Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
THE GENETICS OF DIABETES: A REVIEW *

According to Foster (1912), the earliest report of a familial incidence of diabetes mellitus was by Rlorton in 1696. Morton reported a family in which four children were diabetic. It seems reasonable to assume that the familial nature of diabetes was known long before this, because diabetes mellitus was apparently recognized by the sweet taste of the urine as early as 500 A.D. (Saundby, 1908). Be that as it may, daily experience early convinced clinicians that diabetes mellitus is frequently familial. I t was not until the fourth decade of this century, however, that it was quantitatively established that the increased incidence is statistically significant (Pincus and White, 1933). These observations strongly indicated that susceptibility to diabetes is genetically determined because the necessary and sufficient criterion for establishing the presence of a genetic component in the causation of a character (disease) is an increased familial incidence in the absence of environmental factors that can explain this increase. Further evidence for the hereditary nature of diabetes mellitus is offered by the many studies of twins (Then Berg, 1938; J o s h and White in J o s h el al., 1946; and many others). In general, these studies show a greater frequency of concordance among monozygous twins than among dizygous ones. Since monozygous twins are genetically identical, and dizygous twins are no more alike than ordinary sibs, these observations indicate a genetic factor in determining susceptibility to diabetes. Concordance among identical twins is not complete; hence, postnatal environmental factors are important in determining the occurrence of frank diabetes. Pincus and White (1933) showed that the familial incidence of diabetes may be explained by assuming that susceptibility to diabetes is due to homozygosity for a recessive gene. Independently, and a t essentially the same time, William Allan (1933) arrived a t the same conclusion from his highly skilled and toofrequently overlooked analysis of the family data from 143 cases. These pioneering studies have been followed by numerous studies of large samples. The several investigators have advanced a variety of interpretations to explain their data. Prominent among them are hypotheses that distinguish the early-onset, severe, brittle diabetes from the late-onset, mild, stable type. These hypotheses are attractive on a priori grounds because of the clinical heterogeneity of the disease. Three broad categories of diabetes appear to be recognized: (1) juvenile, with acute onset, severe course, and sensitivity to insulin; (2) late, with gradual onset, generally in obese individuals, mild course, and often no need of insulin;
Inflammation and intracranial aneurysms.

OBJECTIVE An intracranial aneurysm is an important acquired cerebrovascular disease that can cause a catastrophic subarachnoid hemorrhage. Despite modern therapy, most patients die or are left disabled as a direct result of a severe initial hemorrhage. The development of more effective treatment strategies depends on understanding the fundamental biology of cerebral aneurysms. The purpose of the present study is to determine whether inflammation or immunological reaction occurs in cerebral aneurysms. METHODS Aneurysm tissue was collected at the time of microsurgical repair from 23 unruptured and 2 ruptured aneurysms (25 patients) and compared with 11 control basilar arteries harvested at autopsy. Immunohistochemistry was used to localize complement (C3c, C9), immunoglobulins (IgG, IgM), vascular cell adhesion molecule-1, macrophages and monocytes (CD68), T lymphocytes (CD3), and B lymphocytes (CD20). RESULTS Complement (C3c, P < 0.0001; C9, P = 0.0017), immunoglobulin (IgG, P = 0.0013; IgM, P = 0.031), vascular cell adhesion molecule-1 (P = 0.0022), macrophages (CD68, P = 0.004), and T lymphocytes (CD3, P = 0.0004) were all frequently present in the wall of aneurysm tissue but were rarely identified in control basilar arteries. A few B lymphocytes (CD20, P = 0.41) were found in aneurysm tissue, but none were found in the basilar arteries. CONCLUSION Extensive inflammatory and immunological reactions are common in unruptured intracranial aneurysms and may be related to aneurysm formation and rupture.
Interaction between HIV-1 Rev and Integrase Proteins

Human immunodeficiency virus 1 (HIV-1) Rev and integrase (IN) proteins are required within the nuclei of infected cells in the late and early phases of the viral replication cycle, respectively. Here we show using various biochemical methods, that these two proteins interact with each other in vitro and in vivo. Peptide mapping and fluorescence anisotropy showed that IN binds residues 1-30 and 49-74 of Rev. Following this observation, we identified two short Rev-derived peptides that inhibit the 3′-end processing and strand-transfer enzymatic activities of IN in vitro. The peptides bound IN in vitro, penetrated into cultured cells, and significantly inhibited HIV-1 in multinuclear activation of a galactosidase indicator (MAGI) and lymphoid cultured cells. Real time PCR analysis revealed that the inhibition of HIV-1 multiplication is due to inhibition of the catalytic activity of the viral IN. The present work describes novel anti-HIV-1 lead peptides that inhibit viral replication in cultured cells by blocking DNA integration in vivo.
The transfer of antibodies from ewes to their lambs.

Newborn lambs, unlike rats and mice, absorbed homologous agglutinins to Salmonella pullorum or Brucella abortus equally readily from colostrum. Agglutinins produced shortly after a first injection of B. abortus vaccine into ewes passed in relatively greater quantities into the colostrum than agglutinins of later immunization but lambs did not preferentially absorb agglutinins of either period. Treatment with 2-mercaptoethanol and anti-globulin tests reduced or increased the antibody titers of ewe and lamb sera by similar amounts. The results support the view that antibody absorption by the lamb is nonselective.
Homogenization of lamination stacks in linear magnetodynamics

An effective numerical modeling of devices with lamination stacks cannot be done without replacing the laminations by an equivalent solid region. So far, no convincing model has been proposed, even in the "simple" case of linear magnetodynamics-particularly if the resultant current in each sheet does not cancel. In this paper, we define the homogenized fields, and the related material properties. The noteworthy precision of the theoretic homogenized solution is shown and discussed by comparing it with the exact solution of the problem with laminations in the case of a simple "1.5-D" analytical test problem. The three-dimensional finite element solutions-real description of the sheets, refined mesh/homogenized region, coarser mesh-for the same test problem show also a perfect agreement.
Insulin therapy and lipid overload in type 2 diabetes.

1. Nissen SE, Nicholls SJ, Wolski K, et al. Comparison of pioglitazone vs glimepiride on progression of coronary atherosclerosis in patients with type 2 diabetes: the PERISCOPE randomized controlled trial. JAMA. 2008;299(13):1561-1573. 2. Dormandy JA, Charbonnel B, Eckland DJ, et al. Secondary prevention of macrovascular events in patients with type 2 diabetes in the PROACTIVE Study (Prospective Pioglitazone Clinical Trial in Macrovascular Events): a randomised controlled trial. Lancet. 2005;366(9493):1279-1289. 3. Selvin E, Marinopoulos S, Berkenblit G, et al. Meta-analysis: glycosylated hemoglobin and cardiovascular disease in diabetes mellitus. Ann Intern Med. 2004; 141(6):421-431. 4. Stratton IM, Cull CA, Adler AI, Matthews DR, Neil HA, Holman RR. Additive effects of glycaemia and blood pressure exposure on risk of complications in type 2 diabetes: a prospective observational study (UKPDS 75). Diabetologia. 2006; 49(8):1761-1769. 5. Meigs JB, Nathan DM, D’Agostino RB Sr, Wilson PW. Fasting and postchallenge glycemia and cardiovascular disease risk: the Framingham Offspring Study. Diabetes Care. 2002;25(10):1845-1850.
Changes in the Rate of Lipid Peroxidation in Plasma and Selected Blood Antioxidants before and during Pregnancy in Ewes

Pregnancy is a condition that favours oxidative stress. The aim of this study was to evaluate the oxidant and antioxidant status by measuring glutathione peroxidase (GSH-Px), catalase (CAT) activities and malondialdehyde (MDA) and glutathione (GSH) concentrations before and during pregnancy in ewes. Twelve healthy female and two healthy male Awassi sheep, aged 4-5 years, weighing approximately 50 - 55 kg each, were used in the study. The ewes’ blood samples were taken before synchronization and during pregnancy (on 25 th days of each month of pregnancy). Plasma MDA concentrations in the 2 nd and 3 rd months of pregnancy in ewes were lower than in the 1 st , 4 th , 5 th months of pregnancy and in the non-pregnant ewes. GSH concentrations and GSH-Px activities during pregnancy were increased (P < 0.01). GSH concentrations and GSH-Px activities were the highest in the 2 nd and 3 rd months of pregnancy. CAT activities were decreased after the 1 st month of pregnancy in ewes (P < 0.001). They were the lowest in the 2 nd and 3 rd months of pregnancy. The findings of our study show decreased CAT activities and elevated GSH concentrations and GSH-Px activities after the 1 st month of pregnancy in ewes. These changes in the indicators under study may indicate a predisposition to oxidative stress in the 2 nd and 3 rd month of pregnancy in ewes. Awassi sheep, pregnancy, oxidant and antioxidant status
Implementation of an experimental wide-area monitoring platform for development of synchronized phasor measurement applications

Synchrophasor-based Wide-Area Monitoring and Control Systems (WAMC) are becoming a reality with increased international research and development. Several monitoring and control applications based on these systems have been proposed, and although with a relative small adoption, they are currently supporting the operations of some large transmission system operators. It is expected that the continued research and development of phasor data applications will enable the miracle of “Smart Grids” at the transmission level. The authors have realized that this can be achieved in timely fashion only if a research and development platform is developed to simultaneously address issues regarding information and communication infrastructures, and phasor data applications. This paper discusses the preliminary development, and deployment of an experimental wide-area monitoring and control platform in which several basic applications have been implemented, and that in the future will allow for the implementation and testing of envisioned applications. At its current stage, the platform allows both online monitoring and off-line analysis. In the future, it will be the cornerstone to a wider platform enabling research on phasor data applications that intrinsically account for ICT aspects.
Univariate and multivariate approaches to seasonal adjustment of aggregate series of different lengths

An aggregate series is a time series resulting from the aggregation of two or more sub-series. Two model-based approaches to seasonal adjustment of the aggregate series include a univariate and multivariate basic structural model. In a previous study (2), the variance of the seasonally adjusted series for the two approaches were compared using a range of true parameter values for a fixed length series. This paper compares the model-based univariate and multivariate approaches for different series lengths using the estimated parameters. A simulation study compares two outcomes: the accuracy of the estimated parameters of the aggregate series, and the naive bias in the prediction error variance. The results show that for the two cases studied, the use of the multivariate approach in the estimation of parameters improves the accuracy of the parameter estimates of the aggregated series. This was especially true for short to medium length time series. The relative efficiencies of the seasonally adjusted aggregated series also showed good gains for the multivariate model. For one of the cases, there was a substantial decrease in the naive bias with the use of the multivariate model. Bias correction is also discussed for the two approaches.
Modification of the Neurotrophin-3 Gene Promotes Cholinergic Neuronal Differentiation and Survival of Neural Stem Cells Derived from Rat Embryonic Spinal Cord In Vitro and In Vivo

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the effects of the neurotrophin-3 (NTF3) gene on the survival and differentiation of neural stem cells (NSCs) in vitro and in vivo. METHODS: The NTF3 gene was isolated from rats, amplified by polymerase chain reaction (PCR) and subcloned into the lentiviral vector pWPXL-MOD to construct a lentiviral expression vector pWPXL-MOD—NTF3. Reverse transcription—PCR and Western blotting were used to analyse NTF3 mRNA and protein levels, respectively. Adult rats with sectioned tibial nerves received implants of NSCs transfected with either pWPXL-MOD—NTF3 (n = 30) or an empty expression vector (n = 30). In vitro and in vivo cell differentiation and survival were determined by fluorescence immunohistochemistry. RESULTS: Expression of NTF3 significantly increased the differentiation of NSCs into cholinergic neurons both in vitro and in vivo. NTF3-expressing NSCs implanted into the tibial nerve also survived longer than cells without NTF3 gene modification. CONCLUSIONS: The NTF3 gene promoted differentiation of NSCs into cholinergic neurons and enhanced neuronal cell survival. These findings may have clinical implications for cell transplantation therapy in patients with nerve injury.
Mechanisms for building autonomically scalable services on cooperatively shared computing platforms

We present here a system architecture and its underlying mechanisms for building autonomically scalable and resilient services on cooperatively shared computing platforms. Specifically, our focus is on utilizing computing platforms exhibiting the following characteristics. The resources at a node in such platforms are allocated to competing users on fair‐share basis, without any reserved resource capacities for any user. There is no platform‐wide resource manager for the placement of users on different nodes. The users independently select nodes for their applications. Moreover, a node can become unavailable at any time due to crashes or shutdowns. Building scalable services in such environments poses unique challenges due to node‐level fluctuations in the available resource capacities and node crashes. The service load may surge in a short time due to flash crowds. Autonomic scaling of service capacity is performed by dynamic control of the degree of service replication based on the estimated service capacity and the observed load. We present here models for estimating the service capacity at a node under fluctuating operating conditions. Furthermore, we develop adaptive and agile load distribution mechanisms for distributing load among replicas based on their time‐varying service capacities. We present the results of our evaluations of these mechanisms on PlanetLab, which exemplifies the platform level characteristics considered here.Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
The N‐terminal domain of colicin E3 interacts with TolB which is involved in the colicin translocation step

Colicins use two envelope multiprotein systems to reach their cellular target in susceptible cells of Escherichia coli: the Tol system for group A colicins and the TonB system for group B colicins. The N‐terminal domain of colicins is involved in the translocation step. To determine whether it interacts in vivo with proteins of the translocation system, constructs were designed to produce and export to the cell periplasm the N‐terminal domains of colicin E3 (group A) and colicin B (group B). Producing cells became specifically tolerant to entire extracellular colicins of the same group. The periplasmic N‐terminal domains therefore compete with entire colicins for proteins of the translocation system and thus interact in situ with these proteins on the inner side of the outer membrane. In vivo cross‐linking and co‐immunoprecipitation experiments in cells producing the colicin E3 N‐terminal domain demonstrated the existence of a 120 kDa complex containing the colicin domain and TolB. After in vitro cross‐linking experiments with these two purified proteins, a 120 kDa complex was also obtained. This suggests that the complex obtained in vivo contains exclusively TolB and the colicin E3 domain. The N‐terminal domain of a translocation‐defective colicin E3 mutant was found to no longer interact with TolB. Hence, this interaction must play an important role in colicin E3 translocation.
Blood supply of the optic nerve head and its role in optic atrophy, glaucoma, and oedema of the optic disc.

The blood supply of the optic disc is an important and a fascinating subject in ophthalmology. Since the time of Haller (I754) and Zinn (I755) it has remained the centre of controversy. The literature on the subject has recently been reviewed in detail by Hayreh (i963a), Fransois and Neetens (I966), and Bonamour, Bregeat, Bonnet, and Juge (I968). The recent introduction of fluorescence angiography has made a significant contribution to the subject because it enables us to study the microcirculation in vivo.
DESIGN OF EXPERIMENTS ON NEURAL NETWORK'S PARAMETERS OPTIMIZATION FOR TIME SERIES FORECASTING IN STOCK MARKETS

Artificial neural network (ANN) model has been used for years to conduct research in stock price prediction for three reasons. First, it has a higher prediction accuracy rate in empirical research. Second, it is not subject to the assumption of having samples from a normal distribution. Third, it can deal with non-linear problems. Nevertheless, the accuracy of prediction relies on the parameter settings of neural network as well as the complexities of problems and the neural network architecture; the results of the analysis could be even more significant with the selection of optimal parameters and network architecture. Currently, as a way of setting parameters, most researchers employed the trial and error method. However, this method is very time-consuming and labor-intensive and may not result in the optimal parameters. Therefore, this research took advantage of a back propagation neural network (BPNN) for the purpose of parameter optimization through constructing a model of stock price prediction, applying design of experiment (DOE) to systematize experiment scheduling, and methods of main effects analysis and interaction analysis. The research used two datasets of financial ratios from 50 blue chip companies in Taiwanese stock market and 40 listed American banks in New York stock exchange as experimental samples. Research results showed that the correlation forecasting, root mean squared error (RMSE), and computing time, which can effectively increase the accuracy of stock price prediction, are better than traditional statistical methods and conventional neural network model.
Expression of tumor‐associated trypsinogens (TAT‐1 and TAT‐2) in prostate cancer

Trypsinogens are pancreatic serine proteinases and expressed in several cancers as tumor‐associated trypsinogens (TAT). Trypsin mediates activation of pro‐uPA and pro‐MMPs, thus promoting angiogenesis and tumor invasion. Recently, we described expression of TAT in the human male genital tract and now we studied TAT in relation to PSA in PCa.
Gendered Internet Use Across Generations and Life Stages

Gender inequalities in Internet use are smaller among younger people. It is unclear whether these differences can be explained by the varying circumstances in which different generations grew up or by other factors that vary within an individual’s life time. This article tests a model which proposes that generation determines the level of Internet use and life stage determines gender differences in Internet use. Descriptive analyses of a representative sample of 1,578 British Internet users confirm that there continue to be small but significant gender differences for most uses of the Internet. The findings from a series of linear regressions suggest that gender differences vary for different life stages related to occupation and marital status. This is true especially for typically male uses. The article concludes that other factors related to life stage will continue to influence gender differences in Internet use in the future.
Bag of squares: A reliable model of measuring superpixel similarity

As the increasing popularity of superpixel-based applications, measuring superpixel-level similarity becomes an important and commonly required problem. In this paper, we propose a general bag of squares (BoS) model for such particular purpose. Compared to existing methods, our approach provides a full scheme to both invariantly represent superpixels and accurately measure their pairwise similarities. In order to handle the split-and-merge variety of superpixels of same objects in different scenes, our model is based on superpixel pyramid. As a result, the BoS model of a superpixel is built upon a group of subregions consisting of the superpixel itself and its children subregions in the pyramid. For each subregion, we extract a proper number of maximum squares via distance transform, and then use a fast self-validated approach to clustering them into a small number of dominant squares, which together with a rotation and scale invariant square descriptor, jointly compose the BoS model for the particular superpixel. Finally, we measure the similarity between a pair of superpixels by the closeness of their BoS models. Experiments on interactive object segmentation and co-saliency detection show that the proposed BoS model can reliably capture the delicate differences among superpixels, thus always producing better segmentation results, especially for segmenting highly variant objects in clutter scenes.
Observational constraints on cosmic string production during brane inflation

Overall, brane inflation is compatible with the recent analysis of the Wilkinson microwave anisotropy probe (WMAP) data. Here we explore the constraints of WMAP and the 2dF Galaxy Redshift Survey (2dFGRS) data on the various brane inflationary scenarios. Brane inflation naturally ends with the production of cosmic strings, which may provide a way to distinguish these models observationally. We argue that currently available data cannot exclude a non-negligible contribution from cosmic strings definitively. We perform a partial statistical analysis of mixed models that include a subdominant contribution from cosmic strings. Although the data favor models without cosmic strings, we conclude that they cannot definitively rule out a cosmic-string-induced contribution of $\ensuremath{\sim}10%$ to the observed temperature, polarization and galaxy density fluctuations. These results imply that $G\ensuremath{\mu}\ensuremath{\lesssim}1.3\ifmmode\times\else\texttimes\fi{}{10}^{\ensuremath{-}6}\sqrt{B\ensuremath{\lambda}/0.1},$ where $\ensuremath{\lambda}l~1$ is a measure of the intercommutation probability of the cosmic string networks and B measures the importance of perturbations induced by cosmic strings. We argue that, conservatively, the data available currently still permit $B\ensuremath{\lesssim}0.1. $ Precision measurements sensitive to the B-mode polarization produced by vector density perturbation modes driven by the string network could provide evidence for these models. Accurate determinations of ${n}_{s}(k),$ the scalar fluctuation index, could also distinguish among various brane inflation models.
Is concurrent chemoradiation the treatment of choice for all patients with Stage III or IV head and neck carcinoma?

Many patients with small primary tumors of the oropharynx have AJCC Stage III/IV disease on the basis of lymphadenopathy. In the current retrospective study, the authors hypothesized that these patients have high rates of locoregional control when treated with radiotherapy, either alone or combined with neck surgery, and may not require concurrent chemotherapy.