Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Coronary artery disease in orthotopic liver transplantation: Pretransplant assessment and management

The prevalence of coronary artery disease in end‐stage liver disease is only now being recognized. Liver transplant patients are a high risk subgroup for coronary artery disease, even if asymptomatic. Coronary artery disease is a predictor of poor outcomes; therefore, identification of those at risk must be a key clinical priority. However, risk assessment is particularly difficult as many of the available diagnostic tools have either proven to be unhelpful or remain to be validated. Risk factor profiling has been unable to identify those at risk and commonly underestimates risk. The high negative predictive value of Dobutamine stress echo, when target heart rates are achieved, allows it to be used to identify a low risk group. For all other patients, proceeding to invasive coronary angiography is often necessary, and the risks of the procedure can be reduced by a transradial approach. Pharmacological reduction of the consequences of coronary artery disease can be limited by the underlying liver disease. Revascularization pre‐transplantation is recommended in international guidelines but has demonstrated little evidence of benefit. Surgical revascularization carries an increased risk in these patients and is commonly performed pre‐transplantation, although combined liver and cardiac surgery has been described. Percutaneous coronary intervention is increasingly used with patients requiring anti‐platelet medication for up to one year after intervention. We present a review of all these issues and the evidence for assessing and managing these high‐risk patients. Liver Transpl 16:550‐557, 2010. © 2010 AASLD.
Promoting Diversity: Recruitment, Selection, Orientation, and Retention of International Students

The number of international students attending U.S. higher learning institutions has decreased over the past decade (excluding students from China and Saudi Arabia) from 40 percent to 30 percent. These students are an important resource for the U.S. and their native countries in terms of education, culture, and economy. Differences between international and domestic students currently enrolled in a private university were assessed using a new American College of Testing Survey of Student Opinion combined with a sociocultural adaptation scale. Those analyzed results were incorporated into a customized 18 question survey and interview process to assess international and domestic students who had not graduated. These analyzed assessments identified and increased the understanding of needs—academic and non-academic— so that recommendations could be made to the university on how to better satisfy those needs and thereby recruit and retain more international students. A total of 136 surveys and interviews were analyzed. Significant differences between international and domestic students in sociocultural adaptation and financial security and other notable differences in international graduate and undergraduate students exist. Recommendations focused on improving programs and services—orientation, advising, counseling, sociocultural, student governance, and support— to better integrate and promote diversity in meeting academic and nonacademic needs.
Trimethyl[3-methyl-1-(o-tolenesulfonyl)indol-2-ylmethyl]ammonium iodide and benzyl[3-bromo-1-(phenylsulfonyl)indol-2-ylmethyl]tolylamine.

The title compounds, C(20)H(25)N(2)O(2)S(+). I(-), (I), and C(29)H(25)BrN(2)O(2)S, (II), respectively, both crystallize in space group P-1. The pyrrole ring subtends an angle with the sulfonyl group of 33.6 degrees in (I) and 21.5 degrees in (II). The phenyl ring of the sulfonyl substituent makes a dihedral angle with the best plane of the indole moiety of 81.6 degrees in (I) and 67.2 degrees in (II). The lengthening or shortening of the C-N bond distances in both compounds is due to the electron-withdrawing character of the phenylsulfonyl group. The S atoms are in distorted tetrahedral configurations. The molecular structures are stabilized by C-H.O and C-H.I interactions in (I), and by C-H.O and C-H.N interactions in (II).
Unbiased Expression Mapping Identifies a Link between the Complement and Cholinergic Systems in the Rat Central Nervous System

The complement system is activated in a wide spectrum of CNS diseases and is suggested to play a role in degenerative phenomena such as elimination of synaptic terminals. Still, little is known of mechanisms regulating complement activation in the CNS. Loss of synaptic terminals in the spinal cord after an experimental nerve injury is increased in the inbred DA strain compared with the PVG strain and is associated with expression of the upstream complement components C1q and C3, in the absence of membrane attack complex activation and neutrophil infiltration. To further dissect pathways regulating complement expression, we performed genome-wide expression profiling and linkage analysis in a large F2(DA × PVG) intercross, which identified quantitative trait loci regulating expression of C1qa, C1qb, C3, and C9. Unlike C1qa, C1qb, and C9, which all displayed distinct coregulation with different cis-regulated C-type lectins, C3 was regulated in a coexpression network immediately downstream of butyrylcholinesterase. Butyrylcholinesterase hydrolyses acetylcholine, which exerts immunoregulatory effects partly through TNF-α pathways. Accordingly, increased C3, but not C1q, expression was demonstrated in rat and mouse glia following TNF-α stimulation, which was abrogated in a dose-dependent manner by acetylcholine. These findings demonstrate new pathways regulating CNS complement expression using unbiased mapping in an experimental in vivo system. A direct link between cholinergic activity and complement activation is supported by in vitro experiments. The identification of distinct pathways subjected to regulation by naturally occurring genetic variability is of relevance for the understanding of disease mechanisms in neurologic conditions characterized by neuronal injury and complement activation.
Radiosensitization by Hyperthermia in the Chicken B-Lymphocyte Cell Line DT40 and its Derivatives Lacking Nonhomologous End Joining and/or Homologous Recombination Pathways of DNA Double-Strand Break Repair

Abstract Yin, H. L. , Suzuki, Y. , Matsumoto, Y. , Tomita, M. , Furusawa, Y. , Enomoto, A. , Morita, A. , Aoki, M. , Yatagai, F. , Suzuki, T. , Hosoi, Y. , Ohtomo, K. and Suzuki, N. Radiosensitization by Hyperthermia in the Chicken B-Lymphocyte Cell Line DT40 and its Derivatives Lacking Nonhomologous End Joining and/or Homologous Recombination Pathways of DNA Double-Strand Break Repair. Radiat. Res. 162, 433–441 (2004). Hyperthermia has a radiosensitizing effect, which is one of the most important biological bases for its use in cancer therapy with radiation. Although the mechanism of this effect has not been clarified in molecular terms, possible involvement of either one or both of two major DNA double-strand break (DSB) repair pathways, i.e. nonhomologous end joining (NHEJ) and homologous recombination (HR), has been speculated. To test this possibility, we examined cells of the chicken B-lymphocyte cell line DT40 and its derivatives lacking NHEJ and/or HR: KU70−/−, DNA-PKcs−/−/−, RAD54−/− and KU70−/−/RAD54−/−. Radiosensitization by hyperthermia could be seen in all of the mutants, including KU70−/−/RAD54−/−, which lacked both NHEJ and HR. Therefore, radiosensitization by hyperthermia cannot be explained simply by its inhibitory effects, if any, on NHEJ and/or HR alone. However, in NHEJ-defective KU70−/− and DNA-PKcs−/−/−, consisting of two subpopulations with distinct radiosensitivity, the radiosensitive subpopulation, which is considered to be cells in G1 and early S, was not sensitized. Substantial sensitization was seen only in the radioresistant subpopulation, which is considered to be cells in late S and G2, capable of repairing DSBs through HR. This observation did not exclude possible involvement of NHEJ in G1 and early S phase and also suggested inhibitory effects of hyperthermia on HR. Thus partial contribution of NHEJ and HR in radiosensitization by hyperthermia, especially that depending on the cell cycle stage, remains to be considered.
A waterborne Campylobacter jejuni outbreak on a Greek island

SUMMARY A case-control and a case-crossover study were performed to investigate a Campylobacter jejuni outbreak in Crete in 2009. Most cases originated from rural areas, served by a different water-supply system from that of the adjacent town. Thirty-seven cases and 79 controls were interviewed; cases were interviewed for two different time periods for the case-crossover study. Stool cultures, PFGE and MLST subtyping were run in human samples. Univariately, consumption of tap water was associated with C. jejuni infection. Stratified analysis revealed that water-supply system was an effect modifier of this association. In the multivariable analysis, the rural areas' water supplier and drinking tap water were risk factors. No risk factors were revealed in the case-crossover study. No Campylobacter were isolated in the tested water samples. There is strong epidemiological evidence that tap water was the vehicle of the outbreak.
Spectral Efficiency Enhancement in the Multi-user MIMO Downlink With Partial Feedback Information

In the multi-user multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) downlink, co-channel interference (CCI) is the dominating impairment of the system performance. When channel state information (CSI) is completely available to the transmitter, a precoder rightly chosen based on the current CSI can effectively suppress CCI, and thus leads to simpler receiver structure. However, design of precoder based on only partial CSI is still an unsolved problem. Focusing on this point, this paper proposes a novel scheme using joint transmission, which completely eliminates CCI for each mobile terminal and thus enables simple and independent single-user signal detection. The proposed scheme requires only the principal right singular vector of each user's channel response matrix as feedback information. With adaptive modulation for each user, the spatial diversity of the MIMO channel can be sufficiently exploited, and therefore higher spectral efficiency attained. Simulation results show that the proposed scheme has better performance for spectral efficiency in either scenario with or without multi-user selection diversity than the existing scheme
Conserved ERAD-Like Quality Control of a Plant Polytopic Membrane Protein

The endoplasmic reticulum (ER) of eukaryotic cells serves as a checkpoint tightly monitoring protein integrity and channeling malformed proteins into different rescue and degradation routes. The degradation of several ER lumenal and membrane-localized proteins is mediated by ER-associated protein degradation (ERAD) in yeast (Saccharomyces cerevisiae) and mammalian cells. To date, evidence for the existence of ERAD-like mechanisms in plants is indirect and based on heterologous or artificial substrate proteins. Here, we show that an allelic series of single amino acid substitution mutants of the plant-specific barley (Hordeum vulgare) seven-transmembrane domain mildew resistance o (MLO) protein generates substrates for a postinsertional quality control process in plant, yeast, and human cells, suggesting conservation of the underlying mechanism across kingdoms. Specific stabilization of mutant MLO proteins in yeast strains carrying defined defects in protein quality control demonstrates that MLO degradation is mediated by HRD pathway-dependent ERAD. In plants, individual aberrant MLO proteins exhibit markedly reduced half-lives, are polyubiquitinated, and can be stabilized through inhibition of proteasome activity. This and a dependence on homologs of the AAA ATPase CDC48/p97 to eliminate the aberrant variants strongly suggest that MLO proteins are endogenous substrates of an ERAD-related plant quality control mechanism.
Recent discoveries concerning the involvement of transcription factors from the Grainyhead-like family in cancer

The Grainyhead-like (GRHL) family of transcription factors has three mammalian members, which are currently termed Grainyhead-like 1 (GRHL1), Grainyhead-like 2 (GRHL2), and Grainyhead-like 3 (GRHL3). These factors adopt a DNA-binding immunoglobulin fold homologous to the DNA-binding domain of key tumor suppressor p53. Their patterns of expression are tissue and developmentally specific. Earlier studies of the GRHL proteins focused on their functions in mammalian development. In recent years, these factors have been linked to many different types of cancer: squamous cell carcinoma of the skin, breast cancer, gastric cancer, hepatocellular carcinoma, colorectal cancer, clear cell renal cell carcinoma, neuroblastoma, prostate cancer, and cervical cancer. The roles of GRHL proteins in these various types of cancer are complex, and in some cases appear to be contradictory: they can serve to promote cancer development, or they may act as tumor suppressors, depending on the particular GRHL protein involved and on the cancer type. The reasons for obvious discrepancies in results from different studies remain unclear. At the molecular level, the GRHL transcription factors regulate the expression of genes whose products are involved in cellular proliferation, differentiation, adhesion, and polarity. We herein review the roles of GRHL proteins in cancer development, and we critically examine relevant molecular mechanisms, which were proposed by different authors. We also discuss the significance of recent discoveries implicating the involvement of GRHL transcription factors in cancer and highlight potential future applications of this knowledge in cancer treatment.
The Alcohol Dehydrogenase 1C(rs698) Genotype and Breast Cancer

Published data regarding the association between alcohol dehydrogenase (ADH) 1C genotypes and breast cancer risk show conflicting results. The authors performed this meta-analysis on 1969 patients and 2244 controls from 4 (including 7 study populations) related case-control studies to estimate the association between ADH1C(rs698) genotyping information and breast cancer risk. According to the 6 eligible populations, the odds ratios (ORs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) for breast cancer risk for ADH1C 1-2 versus ADH1C 2-2 , ADH1C 1-1 versus ADH1C 2-2 genotype, and ADH1C 1 versus ADH1C 2 were 1.16 (0.95-1.42), 1.17 (0.95-1.44), and 1.05 (0.96-1.16), respectively. The OR (95% CI) for ADH1C 1-1 + ADH1C 1-2 versus ADH1C 2-2 from the 7 study populations was 1.14 (0.96-1.36). Meanwhile, genotypes of ADH1C 1-1 + ADH1C 1-2 increased the risk of breast cancer in drinkers (OR = 1.35; 95% CI = 1.03-1.76). This meta-analysis suggested that the ADH1C 1 allele might modestly influence the effect of alcohol on breast cancer but is not an independent risk factor for breast cancer. However, more restricted prospective studies are needed.
Pregnancy outcomes with a primary complaint of perception of reduced fetal movements

Abstract Reduced fetal movement is a worrisome common complaint, not only for mothers but also for the attending medical personnel. The aim of this study was to analyse the pregnancy outcomes of women who presented primarily with reduced fetal movements (RFM). A retrospective study was performed based on patients’ perception alone. Obstetric, past medical history, current presentation and outcomes of pregnancy were analysed. A total of 230 case notes were reviewed, with the majority being primigravidae. Less than half (48.7%) of the women had spontaneous labour, 45.7% had induction and 5.6% had elective caesarean section. There were no maternal complications in 97.4% (n = 224) of them. About 0.9% (n = 2) and 1.7% (n = 4) had primary postpartum haemorrhage and extended perineal tear, respectively. Although there was no major neonatal mortality and morbidity, until a randomised trial with a significant sample is conducted in the management of RFM, careful selections for elective delivery or conservative management would prevent untoward complications.
The Thrombophilic State in Cancer Patients

Thrombosis and disseminated intravascular coagulation are common complications of cancer. Specific conditions associated with cancer such as stasis due to immobilization or blood flow obstruction, surgery, infections, endothelium damage due to chemotherapeutic agents and abnormalities of blood coagulation contribute to the hypercoagulable and thrombophilic state of cancer patients. This procoagulant state in cancer arises mostly from the capacity of tumor cells to express and release procoagulant activities (cancer procoagulant and tissue factor). Decreased levels of inhibitors of coagulation, impaired fibrinolysis, the presence of antiphospholipid antibodies and an acquired activated protein C resistance contribute to the hypercoagulable state. The activation of coagulation is also implicated in tumor proliferation through interactions of coagulation with inflammation and increased tissue factor pathway inhibitor. Laboratory diagnosis of the thrombophilic state include (1) elevation of clotting factors, fibrinogen/fibrin degradation products, hyperfibrinogenemia and thrombocytosis and (2) elevation of specific markers of activation of coagulation: fibrinopeptide A, fragment 1 + 2, thrombin-antithrombin complexes and D-dimers. However, none of the tests has any predictive value for the occurrence of thrombotic events in one individual patient. In patients with venous thromboembolism a noninvasive screening for occult cancer is able to detect a relatively high incidence of hidden cancer and the search for thrombophilia seems important in patients without known cancer.
An Improved Algorithm for QR Code Image Binarization

QR codes are the most widely used in two-dimensional barcodes nowadays. Image pre-processing is an important process to achieve QR code image recognition in complex conditions and binarization that directly determines the success or failure of the automatic image recognition technology is a key step in the image pre-processing method. In practical applications, uneven illumination takes a heavy toll on the QR code image captured by video cameras. This paper presents an improved QR code image binarization method to deal with the QR code image with uneven illumination. The method is based on an adaptive local binarization algorithm proposed by J. Sauvola. In addition, the improved method adjusts the selected threshold derived from the improved Sauvola's algorithm and utilizes an integral image to shorten the calculation time. Experimental results show that the QR code binarization can be done quickly by the improved algorithm with high accuracy and stability, and it also can be implemented in embedded systems.
Price and volatility jumps in the stock market

The contributions of this thesis are discussed in three self-contained chapters. Chapter 1 We study the bivariate jump process involving the S&P 500 and the Euro Stoxx 50 index with jumps extracted from high frequency data using non-parametric methods. Our analysis, based on a generalized Hawkes process, reveals the presence of self-excitation in the jump activity which is responsible for jump clustering but has a very small persistence in time. Concerning cross-market effects, we find statistically significant co-jumps occurring when both markets are simultaneously operating but no evidence of contagion in the jump activity, suggesting that the role of jumps in volatility transmission is negligible. Moreover, we find a negative relationship between the jump activity and the continuous volatility indicating that jumps are mostly detected during tranquil market conditions rather than in periods of stress. Importantly, our empirical results are robust under different jump detection methods. Chapter 2 We construct a new class of non-parametric robust to jumps estimators for the realized volatility combining multiple measures applied to high frequency data. Collecting information from several estimators, this method provides a higher asymptotic efficiency and allows to improve finite sample properties. We use such combinations to construct non-parametric tests for the detection of jumps in asset prices: our Monte Carlo study shows that the new tests can achieve substantially more power compared to other common methods. Chapter 3 We introduce a new stochastic process generalizing the Autoregressive Gamma (ARG) of Gourieroux and Jasiak (2006). This process is based on a new and more flexible specification of the conditional distribution which extends the non-central gamma preserving the same analytical tractability. We propose an empirical a application to model the realized volatility measured from high frequency data. The period of our analysis includes the sub-prime and the Euro Sovereign crisis. Our results highlight the superior performances of the new process compared the standard ARG and confirm the need of at least two stochastic factors for a satisfactory description of the volatility dynamics: one factor is responsible for small volatility fluctuations while the second factor generates large upward shocks featuring volatility jumps. v
Mechanistic insight into eukaryotic 60S ribosomal subunit biogenesis by cryo-electron microscopy

Eukaryotic ribosomes, the protein-producing factories of the cell, are composed of four ribosomal RNA molecules and roughly 80 proteins. Their biogenesis is a complex process that involves more than 200 biogenesis factors that facilitate the production, modification, and assembly of ribosomal components and the structural transitions along the maturation pathways of the pre-ribosomal particles. Here, I review recent structural and mechanistic insights into the biogenesis of the large ribosomal subunit that were furthered by cryo-electron microscopy of natively purified pre-60S particles and in vitro reconstituted ribosome assembly factor complexes. Combined with biochemical, genetic, and previous structural data, these structures have provided detailed insights into the assembly and maturation of the central protuberance of the 60S subunit, the network of biogenesis factors near the ribosomal tunnel exit, and the functional activation of the large ribosomal subunit during cytoplasmic maturation.
Non-intrusive load monitoring based on low frequency active power measurements

A Non-Intrusive Load Monitoring (NILM) method for residential appliances based on active power signal is presented. This method works effectively with a single active power measurement taken at a low sampling rate (1 s). The proposed method utilizes the Karhunen Loeve (KL) expansion to decompose windows of active power signals into subspace components in order to construct a unique set of features, referred to as signatures, from individual and aggregated active power signals. Similar signal windows were clustered in to one group prior to feature extraction. The clustering was performed using a modified mean shift algorithm. After the feature extraction, energy levels of signal windows and power levels of subspace components were utilized to reduce the number of possible appliance combinations and their energy level combinations. Then, the turned on appliance combination and the energy contribution from individual appliances were determined through the Maximum a Posteriori (MAP) estimation. Finally, the proposed method was modified to adaptively accommodate the usage patterns of appliances at each residence. The proposed NILM method was validated using data from two public databases: tracebase and reference energy disaggregation data set (REDD). The presented results demonstrate the ability of the proposed method to accurately identify and disaggregate individual energy contributions of turned on appliance combinations in real households. Furthermore, the results emphasise the importance of clustering and the integration of the usage behaviour pattern in the proposed NILM method for real households.