32 (24–36) months. Results Eight eyes of 8 patients with high-risk corneal transplantation and corneal NV were included in this noncomparative interventional case series. The original corneal NV disappeared in all patients immediately after surgery. No patient in the series had recurrent corneal NV or rejection during at least 24 months of follow-up. Conclusions The combination of scraping, coagulating, and bevacizumab injection in DSAEK is an effective method to treat corneal NV in corneal transplantation for bullous keratopathy.
Pharmacological Inhibition of Nicotinamide Phosphoribosyltransferase (NAMPT), an Enzyme Essential for NAD+ Biosynthesis, in Human Cancer Cells

Background: NAMPT catalyzes the rate-limiting reaction in converting nicotinamide to NAD+ in cancers. Results: NAMPT inhibition attenuates glycolysis at the glyceraldehyde 3-phosphate dehydrogenase step, resulting in perturbing metabolic pathways related to glycolysis. Conclusion: The metabolic basis of NAMPT inhibition is the attenuation of glycolysis by reducing NAD+ available to glyceraldehyde 3-phosphate dehydrogenase. Significance: This study sheds new light on how NAMPT regulates cancer metabolism. Nicotinamide phosphoribosyltransferase (NAMPT) catalyzes the first rate-limiting step in converting nicotinamide to NAD+, essential for cellular metabolism, energy production, and DNA repair. NAMPT has been extensively studied because of its critical role in these cellular processes and the prospect of developing therapeutics against the target, yet how it regulates cellular metabolism is not fully understood. In this study we utilized liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry to examine the effects of FK866, a small molecule inhibitor of NAMPT currently in clinical trials, on glycolysis, the pentose phosphate pathway, the tricarboxylic acid (TCA) cycle, and serine biosynthesis in cancer cells and tumor xenografts. We show for the first time that NAMPT inhibition leads to the attenuation of glycolysis at the glyceraldehyde 3-phosphate dehydrogenase step due to the reduced availability of NAD+ for the enzyme. The attenuation of glycolysis results in the accumulation of glycolytic intermediates before and at the glyceraldehyde 3-phosphate dehydrogenase step, promoting carbon overflow into the pentose phosphate pathway as evidenced by the increased intermediate levels. The attenuation of glycolysis also causes decreased glycolytic intermediates after the glyceraldehyde 3-phosphate dehydrogenase step, thereby reducing carbon flow into serine biosynthesis and the TCA cycle. Labeling studies establish that the carbon overflow into the pentose phosphate pathway is mainly through its non-oxidative branch. Together, these studies establish the blockade of glycolysis at the glyceraldehyde 3-phosphate dehydrogenase step as the central metabolic basis of NAMPT inhibition responsible for ATP depletion, metabolic perturbation, and subsequent tumor growth inhibition. These studies also suggest that altered metabolite levels in tumors can be used as robust pharmacodynamic markers for evaluating NAMPT inhibitors in the clinic.
Glucose Levels in Newborns with Special Reference to Hypoglycemia: A Study from Rural India

Hypoglycemia is one of the common metabolic problems in neonatal medicine. There is association between blood glucose levels and neurological development. The study involved 100 mothers and neonates blood glucose levels were measured using a standard glucometer in mother delivering babies within half an hour of delivery and in newborns at 0, 3, 6, 12, 24 h of life. Blood glucose levels were low at 0th and 6th h and maximum at 24th h. Neonates born to mothers with high maternal blood glucose levels were hypoglycemic showing a negative correlation. The mean blood glucose levels were low in pre-term and post-term compared with term babies and range of blood glucose levels were wide in preterm and post term babies.
Immigration and unemployment in Europe: does the core-periphery dualism matter?

In this paper, we assess the impact of immigration and unemployment for a sample of 15 EU countries between 1997 and 2016. We test for the existence of a core-periphery dualism based on differences in macroeconomic fundamentals and labour market characteristics. We use a Panel Error Correction Model to assess the direction and persistence of the impact of immigration on domestic unemployment in the short and in the long run. In the long run, immigration is found to reduce unemployment in all peripheral-countries. In core countries, we find no long-run impact of immigration on unemployment due to substantial heterogeneity. As for short-run dynamics, we find a confirmation of the result that immigration reduces unemployment for the whole sample. Based on differences in employment protection and activity rates, larger impacts are found for Scandinavian and Anglo-Saxon countries, while lower and less significant impacts are found for Italy, Greece and Portugal.
Mediator Can Regulate Mitotic Entry and Direct Periodic Transcription in Fission Yeast

ABSTRACT Cdk8 is required for correct timing of mitotic progression in fission yeast. How the activity of Cdk8 is regulated is unclear, since the kinase is not activated by T-loop phosphorylation and its partner, CycC, does not oscillate. Cdk8 is, however, a component of the multiprotein Mediator complex, a conserved coregulator of eukaryotic transcription that is connected to a number of intracellular signaling pathways. We demonstrate here that other Mediator components regulate the activity of Cdk8 in vivo and thereby direct the timing of mitotic entry. Deletion of Mediator components Med12 and Med13 leads to higher cellular Cdk8 protein levels, premature phosphorylation of the Cdk8 target Fkh2, and earlier entry into mitosis. We also demonstrate that Mediator is recruited to clusters of mitotic genes in a periodic fashion and that the complex is required for the transcription of these genes. We suggest that Mediator functions as a hub for coordinated regulation of mitotic progression and cell cycle-dependent transcription. The many signaling pathways and activator proteins shown to function via Mediator may influence the timing of these cell cycle events.
Revenue Mobilization and Investment on Basic Amenities of Local Governments in Nigeria

This paper examined the effects of revenue mobilization and investment on basic amenities of local government in Nigeria. Secondary data were collected from the Central Bank of Nigeria Annual Statistical Bulletin from 19932017. Investment in basic amenities was proxy by monetary value of basic amenities while revenue mobilization was proxy by federal government allocation, state government allocation, value added tax, internally generated revenue and grants to local governments in Nigeria. Ordinary Least Square (OLS), Augmented Dickey Fuller Test, Johansen Co-integration test, normalized co-integrating equations, parsimonious vector error correction model and pair-wise causality tests were used to conduct the investigations and analysis. The empirical findings based on the models found that value added tax, internally generated revenue and grant have negative and significant effect on investment on basic amenities while federal allocation and state allocation have positive effect on the value of basic amenities. The unit root result (ADF) showed that the variables were stationary at the first difference of Order 1 (1). The co-integration tests revealed a long run dynamic relationship between the dependent and independent variables in the models. The parsimonious model summary shows that accounting bases explains a strong and positive significant relationship between the dependent and independent variables. However, the direction of causality between the accounting bases treasury management is mixed indicating uni and bi-directional causality. The study concludes that local government revenue has significant effect on investment of basic amenities of Nigeria local governments.
Determinants of lung bacterial clearance in normal mice.

The determinants of the lung clearance of Streptococcus pneumoniae, Klebsiella pneumoniae, Escherichia coli, and Staphylococcus aureus were studied in normal mice after exposure to an aerosol of viable bacteria and 99mTc-labeled dead bacteria. The fraction of bacteria in lungs that remained viable 4 h after exposure were: S. pneumoniae, 7.3%; K. pneumoniae, 121%; E. coli, 88.5%; S. aureus, 27.6%. The rate of physical removal of bacterial particles (Kmc) was determined from the change in lung 99mTc counts with time: Kmc ranged between 7 and 12%/h and and was similar in all species. The rate of mucociliary clearance and of intrapulmonary bacterial killing (Kk + Kmc) was calculated from the change in bacterial counts with time in animals that had received tetracycline to inhibit bacterial multiplication. Kk, the rate of intrapulmonary killing, was obtained by subtraction of Kmc from (Kk + Kmc). The calculated values for Kk were: S. pneumoniae, - 87%/h; K. pneumoniae, - 17%/h; E. coli, - 18%/h; S. aureus, - 22%/h. The rate of intrapulmonary bacterial multiplication (Kg) was estimated from the relationship of bacterial counts in tetracycline and nontetracycline-treated animals, assuming that tetracycline altered only Kg. Kg, expressed as the doubling time, was: S. pneumoniae, 310 min; K. pneumoniae, 217 min; E.coli, 212 min; S. aureus, infinity (no multiplication). The data indicate that the marked differences in the clearance of these species from the normal mouse lung result from the interaction of differing rates of in vivo bacterial multiplication and killing.
The effects of income and inflation on financial development: Evidence from heterogeneous panels

This paper examines four unresolved issues regarding the effects of GDP and inflation on financial development: (i) Does GDP have uniform impact on financial development in heterogeneous income countries? (ii) Is the relationship non-linear? (iii) Does financial development vary with inflation rates? (iv) Does inflation moderate the effect of GDP on financial development? The authors employ the newly developed dynamic Common Correlated Effects (CCE) and dynamic panel system Generalized Method of Moments (GMM) on data from 125 countries. These techniques enable us to control for crosssectional dependence, heterogeneity and endogeneity. They show that GDP has a positive impact on financial development in high and middle-income countries, and the relationship is non-linear in over 60% of the countries. The authors also reveal that inflation has a negative effect on financial development in high- and medium-inflationary countries. Besides, high inflation moderates the effect of GDP on financial development in over 70% of the countries. They also show the countries where higher GDP is better for financial development and where it is not. They recommend some policy options based on the findings.
A Novel Mouse Model of Ureaplasma-Induced Perinatal Inflammation: Effects on Lung and Brain Injury

Chorioamnionitis is associated with increased lung and brain injury in premature infants. Ureaplasma is the microorganisms most frequently associated with preterm birth. Whether Ureaplasma-induced antenatal inflammation worsens lung and brain injury is unknown. We developed a mouse model combining antenatal Ureaplasma infection and postnatal oxygen exposure. Intraamniotic Ureaplasma Parvum (UP) increased proinflammatory cytokines in placenta and fetal lungs. Antenatal exposure to UP or broth caused mild postnatal inflammation and worsened oxygen-induced lung injury. Antenatal UP exposure induced central microgliosis and disrupted brain development as detected by decreased number of calbindin-positive and calretinin-positive neurons in the neocortex. Postnatal oxygen decreased calretinin-positive neurons in the neocortex but combined with antenatal UP exposure did not worsen brain injury. Antenatal inflammation exacerbates the deleterious effects of oxygen on lung development, but the broth effects prohibit concluding that UP by itself is a compounding risk factor for bronchopulmonary dysplasia. In contrast, antenatal UP-induced inflammation alone is sufficient to disturb brain development. This model may be helpful in exploring the pathophysiology of perinatal lung and brain injury to develop new protective strategies.
Metabolomics of cocaine: implications in toxicity

Abstract Cocaine is the most commonly used illicit drug among those seeking care in Emergency Departments or drug detoxification centers. Cocaine, chemically known as benzoylmethylecgonine, is a naturally occurring substance found in the leaves of the Erythroxylum coca plant. The pharmacokinetics of cocaine is dependent on multiple factors, such as physical/chemical form, route of administration, genetics and concurrent consumption of alcohol. This review aims to discuss metabolomics of cocaine, namely by presenting all known metabolites of cocaine and their roles in the cocaine-mediated toxic effects.
Employees’ perception of corporate social responsibility (CSR) and its effects on internal outcomes

ABSTRACT Based on the Means-End Chain Theory, this paper tested the relationship between Employee perception of CSR and its effects on firms’ internal outcomes (Employee Performance and Employee Corporate Identification) with Employee perceived Quality of Work Life (QWL) and Employee Work Motivation patterns (Intrinsic and Extrinsic) as intermediating variables in the relationship. The paper then uses structural equation model to analyse data on 235 employees from the best rural banks registered with the Bank of Ghana and listed on the Ghana Club 100. The findings show that: (1). Employees’ perception of CSR relates positively to their performance and corporate identification. (2). Perceived extrinsic motives for CSR by intrinsically motivated employees weakened the positive link between their perceptions of CSR and performance. (3). A partial mediation of QWL in the relationships between perceptions of CSR, performance and corporate identification was identified. Implications for theory and practice are discussed accordingly.
The LysR Homolog LrhA Promotes RpoS Degradation by Modulating Activity of the Response Regulator SprE

ABSTRACT Synthesis of the OmpF porin of Escherichia coli is regulated in response to environmental and growth phase signals. In order to identify constituents of the various regulatory pathways involved in modulating ompF transcriptional expression, transposon insertion mutagenesis was performed and mutations that increased ompF′-lacZ activity were identified as previously described. Mutations mapping to a previously identified gene of unknown function, lrhA, were obtained. We found that LrhA, a LysR homolog, functions as a regulatory component in the RpoS-dependent growth phase repression of ompF. In addition to altered growth phase regulation of ompF, these lrhAmutants have pleiotropic stationary-phase defects as a result of decreased RpoS levels. We provide evidence that LrhA promotes degradation of RpoS by functioning within a genetic pathway that includes the response regulator SprE and the ClpXP protease. LrhA functions upstream of the other components in the pathway and appears to modulate the activity of SprE.