Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
A Linear Space Algorithm for Haplotype Blocks Partitioning Using Limited Number of Tag SNPs

The pattern of linkage disequilibrium (LD) plays a central role in genome-wide association studies of identifying genetic variation responsible of common human diseases. A Single Nucleotide Polymorphism or SNP is a DNA sequence variation occurring when a single nucleotide in the genome differs between members of species. Recent studies show that the patterns of linkage disequilibrium observed in human chromosome reveal a block-like structure; the high LD regions are called haplotype blocks, and furthermore, a small subset of SNPs, called tag SNPs, is sufficient to capture the haplotype patterns in each haplotype block. Both Patil [18] and Zhang et al. [24] have proposed algorithms to partition haplotype sample into blocks fully under the circumstances of requiring minimal number of tag SNPs. However, when resources are limited, investigators and biologists may not be able to genotype all the tag SNPs and instead must restrict the number of tag SNPs used in their studies. In this paper, we examine several haplotype block diversity evaluation functions and propose dynamic programming algorithms for haplotype block partitioning with using the limited number of tag SNPs. We implement these algorithms and analyze the chromosome 21 haplotype data given by Patil et al. [18]. When the sample is partitioned into blocks fully, we identify a total of 2,266 blocks and 3,260 tag SNPs which is smaller than those identified by Zhang et al. [24]. We demonstrate that Zhang’s algorithm does not find the optimal solution due to ignoring the non-monotonic property of common haplotype evaluation function. The algorithms described have been implemented in the web-based system as the analysis tools for bioinformaticists and ∗This work is supported by grants from the Taichung Veterans General Hospital and Providence University (TCVGH-PU-968110) and in part by the National Science Council (NSC-96-2221-E-126-002) Taichung, Taiwan, Republic of China. geneticists.
Predicting Super Spreading Events during the 2003 Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Epidemics in Hong Kong and Singapore

Abstract One of the intriguing characteristics of the 2003 severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) epidemics was the occurrence of super spreading events (SSEs). Here, the authors report the results of identifying the occurrence of SSEs in the Hong Kong and Singapore epidemics using mathematical and statistical analysis. Their predicted occurrence of SSEs agreed well with the reported occurrence of all seven super spreaders in the two cities. Additional unidentified SSEs were also found to exist. It was found that 71.1% and 74.8% of the infections were attributable to SSEs in Hong Kong and Singapore, respectively. There also seemed to be “synchronized” occurrences of infection peaks in both the community and the hospitals in Hong Kong. The results strongly suggested that the infection did not depend on the total number of symptomatic cases, with only a very small proportion of symptomatic individuals being shown to be infectious (i.e., able to infect other individuals). The authors found that the daily infection rate did not correlate with the daily total number of symptomatic cases but with the daily number of symptomatic cases who were not admitted to a hospital within 4 days of the onset of symptoms.
Counseling patients about HIV risk from oral sex

U n p r o t e c t e d oral sex is n o t well r ecogn ized as a r i sk fac tor for t r a n s m i t t i n g the h u m m l i n m m n o d e f i c i e n c y v i rus , ye t a s ev idence of i ts po t en t i a l r i sk acc rues , phys i c i a n s m u s t c o n f r o n t the q u e s t i o n of h o w to c o u n s e l p a t i e n t s a b o u t oral sex r isk, How do h e a l t h care p r o f e s s i o n a l s feel a b o u t b r o a c h i n g t h i s topic w i t h t h e i r p a t i e n t s ? Cml the psycho log ica l l i t e r a tu re he lp p h y s i c i a n s u n d e r s t a n d t h e i r p a t i e n t s ' r i sk p e r c e p t i o n s a n d mot iva t e h e a l t h f u l b e h a v iors? In t h i s article, we review the l i t e ra tu re on oral sex risk, d i s c u s s b a r r i e r s to c o m m u n i c a t i n g c a u t i o n to pa t i en t s , a n d p ropose r e c o m m e n d a t i o n s a n d specific c o u n s e l i n g s t r a t e g i e s b a s e d on r i sk p e r c e p t i o n a n d b e h a v i o r c h a n g e t h e o r y t h a t we bel ieve will he lp p h y s i c i a n s effectively i n t e r vene in the p r e v e n t i o n of HIV t r a n s m i s s i o n ,
‘Everybody learns English, and so do I’: The dominance of English and its effects on individuals

In some Asia-Pacific countries, English is neither an ethnic heritage nor a colonial legacy. The dominant position of English can also be a result of it being the common language for worldwide communication. The superiority of the English language in such countries manifests itself in language policy and national curricula which leads to a frantic pursuit of English. An educational trend in China, Japan, Taiwan, and Vietnam is to start English instruction early to give children an edge in second language acquisition. A rationale used for this is the positive relationship between a nation's international competiveness and the English language competence of its citizens (Baldauf & Nguyen, 2013; Hu, 2009; Park, 2009). One example of a nationwide English learning movement is ‘the-earlier-the-better’ in Taiwan. To win elections, electoral candidates used to propose English instruction to be available at Grade 1 (age of 6) although the Ministry of Education ruled for Grade 5 (age of 10) to be the year for English to be introduced (Chang, 2009). Another example of early English learning is overseas study in South Korea. Young children are sent to North America to receive long-term education so that they can learn to speak English without a Korean accent (Song, 2010).
Secondary Primary Malignancy Risk in Patients With Cervical Cancer in Taiwan

AbstractTo evaluate the risk of secondary primary malignancy (SPM) in patients with cervical cancer using a nationwide population-based dataset.Patients newly diagnosed with cervical cancer between 1997 and 2011 were identified using Taiwan's National Health Insurance database. Patients with antecedent malignancies were excluded. Standardized incidence ratios (SIRs) for SPM were calculated by comparing with the cancer incidence in the general population. Risk factors for cancer development were analyzed using Cox proportional hazard models.During the 14-year study period (follow-up of 223,062 person-years), 2004 cancers developed in 35,175 patients with cervical cancer. The SIR for all cancers was 1.56 (95% confidence interval, 1.50–1.63, P < 0.001). SIRs for follow-up periods of >10, 5 to 10, 1 to 5, and <1 year were 1.37, 1.51, 1.34, and 2.59, respectively. After the exclusion of SPM occurring within 1 year of cervical cancer diagnosis, SIRs were significantly higher for cancers of the esophagus (2.05), stomach (1.38), colon, rectum, and anus (1.36); lung and mediastinum (2.28), bone and soft tissue (2.23), uterus (3.76), bladder (2.26), and kidneys (1.41). Multivariate analysis showed that age ≥60 was a significant SPM risk factor (hazard ratio [HR] 1.59). Different treatments for cervical cancer, including radiotherapy (HR 1.41) and chemotherapy (HR 1.27), had different impacts on SPM risk. Carboplatin and fluorouracil independently increased SPM risk in cervical cancer patients.Patients with cervical cancer are at increased risk of SPM development. Age ≥60 years, chemotherapy, and radiotherapy are independent risk factors. Carboplatin and fluorouracil also increased SPM risk independently. Close surveillance of patients at high risk should be considered for the early detection of SPMs.
News and Asian Emerging Markets

This paper investigates the effects of news on conditional variances in the six Asian emerging markets by using the composite index of news from January 1995 to April 2000. Our results are as follows. First, the greater is the volume of current news, the greater is the volatility in all markets. The effects of current news last for one day in Taiwan and Thailand, but last for at least two days in the other countries. Second, we identify Thailand and Indonesia as "news-rich" markets. Third, we confirm the robustness of results based on the composite index of news by using data from Japanese and US markets. Detailed analysis of news items, which is popular in advanced countries, is necessary even in developing countries to earn extra profits by responding quickly to news.
International Dependency and Economic Fluctuations in East Asian NIEs

Abstract This paper investigates the sources of economic fluctuations in the four Asian newly industrialized economies (NIEs), namely Hong Kong, Republic of Korea, Singapore and Taiwan. As small open economies, their macro-economic development is highly dependent on technology as well as markets of large countries. Using the common trends model, we examine the impacts of external supply shock, internal supply shock and trade shock on the key national macro-economic variables of these four economies, i.e. output, consumption, investment, export and import. Our empirical evidence suggests that supply-side disturbances, both the country-specific supply shocks and international supply shocks explain the bulk of fluctuations in output.
Comparative analysis on association of fasting and postprandial dyslipidemia with risk of atherosclerosis in early rheumatoid arthritis

Background: Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) patients have higher cardiovascular risk due todyslipidemia, inflammation etc. The serum lipid levels obtained after 12 hour fasting will not truly reflect atherosclerotic risk associated as non fasting state predominates in routine life. Aim and Objectives: We investigated the frequency of dyslipidemia in early RA cases and healthy controls in both fasting and postprandial state and analyzed the impact of postprandial lipid profile over fasting lipid levels in prediction of atherosclerotic risk. Materials and Methods: This case-control study was conducted at UCMS and GTB Hospital, Delhi. 127 RA cases diagnosed according to revised ACR, 2010 with age and sex matched 127 controls were recruited. Lipid profile parameters were analyzed by commercial kits on auto analyzer. RF, anti-CCP, TNF-α and CRP were measured by ELISA. For statistical analysis unpaired t test and Pearson’s correlation was used. Result: The mean disease duration was 7± 2.16 months. There were significant increased levels of TC, LDL-C, and TAG with reduced serum HDL-C in RA cases. Atherogenic ratio of TC/HDL-C and LDL-C/HDL-C were significantly high in RA. Postprandial lipid analysis revealed significant difference for TAG and HDL-C in RA cases. TAG had a significantly positive correlation with TNF-α (r=0.234) which improved in postprandial state(r=0.559). Significantly negative correlation of HDL-C with ESR (r=-0.221) also improved (r=-0.421) postprandially. Conclusions: Atherogenic dyslipidemia was a significant finding in patients of early RA. Dyslipidemia screening can be recommended in postprandial state.
Phylogenetic analysis of global hepatitis E virus sequences: genetic diversity, subtypes and zoonosis

Nucleotide sequences from a total of 421 HEV isolates were retrieved from Genbank and analysed. Phylogenetically, HEV was classified into four major genotypes. Genotype 1 was more conserved and classified into five subtypes. The number of genotype 2 sequences was limited but can be classified into two subtypes. Genotypes 3 and 4 were extremely diverse and can be subdivided into ten and seven subtypes. Geographically, genotype 1 was isolated from tropical and several subtropical countries in Asia and Africa, and genotype 2 was from Mexico, Nigeria, and Chad; whereas genotype 3 was identified almost worldwide including Asia, Europe, Oceania, North and South America. In contrast, genotype 4 was found exclusively in Asia. It is speculated that genotype 3 originated in the western hemisphere and was imported to several Asian countries such as Japan, Korea and Taiwan, while genotype 4 has been indigenous and likely restricted to Asia. Genotypes 3 and 4 were not only identified in swine but also in wild animals such as boar and a deer. Furthermore, in most areas where genotypes 3 and 4 were characterised, sequences from both humans and animals were highly conserved, indicating they originated from the same infectious sources. Based upon nucleotide differences from five phylogenies, it is proposed that five, two, ten and seven subtypes for HEV genotypes 1, 2, 3 and 4 be designated alphabetised subtypes. Accordingly, a total of 24 subtypes (1a, 1b, 1c, 1d, 1e, 2a, 2b, 3a, 3b, 3c, 3d, 3e, 3f, 3g, 3h, 3i, 3j, 4a, 4b, 4c, 4d, 4e, 4f and 4g) were given. Copyright © 2005 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Korean Journal for Food Science of Animal Resources Effect of Aging and Freezing Conditions on Meat Quality and Storage Stability of 1 + + Grade Hanwoo Steer Beef : Implications for Shelf Life

This study was conducted to establish the shelf life of 1++ grade Hanwoo beef by evaluating the changes in meat quality and storage stability under distribution conditions similar to those during export to Hong Kong and China. Four muscles of the loin, striploin, tenderloin, and top round muscles were obtained from 10 animals of 1++ grade Hanwoo steers. The distribution conditions were 0, 7, or 14 d of aging at 2°C and continuous storage at -18°C for 0, 3, 6, or 9 mon. The lightness (CIE L*) values decreased as the duration of freezer storage increased (p<0.05). The water-holding capacity of 4 muscles increased as the aging time increased when they were frozen for 3 mon (p<0.05). The cooking loss values of the four muscles were significantly increased as the duration of freezer storage increased (p<0.05). The WarnerBratzler shear force values were significantly decreased in the loin, striploin, and top round muscles as the aging time increased (p<0.05). The changes in volatile basic nitrogen (16.6718.49 mg%) and thiobarbituric reactive substance values (0.75-0.82 mg MA/kg meat) were significantly increased when the meat was frozen for 9 mon after 14 d of aging. On the basis of these observations, the shelf life of 1++ grade Hanwoo beef during distribution should be limited to less than 9 mon of freezer storage at -18°C after 14 d of aging at 2°C.
App-Based Long-Term Care E-Learning Platform

The percentage of age 65 and older elderly population in Taiwan has passed threshold of population aging country. How to deal with the phenomenon of an aging population is an important issue our country needs to concern. Therefore, a 10-year long-term care plan is approved by Executive Yuan. In this plan, long-term care attendant cultivation is a priority. Due to the rapid growth of long-term care resources, the provision of services in terms of the number of agencies, the demand for care attendants are also fast increasing. In response to a rapid increment in the huge manpower requirements and manage their service quality, strengthening service training and enhancing the quality of training become an important issue. How to use mobile learning to enhance long-term care E-Learning environment to reduce the inconveniences in operations and exercises? App-based E-Learning platform can provide a good way for learning and practice anytime. According to the latest report released by Institute for Information Industry, the APP use behavioral research survey reveals that mobile Internet era has come, and the time duration people reply on smartphones is longer. It means the relationship between people's life and mobile devices is inseparable. In this research, an App-based E-Learning platform is proposed and implemented for the education and training for long-term care attendants to allow the care attendants to learn anytime, anywhere. The experimental results show that the proposed App-based long-term care E-Learning platform can facilitate the learning performance on the long-term care attendants' education and training. Moreover, the users are satisfied with the proposed platform.
Expression of the glutathione enzyme system of human colon mucosa by localisation, gender and age

ABSTRACT Background: The glutathione S-transferases (GST) can metabolise endogenous and exogenous toxins and carcinogens by catalysing the conjugation of diverse electrophiles with reduced glutathione (GSH). Variations of GST enzyme activity could influence the susceptibility of developing cancers in certain areas of the gastrointestinal tract. Aims: The expression of the components of the glutathione system in the colon was investigated with respect to age, gender and localisation. Methods: Biopsies of macroscopically normal mucosa from both proximal and distal colon were collected from 208 patients (106 females, 102 males; mean age 61 years), who underwent colonoscopy for various clinical reasons. GSH content, total GST enzyme activity and the levels of the GST isoenzymes glutathione S‐transferase P1 (GSTP1) and glutathione S‐transferase M1 (GSTM1) were determined. Results: GST enzyme activity, GSH and GSTP1 levels decreased significantly from proximal to distal colon (GST activity: 264 vs. 244 nmol/min/mg protein, p < 0.001, GSH content: 32 vs. 30 nmol/mg protein, p = 0.022 and GSTP1 levels: 2.25 vs. 2.10 µg/mg protein, p < 0.001). In female patients there was a significant stepwise increase of GST-activities and GSTP1 levels from the age of under 50 years to over 70 years. Oral sex hormone substitution among female patients between 50 and 70 years suppressed GST-activities and GSTP1 content. Conclusions: The GSH-system in the colonic mucosa is expressed at a lower level in the distal colon (sigma) than in the colon transversum; whether this small difference translates into variations of incidence of colorectal cancer remains to be seen. Females express higher enzyme levels as they grow older, while in males no significant age effects were found. Elderly females might be better equipped with protective GSH-enzymes in the colon than males and this could contribute to the lower incidence of colorectal carcinomas in females.
A DNAβ Associated with Tomato Yellow Leaf Curl China Virus Is Required for Symptom Induction

ABSTRACT We report here that all 25 isolates of Tomato yellow leaf curl China virus (TYLCCNV) collected from tobacco, tomato, or Siegesbeckia orientalis plants in different regions of Yunnan Province, China, were associated with DNAβ molecules. To investigate the biological role of DNAβ, full-length infectious clones of viral DNA and DNAβ of TYLCCNV isolate Y10 (TYLCCNV-Y10) were agroinoculated into Nicotiana benthamiana, Nicotiana glutinosa, Nicotiana. tabacum Samsun (NN or nn), tomato, and petunia plants. We found that TYLCCNV-Y10 alone could systemically infect these plants, but no symptoms were induced. TYLCCNV-Y10 DNAβ was required, in addition to TYLCCNV-Y10, for induction of leaf curl disease in these hosts. Similar to TYLCCNV-Y10, DNAβ of TYLCCNV isolate Y64 was also found to be required for induction of typical leaf curl diseases in the hosts tested. When the βC1 gene of TYLCCNV-Y10 DNAβ was mutated, the mutants failed to induce leaf curl symptoms in N. benthamiana when coinoculated with TYLCCNV-Y10. However, Southern blot hybridization analyses showed that the mutated DNAβ molecules were replicated. When N. benthamiana and N. tabacum plants were transformed with a construct containing the βC1 gene under the control of the Cauliflower mosaic virus 35S promoter, many transgenic plants developed leaf curl symptoms similar to those caused by a virus, the severity of which paralleled the level of βC1 transcripts, while transgenic plants transformed with the βC1 gene containing a stop codon after the start codon remained symptomless. Thus, expression of a βC1 gene is adequate for induction of symptoms of viral infection in the absence of virus.
Clinical characteristics of patients with congenital long QT syndrome and bigenic mutations

Background Congenital long QT syndrome (LQTS) is an ion channelopathy associated with genetic mutations. It is well known that most LQTS patients (91%) have a single mutation. The purpose of this study was to investigate the clinical characteristics of congenital LQTS patients with bigenic mutations in Taiwan, China. Methods Congenital LQTS patients were recruited consecutively at Taiwan University Hospital in Taiwan from 2003 to 2009. The diagnosis of LQTS was defined by an LQTS Schwartz score greater than 4. Mutation screening in KCNQ1, KCNH2, KCNE1, and SCN5A was performed using direct sequencing. Results Three of 16 LQTS patients (18.7%) were identified with bigenic mutations. One patient had missense mutations in KCNQ1 and KCNH2, the second in KCNQ1 and KCNE1, and the third in KCNH2 and SCN5A. The mean age at onset of LQTS for patients with bigenic mutations was (17±3) years, and all of these patients were female. Two of them experienced seizure and one presented with syncope, although one of them had a family history of syncope. The mean QTc interval was (515±17) ms, similar to those with single mutation or SNPs ((536±74) ms, P=0.63). Compared to those LQTS patients with single mutation or SNPs, a significantly higher percentage of LQTS patients with bigenic mutations presented with seizure and were younger at onset of the first index event (P=0.03 and 0.001, respectively), but lower percentage of them presented with sudden cardiac death (P=0.03). Conclusions Although the percentage of bigenic mutations in LQTS is less than 10% in Caucasian populations, we identified 3 of 16 LQTS patients (18.7%, 95% confidence interval: 0.04‐0.46) with bigenic mutations in Taiwan. However, the severity of their clinical presentations was not higher than those patients with single mutation or SNPs.
The crystal structure of XC1258 from Xanthomonas campestris: A putative procaryotic Nit protein with an arsenic adduct in the active site

The crystal structure of XC1258 from Xanthomonas campestris: A putative procaryotic Nit protein with an arsenic adduct in the active site Ko-Hsin Chin, Ying-Der Tsai, Nei-Li Chan, Kai-Fa Huang, Andrew H. -J. Wang, and Shan-Ho Chou* 1 National Chung Hsing University Biotechnology Center, National Chung-Hsing University, Taichung, 40227, Taiwan, Republic of China 2 Institute of Biochemistry, National Chung-Hsing University, Taichung, 40227, Taiwan, Republic of China 3 Core Facility for Protein Crystallography, Academia Sinica, Nankang, Taipei, Taiwan, Republic of China 4 Institute of Biological Chemistry, Academia Sinica, Nankang, Taipei, Taiwan, Republic of China
Auditors' perceptions on obliteration of mandatory annual audit: an empirical study

Fundamentally, an audit is important to several parties to obtain some management and financial information of a company. Indeed the issue of whether or not small companies should be audited has been addressed in many studies in the UK, Australia and some Asian countries such as Hong Kong and Singapore. On contrary, there is dearth of study pertaining to audit exemption of small companies in Malaysia. Thus a research been carried out to examine the perceptions of external auditors and their readiness for exemption of annual audit requirement of small companies in Malaysia, While contributing to the body of knowledge, the findings of this research could help the regulatory bodies to gauge the perceptions of auditors of small companies towards audit exemption. Future research direction been highlighted.