Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Vascular effects of deletion of melanocortin-4 receptors in rats

Obesity is a major cause of hypertension, but links between the obese and hypertensive states remain incompletely understood. A major component of cardiovascular function in obese individuals is a state of sympathoactivation. A postulated mechanism of this sympathoactivation is the activation of specific classes of neurons commonly associated with metabolic control, which also affect sympathetic outflow to cardiovascular targets. One class of neurons is characterized by expression of melanocortin‐4 receptors (MC4R) which are activated by metabolic signals such as leptin and insulin. In this study, we examined the effects of deletion of MC4R in a novel rat model. MC4R knockout (KO) rats are obese and profoundly insulin resistant without frank diabetes. Despite these conditions, MC4R KO rats are normotensive. Moderate bradycardia and significant increases in peripheral resistance were evident in MC4R KO rats. To determine if the dissociation between hypertension and obesity was associated with changes in vascular function, in vitro reactivity to vasoactive agents and in vivo reactivity to sympathetic blockade were examined. Vasodilator function was not affected by obesity in MC4R KO rats. Reactivity to phenylephrine was reduced, suggesting desensitization of adrenergic signaling. In response to ganglionic blockade with mecamylamine, blood pressure and hindlimb resistance fell more in MC4R KO rats, suggesting that sympathoactivation of the vascular was still evident, despite the absence of hypertension. These findings suggest that obesity causes sympathoactivation of the vasculature despite the absence of MC4R. Dissociation of obesity from hypertension in this model may reflect more renal mechanisms of blood pressure control.
Economics and the Modern Economic Historian

I reflect on the role of modern economic history in economics. I document a substantial increase in the percentage of papers devoted to economic history in the top-5 economic journals over the last few decades. I discuss how the study of the past has contributed to economics by providing ground to test economic theory, improve economic policy, understand economic mechanisms, and answer big economic questions. Recent graduates in economic history appear to have roughly similar prospects to those of other economists in the economics job market. I speculate how the increase in availability of high quality micro level historical data, the decline in costs of digitizing data, and the use of computationally intensive methods to convert large-scale qualitative information into quantitative data might transform economic history in the future.
Emission-Line Properties of the LMC Bubble N70

We present a spectrophotometric imaging study of the emission bubble N70 (DEM 301) in the Large Magellanic Cloud. N70 is approximately 100 pc in size with a nearly circular shell-like morphology. The nebular emission is powered by an uncertain combination of EUV photons, intense winds, and supernova shock waves from the central population of high-mass stars (the OB association LH 114). We have obtained narrow-band images (FWHM~6A) of N70 in the light of H-alpha (6563A), [N II] (6584A), [S II] (6717,6731A), and [O III] (5007A) along with the corresponding red and green continua. The resulting line fluxes and flux ratios are used to derive ionization rates, nebular densities, volume filling fractions, and excitation indices. Comparison with similar spectrophotometry of the Orion nebula indicates that the outer shell of N70 is especially enhanced in [SII] emission compared to its H-alpha and [N II] emission. The measured intensity ratios in N70 more closely match the range of excitation spanned by giant and supergiant H II shells and even by some of the supernova remnants observed in the LMC. From these spectral diagnostics, we conclude that EUV photons probably contribute most of the inner nebula's ionization, whereas a combination of photoionization plus collisional ionization and excitation of sulfur atoms by low-velocity shocks is driving the emission-line luminosities and intensity ratios observed in the outer shell. Considerations of the radiative and mechanical energetics that are involved may indicate the need for one or two supernova explosions having occurred during the last ~Myr.
Evaluating the equivalence of health care ratings by whites and Hispanics.

PURPOSE This study was designed to assess the equivalence of a health care ratings scale administered to non-Hispanic white and Hispanic survey respondents. METHODS We sent 18,840 questionnaires to a random sample of patients receiving medical care from a physician group association concentrated in the western United States; 7,093 were returned (59% adjusted response rate). Approximately 90% of survey respondents self-identified as white/Caucasian (n = 5,508) or Hispanic/Latino (n = 713). Interpersonal and technical aspects of medical care were assessed with 9 items, all administered with a 7-point response format: the best, excellent, very good, good, fair, poor, and very poor, with a "not applicable" option. Item response theory procedures were used to test for differential item functioning between white and Hispanic respondents. RESULTS Hispanics were found to be significantly more dissatisfied with care than whites (effect size=0.27; P <0.05). Of the 9 test items, 2 had statistically significant differential item functioning (P <0.05): reassurance and support offered by your doctors and staff and quality of examinations received. However, summative scale scores and test characteristic curves for whites and Hispanics were similar whether or not these items were included in the scale. CONCLUSIONS Despite some differences in item functioning, valid satisfaction-with-care comparisons between whites and Hispanics are possible. Thus, disparities in satisfaction ratings between whites and Hispanics should not be ascribed to measurement bias but should be viewed as arising from actual differences in experiences with care.
Coexistence of anxiety sensitivity and psychiatric comorbidities in patients with chronic tinnitus

Background Tinnitus refers to the objective or subjective perception of a series of sounds most frequently described as ringing in the ear or within the head itself. Anxiety and depressive disorders frequently accompany this complaint. In this study, we aimed to investigate the presence of psychiatric symptoms and the degree of anxiety sensitivity in patients with chronic tinnitus. Methods Fifty patients with chronic tinnitus who had been followed up for at least 6 months or longer were enrolled in this study. All subjects completed the Anxiety Sensitivity Index-3 (ASI-3), Stait-Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI), and Symptom Check List-90-Revised (SCL-90-R) questionnaires. Fifty healthy volunteers were given the same tests and a statistical comparison of the psychometric outcome data was done for subjects with and without chronic tinnitus. Results Patients with chronic tinnitus demonstrated higher statistically meaningful scores than the healthy group. Comparison between chronic tinnitus group and control group scores showed that patient group has a high rate of statistically significant results than controls; ASI-3, STAI-2, SCL-90-R GSI, SCL-90-R Somatization, SCL-90-R Depression, SCL-90-R Anxiety (z=−8.00, P<0.01), SCL-90-R Phobic Anxiety. Conclusion Higher scores for anxiety sensitivity and other psychiatric symptoms in patients with chronic tinnitus reflects the prevalence of psychiatric disorders such as depression, anxiety, somatoform disorder, and chronic tinnitus. The finding of more psychiatric comorbidity in patients with chronic tinnitus indicates that planning and follow-up in both otolaryngology and psychiatry is necessary to improve the overall results of treatment.
Molecular communication networks with general molecular circuit receivers

We consider diffusion-based molecular communication networks where the receivers consist of a set of chemical reactions or a molecular circuit. At the receivers of these networks, the signalling molecules react with the molecular circuit to produce output molecules. The counts of output molecules over time is the output signal of the receiver. The aim of this paper is to investigate the impact of different molecular circuits on the noise properties and information transmission capacity of molecular communication networks. In particular, we show that some molecular circuits have lower noise and higher information transmission capacity.
CSE-TR-Search-Space Pruning Heuristics for Path Sensitization in Test Pattern Generation

A powerful combinational path sensitization engine is r equired for the effi cient implementation of tools for test pattern generation, timing analysis, and delay-fault testing. Path sensitization can be posed as a sear ch, in the ndimensional Boolean space, for a consistent assignment of logic values to the cir cuit nodes which also satisfi es a given condition. While the conditions for path sensitization ar e different for different applications, the sear ch mechanism need not be. In this paper we pr o ose and demonstrate the effectiveness of several new deterministic techniques for search-space pr uning for test pattern generation. These techniques ar b sed on a dynamic analysis of the sear ch process and can be viewed as extensions of methods that wer e introduced in FAN and SOCRA TES. In par ticular, we present linear -time algorithms for dynamically identifying unique sensitization points and for dynamically maintaining reduced head line sets. In addition, we pr sent two powerful mechanisms that drastically r educe the number of backtracks: failur e-driven asser tions and dependency-dir ected backtracking. Both mechanisms can be viewed as a form of learning while sear ching and have analogs in other application domains. These sear ch pruning methods have been implemented in a generic path sensitization engine called LEAP . A test pattern generator , TG-LEAP, that uses this engine was also developed. W e present experimental r esults that compar e the effectiveness of our pr o osed search pruning strategies to those of PODEM, F AN, and SOCRA TES. In par ticular, we show that LEAP is very efficient in identifying r edundant faults and in generating tests for diffi cult faults. CSE-TR-178-93: Search-Space Pruning Heuristics for Path Sensitization in Test Pattern Generation 1
Completeness of adverse drug reactions reports of the Saudi adverse event reporting system

Objectives: To assess completeness of reports in the Saudi Adverse Event Reporting System (SAERS), which is a part of the Saudi Food and Drug Authority pharmacovigilance system for monitoring the safety of medications. Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia using the reports that were received between December 2009 and June 2012 in the SAERS. The completeness was assessed by reviewing the components of the adverse drug reactions (ADRs) form, and how many fields were completed. Descriptive statistics are reported. Result: There were 14,783 reports during the study period. Eighty percent of these reports were spontaneous reports. Information related to the drug (99%) and adverse events (98%) of the reports were completed. While the patient’s demographic data were completed only in 38% of all reports, the least completed item in the ADRs form was the reporter information (15%). The most reported drug class was tumor necrosis factor inhibitors (7%), whereas events involving the respiratory organ system were the most frequently reported (4.5%). Conclusion: Although the SAERS is considered new, it has a high number of reports. More efforts are needed to improve the completeness of the SAERS to be a good source to assess the signals between events and suspected drugs, especially when there is a high number of reports.
Gender and Specialization Differences of Business Students in Self -Estimates of Multiple Intelligences

This study explores multiple intelligences profiles among Business students at Dhofar University and investigates the differences in students’ multiple intelligences according to specialization (Accounting &Finance, Management& Marketing, and Management Information System) and gender. This study was held at Dhofar University (DU) in the fall of the 2017-2018. The students were from the first year Bachelor and Diploma programs. A scale of Multiple Intelligences developed by the researcher was applied on (68) students. Mean, standard deviation and MANOVA test were used for statistical analysis. The study shows that intrapersonal intelligence has the highest score and ranks first always. Also, the study shows that there are statistically significant differences in Linguistic intelligence in favor of Management and Marketing (M&M) and in Interpersonal intelligence in favor of Management Information Systems (MIS) specialization
Arabidopsis JAGGED LATERAL ORGANS Is Expressed in Boundaries and Coordinates KNOX and PIN Activity[W]

Plant lateral organs are initiated as small protrusions on the flanks of shoot apical meristems. Organ primordia are separated from the remainder of the meristem by distinct cell types that create a morphological boundary. The Arabidopsis thaliana gain-of-function mutant jagged lateral organs-D (jlo-D) develops strongly lobed leaves, indicative of KNOX gene misexpression, and the shoot apical meristem arrests organ initiation prematurely, terminating in a pin-like structure. The JLO gene, a member of the LATERAL ORGAN BOUNDARY DOMAIN gene family, is expressed in boundaries between meristems and organ primordia and during embryogenesis. Inducible JLO misexpression activates expression of the KNOX genes SHOOT MERISTEMLESS and KNAT1 in leaves and downregulates the expression of PIN auxin export facilitators. Consequently, bulk auxin transport through the inflorescence stem is drastically reduced. During embryogenesis, JLO is required for the initiation of cotyledons and development beyond the globular stage. Converting JLO into a transcriptional repressor causes organ fusions, showing that during postembryonic development, JLO function is required to maintain the integrity of boundaries between cell groups with indeterminate or determinate fates.
Intertemporal Pricing of New Products : Incentivizing Consumer Learning and Inertia

When a new brand is launched, consumers are initially both uncertain of and not inertial to the new brand. Though these barriers may disappear on their own over time, a savvy brand manager who knows the relative importance of both can use relevant marketing levers to increase profits in the long run. This paper studies exactly these barriers and measures their relative effects on the launch of new brands. In particular, I focus on how the new brand’s optimal prices are affected intertemporally in order to pin down which effect is larger. I start with evidence that prices for new products are indeed atypically low compared to later in their life cycle and compared to mature products. Motivated by this, I try to isolate the effects of consumer learning and inertia through a simple yet flexible structural model of demand. For simplicity, I limit the consumer learning and inertia processes to only be affected by actual purchases. As a practical example, I estimate this model using data from the yogurt category which includes purchases before and after the entry of Chobani. In counterfactuals, I find optimal prices in scenarios with different parameters for consumer learning or inertia. These counterfactuals reveal that, for Chobani, incentivizing consumer loyalty is the larger motivation for the firm to price low at launch. Though I only estimate and simulate one brand launch, the methodology for studying these relative effects is generally useful for any brand manager seeking to incentivize consumer learning or inertia for new brands.
Tuberculous Lymphadenitis in Northern Ethiopia: In a Public Health and Microbiological Perspectives

Background The actual burden and causative agent of tuberculous lymphadenitis (TBLN) cases is not well known due to lack of strong surveillance system and diagnostic facilities in Ethiopia. This study was conducted to determine the prevalence of TBLN, its causative agent and risk factors for acquiring this infection. Methods A cross-sectional study was conducted from April to May 2012 at four main hospitals and one diagnostic clinic located in northern Ethiopia. Fine needle aspirates (FNAs) from TBLN suspects were taken for acid fast bacilli (AFB) microscopy, culture and molecular typing. Results Among 437 aspirates, culture yielded AFB in 226 (51.7%) of cases. Sixty one culture negative cases (30.5% of 200 cases) were positive by Xpert MTB/RIF test. Moreover, a rifampicin resistant AFB was detected from culture negative cases. The overall prevalence of FNAs positive TBLN cases was 65.8 %. The BacT/AlerT 3D system proved to be a more rapid method with higher recovery rate than Lowenstein-Jensen (L-J) and/or Gottsacker media (P<0.0001). Molecular typing identified all culture positive isolates as M.tuberculosis. The main risk factors for TBLN were pediatric age (OR 2.8, 95% CI, 1.09- 7.05) and cough (OR 2, 95%CI, 1.09-3.7). Conclusions The results of this study revealed a high prevalence of TBLN in the study sites and that pediatric age and cough are key predictors of the disease. TBLN is an important public health problem that needs to be addressed in the area. It is important to note that MDR strains of TB could be involved and aetiological confirmation and drug sensitivity testing of TBLN isolates should be expanded. Further studies on the M.tuberculosis lineages, circulating strains and transmission dynamics, are recommended.
Ultraviolet radiation exposure and risk of malignant lymphomas.

BACKGROUND The incidence of malignant lymphomas has been increasing rapidly, but the causes of these malignancies remain poorly understood. One hypothesis holds that exposure to ultraviolet (UV) radiation increases lymphoma risk. We tested this hypothesis in a population-based case-control study in Denmark and Sweden. METHODS A total of 3740 patients diagnosed between October 1, 1999, and August 30, 2002, with incident malignant lymphomas, including non-Hodgkin lymphoma, chronic lymphocytic leukemia, and Hodgkin lymphoma, and 3187 population controls provided detailed information on history of UV exposure and skin cancer and information on other possible risk factors for lymphomas. Odds ratios (ORs) with 95% confidence intervals (CIs) were calculated by logistic regression. Statistical tests were two-sided. RESULTS Multivariable-adjusted analyses revealed consistent, statistically significant negative associations between various measures of UV light exposure and risk of non-Hodgkin lymphoma. A high frequency of sun bathing and sunburns at age 20 years and 5-10 years before the interview and sun vacations abroad were associated with 30%-40% reduced risks of non-Hodgkin lymphoma (e.g., for sunbathing four times a week or more at age 20 versus never sunbathing, OR = 0.7, 95% CI = 0.6 to 0.9; for two or more sunburns a year at age 20 versus no sunburns, OR = 0.6, 95% CI = 0.5 to 0.8). These inverse associations increased in strength with increasing levels of exposure (all P(trend)< or =. 01). Similar, albeit weaker, associations were observed for Hodgkin lymphoma. There were no clear differences among non-Hodgkin lymphoma subtypes, although associations were stronger for B-cell than for T-cell lymphomas. A history of skin cancer was associated with a doubling in risks of both non-Hodgkin and Hodgkin lymphoma. CONCLUSIONS A history of high UV exposure was associated with reduced risk of non-Hodgkin lymphoma. The positive association between skin cancer and malignant lymphomas is, therefore, unlikely to be mediated by UV exposure.
Dry matter production and chemical composition of tropical forage legumes under different shading levels

This study aimed to evaluate the shading influence on production and qualitative traits of four tropical forage legumes (calopo, puero, archer and perennial soybean). Legumes were cultivated under levels of artificial shading (0; 30; 50 and 70%) from January 2006 to June 2007. Dry matter production (DM), crude protein (CP), neutral detergent fiber (NDF), cellulose (CEL), hemicellulose (HEM) and lignin contents were evaluated. In the summer, increases in legumes DM yield were observed when grown under increasing shading levels. Calopo, puero, and archer production showed quadratic effect. Regression analysis derivation for dry matter yield showed levels of maximum values at 35.0; 33.78 and 45.45% in the summer and 34.94; 34.83 and 33.29% in the fall. Significant effect of species for CP, NDF, CEL, HEM and L/S (leaf/stem) ratio and shading level effect for NDF, CEL, HEM and L/S ratio were observed in the summer, however, no interaction was reported. In addition, significant effect of species for CP, NDF, CEL, HEM and L/S ratio was observed in the autumn. Only L/S ratio presented a negative response according to increasing shading levels. The shading promoted an increase in the fiber components and a decrease in the leaf/stem ratio, and the perennial soybean was the most tolerant to the increased shading.
A light field sparse representation structure and its fast coding technique

The dimensionality of light field data is typically very large for efficient implementation of sparse representation algorithms, such as for dictionary training and sparse coding. We propose a framework for creating light field dictionary using the method of perspective-shearing. Such a dictionary has a special organized structure for different central view patterns and perspective disparities. Based on this dictionary structure, a two-stage sparse coding algorithm is proposed to speed up the reconstruction process by incorporating an interim Winner-Take-All (WTA) hash coding stage into the Orthogonal Matching Pursuit (OMP) algorithm; this stage proves to speed up the sparse coding process by almost three times but still maintains the reconstruction quality. The proposed scheme produces impressive light field reconstruction qualities for compressed light field sensing.
Theorizing Novel and Emerging Drug Use: A Motivational Typology

ABSTRACT Novel and emerging psychoactive drugs (NEPDs), a research-based classification referencing a wide range of natural plant-derived substances and synthetic compounds, have garnered considerable academic attention in recent years. Most of the scientific literature on NEPDs presents definitional overviews of specific substances in terms of their chemical composition and toxicology or socio-legal commentary. This study presents a motivational typology of NEPD use derived from interview data from a sample of offenders participating in jail-based drug treatment. Findings indicate four primary motives for NEPD use (experimentation, drug alternative, peer influence, and availability) and inform discussion for additional research and policy implications.
Invariance under complex transformations and its relevance to the cosmological constant problem

In this paper, we study a new symmetry argument that results in a vacuum state with strictly vanishing vacuum energy. This argument exploits the well-known feature that de Sitter and anti-de Sitter space are related by analytic continuation. When we drop boundary and Hermiticity conditions on quantum fields, we get as many negative as positive energy states, which are related by transformations to complex space. The paper does not directly solve the cosmological constant problem, but explores a new direction that appears worthwhile.