Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Serum cardiac troponins and N-terminal pro-brain natriuretic peptide: a staging system for primary systemic amyloidosis.

PURPOSE Primary systemic amyloidosis (AL) is a multisystemic disorder resulting from an underlying plasma cell dyscrasia. There is no formal staging system for AL, making comparisons between studies and treatment centers difficult. Our group previously identified elevated serum cardiac troponin T (cTnT) as the most powerful predictor of overall survival. Others have reported that N-terminal pro-brain natriuretic peptide (NT-proBNP) is a valuable prognostic marker. We sought to develop a staging system for patients with AL. PATIENTS AND METHODS Two hundred forty-two patients with newly diagnosed AL who were seen at the Mayo Clinic between April 1979 and November 2000, and who had echocardiograms and stored serum samples at presentation were eligible for this retrospective review. NT-proBNP measurements were performed on 242 patients in whom cTnT and cardiac troponin I (cTnI) had been previously run. Two prognostic models were designed using threshold values of NT-proBNP and either cTnT or cTnI (NT-proBNP < 332 ng/L, cTnT < 0.035 microg/L, and cTnI < 0.1 microg/L). Depending on whether NT-proBNP and troponin levels were both low, were high for only one level, or were both high, patients were classified as stage I, II, or III, respectively. RESULTS Using the cTnT+NT-proBNP model 33%, 30%, and 37% of patients were stages I, II, and III, respectively, with median survivals of 26.4, 10.5, and 3.5 months, respectively. The alternate cTnI+NT-proBNP model predicted median survivals of 27.2, 11.1, and 4.1 months, respectively. CONCLUSION Stratification of AL patients into three stages is possible with two readily available and reproducible tests setting the stage for more consistent and reliable cross comparisons of therapeutic outcomes.
Predicting EMI induced delay errors in integrated circuits: Sensitivity to the velocity saturation index

Integrated circuits (ICs) sometimes fail when their power supply is disrupted by external noise, such as might occur during an electrical fast transient (EFT). A delay model was proposed in [1] which can be used to predict the variations in the delays through logic circuits caused by electromagnetic induced noise in the power supply voltage. This model is relatively simple and requires few parameters, giving it the potential to be used even when the IC is a “black bos” and little information is available about the inner circuits. While design information might be approximated through testing, critical process characteristics may not be available which are needed for accurate results. The parameter of greatest concern is the velocity saturation index, since this parameter can exponentially increase the impact of power supply noise on delay. This paper describes an investigation of the sensitivity of the delay model in [1] to the velocity saturation index. Results indicate that the estimated delay, found while treating much of the circuit as a black box, is largely insensitive to the velocity saturation index. This result suggests that this model can be used effectively for prediction of electromagnetically-induced delay errors, even when limited process or circuit information is known.
Assessment of knowledge and skills about growth monitoring amongst medical officers, child development project officers and multi purpose workers.

The study used interpretations of data filled on growth charts and questionnaires to assess the knowledge of medical officers (MOs), child development officers (CDPOs), and multipurpose workers (MPWs) about growth monitoring. The sample was drawn from health personnel who had worked in the CDS health blocks in Haryana state in India. Included were 48 CDPOs, who had worked more than 4 years; 24 MOs, who had worked more than 3 years; and 34 MPWs, who had worked for more than 10 years. All had to have had some measure of in-service or course training. All MOs and MPWs knew that adequate nutrition was necessary for an ascending growth curve; only 81% of CDPOs had this knowledge. 95% of MOs, 92% of CDPOs, and 82% of MPWs knew that inadequate food intake over a prolonged period of time yielded a depressed growth curve. Only 27% of CDPOs were aware that a flattened growth curve after a bout of the measles meant growth delays due to infection, while 100% of MPWs and 95% of MOs were aware. About 96% of MOs, 83% of CDPOs, and 100% of MPWs interpreted the descending growth curve as a decline in nutritional status. The general finding was that growth curves could be used to identify at-risk children and no weight gain by most personnel; however, MOs did not have adequate knowledge of the importance of age in assessment of growth monitoring, of the importance of weighing malnourished children monthly, or of the importance of weighing every 3 months above the age of 3 years. Adequate training needed to be provided to MOs in growth monitoring, because the MOs supervised the health program, which included health check-ups, immunization, nutritional health, and referral. Most of the health personnel could interpret growth charts accurately.
New pharmacotherapy for the treatment of onychomycosis: an update

Introduction: Onychomycosis is an infection of the nail plate that is an important priority area for the development of antifungal drugs. The high incidence of relapse and reinfection often makes onychomycosis a chronic condition. The current gold standard is oral therapy, but the development of effective topical agents remains a priority as they have fewer systemic interactions. Areas covered: This review summarizes development of antifungals from early phase development through Phase III clinical trials for onychomycosis. The oral molecules in development are azole molecules. Topical drugs in development include azoles, allylamines, benzoxaboroles and nanoemulsions. Photosensitizers for photodynamic therapy and new laser systems are also emerging therapeutic options. There is a diverse array of antifungal drugs in the early phases of development. Expert opinion: The goals of onychomycosis therapy are a mycological cure and a normal appearing nail. The recent development of topical antifungals has been successful at improving the nail permeation and efficacy. The diversification of molecular targets is the next primary goal of antifungal development. Incomplete treatment of onychomycosis provides an environment conducive to the development of antifungal resistance. New topical agents and device-based therapies expand the therapeutic options. Combination therapy using multiple drug classes may improve the overall efficacy of antifungal treatment in onychomycosis.
Differential Expression of Long Noncoding RNAs in Human Cumulus Cells Related to Embryo Developmental Potential

Long noncoding RNAs (lncRNAs), which are prevalently transcribed in the genome, are involved in a variety of biological functions, yet little is known about their abundance in human cumulus cells (CCs) during oocyte development. Here, we describe the expression profile of lncRNAs in 3 pairs of cumulus cells from mature oocytes that result in high-quality embryo (H-CCs) and from oocytes that result in poor-quality embryo (P-CCs) using microarray analysis. In this study, a total of 20 563 lncRNAs were expressed in human CCs. One hundred and twenty four lncRNAs were consistently upregulated, and 509 lncRNAs were consistently downregulated in all samples analyzed (fold change ≥ 2.0, P < .05). Quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR) was used to validate 5 upregulated and 7 downregulated lncRNAs. The qRT-PCR results in the study were confirmed to be consistent with the microarray results. Network analysis was used for further research. The results displayed the differentially expressed lncRNAs in P-CCs between H-CCs, which suggested that lncRNAs may contribute to the processes of oocyte and early embryo development.
Non-GAAP Earnings Disclosure in Loss Firms

This study examines the incremental information in loss firms’ non‐GAAP earnings disclosures relative to GAAP earnings. Using a large sample obtained through textual analysis and hand‐collection, we posit and find that loss firms’ non‐GAAP earnings exclusions offset the low informativeness of GAAP losses for forecasting and valuation. Loss firms’ non‐GAAP earnings are highly predictive of future performance and are valued by investors, while the expenses excluded from GAAP earnings are not. Additional tests suggest that loss firms disclosing non‐GAAP profits have significantly better future performance than GAAP‐only loss firms and are not overvalued by investors. Comparing non‐GAAP earnings of profitable firms to those of loss firms, we find that loss firms’ non‐GAAP metrics are significantly more predictive and less strategic. We conclude that non‐GAAP earnings disclosures are particularly informative about loss firms and help investors disaggregate losses into components that have differential implications for forecasting and valuation.
A randomised trial comparing real‐time double‐lumen endobronchial tube placement with the Disposcope® with conventional blind placement

Double‐lumen endobronchial tube placement is challenging. This study compared double‐lumen tube placement with the Disposcope®, a wireless videostylet allowing real‐time visualisation, with conventional blind placement. Patients undergoing elective thoracic surgery with normal airways requiring one‐lung ventilation were randomly allocated into two groups (27 patients in each group). The Disposcope was used to assist left‐sided double‐lumen tube placement in one group, and conventional blind placement was performed in the control group. Placement in both groups was checked with fibreoptic bronchoscopy. The Disposcope‐assisted group had a shorter total mean (SD) placement time (18.6 (2.5) s vs. 21.4 (2.9) s, p < 0.001), laryngoscopy to end of auscultation time (83.4 (3.0) s vs. 93.9 (5.7) s, p < 0.001) and total operation time (130.7 (6.1) s vs. 154.5 (6.3) s, p < 0.001). In the Disposcope‐assisted group, the double‐lumen tube was inserted in the correct side in all patients (100.0%), whereas in the conventional group, the double‐lumen tube was placed in the correct side in 25 (92.6%) patients and in the wrong side in 2 (7.4%) patients; the difference was not significant (p = 0.150). In the Disposcope‐assisted group, the double‐lumen tube was inserted to the optimal depth in 24 (88.9%) patients, whereas in the conventional group it was inserted to the optimal depth in one (4.0%) patient. The Disposcope increased the success rate of double‐lumen tube placement, and shortened the total operation time when compared with standard placement with confirmation using fibreoptic bronchoscopy, and may replace the conventional method.
Malathion‐induced oxidative stress in human erythrocytes and the protective effect of vitamins C and E in vitro

Malathion is an organophosphate (OP) pesticide that has been shown to induce oxidative stress in erythrocytes through the generation of free radicals and alteration of the cellular antioxidant defense system. We examined the effect of several different doses of malathion (25, 75, 200 μM), or malathion in combination with vitamin C (VC; 10 μM) or vitamin E (VE; 30 μM), on the levels of malondialdehyde (MDA), and superoxide dismutase (SOD), catalase (CAT), and glutathione peroxidase (GPx) activities in human erythrocytes in vitro. Erythrocytes were incubated under various treatment conditions (malathion alone, vitamins alone, or malathion plus vitamin) at 37°C for 60 min, and the levels of MDA, and SOD, CAT and GPx activities, were determined. Treatment with malathion alone increased the levels of MDA and decreased SOD, CAT, and GPx activities in erythrocytes (P < 0.05). There were no statistical differences among VC‐treated, VE‐treated, or VC + VE‐treated erythrocyes, as compared with nontreated control cells. Treatment of cells with malathion + VC, malathion + VE, or a combination of all three agents prevented malathion‐induced changes in antioxidant enzyme activity and lipid peroxidation. However, this effect was seen only at low concentrations of malathion (25 and 75 μM), and the combination of VC + VE had a more protective effect than VC or VE alone. These results indicated that the presence of vitamins at concentrations that are similar to the levels found in plasma have no effect on malathion‐induced toxicity in erythrocytes at a concentration of malathion (200 μM) that is typically used in pesticides. © 2008 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Environ Toxicol, 2009.
Deletion of scavenger receptor A gene in mice resulted in protection from septic shock and modulation of TLR4 signaling in isolated peritoneal macrophages

Scavenger receptor A (Sra), also known as macrophage scavenger receptor 1 (Msr1), is a surface glycoprotein preferentially present in macrophages that plays a primary role in innate immunity. Previous studies have shown that Sra is a modifier gene for the response to bacterial LPS in mice at the level of IL-10 production, in particular. In the present study, we found that Sra(−/−) mice are more resistant to septic shock induced by cecal ligation and puncture than wild-type C57BL/6 J (B6) mice. In addition, Sra(−/−) mice displayed initial elevated high density lipoprotein (HDL) circulating levels. Naïve peritoneal macrophages (PMϕs) were isolated from Sra(−/−) mice to understand the possible protective mechanism. Incubation of these cells with LPS was found to modulate TLR4 signaling, leading to a reduction in IL-10 and IL-6 mRNA levels, but not TNF-α expression, at low concentrations of LPS in comparison with PMϕs isolated from B6 mice. No differences were found in LPS binding between PMϕs derived from Sra(−/−) or B6 mice. The lack of Sra binding to LPS was confirmed after transfection of Chinese hamster ovary (CHO) cells with the Sra gene. The contribution of Sra to the outcome of sepsis may be a combination of changes in TLR4 signaling pathway and elevated levels of HDL in circulation, but also LPS toxicity.
Conservation Auctions, Collusion and the Endowment Effect

We contribute to the literature on the optimal design of auction mechanisms for the procurement of nature conservation activities. We use an economic experiment to examine whether the market efficiency of conservation auctions increases or decreases with repetition. Theory predicts that repetition facilitates collusion among sellers in procurement auctions, while behavioral economics suggests that repetition may increase market efficiency because it attenuates the endowment effect - the phenomenon that ownership of a good tends to increase one's valuation of the good. We find that of these two countervailing effects, the latter has the upper hand; average bids decrease monotonically over the consecutive auctions. Since repetition increases market efficiency, conservation contracts can be of shorter duration and procured at a higher frequency than has been suggested before.
The economic impact of legislation and litigation on growth: a historical analysis of Italy from its unification to World War II

Abstract This paper aims to evaluate the impact of Italy's unification on its economic growth from 1861 to the outbreak of World War II. This historical analysis attempts to prove that the process of legislative harmonization intrinsic to the unification had a positive effect on Italy's GDP because legislative uniformity facilitates economic transactions. Moreover a uniform and more effective legislation would have caused less litigation and therefore favoured economic growth, thanks to smoother relations between economic agents.
Laboratory diagnosis of pulmonary toxoplasmosis in patients with acquired immunodeficiency syndrome

In four cases of pulmonary toxoplasmosis occurring in patients with acquired immunodeficiency syndrome, Toxoplasma sp. was discovered in bronchoalveolar-lavage fluid (three cases) and in lung biopsy specimen (one case) by using the following methods: direct examination of smears stained with eosine-methylene blue fast stain, indirect immunofluorescence assay, and inoculation of MRC5 fibroblast cell line in tissue culture.
EGFR and FGFR Signaling through FRS2 Is Subject to Negative Feedback Control by ERK1/2

Abstract Fibroblast growth factor (FGF) receptor substrate 2 (FRS2) is a membrane-anchored docking protein that has been shown to play an important role in linking FGF, nerve growth factor (NGF) and glial cell-derived neurotrophic factor (GDNF) receptors with the Ras/mitogen-activated protein (MAP) kinase signaling cascade. Here we provide evidence that FRS2 can also play a role in epidermal growth factor (EGF) signaling. Upon EGF stimulation, FRS2 mediates enhanced MAPK activity and undergoes phosphorylation on tyrosine as well as serine/threonine residues. This involves the direct interaction of the FRS2 PTB domain with the EGFR and results in a significantly altered mobility of FRS2 in SDS-PAGE which is also observed in FGF stimulated cells. This migration shift of FRS2 is completely abrogated by U0126, a specific MAPK kinase 1 (MEK1) inhibitor, suggesting that ERK1/2 acts as serine/threonine kinase upstream of FRS2. Indeed, we show that the central portion of FRS2 constitutively associates with ERK1/2, whereas the FRS2 carboxyterminal region serves as substrate for ERK2 phosphorylation in response to EGF and FGF stimulation. Notably, tyrosine phosphorylation of FRS2 is enhanced when ERK1/2 activation is inhibited after both EGF and FGF stimulation. These results indicate a ligandstimulated negative regulatory feedback loop in which activated ERK1/2 phosphorylates FRS2 on serine/threonine residues thereby downregulating its tyrosine phosphorylation. Our findings support a broader role of FRS2 in EGFRcontrolled signaling pathways in A-431 cells and provide insight into a molecular mechanism for ligandstimulated feedback regulation with FRS2 as a central regulatory switch point.
Molecular phylogeography of Apalone spinifera (Reptilia, Trionychidae)

The molecular evaluation of morphologically based species delimitations of many herpetofauna has improved the understanding of evolutionary processes and the rigor of conservation efforts. Previous evidence for a deep lineage divide between south‐eastern + northern subspecies of the softshell turtle Apalone spinifera (A. s. aspera + A. s. hartwegi + A. s. spinifera) and western subspecies (A. s. pallida + A. s. emoryi + A. s. guadalupensis) was re‐examined with a broader sampling using mitochondrial and nuclear markers. The south‐eastern + northern clade and the western clade maintained mitochondrial reciprocal monophyly. We molecularly confirmed a geographical boundary between these two clades in Oklahoma, and developed a phylogeographical hypothesis that invokes stream capture. We evaluated whether these mitochondrial lineages represent distinct species by surveying these clades for divergence at the nuclear intron R35 and two nuclear genes, Cmos and recombination activating gene 1 (RAG‐1). The nuclear loci showed no phylogenetic resolution and only the nuclear intron exhibited significant nearest neighbour statistics. Taken together, the nuclear data suggest that taxonomic elevation of the two mitochondrial clades would be currently unjustified.
The Life Course of Pol Pot : How His Early Life Influenced the Crimes He Committed

International criminology focuses mostly on the lower level perpetrators even though it finds the leader is crucial for orchestrating the circumstances in which those people kill. While numerous theories from ordinary criminology have been usefully applied to these lower level perpetrators, the applicability of these theories to the leaders has remained underexplored. In order to fill this gap, the life-course theory of Sampson and Laub will be applied to Pol Pot whose brutal communist regime, cost the lives of approximately 1,7 million people. A difficult childhood, the influence of peers while he studied in Paris, and his marriage to a woman who shared his revolutionary mind-set, were all negative turning-points for Pol Pot.
Estimating inspired oxygen concentration delivered by nasal prongs in children with bronchiolitis

Aims: The inspired oxygen concentration (FiO2) is an important criterion for assessing the severity of bronchiolitis. Oxygen delivery by nasal prongs is a measure of oxygen flow, but not FiO2. We aimed to determine whether FiO2 of oxygen delivered by nasal prongs could be predicted from nasal flow by relating arterial oxygen concentrations achieved with prongs to those achieved via head box in children with bronchiolitis.
Differences in Lipoprotein Subfraction Composition and Distribution Between Type I Diabetic Men and Control Subjects

Subfractions of very-low-density and low-density lipoproteins were examined in 10 male normolipidemic type I (insulin-dependent) diabetic patients before and after improvement of metabolic control and were compared with subfractions from male control subjects matched to the diabetic patients at entry for age, body mass index, plasma cholesterol, and plasma triglycerides. Two consistent differences in subfraction composition were noted between the diabetic patients at entry and the control subjects. First, subfractions from diabetic patients tended to be cholesterol-ester poor and triglyceride rich; this was particularly marked for the low-density lipoprotein subfractions. Second, the subfractions from pretreatment diabetic patients contained higher proportions of non-apolipoprotein B apolipoproteins. This compositional anomaly, but not the lipid modifications, responded to but was not completely normalized by improved glycemic control, which was also accompanied by reductions in the plasma concentrations of all subfractions. Treatment modified subfraction distribution so that the lipoprotein profile of posttreatment diabetic patients more closely resembled the profile observed in the control subjects. These changes were achieved without significant modification of daily insulin dose. In the context of blood lipid risk factors, the results argue for the need to maintain optimal insulinization even in apparently normolipidemic diabetic patients to avoid modifications of the lipoprotein pattern toward a potentially more atherogenic profile.
Triamcinolone acetonide-induced meningocele and meningoencephalocele in rhesus monkeys.

vous system defects encompasses the periods of neural tube closure, rostral demarcation of the midbrain, and development of the primordial collicular plate and two midbrain neuromeres.23 The result of TAC treatment was the consistent production of a dose-dependent cranial dysraphism, which consisted of aplasia cutis congenita, cranium bifidum occultum, cranium bifidum associated with meningocele and meningoencephalocele, and some cases of hydrocephalus.4-6 The central nervous system lesion can be characterized as herniation of meninges and/or brain tis-