Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Sargramostim for active Crohn's disease.

BACKGROUND Sargramostim, granulocyte-macrophage colony-stimulating factor, a hematopoietic growth factor, stimulates cells of the intestinal innate immune system. Preliminary studies suggest sargramostim may have activity in Crohn's disease. To evaluate this novel therapeutic approach, we conducted a randomized, placebo-controlled trial. METHODS Using a 2:1 ratio, we randomly assigned 124 patients with moderate-to-severe active Crohn's disease to receive 6 mug of sargramostim per kilogram per day or placebo subcutaneously for 56 days. Antibiotics and aminosalicylates were allowed; immunosuppressants and glucocorticoids were prohibited. The primary end point was a clinical response, defined by a decrease from baseline of at least 70 points in the Crohn's Disease Activity Index (CDAI) at the end of treatment (day 57). Other end points included changes in disease severity and the health-related quality of life and adverse events. RESULTS There was no significant difference in the rate of the primary end point of a clinical response defined by a decrease of at least 70 points in the CDAI score on day 57 between the sargramostim and placebo groups (54 percent vs. 44 percent, P=0.28). However, significantly more patients in the sargramostim group than in the placebo group reached the secondary end points of a clinical response defined by a decrease from baseline of at least 100 points in the CDAI score on day 57 (48 percent vs. 26 percent, P=0.01) and of remission, defined by a CDAI score of 150 points or less on day 57 (40 percent vs. 19 percent, P=0.01). The rates of either type of clinical response and of remission were significantly higher in the sargramostim group than in the placebo group on day 29 of treatment and 30 days after treatment. The sargramostim group also had significant improvements in the quality of life. Mild-to-moderate injection-site reactions and bone pain were more common in the sargramostim group, and three patients in this group had serious adverse events possibly or probably related to treatment. CONCLUSIONS This study was negative for the primary end point, but findings for the secondary end points suggest that sargramostim therapy decreased disease severity and improved the quality of life in patients with active Crohn's disease.
NEST BUILDING BEHAVIOR IN THE FREE RANGING CHIMPANZEE

In its natural habitat, the chimpanzee, in common with the gorilla and orangutan, constructs a sleeping platform or nest on which to rest at night. There is evidence that the construction of a nest is characteristic of the chimpanzee throughout its range. R. M. Yerkes & A. W. Yerkes (1929) summarize the early reports, and there is more recent information from H. W. Nissen (1931), F. G. Merfield (1956), Kortlandt (pers. corn.), and G. B. Schaller (pers. corn.). Each chimpanzee makes its own nest, with the exception of infants up to two and a half years of age that sleep with their mothers, and a new nest is made each night. As these nests often remain recognizable for several months, they are conspicuous features of the countryside. I worked for 18 months, between June 1960 and December 1961, in the Gombe Stream Chimpanzee Reserve in Tanganyika, and the following observations apply to a small, semi-isolated population of Pan satyrus schweinfurthi, the Eastern, or Long-haired, Chimpanzee, The reserve is situated between the Uranda Urundi border and Kigoma. At this point the rift mountains rise steeply from Lake Tanganyika, 2,334 feet above sea level, to heights of some 5,000 feet. The reserve stretches along the lake for 10 miles, and inland only to the peaks of the mountain range, the total area scarcely exceeding 30 square miles. The country is broken up by numerous steep valleys and gorges, many of which support permanent streams. It is difficult to estimate the number of chimpanzees in the reserve, but probably between 60 and 100 animals occupy the area during at least part of the year.
The Impact of Decoupling of Telework on Job Satisfaction in U.S. Federal Agencies

This study analyzes the effects of decoupling of telework on job satisfaction using the 2013 Federal Employee Viewpoint Survey. The research divides telework programs for public employees by two criteria: (a) whether or not federal agencies have officially adopted the program, and (b) whether or not public employees actually participate in the program. We find that both organizational adoption and employee participation in telework have a positive relationship with job satisfaction, and these results support the social exchange theory. We also observe that the effects of decoupling of telework on job satisfaction are more significant for female public employees than for male public employees. The results imply that female employees have the lowest levels of job satisfaction when agencies officially adopt telework but employees cannot utilize the program. However, male employees have the lowest levels of job satisfaction when they are unable to utilize a nonexistent telework program.
Genetic polymorphisms of cytochromes P450: CYP2C9, CYP2C19, and CYP2D6 in Croatian population.

AIM To determine the prevalence of most common mutations of cytochrome P450 (CYP), ie, allelic variants of CYP2C9, CYP2C19, and CYP2D6, and to predict genotype frequency in the Croatian population. METHODS CYP genotype was determined in 200 non-related Croatian citizens. DNA isolated from blood samples was used for the analysis of the most common allelic variants of CYP2C9, CYP2C19, and CYP2D6 by polymerase chain reaction-restriction fragment length polymorphism (PCR-RFLP) method. RESULTS For 200 subjects genotyped for CYP2C9, the allele frequencies of CYP2C9*1 (wt), CYP2C9*2, and CYP2C9*3 were 0.74, 0.165, and 0.095, respectively. Among them, 3.5% of subjects were predicted to be poor metabolizers. For CYP2C19, the most frequent alleles were CYP2C19*1 and CYP2C19*2, with frequencies of 0.85 and 0.15, respectively; 3% of subjects were predicted to be poor metabolizers. For CYP2D6, the most frequent alleles were CYP2D6*1 (frequency 0.765), CYP2D62* (0.04), CYP2D6*3 (0.0275), CYP2D6*4 (0.14), CYP2D6*5 ( 0.01), and CYP2D6*6 (0.015). Out of these, 3% were predicted to be poor metabolizers, and 4% were predicted to be ultra-rapid metabolizers. CONCLUSION The prevalence of allelic variants and predicted genotypes in the Croatian population is in accordance with the other European populations, and it can be interpolated between the values for mid-European and Mediterranean populations.
Sustained Attention Deficit Along the Psychosis Proneness Continuum: A Study on the Sustained Attention to Response Task (SART)

BackgroundSustained attention deficits have been associated with schizophrenia. However, these findings were limited to patients with schizophrenia and cannot be generalized to a wider nonclinical sample with schizotypal personality features. ObjectivesThis study aimed to examine the sensitivity of a theory-driven test, the Sustained Attention Response to Task (SART), in individuals with schizotypal personality features. We also investigated the relationships between different parameters of SART and different dimensions of schizotypal features. MethodsOne hundred and ninety-nine participants (74 individuals with schizophrenia, 69 individuals with psychometrically determined schizotypal features, and 56 healthy controls) took part in this study. Participants scoring in the top 10% of the Schizotypal Personality Questionnaire (SPQ) score were identified as having schizotypal features, and those scoring in the bottom 10% were recruited as healthy controls. All participants were administered the SART in an experimental cubicle. ResultsThe findings indicated that: (1) significant differences were found in SART commission error and sensitivity between the 3 experimental groups, with patients with schizophrenia and individuals with schizotypal features performing worse than healthy controls; (2) there was a trend toward statistical significance for SART efficiency score and d′, with controls performing better than patients with schizophrenia and individuals with schizotypal features; (3) some associations between some SART indices and schizotypal traits were found; and (4) there was no significant relationship between SART indices and clinical symptoms in patients with schizophrenia in this study. Conclusions:This investigation demonstrated the potential value of a relatively new sustained attention paradigm for research in schizophrenia spectrum disorders.
Numerical modeling of hybrid stabilized electric arc with uniform mixing of gases

The paper is concerned with numerical modeling of an electric arc in the plasma torch with combined stabilization of arc by gas and water vortex. The axisymmetric model includes the arc discharge area between the outlet nozzle for argon and the outlet nozzle of the hybrid plasma torch. It is proved that the addition of argon increases the plasma velocity but does not influence substantially the plasma temperature. The outlet velocities exhibit the maximum difference up to 3000 ms/sup -1/ for 500 A, regarding a water-stabilized plasma torch. Transition to supersonic flow in the axial discharge region near the outlet occurs as a result of higher velocity and lower temperature for 500 A. The calculated velocities, temperature, and electron concentration profiles exhibit good agreement with experiments.
Psychiatric Disorders in Young Adults Diagnosed with Juvenile Fibromyalgia in Adolescence

Objective. Adolescents with juvenile-onset fibromyalgia (JFM) have increased rates of psychiatric disorders, but to our knowledge no studies have examined psychiatric disorders in adolescents with JFM when they enter young adulthood. This study examined the prevalence of psychiatric disorders in young adults diagnosed with JFM during adolescence and the relationship between mental health diagnoses and physical functioning. Methods. Ninety-one young adults (mean age 21.60, SD 1.96) with a history of JFM being followed as part of a prospective longitudinal study and 30 matched healthy controls (mean age 21.57, SD 1.55) completed a structured interview of psychiatric diagnoses and a self-report measure of physical impairment. Results. Young adults with a history of JFM were more likely to have current and lifetime histories of anxiety disorders (70.3% and 76.9%, respectively) compared with controls (33.3% for both, both p < 0.001). Individuals with JFM were also more likely to have current and lifetime histories of major mood disorders (29.7% and 76.9%, respectively) compared with controls (10% and 40%, p < 0.05). The presence of a current major mood disorder was significantly related to impairment in physical functioning [F (1, 89) = 8.30, p < 0.01] and role limitations attributable to a physical condition [F (1, 89) = 7.09, p < 0.01]. Conclusion. Psychiatric disorders are prevalent in young adulthood for individuals with a history of JFM, and a current major mood disorder is associated with greater physical impairment. Greater attention to early identification and treatment of mood disorders in patients with JFM is warranted.
Maximising Real-Valued Submodular Functions: Primal and Dual Heuristics for Location Problems

Recently it has been shown how various results on the behaviour of exact and approximate primal algorithms for certain discrete location problems can be obtained by studying the more general problem of maximising a submodular set function. Unfortunately, this more general model tells us little about an important aspect of the discrete location problems, their linear programming relaxations and the possible use of dual solutions in obtaining bounds. Here we examine a slightly more specialised model that again generalises the location problems of interest, but now also includes the continuous aspects of the problems missing from the earlier model, namely the problem: max{wy: Σj=1najyj ≤ b, 0 ≤ yj < 1} of maximising a real-valued nondecreasing piecewise linear, concave submodular function subject to a knapsack constraint. We show that a continuous greedy heuristic always attains at least 1-e-1 × 100% of the optimal value, and that for the discrete problem an adapted greedy heuristic always attains 35% of the optimal value. Specialised to the capacitated and uncapacitated location problems these results permit us to strengthen earlier results, and to obtain new results on dual greedy heuristics.
Fuzzy measures and generalized Möbius transform

Generalized Möbius transform is recalled and applied in some special cases. The relationship with the standard Möbius transform is shown. By means of the generalized Möbius transform, a general concept of k -order additivity independent of the cardinality of the underlying space is introduced. The relationship of the Choquet integral and the Lebesgue integral by means of the generalized Möbius transform is clarified. Also possibilistic Möbius transform and k -order possibility measures are introduced. Finally, some examples are given, including the characterization of de Finetti's discrete lower probabilities.
A PUFFERFISH (TETRADON NIGROVIRIDIS) AVAILABLE IN THE COMMON PET TRADE HARBORS LETHAL CONCENTRATIONS OF TETRODOTOXIN: A CASE STUDY OF POISONING IN A CUVIER'S DWARF CAIMAN (PALEOSUCHUS PALPEBROSUS)

Abstract Many pufferfish possess tetrodotoxin (TTX). Unaware of this fact, the owner of a 3-mo-old pet Cuvier's dwarf caiman (Paleosuchus palpebrosus) fed the caiman a green spotted pufferfish (Tetraodon nigroviridis), acquired from a local discount department store. The caiman was nonresponsive within an hour of consumption of the fish. The caiman was presented for veterinary evaluation but died despite intensive medical care. High-performance liquid chromatography and a competitive inhibition enzyme immunoassay were used to determine whether the pufferfish was tetrodotoxic and whether the deceased caiman had TTX in its system. Skin and liver of the pufferfish harbored high concentrations of TTX, and the caiman had TTX in the blood, liver, and kidney. The clinical signs and presence of TTX in the caiman suggest that the caiman succumbed to tetrodotoxicosis. The implication is that lethally poisonous species are available commercially and pose a danger to other pets and possibly small children.
Exponentiated Chen distribution: Properties and estimation

ABSTRACT This article addresses various properties and estimation methods for the Exponentiated Chen distribution. Although, our main focus is on estimation from frequentist point of view, yet, some statistical and reliability characteristics for the model are derived. We briefly describe different estimation procedures, namely, the method of maximum likelihood estimation, percentile estimation, least square and weighted least-square estimation, maximum product of spacings estimation, Cramér-von-Mises estimation, Anderson–Darling, and right-tail Anderson–Darling estimation. Monte Carlo simulations are performed to compare the performances of the proposed methods of estimation for both small and large samples. Finally, the potentiality of the model is analyzed by means of three real datasets.
Sporadic colorectal cancer: Studying ways to an end

Introduction Although colorectal cancer (CRC) has often been regarded as a single entity, different pathways may lead to macroscopically similar cancers. These pathways may evolve into a patchy colonic field defect that we aimed to study in consecutive CRC patients. Methods In a single-center, observational, prospective study, consecutive CRC patients were included if surgery and a perioperative colonoscopy were planned. Personal and familial history data were collected. Tumors were studied for microsatellite instability (MSI) status, DNA repair protein expression (DRPE) and presence of BRAF and/or APC mutations. Macroscopically normal mucosa samples were tested for APC mutations. Presence and location of synchronous and metachronous adenomas and patient follow-up were analyzed. The association of two categorical variables was tested through the Fisher’s exact test (SPSS 19). Results Twenty-four patients (12 male, mean age 69 years) were studied. High-grade MSI (MSI-H) was found in eight tumors—these were significantly more common in the right colon (p = 0.047) and more likely to have an altered DRPE (p = 0.007). BRAF mutation was found in two of six tested MSI-H tumors. APC gene mutations were found in nine of 16 non-MSI-H tumors and absent in normal mucosa samples. There was a nonsignificant co-localization of CRC and synchronous adenomas and a significant co-localization (p = 0.05) of synchronous and metachronous adenomas. Discussion Sporadic CRCs evolve through distinct pathways, evidenced only by pathological and molecular analysis, but clinically relevant both for patients and their families. In non-MSI-H tumors, the expected APC gene mutations were not detected by the most commonly used techniques in a high number of cases. More studies are needed to fully characterize these tumors and to search for common early events in normal mucosa patches, which might explain the indirect evidence found here for a field defect in the colon.
Social Networks and Citizen Response to Legal Change

Our goal is to extend the research on the political importance of social networks by investigating the role of networks in shaping citizen responses to changes in the law. We emphasize the development of special-purpose social networks to cope with changing legal requirements and analyze these networks from a problem-solving perspective. The empirical focus of the work is taxpayers' adaptation to the 1986 Tax Reform Act. The results from a panel survey of 475 taxpayers demonstrate that specialized, weak-tie networks play a critical role in shaping responses to legal change. More important problems (i.e., tax increases) stimulate search among broader networks. Broader networks, in turn, lead to greater knowledge about the 1986 Tax Reform Act. Network search is biased by both taxpayer attitudes and motivation: taxpayers seek likeminded discussants, and bigger tax increases lead to more noncompliant weak-tie discussants. Finally, the attitudes of weak-tie discussants produce changes in taxpayers' attitudes about compliance, confirming the important role of networks in shaping compliance behavior. he social context has been viewed as a critical constraint on the information-gathering opportunities of the citizen at least since the Columbia voting studies by Lazarsfeld and his colleagues (1948). Information about the political system is filtered through existing social networks, with political attitudes and knowledge strongly influenced by discussions with friends, neighbors, relatives, and government officials to whom the citizen is "networked" in a variety of settings (Huckfeldt and Sprague 1987, 1991, 1995). Our goal is to extend the research on social networks in two directions. First, we investigate the role of networks in shaping citizen responses to changes in the law. Few citizens actually read new statutes, but rely instead on information, interpretations, and evaluations of the law available from various intermediate sources. Although recent research has explored the role of social networks in voting behavior (Huckfeldt and Sprague 1995), we know less about the role of networks in shaping knowledge of and willingness to obey new laws. Yet such knowledge is a precondition for compliance with citizenship obligations (Delli Carpini and Keeter 1996). Second, we emphasize the problem-solving aspects of network analysis, an approach to citizen behavior that provides a fruitful middle ground between the extremes of individual rationality and social determinism. While research in sociology has examined the role of networks in solving problems (Warren 1981; Stoller and Pugliesi 1991), most of these studies focus on the role of a single personal network. We assume instead that boundedly rational citizens are capable of developing multiple, specialpurpose discussion networks to deal with specialized problems. Although the single, multi-purpose network considered in most network analyses is primarily determined by social structure, specialized networks are also
Relationship between Energy Consumption and Economic Growth: Empirical Evidence for Malaysia

This paper aims to examine the relationship between energy consumptions and economic growth and to address policy problems on energy consumption in Malaysia by using data from 1980 to 2010. Johansen co-integration is employed to analyze the data. Findings show that energy consumptions are related to economic growth. The Granger causality model is used to measure the causal effect of energy consumption and gross domestic product. The results indicate that oil and coal consumption does not Granger cause economic growth and vice versa. Causality runs from economic growth to electricity consumption. A unidirectional relationship exists between gas and economic growth, with causality running from electricity use to economic growth. Therefore, a policy to reduce gas utilization will harm economic growth in Malaysia.
Interleukin‐1 and Defensins in Thermoregulation, Stress, and Immunity a

Our previous studies suggested that IL-1 and defensins, which play a critical role in mechanisms of host resistance, participated in the realization of stress reaction. The present report describes functional relations between IL-1 and defensins during stress reactions and the influence of defensins administration on thermoregulation and the IL-1 level in blood. It is shown that stress-induced shifts in the humoral immune response are accompanied by diverse changes in the IL-1 alpha level in blood and LAF production by peritoneal macrophages, which are possibly associated with the intensity and strength of applied stressors. Functional interrelations between actions of defensins and IL-1 during stress reaction and in the conditions of an LPS-induced rise in body temperature was demonstrated. These results suggest that antibacterial peptides defensins may be involved in thermoregulation in case of increased body temperature probably influencing the blood level of IL-1.
Free radicals and lung disease.

The involvement of reactive oxygen species (ROS) in the pathogenesis of several lung diseases/injuries has been suggested. ROS are believed primarily to be generated by leukocytes (e.g. infiltrating neutrophils) although other ROS generating systems such as the xanthine/xanthine oxidase system may also be of importance. ROS may through oxidative changes exert a number of toxic effects which have been demonstrated in many different biological systems. At limited oxidative stress events such as modification of receptor activity and signalling, as well as release of endogenous mediators of inflammation may occur. One such ROS induced event, probably of importance for several lung diseases, is arachidonic acid (AA) release and metabolism to active product(s). In the lung, the release of AA results in both vaso- and bronchoconstriction, primarily caused by thromboxane A2. The molecular events leading to oxidant induced AA release and thromboxane formation are only partially elucidated.