Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Divergent evolutionary histories of two sympatric spruce bark beetle species

Ips typographus and Pityogenes chalcographus are two sympatric Palearctic bark beetle species with wide distribution ranges. As both species are comparable in biology, life history, and habitat, including sharing the same host, Picea abies, they provide excellent models for applying a comparative approach in which to identify common historical patterns of population differentiation and the influence of species‐specific ecological characteristics. We analysed patterns of genetic diversity, genetic structure and demographic history of ten I. typographus and P. chalcographus populations co‐distributed across Europe using both COI and ITS2 markers. Rather than similarities, our results revealed striking differences. Ips typographus was characterised by low genetic diversity, shallow population structure and strong evidence that all extant haplogroups arose via a single Holocene population expansion event. In contrast, genetic variation and structuring were high in P. chalcographus indicating a longer and more complex evolutionary history. This was estimated to be five times older than I. typographus, beginning during the last Pleistocene glacial maximum over 100 000 years ago. Although the expansions of P. chalcographus haplogroups also date to the Holocene or just prior to its onset, we show that these occurred from at least three geographically separated glacial refugia. Overall, these results suggest that the much longer evolutionary history of P. chalcographus greatly influenced the levels of phylogeographic subdivision among lineages and may have led to the evolution of different life‐history traits which in turn have affected genetic structure and resulted in an advantage over the more aggressive I. typographus.
Occult breast carcinoma presenting with axillary lymph node metastases.

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES Occult primary breast carcinoma is uncommon. Most reported series encompass a large periods of time with great variability in diagnostic and treatment approaches. The objective of the present study was to review the recent experience with this type of presentation of breast cancer in the University of Alabama at Birmingham. METHODS Retrospective review of clinicopathological data of female patients presenting with axillary metastasis of adenocarcinoma with unknown primary and normal clinical and mammographic breast exam seen at UAB between 1985 and 1998. RESULTS Ten patients were identified. Mean age was 56 years. Sixty per cent were white and postmenopausal. All patients had biopsy proven adenocarcinoma consistent with breast primary. All but one patient underwent an axillary dissection. Nine out of ten patients received some type of local treatment to the breast. Three of them underwent mastectomy and no invasive carcinoma was demonstrated in the surgical specimens. Six patients received radiation therapy to the breast. All patients received chemotherapy. With mean follow-up time of 48 months, two patients developed local recurrence to the axilla and four developed distant metastasis and eventually died. At last follow-up six patients are alive with no evidence of disease. CONCLUSIONS In presence of axillary metastasis from an unknown breast primary, an extensive work-up evaluation is not necessary. An axillary dissection is recommended to provide prognostic indicators as well as local control. A breast conservation approach seems to be feasible without affect the local control and survival.
The Deviated Nose and the Nasal Airway 1

The pathology of the deviated nose is discussed in relation to its bony and cartilaginous components. The importance of the interlocking stresses within the septal cartilage is pointed out especially with respect to continuing deformation after trauma. The methods of rhinometry are analysed and normal airflow through the nose is described. The effects on the nasal airway of a caudal dislocation of the septum, an angulation at the valve area, a high septal deflection and an excessively wide choana are discussed. In the treatment of a deviated bony segment the difficulties of medial and lateral osteotomies are described. The indications for a septoplasty are thought to be a dislocated caudal end, a tip deviation and an external lateral angulation. The submucous resection of the septum should be reserved for resolved haematoma and cartilage absorption. The importance of the patient's priorities in deciding what operation to do are pointed out. Finally the experimental work on the effect of cartilage and mucoperichondrium resection on nasal growth is reviewed. It is suggested that a child with a severe septal deflection and airway obstruction should be offered a septoplasty taking care not to damage the mucoperichondrium.
Hypertensive nephropathy: prevention and treatment recommendations

Importance of the field: A worldwide epidemic of chronic kidney disease (CKD) exists; hypertensive nephropathy is second only to diabetes as a leading cause of progressive CKD. Due to the increasing morbidity and mortality and escalating costs associated with end-stage renal disease (ESRD), novel therapeutic strategies are needed urgently to maximally reduce albuminuria, control blood pressure, and delay progression of hypertensive nephropathy to ESRD. In particular, rational use of renin–angiotensin–aldosterone (RAAS) blockers and achieving blood pressure targets are crucial to reduce cardiovascular and renal outcomes. Areas covered in this review: We discuss the pathophysiology of hypertensive nephropathy and review current research evidence in support of i) albuminuria reduction as a key factor to maximally slow CKD progression, ii) the blood pressure (BP) goal of < 130 mmHg, and iii) strategies for prevention and optimal treatment of hypertensive nephropathy. What will the reader gain: Insight into the complexity of treating patients with hypertensive nephropathy and the effective strategies required for reducing albuminuria, achieving BP goals and delaying progression of hypertensive nephropathy. Take home message: Patients with hypertensive proteinuric nephropathy need aggressive BP-lowering with multiple agents that should include RAAS blockers, calcium antagonists and diuretics to maximally slow progression to ESRD.
The Importance of Financial Literacy Knowledge For Elementary School Students In 21st Century

Life in the 21st century requires a variety of skills that an individual must master in order to become a successful person in life. Skills in managing finances are needed. Therefore, the need for financial literacy knowledge is taught early, especially in schools so that it will accumulate into adulthood. This article aimed to explain the importance of financial literacy knowledge for elementary school students in the 21st century. Data collection used observation, literature study, and documentation. Data sources from informants and documents. Data analysis used qualitative data analysis of interactive models. The findings showed that students at elementary schools prefer to buy objects that are desired rather than needed. This shows the importance of financial literacy knowledge for elementary school students. This is supported by the results of a literature study that financial literacy knowledge will be useful in managing students' finances for now and in the future. Therefore, it is expected that the role of the teacher in providing teaching material about financial literacy in accordance with the stages of student development.
Imaging Performance of BOSS Using SAS Processing

Synthetic data sets containing point targets and uniformly distributed point scatterers are processed to quantify the performance of BOSS (buried object scanning sonar) as a function of the lengths of synthetic and physical hydrophone apertures and the spatial interval between transmission events. The modeling shows that transmitting at half wavelength along track intervals provides near optimal performance. Increasing the number of the hydrophone lines in the rectangular receiving aperture allows transmissions at larger intervals without significant degradation of target SNR. Image resolution is modeled by measuring the width of a point target along 3 axes as a point target is moved in range and bearing. The modeling shows that the along track target resolution is dependent on the length of the synthetic aperture and center frequency for targets abeam of the sonar, and is dependent on the temporal resolution of the sonar for targets ahead or behind the sonar vehicle. Temporal resolution, which is the inverse of the pulse bandwidth, determines the vertical resolution of targets under the sonar vehicle and the across track horizontal resolution of targets off the beam of the sonar vehicle
Estimating Renewable Energy Economic Potential in the United States: Methodology and Initial Results

This report describes a geospatial analysis method to estimate the economic potential of several renewable resources available for electricity generation in the United States. Economic potential, one measure of renewable generation potential, may be defined in several ways. For example, one definition might be expected revenues (based on local market prices) minus generation costs, considered over the expected lifetime of the generation asset. Another definition might be generation costs relative to a benchmark (e.g., a natural gas combined cycle plant) using assumptions of fuel prices, capital cost, and plant efficiency. Economic potential in this report is defined as the subset of the available resource technical potential where the cost required to generate the electricity (which determines the minimum revenue requirements for development of the resource) is below the revenue available in terms of displaced energy and displaced capacity. The assessment is conducted at a high geospatial resolution (more than 150,000 technology-specific sites in the continental United States) to capture the significant variation in local resource, costs, and revenue potential. This metric can be a useful screening factor for understanding the economic viability of renewable generation technologies at a specific location. In contrast to many common estimates of renewable energy potential,more » economic potential does not consider market dynamics, customer demand, or most policy drivers that may incent renewable energy generation. « less
Functional analysis of single nucleotide polymorphisms of hepatic organic anion transporter OATP1B1 (OATP-C).

OBJECTIVE Two kinds of single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP; Asn130Asp and Val174Ala) are frequently observed in the liver specific transporter, organic anion transporting polypeptide 1B1 (OATP1B1/OATP-C) gene. Although these two SNPs occur independently in European-Americans, Val174Ala is mostly associated with Asn130Asp in Japanese. Our previous in-vivo studies in Japanese subjects indicated that the non-renal clearance of pravastatin was decreased to 13% of that in wild-type subjects (Nishizato et al. Clin Pharmacol Ther 2003;73(6):554-564). The purpose of the present study is to characterize the function of SNPs variants of OATP1B1 in cDNA transfected cells. METHODS The localization and transport activity were analyzed in HEK293 cells stably expressing wild-type OATP1B1 (OATP1B1*1a), OATP1B1*1b (Asn130Asp), OATP1B1*5 (Val174Ala) and OATP1B1*15 (Asn130Asp and Val174Ala). To characterize the intrinsic Vmax, observed Vmax in uptake study were normalized by the expression level estimated from Western blotting. RESULTS All SNP variants are predominantly located on the cell surface. No significant alteration was observed in Km values for the transport of 17beta-estradiol 17beta-d-glucuronide (E217betaG), a typical substrate of OATP1B1, among these SNP variants. However, the normalized Vmax value for OATP1B1*15 was drastically decreased to less than 30% compared with OATP1B1*1a. In contrast, the transport activity of OATP1B1*1b (Asn130Asp) and OATP1B1*5 (Val 174Ala) was similar to that of OATP1B1*1a. CONCLUSIONS These results are consistent with the results of our previous clinical studies. It is thus suggested that in-vivo disposition may be predicted from in-vitro results using recombinant transporters.
Customer satisfaction towards customer retention in the private banking sector: A study on selected private sector banks in Vavuniya district of Sri Lanka

This research study aimed to investigate how far the customer satisfaction leads to the customer retention in the Private Banking Sector in Vavuniya District. The major objectives of this study are to measure the customer satisfaction in different Private Sector Banks and to identify the bank which satisfies more customers which will lead to the retention. A structured questionnaire was equally distributed among 300 respondents who were selected on a random sampling basis and broken into four groups based on their occupation. SPSS version 16.0 has been used for analyzing the data. The findings derived from the descriptive statistics, correlation analysis and regression analysis highlight that the Commercial Bank of Ceylon is in the leading position to satisfy the customers and retain them in their bank. Approximately 55% of Private Sector customers contributed to this finding. The Hatton National Bank is in the second position and the self employed people and farmers contributed the maximum of 44% among all the categories of customers. In the regression analysis, the Beta value shows that the independent variable customer satisfaction 43.6 percent impacts on the dependent variable customer retention. It points out that the Customer Satisfaction is not only the determinant for the Customer retention and there are other factors that influence the retention. Therefore, it is recommended that the Private Sector Banks should understand those factors and adopt appropriate strategies to retain their customers and sustain competitive advantage.
Factors contributing to enrollment in a family treatment court

Background: The literature has shown that standard drug courts have had some success in reducing recidivism. As a result of drug court success, there has been an extension of therapeutic courts into other areas, including family courts. Characteristics that identify those who are likely to refuse entering a Family Treatment Court (FTC) can provide insight into how refusal rates may be decreased. Objectives: This study evaluated FTC enrollment to identify predictors that may aid in the development of interventions to decrease refusal rates. Methods: A total of 229 referrals to the FTC were included in this study. Comparisons were made across a number of factors between those who chose to enroll in the FTC and those who did not. Binary logistic regression modeled the effect of independent variables on the probability of enrollment. Results: There were high rates of mental health problems, with high rates of trauma exposure in the sample, consisting mostly of females. Race, government assistance, severity of substance use problems, motivation to change substance use behavior, and parent–child interactions were significant predictors of enrollment. Conclusions and Scientific Significance: The results for the study point out the need for possible specialized treatments and a need to consider how motivational elements may be addressed during the intake assessment to aid in decreasing refusal rates. Additionally, the results point toward a need for consideration of family system approaches when working with FTC participants as well as the need for further work with motivational elements and drug court participants.
A TSA-based consideration to design LQR auxiliary voltage control of DFIG

This paper introduces a consideration to design an auxiliary voltage control of doubly-fed induction generator (DFIG) using linear quadratic regulator (LQR). One of the LQR control design challenges is the state variables weighting matrix, which has lack of systematic method. The new consideration, that determines the LQR state weighting matrix, is based on the trajectory sensitivity analysis (TSA). TSA method solves the system differential algebraic equations to get the sensitivity of state variables and outputs to the system parameters. In this paper, the sensitivity of state variables to the DFIG voltage control input parameter is used to catch the state weighting matrix. The state weighting matrix is considered based on the infinity norm throughout the time series simulation. The proposed weighting matrix is compared with two of the common methods that used in literature using a modified two-area power system. Simulation results show that the TSA-based controller has better voltage support and control signal performance. The TSA-based controller also improves the settling of oscillation damping. The proposed method shows robustness of the damping control by presenting different contingency scenarios.
Perfusion-based assessment of disease activity in untreated and treated patients with aortitis and chronic periaortitis: correlation with CT morphological, clinical and serological data.

OBJECTIVE To evaluate the role of perfusion-based assessment of inflammatory activity in patients with treated and untreated aortitis and chronic periaortitis as compared with clinical and serological markers. METHODS 35 patients (20 females; median age 66 years) with (peri) aortitis were retrospectively evaluated. All patients had clinical symptoms prompting at the time of imaging. All patients first underwent whole-body contrast-enhanced CT and subsequently segmental volume perfusion CT for assessment of the degree of vascularization of (peri) aortitis as a surrogate marker for inflammatory activity. Blood flow, blood volume, volume transfer constant (k-trans), time to peak and mean transit time were determined. The thickness of the increased connective tissue formation was measured. Perfusion data were correlated with clinical symptoms and acute-phase inflammatory parameters such as C-reactive protein (CRP), erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR) and leukocyte number. RESULTS 21 of 35 patients were untreated and 14 of 35 had previous/ongoing immunosuppression. The interobserver agreement was good (κ = 0.78) for all perfusion parameters. Average values of perfusion parameters were higher in untreated patients but remained abnormally elevated in treated patients as well. Perfusion data and ESR and CRP correlated well both in aortitis (p < 0.05) and in periaortitis (p < 0.05). In periaortitis, perfusion parameters agreed well with ESR and CRP values (p < 0.05) only in untreated patients. CONCLUSION Perfusion CT parameters in untreated aortitis and chronic periaortitis correlate well with serological markers with respect to disease activity assessment. However, in treated periaortitis, correlations were weak, suggesting an increased role for (perfusion-based) imaging. ADVANCES IN KNOWLEDGE Volume perfusion CT may be used for diagnosis of aortitis/periaortitis.
From cryptic chromosomal lesions to pathologically relevant genes: Integration of SNP‐array with gene expression profiling in myelodysplastic syndrome with normal karyotype

Myelodysplastic syndrome (MDS), a clonal disorder originating from hematopoietic stem cell, is characterized by a progressive character often leading to transformation to acute myeloid leukemia. We used single nucleotide polymorphism arrays (SNP‐A) to identify previously cryptic chromosomal abnormalities such as copy number alterations and uniparental disomies (UPD) in cytogenetically normal MDS. In the aberrant regions, we attempted to localize candidate genes with potential relevance to the disease. Using SNP‐A, we analyzed peripheral blood granulocytes from 37 MDS patients. The analysis identified 13 cryptic chromosomal defects in 10 patients (27%). Four UPD (affecting chromosomes 3q, 7q, 17q, and 20p), 5 deletions and 4 duplications were detected. Gene expression data measured on CD34+ cells were available for 4 patients with and 6 patients without SNP‐A lesions. We performed an integrative analysis of genotyping and gene expression microarrays and found several genes with an altered expression located in the aberrant regions. The expression microarrays suggested BMP2 and TRIB3 located in 20p UPD as potential candidate genes contributing to MDS. We showed that the genome‐wide integrative approach is beneficial to the comprehension of molecular backgrounds of diseases with incompletely understood etiopathology. © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
Potential biomarkers of muscle injury after eccentric exercise

Proteomics was utilized to identify novel potential plasma biomarkers of exercise-induced muscle injury. Muscle injury was induced in nine human volunteers by eccentric upper extremity exercise. Liquid chromatography–mass spectrometry identified 30 peptides derived from nine proteins which showed significant change in abundance post-exercise. Four of these proteins, haemoglobin α chain, haemoglobin β chain, α1-antichymotrypsin (ACT) and plasma C-1 protease inhibitor (C1 Inh), met the criterion for inclusion based on changes in at least two distinct peptides. ACT and C1 Inh peptides peaked earlier post-exercise than creatine kinase, and thus appear to provide new information on muscle response to injury.
Exposure of HepG2 cells to low levels of PAH‐containing extracts from contaminated soils results in unpredictable genotoxic stress responses

Contaminated soil is a serious environmental problem, constituting a risk to humans and the environment. Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) are often present at contaminated sites. However, risk levels are difficult to estimate because of the complexity of contaminants present. Here, we compare cellular effects of extracts from contaminated soils collected at six industrial settings in Sweden. Chemical analysis showed that all soils contained complex mixtures of PAHs and oxy‐PAHs. Western blotting and immunocytochemistry were used to investigate DNA damage signaling in HepG2 cells exposed to extracts from these soils. The effects on phosphorylated Mdm2, p53, Erk, H2AX, 53BP1, and Chk2, cell cycle regulating proteins (cyclin D1 and p21), and cell proliferation were compared. We found that most soil extracts induced phosphorylation of Mdm2 at the 2A10 epitope at low concentrations. This is in line with previous studies suggesting that this endpoint reflects readily repaired DNA‐damage. However, we found concentration‐ and time‐dependent γH2AX and 53BP1 responses that were sustained for 48 hr. These endpoints may reflect the presence of different types of persistent DNA‐damage. High concentrations of soil extracts decreased cyclin D1 and increased p21 response, indicating cell cycle arrest. Phosphorylation of Mdm2 at Ser166, which attenuates the p53 response and is induced by many tumor promoters, was induced in a time‐dependent manner and was associated with Erk phosphorylation. Taken together, the PAH extracts elicited unpredictable signaling responses that differed between samples. More polar compounds, i.e., oxy‐PAHs, also contributed to the complexity. Environ. Mol. Mutagen. 2009. © 2009 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.