Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Interaction models of CYP1A1, GSTM1 polymorphisms and tobacco smoking in intestinal gastric cancer.

AIM To explore the interaction models of the cytochrome P-450 (CYP) 1A1 Val variant and glutathione S-transferase (GST) M1 null polymorphisms with tobacco smoking in the occurrence of intestinal gastric cancer. METHODS A community-based case-control study was conducted in Yangzhong. Subjects included 114 intestinal types of gastric cancer with endoscopic and pathological diagnosis during January 1997 and December 1998, and 693 controls selected from their spouse, siblings or siblings-in-law who had no history of digestive system cancer. Logistic regression was used to estimate the interaction models. RESULTS The frequency of the CYP1A1 Val variant allele in cases did not differ from that in controls. The OR of GSTM1 null genotype was 2.0 (95% confidence interval (95%CI): 1.2-3.1, P<0.01). It showed a significant type 2 form of interaction model when both CYP1A1 Val variant allele and former tobacco smoking existed (i.e., among the multiplicative effects, the disease risk is increased by the tobacco exposure alone but not by the CYP1A1 variant alone). The interaction index gamma was 2.8, and OR(eg) (95%CI) was 5.0 (1.9-13.4). GSTM1 null genotype and former tobacco smoking were significant in a type 4 interaction model (i.e., the disease risk is increased by GSTM1 null genotype or tobacco exposure alone among the multiplicative effects). The interaction index gamma and OR(eg) (95%CI) were 3.4 and 8.4 (3.4-20.9), respectively. CONCLUSION Different interaction models of CYP1A1 Val variant allele and GSTM1 null genotype with tobacco smoking will contribute to understanding carcinogenic mechanism, but there is a need to further investigate in larger scale studies.
Role of physical activity in new onset fractures after percutaneous vertebroplasty

Background Increased mobility and physical activity after successful vertebral augmentation procedure might increase the risk of new-onset fractures. Purpose To determine whether new-onset fracture following vertebroplasty is associated with specific type of physical activity. Material and Methods A total of 107 patients underwent at least two procedures of percutaneous vertebroplasty. Among them, 30 patients who sustained a post-vertebroplasty fracture(s), were stratified by fracture-causing activity and examined the incidence of the initial and post-vertebroplasty fractures, time to post-vertebroplasty fractures, duration of anti-osteoporotic therapy, T-score, and body mass index. Results The following percentages correspond to patients with fractures sustained pre- and post-vertebroplasty, respectively; spontaneous fractures in 17% and 7% (P = 0.20), sitting in 7% and 3% (P = 0.50), walking or standing in 7% and 20% (P = 0.10), housework in 3% and 3% (P > 0.99), coughing or sneezing in 0% and 20% (P = 0.003), exercise in 7% and 17% (P = 0.20), lifting in 10% and 17% (P = 0.40) and falling in 50% and 13% (P = 0.002). Different levels of activity were not significantly associated with time to incidence of post-vertebroplasty fractures. Anti-osteoporotic medications were administered to 33% of patients before vertebroplasty and 37% after the vertebroplasty (P = 0.78); medications were administered to these groups for 16 and 25 months, respectively (P = 0.39). Conclusion A significantly elevated risk of new onset fracture with increased physical activity was not identified. However, patients should be carefully counseled after vertebroplasty to optimize medical therapy for osteoporosis and also to use extreme care when engaging in even moderate physical activity.
The role of telomere trimming in normal telomere length dynamics

Telomeres consist of repetitive DNA and associated proteins that protect chromosome ends from illicit DNA repair. It is well known that telomeric DNA is progressively eroded during cell division, until telomeres become too short and the cell stops dividing. There is a second mode of telomere shortening, however, which is a regulated form of telomere rapid deletion (TRD) termed telomere trimming that is reviewed here. Telomere trimming appears to involve resolution of recombination intermediate structures, which shortens the telomere by release of extrachromosomal telomeric DNA. This has been detected in human and in mouse cells and occurs both in somatic and germline cells, where it sets an upper limit on telomere length and contributes to a length equilibrium set-point in cells that have a telomere elongation mechanism. Telomere trimming thus represents an additional mechanism of telomere length control that contributes to normal telomere dynamics and cell proliferative potential.
Imagined Hand Clenching Force and Speed Modulate Brain Activity and Are Classified by NIRS Combined With EEG

Simultaneous acquisition of brain activity signals from the sensorimotor area using NIRS combined with EEG, imagined hand clenching force and speed modulation of brain activity, as well as 6-class classification of these imagined motor parameters by NIRS-EEG were explored. Near infrared probes were aligned with C3 and C4, and EEG electrodes were placed midway between the NIRS probes. NIRS and EEG signals were acquired from six healthy subjects during six imagined hand clenching force and speed tasks involving the right hand. The results showed that NIRS combined with EEG is effective for simultaneously measuring brain activity of the sensorimotor area. The study also showed that in the duration of (0, 10) s for imagined force and speed of hand clenching, HbO first exhibited a negative variation trend, which was followed by a negative peak. After the negative peak, it exhibited a positive variation trend with a positive peak about 6–8 s after termination of imagined movement. During (−2, 1) s, the EEG may have indicated neural processing during the preparation, execution, and monitoring of a given imagined force and speed of hand clenching. The instantaneous phase, frequency, and amplitude feature of the EEG were calculated by Hilbert transform; HbO and the difference between HbO and Hb concentrations were extracted. The features of NIRS and EEG were combined to classify three levels of imagined force [at 20/50/80% MVGF (maximum voluntary grip force)] and speed (at 0.5/1/2 Hz) of hand clenching by SVM. The average classification accuracy of the NIRS-EEG fusion feature was 0.74 ± 0.02. These results may provide increased control commands of force and speed for a brain-controlled robot based on NIRS-EEG.
Effect of Zinc Oxide on Characteristics of Active Flux TIG Welds of 1050 Aluminum Plates

1 Abstract— In this study, characteristics of ATIG welds using ZnO flux on aluminum was investigated and compared with TIG welds. Autogenously AC-ATIG bead on plate welding was applied on Al1050 plate with a coating of ZnO as the flux. Different levels of welding current and flux layer thickness was considered to study the effect of heat input and flux quantity on ATIG welds and was compared with those of TIG welds. Geometrical investigation of the weld cross sections revealed that penetration depth of the ATIG welds with ZnO flux, was increased up to 2 times in some samples compared to the TIG welds. Optical metallographic and Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) observations revealed similar microstructures in TIG and ATIG welds. Composition of the ATIG welds slag was also analyzed using X-ray diffraction. In both TIG and ATIG samples, the lowest values of microhardness were observed in the HAZ.
Complement Evasion Strategies of Viruses: An Overview

Being a major first line of immune defense, the complement system keeps a constant vigil against viruses. Its ability to recognize large panoply of viruses and virus-infected cells, and trigger the effector pathways, results in neutralization of viruses and killing of the infected cells. This selection pressure exerted by complement on viruses has made them evolve a multitude of countermeasures. These include targeting the recognition molecules for the avoidance of detection, targeting key enzymes and complexes of the complement pathways like C3 convertases and C5b-9 formation – either by encoding complement regulators or by recruiting membrane-bound and soluble host complement regulators, cleaving complement proteins by encoding protease, and inhibiting the synthesis of complement proteins. Additionally, viruses also exploit the complement system for their own benefit. For example, they use complement receptors as well as membrane regulators for cellular entry as well as their spread. Here, we provide an overview on the complement subversion mechanisms adopted by the members of various viral families including Poxviridae, Herpesviridae, Adenoviridae, Flaviviridae, Retroviridae, Picornaviridae, Astroviridae, Togaviridae, Orthomyxoviridae and Paramyxoviridae.
Aminoglycoside use in renal failure

Aminoglycosides are the mainstay in the treatment of serious gram negative infections including catheter-associated infections. They are not metabolized and are rapidly excreted as such by glomerular filtration resulting in a plasma t½ of approximately two hours in those with normal renal function. The t½, however, can extend to 30-60 hours in patients who are functionally anephric; therefore, dosage reduction or modification is necessary in renal failure patients. In patients on hemodialysis the clearance of aminoglycosides is significant and variable. The concept of conventional postdialysis dosing in patients on hemodialysis needs to be revised in favor of higher predialysis doses to maintain effective bactericidal activity. This article is a brief review of the use of aminoglycosides in renal failure patients.
Efficacy of neem leaf meal as a hypocholesterolemic dietary additive in laying pullets

An experiment was carried out with laying pullets to investigate the effects of feeding neem (Azadirachta indica) leaf meal (NLM) at different dietary concentrations on cholesterol metabolism and productivity of laying chickens. Forty, 26-week old laying pullets belonging to Shaver 579 strain was fed NLM for 12 weeks. Five dietary treatments, each of four replications, containing either 0, 5, 10, 15 or 20g NLM per kg were compared. The birds were reared in a pyramid-type laying cage. Blood and eggs were collected three times maintaining four weeks interval for the determination of cholesterol concentration respectively in serum and egg yolk. Eggs from birds laid after 6 weeks of feeding NLM were used for the determination of internal and external characteristics of eggs. Body weight gain, egg weight, total egg mass, FCR, survivability, and internal and external egg quality characteristics were studied. Use of NLM at 10 and 15 g/kg showed negative quadratic effect (P<0.01) on total lipids and yolk cholesterol after 4 weeks and 8 weeks of supplementation. Similar result was obtained for serum cholesterol (P<0.05) after 8 weeks of supplementation. Analysis of performance data showed no significant difference from control group except a linear decrease in feed consumption (P<0.01). A linear increase (P<0.05) in albumen index and a positive quadratic effect (P<0.01) on Haugh unit were also found. Based on the result, it may be concluded that NLM could be considered as a hypocholesterolemic dietary feed additive with dietary inclusion levels between 10 and 15 g/kg. DOI: http://dx.doi. org/10.3329/bjas.v40i1-2.10782 Bang. J. Anim. Sci. 2011. 40 (1-2): 13-17
Novel Genes Involved in Pseudomonas fluorescens Pf0-1 Motility and Biofilm Formation

ABSTRACT AdnA in Pseudomonas fluorescens, an ortholog of FleQ in P. aeruginosa, regulates both motility and flagellum-mediated attachment to various surfaces. A whole-genome microarray determined the AdnA transcriptome by comparing the gene expression pattern of wild-type Pf0-1 to that of Pf0-2x (adnA deletion mutant) in broth culture. In the absence of AdnA, expression of 92 genes was decreased, while 11 genes showed increased expression. Analysis of 16 of these genes fused to lacZ confirmed the microarray results. Several genes were further evaluated for their role in motility and biofilm formation. Two genes, Pfl01_1508 and Pfl01_1517, affected motility and had different effects on biofilm formation in Pf0-1. These two genes are predicted to specify proteins similar to the glycosyl transferases FgtA1 and FgtA2, which have been shown to be involved in virulence and motility in P. syringae. Three other genes, Pfl01_1516, Pfl01_1572, and Pfl01_1573, not previously associated with motility and biofilm formation in Pseudomonas had similar effects on biofilm formation in Pf0-1. Deletion of each of these genes led to different motility defects. Our data revealed an additional level of complexity in the control of flagellum function beyond the core genes known to be required and may yield insights into processes important for environmental persistence of P. fluorescens Pf0-1.
Brain. Conscious and Unconscious Mechanisms of Cognition, Emotions, and Language

Conscious and unconscious brain mechanisms, including cognition, emotions and language are considered in this review. The fundamental mechanisms of cognition include interactions between bottom-up and top-down signals. The modeling of these interactions since the 1960s is briefly reviewed, analyzing the ubiquitous difficulty: incomputable combinatorial complexity (CC). Fundamental reasons for CC are related to the Gödel’s difficulties of logic, a most fundamental mathematical result of the 20th century. Many scientists still “believed” in logic because, as the review discusses, logic is related to consciousness; non-logical processes in the brain are unconscious. CC difficulty is overcome in the brain by processes “from vague-unconscious to crisp-conscious” (representations, plans, models, concepts). These processes are modeled by dynamic logic, evolving from vague and unconscious representations toward crisp and conscious thoughts. We discuss experimental proofs and relate dynamic logic to simulators of the perceptual symbol system. “From vague to crisp” explains interactions between cognition and language. Language is mostly conscious, whereas cognition is only rarely so; this clarifies much about the mind that might seem mysterious. All of the above involve emotions of a special kind, aesthetic emotions related to knowledge and to cognitive dissonances. Cognition-language-emotional mechanisms operate throughout the hierarchy of the mind and create all higher mental abilities. The review discusses cognitive functions of the beautiful, sublime, music.
Early CPAP versus surfactant in extremely preterm infants.

BACKGROUND There are limited data to inform the choice between early treatment with continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) and early surfactant treatment as the initial support for extremely-low-birth-weight infants. METHODS We performed a randomized, multicenter trial, with a 2-by-2 factorial design, involving infants who were born between 24 weeks 0 days and 27 weeks 6 days of gestation. Infants were randomly assigned to intubation and surfactant treatment (within 1 hour after birth) or to CPAP treatment initiated in the delivery room, with subsequent use of a protocol-driven limited ventilation strategy. Infants were also randomly assigned to one of two target ranges of oxygen saturation. The primary outcome was death or bronchopulmonary dysplasia as defined by the requirement for supplemental oxygen at 36 weeks (with an attempt at withdrawal of supplemental oxygen in neonates who were receiving less than 30% oxygen). RESULTS A total of 1316 infants were enrolled in the study. The rates of the primary outcome did not differ significantly between the CPAP group and the surfactant group (47.8% and 51.0%, respectively; relative risk with CPAP, 0.95; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.85 to 1.05) after adjustment for gestational age, center, and familial clustering. The results were similar when bronchopulmonary dysplasia was defined according to the need for any supplemental oxygen at 36 weeks (rates of primary outcome, 48.7% and 54.1%, respectively; relative risk with CPAP, 0.91; 95% CI, 0.83 to 1.01). Infants who received CPAP treatment, as compared with infants who received surfactant treatment, less frequently required intubation or postnatal corticosteroids for bronchopulmonary dysplasia (P<0.001), required fewer days of mechanical ventilation (P=0.03), and were more likely to be alive and free from the need for mechanical ventilation by day 7 (P=0.01). The rates of other adverse neonatal outcomes did not differ significantly between the two groups. CONCLUSIONS The results of this study support consideration of CPAP as an alternative to intubation and surfactant in preterm infants. (ClinicalTrials.gov number, NCT00233324.)
Organic dye-sensitized ionic liquid based solar cells: remarkable enhancement in performance through molecular design of indoline sensitizers.

Keywords: dyes/pigments ; impedance spectroscopy ; ionic liquids ; sensitizers ; solar cells Reference LPI-ARTICLE-2008-057doi:10.1002/anie.200705225View record in Web of Science Record created on 2008-09-29, modified on 2017-05-12
It project risk in Hong Kong

This study investigated the project risk in information systems design and development in the context of Hong Kong. While a large majority of the past research studies was conducted using the Delphi method, multiple case study research methodology was employed in this study in order to provide compelling evidence of the phenomenon. Another novel approach was the application of the causal mapping technique to analyse the cases. This technique enabled in-depth analysis of the research results. The findings extend prior models of software project development risk and show some of the subtle relationships among major model components.
An attractor hypothesis of obsessive–compulsive disorder

We propose a top‐down approach to the symptoms of obsessive–compulsive disorder (OCD) based on a statistical dynamical framework. An increased depth in the basins of attraction of attractor network states in the brain makes each state too stable, so that it tends to remain locked in that state and can not easily be moved on to another state. We suggest that the different symptoms that may be present in OCD could be related to changes of this type in different brain regions. For example, the difficulty in attentional and cognitive set switching could be related to networks operating in this way in the prefrontal cortex. Repetitive actions and a difficulty in moving to new actions could be related to overstability in networks in the higher order motor, including cingulate areas. In integrate‐and‐fire network simulations, an increase in the N‐methyl‐d‐aspartate (NMDA) and/or α‐amino‐3‐hydroxy‐5‐methyl‐4‐isoxazolepropionic acid (AMPA) receptor conductances, which increases the depth of the attractor basins, increases the stability of attractor networks, and makes them less easily moved on to another state by a new stimulus. Increasing γ‐aminobutyric acid (GABA)‐receptor activated currents can partly reverse this overstability. There is now some evidence for overactivity in glutamate transmitter systems in OCD, and the hypothesis presented here shows how some of the symptoms of OCD could be produced by the increase in the stability of attractor networks that is produced by increased glutamatergic activity.
Quantifying serotonin transporters by PET with [11C]‐DASB before and after interferon‐α treatment

Interferon‐α (IFN‐α) therapy is frequently associated with disabling depression, fatigue, and related neuropsychiatric effects. Although depression in major depressive disorder is associated with low serotonin transporter binding, animal models suggest that IFN‐associated mood effects are linked to increased presynaptic serotonin transporter binding. This study tested the hypotheses that IFN administration to human subjects increases presynaptic serotonin binding activity, and that this effect correlates with incident depression symptoms.
NFIR nonlinear filter

A nonlinear filter is introduced whose output is nearest in distance to the output of a FIR (finite impulse response) linear phase filter; hence it is called the NFIR filter. After choosing the impulse response of the FIR filter properly, the NFIR filter can clean impulsive noise and preserve edges of signals. As a special case of the NFIR filter, a nearest mean (NEME) filter is derived. Theoretical analysis shows that the NEME filter is better than the median filter in smoothing additive Gaussian noise. In addition, based on the definition of the NEME filter, a new interpretation of the low-pass property of the median filter with window width 3 is described. Also, the performance of the nearest mean filter on a noisy edge is quantitatively compared with that of the median and mean filters. >
Entrepreneurial Finance and Non-Diversifiable Risk

We develop a dynamic incomplete-markets model of entrepreneurial firms, and demonstrate the implications of nondiversifiable risks for entrepreneurs' interdependent consumption, portfolio allocation, financing, investment, and business exit decisions. We characterize the optimal capital structure via a generalized tradeoff model where risky debt provides significant diversification benefits. Nondiversifiable risks have several important implications: More risk-averse entrepreneurs default earlier, but choose higher leverage; lack of diversification causes entrepreneurial firms to underinvest relative to public firms, and risky debt partially alleviates this problem; and entrepreneurial risk aversion can overturn the risk-shifting incentives induced by risky debt. We also analytically characterize the idiosyncratic risk premium. The Author 2010. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of The Society for Financial Studies. All rights reserved. For Permissions, please e-mail: journals.permissions@oxfordjournals.org. , Oxford University Press.
The influence of organisational learning culture on information system project team capabilities: an empirical study

This study tried to empirically investigate whether the organisational learning culture influences project team’s – project manager and project members – capabilities. Multiple regression analysis was used for testing the hypotheses of the study. The results indicated that four dimensions of organisational learning culture – continuous learning, inquiry and dialogue, connection to environment, and strategic leadership – significantly influence the project manager capabilities. However, team learning, embedded systems, and empowerment were not predictors of project manager capabilities. The study also showed that establishing embedded systems for capturing and sharing learning significantly enhances project members’ capabilities. Based on the reached results implications for theory, practice and future research were suggested.