Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Impact of extracorporeal shock waves on the human skin with cellulite: A case study of an unique instance

In this case study of an unique instance, effects of medium-energy, high-focused extracorporeal generated shock waves (ESW) onto the skin and the underlying fat tissue of a cellulite afflicted, 50-year-old woman were investigated. The treatment consisted of four ESW applications within 21 days. Diagnostic high-resolution ultrasound (Collagenoson) was performed before and after treatment. Directly after the last ESW application, skin samples were taken for histopathological analysis from the treated and from the contra-lateral untreated area of skin with cellulite. No damage to the treated skin tissue, in particular no mechanical destruction to the subcutaneous fat, could be demonstrated by histopathological analysis. However an astounding induction of neocollageno- and neoelastino-genesis within the scaffolding fabric of the dermis and subcutis was observed. The dermis increased in thickness as well as the scaffolding within the subcutaneous fat-tissue. Optimization of critical application parameters may turn ESW into a noninvasive cellulite therapy.
Correlation analysis of miR-200b, miR-200c, and miR-141 with liver metastases in colorectal cancer patients.

OBJECTIVE To investigate correlation relationship between serum miR-200b, miR-200c, miR-141 levels with liver metastases in colorectal cancer patients. PATIENTS AND METHODS A total of 85 colorectal cancer patients with liver metastases and 54 colorectal cancer patients without liver metastases were divided into experimental group and control. Serum sample was collected before surgery and tested by Real-time PCR to evaluate miR-200b, miR-200c, miR-141 expressions. RESULTS The primary site of cancer of two groups was mostly derived from the colon cancer among the control and experimental group (there was no significant difference between the control group (61.1%) and experimental group (63.5%). Most of the invasive depth in the control group was T3 phase (50%), and most of the invasive depth in the experimental group was T4 phase (69.4%); therefore, the difference of the invasive depth between the control and experimental group is significant (p < 0.05). The majority of cases in experimental group were in stage IV, while they were in stage II in control. MiR-200b, miR-200c and miR-141 relate with tumor metastasis through epithelial mesenchymal transition (ETM) pathway, and target ZEB1 and ZEB2 genes. MiR-200b, miR-200c, and miR-141 have been confirmed to be related to tumor metastasis. miR-141 levels in serum from experimental group was higher significant compared to control group (p = 0.024). miR-200b levels in serum from experimental group was significantly increased compared to control group (p = 0.031). The miR-200c levels in serum from experimental group were significantly higher compared to control group (p = 0.015). Meanwhile, serum miR-141, miR-200b, miR-200c abnormal expressions in serum were related to tumor occurrence and development. Their levels were positively correlated with liver metastasis. CONCLUSIONS The probability of liver metastases in colorectal cancer patients was positively correlated with serum miR-141, miR-200b, and miR-200c expressions, which could be treated as new biomarker for early diagnosis of liver metastases in colorectal cancer.
Private equity across the credit cycle : A cross-sectional approach October 2012

We document how borrowing, investment and subsequent performance are different among buyout firms and how these differences evolve over the credit cycle. Much of the response to credit conditions is driven by the most experienced firms. More experienced firms ramp up investments by almost twice as much as less experienced firms in booming credit conditions. We use deal-level returns data to document that this cyclical response to credit conditions is correlated with a decrease in average equity returns. This relation holds even after controlling for leverage, which is positively related to returns. For a one standard deviation decrease in credit spreads, returns are 5% lower. However, the decrease is no larger for the most experienced private equity firms, compared to their inexperienced competitors. * We are grateful for helpful comments from Alexander Gorbenko, Josh Lerner, Francisco Perez-Gonzalez, Mark Wolfson, and LBS and Paris Private Equity Conference participants. We are particularly grateful to Steve Kaplan for sharing his LBO data with us. All errors and omissions are our own. Excellent research assistance was provided by Kees Bezemer, Meru Bhanot, Vitaly Bord, Will Cong and Konstantin Genin. The views expressed in this paper are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the position of the Federal Reserve Bank of New York or the Federal Reserve System.
Genetic structure of Pakistani oilseed Brassica cultivars revealed by morphometric and microsatellite markers

Brassicaceae is a diverse family of economically important crop plants grown worldwide. The rapeseed and mustard are traditional oilseed crops and are being cultivated in Pakistan for centuries. The present study reports genetic divergence among Pakistani oilseeds Brassica cultivars using morphometric and microsatellite markers. Plant material comprised of 31 cultivars of four different Brassica species i.e. Brassica carinata, B. juncea, B. napus and B. rapa including two exotic cultivars. All the cultivars were evaluated under field and laboratory conditions. Significant morphological variation was observed for quantitative traits e.g. days to flowering initiation & completion, days to maturity, leaf size, plant height, 1000-seed weight, leaves per plant, primary branches per plant, main raceme length, silique length and seeds per silique etc. A significant positive association was found between 1000-seed weight, days to flowering initiation and plant height. Seed yield was positively correlated to period of flowering and positively, but nonsignificant correlation was observed with plant height and number of primary branches per plant. Cultivars, DGL, Pakola, NARC-22, Takwara, Shiralee, Con-III, Dure-NIFA, Abasin-95, Dunkeld, Con-I, Con-II, Chakwal-Sarson and PakCheen-89 were characterized as cultivars having the highest number of siliquae on main raceme with the largest and highly productive siliquae. The PCR-based DNA polymorphism among 30 cultivars revealed significant genetic variation and depicted dissimilarity among cultivars except Dacca-raya and Sultan-raya. Cultivars were classified into 2 major groups and 4 small sub-groups according to their morphological characteristics, origin of cultivars (institute/ research station) and related species. Cultivars like Khanpur-raya, Bahawalpur-raya and Toria-sathi formed no association with other cultivars and positioned independently in the dendrogram.
Instructional Technologies in the World and Turkey (A Comparative Review)

The aim of this study is to review, comparatively, the applications on the instructional technologies (methods and media) in the World and Turkey; The study, first, introduces the instructional technologies such as distance education, Internet, and Computer Assisted Instruction (CAI) in the World and Turkey; then determines and discusses the applications and major problem areas on the using of the instructional technologies in Turkey compared to the developed countries.
Predicting Overall Car Performance Using Artificial Neural Network

: In this paper an Artificial Neural Network (ANN) model was used to help cars dealers recognize the many characteristics of cars, including manufacturers, their location and classification of cars according to several categories including: Buying, Maint, Doors, Persons, Lug_boot, Safety, and Overall. ANN was used in forecasting car acceptability. The results showed that ANN model was able to predict the car acceptability with 99.62 %. The factor of Safety has the most influence on car acceptability evaluation. Comparative study method is suitable for the evaluation of car acceptability forecasting, can also be extended to all other areas.
University of Birmingham Investigating the impact of adding plan reminders on implementation intentions to support behaviour change

The use of reminders in habit-formation apps could lead to dependency towards the reminders and hinder the automaticity of the behaviour. Implementation intentions (if – then plan) have been found to be an effective technique that can be used to support forming new habits / breaking unwanted habits. However, implementation intentions could suffer due to forgetfulness and lack of strong intention. In this study, we investigated how adding plan reminders could impact implementation intentions by conducting a 4-week study on daily mood report task. Our ﬁ ndings suggest that adding plan reminders leads to better compliance and better recall of the plan but not necessarily increased automaticity. We also discuss how plan reminders of implementation intentions can be improved.
Local Multipliers and Human Capital in the US and Sweden

We show that every time a local economy generates a new job by attracting a new business in the traded sector, a significant number of additional jobs are created in the non-traded sector. This multiplier effect is particularly large for jobs with high levels of human capital and for high tech industries. These findings are important for local development policies, as they suggest that in order to increase local employment levels, municipalities should target high tech employers with high levels of human capital.
An integrated supervised injecting program within a care facility for HIV-positive individuals: a qualitative evaluation

Abstract While there has been growing interest in comprehensive models of treatment and care for individuals living with HIV/AIDS, little attention has been given to the potential role that supervised injecting programs could play in increasing access to prevention and care services for HIV-positive injection drug users (IDU). We conducted 22 semi-structured interviews with HIV-positive IDU regarding a supervised injection program integrated in an HIV focused care facility known as the Dr. Peter Centre (DPC). We also interviewed seven staff members who supervise injections within the facility. All interviews were audio recorded, transcribed verbatim, and a thematic analysis was conducted. Participant and staff reports indicated that the integrated supervised injection program influenced IDUs’ access to care by building more open and trusting relationships with staff, facilitating engagement in safer injection education and improving the management of injection-related infections. Participants and staff viewed the program as facilitating the delivery of care through mediating overdose risks, reducing the need to punitively manage drug use onsite and reducing the risks of encountering used syringes on the premises. For some participants, however, feelings of shame and fear of judgment in relation to their drug use limited initial uptake of the program. Our findings identify mechanisms through which integrated supervised injection programs may serve to better facilitate access and delivery of comprehensive care for HIV-positive IDU and highlight the benefits of addressing HIV-positive IDUs’ drug use in the context of comprehensive models of healthcare.
Omics‐based approaches to understand mechanosensitive endothelial biology and atherosclerosis

Atherosclerosis is a multifactorial disease that preferentially occurs in arterial regions exposed to d‐flow can be used to indicate disturbed flow or disturbed blood flow. The mechanisms by which d‐flow induces atherosclerosis involve changes in the transcriptome, methylome, proteome, and metabolome of multiple vascular cells, especially endothelial cells. Initially, we begin with the pathogenesis of atherosclerosis and the changes that occur at multiple levels owing to d‐flow, especially in the endothelium. Also, there are a variety of strategies used for the global profiling of the genome, transcriptome, miRNA‐ome, DNA methylome, and metabolome that are important to define the biological and pathophysiological mechanisms of endothelial dysfunction and atherosclerosis. Finally, systems biology can be used to integrate these ‘omics’ datasets, especially those that derive data based on a single animal model, in order to better understand the pathophysiology of atherosclerosis development in a holistic manner and how this integrative approach could be used to identify novel molecular diagnostics and therapeutic targets to prevent or treat atherosclerosis. WIREs Syst Biol Med 2016, 8:378–401. doi: 10.1002/wsbm.1344
Phosphate-assisted phytoremediation of arsenic by Brassica napus and Brassica juncea: Morphological and physiological response

ABSTRACT In this study, we examined the potential role of phosphate (P; 0, 50, 100 mg kg−1) on growth, gas exchange attributes, and photosynthetic pigments of Brassica napus and Brassica juncea under arsenic (As) stress (0, 25, 50, 75 mg kg−1) in a pot experiment. Results revealed that phosphate supplementation (P100) to As-stressed plants significantly increased shoot As concentration, dry biomass yield, and As uptake, in addition to the improved morphological and gas exchange attributes and photosynthetic pigments over P0. However, phosphate-assisted increase in As uptake was substantially (up to two times) greater for B. napus, notably due to higher shoot As concentration and dry biomass yield, compared to B. juncea at the P100 level. While phosphate addition in soil (P100) led to enhanced shoot As concentration in B. juncea, it reduced shoot dry biomass, primarily after 50 and 75 mg kg−1 As treatments. The translocation factor and bioconcentration factor values of B. napus were higher than B. juncea for all As levels in the presence of phosphate. This study demonstrates that phosphate supplementation has a potential to improve As phytoextraction efficiency, predominantly for B. napus, by minimizing As-induced damage to plant growth, as well as by improving the physiological and photosynthetic attributes.
INSTITUTIONAL BIDDING IN IPO ALLOCATION: EVIDENCE FROM CHINA

Using a proprietary database of institutional investor bidding for shares in Chinese IPO allocations, we examine the information content and predictive ability of bidding dispersion. IPOs with higher levels of bid dispersion experience greater first-day return than other IPOs by discounting the offer price as a compensation for investors’ bearing valuation uncertainty and estimation risk, as well as greater trading volume and price volatility. Our results hold after controlling for potential endogeneity and using alternative dispersion measures. Dispersion of bidding prices is negatively predictive both of one-year operating performance post-IPO and three-month stock performance. Bid characteristics, such as the timing of the bid and the frequency and the type of the bidder, matter in the pricing of IPOs, as does the geographic distance between bidders and the IPO firm. Using a 2010 regulation change in the IPO share allocation rule as a natural experiment, we show that the new rule decreases dispersion among institutional bidders but increases the effect of dispersion on first-day return. The evidence highlights the role of institutions and regulatory policies on IPOs in China.
Synchronverters: Inverters That Mimic Synchronous Generators

In this paper, the idea of operating an inverter to mimic a synchronous generator (SG) is motivated and developed. We call the inverters that are operated in this way synchronverters. Using synchronverters, the well-established theory/algorithms used to control SGs can still be used in power systems where a significant proportion of the generating capacity is inverter-based. We describe the dynamics, implementation, and operation of synchronverters. The real and reactive power delivered by synchronverters connected in parallel and operated as generators can be automatically shared using the well-known frequency- and voltage-drooping mechanisms. Synchronverters can be easily operated also in island mode, and hence, they provide an ideal solution for microgrids or smart grids. Both simulation and experimental results are given to verify the idea.
Effect of topiramate augmentation in chronic schizophrenia: a placebo-controlled trial.

BACKGROUND The limitations of antipsychotics for treatment of schizophrenia have led to investigation of the usefulness of pharmacological augmentation strategies. Clinical studies have provided evidence for glutamate abnormalities in schizophrenia. Topiramate is an anticonvulsant drug with alpha-amino-3-hydroxy-5-methylisoxazole-4-propionic acid receptor antagonist properties; therefore, the objective of the present study was to explore the therapeutic efficacy of topiramate as an adjunctive medication in schizophrenia. METHODS A 17 week, double-blind, placebo-controlled clinical trial was performed on 80 patients (25 - 65 years) from 2005 - 2007. All were hospitalized in Mashhad psychiatric hospitals with chronic DSM-IV-TR-diagnosed schizophrenia. All participants received up to 300 mg/day of clozapine. In addition, participants randomly received either topiramate (200 - 300 mg/day) or placebo gradually added to their ongoing treatment. Efficacy of medication was measured by administering Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale at baseline and weeks 4, 8, 12, and 17. RESULTS During the study, 5 patients from the placebo group and 12 participants from topiramate group were excluded. Clozapine and topiramate group showed significant decreases in all three subscales of PANSS values from baseline, with the maximum efficacy in week 12. However, after tapering topiramate, the general psychopathology sign was the only subscale that showed a significant difference. The clozapine and placebo group showed a significant decrease in all three subscales of PANSS values compared to baseline. The significant efficacy for all subscales was obtained at the end point. No significant differences in PANSS scores from baseline to end point were noted between case and control groups. CONCLUSION Augmentation of clozapine and topiramate did not significantly decline patterns in any of the three subscales of PANSS compared to the clozapine and placebo group. Irct ID: IRCT138904014236N1
Dynamic Power Management With Optimal Time-Out Policies

In the dynamic power management (DPM), it is quite important to switch a high-power consuming state to a low-power consuming one at a suitable timing. This problem has been formulated as Markov decision processes (MDPs) with state-dependent control in the past literature. However, this approach may not be often feasible in many practical situations, because the state-dependent policy requires that all the states on a request arrival process must be observed through an online monitoring. To overcome this problem, we develop a simple time-out policy in the DPM, which can be regarded as the optimal timing to take a GO-SLEEP action during an idle period of the transaction system. We derive the optimal time-out policy minimizing the expected power consumption per unit time in the steady state analytically under the assumption that the request arrival process is given by a Markovian arrival process with an arbitrary number of phases. In numerical experiments with real read/write data for a hard disk unit and CPU utilization data, we estimate the expected power consumption per unit time under two DPM policies, namely, the time-out policy and the MDP-based policy, and quantitatively compare their effectiveness on the power reduction.
Developmentally regulated Shh expression is robust to TAD perturbations

ABSTRACT Topologically associating domains (TADs) have been proposed to both guide and constrain enhancer activity. Shh is located within a TAD known to contain all its enhancers. To investigate the importance of chromatin conformation and TAD integrity on developmental gene regulation, we have manipulated the Shh TAD – creating internal deletions, deleting CTCF sites, and deleting and inverting sequences at TAD boundaries. Chromosome conformation capture and fluorescence in situ hybridisation assays were used to investigate the changes in chromatin conformation that result from these manipulations. Our data suggest that these substantial alterations in TAD structure have no readily detectable effect on Shh expression patterns or levels of Shh expression during development – except where enhancers are deleted – and result in no detectable phenotypes. Only in the case of a larger deletion at one TAD boundary could ectopic influence of the Shh limb enhancer be detected on a gene (Mnx1) in the neighbouring TAD. Our data suggests that, contrary to expectations, the developmental regulation of Shh expression is remarkably robust to TAD perturbations. Summary: Genetic manipulation of the Shh TAD results in chromatin organisation changes without effects on expression patterns or phenotypes, suggesting that Shh developmental regulation is robust to TAD perturbations.
Designing simulator-based training: An approach integrating cognitive task analysis and four-component instructional design

Most studies of simulator-based surgical skills training have focused on the acquisition of psychomotor skills, but surgical procedures are complex tasks requiring both psychomotor and cognitive skills. As skills training is modelled on expert performance consisting partly of unconscious automatic processes that experts are not always able to explicate, simulator developers should collaborate with educational experts and physicians in developing efficient and effective training programmes. This article presents an approach to designing simulator-based skill training comprising cognitive task analysis integrated with instructional design according to the four-component/instructional design model. This theory-driven approach is illustrated by a description of how it was used in the development of simulator-based training for the nephrostomy procedure.