Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
VEGF T-1498C polymorphism, a predictive marker of differentiation of colorectal adenocarcinomas in Japanese

Background: Previously, MDR1 T-129C polymorphism, encoding multidrug resistant transporter MDR1/P-glycoprotein, was reported to be predictive of poorly-differentiated colorectal adenocarcinomas. Here, VEGF T-1498C, C-634G and C-7T polymorphisms, encoding vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF), were investigated in terms of their association with differentiation grade. Methods: VEGF genotypes were determined by TaqManR MGB probe based polymerase chain reaction and evaluated were confirmed by direct sequencing in 36 Japanese patients. Results: VEGF T-1498C, but not C-634G or C-7T, was predictive of poorly-differentiated ones, and thereby a poor prognosis (p = 0.064 for genotype, p = 0.037 for allele), and this effect can be explained by that on VEGF expression. Treatment of a colorectal adenocarcinoma cell line, HCT-15, with sodium butyrate, a typical differentiating agent, resulted in an increase of alkaline phosphatase activity and MDR1 mRNA expression, but in a decrease of VEGF mRNA expression. The transfection of VEGF small interfering RNA (siRNA) induced the expression of MDR1 mRNA to 288-332% of the control level, whereas MDR1 siRNA had no effect on VEGF mRNA expression. Conclusions: VEGF T-1498C polymorphism is also a candidate marker predictive of poorly-differentiated colorectal adenocarcinomas, but further investigations with a large number of patients should be addressed to draw a conclusion.
Iron status of Asian children aged 2 years living in England

Haemoglobin and ferritin values were analysed in blood from 1057 children, aged 2 years, of Asian parents living in England. Children who had thalassaemia trait or a current/recent infection were excluded. Twenty nine per cent of Pakistani, 25% of Bangladeshi, and 20% of Indian children had haemoglobin < 110.0 g/l. The recent national diet and nutrition survey of preschool children found a prevalence of 12% of 2 year olds with haemoglobin < 110.0 g/l. No single factor accounted for more than a small proportion of the variance in haemoglobin and ferritin values, but the most significant factors that had a negative effect on iron status included the amount of cows’ milk consumed, the use of a baby bottle, and mother’s place of birth being outside of the UK. Taking vitamin or iron supplements was positively associated with iron status in one or more of the three groups.
Multi-scale modelling of epileptic seizure rhythms as spatio-temporal patterns.

Epileptic seizures are characterised by an onset of abnormal brain activity that evolves in space and time, which ultimately returns to normal background activity. For different types of seizures, the abnormal activity can be vastly different both in duration, electrographic morphology and spatial extent. Mechanistic understanding of the different seizure dynamics (spatially, as well as temporally) is crucial for the advancement and improvement of clinical treatment.To gain a deeper mechanistic insight into different seizure dynamics, mathematical models of brain processes were developed in this thesis. These models are used to explain electrographic seizure dynamics in their temporal, as well as their spatio-temporal evolution.Our studies show that the temporal evolution of seizure dynamics can be understood in terms of prototypic waveforms, which in turn can be represented in terms of three neural population processes. Such a minimal framework lends itself to a detailed phase space analysis, which elucidates seizure waveforms and seizure transitions as topological properties of the phase space. Based on the phase space considerations we show how during spike-wave seizures, single-pulse stimuli can have more complex effects than previously thought.In terms of the spatio-temporal dynamics of seizures, mechanisms for focal seizure onset and propagation are investigated in a model cortical sheet of coupled, discretised columns. The coupling followed nearest-neighbour, as well as realistic mesoscopic cortical connectivities. Different possible causes (e.g. spatial heterogeneities) of seizure generation, as well as different seizure spreading patterns (via different networks) have been investigated. We conclude that focal seizure onset can be due to global (e.g. whole-brain level) causes, global conditions & local triggers, and local (e.g. cortical column level) causes.Clinically relevant predictions from this work include the suggestion of a specific stimulation protocol in spike-wave seizures that incorporates phase space information; and the suggestion of using microscopic cortical incisions to disrupt the integrity of abnormal cortical tissue in order to prevent focal seizure onset.In conclusion, multi-scale computational modelling of seizure dynamics is proposed as an important tool to link theoretical understanding, experimental results, and patient-specific clinical data.
Efficient Use of Energy Resources on French Farms: An Analysis through Technical Efficiency

Integrating natural resources and ecological services in the production process is crucial to implement sustainable agriculture. However, the measurement of natural resource efficiency remains difficult. This paper aims at contributing to this issue, by investigating French farms’ use and excess (slack) of energy resources through Data Envelopment Analyses (DEA). Results show that disentangling energy resources from the rest of intermediate consumption highlights energy use excess which is masked when considering intermediate consumption as a whole. The analysis of the determinants of energy use excess and of intermediate consumption shows a discrepancy in results, which policy-makers should take into account when designing energy policies. In addition, results show that large and highly capital intensive farms perform better in terms of energy use excess, while the dependence on public subsidies is a constraint.
Integrative Network Analysis to Identify Aberrant Pathway Networks in Ovarian Cancer

Ovarian cancer is often called the 'silent killer' since it is difficult to have early detection and prognosis. Understanding the biological mechanism related to ovarian cancer becomes extremely important for the purpose of treatment. We propose an integrative framework to identify pathway related networks based on large-scale TCGA copy number data and gene expression profiles. The integrative approach first detects highly conserved copy number altered genes and regards them as seed genes, and then applies a network-based method to identify subnetworks that can differentiate gene expression patterns between different phenotypes of ovarian cancer patients. The identified subnetworks are further validated on an independent gene expression data set using a network-based classification method. The experimental results show that our approach can not only achieve good prediction performance across different data sets but also identify biological meaningful subnetworks involved in many signaling pathways related to ovarian cancer.
UPTAKE OF AMINOPTERIN BY BACILLUS SUBTILIS

The folic acid antagonists amethopterin and aminopterin are moderately active growth inhibitors for Bacillus subtilis. Although neither folic nor folinic acid reverses amethopterin inhibition in plate assay, the pyrimidine moiety of thiamine, 2-methyladenine, and their congeners are singularly effective (Guthrie et al., 1956; Loebeck, 1957). Pine and Guthrie (1959) examined the role of the thiamine pyrimidine as a possible critical metabolite whose synthesis is inhibited by amethopterin. Such inhibition was found, but it did not appear to be a primary cause of growth inhibition. The 2-methyl-4-amino-5-hydroxymethylpyrimidine form of the thiamine pyrimidine has been examined for its effect on the entry of aminopterin-2-C04 into B. subtilis. Some properties of the system for concentrative uptake are detailed. It is a site of interaction between the pyrimidine and aminopterin, and may be a site for the development of resistance to aminopterin.
Flexibility, Configurability and Optimality in UNL Deconversion via Multiparadigm Programming

The fulfillment of the UNL vision is primarily conditioned on the successful deployment of deconverters, each translating from the UNL into a target language. According to current practice, developing deconverters ulti- mately means configuring DeCo, the deconversion engine provided by the UNDL Foundation. However, DeCo has a number of limitations that hinder productivity and might even preclude quality deconversion. This paper dis- cusses some of these shortcomings and introduces an alternative deconversion model - Manati, which is the result of work on UNL-mediated Portuguese- Brazilian Sign Language human-aided machine translation. With Manati we at- tempt to exemplify how multiparadigm - namely, constraint, object-oriented and higher-order - programming can be drawn upon not only to specify an open-architecture, optimum-searching deconversion engine but also and above all to rationalize its configuration into deconverters for target languages.
Public’s attitudes towards community pharmacy in Qatar: a pilot study

Objectives To assess the public’s attitudes towards the community pharmacist’s role in Qatar, to investigate the public’s use of community pharmacy, and to determine the public’s views of and satisfaction with community pharmacy services currently provided in Qatar. Materials and methods Three community pharmacies in Qatar were randomly selected as study sites. Patients 16 years of age and over who were able to communicate in English or Arabic were randomly approached and anonymously interviewed using a multipart pretested survey. Results Over 5 weeks, 58 patients were interviewed (60% response rate). A total of 45% of respondents perceived community pharmacists as having a good balance between health and business matters. The physician was considered the first person to contact to answer drug- related questions by 50% of respondents. Most patients agreed that the community pharmacist should provide them with the medication directions of use (93%) and advise them about the treatment of minor ailments (79%); however, more than 70% didn’t expect the community pharmacist to monitor their health progress or to perform any health screening. Half of the participants (52%) reported visiting the pharmacy at least monthly. The top factor that affected a patient’s choice of any pharmacy was pharmacy location (90%). When asked about their views about community pharmacy services in Qatar, only 37% agreed that the pharmacist gave them sufficient time to discuss their problem and was knowledgeable enough to answer their questions. Conclusion This pilot study suggested that the public has a poor understanding of the community pharmacist’s role in monitoring drug therapy, performing health screening, and providing drug information. Several issues of concern were raised including insufficient pharmacist– patient contact time and unsatisfactory pharmacist knowledge. To advance pharmacy practice in Qatar, efforts may be warranted to address identified issues and to promote the community pharmacist’s role in drug therapy monitoring, drug information provision, and health screening.
Achieving Optimality in Robust Joint Optimization of Linear Transceiver Design

This paper presents new results on linear transceiver designs in a multiple-input-multiple-output (MIMO) link. By considering the minimal total mean-square error (MSE) criterion, we prove that the robust optimal linear transceiver design has a channel-diagonalizing structure, which verifies the conjecture in the previous work. Based on this property, the original design problem can be transformed into a scalar problem, whose global optimal solution is first obtained in this work. Simulation results show the performance advantages of our solution over the existing schemes.
Isolation of an adult blood‐derived progenitor cell population capable of differentiation into angiogenic, myocardial and neural lineages

Blood‐derived adult stem cells were previously considered impractical for therapeutic use because of their small numbers. This report describes the isolation of a novel human cell population derived from the peripheral blood, termed synergetic cell population (SCP), and defined by the expression of CD31Bright, CD34+, CD45−/Dim and CD34Bright, but not lineage‐specific features. The SCP was capable of differentiating into a variety of cell lineages upon exposure to defined culture conditions. The resulting cells exhibited morphological, immunocytochemical and functional characteristics of angiogenic, neural or myocardial lineages. Angiogenic cell precursors (ACPs) expressed CD34, CD133, KDR, Tie‐2, CD144, von Willebrand factor, CD31Bright, concomitant binding of Ulex‐Lectin and uptake of acetylated low density lipoprotein (Ac‐LDL), secreted interleukin‐8, vascular endothelial growth factor and angiogenin and formed tube‐like structures in vitro. The majority of CD31Bright ACP cells demonstrated Ac‐LDL uptake. Neural cell precursors (NCPs) expressed the neuronal markers Nestin, βIII‐Tubulin, and Neu‐N, the glial markers GFAP and O4, and responded to neurotransmitter stimulation. Myocardial cell precursors (MCPs) expressed Desmin, cardiac Troponin and Connexin 43. In conclusion, the simple and rapid method of SCP generation and the resulting considerable quantities of lineage‐specific precursor cells makes it a potential source of autologous treatment for a variety of diseases.
Helicobacter pylori-induced peptic ulcer disease is associated with inadequate regulatory T cell responses

Background and aims: Helicobacter pylori infection is the major cause of peptic ulceration and gastric adenocarcinoma. To address the hypothesis that the human acquired immune response to H pylori influences pathogenesis, we characterised the gastric T helper (Th) and regulatory T cell (Treg) response of infected patients. Methods: The human gastric CD4+ T cell response of 28 donors who were infected with H pylori and 44 who were not infected was analysed using flow cytometry. The T cell associated mucosal cytokine response was analysed by real-time polymerase chain reaction assay of samples from 38 infected and 22 uninfected donors. Recombinant interleukin 10 (IL10) was added to co-cultures of H pylori and AGS cells and its suppressive effects upon inflammatory responses were measured. Results: We found that the H pylori-specific response consists of both T helper 1 and 2 subsets with high levels of IL10-secreting Tregs. People with peptic ulcer disease had a 2.4-fold reduced CD4+CD25hiIL10+ Treg response (p = 0.05) but increased Th1 and Th2 responses (Th1: 3.2-fold, p = 0.038; Th2: 6.1-fold, p = 0.029) compared to those without ulcers. In vitro studies showed that IL10 inhibited IL8 expression and activation of nuclear factor kappa B induced by H pylori in gastric epithelial cells, and enhanced H pylori growth in a bacterial-cell co-culture model. Conclusions: Together our data suggest that H pylori induces a regulatory T cell response, possibly contributing to its peaceful coexistence with the human host, and that ulcers occur when this regulatory response is inadequate.
BTG2 antagonizes Pin1 in response to mitogens and telomere disruption during replicative senescence

Cellular senescence limits the replicative capacity of normal cells and acts as an intrinsic barrier that protects against the development of cancer. Telomere shortening–induced replicative senescence is dependent on the ATM‐p53‐p21 pathway but additional genes likely contribute to senescence. Here, we show that the p53‐responsive gene BTG2 plays an essential role in replicative senescence. Similar to p53 and p21 depletion, BTG2 depletion in human fibroblasts leads to an extension of cellular lifespan, and ectopic BTG2 induces senescence independently of p53. The anti‐proliferative function of BTG2 during senescence involves its stabilization in response to telomere dysfunction followed by serum‐dependent binding and relocalization of the cell cycle regulator prolyl isomerase Pin1. Pin1 inhibition leads to senescence in late‐passage cells, and ectopic Pin1 expression rescues cells from BTG2‐induced senescence. The neutralization of Pin1 by BTG2 provides a critical mechanism to maintain senescent arrest in the presence of mitogenic signals in normal primary fibroblasts.
Experimental Investigation of Real Time 10 Gbit/s MLSE Equalizer Using 4-States and 16-States Viterbi Detector

Electronic equalizers are more and more applied in optical transmission systems to compensate for static as well as time varying fiber distortions. In this paper we investigate the performance of 4-states and 16-states MLSE equalizers in 10 Gbit/s field trials over buried single mode fibers. Our results show that the MLSE equalizer enables the joint compensation of chromatic dispersion up to 4480 ps/nm and polarization mode dispersion up to 92 ps. This will increase the uncompensated transmission length and enables a more robust and flexible optical link design.
High-Resolution Near-Infrared Imaging of the Orion 114–426 Silhouette Disk

We present the first high-resolution near-infrared images of the edge-on silhouette circumstellar disk, Orion 114-426, made using NICMOS on the Hubble Space Telescope. Images taken against the bright nebular background of the ionized hydrogen Paα line at 1.87 μm show the major axis of the disk to be approximately 20% smaller than at 0.6 μm, from which we deduce the structure of the edge of the disk. Continuum images of diffuse polar lobes above and below the plane of the disk show a morphology and evolution with wavelength consistent with predictions for reflection nebulae in a diffuse envelope with large polar cavities, surrounding a thin, massless, Keplerian disk, centered on an otherwise hidden central star. We make use of our observations and reasonable assumptions about the underlying disk structure to show that the disk mass is at least 10 M⊕ and plausibly ≥5 × 10−4 M☉.
Risk Factors for Postpartum Depression, Interpersonal Relationship Anxiety, Neuroticism and Social Support in Women with Postpartum Depression

Present study investigated the relationship between risk-factors for postpartum depression, neuroticism, anxiety and lack of social support and postpartum depression in women. Further, the study also explored risk factors for post-partum depression and lack of social support as the predictors of anxiety and neuroticism in women whereas risk factors for postpartum depression, anxiety and lack of social support as the predictors of postpartum depression in women. Sample comprised of 100 women already diagnosed with postpartum depression was recruited from different public hospitals. Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale (Cox, Holden & Sagovsky, 1987), Multidimensional Scale for Perceived Social Support (Zimet, Dahlem Zimet & Farley, 1988), Interpersonal Relationship Anxiety Questionnaire (Rohner, 2012) and IPIP Big Five Personality Measurement InstrumentNeuroticism Scale (Khan, Khan, Ghani & Shafi, 2013) were used to measure postpartum depression, social support, interpersonal relationship anxiety and neuroticism respectively. Results revealed significant positive relationship between risk factors for postpartum depression, neuroticism, anxiety and lack of social support. Neuroticism, lack of social support, self-neuroticism and history of abortion were found as significant predictors of postpartum depression and interpersonal relationship anxiety.
THYROID HORMONES, PERFORMANCE, AND PSYCHOLOGICAL CHANGES ON OVERTRAINING IN FEMALE DISTANCE RUNNERS

Statement of the Problem: Overtraining (OT) is common in endurance sports. Perturbations in the hormonal milieu are common throughout OT literature. Thyroid hormones (TH) are altered by energy imbalances, and these imbalances are often present in female endurance athletes. Thyroid hormones also regulate metabolism, energy production, and therefore they may play a role in commonly cited symptoms of OT in these athletes. Alterations in TH status often occur slowly, and research investigating TH and their relationship in overtrained athletes is sparse. PURPOSE: The purpose of this study was to investigate relationships in TH and commonly cited symptoms of OT in collegiate track and field (TF n=9; age: 20.21 ± 1.49 yrs; height: 167.86 ± 5.04 cm; body mass: 57.97 ± 5.05 kg; VO2MAX: 53.62 ± 6.04 ml/kg/min) and long (LD; n=7; age: 20.47 ± 1.53 yrs; height: 162.48 ± 6.11 cm; body mass: 56.15 ± 5.99 kg; VO2MAX: 61.94 ± 3.29 ml/kg/min) distance runners participated in a 14 week descriptive study. Thyroid stimulating hormone (TSH), triiodothyronine (T3), and thyroxine (T4), were collected at the beginning of the indoor TF ρ = 0.900, p= 0.037. T4 POST; ρ= 0.667, p= 0.050). The percent change (PΔ) in T3 from PRE to POST was significantly correlated with running performance at the end of the season (ρ=-0.700, p=0.036). Most of the subjects fell below current the RDA for carbohydrates and protein at PRE and POST. There was a significant relationship between caloric intake relative to lean body mass (kcal•kgLBM) at PRE and fatigue at week 1 (PRE) (ρ= 0.521, p=0.046). CONCLUSION: There were no significant differences between PRE and POST thyroid hormone concentration. Thyroid hormones are related to other variables of important in assessing the overall training state of the endurance athlete. Resting thyroid hormone concentrations may change too slowly to be a frequently used marker of monitoring overtraining status. Using weekly fatigue scales, monitoring dietary intake, and the utilization of VJP may be more readily available markers to assess overtraining and overall training status of collegiate female
Production and Partial Purification of Alpha Amylase from Bacillus subtilis (MTCC 121) Using Solid State Fermentation

Amylase is an enzyme that catalyzes the breakdown of starch into sugars and plays a pivotal role in a variety of areas like use as digestives, for the production of ethanol and high fructose corn syrup, detergents, desiring of textiles, modified starches, hydrolysis of oil-field drilling fluids, and paper recycling. In the present work, solid state fermentation (SSF) for α-amylase production has been used in lieu of submerged fermentation (SmF) due to its simple technique, low capital investment, lower levels of catabolite repression, and better product recovery. Bacillus subtilis has been well known as producer of alpha amylase and was tested using solid state fermentation for 48 hours at 37°C with wheat bran as substrate. Comparison between different fermentation hours demonstrated high yield of alpha amylase after 48 hours. This alpha amylase has optimum pH and temperature at 7.1 and 40°C, respectively. With the goal to purify alpha amylase, 30–70% (NH4)2SO4 cut concentrated the amylase activity threefold with respect to crude fermented extract. This was verified in quantitative DNS assay method as well as in zymogram gel profile. The exact molecular weight of the amylase is yet to be determined with the aid of other protein purification techniques.
Foundations of Voice Studies: An Interdisciplinary Approach to Voice Production and Perception

1 Introduction 1 2 Producing a Voice and Controlling Its Sound 25 3 Neurological Foundations of Voice Production and Perception 72 4 Physical Characteristics and the Voice: Can We Hear What a Speaker Looks Like? 110 5 Recognizing Speaker Identity From Voice: Theoretical and Ethological Perspectives and a Psychological Model 156 6 The Brain Behind the Voice: Cerebral Models of Voice Production and Perception 189 7 Identifying Unfamiliar Voices in Forensic Contexts 237 8 Linguistic Uses of Voice Quality: How Voice Signals Linguistic and Pragmatic Aspects of Communication 260 9 Perception of Emotion and Personality from Voice 302 10 Miscellany: Voice in Law Enforcement, Media and Singing 361 References 398 Author Index 470 Subject Index 495