Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
The four‐and‐a‐half‐LIM protein 2 (FHL2) is overexpressed in gliomas and associated with oncogenic activities

Four‐and‐a‐half‐LIM protein 2 (FHL2) is a member of FHL protein family, which plays a crucial role in regulating gene expression, cell survival, and migration. Although its function in oncogenesis appears to be tumor type‐specific, its roles in glioma formation and development are yet to be elucidated. In the present study, we demonstrated that the mRNA level of FHL2 was elevated in both low‐ and high‐grade glioma samples. Overexpression of FHL2 stimulated the proliferation, anchorage‐independent growth, and migration of human glioblastoma cells. Conversely, FHL2 knockdown by short hairpin RNA (shRNA‐FHL2) inhibited glioblastoma cell proliferation and migration. Overexpression of FHL2 increased the tumorigenicity of glioblastoma cells in nude mice and decreased the mRNA levels of p53 and its downstream proapoptotic genes, including p21, Bcl2‐associated protein X (Bax), and p53‐upregulated modulator of apoptosis. It also enhanced the promoter activities of activator protein‐1 (AP‐1), human telomerase reverse transcriptase, and survivin genes. Together, these results provide the first evidence that FHL2 contributes to glioma carcinogenesis. © 2008 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
The Nature of the Scrapie Agent

They are chronic mainly in the sense that they are slow. On the other hand, these diseases follow a course which is just as regular as the course of the acute infections, only the time factor is different. In the first place the so-called incubation period, although extremely long, apparently does not vary with very wide limits. The appearance and the progression of the clinical signs follow a set pattern.
rRNA cleavage as an index of ppp(A2'p)nA activity in interferon-treated encephalomyocarditis virus-infected cells

In cell-free systems, 2-5A [ppp(A2'p)nA, n = 2 to greater than or equal to 4] activates a latent endoribonuclease, the 2-5A-dependent RNase, which cleaves rRNA in intact ribosomes into discrete and characteristic products (D. H. Wreschner et al., Nucleic Acids Res. 9:1571-1581, 1981). Here we present Northern blots which have identified the 18S or 28S origins of the cleaved products from rRNA. In addition, identical 3' termini were observed for fragments of 18S rRNA from a HeLa cell-free system incubated with 2-5A and from interferon-treated, encephalomyocarditis virus-infected HeLa cells. The previous assumption of identity of such fragments was based only on comigration on electrophoresis in agarose gels. We conclude that appropriate patterns of cleavage found in RNA isolated from intact cells are an indicator of prior 2-5A-dependent RNase activity. The assay of rRNA cleavage is relatively convenient and unambiguous. Accordingly, in the search for situations in which the 2-5A system may be active, it provides a useful alternative to the direct assay of 2-5A.
Activity of the Bile Salt Export Pump (ABCB11) Is Critically Dependent on Canalicular Membrane Cholesterol Content

Mutations in ATP8B1 cause severe inherited liver disease. The disease is characterized by impaired biliary bile salt excretion (cholestasis), but the mechanism whereby impaired ATP8B1 function results in cholestasis is poorly understood. ATP8B1 is a type 4 P-type ATPase and is a flippase for phosphatidylserine. Atp8b1-deficient mice display a dramatic increase in the biliary extraction of cholesterol from the canalicular (apical) membrane of the hepatocyte. Here we studied the hypothesis that disproportionate cholesterol extraction from the canalicular membrane impairs the activity of the bile salt transporter, ABCB11, and as a consequence causes cholestasis. Using single pass liver perfusions, we show that not only ABCB11-mediated transport but also Abcc2-mediated transport were reduced at least 4-fold in Atp8b1 deficiency. We show that canalicular membranes of cholestatic Atp8b1-deficient mice have a dramatically reduced cholesterol to phospholipid ratio, i.e. 0.75 ± 0.24 versus 2.03 ± 0.71 for wild type. In vitro depletion of cholesterol from mouse liver plasma membranes using methyl-β-cyclodextrin demonstrated a near linear relation between cholesterol content of the membranes and ATP-dependent taurocholate transport. Abcc2-mediated transport activity was not affected up to 30% of membrane cholesterol depletion but declined to negligible levels at 70% of membrane cholesterol depletion. These effects were reversible as cholesterol repletion of the liver membranes completely restored Abcb11- and Abcc2-mediated transport. Our data demonstrate that membrane cholesterol content is a critical determinant of ABCB11/ABCC2 transport activity, provide an explanation for the etiology of ATP8B1 disease, and suggest a novel mechanism protecting the canalicular membrane against luminal bile salt overload.
Challenges of large class teaching at the university

Class size is a major concern to any educational system. At university, a class of any size (small or large) appears to be an acceptable norm. However, when classes are too large, they are considered to contribute some complex challenges related to the teaching and learning process. Whether the class is big or small, instructors are expected to teach and assess students effectively. This paper presents a general reflection on the author's personal experiences with teaching two large classes at undergraduate level at a university. The paper aims at sharing this personal account of experiences with fellow educators who may find themselves in similar situations of teaching and assessing large groups of students at any level of education. Although what constitutes a large class has been a subject of debate in literature, the author adopts from previous authors to define "a large class as one in which characteristics and conditions present themselves as inter-related and collective constraints that impede meaningful teaching and learning'~ Therefore, in the context of this paper, this meaning is adopted as a working standard that sets the parameters of the discussion of the concept of a 'large class ~ Furthermore the paper is based on the critical reflective practices and experiences as the author draws most of the evidence based on narrative practices and principles. A narrative representation of the author is found to be the most appropriate method of telling this experience.
Continuous progression of radiological destruction in seropositive rheumatoid arthritis.

OBJECTIVE To examine the radiographic changes in rheumatoid arthritis (RA) occurring over a 20 year period. METHODS In 103 patients with recent (< 6 months) seropositive RA, radiographs were taken at onset and at 1, 3, 8, 15, and 20 years from entry. Larsen grades for wrist and subtalar joints were first multiplied by 5, and these together with Larsen grades for the 1st to 5th metacarpophalangeal (MCP) joints, the 1st interphalangeal, and the 2nd to 5th metatarsophalangeal (MTP) joints of the feet (24 joints) were added to form a Larsen score of 0-200. Larsen grades for the 1st to 5th MCP, wrists, and 2nd to 5th MTP (20 joints) were added to form a Larsen score of 0-100. RESULTS The means of the 0-200 Larsen score were 4.3, 12.9, 26.9, 55.7, 77.5, and 86.4, and of the 0-100 Larsen score 2.5, 7.0, 13.9, 28.2, 39.4, and 44.5. CONCLUSION Seropositive RA is a chronic disease still leading to continuous progression of joint damage 20 years after onset.
Comparison of Time-Frequency Representations for Environmental Sound Classification using Convolutional Neural Networks

Recent successful applications of convolutional neural networks (CNNs) to audio classification and speech recognition have motivated the search for better input representations for more efficient training. Visual displays of an audio signal, through various time-frequency representations such as spectrograms offer a rich representation of the temporal and spectral structure of the original signal. In this letter, we compare various popular signal processing methods to obtain this representation, such as short-time Fourier transform (STFT) with linear and Mel scales, constant-Q transform (CQT) and continuous Wavelet transform (CWT), and assess their impact on the classification performance of two environmental sound datasets using CNNs. This study supports the hypothesis that time-frequency representations are valuable in learning useful features for sound classification. Moreover, the actual transformation used is shown to impact the classification accuracy, with Mel-scaled STFT outperforming the other discussed methods slightly and baseline MFCC features to a large degree. Additionally, we observe that the optimal window size during transformation is dependent on the characteristics of the audio signal and architecturally, 2D convolution yielded better results in most cases compared to 1D.
Pediatric Severe Sepsis in U.S. Children’s Hospitals*

Objectives: To compare the prevalence, resource utilization, and mortality for pediatric severe sepsis identified using two established identification strategies. Design: Observational cohort study from 2004 to 2012. Setting: Forty-four pediatric hospitals contributing data to the Pediatric Health Information Systems database. Patients: Children 18 years old or younger. Measurements and Main Results: We identified patients with severe sepsis or septic shock by using two International Classification of Diseases, 9th edition, Clinical Modification–based coding strategies: 1) combinations of International Classification of Diseases, 9th edition, Clinical Modification codes for infection plus organ dysfunction (combination code cohort); 2) International Classification of Diseases, 9th edition, Clinical Modification codes for severe sepsis and septic shock (sepsis code cohort). Outcomes included prevalence of severe sepsis, as well as hospital and ICU length of stay, and mortality. Outcomes were compared between the two cohorts examining aggregate differences over the study period and trends over time. The combination code cohort identified 176,124 hospitalizations (3.1% of all hospitalizations), whereas the sepsis code cohort identified 25,236 hospitalizations (0.45%), a seven-fold difference. Between 2004 and 2012, the prevalence of sepsis increased from 3.7% to 4.4% using the combination code cohort and from 0.4% to 0.7% using the sepsis code cohort (p < 0.001 for trend in each cohort). Length of stay (hospital and ICU) and costs decreased in both cohorts over the study period (p < 0.001). Overall, hospital mortality was higher in the sepsis code cohort than the combination code cohort (21.2% [95% CI, 20.7–21.8] vs 8.2% [95% CI, 8.0–8.3]). Over the 9-year study period, there was an absolute reduction in mortality of 10.9% (p < 0.001) in the sepsis code cohort and 3.8% (p < 0.001) in the combination code cohort. Conclusions: Prevalence of pediatric severe sepsis increased in the studied U.S. children’s hospitals over the past 9 years, whereas resource utilization and mortality decreased. Epidemiologic estimates of pediatric severe sepsis varied up to seven-fold depending on the strategy used for case ascertainment.
Bisphenol A delays the perinatal chloride shift in cortical neurons by epigenetic effects on the Kcc2 promoter

Bisphenol A (BPA) is a ubiquitous compound that is emerging as a possible toxicant during embryonic development. BPA has been shown to epigenetically affect the developing nervous system, but the molecular mechanisms are not clear. Here we demonstrate that BPA exposure in culture led to delay in the perinatal chloride shift caused by significant decrease in potassium chloride cotransporter 2 (Kcc2) mRNA expression in developing rat, mouse, and human cortical neurons. Neuronal chloride increased correspondingly. Treatment with epigenetic compounds decitabine and trichostatin A rescued the BPA effects as did knockdown of histone deacetylase 1 and combined knockdown histone deacetylase 1 and 2. Furthermore, BPA evoked increase in tangential interneuron migration and increased chloride in migrating neurons. Interestingly, BPA exerted its effect in a sexually dimorphic manner, with a more accentuated effect in females than males. By chromatin immunoprecipitation, we found a significant increase in binding of methyl-CpG binding protein 2 to the “cytosine-phosphate-guanine shores” of the Kcc2 promoter, and decrease in binding of acetylated histone H3K9 surrounding the transcriptional start site. Methyl-CpG binding protein 2-expressing neurons were more abundant resulting from BPA exposure. The sexually dimorphic effect of BPA on Kcc2 expression was also demonstrated in cortical neurons cultured from the offspring of BPA-fed mouse dams. In these neurons and in cortical slices, decitabine was found to rescue the effect of BPA on Kcc2 expression. Overall, our results indicate that BPA can disrupt Kcc2 gene expression through epigenetic mechanisms. Beyond increase in basic understanding, our findings have relevance for identifying unique neurodevelopmental toxicity mechanisms of BPA, which could possibly play a role in pathogenesis of human neurodevelopmental disorders.
Evoked-Potential Correlates of Stimulus Uncertainty

The average evoked-potential waveforms to sound and light stimuli recorded from scalp in awake human subjects show differences as a function of the subject's degree of uncertainty with respect to the sensory modality of the stimulus to be presented. Differences are also found in the evoked potential as a function of whether or not the sensorymodality of the stimulus was anticipated correctly. The major waveform alteration is in the amplitude of a positive-going component which reaches peak amplitude at about 300 milliseconds.
NADPH oxidases in lung health and disease.

SIGNIFICANCE The evolution of the lungs and circulatory systems in vertebrates ensured the availability of molecular oxygen (O2; dioxygen) for aerobic cellular metabolism of internal organs in large animals. O2 serves as the physiologic terminal acceptor of mitochondrial electron transfer and of the NADPH oxidase (Nox) family of oxidoreductases to generate primarily water and reactive oxygen species (ROS), respectively. RECENT ADVANCES The purposeful generation of ROS by Nox family enzymes suggests important roles in normal physiology and adaptation, most notably in host defense against invading pathogens and in cellular signaling. CRITICAL ISSUES However, there is emerging evidence that, in the context of chronic stress and/or aging, Nox enzymes contribute to the pathogenesis of a number of lung diseases. FUTURE DIRECTIONS Here, we review evolving functions of Nox enzymes in normal lung physiology and emerging pathophysiologic roles in lung disease.
Testing composite hypotheses, Hermite polynomials and optimal estimation of a nonsmooth functional

A general lower bound is developed for the minimax risk when estimating an arbitrary functional. The bound is based on testing two composite hypotheses and is shown to be effective in estimating the nonsmooth functional ${\frac{1}{n}}\sum|\theta_i|$ from an observation $Y\sim N(\theta,I_n)$. This problem exhibits some features that are significantly different from those that occur in estimating conventional smooth functionals. This is a setting where standard techniques fail to yield sharp results. A sharp minimax lower bound is established by applying the general lower bound technique based on testing two composite hypotheses. A key step is the construction of two special priors and bounding the chi-square distance between two normal mixtures. An estimator is constructed using approximation theory and Hermite polynomials and is shown to be asymptotically sharp minimax when the means are bounded by a given value $M$. It is shown that the minimax risk equals $\beta_*^2M^2({\frac{\log\log n}{\log n}})^2$ asymptotically, where $\beta_*$ is the Bernstein constant. The general techniques and results developed in the present paper can also be used to solve other related problems.
Plasma IgG, IgG subclasses and acute‐phase proteins in children with recurrent acute otitis media

Quantitation of IgG, IgG subclasses and acute‐phase proteins was performed in plasma samples from 156 children, aged 2 to 162 months, with varying degrees of otitis proneness. None of the children had acute otitis media or had received any antibiotics 3 weeks before the examination. Children with recurrent acute otitis media (rAOM) had significantly higher levels of total IgG, IgG1, and significantly lower levels of IgG2 than healthy children (p<0.02, p<0.0003, and p<0.03, respectively). However, the low levels of IgG2 found in the rAOM children could at least, to some extent, be explained by the observation that these children were somewhat younger than the healthy children. Except for recurrent episodes of common colds, children suffering from secretory otitis media (SOM) most often show no clinical signs of inflammatory events. Nevertheless, children with SOM had raised levels of plasma IgG1, indicating recurrent polyclonal stimulation of the immune apparatus, which seems to be less pronounced than that of rAOM children. Levels of acute‐phase proteins, haptoglobin, orosomucoid and α1‐antitrypsin were evently distributed in the children investigated, reflecting that they had no acute illness at the time of plasma sampling.
Built-In Test for CMOS Circuits

In CMOS technology combinational circuits become sequential in the presence of stuck-open faults. Instead of a single test pattern a sequence of patterns is necessary for each such fault. In this paper two kinds of hardware test generation techniques for built-in testing are described which produce the required sequences. One approach is suitable for sequential CMOS circuits the other for combinational CMOS circuits.
Factors Leading to Self-Disclosure of a Positive HIV Diagnosis in Nairobi, Kenya

Understanding why, how, and to whom people living with HIV/AIDS disclose their diagnosis to others is a critical issue for HIV prevention and care efforts, but previous investigations of those issues in sub-Saharan Africa have been limited to one or two questions included in quantitative studies of social support or stigma. Instruments and findings on serostatus disclosure based on U.S. populations are likely to be at best only partially relevant because of Africa's primarily heterosexual transmission vectors and highly communalistic social structures. This qualitative analysis of two male and two female focus groups comprised of persons living with HIV/AIDS (PLWHAs) in Nairobi, Kenya, revealed several HIVstatus disclosure patterns that appear distinctive to Africa. These include (a) intermediaries as vehicles for disclosure to family, (b) indirectness as a communication strategy, and (c) church pastors as common targets for disclosure.
A qualitative study exploring perceptions and experiences of patients and clinicians of Palliative Medicine Outpatient Clinics in different settings

Palliative care exists in a variety of settings and palliative care teams form many guises within this. A Palliative Medicine Outpatient Clinic (PMOC) exists to meet the flexible provision of the needs and preferences of individuals within whatever care setting they reside. This explorative study used a qualitative methodology, capturing patients’ actual experience of care in preference to their satisfaction, as this is a more accurate measure of how and what patients judge as important in their healthcare. The overall themes in this paper point to the ‘value’ that patients perceived from attending the PMOC and how important the clinics were to clinicians that provided the care. The clinic facilitates much more than symptom control and here lies the challenge in how we convert the very positive experience of individuals into a language of outcome measures that captures the ‘essence’ of our work in this fiscally driven health economy.
Cerebrospinal fluid opening pressure measurements in acute headache patients and in patients with either chronic or no pain

Bø SH, Davidsen EM, Benth JŠ, Gulbrandsen P, Dietrichs E. Cerebrospinal fluid opening pressure measurements in acute headache patients and in patients with either chronic or no pain. Acta Neurol Scand: 2010: 122 (Suppl. 190): 6–11. © 2010 John Wiley & Sons A/S.
Energy Consumption and Performance of Heapsort in Hardware and Software

In this poster abstract we will report on a case study on implementing the Heapsort algorithm in hardware and software and comparing their time and energy consumption. Our experiment shows that the Hardware implementation is more energy efficient, but slower than the Software implementation due to a low clock frequency. It also indicate that the optimal degree of parallelization differs when optimizing for time compared to optimizing for time.
Psychological effects of rapid weight loss and attitudes towards eating among professional jockeys

Abstract We examined the psychological effects of rapid weight loss among a sample of 41 professional jockeys (mean age 30.9 years, s = 7.0). Participants completed the Brunel Mood Scale (BRUMS) and the Eating Attitudes Test-26 (EAT-26) to establish the relationships between rapid weight loss, mood, and attitudes towards eating. These instruments were administered on three occasions: at the jockeys' minimal weight (achieved through rapid weight loss), their optimal riding weight (when they were not excessively restricting their weight and felt healthy), and their relaxed weight (when there were no forthcoming light rides or no rides at all). It was hypothesized that when riding at minimal weight, jockeys would record a more negative mood profile compared with scores recorded at optimal or relaxed weights. The same trend was expected for eating attitudes. These hypotheses were supported as jockeys reported significantly more negative mood profiles and eating attitudes at minimal weight. The EAT-26 scores indicated the presence of disordered attitudes towards eating at this weight. These results suggest that jockeys' endeavours to reach the minimum weight limit stipulated by governing bodies are likely to jeopardize their psychological well-being. Dialogue surrounding the appropriateness of current weight regulations is therefore encouraged.
Chemical shift MR imaging of hyperattenuating (>10 HU) adrenal masses: does it still have a role?

PURPOSE To evaluate chemical shift magnetic resonance (MR) imaging for the characterization of hyperattenuating adrenal masses. MATERIALS AND METHODS Adrenal MR images obtained from January 1998 to February 2003 were reviewed. Patients were excluded if they did not undergo unenhanced computed tomography or did not have an adrenal mass with attenuation higher than 10 HU, adequate follow-up, or pathologic diagnosis for use as a reference standard. A diagnosis of adenoma required at least 24 weeks of stability on images. Thirty-eight masses in 36 patients were identified (27 adenomas, nine metastases, one adrenocortical oncocytoma, and one pheochromocytoma). Signal intensity (SI) decrease between in-phase and opposed-phase MR images was measured for the entire mass and normalized to the renal parenchymal SI. In 21 of 36 (58%) patients, dual-echo single-breath-hold MR imaging was used to eliminate misregistration. RESULTS The attenuation of 61% (23 of 38) of all masses and 70% (19 of 27) of adenomas was 10-30 HU. With a threshold of 20% SI decrease, the sensitivity of chemical shift MR imaging for hyperattenuating adenoma was 67% (18 of 27 masses). When considering masses with attenuation of 10-30 HU, the sensitivity for adenoma was 89% (17 of 19 masses) and remained reasonable at 75% (six of eight masses) for adenomas with attenuation of 20-30 HU. Only one adenoma with attenuation higher than 30 HU had SI decrease of more than 20%. Specificity for diagnosis of adenoma was 100% (11 of 11). CONCLUSION In certain circumstances, chemical shift MR imaging is a reasonable second imaging test for further characterization of a hyperattenuating adrenal mass.