Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Associations between TNFSF15 polymorphisms and susceptibility to ulcerative colitis and Crohn's disease: A meta-analysis

Abstract Aims: Several polymorphisms have been identified in TNFSF15, while their roles in the incidence of ulcerative colitis (UC) and Crohn's disease (CD) are conflicting. This meta-analysis was aimed to clarify the impact of these polymorphisms on UC and CD risk. Method: Databases were searched until 31 January 2014 for eligible studies on TNFSF15 polymorphisms. Data were extracted, and pooled odd ratios (ORs) as well as 95% confidence intervals (95% CIs) were calculated. Results: Fifteen studies with 8903 CD patients, 4687 UC patients and 12 606 controls were included. Except for rs4263839 polymorphism, significant associations were found between the rest six TNFSF15 polymorphisms and CD risk (rs3810936: OR = 2.10, 95% CI, 1.47–3.00; rs6478108: OR = 2.19, 95% CI, 1.53–3.13; rs4979462: OR = 1.89, 95% CI, 1.42–2.52; rs6478109: OR = 2.00, 95% CI, 1.39–2.88; rs7848647: OR = 1.54, 95% CI, 1.15–2.06; rs7869487: OR = 1.51, 95% CI, 1.06–2.17). And we found rs3810936, rs6478108 and rs6478109 polymorphism were significantly associated with UC risk (rs3810936: OR = 1.19, 95% CI, 1.06–1.34; rs6478108: OR = 1.16, 95% CI, 1.06–1.26; rs6478109: OR = 1.16, 95% CI, 1.03–1.32). According to the subgroup analysis by ethnicity, except for rs4263839 in Caucasian and rs4979462 in Asian, all the rest investigated TNFSF15 polymorphisms were associated with CD risk and rs3810936 and rs7848647 polymorphism in Asian as well as rs6478108 polymorphism in Caucasian were associated with UC risk. Conclusion: This meta-analysis indicated that most of the seven TNFSF15 polymorphisms (except for rs4263839) were risk factors contributed to CD and UC susceptibility. The differences in ethnicity did not influence the risk obviously.
Analyst Information Discovery and Interpretation Roles: A Topic Modeling Approach

This study examines the analyst information intermediary roles using a textual analysis of analyst research reports and management discussions during earnings conference calls. Empirically, we employ an advanced topic modeling methodology from computational linguistic research to compare the thematic content of a large sample of analyst reports issued promptly after earnings conference calls with the content of the calls themselves. Our results show that analysts discuss exclusive topics beyond those contained the conference calls and interpret topics discussed by managers during the conference calls. We refer to the former as analyst discovery role and the latter as analyst interpretation role. Additionally, we find that the proportion of new information in analyst reports relative to that in conference calls increases when firms face a higher level of competition, have a greater litigation risk, or operate in a more volatile information environment. We also find that the analyst interpretation function is magnified when information processing costs increase, specifically when conference calls include more uncertain or qualitative statements, firm operations are more complex, or firms convey bad news. Finally, we provide evidence that investors value both the information discovery and information interpretation roles. Overall, our results enhance our understanding of the important information intermediary role analysts play in capital markets.
Foundations of information integration under bag semantics

During the past several decades, the database theory community has successfully investigated several different facets of the principles of database systems, including the development of various data models, the systematic exploration of the expressive power of database query languages, and, more recently, the study of the foundations of information integration via schema mappings. For the most part, all these investigations have been carried out under set semantics, that is, both the database relations and the answers to database queries are sets. In contrast, SQL deploys bag (multiset) semantics and, as a result, theory and practice diverge at this crucial point. Our main goal in this paper is to embark on the development of the foundations of information integration under bag semantics, thus taking the first step towards bridging the gap between theory and practice in this area. Our first contribution is conceptual, namely, we give rigorous bag semantics to GLAV mappings and to the certain answers of conjunctive queries in the context of data exchange and data integration. In fact, we introduce and explore two different versions of bag semantics that, intuitively, correspond to the maximum-based union of bags and to the sum-based union of bags. After this, we establish a number of technical results, including results about the computational complexity of the certain answers of conjunctive queries under bag semantics and about the existence and computation of universal solutions under these two versions of bag semantics. Our results reveal that the adoption of more realistic semantics comes at a price, namely, algorithmic problems in data exchange and data integration that were tractable under set semantics become intractable under bag semantics.
Implications of Genetic Polymorphisms in Inflammation-Induced Atherosclerosis

Inflammation is the mainstay of atherosclerosis and is an important governing factor at all stages of the disease process from lesion formation to plaque build-up and final end-stage rupture and thrombosis. An overview of the numerous clinico-epidemiological studies on the association between inflammatory gene polymorphisms and Cardiovascular disease (CVD) and its co-morbidities have shown that the risk associated with any single genotype is modest while the haplotypes, especially those defined on the basis of tag-SNP approach, have better coverage of the gene and show moderately higher impact on disease risk. Nevertheless, even these associations have been inconsistent with low cross-race repeatability. This has been attributed to many plausible causes such as clinical heterogeneity, sample selection criteria, variable genetic landscapes across different ethnic groups, confounding effect of co-morbidities etc. On the other hand, unbiased studies such as the family-based linkage and case-control based associations that have taken into account, thousands of genotypic markers spanning the whole genome, have had the ability to identify novel genetic loci for coronary artery disease. These studies have shown that many inflammatory genes are involved in the regulation of specific biomarkers of inflammation that collectively contribute to the disease-associated risk. In addition, there appears to be considerable cross talk between the different biochemical and metabolic processes. Therefore, consideration of all these factors can build towards an ‘atherosclerotic bionetwork’ that can refine our quest for developing a robust risk stratification tool for cardiovascular disease.
The phase and magnitude of hair cell receptor potentials and frequency tuning in the guinea pig cochlea

Voltage responses to tones were recorded intracellularly from inner (IHC) and outer (OHC) hair cells in the basal turn of the guinea pig cochlea. Tone-evoked voltage responses were also recorded extracellularly from fluid-filled spaces adjacent to the hair cells and from supporting cells. The AC component of the OHC voltage responses to tones at frequencies between 8 and 24 kHz and those recorded extracellularly were remarkably similar with respect to phase as a function of sound level, but the magnitude of the AC response was 2–10 times larger when recorded intracellularly from an OHC. At frequencies more than half an octave below the characteristic frequency (CF), the phase of OHC AC response was independent of level, and the slope of the magnitude/level functions was 1 dB/db. At levels exceeding about 70 dB SPL, the slopes became less steep and depolarizing IHC and OHC DC responses appeared. At frequencies one-half an octave below CF and at frequencies between one-third and one-half an octave above CF, notches were present in the AC/level function between 70–100 dB SPL that were accompanied by a sudden phase lag of -180 degrees. These frequency- and level-dependent characteristics were also present in relatively insensitive preparations and were attributed to a change in the phase of OHC excitation due to level-dependent changes in the relative stiffness of the mechanical components of the cochlear partition. At CF the detection thresholds of the OHC AC response and IHC DC response and slopes of the response/level functions were similar. At sound levels around 60 dB SPL, the AC signal began to phase lead, amounting to approximately 90 degrees at 70 dB SPL. Within the same range of levels, the OHC DC potentials first appeared and the IHC DC response began to saturate. At frequencies just above the CF, the phase of the AC component increased with level to a lead of about 180 degrees. OHC and IHC tuning curves are comparable in the tip region, but they differ in that the low- and high-frequency shoulders of the OHC AC tuning curves are more sensitive by 10–30 dB SPL. On the basis of the frequency- and level-dependent characteristics of the IHC and OHC responses, it is proposed that OHC AC potentials provide a measure of the phase and magnitude of the proposed electromechanical feedback of the cochlear partition that enhance frequency tuning in the cochlea.
Group Affiliation and the Performance of Initial Public Offerings in the Indian Stock Market

We document the effects of group affiliation on the initial performance of the 2,713 Initial Public Offerings (IPOs) in India under three regulatory regimes during the period 1990-2004. We distinguish between two competing hypotheses regarding group affiliation and a firm’s initial stock market performance: the certification hypothesis and the “tunneling” hypothesis. We show that the underpricing of group companies is higher than that of stand-alone companies, lending support to the tunneling hypothesis. However, on an ex post basis, we find that group-affiliated companies have a higher probability of survival than their stand-alone counterparts: groups appear to support their affiliates to maintain their reputation.
Functional Promoter -31G>C Variant in Survivin Gene Is Associated with Risk and Progression of Renal Cell Cancer in a Chinese Population

Background Survivin is an inhibitor of apoptosis protein and is involved in the occurrence and progression of human malignancies. Recently, a functional polymorphism (−31G>C, rs9904341) in the promoter of survivin has been shown to influence its expression and confer susceptibility to different types of cancer. The present study was aimed to investigate whether the polymorphism also influences susceptibility and progression of renal cell cancer (RCC) in a Chinese population. Methods We genotyped this polymorphism using the TaqMan assay in a case-control study comprised of 710 RCC patients and 760 controls. The logistic regression was used to assess the genetic association with occurrence and progression of RCC. Results Compared with the genotypes containing G allele (GG and GC), we found a statistically significant increased occurrence of RCC associated with the CC genotype [P = 0.006, adjusted odds ratio (OR) = 1.38, 95% confidence interval (CI) = 1.08–1.76]. The polymorphism was associated with risk of developing advanced stage (OR = 2.02, 95%CI = 1.34–3.07) and moderately differentiated (OR = 1.75; 95%CI = 1.20–2.54) RCC. Furthermore, the patients carrying the CC genotype had a significantly greater prevalence of high clinical stage disease (Ptrend = 0.003). Similar results were also observed when we restricted the analysis to clear cell RCC, a major histological type of RCC. Conclusions Our results suggest that the functional −31G>C polymorphism in the promoter of survivin may influence the susceptibility and progression of RCC in the Chinese population. Large population-based prospective studies are required to validate our findings.
MEK and PI3K inhibition in solid tumors: rationale and evidence to date

PI3K-AKT-mTOR and Ras-Raf-MEK-ERK are the most commonly altered oncogenic pathways in solid malignancies. There has been a lot of enthusiasm to develop inhibitors to these pathways for cancer therapy. Unfortunately, the antitumor activities of single-agent therapies have generally been disappointing, excluding B-Raf mutant melanoma and renal cell cancer. Preclinical studies have suggested that concurrent targeting of the PI3K-AKT-mTOR and Ras-Raf-MEK-ERK pathways is an active combination in various solid malignancies. In the current work, we review the preclinical data of the PI3K and MEK dual targeting as a cancer therapy and the results of early-phase clinical trials, and propose future directions.
Differential regulation of mature and precursor microRNA expression by NMDA and metabotropic glutamate receptor activation during LTP in the adult dentate gyrus in vivo

Regulation of microRNA (miRNA) expression and function in the context of activity‐dependent synaptic plasticity in the adult brain is little understood. Here, we examined miRNA expression during long‐term potentiation (LTP) in the dentate gyrus of adult anesthetized rats. Microarray expression profiling identified a subpopulation of regulated mature miRNAs 2 h after the induction of LTP by high‐frequency stimulation (HFS) of the medial perforant pathway. Real‐time polymerase chain reaction analysis confirmed modest upregulation of miR‐132 and miR‐212, and downregulation of miR‐219, while no changes occurred at 10 min post‐HFS. Surprisingly, pharmacological blockade of N‐methyl‐d‐aspartate receptor (NMDAR)‐dependent LTP enhanced expression of these mature miRNAs. This HFS‐evoked expression was abolished by local infusion of the group 1 metabotropic glutamate receptor (mGluR) antagonist, (RS)‐1‐aminoindan‐1,5‐dicarboxylic acid (AIDA). AIDA had no effect on LTP induction or maintenance, but blocked activity‐dependent depotentiation of LTP. Turning to the analysis of miRNA precursors, we show that HFS elicits 50‐fold elevations of primary (pri) and precursor (pre) miR‐132/212 that is transcription dependent and mGluR dependent, but insensitive to NMDAR blockade. Primary miR‐219 expression was unchanged during LTP. In situ hybridization showed upregulation of the pri‐miR‐132/212 cluster restricted to dentate granule cell somata. Thus, HFS induces transcription miR‐132/212 that is mGluR dependent and functionally correlated with depotentiation rather than LTP. In contrast, NMDAR activation selectively downregulates mature miR‐132, ‐212 and ‐219 levels, indicating accelerated decay of these mature miRNAs. This study demonstrates differential regulation of primary and mature miRNA expression by mGluR and NMDAR signaling following LTP induction, the function of which remains to be defined.
The Doubly Conditioned Frequency Spectrum Does Not Distinguish between Ancient Population Structure and Hybridization

Distinguishing between hybridization and population structure in the ancestral species is a key challenge in our understanding of how permeable species boundaries are to gene flow. The doubly conditioned frequency spectrum (dcfs) has been argued to be a powerful metric to discriminate between these two explanations, and it was used to argue for hybridization between Neandertal and anatomically modern humans. The shape of the observed dcfs for these two species cannot be reproduced by a model that represents ancient population structure in Africa with two populations, while adding hybridization produces realistic shapes. In this letter, we show that this result is a consequence of the spatial coarseness of the demographic model and that a spatially structured stepping stone model can generate realistic dcfs without hybridization. This result highlights how inferences on hybridization between recently diverged species can be strongly affected by the choice of how population structure is represented in the underlying demographic model. We also conclude that the dcfs has limited power in distinguishing between the signals left by hybridization and ancient structure.
Macrophage activation selectively enhances expression of Fc receptors for IgG2a

After infection with bacillus Calmette-Guerin, peritoneal macrophages (Mo) display enhanced expression of FcR for both monomeric and complexed IgG2a, but not IgG2b. Isotype specificity of FcR can be reversed on nonactivated Mo by immune lymphokines, and IgG2a immune complexes are more effective triggers of the respiratory burst in activated Mo. Selective enhancement of IgG2a FcR by Mo activation could account for efficacy of homologous ab in mediating cytotoxicity in some systems.
An information session for glaucoma patients.

BACKGROUND A 2-hour information session to improve understanding and compliance was offered to glaucoma patients. Three studies are presented regarding the participants, their satisfaction with the presentation, and their retention of information. METHODS One hundred consecutive patients were invited to participate. Age, sex, race, travelling distance, type of glaucoma, number of medications, duration of glaucoma, laser trabeculoplasty, trabeculectomy, medical conditions, visual acuity, visual field mean deviation, and pattern standard deviation (PSD) were documented. At the conclusion of the session, patient satisfaction was determined using a questionnaire. Responses to 6 glaucoma-related questions were requested prior to the session and again at 1, 4, and 10 months afterwards. The effects of age, sex, duration of glaucoma, drops applied, and compliance were analysed. RESULTS The invitation was accepted by 65.2% of all subjects, including 93.4% of those who had been undergoing therapy for less than 1 year. Factors identified in nonparticipation were advanced age, a longer duration of glaucoma, coronary heart disease, and worse PSD in the worse eye. Transportation was the main reason for nonparticipation. Patient satisfaction was excellent, and 99% indicated that they would recommend the clinic to friends with glaucoma. Patient knowledge increased and persisted throughout the 10 months. Older participants had lower scores. INTERPRETATION Most patients wanted to participate in the information session. Participants subjectively felt that the session was useful. It improved their knowledge of glaucoma, and has the potential to increase patient compliance.
Temporal alignment using the incremental unit framework

We propose a method for temporal alignment--a precondition of meaningful fusion--of multimodal systems, using the incremental unit dialogue system framework, which gives the system flexibility in how it handles alignment: either by delaying a modality for a specified amount of time, or by revoking (i.e., backtracking) processed information so multiple information sources can be processed jointly. We evaluate our approach in an offline experiment with multimodal data and find that using the incremental framework is flexible and shows promise as a solution to the problem of temporal alignment in multimodal systems.
Interleukin-1 and Tumor Necrosis Factor Antagonists Attenuate Ethanol-Induced Inhibition of Bone Formation in a Rat Model of Distraction Osteogenesis

Chronic ethanol exposure inhibits rapid bone formation during distraction osteogenesis (DO; fracture and limb lengthening) and decreases volumetric bone mineral density (BMD) in a model of intragastric dietary infusion [total enteral nutrition (TEN)] in the rat. The hypothesis tested herein was that overexpression of interleukin (IL)-1β and tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-α mediates these deleterious effects of ethanol on the rat skeleton. Two studies (study 1, female rats; study 2, male rats) were performed to test the potential protective effects of the IL-1 and TNF antagonists: IL-1 receptor antagonist (IL-1ra) and 30-kDa polyethylene glycol-conjugated soluble TNF receptor type 1 (sTNFR1). All rats were infused with a liquid diet ± ethanol (EtOH) and underwent tibial fractures and DO. During distraction, the animals received a combination of IL-1ra (1.8–2.0 mg/kg/day) and sTNFR1 (2.0 mg/kg/2 days) or vehicle. A comparison of distracted tibial histological sections demonstrated 1) significant antagonist-related increases in bone column formation over the EtOH controls (studies 1 and 2), and 2) restoration of new bone equivalent to that of the TEN controls (study 2). In contrast, examination of intact proximal tibial metaphyses by peripheral quantitative computerized tomography revealed decreases in volumetric BMD of both EtOH control and EtOH antagonist groups (study 2). These results demonstrate that short-term systemic administration of IL-1 and TNF antagonists together protect rapid bone formation during DO from the deleterious effects of chronic ethanol but are ineffective in regard to intact bone homeostasis.
[Coping with overweight strategies, self-esteem and body-esteem in the context of transactional analysis].

OBJECTIVE The aim of this study was to analyze the ego-state of obese people in terms of transactional analysis and to determine the relationship between coping with overweight strategies, Ego-structure, global self-esteem, and body self-esteem levels. METHODS One-hundred-seventy-one overweight and obese adult females were examined by a general practitioner and a specialist in obesity management. The ego-state, global self-esteem, and body self-esteem were assessed using the Ego State Questionnaire (ESQ), the Coopersmith Self-Esteem Inventory, and the Body-Esteem Scale, respectively. RESULTS Participants were divided into three subgroups: A--no attempts at weight loss currently (35.1%), B--self-attempted weight loss (33.9%), C--professional obesity treatment (31.0%). Age, education level, professional status, marital status, and number of children, along with the onset of being overweight/obese were similar in all subgroups. Subgroups B and C statistically and significantly made frequent attempts at weight loss (p < 0.001) and experienced yo-yo effect (p < 0.001) more than subgroup A. Effective weight loss attempts were observed significantly more often in subgroups C (p < 0.001). Only mean lies scale results were significantly higher in subgroups A and C compared to B (p < 0.05 and p < 0.01, respectively). While self-esteem, sexual attractiveness, weight concern, physical condition and ego-states were similar in all study subgroups. CONCLUSIONS Structure of the Ego-states, self-esteem and body-esteem did not influence the strategies of coping with overweight. Self-esteem is related to spontaneous Ego-child and Ego-adult levels, while the sense of sexual attractiveness is affected only by Ego-spontaneous child.
On the Performance of Independent Processing of Independent Data Sets for Distributed Detection

We consider a distributed detection problem where sensors are deployed to obtain information about a common source of interest. The centralized processing takes advantage of all sensor information, but requires more resources for data transmission and computation. On the other hand, independent processing requires less resources at a cost of some performance loss. In this letter, we analyze the performance of the generalized likelihood ratio test (GLRT) and the independent GLRT (IGLRT), and quantify the performance loss of the IGLRT. It is shown that the performance loss is due to an extra noise-like term with a chi-squared distribution which only depends on the dimensionality of the unknown parameters p and the number of sensors M. The result is extended to a special scenario when sensors can communicate freely within the same group. Simulation results are provided to verify our analysis.