Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Ankylosing Spondylitis

ANKYLOSING SPONDYLITIS Ankylosing spondylitis is one of those conditions it is all too easy to miss among the large numbers of patients with " rheumatism " attending the busy surgery or hospital out-patient department. Indeed, it is said, and with some truth, that " every patient with ankylosing spondylitis has a story to tell "-a story of chronic backache treated with various palliative measures without effect, so much so that this sort of history should immediately lead to further investigation with this condition, among others, in mind. It is not common, as rheumatic diseases go, in the general population, being variously estimated as having an incidence of 1 in 1,0001 2 to 1 in 2,000.3 Its preponderance in young adult males, however, results in a higher incidence among Service personnel, in which category most young men to-day find themselves for two years, at a time when they are under as close medical supervision as they are ever likely to bs Lieutenant-Colonels J. P. Baird and R. J. G. Morrison, of the R.A.M.C. , have recently reviewed their diagnostic record in this respect.4 Nearly half their cases were diagnosed within two years of the onset of symptoms; this compares with an average of four years in civilian cases seen at the Westminster Hospital shortly after the war.5 In view of the fact that early symptoms may be absent or extremely mild, amounting to no more than transient low backache or stiffness, sometimes quite episodic, it would be difficult to improve on these figures in civilian life, but a review of the early symptoms of these cases and a further study of the West-
Placebos without Deception: A Randomized Controlled Trial in Irritable Bowel Syndrome

Background Placebo treatment can significantly influence subjective symptoms. However, it is widely believed that response to placebo requires concealment or deception. We tested whether open-label placebo (non-deceptive and non-concealed administration) is superior to a no-treatment control with matched patient-provider interactions in the treatment of irritable bowel syndrome (IBS). Methods Two-group, randomized, controlled three week trial (August 2009-April 2010) conducted at a single academic center, involving 80 primarily female (70%) patients, mean age 47±18 with IBS diagnosed by Rome III criteria and with a score ≥150 on the IBS Symptom Severity Scale (IBS-SSS). Patients were randomized to either open-label placebo pills presented as “placebo pills made of an inert substance, like sugar pills, that have been shown in clinical studies to produce significant improvement in IBS symptoms through mind-body self-healing processes” or no-treatment controls with the same quality of interaction with providers. The primary outcome was IBS Global Improvement Scale (IBS-GIS). Secondary measures were IBS Symptom Severity Scale (IBS-SSS), IBS Adequate Relief (IBS-AR) and IBS Quality of Life (IBS-QoL). Findings Open-label placebo produced significantly higher mean (±SD) global improvement scores (IBS-GIS) at both 11-day midpoint (5.2±1.0 vs. 4.0±1.1, p<.001) and at 21-day endpoint (5.0±1.5 vs. 3.9±1.3, p = .002). Significant results were also observed at both time points for reduced symptom severity (IBS-SSS, p = .008 and p = .03) and adequate relief (IBS-AR, p = .02 and p = .03); and a trend favoring open-label placebo was observed for quality of life (IBS-QoL) at the 21-day endpoint (p = .08). Conclusion Placebos administered without deception may be an effective treatment for IBS. Further research is warranted in IBS, and perhaps other conditions, to elucidate whether physicians can benefit patients using placebos consistent with informed consent. Trial Registration ClinicalTrials.gov NCT01010191
Assessment of Condyle and Glenoid Fossa Morphology Using CBCT in South-East Asians

Introduction Proper imaging allows practitioners to evaluate an asymptomatic tempormandibular joint (TMJ) for potential degenerative changes prior to surgical and orthodontic treatment. The recently developed cone-beam computed tomography (CBCT) allows measurement of TMJ bony structures with high accuracy. A study was undertaken to determine the morphology, and its variations, of the mandibular condyle and glenoid fossa among Malay and Chinese Malaysians. Methods CBCT was used to assess 200 joints in 100 subjects (mean age, 30.5 years). i-CAT CBCT software and The Mimics 16.0 software were employed to measure the volume, metrical size, position of each condyle sample and the thickness of the roof of the glenoid fossa (RGF). Results No significant gender differences were noted in thickness of the RGF and condylar length; however condylar volume, width, height and the joint spaces were significantly greater among males. With regards to comparison of both TMJs, the means of condylar volume, width and length of the right TMJ were significantly higher, while the means of the left condylar height and thickness of RGF were higher. When comparing the condylar measurements and the thickness of RGF between the two ethnic groups, we found no significant difference for all measurements with exception of condylar height, which is higher among Chinese. Conclusion The similarity in measurements for Malays and Chinese may be due to their common origin. This information can be clinically useful in establishing the diagnostic criteria for condylar volume, metrical size, and position in the Malaysian East Asians population.
PTEN mutation, methylation and expression in breast cancer patients

The tumor suppressor gene, PTEN, has previously been demonstrated to be involved in breast tumorigenesis and tumor progression. The aim of the present study was to investigate the expression and significance of PTEN in breast carcinomas, to detect the mutation frequency of PTEN in sporadic breast carcinoma tissues and to determine the association between PTEN promoter methylation and gene expression. Immunohistochemical methods were used to analyze the expression of the PTEN gene in 146 cases of breast carcinoma and 10 cases of normal breast tissue closely adjacent to the carcinoma. Polymerase chain reaction-single strand conformation polymorphism (PCR-SSCP) analysis was used to analyze conformation polymorphisms in 45 breast carcinoma and 10 normal breast tissues. Point mutations of abnormal single stranded conformation were detected by DNA sequencing. The methylation of the PTEN promoter was analyzed by methylation-specific PCR. Expression of PTEN was detected in 57.5% (84/146) of patients with breast carcinoma. By contrast, PTEN expression was detected in 100% of normal samples. Expression of PTEN was found to negatively correlate with the tumor size, the pathological stage and the expression of the estrogen receptor (ER) and the progesterone receptor (PR) in breast cancer. The 2-year disease-free survival of patients with a high expression of PTEN was higher compared with those with low PTEN expression (P<0.05). Missense mutations in exon 2 of PTEN were identified in 1/45 breast cancer cases. PTEN promoter methylation was detected in 31.1% (14/45) of breast carcinomas, of which 64.3% (9/14) were associated with a loss of PTEN expression. The tumor suppressor gene, PTEN, was abnormally expressed in the breast carcinomas. The number of PTEN mutations were low (1/45) in the sporadic breast cancer cases analyzed in the present study and PTEN promoter methylation may have been the main mechanism leading to the decreased expression of PTEN. These results indicate that PTEN is important for the tumorigenesis, development and prognosis of breast cancer.
Transcranial Doppler Ultrasound in Migraine and Tension-Type Headache After Apomorphine Administration: Double-Blind Crossover Versus Placebo Study

The effect of the dopaminergic agonist apomorphine on blood velocity in the middle cerebral artery has been studied in patients with migraine, tension-type headaches, and healthy subjects by means of transcranial Doppler monitoring. Following the administration of apomorphine, systolic velocity and mean velocity significantly increased and pulsatility index significantly decreased in migraineurs compared to placebo and to the other groups of subjects. These changes were dose-dependent and showed a time-curve compatible with the pharmacokinetic profile of the drug. The different effect of apomorphine in migraineurs compared with controls and tension-type headache patients implies that migraineurs have increased sensitivity to dopaminergic stimuli and suggests that transcranial Doppler monitoring after apomorphine administration could be a useful tool in the evaluation of migraineurs.
The Association of Chronic Kidney Disease and Metabolic Syndrome with Incident Cardiovascular Events: Multiethnic Study of Atherosclerosis

Background. There is an association between chronic kidney disease (CKD) and metabolic syndrome (MetS). We examined the joint association of CKD and MetS with incident cardiovascular (CVD) events in the Multiethnic Study of Atherosclerosis (MESA) cohort. Methods. We analyzed 2,283 Caucasians, 363 Chinese, 1,449 African-Americans, and 1,068 Hispanics in the MESA cohort. CKD was defined by cystatin C estimated glomerular filtration rate ≤ 60 mL/min/1.73 m2 and MetS was defined by NCEP criteria. Cox proportional regression adjusting for age, ethnicity, gender, study site, education, income, smoking, alcohol use, physical activity, and total and LDL cholesterol was performed to assess the joint association of CKD and MetS with incident CVD events. Participants were divided into four groups by presence of CKD and/or MetS and compared to the group without CKD and MetS (CKD−/MetS−). Tests for additive and multiplicative interactions between CKD and MetS and prediction of incident CVD were performed. Results. During follow-up period of 5.5 years, 283 participants developed CVD. Multivariate Cox regression analysis demonstrated that CKD and MetS were independent predictors of CVD (hazard ratio, 2.02 for CKD, and 2.55 for MetS). When participants were compared to the CKD−/MetS− group, adjusted HR for the CKD+/MetS+ group was 5.56 (95% CI 3.72–8.12). There was no multiplicative interaction between CKD and MetS (P = 0.2); however, there was presence of additive interaction. The relative excess risk for additive interaction (RERI) was 2.73, P = 0.2, and the attributable portion (AP) was 0.49 (0.24–0.74). Conclusion. Our findings illustrate that the combination of CKD and MetS is a strong predictor of incident clinical cardiovascular events due to presence of additive interaction between CKD and MetS.
On the bias of traceroute sampling: Or, power-law degree distributions in regular graphs

Understanding the graph structure of the Internet is a crucial step for building accurate network models and designing efficient algorithms for Internet applications. Yet, obtaining this graph structure can be a surprisingly difficult task, as edges cannot be explicitly queried. For instance, empirical studies of the network of Internet Protocol (IP) addresses typically rely on indirect methods like traceroute to build what are approximately single-source, all-destinations, shortest-path trees. These trees only sample a fraction of the network's edges, and a paper by Lakhina et al. [2003] found empirically that the resulting sample is intrinsically biased. Further, in simulations, they observed that the degree distribution under traceroute sampling exhibits a power law even when the underlying degree distribution is Poisson. In this article, we study the bias of traceroute sampling mathematically and, for a very general class of underlying degree distributions, explicitly calculate the distribution that will be observed. As example applications of our machinery, we prove that traceroute sampling finds power-law degree distributions in both Δ-regular and Poisson-distributed random graphs. Thus, our work puts the observations of Lakhina et al. on a rigorous footing, and extends them to nearly arbitrary degree distributions.
Growth performance and carcass characteristics of pigs administered recombinant porcine somatotropin during 30 to 110 kilogram live weight.

To determine growth performance during and after injection of recombinant porcine somatotropin (rpSt), crossbred Yorkshire gilts and barrows (n = 54/gender, 27 to 42 kg BW) were blocked by BW and gender (n = 3 blocks/gender). Within each block, three pigs/gender were assigned randomly to each of six pens/block. A diet containing 24.8% CP was fed ad libitum. During the live weight period of 30 to 110 kg, pigs either remained as controls (one pen/block) or were injected (i.m.) daily with rpSt (120 micrograms/kg BW) during either 30 to 60, 30 to 100, 30 to 110, 60 to 100 or 60 to 110 kg BW. Thus, three gilts and three barrows in each of three pens received each treatment. Pigs were slaughtered at either 60 kg BW (1 d after rpSt injection) or 110 kg BW (1 d, 10 d or 70 d after rpSt injection). Relative to controls, pigs injected with rpSt exhibited faster and more efficient growth during the injection period (P less than .05) but slower and less efficient growth during 10 d after cessation of injection (P less than .05). Carcasses of pigs slaughtered 1 d or 10 d after rpSt injection were leaner than controls (P less than .05), but among the pigs treated with rpSt, carcasses of pigs withdrawn from rpSt for 10 d contained more fat (P less than .05) and had a lower percentage of muscle (P less than .05) than carcasses of pigs withdrawn from rpSt for 1 d. Growth and carcass measurements were similar (P greater than .05) between controls and pigs killed 70 d after rpSt injection. (ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)
Evaluating the competitive effects of mergers of internet backbone providers

This article analyzes the usefulness of the traffic measurement methodologies used by the European Commission (EC) and the United States Department of Justice (DOJ) in assessing the competitive effects of mergers of Internet backbone providers. The analysis concludes that the traffic ratios used by the EC to estimate market shares when it reviewed the merger application of MCI and WorldCom, and by the EC and the DOJ when they reviewed the proposed merger of Sprint and MCI WorldCom, have significant limitations. In particular, the article shows that these measurements provide a potentially misleading picture of the effect of a merger of backbone providers, even under the assumption that the Internet is a rigid hierarchy, and that this problem is likely to become worse as the use of secondary peering, multihoming, and intelligent content distribution services become more widespread.
Posttranscriptional regulation of retroviral gene expression: primary RNA transcripts play three roles as pre‐mRNA, mRNA, and genomic RNA

After reverse transcription of the retroviral RNA genome and integration of the DNA provirus into the host genome, host machinery is used for viral gene expression along with viral proteins and RNA regulatory elements. Here, we discuss co‐transcriptional and posttranscriptional regulation of retroviral gene expression, comparing simple and complex retroviruses. Cellular RNA polymerase II synthesizes full‐length viral primary RNA transcripts that are capped and polyadenylated. All retroviruses generate a singly spliced env mRNA from this primary transcript, which encodes the viral glycoproteins. In addition, complex viral RNAs are alternatively spliced to generate accessory proteins, such as Rev, which is involved in posttranscriptional regulation of HIV‐1 RNA. Importantly, the splicing of all retroviruses is incomplete; they must maintain and export a fraction of their primary RNA transcripts. This unspliced RNA functions both as the major mRNA for Gag and Pol proteins and as the packaged genomic RNA. Different retroviruses export their unspliced viral RNA from the nucleus to the cytoplasm by either Tap‐dependent or Rev/CRM1‐dependent routes. Translation of the unspliced mRNA involves frame‐shifting or termination codon suppression so that the Gag proteins, which make up the capsid, are expressed more abundantly than the Pol proteins, which are the viral enzymes. After the viral polyproteins assemble into viral particles and bud from the cell membrane, a viral encoded protease cleaves them. Some retroviruses have evolved mechanisms to protect their unspliced RNA from decay by nonsense‐mediated RNA decay and to prevent genome editing by the cellular APOBEC deaminases. WIREs RNA 2013, 4:567–580. doi: 10.1002/wrna.1179
Evaluation of Test Criteria for Space Application Software Modeling in Statecharts

Several papers have addressed the problem of knowing which software test criteria are better than others with respect to parameters such as cost, efficiency and strength. This paper presents an empirical evaluation in terms of cost and efficiency for one test method for finite state machines, switch cover, and two test criteria of the statechart coverage criteria family, all-transitions and all-simple-paths, for a reactive system of a space application. Mutation analysis was used to evaluate efficiency in terms of killed mutants. The results show that the two criteria and the method presented the same efficiency but all-simple-paths presented a better cost because its test suite is smaller than the one generated by switch cover. Besides, test suite due to the all-simple-paths criterion killed the mutants faster than the other test suites meaning that it might be able to detect faults in the software more quickly than the other criteria.
Feature transformation based on discriminant analysis preserving local structure for speech recognition

To improve speech recognition performance, a feature transformation based on discriminant analysis has been widely used to reduce redundant dimensions of features. Linear discriminant analysis (LDA) and Heteroscedastic discriminant analysis (HDA) are often used for this purpose, and a generalization method for LDA and HDA called Power LDA (PLDA) has been proposed. However, these methods may result in unexpected dimensionality reduction for multimodal data. It is important to preserve the local structure of the data in reducing the dimensionality of multimodal data. In this paper we introduce two methods, locality preserving HDA and locality preserving PLDA. We also give an efficient calculation scheme to obtain an optimal projection.
Routine coagulation of visible vessels may prevent delayed bleeding after endoscopic submucosal dissection--an analysis of risk factors.

BACKGROUND AND STUDY AIM Endoscopic submucosal dissection (ESD) has been reported to be associated with a higher complication rate than standard endoscopic mucosal resection. We aimed to clarify the risk factors for delayed bleeding after ESD for early gastric cancer (EGC). METHODS 1083 EGCs in 968 consecutive patients undergoing ESD during a 4-year period were reviewed. Post-ESD coagulation (PEC) preventive therapy of visible vessels in the resection area, using a coagulation forceps, was introduced and mostly performed during the later 2 years. Various factors related to patients, tumors, and treatment including PEC were investigated using univariate and multivariate analysis with regard to delayed post-ESD bleeding, evidenced by hematemesis or melena, that required endoscopic treatment. RESULTS Delayed bleeding occurred after ESD of 63 lesions (5.8 % of all lesions and 6.5 % of patients), controlled in all cases by endoscopic hemostasis; blood transfusion was required in only one case. Tumor location in the upper third of the stomach and PEC were independent factors indicating a lower rate of delayed bleeding according to both univariate and multivariate analysis. CONCLUSIONS This retrospective study suggested that preventive coagulation of visible vessels in the resection area after ESD may lead to a lower bleeding rate.
Exploring the imprint of social media networks on neighborhood community through the lens of gentrification

Gentrification, the rise of affluent socioeconomic populations in economically depressed urban neighborhoods, has been accused of disrupting community in these neighborhoods. Social media networks meanwhile have been recognized not only to create new communities in neighborhoods, but are also associated with gentrification. What relation then does gentrification and social media networks have to urban communities? To explore this question, this study uses social media networks found on Twitter to identify communities in Washington, DC. With space-time analysis of 821,095 geo-tagged tweets generated by 77,528 users captured from 15 October 2015 to 18 July 2016, we create a location-based interaction measure of tweets which overlays the social networks of the comprising users based on their followers and followees. We identify gentrifying neighborhoods with the 2000 Census and the 2010–2014 American Community Survey at the block group level. We then compare the density of location-based interactions between gentrifying and nongentrifying neighborhoods. We find that gentrification is significantly related to these location-based interactions. This suggests that gentrification indeed is associated with some communities in neighborhoods, though questions remain as to who has access. Making novel use of big data, these results demonstrate the important role built environment has on social connections forged “online. ”
Ionospheric Gravity Waves Driven by Oceanic Gravity Waves in Resonance: A Modeling Study in Search of Their Spectra

Ionospheric observations associated with the 2011 Tohoku tsunami have revealed gravity waves having spectral characteristics that depend on their proximity to the epicenter. There is a preponderance of medium‐scale waves in the vicinity of the epicenter, a significant bifurcation into short‐ and long‐period waves over the Hawaiian archipelago, and a narrow and rich spectrum of waves over the West Coast and inland of the United States (U.S.). Guided by these previous observations, we consider wave sources as triads of nonlinearly interacting oceanic gravity waves, whose wave parameters satisfy resonant conditions. These waves are simulated using a 2‐D nonlinear model describing gravity wave propagation in order to explain the observations of tsunamigenic traveling ionospheric disturbances (TIDs) associated with the Tohoku event.
Analysis and prediction of DNA-binding proteins and their binding residues based on composition, sequence and structural information

MOTIVATION Though vitally important to cell function, the mechanism of protein-DNA binding has not yet been completely understood. We therefore analysed the relationship between DNA binding and protein sequence composition, solvent accessibility and secondary structure. Using non-redundant databases of transcription factors and protein-DNA complexes, neural network models were developed to utilize the information present in this relationship to predict DNA-binding proteins and their binding residues. RESULTS Sequence composition was found to provide sufficient information to predict the probability of its binding to DNA with nearly 69% sensitivity at 64% accuracy for the considered proteins; sequence neighbourhood and solvent accessibility information were sufficient to make binding site predictions with 40% sensitivity at 79% accuracy. Detailed analysis of binding residues shows that some three- and five-residue segments frequently bind to DNA and that solvent accessibility plays a major role in binding. Although, binding behaviour was not associated with any particular secondary structure, there were interesting exceptions at the residue level. Over-representation of some residues in the binding sites was largely lost at the total sequence level, but a different kind of compositional preference was observed in DNA-binding proteins.