Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
BETA2 activates transcription from the upstream glucokinase gene promoter in islet beta-cells and gut endocrine cells.

Glucokinase (GK) gene transcription initiates in the islet (beta-cell), gut, and brain from promoter sequences residing approximately 35 kbp upstream from those used in liver. Expression of betaGK is controlled in beta-cells by cell-enriched (i.e. pancreatic duodenal homeobox 1 [PDX-1]) and ubiquitously (i.e., Pal) distributed factors that bind to and activate from conserved sequence motifs within the upstream promoter region (termed betaGK). Here, we show that a conserved E-box element also contributes to control in the islet and gut. betaGK promoter-driven reporter gene activity was diminished by mutating the specific sequences involved in E-box-mediated basic helix-loop-helix factor activator binding in islet beta-cells and enteroendocrine cells. Gel shift assays demonstrated that the betaGK and insulin gene E-box elements formed the same cell-enriched (BETA2:E47) and generally distributed (upstream stimulatory factor [USF]) protein-DNA complexes. betaGK E-box-driven activity was stimulated in cotransfection assays performed in baby hamster kidney (BHK) cells with BETA2 and E47, but not USF. Chromatin immunoprecipitation assays performed with BETA2 antisera showed that BETA2 occupies the upstream promoter region of the endogenous betaGK gene in beta-cells. We propose that BETA2 (also termed NeuroD1) regulates betaGK promoter activity.
Consonant inventories in the spontaneous speech of young children: A bootstrapping procedure

Consonant inventories are commonly drawn to assess the phonological acquisition of toddlers. However, the spontaneous speech data that are analysed often vary substantially in size and composition. Consequently, comparisons between children and across studies are fundamentally hampered. This study aims to examine the effect of sample size on the resulting consonant inventories. A spontaneous speech corpus of 30 Dutch-speaking 2-year-olds was used. The results indicate that in order to construct and compare inventories reliably, they should be drawn from speech samples that are equally large. A new consonant inventory procedure is introduced. The implementation of this procedure demonstrates considerably less variation in inventory size across children and word positions than reported previously. This finding has important implications for clinical studies that constructed and compared inventories of typically and atypically developing children without normalizing the sample size.
An assessment of the efficacy and tolerability of a ‘double dose’ of normal-release morphine sulphate at bedtime

This study was a prospective, randomized, open, crossover study comparing a double dose (DD) of normal-release (NR) morphine at bedtime with a single dose (SD) of NR morphine at bedtime and 4 h later. Twenty patients completed the study. Four patients required breakthrough analgesia during the SD phase of the study, whilst 11 patients required breakthrough analgesia during the DD phase of the study (P=0.016). Moreover, all of the pain scores were worse during the DD phase (overnight pain, P <0.01; morning pain, P<0.01), and some of the opioid-related side effect scores were worse during the DD phase (xerostomia, P=0.033; vivid dreams, P=0.05). This study does not support the European Association for Palliative Care (EAPC) recommendations on the use of a double dose of NR morphine at bedtime.
Dementia: predictors of diagnostic accuracy and the contribution of diagnostic recommendations.

OBJECTIVES To explore and quantify the relative contribution of guideline recommendations and other determinants in the family physicianamprsquos diagnostic work-up of patients suspected of dementia. STUDY DESIGN We prospectively studied 64 family physicians in an Eastern district in the Netherlands who diagnosed dementia according to the national Dutch guidelines in primary care. Their diagnoses were compared with the reference standard embodied by the memory clinic team of the University Medical Center Nijmegen. POPULATION The physicians evaluated 107 patients older than 55 years suspected of having dementia. OUTCOMES MEASURED Predictive values of various clinical and demographic parameters were measured in both univariate and multivariate logistic regression analyses. RESULTS Activities of daily living (ADL) dependency (odds ratio [OR] = 5.3, P =.03), years since symptoms first started (OR = 1.84, P =.03), and the presence of somatic comorbidity (OR = 0.48, P =.02) independently contributed to the prediction of the presence or absence of dementia. The area under the receiver-operating characteristic (ROC) curve for these 3 variables together was 0.79. The ROC area of the family physiciansamprsquo diagnosis to determine the final diagnosis was 0.74. The number of recommendations applied did not additionally contribute to the assessment of the final diagnosis. CONCLUSIONS The diagnostic accuracy of the family physician was reasonable. For family physicians, ADL dependency is a better predictor of dementia than cognitive impairment. Family physicians should be aware of diagnostic difficulties in patients with somatic comorbidity. We were unable to confirm the diagnostic value of many of the recommendations of dementia guidelines.
An incremental clustering algorithm based on grid

The existing clustering algorithms based on grid are analyzed, and the clustering algorithms based on grid have the advantages of dealing with high dimensional data and high efficiency. However, traditional algorithms based on grid are influenced greatly by the granularity of grid partition. An incremental clustering algorithm based on grid, which is called IGrid, is proposed. IGrid has the advantage of high efficiency of traditional clustering algorithms based on grid, and it also partition the grid space by dimensional radius in a dynamic and incremental manner to improve the quality of clustering. The experiments on real datasets and synthetic datasets show that IGrid has better performance than traditional clustering algorithms based on grid in both speed and accuracy.
Determination of Alkylphenols and Alkylphenol Mono-and Diethoxylates in Sewage Sludge by High Speed Gas Chromatography / Mass Spectrometry Application

A routine method is described for quantitative determination of 4-nonylphenol (NP), 4-nonylphenol monoethoxylate (NP1EO) and 4-nonylphenol diethoxylate (NP2EO) in sludge samples. A Soxtec extraction procedure was used to enrich target compounds from the solid matrix. Quantitative determinations were performed by high speed gas chromatography/mass spectrometry using a short apolar fused silica column. Derivitization allows NP1EO and NP2EO to be analyzed by gas chromatography. The relative standard deviation was close to 5% for the analysis of 10 different sludges analyzed seven times each. Recoveries were determined for a sludge reference material and were higher than 90%. The experimental limits of quantification were 2, 5, and 5 μg/g of dry matter (μg/g DM), respectively, for NP, NP1EO, and NP2EO. Determination of Alkylphenols and Alkylphenol Monoand Diethoxylates in Sewage Sludge by High Speed Gas Chromatography/Mass Spectrometry Application Good agreement was observed between results obtained with this method and those obtained by our previous method, which used normal-phase liquid chromatography with an aminosilica column. This method was applied to different kinds of sludge collected in France and showed the persistence of these contaminants.
A Review of the Benefits of Satureja Species on Metabolic Syndrome and Their Possible Mechanisms of Action

Metabolic syndrome, also known as insulin resistance disorder, is the simultaneous manifestation of multiple metabolic disorders in an individual. The present-day complementary and alternative therapies suggest several medicinal herbs that may have the potential to improve one or multiple complications of metabolic syndrome. All of them have their own limitations in efficacy and unwanted effects. Therefore, we reviewed species of Satureja as widespread medicinal herbs and potentially good remedies for metabolic syndrome. We reviewed literature found in PubMed and the ISI Web of Knowledge with the key word Satureja in the title. The influence of any species of Satureja on any disease or syndrome, enzymatic, metabolic, or physiological pathways, in human, animals, or in vitro conditions related to any characteristics of metabolic syndrome were considered. The main outcomes of treatment with Satureja species were categorized, and the possible mechanisms of action are discussed in this article.
The Relationship between Involvement in Religious Student Organizations and the Development of Socially Responsible Leadership Capacity

ABSTRACT OF DISSERTATIONOF DISSERTATION THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN INVOLVEMENT IN RELIGIOUS STUDENT ORGANIZATIONS AND THE DEVELOPMENT OF SOCIALLY RESPONSIBLE LEADERSHIP CAPACITY This study of 76,365 students from 82 U.S. institutions explored the relationship between involvement in a religious student organization and student capacities for socially responsible leadership, based on the Social Change Model of Leadership (SCM). Results from t-tests found students involved in both religious and secular student organizations reported statistically significantly higher scores on all eight measures of socially responsible leadership than students involved in only religious student organizations. Hierarchical multiple regression models explained between 26% and 29% of the variance in student reported levels of overall socially responsible leadership. Compared to students involved in no organizations, involvement in religious only, secular only, and both religious and secular organization types were found to be negative yet statistically insignificant predictors of socially responsible leadership. The highest predictors of socially responsible leadership were precollege capacities for socially responsible leadership, number of years in school, and collegiate student organization involvement frequency.
The shadow economy and corruption in Greece

The paper highlights the interaction between the underground economy and corruption, focussing on the regional dimensions of the problem in south-eastern Europe. It discusses the theoretical approach to underground economic activities and focuses on the determinants of the Greek economy, the tax and national insurance burdens and the intensity of the relevant regulations in Greece, concluding that Greece shows profound signs of a transition country in terms of the high level of regulation leading to a high incidence of bribery and a large shadow economy. The taxation problems arising from high administrative-compliance costs and bribery indicate the urgent need for tax reforms designed to simplify the regulation framework. Improvement of the quality of Greek institutions and rationalisation of administrative-compliance costs are a prerequisite for successful and urgently needed tax reforms in terms of reducing the overall Greek shadow economy, through the simplification of the regulatory framework. The inability of Greek governments to tax underground activities, and the relevant impact on the scale of corruption, is related with a vast range of governmental activities distorting and weakening its allocative, redistributional and stabilising role. The paper finally argues that the strong and consistent relationship between the shadow economy and corruption in Greece is closely connected with the reflexes of those who are not willing or cannot afford to bribe central or local government bureaucrats, or who have no connections to these bureaucrats, systematically choosing the dark (shadow) side of the economy as a substitute for corruption (bribery) and making the shadow economy complementary to a “corrupt state”.
Efficient Algorithms for Optimization-Based Image Segmentation

Separating an object in an image from its background is a central problem (called segmentation) in pattern recognition and computer vision. In this paper, we study the computational complexity of the segmentation problem, assuming that the sought object forms a connected region in an intensity image. We show that the optimization problem of separating a connected region in a grid of N×N pixels is NP-hard under the interclass variance, a criterion that is often used in discriminant analysis. More importantly, we consider the basic case in which the object is bounded by two x-monotone curves (i.e., the object itself is x-monotone), and present polynomial-time algorithms for computing the optimal segmentation. Our main algorithm for exact optimal segmentation by two x-monotone curves runs in O(N4) time; this algorithm is based on several techniques such as a parametric optimization formulation, a hand-probing algorithm for the convex hull of an unknown planar point set, and dynamic programming using fast matrix searching. Our efficient approximation scheme obtains an ∊-approximate solution in O(∊-1 N2log L) time, where ∊ is any fixed constant with 1>∊>0, and L is the total sum of the absolute values of the brightness levels of the image.
Resistome Analysis of Enterobacter cloacae CY01, an Extensively Drug-Resistant Strain Producing VIM-1 Metallo-β-Lactamase from China

ABSTRACT Resistome analysis of clinical VIM-1-producing Enterobacter cloacae strain CY01 from China revealed the presence of multiple resistance determinants. Two resistance plasmids were identified in CY01. The pCY-VIM plasmid was 14 kb in size and possessed a replicase gene (repA), a gene cluster encoding the partitioning function (parABC), and a carbapenemase gene (blaVIM-1). Another 5.9-kb plasmid, pCY-MdT, with an aac(6′)-Ib gene, was very closely related (13 nucleotide differences) to pMdT1, a ColE1 plasmid carrying aac(6′)-Ib-cr4.
Ultra-sensitive analysis of a cantilevered single-walled carbon nanocone-based mass detector

The ultra-sensitivity of mass detectors using individual cantilevered single-walled carbon nanocone (SWCNC) resonators is first investigated. A higher-order gradient theory, derived at the atomic level, is applied for modeling SWCNC resonators. Numerical simulations using a mesh-free computational framework based on moving Kriging interpolation are conducted to investigate the mass sensitivity of cantilevered SWCNC resonators with extra mass loading as well as with equivalent single-walled carbon nanotube (SWCNT) resonators. Comparison of the magnitude of resonant frequency shifts, the key criterion for mass sensitivity, of these two kinds of resonators demonstrates a far higher mass sensitivity for SWCNC resonators than for SWCNT resonators, thus suggesting a new method for ultra-sensitive mass detection via SWCNC resonators. The dependence of the mass sensitivity of SWCNC resonators on height and top radii has been examined. A reduction in the height of SWCNC resonators gives rise to a considerable increase in mass sensitivity. The mass sensitivity of a 6 nm high SWCNC resonator can even reach a level of 10−22 g. It is noteworthy that the top radii of SWCNC resonators have a slight effect on frequency shifts. Another interesting observed phenomenon is that a deviation in the height of 19.2° SWCNC resonators leads to little loss in precision of mass detection when the attached mass is smaller than 10−20 g. This superior characteristic indicates that SWCNC-based mass detectors have great potential in practical applications.
Incentives to patients versus incentives to health care providers: The users' perspective

In theory, health care providers may adapt their professional behavior to the financial incentives resulting from their remuneration. Our research question is whether the users of health care services anticipate such behavior from their general practitioner (GP) and, if they do, what consequences such anticipation has on their preferences regarding financial incentives. Our theoretical model explains users' preferences for one or another incentives scheme, disentangling the financial motives (incentives amounts, wealth) from the behavioral ones (perceived GPs' sensitivity to incentives). We empirically test our theoretical predictions using data from a survey that elicits individual preferences for either patient or provider hypothetical incentives in France. The empirical results confirm the theoretical ones: users tend to prefer incentives to patients rather than to GPs when the amount of GP incentives is high, when the amount of patient incentives is low, when they anticipate that their GP's medical decisions are affected by financial incentives or when their wealth is high. Otherwise, they prefer their GP to face financial incentives.
Intra-Abdominal Pressure and Activation of Abdominal Muscles in Highly Trained Participants During Sudden Heavy Trunk Loadings

Study Design. Ten participants were exposed to heavy sudden trunk loads as they might occur during patient handling. Objectives. The aim was to observe if well-trained men and women use their full rate of intra-abdominal pressure (IAP) development when exposed to heavy sudden trunk loads. Further, to elucidate to what degree the rectus abdominus muscle is activated when the IAP is developed. Summary of Background Data. Well-trained judo fighters are used to heavy sudden trunk loads and can produce a high IAP. It is unknown whether they use their full potential. IAP can increase the spinal stability and has been suggested to unload the spine. The unloading effect will, however, disappear if the development of the IAP demands substantial activity in the vertical fibers of the abdominal muscles. Methods. Five male and five female well-trained judo and jujitsu fighters were exposed to heavy sudden trunk loadings through imitated patient handling situations where the patient fell and the fighters should hold the patient and prevent the fall. IAP was measured with a catheter in the stomach. Along with the IAP measurement, EMG was measured on the abdominal muscles, and the load on the low back was quantified by a three-dimensional dynamic biomechanical calculation of the torques at the L4–L5 joint. Results. The well-trained judo fighters did not use their full potential of the IAP development when exposed to the heavy sudden trunk loads, but the women had to use a higher level of their IAP and extension torque capacity to comply with the heavy loads. The rectus abdominus muscle does not contribute to the IAP development when the trunk is exposed to a sudden heavy load.
Diagnosis of meningeal involvement in patients with acute lymphoblastic leukemia: Immunofluorescence for terminal transferase

An indirect immunofluorescence technique (IF) for detecting TdT enzyme was used to study leukocytes present in the cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) of patients with documented acute lymphoblastic leukemia, nonlymphoid leukemias, and unrelated nonmalignant disorders. TdT was found to be expressed in all cases of overt meningeal lymphoblastic leukemia studied but was absent from leukocytes in patients with nonlymphoid leukemia and lymphocytic meningitis. In addition, the IF test proved useful in identifying leukemic blasts in CSF where these were of atypical morphology or present in extremely low numbers. Immunofluorescence for TdT is a useful tumor marker in the CSF of patients with ALL.
Inverse association between yoghurt intake and upper aerodigestive tract cancer risk in a Japanese population

Although the combination of tobacco smoking and alcohol drinking account for approximately 80% of upper aerodigestive tract (UADT) cancer risk, the role of dietary factors, including dairy products, in the risk of these cancers remains controversial. We aimed to evaluate the association between dairy product intake and UADT cancer risk in a Japanese population. We conducted a case–control study in 959 patients with UADT cancer and 2877 sex- and age-matched noncancer control subjects who visited the Aichi Cancer Center in Nagoya, Japan. Data on lifestyle factors, including diet, were obtained by self-administered questionnaire. Associations were assessed by multivariate logistic regression models that considered potential confounders. We found a significant inverse association between yoghurt intake and UADT cancer risk with multivariate-adjusted odds ratios and 95% confidence intervals for <1 time/week, ≥1 time/week and <1 time/day, and ≥1 time/day consumption of yoghurt of 0.70 (95% confidence interval: 0.54–0.91), 0.67 (0.54–0.84), and 0.73 (0.55–0.95) relative to nonconsumers (Ptrend=0.005). When stratified by primary tumor site, this association was significant among patients with hypopharyngeal, laryngeal, and esophageal cancer. However, we saw no significant association between milk or butter intake and UADT cancer risk. In this study, we found that a high intake of yoghurt may lower the risk of developing UADT cancer in a Japanese population. Further investigation of this association is warranted.
On Asymmetric Migration Patterns from Developing Countries

This paper shows that trade and emigration of skilled workers from a poor country is complementary but that between trade and emigration of unskilled workers is a substitute. The asymmetric effect of more openness to trade on the local wages seems to be crucial in driving such results. The asymmetric changes in skilled and unskilled wages generate counterintuitive outcomes regardless of the policy shock that triggers such wage effect. One of the more compelling outcomes is rise in wage inequality as influenced by asymmetric emigration patterns.
Elimination of Leakage Effects Related to the Use of Windings with Fractions of Turns

Obtaining exact output voltages from transformers is a difficult task due to discrete turn ratios. This becomes even more difficult in modern switching power supplies operating above 100 kHz because the number of turns per winding is reduced. For multichannel applications different methods of postregulation have been employed, resulting in increased power dissipation and power supply cost. A new method of dealing with this problem has been developed, offering a higher degree of flexibility. This technique allows the use of fractions of turns, while maintaining low leakage inductances. Theoretical analysis of leakage effects related to fractional turn windings has been derived and tests on an experimental transformer have been performed.