Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
High School Concussions in the 2008-2009 Academic Year

Background An estimated 136 000 concussions occur per academic year in high schools alone. The effects of repetitive concussions and the potential for catastrophic injury have made concussion an injury of significant concern for young athletes. Purpose The objective of this study was to describe the mechanism of injury, symptoms, and management of sport-related concussions using the High School Reporting Information Online (HS RIO) surveillance system. Study Design Descriptive epidemiology study. Methods All concussions recorded by HS RIO during the 2008-2009 academic year were included. Analyses were performed using SPSS software. Chi-square analysis was performed for all categorical variables. Statistical significance was considered for P < . 05. Results A total of 544 concussions were recorded. The most common mechanism (76.2%) was contact with another player, usually a head-to-head collision (52.7%). Headache was experienced in 93.4%; 4.6% lost consciousness. Most (83.4%) had resolution of their symptoms within 1 week. Symptoms lasted longer than 1 month in 1.5%. Computerized neuropsychological testing was used in 25.7% of concussions. When neuropsychological testing was used, athletes were less likely to return to play within 1 week than those for whom it was not used (13.6% vs 32.9%; P < .01). Athletes who had neuropsychological testing appeared less likely to return to play on the same day (0.8% vs 4.2%; P = .056). A greater proportion of injured, nonfootball athletes had computerized neuropsychological testing than injured football players (23% vs 32%; P = .02) Conclusion When computerized neuropsychological testing is used, high school athletes are less likely to be returned to play within 1 week of their injury. Concussed football players are less likely to have computerized neuropsychological testing than those participating in other sports. Loss of consciousness is relatively uncommon among high school athletes who sustain a sport-related concussion. The most common mechanism is contact with another player. Some athletes (1.5%) report symptoms lasting longer than 1 month.
Wealth Management for Collectors

Most high-net-worth individuals hold a portion of wealth in residential real estate and some collecting category. Art is the predominate collecting category of high-net-worth individuals, and this paper investigates the general effects of incorporating art as well as the particular effects of incorporating a client’s art holdings when making wealth-management decisions. New indexes based on transparent like-object market transactions and replicable quantitative methodologies allow for comparisons of the returns from collections and other assets. Individual asset class risks and the correlation of returns among asset classes are important criteria that can be derived from these indexes. We use the Mei Moses® family of fine art indexes as proxies for art-market financial performance. We also include the effects of the S&P/Case-Shiller U.S. Residential Real Estate Index.
Calreticulin Modulates Capacitative Ca2+ Influx by Controlling the Extent of Inositol 1,4,5-Trisphosphate-induced Ca2+ Store Depletion*

Calreticulin (CRT) is a highly conserved Ca2+-binding protein that resides in the lumen of the endoplasmic reticulum (ER). We overexpressed CRT in Xenopusoocytes to determine how it could modulate inositol 1,4,5-trisphosphate (InsP3)-induced Ca2+ influx. Under conditions where it did not affect the spatially complex elevations in free cytosolic Ca2+ concentration ([Ca2+] i ) due to InsP3-induced Ca2+ release, overexpressed CRT decreased by 46% the Ca2+-gated Cl− current due to Ca2+influx. Deletion mutants revealed that CRT requires its high capacity Ca2+-binding domain to reduce the elevations of [Ca2+] i due to Ca2+ influx. This functional domain was also required for CRT to attenuate the InsP3-induced decline in the free Ca2+concentration within the ER lumen ([Ca2+]ER), as monitored with a “chameleon” indicator. Our data suggest that by buffering [Ca2+]ER near resting levels, CRT may prevent InsP3 from depleting the intracellular stores sufficiently to activate Ca2+ influx.
Why is the Banking Sector Shrinking

We empirically examine the hypothesis that access to core deposits permits a bank to make contractual agreements with borrowers, which are infeasible if the bank must pay market rates for its funds. Access to core deposits insulates a bank's costs of funds from exogenous shocks. In turn, the bank can insulate its borrowers against exogenous credit shocks. Using a large sample of loans from the Survey of the Terms of Bank Lending, we find that when we control for competitive conditions in loan markets: (i) banks funded more heavily with core deposits provide more smoothing of loan rates in response to exogenous changes in aggregate credit risk; and (ii) banks funded more heavily with core deposits charge higher loan rates on average. Together these results suggest that a distinctive feature of bank lending is that firms and banks form multiperiod lending relationships, in which loans need not break even period by period. These results also provide a partial explanation for disintermediation. As banks have increasingly been forced to pay market rates for an increasing share of their funds, multiperiod relationship lending has become increasingly less feasible. The views expressed in this paper do not necessarily represent those of the Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia or of the Federal Reserve System.
State-Owned Enterprises, Competition, and Disclosure

We develop a mixed-duopoly model in which a private firm competes against a state owned enterprise (SOE) who cares about social welfare and is privately informed of market demand. When the SOE's social concerns are sufficiently important and when the market competitiveness is sufficiently low, the SOE commits to fully disclose its private information. Otherwise, the SOE commits to withhold its private information. When the disclosure equilibrium prevails, the private firm can be more profitable competing against an SOE than another private firm. In this mixed-duopoly setting, the equilibrium social welfare is maximized when the SOE puts a positive weight on both social welfare and its own profit. Our analysis has further implications for both mandatory disclosure and market entry.
Restriction Fragment Length Polymorphism Analysis

This unit describes Restriction Fragment Length Polymorphism (RFLP) analysis, which utilizes restriction endonuclease digestion to identify DNA sequence polymorphisms in genes or DNA regions of interest. When investigating families for inheritance of an RFLP, aliquots of genomic DNA from individual family members are digested to completion with the restriction enzyme known to generate the polymorphism of interest. After size fractionation on an agarose gel, DNA is transferred to a membrane by capillary action in a high‐salt buffer. The gel is first treated with NaOH to denature DNA, and after neutralization, the gel is placed between buffer‐soaked filter paper and a sheet of membrane. Labeled probe is hybridized overnight to the Southern blot. The blot is washed under conditions designed to remove all nonspecifically adherent probe and exposed to X‐ray film. Identified fragment sizes differ among individuals and can be traced from generation to generation.
Effect of frequency, body parts and surrounding on the on-body propagation channel around the torso

Wearable medical devices can be positioned around the torso for monitoring of critical health parameters. The signal transmission between them is through a wireless link over an on-body propagation channel. In this paper, the effect of some factors which could influence the propagation channel around the torso as: (a) frequency of operation (b) positions of the arms (c) material of a chair used, have been investigated. Moreover, a comparison between the link loss around the torso of a full body phantom and a truncated torso phantom has been done. It is found that the frequency of operation and the positions of the arms have a significant influence on the channel. The difference between the link loss of a full body phantom and a truncated phantom is found to be minimal, indicating a possibility of using a truncated torso for a faster simulation. The results presented in the paper gives an insight in to the influence of arms and the frequency of operation on the propagation channel around the torso and thus would be beneficial for designing a reliable wireless link.
The NeuC Protein of Escherichia coli K1 Is a UDP N-Acetylglucosamine 2-Epimerase

ABSTRACT The K1 capsule is an essential virulence determinant of Escherichia coli strains that cause meningitis in neonates. Biosynthesis and transport of the capsule, an α-2,8-linked polymer of sialic acid, are encoded by the 17-kb kps gene cluster. We deleted neuC, a K1 gene implicated in sialic acid synthesis, from the chromosome of EV36, a K-12-K1 hybrid, by allelic exchange. Exogenously added sialic acid restored capsule expression to the deletion strain (ΔneuC), confirming that NeuC is necessary for sialic acid synthesis. The deduced amino acid sequence of NeuC showed similarities to those of UDP-N-acetylglucosamine (GlcNAc) 2-epimerases from both prokaryotes and eukaryotes. The NeuC homologue from serotype III Streptococcus agalactiae complements ΔneuC. We cloned the neuC gene into an intein expression vector to facilitate purification. We demonstrated by paper chromatography that the purified neuC gene product catalyzed the formation of [2-14C]acetamidoglucal and [N-14C]acetylmannosamine (ManNAc) from UDP-[14C]GlcNAc. The formation of reaction intermediate 2-acetamidoglucal with the concomitant release of UDP was confirmed by proton and phosphorus nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy. NeuC could not use GlcNAc as a substrate. These data suggest that neuC encodes an epimerase that catalyzes the formation of ManNAc from UDP-GlcNAc via a 2-acetamidoglucal intermediate. The unexpected release of the glucal intermediate and the extremely low rate of ManNAc formation likely were a result of the in vitro assay conditions, in which a key regulatory molecule or protein was absent.
Low-fidelity simulation to enhance understanding of infection control among undergraduate medical students

Background. Developing economies are stressing institutional care for better health outcomes but its advantages are dampened by healthcare-associated infections (HAIs). Besides other undesired complications, the economic cost of HAIs is enormous. Developing countries have higher HAI rates compared with Europe or the USA. The knowledge and practice of infection control is poor among medical students. Based on introspection of ‘Infection Control Module’ for undergraduates introduced in 2012, we tested emotional sensitization using low-fidelity techniques to enhance its effectiveness. Methods. All medical undergraduate students in their second year (n=102) were randomly divided into three groups using balanced randomization (two test and one control). Test groups were made to realize the emotional, social and financial consequences of HAI on patients and their families through low-fidelity simulation in the form of case discussions and video demonstrations. Pre- and postintervention empathy scores were calculated using Toronto empathy questionnaire (TEQ) for all the 102 students. Postintervention, all students were subjected to an infection control module and knowledge test. Perceptions of the intervention groups were recorded. Descriptive statistics and ANOVA were applied for data analysis. Results. Of the 102 students, 93 (91.1%) participated in the study. There was no significant difference in the pre-test TEQ score (p=0.87) but there was a significant difference in the post-test TEQ (p = 0.026) and knowledge test score (p = 0.016) among the groups. Both the simulation exercises were well appreciated by the students. Conclusion. Emotional sensitization using low-fidelity simulation served as a catalyst in understanding infection control among medical undergraduate students.
Gasterophilus pecorum in the soft palate of a British pony

TWO species of Gasterophilus (‘horse bots’) are commonly found in abattoir surveys of horses in the UK ([Edwards 1982][1], [Coles and Pearson 2000][2], [Lyon and others 2000][3]). Gasterophilus intestinalis has a wide geographical distribution, whereas Gasterophilus nasalis appears to be
Internet application for collective realization of speech evaluation by listening tests

The paper describes the developed multiaccess internet application for collective realization of listening tests which are very important for evaluation of the synthetic speech quality used in text-to-speech systems or human-machine interfaces. This application together with testing speech and image corpora are stored on the server PC, where the listening tests are also executed. The application communicates with the user via the HTTP protocol. Obtained results of evaluation can be immediately processed and displayed in numerical and graphical representation. Control and administration of the application is also described in this paper. At present, in addition to the conventional types of listening tests, the special ones - type of emotional state or speaking style, influence of visual information on speech evaluation - are implemented. In the near future we plan to extend the application area for evaluation of audio-visual material.
Cross-protection correlates with delayed antibody formation to challenge virus after immunization with Sindbis virus.

Mice immunized with Sindbis virus, strains HR (heat-resistant) or AR339, by a dual injection given intracerebrally (i.c.) and intraperitoneally (i.p.) at day zero, were cross-protected from challenge at day 10 with Semliki Forest virus (SFV). Neutralizing and haemagglutination-inhibition antibodies to Sindbis are detected in high titre by day 6 after immunization but no cross-reacting antibodies to SFV were found up to day 42. Immunized mice that were challenged with SFV showed an 8 to 10 day delay in the appearance of antibody to SFV compared to mice that were sham-inoculated. Thus, cross-protection in Sindbis-immunized animals was correlated with a temporary suppression of antibody formation to the challenge virus (SFV), while the appearance of high titre antibody to SFV in sham-immunized mice after challenge with SFV did not protect.
Procedural weapons generation for unreal tournament III

Design a set of weapons for a competitive first person shooter (FPS) is not an easy task: it involves several challenges, such as balancing, diversity, and novelty. In this paper, we combine procedural content generation and evolutionary computation to solve this complex task. In particular, we introduce a novel approach to procedurally generate weapons for Unreal Tournament III, a popular commercial FPS. In our approach, each weapon is represented as a parameters vector and evaluated based on game statistics. We tested our approach on three different application scenarios that represents three typical design problems: (i) create a balanced set of weapons, (ii) improve a given weapon with the least possible changes, and (iii) create a set of weapons with some specific design goals. Finally, we also performed a preliminary user study to validate our work. Our results are promising and suggest that the proposed approach might be successfully used to support the weapon design process.
Internal Vs. External Promotions: Evidence from Professional Football Coaching Careers

We examine the job movements of professional football coaches both within and across employers and compare the mechanisms governing internal and external promotions. We find that the likelihood of an external promotion is strongly related to individual performance measures and only weakly related to team performance. In contrast to external promotions, we find that the overall likelihood of an internal promotion is unrelated to an individual's performance. This difference between internal and external labor markets appears to arise from the process governing job openings within the internal hierarchy, as the likelihood of an internal job opening up is negatively related to performance. Conditional on an internal opening occurring, we do find that increases in individual performance increase the probability of being promoted. Relationships matter a great deal in this labor market in the sense that coaches appear to be fired and hired as a group, suggesting that the value of an individual to an employer depends on the identity of the entire set of individuals who work together. We argue that our findings have implications for several issues related to incentives and organizational design.
Endoplasmic Reticulum Chaperone Protein GRP-78 Mediates Endocytosis of Dentin Matrix Protein 1*

Dentin matrix protein 1 (DMP1), a phosphorylated protein present in the mineral phase of both vertebrates and invertebrates, is a key regulatory protein during biogenic formation of mineral deposits. Previously we showed that DMP1 is localized in the nuclear compartment of preosteoblasts and preodontoblasts. In the nucleus DMP1 might play an important role in the regulation of genes that control osteoblast or odontoblast differentiation. Here, we show that cellular uptake of DMP1 occurs through endocytosis. Interestingly, this process is initiated by DMP1 binding to the glucose-regulated protein-78 (GRP-78) localized on the plasma membrane of preodontoblast cells. Binding of DMP1 to GRP-78 receptor was determined to be specific and saturable with a binding dissociation constant KD = 85 nm. We further depict a road map for the endocytosed DMP1 and demonstrate that the internalization is mediated primarily by caveolae and that the vesicles containing DMP1 are routed to the nucleus along microtubules. Immunohistochemical analysis and binding studies performed with biotin-labeled DMP1 confirm spatial co-localization of DMP1 and GRP-78 in the preodontoblasts of a developing mouse molar. Co-localization of DMP1 with GRP-78 was also observed in T4-4 preodontoblast cells, dental pulp stem cells, and primary preodontoblasts. By small interfering RNA techniques, we demonstrate that the receptor for DMP1 is GRP-78. Therefore, binding of DMP1 with GRP-78 receptor might be an important mechanism by which DMP1 is internalized and transported to the nucleus during bone and tooth development.
T Cell Immunity to Lymphoma Following Treatment with Anti-CD40 Monoclonal Antibody1

In this study we demonstrate that treatment with anti-CD40 mAb eradicates a range of mouse lymphomas (BCL1, A31, A20, and EL4), but only when used against i.v. tumor doses in excess of 107 cells. Only partial protection was seen against smaller tumor loads. We saw no evidence that anti-CD40 mAb changed the phenotype of the lymphomas or inhibited their growth in the initial period following treatment, but it did result in a rapid expansion of cytotoxic CD8+ cells that was able to clear the neoplastic disease and provide long-term protection against tumor rechallenge. The CTL responses were blocked by mAb against a range of coreceptors and cytokines, including CD8, B7-1, B7-2, LFA-1, and IFN-γ, but not CD4 or CTLA-4, indicating the presence of a conventional cellular Th1 response. Furthermore, we found evidence of cross-recognition between lymphomas (BCL1 and A20) as measured by cytotoxicity and IFN-γ responses in vitro and using tumor rechallenge experiments, suggesting common target Ags. Finally, although anti-CD40 was shown to stimulate NK cell killing, we could find no role for these cells in controlling tumor growth. These data underline the ability of anti-CD40 mAb to potentiate CTL responses and the potency of cellular immunity in eradicating large quantities of syngeneic tumor.
Rapid activation of the bivalent gene Sox21 requires displacement of multiple layers of gene‐silencing machinery

The rapid formation of numerous tissues during development is highly dependent on the swift activation of key developmental regulators. Recent studies indicate that many key regulatory genes are repressed in embryonic stem cells (ESCs), yet poised for rapid activation due to the presence of both activating (H3K4 trimethylation) and repressive (H3K27 trimethylation) histone modifications (bivalent genes). However, little is known about bivalent gene regulation. In this study, we investigated the regulation of the bivalent gene Sox21, which is activated rapidly when ESCs differentiate in response to increases in Sox2. Chromatin immunoprecipitation demonstrated that prior to differentiation, the Sox21 gene is bound by a complex array of repressive and activating transcriptional machinery. Upon activation, all identified repressive machinery and histone modifications associated with the gene are lost, but the activating modifications and tran‐scriptional machinery are retained. Notably, these changes do not occur when ESCs differentiate in response to retinoic acid. Moreover, ESCs lacking a functional PRC2 complex fail to activate this gene, apparently due to its association with other repressive complexes. Together, these findings suggest that bivalent genes, such as Sox21, are silenced by a complex set of redundant repressive machinery, which exit rapidly in response to appropriate differentiation signals. —Chakravarthy, H. , Ormsbee, B. D. , Mallanna, S. K. , Rizzino, A. Rapid activation of the bivalent gene Sox21 requires displacement of multiple layers of gene‐silencing machinery. FASEB J. 25, 206–218 (2011). www.fasebj. org
A prototype For HI2Ping information security culture and awareness training

In this short paper, we propose a security culture and awareness training platform that suite different learning styles and preferences. The objective is to operationalize the platform for improving individuals security awareness and learn more about their security mental models as well as how their cultural background influence their perception of security. Useful application of the tool is to enhance the effectiveness of security knowledge transfer in a security incident response process management and to develop staff commitment to security policies at organizations. The tool can also help on enabling a global security culture by creating a common understanding of security best practices. Qualitative results show the tool can play a promising role in security education as it combines different mediums for communicating the required information to fit the audience different learning styles.
Estimation of the neuronal activation using fMRI data: An observer-based approach

This paper deals with the estimation of the neuronal activation and some unmeasured physiological information using the Blood Oxygenation Level Dependent (BOLD) signal measured using functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging (fMRI). We propose to use an observer-based approach applied to the balloon hemodynamic model. The latter describes the relation between the neural activity and the BOLD signal. The balloon model can be expressed in a nonlinear state-space representation where the states, the parameters and the input (neuronal activation), are unknown. This study focuses only on the estimation of the hidden states and the neuronal activation. The model is first linearized around the equilibrium and an observer is applied to this linearized version. Numerical results performed on synthetic data are presented.