Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Platelet activation dynamics evaluated using platelet-derived microparticles in Kawasaki disease.

BACKGROUND Little is known about the platelet dynamics and the effect of antiplatelet therapy in Kawasaki disease (KD). The aim of this study was to clarify platelet activation dynamics in acute-phase KD patients by assaying platelet-derived microparticles (PDMPs). METHODS AND RESULTS The PDMP level in 18 patients with acute KD was measured on ELISA. Of the 18 patients, 14 were receiving oral aspirin and i.v. immunoglobulin (IVIG) and 4, oral aspirin alone. Blood samples were drawn before, immediately after, and 10-14 days after IVIG infusion; thereafter, at 1, 2, and 3 months after the onset of disease. PDMP level before aspirin treatment was significantly higher in acute-phase KD patients than in the control subjects with common febrile diseases (P<0.01). In the acute-phase KD patients, IVIG significantly decreased PDMP level; the PDMP level was not lower on the similar day of KD in the patients who did not receive IVIG. Eight patients' PDMP level rebounded after aspirin was discontinued. CONCLUSIONS Platelets are activated during acute-phase KD, which confirms the importance of antiplatelet therapy. In addition, platelet activation continues as long as 2 or 3 months after the acute phase, the time at which aspirin is commonly discontinued, and the timing of aspirin discontinuation should therefore be evaluated in each individual patient.
Comparison of three with six regions of interest analyses in patients with idiopathic constipation undertaking colon transit scintigraphy using 67Ga-citrate.

UNLABELLED OBJECTIVE AND INTRODUCTION: Preparation of data from 6 geometric regions of interest in the colon is time consuming, and can become impractical in the environment of busy Nuclear Medicine Departments. Therefore, we have investigated and demonstrated an alternative method for obtaining the same diagnostic information from an analysis of patients with idiopathic constipation who underwent colon transit scintigraphy using 67Ga-citrate. Data analysis methods using three regions of interest are compared to the results obtained using the more time consuming 6 regions of interest method to analyze the data. MATERIALS AND METHODS In this study, we report our results of the comparative reanalysis of data obtained by more traditional methods. We compare 3 regions of interest (ROI) which were taken from areas including the right colon, left colon and the rectosigmoid colon, with original work using our alternative 6 (ROI) diagnostic methodology. In addition, the proximal colonic emptying (PCE) was determined at 24 hr post ingestion among members of 3 identified subject groups. RESULTS The distribution of activity as the ingested 67Ga-citrate passes through the colon constitutes an activity profile. The mean activity position in the colon can be determined from subsequent radiographic images and from this the mean clearance time can be calculated. In quantitative assessment, this represents the time at which half of activity was eliminated from colon (mean half clearance time - MCT) which did not appear different in the reanalysis. There is no significant difference in the current study in GMC 24h, GMC 48h and GMC 72h between two groups using the Man Whitney u test (p > 0.05), while in the previous work the results were statistically significant for the two later time periods GMC (GMC 48h and GMC 72h) (p = 0.016 and p = 0.027 respectively). The PCE in the group 1 was = 2.50 (0.37); group 2, 1.57 (0.47) and group 3, 2.97. The PCE was not different between the two groups (p = 0.21). CONCLUSIONS This investigation demonstrated that the radionuclide colon transit study using 67Ga-citrate is a safe, physiologic, and quantitative method for evaluating the transit of fecal material from cecum to rectum. Although, the visual assessment of diagnosis of the subjects in the two analyses is the same, it was not completely supported by quantitative measurements. Therefore, further studies need to be done.
Effect of O6‐alkylguanine‐DNA alkyltransferase on genotoxicity of epihalohydrins

The effect of O6‐alkylguanine‐DNA alkyltransferase (AGT) on the toxicity and mutagenicity of epihalohydrins was studied. AGT is a DNA repair protein that protects cells from agents that produce genotoxic O6‐alkylguanine lesions by transferring the alkyl group to an internal cysteine residue (Cys145 in human AGT) in a single‐step. This cysteine acceptor site is highly reactive and epihalohydrins reacted readily with AGT at this site with a halide order of reactivity of Br > Cl > F. AGT expression in bacterial cells caused a very large increase in the mutagenicity and cytotoxicity of epibromohydrin. The mutations were almost all G:C to A:T transitions. Epichlorohydrin also augmented AGT‐mediated mutagenesis but to a lesser extent than epibromohydrin. In vitro experiments showed that AGT was covalently cross‐linked to DNA in the presence of epibromohydrin and that this conjugation occurred predominantly at Cys145, and to a smaller extent at Cys150, a less reactive residue also located within the active site pocket. Two pathways yielding the AGT–DNA adduct were found to occur. The predominant mechanism results in an AGT‐epihalohydrin intermediate, which, facilitated by the DNA binding properties of AGT, then reacts covalently with DNA. The second pathway involves an initial reactive DNA‐epihalohydrin intermediate that subsequently reacts with AGT. Our results show that the paradoxical AGT‐mediated increase in genotoxicity which has previously been shown to occur with dihaloalkanes, butadiene diepoxide and nitrogen mustards, also occurs with epihalohydrins and is likely to contribute to their toxicity and mutagenicity. Environ. Mol. Mutagen. , 2009. © 2009 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Electricity consumption and economic growth in Nicaragua

ABSTRACT This study attempts to investigate the causal relationship between electricity consumption and economic growth in Nicaragua. To this end, the study applies Graner-causality tests to annual Nicaraguan data for the period 1971–2010. The overall results support the existence of bi-directional causality between electricity consumption and economic growth in Nicaragua. This means that an increase in electricity consumption directly affects economic growth. Thus, in order not to make an adverse effect on economic growth, Nicaragua should endeavor to overcome the constraints on electricity consumption. Moreover, it appears that economic growth induces an increase in electricity consumption.
Colocalization of repetitive DNAs and silencing of major rRNA genes. A case report of the fish Astyanax janeiroensis

The heterochromatin composition and loca- tion in the genome of the fish Astyanax janeiroensis was investigated using Chromomycin A3 and DAPI fluorochromes and fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH) with 18S rDNA and As51 satellite DNA probes, respectively. Distinct repetitive DNA classes were found, namely: (1) C-positive centromeric/telomeric heterochromatin, (2) NOR-associated GC-rich heterochromatin (18S+/GC+) and (3) As51+/18S+ heterochromatin colocalized on 14 distinct heterochromatic domains with attenuated fluorescence of DAPI staining (As51+/18S+/DAPI attenuated signal). Besides these fourteen associated repetitive DNAs, another eight sites with only 18S rDNA were also found, comprising altogether 22 18S rDNA sites in the genome of the species under study. Up to seven 18S rDNA sites were found to be active, i.e., were characterized as positive after silver staining (Ag-NORs). It was noteworthy that in all As51+/18S+ domains the 18S rDNA were not found to be active sites due to the silencing of these genes when associated with the As51 satellite DNA in the same heterochromatic domain. The dispersion of the As51 sites in the genome of the species is hypothesized to probably originate from a transposable element. Several chromosomal and karyotype markers are similar between A. janeiroensis and A. scabripinnis, indicating a close relationship between these species.
Activin A in Carcinoid Heart Disease: A Possible Role in Diagnosis and Pathogenesis

Background/Aims: Carcinoid heart disease (CHD), a complication of neuroendocrine tumors (NETs), is characterized by right heart fibrotic lesions. Though serotonin is likely involved, the pathogenesis of CHD remains unclear. Cytokines and growth factors with fibrogenic properties may play a role. We sought to examine the relationship between plasma levels of fibrogenic cytokines and growth factors and CHD, both to provide further insight into possible biomarkers of CHD as well as into the possible pathogenesis of CHD. Methods: Plasma samples obtained from 71 patients with NETs and 18 controls were analyzed using enzyme immunoassays. All patients underwent echocardiography. Results: 15 patients (21%) had CHD, all of whom had carcinoid syndrome compared to 82% of those without CHD. CHD patients were older (p = 0.01), had larger (p = 0.007) and more numerous liver metastases (p = 0.04), and had elevated 24-hour urinary 5-hydroxyindoleacetic acid (U-5HIAA) (p = 0.03) and serum chromogranin A levels (p = 0.02). CHD patients had higher plasma levels of C-reactive protein (p = 0.03), osteoprotegerin (p = 0.005), and activin A (p = 0.005) than patients without CHD. A significant direct correlation between activin A and U-5HIAA levels was observed in the total patient group (r = 0.30, p = 0.02). Activin A ≧0.34 ng/ml (odds ratio (OR) 5.35 [1.01; 28.17], p = 0.048) and age ≧69.5 (OR 6.10 [1.60; 23.24], p = 0.008) were independent predictors of CHD. Activin A levels were elevated to the same degree in both early and advanced CHD. Activin A ≧0.34 ng/ml had 87% sensitivity and 57% specificity for detecting CHD (p = 0.006). Conclusion: Elevated plasma activin A levels are associated with the presence of CHD.
Decreased expression of the long non-coding RNA MLLT4 antisense RNA 1 is a potential biomarker and an indicator of a poor prognosis for gastric cancer

In recent years, the identification of long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) led to the analysis of their characteristics in cancer biology. However, the expression of lncRNAs in cancer and their clinical significance remain unclear. In the present study, an investigation of lncRNAs that may be involved in the regulation of metastasis using microarray and polymerase chain reaction analyses resulted in the identification of MLLT4 antisense RNA 1 (MLLT4-AS1) as a significantly downregulated lncRNA in gastric cancer tissue compared with normal adjacent tissue (P=0.006). Furthermore, the downregulation of MLL4-AS1 was significantly associated with advanced Tumor-Node-Metastasis stage (P=0.007) and lymph node metastasis (P=0.008). Cox regression analysis showed that MLLT4-AS1 expression was an independent predictor for overall survival (hazard ratio, 13.136; 95% confidence interval, 5.065–34.068; P<0.001). These data suggest that the decreased expression of MLLT4-AS1 is a potential biomarker and a predictor of a poor prognosis for gastric cancer.
Facial Complex Expression Recognition Based on Fuzzy Kernel Clustering and Support Vector Machines

Present methods of facial expression recognition usually designate an expression image as one kind of six facial basic expressions. However, a facial expression usually is a complex expression that consists of several basic expressions. This paper proposes a facial complex expression recognition algorithm based on fuzzy kernel clustering and support vector machines. This algorithm designs the binary facial complex expression classification tree by using fuzzy kernel clustering algorithm, trains support vector machines at each node of the binary classification tree and describes the complexity of a facial expression according as the result of support vector machines classification. Experimental results indicate that the proposed algorithm generates higher accuracy for the JAFFE database and achieves better performance than 1-a-r SVMs. In addition, experimental results show that the result of the proposed method is more accord with practice than the result of traditional expression recognition methods.
Reducing Physical Risk Factors in Construction Work Through a Participatory Intervention: Protocol for a Mixed-Methods Process Evaluation

Background Previous research has shown that reducing physical workload among workers in the construction industry is complicated. In order to address this issue, we developed a process evaluation in a formative mixed-methods design, drawing on existing knowledge of the potential barriers for implementation. Objective We present the design of a mixed-methods process evaluation of the organizational, social, and subjective practices that play roles in the intervention study, integrating technical measurements to detect excessive physical exertion measured with electromyography and accelerometers, video documentation of working tasks, and a 3-phased workshop program. Methods The evaluation is designed in an adapted process evaluation framework, addressing recruitment, reach, fidelity, satisfaction, intervention delivery, intervention received, and context of the intervention companies. Observational studies, interviews, and questionnaires among 80 construction workers organized in 20 work gangs, as well as health and safety staff, contribute to the creation of knowledge about these phenomena. Results At the time of publication, the process of participant recruitment is underway. Conclusions Intervention studies are challenging to conduct and evaluate in the construction industry, often because of narrow time frames and ever-changing contexts. The mixed-methods design presents opportunities for obtaining detailed knowledge of the practices intra-acting with the intervention, while offering the opportunity to customize parts of the intervention.
Spontaneous Slow Oscillations and Sequential Patterns Due to Short-Term Plasticity in a Model of the Cortex

We study a realistic model of a cortical column taking into account short-term plasticity between pyramidal cells and interneurons. The simulation of leaky integrate-and-fire neurons shows that low-frequency oscillations emerge spontaneously as a result of intrinsic network properties. These oscillations are composed of prolonged phases of high and low activity reminiscent of cortical up and down states, respectively. We simplify the description of the network activity by using a mean field approximation and reduce the system to two slow variables exhibiting some relaxation oscillations. We identify two types of slow oscillations. When the combination of dynamic synapses between pyramidal cells and those between interneurons accounts for the generation of these slow oscillations, the end of the up phase is characterized by asynchronous fluctuations of the membrane potentials. When the slow oscillations are mainly driven by the dynamic synapses between interneurons, the network exhibits fluctuations of membrane potentials, which are more synchronous at the end than at the beginning of the up phase. Additionally, finite size effect and slow synaptic currents can modify the irregularity and frequency, respectively, of these oscillations. Finally, we consider possible roles of a slow oscillatory input modeling long-range interactions in the brain. Spontaneous slow oscillations of local networks are modulated by the oscillatory input, which induces, notably, synchronization, subharmonic synchronization, and chaotic relaxation oscillations in the mean field approximation. In the case of forced oscillations, the slow population-averaged activity of leaky integrate-and-fire neurons can have both deterministic and stochastic temporal features. We discuss the possibility that long-range connectivity controls the emergence of slow sequential patterns in local populations due to the tendency of a cortical column to oscillate at low frequency.
Multiscale Classification of Remote Sensing Images

A huge effort has been applied in image classification to create high-quality thematic maps and to establish precise inventories about land cover use. The peculiarities of remote sensing images (RSIs) combined with the traditional image classification challenges made RSI classification a hard task. Our aim is to propose a kind of boost-classifier adapted to multiscale segmentation. We use the paradigm of boosting, whose principle is to combine weak classifiers to build an efficient global one. Each weak classifier is trained for one level of the segmentation and one region descriptor. We have proposed and tested weak classifiers based on linear support vector machines (SVM) and region distances provided by descriptors. The experiments were performed on a large image of coffee plantations. We have shown in this paper that our approach based on boosting can detect the scale and set of features best suited to a particular training set. We have also shown that hierarchical multiscale analysis is able to reduce training time and to produce a stronger classifier. We compare the proposed methods with a baseline based on SVM with radial basis function kernel. The results show that the proposed methods outperform the baseline.
Vessel wall detection in the images of intravascular Optical coherence tomography based on the graph cut segmentation

Intravascular Optical coherence tomography (IVOCT) is a catheter-based imaging method that employs near-infrared light to produce cross-sectional intravascular images. The size of lumen, where is known as vessel wall, is considered as the main indicator for artery clogging. The aim of this study is to investigate a new algorithm to extract lumen areas in IVOCT images which has time efficiency and high accuracy. The proposed algorithm consists of four main stages: pre-processing, feature extraction, kernel graph cut segmentation and finally the vessel wall detection and reconstruction. Generally, graph-based segmentation methods have a high precision in these images. So, we have used the kernel graph cut segmentation, which uses the piecewise model and Gaussian kernel function for the cost function. Furthermore, for initializing graph cut segmentation, we have used k-means clustering algorithm for the first frame. Since the amount of differences in the consecutive frames in IVOCT image collections is low, we have used the results of previous frame optimization as the initialization of the graph cut based segmentation of the current frame. The comparison results showed that suggested algorithm besides having a high precision (Hausdorff distance of 0.0653mm and Mean distance of 0.0265mm) also has a good processing speed in comparison with other methods (3.9 sec/frame).
How Do Digital Technologies Drive Economic Growth?

This paper seeks to provide new empirical evidence that demonstrates the importance of digital technologies in promoting economic growth, drawing on the literature on advances in growth and leveraging a broader and more robust country-level panel dataset. In particular, this paper estimates the long-run economic impact of digital technologies using mobile phone penetration and internet usage as broad indicators. The empirical results suggest that, between 2004 and 2014, the diffusion of digital technologies significantly improved economic output in Australia and abroad, contributing to steady-state gross domestic product per capita growth of approximately 5.8 per cent on average. These findings could serve as the starting-point for predictions about the likely impact of future technologies, providing a better understanding for policy-makers in prioritising initiatives that will continue to lift living standards in the coming years. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
Effects of a multi-strain Bacillus species-based direct-fed microbial on growth performance, nutrient digestibility, blood profile, and gut health in nursery pigs fed corn-soybean meal-based diets.

This experiment was conducted to investigate the effect of a spp. -based direct-fed microbial (DFM) on growth performance, apparent total tract digestibility (ATTD), blood profile, intestinal histomorphology, and fecal gas emission in piglets fed corn and soybean meal-based diets. The DFM product was based on 1 strain of and 2 strains of and formulated to supply 1.5 × 10 cfu/g of feed. A total of 128 piglets ([Yorkshire × Landrace] × Duroc; 6.8 ± 0.6 kg BW; weaning age: 24 d) were housed in groups (4 pigs/pen, 2 barrows and 2 gilts) and fed diets ( = 16) without or with DFM in a 2-phase feeding program: d 0 to 14 (phase I) and 15 to 42 (phase II). Feed intake and BW were measured weekly. At the end of each phase, samples for blood urea nitrogen (BUN), blood creatinine, ATTD, and fecal noxious gas emission were taken. At termination, 12 piglets per treatment were killed to access intestinal tissues for histomorphology. Overall, pigs fed DFM had a greater ( < 0.05) G:F than pigs fed the control diet. In phase I, pigs fed DFM showed a greater ( < 0.05) ADG and lower ( < 0.05) concentration of BUN and fecal ammonia emission than the control group. In phase II, a greater ( < 0.05) ATTD of nitrogen and longer ( < 0.05) duodenum and jejunum villi were observed in pigs fed the DFM diet compared with the control group. In conclusion, inclusion of DFM improved growth performance and villi length of the duodenum and jejunum in nursery pigs. Furthermore, DFM enhanced protein utilization as demonstrated by increased nitrogen digestibility, lower BUN, and lower fecal ammonia release.
Toward Microbioreactor Arrays

In this study, a slow-responding chemo-optical sensor for dissolved oxygen (DO) integrated into a 96-well plate was developed. The slow response time ensures that the measured oxygen value does not change much during plate transport to the microplate reader. The sensor therefore permits at-line DO measurement of microbial cultures. Moreover, it eliminates the necessity of individual optical measurement systems for each culture plate, as many plates can be measured successively. Combined with the 96-well format, this increases the experimental throughput enormously. The novel sensor plate (Slow OxoPlate) consists of fluorophores suspended in a polymer matrix that were placed into u-bottom 96-well plates. Response time was measured using sodium sulfite, and a t90 value of 9.7 min was recorded. For application, DO values were then measured in Escherichia coli and Saccharomyces cerevisiae cultures grown under fed-batch–like conditions. Depending on the DO sensor’s response time, different information on the oxygenation state of the culture plate was obtained: a fast sensor variant detects disturbance through sampling, whereas the slow sensor indicates oxygen limitation during incubation. A combination of the commercially available OxoPlate and the Slow OxoPlate enables operators of screening facilities to validate their cultivation procedures with regard to oxygen availability.
Examination of the Credit Channel of Monetary Transmission in India: Results from Response of Commercial Banks’ Balance Sheet to a Monetary Policy Shock

In this study I present some evidence on the credit channel of monetary transmission in India. Using the set up of Bernanke and Blinder (1992) it is found that loans, investments and deposits of commercial banking system respond significantly to a monetary policy shock. Results to a positive shock to monetary base are as expected. Investments respond almost immediately and then taper whereas deposits permanently settle at a higher level. Loans respond more slowly and are seen to move contemporaneously with output after a lag of 8-12 months.