Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
The effects of a low‐salt diet on the efficacy of different antihypertensive drug regimens

The objective of this study was to compare the antihypertensive effects of 3 types of antihypertensive drug regimens between different salt intake levels. The 180 patients with mild to moderate primary hypertension participating in this randomized, controlled clinical trial were randomly allocated to a low‐salt diet (LSD) group or a non‐low‐salt diet (NLSD) group. Each group included 3 subgroups: a losartan 100 mg subgroup, a losartan 50 mg/hydrochlorothiazide (HCTZ) 12.5 mg subgroup, and an irbesartan 150 mg/HCTZ 12.5 mg subgroup. The LSD group received a diet in which the sodium content was strictly controlled (2.3 g/day). After 2 months, the office blood pressure (BP), the 24‐hour mean BP, and the morning BP were significantly reduced (P ≤ .01) in each group. No significant differences were observed between the 3 LSD subgroups (P > .05). In the NLSD group, the losartan 50 mg/HCTZ 12.5 mg subgroup, and the irbesartan 150 mg/HCTZ 12.5 mg subgroup exhibited identical antihypertensive efficacy (P > .05), and these groups were significantly different from the losartan 100 mg subgroup(P ≤ .05). The BP of the patients who received the LSD was further decreased compared with those who received the NLSD (P ≤ .05). Therefore, we concluded that this LSD exerts synergistic BP‐reducing effects.
Hail to the Thief: A Tribute to Kazaa

This paper considers the ongoing litigation against the peer to peer network Kazaa. Record companies and Hollywood studios have faced jurisdictional and legal problems in suing this network for copyright infringement. As Wired Magazine observes: 'The servers are in Denmark. The software is in Estonia. The domain is registered Down Under, the corporation on a tiny island in the South Pacific. The users - 60 million of them - are everywhere around the world. ' In frustration, copyright owners have launched copyright actions against intermediaries - like Internet Service Providers such as Verizon. They have also embarked on filing suits of individual users of file-sharing programs. In addition, copyright owners have called for domestic and international law reform in respect of digital copyright. The Senate Committee on Government Affairs in the United States Congress has reviewed the controversial use of subpoenas in suits against users of file-sharing peer to peer networks. The United States has encouraged other countries to adopt provisions of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act 1998 (US) in bilateral and regional free trade agreements.
Functional, Cellular, and Molecular Remodeling of the Heart under Influence of Oxidative Cigarette Tobacco Smoke

Passive and active chronic cigarette smoking (CS) remains an international epidemic and a key risk factor for cardiovascular disease (CVD) development. CS-induced cardiac damage is divided into two major and interchangeable mechanisms: (1) direct adverse effects on the myocardium causing smoking cardiomyopathy and (2) indirect effects on the myocardium by fueling comorbidities such as atherosclerotic syndromes and hypertension that eventually damage and remodel the heart. To date, our understanding of cardiac remodeling following acute and chronic smoking exposure is not well elucidated. This manuscript presents for the first time the RIMD (oxidative stress (R), inflammation (I), metabolic impairment (M), and cell death (D)) detrimental cycle concept as a major player in CS-induced CVD risks and direct cardiac injury. Breakthroughs and latest findings in the field with respect to structural, functional, cellular, and molecular cardiac remodeling following chronic smoking exposure are summarized. This review also touches the genetics/epigenetics of smoking as well as the smoker's paradox and highlights the most currently prominent pharmacological venues to mitigate CS-induced adverse cardiac remodeling.
The empirical Bayes estimators of fine‐scale population structure in high gene flow species

An empirical Bayes (EB) pairwise FST estimator was previously introduced and evaluated for its performance by numerical simulation. In this study, we conducted coalescent simulations and generated genetic population structure mechanistically, and compared the performance of the EBFST with Nei's GST, Nei and Chesser's bias‐corrected GST (GST_NC), Weir and Cockerham's θ (θWC) and θ with finite sample correction (θWC_F). We also introduced EB estimators for Hedrick’ G’ST and Jost’ D. We applied these estimators to publicly available SNP genotypes of Atlantic herring. We also examined the power to detect the environmental factors causing the population structure. Our coalescent simulations revealed that the finite sample correction of θWC is necessary to assess population structure using pairwise FST values. For microsatellite markers, EBFST performed the best among the present estimators regarding both bias and precision under high gene flow scenarios ( FST≤0.032 ). For 300 SNPs, EBFST had the highest precision in all cases, but the bias was negative and greater than those for GST_NC and θWC_F in all cases. GST_NC and θWC_F performed very similarly at all levels of FST. As the number of loci increased up to 10 000, the precision of GST_NC and θWC_F became slightly better than for EBFST for cases with FST≥0.004 , even though the size of the bias remained constant. The EB estimators described the fine‐scale population structure of the herring and revealed that ~56% of the genetic differentiation was caused by sea surface temperature and salinity. The R package finepop for implementing all estimators used here is available on CRAN.
Community-associated methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus skin and soft tissue infections in a pediatric hospital in Argentina.

INTRODUCTION Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) emerged at the Pediatric Hospital of Misiones Province, north Argentina, in 2003 as a cause of community-acquired (CA) infections, mostly associated with skin and soft tissue infections (SSTIs). This study aimed to assess the microbiological, epidemiological, and clinical features of CA-MRSA SSTIs treated at the hospital. METHODOLOGY From 2003 through 2006, a longitudinal study on CA-MRSA SSTIs was conducted. Clinical, bacteriological, and molecular data were collected and analyzed by multiple correspondences and cluster analysis (MCCA). RESULTS A total of 138 children were enrolled; 55.8% of the children required hospitalization. The main clinical presentation was abscesses (51%). Antibiotic therapy in the previous six months was registered in 41% of the patients, and 72% of the patients had relatives with similar symptoms. Resistance to non-b-lactam antibiotics was found in less than 12% of patients. All 44 isolates carried staphylococcal cassette chromosomemec (SCCmec) type IV, and 30/44 had Panton-Valentine leucocidin (PVL) coding genes. Six pulsed-field gel electrophoresis (PFGE) patterns were detected from 17 isolates. MCCA hierarchic classification resulted in four distinctive patient classes (new variable). No relationship could be observed regarding the PVL detection, as PVL (+) isolates were detected in all classes; the same lack of significance was observed concerning the distribution of resistance to non-β-lactam antibiotics. CONCLUSIONS This study increases the understanding and knowledge about CA-MRSA skin and soft tissue infections in pediatric patients. Continuous efforts should be made to control this significant public health problem.
WSN based-Implementation of IoT for Monitor and Manage an Intelligent Building using Smart Device

In this paper, I have reported an effective implementation for Internet of Things used for monitoring regular power management by means of low cost ubiquitous sensing system. The system principally monitors electrical parameters of appliances such as voltage, current and subsequently calculates the power consumed. The description about the integrated network architecture and the interconnecting mechanisms for the reliable measurement of parameters by smart sensors and transmission of data via internet is being presented. The system was able to provide a control mechanism for better operation of the devices in monitoring stage. The framework of the monitoring system is based on a combination of distributed sensing units, information system for data aggregation. Results of previous systems encouraging as the reliability of sensing information transmission through their proposed integrated network architecture is 97%. The prototype yet to be tested to generate real-time graphical information rather than a test bed scenario.
Liquidity and Exchange Rates: Puzzling Evidence from the G-7 Countries

This paper considers the empirical evidence on liquidity effects in open economies; we study the effects of monetary policy shocks (identified by innovations in interest rates) on exchange rates. Both overshooting models with short-run price stickiness and flexible-price models with "liquidity effects" suggest that, in the short-run, the effects of a positive monetary innovation will be a reduction of nominal interest rates and a depreciation of the domestic currency. We consider VAR systems for the G-7 countries and find that, while positive innovations in U.S. interest rates lead to an impact appreciation of the U.S. dollar, positive innovations in the interest rates of the other G-7 countries are associated with an impact depreciation of their currency. We offer two explanations of this "exchange rate puzzle"; one is based on the idea that the U.S. is the "leader" country in the setting of monetary policy for the G-7 area, while the other countries are "follow! ers". The other explanation suggests endogenous policy reaction to underlying inflationary shocks that are a cause of exchange rate depreciation. We then offer some empirical evidence consistent with these two interpretations of the exchange rate puzzle: after controlling for U.S. monetary policies and expected inflation, the response of exchange rates to postive interest rate shocks is a persistent currency appreciation in most of the G-7 countries. Moreover, consistently with both overshooting and liquidity models, a monetary contraction is associated with a transitory appreciation of the real exchange rate and a temporary fall in output.
Endothelial progenitor cells in mothers of low-birthweight infants: a link between defective placental vascularization and increased cardiovascular risk?

CONTEXT Offspring birthweight is inversely associated with future maternal cardiovascular mortality, a relationship that has yet to be fully elucidated. Endothelial progenitor cells (EPCs) are thought to play a key role in vasculogenesis, and EPC numbers reflect cardiovascular risk. OBJECTIVE Our objective was to ascertain whether EPC number or function was reduced in mothers of low-birthweight infants. DESIGN AND SETTING This was a prospective cohort study in a general antenatal department of a university maternity hospital. PARTICIPANTS Twenty-three mothers of small for gestational age (SGA) infants (birthweight < 10th centile) and 23 mothers of appropriate for gestational age (AGA) infants (birthweight ≥ 10th centile) were recruited. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES Maternal EPC number and function, conventional cardiovascular risk markers, and cord blood adiponectin were measured. RESULTS Median EPC count was lower (294 vs. 367, P = 0.005) and EPC migration was reduced (0.91 vs. 1.59, P < 0.001) in SGA compared with AGA infants, with no difference in EPC adhesion (0.221 vs. 0.284 fluorescence units, P = 0.257). Maternal triglyceride levels were higher in SGA than AGA infants (0.98 vs. 0.78 mmol/liter, P = 0.006), but there was no difference in cholesterol, glucose, insulin, glycosylated hemoglobin, adiponectin, or blood pressure. There was a moderate monotone (increasing) relationship between birthweight and umbilical cord blood adiponectin (r = 0.475, P = 0.005). CONCLUSION Giving birth to an SGA infant was associated with lower maternal EPC number and reduced migratory function. Cord blood adiponectin was significantly correlated with birthweight.
Divergent differentiation in urothelial carcinoma and other bladder cancer subtypes with selected mimics

Conventional urothelial carcinoma accounts for most carcinomas of the urinary tract lining. However, neoplastic urothelium has the capacity to demonstrate enormous plasticity. A variety of unusual architectural patterns of urothelial carcinoma, such as the nested, microcystic and inverted variants, can be mistaken for reactive processes or benign tumours. Others such as the micropapillary, plasmacytoid and discohesive variants, can mimic metastatic tumour from other sites. The micropapillary variant in particular is more aggressive. In addition, urothelial carcinoma has a propensity to demonstrate divergent differentiation with glandular, squamous, small cell neuroendocrine, lymphoepithelioma‐like, sarcomatoid or other elements. Pure squamous carcinoma or adenocarcinoma (the latter in particular) can be difficult to distinguish from contiguous or metastatic spread. Some variants have prognostic and potential therapeutic implications. Molecular genetic evidence has emerged recently supporting a close relationship between urothelial carcinoma and various divergent elements. Sarcomatoid carcinoma and its differential diagnosis with other spindle cell lesions of urinary tract will be covered in a separate review.
Feedback Traders and Stock Return Autocorrelations: Evidence from a Century of Daily Data

The authors investigate whether the degree of autocorrelation shown by high frequency stock returns changes with volatility. This may result from nontrading effects, feedback trading strategies, or variable risk aversion. The authors' results indicate that when volatility is low, daily (and hourly) stock returns exhibit positive autocorrelation, but when it is high, returns exhibit negative serial correlation. They also find an important asymmetry--negative serial correlation is more likely after price declines. This is consistent with price declines being more likely to induce positive feedback trading. The authors also find no significant relation between margin requirements and the autocorrelation of returns. Copyright 1992 by Royal Economic Society.
Ameloblastoma of the anterior mandible

Ameloblastoma or adamantinoma is the rarest of the three forms of tumor of the odontogenic type. They are benign, locally aggressive neoplasms arising from ameloblasts, which typically occur at the angle of the mandible, and are often associated with an un-erupted tooth and must, therefore, be differentiated from a dentigerous cyst which will be centered on the crown. When in the maxilla (less common), they are located in the premolar region, and can extend up in the maxillary sinus. Ameloblastoma is reported to constitute about 1-3% of tumors and cysts of the jaws. The tumor is by far more common in the mandible than in the maxilla and shows predilection for various parts of the mandible in different racial groups. The relative frequency of the mandible to maxilla is reported as varying from 80-20% to 99-1%. Here, we are representing a case of ameloblastoma of anterior mandible which was considered as a rare site of occurrence.
Caveat Lector: Fake News as Folklore

We are awash in words and images that sound and look like real news, but are not. This article considers certain kinds of fake news as a genre of digital folklore and attempts to sort out the differences among fake news hoaxes, pranks, satires, and parodies. It offers examples of each and tries to show how fake news functions as folk political commentary or folk media criticism.
A Qualitative Study of Religious Practices by Chronic Mentally Ill and their Caregivers in South India

Background: Socio-cultural explanatory factors for mental health problems determine help seeking behaviors. The study aimed to understand the reasons mentally ill patients and their families in India choose to seek help from a religious site. Materials and methods: Persons with mental illness and their families were interviewed at religious sites using a guideline questionnaire. Issues such as significant life events, explanations for perceived abnormal behavior and reasons for choosing a specific religious site for ‘treatment’ were explored. Discussion: Seeking religious help for mental disorders is often a first step in the management of mental disorders as a result of cultural explanations for the illness. This behavior also has social sanctions.
Effect of Coronary Artery Disease on Parasympathetic Cardiovascular Reflexes in NIDDM Patients

To evaluate the effect of coronary artery disease on parasympathetic cardiac reflexes in patients with noninsulin- dependent diabetes mellitus (NIDDM), we studied standard cardiovascular reflexes in 27 NIDDM patients with coronary artery disease (group 1) and in 21 NIDDM patients with no signs of coronary artery disease (group 2). Groups did not differ with respect to age, duration of diabetes, or presence of retinopathy. The mean ± SD heart-rate variation in deep breathing was lower in group 1 than in group 2 (11.6 ± 6.5 vs. 17.1 ± 9.0 beats/min, P < 0.05). Heart-rate variation was more often abnormally low (<10 beats/min) in group 1 than in group 2 (48 vs. 19%, P < 0.05). Thus, the presence of coronary artery disease appears to modify cardiac parasympathetic reflexes in patients with diabetes mellitus and must be kept in mind when interpreting test results.
A new method of mineral absorption feature extraction from vegetation covered area

Diagnostic absorption feature has the potential to be the key factor in the mineral information extraction from vegetation-covered area. Reference Spectral Background Removal (RSBR) could simulate the background curve based on the reference spectral background, and eliminate the influence through the background removal process. In this paper, RSBR was introduced into to mineral absorption feature extraction from high vegetation density area. Experiments on simulated data validated its great potential in mineral exploration in vegetation-covered area.
Revisiting the Reportedly Weak Value Relevance of Oil and Gas Asset Present Values: The Roles of Measurement Error, Model Misspecification, and Time Period Idiosyncrasy

This paper investigates three potential explanations for the puzzlingly weak value relevance of oil and gas asset present values documented in prior research: measurement error, model misspecification, and time‐period idiosyncrasy. I operationally define the magnitude of measurement error as the measurement error variance, estimated using an errors‐in‐variables two‐stage regression model similar to that used by Barth (1991) and Choi et al. (1997). I find that (1) measurement error in the present value measure of oil and gas assets is on average less than the measurement error in the historical cost asset measure; (2) oil and gas assets measured at present value explain significantly more across‐firm and across‐time variation in stock prices than do oil and gas assets measured at historical cost; and (3) model misspecification partially accounts for the puzzlingly weak reported value relevance of the present value measure in prior research.
Presidents, Parliaments, and Policy

1. Introduction: political institutions and the determinants of public policy Stephan Haggard and Mathew D. McCubbins Part I. Theory: 2. The institutional determinants of economic policy outcomes Gary W. Cox and Mathew D. McCubbins 3. Institutions and public policy in presidential systems Matthew S. Shugart and Stephan Haggard Part II. Budgetary Policy Cases: 4. Budget procedure and fiscal restraint in post-transition Chile Lisa Baldez and John M. Carey 5. Political institutions and public policy in Argentina: an overview of the formation and execution of the National Budget Mark P. Jones 6. Democracy and deficits in Taiwan: the politics of fiscal policy, 1986-96 Tun-jen Cheng and Stephan Haggard Part III. Regulatory Policy Cases: 7. Political institutions and economic development: the case of electric utility regulation in Argentina and Chile William B. Heller and Mathew D. McCubbins 8. Power politics: elections and electricity regulation in Taiwan Stephan Haggard and Gregory W. Noble 9. Privatization in transition economies: politics as usual? Philip Keefer and Mary Shirley 10. Conclusion: policymaking in presidential systems Stephan Haggard, Mathew D. McCubbins and Matthew Shugart.
Growth and the Balance-of-Payments Constraint

Thirlwall’s law posits that a country’s economic growth rate (relative to that of the rest of the world) depends on the ratio of its export’s income elasticity of demand to that of its imports. Empirical studies of this hypothesis have been almost entirely supportive, but we argue that the method used is flawed due to its reliance on least-squares estimates of the income elasticities. Using the Johansen procedure, we test for a long-run relationship between domestic and world income for the G7 nations and find little evidence that Thirlwall’s law holds.
Increased expression of CD40 ligand (CD154) on CD4+ T cells as a marker of disease activity in rheumatoid arthritis

OBJECTIVES The interaction between the activation induced surface glycoprotein CD40L (ligand) (CD154) on CD4+ T cells and its receptor CD40, which is expressed on various cell types, plays a crucial part in numerous cell mediated and humoral immune reactions that may be of pathogenetic importance in rheumatoid arthritis (RA). To further evaluate the pathogenetic role of CD40L in RA, expression of CD40L and various other T cell activation antigens as well as costimulatory molecules was investigated on CD4+ T cells in RA by flow cytometry. METHODS Two colour flow cytometry was used to determine the percentage of CD4+ T cells expressing CD40L, CD69, CD25, HLA-DR, CD39, CD27 and CD28 in peripheral blood (PB) of 62 RA patients in comparison to 20 healthy controls (HC). Disease activity was assessed by clinical, laboratory and radiological examination. Status of clinical remission of RA was evaluated according to the ACR preliminary criteria for complete clinical remission of RA. RESULTS CD40L was expressed on > 10% of CD4+ T cells in 29% of RA patients thus defining a CD40Lhigh+ patient group. Disease activity as estimated by C reactive protein, rheumatoid factor and status of clinical remission of disease (p = 0.049) was higher in this subgroup than in the RA CD40Llow+ group. Expression of CD69, CD25, and HLA-DR was significantly increased in both RA patient groups in comparison with HC. However, the percentage of CD39+ CD4+ T cells was increased only in the RA CD40Lhigh+ subgroup (versus HC p = 0.019, versus RA CD40Llow+ p = 0.044). Furthermore, expression of CD40L and CD39 on CD4+ T cells correlated positively as estimated by Spearman rank correlation (p < 0.001). The percentage of CD4+ T cells lacking the costimulatory molecules CD27 (p = 0.002) and CD28 (p = 0.026) was increased in RA CD40Llow+ patients in comparison with HC. CONCLUSIONS These data suggest that increased expression of CD40L on CD4+ T cells in RA indicates prolonged and increased activation of CD4+ T lymphocytes and is associated with active disease and possibly an unfavourable prognosis. Whether this phenotypically defined RA CD40Lhigh+ subgroup will preferentially respond to an anti-CD40L antibody treatment remains to be elucidated.