Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Innate Immunity Mediated by the Cytokine IL-1 Homologue 4 (IL-1H4/IL-1F7) Induces IL-12-Dependent Adaptive and Profound Antitumor Immunity1

Recently, several novel members of the IL-1 family have been identified. The possible therapeutic utility and the underlying biologic role of these new members remain unclear. In the present study we analyzed the anti-tumor activity of human IL-1 homologue 4(IL-1H4; renamed IL-F7) by adenovirus-mediated gene transfer (AdIL-1H4) directly into murine tumors. In vitro expression analysis showed that IL-1H4 was a secretory protein. Treatment of an established MCA205 mouse fibrosarcoma by single intratumoral injection of AdIL-1H4 resulted in significant growth suppression. Furthermore, complete inhibition of tumor growth was observed following multiple injections of AdIL-1H4. The anti-tumor activity of IL-1H4 was abrogated in nude and SCID mice and in IL-12-, IFN-γ-, or Fas ligand-deficient mice. In contrast, IL-1H4 was able to confer substantial anti-tumor effects in NKT-deficient mice. These results suggest that IL-1H4 could play an important role in the link between innate and adaptive immunity and may be useful for tumor immunotherapy.
Asian Patients with Stroke plus Atrial Fibrillation and the Dose of Non-Vitamin K Oral Anticoagulants

After recent randomized control trials (RCTs), non-vitamin K oral anticoagulants (NAOAs) are now widely being used in patients with atrial fibrillation (AF) worldwide. However, current guidelines for the use of NOACs in patients with AF are derived mostly using a Caucasian population and non-stroke patients. Relatively few Asian patients with AF and stroke are included in the recent RCTs. As a result, the optimal use of NOACs in this particular group of patients is remains to be settled. The optimal dose of NOACs and response to current dose of NOACs of Asian patients with AF and stroke may differ from those of westerners and patients without stroke. We reviewed available research on NOACs by searching PubMed and ClinicalTrials.gov published in English up to December 2015. In this review, the characteristics of Asian AF patients with prior stroke/transient ischemic attack, which might influence the efficacy and safety profiles of NOACs, are discussed. In addition, we summarize the risk factors for bleeding complications on NOACs, which are related or unrelated with the blood level of NOACs. Lastly, we provide recent data of reduced dose of NOACs from RCTs or large cohorts. The results reviewed herein call for clinical trials to test whether a reduced dose of NOACs is beneficial in Asian patients with AF and stroke. In the meantime, further researches are needed to establish the safety and efficacy of dose-adjusted NOACs considering both blood levels of NOACs and fragility of patients in Asian patients with AF and stroke.
Association of glutamine 27 polymorphism of β2 adrenoceptor with reported childhood asthma: population based study

The prevalence of asthma in children has doubled over the past 25 years.1 Two common polymorphisms exist in the β adrenoceptor at amino acids 16 (glycine for arginine) and 27 (glutamic acid for glutamine). Both are functionally relevant in cultured cells, with the glycine 16 form of the receptor showing enhanced downregulation and the glutamic acid 27 form showing attenuated downregulation after exposure to β agonists.2 The glutamine 27 polymorphism is associated with raised IgE concentrations in families with a history of asthma, and with increased reactivity of the airways in people with asthma. 3 4 We measured the prevalence of these polymorphisms in a random population of children to identify their importance in the expression of reported asthma. We approached children between the ages of 5 and 15 years (mean 10.5 years) and an accompanying parent who were attending the accident and …
OpenTuner: An extensible framework for program autotuning

Program autotuning has been shown to achieve better or more portable performance in a number of domains. However, autotuners themselves are rarely portable between projects, for a number of reasons: using a domain-informed search space representation is critical to achieving good results; search spaces can be intractably large and require advanced machine learning techniques; and the landscape of search spaces can vary greatly between different problems, sometimes requiring domain specific search techniques to explore efficiently. This paper introduces OpenTuner, a new open source framework for building domain-specific multi-objective program autotuners. OpenTuner supports fully-customizable configuration representations, an extensible technique representation to allow for domain-specific techniques, and an easy to use interface for communicating with the program to be autotuned. A key capability inside OpenTuner is the use of ensembles of disparate search techniques simultaneously; techniques that perform well will dynamically be allocated a larger proportion of tests. We demonstrate the efficacy and generality of OpenTuner by building autotuners for 7 distinct projects and 16 total benchmarks, showing speedups over prior techniques of these projects of up to 2. 8χ with little programmer effort.
The effects of formal mentoring on employee work motivation, organizational commitment and job performance

Examines the effects of a two‐year formal mentoring programme in a medium‐sized manufacturing company on the work motivation, organizational commitment and job performance of mentees. Single measures were obtained, for each mentor‐mentee pair, at the completion of the programme, from the 39 mentors and 39 mentees who remained. These measures included the pairs’ interaction opportunities; and the closeness of their relationship. At the same time, measures were obtained from mentees of their work motivation and organizational commitment. The performance of each mentee was given by ratings from their superiors. Significant relations were found between interaction opportunities and both motivation and commitment, and between relationship closeness and both these attitudes. Finds that the relations between the two mentoring variables and performance were both non‐significant. The results suggest that formal mentoring can improve employee attitudes without necessarily raising their performance, at least in the short term.
Katrina and the Schools of Mississippi: An Examination of Emergency and Disaster Preparedness

Faculty members from the University of Southern Mississippi conducted extensive research into emergency planning and disaster preparedness in P–12 schools in Mississippi before and after Hurricane Katrina. Findings disclosed that although few schools had no crisis management plans, a significant number that had emergency plans did not include provisions for large-scale disasters. Many schools had outdated plans. Respondents rated the effectiveness of crisis management plans in relation to Hurricane Katrina. The most highly rated features included the roles played by school leaders, the effectiveness of the administrative “chain of command,” and interpreting the storm's impact to the media. The most frequently cited areas of inadequacy included communication channels for administration, staff, and parents; dealing with electrical, fuel, and other energy needs; and the inability to operate independently for a sustained period of time in the wake of the storm. Study participants made policy and action recommendations to strengthen emergency planning and disaster preparation that were analyzed and reported by the researchers.
Broken Railway Fastener Detection Based on Adaboost Algorithm

The detection of broken railway fastener is important to ensure the safety of the railway transport. This paper proposes an efficient method to detect and recognize the broken fastener with complex ballast railway images. Firstly, a from-coarse-to-fine strategy according to the sleeper region’s gray and gradient characteristics is used to position the fastener, then the Haar-like feature set according to the fastener’s geometrical characteristics is introduced. Finally, the fastener state is recognized by the AdaBoost-based algorithm. The method can detect fastener effectively and automatically with high positioning and recognizing accuracy and need not manual intervention. The experiment showed that the detection rate is satisfactory.
Intrinsic motivation for an international assignment

Purpose - This study aims to explore how the motivational construct of intrinsic motivation for an international assignment relates to variables of interest in international expatriation research. Design/methodology/approach - Questionnaire data from 331 employed business school alumni of a high-ranking Canadian MBA program was analyzed. The sample consisted of respondents from a wide variety of industries and occupations, with more than half of them in marketing, administration or engineering. Findings - Higher intrinsic motivation for an international assignment was associated with greater willingness to accept an international assignment and to communicate in a foreign language. Externally driven motivation for an international assignment was associated with perceiving more difficulties associated with an international assignment. Intrinsic and extrinsic motivations for an international assignment were, however, associated with comparable reactions to organizational support. Originality/value - Drawing from self-determination theory, this study explores the distinction between authentic versus externally controlled motivations for an international assignment. It underscores the need to pay more attention to motivational constructs in selecting, coaching, and training individuals for international expatriation assignments. It extends a rich tradition of research in the area of motivation to the international assignment arena.
Differential Stimulation of Inositol Phospholipid Turnover in Brain by Analogs of Oxotremorine

Abstract: Structural analogs of oxotremorine have been employed to examine the relationship between the binding of agonists to muscarinic receptors in guinea pig cerebral cortex and the enhancement of inositol lipid turnover. Large differences were observed in the ability of the analogs to stimulate inositol phospholipid turnover, as measured both by the increase in labeling of phosphatidate and phosphatidylinositol from 32Pi in a nerve‐ending fraction, and by the stimulated release of labeled inositol phosphates from slices of cerebral cortex, a direct measure of inositol lipid breakdown. The quaternary N+ analogs, oxotremorine‐M and its N‐methylacetamide derivative, were five to thirteen times as effective as oxotremorine. In contrast, methyl substitution of the pyrrolidone ring of oxotremorine resulted in a complete loss of agonist activity. Receptor occupancy data obtained from the displacement of labeled quinuclidinyl benzilate bound to receptors in a nerve‐ending fraction indicated that the more efficacious agonists interacted with at least two affinity forms of the muscarinic receptor, whereas the less effective agonists bound to a single affinity form. Dose‐response curves obtained in the presence of oxotremorine‐M for inositol lipid turnover in both the nerve‐ending fraction and slice preparation correlated with the occupancy of a single low‐affinity form of the muscarinic receptor. The results suggest that the differential abilities of analogs of oxotremorine to enhance inositol lipid turnover in brain are closely related to the extent of agonist‐induced conformational change in the muscarinic receptor.
The role of human resource development in successful small to mid-sized manufacturing businesses: A comparative case study

Although a great deal of attention is being given to human resource development in the Fortune 500 companies, little is known about the extent and function of HRD in small to mid-sized firms. This article delineates the role of human resource development in three successful manufacturing firms with fewer than two hundred employees. The research was based on a qualitative comparative case study. Three successful small to mid-sized manufacturing companies were selected. The within-case analysis revealed that each conducts a considerable amount of HRD, both formal and informal. The cross-case analysis revealed that HRD supports the unique market niche of the company through knowledge, skill, and attitude development; integrates employees into the company's work practices; and enhances the quality of work life. Two conclusions were drawn from the findings. First, small to mid-sized manufacturing companies do engage in both formal and informal HRD activities. Second, these HRD activities have a direct effect on the success of these businesses.
Feline reference intervals for the Sysmex XT-2000iV and the ProCyte DX haematology analysers in EDTA and CTAD blood specimens

Laser-based haematology analysers are routinely used in veterinary clinical pathology laboratories, and are available to practitioners. However, feline haematological reference intervals (RIs) determined according to international recommendations are, to our knowledge, not available. Furthermore, platelet count RI is difficult to establish in cats because of the frequent occurrence of platelet aggregation in blood specimens. The purpose of this study was to establish feline haematological RIs with the Sysmex XT-2000iV and ProCyte DX analysers, in ethylenediamine tetra-acetic acid (EDTA) and in citrate, theophylline, adenosine and dipyridamole (CTAD), which is a combination of anticoagulants limiting platelet aggregation. Blood specimens from 120 healthy cats were analysed in duplicate, and the degree of platelet aggregation was assessed on blood smears. After exclusion of inadequate specimens, 81 sets of results (from 44 males and 37 females, aged from 6 to 116 months) were available for the determination of RIs by the non-parametric method. The effects of the anticoagulant, analyser and aggregation score were assessed. When the aggregation effect was significant, the RIs were determined using the subgroup of blood specimens with no or little aggregation. The effects of sex, age and weight were also investigated, but were moderate. The different RIs obtained with the Sysmex XT-2000iV and ProCyte DX analysers, and the two anticoagulants, were very similar to previous RIs established in EDTA with the ADVIA 120, another laser-based analyser, except for the platelet count in CTAD specimens. Its lower reference limit was higher in CTAD vs EDTA specimens, which confirms the interest in this anticoagulant in cats.
Verification of Forbidden Behavior in EPCs

Event-driven process chains (EPCs) are frequently used as a modeling language for the representation of business processes. As such, business analysts are familiar with using EPC models in the context of business process management. Up to now, there is no verification technique available that allows business analysts to express forbidden behavior in an intuitive manner. In this paper, we discuss the specification of such forbidden behavior with the aid of EPCs and demonstrate the verification of this behavior against models of the desired behavior, also formulated as EPC diagrams. For this purpose, a novel approach to join EPC models and to interpret the result is discussed. It is based on a transformation of both EPC models to Module nets, a specific kind of Petri nets, and the application of verification methods already defined for this net class. The findings are illustrated with a running example that picks up an EPC process model from the SAP reference model.
Characterization of a Vacuolar Pyrophosphatase inTrypanosoma brucei and Its Localization to Acidocalcisomes

ABSTRACT Inorganic pyrophosphate promoted the acidification of an intracellular compartment in permeabilized procyclic trypomastigotes ofTrypanosoma brucei, as measured by acridine orange uptake. The proton gradient generated by pyrophosphate was collapsed by addition of nigericin or NH4Cl. Pyrophosphate-driven proton translocation was stimulated by potassium ions and inhibited by KF, by the pyrophosphate analogs imidodiphosphate and aminomethylenediphosphonate (AMDP), and by the thiol reagentp-hydroxymercuribenzoate at concentrations similar to those that inhibit the plant vacuolar H+-pyrophosphatase (PPase). The proton translocation activity had a pH optimum around 7.5 and was partially inhibited by 7-chloro-4-nitrobenz-2-oxa-1,3-diazole (10 μM) and unaffected by bafilomycin A1 (40 nM), concanamycin A (5 nM), sodium o-vanadate (500 μM), oligomycin (1 μM),N-ethylmaleimide (100 μM), and KNO3. AMDP-sensitive pyrophosphate hydrolysis was detected in both procyclic and bloodstream trypomastigotes. Measurements of acridine orange uptake in permeabilized procyclic trypomastigotes in the presence of different substrates and inhibitors suggested the presence of H+-ATPase, H+-PPase, and (ADP-dependent) H+/Na+ antiport activity in the same compartment. Separation of bloodstream and procyclic trypomastigote extracts on Percoll gradients yielded fractions that contained H+-PPase (both stages) and H+/Na+exchanger (procyclics) activities but lacked markers for mitochondria, glycosomes, and lysosomes. The organelles in these fractions were identified by electron microscopy and X-ray microanalysis as acidocalcisomes (electron-dense vacuoles). These results provide further evidence for the unique nature of acidocalcisomes in comparison with other, previously described, organelles.
QSAR Analyses of Skin Penetration Enhancers

QSAR models for four skin penetration enhancer data sets of 61, 44, 42, and 17 compounds were constructed using classic QSAR descriptors and 4D-fingerprints. Three data sets involved skin penetration enhancement of hydrocortisone and hydrocortisone acetate. The other data set involved skin penetration enhancement of fluorouracil. The measure of penetration enhancement is the ratio of the net permeation of the penetrant with and without a common fixed concentration of enhancer. Significant QSAR models could be built using multidimensional linear regression fitting and genetic function model optimization for all four data sets when both classic and 4D-fingerprint descriptors were used in the trial descriptor pool. Reasonable QSAR models could be built when only 4D-fingerprint descriptors were employed, and no significant QSAR models could be built using only classic descriptors for two of the four data sets. Comparison analyses of the descriptor terms, and their respective regression coefficients, across the pairs of the best QSAR models of the four skin penetration enhancer data sets did not reveal any significant extent of similar terms. Overall, the QSAR models for the penetration-enhancer systems appear meaningfully different from one another, suggesting that there are distinct mechanisms of skin penetration enhancement that depend on the chemistry of both the enhancer and the penetrant.
Who receives substance abuse treatment in the ‘real world’ of the prison? A register-based study of Finnish inmates

Assessing and targeting substance abuse-related treatment needs according to evidence-based practice has become the norm in most prison administrations. Not everyone with a need will, however, receive support in practical settings. Drawing on Finnish prison registers, we show that of all prisoners released in 2011, 60% were assessed as having a need for substance abuse-related support. Of these, 22% received an intervention in prison. Two multivariate models were used to examine the factors related to selection into interventions. The main factors associated with receiving an intervention with evidence-based programmes were a longer sentence, Finnish nationality, younger age and treatment motivation. The predictors for any substance abuse interventions (including non-evidence-based) were the same, with the exception that motivation was no longer a significant predictor, and female gender remained significant. The selective use of motivation as an entrance criterion for interventions can be a means of systemic adaptation to a combination of a high prevalence of substance abuse problems and a lower prevalence of treatment motivation in the prison population. We discuss how our results might reflect a Scandinavian way of doing evidence-based, prison-based drug treatment—one that stresses rehabilitation as a goal in itself in addition to reducing recidivism. Most prisoners, however, do not receive any intervention at all.
The requirements for rumen-degradable protein per unit of fermentable organic matter differ between fibrous feed sources

Ruminant feed evaluation systems use constant minimum requirements of rumen-degradable protein (RDP) and often relate this to apparently degradable organic matter (OM). However, studies with tropical forages indicate that RDP: apparently degraded OM might not be constant across high-fiber diets. This was tested with semi-continuous ruminal cultures (Rusitec) using dried contrasting low-protein fiber sources: brachiaria hay (high in fiber, medium lignified), apple pomace (medium in fiber, highly lignified), and sugar beet pulp (medium in fiber and lignification). Each feed was incubated at 14 g dry matter day−1 with 0, 0.85, 1.7, 3.4, 6.8, 13.6, or 27.2 mg g−1 urea. The amount of urea needed to reach a similar basal concentration of ammonia in the incubation fluid was tested for each feed in advance. Apparent fiber and OM degradability were determined after 48 h of incubation. Data was evaluated by regressions and analysis of variance. The response curve of incubation fluid ammonia to urea supplementation was similar in slope in all feeds. Plateaus in apparent OM degradability in relation to ammonia concentration were determined. The ammonia concentration where apparent OM and fiber degradability reached 95% of maximum was approached in the order of pomace < pulp < hay. With regard to fiber degradability, a plateau was reached at ≥ 80 g kg−1 crude protein only with hay and pomace, whilst a linear relationship existed between RDP and OM degradation for pulp. In hay the ratio RDP: OM degraded was equal to 1.6 but was only 1.0 in the other feeds. There was no obvious lack of branched short-chain fatty acids at low RDP. Thus, the hypothesis was confirmed but the demand for RDP seems even higher in tropical forage compared to food industrial byproducts. The efficiency of urea to promote apparent OM and fiber degradation was also variable. Thus, it seems that minimum thresholds of either RDP or ruminal ammonia concentration may not be reflected appropriately by constants.