Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Gestational diabetes mellitus: maternal and perinatal outcomes in 220 saudi women.

OBJECTIVES To assess the maternal and fetal complications of pregnancy in mothers with gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) compared with non-diabetic patients who delivered in the hospital during the study period. METHODS The outcome of pregnancy in 220 Saudi patients with GDM identified from the delivery register/hospital database and matched for age, parity and body mass index with 220 non-diabetic controls were studied retrospectively from their case files. Patients with multiple pregnancies and abnormal presentation of the fetus were excluded from the study. RESULTS The GDM patients were treated with either diet alone or with additional insulin in some patients who required better control of their blood sugar levels. Patients with GDM had a significantly higher incidence of pre-eclampsia (p<0.0001); preterm delivery (p=0.0226); induction of labor (p<0.0001); cesarean section (p=0.0019); higher mean birth weight (p<0.0001) of babies; large for gestational age infants (p=0.0011); macrosomia (p=0.0186); and admission to the neonatal intensive care unit (p=0.0003), compared with the control group. However, the rates of Apgar score <7 at 5 minutes, respiratory distress syndrome, neonatal hypoglycemia, hyperbilirubinemia and the need for phototherapy were similar in both groups of patients. Congenital anomalies and perinatal mortality rates were not significantly different in the two groups. CONCLUSION GDM is recognized to be associated with increased rates of adverse maternal and neonatal outcomes, which are supported by the findings of this study. Even the mild form of GDM seems to have significant consequences for women and their offspring and is recommended to be aggressively treated. Evidence suggests that early diagnosis and strict control of blood sugar levels throughout the pregnancy can significantly reduce maternal and fetal complications. A multicenter, randomized controlled trial, based on universally accepted criteria for GDM screening test, standardized diagnostic OGTT and management of all patients with GDM versus the standard obstetric management of the control is warranted.
Social anxiety in Slovene adolescents : Psychometric properties of a new measure, age differences and relations with self-consciousness and perceived incompetence

On a examine les differences d'anxiete sociale liees a l'âge et au sexe au cours de l'adolescence et les rapports de cette anxiete avec la focalisation sur soi et la perception de soi comme etant incompetent. Une nouvelle mesure de l'anxiete sociale a l'adolescence a ete construite. Les 325 adolescents participant a l'etude appartenaient a trois groupes d'âge : la prime, la moyenne et la grande adolescence (âges respectivement en moyenne de 12, 16 et 20 ans). Ils ont repondu aux 36 items de la nouvelle Echelle d'Anxiete Sociale pour Adolescents. D'autres echelles on permis d'evaluer l'audience imaginaire, la focalisation sur soi, ainsi que les perceptions de soi comme etant globalement incompetent ou socialement incompetent. L'analyse factorielle a fait apparaitre deux facteurs d'anxiete sociale: (a) l'apprehension et la peur d'etre mal evalue, et (b) la tension et l'inhibition dans les contacts sociaux. La premiere de ces deux formes d'anxiete, qui etait plus elevee chez les filles, s'est averee diminuer avec l'âge. Les deux formes d'anxiete etaient plus ou moins fortement correlees avec la focalisation sur soi et les perceptions de soi comme etant globalement ou socialement incompetent.
Loss of Somatic Heterozygosity in Hepatocellular Carcinoma 1

Loss of tumor suppressor genes is involved in the mechanism of tumorigenesis of many solid tumors. We tested 9 hepatitis B virus (HBV)positive and 10 HBV-negative hepatocellular carcinomas for loss of somatic heterozygosity using 14 polymorphic probes mapping to chro mosomes 4, 11, 13, and 17. Losses were found on all chromosome arms tested. The highest frequency of loss was observed at the D13S1 locus (67%) at band 13ql2. Losses were also observed at three other loci on 13q. Twenty-one % of informative cases showed loss on 17p using the probe pYNZ22 which maps near the p53 locus. Losses on 4q were infrequent with 17% found at one locus and no loss at two others. The retinoblastoma gene and the locus on 17p were only inactivated in our HBV-negative tumors, although the numbers were too small for statistical significance. For all loci tested, we found no significant differences in the frequency of losses with HBV status, ethnic background, cirrhosis, grade of tumor, or presence of hemochromatosis.
Serum serotype-specific pneumococcal anticapsular immunoglobulin g concentrations after immunization with a 9-valent conjugate pneumococcal vaccine correlate with nasopharyngeal acquisition of pneumococcus.

BACKGROUND Immunization with pneumococcal conjugate vaccines (PCVs) reduces nasopharyngeal colonization by Streptococcus pneumoniae. We attempted to correlate postvaccination serum serotype-specific pneumococcal anticapsular immunoglobulin (Ig) G concentrations with new acquisitions of vaccine-type (VT) serotypes and the VT-related serotype 6A. METHODS A total of 132 day care center attendees aged 12-35 months received a 9-valent PCV (PnCRM9) and were followed for 2 years for new nasopharyngeal acquisitions of S. pneumoniae. A total of 132 control subjects received a meningococcus type C conjugate vaccine. Serum serotype-specific pneumococcal anticapsular IgG concentrations were determined at 1 month after complete immunization. RESULTS A logistic regression model of the probability of having a new acquisition of S. pneumoniae (for serotypes 9V, 14, 19F, and 23F) as a function of the IgG concentration showed a negative coefficient, indicating that higher IgG concentrations led to a decreasing probability of having a new acquisition, and achieved statistical significance for serotypes 14 and 19F. Similarly, a new acquisition of serotype 6A was shown to be significantly inversely related to the anti-6B IgG concentration. An effect of the IgG concentration on duration of carriage was not demonstrated. CONCLUSION The magnitude of herd protection against S. pneumoniae provided by a PCV may depend on the magnitude of IgG concentrations.
Mast cells in the rat brain synthesize gonadotropin-releasing hormone.

Mast cells occur in the brain and their number changes with reproductive status. While it has been suggested that brain mast cells contain the mammalian hypothalamic form of gonadotropin-releasing hormone (GnRH-I), it is not known whether mast cells synthesize GnRH-I de novo. In the present study, mast cells in the rat thalamus were immunoreactive to antisera generated against GnRH-I and the GnRH-I associated peptide (GAP); mast cell identity was confirmed by the presence of heparin, a molecule specific to mast cells, or serotonin. To test whether mast cells synthesize GnRH-I mRNA, in situ hybridization was performed using a GnRH-I cRNA probe, and the signal was identified as being within mast cells by the binding of avidin to heparin. GnRH-I mRNA was also found, using RT-PCR, in mast cells isolated from the peritoneal cavity. Given the function of GnRH-I in the regulation of reproduction, changes in the population of brain GnRH-I mast cells were investigated. While housing males with sexually receptive females for 2 h or 5 days resulted in a significant increase in the number of brain mast cells, the proportion of mast cells positive for GnRH-I was similar to that in males housed with a familiar male. These findings represent the first report showing that mast cells synthesize GnRH-I and that the mast cell increase seen in a reproductive context is the result of a parallel increase in GnRH-I positive and non-GnRH-I positive mast cells.
Adolescents' perceptions of sexuality

Adolescence represents a phase of life which entails dramatic changes for the youth and it is characterised by challenges, preparation, experimentation, confusion, frustration and adjustements. During this time new relationships are formed and a growing interest in sexuality is evident. The sexual ripening of the adolescent entails not only physical maturation, but also includes a psychological, or inner awareness of sexuality. The adolescent is set the difficult task of properly expressing his own sexuality. This quest is complicated by a variety of factors. The past decade has seen dramatic changes in the sexual attitudes and behavior of adolescents. The primary aims of this study was thus to established adolescents' perceptions of sexuality and to identify the educational needs of adolescents as far as sexuality is concerned. The results obtained offered a perspective on the way in which adolescents regard their sexuality. Strategies for education can now be planned to address the needs of adolescents
Endothelial Nitric Oxide Deficiency Reduces MMP-13–Mediated Cleavage of ICAM-1 in Vascular Endothelium: A Role in Atherosclerosis

Objective—Lack of endothelial nitric oxide synthase worsens atherosclerosis at least by increasing monocyte adhesion to endothelial cells. The purpose of this study was to elucidate the molecular mechanism elicited by NO. Methods and Results—We evaluated atherosclerosis in apoE and NOS3/apoE-deficient mice fed with high-cholesterol diet. We found significant increase in aortic lesion size, and infiltration of macrophages in NOS3/apoE-null mice when compared to apoE-deficient animals. To test the relevance of cellular adhesion as well as extracellular matrix degradation, we evaluated ICAM-1, VCAM-1, PECAM-1, MMP-2, MMP-9, MMP-12, MT1-MMP, and MMP-13 levels in mouse aortas. Lack of NO inhibits MMP-13 and increases ICAM-1 levels in atherosclerosis as compared to apoE-null mice. Ectopically expression of ICAM-1 in eukaryotic cells revealed that extracellular domain of ICAM-1 harbors a substrate recognized by MMP-13. Incubation of COS-7 cells expressing ectopic ICAM-1 in the presence of active MMP-13 induced inhibition of RAW 264.7 cell adhesion to COS-7 monolayers. MALDI-TOF MS analysis combined to Liquid chromatography coupled to Ion Trap MS on ICAM-1 incubated with MMP-13 allowed us to determine the cleavage sites of MMP-13 at positions E61 and G98 of ICAM-1. G98 is part of a PDGQS moiety, which shows homology with the consensus PDGLS substrate located at the MMP-13 cleaved site of type II collagen I-alpha. Conclusions—Taking together, these results point toward MMP-13 as a mechanism for the NO-mediated protection of atherosclerosis.
Instructed knowledge shapes feedback-driven aversive learning in striatum and orbitofrontal cortex, but not the amygdala

Socially-conveyed rules and instructions strongly shape expectations and emotions. Yet most neuroscientific studies of learning consider reinforcement history alone, irrespective of knowledge acquired through other means. We examined fear conditioning and reversal in humans to test whether instructed knowledge modulates the neural mechanisms of feedback-driven learning. One group was informed about contingencies and reversals. A second group learned only from reinforcement. We combined quantitative models with functional magnetic resonance imaging and found that instructions induced dissociations in the neural systems of aversive learning. Responses in striatum and orbitofrontal cortex updated with instructions and correlated with prefrontal responses to instructions. Amygdala responses were influenced by reinforcement similarly in both groups and did not update with instructions. Results extend work on instructed reward learning and reveal novel dissociations that have not been observed with punishments or rewards. Findings support theories of specialized threat-detection and may have implications for fear maintenance in anxiety. DOI: http://dx.doi. org/10.7554/eLife.15192. 001
Bank Credit Risk Management and Rating Migration Analysis on the Business Cycle

Credit risk measurement remains a critical field of top priority in banking finance, directly implicated in the recent global financial crisis. This paper examines the dynamic linkages between credit risk migration due to rating shifts and prevailing macroeconomic conditions, reflected in alternative business cycle states. An innovative empirical methodology applies to bank internal rating data, under different economic scenarios and investigates the implications of credit risk quality shifts for risk rating transition matrices. The empirical findings are useful and critical for banks to align to Basel guidelines in relation to core capital requirements and risk-weighted assets in the underlying loan portfolio.
Dispositional mindfulness and stress resilience: Self-regulatory capacity, affective stability, and presleep arousal in daily life

Mindfulness training appears to promote healthy and adaptive functioning by enhancing self-regulatory capacity and stress resilience. Less is known about whether dispositional mindfulness (DM) is similarly associated with self-regulatory capacity and stress resilience. Fifty-six healthy adults completed a self-report DM questionnaire and performance-based measures of executive function (EF) prior to daily life experience sampling of affect, self-regulation, presleep arousal, and sleep quality. DM was not associated with objective measures of EF but was significantly associated with selfreported cognitive, emotional, and behavioral self-regulation. Further, although DM was not associated with average affect levels (i.e., across positive/negative valence, low/high arousal domains), dispositionally high-mindful individuals exhibited less extreme changes in negative/low arousal affect (e.g., sad, bored) and negative/high arousal affect (e.g., stressed, angry) and evidenced less variability in positive/low arousal affect (e.g., relaxed, serene). Higher DM was also associated with lower presleep arousal and higher sleep quality. At the facet-level, mindful awareness was associated with daily selfreported EF and predicted cognitive presleep arousal and sleep quality; conversely, mindful acceptance was associated with greater stability across negatively valenced and low arousal affect states, and more strongly predicted somatic presleep arousal. Results indicate that mindful awareness and mindful acceptance, two distinct yet complementary processes, appear uniquely associated with components of self-regulation.
Soft Biometrics and Their Application in Person Recognition at a Distance

Soft biometric information extracted from a human body (e.g., height, gender, skin color, hair color, and so on) is ancillary information easily distinguished at a distance but it is not fully distinctive by itself in recognition tasks. However, this soft information can be explicitly fused with biometric recognition systems to improve the overall recognition when confronting high variability conditions. One significant example is visual surveillance, where face images are usually captured in poor quality conditions with high variability and automatic face recognition systems do not work properly. In this scenario, the soft biometric information can provide very valuable information for person recognition. This paper presents an experimental study of the benefits of soft biometric labels as ancillary information based on the description of human physical features to improve challenging person recognition scenarios at a distance. In addition, we analyze the available soft biometric information in scenarios of varying distance between camera and subject. Experimental results based on the Southampton multibiometric tunnel database show that the use of soft biometric traits is able to improve the performance of face recognition based on sparse representation on real and ideal scenarios by adaptive fusion rules.
Transcriptome Profiling of the Phaseolus vulgaris - Colletotrichum lindemuthianum Pathosystem

Bean (Phaseolus vulgaris) anthracnose caused by the hemi-biotrophic pathogen Colletotrichum lindemuthianum is a major factor limiting production worldwide. Although sources of resistance have been identified and characterized, the early molecular events in the host-pathogen interface have not been investigated. In the current study, we conducted a comprehensive transcriptome analysis using Illumina sequencing of two near isogenic lines (NILs) differing for the presence of the Co-1 gene on chromosome Pv01 during a time course following infection with race 73 of C. lindemuthianum. From this, we identified 3,250 significantly differentially expressed genes (DEGs) within and between the NILs over the time course of infection. During the biotrophic phase the majority of DEGs were up regulated in the susceptible NIL, whereas more DEGs were up-regulated in the resistant NIL during the necrotrophic phase. Various defense related genes, such as those encoding PR proteins, peroxidases, lipoxygenases were up regulated in the resistant NIL. Conversely, genes encoding sugar transporters were up-regulated in the susceptible NIL during the later stages of infection. Additionally, numerous transcription factors (TFs) and candidate genes within the vicinity of the Co-1 locus were differentially expressed, suggesting a global reprogramming of gene expression in and around the Co-1 locus. Through this analysis, we reduced the previous number of candidate genes reported at the Co-1 locus from eight to three. These results suggest the dynamic nature of P. vulgaris–C. lindemuthianum interaction at the transcriptomic level and reflect the role of both pathogen and effector triggered immunity on changes in plant gene expression.
Entry into Platform-Based Markets 89

This paper examines the relative importance of platform quality, indirect network effects, and consumer expectations on the success of entrants in platform-based markets. We develop a theoretical model and find that an entrant’s success depends on the strength of indirect network effects and on the consumers’ discount factor for future applications. We then illustrate the model’s applicability by examining Xbox’s entry into the video game industry. We find that Xbox had a small quality advantage over the incumbent, PlayStation 2, and the strength of indirect network effects and the consumers’ discount factor, while statistically significant, fall in the region where PlayStation 2’s position is unsustainable. Copyright  2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Vertex Magic Total Labelings of Complete Graphs 1

The study of graph labeling has focussed on finding classes of graphs which admits a particular type of labeling. In this paper we consider a particular class of graph which admits a vertex magic total labeling. The class we considered here is the class of complete graphs, Kn . A vertex magic labeling of a graph is a bijection which maps the vertices V and edges E to the integers from 1, 2, 3, · · · , |V | + |E| , such that the sum of label on a vertex and labels of its incident edges is a constant, independent of the choice of the vertex. We make use of technique of generating magic squares and ideas from graph factorization in our construction.
Differences in Bacterial Community Structure on Hydrilla verticillata and Vallisneria americana in a Freshwater Spring

The phylogenetic composition of the epiphytic bacterial community of an invasive aquatic plant (Hydrilla verticillata) and a native species (Vallisneria americana [eelgrass]) of the Wakulla Spring (Florida) was investigated, along with the water column bacterial composition, using clone libraries of the 16S rRNA genes. The bacterial clones from three clone libraries were classified into 182 operational taxonomic units (OTUs), most of which were affiliated with bacterial divisions commonly found in freshwater ecosystems. Based on the identified classes, the bacterial communities on eelgrass and Hydrilla were distinct, such that Planctomycetes, Cyanobacteria, Bacilli and Actinobacteria were found on eelgrass and in the water column but not on Hydrilla. On the other hand, Deltaproteobacteria and Verrucomicrobiae were found on Hydrilla and in the water column but not on eelgrass. Further distinctions observed were that Armatimonadia and Deinococci were found only on Hydrilla while Gemmatimonadetes was found only on eelgrass. Our results indicated differences between the epiphytic bacterial community on the two plants and the water column at the species level, but an even representation of the most abundant phylogenetic taxa (classes) in all three libraries was revealed. Statistical comparison of the retrieved sequences confirmed that the three libraries did not differ significantly at the community level (LIBSHUFF, p <0.05).
Internationalizing the University: A Case Study of a Canada-China Program

Internationalization has become a goal of most universities in the world and includes increased student mobility across borders. Goals behind greater student mobility are mixed, but whatever the goals are, all institutions should strive to try to maximize the net benefits for students. An economics program between Dalhousie University in Canada and Shandong University of Finance and Economics in China is used to examine how net benefits can be maximized. Amongst the conclusions reached by the paper, it is students who participate in exchange or study abroad programs that will experience an increase in intercultural competence, which is a major benefit of the experience. A second significant conclusion is that language is a crucial determinant of success when students must adopt a foreign language when they study abroad. The paper also shows that faculty engagement is crucial to success. Strictly top-down programs that originate and/or reside in the central administration are less likely to have, and less likely to be successful without faculty engagement. The paper concludes that the institutions must have a commitment to the program that goes beyond a simple short term profit maximization motive but ultimately, the success of any program depends on the students themselves. Other factors can defeat a given program, but only the students can ultimately make a program successful.
Emissions savings from wind power generation: Evidence from Texas, California and the Upper Midwest

Wind power has the potential to reduce emissions associated with conventional electricity generation. Using detailed, systemic hourly data of wind generation and emissions from plants in ERCOT (Texas), CAISO (California), and MISO (Upper Midwest), we estimate the SO₂, NOₓ and CO₂ emissions offset by wind generation in those territories. Our estimation strategy implicitly captures both the marginal unit of generation displaced by wind on the electrical grid, and the marginal emissions reduction from that displaced unit. Our results reveal substantial variation in emissions reduction by territory, which appear to be strongly driven by differences in the existing generation mix. While the environmental benefits from emissions reductions in the Upper Midwest roughly cover government subsidies for wind generation, environmental benefits in Texas and California fall short.