Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Genomic diversity and population structure of Mexican and Spanish bovine Lidia breed.

The Lidia bovine breed is distinguished for its low genetic exchangeability given its selection on aggressive behavior, its management uniqueness and its subdivided structure. In this study, we present a comprehensive genome-wide analysis of genetic diversity, population structure and admixture of 468 animals from Mexican and Spanish Lidia breed populations and 64 samples belonging to 10 Spanish native and American-creole breeds using 37 148 single nucleotide polymorphisms. We found similar average inbreeding values in the Lidia breed, with different distributions within groups; variability of inbreeding values among Spanish lineages was significant and no differences were found among the Mexican sub-populations. Together, the high FIS of the lineages and the behavior of the runs of homozygosity are consequences of the lineage's small effective population sizes, contributing to their inbreeding increase. Population admixture analysis discarded any influence on the genetic structure of the Lidia populations from the Spanish native and American-creole breeds. In addition, both Lidia populations depicted different genetic origins, with the exception of some Mexican individuals whose origins traced back to recent Spanish importations.
Finite Rogers-Ramanujan Type Identities

Polynomial generalizations of all 130 of the identities in Slater's list of identities of the Rogers-Ramanujan type are presented. Furthermore, duality relationships among many of the identities are derived. Some of the these polynomial identities were previously known but many are new. The author has implemented much of the finitization process in a Maple package which is available for free download from the author's website.
Incidence Rates of Dementia, Alzheimer Disease, and Vascular Dementia in the Japanese American Population in Seattle, WA: The Kame Project

There are few studies on the incidence of dementia in representative minority populations in the United States; however, no population-based study has been conducted on Japanese American women. We identified 3045 individuals aged 65+ with at least 1 parent of Japanese descent living in King County, WA in the period 1992 to 1994, of whom 1836 were dementia-free and were examined every 2 years (1994 to 2001) to identify incident cases of all dementias, Alzheimer disease (AD), vascular dementia (VaD), and other dementias. Cox regression was used to examine associations with age, sex, years of education, and apolipoprotein (APOE)-&egr;4. Among 173 incident cases of dementia, the overall rate was 14.4/1000/y, with rates being slightly higher among women (15.9/1000) than men (12.5/1000). Rates roughly doubled every 5 years for dementia and AD; the age trend for VaD and other dementias was less consistent. Sex was not significantly related to incidence of dementia or its subtypes in adjusted models. There was a trend for an inverse association with increasing years of education. APOE-&egr;4 was a strong risk factor for all dementias [hazard ratio (HR)=2.89; 95% confidence interval (CI), 1.88-4.46], AD (HR=3.27; 95% CI, 2.03-5.28), and VaD (HR=3.33; 95% CI, 1.34-8.27). This study is the first to report population-based incidence rates for both Japanese American men and women.
Heat Shock Proteins, Inflammation, and Cardiovascular Disease

Atherosclerosis and its associated complications, such as coronary artery disease, peripheral vascular disease, and stroke, are the leading causes of morbidity and mortality in all racial groups of most westernized societies. A better understanding of the events that lead to the induction and progression of atherosclerosis and the development of strategies that control these processes would have a significant impact on human health. Atherosclerosis is a chronic inflammatory condition that usually begins at an early age in the absence of lipid accumulation, with fatty streaks composed of lipid-laden macrophages (foam cells) developing at later stages. T lymphocytes, predominantly of the CD4+ phenotype, are associated with the intima layer of the vessel. The inflammatory process at atherogenic sites leads to the production of cytokines and other inflammatory mediators, resulting in cell migration, proliferation, extracellular matrix production, and plaque development.1–3⇓⇓ Monocytes and macrophages appear intimately involved with the development of atherosclerosis; mice with the osteopetrotic ( op ) mutation in the macrophage colony-stimulating factor (M-CSF) gene, which results in a complete absence of M-CSF in the serum and tissues and a marked reduction in the number of circulating monocytes, exhibit significantly less atherosclerosis than control littermates when bred into an apolipoprotein (apo) E–deficient background,. 4 The precise role of T and B cells in atherosclerosis remains unclear. Although activated T cells are a dominant feature of atherosclerotic lesions,5,6⇓ studies demonstrating that atherosclerosis can be induced by hypercholesterolemia in mice deficient in T and B cells suggest that these cells are not essential.7–9⇓⇓ However, the cholesterol levels in these studies far exceeded those present in human subjects without any genetic defect, and the findings should therefore be interpreted with caution. Indeed, other evidence indicates that T cells may attenuate atherogenesis by some means, because the elimination of …
Not the Opium of the People: Income and Secularization in a Panel of Prussian Counties

The interplay between religion and the economy has occupied social scientists for long. We construct a unique panel of income and Protestant church attendance for six waves of up to 175 Prussian counties spanning 1886-1911. The data reveal a marked decline in church attendance coinciding with increasing income. The cross-section also shows a negative association between income and church attendance. But the association disappears in panel analyses, including first-differenced models of the 1886-1911 change, panel models with county and time fixed effects, and panel Granger-causality tests. The results cast doubt on causal interpretations of the religion-economy nexus in Prussian secularization.
Clopidogrel-Associated TTP: An Update of Pharmacovigilance Efforts Conducted by Independent Researchers, Pharmaceutical Suppliers, and the Food and Drug Administration

Background and Purpose— Since the 1999 identification of clopidogrel-associated thrombotic thrombocytopenic purpura (TTP) through independent active surveillance, subsequent cases have been identified by pharmaceutical suppliers of clopidogrel and the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). For cases of clopidogrel-associated TTP reported between 1998 to 2002, we evaluated the quality and timeliness of data from 3 reporting systems-independent active surveillance (n=13), pharmaceutical suppliers (n=24), and the FDA (n=13)—and identified prognostic factors associated with mortality. Methods— This study assessed the completeness of information on TTP diagnosis, treatment response, and causality from the 3 reporting systems. In addition, predictors of mortality were identified through classification tree analysis. Results— Completeness, timeliness, and certainty of diagnosis were best for cases obtained by active surveillance, intermediate for cases reported to the pharmaceutical supplier, and poorest for cases reported directly to the FDA. Clopidogrel had been used for ≤2 weeks by 65%. The survival rate for patients with clopidogrel-associated TTP was 71.2%. Receipt of therapeutic plasma exchange within 3 days of onset of TTP increased the likelihood of survival (100% versus 27.3%, P <0.001). Conclusions— Compared with reports submitted by suppliers or the FDA, reports obtained through active surveillance provided timelier and more complete information. Clopidogrel-associated TTP often occurs within 2 weeks of drug initiation, occasionally relapses, and has a high mortality if not treated promptly.
On the Evaluation of Euler Sums

Euler studied double sums of the form for positive integers r and s, and inferred, for the special cases r = 1 or r + s odd, elegant identities involving values of the Riemann zeta function. Here we establish various series expansions of ζ(r, s) for real numbers r and s. These expansions generally involve infinitely many zeta values. The series of one type terminate for integers r and s with r + s odd, reducing in those cases to the Euler identities. Series of another type are rapidly convergent and therefore useful in numerical experiments.
Coding of relative size in monkey inferotemporal cortex

We seldom mistake a closer object as being larger, even though its retinal image is bigger. One underlying mechanism could be to calculate the size of the retinal image relative to that of another nearby object. Here we set out to investigate whether single neurons in the monkey inferotemporal cortex (IT) are sensitive to the relative size of parts in a display. Each neuron was tested on shapes containing two parts that could be conjoined or spatially separated. Each shape was presented in four versions created by combining the two parts at each of two possible sizes. In this design, neurons sensitive to the absolute size of parts would show the greatest response modulation when both parts are scaled up, whereas neurons encoding relative size would show similar responses. Our main findings are that 1) IT neurons responded similarly to all four versions of a shape, but tuning tended to be more consistent between versions with proportionately scaled parts; 2) in a subpopulation of cells, we observed interactions that resulted in similar responses to proportionately scaled parts; 3) these interactions developed together with sensitivity to absolute size for objects with conjoined parts but developed slightly later for objects with spatially separate parts. Taken together, our results demonstrate for the first time that there is a subpopulation of neurons in IT that encodes the relative size of parts in a display, forming a potential neural substrate for size constancy.
Fate of Transplanted Bone Marrow Derived Mesenchymal Stem Cells Following Spinal Cord Injury in Rats by Transplantation Routes

This research was performed to investigate the differences of the transplanted cells' survival and differentiation, and its efficacy according to the delivery routes following spinal cord injury. Allogenic mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) were transplanted intravenously (IV group) or intralesionally (IL group) at post-injury 1 day in rats. Behavioral improvement, engraftment and differentiation of the transplanted cells and the expression of neurotrophic factors of the transplanted groups were analyzed and compared with those of the control group. At 6 weeks post-injury, the mean BBB motor scales in the control, IV and IL groups were 6.5 ± 1.8, 11.1 ± 2.1, and 8.5 ± 2.8, respectively. Regardless of the delivery route, the MSCs transplantation following spinal cord injuries presented better behavioral improvement. The differentiations of the engrafted cells were different according to the delivery routes. The engrafted cells predominantly differentiated into astrocytes in the IV group and on the other hand, engrafted cells of the IL group demonstrated relatively even neural and glial differentiation. The expressions of neuronal growth factor were significantly higher in the IL group (mean relative optical density, 2.4 ± 0.15) than those in the control (2.16 ± 0.04) or IV group (1.7 ± 0.23). Transplantation of MSCs in the early stage of spinal cord injury gives a significant clinical improvement. However, the fate of the transplanted MSCs and expression of neuronal growth factors are different along the transplantation route.
Growth and Flowering Responses of Cut Chrysanthemum Grown under Restricted Root Volume to Irrigation Frequency

Influences of irrigation frequency on the growth and flowering of chrysanthemum grown under restricted root volume were tested. Chrysanthemum cuttings (Chrysanthemum morifolium “Reagan White”) were grown in seedling tray which contained coconut peat in volumes of 73 and 140 cm3. Plants were irrigated with drip irrigation at irrigation frequencies of 4 (266 mL), 6 (400 mL), and 8 (533 mL) times/day to observe their growth and flowering performances. There was interaction between irrigation frequency and substrate volume on plant height of chrysanthemum. Plants grown in 140 cm3 substrates and irrigated 6 times/day produced the tallest plant of 109.25 cm. Plants irrigated 6 and 8 times/day had significantly higher level of phosphorus content in their leaves than those plants irrigated 4 times/day. The total leaf area, number of internodes, leaf length, and leaf width of chrysanthemums grown in 140 cm3 substrate were significantly higher than those grown in 73 cm3 substrate. The numbers of flowers were affected by both irrigation frequencies and substrate volumes. Chrysanthemums irrigated 8 times/day had an average of 19.56 flowers while those irrigated 4 times/day had an average of 16.63 flowers. Increasing irrigation frequency can improve the growth and flowering of chrysanthemums in small substrate volumes.
Neurological sequelae after cerebral anoxia

Primary objective: Cardiac arrest can cause neurological impairment. The aim of this study is to confirm the disability and the predominant part of executive and behavioural impairments after cardiac arrest. Research design: A retrospective study is proposed. Methods and procedures: All consecutive patients admitted to the Department of Rehabilitation for Neurological Impairments following cerebral anoxia after cardiac arrest between 1995–2007 were included. Clinical and neuropsychological assessment was proposed. Main outcomes and results: Thirty patients, 19 men, were examined. Ages ranged from 16–58 (mean = 39.5). Fourteen patients presented with severe disability and 16 patients presented with moderate disability. In the first group (severe disability) no patients were autonomous for daily life activities. They presented with dysexecutive syndrome and behavioural disorders associated with amnesia syndrome; 64% of them presented with motor disorders. In the second group, patients with moderate disability were autonomous in daily life but not for the complex activities or functioning. They had no motor impairment but suffered from executive and memory impairments. Behavioural changes were noted. Medical history or demographic data did not differ between the two groups. Conclusion: The study confirms the predominant part of executive, memory and behavioural impairments after cardiac arrest. This retrospective study cannot provide prognosis factors and further prognosis studies are needed.
Break index labeling of mandarin text via syntactic-to-prosodic tree mapping

In this study, we investigate the break index labeling problem with a syntactic-to-prosodic structure conversion. The statistical relationship between the mapped syntactic tree structure and prosodic tree structure of sentences in the training set is used to generate a Synchronous Tree Substitution Grammar (STSG) which can describe the probabilistic mapping (substitution) rules between them. For a given test sentence and the corresponding parsed syntactic tree structure, thus generated STSG can convert the syntactic tree to a prosodic tree statistically. We compare the labeling results with other approaches and show the probabilistic mapping can indeed benefit break index labeling performance.
Velopharyngeal function in nonsyndromic cleft palate: relevance of surgical technique, age at repair, and cleft type.

OBJECTIVE The goal of this study was to determine the relative importance of surgical technique, age at repair, and cleft type for velopharyngeal function. DESIGN This was a retrospective study of patients operated on by two surgeons using different techniques (von Langenbeck and Veau-Wardill-Kilner [VY]) at Children's Hospital, Boston, MA. PATIENTS We included 228 patients who were at least 4 years of age at the time of review. Patients with identifiable syndromes, nonsyndromic Robin sequence, central nervous system disorders, communicatively significant hearing loss, and inadequate speech data were excluded. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURE Need for a pharyngeal flap was the measure of outcome. RESULTS Pharyngeal flap was necessary in 14% of von Langenbeck and 15% of VY repaired patients. There was a significant linear association (p = .025) between age at repair and velopharyngeal insufficiency (VPI). Patients with an attached vomer, soft cleft palate (SCP), and unilateral cleft lip/palate (UCLP) had a 10% flap rate, whereas those with an unattached vomer, hard/soft cleft palate (HSCP), and bilateral cleft lip/palate (BCLP) had a 23% flap rate (p = .03). Age at repair was critical for the unattached-vomer group (p = .03) but was not statistically significant for the attached-vomer group (p = .52). CONCLUSIONS Surgical technique was not a significant variable either in aggregate or for the Veau types. Patients in the earliest repair group (8-10 months) were the least likely to require a pharyngeal flap. Early repair was more critical for HSCP and BCLP patients. There was no correlation between velopharyngeal insufficiency and Veau hierarchy. The attached vomer/levator muscle complex may be a more important predictor of surgical success than the anatomic extent of cleft.
Levels of selected carcinogens and toxicants in vapour from electronic cigarettes

Significance Electronic cigarettes, also known as e-cigarettes, are devices designed to imitate regular cigarettes and deliver nicotine via inhalation without combusting tobacco. They are purported to deliver nicotine without other toxicants and to be a safer alternative to regular cigarettes. However, little toxicity testing has been performed to evaluate the chemical nature of vapour generated from e–cigarettes. The aim of this study was to screen e-cigarette vapours for content of four groups of potentially toxic and carcinogenic compounds: carbonyls, volatile organic compounds, nitrosamines and heavy metals. Materials and methods Vapours were generated from 12 brands of e-cigarettes and the reference product, the medicinal nicotine inhaler, in controlled conditions using a modified smoking machine. The selected toxic compounds were extracted from vapours into a solid or liquid phase and analysed with chromatographic and spectroscopy methods. Results We found that the e-cigarette vapours contained some toxic substances. The levels of the toxicants were 9–450 times lower than in cigarette smoke and were, in many cases, comparable with trace amounts found in the reference product. Conclusions Our findings are consistent with the idea that substituting tobacco cigarettes with e-cigarettes may substantially reduce exposure to selected tobacco-specific toxicants. E-cigarettes as a harm reduction strategy among smokers unwilling to quit, warrants further study. (To view this abstract in Polish and German, please see the supplementary files online.)
Customer Behavior in Electronic Commerce: A Bayesian Approach

Online shopping has increasingly replaced traditional retail shopping, as a large number of consumers have adopted it on a global scale. However, while it is well established in developed countries, e-commerce is still at an early stage in emerging markets, hence there is a need to unveil which factors contributes to its adoption. The main objective of this study is to integrate the theory of planned behavior, the theory of reasoned action, and the technology acceptance model using a Bayesian approach to determine the key predictors of online purchase intention among internet users in Colombia. The results demonstrate the pertinence of the theory of reasoned action and technology acceptance model, models to explain online purchase intention, confirming that the intention to purchase online is mostly determined by the attitudes to e-commerce which, in turn, are explained by perceived usefulness, perceived ease of use, and the subjective norm related to online shopping.
New treatments for smoking cessation

Helping cigarette smokers to permanently stop smoking is one of the most effective ways to prevent cancer. A physician's instruction to a patient to stop smoking and to offer assistance in this endeavor is an important motivator. Current guidelines state that clinicians should encourage all smokers who want to quit to use medications and should offer psychosocial therapies, as well. It has been shown that even brief clinician advice about smoking cessation increases quit rates.
Opioid Peptide Gene Expression in the Primary Hereditary Cardiomyopathy of the Syrian Hamster

Prodynorphin mRNA and dynorphin B expression have been previously shown to be greatly increased in cardiac myocytes of BIO 14.6 cardiomyopathic hamsters. Here we report that exogenous dynorphin B induced a dose-dependent increase in prodynorphin mRNA levels and stimulated prodynorphin gene transcription in normal hamster myocytes. Similar responses were elicited by the synthetic selective κ opioid receptor agonist U-50,488H. These effects were counteracted by the κ opioid receptor antagonist Mr-1452 and were not observed in the presence of chelerythrine or calphostin C, two specific protein kinase C (PKC) inhibitors. Treatment of cardiomyopathic cells with Mr-1452 significantly decreased both prodynorphin mRNA levels and prodynorphin gene transcription. In control myocytes, dynorphin B induced the translocation of PKC-α to the nucleus and increased nuclear PKC activity without affecting the expression of PKC-δ, -ε, or -ζ. Acute release of either U-50,488H or dyn B over single normal or cardiomyopathic cells transiently increased the cytosolic Ca2+ concentration. A sustained treatment with each opioid agonist increased the cytosolic Ca2+ level for a more prolonged period in cardiomyopathic than in control myocytes and led to a depletion of Ca2+ from the sarcoplasmic reticulum in both groups of cells. The possibility that prodynorphin gene expression may affect the function of the cardiomyopathic cell through an autocrine mechanism is discussed.
Mechanism of basic calcium phosphate crystal-stimulated cyclo-oxygenase-1 up-regulation in osteoarthritic synovial fibroblasts.

OBJECTIVES Basic calcium phosphate (BCP) crystals have been implicated in the pathogenesis of OA and stimulate cyclo-oxygenase (COX) expression and PGE(2) production. This study aimed to elucidate the mechanism of COX-1 up-regulation by BCP crystals and to characterize the PGs produced in OA synovial fibroblasts (OASFs) in response to BCP crystals. METHODS OASFs were stimulated with BCP crystals in vitro. mRNA expression was measured by real-time PCR, PG production by EIA and protein production by western blot. RESULTS Maximal (19-fold) up-regulation of COX-1 mRNA occurred 32 h after stimulation with BCP crystals; increased COX-1 protein production was also seen. At 32 h post-stimulation with BCP crystals, PGE(2) (and prostacyclin) production was COX-1 dependent. In contrast, maximal (17-fold) up-regulation of COX-2, with corresponding COX-2-dependent PG production, occurred 4 h after BCP crystal stimulation. There was no appreciable increased production of other PGs such as PGF(2alpha), thromboxane A(2) or cyclopentanone PGs including 15d-PGJ(2). Inhibition of protein kinase C (PKC) and extracellular regulated kinase 1/2 (ERK1/2) signal transduction pathways blocked BCP crystal-induced COX-1 mRNA expression. Bafilomycin A1, an inhibitor of intra-lysosomal BCP crystal dissolution, diminished BCP crystal-induced COX-1 mRNA expression. CONCLUSIONS These findings indicate that BCP crystals can augment PG production in OASF through induction of COX-1 and COX-2. Intra-lysosomal BCP crystal dissolution and activity of the PKC and ERK1/2 signal transduction pathways are required for BCP crystal-induced COX-1 up-regulation. These data add to the evidence suggesting that the constitutive COX-1/inducible COX-2 concept is an over-simplification and suggest that non-selective COX inhibition may be preferable to COX-2 selective inhibition in BCP crystal-associated OA.