Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Induction of Antibody Responses to African Horse Sickness Virus (AHSV) in Ponies after Vaccination with Recombinant Modified Vaccinia Ankara (MVA)

Background African horse sickness virus (AHSV) causes a non-contagious, infectious disease in equids, with mortality rates that can exceed 90% in susceptible horse populations. AHSV vaccines play a crucial role in the control of the disease; however, there are concerns over the use of polyvalent live attenuated vaccines particularly in areas where AHSV is not endemic. Therefore, it is important to consider alternative approaches for AHSV vaccine development. We have carried out a pilot study to investigate the ability of recombinant modified vaccinia Ankara (MVA) vaccines expressing VP2, VP7 or NS3 genes of AHSV to stimulate immune responses against AHSV antigens in the horse. Methodology/Principal Findings VP2, VP7 and NS3 genes from AHSV-4/Madrid87 were cloned into the vaccinia transfer vector pSC11 and recombinant MVA viruses generated. Antigen expression or transcription of the AHSV genes from cells infected with the recombinant viruses was confirmed. Pairs of ponies were vaccinated with MVAVP2, MVAVP7 or MVANS3 and both MVA vector and AHSV antigen-specific antibody responses were analysed. Vaccination with MVAVP2 induced a strong AHSV neutralising antibody response (VN titre up to a value of 2). MVAVP7 also induced AHSV antigen–specific responses, detected by western blotting. NS3 specific antibody responses were not detected. Conclusions This pilot study demonstrates the immunogenicity of recombinant MVA vectored AHSV vaccines, in particular MVAVP2, and indicates that further work to investigate whether these vaccines would confer protection from lethal AHSV challenge in the horse is justifiable.
Insulin degludec as an ultralong-acting basal insulin once a day: a systematic review

Background Insulin degludec (IDeg) is a neutral, ultralong-acting new generation basal insulin analog developed by NovoNordisk currently in Phase III clinical development. IDeg offers a duration of action of more than 42 hours in adults, much longer than current basal insulin formulations. Objective The aim of this review is to assess the efficacy and safety data of IDeg in the treatment of type 1 and type 2 diabetes mellitus. Methods Relevant English language articles from 2010 to 2012 were identified through MEDLINE, PubMed, EMBASE, Scopus, BIOSIS, and Google Scholar. Online conference proceedings of the 71st ADA Scientific Sessions and the 47th EASD Annual Meeting were reviewed. Studies were compared in terms of their study designs, primary and secondary efficacy parameters, and tolerability data. Results There are a total of nine published trials investigating the clinical efficacy and safety of IDeg in over 3000 subjects with type 1 and 2 diabetes. Only three trials were published in full. All were open-label, randomized multicenter trials with durations of 16 to 52 weeks. IDeg and coformulations of IDeg with insulin aspart (IAsp) were compared to insulin glargine (IGlar), detemir, and biphasic IAsp 30 (BIAsp 30). Conclusion Based upon the available evidence, there appear to be no reported differences between IDeg and IGlar, detemir, or BIAsp 30 in the reduction of the primary efficacy end-points of HbA1c and mean fasting plasma glucose (FPG) concentrations. Only flexible dosing of IDeg provided a significant reduction in FPG compared to IGlar. IDeg demonstrated a significant reduction in nocturnal hypoglycemia in type 1 diabetes. In type 2 diabetes, IDeg reduced the incidence of hypoglycemia by 18% and 58% compared to IGlar and BIAsp 30, respectively.
Treatment of Clubfoot With Ponseti Method Using Semirigid Synthetic Softcast

AbstractRandomized controlled clinical trial.The main purpose of the present study was to comparatively analyze the effectiveness, advantages, and the complications of using semirigid synthetic softcast with respect to plaster of Paris (POP) during the treatment of clubfoot deformity.The study group consisted of 196 babies (249 feet). A total of 133 feet treated by an orthopedic referral center using semirigid synthetic softcast were included in group A whereas the other 116 feet treated by another orthopedic clinic using POP cast were included in group B. The Pirani scores, number of cast applications, time period until Achilles tenotomy, any skin problems due to the cast itself, and/or cast removal were recorded. A final parent satisfaction score was also obtained.The mean Pirani sores were significantly improved from the first administration to the time before Achilles tenotomy in both groups. There was no significant difference according to the number of casts applied until tenotomy. The slippage of the cast and skin lesions was significantly more common in group B. Higher parent satisfaction levels were detected in group A.Semirigid softcast has been found as superior to POP in the aspects of parent satisfaction and cast-related complication rates.
Framework for Assessing the Rainwater Harvesting Potential of Residential Buildings at a National Level as an Alternative Water Resource for Domestic Water Supply in Taiwan

Domestic rainwater harvesting (DRWH) is widely recognized as an alternative source of water in Taiwan because of water shortages. This suggests that rainwater potential should be maximized and quantified. In this article, we assess the potential of DRWH at a national level. To consider the climatic, building characteristic, economic, and ecological aspects of DRWH, we propose three categories: (1) theoretical; (2) available; and (3) environmental bearable rainwater potential. Four main steps were followed to develop the proposed framework: (1) Fifteen rainfall zones across Taiwan were generated through cluster analysis based on the average annual 10-day rainfall distributions of rainfall stations and administrative districts; (2) The roof area in each rainfall zone was estimated using a geographic information system (GIS) and land use classification database; (3) The weighted percentage of rainwater use in each rainfall zone was determined by the optimal point on the storage capacity and rainwater supply reliability curve for an equivalent building from each building type; (4) The percentage of the total roof area used to harvest rainwater in each region depends on the downstream impact of the stream flow. The procedures developed in this study constitute an effective tool for preliminarily estimation of the national DRWH potential.
Physics of rheologically enhanced propulsion: Different strokes in generalized Stokes

Shear-thinning is an important rheological property of many biological fluids, such as mucus, whereby the apparent viscosity of the fluid decreases with shear. Certain microscopic swimmers have been shown to progress more rapidly through shear-thinning fluids, but is this behavior generic to all microscopic swimmers, and what are the physics through which shear-thinning rheology affects a swimmer's propulsion? We examine swimmers employing prescribed stroke kinematics in two-dimensional, inertialess Carreau fluid: shear-thinning “generalized Stokes” flow. Swimmers are modeled, using the method of femlets, by a set of immersed, regularized forces. The equations governing the fluid dynamics are then discretized over a body-fitted mesh and solved with the finite element method. We analyze the locomotion of three distinct classes of microswimmer: (1) conceptual swimmers comprising sliding spheres employing both one- and two-dimensional strokes, (2) slip-velocity envelope models of ciliates commonly referred t.
Cytotoxicity measurements of Halloysite Nanotubes for nanomedicine applications

Halloysite Clay nanotubes (HNTs) are naturally occurring nanotubes composed of double layered aluminosilicate minerals with a hollow tubular structure in the nanometer range. In recent years, HNTs have attracted specific research attention as a possible new material for various biological applications, including drug and gene delivery vehicles, ultrasound contrast agents, cancer and stem cells isolation. Therefore, assessment of HNT biocompatibility has gained importance to demonstrate its suitability for clinical purposes. In this study, HNTs were densely coated with poly(ethylene glycol) (PEG) and MTT measurements were performed on MCF-7 (breast cancer) and HeLa (cervical cancer) cells to quantify the biocompatibility of PEG-coated HNTs as a function of nanotube dosage and incubation time. PEG-coated HNTs resulted fully biocompatible for both cell lines at concentrations up to 0.1 mg/mL (>70% of cells survived after 72-h incubation), making them suitable candidates for nanomedicine applications at moderate levels of exposure.
Reliability of mortgage valuation for institutional lending in nigeria

The growing number of distressed banks in Nigeria and the recognition of mortgage valuation as a measure of investment performance of collaterals to mitigate the risks of loan underwriting process necessitates this study. It examined whether open market valuations of mortgage properties were a good proxies for their sale prices. Pooled data, involving 121 open market sales during the period 1994 to 2002, on property transactions in the study area with their corresponding contemporaneous valuations were gathered from the estate surveying and valuation firms, the lending institutions and the Nigerian Deposit Insurance Corporation. The data emanating therefrom were analysed with the aid of multiple regression models. The study revealed, amongst other things, that open market valuation for mortgage is a good proxy for their transaction price in the study area; although, the accuracy is not as good as what obtains in U.K, U.S.A. and Australia.
The Anthropology of Welfare

The Anthropology of Welfare provides an overview of what anthropology has to offer welfare studies and vice-versa. Case studies from anthropologists in the field, examine different branches of welfare and community care, for example: * Maternity services * Children with learning difficulties * Children's homes * Mothers' centres * People with HIV * Mental health centres * Housing * Care and provision for the elderly. Contributors focus on comparative welfare systems - examples are taken from urban and rural areas of the UK, USA, Sweden, Germany, Portugal, and New Zealand. In each case the theoretical and methodological appropriateness of social anthropology for the study of welfare, and the insights gained by bringing anthropology and welfare together are examined. The Anthropology of Welfare will be essential reading for those studying anthropology, social work and social policy and will be of interest to teachers, practitioners and researchers in applied social welfare fields.
Characterizations of parallelism in applications and their use in scheduling

As multiprocessors with large numbers of processors become more prevalent, we face the task of developing scheduling algorithms for the multiprogrammed use of such machines. The scheduling decisions must take into account the number of processors available, the overall system load, and the ability of each application awaiting activation to make use of a given number of processors. The parallelism within an application can be characterized at a number of different levels of detail. At the highest level, it might be characterized by a single parameter (such as the proportion of the application that is sequential, or the average number of processors the application would use if an unlimited number of processors were available). At the lowest level, representing all the parallelism in the application requires the full data dependency graph (which is more information than is practically manageable). In this paper, we examine the quality of processor allocation decisions under multiprogramming that can be made with several different high-level characterizations of application parallelism. We demonstrate that decisions based on parallelism characterizations with two to four parameters are superior to those based on single-parameter characterizations (such as fraction sequential or average parallelism). The results are based predominantly on simulation, with some guidance from a simple analytic model.
Supply-Side Triggers for Inflation in Austria

The supply-side analysis of sectors that have determined price developments in Austria since fall 2007 strongly suggests a lack of competition in the following industries in the medium term: processing and wholesaling of dairy products, pasta production, electricity and gas supply, cement production, and pharmaceutical retailing. Signs of weak competition are less clear but apparent in the following industries: production of fats and oils, clothes retailing, production and wholesaling of pharmaceuticals, car parts trade, sewage disposal and garbage collection. There are few or no indications of a lack of competition in: baked goods production, grain wholesaling, food retailing, home centers, production and wholesaling of construction materials, gas stations and footwear retailing. In food retailing, legitimate business strategies may have contributed to price developments. Moreover, price increases may to some extent have been caused by data limitations (use of shelf inventory data rather than scanner data) and by second-round effects on the part of firms, which find it easier to raise prices in an environment of generally rising prices. Additional in-depth analyses are necessary for a wide range of industries. Economic policymakers may intensify competition in pharmaceutical retailing (by enforcing prescriptions of generic rather than brand-name drugs) and the garbage collection industry (by changing the fee system). Restricting the concentration of regional or local sales units and establishing an integrated European energy market would unlock a (limited) potential for reducing inflation in foods and energy. Policymakers should envisage implementing changes above all in the service sector, which determines inflationary trends in Austria in the medium term. Measures needed to enhance competition include improving data sources, monitoring competition based on economic data, strengthening the competition authority, reforming regulations to ease market entry and to strengthen competition, and increasing price transparency.
Appendix : List of Variables Y a : output of agricultural good Y m : output of manufacturing goods

The two-sector specific factor model is typically used in the theory of international trade where it helps to clarify the principle of comparative advantage. Instead, we use this model as explicit theoretical framework to explain major trends of long-run economic development. Combined with endogenous technical progress functions which assume that knowledge accumulates as a by-product of agricultural and manufacturing experience, the two-sector specific factors model can explain major historical trends and structural turnarounds. The technical progress functions establish the link between the agricultural and the manufacturing sector through the land-labour ratio, which is determined by the savings propensities of wageearners, landlords and capitalists. This result is achieved by making use of the traditional investment = savings condition, without reference to complicated micro-based models of human capital accumulation.
Distrusting Educational Technology: Critical Questions for Changing Times

Preface and acknowledgement 1 Why distrust educational technology? 2 Understanding educational technology as ideology 3 Distrusting 'virtual' technologies in education 4 Distrusting 'open' technologies in education 5 Distrusting 'games' technologies in education 6 Distrusting 'social' technologies in education 7 Educational technology - continuities, contradictions, and conflicts 8 Educational technology - is there an alternative? References
Project-Based Technology: Instructional Strategy for Developing Technological Literacy

and Concrete Theory and theoretical aspects Theoretical and applied aspects Inquiry and Design Inquiry Design Idealization and Optimization Perfection Optimum Variables and Constraints Variables Constraints First phase Inquiry question Need of definition and requirements analysis Driving force Curiosity Human need Precision and tolerance Accuracy Tolerance, trade-off Hypotheses and alternatives Hypotheses Alternatives it. In fact, 61% indicated that PBT helped them understand that science and technology are strongly connected and that engineers should use their knowledge of science and technology to solve practical problems. In addition, nearly all experienced the importance of the cooperation between the team members, with 89% indicating that it is important for them to know what other team members do, how they progress, what difficulties they face, and what their contributions to the project are. Journal of Technology Education Vol. 18 No. 1, Fall 2006 -46Guideline B: Recognize the relationship between technology and society The students understood that, in addition to the scientific-engineering aspects, one must also consider the social-environmental aspect. For example, here are quotes from three interviews with students, all related to socialenvironment aspects: After extensive reviewing of dozens of Internet sites, we put a lot of effort into sorting out the data and selecting the sites that deal with scientific, technological, and social aspects related to a car that operates by means of
Title: Granulocyte/Macrophage Colony-Stimulating Factor Autoantibodies and Myeloid Cell Immune Functions in Healthy Individuals

High levels of granulocyte/macrophage-colony stimulating factor (GM-CSF) autoantibodies are thought to cause pulmonary alveolar proteinosis (PAP), a rare syndrome characterized by myeloid dysfunction resulting in pulmonary surfactant accumulation and respiratory failure. Paradoxically, GM-CSF autoantibodies have been reported to occur rarely in healthy people and routinely in pharmaceutical intravenous immunoglobulin (IVIG) purified from serum pooled from healthy individuals. These findings suggest that either GM-CSF autoantibodies are normally present in healthy individuals at low levels that are difficult to detect or that serum pooled for IVIG purification may include asymptomatic individuals with high levels of GM-CSF autoantibodies. Using several experimental approaches, GM-CSF autoantibodies were detected in all healthy individuals evaluated (n=72) at low levels sufficient to rheostatically regulate multiple myeloid functions. Serum GM-CSF was more abundant than previously reported but more that 99% was bound and neutralized by GM-CSF autoantibody. The critical threshold of GM-CSF autoantibodies associated with the development of PAP was determined. Results demonstrate that free serum GM-CSF is tightly maintained at low levels, identify a novel potential mechanism of innate immune regulation, help define the therapeutic window for potential clinical use of GM-CSF autoantibodies to treat inflammatory and autoimmune diseases, and have implications for the pathogenesis of PAP.
Increase of genetic diversity and clonal replacement of epidemic methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus strains in South-East Austria

Spa-typing and microarray techniques were used to study epidemiological changes in methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) in South-East Austria. The population structure of 327 MRSA isolated between 2002 and 2012 was investigated. MRSA was assigned to 58 different spa types and 14 different MLST CC (multilocus sequence type clonal complexes); in particular, between 2007 and 2012, an increasing diversity in MRSA clones could be observed. The most abundant clonal complex was CC5. On the respective SCCmec cassettes, the CC5 isolates differed clearly within this decade and CC5/SCCmecI, the South German MRSA, predominant in 2002, was replaced by CC5/SCCmecII, the Rhine-Hesse MRSA in 2012. Whereas in many European countries MLST CC22-MRSA (EMRSA 15, the Barnim epidemic MRSA) is predominant, this clone occurred in Austria nearly 10 years later than in neighbouring countries. CC45, the Berlin EMRSA, epidemic in Germany, was only sporadically found in South-East Austria. The Irish ST8-MRSA-II represented by spa-type t190 was frequently found in 2002 and 2007, but disappeared in 2012. Our results demonstrate clonal replacement of MRSA clones within the last years in Austria. Ongoing surveillance is warranted for detection of changes within the MRSA population.
Friday the 13th: international evidence

The Friday the 13th anomaly discussed by Kolb and Rodriguez in 1987 is revisited in an international context. Using the FTSE world indices over the period 1988–2000, for 19 countries, it is found that there is some evidence that returns on Friday the 13th are statistically different from, and generally greater than, returns on other Fridays.
Children as vulnerable consumers: a first conceptualisation

ABSTRACT Understandings of consumer vulnerability remain contentious and despite recent developments, models remain unsuitable when applied to children. Taxonomic models, and those favouring a ‘state’- or ‘class’-based approach have been replaced by those attempting to tackle both individual and structural antecedents. However, these are still overly individualistic and fail to progress from an artificial view that these dimensions work separately and independently. In contrast, the new sociology of childhood conceptualises childhood as a hybridised, fluid combination of structure and agency. This paper introduces this approach, new to the consumer vulnerability field, and proposes that it has considerable implications for the way that children’s consumer vulnerability is theorised and researched, and for the formulation of policy.
Judicial Costs and Household Debt

This paper investigates the effect of judicial costs on households debt, merging data drawn from a representative Italian sample, the Survey of Household Income and Wealth, with data on the performance of judicial districts. We estimate a probit model to test the hypothesis that th working of courts affects the probability that households are credit constrained. Moreover, we estimate a tobit model for the amount of debt to investigate if borrowing by those who are not rationed in the credit market is also sensitive to judicial costs. We find that the working of the judicial system impacts on probability of being credit constrained and that the amount of debt held by non-constrained households decreases when the quality of the judicial enforcement worsen.