Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Psychosocial work environment and mental health--a meta-analytic review.

OBJECTIVES To clarify the associations between psychosocial work stressors and mental ill health, a meta-analysis of psychosocial work stressors and common mental disorders was undertaken using longitudinal studies identified through a systematic literature review. METHODS The review used a standardized search strategy and strict inclusion and quality criteria in seven databases in 1994-2005. Papers were identified from 24,939 citations covering social determinants of health, 50 relevant papers were identified, 38 fulfilled inclusion criteria, and 11 were suitable for a meta-analysis. The Comprehensive Meta-analysis Programme was used for decision authority, decision latitude, psychological demands, and work social support, components of the job-strain and iso-strain models, and the combination of effort and reward that makes up the effort-reward imbalance model and job insecurity. Cochran's Q statistic assessed the heterogeneity of the results, and the I2 statistic determined any inconsistency between studies. RESULTS Job strain, low decision latitude, low social support, high psychological demands, effort-reward imbalance, and high job insecurity predicted common mental disorders despite the heterogeneity for psychological demands and social support among men. The strongest effects were found for job strain and effort-reward imbalance. CONCLUSIONS This meta-analysis provides robust consistent evidence that (combinations of) high demands and low decision latitude and (combinations of) high efforts and low rewards are prospective risk factors for common mental disorders and suggests that the psychosocial work environment is important for mental health. The associations are not merely explained by response bias. The impact of work stressors on common mental disorders differs for women and men.
Advanced glycation endproducts and its receptor for advanced glycation endproducts in obesity

Purpose of review To highlight the potential importance of advanced glycation endproducts (AGEs) and advanced-lipoxidation endproducts (ALEs) in obesity and obesity-related complications, and the contribution of the receptor for advanced glycation endproducts (RAGE) and the glyoxylase defense system therein. Recent findings Formation of AGEs/ALEs and its precursors, including methylglyoxal (MGO), are increased in conditions characterized by hyperglycemia, hyperlipidemia and enhanced oxidative stress. This metabolic profile is generally considered typical for obesity. Increased plasma and/or tissue levels of MGO and of specific AGEs/ALEs, such as N&egr;-(carboxymethyl)lysine (CML), in obesity have recently been described. In addition to increased formation, the suppressed defense system in obesity against AGEs/ALEs formation, that is, the glyoxylase system, will further contribute to AGEs/ALEs formation in obesity. AGEs/ALEs are not inert. In-vitro studies showed that AGEs induced the production of inflammatory mediators in adipocytes and macrophages via RAGE activation, which may subsequently contribute to the development of obesity-related complications. Summary The recognition of an enhanced AGEs/ALEs formation in adipose tissue and the biological consequences thereof may lead to a further understanding of underlying mechanisms in dysregulated production of adipokines in obesity.
Investments, Innovation and Competitiveness

In this paper we discuss the result of a recent survey on the investments of industrial enterprises in the Emilia-Romagna region, from which emerges a potential relationship between firms' investments and competitiveness. The regional dimension is probably the most suited to analyse this kind of phenomenon and in recent years economic literature has increasingly underlined the importance of the regional dimension of innovation processes. The analysis confirms that a favourable institutional context can successfully support companies in their innovation strategies and investments. In the end, some critical knots emerges from the analysis with regard to the regional economic structure: the small size of firms, the difficulty to find human resources, particularly high-skilled workers, represent relevant obstacles to the innovation process. This conclusion also confirm the need for a better understanding on the relevance of organizational innovation and its interaction, both at firm and economy levels, with more "traditional" forms of technological innovation.
Phototriggerable, Fully Transient Electronics: Component and Device Fabrication

Electronic devices that can physically or functionally disintegrate on-demand have applications as remote sensors, bioelectronics for diagnostics, and other multifunctional devices with temporal functional profiles. This emerging field requires materials, devices, and systems which effectively disappear, (i.e. vaporize), with little or no traceable remains. Prior efforts have achieved transience with devices either submerged in an aqueous solution, which degrades the materials over time, or by triggering an inundation of the materials with a liquid solution. Neither scenario allow for both control of the life cycle of the system and assurance that transience would be complete. Metastable polymers, which can be induced to depolymerize rapidly through a specific trigger, offers a more versatile approach to selecting materials and allows for more control over the device's lifetime. A triggerable, transient material which vaporizes on command was prepared by the addition of a photo-acid generator (PAG) to an acid-sensitive metastable polymer, where the rate of degradation can be controlled by the concentration of the PAG and the intensity of light irradiance. In this work, a transient electronic component, a multilayer interconnect board was fabricated using a PAG-loaded, cyclic poly(phthalaldehyde) substrate. The p(PHA) material used to fabricate the dielectric acts as the support substrate for the metal routing layers, where the conductive 'wiring' was composed of a silver nanoparticle-filled p(PHA) formulation. Elastic modulus, resistivity, connectivity, and conductor sheet resistance of the individual components were evaluated and transience was demonstrated.
Radionuclide bone imaging: an illustrative review.

Bone scintigraphy with technetium-99m-labeled diphosphonates is one of the most frequently performed of all radionuclide procedures. Radionuclide bone imaging is not specific, but its excellent sensitivity makes it useful in screening for many pathologic conditions. Moreover, some conditions that are not clearly depicted on anatomic images can be diagnosed with bone scintigraphy. Bone metastases usually appear as multiple foci of increased activity, although they occasionally manifest as areas of decreased uptake. Traumatic processes can often be detected, even when radiographic findings are negative. Most fractures are scintigraphically detectable within 24 hours, although in elderly patients with osteopenia, further imaging at a later time is sometimes indicated. Athletic individuals are prone to musculoskeletal trauma, and radionuclide bone imaging is useful for identifying pathologic conditions such as plantar fasciitis, stress fractures, "shin splints," and spondylolysis, for which radiographs may be nondiagnostic. A combination of focal hyperperfusion, focal hyperemia, and focally increased bone uptake is virtually diagnostic for osteomyelitis in patients with nonviolated bone. Bone scintigraphy is also useful for evaluating disease extent in Paget disease and for localizing avascular necrosis in patients with negative radiographs. Radionuclide bone imaging will likely remain a popular and important imaging modality for years to come.
An observational study of empirical antibiotics for adult women with uncomplicated UTI in general practice.

OBJECTIVES Women presenting in primary care with symptoms suggestive of uncomplicated urinary tract infection (UTI) are commonly managed without urine culture. We therefore do not know how successful general practitioners (GPs) are at targeting antibiotic treatment to women who would have had a microbiologically confirmed UTI, or at avoiding antibiotics in those who would have had a negative culture, had all patients with a suspected UTI been sampled. We therefore explored the association between antibiotic prescribing and urine culture results when culture was performed in all symptomatic patients. METHODS GPs in nine general practices in South Wales were asked to submit urine specimens from all women consulting with clinically suspected, uncomplicated UTI. Patients were followed up 2 weeks later by questionnaire. RESULTS AND CONCLUSIONS One hundred and thirteen adult women with a median age of 54 years were included and 61% received empirical antibiotics. There was very low agreement between the decision to prescribe empirically and subsequent culture result (Kappa = 0.04), with 60% of those prescribed empirical antibiotics subsequently found to have a negative culture, and 25% of those found to have a positive culture not prescribed empirical antibiotics. Current strategies to target empirical antibiotic prescribing in clinically suspected, uncomplicated UTI require review.
Is faster safer? Cluster versus short conventional subcutaneous allergen immunotherapy.

AIM Few studies have compared cluster immunotherapy and conventional administration regimens. The aim of this study was to establish the safety profile of these different regimens in patients with allergic respiratory diseases who received index-of-reactivity (IR)-standardized allergen extracts by the subcutaneous route. MATERIALS & METHODS The safety of subcutaneous immunotherapy (SCIT), administered by means of a 4-week cluster titration schedule (cluster-SCIT) or by an 8-week short conventional titration schedule (SC-SCIT), both with a target dose of 8 IR, was assessed in a retrospective, observational, multicenter study. RESULTS A total of 658 patients (339 cluster-SCIT and 319 SC-SCIT) were recruited from 92 sites in Spain. Injection site reactions occurred in 25.1 and 27.3% of patients treated with cluster-SCIT and SC-SCIT, respectively. Systemic reactions (European Academy of Allergy and Clinical Immunology criteria) were reported for 0.2% of doses and 1.5% of patients with cluster-SCIT, and 0.7% of doses and 4.4% of patients with SC-SCIT. Most reactions were mild and there were no grade 3 or 4 systemic reactions. No life-threatening systemic reactions, anaphylactic shock, or adverse events leading to therapy discontinuation were reported. CONCLUSION The safety profile of the cluster regimen supports the use of accelerated SCIT schedules with IR-standardized allergen extracts compared with short conventional schedules, particularly if similar extracts and application methods are used.
Characterizing the Policies and Programs of National Tourism Organizations: Liberal, Mercantilist, Communist, and Social Democratic Approaches to Tourism Development and Management

The authors explore the different approaches to political economy and the role that national tourism organizations (NTOs) may play in different national systems of political economy. The authors explain the different relationships between state, society, and economy in the four major archetypes of political economy. Then, the authors explain how the three dimensions (market-orientation, openness of the economy, and the value put on equitable social and economic outcomes) are linked with each of the four archetypes of political economy. The authors then link these three dimensions to the NTOs of states and explain how an understanding of these three dimensions can give insight into understanding the ideological underpinnings of NTOs and can be linked with the underlying philosophy of political economy upon which states are based.
Model of the ZI-C experiment for double auction system

Since Gode and Sunder had introduced zero intelligence with budget constraint (ZI-C) agents in the double auction experiments, there has much controversy in whether the pure market discipline in ZI-C system has the ability to let the transaction prices converge to the competitive equilibrium. In this paper, we introduce a probability model to simulate the ZI experiences and try to gauge the power from the pure market. We analyze the ZI experiments, and explain the relationship between the price clearing process and the experimental settings. Our model quantifies the price convergent process, and the outputs are generally consistent with many well known ZI-C experiments. The results demonstrate that it is the mechanism of the ZI-C experiment that determines the price convergent process, and the auction market discipline itself has no predictive power as often believed.
The 2016 election is seeing the return of the ‘paranoid style’ in American politics

The 2016 primary season has seen Donald Trump gain traction with Republican voters through nativist rhetoric. While many see Trump’s extremist campaigning as a new low in American political discourse, Ron Pruessen, using the work of Richard Hofstadter, reminds us that such apocalyptic visions from politicians are really nothing new. He argues that crises over the decades such as World War II and 9/11 and the War in Iraq feed into the ‘theatre’ of paranoia, producing anxiety among voters which opportunist politicians are then able to feed on.
Hepatic stellate cells express functional CXCR4: Role in stromal cell–derived factor‐1α–mediated stellate cell activation

Chemokine interactions with their receptors have been implicated in hepatic stellate cell (HSC) activation. The hepatic expression of CXCR4 messenger RNA is increased in hepatitis C cirrhotic livers and plasma levels of its endogenous ligand, stromal cell–derived factor‐1α (SDF‐1α), correlate with increased fibrosis in these patients. The expression of CXCR4 by HSCs has not been reported. We therefore examined whether HSCs express CXCR4 in vivo and in vitro and explored whether SDF‐1α/CXCR4 receptor engagement promotes HSC activation, fibrogenesis, and proliferation. The hepatic protein expression of both CXCR4 and SDF‐1α is increased in hepatitis C cirrhotic livers and immunoflourescent and immunohistochemical staining confirms that HSCs express CXCR4 in vivo. Immortalized human stellate cells as well as primary human HSCs express CXCR4, and cell surface receptor expression increases with progressive culture‐induced activation. Treatment of stellate cells with recombinant SDF‐1α increases expression of α‐smooth muscle actin and collagen I and stimulates a dose‐dependent increase in HSC proliferation. Inhibitor studies suggest that SDF‐1α/CXCR4‐dependent extracellular signal‐regulated kinase 1/2 and Akt phosphorylation mediate effects on collagen I expression and stellate cell proliferation. Conclusion: HSCs express CXCR4 receptor in vivo and in vitro. CXCR4 receptor activation by SDF‐1α is profibrogenic through its effects on HSC activation, fibrogenesis, and proliferation. Extracellular signal‐regulated kinase 1/2 and phosphoinositide 3‐kinase pathways mediate SDF‐1α–induced effects on HSC expression of collagen I and proliferation. The availability of small molecule inhibitors of CXCR4 make this receptor an appealing target for antifibrotic approaches. (HEPATOLOGY 2009.)
The Biology Behind Is KIT an Important Therapeutic Target in Small Cell Lung Cancer ?

Introduction SCLC represents a significant minority of lung cancer (15–25%) and typically presents as extensive-stage disease. Although SCLC is highly responsive to cisplatin-based combination chemotherapy, most patients have disease recurrence and few patients are cured. A plateau in the development of effective medical therapy for this difficult cancer has led to a search for new active agents (1). In this issue, Johnson et al. (2) report on their efforts to clinically target the KIT RTK in SCLC using imatinib (formerly STI571; Gleevec in the United States and Glivec in Europe; Novartis Pharma, Basel, Switzerland) . The goal of this commentary will be to review the rationale for this novel therapeutic approach. KIT is a Mr 145,000 transmembrane glycoprotein that serves as the receptor for KITLG (also known as stem cell factor, mast cell growth factor, Steel factor) and has intrinsic tyrosine kinase activity. A member of the large family of RTKs, KIT is closely related to the receptors for PDGF, colony stimulating factor 1, and FMS-related tyrosine kinase 3-ligand. Binding of KITLG to KIT results in receptor homodimerization and the activation of tyrosine kinase activity, leading to phosphorylation of a variety of signaling intermediates. In many cases, these substrates are themselves kinases and serve to initiate and/or amplify intracellular signal transduction. KIT is critical to the development of the ICC, hematopoietic progenitor cells, mast cells, melanocytes, and germ cells. Not surprisingly, many of the KIT-expressing cells in adults are the same cells that have a developmental requirement for normal functional activity of KIT. Specifically, KIT is normally expressed by germ cells, mast cells, ICC, melanocytes, and certain hematopoietic progenitors. KIT is also expressed by a variety of neoplasms, including some neoplasms that arise from cell types that normally express KIT (e.g., ICC3GISTs). In addition, KIT is expressed by a variety of neoplasms, including SCLC, whose putative cells of origin are not developmentally dependent on KIT (3). PDGF(RA), platelet derived growth factor (receptor A).
An inventory model for Weibull deteriorating items with salvage value

In this paper, we consider an inventory model for deteriorating items with salvage value. We have considered time dependent Weibull deterioration in developing this model. Three parameter Weibull distributions have been used for this purpose. A numerical example is provided here for illustration. The sensitivity analysis has also been carried out to study the effect of changes in parameters using the numerical example.
Peri-implant bone tissue assessment by comparing the outcome of intra-oral radiograph and cone beam computed tomography analyses to the histological standard.

OBJECTIVES The present study aims to identify radiographic methods revealing data that are most representative for the true peri-implant bone as assessed by histology. MATERIALS AND METHODS Eighty implants were placed in 10 minipigs. To assess matching between different image modalities, measurements conducted on intra-oral digital radiographs (IO), cone beam computer tomography (CBCT) and histological images were correlated using Spearman's correlation. Paired tests (Wilcoxon test) were used to determine changes in the bone parameters after 2 and 3 months of healing. RESULTS Significant correlations between bone defect depth on IO and histological slices (r= + 0.7, P<0.01), as well as on CBCT images and histological slices (r= + 0.61, P<0.01), were found. CBCT and IO images deviate, respectively, 1.20 and 1.17 mm from the histology regarding bone defects. No significant correlations were detected between fractal analysis on CBCT, intra-oral radiography and histology. For bone density assessment, significant but weaker correlations (r= + 0.5, P<0.01) were found for intra-oral radiography vs. histology. Significant marginal bone-level changes could be observed after 3 months of healing using intra-oral radiography. CONCLUSIONS This study allowed linking radiographic bone defect depth to the histological observations of the peri-implant bone. Minute bone changes during a short-term period can be followed up using digital intra-oral radiography. Radiographic fractal analysis did not seem to match histological fractal analysis. CBCT was not found to be reliable for bone density measures, but might hold potential with regard to the structural analysis of the trabecular bone.
Poor short-term survival and low use of cardiovascular medications in elderly dialysis patients after acute myocardial infarction.

BACKGROUND Beta-blockers, statins, angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE) inhibitors, and angiotensin receptor blockers (ARBs) are standard therapies after myocardial infarction (MI) in the general population. Their use and association with mortality in elderly dialysis patients after MI have not been studied sufficiently. METHODS Claims records from Medicare and Medicaid patients aged 65 years and older who participated in prescription benefit plans of 2 eastern states were used to identify dialysis patients with MI between 1995 and 2003. Study outcomes were outpatient use of beta-blockers, statins, and ACE inhibitors and/or ARBs within 90 days after MI. We used multivariate logistic regression to assess predictors of such use. Multivariate Cox regression was applied to test for associations between beta-blocker, statin, and ACE-inhibitor and/or ARB use and 1-year mortality. RESULTS We identified 902 dialysis patients who were hospitalized with MI. Of these, 39.5% died within 90 days and 63.6% died within 1 year after MI. Of 494 patients who were discharged within 21 days or less and survived longer than 90 days, 31.0% were administered an ACE inhibitor and/or ARB; 19.4%, a statin; and 34.2%, a beta-blocker after discharge. Use of ACE inhibitors and/or ARBs was associated with a 30% reduction in 1-year mortality (hazard ratio [HR], 0.70; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.50 to 0.98), whereas statin (HR, 0.97; 95% CI, 0.65 to 1.45) and beta-blocker use (HR, 1.05; 95% CI, 0.78 to 1.43) were not. CONCLUSION Elderly dialysis patients have excessively high mortality and low use of standard therapies after MI. Only ACE inhibitors and/or ARBs were associated with a reduced risk for death at 1 year in this population. Whether the high mortality rate in this population is attributable to such low use of preventive cardiovascular medications remains uncertain.
Long-term prognostic assessment of ventricular tachycardia with respect to sudden death in patients with and without overt heart disease.

The purpose of this study is to investigate the long-term prognosis of ventricular tachycardia (VT) mainly with respect to sudden death (SCD) in patients with ischemic heart disease (IHD), idiopathic cardiomyopathy (ICM), miscellaneous heart disease (MHD) and idiopathic ventricular tachycardia (IVT). The study included 117 patients with VT (80 male, 37 female). The number of patients with IHD, ICM, MHD and IVT were 40, 18, 26 and 33, respectively. Follow-up was conducted by means of a mailed standardized questionnaire. The mean follow-up period was 46.8 +/- 32.0 months (range from 6 to 125 months). In 24 out of the 117 patients the cause of death was SCD, in 9 there was no sudden cardiac death and in 5 no cardiac death. The other 76 were surviving. The number of SCD in IHD, ICM, MHD and IVT was 14/40 (35%), 4/17 (24%), 6/25 (24%) and zero (0%), respectively. The number of having had syncope in IHD, ICM, MHD and IVT was 19/40 (48%), 7/18 (39%), 6/26 (23%) and 6/33 (18%), respectively. Out of the 19 IHD patients with syncope, 15 had had ventricular fibrillation (VF). As for IVT with syncope, only one of the 6 had VF, which was induced by a disopyramide injection. In IVT, the patients with syncope had a significantly higher VT rate than those without syncope (p less than 0.01). There were no significant differences in the electrocardiographical high risk parameters for SCD, the age, follow-up periods, the presence or absence of VF and ejection fraction between the SCD and the surviving groups. (ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)