Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
P21 Ser31Arg Polymorphism and Cervical Cancer Risk: A Meta-Analysis

Background Studies investigating the association between p21 genetic polymorphism Ser31Arg and cervical cancer (CC) risk report conflicting results. The aim of this study was to quantitatively summarize the evidence for p21 polymorphism and CC risk. Methods Two investigators independently searched the MEDLINE, Embase, CNKI, and Chinese Biomedicine databases. Summary odds ratios (ORs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) for p21 polymorphism and CC were calculated in a fixed effects model (the Mantel-Haenszel method) and a random effects model (the DerSimonian and Laird method) when appropriate. The pooled ORs were performed for codominant model (Arg/Arg vs Ser/Ser and Arg/Ser vs Ser/Ser), dominant model (Arg/Arg + Arg/Ser vs Ser/Ser), and recessive model (Arg/Arg vs Arg/Ser + Ser/Ser). Subgroup analyses were performed by country, matched controls, and Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium in the controls and study sample size. Results This meta-analysis included 10 case-control studies from an Asian population, which included 1415 CC cases and 1947 controls. Overall, the variant genotypes (Arg/Arg and Arg/Ser) of Ser31Arg were not associated with CC risk, when compared with the wild-type homozygote Ser/Ser (Arg/Arg vs Ser/Ser: OR, 1.30; 95% CI, 0.81-2.08; Arg/Ser vs Ser/Ser: OR, 1.06; 95% CI, 0.72-1.55). Similarly, no associations were found in the dominant and recessive models (dominant model: OR, 1.05; 95% CI, 0.73-1.51; recessive model: OR, 1.28; 95% CI, 0.86-1.90). Stratified analyses also detected no significant association in any subgroup, except among those studies from "other" country and those studies with controls deviated from Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium. Conclusion No association was found between the p21 polymorphism Arg31Ser and risk of CC among Asians. In the future, additional studies based on white and African American patients should be performed to re-evaluate the association.
Breakdown of Rat-Liver Ergosomes in vivo after Actinomycin Inhibition of Messenger RNA Synthesis

Ribosomes isolated from rat liver occur predominantly in the form of aggregates (ergosomes) corresponding to multiples of 73S particles held together by messenger RNA. After injecting rats with actinomycin, these aggregates gradually break down in vivo to 73S monomers and 113S dimers. We conclude that the observed breakdown results from the degradation of messenger RNA and the prevention by actinomycin of the synthesis of new messenger RNA.
Semiparametric Analysis of the Socio-Demographic and Spatial Determinants of Undernutrition in Two African Countries

We estimate semiparametric regression models of chronic undernutrition (stunting) using the 1992 Demographic and Health Surveys (DHS) from Tanzania and Zambia. We focus particularly on the influence of the child's age, the mother's body mass index, and spatial influences on chronic undernutrition. Conventional parametric regression models are not flexible enough to cope with possibly nonlinear effects of the continuous covariates and cannot flexibly model spatial influences. We present a Bayesian semiparametric analysis of the effects of these two covariates on chronic undernutrition. Moreover, we investigate spatial determinants of undernutrition in these two countries. Compared to previous work with a simple fixed effects approach for the influence of provinces, we model small scale district specific effects using flexible spatial priors. Inference is fully Bayesian and uses recent Markov chain Monte Carlo techniques.
Identifying children with autism spectrum disorder based on their face processing abnormality: A machine learning framework

The atypical face scanning patterns in individuals with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) has been repeatedly discovered by previous research. The present study examined whether their face scanning patterns could be potentially useful to identify children with ASD by adopting the machine learning algorithm for the classification purpose. Particularly, we applied the machine learning method to analyze an eye movement dataset from a face recognition task [Yi et al., 2016], to classify children with and without ASD. We evaluated the performance of our model in terms of its accuracy, sensitivity, and specificity of classifying ASD. Results indicated promising evidence for applying the machine learning algorithm based on the face scanning patterns to identify children with ASD, with a maximum classification accuracy of 88.51%. Nevertheless, our study is still preliminary with some constraints that may apply in the clinical practice. Future research should shed light on further valuation of our method and contribute to the development of a multitask and multimodel approach to aid the process of early detection and diagnosis of ASD. Autism Res 2016, 9: 888–898. © 2016 International Society for Autism Research, Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
The Importance of Being Rational

The Importance of Being Rational systematically defends a novel reasons-based account of rationality. The book’s central thesis is that what it is for one to be rational is to correctly respond to the normative reasons one possesses. The book defends novel views about what it is to possess reasons and what it is to correctly respond to reasons. It is shown that these views not only help to support the book’s main thesis, they also help to resolve several important problems that are independent of rationality. The account of possession provides novel contributions to debates about what determines what we ought to do, and the account of correctly responding to reasons provides novel contributions to debates about causal theories of reacting for reasons. After defending views about possession and correctly responding, it is shown that the account of rationality can solve two difficult problems about rationality. The first is the New Evil Demon problem. The book argues that the account has the resources to show that internal duplicates necessarily have the same rational status. The second problem concerns the ‘normativity’ of rationality. Recently it has been doubted that we ought to be rational. The ultimate conclusion of the book is that the requirements of rationality are the requirements that we ultimately ought to comply with. If this is right, then rationality is of fundamental importance to our deliberative lives.
Carbamazepine Sole Anticonvulsant for Focal Epilepsy of Childhood

Carbamazepine (Tegretol) was used as sole anticonvulsant in 18 boys and 22 girls with benign focal epilepsy with Rolandic spikes. In 12 patients, carbamazepine was the first and only drug used whereas in the others various other drugs and drug combinations had previously been administered. The following conclusions were drawn: Carbamazepine is a highly effective drug in focal epilepsy of childhood, as effective as barbiturates and diphenylhydantoin, less toxic, and more convenient to use. Carbamazepine improved the behavior, ability to concentrate, and performance in school of 80% of the children. At effective dose levels, there were remarkably few side effects.
Smoking Is Underrecognized as a Risk Factor for Chronic Pancreatitis

Background/Aims: Smoking is an established risk factor for chronic pancreatitis (CP). We sought to identify how often and in which CP patients physicians consider smoking to be a risk factor. Methods: We analyzed data on CP patients and controls prospectively enrolled from 19 US centers in the North American Pancreatitis Study-2. We noted each subject’s self-reported smoking status and quantified the amount and duration of smoking. We noted whether the enrolling physician (gastroenterologist with specific interest in pancreatology) classified alcohol as the etiology for CP and selected smoking as a risk factor. Results: Among 382/535 (71.4%) CP patients who were self-reported ever smokers, physicians cited smoking as a risk factor in only 173/382 (45.3%). Physicians cited smoking as a risk factor more often among current smokers, when classifying alcohol as CP etiology, and with higher amount and duration of smoking. We observed a wide variability in physician decision to cite smoking as a risk factor. Multivariable regression analysis however confirmed that the association of CP with smoking was independent of physician decision to cite smoking as a risk factor. Conclusions: Physicians often underrecognize smoking as a CP risk factor. Efforts are needed to raise awareness of the association between smoking and CP.
Segmentation and classification of vegetated areas using polarimetric SAR image data

Classification of radar images based on the information provided by individual pixels cannot generally produce satisfactory results due to speckle. The classification based on area analysis is therefore expected to be more accurate, as a uniform area, which usually consists of multipixels, provides reliable measurement statistics and texture characteristics. However, the area analysis requires partitions of uniform areas to be performed first. In this paper, an approach to the classification of radar images is developed based on two steps. First an image is partitioned into uniform areas (segments), and then these segments are classified. Both segmentation and classification are achieved by using the Gaussian Markov random field model. Test images are classified to demonstrate the method.
A nonparametric likelihood test for detecting discordance between two measurements with application to censored viral load determinations

Patient management frequently involves quantitative evaluation of a patient's attributes. For example, in HIV studies, a high viral load can be a trigger to initiate or modify an antiretroviral therapy. At times, a new method of evaluation may substitute for an established one, provided that the new method does not result in different clinical decisions compared with the old method. Traditional measures of agreement between the two methods are inadequate for deciding if a new method can replace the old. Especially, when the data are censored by a detection limit, estimates of agreement can be biased unless the distribution for the censored data is correctly specified; this is usually not feasible in practice. We propose a nonparametric likelihood test that seamlessly handles censored data. We further show that the proposed test is a generalization of the test on nominal measurement concordance to continuous measurement. An exact permutation procedure is proposed for implementing the test. Our application is an HIV study to determine whether one method of processing plasma samples can safely substitute for the other. The plasma samples are used to determine viral load and a large portion of data are left censored due to a lower detection limit. Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Adhesion Molecule-Mediated Hippo Pathway Modulates Hemangioendothelioma Cell Behavior

ABSTRACT Hemangioendotheliomas are categorized as intermediate-grade vascular tumors that are commonly localized in the lungs and livers. The regulation of this tumor cell's proliferative and apoptotic mechanisms is ill defined. We recently documented an important role for Hippo pathway signaling via endothelial cell adhesion molecules in brain microvascular endothelial cell proliferation and apoptosis. We found that endothelial cells lacking cell adhesion molecules escaped from contact inhibition and exhibited abnormal proliferation and apoptosis. Here we report on the roles of adherens junction molecule modulation of survivin and the Hippo pathway in the proliferation and apoptosis of a murine hemangioendothelioma (EOMA) cell. We demonstrated reduced adherens junction molecule (CD31 and VE-cadherin) expression, increased survivin and Ajuba expression, and a reduction in Hippo pathway signaling resulting in increased proliferation and decreased activation of effector caspase 3 in postconfluent EOMA cell cultures. Furthermore, we confirmed that YM155, an antisurvivin drug that interferes with Sp1-survivin promoter interactions, and survivin small interference RNA (siRNA) transfection elicited induction of VE-cadherin, decreased Ajuba expression, increased Hippo pathway and caspase activation and apoptosis, and decreased cell proliferation. These findings support the importance of the Hippo pathway in hemangioendothelioma cell proliferation and survival and YM155 as a potential therapeutic agent in this category of vascular tumors.
Chemical Diagnosis of Congenital Metabolic Disorders by Gas Chromatography / Mass Spectrometry (GC/MS) in India

Abstract The present study reports the chemical diagnosis of 254 high–risk children by GC/MS using MILS method, which detects biochemical marker compounds specific for congenital metabolic disorders. Air–dried “urine filter paper” allows simple bedside collection, transportation and a link with other hospitals. Simultaneous analysis of 101 metabolic disorders has the advantage of a wide range of detection to the attending doctor having limited health infrastructure in small towns and rural areas. The definite diagnosis was done in 44 samples (17.3%), reflecting the vast unexplored population of varied genetic etiology. This higher incidence in comparison with the earlier reports (4-5%) from India, based on conventional methods indicated the urgency of latest technology. In critically–ill neonates, the metabolic abnormality was 24.3%. This emphasizes the crucial role of GC/MS in preventing mortality and morbidity. The high–risk genetic factors were consanguinity (13%), family history of mental retardation (13%), and stillbirth and deaths (33%), indicating the racial and ethnic diversity, as well as cultural and traditional impact. The 3 interesting cases among many are discussed where successful management and therapy was done. Accuracy of GC/MS analysis made genetic counselling more effective in evaluating the risk of Inborn Errors of Metabolism (IEM) in future pregnancy.
Metaplastic breast carcinoma

Abstract Metaplastic breast carcinoma, a rare entity, accounts for only about 0.02% of all breast carcinomas. It involves the transformation of mammary neoplasms into osteoid and chondroid substances. Because of the relatively small patient population and the limited number of controlled studies, there is confusion regarding its classification and staging. Its histogenesis is unknown. The authors describe a 65 year-old woman with findings consistent with metaplastic breast carcinoma. Theories as to etiology and prognosis as well as treatment are discussed.
Subunit organization in cytoplasmic dynein subcomplexes

Because cytoplasmic dynein plays numerous critical roles in eukaryotic cells, determining the subunit composition and the organization and functions of the subunits within dynein are important goals. This has been difficult partly because of accessory polypeptide heterogeneity of dynein populations. The motor domain containing heavy chains of cytoplasmic dynein are associated with multiple intermediate, light intermediate, and light chain accessory polypeptides. We examined the organization of these subunits within cytoplasmic dynein by separating the molecule into two distinct subcomplexes. These subcomplexes were competent to reassemble into a molecule with dynein‐like properties. One subcomplex was composed of the dynein heavy and light intermediate chains whereas the other subcomplex was composed of the intermediate and light chains. The intermediate and light chain subcomplex could be further separated into two pools, only one of which contained dynein light chains. The two pools had distinct intermediate chain compositions, suggesting that intermediate chain isoforms have different light chain–binding properties. When the two intermediate chain pools were characterized by analytical velocity sedimentation, at least four molecular components were seen: intermediate chain monomers, intermediate chain dimers, intermediate chain monomers with bound light chains, and a mixture of intermediate chain dimers with assorted bound light chains. These data provide new insights into the compositional heterogeneity and assembly of the cytoplasmic dynein complex and suggest that individual dynein molecules have distinct molecular compositions in vivo.
Primary and secondary somatosensory cortex responses to anticipation and pain: a magnetoencephalography study

Several brain regions, including the primary and secondary somatosensory cortices (SI and SII, respectively), are functionally active during the pain experience. Both of these regions are thought to be involved in the sensory–discriminative processing of pain and recent evidence suggests that SI in particular may also be involved in more affective processing. In this study we used MEG to investigate the hypothesis that frequency‐specific oscillatory activity may be differentially associated with the sensory and affective components of pain. In eight healthy participants (four male), MEG was recorded during a visceral pain experiment comprising baseline, anticipation, pain and post‐pain phases. Pain was delivered via intraluminal oesophageal balloon distension (four stimuli at 1 Hz). Significant bilateral but asymmetrical changes in neural activity occurred in the β‐band within SI and SII. In SI, a continuous increase in neural activity occurred during the anticipation phase (20–30 Hz), which continued during the pain phase but at a lower frequency (10–15 Hz). In SII, oscillatory changes only occurred during the pain phase, predominantly in the 20–30 Hz β band, and were coincident with the stimulus. These data provide novel evidence of functional diversity within SI, indicating a role in attentional and sensory aspects of pain processing. In SII, oscillatory changes were predominantly stimulus‐related, indicating a role in encoding the characteristics of the stimulus. We therefore provide objective evidence of functional heterogeneity within SI and functional segregation between SI and SII, and suggest that the temporal and frequency dynamics within cortical regions may offer valuable insights into pain processing.
Histidine-Rich Glycoprotein Binds to DNA and FcγRI and Potentiates the Ingestion of Apoptotic Cells by Macrophages1

Histidine-rich glycoprotein (HRG) is an abundant serum protein that exhibits many functions in diverse biological systems. In this study, we show that HRG potentiates the ingestion of apoptotic cells by mature human monocyte-derived macrophages (HMDM). HRG bound specifically to apoptotic Jurkat cells and mature HMDM in a saturable and concentration-dependent manner. Purified HRG or HRG in sera increased the number of HMDM-containing apoptotic cells and accelerated the ingestion, while neutralization or depletion of HRG from sera reduced this effect. Anti-FcγRI mAb inhibited HRG binding to HMDM, while DNA, but not chromatin, inhibited HRG binding to apoptotic cells, and either anti-FcγRI or DNA abrogated the HRG-dependent ingestion. The findings indicate that HRG, by acting as a bridge between DNA on apoptotic cells and FcγRI on HMDM, is a key physiological mediator of apoptotic cell clearance by macrophages.
Portfolio Choice with House Value Misperception

We use data on self-reported and market house values to present empirical evidence of house value misperception at the household level. We build an optimal portfolio choice model that features misperception, as observed in the data. In the model, households make consumption and portfolio decisions on housing and non-housing assets with transaction costs in the housing adjustments. They use subjective housing valuations, which may differ from market values, and decide each period whether to pay for observing the market value or not. Our model delivers several empirical implications that we test using household-level data
Sternocleidomastoid imbalance versus congenital muscular torticollis: their relationship to positional plagiocephaly.

OBJECTIVE The purpose of this study was to investigate the existence of sternocleidomastoid (SCM) imbalance in a plagiocephalic population and further clinically describe its difference, if any, from congenital muscular torticollis (CMT). If SCM imbalance is different from CMT, then the development of terminology and a differential diagnosis may allow early recognition and intervention and possible prevention of positional plagiocephaly in the first place. DESIGN This was a retrospective, random review of 100 patients referred for orthotic correction of their positional plagiocephaly. SETTING The data was collected in a private orthotic clinic and was directed by a physical therapist. The patients were seen on a weekly or biweekly basis. PATIENTS Eighty-three patients diagnosed with positional plagiocephaly that were referred for Dynamic Orthotic Cranioplasty during 1996 were studied. RESULTS Sixty-four percent of the sample was identified as having SCM imbalance and 12% was diagnosed with CMT. There were no statistically significant differences between the characteristics of these two groups in relation to the etiological factors of positional plagiocephaly. The only observed difference was related to symptoms of the neck itself. CONCLUSIONS Seventy-six percent of the sample was found to have some degree of SCM dysfunction, whether it be SCM imbalance or CMT. The finding that over three quarters of our population suffers from some form of SCM dysfunction, either SCM imbalance or CMT, suggests that any degree of SCM dysfunction may act as a precursor to positional plagiocephaly and therefore should be recognized and treated at the earliest opportunity.
National HIV prevalence surveillance among TB patients through periodic surveys: experience in Cambodia.

SETTING The National Tuberculosis Programme (NTP) in Cambodia, one of the countries most affected by tuberculosis (TB) and human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection in Asia. OBJECTIVE To conduct national HIV prevalence surveillance among TB patients, to estimate HIV prevalence among TB patients and to determine the potential of the NTP as a source for antiretroviral treatment (ART) scale-up. DESIGN Anonymous unlinked cross-sectional seroprevalence surveys including all TB patients registered by the NTP in January 2003 and January 2005. RESULTS HIV prevalence among all TB patients fell from 11.8% in 2003 to 9.9% in 2005 (P < 0.05). In 2003 and 2005, respectively 265 and 261 TB patients were identified as HIV-positive in a given month. Among new smear-positive pulmonary TB patients, the prevalence dropped from 8.2% to 5.2% (P < 0.01). CONCLUSION The two periodic surveys demonstrated a high prevalence of HIV among TB patients in Cambodia. However, the declining incidence of HIV from the late 1990s might now be reflected in the HIV prevalence among new smear-positive TB patients. The NTP is a potential source of ART if HIV counselling and testing are made more widely available to TB patients.