Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Functional Analysis of the Hepatic HMG-CoA Reductase Promoter by In Vivo Electroporation

HMG-CoA reductase (HMGR) catalyzes the rate-controlling step in cholesterol production. This enzyme is highly expressed in the liver, where it is subject to extensive hormonal and dietary regulation. Although much is known about the regulation of the HMGR promoter in cultured cells, this issue has not been directly addressed in liver. The technique of in vivo electroporation was utilized to perform the first functional analysis of the HMGR promoter in live animals. Analysis of a series of deletion constructs showed that deletion of the region containing the cyclic AMP response element (CRE) at −104 to −96 and an NF-Y site at −70 to −65 resulted in marked reduction of promoter activity. Sterol regulation of this promoter was investigated by raising tissue cholesterol levels by feeding cholesterol and by decreasing them through administration of a statin (lovastatin). Using this approach, we found that HMGR promoter constructs were sterol responsive in live animals, adding in vivo relevance to previous findings in cultured cells. We also conclude that in vivo electroporation is a convenient and powerful technique for the analysis of promoter elements in the livers of live animals.
Comparison of left ventricular mass and geometry in black and white patients with essential hypertension.

To assess racial difference in cardiac responses to elevated blood pressure, we compared echocardiographic measurements of left ventricular (LV) mass and the wall thickness to chamber dimension ratio (relative wall thickness) in 380 white and 47 black patients with uncomplicated essential hypertension consecutively enrolled in echocardiographic research studies at The New York Hospital Hypertension Center. Diastolic blood pressure and weight were slightly greater in black as compared with white subjects (104 +/- 18 v 98 +/- 11 mm Hg; P = .014 and 82 +/- 17 v 77 +/- 15 kg; P = .037, respectively), however the groups were similar with respect to age, duration of hypertension, cholesterol level, cigarette smoking, past use of antihypertensive therapy, family history of heart disease, and height. On average, LV mass indexed for body surface area and relative wall thickness were significantly greater in blacks than whites (119 v 105 g/m2; P = .02 and 0.46 v 0.39; P = .003) and blacks had twice the prevalence of LV hypertrophy (41% v 19%; P < .001) or concentric remodeling (21% v 12%; P < .05). The magnitude of increased LV mass and relative wall thickness in blacks was similar in men (132 v 110 g/m2; P = .01 and 0.44 v 0.39; P = .04) and in women (107 v 94 g/m2; P = .11 and 0.48 v 0.39; P = .02). In multivariate analyses, systolic blood pressure, age, and race were consistently predictors of increased LV mass and abnormal cardiac geometry. Cholesterol level was not independently associated with increased LV mass but was weakly associated with increased relative wall thickness. (ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)
Submucosal endoscopic tumor resection for subepithelial tumors in the esophagus and cardia

Background and study aims: Resection of submucosal tumors by means of endoscopy has been reported using a variety of techniques, but cannot be performed safely in tumors originating from the muscularis propria. Using the submucosal tunnel created by the technique of peroral endoscopic myotomy (POEM), we report the first series describing the new technique of submucosal endoscopic tumor resection (SET) for tumors of the esophagus and cardia. Patients and methods: SET was attempted in nine consecutive patients with tumors (size > 2 cm) of either the esophagus or cardia with clinical indications for lesion removal. Following creation of a submucosal tunnel from 5 cm above the tumor, as described previously, the tumor was dissected from the overlying mucosa/submucosa and then carefully removed from the muscular layer using triangle-tip and insulated-tip knives. Following specimen retrieval through the tunnel, the orifice was closed by clips. Results: Of the nine patients, two had tumors that were too large (60 mm and 75 mm, respectively) to allow safe removal due to loss of endoscopic overview. All remaining tumors (maximal tumor extension 12 – 30 mm) could be resected safely using this method. No complications occurred and follow-up was unremarkable. On histology, all tumors were resected completely (one gastrointestinal stromal tumor, five leiomyomas). The technique had to be modified in one patient with an aberrant pancreas. Conclusions: SET is a promising new technique for selected submucosal tumors in the esophagus and cardia up to a size of 4 cm and should be studied further.
Market Manipulation and Suspicious Stock Recommendations on Social Media

Social media can help investors gather and share information about stock markets. However, it also presents opportunities for fraudsters to spread false or misleading statements in the marketplace. Analyzing millions of messages sent on the social media platform Twitter about small capitalization firms, we find that an abnormally high message activity on social media is associated with a large price increase on the event day and followed by a sharp price reversal over the next week. Our findings are consistent with the patterns of a pump-and-dump scheme, where fraudsters use social media to temporarily inflate the price of small capitalization stocks. To differentiate between the effects of overoptimism by noise traders and the illegal gains of a pump-and-dump scheme, we investigate social interactions between Twitter users through the use of network theory. We identify several clusters of users with suspicious online activity (stock promoters, fake accounts, automatic postings), favoring the manipulation/promotion hypothesis over the behavioral hypothesis.
Radiological Incidence and Course of Bronchopulmonary Dysplasia in 100 Consecutive Low Birth Weight Neonates

Bronchopulmonary dysplasia (BPD) is an important cause of chronic respiratory distress in low birth infants. The radiological incidence and course of BPD were assessed in 100 consecutive low birth weight infants. Chest radiographs were examined on admission, at the ages of 3 days, 7 days, 2 weeks and 4 weeks and at later follow-up until the examinations were normal. Twelve of the children died. The severity and typical radiological abnormalities of BPD were assessed. Among the children alive, there were 26 with BPD (29.5%). The BPD incidence was highest between the age of 2 weeks and 3 months (18–21%) declining to 3.4% at the age of 12 months. Radiological evidence of BPD was already seen at the age of 2 weeks in 16 of the children. Most cases (73%) had their maximum BPD score at the age of 1 to 3 months. The normalisation of the chest radiography occurred predominantly in the age between 3 and 6 months. The most frequent underlying condition in BPD was hyaline membrane disease in 81%.
Brain stem blood flow, pupillary response, and outcome in patients with severe head injuries.

OBJECTIVE Acute pupillary dilation in a head-injured patient is a neurological emergency. Pupil dilation is thought to be the result of uncal herniation causing mechanical compression of the IIIrd cranial nerve and subsequent brain stem compromise. However, not all patients with herniation have fixed and dilated pupils, and not all patients with nonreactive, enlarged pupils have uncal herniation. Therefore, we have tested an alternative hypothesis that a decrease in brain stem blood flow (BBF) is a more frequent cause of mydriasis and brain stem symptomatology after severe head injury. We determined the relation of BBF to outcome and pupillary response in patients with severe head injuries. METHODS One hundred sixty-two patients with a Glasgow Coma Scale score of 8 or less underwent stable xenon computed tomographic blood flow determination at the level of the superior colliculus, and this blood flow was correlated with pupillary features, intracranial pressure, computed tomographic scan pathology, and outcome. RESULTS A BBF of less than 40 ml/100 g/min was significantly associated with poor outcome (P < 0.009). In patients with bilaterally nonreactive pupils, the BBF was 30.5+/-16.8 ml/100 g/min, and in those with normally reactive pupils, the BBF was 43.8+/-18.7 ml/100 g/min (P < 0.001). Intracranial pressure and the presence of a brain stem lesion observed on the computed tomographic scan did not correlate with BBF, pupillary size, or reactivity. Unfavorable outcome at 12 months was directly related to age (P = 0.062) and inversely related to pupillary responsiveness (P = 0.0006), pupil size (P = 0.005), and BBF of less than 40 ml/100 g/min (P = 0.009). CONCLUSION These findings suggest that pupillary dilation is associated with decreased BBF and that ischemia, rather than mechanical compression of the IIIrd cranial nerve, is an important causal factor. More important, pupil dilation may be an indicator of ischemia of the brain stem. If cerebral blood flow and cerebral perfusion pressure can be rapidly restored in the patient with severe head injury who has dilated pupils, the prognosis may be good.
Shackling the Identification Police?

This article examines potential tradeoffs between research methods in answering important questions versus providing more cleanly identified estimates on problems that are potentially of lesser interest. The strengths and limitations of experimental and quasi‐experimental methods are discussed and it is postulated that confidence in the results obtained may sometimes be overvalued compared to the importance of the topics addressed. The consequences of this are modeled and several suggestions are provided regarding possible steps to encourage greater focus on questions of fundamental importance.
Nowcasting economic activity with electronic payments data: A predictive modeling approach

Economic activity nowcasting (i.e. making current-period estimates) is convenient because most traditional measures of economic activity come with substantial lags. We aim at nowcasting ISE, a short-term economic activity indicator in Colombia. Inputs are ISE’s lags and a dataset of payments made with electronic transfers and cheques among individuals, firms, and the central government. Under a predictive modeling approach, we employ a nonlinear autoregressive exogenous neural network model. Results suggest that our choice of inputs and predictive method enable us to nowcast economic activity with fair accuracy. Also, we validate that electronic payments data significantly reduces the nowcast error of a benchmark non-linear autoregressive neural network model. Nowcasting economic activity from electronic payment instruments data not only contributes to agents’ decision making and economic modeling, but also supports new research paths on how to use retail payments data for appending current models.
Testing for pediatric obstructive sleep apnea when health care resources are rationed.

IMPORTANCE Evaluation of pediatric obstructive sleep apnea in resource-limited health care systems necessitates testing modalities that are accurate and more cost-effective than polysomnography. OBJECTIVE To trace the clinical pathway of children referred to our sleep laboratory for possible obstructive sleep apnea who were evaluated using nocturnal pulse oximetry and the McGill Oximetry Score. DESIGN, SETTING, AND PARTICIPANTS This was a retrospective cohort study of children 2 to 17 years old with suspected obstructive sleep apnea due to adenotonsillar hypertrophy, conducted at a Canadian pediatric tertiary care center. INTERVENTIONS Nocturnal pulse oximetry studies scored using the McGill Oximetry Score. MAIN OUTCOMES AND MEASURES For children who underwent adenotonsillectomy we determined the length of time from oximetry to surgery, postoperative length of stay, postoperative readmissions, and emergency department visits in the month following surgery and major surgical complications. We analyzed these outcomes by oximetry result. We compared the cost savings of our diagnostic approach with those of other diagnostic models. RESULTS Among 362 children, the median age was 4.8 years (interquartile range, 3.3-6.7), and 61% were male. Two-hundred-sixty-six (73%) and 96 (27%), respectively, had inconclusive and abnormal oximetry results. Eighty of 96 of children with abnormal oximetry results (83%) and 81 of 266 children with inconclusive oximetry results (30%) underwent adenotonsillectomy. Thirty-three of 266 children (12%) underwent further evaluation with polysomnography; of 14 diagnosed as having OSA, 12 underwent adenotonsillectomy. Children with abnormal oximetry results were operated on soonest after testing and triaged based on oximetry results. No child with an inconclusive oximetry result required hospitalization for more than 1 night postoperatively; 14% of children (11 of 80) with an abnormal oximetry result required hospitalization for 2 or 3 nights (χ2 = 12.0; P = .001). Rates of readmissions and emergency department visits were low, irrespective of oximetry results (whether inconclusive or abnormal). We show that our oximetry-based diagnostic approach results in considerable cost savings compared with a polysomnography-for-all approach. CONCLUSIONS AND RELEVANCE Oximetry studies evaluated with the McGill Oximetry Score expedite diagnosis and treatment of children with adenotonsillar hypertrophy referred for suspected sleep-disordered breathing. When resources for testing for sleep-disordered breathing are rationed or severely limited, our proposed diagnostic approach can help maximize cost-savings and allows sleep laboratories to focus resources on medically complex children requiring polysomnographic evaluation of suspected sleep disorders.
A Video-Based System for Vehicle Speed Measurement in Urban Roadways

In this paper, we propose a nonintrusive video-based system for vehicle speed measurement in urban roadways. Our system uses an optimized motion detector and a novel text detector to efficiently locate vehicle license plates in image regions containing motion. Distinctive features are then selected on the license plate regions, tracked across multiple frames, and rectified for perspective distortion. Vehicle speed is measured by comparing the trajectories of the tracked features to known real-world measures. The proposed system was tested on a data set containing approximately 5 h of videos recorded in different weather conditions by a single low-cost camera, with associated ground truth speeds obtained by an inductive loop detector. Our data set is freely available for research purposes. The measured speeds have an average error of −0.5 km/h, staying inside the [−3, +2] km/h limit determined by regulatory authorities in several countries in over 96.0% of the cases. To the authors' knowledge, there are no other video-based systems able to achieve results comparable to those produced by an inductive loop detector. We also show that our license plate detector outperforms two other published state-of-the-art text detectors, as well as a well-known license plate detector, achieving a precision of 0.93 and a recall of 0.87.
Overexpression, solubilization and refolding of a genetically engineered derivative of the penicillin‐binding protein 3 of Escherichia coli K12

Replacement of the amino‐terminal 40‐amino‐acid region of the 588‐ammo‐acid precursor of the membrane‐bound penicillin‐binding protein 3 (P6P3) by the decapeptide MKGKEFQAWI was carried out by altering the amino‐coding end of the ftsl gene. Insertion of the modified gene into a runaway‐replication plasmid under the control of a fused Ipp promoter and lac promoter/operator, resulted in the overexpression by Escherichia coli of the modified PBP3 (designated PBP3**) in the cytoplasm. About 80% of the accumulated PBP3** underwent sequestration in the form of insoluble protein granules that were isolated by cell breakage or cell lysis. After selective removal of contaminants by an EDTA‐lysozyme/DNase (de‐oxyribonuclease)/Nonidet extraction, treatment of the granules with guanidinium chloride followed by dialysis against buffer containing 0.5 M NaCI yielded a refolded, water‐soluble PBP3**, which, upon chromatography on Superose 12, exhibited the expected 60000 molecular mass. The refolded PBP3** bound benzytpenicillin in a 1 to 1 molar ratio, was highly sensitive to aztreonam and showed the same degree of thermostability, in terms of penicillin‐binding capacity, as the parent, membrane‐bound PBP3, suggesting that protein refolding occurred with formation of the correct intramolecular interactions. Two to three mg of refolded PBP** can be obtained from 1 litre of culture of the overproducing strain.
Does income inequality affect environmental sustainability? Evidence from the ASEAN-5

ABSTRACT Income gap among the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) has widened, while environment degradation has worsened since the 1990s. Using the Gini coefficient as a measure of income inequality, this paper attempts to examine whether the increasing income gap would have adverse effects on environmental sustainability and the causality relationship between income inequality and environmental sustainability. Using data from the World Bank and the Standardized World Income Inequality Database, this paper deployed the Granger causality and panel regression tests to examine these relationships on the ASEAN members of Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Thailand and Vietnam over the period of 1985–2015. The empirical results indicate that bi-directional causality relationship between income inequality and environmental sustainability exists among the bottom 40%, but the causality relationship results for the overall sample are mixed. The evidence shows that policy-makers in these countries should reduce income inequality to strengthen environmental sustainability.
Comparisons of Amplified Fragment Length Polymorphism (AFLP), Microsatellite, and Isoenzyme Markers: Population Genetics of Aedes aegypti (Diptera: Culicidae) from Phnom Penh (Cambodia)

Abstract Aedes aegypti is the main vector of dengue viruses responsible for dengue hemorrhagic fever, which has become a major public health concern in tropical countries. Because vaccines are still under development, dengue prevention depends entirely on vector control. Knowledge of gene dispersal patterns is required to develop efficient vector control strategies. Here we report the use of amplified fragment length polymorphism (AFLP) to infer the genetic structure of Ae. aegypti populations at a local levels (Phnom Penh, Cambodia). The amount of variation and patterns of gene flow detected are compared with those obtained with two other more widely used markers, isoenzymes and microsatellites. The pattern of differentiation depicted by AFLP data were confirmed by comparison of the Fst values of the three markers. Even though Fst values estimated with AFLP markers are three- to fivefold higher than those estimated with isoenzymes or microsatellites, these different markers reveal the same population structure. This technique is useful for population genetic studies of Ae. aegypti and is especially advantageous when few individuals specimens are available because of the ability to AFLP to simultaneously amplify large numbers of polymorphic DNA fragments.
Calcium electroporation for treatment of cutaneous metastases; a randomized double-blinded phase II study, comparing the effect of calcium electroporation with electrochemotherapy

Abstract Background: Calcium electroporation is a novel anticancer treatment, which utilizes high voltage pulses to permeabilize cell membranes and expose the cell to supraphysiological doses of calcium. Preclinical studies on calcium electroporation have shown strikingly high tumor response with cell necrosis. Calcium electroporation builds on the treatment electrochemotherapy, where chemotherapeutic drugs, mostly bleomycin, are internalized by electroporation. This double-blinded randomized study compared calcium electroporation to electrochemotherapy in terms of objective response measured 6 months after treatment. Methods: Seven patients with a total of 47 cutaneous metastases from breast cancer and malignant melanoma were included in the protocol. A total of 37 metastases were randomized and evaluated for response, another 10 metastases were used for biopsy. This was a non-inferiority trial and metastases were randomized individually in each patient to either intratumoral calcium or bleomycin followed by application of electric pulses to tumor site. All metastases were treated once, and after 6-months of follow-up, the randomization code was revealed. Results: Objective response of calcium electroporation was 72% (13/18) with complete response in 66% (12/18). For electrochemotherapy, objective response was 84% (16/19) with complete response in 68% (13/19). There was no statistically significant difference between the two treatments (p = 0.5). After 1 year, only three out of 25 metastases had relapsed. Ulceration, itching and exudation were reported slightly more frequently in metastases treated with bleomycin, and hyperpigmentation was only seen in metastases treated with bleomycin. Conclusion: This study shows that calcium electroporation is feasible and effective in patients with cutaneous metastases.
Do aerosols influence surface and satellite observations of total cloud cover over China

In this study, we tested the influence of aerosols on surface and satellite observations of total cloud cover (TCC). The surface-observed TCC (TCCsur) and satellite-retrieved TCC (TCCsat) shows a good agreement over China and difference between them (TCCDIFF) are mostly within the -10% to 10% range. The monthly mean TCCDIFF, AOD and visibility have a consistent spatial pattern and the negative TCCDIFF appears mostly in high AOD and low visibility regions. As expected, TCC difference would increase as aerosol loading increases. We found that for negative TCCDIFF (MODIS reports more clouds than Synop), both the frequency and range increase as the AOD increases from 0 to 0.8. Compared with the positive TCCDIFF, negative ones show a more clear relation with aerosol loading. When the aerosol loading increases, there are more significant difference cases with TCCDIFF less than -20%.
Role of the color-opponent and broad-band channels in vision

Abstract The functions of the primate color-opponent and broad-band channels were assessed by examining the visual capacities of rhesus monkeys following selective lesions of parvocellular and magnocellular lateral geniculate nucleus, which respectively relay these two channels to the cortex. Parvocellular lesions impaired color vision, high spatial-frequency form vision, and fine stereopsis. Magnocellular lesions impaired high temporal- frequency flicker and motion perception but produced no deficits in stereopsis. Low spatial-frequency form vision, stereopsis, and brightness perception were unaffected by either lesion. Much as the rods and cones of the retina can be thought of as extending the range of vision in the intensity domain, we propose that the color-opponent channel extends visual capacities in the wavelength and spatial-frequency domains whereas the broad-band channel extends them in the temporal domain.