Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Asthma, inflammation, eosinophils and bronchial hyperresponsiveness

Asthmatics can have a blood eosinophilia which in some studies correlates with the severity of the disease. However, an increased number and percentage of activated eosinophils can be present in the blood without asthma. The eosinophils that contribute to asthma will be those in the lung. In the BAL fluids collected from asthmatics there is usually no change in total cell number, but there are changes in the differential cell count. A consistent finding is an increase in percentage of mast cells and eosinophils with a tendency for an increase in lymphocytes and epithelial cells and a decrease in percentage of macrophages. As with the blood eosinophilia, an increase in number of eosinophils can be present in BAL fluids without asthma. The site of localization and activation of the eosinophils in the lung may be critical. In bronchial biopsies, taken from asthmatics, increased number of mast cells, eosinophils and lymphocytes have been demonstrated in the bronchial mucosa together with shedding of columnar epithelial cells. However these changes have not been found, or have not reached significance, in all studies. An increase in number of activated eosinophils and T-lymphocytes has been demonstrated but an increase in number of degranulating mast cells has been disputed. A consistent finding has been thickening below the basement membrane. Attempts to correlate the changes in the BAL or lung biopsies with the severity of asthma, lung airways function or bronchial responsiveness have given inconsistent results. Treatment of asthmatics with inhaled steroids can reduce the cellular infiltration in the bronchial biopsies to normal levels but this produces a trivial reduction in bronchial responsiveness. It is possible that infiltration of inflammatory cells into the bronchial mucosa is intermittent, at least in mild asthma, but this produces changes leading to a long lasting bronchial hyperresponsiveness.
Teicoplanin pharmacokinetics in intravenous drug abusers being treated for bacterial endocarditis

The pharmacokinetics of teicoplanin were determined after multiple 30-min intravenous infusions of 10 to 15 mg/kg every 12 to 24 h in 11 intravenous drug abuse (IVDA) patients being treated for bacterial endocarditis. Multiple serum samples were obtained over 7 to 14 days. Twenty-four-hour urine collections were obtained on days 1 and 5. Serum concentration-time data were analyzed by using multiple-dose pharmacokinetic analysis (NONLIN84). Results were compared with pharmacokinetic parameters derived from previous studies in normal healthy volunteers following multiple intravenous infusions of teicoplanin (3 to 6 mg/kg/day). Total and renal clearances of teicoplanin in IVDA patients were found to be significantly greater and more highly variable than those observed previously in normal healthy volunteers. As a result, predicted steady-state trough concentrations in serum may vary up to fivefold. The mechanism responsible for this variation appears to be related to the glomerular filtration rate. In IVDA patients, individualized teicoplanin dosage may be required in the treatment of bacterial endocarditis.
Evidence for the biological modulation of IL-1 activity: the role of IL-1Ra.

Interleukin-1 (IL-1) and tumor necrosis factor (TNFalpha) are key mediators of inflammation and are produced by monocyte-macrophages (Mphi) following the activation of soluble factors and contact with stimulated Th1 lymphocytes. The contact between lymphocytes and Mphi is regulated by ligand and counterligands (i.e. beta2-integrins, CD40-CD40L, CD69) and plasma lipoproteins (i.e. HDL-associated Apo-AI). IL-1 and TNFalpha are potent inducers of matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs), eicosanoids, nitric oxide oxydase (iNOS), receptor activator of NF-kappaB ligand (RANKL), products involved in the destruction of the extracellular matrix, the cartilage and in bone resorption. IL-1--particularly important at the local level--is more potent than TNF in stimulating MMPs and specifically in impeding cartilage repair. However, IL-1 and TNFalpha strongly synergize in multiple biological functions. Blockade of IL-1 by IL-1 receptor antagonist (IL-1Ra, sIL-1RII) in combination with the soluble IL-1 accessory protein (IL-1R AcP) result in a long-term beneficial effect in chronic inflammatory diseases. The association with anti-TNF therapy may also represent a logical approach, considering the number of patients that do not respond to either compound alone. An altogether new challenge would be to accomplish the blockade at a more proximal level (i.e. lymphocyte/Mphi interaction).
[Therapeutic success of a prospective cardioversion protocol for persistent atrial fibrillation].

INTRODUCTION AND OBJECTIVES The best therapeutic approach for persistent atrial fibrillation has yet to be defined. Our aim was to investigate the effects of cardioversion in unselected patients with persistent atrial fibrillation who were treated according to a strict protocol involving pretreatment, cardioversion, and follow-up. METHODS Consecutive patients with persistent atrial fibrillation of at least 1 months' duration were included prospectively in a cardioversion protocol that involved standard antiarrhythmic pretreatment, with amiodarone being offered first, and follow-up. RESULTS The study included 295 patients, 87.5% of whom were taking the antiarrhythmic drug amiodarone. Sinus rhythm was restored in 92.5%, with pharmacologic cardioversion occurring in 9.5%. The recurrence rate was 33.5% in the first month and 54.9% by month 12. Antiarrhythmic treatment had to be modified in 10.8% of patients. Independent risk factors for recurrence during the first year after cardioversion were an atrial fibrillation duration greater than one year, previous cardioversion, and left ventricular dilatation. A simple risk scoring system was able to differentiate between subgroups of patients with a low, intermediate or high risk of recurrence in the first year after cardioversion. CONCLUSIONS Sinus rhythm was maintained for 1 year after effective cardioversion in 45.1% of patients who received homogeneous antiarrhythmic pretreatment. There were few side effects. Recurrence can be predicted using clinical variables such as left ventricular dilatation, arrhythmia duration, and previous cardioversion.
Postoperative Morphologic Analysis of Carpal Tunnel Syndrome Using High-Resolution Ultrasonography

The authors evaluated the morphologic changes that follow division of the transverse carpal ligament in patients with carpal tunnel syndrome (CTS) using high-resolution ultrasonography. Ten patients, for a total of 20 hands, underwent high-resolution ultrasonographic studies before the operation and 8 months after the operation. They were all diagnosed with bilateral idiopathic CTS. The authors evaluated the configuration of the median nerve and carpal tunnel at 3 different levels of the wrist: the distal radiocarpal joint level, the pisiform level, and the hook of hamate level. The median nerve gained in thickness to a remarkable extent at 2 distal levels after the operation. The change in morphology of the carpal tunnel at these 2 distal levels was obvious, but the cross-sectional area of the carpal tunnel was increased significantly only at the hook of hamate level. The transverse diameters of the carpal tunnel were not significantly changed. As mentioned, the authors found that the median nerve gained significantly in volume at the distal part of the carpal tunnel postoperatively, and the volumetric increase in the carpal tunnel appears to have resulted from an anterior displacement of newly formed transverse carpal ligament, rather than from a widening of the bony carpal arch.
Relative Prices and Inflation in Poland 1989-1997

This paper has been designed as an attempt to estimate the magnitude of the influence of relative price shifts on the overall price level in Poland during the transition period 1989-1997. For that purpose, the theoretical model has been found that builds on menu costs and trend inflation to derive a positive relationship between variance and skewness of the distribution of relative price changes and the general inflation. The model allowed to estimate the effect of relative price shifts within the framework controlling for nominal and real shocks. Using Polish data, a set of three versions of the model were estimated. All of them yielded high explanatory power and statistically significant coefficients on most variance and skewness variables thus giving a strong empirical support to the theoretical relationship. Larger shifts in relative prices accompanying the adjustment process and detected by higher va riance in the equation were proven to exert substantial upward pressure on inflation that persists over time. On the other hand, high positive skewness reflecting the domination of the adjustment process by few large increases was confirmed to produce contemporaneous upward impulse that tends to wear off after one quarter but is stronger in magnitude than that coming from higher variance. Including other explanatory variables like real exchange rate, wages and/or money allowed for observing the relative importance of inflationary factors. The analysis revealed that money and wages remain to be the main factors fueling inflation and can jointly account for almost three quarters of quarterly inflation. If their impact is evaluated separately, wages contribute about one half of inflation and domestic credit almost one third. On the other hand, real exchange rate appreciation was confirmed to significantly lower inflation. The measure based on different paces of inflation between tradables and non-tradables has proven to be a substantial dampening factor with an average elasticity of about minus three quarters.
Tight folding of acidic fibroblast growth factor prevents its translocation to the cytosol with diphtheria toxin as vector.

A fusion protein of acidic fibroblast growth factor and diphtheria toxin A‐fragment was disulfide‐linked to the toxin B‐fragment. The complex bound specifically to diphtheria toxin receptors, and subsequent exposure to low pH induced the fusion protein to translocate to the cytosol. Heparin, inositol hexaphosphate and inorganic sulfate strongly increased the trypsin resistance of the growth factor part of the fusion protein, indicating tight folding, and they prevented translocation of the fusion protein to the cytosol. The data indicate that only a more disordered form of the growth factor is translocation competent.
Factors affecting initial permeability of Co-substituted Ni-Zn-Cu Ferrites

Iron deficient compositions of (Ni/sub 0.2/Cu/sub 0.2/Zn/sub 0.6/)/sub 1.02x/Co/sub x/Fe/sub 1.98/O/sub 4/ (0/spl les/x/spl les/0.05) were prepared to investigate their initial permeability dependence on cobalt contents. Extrinsic factors such as grain size and sintered density change little in samples sintered at 900/spl deg/C, so their effects on permeability can be neglected. Intrinsic factors such as saturation magnetization, magnetocrystalline anisotropy (K/sub 1/) and magnetoelastic anisotropy (K/sub /spl sigma//) can not account for the variation of initial permeability with Co content. Measurement of thermoelectric power shows that the concentration of cation vacancies increases with Co content. Therefore, the local induced anisotropy increases by the ordering of Co ions via increased cation vacancy concentration. This increase in induced anisotropy results in the decrease of initial permeability.
Circadian system heritability as assessed by wrist temperature: A twin study

Previous research shows that wrist temperature (WT) is a good marker to assess the circadian system health in different circumstances. However, no studies have been performed in order to know the genetic component of this circadian marker. For this purpose, the aim was to determine, using classical twin models, the relative genetic and environmental influences on WT. The study was performed in 53 pairs of female twins (28 monozygotic (MZ) and 25 dizygotic (DZ)), with a body mass index 25.9 ± 3.78 and mean age 52 ± 6 years. The sample was selected from the Murcia Twin Register. Circadian patterns were studied by analyzing WT during one week every 10 min “Circadianware®”. Genetic influences to WT variability were estimated by comparing correlations of MZ and DZ twin pairs and fitting genetic structural equation models to measured variables. MZ twins showed higher intra-pair correlations than DZ twins for most of the parameters. Genetic factors were responsible for between 46% and 70% of variance (broad sense heritability) in parameters such as mean temperature, mesor, acrophase, Rayleigh test, percentage of rhythmicity and five hours of maximum temperature. The pattern of correlations and the genetic models point to moderate to high heritability for most of the WT parameters, suggesting a relevant genetic influence. The presence of these genetic factors points to endogenicity as the main cause of the coincidence of the WT rhythms. However, some WT parameters are still dependent on environment to a relevant extent and, hence, more amenable to change through external interventions.
What Is Right With Scully Estimates of a Player’s Marginal Revenue Product

The author responds to an article in this edition by Bradbury (in press), which suggests that the free-market approach to estimating a player’s marginal revenue product (MRP) is limited. The author begins by reviewing a number of empirical issues that potentially limit the Scully approach, then turn to Bradbury’s concerns about the free-market approach. The author close by noting that these two methods are not competing nor is one necessarily superior to the other—each method has its own merits in terms of answering different types of questions related to a player’s value.
The Evolution of Collective Enterprise Bargaining in New Zealand

Abstract There is an international trend towards labour market deregulation. In New Zealand this process, through the 1991 Employment Contracts Act, has attracted particular interest because of the speed and scope with which it was implemented. New Zealand moved from a system of centralised, collective bargaining to enterprise-level bargaining. However, it would be inaccurate to view the years prior to the 1991 legislation as static. The highly regulated system of bargaining was fragmenting as early as the 1950s. A significant degree of decentralised bargaining took place outside the official system. Attempts to reregulate and recentralise the system in the 1970s were unsuccessful and enterprise bargaining continued to grow. Until the late 1980s this was invariably supported by the safety net of the collectively negotiated awards. Legislation in 1987 forced unions to choose, at each workplace, between awards or enterprise bargaining. This attempt at reform failed as existing union support for enterprise bargaining evaporated. The 1991 Employment Contracts Act removed the freedom to choose and enterprise bargaining grew at the expense of collective bargaining. Enterprise bargaining before the 1990s was significantly different from that post-1991. Previously enterprise bargaining was associated with an improvement in the terms and conditions of employment. Post-1991 enterprise bargaining more often represented a reduction in employment conditions.
Cloning of the Papaya Chromoplast-Specific Lycopene β-Cyclase, CpCYC-b, Controlling Fruit Flesh Color Reveals Conserved Microsynteny and a Recombination Hot Spot1[W][OA]

Carotenoid pigments in fruits are indicative of the ripening process and potential nutritional value. Papaya (Carica papaya) fruit flesh color is caused by the accumulation of lycopene or β-carotenoids in chromoplasts. It is a distinct feature affecting nutritional composition, fruit quality, shelf life, and consumer preference. To uncover the molecular basis of papaya flesh color, we took map-based cloning and candidate gene approaches using integrated genetic and physical maps. A DNA marker tightly linked to flesh color colocalized on a contig of the physical map with a cDNA probe of the tomato (Solanum lycopersicum) chromoplast-specific lycopene β-cyclase, CYC-b. Candidate gene sequences were obtained from amplified fragments and verified by sequencing two bacterial artificial chromosomes containing the two alleles. Sequence comparison revealed a 2-bp insertion in the coding region of the recessive red flesh allele resulting in a frame-shift mutation and a premature stop codon. A color complementation test in bacteria confirmed that the papaya CpCYC-b is the gene controlling fruit flesh color. Sequence analysis of wild and cultivated papaya accessions showed the presence of this frame-shift mutation in all red flesh accessions examined. Evaluation of DNA markers near CpCYC-b revealed a recombination hot spot, showing that CpCYC-b is located in a gene-rich region with a recombination rate at 3.7 kb per centimorgan, more than 100-fold higher than the genome average at 400 kb per centimorgan. Conserved microsynteny of the CpCYC-b region is indicated by colinearity of two to four genes between papaya, Arabidopsis (Arabidopsis thaliana), grape (Vitis vinifera), and tomato. Our results enhanced our understanding of papaya flesh color inheritance and generated new tools for papaya improvement.
Screening and identification of key genes regulating fall dormancy in alfalfa leaves

Fall dormancy (FD) determines the adaptation of an alfalfa variety and affects alfalfa production and quality. However, the molecular mechanism underlying FD remains poorly understood. Here, 44 genes regulating FD were identified by comparison of the transcriptomes from leaves of Maverick (fall-dormant alfalfa) and CUF101(non-fall-dormant), during FD and non-FD and were classified them depending on their function. The transcription of IAA-amino acid hydrolase ILR1-like 1, abscisic acid receptor PYL8, and monogalactosyldiacylglycerol synthase-3 in Maverick leaves was regulated by daylength and temperature, and the transcription of the abscisic acid receptor PYL8 was mainly affected by daylength. The changes in the expression of these genes and the abundance of their messenger RNA (mRNA) in Maverick leaves differed from those in CUF101 leaves, as evidenced by the correlation analysis of their mRNA abundance profiles obtained from April to October. The present findings suggested that these genes are involved in regulating FD in alfalfa.
The subprime crisis and stock index futures markets integration

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to examine the effects of the current global crisis on the integration and co‐movements of selected stock index futures markets.Design/methodology/approach – Time series techniques of cointegration and weekly data covering the period from January 2001 to December 2009 were used in this study. The period of analysis was divided into two periods, namely the pre‐crisis period (January 2001‐July 2007) and during crisis period (August 2007‐December 2009). Findings – No evidence was found of cointegration among the stock index futures markets in both periods. Accordingly, the 2007 subprime crisis does not seem to affect the long‐run co‐movements among the stock index futures markets.Practical implications – The stock index futures markets provide opportunity for the potential benefits from international portfolio diversification and hedging strategies even after the subprime crisis. The stock index futures significantly extended the variety of investment and risk management.
Cooperative relaying schemes for device-to-device communication underlaying cellular networks

Intra-cell interference management is one of the technical challenges for device-to-device (D2D) communication underlaying cellular networks. In this paper, we propose two superposition coding-based cooperative relaying schemes to exploit the transmission opportunities for the D2D users without deteriorating the performance of the cellular users. In the first scheme, the D2D transmitter (DT) is enabled to decode and regenerate the cellular signal, and transmit the cellular signal by superposing it with its own signal. In this way, the interference from the D2D pair to the cellular pair can be canceled by properly allocating time and power. To further exploit the transmission opportunity for the D2D pair, in the second scheme the cellular transmitter splits its signal into two parts and broadcasts these two parts in a superposition signal. DT relays only one part of the cellular signal. Analytic and numerical results confirm the efficiency of the proposed schemes.
Demographic Analysis of Delayed Mating in Mating Disruption: a Case Study with Cryptophelbia illepida (Lepidoptera: Tortricidae)

Abstract Laboratory-derived life tables were used to determine the effect of delaying mating of adult female koa seedworm, Cryptophlebia illepida (Butler) (Lepidoptera: Tortricidae), 4 and 6 d on population growth rates. Leslie matrices were developed from the life tables and used to project the effects for approximately four generations. Delay of mating caused a decrease in population growth rate and also resulted in asynchronous population cycling between control (1-d delay) and the delayed treatments. By the fourth generation, the control population began to increase 10 and 14 d before the 4- and 6-d delay treatments, respectively. Increasing the mortality of females during the first 7 d of adult life resulted in a greater reduction of the populations where mating was delayed than in the control populations. This result suggests that even at relatively low levels of natural enemy mortality, there is a synergistic effect when mating is delayed. The implications of these effects on mating disruption management programs are discussed.
Growth of the Electronic Commerce in China and India: A Comparative Study

This article compares the growth of e-commerce in China and India by identifying factors that act as driving forces and barriers to this progress. A comparative study of Internet development in the two countries reveals that although China was connected to the Internet much later than India, it is now far ahead of its Asian rival due to the implementation of several ingenious “Golden Projects” and the rapid development of Chinese Internet infrastructure. Nevertheless, there are many shared sociocultural factors that affect the spread of their e-commerce equally. Despite many barriers, the future of e-commerce in both countries appears bright.