Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Optimized combination therapies with adefovir dipivoxil (ADV) and lamivudine, telbivudine, or entecavir may be effective for chronic hepatitis B patients with a suboptimal response to ADV monotherapy.

OBJECTIVE To identify high risk factors in chronic hepatitis B (CHB) patients for suboptimal response to adefovir dipivoxil (ADV) monotherapy, and to assess the efficacy of optimized therapy combining ADV with lamivudine (LAM), telbivudine (LdT), or entecavir (ETV) in patients with a suboptimal response to ADV alone. METHODS Suboptimal response to ADV monotherapy was defined as having a decline in serum hepatitis B virus (HBV) DNA level of more than 1 log compared to baseline, but with viremia still detectable (HBV DNA ≥ 100 IU/mL), after 48 weeks of therapy. All patients who received ADV monotherapy in our clinic were analyzed retrospectively. Both univariate and multivariate logistic regression models were applied for risk factor analysis. Patients who showed suboptimal response completed at least 12 months of optimized combination therapy consisting of ADV plus LAM, ADV plus LdT, ADV plus ETV, or continuous ADV monotherapy. The primary outcome measurement was complete viral suppression, indicated by a reduction of HBV DNA to undetectable levels (CVS, with HBV DNA < 100 IU/mL). Secondary outcome measures were HBeAg seroconversion for HBeAg-positive patients, HBsAg loss, alanine aminotransferase (ALT) normalization and virological breakthrough rates. RESULTS Of 521 patients who received ADV monotherapy, 170 showed a suboptimal response. These were grouped for continued therapy as follows: 34 in group A (continuous ADV monotherapy), 55 in group B (ADV plus LAM), 38 in group C (ADV plus LdT), and 43 in group D (ADV plus ETV). Using a logistic model, five conditions were identified as high risk factors for suboptimal response: presence of the tyrosine-methionine-aspartate-aspartate (YMDD) HBV DNA polymerase mutation; being HBeAg positive; having a high baseline level of HBV DNA; having a primary virological non-response to ADV; and [initial virological response] to ADV. After 48 weeks of ADV monotherapy, there were no withdrawn patients who had experienced side effects. The median HBV DNA levels were (4.4±1.3) log, (4.6±1.3) log, (4.7±1.4) log, and (4.5±1.5) log in groups A, B, C, D, respectively (F = 0.228, P = 0.876). After 48-weeks of continued ADV monotherapy or optimized combination therapy, the CVS rates were 23.5% (8/34), 60% (33/55), 52.6% (20/38), and 58.1% (25/43), respectively (χ(2) = 12.952, P = 0.005). The median HBV DNA declines were (0.5±1.7) log, (2.0±1.3) log, (1.8±1.6) log, and (1.8±1.5) log, respectively (F = 6.775, P < 0.001). Virologic breakthrough rates were 26.5% (9/34), 7.3% (4/55), 10.5% (4/38), and 9.3% (4/43), respectively (χ(2) = 8.057, P = 0.045). CONCLUSION Optimized combination therapies consisting of ADV plus LAM, LdT, or ETV may be reasonable choices for hepatitis B patients with a suboptimal response to ADV monotherapy.
How Much Do Health Literacy and Patient Activation Contribute to Older Adults' Ability to Manage Their Health?

The AARP Public Policy Institute, formed in 1985, is part of the Policy and Strategy Group at AARP. One of the missions of the Institute is to foster research and analysis on public policy issues of importance to mid-life and older Americans. This publication represents part of that effort. The views expressed herein are for information, debate, and discussion and do not necessarily represent official policies of AARP. © 2005, AARP. Reprinting with permission only. AARP, 601 E Street, NW, Washington, DC 20049
B72.3 and CD34 Immunoreactivity in Malignant Epithelioid Soft Tissue Tumors: Adjuncts in the Recognition of Endothelial Neoplasms

The accurate immunohistochemical diagnosis of epithelioid angiosarcoma—as distinct from carcinomas and other epithelioid neoplasms—is hindered by the lack of endothelial- selective reagents that are both sensitive and specific. To evaluate the potential utility of an “epithelialspecific” and an “endothelial-selective” monoclonal antibody in this differential diagnosis, B72.3 [anti-TAG 72 (tumor-associated glycoprotein-72)] and My10 [anti-CD34 (the hematopoietic progenitor cell antigen)] were applied to 14 examples of angiosarcoma (seven with an epithelioid phenotype), nine epithelioid hemangioendotheliomas, and eight capillary hemangiomas, together with antibodies to factor VHI-related antigen (F8rag) and cytokeratin (CK), and the lectin Ulex europaeus I (UEA). The results of these analyses were compared with stains for B72.3, CD34, and Ck in a variety of other epithelioid soft tissue neoplasms, including four epithelioid sarcomas, three epithelioid malignant peripheral nerve sheath tumors, three alveolar soft part sarcomas, four clear cell sarcomas (malignant melanomas of soft parts), five malignant fibrous histiocytomas, and seven epithelioid leiomyosarcomas. The endothelial phenotype of each vascular tumor was supported by staining for either F8rag or UEA in all examples. Only angiosarcomas were reactive with B72.3, including five of seven epithelioid variants. None was positive for cytokeratin. Four epithelioid angiosarcomas were also reactive for CD34, but so were the majority of epithelioid leiomyosarcomas and at least one example each of all other epithelioid soft tissue tumors, except alveolar soft part sarcoma. In contrast, none of the latter tumor types was reactive with B72.3. These data indicate that anti-CD34 is not specific for endothelial tumors, whereas B72.3 reactivity is selective for epithelioid angiosarcomas. Despite published reports to the contrary, no tumor in this series was reactive for cytokeratin. An immunohistochemical panel that includes antibodies to both cytokeratin and B72.3, in addition to other lineageselective mesenchymal markers, is useful in the diagnostic recognition of epithelioid soft tissue neoplasms.
Immunohistologic Parameters in Minimal Morphologic Change Duodenal Biopsies From Patients With Clinically Suspected Gluten-Sensitive Enteropathy

Subclinical or latent cases of gluten-sensitive enteropathy (GSE) are difficult to diagnose, and serology-positive, histology-negative (minimal morphologic change) and serology-negative, histology-positive patients have been identified. Both, particularly the histology-negative group, require the correct diagnosis for proper management, especially because the concept of minimal histologic change GSE has escaped attention in standard textbooks. We assessed the numbers and distribution of intraepithelial T cells and their subsets with CD3, CD8, and CD4 immunostaining and examined for crypt hyperplasia with mitotic and Ki-67 proliferative indices with the aim of refining the criteria for the diagnosis of minimal change GSE. Duodenal biopsies from 46 clinically suspected cases of GSE tested for antigliadin, antiendomysium, and antitissue transglutaminase antibodies were divided into four groups: serology-positive, histology-positive (S+H+, n = 20); serology-positive, histology-negative (S+H−, n = 22), representing the minimal morphologic change group; serology-negative, histology-positive (S−H+, n = 4); and serology-negative, histology-negative (S−H−, n = 28), controls with histologically normal duodenal biopsies obtained for unrelated reasons. The numbers of CD3+ and CD8+ intraepithelial T cells (IETCs) were significantly higher in histology-positive biopsies with (mean, 40.3/100 and 39.3/100 enterocytes, respectively) and without positive serology (mean, 33.3/100 and 35/100 enterocytes, respectively) compared with all other groups (S+H−, mean, 26.5/100 and 24.3/100 enterocytes, respectively; S−H−, mean, 23.3/100 and 17.9/100 enterocytes, respectively). Values for Ki-67 index in crypt enterocytes were also significantly different between histology-positive and histology-negative groups (P = 0.000). The distribution of CD3+ and CD8+ IETCs was mostly even along the surface enterocytes in histology-positive cases compared with the controls, which showed an uneven distribution. The 2 parameters that significantly discriminated between minimal morphologic change GSE (S+H−) and controls (SH−) were Ki-67 index (P = 0.007) and the distribution pattern of CD8+ IETCs (P = 0.049). CD4 IETC counts were generally low, with no significant difference between all groups. The few S−H+ cases seen most likely represented false-negative serology, because the assessed parameters of this group and S+H+ cases were indistinguishable.
Mutagen Sensitivity and Genetic Variants in Nucleotide Excision Repair Pathway: Genotype-Phenotype Correlation

The rationale behind gene-disease association studies is that genetic variants (polymorphisms) result in alterations in intermediate phenotypes. However, genotype-phenotype correlations have not been established for most polymorphisms. In this study, we correlated genotype data of genes involved in the nucleotide excision repair pathway with mutagen sensitivity phenotype, quantified by benzo(a)pyrene diol epoxide (BPDE)-induced chromatid breaks in peripheral blood lymphocytes in 422 healthy subjects recruited into a twin study that included 138 pairs of monozygotic twins, 51 pairs of dizygotic twins, and 44 siblings. Among a panel of single nucleotide polymorphisms examined, we found that BPDE sensitivity was modified by individual polymorphisms in XPC, RAD23B, and XPA genes. Specific haplotypes and diplotypes of XPC also modified BPDE sensitivity profiles. In addition, a more consistent and stronger correlation was observed between mutagen sensitivity phenotype and the combination of multiple polymorphisms in the nucleotide excision repair pathway. Specifically, when XPC-PAT, XPC Lys939Gln, XPA A23G, and RAD23B Val249Ala were analyzed together, we observed a significant dose-response relationship between increasing mutagen sensitivity with increasing number of adverse alleles: mutagen sensitivity for those carrying zero to two, three to five, and six or more adverse alleles were 0.64, 0.68, and 1.06, respectively (P for trend = 0.008), and the results remained significant after adjusting for multiple comparisons. Using individuals carrying zero to two adverse alleles as the reference group, the risks of being mutagen sensitive (mutagen sensitivity values greater than the median) were 1.05 (95% confidence interval, 0.68-1.64) and 4.48 (95% confidence interval, 1.21-16.61) for those carrying three to five and six or more adverse alleles, respectively. Analyses of the effects of genotype combinations yielded similar results. These findings underscore the importance of assessing the collective effects of a panel of polymorphisms in the same pathway in modulating mutagen sensitivity. As risk assessment for cancer risk is moving toward a multigenic pathway-based approach, future genotype-phenotype correlation studies should also investigate the combined effects of multiple genetic variants. (Cancer Epidemiol Biomarkers Prev 2007;16(10):2065–71)
East Asian Economies and Financial Globalization in the Post-Crisis World

This paper assesses the East Asian Economies’ openness to cross-border capital flows and exchange rate arrangements in the past decades, with the main focus on emerging market economies. Using Mundell’s trilemma indexes, we note that the convergence of the three policy goals in East Asia toward a “middle ground” pre-dates the convergence of these indices in other regions. Another more recent development involves the high level of international reserve (IR) holdings–a feature that is known as the most distinct characteristic of Asian EMEs. Financial globalization seems to have made asset prices and interest rates in Asian EMEs more vulnerable to global movements of capital, that is, essentially to the monetary policy of the center country, the United-States. We document changing goods trade structure but rather stable reliance on the Dollar in East Asian Economies. That is, the U.S. presence in trade ties with Asian economies has been declining over the last two decades, whereas China’s has been on a rising trend, yet the share of trade among Asian economies with the dollar zone economies has been quite stable. That means that the dominant position of the dollar has been influential in the Asian region. One big dollar-zone economy that has been increasing its presence in Asia is China. However, China has been recently making efforts to “internationalize” its currency, the yuan (RMB). Hence, if China succeeds in its internationalization efforts and creates the RMB zone, the dynamics between the U.S. and Asia will most likely change; it is, however, uncertain to what extent the RMB will become an international currency. Recently, Chinese authorities have become more interventionist because of the slowdown of the economy and financial markets. For now, the Asian region’s international finance continues to be dollar-centric.
Applicability of Lewin´s Change Management Model in a Hospital Setting

Summary Objectives: Today’s socio-economic developments in the healthcare area require continued optimization of processes and cost structures at hospitals, often associated with process changes for different occupational groups in the hospital. Formal methods for managing change have been established in other industries. The goal of this study was to assess the applicability of Kurt Lewin’s change management method to a health informatics-related project at a German university hospital. Methods: A project at the University Hospital Erlangen introducing changed requirements in the documentation of costly material in the surgical area was conducted following the concept of Lewin’s approach based on field theory, group dynamics, action research and the three steps of change. A data warehouse contributed information to several steps in the change process. Results: The model was successfully applied to the change project. Socio-dynamic forces relevant to the project goals were identified and considered in the design of the new documentation concept. The achieved documentation level met the new requirements and in some areas even exceeded them. Conclusions: Based on the project experiences, we consider Kurt Lewin’s approach applicable to change management projects in the hospital sector without a requirement for substantial additional resources, however, specific hospital characteristics need to be taken into account. The data warehouse played an important role by providing essential contributions throughout the entire change process.
Nitric oxide metabolites are not reduced in exhaled breath condensate of patients with primary ciliary dyskinesia.

STUDY OBJECTIVES To investigate whether nitric oxide (NO) metabolites would be reduced in children affected by primary ciliary dyskinesia (PCD). DESIGN Single-center observational study. PATIENTS Fifteen children with PCD (seven boys; mean [+/- SEM] age, 10.3 +/- 0.7 years; mean FEV(1), 73 +/- 2.1% predicted) were recruited along with 14 healthy age-matched subjects (seven boys; mean age, 11.5 +/- 0.4 years; mean FEV(1), 103 +/- 5% predicted). INTERVENTIONS We assessed the levels of nitrite (NO(2)(-)), NO(2)(-)/NO(3)(-) (NO(2)(-)/NO(3)(-)), and S-nitrosothiol in exhaled breath condensate, exhaled NO, and nasal NO from children with PCD compared to those in healthy children. MEASUREMENTS AND RESULTS The mean exhaled and nasal NO levels were markedly decreased in children with PCD compared to those without PCD (3.2 +/- 0.2 vs 8.5 +/- 0.9 parts per billion [ppb], respectively [p < 0.0001]; 59.6 +/- 12.2 vs 505.5 +/- 66.8 ppb, respectively [p < 0.001]). Despite the lower levels of exhaled NO in children with PCD, no differences were found in the mean levels of NO(2)(-) (2.9 +/- 0.4 vs 3.5 +/- 0.3 microM, respectively), NO(2)(-)/NO(3)(-) (35.2 +/- 5.0 vs 34.3 +/- 4.5 microM, respectively), or S-nitrosothiol (1.0 +/- 0.2 vs 0.6 +/- 0.1 microM, respectively) between children with PCD and healthy subjects. CONCLUSION These findings suggest that NO synthase activity may not be decreased as much as might be expected on the basis of low exhaled and nasal NO levels.
Capitalization of R&D Expenditures:Real Signal Transmission or Earnings Management

By using samples of 711 companies,this paper researches how the capitalization of research and development expenditures act as the role of signaling and earnings management under the background of current economic and emerging transferring capital market.Regression results underline the market absorbed the capitalization RD expenditures information selectively: the real capitalized RD expenditures increased company's market value,and pulled the enterprise's following business performance;while parts of RD costs maintained in account of "development expenditures" were negatively related to the earnings quality,which were viewed as earnings management by investors.
The use of complementary and alternative medicine among Chinese women with breast cancer.

OBJECTIVES Using data from the Shanghai Breast Cancer Survival Study (SBCSS), we estimated the prevalence and perceived benefits of complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) and Chinese herbal medicine (CHM), and relevant demographic and clinical factors. DESIGN This was a cross-sectional cohort study. SUBJECTS/SETTING/LOCATION: Subjects were 5046 women who participated in the SBCSS, conducted in urban Shanghai, China. INTERVENTIONS/OUTCOME MEASURES: Data on CAM use (at least once a week for at least 1 month), patient sociodemographics, and medical history were collected using a structured questionnaire. RESULTS The average diagnosis age of participants was 53.5 years. Interviews were completed about 6.5 months after diagnosis. Ninety-seven percent (97%) of participants used CAM therapy after diagnosis. Supplements were the most common type, followed by CHM, and physical activity. Walking was the most popular type of physical activity. Almost all CHM users used CHM as part of their cancer treatment; three quarters reported CHM use for boosting the immune system. About two thirds of women considered CHM effective. Supplement users were more likely to have higher income, higher educational attainment, be married, have undergone or completed radiotherapy, used tamoxifen, have estrogen receptor (ER)-negative/progesterone receptor (PR)-negative cancer, and have menopausal symptoms. CHM use was associated with younger age, higher income, menopausal symptoms, completion of chemotherapy, and past tamoxifen use. Patients with an earlier clinical stage or who had undergone radiotherapy used less CHM. Chemotherapy or radiotherapy and cancer metastasis were positively related to physical activity participation. Current tamoxifen use, ER-/PR- cancer, higher educational attainment, and reporting average or better quality of life were inversely related to exercise participation. CONCLUSIONS Given the high prevalence of CAM use in patients with breast cancer and the variety of types of CAM, more research is needed to determine the impact of CAM's effectiveness and safety and interaction with conventional cancer treatment on breast cancer survival.
Fate and survival of Salmonella Typhimurium and Escherichia coli O157:H7 in repacked soil lysimeters after application of cattle slurry and human urine.

BACKGROUND Use of cattle slurry as a fertiliser is common practice around the world. Human urine use is not as common, but owing to its fertiliser value this might change in the future. It is essential to minimise the transfer of enteric pathogens through fertilisation, with respect to both animal and public health. Therefore the objective of this research was to study the survival and transport of Salmonella Typhimurium and Escherichia coli O157:H7 in two agricultural soils when applied to soil along with either cattle slurry or human urine over a period of 180 days. RESULTS Both Salmonella and E. coli O157:H7 were more rapidly reduced when applied together with human urine than when applied with cattle slurry. However, both pathogens persisted in low amounts at 20 and 50 cm depth in both soils throughout the whole study period. No Salmonella or E. coli O157:H7 was detected in the leachate over the 180 day study. CONCLUSION The risk of disease transmission is higher when cattle slurry is used as fertiliser compared with human urine. However, the risk of groundwater infiltration would be low as long as water velocity through the soil is moderate. Increased knowledge of pathogen persistence in soil after fertiliser application is a valuable tool for improving risk evaluations and formulating guidelines for the use of cattle and/or human wastes in cropping soils.
A Data-Driven Approach for Detection and Estimation of Residential PV Installations

The number of photovoltaic (PV) systems in the electric grid is growing at an unprecedented speed. This is rapidly transforming the ways in which the traditional distribution grid is being planned and operated. A problem faced by utilities is that, in many cases, the PV system installed does not correspond to the size or type filed with the installation permit, or simply the installation took place without a permit. In order to maintain grid reliability and safety, utilities must be able to detect and monitor all PV installations in their network. This paper proposes a data-driven approach for the detection, verification, and estimation of residential PV system installations. We use a change-point detection algorithm to screen out abnormal energy consumption behaviors including unauthorized PV installations. Then the existence of the unauthorized PV installation is further verified through a statistical inference known as permutation test with Spearman's rank coefficient. The proposed hypothesis test takes the customer's load profiles before and after the detected change-point as inputs, which are estimated through Gaussian kernel density method. Finally, the local cloud cover index is integrated with smart meter measurements to estimate the size of the PV system. The proposed method has been tested and validated with actual smart meter measurements under several scenarios.
Microscale pierced shallow shell resonators: A test vehicle to study surface loss

This paper reports on various energy dissipation mechanisms that limit the quality factor (Q) of micro-scale pierced shallow shell resonators (PSSRs). While low-frequency thick-film shells (1>50μm) exhibit Qs in excess of 1M, thin-film shells (t<5μm) of same frequency have so far failed to do so. PSSRs are ideal test vehicles to study the contribution of surface loss to the overall energy damping of thin-film shells. Optical measurements confirm mode confinement that stems from curvature discontinuities, which efficiently decouple the resonating rim from the dissipative anchor, and suppress anchor loss. Surface loss is found to be the main dominant damping mechanism of trapped modes in 2μm thick SiO2 and TEOS PSSRs. We compare TEOS and thermally-grown SiO2 (hereinafter referred to as SiO2) as structural materials for high Q resonators and extract surface loss parameters for both. Quality factors as high as 111,000 have been measured, which corresponds to a 30% improvement to the state-of-the-art thin-film SiO2 resonators.