Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Discounting Behaviour and the Magnitude Effect: Evidence from a Field Experiment in Denmark

We evaluate the claim that individuals exhibit a magnitude effect in their discounting behaviour, where higher discount rates are inferred from choices made with lower principals, all else being equal. If the magnitude effect is quantitatively significant, it is not appropriate to use one discount rate that is independent of the scale of the project for cost–benefit analysis and capital budgeting. Using data from a field experiment in Denmark, we find statistically significant evidence of a magnitude effect that is much smaller than is claimed. This evidence surfaces only if one controls for unobserved individual heterogeneity in the population.
Gonadotropin-releasing Hormone Stimulation Test for Precocious Puberty

Background Gonadotropin-releasing hormone (GnRH) stimulation test is the gold standard to identify central precocious puberty (CPP). This test requires multiple blood samples at different time points to measure gonadotropin levels, and is therefore expensive, time-consuming, and uncomfortable for patients. We aimed to simplify the GnRH stimulation test to require fewer blood samples. Methods A study of 166 girls with precocious puberty was undertaken. Blood samples were obtained at 0, 15, 30, 45, 60, 90, and 120 min after GnRH administration, and the levels of luteinizing hormone (LH) and follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH) were measured. For each parameter, the sensitivities and specificities were estimated and ROC curves were constructed. Results One hundred and twenty-eight patients (77.1%) were diagnosed for CPP. Peak LH levels were achieved 30 min after GnRH stimulation in patients with CPP. Further, 98.4% of the 45-min samples were diagnostic for CPP, and the cumulative frequency of LH values of ≥5 IU/L was 100% at 45 min. Using this cut-off value for LH, the ROC curve for LH at 45 min showed the highest sensitivity (98.4%) and specificity (100%) in the diagnosis of CPP. Conclusions Values of LH measured from a single blood sample obtained at 45 min in the GnRH stimulation test may be adequate for the diagnosis of CPP. Two samples, taken at 30 and 45 min after stimulation, were able to accurately diagnose CPP in 100% of the patients in this study.
University of Birmingham Vascular adhesion protein-1 promotes liver inflammation and drives hepatic fibrosis

Citation for published version (Harvard): Weston, CJ, Shepherd, EL, Claridge, LC, Rantakari, P, Curbishley, S, Tomlinson, JW, Hubscher, SG, Reynolds, GM, Aalto, K, Anstee, QM, Jalkanen, S, Salmi, M, Smith, DJ, Day, CP & Adams, D 2015, 'Vascular adhesion protein-1 promotes liver inflammation and drives hepatic fibrosis', Journal of Clinical Investigation, vol. 125, no. 2, pp. 501-20. https://doi.org/10.1172/JCI73722
Lung volumes and maximal respiratory pressures in collegiate swimmers and runners.

To determine whether respiratory muscle strength is related to pulmonary volume differences in athletes and nonathletes, 11 intercollegiate female swimmers, 11 female cross-country runners, and two nonathletic control groups, matched to the athletes in height and age, were evaluated for pulmonary parameters including maximal inspiratory pressure (PImax) and maximal expiratory pressure (PEmax). Swimmers exhibited larger (p less than .05) vital capacities (VC), residual lung volumes (RV), inspiratory capacities (IC), and functional residual capacities (FRC) than both the runners or the controls but no difference (p greater than .05) in either PImax or inspiratory flow (FIV 25%-75%). Timed expiratory volumes (FEV 0.5 and FEV 1.0) were significantly (p less than .05) lower in the swimmers than in the controls. These data suggest that an adaptational growth may be responsible, in part, for the augmented static lung volumes demonstrated in swimmers.
Reproductive investment when mate quality varies: differential allocation versus reproductive compensation

Reproductive investment decisions form an integral part of life-history biology. Selection frequently favours plasticity in investment that can generate maternal effects on offspring development. For example, if females differentially allocate resources based on mate attractiveness or quality, this can create a non-genetic link between mate attractiveness and offspring fitness with potential consequences for ecological and evolutionary dynamics. It is therefore important to understand under what conditions differential investment into offspring in relation to male quality is expected to occur and the direction of the effect. Two opposite predictions, increased investment into offspring produced with high-quality mates (differential allocation (DA)) and increased investment with low-quality males (reproductive compensation (RC)) have been suggested but no formal theoretical treatment justifying the assumptions underlying these two hypotheses has been conducted to date. Here, we used a state-based approach to investigate the circumstances under which the variation in mate quality results in differential female investment into offspring and how this interacts with female energetic resource levels. We found that a pattern of increased investment when mating with high-quality mates (i.e. DA) was the most common optimal investment strategy for females in our model. By contrast, increased investment when mating with low-quality mates (i.e. RC) was predicted only when the relative impact of parental investment on offspring quality was low. Finally, we found that the specific pattern of investment in relation to male quality depends on female energetic state, the likelihood for future mating opportunities and the expected future distribution of mate quality. Thus, the female's age and body condition should be important factors mediating DA and RC, which may help to explain the equivocal results of empirical studies.
Development of a Facs-verified Set of Basic and Self-conscious Emotion Expressions Extant Facs-verified Sets

In 2 studies, the authors developed and validated of a new set of standardized emotion expressions, which they referred to as the University of California, Davis, Set of Emotion Expressions (UCDSEE). The precise components of each expression were verified using the Facial Action Coding System (FACS). The UCDSEE is the first FACS-verified set to include the three " self-conscious " emotions known to have recognizable expressions (embarrassment, pride, and shame), as well as the 6 previously established " basic " emotions (anger, disgust, fear, happiness, sadness, and surprise), all posed by the same 4 expressers (African and White males and females). This new set has numerous potential applications in future research on emotion and related topics. In the late 1960s, researchers discovered that a small set of emotions have distinct, cross-culturally recognized, nonverbal ex-One of the most important and generative advances was the development of non-verbal coding systems for assessing distinct emotion expressions, including Izard's (1979) maximally discriminative facial movement coding system (MAX) and Ekman and Friesen's (1978) more widely used Facial Action Coding System (FACS). FACS is an anatomically based system that delineates every facial muscle movement, or action unit (AU), relevant to the expression of anger, contempt, disgust, fear, happiness, sadness, and surprise. Over 20 years of research has demonstrated that certain AUs are reliably associated with each distinct emotion (see Ekman, 2003, for a review). On the basis of these findings, researchers have developed guidelines showing which AUs are associated with which emotions (e.g., Ekman & Friesen, 1978); these guidelines can be used to create standardized posed emotion expressions that accurately and reliably convey each emotion. Resultant expressions do not suffer from many of the problems associated with emotion expression stimuli developed without a standardized system (e.g., by asking expressers to pose according to their own intuitions or those of the researcher about the appearance of particular expressions). Expressions posed without a standardized system (e. 1999) may suffer from problems of validity—not accurately reflecting the intended emotion—and reliability—lacking consistency across perceivers or across different expressions presumed to reflect the same emotion. a valid and reliable set of posed emotion expressions that generate high recognition rates across cultures. The POFA has been used in a wide range of studies, including developmental, cross-cultural, neuroimaging, and behavioral research (see Matsumoto et al., 2008). By utilizing these FACS-verified expressions, researchers ensure that observed effects can be attributed to the targeted emotions. …
Latent Epstein-Barr Virus Can Inhibit Apoptosis in B Cells by Blocking the Induction of NOXA Expression

Latent Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) has been shown to protect Burkitt's lymphoma-derived B cells from apoptosis induced by agents that cause damage to DNA, in the context of mutant p53. This protection requires expression of the latency-associated nuclear proteins EBNA3A and EBNA3C and correlates with their ability to cooperate in the repression of the gene encoding the pro-apoptotic, BH3-only protein BIM. Here we confirm that latent EBV in B cells also inhibits apoptosis induced by two other agents – ionomycin and staurosporine – and show that these act by a distinct pathway that involves a p53-independent increase in expression of another pro-apoptotic, BH3-only protein, NOXA. Analyses employing a variety of B cells infected with naturally occurring EBV or B95.8 EBV-BAC recombinant mutants indicated that the block to NOXA induction does not depend on the well-characterized viral latency-associated genes (EBNAs 1, 2, 3A, 3B, 3C, the LMPs or the EBERs) or expression of BIM. Regulation of NOXA was shown to be at least partly at the level of mRNA and the requirement for NOXA to induce cell death in this context was demonstrated by NOXA-specific shRNA-mediated depletion experiments. Although recombinant EBV with a deletion removing the BHRF1 locus – that encodes the BCL2-homologue BHRF1 and three microRNAs – partially abrogates protection against ionomycin and staurosporine, the deletion has no effect on the EBV-mediated block to NOXA accumulation.
Micro RNAs of Epstein-Barr Virus Promote Cell Cycle Progression and Prevent Apoptosis of Primary Human B Cells

Cellular and viral microRNAs (miRNAs) are involved in many different processes of key importance and more than 10,000 miRNAs have been identified so far. In general, relatively little is known about their biological functions in mammalian cells because their phenotypic effects are often mild and many of their targets still await identification. The recent discovery that Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) and other herpesviruses produce their own, barely conserved sets of miRNAs suggests that these viruses usurp the host RNA silencing machinery to their advantage in contrast to the antiviral roles of RNA silencing in plants and insects. We have systematically introduced mutations in EBV's precursor miRNA transcripts to prevent their subsequent processing into mature viral miRNAs. Phenotypic analyses of these mutant derivatives of EBV revealed that the viral miRNAs of the BHRF1 locus inhibit apoptosis and favor cell cycle progression and proliferation during the early phase of infected human primary B cells. Our findings also indicate that EBV's miRNAs are not needed to control the exit from latency. The phenotypes of viral miRNAs uncovered by this genetic analysis indicate that they contribute to EBV-associated cellular transformation rather than regulate viral genes of EBV's lytic phase.
Effect of B-vitamin Supplementation on Stroke: a Meta-Analysis of Randomized Controlled Trials

Background B vitamins have been extensively used to reduce homocysteine levels; however, it remains uncertain whether B vitamins are associated with a reduced risk of stroke. Our aim was to evaluate the effects of B vitamins on stroke. Methodology and Principal findings We systematically searched PubMed, EmBase, and the Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials to identify studies for our analysis. Relative risk (RR) was used to measure the effect of B-vitamin supplementation on the risk of stroke. The analysis was further stratified based on factors that could affect the treatment effects. Of the 13,124 identified articles, we included 18 trials reporting data on 57,143 individuals and 2,555 stroke events. B-vitamin supplementation was not associated with a significant reduction in the risk of stroke (RR, 0.91, 95%CI: 0.82–1.01, P = 0.075; RD, -0.003, 95%CI: -0.007–0.001, P = 0.134). Subgroup analyses suggested that B-vitamin supplementation might reduce the risk of stroke if included trials had a man/woman ratio of more than 2 or subjects received dose of folic acid less than 1 mg. Furthermore, in a cumulative meta-analysis for stroke, the originally proposed nonsignificant B-vitamin effect was refuted by the evidence accumulated up to 2006. There is a small effect with borderline statistical significance based on data gathered since 2007. Conclusions/Significance Our study indicates that B-vitamin supplementation is not associated with a lower risk of stroke based on relative and absolute measures of association. Subgroup analyses suggested that B-vitamin supplementation can effectively reduce the risk of stroke if included trials had a man/woman ratio of more than 2 or subjects received dose of folic acid less than 1 mg.
Turbulent wind fields for gaseous phenomena

The realistic depiction of smoke, steam, mist and water reacting to a turbulent ﬁeld such as wind is an attractive and challenging problem. Its solution requires interlocking models for turbulent ﬁelds, gaseousﬂow, andrealistic illumination. We present a model for turbulent wind ﬂow having a deterministic component to specify large-scale behaviour, and a stochastic component to model turbulent small-scale behaviour. The small-scale component is generated using space-time Fourier synthesis. Turbulent wind ﬁelds can be superposed interactively to create subtle behaviour. An advection-diffusion model is used to animate particle-based gaseous phenomena embedded in a wind ﬁeld, and we derive an efﬁcientphysically-basedillumination modelfor renderingthesys-tem. Becausethenumber of particles canbequite large, wepresent a clustering algorithm for efﬁcient animation and rendering. CR Categories and Subject Descriptors: I.3. 7 [ Computer Graphics ]: Three-Dimensional Graphics and Realism; I.3. 3 [ Computer Graphics ]: Picture/Image Generation; G.3 [ Probability and Statistics ]: Probabilistic algorithms.
Circular range search on encrypted spatial data

Searchable encryption is a promising technique enabling meaningful search operations to be performed on encrypted databases while protecting user privacy from untrusted third-party service providers. However, while most of the existing works focus on common SQL queries, geometric queries on encrypted spatial data have not been well studied. Especially, circular range search is an important type of geometric query on spatial data which has wide applications, such as proximity testing in Location-Based Services and Delaunay triangulation in computational geometry. In this paper, we propose two novel symmetric-key searchable encryption schemes supporting circular range search. Informally, both of our schemes can correctly verify whether a point is inside a circle on encrypted spatial data without revealing data privacy or query privacy to a semi-honest cloud server. We formally define the security of our proposed schemes, prove that they are secure under Selective Chosen-Plaintext Attacks, and evaluate their performance through experiments in a real-world cloud platform (Amazon EC2).
Maximal outerplanar graphs as chordal graphs, path-neighborhood graphs, and triangle graphs

Maximal outerplanar graphs are characterized using three different classes of graphs. A path-neighborhood graph is a connected graph in which every neighborhood induces a path. The triangle graph $T(G)$ has the triangles of the graph $G$ as its vertices, two of these being adjacent whenever as triangles in $G$ they share an edge. A graph is edge-triangular if every edge is in at least one triangle. The main results can be summarized as follows: the class of maximal outerplanar graphs is precisely the intersection of any of the two following classes: the chordal graphs, the path-neighborhood graphs, the edge-triangular graphs having a tree as triangle graph.
Diagnostic Differentiation of Pancreatic Neuroendocrine Tumor From Other Neoplastic Solid Pancreatic Lesions During Endoscopic Ultrasound-Guided Fine-Needle Aspiration

Objectives To identify factors differentiating pancreatic neuroendocrine tumors (PNETs) from non-PNET neoplastic solid pancreatic lesions (SPLs) and assess the accuracy of endoscopic ultrasound-guided fine-needle aspiration (EUS-FNA). Methods This is a retrospective study at a tertiary center of consecutive patients referred for EUS from 2004 to 2011. The main outcomes were pretest predictors and accuracy of EUS-FNA for diagnosis of PNET. Results Among a total of 1108 EUS-FNAs for pancreatic lesions, 672 patients (PNET = 91, non-PNET neoplastic-SPLs = 581) had neoplastic-SPLs. The sensitivity, specificity, and accuracy of EUS-FNA for diagnosis of PNETs were 98.9%, 100%, and 99.9%, respectively. The mean needle-passes were 3.0/patient. The EUS volume (mean/year per endosonographer) in preceding 3 years significantly correlated with fewer needle passes (rs: [−0.26]; P = 0.02). Multivariate analysis demonstrated that patients with PNET when compared to non-PNET neoplastic-SPLs were younger (odds ratio [OR], 3.23; 95% confidence interval [95% CI], 1.19–9.09; P = 0.001), have 2 or more pancreatic lesions (OR, 5.63; 95% CI, 1.74–18.2; P = 0.005), and lower CA 19-9 values (OR, 10.0; 95% CI, 3.13–33.3; P = 0.001). Further, PNETs were less likely to have weight loss (OR, 0.40; 95% CI, 0.17–0.90; P = 0.03), current smoking (OR, 0.47; 95% CI, 0.22–0.98; P < 0.05), pancreatic ductal dilation (OR, 0.28; 95% CI, 0.13–0.60; P = 0.002), or imaging evidence of arterial invasion (OR, 0.22; 95% CI, 0.07–0.71; P = 0.01). Conclusions Although pre-FNA findings can reliably characterize, EUS-FNA is highly accurate for the diagnosis of PNETs.
SOLVENT DEPENDENCE OF PYRIMIDINE DIMER SPLITTING IN A COVALENTLY LINKED DIMER‐INDOLE SYSTEM

Abstract— –Cyclobutadipyrimidines (pyrimidine dimers) undergo splitting that is photosensitized by indole derivatives. We have prepared a compound in which a two‐carbon linker connects a dimer to an indolyl group. Indolyl fluorescence quenching indicated that the two portions of the molecule interact in the excited state. Intramolecular photosensitization of dimer splitting was remarkably solvent dependent, ranging from φspl= 0.06 in water to a high value of φspl= 0.41 in the least polar solvent mixture examined, l,4‐dioxane‐isopentane(5: 95). A derivative with a 5‐methoxy substituent on the indolyl ring behaved similarly. These results have been interpreted in terms of electron transfer from the excited indolyl group to the dimer, which would produce a charge‐separated species. The dimer anion within such a species could split or undergo back electron transfer. The possibility that back electron transfer is in the Marcus inverted region can be used to rationalize the observed solvent dependence of splitting. In the inverted region, the high driving force of a charge recombination exceeds the reorganization energy of the solvent, which is less for solvents of low polarity than those of high polarity. If this theory is applicable to the hypothetical charge‐separated species, a slower back electron transfer, and consequently higher splitting efficiencies, would be expected in solvents of lower polarity. Photolyases may have evolved in which a low polarity active site retards back transfer of an electron and thereby contributes to the efficiency of the enzymatic dimer splitting.
Serodiagnosis of Chagas' disease by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay using two synthetic peptides as antigens

An enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) was developed for detecting antibodies against Trypanosoma cruzi. Two synthetic T. cruzi peptides, TcD and PEP2, were used. The specificity and sensitivity of the peptide ELISA were determined with 260 serum samples from individuals living in an area in which Chagas' disease is endemic. ELISAs were performed with the peptides singly or in combination. The evaluation of these tests showed that 168 (93.8%) of 179 serum samples from T. cruzi-infected patients were positive when TcD peptide was used as antigen; 164 (91.6%) samples were positive with PEP2, and 178 (99.4%) samples were positive when the two peptides were combined. Thus, the sensitivity of the ELISA using the two peptides exceeded 99%. The specificity was evaluated by using a panel of 118 serum samples that included samples from 81 individuals living in an area of endemicity with negative serology for Chagas' disease and from 37 patients from areas in which T. cruzi was not endemic but with other pathologies, such as leishmaniasis, tuberculosis, and leprosy. Only two false-positive serum samples were found in this group of individuals, giving a test specificity of more than 98%. Because these peptides can be synthesized and are very stable at room temperature, the use of such reagents can improve the standardization and reproducibility of ELISAs for the serodiagnosis of T. cruzi infection.
IL-12– and IL-23–induced T helper cell subsets

Traditionally, CD4+ T cells have been separated into two different subsets named T helper (Th)1 and Th2. A new IL-23–driven subset of Th cells called ThIL-17 has now been described. The data suggest that IL-23 plays an important role in the differentiation of autoreactive pathogenic T cells. Whether these IL-23–induced ThIL-17 cells are a unique subset or are related to other Th subsets is discussed.
Effects of CB1 cannabinoid receptor blockade on ethanol preference after chronic alcohol administration combined with repeated re-exposures and withdrawals.

AIMS The cannabinoid CB1 receptor antagonist, SR141716A, differentially affects the ethanol preference of chronically alcoholized rats when administered during cycles of ethanol exposure and withdrawal. In this study, ethanol preference was investigated in chronically alcoholized rats that underwent regular withdrawal periods during which the brain cannabinoid CB(1) receptor antagonist, SR141716A, was administered. METHODS The cannabinoid receptor antagonist SR141716A, 3 or 10 mg/kg/day, was administered i.p. to Wistar rats at the conclusion of a 4-week period of chronic alcoholization, as they commenced a cycle of alcohol withdrawal for 10 days followed by a period of 10 days chronic ethanol exposure. In a second set of experiments, an additional cycle of ethanol withdrawal and re-exposure was given. Preference for ethanol versus water started at the end of the first or second chronic ethanol re-exposure for a period of at least 30 days. RESULTS In rats pretreated with the higher dose of SR141716A, ethanol preference during free choice was significantly increased after two ethanol re-exposures. In contrast, pretreatment with the lower SR141716A dose induced no significant change in ethanol intake during the free choice followed by either one or two ethanol re-exposures. CONCLUSIONS SR141716A, 10 mg/kg/day dose, induced a significant increase in ethanol preference which was dependent on both the number of ethanol withdrawals and chronic ethanol re-exposures, while 3 mg/kg/day had no significant effect on ethanol preference.