Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Epidemiology of nonfatal stroke and transient ischemic attack in Al-Kharga District, New Valley, Egypt

Background Stroke is a medical emergency. Nonfatal stroke may cause permanent neurologic damage, complications, and disability. The aim of this study was to determine the epidemiology of nonfatal stroke in Al-Kharga District, New Valley, Egypt. Methods The total population (62,583) was screened via a door-to-door study by three neurology specialists and 15 female social workers for demographic data collection. All subjects with probable stroke were subjected to a full clinical examination, neuroimaging (computed tomography and/or magnetic resonance imaging of the brain), and laboratory investigations including blood sugar, lipid profile, serum uric acid, a complete blood count, blood urea, and serum creatinine. Stroke severity and outcome were assessed using the Scandinavian Stroke Scale and Barthel Index. Carotid Doppler, echocardiography, and thyroid function tests were done in selected cases. Results During the study period (June 1, 2005 to May 31, 2008), 351 subjects were diagnosed as having suffered a cerebrovascular stroke at some point during their lives, yielding a total lifetime prevalence of 5.6 per 1,000 population. Of these, 156 subjects were identified as having suffered a stroke during the year from January 1 to December 31, 2007, with an incidence rate of 2.5 per 1,000. Both prevalence and incidence rates were higher in urban (5.8 per 1,000 and 2.6 per 1,000, respectively) than rural communities (5.2 per 1,000 and 2.3 per 1,000), and were higher in males (6.1 per 1,000 and 2.7 per 1,000, respectively) than in females (5.1 per 1,000 and 2.3 per 1,000). Thrombotic stroke had the highest prevalence and incidence rates (4.2 per 1,000 and 1.7 per 1,000, respectively), whereas subarachnoid hemorrhage had the lowest prevalence and incidence rates (0.03 per 1,000 and 0.02 per 1,000). Conclusion The prevalence of cerebrovascular accident in Al-Kharga lies in the lower range of that in developing countries, and is similar to that in industrialized countries.
Cell Surface-localized Nucleolin Is a Eukaryotic Receptor for the Adhesin Intimin-γ of Enterohemorrhagic Escherichia coliO157:H7*

Intimin-γ is an outer membrane protein of enterohemorrhagic Escherichia coli (EHEC) O157:H7 that is required for the organism to adhere tightly to HEp-2 cells and to colonize experimental animals. Another EHEC O157:H7 protein, the Transferred intimin receptor (Tir), is considered the primary receptor for intimin-γ. Nevertheless, Tir-independent binding of intimin-γ to HEp-2 cells has been reported. This observation suggests the existence of a eukaryotic receptor(s) for intimin-γ. In this study, we sought to identify that receptor(s). First, we determined by equilibrium binding titration that the association of purified intimin-γ with HEp-2 cells was specific and consistent with a single host cell receptor. Second, we isolated a protein from lysates of HEp-2 cells that bound intimin-γ and subsequently identified this molecule as nucleolin, a protein involved in cell growth regulation that can be cell surface-expressed. Third, we established that purified intimin-γ and nucleolin were co-localized on the surface of HEp-2 cells and that the site of EHEC O157:H7 attachment was associated with regions of nucleolin expression. Finally, we demonstrated that mouse anti-nucleolin sera significantly decreased the adherence of EHEC O157:H7 to HEp-2 cells. From this, we conclude that nucleolin is the HEp-2 cell receptor for intimin-γ expressed by EHEC O157:H7.
Low-Level Spatiochromatic Grouping for Saliency Estimation

We propose a saliency model termed SIM (saliency by induction mechanisms), which is based on a low-level spatiochromatic model that has successfully predicted chromatic induction phenomena. In so doing, we hypothesize that the low-level visual mechanisms that enhance or suppress image detail are also responsible for making some image regions more salient. Moreover, SIM adds geometrical grouplets to enhance complex low-level features such as corners, and suppress relatively simpler features such as edges. Since our model has been fitted on psychophysical chromatic induction data, it is largely nonparametric. SIM outperforms state-of-the-art methods in predicting eye fixations on two datasets and using two metrics.
Standard body mass index reference data of prepubescent diabetic Egyptian children

Abstract Background: Data on the growth of diabetic children is conflicting. The aim of this study was to create and validate acceptable body mass index (BMI)-standardized percentiles and curves applied to Egyptian prepubescent diabetic children. Methods: The cross-sectional study comprised 822 prepubescent children with type 1 diabetes mellitus (T1DM), whose ages ranged from 3 years to 10 years±6 months. An anthropometric assessment for each child was performed: body weight, height and BMI were calculated (weight [kg]/height [m2]), and glycated hemoglobin levels were determined. Means±standard deviations (SDs) and the smoothed percentiles of the BMI from age 3–10 years, by sex, for total, controlled and uncontrolled diabetic children were calculated. Comparisons of the 50th percentiles for the controlled and uncontrolled diabetic children, by sex, with those of the Egyptian and World Health Organization (WHO) growth curves were made. Results: For controlled diabetic males and females, the 50th percentile BMI was higher than those of the Egyptian and WHO growth curves, while differences in BMI were recorded for uncontrolled diabetic males and females. For uncontrolled diabetic males, the BMI was lower than the standard Egyptian and WHO growth curves up to 5 years of age, after which it became higher than the standard WHO and lower than the standard Egyptian growth curves from 5 years up to 10 years of age. Contrary to that, the BMI of uncontrolled diabetic females was higher than the standard Egyptian and WHO growth curves up to 6.5 years, between the curves from 6.5 years up to 7.5 years and then became lower than both curves up to 10 years of age. Conclusions: Children with T1DM should use their own BMI percentiles and never be compared with normal healthy children.
Altered morphine glucuronide and bile acid disposition in patients with nonalcoholic steatohepatitis

The functional impact of altered drug transport protein expression on the systemic pharmacokinetics of morphine, hepatically derived morphine glucuronide (morphine‐3‐ and morphine‐6‐glucuronide), and fasting bile acids was evaluated in patients with biopsy‐confirmed nonalcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH) compared to healthy subjects. The maximum concentration (Cmax) and area under the concentration‐time curve (AUC0‐last) of morphine glucuronide in serum were increased in NASH patients (343 vs. 225 nM and 58.8 vs. 37.2 µM*min, respectively; P ≤ 0.005); morphine pharmacokinetics did not differ between groups. Linear regression analyses detected an association of NASH severity with increased morphine glucuronide Cmax and AUC0‐last (P < 0.001). Fasting serum glycocholate, taurocholate, and total bile acid concentrations were associated with NASH severity (P < 0.006). Increased hepatic basolateral efflux of morphine glucuronide and bile acids is consistent with altered hepatic transport protein expression in patients with NASH and may partially explain differences in efficacy and/or toxicity of some highly transported anionic drugs/metabolites in this patient population.
Crosstalk between Wnt Signaling and RNA Processing in Colorectal Cancer

RNA processing involves a variety of processes affecting gene expression, including the removal of introns through RNA splicing, as well as 3' end processing (cleavage and polyadenylation). Alternative RNA processing is fundamentally important for gene regulation, and aberrant processing is associated with the initiation and progression of cancer. Deregulated Wnt signaling, which is the initiating event in the development of most cases of human colorectal cancer (CRC), has been linked to modified RNA processing, which may contribute to Wnt-mediated colonic carcinogenesis. Crosstalk between Wnt signaling and alternative RNA splicing with relevance to CRC includes effects on the expression of Rac1b, an alternatively spliced gene associated with tumorigenesis, which exhibits alternative RNA splicing that is influenced by Wnt activity. In addition, Tcf4, a crucial component of Wnt signaling, also exhibits alternative splicing, which is likely involved in colonic tumorigenesis. Modulation of 3' end formation, including of the Wnt target gene COX-2, also can influence the neoplastic process, with implications for CRC. While many human genes are dependent on introns and splicing for normal levels of gene expression, naturally intronless genes exist with a unique metabolism that allows for intron-independent gene expression. Effects of Wnt activity on the RNA metabolism of the intronless Wnt-target gene c-jun is a likely contributor to cancer development. Further, butyrate, a breakdown product of dietary fiber and a histone deacetylase inhibitor, upregulates Wnt activity in CRC cells, and also modulates RNA processing; therefore, the interplay between Wnt activity, the modulation of this activity by butyrate, and differential RNA metabolism in colonic cells can significantly influence tumorigenesis. Determining the role played by altered RNA processing in Wnt-mediated neoplasia may lead to novel interventions aimed at restoring normal RNA metabolism for therapeutic benefit. Therefore, this minireview presents a brief overview of several aspects of RNA processing of relevance to cancer, which potentially influence, or are influenced by, Wnt signaling activity.
A 90 nm CMOS, 6µW Power-Proportional Acoustic Sensing Frontend for Voice Activity Detection

This work presents a sub-6 μW acoustic front-end for speech/non-speech classification in a voice activity detection (VAD) in 90 nm CMOS. Power consumption of the VAD system is minimized by architectural design around a new Power-Proportional sensing paradigm and the use of machine-learning assisted moderate-precision analog analytics for classification. Power-Proportional sensing allows for hierarchical and context-aware scaling of the frontend’s power consumption depending on the complexity of the ongoing information extraction, while the use of analog analytics brings increased power efficiency through switching on/off the computation of individual features depending on the features’ usefulness in a particular context. The proposed VAD system reduces the power consumption by 10X as compared to state-of-the-art systems and yet achieves an 89% average hit rate for a 12 dB signal to acoustic noise ratio in babble context, which is at par with software based VAD systems.
Genomic pattern of adaptive divergence in Arabidopsis halleri, a model species for tolerance to heavy metal

Pollution by heavy metals is one of the strongest environmental constraints in human‐altered environments that only a handful of species can cope with. Identifying the genes conferring to those species the ability to grow in polluted areas is a first step towards a global understanding of the evolutionary processes involved and will eventually improve phytoremediation practices. We used a genome‐scan approach to detect loci under divergent selection among four populations of Arabidopsis halleri growing on either polluted or nonpolluted habitats. Based on a high density of amplified fragment length polymorphism (AFLP) markers (820 AFLP markers, i.e. ~1 marker per 0.3 Mb), evidence for selection was found for some markers in every sampled population. Four loci departed from neutrality in both metallicolous populations and thus constitute high‐quality candidates for general adaptation to pollution. Interestingly, some candidates differed between the two metallicolous populations, suggesting the possibility that different loci may be involved in adaptation in the different metallicolous populations.
Multiple groups of orientation–selective visual mechanisms underlying rapid orientated–line detection

Visual search for an edge or line element differing in orientation from a background of other edge or line elements can be performed rapidly and effortlessly. In this study, based on psychophysical measurements with ten human observers, threshold values of the angle between a target and background line elements were obtained as functions of background–element orientation, in brief masked displays. A repeated–loess analysis of the threshold functions suggested the existence of several groups of orientation–selective mechanisms contributing to rapid orientated–line detection; specifically, coarse, intermediate and fine mechanisms with preferred orientations spaced at angles of approximately 90°, 35°–50°, and 10°–25°, respectively. The preferred orientations of coarse and some intermediate mechanisms coincided with the vertical or horizontal of the frontoparallel plane, but the preferred orientations of fine mechanisms varied randomly from observer to observer, possibly reflecting individual variations in neuronal sampling characteristics.
Annual Technical Progress Report (End Year 1) Aurora Phenomenon Localization, Classification, and Temporal Evolution Tracking

An adjustable balance knife handle is integrally formed of a handle material (e.g., aluminum) formed in two mirror-image halves. Each half has a plurality of cavities disposed along its inner surface. Selected cavities are filled with a weighting material (e.g., lead) to adjust the balance and heft of the knife. Any remaining cavities are filled with a lightweight filler material (e.g., plastic foam) to exclude water from the handle.
Crystal Structures of the Apo and Penicillin-acylated Forms of the BlaR1 β-Lactam Sensor of Staphylococcus aureus*

Staphylococcus aureus is among the most prevalent and antibiotic-resistant of pathogenic bacteria. The resistance of S. aureus to prototypal β-lactam antibiotics is conferred by two mechanisms: (i) secretion of hydrolytic β-lactamase enzymes and (ii) production of β-lactam-insensitive penicillin-binding proteins (PBP2a). Despite their distinct modes of resistance, expression of these proteins is controlled by similar regulation systems, including a repressor (BlaI/MecI) and a multidomain transmembrane receptor (BlaR1/MecR1). Resistance is triggered in response to a covalent binding event between a β-lactam antibiotic and the extracellular sensor domain of BlaR1/MecR1 by transduction of the binding signal to an intracellular protease domain capable of repressor inactivation. This study describes the first crystal structures of the sensor domain of BlaR1 (BlaRS) from S. aureus in both the apo and penicillin-acylated forms. The structures show that the sensor domain resembles the β-lactam-hydrolyzing class D β-lactamases, but is rendered a penicillin-binding protein due to the formation of a very stable acyl-enzyme. Surprisingly, conformational changes upon penicillin binding were not observed in our structures, supporting the hypothesis that transduction of the antibiotic-binding signal into the cytosol is mediated by additional intramolecular interactions of the sensor domain with an adjacent extracellular loop in BlaR1.
High-Rank Matrix Completion and Subspace Clustering with Missing Data

This paper considers the problem of completing a matrix with many missing entries under the assumption that the columns of the matrix belong to a union of multiple low-rank subspaces. This generalizes the standard low-rank matrix completion problem to situations in which the matrix rank can be quite high or even full rank. Since the columns belong to a union of subspaces, this problem may also be viewed as a missing-data version of the subspace clustering problem. Let X be an n x N matrix whose (complete) columns lie in a union of at most k subspaces, each of rank > kn. The main result of the paper shows that under mild assumptions each column of X can be perfectly recovered with high probability from an incomplete version so long as at least CrNlog^2(n) entries of X are observed uniformly at random, with C>1 a constant depending on the usual incoherence conditions, the geometrical arrangement of subspaces, and the distribution of columns over the subspaces. The result is illustrated with numerical experiments and an application to Internet distance matrix completion and topology identification.
The PDZ Scaffold NHERF-2 Interacts with mGluR5 and Regulates Receptor Activity*

The two members of the group I metabotropic glutamate receptor family, mGluR1 and mGluR5, both couple to Gq to mediate rises in intracellular calcium. The alternatively spliced C termini (CT) of mGluRs1&5are known to be critical for regulating receptor activity and to terminate in motifs suggestive of potential interactions with PDZ domains. We therefore screened the CTs of both mGluR1a and mGluR5 against a PDZ domain proteomic array. Out of 96 PDZ domains examined, the domain that bound most strongly to mGluR5-CT was the second PDZ domain of the Na+/H+ exchanger regulatory factor 2 (NHERF-2). This interaction was confirmed by reverse overlay, and a single point mutation to the mGluR5-CT was found to completely disrupt the interaction. Full-length mGluR5 robustly associated with full-length NHERF-2 in cells, as assessed by co-immunoprecipitation and confocal microscopy experiments. In contrast, mGluR1a was found to bind NHERF-2 in vitro with a weaker affinity than mGluR5, and furthermore mGluR1a did not detectably associate with NHERF-2 in a cellular context. Immunohistochemical experiments revealed that NHERF-2 and mGluR5 exhibit overlapping patterns of expression in mouse brain, being found most abundantly in astrocytic processes and postsynaptic neuronal elements. In functional experiments, the interaction of NHERF-2 with mGluR5 in cells was found to prolong mGluR5-mediated calcium mobilization and to also potentiate mGluR5-mediated cell death, whereas coexpression of mGluR1a with NHERF-2 had no evident effects on mGluR1a functional activity. These observations reveal that NHERF-2 can selectively modulate mGluR5 signaling, which may contribute to cell-specific regulation of mGluR5 activity.
Cyanoacrylate adhesive and hemostasis.

THERE ARE a number of reports of successful use of methyl-2-cyanoacrylate tissue adhesive for hemostasis of various wounds in the liver, kidney, spleen, and pancreas. 1-9 Collins demonstrated the efficacy of hemostasis in large excised wounds of the liver surface using spray gun application of various higher homologous monomers (J. A. Collins and K. C. Pani, unpublished data). In this institute, various cyanoacrylate monomers have been used successfully in experimental surgery of the gastrointestinal tract, blood vessel, lung, kidney, and liver (T. Matsumoto and associates, unpublished data). The purpose of this paper is to evaluate and compare the efficacy for immediate hemostasis in solid organs of methyl-2-cyanoacrylate and the higher homologous monomers. Materials and Methods In 10- to 26-kg healthy mongrel dogs of both sexes 15 livers, 15 kidneys, 9 spleens, and 8 pancreata were operated upon. Methyl, propyl, N-butyl, hexyl, heptyl, isobutyl, and monomer mixture of 95% heptyl and
Transcription Factor AP2ε

Chemotherapy is a mainstay of therapy for advanced gastric cancer (GC); however, owing to drug resistances, the effectiveness of chemotherapy is not satisfactory for some patients with GC. Therefore, identification of a marker that predicts treatment response is beneficial to patients. Hypermethylation of transcription factor activating enhancer-binding protein 2∊ (TFAP2E) has been implicated in chemotherapy resistance to fluorouracil-based chemotherapy in patients with colorectal cancer, but its role in GC is still unknown. In this study, we investigated TFAP2E as a predictor of treatment response in GC. We used methylation-sensitive high-resolution melting analysis to study the methylation of TFAP2E in 141 GC tissue specimens and 45 adjacent nontumor tissue specimens. In vitro experiments, we analyzed the expression and methylation of TFAP2E and to examine the sensitivity of GC cell lines to 5-fluorouracil (5-FU). The TFAP2E methylation occurred at a significantly higher incidence rate in tumor tissues compared to adjacent nontumor tissues (chi-square [χ2] = 38.919, P < .001). Hypermethylation of TFAP2E occurred more frequently in tumors with lower differentiation grades (P < .001) and was significantly associated with nonresponse to fluorouracil-based chemotherapy (P = .010). Hypermethylation was also associated with decreased expression of TFAP2E (P < .01) and nonresponse to 5-FU exposure in vitro (P < .001). Hypermethylation of TFAP2E was associated with lack of response to fluorouracil-based chemotherapy, indicating that it might be a potential predictor of treatment response in patients with GC.
Institutional Effects in a Simple Model of Educational Production

This paper presents a model of educational production that tries to make sense of recent evidence on effects of institutional arrangements on student performance. In a simple principal–agent framework, students choose their learning effort to maximize their net benefits, while the government chooses educational spending to maximize its net benefits. In the jointly determined equilibrium, schooling quality is shown to depend on several institutionally determined parameters. The impact on student performance of institutions such as central examinations, centralization versus school autonomy, teachers' influence, parental influence, and competition from private schools is analyzed. Furthermore, the model can rationalize why positive resource effects may be lacking in educational production.
Shared Decision-Making in Pediatrics: A National Perspective

OBJECTIVES: To identify patterns of shared decision-making (SDM) among a nationally representative sample of US children with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) or asthma and determine if demographics, health status, or access to care are associated with SDM. PATIENTS AND METHODS: We performed a cross-sectional study of the 2002–2006 Medical Expenditure Panel Survey, which represents 2 million children with ADHD and 4 million children with asthma. The outcome, high SDM, was defined by using latent class models based on 7 Medical Expenditure Panel Survey items addressing aspects of SDM. We entered factors potentially associated with SDM into logistic regression models with high SDM as the outcome. Marginal standardization then described the standardized proportion of children's households with high SDM for each factor. RESULTS: For both ADHD and asthma, 65% of children's households had high SDM. Those who reported poor general health for their children were 13% less likely to have high SDM for ADHD (64 vs 77%) and 8% less likely for asthma (62 vs 70%) when adjusting for other factors. Results for behavioral impairment were similar. Respondent demographic characteristics were not associated with SDM. Those with difficulty contacting their clinician by telephone were 26% (ADHD: 55 vs 81%) and 29% (asthma: 48 vs 77%) less likely to have high SDM than those without difficulty. CONCLUSIONS: These findings indicate that households of children who report greater impairment or difficulty contacting their clinician by telephone are less likely to fully participate in SDM. Future research should examine how strategies to foster ongoing communication between families and clinicians affect SDM.
Tunable Quantum Confinement in Ultrathin, Optically Active Semiconductor Nanowires Via Reverse‐Reaction Growth

A unique growth scheme is demonstrated to realize ultrathin GaAs nanowires on Si with sizes down to the sub-10 nm regime. While this scheme preserves the bulk-like crystal properties, correlated optical experiments reveal huge blueshifted photo-luminescence (up to ≈100 meV) with decreasing nanowire cross-section, demonstrating very strong quantum confinement effects.