Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
An Empirical Literature Survey of Islamic Banking

This article reviews empirical studies on Islamic banking and concentrates on their main findings while highlighting future research directions. The earlier literature of Islamic banking built a foundation using normative judgment, descriptive analysis, theoretical development, and appraisal of country experiences. Subsequent research focuses on the empirical investigations without extensive analytical and theoretical exploration in the area. Recent studies focus on the financial crisis, solvency, disclosure, and financial inclusion. Even with the spillover effect on the Islamic banks after the crisis, few pieces of evidence shows that the system performs less than a conventional counterpart. The paper discusses relevant issues to Islamic banking and identifies other avenues for future research.
The Timing of Breast Irradiation in Two‐Stage Expander/Implant Breast Reconstruction

Certain patients who initiate expander/implant (E/I) reconstruction following mastectomy may require radiation therapy (XRT). XRT may be delivered during the tissue expander (TE) expansion process or after exchange for a permanent implant (PI). We studied a series of women treated with E/I reconstruction and XRT to determine whether there is a difference in complication rates between those who had XRT to the TE versus PI. All two‐stage E/I reconstructions at our institution from April 2005 to January 2013 were reviewed to identify patients who underwent XRT after TE placement. Our database was queried for reconstructive details, oncologic treatment, and complications. Statistical analyses were performed to establish significance of complication rate differences. Fifty‐two patients underwent XRT after TE placement, 42 of which had XRT to the TE and 11 of which had XRT to the PI. The major complication rates (complications requiring emergent reoperation/readmission) were 27% versus 0% (p = 0.05) for XRT to the TE versus XRT to the PI, but there were no significant differences in minor complication rates (outpatient complications). Specifically, the rates of Grade 3/4 capsular contracture were similar between the two groups, 27% for the XRT to the TE group and 36% for the XRT to the PI group. Radiation of the PI versus radiation of the TE did not result in significant differences in overall surgical complication rates but had fewer major complications and no implant failures. Other factors must also be considered, such as patient preference, risk of cancer reoccurrence, and cosmesis. It is essential for a patient to have a team of a plastic surgeon and radiation, surgical, and medical oncologists working together to achieve each patient's goals.
Regression of Calcium Channel Blocker--Induced Gingival Enlargement in the Absence of Periodontal Therapy.

AIM To illustrate the negative effect of calcium channel blocker (CCB) drugs on the gingival tissues and the reversibility of these lesions. CASE DESCRIPTION The authors examined a forty-eight year-old male patient with drug-induced gingival enlargement associated with diltiazem, a CCB drug. Prior to initiating the proposed periodontal treatment, the patient was advised to consult his physician, for a possible switch to a different anti-hypertensive drug. The patient returned to the clinic three months later with a significant regression of the gingival overgrowth, which was induced by the patient ceasing the prescribed regimen without medical consultation or periodontal intervention. CONCLUSION Although CCBs are effective cardiovascular drugs, they can negatively impact the oral health by promoting gingival overgrowth in some patients. Substitution of these drugs is strongly recommended prior to any periodontal intervention in order to improve prognosis and prevent recurrence, and should be done only by the medical providers.
HEPATIC INJURY AND LIPID PEROXIDATION DURING ISCHEMIA AND REPERFUSION

ABSTRACT We determined the relationship between lipid peroxidation and alterations in hepatic secretory and microsomal function during various periods of hepatic ischemia/reperfusion. Rats were pretreated with a‐tocopherol or vehicle and then subjected to 30, 60, and 90 min, no‐flow hepatic ischemia in vivo with 1 or 5 h of reperfusion. Serum aminotransferase (ALT) level, wet‐dry weight ratio, and lipid peroxidation were increased at 1 and 5 h of reperfusion, and these changes were significantly attenuated by &agr;‐tocopherol. Na+, K+‐ATPase activity, and glucose‐6‐phosphatase activity were significantly decreased in 90‐min ischemic rats, and these decreases were ameliorated by a‐tocopherol. After 90 min of ischemia, bile flow, cholate output, and bilirubin output were markedly decreased by ischemia/reperfusion, and &agr;‐tocopherol restored the secretion. Cytochrome P450 content was decreased by ischemia/reperfusion and restored by a‐tocopherol to the level of that found in the sham‐operated group. Aminopyrine N‐demethylase activity was decreased, and aniline p‐hydroxylase was increased in 60‐min ischemic rats. The changes in the activities of the two enzymes were prevented by &agr;‐tocopherol. Our findings suggest that ischemia/reperfusion diminishes hepatic secretory functions and microsomal drug metabolizing systems in proportion to the duration of ischemia and reperfusion in vivo, and this is associated with increased lipid peroxidation.
Sources of Listeria monocytogenes Contamination in a Cold-Smoked Rainbow Trout Processing Plant Detected by Pulsed-Field Gel Electrophoresis Typing

ABSTRACT Sites of Listeria monocytogenes contamination in a cold-smoked rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss) processing plant were detected by sampling the production line, environment, and fish at different production stages. Two lots were monitored. The frequency of raw fish samples containing L. monocytogenes was low. During processing, the frequency of fish contaminated with L. monocytogenes clearly rose after brining, and the most contaminated sites of the processing plant were the brining and postbrining areas. A total of 303 isolates from the raw fish, product, and the environment were characterized by pulsed-field gel electrophoresis (PFGE). PFGE yielded nine pulsotypes, which formed four clusters. The predominating L. monocytogenespulsotypes of the final product were associated with brining and slicing, whereas contaminants of raw fish were not detected in the final product. Air-mediated contamination in the plant could not be proved. In accordance with these results, an L. monocytogenes eradication program was planned. The use of hot steam, hot air, and hot water seemed to be useful in eliminatingL. monocytogenes. None of the control samples taken in the 5 months after the eradication program was implemented containedL. monocytogenes.
Maternal mosaicism is a significant contributor to discordant sex chromosomal aneuploidies associated with noninvasive prenatal testing.

BACKGROUND In the human fetus, sex chromosome aneuploidies (SCAs) are as prevalent as the common autosomal trisomies 21, 18, and 13. Currently, most noninvasive prenatal tests (NIPTs) offer screening only for chromosomes 21, 18, and 13, because the sensitivity and specificity are markedly higher than for the sex chromosomes. Limited studies suggest that the reduced accuracy associated with detecting SCAs is due to confined placental, placental, or true fetal mosaicism. We hypothesized that an altered maternal karyotype may also be an important contributor to discordant SCA NIPT results. METHODS We developed a rapid karyotyping method that uses massively parallel sequencing to measure the degree of chromosome mosaicism. The method was validated with DNA models mimicking XXX and XO mosaicism and then applied to maternal white blood cell (WBC) DNA from patients with discordant SCA NIPT results. RESULTS Sequencing karyotyping detected chromosome X (ChrX) mosaicism as low as 5%, allowing an accurate assignment of the maternal X karyotype. In a prospective NIPT study, we showed that 16 (8.6%) of 181 positive SCAs were due to an abnormal maternal ChrX karyotype that masked the true contribution of the fetal ChrX DNA fraction. CONCLUSIONS The accuracy of NIPT for ChrX and ChrY can be improved substantially by integrating the results of maternal-plasma sequencing with those for maternal-WBC sequencing. The relatively high frequency of maternal mosaicism warrants mandatory WBC testing in both shotgun sequencing- and single-nucleotide polymorphism-based clinical NIPT after the finding of a potential fetal SCA.
Positron emission tomographic studies in aging and cerebrovascular disease at hammersmith hospital

This paper attempts to place into perspective the present state of clinical investigation with PET in neurology. To this end we briefly review the work of the neurology group of the MRC Cyclotron Unit at Hammersmith Hospital, by reference to studies performed in normal subjects and in patients with cerebrovascular disease. Based on the current understanding of human physiology in health and disease as a result of this new method of clinical measurement in humans, we speculate on some possible future developments and present constraints in the application of PET to clinical research.
Analysis of spectrogram image methods for sound event classification

The time-frequency spectrogram representation of an audio signal can be visually analysed by a trained researcher to recognise any underlying sound events in a process called “spectro-gram reading”. However, this has not become a popular approach for automatic classiﬁcation, as the ﬁeld is driven by Automatic Speech Recognition (ASR) where frame-based features are popular. As opposed to speech, sound events typically have a more distinctive time-frequency representation, with the energy concentrated in a small number of spectral components. This makes them more suitable for classiﬁcation based on their visual signature, and enables inspiration to be found in techniques from the related ﬁeld of image processing. Recently, there have been a range of techniques that extract image processing-inspired features from the spectrogram for sound event classiﬁcation. In this paper, we introduce the idea and structure behind six recent spectrogram image methods and analyse their performance on a large database containing 50 different environmental sounds to give a standardised comparison that is not often available in sound event classiﬁcation tasks.
Anti-HIV-1 activity of leflunomide: a comparison with mycophenolic acid and hydroxyurea

Background: Leflunomide inhibits de novo pyrimidine synthesis by inhibiting the activity of dihydroorotic acid dehydrogenase and has other immunomodulatory properties that make it a promising candidate for an anti-HIV drug. Objectives: To compare the anti-HIV activity of leflunomide with that of the immunomodulatory drugs hydroxyurea and mycophenolic acid; to assess whether there is an additive or synergistic effect when leflunomide is used in conjunction with mycophenolic acid; and to characterize the molecular mechanism of the anti-HIV activity of leflunomide. Methods: Anti-HIV activity was examined in peripheral blood mononuclear cells. CD4 cell survival was examined in tonsillar lymphocytes by fluorescence-activating cell sorting. Results: Leflunomide decreased HIV replication by approximately 75% at concentrations that can be obtained with conventional dosing. This activity was similar to that of hydroxyurea but superior to mycophenolic acid. Leflunomide and mycophenolic acid together have modest additive anti-HIV effects. Restoration of HIV replication by uridine indicates that leflunomide's primary mechanism at lower concentrations is inhibition of dihydroorotic acid dehydrogenase while at higher concentrations additional mechanisms may be involved. Conclusions: Leflunomide's anti-HIV activity and clinical profile make it an attractive candidate for further study of its effects. Since HIV RNA levels are an effective predictor of AIDS-free survival, leflunomide's partial suppression of HIV RNA may be valuable in certain patients.
Beta-adrenergic modulation of fast inward sodium current in canine myocardium. Syncytial preparations versus isolated myocytes.

Reports have suggested that the fast inward sodium current (INa) in cardiac tissues may be modulated by beta-adrenergic stimulation and that such modulation may affect conduction in the setting of myocardial ischemia and infarction. However, many of these studies have used dissociated myocytes or broken cell preparations, whose responses need not necessarily reflect those of syncytial preparations. To investigate further the possibility that beta-adrenergic stimulation of INa may differ in various preparations, we compared the effects of the beta-agonist isoproterenol (ISO) on syncytial canine Purkinje fibers and ventricular muscle preparations, as well as isolated ventricular myocytes. Alterations of the maximum rate of rise of the action potential upstroke (Vmax) were used as an index of changes of INa. ISO (1 microM) had no effect on Vmax of upstrokes of normally polarized (fast responses) or partially depolarized (elevated [K+]o, depressed fast responses) syncytial ventricular muscle preparations or Purkinje fibers. In contrast, lower concentrations of ISO (0.5-1.0 microM) modulated Vmax of isolated ventricular myocytes, depending on the technique used to monitor transmembrane potential. When 2.7 M KCl-filled microelectrodes were used, ISO reduced Vmax of partially depolarized myocytes without affecting Vmax of normally polarized myocytes. However, when myocytes were dialyzed using patch pipettes, ISO reduced Vmax of partially depolarized myocytes and increased Vmax of normally polarized myocytes, effecting a hyperpolarized shift of the normalized inactivation curve relating Vmax to resting membrane potential. The different beta-adrenergic responses of syncytial preparations and nondialyzed and dialyzed myocytes suggest that differences in the ionic or metabolic condition of the preparations likely alter cAMP-dependent responses and channel phosphorylation. (ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)
Dilation of Virchow‐Robin spaces in CADASIL

To precise the severity of dilated Virchow‐Robin spaces (VRS) in CADASIL patients and to determine their correlation with clinical presentation and other abnormalities on cerebral Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI). Dilated VRS were previously associated with aging, hypertension, dementia, epilepsy or migraine. We already reported increased frequency of enlarged VRS in CADASIL patients when compared with family members without the affected haplotype. We analysed clinical and MRI data from 50 CADASIL patients collected prospectively in our center. The presence of dilated VRS was assessed in the subcortical white matter of temporal lobes, the centrum semi‐ovale and the basal ganglia. Their severity in each region was evaluated according to the scale proposed by Heier. We compared the clinical data, the severity of white matter abnormalities and the presence of microbleeds in patients with and without dilated VRS. Seventy‐eight percent of patients in our series had dilated VRS, mostly located in the lentiform nuclei (94%) and subcortical white matter of the temporal lobes (66%). The severity of these lesions was variable but not correlated neither to the extent of white matter abnormalities nor to the clinical presentation in our patients. Only the age was found to be related to the extent of dilated VRS. Dilated VRS are frequent in CADASIL and mostly located in the temporal white matter and basal ganglia. The dilation of perivascular spaces does not seem to be directly related to the occurrence of ischemic or hemorrhagic lesions in CADASIL. In contrast, the relation with age suggests that either aging, progression of vascular wall alterations during the course of the disease, or both of these processes can favour the extension of VRS in CADASIL.
Predicting Pure Tone Thresholds in Normal and Hearing‐Impaired Ears with Distortion Product Emission and Age

Distortion product emission (DPE) growth functions, demographic data, and pure tone thresholds were recorded in 229 normal-hearing and hearing-impaired ears. Half of the data set (115 ears) was used by a discriminant analysis routine to classify DPE and demographic features into either a normal pure tone threshold (PTT) group or an impaired PIT group (PIT greater than 30 dB SPL) at six frequencies in the audiometric range. The six discriminant functions developed from this classification process were then used to predict pure tone threshold group membership in the remaining 114-ear data set. Frequency-specific prediction accuracy varied from 71% (correct classification of hearing impairment at 1025 Hz) to 92% (correct classification of normal hearing at 2050 Hz). Of the 45 DPE and demographic variables evaluated, the DPE amplitude associated with an fx of moderate level (50 dB SPL) and a frequency corresponding to pure tone threshold was generally most predictive. DPE level was found to be weakly correlated with subject age and perhaps for this reason age was frequently included in discriminant functions. For our data, discriminant functions with one variable, two variables, or 5-10 variables showed no differences in predictive performance. This research suggests that DPE measures can reliably categorize pure tone thresholds as normal or impaired in large populations with varied cochlear hearing status.
Genome-wide pharmacogenomic analysis of the response to interferon beta therapy in multiple sclerosis.

OBJECTIVE To identify promising candidate genes linked to interindividual differences in the efficacy of interferon beta therapy. Recombinant interferon beta therapy is widely used to reduce disease activity in multiple sclerosis (MS). However, up to 50% of patients continue to have relapses and worsening disability despite therapy. DESIGN We used a genome-wide pharmacogenomic approach to identify single-nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) allelic differences associated with interferon beta therapy response. SETTING Four collaborating centers in the Mediterranean Basin. Data Coordination Center at the University of California, San Francisco. PATIENTS A cohort of 206 patients with relapsing-remitting MS followed up prospectively for 2 years after initiation of treatment. INTERVENTION DNA was pooled and hybridized to Affymetrix 100K GeneChips. Pooling schemes were designed to minimize confounding batch effects and increase confidence by technical replication. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES Single-nucleotide polymorphism detection. Comparison of allelic frequencies between good responders and nonresponders to interferon beta therapy. RESULTS A multianalytical approach detected significant associations between several SNPs and treatment response, which were validated by individual DNA genotyping on an independent platform. After the validation stage was complete, 81 additional individuals were added to the analysis to increase power. We found that responders and nonresponders had significantly different genotype frequencies for SNPs located in many genes, including glypican 5, collagen type XXV alpha1, hyaluronan proteoglycan link protein, calpastatin, and neuronal PAS domain protein 3. CONCLUSIONS The reported results address the question of genetic heterogeneity in MS and the response to immunotherapy by analysis of the correlation between different genotypes and clinical response to interferon beta therapy. Many of the detected differences between responders and nonresponders were genes associated with ion channels and signal transduction pathways. The study also suggests that genetic variants in heparan sulfate proteoglycan genes may be of clinical interest in MS as predictors of the response to therapy. In addition to new insights into the mechanistic biology of interferon beta, these results help define the molecular basis of interferon beta therapy response heterogeneity.
Pseudoxanthoma elasticum lesions and cardiac complications as contributing factors for strokes in beta-thalassemia patients.

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE Pseudoxanthoma elasticum (PXE) lesions, which lead to intracranial hemorrhages and cardiac complications, predisposing to thrombotic strokes, are frequent findings in beta-thalassemia. Nevertheless, the association of these lesions with strokes in thalassemic patients has not been previously discussed. METHODS Ten beta-thalassemic patients who developed an intracranial hemorrhage or a thrombotic stroke were reviewed. RESULTS In the group of the four patients presenting with hemorrhage, one had PXE lesions, one had cardiac abnormalities, and one both PXE and cardiac disorders. In the group presenting with thrombotic stroke, all six patients had cardiac abnormalities and platelet count elevation due to splenectomy. Three also had PXE findings. No other predisposing factor for stroke was present. CONCLUSIONS Cardiac complications and PXE may be risk factors for strokes in beta-thalassemia. Their frequent coexistence leads to a therapeutic dilemma in patients requiring antithrombotic therapy.
Drug Resistance of Coliform Bacteria in Hospital and City Sewage

The number and properties of drug-resistant coliform bacteria in hospital and city sewage were compared. There was little difference in the counts of organisms with nontransferable resistance to one or more of 13 commonly used drugs. An average of 26% of coliforms in hospital waste water had transferable resistance to at least one of the drugs ampicillin, chloramphenicol, streptomycin, sulfonamide, or tetracycline as compared to an average of 4% in city sewage. R+ bacteria in the hospital discharge were also resistant to a broader spectrum of drugs than those in city sewage. In both effluents, the occurrence of fecal Escherichia coli among R+ coliforms was twice as high as among coliforms with nontransferable resistance. Resistance was transferable to Salmonella typhi, and such drug-resistant pathogens in the water environment could be of particular concern. The significance of the results with regard to environmental pollution with R+ bacteria and the dissemination of these organisms is discussed.