Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Use of a claims-based active drug safety surveillance system to assess the risk of acute pancreatitis with exenatide or sitagliptin compared to metformin or glyburide

ABSTRACT Objective: To estimate risk and relative risk (RR) of acute pancreatitis among patients using incretin-based diabetes therapies (exenatide or sitagliptin) compared to patients treated with agents with established safety profiles (metformin or glyburide). Research design and methods: The study population was derived from a large US commercial health insurance transaction database using an active drug safety surveillance system (i3 Aperio*). This analysis is based on data from June 2005 through June 2008. Cohorts of exenatide and sitagliptin initiators were each matched to an equal number of metformin or glyburide (met/gly) initiators using propensity scores to reduce confounding in the comparison of outcomes during follow-up. Patients with claims suggesting pancreatic disease in the 6 months prior to cohort entry were excluded. * i3 Drug Safety, Waltham, MA 02451, USA, www.i3aperio. com Main outcome measure: Claims for hospitalizations associated with a primary diagnosis of acute pancreatitis (ICD-9 577.0). Results: There were 27 996 exenatide initiators and 16 276 sitagliptin initiators and approximately equal numbers of matched comparators. During follow-up of up to 1 year, acute pancreatitis occurred among 0.13% of patients treated with exenatide and 0.12% of patients treated with sitagliptin. The risk of acute pancreatitis was comparable for initiators of exenatide (RR 1.0; 95% confidence interval (CI) 0.6–1.7) and sitagliptin (RR 1.0; 95% CI 0.5–2.0) relative to the comparison cohorts. Conclusions: These data do not provide evidence for an association of acute pancreatitis among initiators of exenatide or sitagliptin compared to met/gly initiators. These results are limited by the data available in an administrative, healthcare database.
I Collect Therefore I am--Autonoetic Consciousness and Hoarding in Asperger Syndrome.

UNLABELLED A growing number of studies have highlighted impairments in the ability of individuals with autism spectrum disorders to recall specific, personally experienced material. These difficulties have been related to underlying problems with autonoetic consciousness, namely the subjective awareness of one's own existence in subjective time. The current paper describes the manifestation of these difficulties in three individuals diagnosed with Asperger syndrome. For the people described, lifelong collecting and hoarding behaviours appeared to serve the function of constituting and maintaining aspects of their sense of self, particularly the sense of continuity and agency over time. On the basis of this clinical information and previous research into self-related processes in people with autism spectrum disorders, an initial model of collecting and hoarding behaviours amongst individuals with Asperger syndrome was formulated. The implications of this formulation for both clinical practice and future research are discussed. KEY PRACTITIONER MESSAGE People with Asperger syndrome can have problems in developing a functional sense of self. Collecting and hoarding behaviour by people with Asperger syndrome may reflect such underlying difficulties in their sense of self rather than being symptoms of comorbid mental illness. Interventions need to take account of the function of such behaviours rather than solely regarding them as discrete pathological signs.
A dynamic measurement method for parasitic capacitances of high voltage SiC MOSFETs

The voltage dependent parasitic capacitances in high voltage semiconductor power devices such as MOSFET, JFET and IGBT play a vital role in the understanding and modeling of the device switching performance. In this paper, a simple but effective parasitic capacitance measurement method is proposed. The output capacitance Coss and the reverse transfer capacitance Crss can be measured simultaneously and directly in the proposed parasitic capacitance tester (PCT). The input capacitance Ciss is measured based on gate driver waveforms during the turn on transient. To verify the effectiveness of the proposed method, a 10kV SiC MOSFET parasitic capacitances are measured as an example. The measured parasitic capacitance results are compared with those from a conventional LCR meter and theoretical calculation. Furthermore, a Matlab/Simulink compact circuit model for the 10kV SiC MOSFET is developed based on the measured parasitic capacitances, whose results also validate the effectiveness of the proposed method.
Study of the settling characteristics of tailings using nuclear magnetic resonance technique

The oil sands mining and extraction processes in Canada produce large volumes of tailings that are a mixture of mainly water, clay, sand, chemicals and bitumen. This residue is deposited into tailings ponds where sand settles faster than fine clays which require many years to fully consolidate. Therefore, land reclamation and water recirculation become significant environmental issues. The tailings settling rate depends on particle size, density and surface properties which can be modified by variations in the pH, salinity, and addition of flocculants and/or coagulants. Although plant scale developments have been made to improve tailings settling rates, there is a need for an on-site fast measurement of tailings settling characteristics to determine process modifications. This study uses the nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) technique to analyse variations in tailings settling properties. The results show the NMR technique has potential as an online application to estimate the lifetime of a pond and to monitor oil sands processing.
The impact of live video streaming on online purchase intention

ABSTRACT E-retailers are embracing new digital marketing strategies to provide more authentic information to their customers. This research examines the impact of live video streaming (LVS), defined as broadcasts in real time to an audience over the Internet for business-to-consumer and business-to-business communication. Although LVS has been adopted as a marketing strategy by e-retailers, its effect on customers’ online purchase intention remains unknown. Drawing on construal level theory, this study empirically examines the impact of LVS on customers’ online purchase intention considering psychological distance and perceived uncertainty. We test the research framework with the aid of a quasi-experiment using secondary data collected from Taobao.com, the largest online trading platform in China, and two experimental designs. The presented results indicate that the LVS strategy can improve customers’ online purchase intention by reducing psychological distance and perceived uncertainty. In addition, product type moderates the impact of LVS on perceived uncertainty. This paper finally provides some of the practical and managerial implications of our findings.
Aldosterone impairs baroreflex sensitivity in healthy adults.

Animal studies suggest that acute and chronic aldosterone administration impairs baroreceptor/baroreflex responses. We tested the hypothesis that aldosterone impairs baroreflex control of cardiac period [cardiovagal baroreflex sensitivity (BRS)] and muscle sympathetic nerve activity (MSNA, sympathetic BRS) in humans. Twenty-six young (25 +/- 1 yr old, mean +/- SE) adults were examined in this study. BRS was determined by using the modified Oxford technique (bolus infusion of nitroprusside, followed 60 s later by bolus infusion of phenylephrine) in triplicate before (Pre) and 30-min after (Post) beginning aldosterone (experimental, 12 pmol.kg(-1). min(-1); n = 10 subjects) or saline infusion (control; n = 10). BRS was quantified from the R-R interval-systolic blood pressure (BP) (cardiovagal BRS) and MSNA-diastolic BP (sympathetic BRS) relations. Aldosterone infusion increased serum aldosterone levels approximately fourfold (P < 0.05) and decreased (P < 0.05) cardiovagal (19.0 +/- 2.3 vs. 15.6 +/- 1.7 ms/mmHg Pre and Post, respectively) and sympathetic BRS [-4.4 +/- 0.4 vs. -3.0 +/- 0.4 arbitrary units (AU). beat(-1). mmHg(-1)]. In contrast, neither cardiovagal (19.3 +/- 3.3 vs. 20.2 +/- 3.3 ms/mmHg) nor sympathetic BRS (-3.8 +/- 0.5 vs. -3.6 +/- 0.5 AU.beat(-1). mmHg(-1)) were altered (Pre vs. Post) in the control group. BP, heart rate, and MSNA at rest were similar in experimental and control subjects before and after the intervention. Additionally, neural and cardiovascular responses to a cold pressor test and isometric handgrip to fatigue were unaffected by aldosterone infusion (n = 6 subjects). These data provide direct experimental support for the concept that aldosterone impairs baroreflex function (cardiovagal and sympathetic BRS) in humans. Therefore, aldosterone may be an important determinant/modulator of baroreflex function in humans.
Two Level Specification for Mobile Agent Application

Mobile agents can physically travel across a network, and perform tasks on machines, that provide agent hosting capability. These agents are autonomous; this property allows them to adapt themselves on a dynamic environment in a large network. Mobile agent programming is a complex task and it mixes business code and technical features. Because code development is costly, we use two kind of process algebra to write formal specifications. A first process algebra is used to the description of business part of the code. This formal language is an extension of pi calculus. A second process algebra allows us to architecture requirements. The second language is based on distributed pi calculus. We specify resource access and mobility schema. With two level specification, we drive more closely application building. The result is a layer application where architecture is a master feature and business part becomes its operator.
Polynucleotide Phosphorylase Functions as Both an Exonuclease and a Poly(A) Polymerase in Spinach Chloroplasts

ABSTRACT The molecular mechanism of mRNA degradation in the chloroplast consists of sequential events including endonucleolytic cleavage, the addition of poly(A)-rich sequences to the endonucleolytic cleavage products, and exonucleolytic degradation by polynucleotide phosphorylase (PNPase). In Escherichia coli,polyadenylation is performed mainly by poly(A)-polymerase (PAP) I or by PNPase in its absence. While trying to purify the chloroplast PAP by following in vitro polyadenylation activity, it was found to copurify with PNPase and indeed could not be separated from it. Purified PNPase was able to polyadenylate RNA molecules with an activity similar to that of lysed chloroplasts. Both activities use ADP much more effectively than ATP and are inhibited by stem-loop structures. The activity of PNPase was directed to RNA degradation or polymerization by manipulating physiologically relevant concentrations of Piand ADP. As expected of a phosphorylase, Pi enhanced degradation, whereas ADP inhibited degradation and enhanced polymerization. In addition, searching the completeArabidopsis genome revealed several putative PAPs, none of which were preceded by a typical chloroplast transit peptide. These results suggest that there is no enzyme similar to E. coli PAP I in spinach chloroplasts and that polyadenylation and exonucleolytic degradation of RNA in spinach chloroplasts are performed by one enzyme, PNPase.
Increasing Doublecortin Expression Promotes Migration of Human Embryonic Stem Cell‐Derived Neurons

Human embryonic stem cell‐derived neuronal progenitors (hNPs) provide a potential source for cellular replacement following neurodegenerative diseases. One of the greatest challenges for future neuron replacement therapies will be to control extensive cell proliferation and stimulate cell migration of transplanted cells. The doublecortin (DCX) gene encodes the protein DCX, a microtubule‐associated protein essential for the migration of neurons in the human brain. In this study, we tested whether increasing the expression of DCX in hNPs would favorably alter their proliferation and migration. Migration and proliferation of hNPs was compared between hNPs expressing a bicistronic DCX/IRES‐GFP transgene and those expressing a green fluorescent protein (GFP) transgene introduced by piggyBac‐mediated transposition. The DCX‐transfected hNPs showed a significant decrease in their proliferation and migrated significantly further on two different substrates, Matrigel and brain slices. Additionally, a dense network of nestin‐positive (+) and vimentin+ fibers were found to extend from neurospheres transplanted onto brain slices, and this fiber growth was increased from neurospheres containing DCX‐transfected hNPs. In summary, our results show that increased DCX expression inhibits proliferation and promotes migration of hNPs. Stem Cells2012;30:1852–1862
Another Look at the Impact of Reference Information on Consumer Impressions of Nutrition Information

The Nutrition Labeling and Education Act (NLEA) of 1990 requires the provision of daily value reference information on food labels to improve consumer judgments of product nutritiousness. Yet, a review of the literature reveals little research indicating that daily values (DVs) have such a facultative effect. In light of this, the authors empirically examine how DVs fare against an alternative reference point in the form of average-brand values. Their results demonstrate that these two reference points differ in terms of their impact on consumers’ interpretation of nutritional information. In particular, they find that average-brand reference points better facilitate consumer discernment between healthy and less healthy products than either the DVs currently mandated by the NLEA or no reference information at all. Their findings also reveal the potential for DVs to cause consumers to form incorrect conclusions about a product's nutritiousness. The authors draw implications regarding the provision of reference information on product labels as a means of attaining public policy objectives.
Spectral efficiency of coded phase-shift keying for fiber-optic communication

Several optical modulation and detection schemes are compared by computing their spectral efficiencies over additive white Gaussian noise channels. The bandwidth savings of differential quadrature phase-shift keying (D-QPSK) over both direct-detection on-off keying and differential binary phase-shift keying suggest that D-QPSK can improve the reach and efficiency of wavelength-division multiplexing systems. To test the theory, Reed-Solomon and low-density parity-check forward error correction codes are designed and evaluated. The codes generally behave as expected, except that for D-QPSK the gains are hampered by the differential detector. It is further shown that neither multiple-symbol differential detection nor decision-feedback detection is attractive when using strong codes.
Differential and Special Properties of the Major Human UGT1-encoded Gastrointestinal UDP-glucuronosyltransferases Enhance Potential to Control Chemical Uptake*

UDP-glucuronosyltransferase (UGT) isozymes detoxify metabolites, drugs, toxins, and environmental chemicals via conjugation to glucuronic acid. Based on the extended UGT1 locus combined with Northern blot analysis and in situ hybridization, we determined the distribution of UGT1A1 and UGT1A7 through UGT1A10 mRNAs and found them for the first time segmentally distributed in the mucosal epithelia layer of the gastrointestinal tract. Biochemically, recombinant isozymes exhibited pH optima of 5.5, 6.4, 7.6, 8.5, and/or a broad pH range, and activities were found to be unaffected or progressively inhibited by increasing substrate concentrations after attaining Vmax for certain chemicals. Under different optimal conditions, all exhibited wide substrate selections for dietary and environmentally associated chemicals. Evidence also suggests tandem effects of isozymes in the time for completion of reactions when comparing short- and long-term incubations. Moreover, treatment of colon cells with certain diet-associated constituents, curcumin and nordihydroguaiaretic acid, reversibly targets UGTs causing inhibition without affecting protein levels; there is no direct inhibition of control UGT using curcumin as substrate in the in vitro assay. In summary, we demonstrate that UGTs are located in gastrointestinal mucosa, have vast overlapping activities under differential optimal conditions, and exhibit marked sensitivity to certain dietary substrates/constituents, representing a first comprehensive study of critical properties concerning glucuronidating isozymes in alimentary tissues. Additionally, the highly dynamic, complex, and variable properties necessarily impact absorption of ingested chemicals and therapeutic drugs.
Anti‐GD1a antibody is associated with axonal but not demyelinating forms of Guillain‐Barré syndrome

Immunopathological studies suggest that the target of immune attack is different in the subtypes of Guillain‐Barré syndrome (GBS). In acute motor axonal neuropathy (AMAN), the attack appears directed against the axolemma and nodes of Ranvier. In acute inflammatory demyelinating polyneuropathy (AIDP), the attack appears directed against a component of the Schwann cell. However, the nature of the antigenic targets is still not clear. We prospectively studied 138 Chinese GBS patients and found that IgG anti‐GD1a antibodies were closely associated with AMAN but not AIDP. With a cutoff titer of greater than 1:100, 60% of AMAN versus 4% of AIDP patients had IgG anti‐GD1a antibodies; with a cutoff titer of greater than 1:1,000, 24% of AMAN patients and none of the AIDP patients had IgG anti‐GD1a antibodies. In contrast, low levels of IgG anti‐GM1 antibodies (>1:100) were detected in both the AMAN and the AIDP forms (57% vs 35%, NS). High titers of IgG anti‐GM1 (>1:1,000) were more common in the AMAN form (24% vs 8%, NS). Serological evidence of recent Campylobacter infection was detected in 81% of AMAN and 50% of AIDP patients, and anti‐ganglioside antibodies were common in both Campylobacter‐infected and noninfected patients. Our results suggest that IgG anti‐GD1a antibodies may be involved in the pathogenesis of AMAN. Ann Neurol 1999;45:168–173
Folding and Stability of the Extracellular Domain of the Human Amyloid Precursor Protein*

The β-amyloid peptide (Aβ), the major component of the senile plaques found in the brains of Alzheimer's disease patients, is derived from proteolytic processing of a transmembrane glycoprotein known as the amyloid precursor protein (APP). Human APP exists in various isoforms, of which the major ones contain 695, 751, and 770 amino acids. Proteolytic cleavage of APP by α- or β-secretases releases the extracellular soluble fragments sAPPα or sAPPβ, respectively. Despite the fact that sAPPα plays important roles in both physiological and pathological processes in the brain, very little is known about its structure and stability. We have recently presented a structural model of sAPPα695 obtained from small-angle x-ray scattering measurements (Gralle, M., Botelho, M. M., Oliveira, C. L. P., Torriani, I., and Ferreira, S. T. (2002) Biophys. J. 83, 3513–3524). We now report studies on the folding and stabilities of sAPPα695 and sAPPα770. The combined use of intrinsic fluorescence, 4–4′-Dianilino-1,1′binaphthyl-5,5′-disulfonic acid (bis-ANS) fluorescence, circular dichroism, differential ultraviolet absorption, and small-angle x-ray scattering measurements of the equilibrium unfolding of sAPPα695 and sAPPα770 by GdnHCl and urea revealed multistep folding pathways for both sAPPα isoforms. Such stepwise folding processes may be related to the identification of distinct structural domains in the three-dimensional model of sAPPα. Furthermore, the relatively low stability of the native state of sAPPα suggests that conformational plasticity may play a role in allowing APP to interact with a number of distinct physiological ligands.
High-Throughput Characterization of Cascade type I-E CRISPR Guide Efficacy Reveals Unexpected PAM Diversity and Target Sequence Preferences

Interactions between Clustered Regularly Interspaced Short Palindromic Repeat (CRISPR) RNAs and CRISPR-associated (Cas) proteins form an RNA-guided adaptive immune system in prokaryotes. The adaptive immune system utilizes segments of the genetic material of invasive foreign elements in the CRISPR locus. The loci are transcribed and processed to produce small CRISPR RNAs (crRNAs), with degradation of invading genetic material directed by a combination of complementarity between RNA and DNA and in some cases recognition of adjacent motifs called PAMs (Protospacer Adjacent Motifs). Here we describe a general, high-throughput procedure to test the efficacy of thousands of targets, applying this to the Escherichia coli type I-E Cascade (CRISPR-associated complex for antiviral defense) system. These studies were followed with reciprocal experiments in which the consequence of CRISPR activity was survival in the presence of a lytic phage. From the combined analysis of the Cascade system, we found that (i) type I-E Cascade PAM recognition is more expansive than previously reported, with at least 22 distinct PAMs, with many of the noncanonical PAMs having CRISPR-interference abilities similar to the canonical PAMs; (ii) PAM positioning appears precise, with no evidence for tolerance to PAM slippage in interference; and (iii) while increased guanine-cytosine (GC) content in the spacer is associated with higher CRISPR-interference efficiency, high GC content (>62.5%) decreases CRISPR-interference efficiency. Our findings provide a comprehensive functional profile of Cascade type I-E interference requirements and a method to assay spacer efficacy that can be applied to other CRISPR-Cas systems.
Local probing of magnetoelectric properties of PVDF/Fe3O4 electrospun nanofibers by piezoresponse force microscopy

The coupling of magnetic and electric properties in polymer-based magnetoelectric composites offers new opportunities to develop contactless electrodes, effectively without electrical connections, for less-invasive integration into devices such as energy harvesters, sensors, wearable and implantable electrodes. Understanding the macroscale-to-nanoscale conversion of the properties is important, as nanostructured and nanoscale magnetoelectric structures are increasingly fabricated. However, whilst the magnetoelectric effect at the macroscale is well established both theoretically and experimentally, it remains unclear how this effect translates to the nanoscale, or vice versa. Here, PVDF/Fe3O4 polymer-based composite nanofibers are fabricated using electrospinning to investigate their piezoelectric and magnetoelectric properties at the single nanofiber level.
Obtaining Raw Material: Plants as Tool Sources for Nigerian Chimpanzees

We investigated the acquisition of plant materials from which Nigerian chimpanzees manufacture wooden tools to harvest insects and honey from nests of army ants, honey bees and stingless bees. Slender trunks of juvenile trees and branches are most commonly used, and bendable vines rarely, probably reflecting the need to work with relatively sturdy tools to extract resources. While several tools are sometimes sourced from the same plant, there is also evidence for a depletion effect, as multiple tool sources at the same site are often spaced several metres apart. Identified tool sources belong to 27 species of at least 13 families. Honey-gathering implements are often chewed upon by chimpanzees. Interestingly, twigs of the most commonly used honey-gathering species possess antibacterial propensities and are favoured by Nigerians as chewing sticks. This suggests that extractive tools might possess associated medicinal or stimulatory properties. We do not know if chimpanzees actively select specific plant parts or species as we cannot compare observed with expected frequencies. Nevertheless, about three quarters of tools are picked from plants more than 6 m away from the extraction site, potentially indicating some degree of forward planning.