Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Functional Gastrointestinal Disorders Induced by Esophageal Atresia Surgery: Is It Valid in Humans?

Background/Aims Functional gastrointestinal disorders (FGID) affect 15%-20% of the general pediatric and adult population. Animal models suggest that a neonatal stress such as invasive procedures and maternal separation could be responsible for visceral hypersensitivity and FGID. We tested the hypothesis that congenital esophageal atresia (EA), a condition corrected during the neonatal period and associated with multiple stresses, is a clinically significant risk factor for the development of FGID later in life. We postulated that, to be clinically significant, the effect of neonatal stress on the incidence of FGID should be as strong as that of enteric infections in the development of irritable bowel syndrome in children. Methods Subjects with EA and healthy controls were enrolled in this multicenter cohort study. Gastrointestinal symptoms were assessed by a questionnaire and FGID was diagnosed using the Rome III criteria. Results Fifty-three children (25 girls; median age, 12 years) with EA were compared to 72 age- and sex-matched controls. Although 11 children with EA (21%) had a FGID diagnosis versus 8 controls (11%), this difference was not significant (χ2 = 2.20, P > 0.05). In subjects with EA, the presence of associated malformations, the occurrence of complications during the first month, and the length of hospital stay > 30 days did not influence the incidence of FGID. Chronic abdominal pain was present in 38% of subjects with EA versus 25% of controls (P > 0.05). Conclusions Neonatal stress secondary to surgical correction of EA is not a clinically significant risk factor for the development of FGID in childhood.
Segment-level display time as implicit feedback: a comparison to eye tracking

We examine two basic sources for implicit relevance feedback on the segment level for search personalization: eye tracking and display time. A controlled study has been conducted where 32 participants had to view documents in front of an eye tracker, query a search engine, and give explicit relevance ratings for the results. We examined the performance of the basic implicit feedback methods with respect to improved ranking and compared their performance to a pseudo relevance feedback baseline on the segment level and the original ranking of a Web search engine. Our results show that feedback based on display time on the segment level is much coarser than feedback from eye tracking. But surprisingly, for re-ranking and query expansion it did work as well as eye-tracking-based feedback. All behavior-based methods performed significantly better than our non-behavior-based baseline and especially improved poor initial rankings of the Web search engine. The study shows that segment-level display time yields comparable results as eye-tracking-based feedback. Thus, it should be considered in future personalization systems as an inexpensive but precise method for implicit feedback.
Combination of Photon and Carbon Ion Irradiation with Targeted Therapy Substances Temsirolimus and Gemcitabine in Hepatocellular Carcinoma Cell Lines

Background This work investigates on putative cytotoxic effects in four different hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) cell lines after irradiation with photons or carbon ions in combination with new targeted molecular therapy using either Temsirolimus (TEM) or Gemcitabine (GEM). Methods and materials The HCC cell lines HepG2, Hep3B, HuH7, and PLC were cultured and irradiated with photons or carbon ions at the Heidelberg Ion Beam Therapy Center using the raster-scanning method. For combination experiments, cell lines were first treated with Temsirolimus or GEM before irradiation. Cytotoxicity was measured by a clonogenic survival assay. The evaluation of the experiments and the obtained survival curves were based on the concept of additivity defined by Steel and Peckham. Results The results for the combination of carbon ions and both tested systemic substances TEM and GEM showed independent toxicities in all four cell lines. Supra-additive effects were observed in PLC cells for photon irradiation combined either with TEM or GEM and in HuH7 cells for the combination of photons with TEM. Conclusion Addition of targeted therapy substances Temsirolimus and GEM to photon irradiation showed additive cytotoxicity in HCC cell lines, whereas independent toxicities where reached by the combination of carbon ions to these substances. It can be assumed that combining 12C with systemic substances only has independent effects because heavy ions cause direct damage because of their high-LET character resulting in complex and clustered double-strand breaks. Nonetheless, further investigations are warranted in order to determine whether addition of systemic therapy allows a reduction of radiation doses in combination therapy. This could possibly lead to better responses and tolerances in patients with HCC.
Male-Mediated Gene Flow in Patrilocal Primates

Background Many group–living species display strong sex biases in dispersal tendencies. However, gene flow mediated by apparently philopatric sex may still occur and potentially alters population structure. In our closest living evolutionary relatives, dispersal of adult males seems to be precluded by high levels of territoriality between males of different groups in chimpanzees, and has only been observed once in bonobos. Still, male–mediated gene flow might occur through rare events such as extra–group matings leading to extra–group paternity (EGP) and female secondary dispersal with offspring, but the extent of this gene flow has not yet been assessed. Methodology/Principal Findings Using autosomal microsatellite genotyping of samples from multiple groups of wild western chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes verus) and bonobos (Pan paniscus), we found low genetic differentiation among groups for both males and females. Characterization of Y–chromosome microsatellites revealed levels of genetic differentiation between groups in bonobos almost as high as those reported previously in eastern chimpanzees, but lower levels of differentiation in western chimpanzees. By using simulations to evaluate the patterns of Y–chromosomal variation expected under realistic assumptions of group size, mutation rate and reproductive skew, we demonstrate that the observed presence of multiple and highly divergent Y–haplotypes within western chimpanzee and bonobo groups is best explained by successful male–mediated gene flow. Conclusions/Significance The similarity of inferred rates of male–mediated gene flow and published rates of EGP in western chimpanzees suggests this is the most likely mechanism of male–mediated gene flow in this subspecies. In bonobos more data are needed to refine the estimated rate of gene flow. Our findings suggest that dispersal patterns in these closely related species, and particularly for the chimpanzee subspecies, are more variable than previously appreciated. This is consistent with growing recognition of extensive behavioral variation in chimpanzees and bonobos.
Spectrum of Cognitive Impairment in Korean ALS Patients without Known Genetic Mutations

Background Cognitive impairment is associated with a negative prognosis in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), as well as with clinical specificity. We investigate neuropsychological function in ALS patients without known genetic mutations in a Korean tertiary clinic. Methods Three hundred and eighteen patients were enrolled in a prospective longitudinal cohort from September 2008 to February 2012. At the time of diagnosis of sporadic ALS, we carried out genetic and comprehensive neuropsychological tests on all patients, and collected demographic and clinical characteristics. Six cognitive domains, namely executive function, attention, language, calculation, visuospatial function and memory were evaluated. ANOVA and t-tests were used to assess differences in clinical characteristics and neuropsychological parameters between sporadic ALS patients. The Kaplan-Meier method and Cox proportional hazard model were used for survival analysis. Results One hundred and sixty-six patients were categorized into five subtypes: normal cognition (ALS pure), cognitive impairment (ALSci), behavioral impairment (ALSbi), frontotemporal dementia (ALS-FTD), and other types of dementia. Seventy patients (70/166, 42.2%) were cognitively or behaviorally impaired. Among the impaired patients, eight (8/166, 4.8%) had FTD-type dementia and one (1/166, 0.6%) was Alzheimer's disease-type. The ALS patients with cognitive impairment (ALSci) and with FTD (ALS-FTD) were more severely impaired in executive function, attention, language and memory than the cognitively intact ALS patients (ALS pure). In a survival analysis, ALSci (β = 1.925, p = 0.025) and ALS-FTD groups (β = 4.150, p = 0.019) tended to have shorter survival than the ALS pure group. Conclusions About half of ALS patients without known genetic variation have cognitive or behavioral impairment. ALS patients with cognitive abnormalities, especially FTD, have a poorer prognosis than those without cognitive impairment. In neuropsychological profiling, executive tasks were effective in identifying cognitive impairment in the ALS patients. It would be useful for clinicians to classify ALS according to neuropsychological profiles, and screen for subtle cognitive impairment.
Attentional Bias Modification: Single Session Effects on Behavioural and Neurological Measures with High and Low Self-Esteem

The central idea of Attentional Bias Modification (ABM) has been that it can directly alter attentional biases by the use of computerized training procedures. Although ABM has advanced theoretically and methodologically in recent research, its clinical efficacy has been mixed. However the current study argues the strong potential for ABM to contribute as a psychological intervention, to the reduction of the formation of negative attentional biases. As contemporary models of depression and current literature reviews have emphasised the role of low self-esteem (SE) in the aetiology of depressive disorders, the current study investigated the causal role of SE on ABM efficacy. An independent groups design investigated behavioural and neurological differences in response to affective words based on participants Rosenberg Self-Esteem (RSES) scores. Forty participants (28 female) from a non-clinical sample completed a standard or ABM dotprobe task with 200 negative-neutral affective word pairs shown. Later, 10 words of both valence were memorised. Lastly, a delayed free recall task required participants to recall the 20 words. Event Related Potentials (ERP’s) were recorded using a 256 channel dense-array electroencephalogram (EEG) in three separate pre-defined regions of interest, across the 200-280, 320-400, and 600-900ms epochs. Response times and word recall data were also gathered. In the three regions of interest, amplitude was not significantly different between the 2 SE groups, when in different dot-probe conditions. Therefore no interaction effect of SE and dot-probe condition was found. However in the prefrontal line, the dot-probe task had a significant main effect on amplitude, this was reflected by an increased presence of the N2 ERP potential as the negative stimuli caused greater conflict of expectations in attentional deployment. There was also a significant effect of time and SE on amplitude, which reflected initial modulations from the stimuli viewed as positive amplitudes in the first epoch, but decreased amplitude as the modulation from stimuli reduced. In relation to behaviour results, there were no significant differences in the number of words recalled, or response bias between groups, in terms of negative word valence. Overall the results did not support the underlying assumptions of the ABM paradigm, however two potential factors were unaccounted for, being the effects of individual amounts of attentional control, and the large regional distribution that processes of SE are diversely performed in. Both past and future research which fail to successful apply a single session ABM dot probe task can discount self-esteem as a potential moderator.
The dendritic lamellar body: a new neuronal organelle putatively associated with dendrodendritic gap junctions

It is shown in rat that antiserum alpha 12B/18 specifically labels a new lamellar organelle that is exclusively located in dendritic appendages. These dendritic lamellar bodies occur in a restricted number of brain regions, which include areas like the inferior olive, area CA1 and CA3 of the hippocampus, dentate gyrus, olfactory bulb, and cerebral cortex. In these regions the neurons with lamellar bodies form dendrodendritic gap junctions. Immunoreactivity in the inferior olive is first detected between P9 and P15, which coincides with the development of gap junctions in this nucleus. In the adult inferior olive, the density of dendritic lamellar bodies is highest in the rostral medial accessory olive, the subnucleus where electrotonic coupling is most prominent. Antiserum alpha 12B/18, thus, specifically detects a new neuronal organelle that may be related to dendrodendritic gap junctions.
Matrix metalloproteinase inhibitors in rheumatic diseases

The rheumatic diseases continue to represent a significant healthcare burden in the 21st century. However, despite the best standard of care and recent therapeutic advances it is still not possible to consistently prevent the progressive joint destruction that leads to chronic disability. In rheumatoid arthritis and osteoarthritis this progressive cartilage and bone destruction is considered to be driven by an excess of the matrix metalloproteinase (MMP) enzymes. Consequently, a great number of potent small molecule MMP inhibitors have been examined. Several MMP inhibitors have entered clinical trials as a result of impressive data in animal models, although only one MMP inhibitor, Ro32-3555 (Trocade), a collagenase selective inhibitor, has been fully tested in the clinic, but it did not prevent progression of joint damage in patients with rheumatoid arthritis. The key stages and challenges associated with the development of an MMP inhibitor in the rheumatic diseases are presented below with particular reference to Trocade. It is concluded that the future success of MMP inhibitors necessitates a greater understanding of the joint destructive process and it is hoped that their development may be accompanied with clearer, more practical, outcome measures to test these drugs for, what remains, an unmet medical need.
Critical fitness collapse in three-dimensional spatial population genetics

If deleterious mutations near a fitness maximum in a spatially distributed population are sufficiently frequent or detrimental, the population can undergo a fitness collapse, similarly to the Muller's ratchet effect in well-mixed populations. Recent studies of 1D habitats (e.g. the frontier of a 2D range expansion) have shown that the onset of the fitness collapse is described by a directed percolation phase transition with its associated critical exponents. We consider population fitness collapse in 3D range expansions with both inflating and fixed-size frontiers (applicable to, e.g. expanding and treadmilling spherical tumors, respectively). We find that the onset of fitness collapse in these two cases obeys different scaling laws, and that competition between species at the frontier leads to a deviation from directed percolation scaling. As in 2D range expansions, inflating frontiers modify the critical behavior by causally disconnecting well-separated portions of the population.
The Monetary Value of Twitter Followers: Evidences from NBA Players

Social media has fundamentally changed our daily life and drawn many researchers’ attention to investigate the value and strategies of social media. Despite successful examples of social media marketing by firms in practice, there is little scholarly research that investigates whether individuals’ fan base in social media can be translated into real world monetary rewards. Also, most existing studies focus more on Facebook, rather than the second largest site, Twitter. This paper aims to fill this gap by investigating the value of the number of Twitter followers of National Basketball Association (NBA) players. This RIP reports the results of Heckman’s 2 stage selection model and we plan to employ instrument variable and propensity score matching for establishing stronger causality. Our preliminary result suggests that one more followers on Twitter is correlated with 1.514 USD more in salary for NBA players in 2013.
Executive Compensation and CEO Equity Incentives in China’s Listed Firms (CRI 2009-006)

This study investigates the economic, ownership and governance determinants of executive compensation and CEO equity incentives in China’s listed firms. Consistent with the agency theory, we find that executive compensation is positively correlated with firm size, performance, and growth opportunities. CEO incentives are negatively associated with firm size, positively linked with firm performance and growth opportunity. Firm risk has a negative effect on pay and incentives. Compensation and CEO incentives are significantly greater in privately-controlled firms compared to state-run firms and are lower in firms with concentrated ownership structures. Boardroom governance is important: firms with compensation committees or a greater fraction of independent directors on the board have higher executive pay and greater CEO equity incentives.
Early cognitive stimulation, emotional support, and television watching as predictors of subsequent bullying among grade-school children.

BACKGROUND Bullying is a major public health issue, the risk factors for which are poorly understood. OBJECTIVE To determine whether cognitive stimulation, emotional support, and television viewing at age 4 years are independently associated with being a bully at ages 6 through 11 years. METHODS We used multivariate logistic regression, using data from the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth, to adjust for multiple confounding factors. RESULTS Parental cognitive stimulation and emotional support at age 4 years were each independently protective against bullying, with a significant odds ratio of 0.67 for both variables associated with a 1-SD increase (95% confidence interval, 0.54-0.82 for cognitive stimulation and 0.54-0.84 for emotional support). Each hour of television viewed per day at age 4 years was associated with a significant odds ratio of 1.06 (95% confidence interval, 1.02-1.11) for subsequent bullying. These findings persisted when we controlled for bullying behavior at age 4 years in a subsample of children for whom this measure was available. CONCLUSION The early home environment, including cognitive stimulation, emotional support, and exposure to television, has a significant impact on bullying in grade school.
Dominant success factors for Knowledge Management in academic institution

The purpose of this study is to identify Knowledge Management (KM) dominant success factors in an academic institute. In today’s competitive business nvironment, KM is increasingly recognized as a significant factor in gaining a competitive advanta ge. To obtain such competitive advantage, companies must know how to manage organizational knowledge ef f ctively and optimize the knowledge processes within an organization. KM success factors have bee n investigated in many studies, but there has been no sufficient examination of the dominant success fact ors of KM in academic institution. There is a need to find dominant factors that can be used to make an a ccur te assessment of the KM success or effectivene ss. A model for KM in academic institution that based on Structural Equation Model is constructed at the end of the study. The proposed model contributes to a b etter identification of KM dominant success factors ; and enables managers of academic institution to have a better understanding of how to improve the management of knowledge in their institution.
Recent Advances and Uses of Grape Flavonoids as Nutraceuticals

Grape is one of the oldest fruit crops domesticated by humans. The numerous uses of grape in making wine, beverages, jelly, and other products, has made it one of the most economically important plants worldwide. The complex phytochemistry of the berry is characterized by a wide variety of compounds, most of which have been demonstrated to have therapeutic or health promoting properties. Among them, flavonoids are the most abundant and widely studied, and have enjoyed greater attention among grape researchers in the last century. Recent studies have shown that the beneficial health effects promoted by consumption of grape and grape products are attributed to the unique mix of polyphenolic compounds. As the largest group of grape polyphenols, flavonoids are the main candidates considered to have biological properties, including but not limited to antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, anti-cancer, antimicrobial, antiviral, cardioprotective, neuroprotective, and hepatoprotective activities. Here, we discuss the recent scientific advances supporting the beneficial health qualities of grape and grape-derived products, mechanisms of their biological activity, bioavailability, and their uses as nutraceuticals. The advantages of modern plant cell based biotechnology as an alternative method for production of grape nutraceuticals and improvement of their health qualities are also discussed.
Interactive effect of warming, nitrogen and phosphorus limitation on phytoplankton cell size

Cell size is one of the ecologically most important traits of phytoplankton. The cell size variation is frequently related to temperature and nutrient limitation. In order to disentangle the role of both factors, an experiment was conducted to determine the possible interactions of these factors. Baltic Sea water containing the natural plankton community was used. We performed a factorial combined experiment of temperature, type of nutrient limitation (N vs. P), and strength of nutrient limitation. The type of nutrient limitation was manipulated by altering the N:P ratio of the medium (balanced, N and P limitation) and strength by the dilution rate (0% and 50%) of the semicontinuous cultures. The negative effect of temperature on cell size was strongest under N limitation, intermediate under P limitation, and weakest when N and P were supplied at balanced ratios. However, temperature also influenced the intensity of nutrient imitation, because at higher temperature there was a tendency for dissolved nutrient concentrations to be lower, while the C:N or C:P ratio being higher…higher at identical dilution rates and medium composition. Analyzing the response of cell size to C:N ratios (as index of N limitation) and C:P ratios (as index of P limitation) indicated a clear dominance of the nutrient effect over the direct temperature effect, although the temperature effect was also significant.
Synthesis, DNA-Binding and Antiproliferative Properties of Acridine and 5-Methylacridine Derivatives

Several acridine derivatives were synthesized and their anti-proliferative activity was determined. The most active molecules were derivatives of 5-methylacridine-4-carboxylic acid. The DNA binding properties of the synthesized acridines were analyzed by competitive dialysis and compared with the anti-proliferative activities. While inactive acridine derivatives showed high selectivity for G-quadruplex structures, the most active 5-methylacridine-4-carboxamide derivatives had high affinity for DNA but showed poor specificity. An NMR titration study was performed with the most active 5-methylacridine-4-carboxamide, confirming the high affinity of this compound for both duplex and quadruplex DNAs.