Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Liposome-based formulations for the antibiotic nonapeptide Leucinostatin A: Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy characterization and in vivo toxicologic study

Leucinostatin-A is a nonapeptide isolated fromPaecilomyces marquandii Paecilomyces lilacinus A257, andAcremonium sp. , exerting remarkable phytotoxic, antibacterial (especially against Gram-positive) and antimycotic activities. With the aim to find alternative formulation for in vivo administration, a number of Leucinostatin-A—loaded liposomal formulations have been prepared and characterized. Both large unilamellar vesicles and multilamellar vesicles consisting of synthetic and natural lipids were evaluated. In addition, to determine the nature of peptide-membrane interactions and the stability of liposomes loaded with Leucinostatin-A, a Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy study was performed. The results suggest that the mode of interaction of the peptide is dependent on its concentration, on bilayer fluidity, and on liposome type. Finally, the LD50 of both free and liposome-delivered Leucinostatin-A was determined in mice. These results suggest that the incorporation of Leucinostatin-A into liposomes may result in decreased Leucinostatin-A toxicity, as the intraperitoneal administration of Leucinostatin-A—loaded liposomes reduced the LD50 of Leucinostatin-A 15-fold.
Delay analysis of SWCNT bundle interconnect for different technology nodes

In this paper the delay occurring in SWCNT bundle interconnect is analysed based on process related parameters and it is also compared to copper wire. The circuit parameters are calculated to develop an equivalent RLC model for both SWCNT and copper considering the practical constraints. This model is used to calculate the delay for local, intermediate and global interconnects by varying the bundle density and contact resistance. The relative effect of circuit parameters is analysed for different technology nodes. This paper also points out the most important parameter affecting the performance. Similarly, the equivalent circuit model for copper interconnect is developed and the delay is determined. The comparison of copper and CNT interconnect shows that the delay for CNT can be up to 2 times more than copper in local length. The delay of CNT interconnects in 16nm, 22nm and 45nm is less than copper in intermediate range. For global interconnects, the SWCNT delay is 0.3–0.5 times less than the delay of copper wire.
Health status of pediatric refugees in Portland, ME.

BACKGROUND An understanding of the health conditions affecting pediatric refugees is essential to providing responsible health care for them when they arrive in the United States. OBJECTIVE To assess the health status of pediatric refugees in an area of increased refugee resettlement. DESIGN Retrospective medical records review. SETTING Ambulatory clinic at Maine Medical Center in Portland, a community and referral hospital. PATIENTS One hundred thirty-two refugees and immigrants aged 2 months through 18 years who had initial health care evaluations during 1994 and 1995. RESULTS Sixty-six patients arrived from Africa, 22 from the former Yugoslavia, and the remainder from the former Soviet Union, Middle Asia, Southeast Asia, and Latin America. The mean age of the patients was 10 years; 56 (42.4%) were female. The overall health status of most of the children was good, with most having appropriate weight and height for age. Dental caries and dermatologic conditions were the most prevalent findings on physical examination. Two patients had evidence of traumatic injuries. The results of tuberculin (Mantoux) tests were positive (> or =10 mm) in 45 (35.2%) of 128 children for whom results were noted, hepatitis B surface antigen was detected in 5 (4.0%) of 124 children, and hepatitis B surface antibody was detected in 26 (21.1%) of 123 children. Five (16.7%) of 30 children younger than 6 years had elevated blood lead levels; anemia was detected in 25 (19.7%) of 127 children with hematocrit results available. Stool specimens were obtained from 87 patients, of whom 38 (43.7%) had pathogenic parasites in at least 1 specimen. CONCLUSIONS Pediatric refugees arrive in the United States with a variety of conditions that may be unfamiliar to practitioners trained in this country. The results of this study support the screening of refugees from Africa and other regions for tuberculosis, stool parasites, and hepatitis B.
A randomised controlled trial of postal versus interviewer administration of a questionnaire measuring satisfaction with, and use of, services received in the year before death.

STUDY OBJECTIVES: To develop a short form of an interview schedule used successfully in previous national surveys of care for the dying, and to investigate the effect of administering it by post on response rate, response bias and on the nature of responses to questions. DESIGN: Randomised controlled trial. SETTING: An inner London health authority. PARTICIPANTS: Informants (person registering death) of random sample of cancer deaths between June 1995 and July 1996. MAIN RESULTS: The shortened questionnaire (VOICES) has 158 questions. Response rate did not differ significantly between postal and interview groups (interview; 56% (69 of 123), postal: 52% (161 of 308). Responders in the two groups did not differ in terms of their sociodemographic characteristics. Postal questionnaires had significantly more missing data, particularly on questions about service provision and satisfaction with services. Responses to questions differed between the groups on 11 of 158 questions. Interview group respondents were more likely to give top ranking responses to questions on service satisfaction and symptom control. CONCLUSIONS: Postal questionnaires are an acceptable alternative to interviews in retrospective post-bereavement surveys of care for the dying, at least in terms of response rate and response bias. However, the increased costs of interview surveys need to be balanced against the fact that postal questionnaires result in more missing data, and possibly less reliable answers to some questions. Caution is needed in combining results from the two data collection methods as interview respondents gave more positive answers to some questions.
The use of data mining for basketball matches outcomes prediction

Sport result prediction is nowadays very popular among fans around the world, which particularly contributed to the expansion of sports betting. This makes the problem of predicting the results of sporting events, a new and interesting challenge. Consequently systems dealing with this problem are developed every day. This paper presents one such system, which uses data mining techniques in order to predict the outcomes of basketball games in NBA (National Basketball Association) league. The problem of predicting the game result is formalized as a classification problem, where the Naive Bayes method is used. Besides actual result, for each game system calculates the spread, by using multivariate linear regression. The MVC Model 2 pattern based software system is implemented. The system was evaluated on the dataset comprising 778 games from the regular part of the 2009/2010 NBA season and it correctly predicted the winners of about 67% of matches.
Type I Interferon-Mediated Skewing of the Serotonin Synthesis Is Associated with Severe Disease in Systemic Lupus Erythematosus

Serotonin, a highly pro-inflammatory molecule released by activated platelets, is formed by tryptophan. Tryptophan is also needed in the production of kynurenine, a process mediated by the type I interferon (IFN)-regulated rate-limiting enzyme indoleamine 2,3-dioxygenase (IDO). The aim of this study was to investigate levels of serotonin in patients with the autoimmune disease systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE), association to clinical phenotype and possible involvement of IDO in regulation of serotonin synthesis. Serotonin levels were measured in serum and plasma from patients with SLE (n=148) and healthy volunteers (n=79) by liquid chromatography and ELISA, as well as intracellularly in platelets by flow cytometry. We found that SLE patients had decreased serotonin levels in serum (p=0.01) and platelets (p<0.0001) as compared to healthy individuals. SLE patients with ongoing type I IFN activity, as determined by an in-house reporter assay, had decreased serum levels of serotonin (p=0.0008) as well as increased IDO activity (p<0.0001), as determined by the kynurenine/tryptophan ratio measured by liquid chromatography. Furthermore, SLE sera induced IDO expression in WISH cells in a type I IFN-dependent manner (p=0.008). Also platelet activation contributed to reduce overall availability of serotonin levels in platelets and serum (p<0.05). Decreased serum serotonin levels were associated with severe SLE with presence of anti-dsDNA antibodies and nephritis. In all, reduced serum serotonin levels in SLE patients were related to severe disease phenotype, including nephritis, suggesting involvement of important immunopathological processes. Further, our data suggest that type I IFNs, present in SLE sera, are able to up-regulate IDO expression, which may lead to decreased serum serotonin levels.
A Study of Complex Deep Learning Networks on High Performance, Neuromorphic, and Quantum Computers

Current Deep Learning models use highly optimized convolutional neural networks (CNN) trained on large graphical processing units (GPU)-based computers with a fairly simple layered network topology, i.e., highly connected layers, without intra-layer connections. Complex topologies have been proposed, but are intractable to train on current systems. Building the topologies of the deep learning network requires hand tuning, and implementing the network in hardware is expensive in both cost and power.In this paper, we evaluate deep learning models using three different computing architectures to address these problems: quantum computing to train complex topologies, high performance computing (HPC) to automatically determine network topology, and neuromorphic computing for a low-power hardware implementation. Due to input size limitations of current quantum computers we use the MNIST dataset for our evaluation.The results show the possibility of using the three architectures in tandem to explore complex deep learning networks that are untrainable using a von Neumann architecture. We show that a quantum computer can find high quality values of intra-layer connections and weights, while yielding a tractable time result as the complexity of the network increases; a high performance computer can find optimal layer-based topologies; and a neuromorphic computer can represent the complex topology and weights derived from the other architectures in low power memristive hardware.This represents a new capability that is not feasible with current von Neumann architecture. It potentially enables the ability to solve very complicated problems unsolvable with current computing technologies.
Is the risk management committee only a procedural compliance

Purpose - The purpose of this paper is to identify the relationships between risk management committee characteristics and risk taking of the Malaysia's insurance companies, from 2003-2011. The paper aims to examine three identified characteristics of a risk management committee, namely, size, independence, and number of meetings. Design/methodology/approach - The sample comprises 329 observations throughout the nine years' time frame until 2011. Pearson's correlation, pooled ordinary least squares regression, and panel regression model are used in this study. Sensitivity testing with an alternative measure of underwriting risk is also performed. Findings - Out of the three characteristics, size and committee independence appear to be negatively associated with underwriting risk. Meanwhile, the frequency of risk management committee meetings is insignificant in this study. Research limitations/implications - The sample of this study is limited to the Malaysia's insurance sector only. Originality/value - A risk management committee is an influencing force for risk oversight and the internal control system. The empirical evidence enriches the understanding of corporate governance in the context of the role of a risk management committee.
Variability management in software product lines: a systematic review

Variability Management (VM) in Software Product Line (SPL) is a key activity that usually affects the degree to which a SPL is successful. SPL community has spent huge amount of resources on developing various approaches to dealing with variability related challenges over the last decade. To provide an overview of different aspects of the proposed VM approaches, we carried out a systematic literature review of the papers reporting VM in SPL. This paper presents and discusses the findings from this systematic literature review. The results reveal the chronological backgrounds of various approaches over the history of VM research, and summarize the key issues that drove the evolution of different approaches. This study has also identified several gaps that need to be filled by future efforts in this line of research.
The growing importance of risk in financial regulation

This paper traces the developments that have contributed to the importance of risk in regulation. Not only does it consider theories associated with risk, it also discusses explanations as to why risk has become so important within regulatory and governmental circles. Two forms of risk regulation, namely risk based regulation and meta regulation are considered. As well as considering the application of both in jurisdictions such as the UK, the paper places greater focus in discussing the importance of meta regulation in jurisdictions such as Germany, Italy and the US. The preference for meta regulation is based on the premises, not only of the advantages considered in this paper but also on the application of Basel II in several jurisdictions. Whilst meta regulation also has its disadvantages, the impact of risk based regulation on the use of external auditors plays a part in the preference for meta regulation.
Managing Credit Risk: The Great Challenge for the Global Financial Markets

About the Authors. Introduction. Chapter 1. Credit Risk: The Great Challenge For The Global Economy. Chapter 2. Credit Culture. Chapter 3. Classic Industry Players: Banks, Savings Institutions, Insurance: Companies, Finance Companies, and Special Purpose Entities. Chapter 4. The Portfolio Managers: Investment Managers, Mutual Funds, Pension Funds, and Hedge Funds. Chapter 5. Structural Hubs Clearinghouses, Derivative Product Companies, and Exchanges. Chapter 6. The Rating Agencies. Chapter 7. Classic Credit Analysis. Chapter 8. Asset-Based Lending and Lease Finance. Chapter 9. Introduction to Credit Risk Models. Chapter 10. Credit Risk Models Based upon Accounting Data and Market Values. Chapter 11. Corporate Credit Risk Models Based on Stock Price. Chapter 12. Consumer Finance Models. Chapter 13. Credit Models for Small Business, Real Estate, and Financial Institutions. Chapter 14. Testing and Implementation of Credit Risk Models. Chapter 15. About Corporate Default Rates. Chapter 16. Default Recovery Rates and LGD in Credit Risk Modeling and Practice. Chapter 17. Credit Risk Migration. Chapter 18. Introduction to Portfolio Approaches. Chapter 19. Economic Capital and Capital Allocation. Chapter 20. Application of Portfolio Approaches. Chapter 21. Credit Derivatives. Chapter 22. Counterparty Risk. Chapter 23. Country Risk Models. Chapter 24. Structured Finance. Chapter 25. New Markets, New Players, New Ways to Play. Chapter 26. Market Chaos and a Reversion to the Mean: The Rediscovery of Culture as a Critical Risk Management Tool. Notes. Appendix. Index.
Does Report of Craving Opioid Medication Predict Aberrant Drug Behavior Among Chronic Pain Patients?

ObjectiveTo examine the relationship between the self-report of craving prescription medication and subsequent opioid misuse among chronic pain patients prescribed opioids for pain. MethodsSix hundred thirteen patients taking opioid medication for chronic noncancer pain were asked how often they have felt a craving for their medication on a scale from 0=never to 4=very often. All participants completed a series of baseline questionnaires. After 6 months the participants were administered a structured prescription drug use interview (Prescription Drug Use Questionnaire), and submitted a urine sample for toxicology assessment. Their treating physicians also completed a substance misuse behavior checklist (Prescription Opioid Therapy Questionnaire). ResultsThree hundred thirty-seven participants (55.0%) reported that they never felt a craving for their medication, whereas 276 (45.0%) reported some degree of craving their medication (seldom to very often). Those who reported craving their medication were significantly more often male (P<0.01), unmarried (P<0.05), had lower scores on social desirability (P<0.001), and had been prescribed opioids for a longer time (P<0.05) than those who did not report craving medication. At 6-month follow-up, those who reported craving their medication showed higher scores on the Prescription Drug Use Questionnaire (P<0.001), had a higher incidence of physician-rated aberrant drug behavior on the Prescription Opioid Therapy Questionnaire (P<0.05), showed a higher frequency of abnormal urine toxicology screens (P<0.001), and more often had a positive Aberrant Drug Behavior Index (P<0.001). DiscussionThese results suggest that self-reported craving is a potential marker for identification of those at risk for opioid medication misuse.
Interferometric Astrometry of Proxima Centauri and Barnard's Star Using HUBBLE SPACE TELESCOPE Fine Guidance Sensor 3: Detection Limits for Substellar Companions

We report on a substellar-companion search utilizing interferometric fringe-tracking astrometry acquired with Fine Guidance Sensor 3 on the Hubble Space Telescope. Our targets were Proxima Centauri and Barnard's star. We obtain absolute parallax values of πabs = 0. ″7687 ± 0. ″0003 for Proxima Cen and πabs = 0. ″5454 ± 0. ″0003 for Barnard's star. Once low-amplitude instrumental systematic errors are identified and removed, our companion detection sensitivity is less than or equal to one Jupiter mass for periods longer than 60 days for Proxima Cen. Between the astrometry and the recent radial velocity results of Kürster et al., we exclude all companions with M > 0.8MJup for the range of periods 1 day < P < 1000 days. For Barnard's star, our companion detection sensitivity is less than or equal to one Jupiter mass for periods longer than 150 days. Our null results for Barnard's star are consistent with those reported by Gatewood in 1995.
Characterization of constricted fruit (ctf) Mutant Uncovers a Role for AtMYB117/LOF1 in Ovule and Fruit Development in Arabidopsis thaliana

Pistil and fruit morphogenesis is the result of a complex gene network that is not yet fully understood. A search for novel genes is needed to make a more comprehensive model of pistil and fruit development. Screening for mutants with alterations in fruit morphology generated by an activation tagging strategy resulted in the isolation of the ctf (constricted fruit) mutant. It is characterized by a) small and wrinkled fruits, with an enlarged replum, an amorphous structure of the septum and an irregular distribution of ovules and seeds; b) ectopic carpelloid structures in sepals bearing ovule-like structures and c) dwarf plants with curled rosette leaves. The overexpressed gene in ctf was AtMYB117, also named LOF1 (LATERAL ORGAN FUSION1). AtMYB117/LOF1 transcripts were localized in boundary regions of the vegetative shoot apical meristem and leaf primordia and in a group of cells in the adaxial base of petioles and bracts. Transcripts were also detected in the boundaries between each of the four floral whorls and during pistil development in the inner of the medial ridges, the placenta, the base of the ovule primordia, the epidermis of the developing septum and the outer cell layers of the ovule funiculi. Analysis of changes of expression of pistil-related genes in the ctf mutant showed an enhancement of SHATTERPROOF1 (SHP1) and SHP2 expression. All these results suggest that AtMYB117/LOF1 is recruited by a variety of developmental programs for the establishment of boundary regions, including the development of floral organs and the initiation of ovule outgrowth.
An Optimisation Model for Airport Taxi Scheduling

Centre for Mathematics and Computer Science (CWI), Amsterdam, TheNetherlandsAbstractIn this paper we present an optimisation model for airport taxi scheduling. Weintroduce a mixed-integer programming formulation to represent the movement ofaircraft on the surface of the airport. In the optimal schedule delays due to taxiconﬂicts are minimised. We discuss implementation issues for solving this optimi-sation problem. Numerical results with real data of Amsterdam Airport Schipholdemonstrate that the algorithms lead to signiﬁcant improvements of the eﬃciencywith reasonable computational eﬀort. Key words: Aircraft taxi scheduling, mixed-integer programming, heuristic. The authors would like to thank the two anonymous referees for their usefullcomments and suggestions.Email address: smeltink@nlr.nl (J.W. Smeltink). Preprint submitted to Elsevier Science 11 June 2004
Constructing integrated software development environments with dependency graphs

A new approach to building Integrated Software Development Environments (ISDEs) is described. Graphbased representations of software system data, and multiple views of this data, are kept consistent by having graph components respond to descriptions of changes made to related graph components. This technique supports integrated, bi-directionally consistent graphical (interactively-edited) and textual (freeedited) views of software development, a generic undo/redo facility, incremental attribute recalculation, and version control and collaborative software development facilities. An object-oriented framework is specialised to construct new environments, and experience using this framework to build several ISDEs is discussed.
A Comparison of Parametric Approximation Techniques to Continuous-Time Stochastic Dynamic Programming Problems

We compare three parametric techniques to approximate Hamilton-Jacobi-Bellman equations via unidimensional and multidimensional problems. The linear programming technique is very efficient for unidimensional problems and offers a balance of speed and accuracy for multidimensional problems. A comparable projection technique is shown to be slow, but has stable accuracy, whereas a perturbation technique has the least accuracy although its speed suffers least from the curse of dimensionality. The linear programming technique is also shown to be suitable for problems in resource management, including applications to biosecurity and marine reserve design.
Working With Patients Living With Obesity in the Intensive Care Unit

Increasing numbers of patients living with obesity (PLWO) are admitted to the intensive care unit (ICU). The goal of this qualitative study was to examine the experiences of ICU nurses who work with PLWO using the Othering framework developed by Canales in 2010. The first theme describes how PLWO become “Others” in the ICU. The second theme focuses on exclusionary Othering and how it manifests itself in the way PLWO are cared for and viewed. The third theme sheds light on inclusionary Othering in the form of strategies that are used by nurses to engage with PLWO. The last theme takes a closer look at the ICU environment and how resources impact the experiences of nurses working with PLWO.