Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Leverage and Macroeconomic Determinants: Evidence from Ukraine

Abstract Viewed retrospectively since the work of Modigliani and Miller (M&M, 1958), the capital structure still remains a matter of study. The capital structure issue then is examined from different perspectives, and thus intertwining firms and macroeconomic determinants. Studies were focused to examine the relationship between leverage ratios and macroeconomic environment. Motivated from what was done earlier, we try to bring in this study evidence as well. Thus, totally 49 Ukrainian firms are selected and data are examined from 2012 to 2016. The paper is aimed at studying the process of leverage adjusting by examining five firm’s characteristics and three macroeconomic determinants. We found that leverage is influenced significantly from both, firm characteristics and macroeconomic determinants. The study provides evidence those firms with higher tax shield, tangibility, net trade credit, and profitability used more leverage than counterparties. Firm’s size and inflation are confirmed as insignificant determinants. On the other hand, GDP growth rate and default spread are confirmed to play a role on leverage policies.
Local blood flow analysis and visualization from RGB-video sequences

Abstract The extraction of heart rate and other vital parameters from video recordings of a person has attracted much attention over the last years. In this paper, we examine time differences between distinct spatial regions using remote photoplethysmography (rPPG) in order to extract the blood flow path through human skin tissue in the neck and face. We can show that the visualization of the blood flow path corresponds to the physiologically defined path.
Body proportions of 6–18-year-old children in Merida, Mexico

Abstract The purpose of this study was to find out the differences in body physique and its proportions between children from Creole, Maya and Mestizo ethnic groups living in Merida, Mexico. The study was conducted between 1996–1999 and comprised of 4636 children and youth aged 6–18 years from three ethnic groups: Maya, Mestizo, and Creole. There were 1362 boys and 1314 girls from Creole group and 803 boys and 857 girls from the pooled Maya/Mestizo group. Anthropometric measurements included body height, arm and leg length, shoulder and hip width. The following indexes were calculated: leg length-to-body height, upper-to-lower limb, shoulder-to-body height, hip-to-body height, and hip-to-shoulder. Two-way analysis of variance (two-way ANOVA) was used to test the main effect and the interaction effects of age and ethnicity on height, leg length and body proportions, separately for boys and girls. All statistical analyses were performed using Statistica software version 13.1. All p-values lower than 0.05 were considered significant. Results of this study revealed that average values of body height, leg length and upper-to-lower limb and shoulder width proportions were statistically significantly different between ethnic groups. Creole children were taller and longer-legged than their Maya/Mestizo peers, and the greatest difference was noted after puberty. Maya/Mestizo children had relatively longer arm as compared to Creoles. Results of two-way ANOVA revealed that age and ethnicity were combined (interaction effect) factors for variation in body height both in boys and girls, and upper-to-lower limb proportion in boys, shoulder-to-body height proportion in girls. Ethnicity was the main effect factor for leg length both in boys and girls, and for the body proportions: upper-to-lower limb in girls and shoulder-to-body height in boys. Age was the main effect factor for upper-to-lower limb proportion in girls, shoulder-to-body height in boys, hip-to-body height in boys and girls, and hip-to-shoulder, both in boys and girls. In conclusion it may be stated that variation in body physique and body proportions during the postnatal growth in different ethnic groups is under the influence of complex interaction between genetic and environmental factors to which the individual is exposed.
Computer Aided Detection of Polyps in Whitelight- Colonoscopy Images using Deep Neural Networks

Abstract Early detection of polyps is one central goal of colonoscopic screening programs. To support gastroenterologists during this examination process, deep convolutional neural network can be applied for computer-assisted detection of neoplastic lesions. In this work, a Mask R-CNN architecture was applied. For training and testing, three independent colonoscopy data sets were used, including 2484 HD labelled images with polyps from our clinic, as well as two public image data sets from the MICCAI 2015 polyp detection challenge, consisting of 612 SD and 194 HD labelled images with polyps. After training the deep neural network, best results for the three test data sets were achieved in the range of recall = 0.92, precision = 0.86, F1 = 0.89 (data set A), rec = 0.86, prec = 0.80, F1 = 0.82 (data set B) and rec = 0.83, prec = 0.74, F1 = 0.79 (data set C).
Principal Component Analysis based on data characteristics for dimensionality reduction of ECG recordings in arrhythmia classification

Abstract Due to the growing problem of heart diseases, the computer improvement of their diagnostics becomes of great importance. One of the most common heart diseases is cardiac arrhythmia. It is usually diagnosed by measuring the heart activity using electrocardiograph (ECG) and collecting the data as multidimensional medical datasets. However, their storage, analysis and knowledge extraction become highly complex issues. Feature reduction not only enables saving storage and computing resources, but it primarily makes the process of data interpretation more comprehensive. In the paper the new igPCA (in-group Principal Component Analysis) method for feature reduction is proposed. We assume that the set of attributes can be split into subgroups of similar characteristic and then subjected to principal component analysis. The presented method transforms the feature space into a lower dimension and gives the insight into intrinsic structure of data. The method has been verified by experiments done on a dataset of ECG recordings. The obtained effects have been evaluated regarding the number of kept features and classification accuracy of arrhythmia types. Experiment results showed the advantage of the presented method compared to base PCA approach.
Withdrawal of antibiotic growth promoters from broiler diets: performance indexes and economic impact

This study aimed to estimate the productive and economic impacts caused by the withdrawal of antibiotic growth promoters (AGP) from broilers diet. Indexed publications that compared diets with or without AGP (AGP+/AGP−) for broilers (from initial to final phase) were collected and the results of feed intake, weight gain, and feed conversion were compiled in a database. A meta-analysis was performed following sequential analyses: graphical approach (to observe biological data coherence), correlation (to identify related factors), and variance-covariance (to compare groups). The annual number of broiler slaughtered in Brazil, target weight gain and feed conversion for each phase, the variation in feed conversion, feed cost, and AGP costs were used to build a model to estimate the effects of the AGP withdrawal on feeding costs. The database comprised 174 scientific articles containing 183 experiments, totaling 121,643 broilers, most of which were Ross (52% of the studies). The most frequent AGP sources/forms in the database were Avilamycin (41% of the AGP+ treatments), Flavomycin (19%), Virginiamycin (16%), and Bacitracin (14%). Higher feed intake, weight gain, and lower feed conversion were attributed (P < 0.05) to AGP+ diets during Initial phase (1 to 21 D). In Final phase (22 to 42 D) no differences were observed in performance variables. Treatments AGP+ presented higher weight gain and better feed conversion in the Total period (1 to 42 D). The results of feed conversion were improved (P < 0.05) with Avilamycin and Flavomycin; Virginiamycin improved weight gain and feed conversion. In the Total period, the economic impact was $0.03 per animal and a total of $183,560,232 per year. It was concluded that broilers fed AGP+ diets have higher weight gain and better feed conversion than those fed AGP− diets, and withdrawing AGP increases production costs.
Ultrasound Feature-Based Diagnostic Model Focusing on the “Submarine Sign” for Epidermal Cysts among Superficial Soft Tissue Lesions

Objective To develop a diagnostic model for superficial soft tissue lesions to differentiate epidermal cyst (EC) from other lesions based on ultrasound (US) features. Materials and Methods This retrospective study included 205 patients who had undergone US examinations for superficial soft tissue lesions and subsequent surgical excision. The study population was divided into the derivation set (n = 112) and validation set (n = 93) according to the imaging date. The following US features were analyzed to determine those that could discriminate EC from other lesions: more-than-half-depth involvement of the dermal layer, “submarine sign” (focal projection of the hypoechoic portion to the epidermis), posterior acoustic enhancement, posterior wall enhancement, morphology, shape, echogenicity, vascularity, and perilesional fat change. Using multivariable logistic regression, a diagnostic model was constructed and visualized as a nomogram. The performance of the diagnostic model was assessed by calculating the area under the curve (AUC) of the receiver operating characteristic curve and calibration plot in both the derivation and validation sets. Results More-than-half-depth involvement of the dermal layer (odds ratio [OR] = 3.35; p = 0.051), “submarine sign” (OR = 12.2; p < 0.001), and morphology (OR = 5.44; p = 0.002) were features that outweighed the others when diagnosing EC. The diagnostic model based on these features showed good discrimination ability in both the derivation set (AUC = 0.888, 95% confidence interval [95% CI] = 0.825–0.950) and validation set (AUC = 0.902, 95% CI = 0.832–0.972). Conclusion More-than-half-depth of involvement of the dermal layer, “submarine sign,” and morphology are relatively better US features than the others for diagnosing EC.
Density-dependence and persistence of Morogoro arenavirus transmission in a fluctuating population of its reservoir host.

1.A key aim in wildlife disease ecology is to understand how host and parasite characteristics influence parasite transmission and persistence. Variation in host population density can have strong impacts on transmission and outbreaks, and theory predicts particular transmission-density patterns depending on how parasites are transmitted between individuals. Here, we present the results of a study on the dynamics of Morogoro arenavirus in a population of multimammate mice (Mastomys natalensis). This widespread African rodent, which is also the reservoir host of Lassa arenavirus in West Africa, is known for its strong seasonal density fluctuations driven by food availability. 2.We investigated to what degree virus transmission changes with host population density and how the virus might be able to persist during periods of low host density. 3.A seven-year capture-mark-recapture study was conducted in Tanzania where rodents were trapped monthly and screened for the presence of antibodies against Morogoro virus. Observed seasonal seroprevalence patterns were compared with those generated by mathematical transmission models to test different hypotheses regarding the degree of density-dependence and the role of chronically infected individuals. 4.We observed that Morogoro virus seroprevalence correlates positively with host density with a lag of one to four months. Model results suggest that the observed seasonal seroprevalence dynamics can be best explained by a combination of vertical and horizontal transmission, and that a small number of animals needs to be infected chronically to ensure viral persistence. 5.Transmission dynamics and viral persistence were best explained by the existence of both acutely and chronically infected individuals, and by seasonally changing transmission rates. Due to the presence of chronically infected rodents, rodent control is unlikely to be a feasible approach for eliminating arenaviruses such as Lassa virus from Mastomys populations.
Simultaneous confidence corridors for mean functions in functional data analysis of imaging data

Motivated by recent work involving the analysis of biomedical imaging data, we present a novel procedure for constructing simultaneous confidence corridors for the mean of imaging data. We propose to use flexible bivariate splines over triangulations to handle an irregular domain of the images that is common in brain imaging studies and in other biomedical imaging applications. The proposed spline estimators of the mean functions are shown to be consistent and asymptotically normal under some regularity conditions. We also provide a computationally efficient estimator of the covariance function and derive its uniform consistency. The procedure is also extended to the two‐sample case in which we focus on comparing the mean functions from two populations of imaging data. Through Monte Carlo simulation studies, we examine the finite sample performance of the proposed method. Finally, the proposed method is applied to analyze brain positron emission tomography data in two different studies. One data set used in preparation of this article was obtained from the Alzheimer's Disease Neuroimaging Initiative (ADNI) database.
Improved regional myocardial blood flow and flow reserve after coronary revascularization as assessed by serial 15O-water positron emission tomography/computed tomography.

AIMS Myocardial perfusion imaging without and with quantitative myocardial blood flow (MBF) and myocardial flow reserve (MFR) plays an important role in the diagnosis and risk stratification of patients with stable coronary artery disease (CAD). We aimed to quantify the effects of coronary revascularization on regional stress MBF and MFR and to determine whether the presence of subendocardial infarction was associated with these changes. METHODS AND RESULTS Forty-seven patients with stable CAD were prospectively enrolled. They underwent 15O-water positron emission tomography at baseline and 6 months after optimal medical therapy alone (n = 16), percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) (n = 18), or coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG) (n = 13). Stenosis of ≥50% diameter was detected in 98/141 vessels (70%). The regional MFR was significantly increased from baseline to follow-up [1.84 (interquartile range, IQR 1.28-2.17) vs. 2.12 (IQR 1.69-2.63), P < 0.001] in vessel territories following PCI or CABG due to an increase in the stress MBF [1.33 (IQR 0.97-1.67) mL/g/min vs. 1.64 (IQR 1.38-2.17) mL/g/min, P < 0.001], whereas there was no significant change in the regional stress MBF or MFR in vessel territories without revascularization. A multilevel mixed-effects models adjusted for baseline characteristics, subendocardial infarction assessed by cardiovascular magnetic resonance imaging, and intra-patient correlation showed that the degree of angiographic improvement after coronary revascularization was significantly associated with increased regional stress MBF and MFR (P < 0.05 for all). CONCLUSION Coronary revascularization improved the regional stress MBF and MFR in patients with stable CAD. The magnitude of these changes was associated with the extent of revascularization independent of subendocardial infarction.
Twins Early Development Study: A Genetically Sensitive Investigation into Behavioral and Cognitive Development from Infancy to Emerging Adulthood

Abstract The Twins Early Development Study (TEDS) is a longitudinal twin study that recruited over 16,000 twin-pairs born between 1994 and 1996 in England and Wales through national birth records. More than 10,000 of these families are still engaged in the study. TEDS was and still is a representative sample of the population in England and Wales. Rich cognitive and emotional/behavioral data have been collected from the twins from infancy to emerging adulthood, with data collection at first contact and at ages 2, 3, 4, 7, 8, 9, 10, 12, 14, 16, 18 and 21, enabling longitudinal genetically sensitive analyses. Data have been collected from the twins themselves, from their parents and teachers, and from the UK National Pupil Database. Genotyped DNA data are available for 10,346 individuals (who are unrelated except for 3320 dizygotic co-twins). TEDS data have contributed to over 400 scientific papers involving more than 140 researchers in 50 research institutions. TEDS offers an outstanding resource for investigating cognitive and behavioral development across childhood and early adulthood and actively fosters scientific collaborations.
Diversity of exotic ectomycorrhizal Rhizopogon from pine plantations in Patagonia

ABSTRACT We present an account of Rhizopogon introduced from plantings of exotic pine plantations in Argentine Patagonia. Nuc rDNA internal transcribed spacer ITS1-5.8S-ITS2 (ITS) and nuc 28S rDNA (28S) sequences were used to identify specimens from Argentina and examine their relationships with geographically different Rhizopogon species. Based on phylogenetic analyses, we confirm that four species of Rhizopogon occur in pine plantations across Patagonia. Several Rhizopogon collections from Pinus ponderosa plantations across different provinces cluster with R. arctostaphyli, a species within R. subg. Amylopogon. The majority of Patagonian Rhizopogon, however, form three different lineages in R. subg. Roseoli. The first of these, R. roseolus sensu Trappe, includes numerous collections from Pinus ponderosa, P. contorta, and P. radiata stands of North American affiliation. The second, R. roseolus sensu Martin and Garcia from P. ponderosa plantations, clusters in clade IIIa of the R. roseolus complex, which also includes the holotype collection of R. mohelnensis from the Czech Republic. The third species in R. subg. Roseoli, and fourth species overall from Patagonia, is R. granuloflavus from Pinus ponderosa plantations. Multiplex polymerase chain reaction (PCR) of numerous Roseoli samples failed to produce an amplicon indicative of either Japanese or New Zealand shoro.
miR‐204‐5p regulates cell proliferation, invasion, and apoptosis by targeting IL‐11 in esophageal squamous cell carcinoma

Esophageal cancer (EC) is the world's eighth most common malignant neoplasm and is ranked as the sixth leading cause of death related to cancer. Aberrant microRNA (miRNA) expression has been reported to be associated with esophageal squamous cell carcinoma. However, the molecular mechanism of miR‐204‐5p in esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC) is not clear. Therefore, the aim of this study was to investigate the potential role of miR‐204‐5p in ESCC. In the present study, we found that miR‐204‐5p could affect ESCC proliferation, invasion, apoptosis, and cell cycle in cell and mouse models. A dual‐luciferase reporter assay showed that miR‐204‐5p expression was negatively correlated with interleukin‐11 (IL‐11) expression. IL‐11 overexpression reversed the suppressive effects of miR‐204‐5p in the cell lines. These results indicated that miR‐204‐5p functions as a tumor suppressor by directly targeting IL‐11 in ESCC.
In Vitro Trypanocidal and Antibacterial Activities of Essential Oils from Four Species of the Family Annonaceae

The objective of this study was to evaluate the chemical composition, and the trypanocidal and antibacterial activities of the essential oils from four species of Annonaceae: Bocageopsis multiflora (Mart.) R.E. Fr. , Duguetia quitarensis Benth. , Fusaea longifolia (Aubl.) Saff. , and Guatteria punctata (Aubl.) R.A. Howard. The chemical composition of the essential oils from the aerial parts yielded 23, 20, 21 and 23 constituents, respectively, which were identified by GC/MS. The trypanocidal activity was evaluated against the amastigote and trypomastigote forms of T. cruzi. The antibacterial activity was evaluated by the microdilution method against enterohemorrhagic Escherichia coli, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Streptococcus mutans, Streptococcus pyogenes, and methicillin‐resistant Staphylococcus aureus. The results of trypanocidal activity showed that the essential oils of the four species were active at the tested concentrations, with G. punctata essential oil being the most active, with IC50=0.029 μg/mL, and selectivity index (SI)=32, being 34 times more active than the reference drug benznidazole. All EOs showed strong antibacterial activity (minimum inhibitory concentrations of 4.68–37.5 μg/mL) against strains of S. mutans.
Expression patterns of regulatory lncRNAs and miRNAs in muscular atrophy models induced by starvation in vitro and in vivo

Starvation or severe deprivation of nutrients, which is commonly seen in surgical patients, can result in catabolic changes in skeletal muscles, such as muscle atrophy. Therefore, it is important to elucidate the underlying molecular regulatory mechanisms during skeletal muscle atrophy. In the present study, muscular atrophy was induced by starvation and the results demonstrated that myosin heavy chain was decreased, whereas muscle RING finger protein 1 and atrogin-1 were increased, both in vitro and in vivo. The impact of starvation on the expression patterns of long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) and microRNAs (miRNAs) was next determined. The expression patterns of miR-23a, miR-206 and miR-27b in the starved mice exhibited similar trends as those in starved C2C12 cells in vitro, whereas the expression patterns of six other miRNAs (miR-18a, miR-133a, miR-133b, miR-186, miR-1a and miR-29b) differed between the in vivo and the in vitro starvation models. The present study indicated that in vitro expression of the selected miRNAs was not completely consistent with that in vivo. By contrast, lncRNAs showed excellent consistency in their expression patterns in both the in vitro and in vivo starvation models; six of the lncRNAs (Atrolnc-1, long intergenic non-protein coding RNA of muscle differentiation 1, Myolinc, lncRNA myogenic differentiation 1, Dum and muscle anabolic regulator 1) were significantly elevated in starved tissues and cells, while lnc-mg was significantly decreased, compared with the control groups. Thus, lncRNAs involved in muscle atrophy have the potential to be developed as diagnostic tools.
Chromatin‐bound cGAS is an inhibitor of DNA repair and hence accelerates genome destabilization and cell death

DNA repair via homologous recombination (HR) is indispensable for genome integrity and cell survival but if unrestrained can result in undesired chromosomal rearrangements. The regulatory mechanisms of HR are not fully understood. Cyclic GMP‐AMP synthase (cGAS) is best known as a cytosolic innate immune sensor critical for the outcome of infections, inflammatory diseases, and cancer. Here, we report that cGAS is primarily a chromatin‐bound protein that inhibits DNA repair by HR, thereby accelerating genome destabilization, micronucleus generation, and cell death under conditions of genomic stress. This function is independent of the canonical STING‐dependent innate immune activation and is physiologically relevant for irradiation‐induced depletion of bone marrow cells in mice. Mechanistically, we demonstrate that inhibition of HR repair by cGAS is linked to its ability to self‐oligomerize, causing compaction of bound template dsDNA into a higher‐ordered state less amenable to strand invasion by RAD51‐coated ssDNA filaments. This previously unknown role of cGAS has implications for understanding its involvement in genome instability‐associated disorders including cancer.