Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Integrating Microsimulation Models of Tax Policy into a DGE Macroeconomic Model

This article proposes a method for integrating individual effective tax rates and marginal tax rates computed from a microsimulation (partial equilibrium) model of tax policy with a dynamic general equilibrium model of tax policy that can provide macroeconomic analysis or dynamic scores of tax reforms. Our approach captures the rich heterogeneity, realistic demographics, and tax-code detail of the microsimulation model and allows this detail to inform a general equilibrium model with a relatively high degree of heterogeneity. In addition, we propose a functional form in which tax rates depend jointly on the levels of both capital income and labor income.
Laser Flap Delay: Comparison of Erbium: YAG and CO 2 Lasers

The delay phenomenon has long been recognized as a powerful tool in reconstructive surgery. This phenomenon involves creating alterations in skin flap blood supply or microcirculation to increase the size of the surviving flap. In the past many reconstructive surgeons depended on surgical delay as an integral part of their surgical planning. Today surgical delay remains a reliable method for maximizing flap survival. Although surgical delay remains the gold standard many have searched for methods to create the same effect with less morbidity and reduced cost. The purpose of this study was to determine whether near-scarless delay can be performed with either the Erbium:YAG or CO2 laser using a standard McFarlane skin flap model. Four groups were identified. Surgical delay, Erbium laser delay, and CO2 laser delay groups were each compared with a nondelayed control. Each group consisted of ten Sprague-Dawley rats. On Day 0 all delay procedures were performed on the lateral periphery of the outlined dorsal skin flaps. Interruption of this lateral blood supply was accomplished by two parallel 10-cm incisions in the surgical delay group. Likewise blood supply and microcirculatory alterations were accomplished in the laser delay groups by two parallel 10-cm laser treatments. On Day 7 a 10 x 4-cm cranially based dorsal skin flap was elevated. On Day 14 flap survival was analyzed by calculating percentage flap survival. The Erbium:YAG laser delay of the McFarlane flaps resulted in an average of 32 per cent less flap loss compared with controls (P = 0.0001). The CO2 laser resulted in an average of 36 per cent less flap loss compared with controls (P = 0.0002), whereas the surgical delay group had a 23 per cent smaller flap loss (P = 0.009). There was no significant difference between any of the delay groups. These results indicated that CO2 and Erbium:YAG lasers are as effective as surgery for delay of skin flaps in the rat model. They may provide an effective and inexpensive method for near-scarless skin flap delay in humans.
R3

Computational Radio Frequency Identification (CRFID) tags operate solely on harvested energy and have emerged as viable platforms for a variety of ubiquitous sensing and computation applications. Due to their battery-less nature, these tags can be permanently deployed in hard-to-reach places where the possibility of tag access is eliminated. In such scenarios, maintaining and upgrading the tag’s firmware becomes infeasible because programming tools, including wired interface and PC-based software, are required to erase, modify, or reprogram the microcontroller unit’s memory. Such limitations necessitate the demand for an over-the-air (OTA) scheme, which can wirelessly reprogram or upgrade the firmware in CRFID tags. In this article, we present R3—a reliable OTA reprogramming scheme that is compliant with EPC protocol and requires no hardware upgrade to RFID reader or CRFID tag. We demonstrate our scheme on three platforms, which include both software-defined as well as chip-based CRFID tags, that is, WISP5.1 and Optimized WISP (Opt-WISP), and Spider tag, respectively. The selection also includes both the FLASH- and FRAM-based microcontrollers. We extensively evaluate our scheme in terms of several metrics, including overall system delay, time and energy overhead, and success rate in line with interrogation range. We foresee our endeavor to offer the viability of OTA reprogramming and firmware upgrade for CRFID tokens under practical situations.
Influence of Socio-Economic Status, Parents and Peers on Smoking Behaviour of Adolescents

With the aim of analysing the importance of psycho-social factors in predicting adolescents’ smoking behaviour, a model of the interrelations between socio-economic status, parents’, peers’ and adolescents’ own smoking behaviours was tested. The sample consisted of 2,616 adolescents. LISREL analyses were used to support the model; males and females were evaluated separately. Peers’ smoking is the strongest predictor of adolescent smoking. Parents’ smoking behaviour influences adolescents’ smoking directly, but also indirectly through the parents’ influence on peers’ smoking behaviour. Socio-economic status influences adolescent smoking indirectly through its influence on parents’ and peers’ smoking behaviour. Our model is significant in both males and females and explains 42–51% of the variance in adolescent smoking behaviour. Accentuation of peers’ influence on adolescents’ smoking behaviour without considering the interrelations between the influence of socio-economic status, parents and peers may lead us to incorrect conclusions in research as well as in prevention.
Association of thymidylate synthase and hypoxia inducible factor-1alpha DNA polymorphisms with pancreatic cancer.

BACKGROUND Thymidylate synthase and hypoxia inducible factor-1α play a central role in the control of tumor progression. In the present study, we investigated the effect of three DNA polymorphisms within the thymidylate synthase gene and two within hypoxia inducible factor-1α on the prognosis of pancreatic cancer. PATIENTS AND METHODS A retrospective study was performed in 59 patients diagnosed with invasive ductal adenocarcinoma of the pancreas and 159 healthy volunteers. The studied DNA polymorphisms were a variable tandem repeat of 28 bp (rs45445694), a G/C single nucleotide polymorphism (rs34743033), and a deletion of 6 bp (ins1494del 6bp; rs34489327) within the thymidylate synthase gene and C1772T and G1790A single nucleotide polymorphisms within hypoxia inducible factor-1α (rs11549465 and rs11549467, respectively) . Variable tandem repeats were determined by specific polymerase chain reaction, whereas thymidylate synthase single nucleotide polymorphism G/C, ins1494del 6pb, and hypoxia inducible factor-1α polymorphisms were identified by polymerase chain reaction and RFLP. Thymidylate synthase and hypoxia inducible factor-1α genotype distributions in patients and healthy volunteers were determined. The impact of the polymorphisms on clinico-pathological variables, including survival, was also studied. RESULTS The frequency of carriers of the variant del6bp allele was significantly higher among patients (70.0% vs 51.0% of healthy donors, P = 0.02); 42% of male patients were homozygous 2R/2R vs 13.6% of females (P = 0.03), but differences regarding gender were not observed among healthy volunteers. Concerning hypoxia inducible factor-1α C1772T and G1790A single nucleotide polymorphisms, the rates of variant T/T and A/A homozygous genotypes were significantly elevated among patients (18.6% vs 5.3%, P = 0.001, and 5.1% vs none, P = 0.021 respectively). CONCLUSIONS In our study, the variant del14946bp allele within the thymidylate synthase gene, and TT and AA genotypes of C1772T and G1790A hypoxia inducible factor-1α single nucleotide polymorphisms were associated with the development of pancreatic cancer. The 2R/2R genotype of variable tandem repeat thymidylate synthase polymorphism might be a risk factor for pancreatic cancer in males.
Function and evolution of the long noncoding RNA circuitry orchestrating X‐chromosome inactivation in mammals

X‐chromosome inactivation (XCI) is a chromosome‐wide regulatory process that ensures dosage compensation for X‐linked genes in Theria. XCI is established during early embryogenesis and is developmentally regulated. Different XCI strategies exist in mammalian infraclasses and the regulation of this process varies also among closely related species. In Eutheria, initiation of XCI is orchestrated by a cis‐acting locus, the X‐inactivation center (Xic), which is particularly enriched in genes producing long noncoding RNAs (lncRNAs). Among these, Xist generates a master transcript that coats and propagates along the future inactive X‐chromosome in cis, establishing X‐chromosome wide transcriptional repression through interaction with several protein partners. Other lncRNAs also participate to the regulation of X‐inactivation but the extent to which their function has been maintained in evolution is still poorly understood. In Metatheria, Xist is not conserved, but another, evolutionary independent lncRNA with similar properties, Rsx, has been identified, suggesting that lncRNA‐mediated XCI represents an evolutionary advantage. Here, we review current knowledge on the interplay of X chromosome‐encoded lncRNAs in ensuring proper establishment and maintenance of chromosome‐wide silencing, and discuss the evolutionary implications of the emergence of species‐specific lncRNAs in the control of XCI within Theria. WIREs RNA 2016, 7:702–722. doi: 10.1002/wrna.1359
Fabrication of large binary colloidal crystals with a NaCl structure

Binary colloidal crystals offer great potential for tuning material properties for applications in, for example, photonics, semiconductors and spintronics, because they allow the positioning of particles with quite different characteristics on one lattice. For micrometer-sized colloids, it is believed that gravity and slow crystallization rates hinder the formation of high-quality binary crystals. Here, we present methods for growing binary colloidal crystals with a NaCl structure from relatively heavy, hard-sphere-like, micrometer-sized silica particles by exploring the following external fields: electric, gravitational, and dielectrophoretic fields and a structured surface (colloidal epitaxy). Our simulations show that the free-energy difference between the NaCl and NiAs structures, which differ in their stacking of the hexagonal planes of the larger spheres, is very small (≈0.002 kBT). However, we demonstrate that the fcc stacking of the large spheres, which is crucial for obtaining the pure NaCl structure, can be favored by using a combination of the above-mentioned external fields. In this way, we have successfully fabricated large, 3D, oriented single crystals having a NaCl structure without stacking disorder.
Book Review: “Cognitive neuroscience of language”

The 19th century has brought to linguistics “Broca's problem” (Boeckx, 2009), the question of how knowledge of language is implemented in the brain. Since then neuroscientific work on language was mostly driven by aphasiology, a state of affairs that has changed drastically with the advent of cognitive neuroscience toward the end of the 1970s and 1980s (Gazzaniga, 2015) and the subsequent further technical advancement and establishment of neuroimaging. With the publication of the textbook Cognitive Neuroscience of Language David Kemmerer aims at and succeeds in closing a long-standing gap in the available neurolinguistics literature, taking into account that cognitive neuroscience has come of age and progressed considerably in addressing Broca's problem in the relatively short timespan since its establishment.
Croissance et Soutenabilité de la Dette Extérieure Tunisienne pour la Période 1970-2012 : Une Analyse Dynamique

Through this paper, we assess the sustainability of Tunisian external debt and its effect on the growth of the country. Based on two main approaches, namely the actuarial approach and the accounting approach, we check whether Tunisia was able to support its external debt during the period 1970-2012, while ensuring the balance of its economic fundamentals And its financial indicators. At a second level, we evaluate, empirically, the effects of foreign debt on the economic growth of the country in order to validate the thesis of over indebtedness for the case of Tunisia. Finally, we calculate, under a quadratic approach, the optimal sustainable external debt threshold that ensures regular economic growth and the sustainability of the country's fiscal policy. According to the actuarial method based on tests of stationarity and cointegration, it was not possible to verify, absolutely, the sustainability of the external debt during the period studied. Some tests verify sustainability, others have given contradictory results. The accounting method shows that this debt was no longer sustainable except for a few years, namely, 1972, 1974, 1996. This result reflects Tunisia's current situation of over-indebtedness, and the problem of external debt for Growth and economic performance. After calculating the external debt threshold, it seems that 51% is the sustainable threshold that allows maximum economic growth. This threshold of external debt stock can only be beneficial to the Tunisian economy if it is allocated to profitable investments that generate wealth and capital.
Neurotransmitter‐mediated signaling between axons and glial cells

Neurotransmitter‐mediated signaling is not restricted to the synaptic regions of the nervous system but also takes places along fiber tracts lacking vesicular means of releasing neuroactive substances. The first demonstration for dynamic signaling of this type came in the early 1970s from studies by Villegas and co‐workers in squid axons and their satellite Schwann cells. In this invertebrate system, glutamate has been identified as the mediator of this signaling in being first released from the active axons thus setting off a series of cascades, leading to a cholinergic activation of the Schwann cell membrane. Recent evidence suggests that receptor‐mediated signaling also exists between glial cells and axons in vertebrates. In the frog optic nerve, axonal activity facilitated the activity of glial ion channels. In the neonatal rat optic nerve, electrical activity of axons triggered oscillations in intracellular calcium in a subset of glial cells. These observations have been postulated to reflect receptor‐mediated signaling, including a mechanism in which glutamate is released from axons via the reversal of a transporter and induces intracellular calcium spiking in glial cells via metabotropic glutamate receptors. The efficacy of “axon‐to‐glia” transmission may, like that in “neuron‐to‐neuron” transmission, be modulated by co‐release of multiple neuroactive substances. One possibility is that adenosine, which is known to be released from fiber tracts, can modulate glutamate signaling in white matter by modulating the periaxonal glutamate concentration through an effect on the glial glutamate uptake system. © 1994 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Mig-7 expression and vasculogenic mimicry in malignant ovarian tumors.

OBJECTIVES To investigate the possible association of vasculogenic mimicry (VM), VE-cadherin and MIG-7 expression with clinicopathological features of women with malignant ovarian masses. MATERIAL AND METHODS VM was studied with the PAS reaction and VE-cadherin was assessed with immunohistochemistry in 108 women with malignant ovarian tumors. Additionally, quantitative expression of MIG-7 mRNA was performed in 52 ovarian cancers with qRT-PCR. RESULTS VM was found in 48/108 cases (44%), more often in higher FIGO stage tumors (83% cases; 40 vs. 8; p = 0.01). High expression of VE-cadherin was present in 37% of all ovarian masses. Ovarian tumors without VM more often expressed low levels of VE-cadherin than tumors where VM was found (37.6% vs.14.6%). No expression or very low expression of MIG-7 mRNA was found in all normal ovarian tissues and in 32 cancer samples. Median RQ of MIG-7 mRNA in tumor samples was higher than in normal ovarian tissue (RQ = 0.29 vs. RQ = 0.05, respectively; p < 0.005) and higher than in non-malignant ovarian masses (0.98 vs. 0.05 respectively; p = 0.03). Expression of MIG-7 mRNA was significantly correlated with VM (p = 0.039). In tumors with PAS-positive structures median RQ MIG-7 mRNA was higher than in tumors with PAS-negative findings (1.89 vs. 0.13 respectively). VE-cadherin expression was more frequently found in tumors where MIG-7 mRNA was present (p = 0.004). CONCLUSIONS Vasculogenic mimicry exists in malignant ovarian tumors and advanced clinical stages of malignancy are accompanied by a high incidence of VM formation. MIG-7 mRNA and VE-cadherin expression may serve as additional molecular markers of VM in ovarian malignancies.
Procalcitonin versus C-reactive protein for predicting pneumonia in adults with lower respiratory tract infection in primary care.

BACKGROUND The role of procalcitonin in diagnosing bacterial infection has mainly been studied in patients with severe infections. There is no study on the value of procalcitonin measurements in adults with lower respiratory tract infection (LRTI) treated in primary care. AIM To evaluate the accuracy of plasma procalcitonin in predicting radiographic pneumonia, bacterial infection, and adverse outcome in a population of adults with LRTI treated in primary care. DESIGN OF STUDY Prospective, observational study. SETTING Forty-two general practices and an outpatient clinic at the Department of Infectious Diseases, Odense University Hospital, Denmark. METHOD A total of 364 patients with LRTI were prospectively enrolled from 42 general practices. Patients were examined with chest radiography, microbiological analyses, and measurements of C-reactive protein (CRP) and procalcitonin. The outcome measure was hospitalisation within 4 weeks of enrollment. RESULTS Median procalcitonin was 0.05 ng/ml, which was below the functional sensitivity of the assay (0.06 ng/ml). In predicting radiographic pneumonia, bacterial infection, and hospitalisation, the sensitivities of procalcitonin >0.06 ng/ml were 0.70, 0.51, and 0.67, and of CRP were > or =20 mg/l, 0.73, 0.56, and 0.74 respectively. Corresponding positive predictive values were between 0.09 and 0.28. CONCLUSION Both procalcitonin >0.06 ng/ml and CRP > or =20 mg/l were associated with radiographic pneumonia, bacterial infection, and subsequent hospitalisation, but positive predictive values were too low for any of the two inflammatory markers to be of use in clinical practice. To measure procalcitonin values accurately in the primary care setting, a more sensitive method is needed, but there was no indication that procalcitonin is superior to CRP in identifying patients with pneumonia, bacterial aetiology, or adverse outcome.
JNK pathway mediates curcumin-induced apoptosis and autophagy in osteosarcoma MG63 cells

Human osteosarcoma is a common primary malignancy of the bone in children and adolescents. It has been reported that curcumin is able to induce apoptosis in osteosarcoma MG63 cells through the mitochondrial pathway. However, whether curcumin is able to induce autophagy and the interaction between apoptosis and autophagy in osteosarcoma cells has yet to be fully elucidated. In the current study, it was determined that curcumin was able to significantly induce apoptosis, and lead to autophagy in MG63 cells. Notably, inhibition of apoptosis enhanced curcumin-induced autophagy due to upregulation of the c-Jun N-terminal kinase (JNK) signaling pathway. This finding was confirmed by the use of JNK-specific inhibitor, SP600125. Furthermore, our data showed that curcumin-induced apoptosis was increased when autophagy was completely inhibited by 3-methyladenine in MG63 cells. These results suggest that autophagy may have an important role in resistance to apoptosis when MG63 cells are incubated with curcumin. Thus, these results provide important insights into the interaction between apoptosis and autophagy in osteosarcoma cells and clinical treatment strategies using curcumin.
Is imatinib still the best choice as first-line oral TKI

Targeted therapy is the buzz word these days. A decade back the emergence of tyrosine kinase inhibitor Imatinib on the horizon, as the targeted therapy, had captured the imagination of everyone in the field of cancer. It is encouraging to see a large number of patients getting relief from deadly CML disease and leading a good quality of life with the help of this drug. However, sky is not the limit and now we have second and third generation tyrosine kinase inhibitors. I still remember the sagacious smile on the face of late Dr. John Goldman, when I asked him about his preferred choice and he replied and I quote “this is going to be the debate of the decade. ” Here I take the opportunity to contribute to this debate. I have scrutinized various aspects of the three TKIs, now recommended, for the treatment of CML. I’m still convinced it is too early to shift our practice completely towards 2G TKI as more time is required to make a clear recommendation.
Assessment of hepatic fibrosis in pediatric cases with hepatitis C virus in Egypt.

AIM To assess hepatic fibrosis and factors associated with its progression in children with HCV infection. METHODS At the Hepatology Unit, Cairo University Children's Hospital, a single liver biopsy was performed to 43 children with HCV infection after an informed consent between 1998-2004. Their mean age at liver biopsy was 8.67 +/- 4.3 years. RESULTS Among the 43 patients' biopsies, 12 (27.9%) were having no fibrosis, 20 (46.5%) mild fibrosis and 11 (25.6%) moderate to severe fibrosis. The median time for development of fibrosis was estimated to be 5.5 years. Developing fibrosis was significantly associated with shorter duration from first detected ALT elevation to biopsy (12 mo vs 1.2 mo, P=0.015) and having higher levels of direct serum bilirubin (0.3 mg/dL vs 0.5 mg/dL, P=0.048). No association was found between fibrosis stage and the presence of co-morbid conditions (P=0.33). CONCLUSION Hepatic fibrosis was present in 72.1% of children with HCV infection. The development of fibrosis was associated with higher levels of direct serum bilirubin. There was no significant association between fibrosis and age, duration of infection, risk factors, co-morbid conditions and most biochemical parameters.
Norbin Is an Endogenous Regulator of Metabotropic Glutamate Receptor 5 Signaling

Norbin Knockout Metabotropic glutamate receptors (mGluRs) are critical neurotransmitter sensors implicated in central neuronal functions like learning and memory and in diseases of the nervous system. Wang et al. (p. 1554) searched for proteins that interact with mGluR5a and identified a previously unrecognized component of the receptor signaling complex. The protein Norbin directly interacted with the receptor. Loss of Norbin in mice or cultured cells showed that it is necessary for the accumulation of mGluR5a in the cell membrane, for normal modulation of synaptic plasticity, and for some behavioral responses. The protein Norbin regulates the accumulation of a neurotransmitter receptor in mouse brain cell membranes. Metabotropic glutamate receptor 5 (mGluR5) is highly expressed in the mammalian central nervous system (CNS). It is involved in multiple physiological functions and is a target for treatment of various CNS disorders, including schizophrenia. We report that Norbin, a neuron-specific protein, physically interacts with mGluR5 in vivo, increases the cell surface localization of the receptor, and positively regulates mGluR5 signaling. Genetic deletion of Norbin attenuates mGluR5-dependent stable changes in synaptic function measured as long-term depression or long-term potentiation of synaptic transmission in the hippocampus. As with mGluR5 knockout mice or mice treated with mGluR5-selective antagonists, Norbin knockout mice showed a behavioral phenotype associated with a rodent model of schizophrenia, as indexed by alterations both in sensorimotor gating and psychotomimetic-induced locomotor activity.