Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Glucocorticoid Protection of Oligodendrocytes against Excitotoxin Involving Hypoxia-Inducible Factor-1α in a Cell-Type-Specific Manner

Glucocorticoids are commonly used in treating diseases with white matter lesions, including demyelinating diseases and spinal cord injury (SCI). However, glucocorticoids are ineffective in gray matter injuries, such as head injury and stroke. The differential glucocorticoid effects in white and gray matter injuries are unclear. We report here a novel mechanism of methylprednisolone (MP), a synthetic glucocorticoid widely used for treating multiple sclerosis and SCI, in protecting oligodendrocytes (OLGs) against AMPA-induced excitotoxicity, which has been implicated in the white matter injuries and diseases. The cytoprotective action of MP in OLGs is causally related to its upregulation of a neuroprotective cytokine erythropoietin (Epo). MP transactivation of Epo expression involves dual transcription factors: glucocorticoid receptor (GR) and hypoxia-inducible factor-1α (HIF-1α). Coimmunoprecipitation, chromatin immunoprecipitation analysis, yeast two-hybrid analysis, and structure modeling of three-dimensional protein–protein interactions confirm that MP induces interaction between GR DNA binding domain and HIF-1α PAS domain, with subsequent recruitment of HIF-1β to transactivate Epo expression in OLGs. In contrast, MP activates GR but does not induce GR–HIF-1α interaction, HIF-1α binding to Epo enhancer/promoter, or Epo expression in cultured cortical neurons. The OLG-specific GR–HIF-1α transactivation of Epo provides novel insights into the development of more effective therapies for diseases affecting the white matter.
Serum Immunoglobulin G4 and Immunoglobulin G1 for Distinguishing Immunoglobulin G4-Associated Cholangitis From Primary Sclerosing Cholangitis

The recent addition of immunoglobulin (Ig)G4‐associated cholangitis (IAC), also called IgG4‐related sclerosing cholangitis (IRSC), to the spectrum of chronic cholangiopathies has created the clinical need for reliable methods to discriminate between IAC and the more common cholestatic entities, primary (PSC) and secondary sclerosing cholangitis. The current American Association for the Study of Liver Diseases practice guidelines for PSC advise on the measurement of specific Ig (sIg)G4 in PSC patients, but interpretation of elevated sIgG4 levels remains unclear. We aimed to provide an algorithm to distinguish IAC from PSC using sIgG analyses. We measured total IgG and IgG subclasses in serum samples of IAC (n = 73) and PSC (n = 310) patients, as well as in serum samples of disease controls (primary biliary cirrhosis; n = 22). sIgG4 levels were elevated above the upper limit of normal (ULN = >1.4 g/L) in 45 PSC patients (15%; 95% confidence interval [CI]: 11‐19). The highest specificity and positive predictive value (PPV; 100%) for IAC were reached when applying the 4× ULN (sIgG4 > 5.6 g/L) cutoff with a sensitivity of 42% (95% CI: 31‐55). However, in patients with a sIgG4 between 1× and 2× ULN (n = 38/45), the PPV of sIgG4 for IAC was only 28%. In this subgroup, the sIgG4/sIgG1 ratio cutoff of 0.24 yielded a sensitivity of 80% (95% CI: 51‐95), a specificity of 74% (95% CI: 57‐86), a PPV of 55% (95% CI: 33‐75), and a negative predictive value of 90% (95% CI: 73‐97). Conclusion: Elevated sIgG4 (>1.4 g/L) occurred in 15% of patients with PSC. In patients with a sIgG4 >1.4 and <2.8 g/L, incorporating the IgG4/IgG1 ratio with a cutoff at 0.24 in the diagnostic algorithm significantly improved PPV and specificity. We propose a new diagnostic algorithm based on IgG4/IgG1 ratio that may be used in clinical practice to distinguish PSC from IAC. (Hepatology 2014;59:1954–1963)
HbA1c and Risk of Severe Hypoglycemia in Type 2 Diabetes

OBJECTIVE We examined the association between HbA1c level and self-reported severe hypoglycemia in patients with type 2 diabetes. RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS Type 2 diabetic patients in a large, integrated healthcare system, who were 30–77 years of age and treated with glucose-lowering therapy, were asked about severe hypoglycemia requiring assistance in the year prior to the Diabetes Study of Northern California survey conducted in 2005–2006 (62% response rate). The main exposure of interest was the last HbA1c level collected in the year preceding the observation period. Poisson regression models adjusted for selected demographic and clinical variables were specified to evaluate the relative risk (RR) of severe hypoglycemia across HbA1c levels. We also tested whether the HbA1c-hypoglycemia association differed across potential effect modifiers (age, diabetes duration, and category of diabetes medication). RESULTS Among 9,094 eligible survey respondents (mean age 59.5 ± 9.8 years, mean HbA1c 7.5 ± 1.5%), 985 (10.8%) reported experiencing severe hypoglycemia. Across HbA1c levels, rates of hypoglycemia were 9.3–13.8%. Compared with those with HbA1c of 7–7.9%, the RR of hypoglycemia was 1.25 (95% CI 0.99–1.57), 1.01 (0.87–1.18), 0.99 (0.82–1.20), and 1.16 (0.97–1.38) among those with HbA1c <6, 6–6.9, 8–8.9, and ≥9%, respectively, in a fully adjusted model. Age, diabetes duration, and category of diabetes medication did not significantly modify the HbA1c-hypoglycemia relationship. CONCLUSIONS Severe hypoglycemia was common among patients with type 2 diabetes across all levels of glycemic control. Risk tended to be higher in patients with either near-normal glycemia or very poor glycemic control.
Distinctive electrophysiological characteristics of right ventricular out-flow tract cardiomyocytes

Ventricular arrhythmias commonly originate from the right ventricular out‐flow tract (RVOT). However, the electrophysiological characteristics and Ca2+ homoeostasis of RVOT cardiomyocytes remain unclear. Whole‐cell patch clamp and indo‐1 fluorometric ratio techniques were used to investigate action potentials, Ca2+ homoeostasis and ionic currents in isolated cardiomyocytes from the rabbit RVOT and right ventricular apex (RVA). Conventional microelectrodes were used to record the electrical activity before and after (KN‐93, a Ca2+/calmodulin‐dependent kinase II inhibitor, or ranolazine, a late sodium current inhibitor) treatment in RVOT and RVA tissue preparations under electrical pacing and ouabain (Na+/K+ ATPase inhibitor) administration. In contrast to RVA cardiomyocytes, RVOT cardiomyocytes were characterized by longer action potential duration measured at 90% and 50% repolarization, larger Ca2+ transients, higher Ca2+ stores, higher late Na+ and transient outward K+ currents, but smaller delayed rectifier K+, L‐type Ca2+ currents and Na+‐Ca2+ exchanger currents. RVOT cardiomyocytes showed significantly more pacing‐induced delayed afterdepolarizations (22% versus 0%, P < 0.05) and ouabain‐induced ventricular arrhythmias (94% versus 61%, P < 0.05) than RVA cardiomyocytes. Consistently, it took longer time (9 ± 1 versus 4 ± 1 min., P < 0.05) to eliminate ouabain‐induced ventricular arrhythmias after application of KN‐93 (but not ranolazine) in the RVOT in comparison with the RVA. These results indicate that RVOT cardiomyocytes have distinct electrophysiological characteristics with longer AP duration and greater Ca2+ content, which could contribute to the high RVOT arrhythmogenic activity.
Growth management and housing prices: the case of Portland, Oregon

Portland, Oregon, is well known for its relatively unique urban growth boundary (UGB), a very tight form of zoning designed to control sprawl. The UGB has recently been criticized for raising housing prices. From a theoretical perspective, the UGB will put upward pressure on land and thus housing prices, but the magnitude of this effect is uncertain. Increasing density should substitute for higher land prices, partially offsetting any reduction in the supply of housing. In addition, at any given moment, speculative factors influence housing price levels in bull markets such as the one Portland has been experiencing. This article presents an econometric analysis assessing these conflicting effects. We find the UGB has created upward pressure on housing prices, but the effect is relatively small in magnitude.
Stable trajectory generator-echo state network trained by particle swarm optimization

Recurrent neural networks (RNNs) have good modeling capability for nonlinear dynamic systems, but due to the difficulties for training this superiority is discounted. Echo state network (ESN) is a new paradigm for using RNNs with a simpler training method, where an RNN is generated randomly and only a readout is trained. ESN method has quickly become popular in robotics, such as for motor control, for navigation. However, the classical training method for ESNs can not ensure the dynamics asymptotic stability if the trained ESNs run in a closed-loop self-generative mode. The reason is analyzed at first. We then consider the ESN training problem as an optimization problem with a nonlinear constraint, and take a particle swarm optimization (PSO) algorithm solve it. In our simulation experiments, the ESNs are trained as “figure-eight” trajectory generators. The results show that the proposed PSO-based training method can effectively ensure the dynamics asymptotic stability as well as the precision of generating trajectories of the trained ESNs.
The effect of airport atmospherics on satisfaction and behavioral intentions: testing the moderating role of perceived safety

ABSTRACT International airports have been notable spaces due to their reinforced roles and the increase in the number of users. Nevertheless, there are not many studies on the relationships among the physical environment of the airport, perception of airport safety, customer satisfaction, and behavioral intentions. To fill this gap, this study has attempted to (1) examine the relationships among the physical environment of the airport, satisfaction, and behavioral intentions; (2) discover which element of physical circumstances has an influence on satisfaction; and (3) ascertain perceived airport safety as a moderator between satisfaction and behavioral intentions. The data were collected through wireless channels, using the snowball method. The findings disclosed that facility aesthetics is the strongest component of the physical surroundings of the airport in eliciting satisfaction, and satisfaction has a major impact on behavioral intentions. Despite the invalid moderation effect of perceived airport safety, safety was clarified as a direct driver of satisfaction through additional analysis.
Properties of Doublecortin Expressing Neurons in the Adult Mouse Dentate Gyrus

The dentate gyrus is a neurogenic zone where neurons continue to be born throughout life, mature and integrate into the local circuitry. In adults, this generation of new neurons is thought to contribute to learning and memory formation. As newborn neurons mature, they undergo a developmental sequence in which different stages of development are marked by expression of different proteins. Doublecortin (DCX) is an early marker that is expressed in immature granule cells that are beginning migration and dendritic growth but is turned off before neurons reach maturity. In the present study, we use a mouse strain in which enhanced green fluorescent protein (EGFP) is expressed under the control of the DCX promoter. We show that these neurons have high input resistances and some cells can discharge trains of action potentials. In mature granule cells, action potentials are followed by a slow afterhyperpolarization that is absent in EGFP-positive neurons. EGFP-positive neurons had a lower spine density than mature neurons and stimulation of either the medial or lateral perforant pathway activated dual component glutamatergic synapses that had both AMPA and NMDA receptors. NMDA receptors present at these synapses had slow kinetics and were blocked by ifenprodil, indicative of high GluN2B subunit content. These results show that EGFP-positive neurons in the DCX-EGFP mice are functionally immature both in their firing properties and excitatory synapses.
DXCCII based mixed-mode three phase oscillator

A mixed-mode three phase sinusoidal oscillator (MTSO) employing Second Generation Dual-X Current Conveyor (DXCCII) as the active element is presented. A feedback scheme consisting of two lossy integrators followed by a lossless inverting integrator is employed to obtain three voltage-mode and three current-mode sinusoidal signals simultaneously. The oscillation conditions and oscillation frequencies are independently controllable. The use of grounded passive elements ensures viability for monolithic integrated circuit implementation. Results of PSPICE simulations confirm the proposed theory.
Substance Use Behaviors of College Students: Differences by Living Arrangement.

Traditional-age college students are continuing to live with their parents at higher percentages than at any time during recent history. However, little research has been conducted during the last 15 years on multiple substance use behaviors of this population and how those behaviors compare to traditional-age students who live in residence halls on campuses. The purpose of this study is to better understand the differences in alcohol, cigarette, and marijuana usage behaviors of traditional-age students who live with their parents and those who live in residence halls, as well as how those behaviors change as students age in both environments. Using a quantitative research method, an analysis of 15,786 students between the ages of 18 and 22 at 39 universities was completed to determine their usage of the substances identified during the 30 days preceding the completion of the survey in 2010. The results found that differences did exist between the usage behaviors of students who lived with their parents and those who lived in residence halls. A lower percentage of students who lived with their parents used alcohol, cigarettes and marijuana than did students who lived in residence halls. However, the percentages of students who lived with their parents who used those substances grew at faster rates as those students aged, than did their peers who lived in residence halls. The findings may be used to inform the design and implementation of student affairs programs aimed at those students who live with their parents. SUBSTANCE USE BEHAVIORS OF COLLEGE STUDENTS iv
Combining Peripheral Nerve Grafts and Chondroitinase Promotes Functional Axonal Regeneration in the Chronically Injured Spinal Cord

Because there currently is no treatment for spinal cord injury, most patients are living with long-standing injuries. Therefore, strategies aimed at promoting restoration of function to the chronically injured spinal cord have high therapeutic value. For successful regeneration, long-injured axons must overcome their poor intrinsic growth potential as well as the inhibitory environment of the glial scar established around the lesion site. Acutely injured axons that regenerate into growth-permissive peripheral nerve grafts (PNGs) reenter host tissue to mediate functional recovery if the distal graft–host interface is treated with chondroitinase ABC (ChABC) to cleave inhibitory chondroitin sulfate proteoglycans in the scar matrix. To determine whether a similar strategy is effective for a chronic injury, we combined grafting of a peripheral nerve into a highly relevant, chronic, cervical contusion site with ChABC treatment of the glial scar and glial cell line-derived neurotrophic factor (GDNF) stimulation of long-injured axons. We tested this combination in two grafting paradigms: (1) a peripheral nerve that was grafted to span a chronic injury site or (2) a PNG that bridged a chronic contusion site with a second, more distal injury site. Unlike GDNF–PBS treatment, GDNF–ChABC treatment facilitated axons to exit the PNG into host tissue and promoted some functional recovery. Electrical stimulation of axons in the peripheral nerve bridge induced c-Fos expression in host neurons, indicative of synaptic contact by regenerating fibers. Thus, our data demonstrate, for the first time, that administering ChABC to a distal graft interface allows for functional axonal regeneration by chronically injured neurons.
Development and validation of dissolution method for carvedilol compression-coated tablets

The present study describes the development and validation of a dissolution method for carvedilol compression-coated tablets. Dissolution test was performed using a TDT-06T dissolution apparatus. Based on the physiological conditions of the body, 0.1N hydrochloric acid was used as dissolution medium and release was monitored for 2 hours to verify the immediate release pattern of the drug in acidic pH, followed by pH 6.8 in citric-phosphate buffer for 22 hours, to simulate a sustained release pattern in the intestine. Influences of rotation speed and surfactant concentration in medium were evaluated. Samples were analysed by validated UV visible spectrophotometric method at 286 nm. 1% sodium lauryl sulphate (SLS) was found to be optimum for improving carvedilol solubility in pH 6.8 citric-phosphate buffer. Analysis of variance showed no significant difference between the results obtained at 50 and 100 rpm. The discriminating dissolution method was successfully developed for carvedilol compression-coated tablets. The conditions that allowed dissolution determination were USP type I apparatus at 100 rpm, containing 1000 ml of 0.1N HCl for 2 hours, followed by pH 6.8 citric-phosphate buffer with 1% SLS for 22 hours at 37.0 ± 0.5 oC. Samples were analysed by UV spectrophotometric method and validated as per ICH guidelines.
Evidence for Line Broadening by Electron Scattering in the Broad-Line Region of NGC 4395

A high-quality Keck spectrum of the Hα line in NGC 4395 reveals symmetric exponential wings, fv ∝ e-v/σ, with σ ≃ 500 km s-1. The wings extend out to ≳2500 km s-1 from the line core, and down to a flux density of ≲10-3 of the peak flux density. Numerical and analytic calculations indicate that exponential wings are expected for optically thin, isotropic, thermal electron scattering. Such scattering produces exponential wings with σ ≃ 1.1σe(ln τ)0.45, where σe is the electron velocity dispersion, and τe is the electron-scattering optical depth. The Hα wings in NGC 4395 are well fit by an electron-scattering model with τe = 0.34 and an electron temperature Te = 1.1 × 104 K. Such conditions are produced in photoionized gas with an ionization parameter U ≃ 0.3, as expected in the broad-line region (BLR). Similar analysis of the [O III] λ5007 line yields τe < 0.01, consistent with the lower ionization in the narrow-line region. If the electron-scattering interpretation is correct, there should be a tight correlation between τe and the ionizing flux on timescales shorter than the BLR dynamical time, or ~1 week for NGC 4395. In contrast, the value of σ should remain nearly constant on these timescales. Such wings may be discernible in other objects with unusually narrow Balmer lines, and they can provide a useful direct probe of Te and τe in the BLR.
Deep Neural Networks Do Not Recognize Negative Images

Deep Neural Networks (DNNs) have achieved remarkable performance on a variety of pattern-recognition tasks, particularly visual classification problems, where new algorithms reported to achieve or even surpass the human performance. In this paper, we test the state-of-the-art DNNs with negative images and show that the accuracy drops to the level of random classification. This leads us to the conjecture that the DNNs, which are merely trained on raw data, do not recognize the semantics of the objects, but rather memorize the inputs. We suggest that negative images can be thought as “semantic adversarial examples”, which we define as transformed inputs that semantically represent the same objects, but the model does not classify them correctly.
'On the Sensitivity of Firms' Investment to Cash Flow and Uncertainty'

We investigate the analytical and empirical linkages between cash flow, uncertainty and firms' capital investment behavior. Our empirical approach constructs measures of own- and market-specific uncertainty from firms' daily stock returns and S&P 500 index returns along with a CAPM-based risk measure. Our results indicate that even in the presence of important firm-specific variables, uncertainty is an important determinant of firms' investment behavior. Depending on the measure of uncertainty used, investment may be stimulated or curtailed by the effects of uncertainty on its own or through its interactions on cash flow.
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Diversity in Smartphone Usage

Smartphones have become extremely popular today and their popularity continues to grow. Furthermore, they seem to have acquired new patterns of behaviour, based on their ability to access almost limitlessly anywhere and at any time. Despite the increasing popularity of smartphones and their impact on our lifestyle, we have a much sparser understanding of their usage pattern. This paper demonstrates how Big Data analytics could be used to address this knowledge gap by presenting results on behaviour usage analysis from a set of real-life Android smartphone usage data.
Stark-Wannier type operators with purely singular spectrum

We consider the one-dimensional Stark-Wannier type operators with potentials given by a smooth function with a logarithmic growth at infinity plus a periodic function with the Fourier coefficients of the form $(\ln |n|)^{-b}, 0<b<1/2$. We prove that in the case of rational electric field the spectrum of the corresponding operator is purely singular continuous.
Two Purposes for Matrix Factorization: A Historical Appraisal

Matrix factorization in numerical linear algebra (NLA) typically serves the purpose of restating some given problem in such a way that it can be solved more readily; for example, one major application is in the solution of a linear system of equations. In contrast, within applied statistics/psychometrics (AS/P), a much more common use for matrix factorization is in presenting, possibly spatially, the structure that may be inherent in a given data matrix obtained on a collection of objects observed over a set of variables. The actual components of a factorization are now of prime importance and not just as a mechanism for solving another problem. We review some connections between NLA and AS/P and their respective concerns with matrix factorization and the subsequent rank reduction of a matrix. We note in particular that several results available for many decades in AS/P were more recently (re)discovered in the NLA literature. Two other distinctions between NLA and AS/P are also discussed briefly: how a generalized singular value decomposition might be defined, and the differing uses for the (newer) methods of optimization based on cyclic or iterative projections.