Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Argentina Was Not the Productivity and Economic Growth Champion of Latin America

The Kirchner administration (2002-2015) claimed that under their leadership Argentina experienced record-breaking GDP growth. However, this article shows that Argentina's GDP growth was underwhelming. Statistical estimates produced by the new Argentine government support the ARKLEMS project's evidence that the Kirchner administration overstated growth. Distortions were large and discretionary and affected all industries, independent of the downward bias of the Consumer Price Index and the Wholesale Price Index. New stylized facts counter the claims of the Kirchner administration. First, real GDP growth in the 2002-2015 period was weaker than in the 1990-1998 period. Second, GDP only grew in the subperiod 2002-2007 because of the commodities boom. Third, GDP growth in Argentina was second lowest among ten Latin American countries in the 1998-2015 period. Fourth, GDP growth during the 2002-2015 period was extensive in nature, based on factor accumulation, not total factor productivity, so was not sustainable.
Dietary diversity predicts type of medical expenditure in elders.

OBJECTIVES To assess the association between Dietary Diversity Scores (DDSs, range: 0-6 points) and medical service utilization and expenditures. STUDY DESIGN Prospective cohort study. METHODS The Elderly Nutrition and Health Survey in Taiwan (1999-2000) provided a 24-hour dietary recall for DDSs. National Health Insurance claims were linked for 1650 eligible elders. Generalized linear models were used to appraise the association between DDS and annual medical utilization and expenditures. RESULTS Those with a higher DDS had lower medical service utilization and expenditures for emergencies and hospitalization. After adjustment for potential confounders, emergency and hospitalization expenditures for elders with a DDS of 6 were lower than those with a DDS of 3 or lower. However, for preventive care and dental services, the highest DDS of 6 predicted greater utilization (0.25 and 0.5 times) and expenditure (270 and 420 Taiwanese new dollars). Findings remained unchanged when those who died in the first year or had any medical utilizations and expenditures1 year prior to death were excluded. CONCLUSIONS Greater dietary diversity is associated with lower emergency and hospitalization utilization and expenditures, but not lower use of ambulatory services. There is a need for health services to develop a nutrition policy for nutritionally disadvantaged groups.
Pharmacist membership in a medical group's diabetes health management program.

PURPOSE An evaluation of the effectiveness of a program at achieving improved glycemic control, lipid levels, and adherence to preventive care measures in diabetes mellitus patients was conducted. SUMMARY An interdisciplinary diabetes health management program (DHMP) was implemented, which included physicians, clinical pharmacists, registered nurses, and registered dieticians. The patients are seen by a clinical pharmacist with the option of individual or group visits with other members of the multidisciplinary team. Clinical pharmacist interventions include education and comprehensive medication management through collaborative practice agreements held with physicians. The collaborative agreements allow the clinical pharmacist to initiate, adjust, or discontinue pharmacotherapy and order pertinent laboratory tests and podiatry referrals that are within the scope of the medication management protocol. A retrospective review was conducted of the 707 patients enrolled in the program between April 2002 and April 2004. The mean +/- S.D. number of days between baseline and follow-up values was 140 +/- 62. Eighty-four percent of the enrolled patients were diagnosed with type 2 diabetes mellitus, 69% met the National Cholesterol Education Program's criteria for metabolic syndrome, and 51% were male. The mean glycosylated hemoglobin (HbA(1c)) value dropped significantly, and the percentage of patients who were at or below the American Diabetes Association's established HbA(1c) goal of < or = 7% increased significantly. Lipid values for enrolled patients improved, with the percentage achieving a low-density-lipoprotein cholesterol concentration of <100 mg/dL increasing from 25% to 44% [corrected] Adherence to preventive care measures (e.g., annual eye and foot examinations) also significantly improved from baseline to follow-up. CONCLUSION Involvement of pharmacists in an interdisciplinary DHMP has improved patient care.
Peer relationships and social competence during early and middle childhood.

This review demarcates major periods of empirical activity and accomplishment (i.e. "generations") in research on children's peer relations and social competence during recent decades and identifies the investigative agendas that were dominant or ascendant during these periods. A sampling of studies that were conducted during the most recent generation of peer relations research is organized and reviewed in relation to two types of research objectives: (a) enduring agendas--aims from past research generations that have continued to serve as an impetus for empirical investigation during the 1990s--and (b) innovative agendas--newly emergent objectives that are predicated on novel conceptual issues or ongoing research controversies and deficiencies. This profile of continuity and change in investigators' research agendas provides a platform for delineating and analyzing recent empirical accomplishments in the field of peer relations research.
The Import Motor of the Yeast Mitochondrial TIM23 Preprotein Translocase Contains Two Different J Proteins, Tim14 and Mdj2*

The import motor of the mitochondrial (mt)TIM23 complex drives translocation of presequence-containing preproteins across the mitochondrial inner membrane in an ATP-dependent manner. Tim44 is the central component of the motor. It recruits mtHsp70, which binds the incoming preproteins. The J protein Tim14 stimulates the ATPase activity of mtHsp70 and thereby enables efficient binding of mtHsp70 to preproteins. Tim16 is a J-like protein that forms a stable subcomplex with Tim14 and recruits it to the translocase. All subunits of the TIM23 translocase but one are essential for yeast cell viability. Yeast cells contain a close homologue of Tim14, Mdj2. In contrast to Tim14, its deletion leads to no obvious growth defect. In the present study we analyzed Mdj2 and compared it with Tim14. Mdj2 forms a complex with Tim16 and is recruited to the TIM23 translocase. It stimulates the ATPase activity of mtHsp70 to the same extent that Tim14 does. Mdj2 is expressed at a lower level compared with Tim14, and its complex with Tim16 is less stable. However, overexpressed Mdj2 fully restores the growth of cells lacking Tim14. We conclude that Mdj2 is a functional J protein and a component of the mitochondrial import motor.
Modulation of Vacuolar pH Is Required for Replication of Edwardsiella ictaluri in Channel Catfish Macrophages

ABSTRACT Previous in vitro work demonstrated that Edwardsiella ictaluri produces an acid-activated urease that can modulate environmental pH through the production of ammonia from urea. Additional work revealed that expression of the E. ictaluri type III secretion system (T3SS) is upregulated by acidic pH. Both the urease and the T3SS were previously shown to be essential to intracellular replication. In this work, fluorescence microscopy with LysoTracker Red DND-99 (LTR) indicated that E. ictaluri-containing vacuoles (ECV) became acidified following ingestion by head kidney-derived macrophages (HKDM). In vivo ratiometric imaging demonstrated a lowered ECV pH, which fell to as low as pH 4 but subsequently increased to pH 6 or greater. Inhibition of vacuolar H+-ATPases by use of the specific inhibitor bafilomycin A1 abrogated both ECV acidification and intracellular replication in HKDM. Failure of an E. ictaluri urease knockout mutant to increase the ECV pH in the in vivo ratiometric assay suggests that ammonia produced by the urease reaction mediates the pH increase. Additionally, when the specific arginase inhibitor l-norvaline was used to treat E. ictaluri-infected HKDM, the ECV failed to neutralize and E. ictaluri was unable to replicate. This indicates that the HKDM-encoded arginase enzyme produces the urea used by the E. ictaluri urease enzyme. Failure of the ECV to acidify would prevent both upregulation of the T3SS and activation of the urease enzyme, either of which would prevent E. ictaluri from replicating in HKDM. Failure of the ECV to neutralize would result in a vacuolar pH too low to support E. ictaluri replication.
Development Cooperation: Between the Global and Regional Institutions: The Case of the UN Development Cooperation Forum and the OECD Global Partnership for Effective Development Cooperation

This paper is a first attempt to apply the regime complex analysis to the issue area of international development cooperation mainly applied for the study of international trade and environment regimes. We focus on the interactions between the UN Development Cooperation Forum (DCF) and the OECD-led Global Partnership for Effective Development (GPEDC). Following a synthetic approach combining the realist and institutionalist IOs theories, and drawing also from the literature on the interrelations between global and regional institutions, we tried to relate the strategic actions of state actors, mainly traditional and emerging development cooperation providers, to the dynamics of the interaction between the DCF and the GPEDC, and its observed patterns: cooperation, competition and division of labour.
Stable isotope metabolic labeling of Neisseria meningitidis lipooligosaccharide

The lipooligosaccharide (LOS) of a Neisseria meningitidis acetate auxotroph was metabolically labeled with either [2-13C]-sodium acetate or [1,2-13C 2]-sodium acetate. In this study, we demonstrated that this label was efficiently incorporated into both the lipid A acyl moieties and the two N-acetylglucosamines present in the oligosaccharide branch of the LOS. The development of this efficient labeling protocol should prove useful in future structural studies analyzing the interactions between LOS and host proteins.
Breastfeeding and Childhood Obesity Among African Americans: A Systematic Review

Purpose:Among African Americans, breastfeeding rates are lower and obesity rates higher than other ethnicities in the United States. The objective of this systematic review was to examine the correlation between breastfeeding practices and childhood obesity rates among African Americans in the United States. Study Data Source and Eligibility Criteria:The Cumulative Index to Nursing and Allied Health Literature (CINAHL), PubMed, and Google Scholar were searched using the key words African Americans OR Blacks, Breastfeeding, Childhood Obesity OR Overweight, and Adolescent Obesity OR Overweight. Twelve articles met inclusion criteria and are discussed. Results:No randomized-controlled trials or meta-analyses were found. All studies were observational only. Eight studies found a protective effect of breastfeeding against childhood obesity among African Americans, whereas four other studies were inconclusive. Limitations:Only 12 studies met inclusion criteria for this review, and all studies included other ethnicities in addition to African Americans. More evidence is needed to effectively generalize the results to this population. Conclusions and Implications:More research is needed on the topic; however, current research does suggest a protective effect of breastfeeding against childhood obesity in this high-risk population. Primary care providers and other healthcare workers need to address breastfeeding benefits and barriers among African American women across the continuum of care.
The pathogenic role of autoantibodies in pemphigus vulgaris

Summary Pemphigus vulgaris (PV) is a severe autoimmune bullous disease involving both the skin and mucosal areas, and characterized by intraepithelial flaccid blisters and erosions. The pathogenesis of this disease is not yet completely understood, but novel insights into desmoglein biology and autoantibody pathogenesis have recently been published. Acantholysis in PV seems to result from a collective action of autoantibodies against various keratinocyte self antigens, of which desmogleins 1 and 3 are the most important. Additional antigens including desmocollins and nondesmosome components, such as the mitochondrion, might take part in disease activation. Recently, apoptosis was reported as a possible underlying mechanism of acantholysis. Furthermore, apoptolysis is believed to be the link between suprabasal acantholytic and cell‐death pathways. We review the possible hypotheses of the pathogenesis of PV: the desmoglein compensation theory, the antibody‐induced apoptosis theory, the basal‐cell shrinkage hypothesis and the newly published apoptolysis theory.
Creative Practices as Mutual Recovery: Flamenco-Yoga

This article describes the ‘learning conversations’ that lead to the development of a Flamenco-Yoga workshop aiming to promote wellbeing and mental health. This innovative workshop expands the notion of creative practices as mutual recovery, an emerging movement within Health Humanities that invites, not only those experiencing mental health distresss, but their carers, family and friends into the journey of recovery. Cummulative evidence shows that art-based practices can have a positive effect on psychological and social outcomes, however, lack of motivation, individual differences and preferences can be a barrier for engagement. This workshop presents an appealing and uplifting intervention that can be adapted to suit all audiences.
Radiation Dose-Response Relationship for Risk of Coronary Heart Disease in Survivors of Hodgkin Lymphoma.

PURPOSE Cardiovascular diseases are increasingly recognized as late effects of Hodgkin lymphoma (HL) treatment. The purpose of this study was to identify the risk factors for coronary heart disease (CHD) and to quantify the effects of radiation dose to the heart, chemotherapy, and other cardiovascular risk factors. PATIENTS AND METHODS We conducted a nested case-control study in a cohort of 2,617 5-year HL survivors, treated between 1965 and 1995. Cases were patients diagnosed with CHD as their first cardiovascular event after HL. Detailed treatment information was collected from medical records of 325 cases and 1,204 matched controls. Radiation charts and simulation radiographs were used to estimate in-field heart volume and mean heart dose (MHD). A risk factor questionnaire was sent to patients still alive. RESULTS The median interval between HL and CHD was 19.0 years. Risk of CHD increased linearly with increasing MHD (excess relative risk [ERR]) per Gray, 7.4%; 95% CI, 3.3% to 14.8%). This results in a 2.5-fold increased risk of CHD for patients receiving a MHD of 20 Gy from mediastinal radiotherapy, compared with patients not treated with mediastinal radiotherapy. ERRs seemed to decrease with each tertile of age at treatment (ERR/Gy(<27.5years), 20.0%; ERR/Gy(27.5-36.4years), 8.8%; ERR/Gy(36.5-50.9years), 4.2%; P(interaction) = . 149). Having ≥ 1 classic CHD risk factor (diabetes mellitus, hypertension, or hypercholesterolemia) independently increased CHD risk (rate ratio, 1.5; 95% CI, 1.1 to 2.1). A high level of physical activity was associated with decreased CHD risk (rate ratio, 0.5; 95% CI, 0.3 to 0.8). CONCLUSION The linear radiation dose-response relationship identified can be used to predict CHD risk for future HL patients and survivors. Appropriate early management of CHD risk factors and stimulation of physical activity may reduce CHD risk in HL survivors.
Parameter accuracy in meta‐analyses of factor structures

Two new methods for the meta‐analysis of factor loadings are introduced and evaluated by Monte Carlo simulations. The direct method pools each factor loading individually, whereas the indirect method synthesizes correlation matrices reproduced from factor loadings. The results of the two simulations demonstrated that the accuracy of meta‐analytical derived factor loadings is primarily affected by characteristics of the pooled factor structures (e.g., model error, communality) and to a lesser degree by the sample size of the primary studies and the number of included samples. The choice of the meta‐analytical method had a minor impact. In general, the indirect method produced somewhat less biased estimates, particularly for small‐sample studies. Thus, the indirect method presents a viable alternative for the meta‐analysis of factor structures that could also address moderator hypotheses. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
RISK FACTORS FOR POSTTRANSPLANT LYMPHOPROLIFERATIVE DISORDER (PTLD) IN PEDIATRIC KIDNEY TRANSPLANTATION: A REPORT OF THE NORTH AMERICAN PEDIATRIC RENAL TRANSPLANT COOPERATIVE STUDY (NAPRTCS)1

Background. Posttransplant lymphoproliferative disorder (PTLD) is an important complication of transplantation. The North American Pediatric Renal Transplant Cooperative Study (NAPRTCS) database has documented 56 cases of PTLD, the largest such series to date. Methods. We analyzed the available longitudinal and multicenter data in the NAPRTCS database to evaluate the demographic and therapeutic risk factors and the temporal trends for PTLD in children after renal transplantation. Results. The overall incidence of PTLD was 1.2% of all patients or 298/100,000 posttransplantation years of follow-up. However, this incidence increased from 254/100,000 years between 1987 and 1991 to 395/100,000 years from 1992 onwards. In the same periods, the time to PTLD decreased from a median of 356 days (range 64–3048) to a median of 190 days (range 42–944). PTLD occurred with greater frequency in white children (P =0.003) and in cadaver donor transplants (P =0.019), but there was no significant predilection for gender, younger children (0–5 years), or primary diagnosis. No significant difference was found in the use of anti–T-cell antibodies or in doses of CsA, azathioprine, or prednisone at 1 month, 6 months, and 1 year. Between 1996 and 1997, 69 patients were initiated with tacrolimus. Eight cases of PTLD were identified in these recipients to date (prevalence rate 11.5%), compared with 46/4084 (1.1%) where cyclosporine was used (P <0.0001). Conclusions. There is a trend towards increasing incidence and earlier occurrence of PTLD in the pediatric renal transplant population. White race and cadaver donor sources are risk factors not reported before. Continued monitoring of tacrolimus immunosuppression is important.
Hyperosmotic stress induces Rho‐Rho kinase‐LIM kinase‐mediated cofilin phosphorylation

Cytoskeleton remodeling is a major adaptive response in osmotic stress, however the underlying mechanisms are incompletely understood. Our previous studies have shown that hypertonicity regulates various Rho GTPases and triggers de novo actin polymerization and myosin phosphorylation. Here we investigated whether osmotic shock impacts on actin‐severing pathways as well. Hyperosmolarity induced threonine phosphorylation of LIM kinase and its target, the actin‐severing protein cofilin in kidney tubular cells. Cofilin phosphorylation was rapid (< 2 min) sustained (>20 min), proportional with the osmotic concentration, and reversible upon restoration of isotonicity. Since both the Rho‐Rho kinase (ROK) and the Rac/Cdc42‐PAK pathways can induce LIMK‐mediated cofilin phosphorylation, we asked which (if any) of these was responsible for the hypertonic cofilin response. Although hypertonicity activated PAK, neither dominant negative (DN) Rac nor DN‐PAK1 prevented cofilin phosphorylation. In contrast, both DN‐Rho and DN‐ROK inhibited this effect. Moreover, the ROK inhibitor Y‐27632 abolished the hypertonic LIMK and cofilin phosphorylation. Consistent with increased cofilin phosphorylation, hyperosmolarity appeared to reduce in situ actin severing and this effect was prevented by cofilin downregulation. These results suggest that Rho‐ROK‐LIMK‐mediated cofilin phosphorylation contributes to osmotic stress‐induced cytoskeleton remodeling.
Accelerated ageing and renal dysfunction links lower socioeconomic status and dietary phosphate intake

Background We have sought to explore the impact of dietary Pi intake on human age related health in the pSoBid cohort (n=666) to explain the disparity between health and deprivation status in this cohort. As hyperphosphataemia is a driver of accelerated ageing in rodent models of progeria we tested whether variation in Pi levels in man associate with measures of biological ageing and health. Results We observed significant relationships between serum Pi levels and markers of biological age (telomere length (p=0.040) and DNA methylation content (p=0.028), gender and chronological age (p=0.032). When analyses were adjusted for socio-economic status and nutritional factors, associations were observed between accelerated biological ageing (telomere length, genomic methylation content) and dietary derived Pi levels among the most deprived males, directly related to the frequency of red meat consumption. Conclusions Accelerated ageing is associated with high serum Pi levels and frequency of red meat consumption. Our data provide evidence for a mechanistic link between high intake of Pi and age-related morbidities tied to socio-economic status.
Ecological implications of ideomotor apraxia

Objective: To learn if ideomotor apraxia (IMA) adversely influences skilled acts in the environment and interferes with independent functioning after stroke. Methods: The relationship between IMA severity, based on scores from a verbal gesture-to-command (pantomime) task, and the dependency score, as defined by increased caregiver assistance on the Physical Self-Maintenance Scale (PSMS), was investigated in 10 unilateral left hemisphere–damaged stroke patients and 10 matched control subjects. Results: There was a significant relationship between apraxia severity and dependency in physical functioning (PSMS). Impairment on the PSMS in the patients with IMA could not be accounted for based on overall cognitive impairment, poststroke depression, content–conceptual errors, elementary motor impairment, lesion size, or stroke–test interval. Analysis of categories composing the PSMS revealed that the patients with apraxia had increased dependency in grooming, bathing, and toileting relative to age-matched control subjects. Conclusions: These findings emphasize the ecological implications of apraxia and the need for rehabilitation strategies to improve the execution and efficiency of coordinated skilled movements in stroke patients with left hemisphere damage.
Ubiquitin-mediated Degradation of the Proapoptotic Active Form of Bid

Under basal conditions, the proapoptotic protein Bid is a long-lived protein. Pro-apoptotic stimuli such as tumor necrosis factor-α (TNFα) or Fas induce its caspase-8-mediated cleavage into two fragments. The COOH-terminal cleavage fragment of Bid (tBid) becomes localized to mitochondrial membranes and triggers the release of cytochrome c. Here we show that tBid is ubiquitinated and subsequently degraded by the 26 S proteasome. Degradation of tBid is significantly inhibited by the proteasome inhibitors MG-132 and lactacystin. In contrast, caspase-specific or lysosomal inhibitors do not affect tBid stability. Furthermore, mutation of the putative ubiquitin acceptor sites within tBid results in a stabilized protein as assessed by pulse-chase analysis. To address whether tBid degradation might be regulated by interaction with other Bcl-2-like proteins, cotransfection studies were performed. However, neither the presence of proapoptotic Bax nor antiapoptotic Bcl-2 or Bcl-XL affected tBid degradation. Finally, we determined the functional role of tBid degradation. Overexpression of stabilized tBid proteins significantly enhanced cytochrome c release and subsequent apoptosis induction approximately 2-fold compared with wild type tBid. Similarly, tBid-induced apoptosis was considerably amplified by inhibition of tBid degradation using the proteasome-specific inhibitor MG-132. Thus, proteasomal degradation of tBid limits the extent of apoptosis in living cells.