Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Semi-automated Method of Quantifying Vasculature of 1-Methyl-1-nitrosourea-induced Rat Mammary Carcinomas Using Immunohistochemical Detection

Studies of the vascularization of autochthonous rodent mammary tumors are limited in number, and the majority have used Factor VIII staining for blood vessel detection. Moreover, little effort has been directed at measuring the vascularization of tissue immediately adjacent to a tumor despite its central importance in the process of angiogenesis. Thirty-six chemically-induced mammary carcinomas and tissue immediately adjacent to these carcinomas were used to develop a census counting method for quantitative assessment of intra- and extra-tumor vascularization. Blood vessels were identified using antiserum directed against either CD31 or Factor VIII. Techniques used to create digitized images of all tumors and the semi-automated methods for circumscribing the extra-tumoral region are described. For Factor VIII, CD31 allowed greater discrimination of blood vessels with areas <25 μm2 and demonstrated crisp staining of blood vessels, with minimal background and excellent preservation of tissue architecture. Census counting data support the use of CD31 for quantifying both intra- and extra-tumoral vascularization. This method provides a basis for standardizing the approach to evaluation of experimentally induced premalignant and malignant mammary lesions in rodent model systems used to investigate potential anti-angiogenic cancer preventive agents.
Longterm observational study of methotrexate use in a Dutch cohort of 1022 patients with rheumatoid arthritis.

OBJECTIVE To study which factors are associated with longterm methotrexate (MTX) use in rheumatoid arthritis (RA). METHODS All patients with RA who had started MTX after January 1, 1993, were selected from a regional hospital based registration system. Data on demographic and clinical features were retrieved through chart review. By means of life table analysis and Cox regression analysis, MTX survival and the relation between demographic variables, clinical features, and MTX survival were studied. RESULTS A total of 1072 MTX treatment episodes in 1022 patients were analyzed. The cumulative MTX survival probability after 5 years was 64%, and after 9 years was 50%. Univariate analysis showed a significant relation between MTX survival probability and folic acid supplementation, attending rheumatologist, concurrent prednisolone use, concurrent sulfasalazine use, and the number of previous disease modifying drugs. In the multivariate analysis folic acid supplementation, attending rheumatologist, and concurrent prednisolone use remained significantly related to MTX survival. Age, disease duration, and creatinine clearance were not. CONCLUSION In this retrospective study of 1022 patients with RA the cumulative MTX survival probability was 64% after 5 years and 50% after 9 years. Folic acid supplementation and to a lesser extent prednisolone were associated with a longer MTX survival. In addition, treatment strategies of individual rheumatologists influenced MTX survival.
Tungiasis among five communities in south-western Trinidad, West Indies.

The prevalences of Tunga penetrans Linn. within the five townships of Granville, Fullerton, Icacos, Coromandel and Cedros in south-western Trinidad, West Indies, as determined by physical examination of all inhabitants present during the survey, were 17.0% (38/223 subjects), 15.7% (36/237), 31.4% (102/325), 17.4% (42/242) and 17.9% (50/280), respectively. The rate in Icacos was significantly higher than in the other four sites (P < 0.001). Not only were males more likely to be infected than females in all five study sites (P < 0.0007) but chigoe-flea burdens were also higher in males than in females (P < 0.012), with mean (S.D.) burdens of 5.44 (2.54) fleas/male infected subject and 2.38 (2.00) fleas/female infected subject. Feet were significantly more infected than other areas of the body (P < 0.001). Analysis of variance revealed that the interactions between prevalence of chigoe-flea infection and geographical location (P = 0.0058) and between sex of infected subject and site of infection (P = 0.0109) were highly significant but that between geographical location and sex of infected subject was not significant (P > 0.30). At least seven species of bacteria, with varying sensitivities to antibiotics, were isolated from 16 patients with sepsis associated with their T. penetrans infections: Streptococcus pyogenes, beta-haemolytic Streptococcus (not group A), Klebsiella aerogenes, Enterobacter agglomerans, Staphylococcus aureus, Escherichia coli and a Bacillus species. Closteridium tetani was not isolated.
Investigation of the High-Temperature Operation of AlGaN/GaN HFETs via Studying the Impact of Temperature Dependency of Drift Transport Characteristics

Investigation of the reliable operation of AlGaN/GaN HFETs at elevated temperatures is attempted. In this paper, a Monte Carlo-based temperature-dependent mobility model, with incorporation of steady-state velocity overshoot, is employed in modeling the drain current-voltage characteristics of AlGaN/GaN HFETs at 300, 400, and 500 K. One of the major merits of this model is that it employs a very small set of fitting parameters. The modeled drain current-voltage characteristics have been successfully matched to the experimental characteristics at the aforementioned temperatures. While confirming that a brief measurement at these temperatures is of no reliability concern on the quality of the metal-semiconductor contacts, this matching proves that the temperature dependency of the electron drift velocity is the cause of the degradation of drain current within the aforementioned range of temperature. In producing the aforementioned match for the long-gate AlGaN/GaN HFETs, it is also shown that the accurate modeling of the temperature dependency of the low-field drift transport is more consequential than the accurate representation of the transport in the medium-to-high electric fields.
Redox control of oxygen sensing in the rabbit ductus arteriosus

How the ductus arteriosus (DA) closes at birth remains unclear. Inhibition of O2‐sensitive K+ channels may initiate the closure but the sensor mechanism is unknown. We hypothesized that changes in endogenous H2O2 could act as this sensor. Using chemiluminescence measurements with luminol (50 μm) or lucigenin (5 μm) we showed significantly higher levels of reactive O2 species in normoxic, compared to hypoxic DA. This increase in chemiluminescence was completely reversed by catalase (1200 U ml−1). Prolonged normoxia caused a significant decrease in K+ current density and depolarization of membrane potential in single fetal DA smooth muscle cells. Removal of endogenous H2O2 with intracellular catalase (200 U ml−1) increased normoxic whole‐cell K+ currents (IK) and hyperpolarized membrane potential while intracellular H2O2 (100 nm) and extracellular t‐butyl H2O2 (100 μm) decreased IK and depolarized membrane potential. More rapid metabolism of O2−· with superoxide dismutase (100 U ml−1) had no significant effect on normoxic K+ currents. N‐Mercaptopropionylglycine (NMPG), duroquinone and dithiothreitol all dilated normoxic‐constricted DA rings, while the oxidizing agent 5,5′‐dithiobis‐(2‐nitrobenzoic acid) constricted hypoxia‐dilated rings. NMPG also increased IK. We conclude that increased H2O2 levels, associated with a cytosolic redox shift at birth, signal K+ channel inhibition and DA constriction.
Clinical outcomes of 25-gauge vitrectomy surgery for vitreoretinal diseases: comparison of vitrectomy alone and phaco-vitrectomy.

AIM To compare the clinical outcomes of combined 25-gauge pars plana vitrectomy (PPV) and phacoemulsification/posterior chamber intraocular lens (PC-IOL) implantation with vitrectomy alone surgery in patients with various vitreoretinal diseases. METHODS A total of 306 eyes (145 with PPV alone and 161 with phaco-vitrectomy) were enrolled in this retrospective analysis. The surgical approach was 25-gauge PPV combined with phacoemulsification and PC-IOL implantation at the same time in eyes in phaco-vitrectomy group and only PPV in eyes in vitrectomy alone surgery group. The main outcome measures were postoperative clinical outcomes included anterior chamber inflammation, changes in intraocular pressure (IOP) and best corrected visual acuity (BCVA). RESULTS The most common postoperative complication was anterior chamber reaction which has higher incidence in phaco-vitrectomy group (P<0.001). The mean postoperative 1(st) day IOP of vitrectomy alone group was significantly lower than that of phaco-vitrectomy group (16.3±5.8 mm Hg vs 17.8±8.1 mm Hg, respectively, P=0.02). Hypotony (IOP≤8 mm Hg) was not different between groups in the postoperative 1(st) day (P>0.05). The mean preoperative visual acuity was not different between groups (1.6±0.9 logMAR vs 1.8±0.9 logMAR, respectively, P>0.05). However, the mean visual acuity was decreased in vitrectomy alone group at the final visit compared to phaco-vitrectomy group (1.2±0.8 logMAR, 0.9±0.7 logMAR, respectively P<0.05). CONCLUSION Twenty-five gauge PPV combined with phacoemulsification surgery is a safe and efficient procedure, which can be preferred in phacic patients with a variety of vitreoretinal diseases compared to vitrectomy alone. Despite improved outcomes, this approach is not free of limitations as anterior chamber complications especially with combined surgery.
Terrain ruggedness and land cover: Improved data for most research designs

Existing arguments about the effect of terrain on intrastate and interstate violence are more varied than the data sources widely used to test such relationships. We introduce precise geo-referenced data on terrain ruggedness and land cover globally at the national, provincial, and 1×1 km grid-square levels. Accordingly, the data are readily applicable to a wide range of research designs, including cross-national, sub-national and single-country designs, as well as any study that uses geographic information system data. We demonstrate the utility of the data with replication of Miguel et al. (2004, Journal of Political Economy 112(4): 725–753) and produce new findings leveraging both the ruggedness and land cover data.
A PRELIMINARY STUDY OF TEACHER CODE- SWITCHING IN ISLAMIC EDUCATION INSTRUCTIONS

This paper presents a preliminary case study of a contemporary Islamic discourse in the form of a madrasah weekend holiday camp in Singapore. Although the students are Malay, the camp was conducted predominantly in English as mandated by the Islamic Religious Council of Singapore ( MUIS – Majlis Ugama Islam Singapura ). This in turn had an empowering effect on the students as it was aligned with the medium of instruction in the mainstream educational system. In this regard, the study looks at the instructional implications as a result of the intersection between the use of English as a medium of instruction and the sacred literacy that is situated in the social and cultural domains. More specifically, it investigates the nature of code-switching in lesson instructions from English as the medium of instructions to Malay, its possible motivations and potential implications on the students. The findings of the study point to the strategic use of code-switching from English to Malay as a tool to enhance sacred literacy processes and instructions by capitalizing on the common mother tongue shared by the students and the teacher as it serves both facilitative and affective functions.
Do Privately Owned Enterprises in China Need Political Connections to Issue Corporate Bonds?

This paper explores how political connections influence the likelihood of corporate bond issuance for privately owned enterprises (POEs) in China. Using a sample of Chinese POEs from 2007 to 2016, we show that politically connected POEs in China are more likely to issue corporate bonds as a debt financing instrument and at lower coupon rates (i.e., with lower refinancing costs). We also find that corporate bond-issuing POEs in China have weaker corporate governance. Overall, our results suggest that the corporate bond market in China is strongly influenced by political factors.
Subband division for Gaussian relay channel

This work considers the achievable rate region of full-duplex Gaussian relay channel. Under Gaussian signaling, it was found that neither Decode-Forward (DF) nor Compress-Forward (CF) can achieve better performance than the other for all channel gains. Recently, it was verified that superposing CF on DF in one band has a better performance than both DF and CF for Gaussian signaling. In this work, we consider another combining structure of CF and DF by making use of Subband Division (SD). It will show that our new developed strategy will achieve a larger rate for Gaussian signaling by comparing with DF lower bound, CF lower bound and the result of superposing CF on DF. In addition, a closed form solution of the achievable rate is found, in which the subband division factors are also given. Numerical results confirm our developed theoretical results.
Composition of major proteins in cow milk differing in mean protein concentration during the first 155 days of lactation and the influence of season as well as short-term restricted feeding in early and mid-lactation.

A variety of proteins contributes greatly to the unique nutritional and functional quality of dairy cow milk. Particularly, milk casein content and composition have substantial influence on the processing capa - bilities. In the present study, milk of 23 multiparous Holstein-Friesian cows, grouped as high- (3.49 ± 0.05%; n = 11) and low-protein (3.03 ± 0.05%; n = 12) cows, was sampled approximately weekly during the first 155 days of lactation to determine the course of relative milk protein composition (α-lactalbumin; β-lactoglobulin; α-, β- , and κ-casein). Furthermore, feed restrictions by 30% of dry matter intake in early and mid-lactation as well as experimental tissue biopsies were conducted to observe their effect on milk protein composition. Milk protein composition was relatively stable and displayed similar concentration patterns throughout the experimental period between both groups. Mean relative concentrations of α-, β-, κ-casein, α-lactalbumin, and β-lactoglobulin were 34.2, 31.4, 16.0, 2.1, and 9.7% of total protein, respectively. Feed restrictions did not alter milk protein composition, whereas the season influenced α- and β-casein as well as α-lactalbumin. Further, effects were observed in both groups at times of unfamiliar stressful situations caused by taking liver or muscle biopsies. As a result, the relative concentration of β-casein increased. Therefore, acute stress factors may lead to a deviation in milk protein composition and should be avoided.
Prices versus Standards and Firm Behavior: Evidence from an Artefactual Field Experiment

We conduct an artefactual field experiment in which 164 managers and senior advisors recruited from Swedish industry were presented with a task of maximizing net revenue from abatement investments under three different but equally stringent environmental policy regimes. We find that investment decisions are strongly influenced by type of policy instrument. Economic instruments and performance standards cause different attentional and judgment biases that are inconsistent with standard economic theory. Inconsistencies are larger with economic policy instruments (tax and subsidy) than with performance standards even though subjects’ attention to cost minimization was greater with economic instruments than under performance standards. Inconsistencies are larger with economic policy instruments (tax and subsidy) than with performance standards even though subjects’ attention to cost minimization was greater with economic instruments than under performance standards.
Experiences and Perceptions of Community: The Fayetteville High School Community Photography Project

The Fayetteville High School Community Photography Project was conducted with 10th-12th grade students in Spring 2014 as part of a participatory art project through their Sociology class. This study uses participant photographs and surveys to better understand student variation in community perceptions and connections. Participant photographs serve as a way to “see” how high school students perceive community. Survey data gathered on the same sample are used to measure individual-level characteristics such as perceived neighborhood deterioration, neighborhood satisfaction, and social capital to better understand how they impact feelings of community connectedness in youth. Results indicate that social capital plays an important role in how connected teens feel to their community. Additionally, based on qualitative analyses of the photographs, the built and social communities continue to be important perceptual features of community, while the natural environment has emerged as an additional feature of community important to youth.
Drug safety evaluation of olanzapine/fluoxetine combination

Introduction: Bipolar disorder and treatment-resistant depression (TRD) are common and recurrent conditions associated with significant disability, morbidity and mortality. Despite the clear need for effective treatments, only a few medications have been approved in the US for these indications. The combined formulation of olanzapine–fluoxetine (OFC) has been available for a decade now, thus a review on its safety profile and comparative efficacy is timely and can help clinicians to determine the benefit/risk profile of OFC within the context of other treatment alternatives. Areas covered: This paper summarizes the rationale and evidence supporting the use of OFC for both bipolar I depressive episodes and TRD with a focus on safety and tolerability. Product labels and the search engine PubMed was used to obtain relevant information on this subject. Expert opinion: Although further comparative studies are needed, the literature confirms that the OFC is an effective treatment for bipolar I depressive episodes, as well as major depressive episodes that have not responded to several adequate courses of antidepressant therapy. Its use as a first-line treatment for bipolar I depressive episodes and at a higher rung of algorithms for patients with TRD is limited by its propensity to cause weight gain and associated metabolic symptoms.
On the Role of Suppression in Spatial Attention: Evidence from Negative BOLD in Human Subcortical and Cortical Structures

There is clear evidence that spatial attention increases neural responses to attended stimuli in extrastriate visual areas and, to a lesser degree, in earlier visual areas. Other evidence shows that neurons representing unattended locations can also be suppressed. However, the extent to which enhancement and suppression is observed, their stimulus dependence, and the stages of the visual system at which they are expressed remains poorly understood. Using fMRI we set out to characterize both the task and stimulus dependence of neural responses in the lateral geniculate nucleus (LGN), primary visual cortex (V1), and visual motion area (V5) in humans to determine where suppressive and facilitatory effects of spatial attention are expressed. Subjects viewed a lateralized drifting grating stimulus, presented at multiple stimulus contrasts, and performed one of three tasks designed to alter the spatial location of their attention. In retinotopic representations of the stimulus location, we observed increasing attention-dependent facilitation and decreasing dependence on stimulus contrast moving up the visual hierarchy from the LGN to V5. However, in the representations of unattended locations of the LGN and V1, we observed suppression, which was not significantly dependent on the attended stimulus contrast. These suppressive effects were also found in the pulvinar, which has been frequently associated with attention. We provide evidence, therefore, for a spatially selective suppressive mechanism that acts at a subcortical level.
Novel genes in Human Asthma Based on a Mouse Model of Allergic Airway Inflammation and Human Investigations

Purpose Based on a previous gene expression study in a mouse model of asthma, we selected 60 candidate genes and investigated their possible roles in human asthma. Methods In these candidate genes, 90 SNPs were genotyped using MassARRAY technology from 311 asthmatic children and 360 healthy controls of the Hungarian (Caucasian) population. Moreover, gene expression levels were measured by RT PCR in the induced sputum of 13 asthmatics and 10 control individuals. t-tests, chi-square tests, and logistic regression were carried out in order to assess associations of SNP frequency and expression level with asthma. Permutation tests were performed to account for multiple hypothesis testing. Results The frequency of 4 SNPs in 2 genes differed significantly between asthmatic and control subjects: SNPs rs2240572, rs2240571, rs3735222 in gene SCIN, and rs32588 in gene PPARGC1B. Carriers of the minor alleles had reduced risk of asthma with an odds ratio of 0.64 (0.51-0.80; P=7×10-5) in SCIN and 0.56 (0.42-0.76; P=1.2×10-4) in PPARGC1B. The expression levels of SCIN, PPARGC1B and ITLN1 genes were significantly lower in the sputum of asthmatics. Conclusions Three potentially novel asthma-associated genes were identified based on mouse experiments and human studies.
Novel Nrf2 activators from microbial transformation products inhibit blood–retinal barrier permeability in rabbits

Nuclear factor erythroid 2‐related factor 2 (Nrf2) is a redox‐sensitive transcription factor that binds to antioxidant response elements located in the promoter region of genes encoding many antioxidant enzymes and phase II detoxifying enzymes. Activation of the Nrf2 pathway seems protective for many organs, and although a well‐known Nrf2 activator, bardoxolone methyl, was evaluated clinically for treating chronic kidney disease, it was found to induce adverse events. Many bardoxolone methyl derivatives, mostly derived by chemical modifications, have already been studied. However, we adopted a biotransformation technique to obtain a novel Nrf2 activator.
Quantum Computing since Democritus

Written by noted quantum computing theorist Scott Aaronson, this book takes readers on a tour through some of the deepest ideas of maths, computer science and physics. Full of insights, arguments and philosophical perspectives, the book covers an amazing array of topics. Beginning in antiquity with Democritus, it progresses through logic and set theory, computability and complexity theory, quantum computing, cryptography, the information content of quantum states and the interpretation of quantum mechanics. There are also extended discussions about time travel, Newcomb's Paradox, the anthropic principle and the views of Roger Penrose. Aaronson's informal style makes this fascinating book accessible to readers with scientific backgrounds, as well as students and researchers working in physics, computer science, mathematics and philosophy.