Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Acute appendicitis: meta-analysis of diagnostic performance of CT and graded compression US related to prevalence of disease.

PURPOSE This study was a head-to-head comparison of graded compression ultrasonography (US) and computed tomography (CT) in helping diagnose acute appendicitis with an emphasis on diagnostic value at different disease prevalences, commonly occurring in various hospital settings. MATERIALS AND METHODS MEDLINE, EMBASE, CINAHL, and Cochrane databases were searched from January 1966 to February 2006. Prospective trials were selected if they (a) compared graded compression US and CT in the same patient population; (b) included more than 10 patients, otherwise, the study was considered a case report; (c) evaluated mainly adults or adolescents; (d) used surgery and/or clinical follow-up as reference standard; and (e) reported data to calculate 2 x 2 contingency tables for graded compression US and CT. Estimates of sensitivity, specificity, and positive and negative likelihood ratios (LRs) for US and CT were calculated. Posttest probabilities after CT and US were calculated for various clinically relevant prevalences. RESULTS Six studies were included, evaluating 671 patients (mean age range, 26-38 years); prevalence of acute appendicitis was 50% (range, 13%-77%). Positive LR was 9.29 (95% confidence interval [CI]: 6.9, 12.6) for CT and 4.50 (95% CI: 3.0, 6.7; P = .011) for US, yielding posttest probabilities for positive tests of 90% and 82%, respectively. Negative LR was 0.10 (95% CI: 0.06, 0.17) for CT and 0.27 (95% CI: 0.17, 0.43) for US (P = .013), resulting in posttest probabilities of 9% and 21%, respectively. Posttest probabilities for positive tests were markedly decreased at lower prevalences. CONCLUSION In head-to-head comparison studies of diagnostic imaging, CT had a better test performance than did graded compression US in diagnosing appendicitis. Ignoring the relationship between prevalence (pretest probability) and diagnostic value may lead to an inaccurate estimation of diagnostic performance.
ANAEROBIC CO-DIGESTION OF DAIRY MANURE WITH POTATO WASTE

In this study, anaerobic co-digestion of dairy manure (DM) and potato waste (PW) was evaluated to determine the best mixing ratio in terms of biogas and methane (CH4) productions. Batch lab-scale anaerobic co-digestion of DM with PW was conducted at two different temperature ranges [mesophilic (MT) (35-37 oC) and thermophilic (TT) (55-57 oC)]. The tests were conducted at five DM:PW mixing ratios (100:0, 90:10, 80:20, 60:40, and 40:60) on a volatile solids (VS) basis. During the 30 days of batch digestion, the highest cumulative biogas and methane (CH4) production (CBP) of 6.4 cubic foot (ft) and 3.3 ft was achieved for the thermophilic co-digestion at the mixing ratio of 80:20 and 2.7 ft and 1.5 ft for the mesophilic co-digestion at the mixing ratio of 90:10, respectively. Based on test results the optimum mixing ratio depends on temperature. The concentrations of volatile fatty acids (VFA) and NH3-N and pH were not concerns for either co-digestion of DM and PW or digestion of DM alone in terms of process stability. Thermophilic temperature proved to be the best temperatures in terms of biogas and methane productions. INTRODUCTION Dairy manure (DM) is a common organic waste from the dairy industry with an estimated production of 22 tons of DM/cow-year (USEPA, 2013a). The methane (CH4) emissions increased by 64.0 percent from 31.7 teragrams of CO2 equivalents (Tg CO2 Eq.) in 1990 to 52.0 Tg CO2 Eq. in 2010 due to the growth in animal production (mainly from dairy and swine manure) (USEPA, 2012). Appropriate treatment of DM is necessary to minimize pollution. In addition to the dairy industry, Idaho is the largest potato producing state in the USA (USDA, 2011). According to National Agricultural Statistics of United States Department of Agriculture (USDA, 2011), approximately 42.9 billion pounds of potatoes were produced in USA where Idaho alone produced 12.8 billion pounds. Among Idaho’s total potato production, 800 million pounds, which was approximately 6% of Idaho’s total potato production, were considered as waste due to shrinkage and losses (USDA, 2011). Additionally, decomposing of PW leads to nutrient leaching to ground and surface waters (Olsen et al., 2001). Finding a treatment method to properly dispose of PW is a challenging task. Anaerobic digestion (AD) has been regarded as a promising technology to treat organic waste (USEPA, 2013b). The microorganisms in the AD process transform organic constituents and nitrogen-containing compounds into biogas in the absence of oxygen. The main components of biogas are CH4 and CO2. Methane can be recovered and diverted to generate heat and electricity. Research has shown that AD of DM brings many benefits including pathogen destruction, odor reduction, reduced lagoon loading, and biogas generation (Rico et al., 2011). There is a limited amount of information on anaerobic co-digestion of DM and PW.
Public Spending, Public Deficits and Government Coalitions

This study examines the relationship between types of government and level of public spending. There are two competing perspectives about the consequences of coalition governments for the size of public expenditures. The most common argument is that government spending increases under coalition governments, compared with one-party governments. Another line of thought contends that coalition governments are often stalled in the status quo due to the veto power of each member. Our analysis of public spending in 33 parliamentary democracies between 1972 and 2000 confirms the latter argument that coalition governments have a status quo bias. We find, particularly, that single-party governments are apt to modify the budget according to the current fiscal condition, which enables them to increase or decrease spending more flexibly. By contrast, coalition governments find it difficult not only to decrease spending under difficult fiscal conditions but also to increase it even under a more favorable context, because each member of the coalition has a veto power.
Subcellular localization of the APOBEC3 proteins during mitosis and implications for genomic DNA deamination

Humans have seven APOBEC3 DNA cytosine deaminases. The activity of these enzymes allows them to restrict a variety of retroviruses and retrotransposons, but may also cause pro-mutagenic genomic uracil lesions. During interphase the APOBEC3 proteins have different subcellular localizations: cell-wide, cytoplasmic or nuclear. This implies that only a subset of APOBEC3s have contact with nuclear DNA. However, during mitosis, the nuclear envelope breaks down and cytoplasmic proteins may enter what was formerly a privileged zone. To address the hypothesis that all APOBEC3 proteins have access to genomic DNA, we analyzed the localization of the APOBEC3 proteins during mitosis. We show that APOBEC3A, APOBEC3C and APOBEC3H are excluded from condensed chromosomes, but become cell-wide during telophase. However, APOBEC3B, APOBEC3D, APOBEC3F and APOBEC3G are excluded from chromatin throughout mitosis. After mitosis, APOBEC3B becomes nuclear, and APOBEC3D, APOBEC3F and APOBEC3G become cytoplasmic. Both structural motifs as well as size may be factors in regulating chromatin exclusion. Deaminase activity was not dependent on cell cycle phase. We also analyzed APOBEC3-induced cell cycle perturbations as a measure of each enzyme’s capacity to inflict genomic DNA damage. AID, APOBEC3A and APOBEC3B altered the cell cycle profile, and, unexpectedly, APOBEC3D also caused changes. We conclude that several APOBEC3 family members have access to the nuclear compartment and can impede the cell cycle, most likely through DNA deamination and the ensuing DNA damage response. Such genomic damage may contribute to carcinogenesis, as demonstrated by AID in B cell cancers and, recently, APOBEC3B in breast cancers.
Sleep and Pain: Interaction of Two Vital Functions

Disturbed sleep is a key complaint of people experiencing acute and chronic pain. These two vital functions, sleep and pain, interact in complex ways that ultimately impact the biological and behavioral capacity of the individual. Polysomnographic studies of patients experiencing acute pain during postoperative recovery show shortened and fragmented sleep with reduced amounts of slow wave and rapid eye movement (REM) sleep, and the recovery is accompanied by normalization of sleep. Objective assessments of sleep in patients with various chronic pain conditions have been less definitive with some studies showing fragmented and shortened sleep and others showing normal sleep. Although daytime fatigue is a frequent complaint associated with complaints of pain-related disturbed sleep, objective assessments of daytime sleepiness reveal minimally elevated levels of sleepiness and emphasize the importance of distinguishing sleepiness and fatigue. The pain-sleep nexus has been modeled in healthy pain-free subjects and the studies have demonstrated the bidirectionality of the sleep-pain relation. Given this bidirectionality, treatment must focus on alleviation of both the pain and sleep disturbance. Few of the treatment studies have done such, and as a result no clear consensus on treatment approaches, much less on differential etiology-based treatment strategies, has emerged.
Autosomal microsatellite variability of the Arrernte people of Australia

The genomic diversity of the Arrernte people of Australia or caterpillar people was investigated utilizing 13 autosomal short tandem repeat (STR) markers. Significant departures from Hardy–Weinberg equilibrium were detected at the D18S51, TPOX and CSF1PO loci, which persisted after applying the Bonferroni correction. Gene diversity values oscillate between 0.6302 (CSF1PO) and 0.8731 (D21S11). Observed heterozygosity (Ho) ranges from 0.2632 (D18S51) to 0.8333 (vWA) and is lower than the expected heterozygosity (He) for 12 of the 13 loci analyzed. The genetic relationships of the Arrernte with Middle Eastern, East Asian, South Asian and Indian populations were analyzed by distance‐based methods, including Neighbor‐Joining trees and nonmetric multidimensional scaling. In addition, the genetic contribution of the populations included in the analysis to the Arrernte gene pool was estimated utilizing weighted least square coefficients. Although the Arrernte population exhibits a remarkable level of genetic differentiation, results of the phylogeographic analyses based on autosomal microsatellite data suggest a certain degree of genetic relatedness between the Arrernte tribe of Australia and populations from the Indian subcontinent. In contrast, the STR diversity analyses failed to detect substantial East Asian contribution to the genetic background of the Arrernte group. Am. J. Hum. Biol., 2008. © 2007 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Finding of a Holocene marine layer in Algarrobo (33°22′S), central Chile. Implications for coastal uplift

A buried Holocene marine bed was discovered upon drilling a water well in Algarrobo (33°22'S), located on the coast of central Chile. Radiocarbon dating of a wood fragment found within the deposit indicates an age of 6450 cal yr BP. The top of this bed, 0.25 m-thick, was reached at an elevation of 3.8 m above mean sea level. This bed contains abundant monospecific faunas of foraminifers (Ammonia tepida) and ostracodes (Cyprideis beaconensis), indicative of deposition in a very shallow, transitional marine environment. Palynologic analysis reveals a Chenopodiaceae-dominated (~70%) assemblage, indicating a relatively arid and warm climate.
Coming across information serendipitously - Part 2: A classification framework

Purpose – In “Coming across information serendipitously – Part 1: a process model” the authors identified common elements of researchers' experiences of “coming across information serendipitously”. These experiences involve a mix of unexpectedness and insight and lead to a valuable, unanticipated outcome. In this article, the authors aim to show how the elements of unexpectedness, insight and value form a framework for subjectively classifying whether a particular experience might be considered serendipitous and, if so, just how serendipitous.Design/methodology/approach – The classification framework was constructed by analysing 46 experiences of coming across information serendipitously provided by 28 interdisciplinary researchers during critical incident interviews. “Serendipity stories” were written to summarise each experience and to facilitate their comparison. The common elements of unexpectedness, insight and value were identified in almost all the experiences.Findings – The presence of different m.
Early follicular phase serum FSH as a function of age: the roles of inhibin B, inhibin A and estradiol

Objective Reproductive aging in regularly cycling normal women is characterized by a gradual decline in ovarian follicle number and a progressive increase in serum follicle stimulating hormone (FSH), particularly over the age of 40 years. The lack of any consistent decrease in circulating estradiol and progesterone has led to the hypothesis that the FSH increase results from decreasing ovarian inhibin production. The aim of this study was to investigate the relationship between serum inhibins A and B, FSH and estradiol in normal women between the ages of 20 and 50 years. Design and patients Serum from 66 regularly cycling subjects, aged 20–50 years, was collected on days 3–5 of the menstrual cycle for this cross-sectional study. Measurements Serum inhibin A and inhibin B levels were measured by specific enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays (ELISAs). Alpha subunit forms were determined by an immunofluorometric assay which detects all known monomeric and dimeric forms of inhibin A and inhibin B and free α subunit. FSH and estradiol levels were measured by immunoassay. Data were log transformed before analysis. Results Serum FSH, inhibin A and estradiol, but not inhibin B, were positively correlated (p < 0.05–p < 0.001) with age between years 20 and 50. Between 40 and 50 years, serum FSH was negatively correlated with inhibin B (r = -0.61, p < 0.001) and α subunit forms (r = -0.47, p < 0.05) and with estradiol (r = -0.39, p < 0.05), but not with inhibin A (r = -0.21, not significant). When log(FSH) was modelled as a function of log(inhibin B) and log(estradiol) with age fitted as a covariate, inhibin B only was a significant independent predictor of FSH (β = -0.30, p < 0.01). Using purified inhibin A and B standards for the three assays, which were calibrated in terms of their α subunit content, serum inhibin A levels were 10–15% of those of inhibin B, with inhibin A + B levels being 22% of total α subunit levels. No significant correlation was observed between total inhibin α subunit and its dimers. The free α subunit, as determined from the difference in levels of total α subunit and inhibin A + B, remained relatively unchanged with age, suggesting that it is not differentially regulated. Conclusions This study shows that, during the early follicular phase, FSH, inhibin A and estradiol but not inhibin B increase with age. Some of the increase in inhibin A and estradiol may be the result of accelerated follicular development with increasing age. Serum inhibin B and estradiol but not inhibin A are inversely correlated with FSH between ages 40 and 50, but only inhibin B is a significant independent predictor of FSH. This supports the postulate that inhibin B is the main form of inhibin regulating FSH at this stage of the menstrual cycle. During the early follicular phase, serum levels of inhibin A are presumably too low to play a significant physiological role or are less active.
Alcohol Use and Frailty in Community-Dwelling Older Persons Aged 65 to 70 Years.

BACKGROUND Alcohol use has beneficial as well as adverse consequences on health, but few studies examined its role in the development of age-related frailty. OBJECTIVES To describe the cross-sectional and longitudinal association between alcohol intake and frailty in older persons. DESIGN The Lausanne cohort 65+ population-based study, launched in 2004. SETTING Community. PARTICIPANTS One thousand five hundred sixty-four persons aged 65-70 years. MEASUREMENTS Annual data collection included demographics, health and functional status, extended by a physical examination every 3 years. Alcohol use (AUDIT-C), and Fried's frailty criteria were measured at baseline and 3-year follow-up. Participants were categorized into robust (0 frailty criterion) and vulnerable (1+ criteria). RESULTS Few participants (13.0%) reported no alcohol consumption over the past year, 57.8% were light-to-moderate drinkers, while 29.3% drank above recommended thresholds (18.7% "at risk" and 10.5% "heavy" drinkers). At baseline, vulnerability was most frequent in non-drinkers (43.0%), least frequent in light-to-moderate drinkers (26.2%), and amounted to 31.9% in "heavy" drinkers showing a reverse J-curve pattern. In multivariate analysis, compared to light-to-moderate drinkers, non-drinkers had twice higher odds of prevalent (adjOR: 2.24; 95%CI:1.39-3.59; p=.001), as well as 3-year incident vulnerability (adjOR: 2.00; 95%CI:1.02-3.91; p=.043). No significant association was observed among "at risk" and "heavy" drinkers. CONCLUSION Non-drinkers had two-times higher odds of prevalent and 3-year incident vulnerability, even after adjusting for their baseline poorer health status. Although residual confounding is still possible, these results likely reflect a healthy survival effect among drinkers while those who experienced health- or alcohol-related problems stopped drinking earlier.
Electron transport in indium arsenide nanowires

The vapor--liquid--solid growth of semiconductor nanowires led to the implementation of engineered electronic and optoelectronic one-dimensional nanostructures with outstanding promise for device applications. To realize this promise, detailed understanding and control over their growth, crystal structure, and transport properties and their combined impact on device performance is vital. Here, we review our work on electron transport in InAs nanowires in a variety of device schemes. First, we provide a brief introduction and historical perspective on growth and transport studies in InAs NWs. Second, we discuss and present experimental measurements of ballistic transport in InAs nanowires over ∼200 nm length scale, which indicates a large electron mean free path and correlates with the high electron mobility measured on similar nanowires. Third, we devise a device model that enables accurate estimation of transport coefficients from field-effect transistor measurements by taking into account patristic device components. We utilize this model to reveal the impact of surface states, diameter, lateral and vertical fields, as well as crystal structure, on electron transport and transport coefficient calculation. We show in these studies that electron transport in InAs nanowires is dominated by surface state effects that introduce measurement artifacts in parameter extraction, reduce electron mobility for smaller diameters, and degrade the subthreshold characteristics of transistors made of Zinc Blende InAs nanowires. This device model is also used for isolating vertical and lateral field effects on electron transport in nanowire transistor channels and explaining observed negative differential conductance and mobility degradation at high injection fields, which is supported by electro-thermal simulations and microstructure failure analysis. We adopt the concept of lack of inversion symmetry in polar III-V materials and the resultant spontaneous polarization charges perpendicular to the electron transport trajectory in twinned Wurtzite nanowires to explain compensation of surface charges for this type of nanowires and their enhanced subthreshold characteristics over transistors made of Zinc Blende ones. Fourth, we discuss the combined effects of surface states and field variations in InAs nanowire transistor channels to shed light on the local electrostatic behavior in 1D channels studied by scanning probe measurements. Fifth, we survey and benchmark results on nanowire transistor performance and demonstrate the superiority of InAs nanowires for high-on currents and high-speed applications. Finally, we implement a novel integration scheme for InAs nanowires on Si substrates that enables vertical alignment and electrical isolation between nanowires which is necessary for achieving multifunctional devices per single chip.
Molecular mechanisms underlying the plasticity of muscle contractile properties with temperature acclimation in the marine fish Myoxocephalus scorpius

Single fibres were isolated from the fast myotomal muscle of the short-horned sculpin (Myoxocephalus scorpius L.). Fish were acclimated to either 5 °C (10 h:14 h light:dark) or 15 °C (12 h:12 h light:dark) for 1­2 months. Isometric tension (Fmax) and unloaded contraction velocity (Vslack) were determined in maximally activated skinned fibres over the range 0 to 20 °C. Fibres isolated from 5 °C-acclimated and 15 °C-acclimated fish failed to relax completely following activations at 15 °C and 20 °C respectively. In 5 °C-acclimated fish, Fmax increased from 75 kN m-2 at 0 °C to 123 kN m-2 at 10 °C and was not significantly higher at 15 or 20 °C. The relationship between Fmax and temperature was not significantly different for cold- and warm-acclimated fish. Vslack was around 2.8 fibre lengths s-1 in both acclimation groups at 0 °C, but it increased at a significantly faster rate with temperature in 15 °C- than in 5 °C-acclimated fish. At 20 °C, Vmax was significantly higher in 15 °C-acclimated (8.7 fibre lengths s-1) than in 5 °C-acclimated fish (5.3 fibre lengths s-1). In order to investigate the molecular mechanism(s) underlying changes in Vmax, myosin was purified by ion-exchange chromatography. No difference in myosin heavy chain composition could be detected on the basis of peptide mapping with four different proteolytic enzymes. Two-dimensional polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis revealed no myofibrillar protein isoforms unique to either acclimation temperature. However, the ratio of myosin alkali light chain contents (LC3f:LC1f), as determined by capillary electrophoresis, was significantly lower in muscle from 15 °C-acclimated (0.73) than from 5 °C-acclimated fish (1.66). The results suggest that changes in Vmax are achieved via altered expression of myosin light chains independently of myosin heavy chain composition. In support of this hypothesis, the myofibrillar ATPase activity of fast muscle was not altered by temperature acclimation.
Effects of the presence of the father on pup development in California mice (Peromyscus californicus).

Pup development and behavior in California mice were studied in litters housed with single mothers, or with fathers and mothers living together. Behavior of pups was recorded during a 15-min session every 2 days from 10 to 30 days of age. Physical contact, locomotion, grooming, and physical development indicators were recorded. It was found that the physical contact between siblings was greater and there was a tendency to have more contact between pup and either parent in the group in which the father was present. Finally, it was noted that the presence of the father did not affect either the first appearance of pup behavior during development or physical growth. In conclusion, the results indicate that the presence of the father had a greater influence on social contact between the different members of the litter than on pup behavioral development and physical growth.