Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Acute Overexpression of Myc in Intestinal Epithelium Recapitulates Some but Not All the Changes Elicited by Wnt/β-Catenin Pathway Activation

ABSTRACT The Myc transcription factor is a potent inducer of proliferation and is required for Wnt/β-catenin signaling in intestinal epithelium. Since deregulation of the Wnt/β-catenin pathway is a prerequisite for nonhereditary intestinal tumorigenesis, we asked whether activation of Myc recapitulates the tumorigenic changes that are driven by constitutive Wnt/β-catenin pathway signaling following adenomatous polyposis coli (APC) inactivation. Using mice in which expression of MycERTAM, a reversibly switchable form of Myc, is expressed transgenically in intestinal epithelium, we define the acute changes that follow Myc activation as well as subsequent deactivation. Myc activation reversibly recapitulates many, but not all, aspects of APC inactivation, including increased proliferation and apoptosis and loss of goblet cells. However, whereas APC inactivation induces redistribution of Paneth cells, direct Myc activation triggers their rapid attrition. Moreover, direct Myc activation engages the ARF/p53/p21cip1 tumor suppressor pathway, whereas deregulation of Wnt/β-catenin signaling does not. These observations illustrate key differences in oncogenic impact in intestinal epithelium of direct Myc activation and indirect Myc activation via the Wnt/β-catenin pathway. Furthermore, the in situ dedifferentiation of mature goblet cells that Myc induces indicates a novel cross talk between the Wnt/β-catenin and Notch signaling pathways.
Are Changes in Sensory Disability, Reaction Time, and Grip Strength Associated with Changes in Memory and Crystallized Intelligence?

Background: Little is known about predictors of cognitive changes in the elderly. Sensory disability, grip strength, and speed of processing have been established as associates of cognitive performance in cross-sectional studies. However, it is not known whether changes in these predictor variables are associated with changes in cognitive functioning. Objectives: (1) to examine the relationship between initial level of three predictor variables – speed of processing, sensory disability, and grip strength – and changes in memory and crystallized intelligence (CIQ); (2) to examine the relationships between change in grip strength, cognitive speed, and sensory disability and changes in memory and CIQ, and (3) to investigate these relationships with the effects of age and sex statistically removed. Methods: Cognitive ability was assessed in two domains: CIQ (3 tests) and memory (3 tests) measured on two occasions approximately three and a half years apart in a large community sample (n = 425; mean age = 75.8, range 70–93 years). Repeated-measures Anova was used to analyze descriptive data. Latent-change models were used to examine structural relationships between constructs. Results: Initial levels of reaction time or grip strength did not predict rate of change on memory tasks. Changes in grip strength, speed, and memory correlated moderately, suggesting that these variables have some tendency to move together over time. Sensory disability correlated with age but not with change in speed, grip, memory, or CIQ. These relationships held across the age range studied after adjustment for age and sex. Conclusions: The findings are consistent with the action of a common causal mechanism underlying changes in speed, grip, and memory. A number of methodological caveats arise from our analysis. Cross-sectional and longitudinal data sets yield different interpretations about the basic component associates of cognitive performance.
Part-of-speech tagging for web search queries using a large-scale web corpus

This paper proposes an accurate part-of-speech (POS) tagging method for Web search queries using the sentence level morphological analysis results of a large-scale Web corpus. POS tagging is a fundamental technique for analyzing queries; however, the existing NLP tools often fail to correctly identify POS tags because queries are not based on natural language grammar. We propose a method not affected by the queries' characteristics lacking capitalization and free word order with the term-POS database (TPDB). Experimental results show that the proposed method significantly outperforms those using existing NLP tools and the state-of-the-art method. In addition, the data set we created is expected to be useful for future researches on both POS tagging systems to queries and IR systems leveraging POS tags.
Real-Time Implementation of Model-Predictive Control on Seven-Level Packed U-Cell Inverter

In this paper, a model-predictive control (MPC) has been designed and implemented on the packed U-cell (PUC) inverter, which has one isolated dc source and one capacitor as an auxiliary dc link. The MPC is designed to regulate the capacitor voltage at the desired magnitude to have seven voltage levels at the output of the inverter. Since grid-connected application is targeted by this application, the inverter should be capable of supplying requested amount of active and reactive power at the point of common coupling (PCC) as well. Therefore, MPC should also consider the line-current control to monitor the exchange of reactive power with the grid while injecting appropriate active power at low total harmonic distortion (THD). Various experimental tests including change in dc-source voltage, active power variation, and operation at different power factor (PF) have been performed on a laboratory prototype to validate the good performance obtained by the proposed MPC. The dynamic performance of the controller during sudden changes in dc capacitor voltage, supply current, and PF demonstrates the fast and accurate response and the superior operation of the proposed controller.
Possible involvement of GDI1 protein, a GDP dissociation inhibitor related to vesicle transport, in an amelioration of zinc toxicity in Saccharomyces cerevisiae

The GDI1 protein related vesicle transport system was studied to investigate the possibility that an exclusion of toxic zinc (Zn) from the cytoplasm ameliorates Zn toxicity in Saccharomyces cerevisiae (yeast). A temperature‐sensitive gdi1 mutant (originally called sec19), in which the GDP dissociation inhibitor becomes inactive at the non‐permissive temperature (37 °C), was more sensitive to Zn than its parental GDI1 strain at 32 °C (a moderately non‐permissive temperature). The relative efflux of cytoplasmic Zn in the gdi1 mutant was lower than that in the control strain. Treatment with a vesicle transport‐specific inhibitor, Brefeldin A, caused an increase of Zn sensitivity and a decrease of Zn efflux in these strains. It is therefore suggested that the GDI1‐related vesicle transport system contributes to Zn tolerance in yeast. Furthermore, changes in the number of Zn‐specific fluorescent granules (zincosomes) were observed by zinquin staining in the mutant cells under Zn treatment at 32 °C and 37 °C. We concluded that the GDI1 protein is implicated in control of vesicle numbers. Collectively, the results suggest that the GDI1protein is involved in Zn efflux via small vesicle trafficking and contributes to the control of cytoplasmic Zn content, allowing yeast to survive in the presence of toxic Zn. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Evaluating a single dental anxiety question in Finnish adults

Objective. To evaluate the psychometric properties (criterion validity, construct validity, sensitivity, and specificity) of a single-item question screening for dental anxiety in a Finnish adult population. Material and methods. A total of 823 subjects, ranging in age from 18 to 87 years, answered a questionnaire comprising sections assessing the respondents’ demographic profile and dental attendance patterns. A single dental anxiety question and the Modified Dental Anxiety Scale (MDAS) were included. The final response rate was 85%. Results. Eight percent of the sample was highly dentally anxious using the MDAS cut-off point of 19 or above. Twelve percent of the respondents rated themselves as “very scared” on the single-item question. The percentage agreement between the single-item question and the MDAS was 93; the Kappa coefficient was 0.63. Specificity of the single question was 0.95 while sensitivity was 0.80 using the MDAS dichotomous classification. The single-item question related to age (p<0.001), gender (p<0.001), and dental attendance (p<0.001), as predicted. Conclusions. The single question has good validity, specificity, and sensitivity and may be used with confidence to assess dental fear in such situations as national health surveys or in routine dental practice where a multi-item dental anxiety questionnaire is not feasible.
Chromosome 15q25.1 genetic markers associated with level of response to alcohol in humans

As with other genetically complex common psychiatric and medical conditions, multiple genetic and environmental components contribute to alcohol use disorders (AUDs), which can confound attempts to identify genetic components. Intermediate phenotypes are often more closely correlated with underlying biology and have often proven invaluable in genetic studies. Level of response (LR) to alcohol is an intermediate phenotype for AUDs, and individuals with a low LR are at increased risk. A high rate of concurrent alcohol and nicotine use and dependence suggests that these conditions may share biochemical and genetic mechanisms. Genetic association studies indicate that a genetic locus, which includes the CHRNA5-CHRNA3-CHRNB4 gene cluster, plays a role in nicotine consumption and dependence. Genetic association with alcohol dependence was also recently shown. We show here that two of the markers from the nicotine studies also show an association (multiple testing corrected P < 0.025) with several LR phenotypes in a sample of 367 siblings. Additional markers in the region were analyzed and shown to be located in a 250-kb expanse of high linkage disequilibrium containing three additional genes. These findings indicate that LR intermediate phenotypes have utility in genetic approaches to AUDs and will prove valuable in the identification of other genetic loci conferring susceptibility to AUDs.
Electromagnetic fields from mobile phone base station – variability analysis

Abstract The article describes the character of electromagnetic field (EMF) in mobile phone base station (BS) surroundings and its variability in time with an emphasis on the measurement difficulties related to its pulse and multi-frequency nature. Work also presents long-term monitoring measurements performed recently in different locations in Poland – small city with dispersed building development and in major polish city – dense urban area. Authors tried to determine the trends in changing of EMF spectrum analyzing daily changes of measured EMF levels in those locations. Research was performed using selective electromagnetic meters and also EMF meter with spectrum analysis.
GISTelemed: An online-based GIS approach to epidemiological analysis in telemedicine systems

Large-scale telemedicine systems provide extensive amounts of data that can be used to gather epidemiological information. Epidemiologists have been using GIS systems for the easy and quick visualization of data and to perform georeferenced epidemiological analysis. This paper presents GISTelemed, a georeferenced epidemiological analysis tool developed as part of the Santa Catarina State Integrated Telemedicine and Telehealth System (STT/SC), a statewide telemedicine infrastructure in Brazil. The GISTelemed module offers an architecture supporting real-time recovery, information visualization and epidemiological analysis from structured and semi-structured data. The architecture uses controlled vocabularies for data catalogization and a specially developed ETL process that allows sending and receiving data on a large number of protocols, including DICOM SR and SQL. We performed a case study with users that indicates good perceived ease of use and usefulness of GISTelemed by both medical staff and health care managers.
Conditional Factors of Political Budget Cycles: Economic Development, Media Pressure, and Political Fragmentation

Abstract This study clarifies the heterogeneity of results in the political budget cycle (PBC) literature by asking which factors are more likely to produce these cycles. Our findings for a sample of 145 Spanish local governments over the period 2005–2013 suggest that governments tend to behave opportunistically when media pressure is low and political fragmentation is high, but they behave ideologically when media pressure and political concentration increase. Economic development also partially explains the differences among partisan PBCs, although we find opportunistic PBCs in both less and more developed municipalities. These findings support Frey and Schneider’s conclusion of no simultaneity of opportunistic and partisan PBCs.
How costly is it to ignore interest rate risk management in your 401(k) plan

This paper explicitly derives and explores optimal interest rate risk management for lifecycle investors in DC pension plans, and compares our results to the portfolio mix chosen in practice by Target-Date Fund (TDF) managers. We show that investments in long-term bonds play an important role in the portfolio of middle-aged individuals between ages 45 and 70. Our theoretical findings stand in sharp contrast with the investment choices made in practice; the role of long-term bonds is rather limited in the investment portfolios of 401(k) pension plan members in the US. Morningstar data on TDFs points out that the average bond duration is limited to five years and does not depend on age. We find that the absence of long-term bonds in the portfolio of a lifecycle investor can be costly, with the welfare loss peaking at 5 percent of consumption for middle-aged individuals.
Effect of Centella asiatica on cognition and oxidative stress in an intracerebroventricular streptozotocin model of Alzheimer's disease in rats

1. Centella asiatica, an Indian medicinal plant, has been described as possessing central nervous system activity, such as improving intelligence. In addition, we have demonstrated that C. asiatica has cognitive‐enhancing and anti‐oxidant properties in normal rats. Oxidative stress or an impaired endogenous anti‐oxidant mechanism is an important factor that has been implicated in Alzheimer's disease (AD) and cognitive deficits seen in the elderly.
The mediating role of insight for long-term improvements in psychodynamic therapy.

OBJECTIVE According to psychoanalytic theory, interpretation of transference leads to increased insight that again leads to improved interpersonal functioning over time. In this study, we performed a full mediational analysis to test whether insight gained during treatment mediates the long-term effects of transference interpretation in dynamic psychotherapy. METHOD This study is a randomized clinical trial with a dismantling design. One hundred outpatients seeking psychotherapy for depression, anxiety, personality disorders, and interpersonal problems were randomly assigned to 1 year of weekly sessions of dynamic psychotherapy with transference interpretation or to the same type and duration of treatment with the same therapists but without the use of transference interpretation. Interpersonal functioning and insight were measured pretreatment, posttreatment, and 1 year and 3 years after treatment termination. RESULTS Contrary to common expectation, patients with a life-long pattern of low quality of object relations and personality disorder pathology profited more from therapy with transference interpretation than from therapy with no transference interpretation. This long-term effect was mediated by an increase in the level of insight during treatment. CONCLUSIONS Insight seems to be a key mechanism of change in dynamic psychotherapy. Our results bridge the gap between clinical theory and empirical research.
Creative destruction: the commodification of industrial heritage in Nanfeng Kiln District, China

ABSTRACT The potential value of industrial heritage for developing tourism has attracted increasing attention worldwide. In China, there is an emerging trend of the reuse of industrial heritage sites to develop industrial heritage tourism as ‘creative parks’. Studies have found that over-commodification is occurring while protection of the historical and cultural value of contemporary industrial heritage is neglected during the process of redevelopment. However, detailed research on the processes and mechanisms of over-commodification is limited. A qualitative approach is adopted to examine the development process of a typical industrial heritage tourism destination, Nanfeng Kiln District in Foshan, China. Through application of a creative destruction model, the relationships and interplay of a variety of actors in this process are uncovered. Mitchell's model of creative destruction is applied to explain the transformative process of tourist destinations whose development has occurred based on the commodification of heritage. It is found that the creative destruction model should be modified to include the roles of urban land policy and various governments, to reflect the politico-economic characteristics of China.
Multi-task Clustering of Human Actions by Sharing Information

Sharing information between multiple tasks can enhance the accuracy of human action recognition systems. However, using shared information to improve multi-task human action clustering has never been considered before, and cannot be achieved using existing clustering methods. In this work, we present a novel and effective Multi-Task Information Bottleneck (MTIB) clustering method, which is capable of exploring the shared information between multiple action clustering tasks to improve the performance of individual task. Our motivation is that, different action collections always share many similar action patterns, and exploiting the shared information can lead to improved performance. Specifically, MTIB generally formulates this problem as an information loss minimization function. In this function, the shared information can be quantified by the distributional correlation of clusters in different tasks, which is based on a high-level common vocabulary constructed through a novel agglomerative information maximization method. Extensive experiments on two kinds of challenging data sets, including realistic action data sets (HMDB & UCF50, Olympic & YouTube), and cross-view data sets (IXMAS, WVU), show that the proposed approach compares favorably to the state-of-the-art methods.
Frontal Motor Cortex Activity During Reactive Control Is Associated With Past Suicidal Behavior in Recent-Onset Schizophrenia.

BACKGROUND Suicide is prevalent in schizophrenia (SZ), yet the neural system functions that confer suicide risk remain obscure. Circuits operated by the prefrontal cortex (PFC) are altered in SZ, including those that support reactive control, and PFC changes are observed in postmortem studies of heterogeneous suicide victims. AIMS We tested whether history of suicide attempt is associated with altered frontal motor cortex activity during reactive control processes. METHOD We evaluated 17 patients with recent onset of DSM-IV-TR-defined SZ using the Columbia Suicide Severity Rating Scale and functional magnetic resonance imaging during Stroop task performance. Group-level regression models relating past suicidal behavior to frontal activation controlled for depression, psychosis, and impulsivity. RESULTS Past suicidal behavior was associated with relatively higher activation in the left-hemisphere supplementary motor area (SMA), pre-SMA, premotor cortex, and dorsolateral PFC, all ipsilateral to the active primary motor cortex. CONCLUSION This study provides unique evidence that suicidal behavior in patients with recent-onset SZ directly relates to frontal motor cortex activity during reactive control, in a pattern reciprocal to the relationship with proactive control found previously. Further work should address how frontal-based control functions change with risk over time, and their potential utility as a biomarker for interventions to mitigate suicide risk in SZ.
How the parent–subsidiary relationship encourages subsidiary-driven innovation and performance in Korea: the perspective of subsidiary autonomy

ABSTRACT From the perspective of subsidiary autonomy, this study addresses what affects subsidiary-driven innovation in multinational corporations (MNCs). This study examines this question from three dimensions: (1) top management team (TMT) leadership, (2) knowledge links and (3) organizational size. Our model is tested using a sample of 250 MNC subsidiaries located in Korea. We found that non-expatriate or entrepreneurship-oriented TMT leadership generally enhances subsidiary-driven innovation. We also found that the level of networking with local knowledge sources is associated positively with subsidiary-driven innovation. In addition, the relative size of the subsidiary shows an inverted U-shaped relationship with subsidiary-driven innovation. Finally, the relationship between subsidiary-driven innovation and subsidiary performance is positively moderated by environmental dynamism. The results suggest that as foreign subsidiaries gain autonomy, the likelihood of subsidiary-driven innovation increases.
A systematic literature review of empirical research in Lean and Six Sigma in healthcare

The purpose of this paper is to review the existing literature on empirical research in Lean, Six Sigma and Lean Six Sigma in healthcare. The approach for the critical review of the 118 papers found is based on the empirical research approach given by Flynn, Sakakibara, Schroeder, Bates, and Flynn (Empirical research methods in operations management. Journal of Operations Management, 9(2), 250–284). It is concluded from the analysis of the results that the number of empirical research articles in Lean, Six Sigma and Lean Six Sigma in healthcare is increasing in a very fast way. Despite this fact, it is still needed studies describing: (i) how to create a continuous improvement culture in practice; (ii) the main aspects and lessons learned on how to sustain the improvements implemented and (iii) the specific barriers for conducting improvements in the healthcare sector. To the best knowledge of the authors, this paper is the first to attempt to critically review the empirical research articles in Lean, Six Sigma and Lean Six Sigma in healthcare.
Joint Recovery Programme Versus Usual Care: An Economic Evaluation of a Clinical Pathway for Joint Replacement Surgery

Objective:The objective of the present study was to determine the incremental cost-effectiveness of a clinical pathway for patients undergoing joint replacement, the Joint Recovery Programme (JRP), as compared with usual care. The existing care process was revised to contain costs and shorten waiting lists by facilitating patient flows and improve healthcare efficiency. Methods:The study design was a before–after trial. In total, 160 patients undergoing total hip and total knee replacement, aged 28 to 87 years (mean age, 64.4 years), were treated either according to the Joint Recovery Programme (a standardized care process with patient education and rehabilitation in groups) or usual care. Both groups were followed for 1 year. Costs were studied from a societal perspective. Outcomes included functional level (Harris Hip score and American Knee Society score) and generic quality of life (EuroQol). Results:The results indicate that the Joint Recovery Programme resulted in a significant cost saving when compared with usual care mainly as a result of a considerable (>50%) reduction in length of hospital stay. The average cost saving per patient amounted to $1261 in the total hip replacement group and $3336 in the total knee replacement group. At the same time, both functional level and quality of life were higher in the JRP group. Conclusions:Clinical pathway dominates usual care and is a highly cost-effective approach to contain costs related to joint replacement surgery without adverse consequences for patients.