Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
XV.—The Correlation between Relatives on the Supposition of Mendelian Inheritance.

Several attempts have already been made to interpret the well-established results of biometry in accordance with the Mendelian scheme of inheritance. It is here attempted to ascertain the biometrical properties of a population of a more general type than has hitherto been examined, inheritance in which follows this scheme. It is hoped that in this way it will be possible to make a more exact analysis of the causes of human variability. The great body of available statistics show us that the deviations of a human measurement from its mean follow very closely the Normal Law of Errors, and, therefore, that the variability may be uniformly measured by the standard deviation corresponding to the square root of the mean square error. When there are two independent causes of variability capable of producing in an otherwise uniform population distributions with standard deviations σ1 and σ2, it is found that the distribution, when both causes act together, has a standard deviation . It is therefore desirable in analysing the causes of variability to deal with the square of the standard deviation as the measure of variability. We shall term this quantity the Variance of the normal population to which it refers, and we may now ascribe to the constituent causes fractions or percentages of the total variance which they together produce. It is desirable on the one hand that the elementary ideas at the basis of the calculus of correlations should be clearly understood, and easily expressed in ordinary language, and on the other that loose phrases about the “percentage of causation,” which obscure the essential distinction between the individual and the population, should be carefully avoided.
VISCERAL FAT SATURATION IS POSITIVELY CORRELATED WITH LIVER FAT CONTENT

Introduction Non-alcoholic liver disease (NAFLD) and visceral fat content are associated with the metabolic syndrome [1]. Insulin resistance is the likely culprit, thought to lead to a high influx of fatty acids from the enlarged visceral adipose tissue depot to the liver. We have developed and validated long TE H-MRS as a method of characterizing lipid composition in vivo [2]. We observed that the CH2/CH3 ratio was a marker of saturated fat content in adipose tissue [2]. Recently, it was shown that the saturated fat content of subcutaneous adipocytes correlated positively with insulin sensitivity [3]. This association was attributed to de-novo-lipogenesis of saturated fatty acids in adipose tissue [3]. In accordance with this we reported a negative correlation between subcutaenous adipose tissue CH2/CH3 and liver fat content in men [4]. This implies that a high saturated fat content in subcutaneous adipose tissue associated with good insulin sensitivity. Whether the saturation of visceral adipose tissue is associated with liver fat content is unknown. The aim of this study was to determine the association between visceral adipose tissue fat saturation and liver fat content.
Pretreatment Hemoglobin Level Is an Independent Prognostic Factor in Patients with Lung Adenocarcinoma

Background/Aim Few studies have reported the prognostic value of pretreatment hemoglobin levels in patients with lung adenocarcinoma (LA). In the present study, we retrospectively reviewed 306 LA patients for their prognosis associated with the pretreatment hemoglobin levels. Methods Person-years and case fatality rate (CFR) were calculated from May 2010 to June 2017. Hazard ratio (HR) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) were estimated using the Cox proportional hazards regression analysis. Survival curves were generated using the Kaplan–Meier analysis. Results Patients with low pretreatment hemoglobin (LPHb) levels had a higher CFR than did patients with normal pretreatment hemoglobin (NPHb) levels (HR = 1.48, 95% CI = 1.06–2.08, and P=0.023). Overall survival of NPHb patients was significantly higher than that of LPHb patients (P < 0.05). Conclusion Low pretreatment hemoglobin level was demonstrated to be an independent biomarker for poor prognosis in patients with LA.
Historical responsibility for climate change: science and the science–policy interface

Since 1990, the academic literature on historical responsibility (HR) for climate change has grown considerably. Over these years, the approaches to defining this responsibility have varied considerably. This article demonstrates how this variation can be explained by combining various defining aspects of historical contribution and responsibility. Scientific knowledge that takes for granted choices among defining aspects will likely become a basis for distrust within science, among negotiators under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), and elsewhere. On the other hand, for various reasons, not all choices can be explicated at all times. In this article, we examine the full breadth of complexities involved in scientifically defining HR and discuss how these complexities have consequences for the science–policy interface concerning HR. To this end, we review and classify the academic literature on historical contributions to and responsibility for climate change into categories of defining aspects. One immediately policy‐relevant conclusion emerges from this exercise: Coupled with negotiators' highly divergent understandings of historical responsibility, the sheer number of defining aspects makes it virtually impossible to offer scientific advice without creating distrust in certain parts of the policy circle. This conclusion suggests that scientific attempts to narrow the options for policymakers will have little chance of succeeding unless policymakers first negotiate a clearer framework for historical responsibility.
HPV16-E6 Oncoprotein Activates TGF-β and Wnt/β-Catenin Pathways in the Epithelium-Mesenchymal Transition of Cataracts in a Transgenic Mouse Model

Objective This work aimed to determine if cataractous changes associated with EMT occurring in the K14E6 mice lenses are associated with TGF-β and Wnt/β-catenin signaling activation. Materials and Methods Cataracts of K14E6 mice were analysed histologically; and components of TGF-β and Wnt/β-catenin signaling were evaluated by Western blot, RT-qPCR, in situ RT-PCR, IHC, or IF technics. Metalloproteinases involved in EMT were also assayed using zymography. The endogenous stabilisation of Smad7 protein was also assessed using an HDAC inhibitor. Results The K14E6 mice, which displayed binocular cataracts in 100% of the animals, exhibited loss of tissue organisation, cortical liquefaction, and an increase in the number of hyperproliferative-nucleated cells with mesenchymal-like characteristics in the lenses. Changes in lenses' cell morphology were due to actin filaments reorganisation, activation of TGF-β and Wnt/β-catenin pathways, and the accumulation of MTA1 protein. Finally, the stabilisation of Smad7 protein diminishes cell proliferation, as well as MTA1 protein levels. Conclusion The HPV16-E6 oncoprotein induces EMT in transgenic mice cataracts. The molecular mechanism may involve TGF-β and Wnt/β-catenin pathways, suggesting that the K14E6 transgenic mouse could be a useful model for the study or treatment of EMT-induced cataracts.
Effectiveness of low dose of rapamycin in preventing seizure-induced anxiety-like behaviour, cognitive impairment, and defects in neurogenesis in developing rats

Abstract Aims: Previous studies have demonstrated that rapamycin prevents seizure-induced anxiety-like behaviors. However, rapamycin had been used at a higher dose of 3 mg/kg and resulted in side effects in immature animals. This work was designed to explore whether a lower dose of rapamycin has similar efficacy but has milder side effects. Methods: Acute seizures were induced by injection of pilocarpine at postnatal 10-day Sprague-Dawley rats. Western blot analysis was used to detect changes in mammalian target of rapamycin (mTOR) pathway after seizure. Immunofluorescent intensity of doublecortin (DCX) was conducted to evaluate the development of neurons in hippocampus. Morris water maze and Y-maze test were used to assess cognitive functions and open-field test and elevated plus maze were used to detect anxiety-like behaviors 4 weeks after seizure onset. Results: mTOR pathway was abnormally activated with two peaks after pilocarpine-induced seizures, and no difference of DCX-positive cells and body weight were noticed between control and pilocarpine-induced seizure rats. Pilocarpine-induced seizure in postnatal 10 days rats did not exert impairment on cognitive functions, but resulted in obvious anxiety-like behaviors. Low dose of rapamycin at 0.3 mg/kg significantly reversed seizure-induced increase of p-S6 levels as well as abnormal anxiety-like behaviors. In addition, rapamycin at the dose of 0.3mg/kg did not affect normal development and cognitive functions. Conclusion: lower doses of rapamycin should be used in infants compared with older children or adults.
Persistence of Shifts in Beliefs Associated With Exposure to Alcohol Advertising Among Adolescents.

OBJECTIVE The purpose of this study was to quantify the persistence of immediate changes in adolescents' alcohol-related beliefs associated with exposure to alcohol advertising. METHOD Middle school students (N = 606) carried handheld devices for 14 days and logged all of their exposures to alcohol advertisements as they naturally occurred. Perceptions of the typical person one's age who drinks ("prototype perceptions") and perceived norms regarding alcohol use were assessed after each exposure to advertising and at random prompts issued daily throughout the assessment period. Generalized additive modeling was used to determine how long pro-drinking shifts in beliefs persisted after exposure to advertising. RESULTS Following exposure to advertisements, positivity of youth's prototype perceptions immediately increased (β = .07, 95% CI [.06, .09]) and then decreased (β = -.05, 95% CI [-.07, -.03]) over the subsequent 1.5 days, whereas perceived normativeness of alcohol use immediately increased (β = .04, 95% CI [.01, .06]) and then decreased (β = -.03, 95% CI [-.05, -.01]) over the subsequent 2 days. Changes in beliefs occurring after 1.5 days for prototype perceptions and after 2 days for perceived norms were not statistically significant, suggesting that these beliefs were no longer affected by the advertising exposure. CONCLUSIONS Findings are consistent with theories of alcohol advertising effects that presume that repeated exposure results in cumulative, enduring effects on beliefs. Given the rate of decay of alcohol advertising effects, it may be important to limit youth exposures to one every 2 days to avoid cumulative, lasting pro-drinking shifts in beliefs or to devise ways to interrupt cumulative effects with counter-messaging through media, parents, or other influential others at similar intervals.
Applications of complementary therapies during rehabilitation for individuals with traumatic Spinal Cord Injury: Findings from the SCIRehab Project

Objective: Evaluate the use of complementary therapies during rehabilitation for patients with traumatic spinal cord injury (SCI). Design: Secondary analyses were conducted to identify the use and associated outcomes of complementary therapies provided by occupational therapists (OTs) and physical therapists (PTs) during rehabilitation from a public dataset. Setting: Inpatient rehabilitation. Participants: A public dataset composed of 1376 patients with SCI that were enrolled in a five-year, multi-center investigation, the SCIRehab Project. Secondary analyses focused on a subset of 93 patients (47 who received complementary therapy during treatment and 46 case-matched controls who received no complementary therapy). Interventions: OTs and PTs recorded use of complementary therapies during sessions, including yoga, Pilates, tai chi, aromatherapy, relaxation techniques, imagery and other. Outcome Measures: Pain interference, pain severity, mobility, and social integration. Results: Three percent of participants received any complementary therapies. Patients who received complementary therapies showed greater reductions in pain severity from 6 months to 12 months relative to matched controls. Furthermore, the amount of time that patients received complementary therapies during physical therapy sessions was associated with reduced pain interference at 6 months and with reduced pain severity at the 6-month and 12-month follow-ups. Complementary therapy use was not associated with mobility or social integration. Conclusion: The current study provides preliminary evidence documenting the limited use of complementary therapies in rehabilitation settings and highlights the opportunity for further research, particularly regarding pain-related outcomes.
Shadow detection from VHR aerial images in urban area by using 3 D city models and a decision fusion approach

In VHR(very high resolution) aerial images, shadows indicating height information are valuable for validating or detecting changes on an existing 3D city model. In the paper, we propose a novel and full automatic approach for shadow detection from VHR images. Instead of automatic thresholding, the supervised machine learning approach is expected with better performance on shadow detection, but it requires to obtain training samples manually. The shadow image reconstructed from an existing 3D city model can provide free training samples with large variety. However, as the 3D model is often not accuracy, incomplete and outdated, a small portion of training samples are mislabeled. The erosion morphology is provided to remove boundary pixels which have high mislabeling possibility from the reconstructed image. Moreover, the quadratic discriminant analysis (QDA) which is resistant to the mislabeling is chosen. Further, two feature domains, RGB and ratio of the hue over the intensity, are analyzed to have complementary effects on better detecting different objects. Finally, a decision fusion approach is proposed to combine the results wisely from preliminary classifications from two feature domains. The fuzzy membership is a confidence measurement and determines the way of making decision, in the meanwhile the memberships are weighted by an entropy measurements to indicate their certainties. The experimental results on two cities in the Netherlands demonstrate that the proposed approach outperforms the two separate classifiers and two stacked-vector fusion approaches.
Molecular Characterization of Methicillin and Vancomycin Resistant Staphylococcus aureus Strains Isolated from Hospitalized Patients.

OBJECTIVES Nosocomial infections caused by methicillin resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) and emergence of vancomycin resistant S. aureus (VRSA) have led to great concern in healthcare settings worldwide. METHODS A total of 100 S. aureus clinical isolates from hospitalized patients were investigated for antimicrobial susceptibility, the presence of resistance (mecA, vanA, and vanB) and virulence (hlaA, fnbpA, cna, clfA, tsst-1, eta, and spa) encoding genes, and molecular typing based on polymerase chain reaction-restriction fragment length polymorphism (PCR-RFLP) of spa gene. RESULTS All isolates were resistant to one or more antibiotics, with the most frequent resistance found against amoxicillin (69%). A total of 46 isolates were MRSA, and 40% of isolates were multidrug resistant (MDR). Of all S. aureus isolates, two isolates were confirmed as VRSA and four isolates confirmed as vancomycin intermediate S. aureus (VISA). The frequency of clfA, cna, tsst-1, and eta genes among MRSA isolates was significantly higher than methicillin sensitive S. aureus (MSSA). The significant correlation between MDR isolates and the carriage of multiple virulence genes was seen. All MDR isolates carried at least four virulence genes. Furthermore, biofilm formation in MRSA isolates was significantly higher than MSSA. The spa gene PCR products generated 4 major and 10 minor types. After digestion of spa amplicons with HindIII restriction enzyme, 10 different patterns ranging 174-938 bp were detected. S2b and S2a subtypes were detected frequently in MRSA isolates. CONCLUSIONS It seems that the appropriate surveillance and control measures are essential to prevent the emergence and transmission of MRSA and VRSA strains in our country.
Coevolution of both Thermostability and Activity of Polyphosphate Glucokinase from Thermobifida fusca YX

Polyphosphate glucokinase (PPGK) is an enzyme that transfers a terminal phosphate group from polyphosphate to glucose, producing glucose 6-phosphate. A petri dish-based double-layer high-throughput screening strategy was developed by using ultrathermostable Phytagel as the first layer instead of agar or agarose, followed by a redox dye-based assay for rapid identification of ultrathermostable PPGK mutants. The best mutant featuring both great thermostability and high activity could produce glucose 6-phosphate from glucose and polyphosphate without in vitro ATP regeneration. ABSTRACT Thermostability and specific activity of enzymes are two of the most important properties for industrial biocatalysts. Here, we developed a petri dish-based double-layer high-throughput screening (HTS) strategy for rapid identification of desired mutants of polyphosphate glucokinase (PPGK) from a thermophilic actinobacterium, Thermobifida fusca YX, with both enhanced thermostability and activity. Escherichia coli colonies representing a PPGK mutant library were grown on the first-layer Phytagel-based plates, which can remain solid for 1 h, even at heat treatment temperatures of more than 100°C. The second layer that was poured on the first layer contained agarose, substrates, glucose 6-phosphate dehydrogenase (G6PDH), the redox dye tetranitroblue tetrazolium (TNBT), and phenazine methosulfate. G6PDH was able to oxidize the product from the PPGK-catalyzed reaction and generate NADH, which can be easily examined by a TNBT-based colorimetric assay. The best mutant obtained after four rounds of directed evolution had a 7,200-fold longer half-life at 55°C, 19.8°C higher midpoint of unfolding temperature (Tm), and a nearly 3-fold enhancement in specific activities compared to those of the wild-type PPGK. The best mutant was used to produce 9.98 g/liter myo-inositol from 10 g/liter glucose, with a theoretical yield of 99.8%, along with two other hyperthermophilic enzymes at 70°C. This PPGK mutant featuring both great thermostability and high activity would be useful for ATP-free production of glucose 6-phosphate or its derived products. IMPORTANCE Polyphosphate glucokinase (PPGK) is an enzyme that transfers a terminal phosphate group from polyphosphate to glucose, producing glucose 6-phosphate. A petri dish-based double-layer high-throughput screening strategy was developed by using ultrathermostable Phytagel as the first layer instead of agar or agarose, followed by a redox dye-based assay for rapid identification of ultrathermostable PPGK mutants. The best mutant featuring both great thermostability and high activity could produce glucose 6-phosphate from glucose and polyphosphate without in vitro ATP regeneration.
High Fluoride, Modest Fluorosis: Investigation in Drinking Water Supply in Halaba (SNNPR, Ethiopia)

In Halaba district in Southern Ethiopia fluoride levels from boreholes are high (2.6 to 7.0 mg/l), yet the incidence of fluorosis is modest. Drinking water users living in the vicinity of four drinking water systems that have been in operation for more than 35 years were surveyed. Out of 625 persons 5 percent had severe dental fluorosis and 42 percent had mild forms—which is considerably less than results of other areas with comparable fluoride levels. The incidence was highest in the older age groups. Possible explanations were explored. A likely reason may be the continued large dependence on rain water harvesting ponds for human consumption alongside the use of water from the public borehole systems, but more investigations would be required to confirm this proposition.
A novel technique using high energy synchronous double-wave laser in endoscopic submucosal dissection of patients with superficial esophageal neoplasm

Abstract Background Endoscopic submucosal dissection (ESD) has been widely used to treat superficial esophageal neoplasms (SENs). Intraoperative bleeding is one of the main concerns that makes ESD in the esophagus more difficult and time consuming with higher complication rates. We introduced a novel laser endoknife system that enabled better intraoperative hemostasis, and preliminarily investigated its feasibility in ESD for patients with SENs. Methods 17 consecutive patients with SENs were prospectively enrolled. The laser endoknife system was used in marking and submucosal dissection. Data on therapeutic outcomes were collected and analyzed. Results The median diameter of the lesions was 2.5 cm and of the resected specimens was 3.0 cm. The median procedure time was 48 minutes. Histologic evaluation revealed 15 high grade intraepithelial neoplasias and two squamous cell carcinomas. No intraoperative bleeding occurred during laser cutting and no significant complications occurred postoperatively. Curative R0 resection was achieved in all patients. Conclusions Our new laser endoknife system was feasible in the submucosal dissection of SENs and showed great prospects for future application.
Comparison of CAPR MRA with CT Angiography for Evaluation of Below the Knee Runoff : Preliminary Results of Radiologist Confidence

Introduction: Computed tomographic angiography (CTA) is widely used for vascular imaging of the lower extremities. However, it has several disadvantages compared with magnetic resonance angiography (MRA), including limitation by calcification and uncertainties in contrast bolus timing which may result in images obtained too early (with poor arterial opacification) or too late (poor opacification and venous contamination). For this reason, time-resolved MRA may be a better examination for evaluating below-the-knee runoff. Our laboratory has developed an MRA technique called CAPR (Cartesian acquisition with projection-like reconstruction) which obtains time-resolved, 1 mm isotropic resolution images with 5 second temporal update time. (1) This could be an optimal technique for imaging lower extremity vessels. The purpose of this work was to compare radiologist confidence in CTA and CAPR MRA in a cohort of clinical patients.