Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Nutrition assessment in children with sickle cell disease.

Children with sickle cell disease have decreased height and weight when compared with their peers. Although exact reasons for poor growth have not been established, increased calorie and protein needs and deficiencies in zinc, folic acid, and vitamins A, C, and E may be factors. To determine whether inadequate nutrient intake contributes to this poor growth, we conducted a survey of the nutrition knowledge and practices of families affected by sickle cell disease. Sixty-one patients with a median age of 8 years (range, 13 months to 17 years) participated in the study. Patients with homozygous S hemoglobin (sickle cell) disease (Hb SS, n = 34) and sickle beta zero thalassemia (Hb S beta zero-thalassemia, n = 2) were combined; 19% were below the fifth percentile for height. The other patients, with sickle hemoglobin C disease (Hb SC, n = 21) and sickle beta plus thalassemia (Hb beta(+)-thalassemia, n = 4), were grouped, and 4% were below the fifth percentile for height (P = .043). Ninety percent of the study patients or their parents were familiar with the food groups indicated on the US Department of Agriculture's Food Guide Pyramid, but most patients failed to consume appropriate amounts from those groups. Although two thirds of the patients ate the recommended number of servings daily from the meat group, only 20% to 31% of the recommended servings from each of the other food groups was consumed. This was possibly related to low socioeconomic status. The patients in the Hb SS group ate significantly less from the bread (P < .037) and milk (P < .022) categories than the patients in the Hb SC group. Fifty-nine percent of families had incomes below the poverty level, and 79% participated in a food assistance program. We conclude that the nutrient intake of patients with sickle cell disease is often inadequate. Education for patients with sickle cell disease should focus on (1) specific nutrient needs, with proper distribution of dietary intake among the food groups, (2) ways to provide nutritious meals on a limited income, and (3) methods for increasing calorie and protein intake.
A product centric examination of PD/SC alignment decisions at the nexus of product development and supply chains

Purpose This study applies a product centric view to examine three product development (PD) decisions that relate to a new product and its supply chain (SC): product design, sourcing strategy and product delivery strategy (PDS). The purpose of this paper is to expand the understanding of alignment decisions in this area to include concurrent compatibility between product design, SC strategy and market conditions. Design/methodology/approach The study leverages existing theory to identify the key dimensions of alignment between product design, SC strategy and market conditions in a conceptual model. Using survey data from 124 new PD projects collected from various industries, the authors then empirically test the impact of multiple alignment decisions on new product introductions (NPIs) performance. Findings The results suggest that one specific project-level design parameter (interface intensity) is a key alignment dimension for product design decisions. Specifically, the authors find that alignment between interface intensity and sourcing strategy, as well as between interface intensity and clock-speed improves NPI performance. Additionally, the authors find evidence that three-way alignment between PDS, interface intensity and market volatility will benefit NPI performance. Research limitations/implications Because the study is cross-sectional and conducted at the project level, future work should continue this line of inquiry with longitudinal exams and across a families of development projects. Practical implications The findings inform the deliberate management of the PD/SC interface and provide managers with quantitative benefits of concurrent alignment decisions. Originality/value This study identifies and addresses important deficits in the understanding of concurrent alignment between product design, SC strategy and market conditions.
Industry Momentum Strategy in Malaysian Stock Market

Momentum strategy is applied in the stock market by buying past winners and selling past losers. In this study, the profitability of industry momentum strategy will be explored for Malaysian stock market. The motivation of this study arises from the notion that industry momentum is more significant than individual stocks momentum strategy. We use monthly data of 24 Malaysian industry sector indices from January 2008 to December 2012. The results indicate that industry momentum strategy is profitable in Malaysian market and most of the profit is derived from long position of winners while the losers do not contribute to the profitability of momentum strategy. Also, this study shows that systematic risk, measured by beta, cannot explain the industry momentum strategy in Malaysia. This evidence may suggest that Malaysian market is not weak form efficient as past prices could be utilized by investors to reap abnormal profit following industry momentum strategy.
Rapid Estimation of Numbers of Fecal Bacteroidetes by Use of a Quantitative PCR Assay for 16S rRNA Genes

ABSTRACT Assessment of health risk associated with fecal pollution requires a reliable fecal indicator and a rapid quantification method. We report the development of a Taq nuclease assay for enumeration of 16S rRNA genes of Bacteroidetes. Sensitivity and correlation with standard fecal indicators provide experimental evidence for application of the assay in monitoring fecal pollution.
Gravity-regulated differential auxin transport from columella to lateral root cap cells

Gravity-induced root curvature has long been considered to be regulated by differential distribution of the plant hormone auxin. However, the cells establishing these gradients, and the transport mechanisms involved, remain to be identified. Here, we describe a GFP-based auxin biosensor to monitor auxin during Arabidopsis root gravitropism at cellular resolution. We identify elevated auxin levels at the root apex in columella cells, the site of gravity perception, and an asymmetric auxin flux from these cells to the lateral root cap (LRC) and toward the elongation zone after gravistimulation. We differentiate between an efflux-dependent lateral auxin transport from columella to LRC cells, and an efflux- and influx-dependent basipetal transport from the LRC to the elongation zone. We further demonstrate that endogenous gravitropic auxin gradients develop even in the presence of an exogenous source of auxin. Live-cell auxin imaging provides unprecedented insights into gravity-regulated auxin flux at cellular resolution, and strongly suggests that this flux is a prerequisite for root gravitropism.
[Effect of storax on concentration of sulpiride in brain and blood by MD-HPLC].

OBJECTIVE To observe the effect of traditional Chinese medicine storax on the concentration of combined western medicine sulpiride in brain and blood, discuss the effect of storax in inducing resuscitation and increasing the permeability of the gastrointestinal barrier (GB) and the blood-brain-barrier (BBB), and explore the interaction between storax and sulpiride. METHOD Rats were orally administered with the drugs for one week, probes were implanted in their brains and necks by surgery. After balance for 60 min, brain microdialysis and blood microdialysis were adopted for collect dislysates from blood in right atrum and cerebral hippocampus at time periods of 30, 60, 90, 120, 150, 180 min. The concentration of sulpirde in the samples was detected by RP-HPLC. Statistical approaches were adopted to compare the contents of sulpirde in brain and blood of the two groups. RESULT The sulpiride combined with storax group showed a significant higher concentration of sulpiride than the pure sulpiride group. The pure sulpiride group showed a concentration ratio between sulpiride in brain and blood of 1:0.2; while the sulpiride combined with storax group increased the concentration ratio between sulpiride in brain and blood to 1:0.3. Compared with the pure sulpiride group, the sulpiride combined with storax group showed an increase of concentration by 39% in brain and 69% in blood. CONCLUSION Storax can notably increase the concentration of sulpiride in rat brain and blood, indicating that it can increase the permeation of sulpiride through gastrointestinal barrier and BBB. This study reveals the mechanism of storax in inducing resuscitation by promoting the permeation through gastrointestinal barrier and BBB.
Efficiency of Stock Market

This study has tested the semi-strong form of efficient market hypothesis by examining the stock price responses to quarterly earnings announcements. The sample consists of 156 companies listed on Bombay Stock Exchange, India. The companies are divided into three portfolios, good news, bad news and overall portfolio on the basis of percentage changes in quarterly earnings and sales. We use raw and log returns, market model, event study methodology, t-test, runs test and sign test. This study presents results on stock price responses to quarterly earnings announcements and seasonal analysis. For all the three portfolios under market model with raw returns and market model with log returns stock price behaviour around quarterly earnings on an average produced abnormal returns in pre-and post-announcement periods. Further, the abnormal returns were found to persist up to 31 trading days after the quarterly earnings announcement. The results indicate that the stock price adjustment to the event is delayed and persists throughout the event window. Therefore, the results of this study show that Indian stock market is not efficient in semi-strong form.
Nasopharyngeal metastasis of breast carcinoma with HER 2 discordance: a case report

A 52-year-old woman presents with a 4-year history of nasal obstruction, rhinorrhoea and anosmia progressing rapidly over the preceding months to epiphora and intermittent right facial paraesthesia. This is on the background of a right triple-negative breast cancer 5 years prior with subsequent confirmation as a BRCA1 mutation carrier. Her primary breast cancer was a high-grade T2N3aM0 infiltrating ductal carcinoma with a triple-negative phenotype, commonly seen in BRCA1 mutation patients. Her primary treatment was breast conserving surgery, axillary clearance and adjuvant chemotherapy and radiotherapy. After her genetic status was identified she underwent bilateral mastectomy and salpingo-oophorectomy. She was considered disease free after 4.5 years and was exploring breast reconstructive options when her nasal symptoms deteriorated. Examination revealed bilateral nasal obstruction with irregular, polypoid nasal masses and right-sided proptosis without cervical lymphadenopathy. Nasendoscopy demonstrated a mainly rightsided irregular mass with a friable appearance posteriorly (Fig. 1). A computed tomography sinuses demonstrated erosion of the skull base and with contrast demonstrated extensive anterior cranial fossa involvement (Fig. 2). A magnetic resonance image was contraindicated due to the nature of her breast expanders. A surgical biopsy confirmed poorly differentiated carcinoma with immunohistochemistry stains suggesting an unexpected metastasis from breast carcinoma. Immunoperoxidase studies revealed the tumour was cytokeratin 7 positive, oestrogen receptor (ER) negative, progesterone receptor (PR) negative and HER 2 focally strongly (3+) immunoreactive (Fig. 3). Fluorescence in situ hybridization for HER 2 (Abbot Molecular Pathyvision LSI HER 2/CEP17) revealed amplification consistent with the immunoreaction strength. Review of the original pathology from an outside pathology practice revealed a primary grade 3 infiltrating duct carcinoma of breast with a similar morphology, also ER negative and PR negative but HER 2 negative on in situ hybridization. Further staging scans unfortunately revealed rapidly progressive liver and lung metastases. This case was discussed with the Department of Anatomical Pathology as part of a multidisciplinary meeting. Development of HER 2 amplification in a metastasis is an uncommon but reported finding.
A Natural Image Pointillism with Controlled Ellipse Dots

This paper presents an image-based artistic rendering algorithm for the automatic Pointillism style. At first, ellipse dot locations are randomly generated based on a source image; then dot orientations are precalculated with help of a direction map; a saliency map of the source image decides long and short radius of the ellipse dot. At last, the rendering runs layer-by-layer from large size dots to small size dots so as to reserve the detailed parts of the image. Although only ellipse dot shape is adopted, the final Pointillism style performs well because of variable characteristics of the dot.
Preliminary photoacoustic imaging of the human radial artery for simultaneous assessment of red blood cell aggregation and oxygen saturation in vivo

The main role of red blood cell (RBC) is oxygen delivery to body tissues via blood flow. When flowing blood is exposed to stasis or low shear rate (the radial gradient of velocity profile) in blood vessels, RBCs become aggregated resulting in alterations of blood viscosity affecting blood flow dynamics. Our group demonstrated that lower shear rate yielded greater aggregation and a higher PA signal while higher shear rates led to disaggregation thereby decreasing the PA signal amplitude (Bok et al., Biomed. Opt. Express, 2016). In this way, the relation between oxygen saturation (sO2) and RBC aggregation may provide a new biomarker in diagnosis of blood flow. In this paper, we present a pilot study where high-frequency photoacoustic imaging (PAI) is used to for the simultaneous assessment of RBC aggregation and sO2 in vivo from the human radial artery (RA).
Social franchising evaluations: a scoping review.

Background: Social franchising developed as a possible means of improving the provision of non-state-sector health services in low- and middle-income countries. The objective of this systematic review was to examine the scope and nature of existing research literature on social franchising interventions including reach implementation sustainability and goals in health service delivery. Methods: A rigorous search strategy was run in nine major databases including Medline Embase and CINAHL. Grey literature was also searched. All types of evaluative study designs were eligible for inclusion. Existing data abstraction and analysis tools were used. The AMSTAR measurement tool was applied to assess the quality of included systematic reviews. Framework analysis was chosen for synthesising qualitative and quantitative research. Results: Twelve studies were included in this review: three systematic reviews and nine primary studies. Social franchising has been evaluated in Asia and Africa particularly from low-income countries. Most studies focused on reproductive health and family planning. We found a paucity of rigorous study designs so the evidence supporting social franchising is weak. Across settings the government continues to have the highest volume of clients for family planning and other services; however franchises do better than non-franchised private providers in terms of client volume. The clients of social franchises are satisfied with the quality of care and consistently report an intent to return. Conclusions: Given that social franchising remains an area of great interest and investment we recommend evaluations of implementation processes and sustainability and more rigorous evaluations of the effects of different models.
MicroRNA-21 with therapeutic potential in autoimmune diseases

Introduction: Small, non-coding, microRNAs (miRNAs) have emerged as key mediators of post-transcriptional gene silencing in both pathogenic and pathological aspects of disorders. Recently, miR-21 was identified to regulate a variety of immune cells. Functional analysis indicated that miR-21 played a crucial role in a plethora of biological functions and diseases including development, cancer and inflammation, especially correlated with the pathogenesis of autoimmune diseases. Areas covered: This review provides a comprehensive view on the association of miR-21 and autoimmune disorders, such as type 1 diabetes, multiple sclerosis, systemic lupus erythematosus, systemic sclerosis and psoriasis. Especially the mechanisms of miR-21 perform in these diseases, and the mechanisms that regulate miR-21. Expert opinion: Though the exact roles of miR-21 in autoimmune diseases have not been fully elucidated, targeting miR-21 may serve as a promising therapy strategy.
Investigation of doped a-Si1−xCx:H as a novel back contact material for CdTe solar cells

Wide band-gap, p-type doped, hydrogenated amorphous silicon-carbon alloy (a-Si1-xCx:H:B) layers deposited by plasma enhanced chemical vapor deposition (PECVD) under conditions that yield efficient hydrogenated amorphous silicon (a-Si:H) p-i-n solar cells have been applied as back contacts to sputter-deposited CdTe superstrate solar cells. We report a maximum observed Voc of 0.78 V and a best initial efficiency of ~ 7.7 % (relative to an ~ 12% standard cell baseline) without the introduction of Cu into the back contact region. We studied the stability of the best performing cells over a two year time period and found that although Voc is relatively stable, the series resistance of the cells increased significantly leading to fill-factor degradation. The role of hydrogen loss from the back contact layer via diffusion into the CdTe absorber is explored as a possible cause of this degradation. In related investigations, we have found that the effect of in-diffusing H on the CdTe solar cell performance is detrimental, as observed from a brief (~ 15 s) exposure of CdTe to a low power H2 plasma between the treatment by CdCl2 and the application of standard Cu/Au back contacts. This detrimental effect of H in the fabrication of the back contact layer from hydride gases, and the subsequent instability of the back contact itself, were found to be significant challenges encountered in this investigation.
String mitochondria in mouse soleus muscle

Red myofibers in mouse soleus muscle have two spatially distinct populations of mitochondria: one where these organelles are disposed in large clusters just inside the sarcolemma and the other situated between the myofibrils. In most cases, the interfibrillar mitochondria (IFM), which are much smaller than the subsarcolemmal ones (SSM), are arranged as pairs, with each member on opposite sides of the Z‐line. In some myofibers, the IFM have fused end‐to‐end to form greatly elongated organelles, which we call “string mitochondria. ” Although narrow, these can be many sarcomeres in length. The SSM do not form string mitochondria. Most of the string mitochondria exhibit many instances of “pinching,” a process involved in mitochondrial division. Elements of sarcoplasmic reticulum are intimately involved with each mitochondrial membrane invagination. It appears as if the fusion:fission balance of IFM in the soleus muscle is slightly out of kilter, with end‐to‐end fusion predominating over fission. Microsc. Res. Tech. 76:237–241, 2013. © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
DENSITY‐DEPENDENT EVOLUTION OF LIFE‐HISTORY TRAITS IN DROSOPHILA MELANOGASTER

Populations of Drosophila melanogaster were maintained for 36 generations in r‐ and K‐selected environments in order to test the life‐history predictions of theories on density‐dependent selection. In the r‐selection environment, populations were reduced to low densities by density‐independent adult mortality, whereas populations in the K‐selection environment were maintained at their carrying capacity. Some of the experimental results support the predictions or r‐ and K‐selection theory; relative to the r‐selected populations, the K‐selected populations evolved an increased larval‐to‐adult viability, larger body size, and longer development time at high larval densities. Mueller and Ayala (1981) found that K‐selected populations also have a higher rate of population growth at high densities. Other predictions of the thoery are contradicted by the lack of differences between the r and K populations in adult longevity and fecundity and a slower rate of development for r‐selected individuals at low densities.
Quasinormal modes of plane-symmetric anti-de Sitter black holes: A Complete analysis of the gravitational perturbations

We study in detail the quasinormal modes of linear gravitational perturbations of plane-symmetric anti-de Sitter black holes. The wave equations are obtained by means of the Newman-Penrose formalism and the Chandrasekhar transformation theory. We show that oscillatory modes decay exponentially with time such that these black holes are stable against gravitational perturbations. Our numerical results show that in the large (small) black hole regime the frequencies of the ordinary quasinormal modes are proportional to the horizon radius r{sub +} (wave number k). The frequency of the purely damped mode is very close to the algebraically special frequency in the small horizon limit, and goes as ik{sup 2}/3r{sub +} in the opposite limit. This result is confirmed by an analytical method based on the power series expansion of the frequency in terms of the horizon radius. The same procedure applied to the Schwarzschild anti-de Sitter spacetime proves that the purely damped frequency goes as i(l-1)(l+2)/3r{sub +}, where l is the quantum number characterizing the angular distribution. Finally, we study the limit of high overtones and find that the frequencies become evenly spaced in this regime. The spacing of the frequency per unit horizon radius seems to be a universal quantity, inmore » the sense that it is independent of the wave number, perturbation parity, and black hole size. « less
Trisomy 18: A survey of opinions, attitudes, and practices of neonatologists

We conducted a survey‐based study of the opinions, attitudes, and management practices of neonatologists across the United States regarding prenatally diagnosed Trisomy 18. The survey was designed based on previously validated surveys of severe fetal anomalies and collected demographic information on participants, as well as their attitudes, and management choices given a series of vignettes beginning in the prenatal period. The survey was sent to 3,143 American Academy of Pediatrics Section on Neonatal‐Perinatal Medicine members of which 409 (13%) completed the survey. While the response rate was rather low, our respondent pool was representative of the national neonatologist population. Respondents were predominately white (81%), married (88%), Christian (54%), had children (86%), and were pro‐choice in terms of abortion (68%). Eighty‐three percent (83%) of respondents thought that trisomy 18 is a lethal condition and 60% thought that treatment is futile. Seventy‐five percent (75%) expected that the best neurodevelopmental outcome in the case of infant survival would be profound intellectual disability. Regarding neonatal care, 95% stated that they would recommend palliative care only. Ninety‐five percent (95%) would never recommend or recommend only if asked full code resuscitation for a neonate with full trisomy 18, yet, 44% would comply partially or in full with a full code request for resuscitation measures. The demographic features that correlated most significantly with these responses were clinician race and years in practice. The attitudes toward and management of infants affected with trisomy 18 seem to be largely driven by parental attitudes and wishes. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.