Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Assessing the Implementability of Clinical Pharmacist Interventions in Patients With Chronic Kidney Disease

Background: Pharmacy practice studies have been criticized for presenting poor intervention description, which has serious implications when attempting to replicate interventions elsewhere. Evidence of improved outcomes for patients with chronic kidney disease (CKD) following pharmacist intervention exist in the literature, but similar concerns with intervention description have been raised. Objective: To assess the implementability of evidence-based clinical pharmacist interventions in patients with CKD, based on the information contained in the published manuscripts. Methods: PubMed was searched to retrieve systematic reviews addressing the role of pharmacists in patients with CKD. Primary studies describing clinical pharmacy services in CKD were subsequently extracted. To describe and characterize pharmacists’ interventions, the DEPICT (Descriptive Elements of Pharmacist Intervention Characterization Tool) was applied. Studies were independently classified as “implementable” or “nonimplementable” by 2 authors, based on whether they could be easily implemented into practice using the description provided in the article. Finally, implementable interventions were grouped in different areas. Results: Five reviews were retrieved, and 39 original studies were analyzed. Of these, 59.0% were classified as nonimplementable. Among implementable interventions, 6 evidence-based areas of pharmacist interventions were identified: anemia, renal osteodystrophy, and cardiovascular risk factors management, medication appropriateness evaluation and medication reconciliation, patient education and compliance, and cost containment. Conclusions: Information contained in most articles reporting pharmacist interventions in CKD is not sufficient to ensure the implementation of the service in clinical practice. Pharmacy practice research articles should be written with the aim of improving clinical practice and not just showing the results of pharmacists’ interventions.
A Switched PV Approach for Extracted Maximum Power Enhancement of PV Arrays During Partial Shading

This paper proposes a switched photovoltaic (PV) approach to enhance the extracted maximum power from a PV array during partial shading conditions. The proposed system is simple and cost effective. However, it may provide lower power enhancement compared to other existing solutions, which makes it more suitable for domestic applications. For assessing the proposed switched PV-based system, a detailed numerical comparison between the extracted power from the proposed system and other existing technologies has been presented for the same operating conditions. Simulation and experimental results show the possibility of enhancing the PV arrays extracted output power during partial shading with the proposed system.
Development of a Tourism Destination: Exploring the Role of Destination Capabilities

This article aims to identify the key elements underlying a destination capability (DC) and to examine what the genesis of these factors is and how they interact to foster the destination development. The article explores a specific development process—the creation of a new product in an alpine destination (Livigno, Italy)—making use of a theoretical framework structured around four major dimensions: DCs, coordination at the destination level, inter-destination bridge ties, and destination development. The results help clarify the genesis of a DC in the context of new product development. First, the dynamics underlying the creation of a DC show that coordination at the destination level constitutes the heart of the process, whereas the integration of scattered resources in the new product plays a more limited role. Second, from a dynamic perspective, the analysis has identified three patterns (scouting, implementation, and involvement).
Productividad regional y sectorial en Colombia : un análisis utilizando datos de panel

Con el objetivo de incorporar las diferencias regionales en el analisis de la productividad, en este articulo se estima la productividad total de los factores (PTF) y las elasticidades de los factores para la industria manufacturera colombiana, por area metropolitana y sector industrial, durante el periodo 1975-2000, Para este fi n, se utiliza la metodologia de datos de panel y los desarrollos recientes de pruebas de raiz unitaria y cointegracion para paneles. Al estimar las elasticidades factoriales tanto a nivel regional como sectorial, se encontro una gran heterogeneidad entre ellas. En cuanto a los parametros de productividad, los sectores industriales mas productivos son el de industria de bebidas, fabricacion de sustancias quimicas industriales y fabricacion de papel y pro-ductos de papel.
New mobility service users' perceptions on electric vehicle adoption

ABSTRACT The recent growth of new mobility services such as car-sharing (ZipCar, Car2Go) and ride-hailing (Uber, Lyft) has interesting implications for new vehicle technologies. We explore the users of the services and their relation to electric vehicles preferences by analyzing two large-scale mobility service surveys. A number of categories (car-share usage, ride-hail usage, commute mode, demographics, current vehicle attributes, environmental attitudes, technology attitudes, and life-stage information) are examined in order to determine the likelihood a respondent considers purchasing an electric vehicle in the future. Survey respondents explicitly expressed that exposure to ride-hailing did not increase their propensity for wanting to purchase an electric vehicle in the future. However, we run a full suite of cross-validation models and find that in addition to the typical factors used in modeling preferences, the use of new mobility services statistically increases the predictive power of our model to identify preferences for electric vehicles.
The influence of articulation rate, and the disfluency of others, on one's own speech

Disfluencies are a regular feature of spontaneous speech, and much has been learnt about the effects of various linguistic factors on their production. Speech usually occurs within dialogue, yet little is known about the influence of an interlocutor’s speech on a speaker’s own fluency. It has been shown that speakers tend to align on various levels, converging, for example, on lexical, and syntactic levels. But we know little about convergence in rate of speech or disfluency. Little is also known about the effects of speech rate on fluency in a speaker’s own speech. In this paper, we examine these effects through analysis of speech rate, hesitation and error correction in a corpus of task-oriented dialogues (the HCRC Map Task Corpus). Our findings demonstrate that different types of disfluencies can be influenced in different ways by speech rate. Furthermore, the probability of an interlocutor being disfluent appears to affect the speaker’s own likelihood, raising the possibility that interlocutors may “align” on disfluent, as well as fluent, speech.
Advances in pathogenic concepts and therapeutic agents in Rasmussen’s encephalitis

Rasmussen’s encephalitis is a rare inflammatory brain disease which occurs mainly in children and is characterised by affection of only one hemisphere. Pathogenetic concepts have considered three different, not mutually exclusive, key factors contributing to the initiating or perpetuating events in the central nervous system. These include viruses, autoimmune antibodies and autoimmune cytotoxic T lymphocytes. Based on these concepts, different therapeutic strategies have been pursued, such as antiviral agents, plasmapheresis, immuno-adsorption, immunosuppression or immunomodulation with intravenous immunoglobulins. However, due to the lack of larger studies, to date there is no established therapeutic strategy of this devastating disease. An overview of the current state of immunepathogenic concepts for Rasmussen’s encephalitis is given and past and present treatment attempts are discussed, including an outline of future perspectives. An opinion on symptomatic treatment with anticonvulsive drugs is included.
Ground Truth Estimation using Multimodal Data Fusion

The accurate localization of prostate cancer is important as it can affect both surgical and radiation treatment planning. Generating accurate ground truth is critical for reliable validation. Although, some part of this ground truth is contained in certain set of data such as pathological analysis and images of the organ, there exists some degree of random error from inter/intra-expert variabilities and surgical manipulation. Depending on the imaging method used, the cancer sites would have displaced according to the surface deformation and elasticity of the gland. We are proposing a new method to eliminate the random error in data acquired from different techniques and move closer to the ground truth of the data using multimodality dataset fusion. A non rigid registration method is used to register and fuse the volume data obtained from transrectal-ultrasound, magnetic resonance imaging and laser scan volume obtained from the same patient. The proposed registration method is based on a combination of iterative closest point (ICP) algorithm and multilevel B-splines. This is followed by a 3-D reconstruction to rescale the fused image; we will study and compare the results from two methods, (i) linear rescaling using Prolate Ellipsoid Equation and (ii) non-linear scaling using Generalized Hough Transform and prostate shape equations to estimate the ground truth of the model. This should provide an estimation of the random error in each image modality. Localization of prostate cancer in each modality is expected to be improved after the removal of the random error.
Pharmacological characterization of PABSA, an orally active and highly potent endothelin-receptor antagonist.

The pharmacological characterization of a nonpeptide endothelin (ET)-receptor antagonist, PABSA [(R)-(--)-2-(benzo[1,3]dioxol-5-yl)-N-(4-isopropyl-phenylsulfon yl)-2-(6-methyl-2-propylpyridin-3-yloxy)-acetamide hydrochloride] was studied. PABSA competitively inhibited the binding of [125I]-ET-1 to A7r5 cells expressing ET(A) receptors and of [125I]-ET-3 to COS cells expressing porcine ET(B) receptors with Ki values of 0.11 and 25 nM, respectively. PABSA inhibited ET(A) receptor-mediated and ET(B) receptor-mediated vasocontraction and ET(B) receptor-mediated vasorelaxation in isolated rabbit vessels with K(b) values of 0.46, 94, and 26 nM, respectively. The antagonist potency of PABSA for ET(A) receptor-mediated vasocontraction was 63- and 87-fold more potent than those of BQ-123 and bosentan, respectively, and was similar to those of TAK-044 and SB209670. Oral administration of PABSA (1-10 mg/kg) caused dose-dependent inhibition of the pressor response to exogenous ET- 1 (0.1 nmol/kg) in conscious normotensive rats. PABSA (10-100 mg/kg, p.o.) reduced blood pressure in deoxycorticosterone acetate (DOCA)-salt hypertensive rats, spontaneously hypertensive rats (SHRs), and stroke-prone spontaneously hypertensive rats (SHRSPs). The hypotensive effect of PABSA was sustained for > or =24 h in these rats. These results suggest that PABSA is a highly potent ET(A)-receptor antagonist with weak ET(B)-receptor antagonist activity. Because PABSA has a long duration of action in vivo, this antagonist should be useful in the therapy of ET-related disease.
Gender differences in the relationship of community services and informal support to seven-year drinking trajectories of alcohol-dependent and problem drinkers.

OBJECTIVE The purpose of this study was to examine how community service contacts and informal support are related to the course of drinking for dependent and problem-drinking persons in a population-based sample of women versus men over 7 years. METHOD Alcohol-dependent (n = 600) and problem-drinking (n = 992) men and women were identified through probability surveys in the general population and treatment programs throughout a California county. Participants were interviewed at baseline and again 1, 3, 5, and 7 years later. Models predicting the differential impact of community services and informal influences on men and women's alcohol consumption over time were estimated using a multilevel mixed model, while controlling for demographic characteristics and problem severity. RESULTS Dependent and problem-drinking men consumed more than women, yet a trend of reduced drinking over time was found for both men and women. Alcoholics Anonymous attendance was related to decreased consumption for men and women regardless of severity; contact with the mental health system was similarly related to decreased consumption for both genders. For problem-drinking women, welfare contacts were related to decreased consumption. A family intervention was the only informal influence that had differential effects on dependent and problem-drinking men and women's alcohol consumption. CONCLUSIONS Findings point to the continued benefits of facilitating social support and mental health visits for both dependent and problem-drinking men and women. Developing means to identify and intervene in the range of community service settings, particularly in the mental health and legal system, continues to be important. Innovative interventions for families to encourage engagement in chemical dependency treatment are also warranted.
Do Natural Resources Impede Renewable Energy Production in the EU? A Mixed-Methods Analysis

Since signing the Amsterdam Treaty in 1997, the European Union (EU) has been working on increasing its renewable energy supply. However, the progress has been uneven across member states. A vibrant literature advances several explanations for this variation, but pays insufficient attention to a critical structural factor – varying levels of natural resource wealth across the EU – and provides an incomplete account by focusing on consumption indicators. Reconciling divergent views in the literature in a single framework, we hold that while overall natural resource abundance can be conducive to renewable energy production within a country, specific natural resources, such as petroleum, are likely to be harmful. These hypotheses find empirical support in a mixed-methods study that combines a fixed-effects statistical analysis of comprehensive panel data between 1997 and 2015 with a comparative qualitative case study of the Netherlands and Belgium. The findings suggest that to achieve the ambitious goals on renewable energy deployment, the EU needs additional policies that explicitly tackle pernicious effects of specific natural resources, including rent-capturing by politicians, rent-seeking by corporate vested interests, and lack of economic incentives to diversify.
Changing Neighborhoods and the Effect of U.S. Arts Institutions on Human Capital and Displacement Between 2000 and 2010

This article analyzes the impact arts institutions have on human capital attraction and gentrification in Census tracts experiencing different levels of population change. It addresses the ongoing interest in causal models of arts-driven neighborhood change and contextualizes the impact of arts institutions on neighborhoods with varying change trends. The analysis looked at U.S. Census and County Business Patterns data in 24,819 U.S. Census tracts between 2000 and 2010. Controlling for past trends of gentrification and different levels of ongoing population growth, multivariate regression modeling of tract change among propensity-score-matched tract groups suggests that new arts institutions have a positive effect on the number of highly educated residents and high-income groups, even in declining tracts. Furthermore, modeling suggests that new arts institutions are not strongly associated with an immediate change in resident composition associated with displacement gentrification, but may lead to displacement in the longer term.
Functional difference between Sinorhizobium meliloti NifA and Enterobacter cloacae NifA

The nifA gene is an important regulatory gene and its product, NifA protein, regulates the expression of many nif genes involved in the nitrogen fixation process. We introduced multiple copies of the constitutively expressed Sinorhizobium meliloti (Sm) or Enterobacter cloacae (Ec) nifA gene into both the nifA mutant strain SmY and the wild-type strain Sm1021. Root nodules produced by SmY containing a constitutively expressed Sm nifA gene were capable of fixing nitrogen, while nodules produced by SmY containing the Ec nifA gene remained unable to fix nitrogen, as is the case for SmY itself. However, transfer of an additional Sm nifA gene into Sm1021 improved the nitrogen-fixing efficiency of root nodules to a greater extent than that observed upon transfer of the Ec nifA gene into Sm1021. Comparative analysis of amino acid sequences between Sm NifA and Ec NifA showed that the N-terminal domain was the least similar, but this domain is indispensable for complementation of the Fix- phenotype of SmY by Sm NifA. We conclude that more than one domain is involved in determining functional differences between Sm NifA and Ec NifA.
Design of Low-Loss Graded-Index Plastic Optical Fiber Based on Partially Fluorinated Methacrylate Polymer

As a promising candidate of optical home network, a novel Gigabit Ethernet prepared by inexpensive partially fluorinated polymer-based graded-index plastic optical fiber (GI POF) was proposed. Poly (2,2,2-trifluoroethyl methacrylate) (P3FMA) was selected as a base material for the GI POF because of its high transparency, low material dispersion, and low cost. The transmission characteristics were investigated, and it was clarified that the newly developed GI POF has low-loss (71 dB/km at 650 nm), high humidity stability, and high-bandwidth (4.86 GHz for 50-m transmission) property. Moreover, 1.25-Gbps data transmission over 50 m was demonstrated by P3FMA-based GI POF.
The Power of Words: State Reactions to Protest Announcements

Organizations often announce their protest activities prior to their implementation to mobilize awareness, recruit supporters, and receive media attention. We are interested in the effectiveness of protest announcements—that is, under what conditions governments make concessions to avoid having an announced protest take place. Governments assess the costs and benefits of providing concessions by taking into account the level of credible threat of the announced protest and the costs related to concessions. We test these assumptions with a unique data set on protest announcements and concessions in Nepal (2007-2010). Using cross-sectional regressions, we demonstrate that protest announcements by unions, announcements with highly threatening tactics and announcements with minimal demands will bring about concessions from the government. We contribute to the growing literature on different protest tactics by providing systematic empirical evidence, for the first time, on the effectiveness of mere protest announcements.
Reduced functional connectivity during controlled semantic integration in schizophrenia: A multivariate approach

Impairment in controlled semantic association is a central feature of schizophrenia, and the goal of the current functional magnetic resonance imaging study was to identify the neural correlates of this impairment. Thirty people with schizophrenia and 30 healthy age‐ and gender‐matched control subjects performed a task requiring participants to match word pairs that varied in semantic distance (distant vs. close). A whole‐brain multivariate connectivity analysis revealed three functional brain networks of primary interest engaged by the task: two configurations of a multiple demands network, in which brain activity did not differ between groups, and a semantic integration network, in which coordinated activity was reduced in schizophrenia patients relative to healthy controls, for distantly relative to closely related word pairs. The hypoactivity during controlled semantic integration in schizophrenia reported here, combined with hyperactivity in automatic semantic association reported in the literature, suggests an imbalance between controlled integration and automatic association. This provides a biological basis for Bleuler's concept of schizophrenia as a “split mind” arising from an impaired ability to form coherent associations between semantic concepts. Hum Brain Mapp 36:2948–2964, 2015. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
Genes differentially expressed in thyroid carcinoma identified by comparison of SAGE expression profiles

To identify transcripts that distinguish malignant from benign thyroid disease serial analysis of gene expression (SAGE) profiles of papillary thyroid carcinoma and of normal thyroid are compared. Of the 21,000 tags analyzed, 204 tags are differentially expressed with statistical significance in the tumor. Thyroid tumor specificity of these transcripts is determined in silico using the tissue preferential expression (TPE) algorithm. TPE values demonstrate that 42 tags of the 204 are thyroid tumor specific. BC013035, a cDNA encoding a novel protein, is up‐regulated from 0 to 24 tags in the thyroid tumor SAGE library. In a tissue panel of 30 thyroid tumors and 12 controls, it has an expression pattern similar to thyroid peroxidase, indicating possible involvement of BC013035 in thyroid differentiation. A tag coding for extracellular matrix protein 1 (ECM1) is absent in the normal thyroid SAGE library and present 55 times in the tumor. ECM1, a protein recently associated with angiogenesis and expressed in metastatic breast carcinoma, is up‐regulated in 50% of all thyroid carcinoma and absent in normal controls and follicular adenoma. In conclusion, SAGE analysis and subsequent determination of TPE values facilitates the rapid distinction of genes specifically expressed in cancer tissues.
Ethanol‐induced steatosis involves impairment of lipophagy, associated with reduced Dynamin2 activity

Lipid droplets (LDs), the organelles central to alcoholic steatosis, are broken down by lipophagy, a specialized form of autophagy. Here, we hypothesize that ethanol administration retards lipophagy by down‐regulating dynamin 2 (Dyn2), a protein that facilitates lysosome re‐formation, contributing to hepatocellular steatosis. Primary hepatocytes were isolated from male Wistar rats fed Lieber–DeCarli control or ethanol (EtOH) liquid diets for 6‐8 weeks. Hepatocytes were incubated in complete medium (fed) or nutrient‐free medium (fasting) with or without the Dyn2 inhibitor dynasore or the Src inhibitor SU6656. Phosphorylated (active) forms of Src and Dyn2 and markers of autophagy were quantified using western blot analysis. Colocalization of LDs with autophagic machinery was determined using confocal microscopy. In hepatocytes from pair‐fed rats, LD breakdown was accelerated during fasting, as judged by smaller LDs and lower triglyceride (TG) content when compared with hepatocytes in complete media. Fasting‐induced TG loss in control hepatocytes was significantly blocked by either SU6656 or Dynasore. Compared with controls, hepatocytes from EtOH‐fed rats had 66% and 40% lower content of phosphorylated Src (pSrc) and phosphorylated Dyn2 (pDyn2), respectively, coupled with a lower rate of fasting‐induced TG loss. This slower rate of fasting‐induced TG loss was blocked in cells coincubated with Dynasore. Microscopic examination of EtOH‐fed rat hepatocytes revealed increased colocalization of the autophagosome marker LC3 on LDs with a concomitant decrease in lysosome marker LAMP1. Whole livers and LD fractions of EtOH‐fed rats exhibited simultaneous increase in LC3II and p62 over that of controls, indicating a block in lipophagy. Conclusion: Chronic ethanol administration slowed the rate of hepatocyte lipophagy, owing in part to lower levels of phosphorylated Src kinase available to activate its substrate, Dyn2, thereby causing depletion of lysosomes for LD breakdown. (Hepatology Communications 2017;1:501–512)