Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Complement C5a, TGF-beta 1, and MCP-1, in sequence, induce migration of monocytes into ischemic canine myocardium within the first one to five hours after reperfusion.

BACKGROUND Recent studies suggest that reperfusion promotes healing of formerly ischemic heart tissue even when myocardial salvage is no longer possible. Since monocyte-macrophage infiltration is the hallmark of the healing infarct, we have attempted to identify mechanisms that attract monocytes into the heart after reperfusion of ischemic canine myocardium. METHODS AND RESULTS Isolated autologous 99mTc-labeled mononuclear leukocytes injected into the left atrium localized preferentially in previously ischemic myocardium within the first hour after reperfusion. Histological studies revealed CD64+ monocytes in small venules and the perivascular connective tissue within the first hour after reperfusion. Flow cytometric analysis of cells in cardiac lymph showed systematically increasing numbers of neutrophils and monocytes between 1 and 4 hours after reperfusion; monocyte enrichment was eventually greater than neutrophil enrichment. Monocyte chemotactic activity in cardiac lymph collected in the first hour after reperfusion was wholly attributable to C5a. Transforming growth factor (TGF)-beta 1 contributed significantly to this chemotactic activity after 60 to 180 minutes, and after 180 minutes, monocyte chemotactic activity in lymph was largely dependent on monocyte chemoattractant protein (MCP)-1 acting in concert with TGF-beta 1. CONCLUSIONS Beginning in the first 60 minutes after reperfusion, C5a, TGF-beta 1, and MCP-1, acting sequentially, promote infiltration of monocytes into formerly ischemic myocardium. These events may promote the healing of myocardial injury facilitated by reperfusion.
Developing Radically-New Meanings through the Collaboration with Radical Circles Slow Food as a Platform for Envisioning Innovative Meanings

Paolo Landoni is Assistant Professor at the Politecnico di Milano university (Italy), where he serves also as Co-Director of the Master in Open Innovation and Knowledge Transfer. He received a Master of Science degree in Bioengineering and a PhD in Management, Economics and Industrial Engineering from the Politecnico di Milano university and he has been a visiting scholar at the Department of Economics and Applied Economics of the Katholieke Universiteit Leuven (KULeuven). His research is in the area of innovation management with a focus on the management of knowledge, research and innovation considering both the firm’s perspective and the perspectives of public sector and third sector organizations (governments, universities, not-for-profit organizations, etc.). Roberto Verganti is Full Professor of Management of Innovation at the Politecnico di Milano, where he also serves as the Scientific Director of MaDe In Lab, the laboratory for education in management of design and innovation. He has been a visiting scholar at the Harvard Business School twice and a visiting professor of Design Management at the Copenhagen Business School. Roberto Verganti has issued more than 150 publications, which lie at the intersection of strategy, design and technology management, on journals such as Management Science, Journal of Product Innovation Management, Harvard Business Review. He has been featured on The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, Financial Times, BusinessWeek and is a regular contributor to the Harvard Business Review online magazine. Abstract Purpose The importance and complexity of proposing radically-new meanings are well established in the literature. However, a limited number of contributions have analyzed how they can be developed. In this work, we analyze the development of radically-new meanings at the basis of the Slow Food movement to contribute to the topic. In order to better understand how social movements can propose radically-new meanings and how companies can take inspiration and build a competitive advantage by leveraging the proposed meanings, we deeply analyzed the genealogy of Slow Food, interpreted as an inspiring case study; we adopt a narrative approach. The analysis of how Slow Food emerged and evolved into an international movement reveals an alternative way to develop innovative meanings in collaboration with groups of radicals. We identify three main phases in the evolution of innovative meanings: generation, institutionalization and development.
An exploratory clinical study on the safety and efficacy of an autologous fibroblast‐seeded artificial skin cultured with animal product‐free medium in patients with diabetic foot ulcers

Cultured dermal substitutes have been used for the treatment of chronic skin ulcers; however, the biological risks of animal‐derived materials in the culture process such as foetal bovine serum (FBS) have been reported. In this study, we prepared an autologous fibroblast‐seeded artificial dermis (AFD) using animal‐product‐free medium supplemented with 2% patient autologous serum and without any animal‐derived materials such as trypsin in the culturing process. We applied the AFD in five patients with diabetic ulcers and investigated its safety and efficacy. As the primary endpoint, we defined ‘wound bed improvement' according to the percentage of granulation area to the whole wound area on day 21, and 60% or higher was regarded as improved. The mean age of the patients was 60·6 years and the mean duration of the ulcer was 22·6 months. In the evaluation of the primary endpoint, the ‘wound bed’ was improved in all patients [proportion of improvement: 100%, 95% confidence interval (CI): 48% to 100%]. Three patients had complete wound healing within 12 weeks after application and two patients had >80% wound healing at 12 weeks. Side effects were not serious. Our AFD may be a safe and effective treatment of diabetic ulcers.
The Relationships between Mothers’ Work Pathways and Physical and Mental Health

We contribute to research on the relationships between gender, work, and health by using longitudinal, theoretically driven models of mothers’ diverse work pathways and adjusting for unequal selection into these pathways. Using the National Longitudinal Study of Youth-1979 (N = 2,540), we find full-time, continuous employment following a first birth is associated with significantly better health at age 40 than part-time work, paid work interrupted by unemployment, and unpaid work in the home. Part-time workers with little unemployment report significantly better health at age 40 than mothers experiencing persistent unemployment. These relationships remain after accounting for the unequal selection of more advantaged mothers into full-time, continuous employment, suggesting full-time workers benefit from cumulating advantages across the life course and reiterating the need to disentangle health benefits associated with work from those associated with pre-pregnancy characteristics.
β-Hydroxybutyrate Abrogates Formation of Bovine Neutrophil Extracellular Traps and Bactericidal Activity against Mammary Pathogenic Escherichia coli

ABSTRACT Escherichia coli is an important bacterial species isolated from bovine mastitis. The rate of neutrophil recruitment into the mammary gland and their bactericidal activity largely affect the severity and outcome of the disease. Ketosis is a common metabolic disease, and affected dairy cows are known to have increased risk for mastitis and other infectious conditions. The disease is associated with high blood and milk levels of β-hydroxybutyrate (BHBA), previously shown to negatively affect neutrophil function by unknown mechanisms. We show here that the mammary pathogenic E. coli strain P4 activates normal bovine neutrophils to form neutrophil extracellular traps (NETs), which are highly bactericidal against this organism. Preincubation of these neutrophils with increasing concentrations (0.1 to 8 mmol/liter) of BHBA caused a fivefold decrease of E. coli P4 phagocytosis, though intracellular killing was unaffected. Furthermore, BHBA caused a 10-fold decrease in the NETs formed by E. coli P4-activated neutrophils and a similar decrease in NET bactericidal activity against this organism. These negative effects of BHBA on bovine neutrophils might explain the increased susceptibility of ketotic cows to mastitis and other infectious conditions.
Neural Networks in Finance and Economics Forecasting

Artificial neural networks (ANNs) have been widely applied to finance and economic forecasting as a powerful modeling technique. By reviewing the related literature, we discuss the input variables, type of neural network models, performance comparisons for the prediction of foreign exchange rates, stock market index and economic growth. Economic fundamentals are important in driving exchange rates, stock market index price and economic growth. Most neural network inputs for exchange rate prediction are univariate, while those for stock market index prices and economic growth predictions are multivariate in most cases. There are mixed comparison results of forecasting performance between neural networks and other models. The reasons may be the difference of data, forecasting horizons, types of neural network models and so on. Prediction performance of neural networks can be improved by being integrated with other technologies. Nonlinear combining forecasting by neural networks also provides encouraging results.
Disrupting life events and the sleep-wake cycle in depression

Background. Social rhythm disruption life events are significant predictors of mood relapse in bipolar patients. However, no research has examined the relationship between these events and their hypothesized mechanism of action: disrupted sleep-wake patterns. The goal of this study was to test whether participants with major depressive disorder have a greater disruption of daily sleep and motor activity following disrupting life events when compared to normal controls. Method. Over the course of 2 weeks, 39 normal controls and 39 individuals with major depressive disorder completed life events interviews and wore actigraphs to obtain estimates of sleep/wake activity. Results. Statistically significant interactions indicated that the presence of at least one disrupting life event in the previous 4 months correlated with elevations in the amount of time spent awake after sleep onset [β=0·45, ΔF(1,73)=4·80, p<0·05], and decreases in the percentage of time spent asleep [β=−0·53, ΔF(1,73)=6·57, p<0·05], in depressed individuals but not in normal controls. Conclusions. The results indicated that depressed individuals may be more susceptible to the effects of life events on sleep than normal controls. This is the first study to date to correlate life events with objective measures of sleep. However, prospective longitudinal research is necessary to clarify the temporal relationship among these variables.
Conjugative transfer functions of broad‐host‐range plasmid RK2 are coregulated with vegetative replication

The kilB locus (which is unclonable in the absence of korB) of broad‐host‐range plasmid RK2 (60kb) lies between the trfA operon (co‐ordinates 16.4 to 18.2kb), which encodes a protein essential for vegetative replication, and the Tra2 block of conjugative transfer genes (co‐ordinates 20.0 to 27.0 kb). Promoter probe studies indicated that kilB is transcribed clockwise from a region containing closely spaced divergent promoters, one of which is the trfA promoter. The repression of both promoters by korB suggested that kilB may also play a role in stable maintenance of RK2. We have sequenced the region containing kilB and analysed it by deletion and insertion mutagenesis. Loss of the KilB+ phenotype does not result in decreased stability of mini RK2 plasmids. However insertion in ORFI (kilBl) of the region analysed results in a Tra‐ phenotype in plasmids which are otherwise competent for transfer, demonstrating that this locus is essential for transfer and is probably the first gene of the Tra2 region. From the kilBi DNA sequence KilBl is predicted to be 34995Da, In line with Mr= 36000 observed by sodium dodecyl sulphate/potyacrylamide gel electrophoresis, and contains a type I ATP‐binding motif. The purified product was used to raise antibody which allowed the level of KilBI produced from RK2 to be estimated at approximately 2000 molecules per bacterium. Protein sequence comparisons showed the highest homology score with VirB11, which is essential for the transfer of the Agrobacterium tume‐ faciens Ti plasmid DNA from bacteria to plant cells. The sequence similarity of both KilBI and VirB11 to a family of protein export functions suggested that KilBI
An exploratory study of essential life skills for adolescent elite athletes in South Africa

In their pursuit of athletic excellence, many athletes neglect to plan for life after sport. The aim of this study was to explore and identify life skills appropriate for inclusion in the development of a life skills programme focusing on South African elite adolescent athletes. The study employed an exploratory qualitative approach. Nine elite adolescent South African athletes on the MacSteel Maestros Programme (MMP) were purposefully selected to take part. Data were analysed, applying the principles of inductive reasoning to generate themes. These themes were then linked with the concepts of the Positive Youth Development (PYD) theory that guided the interpretation of the data. The findings from the study contribute to the current literature in two ways. First, they offered a South African perspective on the life skills needed by elite adolescent athletes. Secondly, they identified the life skills that the South African adolescent elite athletes themselves deemed important for their holistic development. The development of skills relating to time management and self-esteem/self-confidence were identified as crucial. The athletes benefitted from being on the MMP, exhibiting qualities of competence, confidence, character, connection and caring/compassion, both in and out of sport.Keywords: Life skills; Adolescents; Athletes; Elite sport; Positive Youth Development (PYD); South Africa
Effects of biological explanations for mental disorders on clinicians’ empathy

Significance Mental disorders are increasingly understood biologically. We tested the effects of biological explanations among mental health clinicians, specifically examining their empathy toward patients. Conventional wisdom suggests that biological explanations reduce perceived blameworthiness against those with mental disorders, which could increase empathy. Yet, conceptualizing mental disorders biologically can cast patients as physiologically different from “normal” people and as governed by genetic or neurochemical abnormalities instead of their own human agency, which can engender negative social attitudes and dehumanization. This suggests that biological explanations might actually decrease empathy. Indeed, we find that biological explanations significantly reduce clinicians’ empathy. This is alarming because clinicians’ empathy is important for the therapeutic alliance between mental health providers and patients and significantly predicts positive clinical outcomes. Mental disorders are increasingly understood in terms of biological mechanisms. We examined how such biological explanations of patients’ symptoms would affect mental health clinicians’ empathy—a crucial component of the relationship between treatment-providers and patients—as well as their clinical judgments and recommendations. In a series of studies, US clinicians read descriptions of potential patients whose symptoms were explained using either biological or psychosocial information. Biological explanations have been thought to make patients appear less accountable for their disorders, which could increase clinicians’ empathy. To the contrary, biological explanations evoked significantly less empathy. These results are consistent with other research and theory that has suggested that biological accounts of psychopathology can exacerbate perceptions of patients as abnormal, distinct from the rest of the population, meriting social exclusion, and even less than fully human. Although the ongoing shift toward biomedical conceptualizations has many benefits, our results reveal unintended negative consequences.
Value of 1H-magnetic resonance spectroscopy chemical shift imaging for detection of anaplastic foci in diffusely infiltrating gliomas with non-significant contrast-enhancement

Objective In diffusely infiltrating gliomas (DIG), positron emission tomography (PET) imaging is a powerful method for detection of anaplastic foci. Recently, 1H-magnetic resonance spectroscopy chemical shift imaging (CSI) using choline/creatine (Cho/Cr) or choline/N-acetylaspartate (Cho/NAA) ratios has emerged as a new non-invasive, widely available alternative. The authors therefore correlated CSI with 11C-methionine (MET)-PET data in a series of DIG with non-significant contrast-enhancement (CE). Methods Thirty-two patients with DIG were examined with single-slice CSI on a 3 T MRI and MET-PET. Maximum pathological intratumoural ratios of CSI (=CSImax) and maximum tumour-to-normal-brain PET ratios (=PETmax; T/N ratio) were determined. Coregistration of MRI with CSI and PET was performed, and the topographic overlap of CSImax and PETmax was analysed. Histological criteria of anaplasia as well as cell proliferation rate were assessed in tumour samples inside and outside CSImax. Results CSI showed a pathological ratio in all patients, whereas PET demonstrated a pathological T/N ratio in 21/32 patients. Topographical correlation of CSImax and PETmax revealed a ≥50% overlap in 18/21 and <50% overlap in 3/21 patients, respectively. Cho/Crmax and Cho/NAAmax showed a ≥50% overlap in 24/32 and a <50% overlap in 8/32 patients. Cell proliferation rate was significantly higher inside than outside the CSImax (13.6% vs 6.9%, p<0.001). Conclusion The results indicate that CSI is a promising method for detection of anaplastic foci within DIG with non-significant CE. Intraoperative use of CSI by multimodal neuronavigation may increase the reliability of detection of malignant areas in glioma surgery and therefore optimise allocation of patients to adjuvant treatments.
Serum magnesium levels in the United States, 1971-1974.

Serum magnesium has been determined by atomic absorption spectrophotometry in a national sample of the United States population between 1971 and 1974. Mean values and percentile distributions are presented for ages 1-74 in males and females in two racial groups. Mean values decreased in both sexes from age 1 to ages 12-24. In females, they increased again after age 25, while males showed little change after age 17. Small sex differences were observed between ages 18 and 45, with men having higher levels than women. Both white males and females had higher serum levels than black males and females of the same age. These differences were statistically significant in many age groups, particularly in young and middle-aged adults. These data are unique inasmuch as they represent the only broad population measurements of serum magnesium in the United States. No comparable data exist as far as is known. The values shown can be considered as normative for the U.S. population. A review of the literature with comparable data was done and results are included; a discussion of the findings from these studies is presented.
Ultrastructural localization of high‐affinity choline transporter in the rat neuromuscular junction: Enrichment on synaptic vesicles

In cholinergic neurons, Na+‐ and Cl−‐dependent, hemicholinium‐3‐sensitive, high‐affinity choline uptake system is thought to be the rate‐limiting step in acetylcholine (ACh) synthesis. The system is highly regulated by neuronal activity; the choline uptake is increased by a condition in which ACh release is favored. Here we analyzed the ultrastructural localization of the high‐affinity choline transporter (CHT) in the rat neuromuscular junctions with two separate antibodies. The majority (>90%) of immunogold labeling of CHT was observed on synaptic vesicles rather than the presynaptic plasma membrane. Less than 5% of the gold‐silver particles were associated with the plasma membrane, and more than 70% of such particles were localized within or in close vicinity to presynaptic active zones. Our morphological data support the recent hypothesis that trafficking of CHT from synaptic vesicles to the plasma membrane couples neuronal activity and choline uptake. Synapse 53:53–56, 2004. © 2004 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
An Analysis of Efficiency of General Insurance Industry in India

It is well known that the overall insurance sector in India has been undergoing a series of reforms from time to time. The drastic change that re-designed the contours of the industry is the implementation of the Malhotra Committee Recommendations which opened up the landscape to the private non-life insurers in 2000. The present study has been taken up to determine the efficiency of the non-life sector and the insurers using Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA). The empirical research also aims to statistically test whether there is any year-wise significant difference between the two sectors in respect of the overall efficiency. For the purpose, appropriate statistical test is applied. The study is based on secondary data collected from the Insurance Regulatory Authority of India (IRDA) Annual Reports. The sample size for this study is twelve including all the four insurers from the public sector and the remaining from the private sector. The results of the analysis showed that in terms of technical and pure technical efficiency, the overall result of the public sector surpasses that of the private. However, the findings of the Mann-Whitney U Test revealed that the result with respect to the statistical difference is mixed.
Data Selection for Nonlinear Proximal Support Vector Machine

An incremental learning method based on a new nonlinear proximal support vector machine (PSVM) classifier was developed, which can be utilized in online learning efficiently. However the memory requirement of this method is proportional to the square of the size of the training data, which makes it impractical in large data set learning problem. In this paper a data selection method, which can select a small fraction of the entire dataset as "support vectors" of PSVM classifiers, is devised. We also proposed a framework for incremental learning using this data selection method. It maintains only a small fraction of a large data set before merging and processing it with new incoming data, which makes online large dataset learning problem solvable for nonlinear PSVM. Mathematical analysis and experimental results demonstrated the effectiveness of our proposed technique both in batch mode and in online learning situation.
Age and Graphomotor Decision Making Assessed with the Digital Clock Drawing Test: The Framingham Heart Study.

BACKGROUND Digital Clock Drawing Test (dCDT) technology enables the examination of detailed neurocognitive behavior as behavior unfolds in real time; a capability that cannot be obtained using a traditional pen and paper testing format. OBJECTIVE Parameters obtained from the dCDT were used to investigate neurocognitive constructs related to higher-order neurocognitive decision making and information processing speed. The current research sought to determine the effect of age as related to combined motor and non-motor components of drawing, and higher-order decision making latencies. METHODS A large group of stroke- and dementia- free Framingham Heart Study participants were administered the dCDT to command and copy with hands set for "10 after 11". Six age groups (age range 28-98) were constructed. RESULTS Differences between age groups were found for total time to completion, total pen stroke count, and higher-order decision making latencies in both command and copy test conditions. CONCLUSION Longer age-related decision making latencies may reflect a greater need for working memory and increased self-monitoring in older subjects. These latency measures have potential to serve as neurocognitive biomarkers of Alzheimer's disease and other insidious neurodegenerative disorders.