Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Disaggregated energy consumption and economic growth in G-7 countries

ABSTRACT This study aims to examine the relationship between energy consumption (i.e., oil, natural gas, and coal) and economic growth in G-7 countries. For this purpose, the annual data from 1970 to 2013 is investigated using with panel bootstrap causality approach that allows cross-sectional dependency and heterogeneity among countries. The results reveal that the oil consumption causes economic growth in Germany, Italy, Japan, and the United States; economic growth causes oil consumption in Germany and the United Kingdom; natural gas consumption causes economic growth in Italy, Japan, the United States, and the United Kingdom; economic growth causes natural gas consumption in Germany; coal consumption causes economic growth in Canada; and economic growth causes coal consumption in the United States.
Chemotherapeutics and Hormesis

This article represents the first comprehensive assessment of hormetic effects of chemotherapeutic agents. Hormetic dose-response relationships were reported for a wide range of chemotherapeutics, including antibiotics, antiviral, and antitumor agents as well as substances that affect hair growth, prostate function, cognitive performance, and numerous other endpoints. Particular attention was given to assessing the quantitative features of the dose response, the underlying mechanistic features of the biphasic nature of the dose response, and the clinical implications of hormetic responses. Recognition of the hormetic-like biphasic nature of the dose response is expected to have an important impact on the design of experiments to assess chemotherapeutics and how such agents may be employed more successfully in clinical applications.
Effect on motivation, perceived competence, and activation after participation in the ‘‘Ready to Act’’ programme for people with screen-detected dysglycaemia: A 1-year randomised controlled trial, Addition-DK

Aim: To investigate the reach of the ‘‘Ready to Act’’ programme and the 1-year effects on psychological determinants of healthy behaviour: motivation, perceived competence, and activation level. Methods: A total of 509 adults with dysglycaemia were recruited from general practioners (GPs) in the intensive arm of the Danish Anglo-Danish-Dutch Study of Intensive Treatment in People with Screen-Detected Diabetes in Primary Care (ADDITION) study, a type 2 diabetes screening programme. The participants were randomised to the ‘‘Ready to Act’’ programme added on top of GP care (n = 322) or to GP care (n = 187). The core components of the programme were motivation, action experience, informed decision-making, and social involvement conducted in two one-to-one sessions and eight group-meetings (18 hours). The reach of the programme was measured by the proportion of people who signed up. Outcomes were changes in treatment motivation (Treatment Self-Regulation Questionnaire, TSRQ), perceived competence (Perceived Competence Scale, PCS), and activation in chronic care (Patient Activation Measure, PAM). Effect size was the difference between 1-year changes in the randomisation groups analysed by intention-to-treat. Results: A total of 142 (44%) of 322 signed up and 123 (87%) of these completed. At 1 year, the difference in autonomous motivation for behavioural treatment (TSRQ) between the randomisation groups was 1.0 (95% CI 0.1 to 2.0), and the difference in perceived competence changes in healthy diet (PCS-d) was 1.5 (95% CI 0.2 to 2.7). No differences were observed for activation (PAM) between the groups. Subgroup analysis revealed men to benefit more from the intervention than women. Conclusions: The programme is a promising health-promoting component in prevention and care for people with screen-detected dysglycaemia, as it attracted four of 10 people and had effects on motivation and perceived competence.
The Evaluation of the Neuroprotective Effects of Bispyridinium Oximes in Tabun-Poisoned Rats

Tabun (O-ethyl-N,N-dimethyl phosphoramidocyanidate) belongs to the group of highly toxic organophosphorus compounds that may be used as chemical warfare agents for military as well as terrorist purposes. Tabun differs from other highly toxic organophosphates by the fact that commonly used antidotes are not able adequately to prevent tabun-induced acute toxic effects. The neuroprotective effects of four bispyridinium oximes (K075, trimedoxime, HI-6, obidoxime) in combination with atropine on rats poisoned with tabun at a sublethal dose (150 μg/kg im; 80% of LD50 value) were studied. Tabun-induced neurotoxicity was monitored using a functional observational battery and automatic measurement of motor activity at 24 h and 7 d following tabun challenge. The results indicated that all tested oximes combined with atropine enabled tabun-poisoned rats to survive 7 d following challenge. Trimedoxime combined with atropine was the most effective antidote in decreasing tabun-induced neurotoxicity in the case of sublethal poisonings among all oximes tested. Due to its neuroprotective effects, trimedoxime may be considered to be more suitable oxime for the antidotal treatment of acute tabun exposure than currently used oximes (obidoxime, HI-6) and the newly synthesized oxime K075.
What Is Hypercalcemia? The Importance of Fasting Samples

The differentiation between primary or tertiary (both hypercalcemic) and secondary (normocalcemic) hyperparathyroidism requires the identification of hypercalcemia. Calcium in the blood exists as bound, complexed and ionized fractions. Calcium sensors on parathyroid cells interact only with the ionized fraction (about 50% of the total calcium concentration). Many formulas using albumin, total protein or phosphate to correct or adjust total calcium to reflect the level of ionized calcium may be accurate only within a limited range. In addition, they can introduce errors based on inaccuracies in the measurement of these other metabolites. Clinical conditions, mainly those illnesses affecting acid-base balance, can alter the proportions of bound and free calcium. How and when the blood samples are drawn can alter the level of total calcium. Prolonged standing or prolonged venous stasis causes hemoconcentration, increasing the bound fraction. Preceding exercise can also affect blood calcium levels. Ingestion of calcium supplements or calcium-containing nutrients can cause transient elevations in blood calcium levels lasting several hours, leading to unnecessary further testing. Fasting total calcium levels may be sufficient for monitoring progress. However, for diagnostic purposes, fasting ionized calcium levels should be used. Therefore, for an isolated high total calcium level, we recommend obtaining a repeat fasting total and ionized calcium measurement before further investigations. Hypercalcemia may be diagnosed if there are persistent or frequent total or, preferably, ionized calcium levels >3 SD above the mean of the normal range or if there are progressively rising levels.
Effect of Drospirenone on Serum Potassium and Drospirenone Pharmacokinetics in Women With Normal or Impaired Renal Function

This open‐label study investigated whether drospirenone, a novel progestin with antimineralocorticoid properties, increases the risk for hyperkalemia in subjects with renal impairment. Women with normal renal function and mild or moderate renal impairment were given drospirenone 3 mg/d for 14 days. Mean serum potassium concentrations did not significantly change during steady‐state drospirenone treatment. No difference in drospirenone effects on serum potassium concentrations in subjects with renal insufficiency versus subjects with normal renal function was found. Steady‐state pharmacokinetics was similar in subjects with normal renal function and mild renal impairment, whereas, due to results from 1 subject, drospirenone exposure was slightly higher in the moderate renal impairment group. Given the reported tolerability of drospirenone, this small increase in serum drospirenone is not expected to be clinically significant. In conclusion, this study demonstrated that drospirenone has no significant effect on serum potassium levels in patients with mild to moderate renal insufficiency.
Detection of Intracranial Hypertension using Deep Learning

Intracranial Hypertension, a disorder characterized by elevated pressure in the brain, is typically monitored in neurointensive care and diagnosed only after elevation has occurred. This reaction-based method of treatment leaves patients at higher risk of additional complications in case of misdetection. The detection of intracranial hypertension has been the subject of many recent studies in an attempt to accurately characterize the causes of hypertension, specifically examining waveform morphology. We investigate the use of Deep Learning, a hierarchical form of machine learning, to model the relationship between hypertension and waveform morphology, giving us the ability to accurately detect presence hypertension. Data from 60 patients, showing intracranial pressure levels over a half hour time span, was used to evaluate the model. We divided each patient's recording into average normalized beats over 30 sec segments, assigning each beat a label of high (i.e. greater than 15 mmHg) or low intracranial pressure. The model was tested to predict the presence of elevated intracranial pressure. The algorithm was found to be 92.05 ± 2.25% accurate in detecting intracranial hypertension on our dataset.
Radiation of the Rat Brain Suppresses Seizure‐Induced Neurogenesis and Transiently Enhances Excitability during Kindling Acquisition

Summary: Purpose: Adult hippocampal neurogenesis is enhanced in several models for temporal lobe epilepsy (TLE). In this study, we used low‐dose whole brain radiation to suppress hippocampal neurogenesis and then studied the effect of this treatment on epileptogenesis in a kindling model for TLE.
GRtoGR: A System for Mapping GO Relations to Gene Relations

We introduce in this paper a biological search engine called GRtoGR. Given a set S of genes, GRtoGR would determine from GO graph the most significant Lowest Common Ancestor (LCA) of the GO terms annotating the set S. This significant LCA annotates the genes that are the most semantically related to the set S. The framework of GRtoGR refines the concept of LCA by introducing the concepts of Relevant Lowest Common Ancestor (RLCA) and Semantically Relevant Lowest Common Ancestor (SRLCA). A SRLCA is the most significant LCA of the GO terms annotating the set S. We observe that the existence of the GO terms annotating the set S is dependent on the existence of this SRLCA in GO graph. That is, the terms annotating a given set of genes usually have existence dependency relationships with the SRLCA of these terms. We evaluated GRtoGR experimentally and compared it with nine other methods. Results showed marked improvement.
Improving the activity of Trichoderma reesei cel7B through stabilizing the transition state

Trichoderma reesei (Tr.) cellulases, which convert cellulose to reducing sugars, are a promising catalyst used in the lignocellulosic biofuel production. Improving Tr. cellulases activity, though very difficult, is highly desired due to the recalcitrance of lignocellulose. Meanwhile, it is preferable to enhance the cellulase's promiscuity so that substrates other than cellulose can also be hydrolyzed. In this work, an attempt is made to improve the catalytic activity of a major endogluanase Tr. Cel7B against xylan which crosslinks with cellulose in lignocellulose. By using quantum mechanics/molecular mechanics (QM/MM) molecular dynamics (MD) simulations, the transition state of the xylo‐oligosaccharide hydrolysis is identified. Then, mutations are introduced and their effect on the transition state stabilization is ranked based on the free energy calculations. Seven top ranked mutants are evaluated experimentally. Three mutants A208Q, A222D, and G230R show a higher activity than the wild‐type Tr. Cel7B in the hydrolysis of xylan (by up to 47%) as well as filter paper (by up to 50%). The combination of the single mutants can further improve the enzyme activity. Our work demonstrates that the free energy method is effective in engineering the Tr. Cel7B activity against xylan and cellulose, and thus may also be useful for improving the activity of other Tr. cellulases. Biotechnol. Bioeng. 2016;113: 1171–1177. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
Differential regulation of γ-glutamyltransferase and glutamate cysteine ligase expression after mitochondrial uncoupling: γ-glutamyltransferase is regulated in an Nrf2- and NFκB-independent manner

Abstract The enzymes γ-glutamyltransferase (GGT) and glutamate cysteine ligase (GCL) have important roles in glutathione (GSH) homeostasis, and both are frequently upregulated after acute oxidative stress. Mitochondria are major producers of ROS, and incubating the colorectal adenocarcinoma cell line HT-29 cells with mitochondrial uncouplers significantly increased endogenous ROS as well as mRNA for both GGT and GCLC (the catalytic subunit of GCL). However, no elevation in GGT protein or activity was detected, in contrast to the increased levels of GCLC protein found. The uncouplers initiated endoplasmic reticulum (ER) stress, as demonstrated by highly increased levels of CHOP and GRP78 mRNA. Using inhibitors of proteasomes and ER-associated degradation (ERAD) together with a mitochondrial uncoupler, increased GGT protein and activity levels were obtained indicating that GGT may be a substrate for ERAD. Uncoupling increased the mRNA levels of the two redox-regulated transcription factors Nrf2 and NFκB. Using siRNA to suppress Nrf2 and NFκB expression, downregulation of GCLC expression both at the basal level and after mitochondrial uncoupling was achieved. In contrast, the expression level of GGT was not affected by this treatment. These data strongly indicate a discrepancy between the regulation of GCLC and of GGT following the oxidative stress situation due to mitochondrial uncoupling. Both the enzymes are considered to be part of the cellular antioxidant system; however, the role of GGT as a consistent oxidative response parameter needs to be reevaluated.
Fundamental factors influencing returns of shares listed on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange in South Africa

This study investigated the relationship between share returns and nine variables that had been proven to influence returns in previous research, using a multiple regression analysis. These variables are size, leverage, book-to-market ratio, earnings yield, dividend payout, earnings growth, return on equity, earnings per share and asset growth. The impact of some of the variables on share returns proved to be insignificant, and some collinearity was identified between some of the variables. However, three significant variables were identified and the final regression model included the book-to-market ratio, dividend payout and leverage as the explanatory variables.
Exploring the Performance Benefit of Hybrid Memory System on HPC Environments

Hardware accelerators have become a de-facto standard to achieve high performance on current supercomputers and there are indications that this trend will increase in the future. Modern accelerators feature high-bandwidth memory next to the computing cores. For example, the Intel Knights Landing (KNL) processor is equipped with 16 GB of high-bandwidth memory (HBM) that works together with conventional DRAM memory. Theoretically, HBM can provide ∼4× higher bandwidth than conventional DRAM. However, many factors impact the effective performance achieved by applications, including the application memory access pattern, the problem size, the threading level and the actual memory configuration. In this paper, we analyze the Intel KNL system and quantify the impact of the most important factors on the application performance by using a set of applications that are representative of scientific and data-analytics workloads. Our results show that applications with regular memory access benefit from MCDRAM, achieving up to 3× performance when compared to the performance obtained using only DRAM. On the contrary, applications with random memory access pattern are latency-bound and may suffer from performance degradation when using only MCDRAM. For those applications, the use of additional hardware threads may help hide latency and achieve higher aggregated bandwidth when using HBM.
Robust Regression for Capital Asset Pricing Model Using Bayesian Approach

This study investigate the performance of a portfolio based on capitalasset pricing model using a Bayesian statistics approach. We use a hierarchicalmodel robustly to estimate the systematic risk of an asset. We assume that thereturns follow independent normal distributions. MCMC sampling is applied tocalculate all the parameters in the model. Finally, the Bayesian method gives usthe probability of every possible asset returns, given the market returns and alsothe posterior predictions is a clue that the model could be improved.
Comparative Pepstatin Inhibition Studies on Individual Human Pepsins and Pepsinogens 1,3 and 5(gastricsin) and Pig Pepsin A

Human gastric juice contains 3 major proteolytic components (pepsins1,3 and 5 or gastricsin). Pepsin 1 is increased in peptic ulcer and it's properties are relatively poorly understood. Studies with pepstatin the highly specific aspartic-protease inhibitor have therefore been carried out on individual active and proenzymes to assess any enzymic similarities. Human pepsin 1 was inhibited with high affinity similar to pepsin 3, whereas pepsin 5(gastricsin) was at least 40 times less sensitive. Inhibition of human pepsinogens 1,3 and 5 and pig pepsinogen A showed similar trends to the active enzymes. Studies using Sephadex gel filtration showed that pepstatin does not bind to pepsinogens and inhibition arises from pepstatin binding the pepsins released upon activation. Pepstatin inhibition was shown to be relatively independent of pH between 1.5 and 3.8 although at higher pH inhibition was less effective. The evidence suggests that pepsin 1 is similar to pepsin 3 and pepstatin inhibits by a one to one molecular binding to the active site. The explanation for the reduced affinity of pepstatin to pepsin 5(gastricsin) needs further study by co-crystallisation X-ray analysis.
Donors assessment methods and the institutional capacity of grassroots organizations in Egypt.

Donors are increasingly addressing the institutional capacity of partner grassroots organizations using various tools and methods. This study aims to analyize donors’ assessment methods and tools and the capacity building efforts of four key donors in Egypt. Using qualitative research, the study looks at donors’ assessment tools and methods before, during, and after the cooperation along with efforts in building the institutional capacities. The study finds that the project size is key to the level of donor engagement in the capacity building of grassroots organizations. Donors efforts primarily focus on managerial and technical capacities along with skills of proposal writing and financial management. These assessment and capacity building efforts stop at the institutional capacity level and do not take a holistic approach by looking at issues of internal governance and policies. There is also a clear absence of systems assessing the impact of such capacity building efforts by donors.
Remote Laser-Microwave Synchronization Over Kilometer-Scale Fiber Link With Few-Femtosecond Drift

We show the remote synchronization between a mode-locked laser and a microwave source, separated by a hundreds meter- to kilometer-scale fiber link, with few-femtosecond rms timing drift maintained over several hours. In a laboratory test, the measured timing drift between a mode-locked laser and a 2.856-GHz microwave source, separated by a 610-m fiber link, is 2.7 fs rms (0.048 mrad phase drift) over 7 h. The corresponding relative instability in remote laser-microwave synchronization is 7.2 × 10 -19 in 6300 s averaging time, in terms of overlapping Allan deviation. We further installed 1.15-km long fiber links in an accelerator building and measured the relative phase drift at the link outputs in a klystron gallery, which resulted in 6.6-fs and 31-fs rms timing drift maintained over 7 and 62 h, respectively. To achieve this performance, we combined a balanced optical cross-correlator (BOC)-based stabilized fiber link for remote timing transfer and an optical-microwave phase detector (OM-PD) for local optical-to-microwave synchronization. We identified the impact of power and polarization-state drift in the fiber link and amplitude-to-phase conversion in the OM-PD on the link stability. Based on this analysis, possible technical improvements enabling even higher timing precision and stability are identified.
Nucleotide sequence characterization and phylogenetic analysis of hantaviruses isolated in Shandong Province, China.

BACKGROUND China is the most severe endemic area of hemorrhagic fever with renal syndrome (HFRS) in the world with 30,000-50,000 cases reported annually, which accounts for more than 90% of total number of cases worldwide. The incidence rate of the syndrome in Shandong Province is one of the highest in China, which has ever reached 50 per 100,000 persons per year. However, the molecular characteristics of hantaviruses (HV) epidemic in Shandong Province remain unclear. Therefore it is useful to clarify nucleotide sequence and phylogenetic characteristics of HV isolated in Shandong Province in order to provide better advices to control and prevent HFRS. METHODS RNAs were extracted from sera of clinically diagnosed patients and positive rodent lungs that were detected by indirect immunofluorescent assay (IFA). Partial M segments of HV were amplified from the RNAs with reverse transcription nested polymerase chain reactions (nested PCR) using hantavirus genotype specific primers. The nested PCR products were sequenced and compared with those from previously epidemic isolates in Shandong and with other representative HV sequences from GenBank. Phylogenetic tree analyses were performed based on the sequences of the M genes. RESULTS Thirty-four HV isolates in Shandong showed 67.1%-100% nucleotide identities. The nucleotide homologies among 6 Hantaan viruses (HTNV) isolates in Shandong were 78.1%-98.7%, while the homologies among 28 Seoul virus (SEOV) isolates in Shandong were 93.7%-100%. There were at least 3 subtypes HTNV (H2, H5, H9) and 2 subtypes SEOV (S2, S3) in Shandong Province. CONCLUSIONS In Shandong Province, the homologies of HTNV were lower and there were no predominant subtypes, while the homologies of SEOV were higher and S3 was the predominant subtype. The homologies of SEOV from rodents were higher than those from patients. The distribution of subtypes in Shandong was similar to that of the adjoining provinces. Phylogenetic analyses of the sequences showed geographic clustering of HV in Shandong.