Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Cloning and functional analysis of the orotidine‐5′‐phosphate decarboxylase gene (PbrURA3) of the pathogenic fungus Paracoccidioides brasiliensis

A genomic clone encoding the Paracoccidioides brasiliensis orotidine monophosphate decarboxylase gene (PbrURA3) was isolated by screening a subgenomic plasmid DNA library of this fungus, using a PCR amplification product of the gene as a probe. Sequence analysis revealed that the gene contains an open reading frame of 855 bp with a single intron (162 bp), and encodes a putative 285 amino acids polypeptide of estimated molecular weight 31.1 kDa and isoelectric point 6.5. The deduced amino acid sequence predicted a 73.4% identity with orotidine monophosphate decarboxylase of Aspergillus nidulans. Functionality of the gene was demonstrated by transformation into a Saccharomyces cerevisiae ura3 null mutant. The PbrURA3 gene sequence has been submitted to GenBank database under Accession No. AJ133782. Copyright © 2005 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
The Alteration of Irisin—Brain-Derived Neurotrophic Factor Axis Parallels Severity of Distress Disorder in Bronchial Asthma Patients

Distress disorder (a collective term for generalized anxiety disorder and major depressive disorder) is a well-known co-morbidity of bronchial asthma. The irisin—brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) axis is a pathway that influences several neurobehavioral mechanisms involved in the pathogenesis of distress disorder. Thus, the aim of the present study was to quantify the serum irisin and BDNF concentrations in order to investigate the possible link between the irisin/BDNF axis and distress disorder in an asthma patient cohort. Data of 167 therapy-controlled asthma patients were analyzed. Demographic, anthropometric, and anamnestic data were collected, routine laboratory parameters supplemented with serum irisin and BDNF levels were determined, pulmonary function test was performed using whole-body plethysmography, and quality of life was quantified by means of the St. George's Respiratory Questionnaire (SGRQ). Correlation analysis as well as simple and multiple linear regression were used to assess the relationship between the irisin level and the Impacts score of SGRQ, which latter is indicative of the presence and severity of distress disorder. We have found a significant, positive linear relationship between the Impacts score and the reciprocal of irisin level. This association was stronger in patients whose BDNF level was higher, and it was weaker (and statistically non-significant) in patients whose BDNF level was lower. Our results indicate that higher serum irisin level together with higher serum BDNF level are associated with milder (or no) distress disorder. This finding suggests that alteration of the irisin/BDNF axis influences the presence and severity of distress disorder in asthma patients.
Industry concentration, stock returns and asset pricing: The UK evidence

Abstract How does competition in firms’ product markets influence stock returns? We examine this question using firms domiciled in the UK. We find that firms in less concentrated industries earn higher returns, even after controlling for the well-known determinants of the cross-section of UK stock returns. Furthermore, we suggest a novel asset pricing model that explicitly incorporates industry concentration as a distinguished risk factor capturing important features of product markets. Our results link the explanatory power of R&D activity of stock returns to product market structure. Also, we suggest an explanation for value premium on the basis of product market structure that favours barriers to entry interpretation for the higher returns obtained by less concentrated industries.
Competing protein:protein interactions are proposed to control the biological switch of the E coli biotin repressor

A model is suggested for the complex between the biotin repressor of Escherichia coli, BirA, and BCCP, the biotin carboxyl carrier protein to which BirA transfers biotin. The model is consistent with prior physical and biochemical studies. Measurement of transfer rates for variants of BirA with single‐site mutations in the proposed BirA:BCCP interface region also provides support. The unique feature of the proposed interaction between BirA and BCCP is that it uses the same β‐sheet region on the surface of BirA that the protein uses for homodimerization into a form competent to bind DNA. The resulting mutually exclusive protein:protein interfaces explain the novel feature of the BirA regulatory system, namely, that transcription of the genes involved in biotin synthesis is not determined by the level of biotin, per se, but by the level of unmodified BCCP. The model also provides a role for the C‐terminal domain of BirA that is structurally similar to an SH3 domain.
Resource use and costs associated with diabetic macular edema in elderly persons.

OBJECTIVE To examine trends in resource use and the effect of incident diabetic macular edema (DME) on 1- and 3-year total direct medical costs in elderly patients. METHODS We used a nationally representative 5% sample of Medicare beneficiaries from 2000 through 2004 to identify patients with incident DME and a control cohort of patients with diabetes mellitus but no history of retinal disease. We summed Medicare reimbursement amounts for all claims and applied generalized linear models to estimate the effect of DME on 1- and 3-year costs. We also examined the use of select imaging techniques and treatments. RESULTS After adjusting for demographic characteristics and baseline comorbid conditions, DME was associated with 31% higher 1-year costs and 29% higher 3-year costs. There were significant shifts in the use of testing and treatment modalities. From 2000 to 2004, use of intravitreal injection increased from 1% to 13% of patients; use of optical coherence tomography increased from 2.5% to more than 40%. Use of laser photocoagulation decreased over time. CONCLUSIONS After adjusting for demographic variables and baseline comorbid conditions, new-onset DME was a significant independent predictor of total medical costs after 1 and 3 years. Diagnostic and treatment modalities used for DME have changed significantly.
Estimating Glottal Voicing Source Characteristics by Measuring and Modeling the Acceleration of the Skin on the Neck

Quantifying vocal function is becoming increasingly important both for corroborating clinicians' subjective impressions during a voice evaluation and for assessing the effectiveness of surgery or voice therapy. Accelerometers offer significant potential for measuring voice use because they are immune to environmental noise, inexpensive, and suitable for ambulatory monitoring. This work investigates the extent to which measures of the acceleration of the skin on the neck (near the larynx) can be used to estimate important vocal function parameters. Simultaneous acceleration, acoustic, and airflow recordings from one male subject with a normal voice were made to initially examine relationships between the acceleration signal and the acoustic or airflow signals. A vocal system model is proposed to provide insights into these relationships. The model's acceleration-derived estimates of maximum flow declination rate (MFDR) and sound pressure level (SPL) are compared to direct measures obtained from the airflow (MFDR) and acoustic (SPL) signals at the lips. Results show high correlations between the estimated and measured MFDR (r=0.86) and SPL (r=0.94) values, suggesting that clinically relevant parameters can be derived from accelerometer data using a vocal system model.
A review on cross domain recommendation

Social market, consumers frequently connect from ecommerce websites to social networking sites such as Facebook and Twitter. There have been few determinations on accepting the connections between users' community media profiles and their e-commerce activities. Consumers can also post their newly bought products on micro blogs with links to the e-commerce product web pages. Review on Prediction user's buying activities on user's social media profile from the e-commerce. Extract all feature and use for recommendation. Collaborative Filtering does not have several user ratings to base recommendations on, which indications to the cold-start problem. Influence merchandise adopter information for recommendation, we are facing two major challenges. First, review data are actual deafening and often contain dialect, mistakes and emoticons. Product Demo graphic info of many product adopters can be used to describe both products and users, which can be unified into a recommendation. Predict a user's follow-up buying behavior at a specific period with lineage accuracy. Purchase possibility can be leveraged by recommender systems in different circumstances, as well as the zero-query pull-based endorsement consequence. Matrix Factorization to consider user aspects, and show that our protracted yields better analytical correctness compared to traditional Matrix Factorization and to a non-personalized baseline for cold-start product recommendation.
Model Parameters for Simulating Fate and Transport of On‐Site Wastewater Nutrients

This paper presents a critical review of model‐input parameters for transport of on‐site wastewater treatment system (OWS) pollutants. Approximately 25% of the U.S. population relies on soil‐based OWS for effective treatment and protection of public health and environmental quality. Mathematical models are useful tools for understanding and predicting the transport and fate of wastewater pollutants and for addressing water‐budget issues related to wastewater reclamation from site to watershed scales. However, input parameters for models that simulate fate and transport of OWS pollutants are not readily obtained. The purpose of this analysis is to illustrate an objective, statistically supported method for choosing model‐input parameters related to nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P). Data were gathered from existing studies reported in the literature. Cumulative frequency distributions (CFDs) are provided for OWS effluent concentrations of N and P, nitrification and denitrification rates, and linear sorption isotherm constants for P. When CFDs are not presented, ranges and median values are provided. Median values for model‐input parameters are as follows: total N concentration (44 mg/L), nitrate‐N (0.2 mg/L), ammonium (60 mg/L), phosphate‐P (9 mg/L), organic N (14 mg/L), zero‐order nitrification rate (264 mg/L/d), first‐order nitrification (2.9/d), first‐order dentrification (0.025/d), maximum soil capacity for P uptake (237 mg/kg), linear sorption isotherm constant for P (15.1 L/kg), and OWS effluent flow rates (260 L/person/d).
Variability and cost implications of three generations of the Roche LightCycler® 480

Real time PCR has become a dominant method for the highly sensitive detection of pathogens in clinical material. Real time PCR can generate a fluorescence signal by using fluorescence labelled probes, allowing us to detect and semi quantify the amount of amplified DNA. Here we test the variability of the detection system and cost implications of three different versions of the LightCycler® 480 (LC480), focusing on the intensity of fluorescence and Cq in monoplex and multiplex rtPCRs. For gastro-intestinal pathogens there was no correlation between the intensity of fluorescence and the Cq value in the different LC480 types. For probes with the dyes FAMTM, HEXTM, Cy5 and Red610 a higher fluorescence intensity was seen in LC480 type II and III compared to LC480 type I. After lowering the probe concentration for the Cy5 dye three-fold (from 0.3μM to 0.1μM) the Cq value remains the same and the intensity of fluorescence decreases. For the LC480 type II and III the difference in fluorescence intensity was much more extreme. The concentration of the different labelled probes can be lowered at least six-fold in LC480 type II and III cyclers while maintaining a fluorescence intensity as high as achieved in the LC480 type I with undiluted probe. In conclusion, the strength of the fluorescence signal of the LightCycler® 480 type III is superior to that of LightCycler® 480 types I and II, allowing the use of lower probe concentrations for all dyes, particularly for the dyes Red610 and Cy5. This results in a two thirds reduction in PCR probe costs. Switching to these newer machines for real-time PCR can reduce dye labelled probe consumption and thus reduce costs significantly.
SUGGESTIONS FOR GLOBAL ISSUES IN LANGUAGE EDUCATION MATERIALS AND ACTIVITIES

Universities and other centers of learning are joining with the United Nations and other international institutions to further the study of significant issues that are affecting the lives of people across the globe. Ministries of education in various countries want to have their students develop an understanding of the concept of global citizenship and the connections between the peoples of our increasingly intertwined world. In line with this, many educational institutions are including global issues education in their curricula. The English language is the predominant language of international business, globalization, medicine, international education, and politics. Billions of people are studying and using English daily. Can language teachers play a part in promoting global citizenship and creating a peaceful and sustainable world? This paper aims to answer that question and to address vital principles involved in the creation of activities and teaching materials that merge global issues content and language education. It will also provide examples of how teachers can combine content education and critical thinking skills in ways that develop grammatical knowledge and the traditional skills of reading, writing, speaking, and listening.
Macrophages Counteract Demyelination in a Mouse Model of Globoid Cell Leukodystrophy

Whether microglia and macrophages are beneficial or harmful in many neurological disorders, including demyelinating diseases such as multiple sclerosis and the leukodystrophies, is currently under debate. Answering this question is of special interest in globoid cell leukodystrophy (GLD), a genetic fatal demyelinating disease, because its rapidly progressive demyelination in the nervous system is accompanied by a characteristic accumulation of numerous globoid macrophages. Therefore, we cross-bred the twitcher (twi) mouse, a bona fide model of GLD, with the macrophage-deficient osteopetrotic mutant and studied the resultant macrophage-deficient twitcher (twi+op) mouse. The twi+op mouse had few microglia and macrophages in the white matter and, interestingly, showed a more severe clinical phenotype compared to the twi mouse. The number of nonmyelinated axons in the spinal cord was significantly higher in twi+op mice than in twi mice at 45 d old. The difference appeared to be due to impaired remyelination in twi+op mice rather than accelerated demyelination. Quantitative reverse transcription PCR and immunohistochemical studies revealed that the recruitment of oligodendrocyte progenitor cells in response to demyelination was compromised in twi+op mice. Increased myelin debris in the white matter parenchyma of twi+op mice suggested that phagocytosis by macrophages may play an important role in promoting remyelination. Macrophage markers for both protective and destructive phenotypes were significantly upregulated in the spinal cord of twi mice but were close to normal in twi+op mice due to the reduced macrophage number. The overall effects of macrophages in GLD appear to be beneficial to myelin by promoting myelin repair.
EEG classification of word perception using common spatial pattern filter

The purpose of this study is to classify perceptual electroencephalography (EEG) data of words into appropriate class. We recorded EEG data from six native Korean speakers at Gwangju Institute of Science and Technology. Three words (/Lemon/, /Mother/, and /Toilet/) were chosen for stimuli. We applied IIR bandpass filter for extracting alpha bands activities from raw EEG data and common spatial pattern filter to enhance classification performance. We used pairwise classification method and mean classification rates corresponding to /Lemon/ vs /Mother/, /Lemon/ vs /Toilet/, and /Mother/ vs /Toilet/ were 54.31 ± 4.31, 59.66 ± 3.11, and 59.88 ± 5.70 respectively for all the subjects.
A multi-institution evaluation of clinical profile anonymization

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVE There is an increasing desire to share de-identified electronic health records (EHRs) for secondary uses, but there are concerns that clinical terms can be exploited to compromise patient identities. Anonymization algorithms mitigate such threats while enabling novel discoveries, but their evaluation has been limited to single institutions. Here, we study how an existing clinical profile anonymization fares at multiple medical centers. METHODS We apply a state-of-the-artk-anonymization algorithm, withkset to the standard value 5, to the International Classification of Disease, ninth edition codes for patients in a hypothyroidism association study at three medical centers: Marshfield Clinic, Northwestern University, and Vanderbilt University. We assess utility when anonymizing at three population levels: all patients in 1) the EHR system; 2) the biorepository; and 3) a hypothyroidism study. We evaluate utility using 1) changes to the number included in the dataset, 2) number of codes included, and 3) regions generalization and suppression were required. RESULTS Our findings yield several notable results. First, we show that anonymizing in the context of the entire EHR yields a significantly greater quantity of data by reducing the amount of generalized regions from ∼15% to ∼0.5%. Second, ∼70% of codes that needed generalization only generalized two or three codes in the largest anonymization. CONCLUSIONS Sharing large volumes of clinical data in support of phenome-wide association studies is possible while safeguarding privacy to the underlying individuals.
Analysis of compliance, morbidities and outcome in neurodevelopmental follow-up visits in urban African-American infants at environmental risk

The objectives of this study were to determine compliance rate in a uniform, urban African-American patient population at environmental risk for adverse neurodevelopmental outcome and to define risk factors for non-compliance with neurodevelopmental follow-up. A retrospective chart review was performed which included 481 infants with birth weight (BW) of 495–4195 g and gestational ages (GAs) between 23 and 42 weeks born at our hospital. Statistical analysis was performed using the Jonckheere–Terpstra test for ordinal variables. For 2 × 2 tables, χ 2 test and Fisher’s exact test (P < 0.05) were used. To determine significant predictive variables, data were analyzed by multiple logistic regression with one independent variable at a time. Infants compliant with follow-up had significantly more morbidities in the very low BW category (⩽1500 g) than infants with larger BW. The highest compliance rate (70%) was found among the smallest and most immature (GA ⩽28 weeks) infants. Based on this finding, we postulate that the number of infants with severe disability is not likely to be underestimated. The significantly more frequent developmental anomalies found in the largest BW (⩽2500 g) category raises significant concern, though findings in this subset of infants may not be representative of the whole population. There was no significant difference between the compliant and non-compliant groups regarding socio-economic status. Severe or multiple morbidities and prolonged hospital stay may provide parents with greater opportunity to learn and understand about the infant’s condition which may lead to greater compliance.
A new concept for sensitive in situ stable isotope ratio infrared spectroscopy based on sample modulation

Diode-laser absorption spectroscopy finds increasing applications in the emerging field of stable isotope research. To meet the requirements of the water isotopes measurement challenge in environmental research, ways have to be found to cope with the present limitations of spectroscopic systems. In this article, we discuss an approach based on the Stark effect in molecular spectra to reduce the influence of time-dependent, unwanted background structures generally superimposed on the desired signal from the spectral feature under investigation. A road map to high-sensitivity isotopic ratio measurements of water isotopes is presented. On the basis of an Allan Variance analysis of measured data, the detection limits have been calculated as a function of the integration time. To achieve the required optical density of about 6×10−7 for H2 17O measurements, the duty cycle has to be optimized and the implementation of a sample modulation within an optical multipass cell is a promising approach to increase the stability of spectroscopic instrumentation required for ecosystem research and airborne atmospheric platforms.
Identifying the Interrelationships of Critical Success Factors for Customer Relationship Management

An effective Customer Relationships Management (CRM) implementation benefits firms to achieve competitive advantages over others by enhancing customer retention, loyalty, satisfaction, and growing. A successful CRM implementation has become essential owing to the massive percentage of failures that occur. This year, firms are expected to spend more than $27 billion on implementing CRM. While a significant amount of study has been conducted into CRM implementations, particularly with respect to Critical Success Factors (CSFs), only a minority of the implementations have been successful. It is argued that one of the reasons for this is the improper assessment of interrelationships of CSFs prior starting the CRM implementation. CSFs are interlinked. They represent factors at nodes in a network of influences, which need to be examined together in order to determine best practice, identify study issues and reflect on strategy. Therefore, the aim of this study is to determine the interrelationships between the identified CSFs associated with CRM implementation, which revealed the important of these relationships for the success of the implementation. The study involves practical work based on one particular national context; the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA).
Explore and Experience: Mobile Augmented Reality for Medical Training

In medicine, especially in basic education, it may sometimes be inappropriate to integrate real patients into classes due to ethical issues that must be avoided. Nevertheless, the quality of medical education may suffer without the use of real cases. This is especially true of medical specialties such as legal medicine: survivors of a crime are already subjected to procedures that constitute a severe emotional burden and may cause additional distress even without the added presence of students. Using augmented reality based applications may alleviate this ethical dilemma by giving students the possibility to practice the necessary skills based on virtual but nevertheless almost realistic cases. The app "mARble®" that is presented in this paper follows this approach. The currently available learning module for legal medicine gives users an opportunity to learn about various wound patterns by virtually overlaying them on their own skin and is applicable in different learning settings. Preliminary evaluation results covering learning efficiency and emotional components of the learning process are promising. Content modules for other medical specialtiesare currently under construction.