Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Synchronous, metachronous, and multiple hepatic resections of liver tumors originating from primary gastric tumors.

BACKGROUND The role of hepatic resection for noncolorectal gastrointestinal malignancies involving the liver is not well defined. To address this issue we studied our experience with resection of liver tumors arising from primary gastric malignancies. METHODS A retrospective study of 195 patients who underwent a total of 207 liver resections identified 12 patients with primary gastric cancer who underwent 16 resections for liver involvement. There were 10 adenocarcinomas and two leiomyosarcomas. We examined the type of hepatic surgery, the status of residual disease, and the primary histologic findings. Morbidity, mortality, and actual survival rates were recorded. RESULTS Thirty-day operative mortality was 8.3% (1 of 12). Hospital mortality was 25% (3 of 12). Operative morbidity occurred in three of nine survivors (33%). Synchronous en bloc resection (n = 3) of stomach and liver for adenocarcinoma produced two long-term survivors (no evidence of disease for 10 and 13 years). Mean survival after synchronous discontinuous resection (n = 4) was 8 months (range, 2 to 17 months). Metachronous resection for adenocarcinoma (n = 3) produced one long-term survivor (74 months), and one patient with recurrent leiomyosarcoma underwent a total of five liver resections and survived 64 months. CONCLUSIONS For adenocarcinoma, en bloc resection of contiguous liver involvement produced long-term survivors. Synchronous resection of discontinuous metastases did not. Metachronous resection of isolated disease and multiple resections of recurrent isolated disease may have value in carefully selected patients.
Effects of Photodegradation on the Physical and Antioxidant Properties of Melanosomes Isolated from Retinal Pigment Epithelium

Abstract Melanosomes of the retinal pigment epithelium (RPE) are relatively long-lived organelles that are theoretically susceptible to changes induced by exposure to visible light. Here melanosomes were isolated from porcine RPE cells and subjected to high intensity visible light to determine the effects of illumination on melanosome structure and on the content and antioxidant properties of melanin. As compared to untreated melanosomes, illuminated granules showed morphologic changes consistent with photodegradation, which included variable reductions in electron density demonstrated by transmission electron microscopy (TEM), and particle fragmentation and surface disruption revealed by scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and atomic force microscopy. Illuminated melanosomes had lower melanin content, indicated by measures of absorbance and electron spin resonance (ESR) signal intensity, and reduced ability to bind iron, shown by chemical and ESR analyses. Compared to untreated melanosomes, ESR–spin trapping analyses further indicated that illuminated melanosomes show increased photogeneration of superoxide anion and reduced ability to inhibit the iron ion–catalyzed free radical decomposition of hydrogen peroxide. It appears therefore that visible light irradiation can disrupt the structure of RPE melanosomes and reduce the amount and antioxidant properties of melanin. Some of these changes occur in human RPE melanosomes with aging and the results obtained here suggest that visible light irradiation is at least partly responsible. The consequence of light-induced changes in RPE melanosomes may be a diminished capacity of melanin to help protect aged cells from oxidative damage, perhaps increasing the risk of diseases with an oxidative stress component such as age-related macular degeneration.
An observational 71-year history of seasonally frozen ground changes in the Eurasian high latitudes

In recent decades, significant changes have occurred in high-latitude areas, particularly to the cryosphere. Sea ice extent and thickness have declined. In land areas, glaciers and ice sheets are experiencing negative mass balance changes, and there is substantial regional snow cover variability. Subsurface changes are also occurring in northern soils. This study focuses on these changes in the soil thermal regime, specifically the seasonally frozen ground region of Eurasia. We use a database of soil temperatures at 423 stations and estimate the maximum annual soil freezing depth at the 387 sites located on seasonally frozen ground. Evaluating seasonal freeze depth at these sites for 1930–2000 reveals a statistically significant trend of −4.5 cm/decade and a net change of −31.9 cm. Interdecadal variability is also evident such that there was no trend until the late 1960s, after which seasonal freeze depths decreased significantly until the early 1990s. From that point forward, likely through at least 2008, no change is evident. These changes in the soil thermal regime are most closely linked with the freezing index, but also mean annual air temperatures and snow depth. Antecedent conditions from the previous warm season do not appear to play a large role in affecting the subsequent cold season’s seasonal freeze depths. The strong decrease in seasonal freeze depths during the 1970s to 1990s was likely the result of strong atmospheric forcing from the North Atlantic Oscillation during that time period.
Transmission capacity of device-to-device communication under heterogeneous networks with cellular users assisted

This paper analyzes the transmission capacity of D2D (Device-to-Device) network in cellular and D2D heterogeneous networks(HetNets) with cellular users (CeUEs) assisted. The D2D network capacity can be enhanced by allocating a part of CeUE transmission power to assist D2D communication. By utilizing stochastic geometry, we first model the HetNets by homogeneous Poisson point process (HPPP). Secondly, we get the existence probability and the link distance expectation of the assisted CeUE. Thirdly, we analyze the scenario that the CeUE assists D2D communication and then obtain the successful transmission probabilities of the system. So we get the D2D network capacity and the system constraints. With the help of convex optimization, we deduce the optimal D2D density and the maximum D2D network capacity when the assisted CeUE power allocation coefficient is fixed. Then we proposed an algorithm to search the optimal D2D network capacity. At last, the simulation results demonstrate the optimal D2D network capacity and the optimal D2D density are impacted by the other system parameters as well as the interference of the HetNets.
Automated Analysis of Intratidal Dynamics of Alveolar Geometry From Microscopic Endoscopy

Alveolar parenchyma, the gas exchange area of the respiratory system, is prone to mechanical damage during mechanical ventilation. Development of lung protective ventilation strategies therefore requires a better understanding of alveolar dynamics during mechanical ventilation. In this paper, we propose a novel method for automated analysis of the intratidal geometry of subpleural alveoli based on the evaluation of video frames recorded from alveolar microscopy in an experimental setting. Our method includes the recording with a microscopic endoscope, feature extraction from image data, the analysis of a single frame, the tracking and analysis of single alveoli in a video sequence, and the evaluation of the obtained sequence of alveolar geometry data. Our method enables automated analysis of 2-D alveolar geometry with sufficient temporal resolution to follow intratidal dynamics. The developed method and the reproducibility of the results were successfully validated with manually segmented video frames.
Immunogenicity of a DNA prime and recombinant adenovirus boost regime significantly varies between rhesus macaques of Chinese and Indian origins

Background Due to an ever increasing shortage of rhesus macaques of Indian origin (InR) that have been generally used for preclinical AIDS vaccine trials in non‐human primates, demand is rising for Chinese rhesus macaques (ChR). However, the immunogenicity of an AIDS vaccine candidate has not been compared in parallel in both rhesus macaque subspecies.
Atypical enteropathogenic Escherichia coli as aetiologic agents of sporadic and outbreak-associated diarrhoea in Brazil.

Enteropathogenic Escherichia coli (EPEC) are important agents of diarrhoea in industrialized as well as developing countries, such as Brazil. The hallmark of EPEC pathogenesis is the establishment of attaching and effacing lesions in enterocytes, in which pedestal-like structures are formed underneath adherent bacteria. EPEC are divided into two subgroups, typical (tEPEC) and atypical (aEPEC), based on the presence of the EPEC adherence factor plasmid in tEPEC and its absence in aEPEC. This study was designed to characterize 82 aEPEC isolates obtained from stool samples of diarrhoeic patients during 2012 and 2013 in Brazil. The majority of the aEPEC were assigned to the phylo-group B1 (48.8 %), and intimin subtypes θ (20.7 %), β1 (9.7 %) and λ (9.7 %) were the most prevalent among the isolates. The nleB and nleE genes were concomitantly detected in 32.9 % of the isolates, demonstrating the occurrence of the pathogenicity island O122 among them. The O157-plasmid genes (ehxA and/or espP) were detected in 7.3 % of the isolates, suggesting that some aEPEC could be derived from Shiga-toxin-producing E. coli that lost the stx genes while trafficking in the host. PFGE of 14 aEPEC of serotypes O2 : H16, O33 : H34, O39 : H9, O108 : H- and ONT : H19 isolated from five distinct outbreaks showed serotype-specific PFGE clusters, indicating a high degree of similarity among the isolates from the same event, thus highlighting these serotypes as potential aetiologic agents of diarrhoeal outbreaks in Brazil.
Delegation, Skill Acquisition and Turnover Costs

Abstract The delegation of tasks to a subordinate and his access to key firm resources allow an organization to make optimal use of his knowledge and ability, but at the same time, thanks to on‐the‐job learning and the possibility of expropriation of these resources, this might increase the agent’s outside options. We model these risks as an increase in the quit propensity of the agent which determines higher turnover costs for the firm. The choice of the degree of delegation a principal offers to her subordinate is analyzed taking into account its benefits and costs. We show that the level of delegation is influenced by the principal’s and the agent’s abilities, but it is lower the higher turnover costs are and the lower the degree of specificity of human capital is or the higher the degree of expropriability of resources is. Finally, bureaucratic rules establishing the documentation of the agent’s activity are seen as a device to reduce turnover costs and to allow more delegation.
Asset Returns and Economic Growth

America is probably facing a slowdown in the rate of natural population increase and possibly a slowdown in productivity growth. We argue that, if these two factors depress the rate of future economic growth, one cannot assume that the past performance of asset returns is indicative of future results. Simple standard closed-economy growth models predict that a growth slowdown will likely lower the marginal product of capital and thus the long-run rate of return. Moreover, if current asset valuations represent rational expectations, simple arithmetic shows that it is almost impossible for past rates of return to continue through a growth slowdown. In standard models at least, only a large shift in the income distribution toward capital, or future current account surpluses that are larger and more persistent than those that nineteenth-century Britain sustained for generations, give promise for reconciling a future slowdown with a continuation of historical asset returns.
Acupuncture for depression: first steps toward a clinical evaluation.

AIM OF STUDY To explore issues that need to be addressed in the design of a clinical trial of acupuncture for people with depression. METHODS In this study we conducted a focus group with 6 volunteer participants with experiences of depression, and a prospective case series of 10 patients who received acupuncture treatment for their depression. In the case series study, 10 patients were referred by their general practitioner, and received up to 10 individualized acupuncture treatments from one of two acupuncturists. Acupuncturists recorded traditional acupuncture diagnoses and details of the treatment provided. Measures of depression (Beck Depression Inventory and the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale) and health status (SF-36) were taken at baseline and 10 weeks later. Changes in mean before and after scores were analyzed using the Wilcoxon signed ranks test. Adverse events were also monitored. RESULTS The focus group and the case series both identified considerable heterogeneity among people with depression. In the case series, only 6 patients both received treatment and completed 10-week questionnaires; however, significant improvements between before and after were found in their levels of depression (p < 0.05). Many factors, as well as the acupuncture, may have contributed to these improvements. No serious adverse events occurred. In the context of designing a clinical trial of acupuncture for depression, a series of methodological challenges is explored. CONCLUSION This study highlighted the complexities of evaluating acupuncture for patients with depression. Successfully addressing the identified methodological challenges in the design of a trial will increase its relevance and impact.
A Canonical Correlation Analysis of Commercial Bank Asset/Liability Structures

Commercial banks have been the subjects of a large body of empirical research employing regression and econometric models and discriminant analysis. The purpose of this paper is to empirically identify and describe relationships, including hedging behavior, between the asset side and the liability/capital side of the balance sheets of a cross-section of large U.S. banks. Canonical correlation analysis is the statistical technique that is employed. Unlike regression analysis which explains the behavior of a single dependent variable as a function of a set of independent variables, canonical correlation analysis relates two sets of variables. In the present case, one set of variables is the composition of the lefthand side of the balance sheet and the other set is the right-hand side. The variables used in this study are asset and liability/capital categories expressed as a proportion of total bank assets (i.e., a percentage breakdown of the balance sheet or a common size statement). These proportions are used in lieu of the more usual financial ratios and no information exogenous to the bank is employed.
Metabolism of Styrene Oxide and 2-Phenylethanol in the Styrene-Degrading Xanthobacter Strain 124X

Styrene oxide and 2-phenylethanol metabolism in the styrene-degrading Xanthobacter sp. strain 124X was shown to proceed via phenylacetaldehyde and phenylacetic acid. In cell extracts 2-phenylethanol was oxidized by a phenazine methosulfate-dependent enzyme, probably a pyrroloquinoline quinone enzyme. Xanthobacter sp. strain 124X also contains a novel enzymatic activity designated as styrene oxide isomerase. Styrene oxide isomerase catalyzes the isomerization of styrene oxide to phenylacetaldehyde. The enzyme was partially purified and shown to have a very high substrate specificity. Of the epoxides tested, styrene oxide was the only substrate transformed. The initial step in styrene metabolism in Xanthobacter sp. strain 124X is oxygen dependent and probably involves oxidation of the aromatic nucleus.
Change in Food and Nutrient Consumption Among the Ultra Poor: Is the CFPR/TUP Programme Making a Difference?

This study aims to investigate the impact of CFPR/TUP programme on the food and nutrient consumption. The report is presented in two parts- the first part is based on the comparison of food and energy intake data between 2002 and 2004 to assess the changes in food consumption among the ultra poor households over the period. The second part describes the differences in food and nutrient consumption between selected ultra poor (SUP) and non selected ultra poor (NSUP) households in 2004. [CFPR-TUP Working Paper Series No. 11, June 2006]
Morphological and functional differentiation of HSG cells: Role of extracellular matrix and trpc 1

A human salivary intercalated duct cell line (HSG) is capable of morphological change to acinar‐type cells, and of salivary amylase (AMY1) expression, by culturing on basement membrane extracts (BME). The aim of this study was to determine the critical conditions for functional and morphological differentiation of HSG cells and to establish if the processes are related. Cells were grown on BMEs that had different protein concentrations and growth factor content, and then examined with respect to morphology and AMY1 expression. To investigate the role of intracellular calcium in amylase expression, a pcDNA3.1‐TRPC1α construct was used to overexpress htrp1α, which mediates the store‐operated calcium entry in HSG cells. Expression of the AMY1, TRPC1α and β genes was quantified by means of real time RT‐PCR. Growth factor‐reduced BME (12.8 mg/ml) induced multicellular acinar structures with lumen formation but without stimulation of either AMY1 or TRPC1. HSG cells cultured on higher concentration BME (17.5 or 16.4 mg/ml) formed reticular networks. AMY1 expression increased both on growth factor‐reduced BME (17.5 mg/ml: 3.0‐fold, P < 0.001) and on regular BME (16.4 mg/ml: 3.7‐fold, P < 0.001) accompanied by a slight increase in expression of TRPC1α and TRPC1β. Overexpression of htrp1α did not cause any significant changes in AMY expression, though it attenuated the BME (17.5 mg/ml)‐induced AMY1 upregulation. Overall, the higher protein concentration BME favors amylase expression in HSG cells, whereas the lower concentration causes marked morphological changes. J. Cell. Physiol. 212: 416–423, 2007. © 2007 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Leverage, product diversity and performance of general insurers in Malaysia

Purpose - The purpose of this paper is to examine the effect of leverage on the financial performance of general insurance companies in Malaysia, and investigate whether the leverage-performance relationship is a function of or contingent on the extent of product diversification. Design/methodology/approach - The sample consisted of the entire population of authorized general insurance companies operating during the period from 2006 to 2009 in Malaysia. A total of 94 observations were analysed. All the data used were sourced from the Malaysian Central Bank's (BNM) database. Findings - It is found that leverage is negatively associated with firm performance. However, there is a significant interaction effect between leverage and product diversity on firm performance. The finding indicates that leverage could be beneficial or detrimental to the financial performance of general insurance firms, contingent on the extent of product diversity of the firm. Research limitations/implications - As the scope of study is limited to the general insurance industry and the sample size is small, the findings of the study must be interpreted with caution and the results may not be generalizable to the life insurance sector or other industry. Originality/value - Findings of prior empirical studies on leverage-performance relationship and effect of insurance product diversification are rather mixed and inconclusive. Based on analysis of a single insurance (general) sector that is highly regulated, the paper provides empirical evidence that the benefits of product diversification strategy are contingent on level of the firm's leverage. The paper hence, enhances understanding and contributes to the existing literature on impact of leverage, product diversification on performance of the highly regulated general insurance firms in a developing country.
E‐governance for improved public sector service delivery in India, Ethiopia and Fiji

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to explore the extent of corruption in India, Fiji and Ethiopia and survey citizen perception of how e‐governance could fight corruption. The main objective is to investigate and explore the potential of e‐governance applications in three countries representing three different regions of Asia, Africa, and Oceania.Design/methodology/approach – A survey was conducted over 918 citizens in India, Ethiopia and Fiji using convenience random sampling. A structured questionnaire was used. The main emphasis of the survey was on citizen perception about corruption and poor service. It further asked respondents on how e‐governance can cut corruption.Findings – Benefits of e‐governance in developing countries are the same as those in developed countries but there are many potential benefits that remain unreaped by developing countries as a consequence of their unlimited use of e‐governance. Based on these assertions, the researchers tried to evaluate and assess the potential of .
Cross-country Employment Propensity of Finnish Migrants: Evidence from Linked Register Data

This paper explores how individual employment propensityinterrelates across countries and time, using data that linkpopulation registers from Sweden and Finland. Migrants areobserved before emigration, after emigration, and in a follow-up in cases both where they were still living in the hostcountry and if they had return migrated. The interrelation isfound to be strong, suggesting that migrants’ employmentproblems need not necessarily be due to failures in integrationpolicies or because of problems in assimilation inducedby migration as an event. They could also be explained bythe fact that many persons, in latent subgroups, have inherentlyelevated failure risks.
Are firms hedging or speculating? The relationship between financial derivatives and firm risk

The focus of this article is an investigation of the relationship between the use of financial derivatives and firm risk using a sample of Australian firms. Our results suggest that this relationship is nonlinear in nature. Specifically, the use of financial derivatives is associated with a risk reduction for moderate derivative users. Derivative usage among extensive derivative users, on the other hand, appears to lead to an increase in firm risk. Nevertheless, compared to firms that do not make use of derivatives, there is no evidence that extensive derivative users are exposed to a risk level in excess of that of nonderivative users. The results are, therefore, indicative of a hedging motive behind the use of financial derivatives.
Characterization of a bioflocculant from a newly isolated Vagococcus sp. W31

Screening of microorganisms producing flocculating substances was carried out. A strain secreting a large amount of bioflocculant was isolated from wastewater samples collected from the Little Moon River in Beijing. Based on the morphological properties and 16S rDNA sequence analysis, the isolate (designated W31) was classified as Vagococcus sp. A bioflocculant (named MBFW31) produced by W31 was extracted from the culture broth by ethanol precipitation and purified by gel chromatography. MBFW31 was heat-stable and had strong flocculating activity in a wide range of pH with relatively low dosage requirement. MBFW31 was identified as a polysaccharide with molecular weight over 2×106. It contained neutral sugar and uronic acid as its major and minor components, respectively. Infrared spectra showed the presence of hydroxyl, carboxyl and methoxyl group in its molecules. The present results suggested that MBFW31 had potential application in wastewater treatment.