Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Short‐term effects of propranolol on portal venous pressure

The present study was designed to investigate the effect of propranolol on portal pressure of patients with alcoholic cirrhosis and portal hypertension and to correlate these effects with clinical and laboratory parameters. The mean baseline hepatic venous pressure gradient in the 50 patients studied was of 18.2 ± 4.1 mm Hg. It decreased significantly2 hr after the oral administration of 40 mg of propranolol to 15.7 ± 4.2 mm Hg (a mean reduction of 13.4 ± 17%). This reduction in hepatic venous pressure gradient resulted mainly from a decrease in mean wedged hepatic venous pressure. There was no correlation between the decrease in hepatic venous pressure gradient and the decrease in heart rate. When results were analyzed individually, only 15 (30%) showed a large decrease in hepatic venous pressure gradient (>20%), 15 (30%) showed a moderate decrease (10 to 19%), and in 20 patients (40%) there was no reduction or an increase in hepatic venous pressure gradient. Comparison of “responders” (those that reduced hepatic venous pressure gradient >10%) and “nonresponders” (hepatic venous pressure gradient reduction <10%) showed no significant differences in baseline laboratory and hemodynamic parameters, in the severity of the liver disease, in theheart rate and blood pressure response to propranolol, nor in the propranolol plasma levels achieved 2 hr after propranolol administration. Propranolol plasma levels correlated with the reduction in heart rate but not with the reduction in hepatic venous pressure gradient. Of 14 nonresponders to 40 mg of propranolol who received additional doses, six showed a reduction inhepatic venous pressure gradient.
Pension adequacy standards: an empirical estimation strategy and results for the United States and Germany

Due to increasing life expectancy pension benefits and savings need to last longer, which casts doubt on the financial security of retirees. Surprisingly, what pension benefit level can be considered adequate remains unclear. In this paper, we propose an identification strategy for the estimation of pension adequacy standards. Applying a range of econometric techniques to data from the U.S. and Germany, we find that a net pension income of around 100% of the last net working life income, plus or minus 10 percentage points, can be considered adequate.
Survival benefit of high-dose therapy in poor-risk aggressive non-Hodgkin's lymphoma: final analysis of the prospective LNH87-2 protocol--a groupe d'Etude des lymphomes de l'Adulte study.

PURPOSE To present the final analysis, with a median follow-up of 8 years, of the LNH87-2 randomized study, which compares consolidative sequential chemotherapy (ifosfamide plus etoposide, asparaginase, and cytarabine) with high-dose therapy (HDT) using cyclophosphamide, carmustine, and etoposide (CBV regimen) followed by stem-cell transplantation in patients with aggressive non-Hodgkin's lymphoma in first complete remission after induction, focusing on high/intermediate- and high-risk patients identified by the age-adjusted international prognostic index. PATIENTS AND METHODS Among the 916 eligible patients, 451 presented with two (n = 318) or three (n = 133) risk factors. After reaching complete remission to induction therapy, 236 of these higher risk patients were assessable for the consolidation phase, with 125 patients in the HDT arm and 111 in the sequential chemotherapy arm. RESULTS Among these 451 higher risk patients, 277 (61%) achieved complete remission after induction treatment. In the population of 236 randomized patients, HDT was superior to sequential chemotherapy, with 8-year disease-free survival rates of 55% (95% confidence interval [CI], 46% to 64%) and 39% (95% CI, 30% to 48%), respectively (P =.02; relative risk, 1.56). The 8-year survival rate was significantly superior in the HDT arm (64%; 95% CI, 55% to 73%) compared with the sequential chemotherapy arm (49%; 95% CI, 39% to 59%) (P =.04; relative risk, 1.51). CONCLUSION On the basis of the final analysis of this prospectively treated series of patients, retrospectively analyzed on the basis of the International Prognostic Index, we hypothesize that HDT benefits patients at higher risk who achieve complete remission after induction treatment.
What Makes the Indian Youths to Engage with Online Retail Brands: An Empirical Study

The consumer shopping principles have transformed exceptionally in digitized marketing environment. In India, online buying is the latest development among the fellow youngsters. The online shopping culture has brought the change in a modern market-oriented lifestyle. It also increases the challenge of online marketers to know more about the changing lifestyle of the new age customer. This guides the online marketers in delivering better customer value with improved service for ensuring customer retention. This research explores the linkage among economic values, functional qualities and emotional connections in the formation of brand engagement at online retail marketplace with the help of a proposed model. A sample survey of 182 online youth buyers was conducted across three cities in India, namely Bangalore, Kolkata and Delhi. Exploratory factory analyses and confirmatory factor analysis have been performed to examine the proposed conceptual model in the present study. The upshot of this present research would cast light on the idea through which an effective online retail platform could be generated for the Indian youths that would generate a better consumer value to enhance the online retail brand equity.
QUANTITATION OF INTRAGLOMERULAR MONONUCLEAR PHAGOCYTES IN EXPERIMENTAL GLOMERULONEPHRITIS IN THE RAT USING SPECIFIC MONOCLONAL ANTIBODIES

&NA; Intraglomerular mononuclear phagocytes were quantitated, in normal Sprague‐Dawley rats and in animals with diffuse proliferative glomerulonephritis, using recently described specific monoclonal antibodies (ED1, ED2, ED3)9 and a 4‐layer immunoperoxidase technique. Results obtained with the immunoperoxidase technique were compared with estimates of glomerular mononuclear cellularity based upon glomerular histochemistry and glomerular cell culture. Normal animals (n = 12) had no significant glomerular mononuclear phagocyte population by immunoperoxidase [0.01 macrophages per glomerular cross section (MO/gcs)], histochemistry (+ 0.2 ± 0.1 staining intensity) or glomerular cell culture [0.10 ± 0.02 MO/glomerulus (MO/glom)]. Evolution of diffuse proliferative glomerulonephritis was associated with a progressive rise in glomerular mononuclear phagocyte infiltration using all three techniques. Immunoperoxidase staining (ED1) at the time of maximal macrophage infiltration of glomeruli revealed 6.21 ± 1.78 MO/gcs (n = 12) using the ED1 macrophage marker. This correlated with histochemical (+ 3.8 ± 0.2 staining intensity) and glomerular cell culture (17.6 ± 4.5 MO/glom) estimates of the glomerular mononuclear phagocyte population. In addition, significant numbers of intraglomerular monocytes possessed the ED2 and ED3 macrophage differentiation antigens (0.82 ± 0.41 and 0.24 ± 0.15 MO/gcs respectively). Thus these specific monoclonal antibodies provide a reliable and readily reproducible means for the quantitation of intraglomerular mononuclear phagocytes. In addition, they provide evidence for intraglomerular macrophage differentiation in experimental glomerulonephritis in the rat.
Benefits of optimal demand response in distribution networks in a competitive retail market

This paper is concerned with the benefits of a price responsive scheme as a demand response program focus on residential end-users. We consider several retail companies operating in the retail market and the Distribution System Operator optimizing the physical resources of the distribution networks. The price responsive scheme is modeled as an OPF problem. We use a decomposition model to formulate the problem as a dynamic program that maximizes social welfare. A dual decomposition method is used to decouple the original problem, preserving the integrity of the private information of each participant and capturing its preferences and comfort policies.
The secretion ATPase ComGA is required for the binding and transport of transforming DNA

Transformation requires specialized proteins to facilitate the binding and uptake of DNA. The genes of the Bacillus subtilis comG operon (comGA–G) are required for transformation and to assemble a structure, the pseudopilus, in the cell envelope. No role for the pseudopilus has been established and the functions of the individual comG genes are unknown. We show that among the comG genes, only comGA is absolutely required for DNA binding to the cell surface. ComEA, an integral membrane DNA‐binding protein plays a minor role in the initial binding step, while an unidentified protein which communicates with ComGA must be directly responsible for binding to the cell. We show that the use of resistance to DNase to measure ‘DNA uptake’ reflects the movement of transforming DNA to a protected state in which it is not irreversibly associated with the protoplast, and presumably resides outside the cell membrane, in the periplasm or associated with the cell wall. We suggest that ComGA is needed for the acquisition of DNase resistance as well as for the binding of DNA to the cell surface. Finally, we show that the pseudopilus is required for DNA uptake and we offer a revised model for the transformation process.
Vav1 Promotes T Cell Cycle Progression by Linking TCR/CD28 Costimulation to FOXO1 and p27kip1 Expression1

Vav proteins play a critical role in T cell activation and proliferation by promoting cytoskeleton reorganization, transcription factor activation, and cytokine production. In this study, we investigated the role of Vav in T cell cycle progression. TCR/CD28-stimulated Vav1−/− T cells displayed a cell cycle block at the G0-G1 stage, which accounted for their defective proliferation. This defect was associated with impaired TCR/CD28-induced phosphorylation of Akt and the Forkhead family transcription factor, FOXO1. The cytoplasmic localization of FOXO1 and its association with 14–3-3τ were also reduced in Vav1−/− T cells. Consistent with the important role of FOXO1 in p27kip1 transcription, stimulated Vav1−/− T cells failed to down-regulate the expression of p27kip1, explaining their G0-G1 arrest. These defects were more pronounced in Vav1/Vav3 double-deficient T cells, suggesting partial redundancy between Vav1 and Vav3. Importantly, IL-2-induced p27kip1 down-regulation and cyclin D3 up-regulation and FOXO1 phosphorylation were similar in Vav1−/− and wild-type T lymphoblasts, indicating that defective FOXO1 phosphorylation and p27kip1 and cyclin D3 expression do not result from deficient IL-2 signaling in the absence of Vav1. Thus, Vav1 is a critical regulator of a PI3K/Akt/FOXO1 pathway, which controls T cell cycle progression and proliferation.
Discrimination within Phenotypically Closely Related Definitive Types of Salmonella enterica Serovar Typhimurium by the Multiple Amplification of Phage Locus Typing Technique

ABSTRACT Multilocus sequence typing (MLST) is a relatively new high-resolution typing system employed for epidemiological studies of bacteria, including Salmonella. Discrimination based on MLST of housekeeping genes may be problematical, due to the high identity of gene sequences of closely related Salmonella species. The presence of genomic sequences derived from stable temperate phages in Salmonella offers an alternative for MLST of Salmonella. We have used MLST of prophage loci in Salmonella enterica serovar Typhimurium to discriminate closely related isolates of serovar Typhimurium. We have compared these results to MLST of five housekeeping genes, as well as pulsed-field gel electrophoresis (PFGE). The presence or absence of prophage loci in the 73 serovar Typhimurium isolates tested, as well as allelic variation as detected by sequencing, provided greater discrimination between isolates than either MLST of housekeeping genes or PFGE. Amplification of prophage loci alone separated serovar Typhimurium isolates into 27 groups comprising multiple isolates or individual strains. Sequencing of isolates found within the clusters separated isolates even further. By contrast, PFGE could only divide the 73 isolates into five distinct groups. MLST using housekeeping genes did not provide any significant separation of isolates in comparison to amplification or MLST of prophage loci. The results demonstrate that the amplification and sequencing of prophage loci provides a high-resolution, objective method for the discrimination of closely related isolates of serovar Typhimurium. It is proposed that multiple amplification of phage locus typing may provide sufficient discrimination for epidemiological purposes without recourse to MLST.
Vega-informed trading and options market reform

ABSTRACT This study examines the effect of reform to the KOSPI200 options market on volatility trading. We find that the information quality of net volatility demand significantly changes after the reform. The overall options demand for volatility does not predict spot market volatility before the market reform, but it does so after the reform. The significant information content of volatility trading can be attributed to the vega-weighted net demand of institutional investors.
Clade-Specific 16S Ribosomal DNA Oligonucleotides Reveal the Predominance of a Single Marine Synechococcus Clade throughout a Stratified Water Column in the Red Sea

ABSTRACT Phylogenetic relationships among members of the marine Synechococcus genus were determined following sequencing of the 16S ribosomal DNA (rDNA) from 31 novel cultured isolates from the Red Sea and several other oceanic environments. This revealed a large genetic diversity within the marine Synechococcus cluster consistent with earlier work but also identified three novel clades not previously recognized. Phylogenetic analyses showed one clade, containing halotolerant isolates lacking phycoerythrin (PE) and including strains capable, or not, of utilizing nitrate as the sole N source, which clustered within the MC-A (Synechococcus subcluster 5.1) lineage. Two copies of the 16S rRNA gene are present in marine Synechococcus genomes, and cloning and sequencing of these copies from Synechococcus sp. strain WH 7803 and genomic information from Synechococcus sp. strain WH 8102 reveal these to be identical. Based on the 16S rDNA sequence information, clade-specific oligonucleotides for the marine Synechococcus genus were designed and their specificity was optimized. Using dot blot hybridization technology, these probes were used to determine the in situ community structure of marine Synechococcus populations in the Red Sea at the time of a Synechococcus maximum during April 1999. A predominance of genotypes representative of a single clade was found, and these genotypes were common among strains isolated into culture. Conversely, strains lacking PE, which were also relatively easily isolated into culture, represented only a minor component of the Synechococcus population. Genotypes corresponding to well-studied laboratory strains also appeared to be poorly represented in this stratified water column in the Red Sea.
Statistical analysis of harmonic distortion in a differential bootstrapped sample and hold circuit

The bootstrap technique is known to increase the linearity of Sample and Hold (S/H) circuit by reducing the input signal dependency of the transistor-switch resistance. But some nonlinearities remain due to parasitic capacitances, mobility degradation and back gate effect resulting in a second order harmonic spurious which can be reduced with a differential architecture. However mismatch between channels limits this technique. In this paper, we provide a general framework to analyze the residual nonlinearity in bootstrapped S/H. Statistical laws are also provided converting harmonic distortion specifications into matching requirements for differential sampling and therefore provide key rules for S/H designers.
Dietary fibre, whole grains, and risk of colorectal cancer: systematic review and dose-response meta-analysis of prospective studies

Objective To investigate the association between intake of dietary fibre and whole grains and risk of colorectal cancer. Design Systematic review and meta-analysis of prospective observational studies. Data sources PubMed and several other databases up to December 2010 and the reference lists of studies included in the analysis as well as those listed in published meta-analyses. Study selection Prospective cohort and nested case-control studies of dietary fibre or whole grain intake and incidence of colorectal cancer. Results 25 prospective studies were included in the analysis. The summary relative risk of developing colorectal cancer for 10 g daily of total dietary fibre (16 studies) was 0.90 (95% confidence interval 0.86 to 0.94, I2=0%), for fruit fibre (n=9) was 0.93 (0.82 to 1.05, I2=23%), for vegetable fibre (n=9) was 0.98 (0.91 to 1.06, I2=0%), for legume fibre (n=4) was 0.62 (0.27 to 1.42, I2=58%), and for cereal fibre (n=8) was 0.90 (0.83 to 0.97, I2=0%). The summary relative risk for an increment of three servings daily of whole grains (n=6) was 0.83 (0.78 to 0.89, I2=18%). Conclusion A high intake of dietary fibre, in particular cereal fibre and whole grains, was associated with a reduced risk of colorectal cancer. Further studies should report more detailed results, including those for subtypes of fibre and be stratified by other risk factors to rule out residual confounding. Further assessment of the impact of measurement errors on the risk estimates is also warranted.
The search for genes contributing to endometriosis risk.

BACKGROUND Genetic variation contributes to the risk of developing endometriosis. This review summarizes gene mapping studies in endometriosis and the prospects of finding gene pathways contributing to disease using the latest genome-wide strategies. METHODS To identify candidate-gene association studies of endometriosis, a systematic literature search was conducted in PubMed of publications up to 1 April 2008, using the search terms 'endometriosis' plus 'allele' or 'polymorphism' or 'gene'. Papers included were those with information on both case and control selection, showed allelic and/or genotypic results for named germ-line polymorphisms and were published in the English language. RESULTS Genetic variants in 76 genes have been examined for association, but none shows convincing evidence of replication in multiple studies. There is evidence for genetic linkage to chromosomes 7 and 10, but the genes (or variants) in these regions contributing to disease risk have yet to be identified. Genome-wide association is a powerful method that has been successful in locating genetic variants contributing to a range of common diseases. Several groups are planning these studies in endometriosis. For this to be successful, the endometriosis research community must work together to genotype sufficient cases, using clearly defined disease classifications, and conduct the necessary replication studies in several thousands of cases and controls. CONCLUSIONS Genes with convincing evidence for association with endometriosis are likely to be identified in large genome-wide studies. This will provide a starting point for functional and biological studies to develop better diagnosis and treatment for this debilitating disease.
Querying Semantic Knowledge Bases with SQL-on-Hadoop

The constant growth of semantically-annotated data and an increasing interest in cross-domain knowledge bases raises the need for expressive query languages for RDF and novel approaches that enable their evaluation for web-scale data sizes. However, SPARQL, the W3C standard query language for RDF, suffers from a rather limited capability to express navigational queries. More expressive languages have been theoretically studied, however not implemented. In this paper, we continue our work on TRIAL-QL, an expressive (SQL-like) RDF query language based on the Triple Algebra with Recursion [31]. We present a new version of our TRIAL-QL processor, which takes advantage of the current momentum in in-memory SQL-on-Hadoop solutions and is built on top of Impala and SPARK while using one unified data storage. We use our system to study the application of multiple evaluation algorithms, storage strategies and optimizations on Impala and SPARK while highlighting their properties. Comprehensive experiments examine the performance of our system in comparison to other competitive RDF management systems. The obtained results demonstrate its suitability for querying semantic knowledge bases by providing interactive query response times for selective queries on datasets with more than one billion triple. More data-intensive use-cases that produce, e.g. over 25 billion results finished in the order of minutes.
A selective autophagy pathway that degrades gluconeogenic enzymes during catabolite inactivation

In Saccharomyces cerevisiae, glucose starvation induces key gluconeogenic enzymes such as fructose-1,6-bisphosphatase (FBPase), malate dehydrogenase (MDH2) and phosphoenolpyruvate carboxykinase, while glucose addition inactivates these enzymes. Significant progress has been made identifying mechanisms that mediate the “catabolite inactivation” of FBPase and MDH2. For example, the site of their degradation has been shown to change, depending on the duration of starvation. When glucose is added to short-termed starved cells, these proteins are degraded in the proteasome. However, when glucose is added to long-termed starved cells, they are degraded in the vacuole by a selective autophagy pathway. For the vacuole pathway, these proteins are first imported into novel vesicles called Vid (vacuole import and degradation) vesicles. Following import, Vid vesicles merge with the endocytic pathway. Future experiments will be directed at understanding the molecular mechanisms that regulate the switch from proteasomal to vacuolar degradation and determining the site of Vid vesicle biogenesis.
The blood vessel as a target organ in hypertension: protective effect of perindopril.

The main target organ in untreated arterial hypertension (HTA) is the blood vessel wall (BVW) of the high pressure system (conductance and resistance arteries), which is primarily responsible for vital organ integrity. Three major structural changes develop in the BVW in experimental and human HTA: hypertrophy of the smooth muscle (increased thickness of the media), reduction in the amount of elastin and increased interstitial collagen deposition. The latter two structural changes are responsible for the increased stiffness (reduced compliance) that characterizes the BVW in untreated HTA. Angiotensin II, endothelins, nitric oxide, local growth factors (fibroblast-derived growth factor, platelet-derived growth factor, transforming growth factor-beta) and metalloproteinases are involved in BVW remodelling, and represent potential targets for drug action. Angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE) inhibitors are particularly suited for such actions via their angiotensin II-, bradykinin- and/or interstitial metalloproteinases-dependent actions. Unfortunately, limited data are available on BVW protection with conventional ACE inhibitors. The new ACE inhibitor perindopril differs from most others in terms of BVW protection. In carefully designed morphometric experiments, perindopril has been shown to reduce vascular smooth muscle hypertrophy and to normalize the elastin:collagen ratio in the BVW of hypertensive rats. It has been shown that perindopril is unique in that respect since isradipine, metoprolol, hydralazine and captopril all failed to normalize the media:lumen ratio in the hypertensive rat. The functional counterpart of these in vitro structural findings obtained with perindopril has been demonstrated in human HTA patients; increased brachial artery diameter and compliance were observed after three weeks of perindopril. (ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)