Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Alzheimer-Like Changes in Rat Models of Spontaneous Diabetes

OBJECTIVE—To examine whether changes characteristic of Alzheimer's disease occur in two rat models with spontaneous onset of type 1 and type 2 diabetes. RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS—The frontal cortices of 8-month-diabetic rats were examined with respect to neuronal densities, neurite degeneration, expression, and/or immunolocalization of amyloid precursor protein (APP), β-secretase, β-amyloid, COOH-terminal fragment (CTF), insulin receptor, IGF-1 receptor, glycogen synthase kinase 3-β (GSK-3β), protein kinase B (Akt), phosphorylated τ (phospho-τ), synaptophysin, and phosphorylated neurofilaments (SMI-31). RESULTS—Neuronal loss occurred in both models, significantly more so in type 2 diabetic BBZDR/Wor rats compared with type 1 diabetic BB/Wor rats and was associated with a ninefold increase of dystrophic neurites. APP, β-secretase, β-amyloid, and CTF were significantly increased in type 2 diabetic rats, as was phospho-τ. The insulin receptor expression was decreased in type 1 diabetes, whereas IGF-1 receptor was decreased in both models, as were Akt and GSK-3β expression. CONCLUSIONS—The data show that β-amyloid and phospho-τ accumulation occur in experimental diabetes and that this is associated with neurite degeneration and neuronal loss. The changes were more severe in the type 2 diabetic model and appear to be associated with insulin resistance and possibly hypercholesterolemia. The two models will provide useful tools to unravel further mechanistic associations between diabetes and Alzheimer's disease.
Exercise-related lower leg pain: bone.

Author Information Olympic Park Sports Medicine Centre, Melbourne, AUSTRALIA Address for correspondence: Peter Brukner, FACSP, Olympic Park Sports Medicine Centre, Swan Street, Melbourne 3004 Australia. E-mail: pbrukner@compuserve.com. Bony pathology is a common cause of exercise-related lower leg pain. The two bony pathologies seen most frequently are stress fractures and the condition traditionally known as “shin splints” or “medial tibial stress syndrome” but more accurately described as traction periostitis of the posteromedial border of the tibia. Other bony pathologies seen occasionally include tumor and infection.
Knowledge, Attitudes, and Behaviors of College Students in Family and Consumer Sciences Towards Environmentally Friendly Apparel

BOSTIC, NINA CRAWFORD. Knowledge, Attitudes, and Behaviors of College Students in Family and Consumer Sciences Towards Environmentally Friendly Apparel. (Under the direction of Dr. Gary Moore.) The purpose of this study is to (a) determine attitudes, knowledge, and behaviors of college students toward environmentally friendly apparel, (b) examine a correlation between age in relation to knowledge, attitude and behaviors, (c) examine the difference between student’s hometown size in regards to knowledge, attitude and behaviors, (d) study the differences in knowledge, attitude and behaviors between majors (Fashion majors or Family Consumer Sciences). Surveys were administered to introductory level courses in Family and Consumer Sciences (FCS) at three institutions of higher education. Each class member turned in a survey, for a total of 137 surveys. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics, t-tests, one-way Analysis of Variance, and Pearson Correlation Coefficients. Based upon the findings, the following conclusions were identified: 1. The FCS students at the three colleges had a low to moderate level of knowledge regarding environmentally friendly apparel. 2. Students are leaning toward having an attitude that supports being environmentally friendly toward clothing. 3. Students generally practice environmentally friendly apparel behaviors. 4. The type of major, whether it’s Fashion or other Family and Consumer Sciences, did not show a higher awareness of environmentally friendly apparel. 5. The student’s hometown size did not show a difference in their knowledge, attitude and behavior. 6. The student’s age did not have a relationship with their knowledge and behavior. However, the older students possessed a more favorable attitude toward environmentally friendly clothing. Knowledge, Attitudes, and Behaviors of College Students in Family and Consumer Sciences Towards Environmentally Friendly Apparel by Nina Crawford Bostic A dissertation submitted to the Graduate Faculty of North Carolina State University in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Education Occupational Education Raleigh, North Carolina 2008
Barriers to Clinical Trial Participation: Comparing Perceptions and Knowledge of African American and White South Carolinians

Analyzing data from a survey of African American and White residents in South Carolina, this study attempts to understand how to better promote clinical trial participation specifically within the African American population. To explore why participation is lower in the African American population, the authors examined two sets of potential barriers: structural/procedural (limited accessibility, lack of awareness, doctors not discussing clinical trial options, lack of health insurance) and cognitive/psychological (lack of subjective and factual knowledge, misperceptions, distrust, fear, perceived risk). Findings revealed that African Americans were significantly less willing than Whites to participate in a clinical trial. African Americans also had lower subjective and factual knowledge about clinical trials and perceived greater risk involved in participating in a clinical trial. The authors found that lack of subjective knowledge and perceived risk were significant predictors of African Americans’ willingness to participate in a clinical trial. Implications of the findings are discussed in detail.
Liquidity: essence, risk, institutions, markets and regulation: a report of the liquidity working party

Abstract This study is a subjective synthesis of the work of many academics, supervisors and practitioners on the topic of liquidity and many of its multiple aspects. It borrows heavily and freely from those works in the pursuit of coherence, as this subject can be both confused and confusing. Although many hypotheses, both established and speculative, are referred to, none is proposed in this paper. In order to be of possible use to a range of readers, it roams from the most basic and elementary to some of the most recent and advanced. In pursuit of brevity and readability, in many instances it can do little more than introduce a particular feature and leave further investigation to the reader. Liquidity is clearly a topic with much unfinished business. Our ambition in writing this paper is threefold: first, to raise awareness amongst actuaries of the wide-ranging implications for actuarial work of liquidity; second, to bring some coherence to the manifold measures and uses of the concept of liquidity by attempting to synthesise some of the key elements of knowledge today; finally, to highlight some of the more high profile and open questions relevant for actuarial work. This paper makes many references to behaviour during the crisis and its aftermath; however, it is not intended to be a forensic analysis of the crisis attributing causality. The crisis has simply served as an experiment during which many things became observable.
EFFECTS OF LIGHT ON THE CIRCADIAN ACTIVITY RHYTHM OF DJUNGARIAN HAMSTERS (PHODOPUS SUNGORUS) WITH DELAYED ACTIVITY ONSET

A number of Djungarian hamsters (Phodopus sungorus) of our institute show activity patterns that seem incompatible with proper adjustment to a periodic environment. The activity onset of those animals is continuously delayed, whereas the activity offset is stably coupled to “lights-on”, leading to compression of activity time. A series of experiments was conducted to evaluate the possible causes of the deteriorated ability of DAO (delayed activity onset) hamsters to synchronize. Thus, we investigated the properties of the endogenous circadian rhythm plus parametric and non-parametric light effects on hamsters of DAO and Wild type (WT) phenotypes. Free-running rhythms were studied in constant darkness (DD) or constant light (LL) of different intensities (1, 10, 100 lux). To investigate photic phase responses, hamsters were kept in DD and exposed to light pulses (100 lux, 15 min), at circadian time (CT) CT14 and CT22. Differences were verified statistically by ANOVA. Light intensity exerted significant effect on the free-running period (τ). In DD, τ was significantly longer in DAO than WT hamsters. With increasing light intensity, τ lengthened in both phenotypes, though not at a similar rate. In 10 and 100 lux LL, however, τ did not differ between the two phenotypes. The robustness of the circadian activity rhythm was highest in DD and decreased in LL. No differences between phenotypes were noted. The percentage of arrhythmic animals was low in DD, but remarkably high in LL, and always higher in WT hamsters. The total amount of activity/day was highest in DD; DAO hamsters were less active than WT hamsters under each lighting condition. Light pulses induced phase delays when applied at CT14 and phase advances at CT22, with advances being stronger than delays. Also at CT14, the response of the activity onset was stronger than the activity offset. The opposite was observed at CT22. At CT14, the phase response did not differ between the phenotypes. However, at CT22 the phase advance was significantly weaker in DAO than WT hamsters despite their longer τ. The results provide further evidence that the distinct activity pattern of DAO hamsters is due to an altered interaction between the circadian clock and photic zeitgeber. (Author correspondence: weinert@zoologie.uni-halle.de)
Diamonds as the alternative assets on financial markets

I Acknowledgement II List of tables V List of figures VI List of acronyms VIII 1: Introduction 1 1.1 The background of the research 2 1.2. Problem statement 3 1.3 Sub goals of the research 4 1.4 The structure of the Master Thesis 4 2.Theory 5 2.1 What is an investment portfolio? 5 2.2 Formation of the investment portfolio 6 2.3 Markowitz Modern Portfolio Theory 7 2.4 Portfolio Performance Measurement 13 Summary 14 3. Methodology 15 3.1 Understanding the problem's statement of the research 15 3.2 Observation of the qualified literature 16 3.3 Philosophical issue of the research 19 3.4 Formulation of the research design 21 3.5 Access and collection of data 23 3.6 Validity of the Research 24 3.7 Limitations 26 Summary 27 4. Results 28 4.1 Selection of assets for Developed Markets' portfolios 28 4.2 Selection of the market portfolio 36 4.3 Data Selection for Emerging Market 's portfolios 37 4.4 The Calculations' Logic 39 4.4.1 Portfolios 1 and 1' for Developed Market 39 4.4.2 Portfolios 2 and 2' for the USA 47 4.4.3 Portfolios for Emerging Markets 52
Sulforaphane increases the efficacy of anti-androgens by rapidly decreasing androgen receptor levels in prostate cancer cells.

Prostate cancer (PCa) cells utilize androgen for their growth. Hence, androgen deprivation therapy (ADT) using anti-androgens, e.g. bicalutamide (BIC) and enzalutamide (ENZ), is a mainstay of treatment. However, the outgrowth of castration resistant PCa (CRPC) cells remains a significant problem. These CRPC cells express androgen receptor (AR) and utilize the intratumoral androgen towards their continued growth and invasion. Sulforaphane (SFN), a naturally occurring isothiocyanate found in cruciferous vegetables, can decrease AR protein levels. In the present study, we tested the combined efficacy of anti-androgens and SFN in suppressing PCa cell growth, motility and clonogenic ability. Both androgen-dependent (LNCaP) and androgen-independent (C4-2B) cells were used to monitor the effects of BIC and ENZ, alone and in combination with SFN. Co-exposure to SFN significantly (p<0.005) enhanced the anti-proliferative effects of anti-androgens and downregulated expression of the AR-responsive gene, prostate specific antigen (PSA) (p<0.05). Exposure to SFN decreased AR protein levels in a time- and dose-dependent manner with almost no AR detected at 24 h with 15 µM SFN (p<0.005). This rapid and potent AR suppression by SFN occurred by both AR protein degradation, as suggested by cycloheximide (CHX) co-exposure studies, and by suppression of AR gene expression, as evident from quantitative RT-PCR experiments. Pre-exposure to SFN also reduced R1881-stimulated nuclear localization of AR, and combined treatment with SFN and anti-androgens abrogated the mitogenic effects of this AR-agonist (p<0.005). Wound-healing assays revealed that co-exposure to SFN and anti-androgens can significantly (p<0.005) reduce PCa cell migration. In addition, long-term exposures (14 days) to much lower concentrations of these agents, SFN (0.2 µM), BIC (1 µM) and/or ENZ (0.4 µM) significantly (p<0.005) decreased the number of colony forming units (CFUs). These findings clearly suggest that SFN may be used as a promising adjunct agent to augment the efficacy of anti-androgens against aggressive PCa cells.
Ability of hand radiographs to predict a further diagnosis of rheumatoid arthritis in patients with early arthritis.

OBJECTIVE To evaluate the ability of hand radiographs collected at study inclusion to predict a diagnosis of rheumatoid arthritis (RA) 2 years later, in a cohort of patients with early arthritis. METHODS We evaluated 270 patients with arthritis of less than one year duration. At the first visit, all patients underwent a standardized evaluation including laboratory tests and radiographs. Followup was 30+/-11.3 mo. The hand radiographs were read by observers blinded to patient data who looked for item 7 of the 1987 ACR criteria for RA and used Sharp's method to score erosions and joint space narrowing. RESULTS The kappa coefficient for ACR item 7 was < 0.65 for bony decalcification and > 0.8 for erosions. Intra and interobserver correlation coefficients for Sharp score ranged from 0.90 to 0.95. The "erosion" component of ACR item 7 was more specific than the full item 7 (96% versus 87.5%; p = 0.02). Sharp erosion score was not better than the erosion component of item 7 (sensitivity 17%; specificity 96%). CONCLUSION Regardless of the criterion used, hand radiographs were of limited value to predict which patients would be considered as having RA 2 years later. Diagnostic performance was similar for the "erosions" component of the 1987 ACR item 7 and for Sharp erosion score. The full 1987 ACR item 7 (erosions or bony decalcification) performed less well.
Platform Investment and Price Parity Clauses

Platforms use price parity clauses to prevent sellers charging lower prices when selling through other channels. Platforms justify these restraints by noting they are needed to prevent free-riding, which would undermine their incentives to invest in their platform. In this paper, we study the effect of price parity clauses on three different types of platform investment, and evaluate these restraints taking into account these investment effects. We find, that wide price parity clauses lead to excessive platform investment while without such price parity clauses there is insufficient platform investment. Even taking these investment effects into account, wide price parity clauses always lower consumer surplus and often lowers total welfare.
Genetic and epigenetic alterations are involved in the regulation of TPM1 in cholangiocarcinoma

Following the publication of this article, an interested reader drew to our attention anomalies associated with the data shown in Fig. 2, which presented the mRNA and protein expression levels of tropomyosin 1 (TPM1) in HuCCT1 cells. Essentially, the control bands for α-tubulin had been duplicated across from Fig. 2A to Fig. 2B, and from Fig. 2D to Fig. 2E [the experiments showing treatment of the cells with (A) manumycin A, (B) U0126, (D) 5-aza-2-deoxycytidine (DAC) and (E) trichostatin A (TSA)], respectively. After having re‑examined our original data, we realize that the figure was compiled incorrectly, and have returned to our source data. A corrected version of Fig. 2 is presented here, showing the correct control α-tubulin data for Fig. 2A and E, as they ought to have appeared. This error did not overall affect the conclusions reported in the study. We sincerely apologize for this mistake, and thank the reader of our article who drew this matter to our attention. Furthermore, we regret any inconvenience this mistake has caused. [the original article was published in the International Journal of Oncology 42: 690-698, 2013; DOI: 10.3892/ijo.2012. 1741].
Emerging clinical applications of PET based molecular imaging in oncology: the promising future potential for evolving personalized cancer care

Abstract This review focuses on the potential of advanced applications of functional molecular imaging in assessing tumor biology and cellular characteristics with emphasis on positron emission tomography (PET) applications with both 18-fluorodeoxyglucose (FDG) and non-FDG tracers. The inherent heterogeneity of cancer cells with their varied cellular biology and metabolic and receptor phenotypic expression in each individual patient and also intra-and inter-lesionally in the same individual mandates for transitioning from a generalized "same-size-fits-all" approach to personalized medicine in oncology. The past two decades have witnessed improvement of oncological imaging through CT, MR imaging, PET, subsequent movement through hybrid or fusion imaging with PET/CT and single-photon emission computerized tomography (SPECT-CT), and now toward the evolving PET/MR imaging. These recent developments have proven invaluable in enhancing oncology care and have the potential to help image the tumor biology at the cellular level, followed by providing a tailored treatment. Molecular imaging, integrated diagnostics or Radiomics, biology-driven interventional radiology and theranostics, all hold immense potential to serve as a guide to give "start and stop" treatment for a patient on an individual basis. This will likely have substantial impact on both treatment costs and outcomes. In this review, we bring forth the current trends in molecular imaging with established techniques (PET/CT), with particular emphasis on newer molecules (such as amino acid metabolism and hypoxia imaging, somatostatin receptor based imaging, and hormone receptor imaging) and further potential for FDG. An introductory discussion on the novel hybrid imaging techniques such as PET/MR is also made to understand the futuristic trends.
Strengthening the home-to-facility continuum of newborn and child health care through mHealth: Evidence from an intervention in rural Malawi

This paper assesses the impact of a mobile health (mHealth) project on uptake of home-based care for newborn and child health, and investigates the extent to which uptake of home-based care resulted in lessened pressure on health facilities for conditions that can be handled at the household level. It uses mixed methods consisting of cross-sectional household surveys data from a quasi-experimental pre-test post-test design as well as qualitative data. The results show a large, positive effect of the project on the aggregate home-based care for child health, and a sharp, negative impact on facility-based care seeking for fever among children whose mothers/caretakers used the services offered by the intervention. Reasons for using the services mainly relate to the potential of avoiding unnecessary trips to the health facility for care that could be provided at home. The project provides insights on mHealth and community-based programming to improve newborn and child health care delivery.
Cloning and functional expression of CC CKR5, a human monocyte CC chemokine receptor selective for MIP‐1α, MIP‐1β, and RANTES

We have cloned a human cDNA for a novel CC chemokine receptor (CC CKR) designated CC CKR5 that has 48–75% amino acid identity to other CC CKRs. CC CKR5 mRNA was detected constitutively in primary adherent monocytes but not in primary neutrophils or eosinophils. Macrophage inflammatory protein‐1α (MIP‐1α), MIP‐1β, and RANTES were all potent agonists for CC CKR5 (EC50 = 3–30 nM) when calcium flux was measured in transfected HEK 293 cells, yet the apparent binding affinities of the corresponding iodinated chemokines to intact cells expressing the receptor were low (IC50 ~100 nM). The calcium flux responses were completely blocked by treatment of transfected cells with pertussis toxin. These data suggest that CC CKR5 is a Gi‐coupled receptor that may mediate monocyte responses to MIP‐1α, MIP‐1β, and RANTES.
Dynamic Price Prediction for Amazon Spot Instances

Variable pricing cloud resources are the most recent advancement in cloud computing business models. Cloud vendors like Amazon Web Services, a.k. a. Amazon AWS provide a new cloud instance type known as "Spot instance". The distinguishing feature of spot instance is its dynamic pricing. The price of spot instances varies dynamically with time based on demand and supply of cloud resources in the data centers across the globe. Customers place bids to obtain spot instances using an online auction platform. The auction platform determines the market clearance price, a.k. a. "Spot price" and the users whose bids are above the aforementioned price obtain the instances. Cloud vendors provide current and archived spot price data to assist their customers in bidding process. The major challenge for the customers in this new business model is to predict the spot price before placing their bids. In this paper, we have provided a novel algorithm for spot price prediction. We also have instantiated and demonstrated the proposed algorithm. The results show high accuracy of 9.4% Mean Absolute Percent Error (MAPE) for short term (one day ahead) and less 20% MAPE for long term (five days ahead) forecasting.
High expression of dedicator of cytokinesis 1 (DOCK1) confers poor prognosis in acute myeloid leukemia

DOCK family genes encode evolutionarily conserved guanine nucleotide exchange factors for Rho GTPase involving multiple biological functions. Yet the patterns and prognostic significance of their expression in acute myeloid leukemia (AML) remain unexplored. Here we analyzed the expression patterns of 11 DOCK family genes in AML cells based on the array data of 347 patients from our cohort and several other published datasets. We further focused on the implications of the expression of DOCK1 since it was the only one in DOCK family to be associated with survival. Physiological functions and biological pathways associated with DOCK1 were identified using bioinformatics approaches. With a median follow up of 57 months, higher DOCK1 expression was associated with shorter disease free and overall survival. The finding could be validated by two independent cohorts. Multivariate analysis showed higher DOCK1 expression as a strong independent unfavorable prognostic factor. Higher DOCK1 expression was closely associated with older age, higher platelet and peripheral blast counts, intermediate-risk cytogenetics, FLT3-ITD, MLL-PTD and mutations in PTPN11, NPM1, RUNX1, ASXL1 and DNMT3A. Functional enrichment analysis suggested the association of DOCK1 overexpression with several key physiological pathways including cell proliferation, motility, and chemotaxis. Therefore, we suggested that AML with higher DOCK1 expression showed characteristic clinical and biological features. DOCK1 expression is an important prognostic marker and a potential therapeutic target for the treatment of AML. Studies in large prospective cohorts are necessary to confirm our findings. Further mechanistic studies to delineate the role of DOCK1 in the leukemogenesis are warranted.