Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Drag and jet quenching of heavy quarks in a strongly coupled N=2* plasma

The drag of a heavy quark and the jet quenching parameter are studied in the strongly coupled N=2* plasma using the AdS/CFT correspondence. Both increase in units of the spatial string tension as the theory departs from conformal invariance. The description of heavy quark dynamics using a Langevin equation is also considered. It is found that the difference between the velocity dependent factors of the transverse and longitudinal momentum broadening of the quark admit an interpretation in terms of relativistic effects, so the distribution is spherical in the quark rest frame. When conformal invariance is broken there is a broadening of the longitudinal momentum distribution. This effect may be useful in understanding the jet distribution observed in experiments.
Fatal sepsis by Bacillus circulans in an immunocompromised patient

An immunosuppressed man was admitted to hospital with diarrhea and a history of urinary tract infection. He was subjected to treatment with antibiotics. The patient died of putative severe sepsis. The etiological agent was a carbapenemase producing isolate of Bacillus circulans with resistance to all prescribed antimicrobial agents.
Exome Sequencing of Familial Bipolar Disorder.

IMPORTANCE Complex disorders, such as bipolar disorder (BD), likely result from the influence of both common and rare susceptibility alleles. While common variation has been widely studied, rare variant discovery has only recently become feasible with next-generation sequencing. OBJECTIVE To utilize a combined family-based and case-control approach to exome sequencing in BD using multiplex families as an initial discovery strategy, followed by association testing in a large case-control meta-analysis. DESIGN, SETTING, AND PARTICIPANTS We performed exome sequencing of 36 affected members with BD from 8 multiplex families and tested rare, segregating variants in 3 independent case-control samples consisting of 3541 BD cases and 4774 controls. MAIN OUTCOMES AND MEASURES We used penalized logistic regression and 1-sided gene-burden analyses to test for association of rare, segregating damaging variants with BD. Permutation-based analyses were performed to test for overall enrichment with previously identified gene sets. RESULTS We found 84 rare (frequency <1%), segregating variants that were bioinformatically predicted to be damaging. These variants were found in 82 genes that were enriched for gene sets previously identified in de novo studies of autism (19 observed vs. 10.9 expected, P = .0066) and schizophrenia (11 observed vs. 5.1 expected, P = .0062) and for targets of the fragile X mental retardation protein (FMRP) pathway (10 observed vs. 4.4 expected, P = .0076). The case-control meta-analyses yielded 19 genes that were nominally associated with BD based either on individual variants or a gene-burden approach. Although no gene was individually significant after correction for multiple testing, this group of genes continued to show evidence for significant enrichment of de novo autism genes (6 observed vs 2.6 expected, P = .028). CONCLUSIONS AND RELEVANCE Our results are consistent with the presence of prominent locus and allelic heterogeneity in BD and suggest that very large samples will be required to definitively identify individual rare variants or genes conferring risk for this disorder. However, we also identify significant associations with gene sets composed of previously discovered de novo variants in autism and schizophrenia, as well as targets of the FRMP pathway, providing preliminary support for the overlap of potential autism and schizophrenia risk genes with rare, segregating variants in families with BD.
Lupeol Protects Against Cerulein‐Induced Acute Pancreatitis in Mice

Lupeol is a triterpenoid commonly found in fruits and vegetables and is known to exhibit a wide range of biological activities, including antiinflammatory and anti‐cancer effects. However, the effects of lupeol on acute pancreatitis specifically have not been well characterized. Here, we investigated the effects of lupeol on cerulein‐induced acute pancreatitis in mice. Acute pancreatitis was induced via an intraperitoneal injection of cerulein (50 µg/kg). In the lupeol treatment group, lupeol was administered intraperitoneally (10, 25, or 50 mg/kg) 1 h before the first cerulein injection. Blood samples were taken to determine serum cytokine and amylase levels. The pancreas was rapidly removed for morphological examination and used in the myeloperoxidase assay, trypsin activity assay, and real‐time reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction. In addition, we isolated pancreatic acinar cells using a collagenase method to examine the acinar cell viability. Lupeol administration significantly attenuated the severity of pancreatitis, as was shown by reduced pancreatic edema, and neutrophil infiltration. In addition, lupeol inhibited elevation of digestive enzymes and cytokine levels, such as tumor necrosis factor (TNF)‐α, interleukin (IL)‐1, and interleukin (IL)‐6. Furthermore, lupeol inhibited the cerulein‐induced acinar cell death. In conclusion, these results suggest that lupeol exhibits protective effects on cerulein‐induced acute pancreatitis. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
XRCC2 (X-ray repair cross complementing 2)

XRCC2 is one of five somatic RAD51 paralogs, all of which have Walker A and B ATPase motifs. Each of the paralogs, including XRCC2, has a function in DNA double-strand break repair by homologous recombination (HR). However, their individual roles are not as well understood as that of RAD51 itself. The XRCC2 protein forms a complex (BCDX2) with three other RAD51 paralogs, RAD51B, RAD51C and RAD51D. It is believed that the BCDX2 complex mediates HR downstream of BRCA2 but upstream of RAD51, as XRCC2 is involved in the assembly of RAD51 into DNA damage foci. XRCC2 can bind DNA and, along with RAD51D, can promote homologous pairing in vitro. Consistent with its role in HR, XRCC2-deficient cells have increased levels of spontaneous chromosome instability, and exhibit hypersensitivity to DNA interstrand crosslinking agents such as mitomycin C and cisplatin as well as ionizing radiation, alkylating agents and aldehydes. XRCC2 also functions in promoting DNA replication and chromosome segregation. Biallelic mutation of XRCC2 (FANCU) causes the FA-U subtype of FA, while heterozygosity for deleterious mutations in XRCC2 may be associated with an increased breast cancer risk. XRCC2 appears to function ‘downstream’ in the FA pathway, since it is not required for FANCD2 monoubiquitination, which is the central step in the FA pathway. Clinically, the only known FA-U patient in the world exhibits severe congenital abnormalities, but had not developed, by seven years of age, the bone marrow failure and cancer that are often seen in patients from other FA complementation groups.
Qualitative Social Work

This study uses Stein and Markus’ (1996) self-concept and behavior change framework to examine youth offenders’ responses to individual-level treatment in a residential correctional facility. The authors analysed transcripts collected from 10 male offenders, aged 15–17, who were interviewed at least three times over a period of four to six months. Results showed that while many offenders were able to identify negative trends in their life that led to their criminal behavior, other cognitively filtered out self-defeating information and did not identify troubling life patterns. Offenders also articulated visions of hoped for selves that were anchored in their lived experiences with positive role models and feared the selves that they might become if they continued down a criminal path. However, nearly all of the offenders had loosely organized or vague strategies for achieving their hoped for or idealized selves. Based on these findings, the authors pose implications for self-concept theory and for treatment practices with this population
The Influence of Consumer's Emotional Response and Social Norm on Repurchase Intention: a Case of Cigarette Repurchase in Taiwan

This study aims to understand the influence of cons umer’s emotional response and social norm on repurc hase intention. The subjects are university smoking stu dents attaining legal age and . convenience sampling was used in collecting questionnaires. Structural equation mod eling was employed to make confirmatory factory ana lysis and path analysis. The results showed that consumer’s emoti onal response and social norm have positive and neg ative influence on purchase intention respectively.
COHERENT BACKSCATTERING OF CIRCULARLY POLARIZED LIGHT FROM A DISPERSE RANDOM MEDIUM

To describe propagation of polarized electromagnetic wave within a disperse random medium a new Monte Carlo based technique with an adopted vector formalism has been developed. The technique has been applied for simulation of coherent backscattering of circularly polarized optical radiation from a random scattering medium. It has been found that the sign of helicity of circular polarized light does not change for a medium of point-like scatterers and can change significantly for the scatterers with the higher anisotropy. We conclude that the helicity flip of the circular polarized light can be observed in the tissue-like media. We find that this phenomenon manifests itself in case of limited number of scattering events and, apparently, can be attributed to the pulse character of incident radiation rather than to the specific form of scattering particles.
Incidental Prices and Their Effect on Consumer Willingness to Pay

Past research has explored how external reference prices affect consumer perceptions (i.e., their “internal” reference price) and consequently the price they are willing to pay for a product or service. Historically, research has examined the effects of exposure to prices for the same product, the same brand, or at the very least products within the same category as price cues. This research explores the effects of incidental prices on the consumer’s willingness to pay. We define incidental prices as prices advertised, offered, or paid for unrelated goods – goods that are neither viewed by the seller nor the buyer as an indicator of what may or should be paid for the item in question. More specifically, we examine how the prices for products that the buyer encountered unintentionally can affect the buyer’s willingness to pay for the product they intend to buy, or the focal good. This research demonstrates how incidental prices can act as an anchor that serves to shift an individual’s reservation price, or the upper bound of what they are willing to pay, often unbeknownst to the buyer. Unlike the external reference prices studied thus far, an incidental price is neither intended nor presumed to affect consumer decision-making.
PRACTICE AND PATTERN OF ANTENATAL AND POSTNATAL EXERCISE AMONG NIGERIAN WOMEN: A CROSS-SECTIONAL STUDY

Objectives: The African culture seems to play a major prohibiting role in physical exercise during pregnancy and immediate postpartum. This study was designed to assess practice and pattern of antenatal and postnatal exercise among Nigerian women. Materials and Methods: Three hundred and sixty-five women (189 pregnant women and 179 nursing mothers) from six selected hospitals in south-west Nigeria participated in this cross-sectional study. Data were obtained on socio-demographic and obstetric characteristics, and practice of antenatal and postnatal exercise. Descriptive and inferential statistics were used to analyze data at P<0.05 alpha level. Results: The mean age of all the respondents was 28.9± 4.63 years. A majority of the pregnant women responders were nulliparous (39.2%) while the nursing mother responders were mostly multiparous (54.5%). Prevalence for engagement in physical exercise was 81.9% and mostly based on self-prescription (35.5%) and prescription by nurses (28.8%). Antenatal and postnatal exercise practice was 84.7% (160/189) and 79.0% (139/176), respectively. Aerobic (43.5%) and stretching (33.4%) were the most common type of physical exercises. Exercise frequency was mostly 1-2 times per week (40.8%). There was significant association between exercise practice and education level (χ 2 =18.795; P=0.001).
MDCT of giant gastric folds: differential diagnosis.

OBJECTIVE The purpose of this study was to evaluate the efficacy of MDCT in the differentiation of diseases involving giant gastric folds and to identify the features most useful for predicting the presence of malignant gastric disease. MATERIALS AND METHODS Blinded reviewers retrospectively analyzed 16-MDCT scans of 64 patients who had endoscopic findings of giant gastric folds. Thirty of these patients had histopathologic results showing scirrhous carcinoma; 15, large B-cell lymphoma; 14, acute gastric mucosal lesions; and five, Ménétrier disease. Unenhanced transparent volume-rendered images were assessed to determine the morphologic features of the whole stomach. Contrast-enhanced images were used to analyze wall thickness, stratification, enhancement pattern, and perigastric conditions. We used the Cramer phi-prime correlation coefficient to calculate the overall diagnostic accuracy of MDCT in several gastric disorders. Scatterplot analysis was used for overall diagnostic score, and analysis of the receiver operator characteristic curves of the neighboring two diseases was used to locate the cutoff values for best diagnostic accuracy. We used exact logistic regression to identify which MDCT image features were most predictive of the presence of malignant gastric disease. RESULTS The gastric wall was found to be significantly thicker in large B-cell lymphoma than in other disorders (p < 0.001). The overall diagnostic accuracy of MDCT in the four diseases was 100%. Loss of wall stratification was deemed the best MDCT predictor of the presence of malignancy. CONCLUSION MDCT may be a reliable means of noninvasive diagnosis in the care of patients with endoscopically detected giant gastric folds and may be useful for differentiating benign from malignant disease.
Differential effects of progressive familial intrahepatic cholestasis type 1 and benign recurrent intrahepatic cholestasis type 1 mutations on canalicular localization of ATP8B1

Mutations in ATP8B1 cause progressive familial intrahepatic cholestasis type 1 (PFIC1) and benign recurrent intrahepatic cholestasis type 1 (BRIC1), forming a spectrum of cholestatic disease. Whereas PFIC1 is a progressive, endstage liver disease, BRIC1 patients suffer from episodic periods of cholestasis that resolve spontaneously. At present it is not clear how the type and location of the mutations relate to the clinical manifestations of PFIC1 and BRIC1. ATP8B1 localizes to the canalicular membrane of hepatocytes where it mediates the inward translocation of phosphatidylserine. ATP8B1 interacts with CDC50A, which is required for endoplasmic reticulum exit and plasma membrane localization. In this study we analyzed a panel of missense mutations causing PFIC1 (G308V, D554N, G1040R) or BRIC1 (D70N, I661T). In addition, we included two mutations that have been associated with intrahepatic cholestasis of pregnancy (ICP) (D70N, R867C). We examined the effect of these mutations on protein stability and interaction with CDC50A in Chinese hamster ovary cells, and studied the subcellular localization in WIF‐B9 cells. Protein stability was reduced for three out of six mutations studied. Two out of three PFIC1 mutant proteins did not interact with CDC50A, whereas BRIC1/ICP mutants displayed reduced interaction. Importantly, none of the PFIC1 mutants were detectable in the canalicular membrane of WIF‐B9 cells, whereas all BRIC1/ICP mutants displayed the same cellular staining pattern as wild‐type ATP8B1. Our data indicate that PFIC1 mutations lead to the complete absence of canalicular expression, whereas in BRIC1/ICP residual protein is expressed in the canalicular membrane. Conclusion: These data provide an explanation for the difference in severity between the phenotypes of PFIC1 and BRIC1. (HEPATOLOGY 2009.)
Self-Efficacy and Planning as Predictors of Physical Activity in the Context of Workplace Health Promotion.

BACKGROUND Fostering self-efficacy and planning in individuals can support the uptake and maintenance of regular physical activity. This study examined self-efficacy and planning as mechanisms of an online-delivered workplace health promotion intervention to enhance employees' physical activity. A special focus lay on reciprocal interrelations among self-efficacy and planning over time, as previous work predominantly accounted for only one predictive direction at a time. METHODS Data from N = 1,063 employees of a pharmaceutical company who reported an intention to increase their physical activity levels were assessed at three measurement points up to 12 weeks following the intervention. Cross-lagged panel analyses were performed to examine effects of self-efficacy and planning on physical activity as well as reciprocal interrelations between self-efficacy and planning. RESULTS Findings indicated an increase in self-efficacy, planning, and physical activity following the intervention. Planning was consistently linked to subsequent physical activity, whereas self-efficacy was not associated. Also, reciprocal interrelations among self-efficacy and planning were found across both measurement lags. CONCLUSIONS Planning was confirmed as a predictor of physical activity, whereas self-efficacy was not. However, cross-lagged interrelations indicated reciprocal reactivation among self-efficacy and planning over time, suggesting beneficial effects of including strategies that foster both volitional constructs in interventions.
Effects of implantable peroneal nerve stimulation on gait quality, energy expenditure, participation and user satisfaction in patients with post-stroke drop foot using an ankle-foot orthosis.

PURPOSE To investigate whether an implantable functional electrical stimulation (FES) system of the common peroneal nerve (ActiGait®) improves relevant aspects of gait in chronic stroke patients with a drop foot typically using an ankle-foot orthosis (AFO). METHODS Ten community-dwelling patients participated, of whom eight patients could be analysed. Gait quality (kinematic, kinetic, and spatiotemporal characteristics) during a 10-meter comfortable walk test, normalised net energy expenditure during a 6-minute walk test, participation (physical activity and stroke impact) and user satisfaction were tested before implantation and at various moments after FES-system activation up to 26 weeks. RESULTS Walking with FES yielded increased maximum paretic ankle plantarflexion (FES: -0.12; AFO: -4.79°, p < 0.01), higher paretic peak ankle power (FES: 1.46; AFO: 0.98 W/kg, p < 0.05) and better step length symmetry (FES: 14.90; AFO: 21.45% , p < 0.05). User satisfaction was higher for FES, but was unrelated to objective gait improvements. Energy expenditure and participation did not change. CONCLUSION Implantable FES improved the use of residual ankle plantarflexion motion, ankle power of the paretic leg and step length symmetry compared to using an AFO, however, not resulting in decreased energy expenditure or improved participation. User satisfaction was highest with FES, but this was not related to the observed gait improvements.
Une nouvelle preuve du théorème de point fixe de Handel

M Handel has proved in [Topology 38 (1999) 235--264] a fixed point theorem for an orientation preserving homeomorphism of the open unit disk, that may be extended to the closed disk and that satisfies a linking property of orbits. We give here a new proof of Handel's fixed point theorem, based on Brouwer theory and some plane topology arguments. We will slightly improve the theorem by proving the existence of a simple closed curve of index 1. This index result was known to be true under an additional hypothesis and has been used by different authors (J Franks [NYJM 2 (1996) 1--19, Trans.AMS 348 (1996) 2637--2662] S Matsumoto [Topol. Appl. 104 (2000) 191--214]) to study homeomorphisms of surfaces.
A6V polymorphism of the human μ‐opioid receptor decreases signalling of morphine and endogenous opioids in vitro

Polymorphisms of the μ opioid receptor (MOPr) may contribute to the variation in responses to opioid drugs in clinical and unregulated situations. The A6V variant of MOPr (MOPr‐A6V) is present in up to 20% of individuals in some populations, and may be associated with heightened susceptibility to drug abuse. There are no functional studies examining the acute signalling of MOPr‐A6V in vitro, so we investigated potential functional differences between MOPr and MOPr‐A6V at several signalling pathways using structurally distinct opioid ligands.
CVD Polymers for Devices and Device Fabrication

Chemical vapor deposition (CVD) polymerization directly synthesizes organic thin films on a substrate from vapor phase reactants. Dielectric, semiconducting, electrically conducting, and ionically conducting CVD polymers have all been readily integrated into devices. The absence of solvent in the CVD process enables the growth of high‐purity layers and avoids the potential of dewetting phenomena, which lead to pinhole defects. By limiting contaminants and defects, ultrathin (<10 nm) CVD polymeric device layers have been fabricated in multiple laboratories. The CVD method is particularly suitable for synthesizing insoluble conductive polymers, layers with high densities of organic functional groups, and robust crosslinked networks. Additionally, CVD polymers are prized for the ability to conformally cover rough surfaces, like those of paper and textile substrates, as well as the complex geometries of micro‐ and nanostructured devices. By employing low processing temperatures, CVD polymerization avoids damaging substrates and underlying device layers. This report discusses the mechanisms of the major CVD polymerization techniques and the recent progress of their applications in devices and device fabrication, with emphasis on initiated CVD (iCVD) and oxidative CVD (oCVD) polymerization.
Reprints Available Directly from the Publisher Photocopying Permitted by License Only Thymic Microenvironment and Lymphoid Responses to Sublethal Irradiation

Sublethal irradiation of the murine thymus has been a useful tool for depleting the thymus of dividing immature thymocyte subsets, to sequence thymocyte differentiation events occurring from radiation-resistant precursors. This massive reduction in thymocytes also represents a model in which the bidirectional interplay between the thymic stromal cells and lymphocytes can be investigated. The purpose of this study was thus twofold: to precisely map the initiation of thymopoiesis as a prelude to assessing the effects of injected mAb to novel thymic antigens; and to use a panel of mAbs to determine the alterations in the thymic stroma during the T-cell depletion and reconstitution phases. The striking finding from this study was that following T-cell depletion, there was a marked upregu-lation of specific stromal antigens, which retracted with the reappearance of T cells. Thus, following sublethal irradiation, there are modifications in the thymic microenvironment that may be necessary to support renewed thymopoiesis and the complete restoration of the thymus involved the synchronous development of both the stromal and lymphocytic components.