Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
A novel multidisciplinary approach toward a better understanding of cranial suture closure: The first evidence of genetic effects in adulthood

The primary objective of this study was to perform new, relevant information about cranial suture closure in adults. Single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in targeted genes were examined, which encode factors that play an important role in cranial suture development and maintenance. Our hypothesis was that some of these genes and polymorphisms can influence the cranial suture obliteration status in adulthood as well.
A genomic predictor of response and survival following taxane-anthracycline chemotherapy for invasive breast cancer.

CONTEXT Prediction of high probability of survival from standard cancer treatments is fundamental for individualized cancer treatment strategies. OBJECTIVE To develop a predictor of response and survival from chemotherapy for newly diagnosed invasive breast cancer. DESIGN, SETTING, AND PATIENTS Prospective multicenter study conducted from June 2000 to March 2010 at the M. D. Anderson Cancer Center to develop and test genomic predictors for neoadjuvant chemotherapy. Patients were those with newly diagnosed ERBB2 (HER2 or HER2/neu)-negative breast cancer treated with chemotherapy containing sequential taxane and anthracycline-based regimens (then endocrine therapy if estrogen receptor [ER]-positive). Different predictive signatures for resistance and response to preoperative (neoadjuvant) chemotherapy (stratified according to ER status) were developed from gene expression microarrays of newly diagnosed breast cancer (310 patients). Breast cancer treatment sensitivity was then predicted using the combination of signatures for (1) sensitivity to endocrine therapy, (2) chemoresistance, and (3) chemosensitivity, with independent validation (198 patients) and comparison with other reported genomic predictors of chemotherapy response. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES Distant relapse-free survival (DRFS) if predicted treatment sensitive and absolute risk reduction ([ARR], difference in DRFS between 2 predicted groups) at median follow-up (3 years). RESULTS Patients in the independent validation cohort (99% clinical stage II-III) who were predicted to be treatment sensitive (28%) had 56% (95% CI, 31%-78%) probability of excellent pathologic response and DRFS of 92% (95% CI, 85%-100%), with an ARR of 18% (95% CI, 6%-28%). Survival was predicted in ER-positive (30% predicted sensitive; DRFS, 97% [95% CI, 91%-100%]; ARR, 11% [95% CI, 0.1%-21%]) and ER-negative (26% predicted sensitive; DRFS, 83% [95% CI, 68%-100%]; ARR, 26% [95% CI, 4%-48%]) subsets and was significant in multivariate analysis. Other genomic predictors showed paradoxically worse survival for patients predicted to be responsive to chemotherapy. CONCLUSION A genomic predictor combining ER status, predicted chemoresistance, predicted chemosensitivity, and predicted endocrine sensitivity identified patients with high probability of survival following taxane and anthracycline chemotherapy.
Globalization of real estate markets in Central Europe

Abstract The process of globalization is increasing competition between urban areas for the attraction of investment. Within this context the paper initially highlights the impact of global change on city economies linking this to international investment within the real estate market. Factors influencing diversification strategies and international investment activity within property markets in central Europe are considered relative to a range of performance criteria. Office markets in Prague, Budapest and Warsaw are forwarded as case study examples to assess the degree of maturity that is occurring in these former socialist cities based on the activity of investors and end‐users including the extent to which there are dual markets operating for local and international actors.
Case study of linking dental and medical healthcare records.

OBJECTIVE To link the administrative data of a large dental carrier and an integrated health plan in Washington State to conduct an observational study of diabetes and periodontal disease. STUDY DESIGN Evaluation of variable suitability, testing of linkage variables, and performing an n - 1 deterministic linkage strategy. METHODS We examined a variety of administrative data variables for their consistency over time and their information richness to use as matching variables. After choosing social security number, date of birth, first name, and last name, we tested their reliability as linking variables among a population with dual dental and medical insurance. Lastly, we performed four n - 1 deterministic linkage steps to obtain our study population. RESULTS With a success match rate of more than 96% with the 4 test variables, we extracted the entire population who met the study criteria with the understanding that only a subset would successfully link. We linked 78,230 individuals (55.2% of the Group Health Cooperative population). Of these matches more than 50% occurred within a last name-first name-birth date deterministic match. CONCLUSIONS Employer groups who provide dental-medical benefits for their employees send identical administrative data to dental and healthcare plans. The n - 1 deterministic linkage was accomplished by using a relatively straightforward approach because these data were fairly homogeneous and of high quality. Until medical care and dental care are integrated, it is possible to link these data to assess the impact of oral disease on overall health.
Bureaucratic Discretion or Congressional Control? Regulatory Policymaking by the Federal Trade Commission

This paper extends Stigler and Peltzman's approach to regulation by incorporating a legislature. The model yields comparative statics results and hence testable implications. The paper then tests between two opposing approaches about regulatory agency behavior. The first assumes agencies operate independently of the legislature and hence exercise discretion; the second assumes that Congress controls agency decisions. The recent behavior of the Federal Trade Commission provides the empirical setting. Substantial evidence is found for the specific predictions of the model, including the hypothesis of systematic congressional influence over FTC decisions.
Improvising design with a Haptic Instrument

As the need to deploy informative, expressive haptic phenomena in consumer devices gains momentum, the inadequacy of current design tools is becoming more critically obstructive. Current tools do not support collaboration or serendipitous exploration. Collaboration is critical, but direct means of sharing haptic sensations are limited, and the absence of unifying conceptual models for working with haptic sensations further restricts communication between designers and stakeholders. This is especially troublesome for pleasurable, affectively targeted interactions that rely on subjective user experience. In this paper, we introduce an alternative design approach inspired by musical instruments - a new tool for real-time, collaborative manipulation of haptic sensations; and describe a first example, mHIVE, a mobile Haptic Instrument for Vibrotactile Exploration. Our qualitative study shows that mHIVE supports exploration and communication but requires additional visualization and recording capabilities for tweaking designs, and expands previous work on haptic language.
Comparative genomics sheds light on mechanisms of genomic imprinting.

Genomic imprinting is an epigenetic chromosomal modification in the germ line that leads to preferential expression of one of the two parental alleles in a parent-of-origin-specific manner. A number of recent studies suggest that genomic imprinting is mediated by a set of elements in distinct chromosomal regions that have been termed imprinting centers (IC). By definition, the IC coordinate three activities: the establishment of imprint marks, the maintenance of these imprint marks throughout development, and the implementation of the preferential expression from a specific parental allele (for review, see Ben-Porath and Cedar 2000). At least four major imprinting models that incorporate recent discoveries have been elucidated: First, the sense/ antisense competition model for preferential allelic expression, as exemplified by studies examining the regulation of Igf2r and its associated antisense on mouse chromosome 17 (Box 1; Fig. 1). Second, the enhancer/chromosomal insulation model developed on the basis of the reciprocal imprinting of Igf2/H19 in human and in mouse (Box 2; Fig. 2A). Third, the bipartite IC model, which describes the regulation of multiple imprinted genes in a 2-Mb Prader-Willi syndrome/Angelman syndrome(PWS– AS) region of human chromosome 15. Finally, the promoter-specific reciprocal-imprinting model as seen at the human and mouse Gnas locus (Box 2; Fig. 2B). To understand the mechanisms underlying genomic imprinting, a number of research groups have focused on the identification and characterization of the imprinting elements present in the various ICs. As the DNA sequence of the whole human genome is nearly complete and complete sequences of other species are or will soon be available, an entirely new strategy for understanding potential imprinting mechanisms has now become available. Sitting at one’s computer, it will be possible to devise large-scale comparisons of genomic sequences within and/or between species that could yield new information on potentially important elements that govern preferential allelic expression. In this issue, we see how two research groups (Wylie et al. 2000; Onyango et al. 2000) have advanced our understanding of the mechanisms of genomic imprinting by employing a comparative analysis of distinct imprinting regions in human and mouse genes.
Incidence of Chrysomya bezziana screw-worm myiasis in Saudi Arabia, 1999/2000

per cent), horses (4 per cent) and camels (3 per cent), and there was a single case in a donkey. As well as C bezziana, Wohlfahrtia nuba, Wohlfahrtia magnifica, Lucillia cuprina, Lucillia sericata and Chrysomya albiceps were also found. There are a few previous reports of C bezziana myiasis in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, involving human beings and animals. The human cases included ophthalmomyiasis in Riyadh (Kersten and others 1986) and nasal myiasis in Dhahran, in the Eastern Province (Ansari and Oertley 1982). Cases reported in animals have included ocular myiasis in a camel in the Eastern Province (Ramadan and El-Bihari 1980), and cutaneous myiasis in sheep in Riyadh (El-Kholany and Omar 1999), Jeddah and Bureida (El-Azazy and El-Metenawy 2004). The present report describes the infestation of cattle, horses and a donkey (Table 1), and the importance of sheep and goats, which together suffered 79 per cent of all infestations. C bezziana is known to prevail in countries that share borders with Saudi Arabia and which are within the flying distance capability of the fly (100 km); these are Bahrain, Qatar, Oman (Rajapaksa and Spradbery 1989, Spradbery and Kirk 1992, Spradbery and others 1992, El-Azazy 1993) and Iraq (Abdul-Rassoul and others 1996, Al-Izzi and others 1999), including in the Babil governorate, which lies adjacent to northern Saudi Arabia. The Saudi Eastern Province shares borders with the above-mentioned Gulf states; this province was found to contain 89 per cent of the cases of C bezziana myiasis (Table 1) and was the main focus of fly activity in the country. The description of the fly fitted the Arabian strain described by Spradbery (1991), indicating that it was a local strain rather than an imported one. When C bezziana was first found in Bahrain, it was thought that the fly had been introduced accidentally. The widespread cases of myiasis among animals in the United Arab Emirates, Qatar and Oman, and previous reports of the infestation in human beings and animals in Saudi Arabia, indicate a long-standing establishment of the fly in the Arabian Peninsula. For centuries, the transhumance system of grazing small ruminants, and free movement of flocks across borders in the Arabian Peninsula and across the Red Sea, have been operating. In addition, Saudi Arabia has a unique system of meat Incidence of Chrysomya bezziana screw-worm myiasis in Saudi Arabia, 1999/2000
A Fractional Wavelet for QRS Detection

In this paper we examine the use of fractional wavelet for the detection of QRS complex in ECG signal. The wavelet we used is the second derivative of the Cole-Cole distribution that is widely used in mathematical modelling of dielectrics and viscoelastic dynamics and it's related to the fractional power pole (FPP). With the multiscale feature, the wavelet transform (WT) has provided more ability to distinguish R waves from high P or T waves, serious noise and artefacts. The study reports on the analysis of the first four-minutes signal of the 24 records in the MIT/BIH arrhythmia database. The QRS complexes detected were compared with the annotation file accompanying each signal to determine error, and then, the efficacy of the wavelet function
Occupational health hazards faced by female waste–picking children in urban India: a case study of Bangalore City

The paper presents the results of an investigation into the health hazards faced by waste picking children in Bangalore, the capital of the state of Karnataka in South India. The city of five million, has experienced phenomenal growth in recent decades as a result of large migration from rural parts of the state as well as neighbouring states. Most of these migrants fail to find paid work and end up in the sizeable informal sector, trying to eke out a living through self–employment. Many of the least skilled take up waste picking as their primary or supplementary occupation. Waste picking (WP) children often supplement the family income, but at times may be the major breadwinner of the family. Most of the WP children belong to the poorest families from among the lowest castes. They invariably live in slums in highly unhygienic conditions. Households in the city produce about 2,200 metric tons of solid waste daily, of which only about 80% is cleared. The waste is deposited in concrete bins on city streets for pick up by city trucks. Before the waste is picked up, the waste pickers rummage through the garbage looking for recyclable materials such as paper, plastics, metals and glass. The retrieved materials are then sold to small neighbourhood retail waste buyers. In view of the tropical conditions in the city, the waste in the bins putrefies quickly, attracting rodents, stray cats, dogs and cats as well as disease spreading vectors like flies, mosquitoes and cockroaches, making it a great health risk for waste pickers. While picking waste, the children almost never use any protection for their hands and feet or for breathing. We find in the study that, even when compared to other slum dwelling children, WP children have a significantly higher incidence of gastrointestinal, dermatological and respiratory diseases, in addition to the severe nutritional deficiency suffered by all slum children. This situation points up the need for targeted programmes for the prevention and treatment of the health problems as well as the general social and economic problems of waste pickers who perform the very useful social function of reduction and recycling of waste.
Adult rat cardiac myocytes in culture: 'Second-floor' cells and coculture experiments.

OBJECTIVE To compare adult rat cardiomyocytes in primary culture for up to 28 days with those in primary culture for 10 days plus up to 18 days in a coculture (CC) system. The phenomenon of 'second-floor' cells in primary cultures and the behaviour of CC myocytes were studied over varying times with regard to protein content and attachment to underlying cells. METHODS Qualitative confocal microscopy and quantitation using the Imaris program (Bitplane, Switzerland) for the measurement of the fluorescence intensity in the confocal microscope were used. The protein content of actin, myosin, desmin, tubulin, titin, myomesin, cadherin and connexin was determined. Cell death was evaluated using the terminal deoxynucleotidyl transferase-mediated dUTP nick end labelling method for apoptosis and using propidium iodide applied to unfixed cultures to detect necrosis. RESULTS Compared with controls, second-floor cells contained only 14% of the actin and 4.9% of the tubulin at 10 days, whereas these proteins were well preserved in CC cells. All other proteins slowly declined in second-floor cells, whereas they were still present in normal amounts in CC cells. Cell death was evident in second-floor cells but absent in CC myocytes. Cellular attachment was still evident through original in vivo adherens junctions in second-floor cells but numerous newly developed cadherin- and connexin-containing junctions were visible in CC cells. It appears from the present study that second-floor cells are mummified dead cardiomyocytes, whereas CC myocytes survive and start to dedifferentiate. CONCLUSION The absence of actin and tubulin, together with nuclear changes, are indicators of loss of cell viability despite preservation of the cells' rod shape and cross-striation, as observed in second-floor cells. In contrast, the establishment of a CC system of cardiomyocytes results in survival and organization of a three-dimensional cellular system, which may in the future be useful for tissue engineering attempts for replacement of lost tissue after myocardial infarction.
Phytochrome C Is A Key Factor Controlling Long-Day Flowering in Barley1[W]

A red/far-red light photoreceptor controls flowering time in barley by stimulating a flowering promoter gene in the most downstream part of the genetic pathways for flowering. The spring-type near isogenic line (NIL) of the winter-type barley (Hordeum vulgare ssp. vulgare) var. Hayakiso 2 (HK2) was developed by introducing VERNALIZATION-H1 (Vrn-H1) for spring growth habit from the spring-type var. Indo Omugi. Contrary to expectations, the spring-type NIL flowered later than winter-type HK2. This phenotypic difference was controlled by a single gene, which cosegregated only with phytochrome C (HvPhyC) among three candidates around the Vrn-H1 region (Vrn-H1, HvPhyC, and CASEIN KINASE IIα), indicating that HvPhyC was the most likely candidate gene. Compared with the late-flowering allele HvPhyC-l from the NIL, the early-flowering allele HvPhyC-e from HK2 had a single nucleotide polymorphism T1139C in exon 1, which caused a nonsynonymous amino acid substitution of phenylalanine at position 380 by serine in the functionally essential GAF (3′, 5′-cyclic-GMP phosphodiesterase, adenylate cyclase, formate hydrogen lyase activator protein) domain. Functional assay using a rice (Oryza sativa) phyA phyC double mutant line showed that both of the HvPhyC alleles are functional, but HvPhyC-e may have a hyperfunction. Expression analysis using NILs carrying HvPhyC-e and HvPhyC-l (NIL [HvPhyC-e] and NIL [HvPhyC-l], respectively) showed that HvPhyC-e up-regulated only the flowering promoter FLOWERING LOCUS T1 by bypassing the circadian clock genes and flowering integrator CONSTANS1 under a long photoperiod. Consistent with the up-regulation, NIL (HvPhyC-e) flowered earlier than NIL (HvPhyC-l) under long photoperiods. These results implied that HvPhyC is a key factor to control long-day flowering directly.
Clusters and Commodity Chains: Firm Responses to Neoliberalism in Latin America

TAKING THE WHEEL: AUTO-PARTS FIRMS AND THE POLITICAL ECONOMY OF INDUSTRIALIZATION IN BRAZIL. By Caren Addis. (University Park, PA: Penn State University Press, 1999. Pp. 257. $47.50 cloth, $18.95 paper.) DYNAMIC AGROINDUSTRIAL CLUSTERS: THE POLITICAL ECONOMY OF COMPETITIVE SECTORS IN ARGENTINA AND CHILE. By Gabriel Casaburi (London: MacMillan, 1999. Pp. 234. $65.00 cloth.) FREE TRADE AND UNEVEN DEVELOPMENT: THE NORTH AMERICAN APPAREL INDUSTRY AFTER NAFTA. Edited by Gary Gereffi, David Spener, and Jennifer Bair. (Philadelphia, PA: Temple University Press, 2002. Pp. 368. $74.50 cloth, $24.95 paper.) INDUSTRIALIZATION AND PRIVATE ENTERPRISES IN MEXICO. By Taeko Hoshino. (Chiba, Japan: Institute of Developing Economies JETRO, 2001. Pp. 142. N.p.) THE HANDBOOK OF LATIN AMERICAN TRADE IN MANUFACTURES. Edited by Montague Lord. (Williston, VT: Edward Elgar, 1998. Pp. 336. $195.00 cloth.)
The phage RNA polymerases are related to DNA polymerases and reverse transcriptases

The single subunit DNA‐dependent RNA polymerase (RNAP) that is encoded by bacteriophage T7 is the prototype of a class of relatively simple RNAPs that includes the RNAPs of the related phages T3 and SP6, as well as the mitochondrial RNAPs. The T7 enzyme has been crystallized, and recent genetic and biochemical analyses have facilitated an interpretation of this structure. A growing body of evidence suggests that the phage‐like RNAPs are related to other nucleotide polymerases such as DNA polymerases, RNA‐dependent RNA polymerases, and reverse transcriptases. In this work, we review information concerning the structure and function of T7 RNAP, and evidence in support of its assignment to a broader class of nucleotide polymerases.
Balanced Wideband Filtering Planar Inverted-F Antenna Design

A balanced wideband (WB) planar inverted-F antenna (PIFA) integrated with a balanced WB bandpass filter (BPF) is presented in this letter. Due to circuit symmetry, the balanced patch PIFA does not need a grounded via hole for its shorting strip, rendering the PIFA easy to fabricate. The balanced WB BPF that is added in front of the balanced PIFA serves to improve the differential-mode (DM) passband selectivity and upper stopband rejection and meanwhile to increase the common-mode (CM) rejection. In terms of the passband selectivity defined by the ratio of 20-dB bandwidth to the 3-dB bandwidth in the DM return-loss response, the simulated WB filtering PIFA's selectivity is increased from 0.6 to 0.86 after the WB BPF is integrated. In addition, high CM suppression was observed with a maximum return loss of 2.37 dB within the DM passband.
Two Concepts of External Economies

_HE concept of external economies is one of the most elusive in ecoI nomic literature. Our understanding of it has been greatly enhanced by the active controversy of the twenties over the nature of the "empty economic boxes"; but full clarity has never been achieved. Definitions of external economies are few and unsatisfactory. It is agreed that they mean services (and disservices) rendered free (without compensation) by one producer to another; but there is no agreement on the nature and form of these services or on the reasons for their being free. It is also agreed that external economies are a cause for divergence between private profit and social benefit and thus for the failure of perfect competition to lead to an optimum situation; but for this there are many reasons, and it is nowhere made clear how many and which of these reasons are subsumed under the heading of "external economies. " Nor do examples help to clarify the concept. The literature contains many examples of external economies; but they are as varied and dissimilar as are discussions of the subject. Some give the impression that external economies are exceptional and unimportant; others suggest that they are important and ubiquitous. Indeed, one might be tempted to explain this strange dichotomy by ideological differences between the different authors; but