Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Parent Leaders Taking the Lead: Capacity Building and Co-Constructed Relevance in Community-Engaged Research

This article reflects on a multi-year project involving participatory research with parents. Specifically, it reports on an ongoing capacity-building en deavor that consciously places parents at the center of a parent education project – wherein parents are regarded as project participants, possessing valued knowledge, rather than as more traditional passive research participants. Based in participatory action research, systematic inquiry methods are used to determine the project issues and engage all participants in coconstruction of knowledge. By building capacity in parents, we observed improved outcomes in their own lives as well as in the lives of the children they nurtured. Implications of our study for the growth in public scholarship are explored.
Diplomat, Landlord, Con-Artist, Thief: Housing Brokers and the Mediation of Risk in Migrant Moscow

This article explores the role of brokers in the market for accommodation in contemporary Moscow. Drawing on fieldwork with Kyrgyz migrant workers and the variety of intermediaries [ posredniki ] on whom they depend, it introduces two interventions into a growing anthropological re-engagement with brokerage. First, it highlights the importance of spatial and social proximity for understanding brokerage relations. Second, it attends ethnographically to the kinds of skills that are understood to distinguish ‘successful’ from ‘unsuccessful’ intermediaries. Drawing together recent literature on ‘everyday diplomacy’ with emic identifications of the posrednik’ s work as a diplomatic craft, it examines brokerage as a skilled practice for encountering and mediating difference in contexts of political and administrative indeterminacy. The posrednik becomes an important figure in the migrant economy to the extent that economic life is suffused with uncertainty. This has implications for comparative anthropological concern with processes of social navigation in contexts of precarity.
The protective effect of PRMT6 overexpression on cigarette smoke extract-induced murine emphysema model

Background Cigarette smoke exposure is the most common risk factor for emphysema, which is one of the major pathologies of COPD. Protein arginine methyltransferase 6 (PRMT6) is a nuclear enzyme that specially catalyzes dimethylation of R2 in histone H3 (H3R2me2a). H3R2me2a prevents trimethylation of H3K4 (H3K4me3), which is located in the transcription start sites of genes in mammalian genomes. We attempted to determine the expression of PRMT6 in human samples, and investigate whether the upregulation of PRMT6 expression can attenuate the development of cigarette smoke extract (CSE)-induced emphysema. Further experiments were performed to elucidate the molecular mechanisms involved. Materials and methods Human lung tissues were obtained from patients undergoing pneumonectomy for benign pulmonary lesions. BALB/c mice were treated with lentiviral vectors intratracheally and injected with CSE three times. The protein expression of PRMT6, H3R2me2a, and H3K4me3 in human and mouse samples, as well as B-cell lymphoma-2 (Bcl-2), Bcl-2-associated X protein (Bax), and endothelial nitric oxide synthase (eNOS) in mice were detected in lung homogenates by Western blotting. The mRNA expression of cyclooxygenase-2, interleukin-6, Bcl-2, Bax, and eNOS in mice was measured by quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction. Results The expression of PRMT6 was significantly downregulated in the pulmonary parenchyma in smokers with COPD as well as in mice treated with CSE. Overexpression of PRMT6 was detected in the CSE + Lenti-PRMT6 group of mice, which reversed the expression of H3R2me2a and H3K4me3. Inflammation, apoptosis, and oxidative stress levels were severe in the CSE-treated emphysema mice compared with the control group, which was inhibited by the overexpression of PRMT6. Conclusion The overexpression of PRMT6 might inhibit inflammation, apoptosis, and oxidative stress in CSE-induced emphysema mediated by H3R2me2a.
Guideline concordant venous ulcer care predicts healing in a tertiary care Veterans Affairs Medical Center

This study describes the impact of 80% adherence to guideline concordant care for compression therapy, moist wound‐healing environment, and debridement on venous ulcer outcomes. The retrospective cohort design included patients from a tertiary care Veterans Affairs Medical Center from October 2003 to September 2007. During this 5‐year interval, 155 patients with 400 venous ulcers met study inclusion. A majority of ulcers (n=362) healed, with an average time to healing of 18.1 weeks (range 2–209 weeks, median 10.4 weeks). From the multivariate Poisson regression, the likelihood of ulcer healing increased when compression therapy was provided during at least 80% of visits (relative risk [RR], 1.93; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.27–2.92) or when a moist wound‐healing environment was provided during at least 80% of visits (RR, 1.63; 95% CI, 1.09–2.42). Debridement alone was not significantly associated with ulcer healing (RR, 1.0; 95% CI, 0.61–1.64). Patients who received all three treatments during at least 80% of their visits were more likely to heal than those who received < 80% treatment (RR, 2.52; 95% CI, 1.53–4.16). Guideline concordant venous ulcer care was significantly associated with venous ulcer healing, when provided at 80% or more of patient visits.
An Empirical Study on Export, Import and Economic Growth in Bhutan

This paper focuses on the casual relationship between export, import and Gross Domestic Product (GDP) for Bhutan using annual data from 1980 to 2005. The Granger causality test and Co-integration Models are employed taking care of stochastic properties of the variables. The co-integration analysis suggests that there is a long-run equilibrium relationship. The results of Granger causality test shows that there is a causal relationship between the examined variables. The causal nexus is unidirectional from export to import and GDP, and GDP to import only. Here export led growth is empirically proven in Bhutan.
Critical incident reporting in neonatal practice

Patient safety incidents (PSIs) occur relatively frequently in healthcare. Incident-reporting systems are designed to systematically collect information relating to PSIs in order to identify and rectify problems in the delivery of clinical care. This review provides an overview of the incident reporting process and summarises local and national data of PSIs reported in a neonatal population.
Surface- and volume-based techniques for shape modeling and analysis

Extending a shape-driven map to the interior of the input shape and to the surrounding volume is a difficult problem since it typically relies on the integration of shape-based and volumetric information, together with smoothness conditions, interpolating constraints, preservation of feature values at both a local and global level. In this context, this course revises the main out-of-sample approximation schemes for both 3D shapes and d-dimensional data, and provides a unified discussion on the integration of surface- and volume-based shape information. Then, it describes the application of shape-based and volumetric techniques to shape modeling and analysis through the definition of volumetric shape descriptors; shape processing through volumetric parameterization and polycube splines; feature-driven approximation through kernels and radial basis functions. We also discuss the Hamilton's Ricci flow, which is a powerful tool to compute the conformal structure of the shapes and to design Riemannian metrics of manifolds by prescribed curvatures and shape descriptors using conformal welding. We conclude the presentation by discussing applications to shape analysis and medicine, open problems, and future perspectives.
B1 Bradykinin Receptor Homo-Oligomers in Receptor Cell Surface Expression and Signaling: Effects of Receptor Fragments

The human B1 bradykinin receptor is an inducible and constitutively active G protein-coupled receptor that is involved in the inflammatory and pain responses to injury. Here, we investigated the role of B1 receptor homo-oligomerization in cell surface receptor expression. B1 receptors tagged with either the FLAG or hemagglutinin epitope were monitored immunologically and by radio-ligand binding, biotinylation, and phosphoinositide hydrolysis in human embryonic kidney 293 cells. Selective immunoprecipitation, immunoblotting, and immunoelectron microscopy with epitope-specific antibodies together provided evidence for constitutively formed cell surface receptor homo-oligomers. Truncation of the receptor from the N- and C-terminal ends indicated that the epitope for oligomerization seems to be located between Leu26 on top of transmembrane helix 1 and Val71 at the bottom of helix 2. A receptor construct terminating at Asp134 at the bottom of helix 3, B1stop135, was expressed in the cell. It is interesting that this construct behaved as a dominant-negative mutant by competitively preventing formation of intact B1 receptor homo-oligomers, and redistributing B1 receptors from the cell surface to a common intracellular compartment. In contrast, expression of a construct containing the residues downstream of Asp134, B1del(2-134), was inactive in this regard. Together, these results are consistent with a mechanism where constitutive B1 receptor homooligomerization is required for expression of receptors on the cell surface and subsequent constitutive receptor signaling. This may be a novel mechanism by which the cell regulates the presentation of this constitutively highly active receptor at various stages of injury.
Information processing in freight and freight forward markets: an event study on OPEC announcements

In this paper, information processing in spot and forward freight markets with respect to the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) output announcements is investigated. We use the event study methodology to study returns in tanker freight spot and forward markets around OPEC conferences from 2003 to 2014. Significant abnormal returns indicate that the output decisions are informationally important for the pricing of crude oil transportation services. We consistently find patterns of positive abnormal returns around production increase announcements and negative abnormal returns around announcements of production cuts. Our analysis also suggests that market participants appear to trade three to five days prior to the final announcement based on their anticipation of the actual output announcements. This is consistent with findings from related studies on crude oil returns. Persistence of abnormal returns in the post-event period indicates incomplete initial reactions or at least slow adjustment to disseminated information.
Clinical utility of the list sign as a predictor of non-demyelinating disorders in a multiple sclerosis (MS) practice

Objectives Not all patients referred for evaluation of multiple sclerosis (MS) meet criteria required for MS or related entities. Identification of markers to exclude demyelinating disease may help detect patients whose presenting symptoms are inconsistent with MS. In this study, we evaluate whether patients who present a self-prepared list of symptoms during an initial visit are less likely to have demyelinating disease and whether this action, which we term the “list sign,” may help exclude demyelinating disease. Methods Using chart review, 300 consecutive new patients who presented for evaluation to a neurologist at a tertiary MS referral center were identified retrospectively. Patients were defined as having demyelinating disease if diagnosed with MS or a related demyelinating condition. Results Of the 233 enrolled subjects, 157 were diagnosed with demyelinating disease and 74 did not meet criteria for demyelinating disease. Fifteen (8.4%) subjects had a positive list sign, of which 1 patient had demyelinating disease. The 15 subjects described a mean of 12.07 symptoms, and 8 of these patients met Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fifth Edition (DSM-5) criteria for somatic symptom disorder. The specificity and positive predictive value of the list sign for non-demyelinating disease were 0.99 (95% confidence interval (CI) 0.96–0.99) and 0.93 (95% CI 0.66–0.99), respectively. Conclusion A positive list sign may be useful to exclude demyelinating disease and to guide diagnostic evaluations for other conditions. Patients with a positive list sign also have a high incidence of somatic symptom disorder.
Screening for mutations in the steroidogenic acute regulatory protein and steroidogenic factor-1 genes, and in CYP11A and dosage-sensitive sex reversal-adrenal hypoplasia gene on the X chromosome, gene-1 (DAX-1), in hyperandrogenic hirsute women.

Abstract Abnormalities in adrenal and/or ovarian steroidogenesis are found in most patients with hirsutism. The rate-limiting step in the synthesis of steroids in the ovary and the adrenal is the conversion of cholesterol into pregnenolone by cholesterol side-chain cleavage enzyme (P450scc), encoded by the gene CYP11A, after cholesterol is introduced into the mitochondria by the steroidogenic acute regulatory protein (StAR). DAX-1 is a repressor of StAR gene expression, and steroidogenic factor-1 (SF-1) is a regulator of CYP11A, DAX-1, and StAR gene. Mutations in any of these factors resulting in gain of function, or loss of repression, of StAR or P450scc might contribute to the steroidogenic abnormalities present in hirsute patients. In the present study we have screened, using heteroduplex analysis, the genes encoding StAR and SF-1 as well as DAX-1 and CYP11A for mutations in genomic DNA from 19 women presenting with hirsutism and increased serum androgen levels. When variants were found, analysis was extended to a larger group of hyperandrogenic patients and nonaffected women. Two variants were identified in the SF-1 gene. A G-->C change in exon 6, resulting in an Arg(365)Pro mutation, was found in 1 of 45 patients, but not in controls. Also, a Gly(146)Ala missense mutation, resulting from a G-->C change in exon 4, was found in 2 of 48 patients and in 2 of 50 nonaffected individuals. We identified a C-->T base pair change at position -33 of the StAR gene. Three of 48 patients and 3 of 43 controls presented this variant. No mutations were found in coding regions of the StAR gene. Analysis of CYP11A-coding regions identified a G-->A change in exon 3, resulting in a Val(179)Ile missense mutation. This mutation was found in 1 of 29 patients studied and was not present in 50 controls. Finally, analysis of DAX-1 showed no variant in any of the women studied. In conclusion, mutations in StAR, SF-1, CYP11A, and DAX-1 are seldom found in hirsute patients and do not explain the steroidogenic abnormalities found in these women.
Should Object Function Matter during Modeling of Functional Reach-to-Grasp Tasks in Robot-Assisted Therapy?

Recent literature support the idea of using an intense, task-oriented, stroke rehabilitation to promote motor learning and cerebral reorganization. Supporting a task-oriented, robot-assisted therapy approach requires better understanding of the components of real tasks and the limitations and benefits of current trajectory models. We set out to understand natural reach-to-grasp kinematics as it relates to various functional bilateral and unilateral tasks so as to better map this information to a robotic reach-to-grasp therapy systems. To do so, we investigated the influence of arm use and object functionality on four reaching kinematics in reach-to-grasp daily living tasks. We compared our results with the minimum jerk trajectory model used in robot-assisted therapy with the goal of understanding how best to support these real movements in a robotic environment. Eight neurologically intact, right handed subjects participated in the motion analysis study. They completed unilateral and bilateral reaching to objects in the same location with the same orientation, and with handles of the same size and shape. We discuss our results in terms of the minimum jerk model, which is typically used in robot-assisted trajectory planning. Our results showed significant differences in peak velocities, movement time and total displacement across tasks and across arm use conditions
Diagnosis of acute hepatitis C virus infection and estimated incidence in low‐ and high‐risk English populations

Summary. The diagnosis of acute hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection is not straightforward; few people exhibit clinical symptoms and genome/antigen detection techniques do not indicate when infection had occurred. Here, a strategy to detect HCV RNA in the absence of antibody (‘window‐period’) for diagnosis of acute infection is assessed. The sentinel surveillance of hepatitis testing study was used to retrospectively identify anti‐HCV negative samples from high‐risk individuals (2002–2003), for testing singly for HCV RNA. Additional samples were identified prospectively (2005) and tested in pools for HCV RNA. Positive samples were genotyped. Incidence and costs of adopting the pooling strategy were estimated. In the retrospective study, 8/390 (2.1%) samples were confirmed HCV RNA positive, anti‐HCV negative. Prospectively, 3237 samples were tested in 325 pools. Five positive pools identified four confirmed HCV RNA positive patients (one false positive). Estimated incidence was 12.9 per 100 person‐years in injecting drug users (IDUs) (retrospective study) and 3.7 per 100 person‐years among drug/alcohol services and prison attendees (prospective study). Estimated costs were £850 per positive sample, in areas of higher risk. The yield from a window‐period strategy depends upon the population tested. Pooled HCV RNA testing of anti‐HCV negative samples from the current IDUs is realistic and relatively inexpensive to identify recently infected individuals.
Isolation of a Transformation-Defective Deletion Mutant of Moloney Murine Sarcoma Virus

A transformation-defective (td) deletion mutant of Moloney murine sarcoma virus (td Mo-MSV) and a transforming component termed Mo-MSV 3 were cloned from a stock of clone 3 Mo-MSV. To define the defect of the transforming function, the RNA of td Mo-MSV was compared with those of Mo-MSV 3 and of another transforming variant termed Mo-MSV 124 and with helper Moloney murine leukemia virus (Mo-MuLV). The RNA monomers of td Mo-MSV and Mo-MSV 3 comigrated on polyacrylamide gels and were estimated to be 4.8 kilobases (kb) in length. In agreement with previous analyses, the RNA of Mo-MSV 124 measured 5.5 kb and that of Mo-MuLV measured 8.5 kb. The interrelationships among the viral RNAs were studied by fingerprinting and mapping of RNase T1-resistant oligonucleotides (T1-oligonucleotides) and by identification of T1-oligonucleotides present in hybrids formed by a given viral RNA with cDNA's made from another virus. The nontransforming td Mo-MSV RNA lacked most of the Mo-MSV-specific sequence, i.e., the four 3′-proximal T1-oligonucleotides of the six T1-oligonucleotides that are shared by the Mo-MSV-specific sequences of Mo-MSV 3 and Mo-MSV 124. The remaining two Mo-MSV-specific oligonucleotides identified td Mo-MSV as a deletion mutant of MSV rather than a deletion mutant of Mo-MuLV. td Mo-MSV and Mo-MSV 124 exhibited similar deletions of gag, pol, and env sequences which were less extensive than those of Mo-MSV 3. Hence, td Mo-MSV is not simply a deletion mutant of Mo-MSV 3. In addition to their MSV-specific sequences, all three MSV variants, including td Mo-MSV, shared the terminal sequences probably encoding the proviral long terminal repeat, which differed from their counterpart in Mo-MuLV. This may indirectly contribute to the oncogenic potential of MSV. A comparison of td Mo-MSV sequences with either Mo-MSV 124 or Mo-MSV 3 indicated directly, in a fashion similar to the deletion analyses which defined the src gene of avian sarcoma viruses, that Mo-MuLV-unrelated sequences of Mo-MSV are necessary for transformation. A definition of transformation-specific sequences of Mo-MSV by deletion analysis confirmed and extended previous analyses which have identified Mo-MuLV-unrelated sequences in Mo-MSV RNA and other studies which have described transformation of mouse 3T3 fibroblasts upon transfection with DNAs containing the Mo-MSV-specific sequence.
HARA utility maximization in a Markov-switching bond–stock market

Abstract We present a flexible multidimensional bond–stock model incorporating regime switching, a stochastic short rate and further stochastic factors, such as stochastic asset covariance. In this framework we consider an investor whose risk preferences are characterized by the hyperbolic absolute risk-aversion utility function and solve the problem of optimizing the expected utility from her terminal wealth. For the optimal portfolio we obtain a constant-proportion portfolio insurance-type strategy with a Markov-switching stochastic multiplier and prove that it assures a lower bound on the terminal wealth. Explicit and easy-to-use verification theorems are proven. Furthermore, we apply the results to a specific model. We estimate the model parameters and test the performance of the derived optimal strategy using real data. The influence of the investor’s risk preferences and the model parameters on the portfolio is studied in detail. A comparison to the results with the power utility function is also provided.
A lysR‐type regulator is involved in the negative regulation of genes encoding selenium‐free hydrogenases in the archaeon Methanococcus voltae

The archaeon Methanococcus voltae encodes two pairs of NiFe‐hydrogenase isoenzymes. One hydrogenase of each pair contains selenium in the active site, whereas the other one is selenium‐free. The gene groups for the selenium‐free hydrogenases, called vhc and frc, are linked by a common intergenic region. They are only transcribed under selenium limitation. A protein binding to a negative regulatory element involved in the regulation of the two operons was purified by DNA‐affinity chromatography. Through the identification of the corresponding gene the protein was found to be a LysR‐type regulator. It was named HrsM (hydrogenase gene regulator, selenium dependent in M. voltae). hrsM knockout mutants constitutively transcribed the vhc and frc operons in the presence of selenium. A putative HrsM binding site was also detected in the intergenic region in front of the hrsM gene. Northern blot analysis indicated that the hrsM gene might be autoregulated.
Foreign Capital Flows, Real Exchange and Interest Rates: An Analytical Framework

We build a framework to explain surges in capital flows, volatility in real exchange and interest rates and derive implications for policy. Our framework is adapted to the features of a labour surplus developing country with a large share of non-traded goods, and focuses on the medium-run. Classes of high and low growth equilibria are shown to occur. Movements in expected and actual real exchange rates, reinforce those in normalized output and inflation. In such circumstances, a traditional monetary stabilization, following on a supply shock or surge in foreign inflows, can lead to an overshooting of the real rate of interest or the exchange rate and raise inflation from the supply side. Careful coordination of monetary and fiscal policies can, however, shift the economy to the high growth path and minimize fluctuations.