Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
[A clinical analysis of 25 cases of prosthetic valve endocarditis].

OBJECTIVE To report the clinical characteristics of prosthetic valve endocarditis (PVE). METHODS All 25 cases of definite PVE (Duke criteria) diagnosed at our hospital between January 1992 to December 2008 were retrospectively analyzed. Among them, 7 cases were pathologically confirmed and the others were clinically confirmed with either 2 major criteria or 1 major and ≥ 3 minor criteria. Their clinical characteristics, underlying heart diseases, previous heart operations, presenting manifestations, causative microbes, echocardiographic findings and prognosis, were studied. RESULTS (1) Although most cases underwent valve transplantations for underlying heart diseases of rheumatic heart diseases and congenital heart diseases, 10 patients were complicated with infectious endocarditis (IE) prior to the operations, 4 of them were PVE. (2) Eleven of them developed PVE within 2 months postoperatively. Fever (100%), major vessel embolism (48%), and anemia (36%) were the most frequently manifestations. Fourteen cases (56%) had positive culture results with 15 causative pathogens, including 5 coagulase-negative Staphylococcus (CNS, 3 were methicillin-resistant coagulase-negative Staphylococcus, MRSCoN), 4 fungi, 2 Enterococcus faecalis, 2 Burkholderia cepacia, 1 Stenotrophomonas maltophilia, and 1 Streptococcus. (3) Prosthetic valve vegetations, periannular leakage, regurgitation, were the main echocardiographic findings. Transesophageal echocardiography (TEE) revealed 13 PVE who had no positive findings on previous transthoracic echocardiography (TTE). (4) Eighteen PVE (72%) developed peri-annular complications (12 leakage, 3 dehiscence, 2 abscesses, 1 fistula), major vessel embolism, congestive heart failure (16%) were frequently observed, 9 of the 17 patients died in hospital, in spite of intensive managements. CONCLUSIONS PVE has a high mortality and is a severe complication for patients who underwent heart surgery. Its causative pathogen spectrum is quite different from that of native valve endocarditis. TTE is not sensitive for some PVE cases.
Nicotinic cholinergic signaling in hippocampal astrocytes involves calcium-induced calcium release from intracellular stores

In this report we provide evidence that neuronal nicotinic acetylcholine receptors (nAChRs) are present on hippocampal astrocytes and their activation produces rapid currents and calcium transients. Our data indicate that these responses obtained from astrocytes are primarily mediated by an AChR subtype that is functionally blocked by α-bungarotoxin (αBgt) and contains the α7 subunit (αBgt-AChRs). Furthermore, their action is unusual in that they effectively increase intracellular free calcium concentrations by activating calcium-induced calcium release from intracellular stores, triggered by influx through the receptor channels. These results reveal a mechanism by which αBgt-AChRs on astrocytes can efficiently modulate calcium signaling in the central nervous system in a manner distinct from that observed with these receptors on neurons.
Differentiation of endothelial cells: Analysis of the constitutive and activated endothelial cell phenotypes

Endothelial cells line the inside of all blood vessels, forming a structurally and functionally heterogenous population of cells. Their complexity and diversity has long been recognized, yet very little is known about the molecules and regulatory mechanisms that mediate the heterogeneity of different endothelial cell populations. The constitutive organ‐ and microenvironment‐specific phenotype of endothelial cells controls internal body compartmentation, regulating the trafficking of circulating cells to distinct vascular beds. In contrast, surface molecules associated with the activated cytokine‐inducible endothelial phenotype play a critical role in pathological conditions including inflammation, tumor angiogenesis, and wound healing. Differentiation of the endothelial cell phenotypes appears to follow similar mechanisms to the differentiation of hematopoietic cells, with the exception that endothelial cells maintain transdifferentiating competence. The present review offers a scheme of endothelial cell differentially expressed endothelial cell molecules as targets for directed therapeutic intervention.
Complexity, uncertainty, and organizational congruency

Many scholars in the fields of organization theory and management strategy have argued that there is a tension between the two types of organizational learning activities, exploration and exploitation. They appear to be substitutes: the greater the skill at one, the harder it is to do the other well. It is often argued that the two activities compete for scarce resources when firms need different capabilities and management policies to promote one over the other. We present another explanation that attributes the phenomenon to the dynamic interactions among the activities, search, knowledge sharing, evaluation, and alignment within organizations relying on the NK Landscape framework (Kauffman 1993). Our results show that successful organizations tend to bifurcate into two types: those that always promote individual initiatives and build organizational strengths on individual learning and those good at aligning the individual knowledge base and exploiting shared knowledge. Straddling between the two types often fails. The intuition is that an equal mixture of individual search and organizational alignment slows down individual learning compared to the first organization type while making it difficult to update institutionalized knowledge because individuals' knowledge base is not so sufficiently aligned as in the second type. In such "straddling" organizations, once individuals get stuck with locally-best solutions in an uncoordinated manner, they cannot agree on how to improve the organizational knowledge. Straddling is especially inefficient when the operation is sufficiently complex (in other words, the interdependency is high) or when the business environment is sufficiently uncertain.
Random-start ovarian stimulation in patients with cancer

Purpose of review Awaiting menses to start ovarian stimulation for oocyte/embryo cryopreservation in patients with cancer may result in a significant delay of cancer treatment that may lead to patients forgoing fertility preservation. The purpose of this review is to describe the new protocols to facilitate the start of ovarian stimulation, including random-start ovarian stimulation. Recent findings In random-start protocols, the number of total and mature oocytes retrieved, oocyte maturity rate, mature oocyte yield and fertilization rates are similar to those in conventional (early follicular phase start) protocols. Starting ovarian stimulation in the late follicular or luteal phase did not show any superiority against the other. The presence of corpus luteum or luteal phase progesterone levels did not adversely affect synchronized follicular development, number of mature oocytes retrieved, and/or fertilization rates. Summary Random-start ovarian stimulation provides a significant advantage by decreasing total time for the IVF cycle, and in emergent settings, ovarian stimulation can be started at a random cycle date for the purpose of fertility preservation without compromising oocyte yield and maturity.
Differential Induction of Mucosal and Systemic Antibody Responses in Women After Nasal, Rectal, or Vaginal Immunization: Influence of the Menstrual Cycle1

A cholera vaccine containing killed vibrios and cholera toxin B subunit (CTB) was used to compare mucosal immunization routes for induction of systemic and mucosal Ab. Four groups of women were given three monthly immunizations by the rectal immunization (Rimm) route, nasal immunization (Nimm) route, or vaginal immunization route during either the follicular (V-FPimm) or luteal (V-LPimm) menstrual cycle phase. Nimm was performed with 10-fold less vaccine to determine if administration of less Ag by this route can, as in rodents, produce mucosal Ab responses comparable to those induced by higher dose Rimm or vaginal immunization. Concentrations of Ab induced in sera and secretions were measured by ELISA. None of these routes produced durable salivary Ab responses. Nimm induced greatest levels of CTB-specific IgG in sera. Rimm failed to generate CTB-specific IgA in genital tract secretions. Nimm, V-FPimm, and V-LPimm all produced cervical CTB-specific IgA responses comparable in magnitude and frequency. However, only V-FPimm induced cervical IgA2-restricted Ab to the bacterial LPS vaccine component. V-FPimm, but not V-LPimm, also induced CTB-specific IgA in rectal secretions. Nimm was superior to V-FPimm for producing rectal CTB-specific IgA, but the greatest amounts of CTB-specific IgA and LPS-specific IgA, IgG, and IgM Ab were found in rectal secretions of Rimm women. These data suggest that in women, Nimm alone could induce specific Ab in serum, the genital tract, and rectum. However, induction of genital tract and rectal Ab responses of the magnitude generated by local V-FPimm or Rimm will likely require administration of comparably high nasal vaccine dosages.
A Note on Risk, Return, and Equilibrium: Empirical Tests

Rpt = pot + iltppnt-l + opt (1) for each month t of their "testing period," where Rpt and 1pts are, respectively, the average rate of return and systematic risk across securities in portfolios. The time series coefficients of (1) are used for testing the two parameter model, where "the least-squares estimate not can always be interpreted as the return for month t on a zero-f portfolio" (FM 1973, p. 626). 1 In this note we test the empirical validity of this claim. The results of this test may have implications for some tests conducted by FM and for tests of capital market efficiency that use 'ot as a second market factor. In the context of "market models," the coefficient YOt is interpreted as a market factor (in addition to Rmt) that makes up the "two factor market model" 2
Purification and characterization of the CFA/I antigen of enterotoxigenic Escherichia coli

The fimbral colonization factor antigen CFA/I of enterotoxigenic Escherichia coli was purified and characterized. The initial purification step was release of these fimbriae from the bacterial cells by homogenization with a Waring blender. Common fimbriae and flagellar antigen were avoided by careful control of growth conditions and the use of a nonmotile (H-) mutant of the prototype strain H-10407 (O78:H11). The essential purification steps were membrane filtration (Millipore Corp.), ammonium sulfate fractionation, and negative diethylaminoethyl-Sephadex column chromatography. Yields were approximately 4.0 mg of CFA/I protein per g (wet weight) of bacteria. Purified CFA/I is a fimbrial molecule 7.0 nm in diameter and has an average molecular weight of 1.6 X 10(6), as determined by sedimentation equilibrium. CFA/I is a polymer of identical subunits of molecular weight 23,800 with an N-terminal valine, 37% hydrophobic amino acid residues, and 11 residues of proline per mol. The purified antigen retains its morphology, antigenicity, and biological activity. Purified antigen retains its morphology, antigenicity, and biological activity. Purified CFA/I exhibits mannose-resistant hemagglutination of human group A, bovine, and chicken erythrocytes, as do CFA/I-positive bacteria. This was demonstrated by sensitizing latex microbeads with the purified antigen since cell-free CFA/I fimbriae do not hemagglutinate erythrocytes. Thus, CFA/I detached from the bacteria are monovalent; however, purified CFA/I antigen retains an affinity for the epithelial cells of rabbit small intestine and blocks adhesion of CFA/I-positive bacteria. These results demonstrate that purified CFA/I is a good candidate for use in an oral vaccine for immunoprotection against diarrhea caused by CFA/I-positive enterotoxigenic E. coli.
Naturally occurring genetic variation in the age‐specific immune response of Drosophila melanogaster

Immunosenescence, the age‐related decline in immune response, is a well‐known consequence of aging. To date, most studies of age‐related changes in immune response focused on the cellular and physiological bases of this decline; we have virtually no understanding of the genetic basis of age‐related changes in the immune system or if indeed such control exists. We used 25 chromosome substitution lines of Drosophila melanogaster derived from a natural population to address three questions: (i) How is the function of the innate immune system influenced by age? (ii) Is there a genetic basis for phenotypic variation in immune response at different ages? (iii) Is there a genetic basis for differences in the way that age influences the immune function? Virgin females from each line were assayed for immune response using clearance of infection with Escherichia coli at 1 and 4 weeks of age. We found significant genetic variation among lines in immune response at each age. Unexpectedly, when averaged across all lines, the immune response actually improved with age. However, there was significant variation in the effect of age on immune response with 11 lines showing improvement, nine lines showing no change and five exhibiting a decline with age. There was no genetic correlation of immune response across ages suggesting that different loci contribute to variation in immune response at each age. The genetic component of the variation in immune response increased with age, a pattern predicted by the mutation accumulation model of senescence. However, this increase in variation resulted in part from the improvement of the immune response in some lines with age. Thus the observed changes in genetic variation in immune function with age are not entirely explained by the mutation accumulation model.
Anti-adrenergic effect of adenosine on Na(+)-Ca(2+) exchange current recorded from guinea-pig ventricular myocytes.

The Na(+)-Ca(2+) exchanger is a protein present in the cell membrane of many cell types. In heart it plays important roles in Ca homeostasis and ionic current generation. Recently, it has been reported that the beta-adrenergic agonist isoprenaline (ISO) can increase directly Na(+)-Ca(2+) exchanger activity in guinea-pig ventricular myocytes. Adenosine (ADO) exerts anti-adrenergic properties that make it effective against some arrhythmias and the aim of the present study was to determine whether or not ADO can antagonize the direct modulatory effect of ISO on the exchanger.Whole-cell patch clamp measurements of Na(+)-Ca(2+) exchanger current (I(NaCa)) were made from guinea-pig ventricular myocytes, with major interfering currents inhibited. I(NaCa) was measured at 378 degrees C as current sensitive to external nickel (Ni(2+), 10 mM) during an applied descending voltage ramp. ISO (1 microM) significantly increased both inward and outward I(NaCa). This effect was abolished in the presence of ADO (200 microM). ADO alone did not significantly alter the amplitude of I(NaCa). The effect of ADO on the response of I(NaCa) to ISO was mimicked by the A(1)ADO receptor agonist N(6)-cyclopentyladenosine (CPA, 10 microM), whereas the effect of ADO on the response of I(NaCa) to ISO was inhibited by the A(1)ADO receptor antagonist 8-cyclopentyl-1,3-dipropylxanthine (DPCPX, 2 microM). These data suggest that the A(1)ADO receptor mediated the response. The anti-adrenergic effects on I(NaCa) of ADO were not affected by the protein kinase C (PKC) inhibitor, chelerythrine (CLT, 1 microM), nor by the nitric oxide (NO) synthase inhibitor, N (G)-nitro-L-arginine methyl ester((L)-NAME, 0.5 mM). Moreover, in the presence of PKC activator phorbol 12-myristate 13-acetate (PMA, 1 microM) or exogenous NO donor sodium nitroprusside (SNP, 100 microM), ISO preserved its stimulatory effect on I(NaCa). However, prior incubation of myocytes with pertussis toxin (PTX, 5 microg ml(-1) did prevent the effect of ADO. The anti-adrenergic effect of ADO on I(NaCa) was mimicked by externally applied carbachol (CCh, 10 microM), a muscarinic receptor agonist. We conclude that ADO antagonized the effect of beta-adrenergic stimulation of I(NaCa) by directly activating inhibitory G-protein (G(i))-linked A(1) receptors in guinea-pig ventricular myocytes. These findings may suggest a novel mechanism by which adenosine exerts some of its antiarrhythmic effects.
Impact of additive manufacturing adoption on future of supply chains

Although separation of product design from manufacturing capabilities is a major advantage of Additive Manufacturing (AM), the impact of AM is not only limited to the design and manufacturing stages. In addition to the freedom of design such as elimination of design constraints, material saving, and free complexity, AM offers other potential benefits to the manufacturing industry as well. One of the most immediate potentials of AM is the possibility of more efficient logistics. This paper aims at describing the characteristics and requirement of a Supply Chain (SC) as well as the changes AM will bring into the current structure of supply chain. Insights are provided on the transformative effects of AM on traditional businesses, and how these changes impact the configuration of a supply chain. The potential for using simulation tools to evaluate AM supply chain have been discussed. Further, two examples of Agent Based Simulation (ABS) and System Dynamics (SD) have been provided to show the application of simulation models. The ABS results show the possibility of lead time reduction in AM based supply chain. In addition, the SD model illustrates the potential for less ‘pipeline’ effect in AM compared to traditional supply chain.Copyright © 2015 by ASME
Housing as a Way of Life: Towards an Understanding of Middle-Class Families' Preference for an Urban Residential Location

Housing studies show an overwhelming preference by middle-class families for suburban living locations. In this paper an atypical category, middle-class families living in the city, is addressed. The aim is to understand why these households disconnect the seemingly natural relationship between families and the suburbs. Empirical evidence comes from interviews with families living in two Rotterdam neighbourhoods. Three interrelated sets of explanations were found. First, families express clearly the time-geographical reasons for urban living. In particular, the location of work provides a strong incentive to seek housing in the same city. Second, social embeddedness is a strong reason for staying. Understanding housing preferences requires the conceptualization of families as social networks. Third, these families define themselves as true urbanites and sturdy families who reject the suburbs as a suitable place in which to live. The results are discussed in the context of urban policies to retain the middle classes in the city.
Numerical Study on AC Loss Characteristics of REBCO Armature Windings in a 15-kW Class Fully HTS Generator

In this study, three armature structures for a fully HTS synchronous generators were proposed. The total ac loss of the straight segments of entire armature coils was studied. The ac loss was calculated in a 2-D infinite long model by using H-formulation considering Jc-B characteristics. The proposed armature windings can be simplified to a two-slot structure for ac loss calculation due to symmetry. AC transport current and the maximum and minimum external ac fields were applied to calculate the ac loss limits for one coil cross section in each model. The proportion of the cooling power for compensating the heat generated by ac loss in the output power under a 30-A peak transport current was estimated for the proposed three structures.
Financial sector development and economic growth nexus in South Africa.

The study investigated the nexus between financial sector development and economic growth in South Africa using cointegration and error correction modelling and; the Granger causality tests. The results of the study show that economic growth is explained by the financial sector variables and control variables such as inflation, exchange rate, and real interest rates. The Granger causality test results show that there is generally a bidirectional relationship between economic growth and financial sector development which implies that if the economy grows the financial services sector also grows and vice versa.
Novel Distributed Multirate Data and Storage Management as a Reliability Booster for Challenged Ad-Hoc and Sensor Networks

This study introduces a new concept of using data and storage management techniques to boost the reliability of challenged ad hoc and sensor networks by mitigating the effects of link and graph connectivity outages. Novel distributed uniform and multi-rate storage management approaches are proposed and through proper modeling of the stochastic disconnectivity patterns, network heterogeneity degrees, data resolution thresholds and various network design parameters, this work shows how these techniques can improve the overall network performance. Both analytical and simulation results are presented and various sensitivities are thoroughly investigated to give the network designer solid guidelines.
Monogenic causes of elevated HDL cholesterol and implications for development of new therapeutics

Abstract Identification of the CETP, LIPG (encoding endothelial lipase) and APOC3 genes, and analysis of rare genetic variants in them, have allowed researchers to increase understanding of HDL metabolism significantly. However, development of cardiovascular risk-reducing therapeutics targeting the proteins encoded by these genes has been less straightforward. The failure of two CETP inhibitors is complex but illustrates a possible over-reliance on HDL cholesterol as a marker of therapeutic efficacy. The case of endothelial lipase exemplifies the importance of utilizing population-wide genetic studies of rare variants in potential therapeutic targets to gain information on cardiovascular disease end points. Similar population-wide studies of cardiovascular end points make apoC-III a potentially attractive target for lipid-related drug discovery. These three cases illustrate the positives and negatives of single-gene studies relating to HDL-related cardiovascular drug discovery; such studies should focus not only on HDL cholesterol and other components of the lipid profile, but also on the effect genetic variants have on cardiovascular end points.
Valuing Air Quality With Hedonic and Discrete Choice Models

Environmental economists have been using property values in attempts to measure the value residents place on air quality as far back as the 1960s. However, in the years since then we have learned a great deal about how complex valuing nonmarginal changes in air quality is. Rosen presented a hedonic model that is still extremely influential today, but the estimation strategy he outlined in that paper had some shortcomings. Many of these identification and endogeneity issues were corrected subsequently in papers such as Palmquist (1984), Parsons, and Bartik, but none of these papers concentrated on environmental issues. A central issue in estimating the demand or marginal willingness-to-pay functions for characteristics of housing is the identification of those behavioral functions as distinct from
The Forward Rate Unbiasedness Hypothesis revisited

In this paper, the forward rate unbiasedness hypothesis is re-examined by panel cointegration. This paper augments the empirical literature by applying the panel cointegration developed by Kao and Chiang's (1999) dynamic ordinary least square (OLS) to examine the panel of 17 OECD countries. In sharp contrast to individual country's result, this study shows that the hypothesis is accepted at 5% significance level, and panel cointegration is strongly confirmed.