Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Single nucleotide polymorphism in fibroblast growth factor receptor 4 at codon 388 is associated with prognosis in high‐grade soft tissue sarcoma

A recent study revealed that single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) at codon 388 (Gly or Arg) of fibroblast growth factor receptor 4 (FGFR4) was associated with prognosis in patients with carcinoma of the breast and colorectal carcinoma. The purpose of the current study was to investigate the correlation between codon 388 SNP and clinical prognosis in patients with sarcoma of the bone and soft tissues.
Changing Risk-Return Profiles

We show that realized volatility, especially the realized volatility of financial sector stock returns, has strong predictive content for the future distribution of market returns. This is a robust feature of the last century of U.S. data and, most importantly, can be exploited in real time. Current realized volatility has the most information content on the uncertainty of future returns, whereas it has only limited content about the location of the future return distribution. When volatility is low, the predicted distribution of returns is less dispersed and probabilistic forecasts are sharper. Given this finding on the importance of financial sector volatility not just to financial equity return uncertainty but to the broader market, we test for changes in the realized volatility of banks over a $50 billion threshold associated with more stringent Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act (Dodd-Frank) requirements. We find that the equity volatility of these large banks is differentially lower by 9 percentage points after Dodd-Frank compared to pre-crisis levels, controlling for changes over the same period for all banks and all large firms.
SOME BIOMECHANICAL ASPECTS OF THE CARPAL TUNNEL *

Previously presented evidence indicates that carpal tunnel syndrome is related to compression of the median nerve inside the carpal tunnel. Biomechanical arguments in which the extrinsic finger flexor tendons inside the carpal tunnel are characterized as a frictionless pulley-belt mechanism are presented to show quantitatively how wrist size, wrist position and hand position affect forces on the tendons and their adjacent structures.
Smartly saving energy with a zero power consumption standby system

In this modern era, saving energy ought to become a major concern and responsibility of everyone on this global warming world. All should consume energy as wisely as possible. Nonetheless, an enormous deal of energy (around 5–10% of total household energy consumption) is still being wasted nearly everywhere with and without consumers' awareness over the standby power drawn by various appliances when they appear to be switched off via remote control units and yet stay in the sleep/standby mode possibly almost 24 hours a day. In this work, we redesign the system such that the appliances do not consume energy at all when switched onto the sleep mode. Unlike the existing system in which some amount of energy is still consumed by the sleeping appliance while waiting for a weak wake-up signal command from the remote control unit, instead the proposed system has the remote control unit emit strong energy to wake up the system from a completely shut down state. Essentially, this system reflects the more efficient standby energy management strategy since users typically utilize the remote unit to emit the strong energy in order to wake up appliances only a few times a day while the zero power consumption saving advantage during the prolonged standby period is apparently more dominant. When widely adopted, this innovation can smartly help reduce household energy consumption throughout the world.
The Dutch Famine, 1944–1945, and the Reproductive Process. I. Effects on Six Indices at Birth

Extract: Prenatal exposure to the Dutch famine of 1944-1945 reduced postpartum maternal weight, birth weight, placental weight, length at birth, and head circumference at birth. These conclusions are based on maternities occurring in the famine area and exposed to famine during some part of gestation as compared both with maternities in nonfamine areas, and with maternities before and after the famine. Third trimester exposure accounted for the whole of the famine effects. Length of gestation was not affected by third trimester exposure, and did not mediate the effects on infant dimensions at birth. Effects were apparent only below a threshold value of official food rations of 1,500 cal daily average during the third trimester. (Calorie value for official food rations can be assumed to be lower than actual food intake.) Maternal weight declined 4.3% during the famine and rose 10.5% after the famine. Birth weight declined 9% during the famine, and rose 9% after the famine. Placental weight declined 15% during the famine, and rose 14% after the famine. Length at birth declined 2.5% during the famine, and rose 1.5% after the famine. Head circumference declined 2.7% during the famine, and rose 2.4% afterward.Speculation: The Dutch famine experience is analogous to animal experiments in which severe early nutritional deprivation slows fetal growth, including the head, and perhaps causes brain cell depletion.
Fuel switching and energy partitioning during the postprandial metabolic response in the ball python (Python regius)

SUMMARY Digestion, absorption and assimilation of the meal are active processes that require start-up energy before the energy contained in a meal can be utilized. The energetic costs associated with feeding (specific dynamic action, SDA) are high in sit-and-wait foraging snakes that tolerate long fasting periods. We used 13C-labelled prey to partition between endogenous energy sources (i.e. snakes own resources) and exogenous energy sources (i.e. prey). A linear mixing model was then applied to determine the portion of 13C originating from the different sources. The snakes showed a normal and typical postprandial response. By four hours after feeding, the δ13C-values indicated fuel switching from endogenous to exogenous. From then on, fuel mixing continuously increased until, at 20 h after feeding, 75% of fuel was exogenous. Resource partitioning showed that throughout SDA, the amount of exogenous energy increased to ~60% of SDA, which was equivalent to ~4.5% of the energy contained in a meal.
A Central Role for Triacylglycerol in Membrane Lipid Breakdown, Fatty Acid β-Oxidation, and Plant Survival under Extended Darkness1[OPEN]

Triacylglycerol is a key intermediate in membrane lipid breakdown and fatty acid β-oxidation, and blocking triacylglycerol hydrolysis reduces oxidative stress and enhances plant survival under extended darkness. Neutral lipid metabolism is a key aspect of intracellular homeostasis and energy balance and plays a vital role in cell survival under adverse conditions, including nutrient deprivation in yeast and mammals, but the role of triacylglycerol (TAG) metabolism in plant stress response remains largely unknown. By thoroughly characterizing mutants defective in SUGAR-DEPENDENT1 (SDP1) triacylglycerol lipase or PEROXISOMAL ABC TRANSPORTER 1 (PXA1), here we show that TAG is a key intermediate in the mobilization of fatty acids from membrane lipids for peroxisomal β-oxidation under prolonged dark treatment. Disruption of SDP1 increased TAG accumulation in cytosolic lipid droplets and markedly enhanced plant tolerance to extended darkness. We demonstrate that blocking TAG hydrolysis enhances plant tolerance to dark treatment via two distinct mechanisms. In pxa1 mutants, in which free fatty acids accumulated rapidly under extended darkness, SDP1 disruption resulted in a marked decrease in levels of cytotoxic lipid intermediates such as free fatty acids and phosphatidic acid, suggesting a buffer function of TAG accumulation against lipotoxicity under fatty acid overload. In the wild type, in which free fatty acids remained low and unchanged under dark treatment, disruption of SDP1 caused a decrease in reactive oxygen species production and hence the level of lipid peroxidation, indicating a role of TAG in protection against oxidative damage. Overall, our findings reveal a crucial role for TAG metabolism in membrane lipid breakdown, fatty acid turnover, and plant survival under extended darkness.
Patterns and stages of α-synucleinopathy

Background: It is proposed that α-synucleinopathy (AS) initially affects the medulla oblongata and progresses to more rostral brain areas in a hierarchical sequence (“Braak hypothesis”). Predominant involvement of the amygdala is also described. This study examines the applicability of these patterns, and their relationship to Alzheimer disease (AD) pathology, in brains of a population-based donor cohort. Methods: Brains donated in two of six Cognitive Function and Ageing Study cohorts (Cambridgeshire and Nottingham) were examined. More than 80% were older than 80 years at death. The respondents were evaluated prospectively in life for cognitive decline and dementia. Immunocytochemistry for tau and α-synuclein was carried out in 208 brains to establish Braak stage and the pattern and severity of AS. Results: Seventy-six brains showed Lewy bodies. Half (51%) conformed to the Braak hypothesis while 17% had pathology in a higher region which was absent in a lower region. A further 29% showed amygdala-predominant pathology. Six brains showed predominant neocortical pathology with minimal pathology in amygdala or substantia nigra. The stage of AD pathology was not associated with particular patterns of AS. Conclusion: α-Synucleinopathy (AS) is common in older people, and frequently associated with Alzheimer disease–type pathology. Although half of brains corresponded to the Braak hypothesis, and 29% to amygdala-predominant AS, there were a high proportion of cases which did not fit a staging system. An unexpectedly high proportion with a cortical form of Lewy body disease was identified.
Uptake, Tissue Distribution, and Excretion of Brevetoxin-3 Administered to Mice by Intratracheal Instillation

Brevetoxins are a family of potent lipid-soluble neurotoxins produced by the dinoflagellate Karenia brevis, the organism responsible for Florida red tide. Brevetoxins aerosolized by surf and wind produce irritation of the eyes, nose, and throat in people on or near red tide-affected beaches. The effects of chronic exposures to brevetoxins on healthy and health-compromised individuals are not known. The purpose of this study was to investigate the pulmonary uptake, tissue distribution, and excretion of polyether brevetoxin-3 in mice, a rodent model for investigating the potential systemic adverse health effects associated with repeated brevetoxin inhalation. Male CBA/CaJ mice were administered [3H]brevetoxin-3 by intratracheal instillation. Groups of 3 mice were sacrificed immediately after instillation and at 0.5, 3, 6, 12, 24, 48, and 96 h postinstillation. Four additional mice were placed into metabolism cages for excreta collection up to 168 h postinstillation. Brevetoxin-3 distributed rapidly to all tissues, with the highest initial doses in the liver and gastrointestinal tract. Elimination half-times ranged from approximately 28 h for fat, heart, intestines, kidneys, liver, and muscle to approximately 90 h for brain and testes. The total dose to tissue ranged from 39 ng brevetoxin equivalents-h/g for testes to 406 ng brevetoxin equivalents-h/g for liver. Approximately 90% of excretion had occurred within 96 h, with 11 and 64% of the initial brevetoxin dose excreted in urine and feces, respectively. These results are consistent with earlier reports of rapid absorption and widespread tissue distribution of brevetoxins in rats. This research was funded under National Institutes of Health contract NIH PO1-ES10594. LRRI animal facilities are fully accredited by the Association for Assessment and Accreditation of Laboratory Animal Care International. The authors are grateful for the assistance provided by D. Esparza, A. Dison, and D. Santistevan.
Pulmonary , gastrointestinal and urogenital pharmacology Involvement of presynaptic voltage-dependent Kv 3 channel in endothelin-1-induced inhibition of noradrenaline release from rat gastric sympathetic nerves

We previously reported that two types of Kþ channels, the BK type Ca2þ-activated Kþ channel coupled with phospholipase C (PLC) and the voltage-dependent Kþ channel (Kv channel), are, respectively, involved in the prostanoid TP receptorand muscarinic M2 receptor-mediated inhibition of noradrenaline (NA) release from rat gastric sympathetic nerves. In the present study, therefore, we examined whether these Kþ channels are involved in endothelin-1-induced inhibition of NA release, using an isolated, vascularly perfused rat stomach. The gastric sympathetic postganglionic nerves around the left gastric artery were electrically stimulated twice at 2.5 Hz for 1 min, and endothelin-1 was added during the second stimulation. Endothelin-1 (1, 2 and 10 nM) dose-dependently inhibited gastric NA release. Endothelin-1 (2 nM)-induced inhibition of NA release was neither attenuated by PLC inhibitors [U-73122 (3 mM) and ET-18-OCH3 (3 mM)] nor by Ca2þ-activated Kþ channel blockers [charybdotoxin (0.1 mM) (a blocker of BK type Kþ channel) and apamin (0.3 mM) (a blocker of SK type Kþ channel)]. The endothelin-1-induced inhibitory response was also not attenuated by a-dendrotoxin (0.1 mM) (a selective inhibitor of Kv1 channel), but abolished by 4-aminopyridine (20 mM) (a selectively inhibitory dose for Kv3 channel). These results suggest the involvement of a voltage-dependent Kv3 channel in the endothelin-1-induced inhibition of NA release from the gastric sympathetic nerves in rats. & 2012 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
Coauthorship and Thematic Networks in AAEP Annual Meetings

We analyze the coauthorship production of the AAEP Annual Meeting since 1964. We use social network analysis for creating coauthorship networks and given that any paper must be tagged with two JEL codes, we use this information for also structuring a thematic network. Then we calculate network metrics and find main actors and clusters for coauthors and topics. We distinguish a gender gap in the sample. Thematic networks show a cluster of codes and the analysis of the cluster shows the preeminence of the tags related to trade, econometric, distribution/poverty and health and education topics.
Dietary saturated and trans fatty acids and cholesterol and 25-year mortality from coronary heart disease: the Seven Countries Study.

BACKGROUND In the Seven Countries Study associations between intake of individual fatty acids and dietary cholesterol were studied in relation to serum cholesterol and 25-year mortality from coronary heart disease. All analyses concern only intercohort comparisons. METHODS In the baseline surveys carried out between 1958 and 1964, risk factors for coronary heart disease were measured among 12,763 middle-aged men constituting 16 cohorts in seven countries. In 1987 and 1988 equivalent food composites representing the average food intake of each cohort at baseline were collected locally and analyzed in a central laboratory. The vital status of all participants was verified at regular intervals during 25 years of follow-up. RESULTS Of the individual saturated fatty acids, the average population intake of lauric and myristic acid was most strongly related to the average serum cholesterol level (r > 0.8, P < 0.001). Strong positive associations were observed between 25-year death rates from coronary heart disease and average intake of the four major saturated fatty acids, lauric, myristic, palmitic, and stearic acid (r > 0.8, P < 0.001); the trans fatty acid elaidic acid (r = 0.78, P < 0.001); and dietary cholesterol (r = 0.55, P < 0.05). CONCLUSIONS Interpreted in the light of experimental and clinical studies, the results of these cross-cultural analyses suggest that dietary saturated and trans fatty acids and dietary cholesterol are important determinants of differences in population rates of coronary heart disease death.
Capture of Vehicle Surroundings Using a Pair of Panoramic Annular Lens Cameras

In this paper we propose a new system to detect obstacles round a vehicle for intelligent driver assistance system. The system consists of a pair of panoramic annular lens (PAL) cameras, which are installed on the top of the vehicle. The panoramic annular lens can project the view of the entire 360 degrees around the optical axis onto an annular plane. Two cameras which are fixed properly can capture all view of the surroundings of the vehicle. They are calibrated by using the spherical perspective projection model to unwrapped the conventional perspective image without distortion. A front panoramic image and a back panoramic image of the vehicle form a vehicle dynamic panoramic map (VDPM). A driver can watch the scene in any direction of the vehicle through the VDPM, which will make the drive safer. Three coordinates systems are established in order to obtain the obstacle position information from the vehicle. We create a virtual binocular vision situation using the video stream from each one panoramic camera. The binocular analysis technique with area-based correlation is used to recognize the obstacle and compute the distance from the vehicle. The experiment result shows the basic feasibility of this system. It is believed that a panoramic annular lens camera will play an important role in the future of intelligent driver assistance systems.
Upon Prolonged Allergen Exposure IL-4 and IL-4Rα Knockout Mice Produce Specific IgE Leading to Anaphylaxis

Background: IL-4 and IL-13 are key regulators in atopic disorders and both signal through the receptor chain IL-4Rα. IL-4 and IL-13 are also the only cytokines known to induce class switching to IgE. We sought to compare allergen-specific IgE responses and allergic reactivity of wild-type (wt) mice with IL-4–/– and IL-4Rα–/– mice, which lack both IL-4 and IL-13 functions. Methods: BALB/c wt, IL-4–/– and IL-4Rα–/– mice were immunized with ovalbumin intranasally or intraperitoneally and specific antibody titers were measured by ELISA. Bronchoalveolar lavage fluids and lung tissue were analyzed cytologically and histologically. Allergic reactivity was determined by active cutaneous anaphylaxis and anaphylactic shock. Results: wt mice immunized intranasally or intraperitoneally showed high titers of specific IgE 3 and 6 weeks after primary sensitization, resulting in cutaneous anaphylaxis and anaphylactic shock upon challenge. Intranasal sensitization resulted in airway eosinophilia and goblet cell metaplasia. In contrast, IL-4–/– and IL-4Rα–/– mice showed no specific IgE after 3 weeks, but produced high titers after 6 weeks. At this time cutaneous anaphylaxis and anaphylactic shock could be induced as in wt mice, but lung pathology was absent. Conclusions: We conclude that upon long-term allergen exposure, alternative switch mechanisms independent of IL-4 and IL-4Rα may induce IgE but not asthma-like lung pathology. This may be relevant for the development of allergic disease, since long-term allergen exposure is a frequent condition during allergic sensitization.
Cleavage of Influenza A Virus Hemagglutinin in Human Respiratory Epithelium Is Cell Associated and Sensitive to Exogenous Antiproteases

ABSTRACT Proteolytic cleavage of the hemagglutinin (HA) of human influenza viruses A/Aichi/2/68 (H3N2) and A/WSN/34 (H1N1) from HA0 to HA1/HA2 was studied in primary human adenoid epithelial cells (HAEC). HAEC contain a mixture of ciliated and nonciliated secretory cells and mimic the epithelium membrane of the human respiratory tract. Pulse-chase labeling with [35S]methionine and Western blot analysis with anti-HA antibodies of cellular and virion polypeptides showed that HAEC cleaved newly synthesized HA0 to HA1/HA2 (“cleavage from within”) and significant amounts of cleaved HA accumulated within cells. It was also shown that HAEC was able to cleave HA0 of incoming virions (“cleavage from without”), whereas the HA0 of nonabsorbed virions free in extracellular fluid were not cleaved, supporting the conclusion that HA0 cleavage in HAEC is cell associated. Low-molecular-weight inhibitors of serine proteases, aprotinin and leupeptin, when added to influenza virus-infected HAEC suppressed HA0 cleavage and reduced the amount of cleaved HA1/HA2 both in cells and in progeny virions and thus diminished the infectivity of the virus. In contrast, the addition of fetal bovine serum, containing a number of high-molecular-weight antiproteases that compete for proteases in the extracellular environment, did not inhibit influenza virus growth in HAEC. These data suggest that in human respiratory epithelium the cleavage of influenza virus HA containing a single arginine in the proteolytic site (i) is a cell-associated process accomplished by serine-type protease(s) and (ii) is sensitive to low-molecular-weight exogenous inhibitors of serine proteases.
Investor Sentiment and Asset Pricing: A Review

This paper reviews literature on asset pricing and investor sentiment. It provides a fair accumulation of evidence with an objective of showing how productive has been the effort of modelling market sentiment in pricing assets. Research efforts in modelling non-standard investor behaviour have been successful in explaining aggregate predictability. However, despite the financial innovations and discussions on investor sentiment that happened in US markets, empirical work in emerging markets is still preliminary. The paper inquires the extent that the existing asset pricing models price the assets in the economy. Keywords Investor, Pricing, Returns, Sentiment
Searching for coding sequences in the mammalian genome: the H‐2K region of the mouse MHC is replete with genes expressed in embryos.

We have searched for expressed genes in 170 kb of cosmid cloned DNA from the H‐2K region of the mouse MHC. This region is known to contain two genes, H‐2K and K2. We identified unique/low copy sequences evenly spaced along the cloned DNA, and used these as probes to search for conserved sequences in Southern blots from a variety of mammalian species. The majority of the unique sequences were found to have homologues and most of these were associated with CpG non‐methylated islands. Northern blot analysis and isolation of clones from 5.5 and 10.5‐day embryo cDNA libraries showed five additional genes encoded in the H‐2K region. Four of these are abundant in embryos; the fifth is exclusively expressed in lymphoid cells. Our data indicate a minimum of seven genes in 170 kb, an unexpectedly high gene density. These results differ from two recent studies where similar lengths of cloned DNA were examined for expressed genes, and only one, or a part of one gene was found. The combined data suggest that the spatial organization of genes in the mammalian genome may not be random.