Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Antenatal exposure to chorioamnionitis affects lipid metabolism in 7-week-old sheep

Antenatal exposure of the fetus to inflammation may alter postnatal organ development. In our previous work, we demonstrated that the fetal liver is involved in the systemic inflammation associated with chorioamnionitis, leading to metabolic changes. On the basis of these findings, we hypothesized that chorioamnionitis can lead to postnatal inflammation-related liver injury and disturbed lipid metabolism. Chorioamnionitis was induced in sheep by intra-amniotic injection of lipopolysaccharide (LPS) or saline at 90, 100 and 110 days of gestation. Liver homeostasis and lipid metabolism were analyzed at term and at 7 weeks of age. At term, hepatic T-lymphocytes and apoptotic hepatocytes were increased. In addition, hepatic cholesterol and triglyceride levels were decreased in LPS-exposed animals compared with controls. At 7 weeks of age, no hepatic inflammation could be detected. However, liver triglycerides and plasma cholesterol levels were increased in LPS-exposed animals relative to controls. The changes in lipid levels at 7 weeks of age were associated with increased leptin receptor mRNA levels, increased lipid peroxidation, increased expression of cytochrome c oxidase subunit 4 as a marker for mitochondrial function and increased circulating ceramide levels. These findings demonstrate that chorioamnionitis-mediated antenatal inflammation-related liver disturbances have long-lasting postnatal effects on lipid metabolism.
Transformation of human embryonic fibroblasts by BK virus, BK virus DNA and a subgenomic BK virus DNA fragment.

Human embryonic fibroblasts (HEF) have been transformed by BK virus (BKV) DNA and by u.v. -inactivated or live BKV alone or in association with methyl-cholanthrene (MTC). The transformed cells produced BKV large T and small t antigens as well as the cellular 53 kdal protein, detected by immunofluorescence and immunoprecipitation. After an initial phase of lysis and virus shedding, virus or its coat protein antigen could not be detected in transformed cells. All human transformed cell lines could be superinfected by BKV or BKV DNA, but their susceptibility to superinfection was 20- to 500-fold lower than normal HEF. BKV could be rescued by fusion of transformed cells with normal HEF or Vero cells and by transfection of normal HEF with total DNA and DNA extracted from the Hirt supernatant of transformed cells. Blot hybridization analysis of DNA from transformed cells showed a considerable amount of free BKV DNA in monomeric and polymeric forms. Integrated BKV DNA was absent in most cell lines but present in only small amounts in BKV-transformed cells treated with MTC. Analysis of free BKV DNA with various restriction endonucleases and by blot hybridization showed that monomeric forms were complete BKV genomes, whereas polymers contained both complete and defective or rearranged BKV DNA. Transformation of HEF was also obtained with a 3.7 kilobase (kb) fragment of the BKV genome, produced by sequential digestion of BKV with the restriction endonucleases HhaI and EcoRI. This fragment extends clockwise on the virus genome from 0 to 72.2 map units and contains the entire early region. Blot hybridization analysis of cells transformed by the HhaI/EcoRI 3.7 kb fragment showed two separate integrations of BKV sequences without free virus DNA.
A novel approach for modeling wind turbine generators for reliability analysis

This paper presents a novel algorithm to model wind turbine generators for reliability evaluation. The model is based on dividing the speed power curve into four states. The range of each state is determined based on the ratio between the output power and the rated power of the wind turbine generator. The mean time to fail and mean time to repair are calculated for each state. The state duration approach is integrated with Monte Carlo simulation method to estimate the expected values of mean time to fail and mean time to repair of the wind generator under study. A comparison between recorded output power of a wind turbine generator and the obtained one through the use of the proposed approach is presented. The satisfactory agreement between the two results justifies the excellence of the proposed mathematical model.
Pain and its clinical associations in individuals with cystic fibrosis

Pain is recognized as a clinical complication in cystic fibrosis (CF), but the prevalence, characteristics and clinical associations of this co-morbidity have not been systematically reviewed. Electronic searches of six databases were performed. For inclusion in phase 1, studies reported a pain prevalence rate in CF and/or its clinical associations. For phase 2, included studies reported the measurement properties of validity, reliability and responsiveness of an instrument assessing pain in CF. Two independent reviewers rated the quality of evidence (phase 1) and the measurement properties using the 4-point COnsensus-based Standards for the selection of health Measurement INstruments (COSMIN) checklist (phase 2). Of the 400 studies identified in the literature, 16 met the inclusion criteria for phase 1 and 5 for phase 2. The mean (SD) quality score (of 16) was 11.8 (2.3). The pooled prevalence of pain in adults with CF was 77% (95% confidence interval (CI): 57%–92%) and in children was 42% (95% CI: 0%–91%). Common regions of pain included back, abdomen, chest and limbs. In children and adults, pain was associated with a poorer quality of life (QOL) and significant interference with treatments. Measurement properties of three instruments (Brief Pain Inventory, Multidimensional Pain Inventory, Daily Pain Assessment-CF) were construct validity and criterion-predictive validity, with variable findings based on ‘fair’ to ‘good’ quality studies. Pain is a common problem in both children and adults with CF. It has negative clinical associations with QOL and the ability to successfully undertake treatment. Further research exploring the measurement properties of instruments assessing pain is required.
Neural pathways in tactile object recognition

Objective: To define further the brain regions involved in tactile object recognition using functional MRI (fMRI) techniques. Background: The neural substrates involved in tactile object recognition (TOR) have not been elucidated. Studies of nonhuman primates and humans suggest that basic motor and somatosensory mechanisms are involved at a peripheral level; however, the mechanisms of higher order object recognition have not been determined. Methods: The authors investigated 11 normal volunteers utilizing fMRI techniques in an attempt to determine the neural pathways involved in TOR. Each individual performed a behavioral paradigm with the activated condition involving identification of objects by touch, with identification of rough/smooth as the control. Results: Data suggest that in a majority of individuals, TOR involves the calcarine and extrastriatal cortex, inferior parietal lobule, inferior frontal gyrus, and superior frontal gyrus–polar region. Conclusions: TOR may utilize visual systems to access an internal object representation. The parietal cortices and inferior frontal regions may be involved in a concomitant lexical strategy of naming the object being examined. Frontal polar activation likely serves a role in visuospatial working memory or in recognizing unusual representations of objects. Overall, these findings suggest that TOR could involve a network of cortical regions subserving somatosensory, motor, visual, and, at times, lexical processing. The primary finding suggests that in this normal study population, the visual cortices may be involved in the topographic spatial processing of TOR.
Influence of time and processing mismatches between phase and envelope signals in linearization systems using envelope elimination and restoration, application to Hiperlan2

This paper is a theoretical and experimental study of the influence of time and processing mismatches between the envelope and the phase of an OFDM in an envelope elimination and restoration (EER) linearization system. We give the theoretical expression of the power spectral density of the distorted signal in the case without intersymbol interference at the emitter. In the general case, we give the average power of the distortion as a function of the time mismatch. We also propose an approximation of the distorted signal as a delayed version of the original signal, that explains the observed rotations of the constellations at the receiver on the different OFDM carrier. Others effects of EER principle are also studied, such as limitation of envelope and phase bandwidth and non-linearity of the envelope restoration command.
Income Effect on Labor Outcomes for People Living in Poverty: the case of PROGRESA

This paper studies the income effect of cash transfers on adult labor outcomes. I use data of PROGRESA, a large cash transfer program in Mexico that provides money to households subject to the condition that school aged kids go to school. I focus on a subsample of the eligibles for whom the conditionality is not a constraint. This allows me to shut-down the substitution effect that the conditionality of the transfer may induce. In practice, it is as if PROGRESA was an unconditional cash transfer for this subpopulation. Contrary to standard beliefs, I find that the income effect on labor outcomes is not negative.
The influence of shadow IT usage on knowledge sharing

Employees increasingly use unauthorized technologies at the workplace, which is referred to as shadow IT. Previous research identifies that shadow IT is often collaborative systems used by employees to collaborate, communicate, and share content with coworkers, clients, or external partners. Based on these previous findings, we propose that shadow IT usage may positively influence organizational knowledge sharing (KS), which is central to knowledge management practices. Thus, this research aims to (1) identify the types and occurrences of shadow IT used by employee in the workplace, (2) investigate how KS (donation and collection) occurs via shadow IT, and (3) investigate how shadow IT influences KS. This is an exploratory study based on a qualitative approach. We performed interviews with IT users to answer the research question. Our findings identify that most of the interviewees use collaborative systems and mobile devices unauthorized by the IT department to share knowledge and communicate with their coworkers. The most common IT cited are WhatsApp and Skype, as well as solutions to store and share content, like Google Drive. In addition, several employees reported using shadow IT mainly because organizations do not provide suitable tools to communicate efficiently. We conclude that shadow IT can facilitate KS, primarily when people are geographically distributed since these unauthorized systems provide real-time communication. Our theoretical contribution is to expand current knowledge about shadow IT and reinforce the importance and prevalence of informal and decentralized KS within organizations. As for the practical implications, our article can help IT managers to better understand the usage of shadow IT and how they can balance the risk and benefits of this phenomenon.
Recognition of signed expressions observed by Kinect Sensor

In this paper we present an approach to recognition of signed expressions based on visual sequences obtained with Kinect sensor. Two variants of time series representing the expressions are considered: the first based on skeletal images of the body, and the second describing shape and position of hands extracted as skin coloured regions. Time series characterising isolated Polish sign language words are examined using three clustering algorithms and popular clustering quality indices which reveal natural gesture data division and indicate gesture samples difficult in further recognition. Ten-fold cross-validation recognition tests for the k-nearest neighbour classifier with dynamic time warping technique are shown. Recognition rate obtained with the skeletal image based features were improved from 89% to 95% by changing gesture representation from time series to a vector containing pairwise distances between gesture samples. The approach with skin colour based features involving utilisation of depth information of each pixel obtained by Kinect yielded 98% recognition rate.
Nightlife sector from a gender point of view: The case of Ibiza

Abstract Tourism depends largely on the good will of local inhabitants and over the past decades many studies have been conducted concerning the attitudes of residents towards tourism. There is not much academic literature concerning nightlife, and in most cases the nightclubs are an element of a context in which another phenomenon is analyzed. There is a limited amount of literature analyzing the differences between men and women in their role as residents of a tourist destination, and there are also no studies concerning the attitudes of women towards nightlife. This paper intends to provide a first study of the attitudes of women towards the nightclubs, in the case of Ibiza Island. The analysis of the attitudes towards nightlife was carried out by means of an array of items integrated into a broader survey on attitudes of residents towards tourism. A total of 418 valid questionnaires were obtained, 266 of them were completed by women. Although the general view of the sector is negative, women are much more critical about the island’s nightlife. When breaking down the sample of women it can be seen that one part of women has similar opinions to those of men (Moderates), mainly those that depend economically on the sector, but the other part has very contrary opinions (Haters). Women have a more conservative and adverse stance towards risk than men, and they are more contrary to offers that may have a significant negative impact on local society, as would be the case for nightclubs.
The impact of body mass index on renal functional outcomes following minimally invasive partial nephrectomy.

OBJECTIVE To assess the impact of body mass index (BMI) on perioperative and renal functional outcomes in patients undergoing minimally invasive partial nephrectomy (MIPN). MATERIALS AND METHODS In our IRB-approved, prospectively maintained clinical database, we identified 1206 patients who underwent kidney surgery from 2002 to 2013. Estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) was obtained at baseline and each follow-up visit. From this group, patients who underwent MIPN with more than 12 months of follow-up were selected. Patients were separated into 4 cohorts based on BMI: normal weight (<25 kg/m(2)), preobese (25-30 kg/m(2)), obese class 1 (30-35 kg/m(2)), and obese class ≥2 (>35 kg/m(2)). Change in eGFR was compared across demographic and clinical variables through linear and logistic regression models. RESULTS A total of 235 patients met inclusion criteria with median follow-up of 29 months (interquartile range [IQR] 19, 45). There were no differences in demographic, perioperative, or pathologic features between BMI groups. While controlling for gender, race, Charlson comorbidity score, tumor size, and ischemia time, obese class 1 (odds ratio [OR] 4.68, p=0.019), obese class ≥2 (OR 4.27, p=0.033), and age (OR 1.06, p=0.014) were associated with increased risk of CKD stage ≥3; however, higher baseline eGFR (OR 0.91, p<0.001) was associated with a reduced risk of CKD stage ≥3. While controlling for the same variables, increasing BMI was associated with a significant absolute reduction in eGFR at 1 year (0.38 mL/minute/1.73 m(2) reduction in GFR per 1 kg/m(2) increase in BMI, p=0.009). CONCLUSIONS MIPN is technically feasible in obese patients with similar perioperative outcomes to nonobese patients. BMI is an independent risk factor for worsening kidney function following MIPN.
Mammalian heparanase: involvement in cancer metastasis, angiogenesis and normal development.

Cleavage of heparan sulphate proteoglycans (HSPGs) affects the integrity and functional state of tissues and thereby fundamental normal and pathological phenomena involving cell migration and response to changes in the extracellular microenvironment. Heparanase, degrading heparan sulphate (HS) at specific intrachain sites, is synthesized as a latent approximately 65 kDa protein that is processed at the N-terminus into a highly active approximately 50 kDa form. The heparanase enzyme is preferentially expressed in human tumours and its overexpression in low-metastatic tumour cells confers a highly invasive phenotype in experimental animals. Heparanase also releases angiogenic factors and accessory fragments of HS from the tumour microenvironment and induces an angiogenic response in vivo. Heparanase may thus facilitate tumour cell invasion, vascularization and survival in a given microenvironment, all critical events in cancer progression. These observations, the anticancerous effect of heparanase-inhibiting molecules, and the unexpected identification of a single predominant functional heparanase suggest that the enzyme is a promising target for drug development.
Percutaneous Drainage and/or Nephrectomy in the Treatment of Emphysematous Pyelonephritis

OBJECTIVES To assess the current and past literature relating to the differential treatment of emphysematous pyelonephritis (EPN). Some of the newer literature suggests percutaneous drainage (PCD), as compared to the standard nephrectomy, as a better modality. Since these two may complement each other, we sought to seek indications when to perform each treatment. METHODS Medline and MD Consult were used for our journal review. Ten articles, ranging from 1980 to 2000, were chosen, which covered 162 patients. The criteria for selecting these articles were study size (n < 3 were excluded) and non-overlapping of patient information. Patient data was then used to certain risks of the various treatment modalities. RESULTS Due to the lack of randomization of the studies, it is difficult to say whether PCD is superior to nephrectomy or not. It appears to be that each treatment may complement each other, and that treatment should be individualized based on the severity of the EPN and the medical condition of the patient. PCD though appears to be acceptable for use in the initial phases of the disease. However, long-term data is lacking to corroborate the overall benefit of PCD compared to nephrectomy. CONCLUSION PCD could be utilized initially in some cases of EPN if certain conditions exist. This treatment may complement nephrectomy if the need exists, and therefore, treatment may be staged. Truly randomized studies need to be done to determine if one treatment is better than the other, and provide documented long-term follow-up of these patients.
Fast permutation tests and related methods, for association between rare variants and binary outcomes

In large‐scale genetic studies, a primary aim is to test for an association between genetic variants and a disease outcome. The variants of interest are often rare and appear with low frequency among subjects. In this situation, statistical tests based on standard asymptotic results do not adequately control the type I error rate, especially if the case : control ratio is unbalanced. In this article, we propose the use of permutation and approximate unconditional tests for testing association with rare variants. We use novel analytical calculations to efficiently approximate the true type I error rate under common study designs, and in numerical studies show that the proposed classes of tests significantly improve upon standard testing methods. We also illustrate our methods in data from a recent case–control study for genetic causes of a severe side effect of a common drug treatment.
Distribution of Dehalococcoidia in the Anaerobic Deep Water of a Remote Meromictic Crater Lake and Detection of Dehalococcoidia-Derived Reductive Dehalogenase Homologous Genes

Here we describe the natural occurrence of bacteria of the class Dehalococcoidia (DEH) and their diversity at different depths in anoxic waters of a remote meromictic lake (Lake Pavin) using 16S rRNA gene amplicon sequencing and quantitative PCR. Detected DEH are phylogenetically diverse and the majority of 16S rRNA sequences have less than 91% similarity to previously isolated DEH 16S rRNA sequences. To predict the metabolic potential of detected DEH subgroups and to assess if they encode genes to transform halogenated compounds, we enriched DEH-affiliated genomic DNA by using a specific-gene capture method and probes against DEH-derived 16S rRNA genes, reductive dehalogenase genes and known insertion sequences. Two reductive dehalogenase homologous sequences were identified from DEH-enriched genomic DNA, and marker genes in the direct vicinity confirm that gene fragments were derived from DEH. The low sequence similarity with known reductive dehalogenase genes suggests yet-unknown catabolic potential in the anoxic zone of Lake Pavin.
Analysis of Mode Competition in a 2-D Square Lattice Photonic Crystal Laser With Transverse Magnetic Polarization

This paper describes an analysis of multimode nonlinear operation of a 2-D square lattice photonic crystal (PC) laser considering mode competition. The model is based on the semiclassical approach and coupled-mode theory developed for transverse magnetic laser modes. It is showed that for the PC laser, a single-mode operation is dominant within a wide range of the coupling coefficients.
Time passes slowly for patients with depressive state

Twenty‐three depressive inpatients and the same number of matched non‐psychiatric controls were examined on three occasions ‐ following admission, 14 days after, and 28 days after the admission ‐ by administering a self‐rating questionnaire of time awareness and Hamilton's Rating Scale for Depression (HRS). The patients were found to feel time passing slowly. This was correlated with the severity of depression expressed as the total HRS score. No significant differences emerged between diagnostic groups, namely endogenous depression, neurotic depression, and schizophrenia or paranoid state with depressive symptoms. Correlations of the time awareness with symptoms listed in the HRS also denied a specific relationship of time awareness to specific diagnoses. The subjective feeling of slow time flow reflects, therefore, the depth of depressive state in general, which is nevertheless not specific to any diagnostic subcategory.
Encoding and decoding neural population signals for two attributes of a stimulus

Stimulus is encoded by neural populations and then the brain can decide what happens in the practical situations from the population patterns of neural spiking. It is meaningful to implement computations by making use of the response of population of neurons to determine a certain stimulus or to obtain the values of related parameters. Neural populations cannot only encode a single attribute of a stimulus but also can encode various properties of a stimulus simultaneously. For example, by looking at a moving object we can estimate the direction and speed of it, which shows that the response of a population of optic neurons contain information about both the direction and speed. In this paper we present a simple model for reading neural population signals for the two attributes of a stimulus. We use Poisson distribution to describe the encoding process of neural populations and then to extract the values of the stimulus by Bayesian methods. We demonstrate that the nervous population can encode two properties of a stimulus and extract the two kinds of estimated values of the stimulus at the same time. The results show that we can obtain perfect estimates of two attributes of a stimulus from our simple model. Finally, we use Fisher information matrix to examine the influence of the tuning widths on the encoding efficiency.