Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Cardiac abnormalities in patients with Leber’s hereditary optic neuropathy

Leber’s hereditary optic neuropathy (LHON) is characterised by acute or subacute central visual loss1 that typically occurs in early adult life. Three mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) point mutations, 3460, 11778, and 14484, account for more than 90% of all LHON cases.2 Cardiac involvement in LHON has been suspected ever since Leber’s original 1871 report in which some patients with the disease complained of palpitations. The aim of this study was to determine the prevalence and nature of cardiac abnormalities in patients with LHON by systematically evaluating cardiac structure and function using echocardiography and adenosine testing. The study population comprised 24 consecutive patients with LHON diagnosed at Queen Square Hospital, London. The diagnosis of LHON was based on characteristic clinical features of the disease and/or the presence of a primary LHON mutation.3 Cardiovascular examination and investigation were performed at St George’s Hospital, London. The investigation was approved by the local research ethics committee. All patients provided written informed consent before participation in the study. Each patient underwent an initial clinical assessment and 12 lead ECG. ECG evidence of left ventricular hypertrophy was defined in accordance with Romhilt-Estes criteria. Ventricular pre-excitation was defined as a PR interval < 120 ms, QRS duration …
Tissue‐engineered vascular grafts form neovessels that arise from regeneration of the adjacent blood vessel

We developed a tissue‐engineered vascular graft composed of biodegradable scaffold seeded with autologous bone marrow‐derived mononuclear cells (BMMCs) that is currently in clinical trial and developed analogous mouse models to study mechanisms of neovessel formation. We previously reported that seeded human BMMCs were rapidly lost after implantation into immunodeficient mice as host macrophages invaded the graft. As a consequence, the resulting neovessel was entirely of host cell origin. Here, we investigate the source of neotissue cells in syngeneic BMMC‐seeded grafts, implanted into immunocompetent mouse recipients. We again find that seeded BMMCs are lost, declining to 0.02% at 14 d, concomitant with host macrophage invasion. In addition, we demonstrate using sex‐mismatched chimeric hosts that bone marrow is not a significant source of endothelial or smooth muscle cells that comprise the neovessel. Furthermore, using composite grafts formed from seeded scaffold anastomosed to sex‐mismatched natural vessel segments, we demonstrate that the adjacent vessel wall is the principal source of these endothelial and smooth muscle cells, forming 93% of proximal neotissue. These findings have important implications regarding fundamental mechanisms underlying neotissue formation; in this setting, the tissue‐engineered construct functions by mobilizing the body's innate healing capabilities to “regenerate” neotissue from preexisting committed tissue cells. — Hibino, N. , Villalona, G. , Pietris, N. , Duncan, D. R. , Schoffner, A. , Roh, J. D. , Yi, T. , Dobrucki, L. W. , Mejias, D. , Sawh‐Martinez, R. , Harrington, J. K. , Sinusas, A. , Krause, D. S. , Kyriakides, T. , Saltzman, W. M. , Pober, J. S. , Shin'oka, T. , Breuer, C. K. Tissue‐engineered vascular grafts form neovessels that arise from regeneration of the adjacent blood vessel. FASEB J. 25, 2731‐2739 (2011). www.fasebj. org
Healthy appearances – distorted body images? Young adults negotiating body motives

Drawing on focus group discussions, this article explores how young, Finnish university students view the cultural ideals of health and appearance. The young adults noted how body practices aiming at health can turn into unhealthy obsessions. As a result, a healthy-looking body may serve to cover an underlying body image distortion. Health and well-being were defined as appropriate motives for engaging in body projects, while appearance as a motive was questioned. I argue that the current promotion of health may cause individuals to experience pressure to outwardly appear healthy at the cost of neglecting the subjective experience of well-being, and that this may especially influence young women.
The Rise and Fall of Small Worlds: Exploring the Dynamics of Social Structure

This paper explores the interplay between social structure and economic action by examining some of the evolutionary dynamics of an emergent network that coalesces into a small-world system. The study highlights the small-world system's evolutionary dynamics at both the macro level of the network and the micro level of an individual actor. This dual analytical lens helps establish that, in competitive and information-intensive settings, a small-world system could be a highly dynamic structure that follows an inverted U-shaped evolutionary pattern, wherein an increase in the small-worldliness of the system is followed by its later decline as a result of three factors: (1) the recursive relationship between the evolving social structure and individual actors' formation of bridging ties, which eventually homogenizes the information space and decreases actors' propensity to form bridging ties, creating a globally separated network; (2) self-containment of the small-world network, or increasing homogenization of the social system, which makes the small world less accepting of and less attractive to new actors, thereby limiting formation of bridging ties to outside clusters; and (3) fragmentation of the small-world network, or the small-world system's inability to retain current clusters. The study uses data on interorganizational tie formation in the global computer industry in the period from 1996 to 2005 to test the hypothesized relationships.
Modeling and analysis of 1.3 μm InAs/GaAs self-assembled quantum dot lasers with rate equation

Temperature (20-100 °C) and excitation power (10-700 mW)-dependent photoluminescence (PL) measurements have been carried out on the 1.3 μm GaAs-based InAs quantum dot (QD) laser structures. Rate equation was used to interpret the PL behavior of the QD. The exciton behavior of the carriers in InAs QD has been verified. The excitonic modal gain has been calculated (under exciton picture) and compared with the experimentally obtained modal gain value from the QD laser.
Dimension and Shape Effects on the ISFET Performance

In this paper, the ion-sensitive field-effect transistor (ISFET) performance in unmodified complementary metal-oxide-semiconductor is thoroughly studied in terms of transconductance, threshold voltage, offset, and drift for the dimension and shape effects. It is shown that by increasing the ISFET sensing area, decoupling capacitors-as a function of the perimeter of the gate extension metal layers-may degrade the coupling efficiency of the ISFET. For a higher area to perimeter ratio, ISFETs with equilateral square and octagonal shape, as well as single-plate and multiplate sensing layers, were compared, and 24 tests of 8 dies each containing 15 devices were done. It is also shown how the drift direction may be predicted through the reference electrode current. In the end, tradeoffs among area, power, and performance besides challenges in scaling down the dimensions are discussed.
A BASIC HELIX-LOOP-HELIX TRANSCRIPTION FACTORS IN HUMAN LEUKEMIA

1. Abstract 2. Introduction 3. Structure and Function of the E2A Gene Products 4. Chromosomal Translocation 1;19 and E2A-PBX1 4.1. Clinical Features 4.2. Structure and Function of PBX1 4.3. E2A-PBX1 is an Oncogenic Transcriptional Activator 4.4. Mechanisms of Oncogenesis: Contributions of the PBX1 Portion 4.5. Mechanisms of Oncogenesis: Contributions of the E2A Portion 5. Chromosomal Translocation 17;19 and E2A-HLF 5.1. Structural Features of E2A-HLF and Evidence of Oncogenicity 5.2. Transcriptional Target Genes of E2A-HLF 5.3. E2A-HLF Structure/Function Correlations: Parallels with E2A-PBX1 and E2A-FB1 6. Perspective 7. Acknowledgment 8. References
The $4 Trillion Question: What Explains FX Growth Since the 2007 Survey?

Daily average foreign exchange market turnover reached $4 trillion in April 2010, 20% higher than in 2007. Growth owed largely to the increased trading activity of "other financial institutions", which contributed 85% of the higher turnover. Within this customer category, the growth is driven by high-frequency traders, banks trading as clients of the biggest dealers, and online trading by retail investors. Electronic trading has been instrumental to this increase, particularly algorithmic trading.
Identification of receptor tyrosine kinases in the rat testis

Evidence of receptor/ligand interactions that regulate testis cell function was sought in order to broaden the current understanding of the molecular basis of testis cell function. Using reverse transcription and the polymerase chain reaction, we have obtained novel evidence for the expression of three mRNAs encoding receptor tyrosine kinases in the adult rat testis: the platelet‐derived growth factor type A receptor (PDGF‐RA), the basic fibroblast growth factor receptor (flg), and fetal liver kinase 1 (Flk‐1). A 6.8 kb transcript encoding the PDGF‐RA was observed in RNA prepared from testes of rats aged day 5 through adult, with a decline in relative abundance with increasing age after day 17. Analysis of mRNA from isolated cell preparations (day 21 Sertoli cells, adult Leydig cells, round spermatids, and primary spermatocytes) and testes depleted of specific cell types [ethane dimethane sulfonate (EDS)‐treated and cryptorchid] indicated that the Leydig cell was the predominant source of this mRNA in the adult testis. The addition of PDGF‐BB to cultures of highly purified adult rat Leydig cell preparations resulted in a 40% increase in LH‐stimulated testosterone production, confirming a role for this growth factor in regulation of Leydig cell function. These data indicate that the Leydig cell is a principal site of action of PDGF in the testis. © 1993 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Observability and Overcoming Coordination Failure in Organizations

Many organizations suffer poor performance because its members fail to coordinate on efficient patterns of behavior. In previous research, we have shown that financial incentives can be used to find a way out of such performance traps. Here we examine the sensitivity of this result to the ability of people to observe others' choices. Our experiments are set in a corporate environment where subjects' payoffs depend on coordinating at high effort levels; the underlying game being played repeatedly by the employees of an experimental firm is a weak-link game. Treatments vary along two dimensions. First, subjects either start with low financial incentives for coordination, which typically leads to coordination failure, and then are switched to higher incentives or start with high incentives, which typically yield effective coordination, and are switched to low incentives. Second, as the key treatment variable, subjects either observe the effort levels chosen by all employees in their experimenta
The effect of theophylline on the prevention of mechanical ventilation-induced diaphragm atrophy in rats.

BACKGROUND Movement disorders and atrophy occur in the diaphragm, the most important muscle of respiration, because of mechanical ventilation (MV). OBJECTIVES In this animal model, we aimed to evaluate the effect of intravenous theophylline administration on the prevention of mechanical ventilation-induced diaphragmatic atrophy. MATERIAL AND METHODS In our study, 30 healthy male Sprague-dawley rats were used. They were divided into 3 equal groups. Group 1: the control group (no MV); group 2: the placebo group that received MV; Group 3: the theophylline group composed of rats that received both MV and theophylline therapy. In all 3 groups, the diaphragmatic atrophy was evaluated histopathologically. RESULTS In the histopathological examination, no macroscopic thickening and microscopic atrophy were observed in the diaphragm in the control group. In the placebo group (group 2), macroscopically definite thickening was observed in all rats, and microscopically, heavy (+++) atrophy was observed. In the theophylline group (group 3), there was no atrophy in one rat. In 8 rats, light (+), and in 1 rat medium (++) atrophy was observed. CONCLUSIONS In our study, it was shown that atrophy occurred in the diaphragms of rats after MV, and the atrophy was decreased after theophylline administration.
Sand Flies (Diptera: Phlebotominae) in Sanliurfa, Turkey Relationship of Phlebotomus sergenti with the Epidemic of Anthroponotic Cutaneous Leishmaniasis

Abstract Sand fly (Diptera: Phlebotominae) fauna were surveyed in various districts of Sanliurfa in southeast Turkey for 3 yr immediately after an epidemic of cutaneous leishmaniasis (Leishmania tropica). Sticky papers and CDC light traps collected a total of 10,937 sand flies, of which 10,919 (4,158 females and 6,761 males) were identified as Phlebotomus and 18 (11 females and seven males) as Sergentomyia (S. theodori Parrot; S. adleri Theodor). Eight Phlebotomus spp. were identified: P. sergenti Parrot (72.3%), P. papatasi (Scopoli) (27.2%), P. brevis Theodor & Mesghali (0.20%), P. neglectus Leger & Pesson (0.13%), P. perfiliewi Parrot (0.05%), P. mascitti Grassi, P. halepensis Theodor, and P. alexandri Sinton (0.01%). Phlebotomus mascitti and P. neglectus, along with both Sergentomyia sp. , have not been previously described from the study area. Similar results were obtained when both trapping methods were applied in the same houses, indicating that local P. sergenti and P. papatasi populations were equally attracted to the light. P. sergenti was consistently abundant, agreeing with the general view that this species is the vector of leishmaniasis in the region. There was no apparent decrease in the relative abundance of this vector versus the other species, suggesting that factor(s) other than a change in the dynamics of sand fly populations precipitated the decline of the human leishmaniasis epidemic in Sanliurfa.
Cytogenetic and hematological alterations induced by acute oral exposure of imidacloprid in female mice

Abstract Imidacloprid (IMD), 1(6-chloro-3-pyridinyl)methyl)-N-nitro-2-imidazolidinimine, was administered in female mice to study in vivo cytogenetic (chromosomal aberrations (CAs) and micronucleus assay) and hematological effects. The acute oral LD50 was determined to be 150 mg/kg bw in mice following OECD guidelines using AOT StatPgm425 software. The mice were administered orally with distilled water (negative control); mitomycin C (MMC), 1 mg/kg (positive control) and sub-lethal doses of 37.5 (low), 75.0 (medium) and 112.5 (high) mg/kg bw (25%, 50% and 75% of LD50) of IMD to analyze CAs and hematological effects after 24 h, whereas micronucleus test (MT) after 48 h. The genotoxicity analysis revealed that selected test doses of IMD – medium and high doses – induced significantly mitotic inhibition (p < 0.01), CAs (p < 0.01) and at high dose micronucleus (MN) formation (p < 0.05). Significant changes in red blood cell (RBC; p < 0.01), hemoglobin (Hb; p < 0.01) and erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR; p < 0.001) were observed, except WBC in which significant increase (p < 0.001) was observed. Present observation substantiates overall significant dose dependent genotoxic potential (p < 0.05; r = 0.98) of IMD. Precautions should be taken to minimize possible risk to exposed farmers of the state of Haryana (India) – an agrarian economy.
FPGA implementation of a chaotic oscillator using RK4 method

The dual deterministic-stochastic behavior of chaotic systems (CS) makes them extremely interesting in electronic engineering as CS may replace noise sources in different applications. Consequently it is convenient to have hardware implementations for both, analog and digital versions. Discrete components, Micro Controllers, Digital Signal Processors (DSP) and Field Programmable Gate Arrays (FPGAs) are possible choices.
Genome Sequence of a Fish-Associated Polyomavirus, Black Sea Bass (Centropristis striata) Polyomavirus 1

ABSTRACT All known polyomaviruses are associated with mammals or birds. Using virion enrichment, random-primed rolling circle amplification, and deep sequencing, we identified a polyomavirus associated with black sea bass (Centropristis striata). The virus has a variety of novel genetic features, suggesting a long evolutionary separation from polyomaviruses of terrestrial animals.
Does Market Timing or Enhanced Pecking Order Determine Capital Structure?

We explore the idea that a firm's financing behavior depends crucially on how its ownership structure affects the cost differential between internal and external equity. If ownership is dispersed, the cost differential is relatively small. By issuing public offers when market-to-book values are high, incumbent shareholders benefit if equity is mispriced. The market timing theory predicts that firms' lower leverage is mainly the cumulative result of successful market timings. But if ownership (capital) is separated from control (votes), agency costs due to widespread use of dual-class shares drive a wedge between the costs of internal and external equity as new external shareholders demand compensation. This generates an enhanced pecking order: new equity (rights issues or private placements) is issued only when internal equity and debt are insufficient while public offers are not used since compensating transfers from incumbents to external shareholders needed. The behavior of US IPO firms is consistent with the market timing theory (Baker and Wurgler (2002)) while the enhanced pecking order theory best explains how Swedish IPO firms behave and why market timing is not important. Our results challenge the generality of the market timing theory.
Domestic Versus International R&D Spillovers And Productivity Performance Of Large International Firms

Abstract The objective of this paper is to further investigate the findings obtained by Capron and Cincera (1998) as regards the effects of both national and international stocks of R&D spillovers on firms productivity growth. The analysis is based on the same data set as Capron and Cincera (1998) which consists of a representative sample composed of 625 worldwide R&D-intensive manufacturing firms over the period 1987-1994. Additional results based on the recent System Generalised Method of Moments (GMM) estimator proposed by Arellano and Bover (1995) are presented. The empirical findings indicate that spillover effects significantly influence firm’s productivity. In particular, results based on the system GMM estimator shows that the United States are mainly sensitive to their national spillover’s stock while Japan and Europe appear to mainly draw from the international stock. Keywords : national and international R&D spillovers, system GMM panel data estimator, total factor productivity growth.
An Ontology for XML Schema to Ontology Mapping Representation

Kai Yang7 Robert Steele and Amanda Lo University of Technology, Sydney {kayanglrsteeleiamanda }@it.uts. edu.au This paper addresses the problem that exists in the context of XML to Ontology translation. We firstly discuss the problem regarding the loss of information during roundtrip transformation between XML and Ontology followed by the proposal of a mapping representation ontology for modeling concept mappings defined between XML schema and Ontology. Our goal is to enable bidirectional data conversion between XML and Ontology as well as achieving seamless XML data translation through ontology mediation.
Three traditions of network research: What the public management research agenda can learn from other research communities

This article identifies and describes the development of three parallel streams of literature about network theory and research: social network analysis, policy change and political science networks, and public management networks. Noting that these traditions have sometimes been inattentive to each other's work, the authors illustrate the similarities and differences in the underlying theoretical assumptions, types of research questions addressed, and research methods typically employed by the three traditions. The authors draw especially on the social network analysis (sociological) tradition to provide theoretical and research insights for those who focus primarily on public management networks. The article concludes with recommendations for advancing current scholarship on public management networks.
Public sector wages and employment in Africa : facts and concepts

An analysis of wage and employment trends in Africa provides a descriptive account and some conceptual approaches to this dimension of the labor market. In Africa, as in the rest of the developing world, unfavorable international commodity prices movements and increasing debt servicing requirements have placed all public spending under close scrutiny. In addition to the problems of public finance, performance of the public sector is likely to be influenced by the competence and commitment of public employees. Appropriate wage and employment policies in the public sector may be an important factor in achieving development objectives. Economy-wide issues of resources allocation are also affected by public employment decisions. In Africa, the shortage of human capital makes efficient allocation of labor throughout the economy essential, and this allocation is greatly dependent upon government wage practices. The report illustrates the need for policy advice on public wage and employment issues. It admits the paucity of research in this area but examines the available evidence and makes suggestions for futher research.
Fraud Prevention Mechanisms of Malaysian Government-Linked Companies: An Assessment of Existence and Effectiveness

Understanding the root causes of fraud and learning about the most effective fraud prevention mechanisms are critical in reducing the incidence of financial fraud. Therefore, this study solicits the views of fraud investigators on the existence and effectiveness of fraud prevention mechanisms within Government-Linked Companies (GLCs). Specifically, effective fraud prevention mechanisms (FPM) should be undertaken by five critical groups, namely the board of directors, audit committees, external auditors, internal auditors, and anti-fraud specialists. A total of 147 questionnaires were distributed to fraud investigators of all public listed GLCs in Malaysia. Out of those, a total of 45 usable responses were received, which represents an effective response rate of 30.6%. In terms of existence, the respondents ranked “management review of internal controls” and “external audits of financial statements” as the top-most FPMs. This was followed by other mechanisms such as operational audits, internal audits and internal control review/improvements by departments. Out of the 27 fraud prevention mechanisms, fraud investigators perceived surprise audits, fraud hotline, fraud prevention program and training, anti-fraud policy, fraud vulnerability reviews, operational audits, whistle-blowing policy, internal audit or fraud examination department, and, imposing penalty and disciplinary action as more effective than the others. Overall, this study provides important insights to practitioners and organizations in identifying fraud prevention mechanisms that are most effective.