Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Childhood cancer in relation to indicators of magnetic fields from ground current sources.

This study examines childhood cancer risk in relation to certain factors likely to indicate magnetic field exposure from ground currents in the home. Substantial ground currents are most often found in homes having conductive plumbing, in which an uninterrupted metallic path in the water pipes and water main connects the grounding systems of neighboring houses. Information on plumbing conductivity was obtained from water suppliers for the homes of 347 cases and 277 controls identified in an earlier study of magnetic field exposure and childhood cancer in the Denver area. An increased cancer risk was observed for children in homes with conductive plumbing: The matched odds ratio was 1.72 (1.03-2.88) and increased to 3.00 (1.33-6.76) when analysis was limited to cases and controls who were residentially stable from the reference date to the study date. A measurement metric likely to indicate active ground currents (measurements having above-median intensity and a nonvertical orientation of < 55 degrees from the horizontal) was identified. In contrast to measured field intensity alone, for which only modest associations with cancer have been reported, this metric shows a high and significant cancer risk [matched O.R. = 4.0 (1.6-10.0)] consistent over a range of intensity and angle cutpoints. Such elevated nonvertical fields were also associated with cancer in an independent data set, which was gathered to study adult nonlymphocytic leukemia in the Seattle area. The associations of cancer with conductive plumbing and with this exposure metric both suggest that cancer risk is increased among persons with elevated magnetic field exposure from residential ground currents.
Visual Tracking by Integrating Fast Ensemble Proposal and Sparse Verification

Sparse representation has been exploited for visual object tracking to yield impressive performance in recent years. However, sparse models in tracking are commonly limited by two intrinsic challenges, i.e., the high computational cost that makes it impractical in real-world applications and few reliable target observations available in dictionary initialization that renders it hard to handle great target dynamics in complicated scenarios. In this paper, we propose a novel object tracking method to address these problems. Our method integrates fast ensemble proposal and sparse verification, and the two complementarily work in the following way: The target proposals are fast generated and filtered to reduce computational load and provide evidence reference for later sparse verification, and the spare model updates its dictionary dynamically with the target observations verified by fused evidences. Extensive experimental results demonstrate that the proposed method handles the aforementioned problems with impressive success and that it outperforms state-of-the-art methods in various challenging scenarios.
Impaired synaptic scaling in mouse hippocampal neurones expressing NMDA receptors with reduced calcium permeability

NMDA receptors (NMDARs) play a crucial role for the acquisition of functional AMPARs during Hebbian synaptic plasticity at cortical and hippocampal synapses over a short timescale of seconds to minutes. In contrast, homeostatic synaptic plasticity can occur over longer timescales of hours to days. The induction mechanisms of this activity‐dependent synaptic scaling are poorly understood but are assumed to be independent of NMDAR signalling in the cortex. Here we investigated in the hippocampus a potential role of NMDAR‐mediated Ca2+ influx for synaptic scaling of AMPA currents by genetic means. The Ca2+ permeability of NMDARs was reduced by selective postnatal expression in principal neurones of mouse forebrain half of the NR1 subunits with an amino acid substitution at the critical channel site (N598R). This genetic manipulation did not reduce the total charge transfer via NMDARs in nucleated patches (somatic) and at synaptic sites. In contrast, the current amplitude and the charge carried through AMPARs were substantially reduced at somatic and synaptic sites in juvenile and adult mutants, indicating persistent downscaling of AMPA responses. Smaller and less frequent AMPA miniature currents in the mutant demonstrated a postsynaptic locus of this down‐regulation. Afferent innervation and release probability were unchanged at CA3‐to‐CA1 synapses of mutants, as judged from input‐output and minimal stimulation experiments. Our results indicate that NMDAR‐mediated Ca2+ signalling is important for synaptic scaling of AMPA currents in the hippocampus in vivo.
Isolation, Characterization, cDNA Cloning, and Antimicrobial Properties of Two Distinct Subfamilies of α-Defensins from Rhesus Macaque Leukocytes

ABSTRACT Experiments to isolate and characterize rhesus macaque myeloid α-defensins (RMADs) were conducted. Seven RMAD peptides were isolated and sequenced, and the cDNAs encoding six of these peptides and one other α-defensin from bone marrow were also characterized. Four of the RMADs were found to be highly similar to human neutrophil α-defensins HNP-1 to HNP-3, while the remaining four peptides were much more similar to human enteric α-defensin HD-5. Two α-defensin pairs differed only by the presence or absence of an additional arginine at the amino termini of their mature peptides, indicative of alternate posttranslational processing. The primary translation products of RMAD-1 to -8 are 94- and 96-amino-acid prepropeptides that are highly similar to those of human α-defensins. Immunolocalization experiments revealed a granular cytoplasmic pattern in the cytoplasms of neutrophils, indistinguishable from the pattern observed after immunostaining of human myeloid α-defensins in polymorphonuclear leukocytes. Each of the purified peptides was tested for its in vitro activities against Staphylococcus aureus 502a,Listeria monocytogenes EGD, Escherichia coliML35, and Cryptococcus neoformans 271A. Several of the peptides were microbicidal for the gram-positive bacteria and C. neoformans at defensin concentrations in the range of 2 to 5 μM. All of the peptides were bacteriostatic against E. coli, but none were bactericidal for this organism. This study is the first to characterize the sequences and activities of α-defensins from nonhuman primates, data that should aid in delineating the role of these peptides in rhesus macaque host defense.
A System for Research Community Annotation

Community detection as an important task that allows understanding of complex networks has attracted much research attention. However, existing research stops at uncovering the community structures, from which the semantic meaning of individual communities cannot be inferred directly. This paper proposes to semantically annotate communities detected in a network. In particular, a system for annotating the research communities in a bibliographic network is developed. An unsupervised method is adopted to generate annotations according to three criteria, 1) the annotations should be semantically relevant with the community, 2) the annotations should be discriminative across communities, and 3) the annotations should have high topic coverage. The system shows that the generated annotations effectively enable the interpretation and understanding of large and various research communities, advancing existing research into community detection for community comprehension.
Exploring Parental and Staff Perceptions of the Family-Integrated Care Model: A Qualitative Focus Group Study

Background: Family-integrated care (FICare) is an innovative model of care developed at Mount Sinai Hospital, Canada, to better integrate parents into the team caring for their infant in the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU). The effects of FICare on neonatal outcomes and parental anxiety were assessed in an international multicenter randomized trial. As an Australian regional level 3 NICU that was randomized to the intervention group, we aimed to explore parent and staff perceptions of the FICare program in our dual occupancy NICU. Subjects and Design: This qualitative study took place in a level 3 NICU with 5 parent participants and 8 staff participants, using a post implementation review design. Methods: Parents and staff perceptions of FICare were explored through focus group methodology. Thematic content analysis was done on focus group transcripts. Results: Parents and staff perceived the FICare program to have had a positive impact on parental confidence and role attainment and thought that FICare improved parent-to-parent and parent-to-staff communication. Staff reported that nurses working with families in the program performed less hands-on care and spent more time educating and supporting parents. Implications for Practice: FICare may change current NICU practice through integrating and accepting parents as active members of the infant's care team. In addition, nurse's roles may transition from bedside carer to care coordinator, educating and supporting parents during their journey through the NICU. Implications for Research: Further research is needed to assess the long-term impact of FICare on neonates, parents, and staff.
Hemodynamic analysis of vascular stenting treatment outcome: computational fluid dynamics method vs optical flow method.

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE Computational fluid dynamics method (CFDM) and optical flow method (OFM) effectively provide the hemodynamic information based on the digital subtraction angiogram (DSA). However, the quantitative analysis in comparison of CFDM and OFM is still absent. The goal of this study is to apply CFDM and OFM in quantitative analysis of stenting treatment. MATERIAL AND METHOD A left carotid stenosis patient underwent stenting of percutaneous transluminal angioplasty was analyzed as an example. CFDM and OFM for hemodynamic analysis on digital subtraction angiography before and after stenting treatment were presented. RESULTS Improvement gains of blood flow velocities on left internal carotid artery after stenting treatment for different initial conditions on the common carotid artery were 1.91 ∼ 2.13, 1.62 ∼ 2.09, and 0.69 by CFDM with Newtonian and non-Newtonian fluids and OFM, respectively. With the CFDM analysis, the flow mapping by OFM using time resolved DSA data on the fly to estimate hemodynamic significance of a cervical carotid stenosis was explained. CONCLUSION Quantificative blood flow estimations by CFDM and OFM to evaluate the treatment outcomes to patient with carotid stenosis are practical. Both methods are able to provide quantitative information of blood flow for stenting treatment. It is advantagious to use both methods in treatment evaluation.
Research Note - A Cross-Category Model of Households' Incidence and Quantity Decisions

This paper advances the literature on multicategory demand models by simultaneously handling more than one purchase decision of the household. We propose a two-stage bivariate logit model of incidence and quantity outcomes in multiple categories. Our results show that cross-category promotional spillovers are asymmetric between the two product categories of bacon and eggs. The total retail profit responds more to bacon price than to egg price. Promoting bacon is found to have a bigger impact on egg profit than the impact of egg promotion on bacon profit. We decompose (1) the total retail profits, as well as (2) the cross-category profit impact of a price promotion, into its two components, and find that (1) 23% (67%) of the total retail profit impact of a promotion on bacon (eggs) arises on account of quantity effects, and (2) 40% (33%) of the increase in egg (bacon) profit from promoting bacon (eggs) is on account of quantity effects.
Uninformative memories will prevail: The storage of correlated representations and its consequences

Autoassociative networks were proposed in the 80's as simplified models of memory function in the brain, using recurrent connectivity with Hebbian plasticity to store patterns of neural activity that can be later recalled. This type of computation has been suggested to take place in the CA3 region of the hippocampus and at several levels in the cortex. One of the weaknesses of these models is their apparent inability to store correlated patterns of activity. We show, however, that a small and biologically plausible modification in the “learning rule” (associating to each neuron a plasticity threshold that reflects its popularity) enables the network to handle correlations. We study the stability properties of the resulting memories (in terms of their resistance to the damage of neurons or synapses), finding a novel property of autoassociative networks: not all memories are equally robust, and the most informative are also the most sensitive to damage. We relate these results to category‐specific effects in semantic memory patients, where concepts related to “non‐living things” are usually more resistant to brain damage than those related to “living things,” a phenomenon suspected to be rooted in the correlation between representations of concepts in the cortex.
Rola kredytu handlowego w finansowaniu przedsiębiorstw

Celem artykulu jest przeanalizowanie znaczenia kredytu handlowego w finansowaniu przedsiebiorstw w Polsce oraz zidentyfikowanie determinant wykorzystania przez polskie przedsiebiorstwa kredytu handlowego. Przedsiebiorstwa zarowno zaciągają kredyt handlowy u dostawcow, jak i udzielają go odbiorcom. Analizowano ksztaltowanie sie kredytu handlowego netto, tj. znaku i wielkości roznicy miedzy zaciąganym a udzielanym kredytem handlowym w Polsce. Zaciągany kredyt handlowy mierzono jako zobowiązania z tytulu dostaw i uslug bez wydatkow biezących, tj. skorygowane o biezące zobowiązania krotkoterminowe z tytulu dostaw i uslug w wysokości średnich miesiecznych wydatkow związanych z prowadzeniem dzialalności podstawowej (1/12 zuzycia materialow i energii oraz kosztow uslug obcych). Analize empiryczną przeprowadzono na podstawie jednostkowych danych panelowych ze sprawozdan GUS- rocznych F-02 za lata 1995−2011 (okolo 50 tys. przedsiebiorstw rocznie). Do oszacowania parametrow wykorzystano odporny systemowy estymator GMM. Wykazano, iz niska rentownośc sprzedazy, dlugi cykl zobowiązan, niska zdolnośc kredytowa i dlugi cykl środkow pienieznych są dobrymi predykatorami korzystania z kredytu handlowego. Zweryfikowano tez hipotezy, ze wyzsze mozliwości wzrostu i wyzsza zdolnośc do generowania pienieznej nadwyzki finansowej zwiekszają wielkośc udzielanego kredytu handlowego. Wraz ze wzrostem wielkości przedsiebiorstwa rośnie sklonnośc do udzielania kredytu handlowego i wolumen udzielanego kredytu handlowego, a maleje sklonnośc do zaciągania kredytu handlowego netto i wielkośc zaciąganego kredytu handlowego netto.
Glucocorticoid regulation of phenylethanolamine N‐methyltransferase in vivo

In vivo, supraphysiological doses of glucocorticoids are required to restore adrenal medullary phenylethanolamine N‐methyltransferase (PNMT, E.C. 2.1.1.28) activity after hypophysectomy. However, in vitro, phenylethanolamine N‐methyltransferase gene expression appears normally glucocorticoid‐responsive. To explore this paradox, rats were given dexamethasone or the type II‐specific glucocorticoid RU28362 (1–1000 μg/day), and adrenal phenylethanolamine N‐methyltransferase activity and mRNA levels were determined. At low doses (1–30 μg/day), neither steroid altered mRNA whereas at higher doses (100–1000 μg/day), mRNA rose 10‐ to 20‐fold, with dexamethasone ~ 3 times as potent as RU28362. In contrast, enzyme activity fell with low doses of either steroid, consistent with suppression of ACTH and endogenous steroidogenesis. At higher doses of RU28362, enzyme activity remained low and unchanged despite increased mRNA expression, whereas higher doses of dexamethasone progressively restored the enzyme to normal. These findings suggest 1) that glucocorticoid regulation of phenylethanolamine N‐methyltransferase activity occurs largely independent of gene expression; 2) that glucocorticoid effects on enzyme activity are primarily indirect, probably through cosubstrate regulation and/or enzyme stabilization; and 3) that these effects are not mediated via a classical (type II) glucocorticoid receptor mechanism, given the high doses of dexamethasone and corticosterone required and the inability of RU28362 to mimic the effects of these less selective steroids. — Wong, D. L. , Lesage, A. , Siddall, B. , Funder, J. W. Glucocorticoid regulation of phenylethanolamine N‐methyltransferase in vivo. FASEB J. 6: 3310‐3315; 1992.
Do International Rulings Have Spillover Effects?: The View from Financial Markets

How influential are international courts? Can their rulings reach beyond a given case and affect the behavior of countries not party to the dispute? International law is clear on the matter: rulings have no formal authority beyond the case at hand. This tenet is consistent with the incentives of sovereign states wary of delegating too much authority to courts. By contrast, the authors claim that even in the absence of formal authority, the rulings of international courts can affect behavior by mobilizing pro-compliance groups in countries not party to a dispute. They test these beliefs in the context of the World Trade Organization (wto) through a novel approach. Because wto rulings have implications for the fortunes of publicly traded firms, they examine whether financial markets bet on there being spillover effects beyond the case at hand. They rely on two quantitative case studies to test for a cross-border and a cross-industry spillover effect: can rulings have effects in countries and on industries other than those at issue in the initial dispute? The results suggest that the answer is a tentative yes. The spillover effects of international rulings may be a matter of scholarly contention, but their existence is something that financial markets appear willing to bet on.
Electron microscopic localization of receptors for aggregated beta 2-microglobulin on the surface of beta-hemolytic streptococci

The presence and location of receptors for aggregated human beta 2-microglobulin (beta 2m) on the surface of group A, C, and G streptococci were studied by electron microscopic techniques. Ferritin-conjugated aggregates of human beta 2m were used in direct binding experiments. Ferritin-conjugated antibodies against beta 2m were employed in a two-step indirect binding assay where the streptococci were incubated with unlabeled beta 2m aggregates before the addition of antibodies. Similar results were obtained with these two methods. Among tested group C and G strains, some showed binding of beta 2m, whereas others were negative. In group A streptococci, beta 2m binding was localized to filamentous structures typical of M protein. In two M protein-negative group A strains, the reactivity was heterogeneous, revealing a majority of unlabeled, but also some heavily labeled streptococci. Morphologically, these beta 2m-binding bacteria exhibited M protein-like projections in contrast to the smooth surfaces of unlabeled cells.
A clinical study on serum prostaglandin E2 with low-level laser therapy.

METHODS The subjects of this investigation consisted of 83 female patients that were treated in this department during the 2-year period from January 1999 to December 2002. Laser irradiation was applied for 3 min either every day or every other day for a total of 10 times. A diode semi-conductor laser with a wavelength of 830 nm and a photointensity of 1 W was used. Evaluations were performed before and after the series of 10 exposures to laser irradiation. The evaluation included the measurement of pain using the visual analog scale (VAS) and serum prostaglandin E(2) (pg/mL) measured by RIA-PEG. RESULTS The analgesic effects were observed in 67 of 83 cases, or 80.7%. The VAS scores for the effective cases decreased after the irradiation series from 8.5 +/- 0.2, to 2.8 +/- 0.2 ( p < 0.001). The post-irradiation PGE(2) levels were lower than the pre-irradiation PGE(2) levels in the effective cases, which were 5.8 +/- 0.3 and 7.1 +/- 0.4 pg/mL, respectively ( p < 0.05). The postirradiation PGE(2) levels for the effective cases were lower than those for the ineffective cases, which were 5.8 +/- 0.3 and 7.3 +/- 0.9 pg/mL, respectively ( p < 0.05). CONCLUSIONS Based on the above findings, the analgesic effects of LLLT were found to be valid. The serum PGE(2) levels are therefore considered to directly reflect nociceptive pain.
Elucidating the Genetic Basis of Crystalline Biofilm Formation in Proteus mirabilis

ABSTRACT Proteus mirabilis forms extensive crystalline biofilms on urethral catheters that occlude urine flow and frequently complicate the management of long-term-catheterized patients. Here, using random transposon mutagenesis in conjunction with in vitro models of the catheterized urinary tract, we elucidate the mechanisms underpinning the formation of crystalline biofilms by P. mirabilis. Mutants identified as defective in blockage of urethral catheters had disruptions in genes involved in nitrogen metabolism and efflux systems but were unaffected in general growth, survival in bladder model systems, or the ability to elevate urinary pH. Imaging of biofilms directly on catheter surfaces, along with quantification of levels of encrustation and biomass, confirmed that the mutants were attenuated specifically in the ability to form crystalline biofilms compared with that of the wild type. However, the biofilm-deficient phenotype of these mutants was not due to deficiencies in attachment to catheter biomaterials, and defects in later stages of biofilm development were indicated. For one blocking-deficient mutant, the disrupted gene (encoding a putative multidrug efflux pump) was also found to be associated with susceptibility to fosfomycin, and loss of this system or general inhibition of efflux pumps increased sensitivity to this antibiotic. Furthermore, homologues of this system were found to be widely distributed among other common pathogens of the catheterized urinary tract. Overall, our findings provide fundamental new insight into crystalline biofilm formation by P. mirabilis, including the link between biofilm formation and antibiotic resistance in this organism, and indicate a potential role for efflux pump inhibitors in the treatment or prevention of P. mirabilis crystalline biofilms.
Chile: building a computable general equilibrium model with an application to the Bío Bío region

This paper describes the building of a regional computable general equilibrium model applicable to the analysis of development policies and major economic shocks for specific regions of Chile. Then is generated an application for the Bio Bio region which reveals that the effects of the current fisheries crisis (caused by the scarcity of jack mackerel) can be expected to result in the production structure becoming further specialized in the wood and cellulose industries. It also finds that sectors with few production linkages to the fisheries sector are strongly affected through indirect channels that would be hard to identify without a general equilibrium approach.
The Determinants of Coagglomeration: Evidence from Functional Employment Patterns

Locations differ horizontally in the industry mix they host and vertically in the value-chain functions they perform. Since industry pairs should coagglomerate the functions that interact intensively across industries, analyzing horizontal and vertical patterns can improve our understanding of agglomeration mechanisms. We find that different functions within the same industry pairs display substantially different coagglomeration patterns. While production coagglomerates at longer distances, management and research coagglomerates at short distances. These patterns are consistent with our findings that buyer-supplier links and local labor pools are important for production, whereas they matter less for management and research that rely on shared knowledge. Our results provide support for agglomeration theories and show that extant estimates of average effects based on total employment mask substantial heterogeneity.