Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
VP22 does not significantly enhance enzyme prodrug cancer gene therapy as a part of a VP22‐HSVTk‐GFP triple fusion construct

VP22 is a herpes simplex virus type 1 (HSV‐1) tegument protein that has been suggested to spread from cell to cell, alone or as a part of fusion proteins. Creating controversy, some reports indicate that VP22 cannot facilitate significant intercellular spreading. To study the capacity of VP22 to cause spreading and enhance thymidine kinase/ganciclovir cancer gene therapy, we constructed a novel triple fusion protein containing VP22, HSV thymidine kinase and green fluorescent protein (VP22‐Tk‐GFP). This fusion protein has three functional domains in the same polypeptide, thus making it possible to reliably compare the causality between transduction rate and cell killing efficiency in vitro and in vivo.
Membrane Transformations in Degenerating Rodlet Cells in Fishes of Two Teleostean Families (Salmonidae, Cyprinidae)

Rodlet cells (RCs) of teleosts are identified by their fibrillar capsule and peculiar inclusions, the rodlets, consisting of a club‐like sac and a central dense core. Former ultrastructural studies showing signs of hypertrophy of endoplasmic reticulum (ER) were followed up in Salmonids (Oncorhynchus mykiss, Salmo trutta L.) and compared with Cyprinids (Cyprinus carpio L., Carassius auratus L., Alburnus alburnus). Focusing on membrane transformations, unusual undulations of the membranes of rodlet sacs and often apposed ER‐membranes, which were observed in mature or discharging cells, increased continuously in degenerating stages and ejected cytoplasmic packages or rodlets. Tubular elements (ø 25–30 nm or 30–50 nm) or small vesicles appeared partly derived from them. Terminal stages of this development were represented by RCs retained in the epithelium, which were completely filled by stacks of tubules and cores. Convoluted membranes were also found persisting between mostly undissolved rodlets at the epithelial surfaces. In Cyprinid species, the membrane changes were less conspicuous but essentially similar, including stages with confluent ER reported only in trout up to now. The membrane transformations resemble structures known as “crystalloid ER” indicating a disturbance in the protein production. The positive immunocytochemical reaction for calreticulin in the rodlet sacs, a luminal ER chaperone mediating recycling of misfolded proteins and upregulated during stress, supports this interpretation. The ER stress‐reaction is an evolutionary conservative cytoprotective mechanism during physiological, environmental, and genetic aberrations and fits the increase of RCs reported in quite different situations, although details of its triggering need further investigation. Anat Rec, 2008. © 2008 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Florida Citrus Freezes and Polar Anticyclones in the Great Plains

Abstract Severe Florida citrus freezes since 1880 are identified and described in terms of the horticultural damage, overall frequency of occurrence, and association with polar anticyclone outbreaks in the plains of southern Canada and the United States. The most severe “advective” freezes are associated with strong cold anticyclones having tracks southward across the plains to Texas with subsequent northeastward movement. Other anticyclones move in a track somewhat east of this and ultimately pass over Florida or the eastern Gulf of Mexico. Over 80% of the worst Florida citrus freezes are associated with anticyclones with central pressures in excess of 1045 mb moving along these paths. However, anticyclones of similar intensity with more zonally oriented paths across higher latitudes are associated with minor citrus damage. The major freezes tend to be clustered in time in the 1890s and since 1977. On interdecadal time scales, the recent freezes are not linked to higher winter mean pressure in the northe.
Targeting program visualizations

To instruct students on the use of visualizations most beneficially the teacher needs to know who the students are that use the visualizations, for what they use them, and what kind of problems they have. Empirical research has been carried out on the educational impact of visualizations in test situations, but this survey presents the students' normal way of studying when the use of visualizations is voluntary. We present the results of an international survey of 335 students who are studying programming and whose teachers have offered visualizations as extra material for the students. Their teachers also answered the survey. The article analyses different kinds of student groups, their usage of visualizations, and problems with them. We explore the background and motivation of the students and compare this information to their experiences of the use of the visualizations. We identified two groups of students who use visualizations differently: moderately successful students able to work independently and weaker students who need teachers guidance with the visualizations. We suggest tips for teachers on how to use visualizations in teaching and provide information for the development of program visualization tools.
Semiempirical calculations on the electronic properties of finite-length models of carbon nanotubes based on Clar sextet theory

Electronic structure calculations on carbon nanotubes (CNTs) and related materials constitute an active and challenging field of research. Computational approaches to the problem require (i) the definition of consistent models of CNTs and (ii) calculation of the properties of such models with accurate electronic structure methods. In this work, we perform semiempirical AM1 calculations on finite-length models of CNTs based on Clar sextet theory. In particular, the use of the Accelrys Materials Studio® package allows us to perform both the model building and computing steps through a simple and user-friendly interface. The consistency of such an approach is demonstrated by the smooth and monotonic decrease of the highest-occupied molecular orbital (HOMO)–lowest-unoccupied molecular orbital (LUMO) energy gap with length of models for metallic nanotubes and fast convergence to a finite value for models of semiconducting CNTs. As a further example of the applicability of the method outlined in this paper, the dependence of the HOMO–LUMO gap with the diameter for a series of analogous CNTs was also analysed.
Serologic Status for Pandemic (H1N1) 2009 Virus, Taiwan

We studied preexisting immunity to pandemic (H1N1) 2009 virus in persons in Taiwan. A total of 18 (36%) of 50 elderly adults in Taiwan born before 1935 had protective antibodies against currently circulating pandemic (H1N1) 2009 virus. Seasonal influenza vaccines induced antibodies that did not protect against pandemic (H1N1) 2009 virus.
Assessment of vegetative Phenology with respect to leaf elongation pattern of Avicennia marina and Rhizophora mucronata in Hajambro creek, Indus delta, Pakistan

Leaves emergence and the rate of elongation have been studied in Hajambro creek in Indus deltaic region, Pakistan. Leaves emergence was found higher during the summer months (mostly pre-monsoon period), that was March April, May and June. Leaves of A. marina that were observed from March to July, till the leaves reached their maximum length (about 77 mm), showed a gradual increase in their length, reaching maximum in April. Leaves of Avicennia marina reached their maximum length (about 77 mm) in about 113 days. The leaves showed gradual increase in their length, reaching maximum in April (0.97mm d -1 ). The per-day increment in length was 0.54 mm d -1 . As reaching their maximum length (77mm), the per-day increment in the length gradually slower down. The leaves of Rhizophora mucronata were observed from February to November. The leaves of Rhizophora mucronata showed elongation rate of 0.24 mm d -1 from the day of the first observation till the leaves reached their maximum length (120 mm). The maximum time required by the leaves to reach their maximum length (120 mm) was 236 days. The rates of elongation of leaves are also fast in summer. The rate of elongation of the leaves was found to be highly correlated with the temperature (p Avicennia marina in the Indus delta, Sindh is due to a negligible amount of fresh water available to the delta, through downstream discharge, only in July. Therefore, better management of water resources is necessary for the conservation and management of the mangrove forest of Indus delta, Pakistan.
Tick Size, Price Grids and Market Performance: Stable Matches as a Model of Market Dynamics and Equilibrium

The tick size in a financial market is the minimum allowable difference between ask and bid prices. By the rules of each exchange, no transactions can occur within the tick interval. The impact of tick size is an ongoing controversy which we study by experimental methods, whose simplicity helps distinguish among competing models of complex real-world securities markets. We observe patterns predicted by a matching (cooperative game) model. Because a price grid interferes with a competitive equilibrium and restrictions on order flow interfere with information aggregation, the matching model provides predictions when the competitive model cannot, although their predictions are the same when a competitive equilibrium does exist. Our experiments examine stable allocations, average prices, timing of order flow, information flow and price dynamics. Larger tick size invites more speculation, which in turn increases liquidity. However, increased speculation leads to inefficient trades that otherwise would not have occurred.
Geometric characteristics and evolution of a tidal channel network in experimental setting

This paper reports on a laboratory study that aims to reproduce a tidal channel network, in order to enhance the understanding of the morphodynamic evolution of the channel characteristics as the network expands and finally reaches equilibrium. A high‐resolution laser system scanned the bed topography at different time steps creating multiple digital elevation models of the channel network. Two hundred and seventy individual channel segments are analyzed and cross‐correlated in terms of their width, depth and length.
Easy way to learn standardization : direct and indirect methods.

In direct age-adjustment, a common age-structured population is used as standard. This population may actually exist (e.g., United States population, 1999) or may be fictitious (e.g., two populations may be combined to create a standard). In indirect age-adjustment, a common set of age-specific rates is applied to the populations whose rates are to be standardized. The simplest and most useful form of indirect adjustment is the standardized mortality ratio (SMR) (5).
Prophylactic Radiofrequency Ablation in Asymptomatic Patients With Wolff–Parkinson–White Is Not Yet a Good Strategy: A Decision Analysis

Background—Therapeutic management of asymptomatic patients with a Wolff–Parkinson–White (WPW) pattern is controversial. We compared the risk:benefit ratios between prophylactic radiofrequency ablation and no treatment in asymptomatic patients with WPW. Methods and Results—Decision analysis software was used to construct a risk–benefit decision tree. The target population consisted of 20- to 40-year-old asymptomatic patients with WPW without structural fatal heart disease or a family history of sudden cardiac death. Baseline estimates of sudden death and radiofrequency ablation complication rates were obtained from the literature, an empirical data survey, and expert opinion. The outcome measure was death within 10 years. Sensitivity analyses determined the variables that significantly impacted the decision to ablate or not. Threshold analyses evaluated the effects of key variables and the optimum policy. At baseline, the decision to ablate resulted in a reduction of mortality risk of 8.8 patients for 1000 patients compared with abstention. It is necessary to treat 112 asymptomatic patients with WPW to save one life over 10 years. Sensitivity analysis showed that 3 variables significantly impacted the decision to ablate: (1) complication of radiofrequency ablation, (2) success of radiofrequency ablation, and (3) sudden death in asymptomatic patients with WPW. Conclusions—This study provides a decision aid for treating asymptomatic patients with the WPW ECG pattern. Using the model and the population we tested, prophylactic catheter ablation is not yet ready for widespread clinical use.
Baggage handler seniority and musculoskeletal symptoms: is heavy lifting in awkward positions associated with the risk of pain?

Objectives Heavy lifting is associated with musculoskeletal disorders but it is unclear whether it is related to acute reversible effects or to chronic effects from cumulated exposure. The aim of this study was to examine whether musculoskeletal symptoms in Danish airport baggage handlers were associated with their seniority as baggage handler, indicating chronic effects from cumulated workload. Methods We established a group of baggage handlers employed at Copenhagen Airport during the period 1983–2012 (n=3092) and a reference group of men in other unskilled occupations with less heavy work (n=2478). Data regarding work history, lifestyle and musculoskeletal symptoms were collected using a self-administered questionnaire (response rate 70.1% among baggage handlers and 68.8% among the reference group). Results The ORs of self-reported musculoskeletal symptoms during the last 12 months in the neck/upper back, lower back, shoulders, elbows, wrists, hips and knees were significantly higher in baggage handlers than in the reference group. These differences were explained by significant linear effects of baggage handler seniority for six anatomical regions. Adjustment for age, body mass index, smoking and leisure-time physical activity did not change these results. The findings were stable over age strata and among present and former baggage handlers. Conclusions The risk of musculoskeletal symptoms in six anatomical regions increased with increasing seniority as a baggage handler. This is consistent with the assumption that cumulated heavy lifting may cause chronic or long-lasting musculoskeletal symptoms. However, we cannot exclude that other factors related to baggage handler seniority may explain some of the associations.
Factorizing YAGO: scalable machine learning for linked data

Vast amounts of structured information have been published in the Semantic Web's Linked Open Data (LOD) cloud and their size is still growing rapidly. Yet, access to this information via reasoning and querying is sometimes difficult, due to LOD's size, partial data inconsistencies and inherent noisiness. Machine Learning offers an alternative approach to exploiting LOD's data with the advantages that Machine Learning algorithms are typically robust to both noise and data inconsistencies and are able to efficiently utilize non-deterministic dependencies in the data. From a Machine Learning point of view, LOD is challenging due to its relational nature and its scale. Here, we present an efficient approach to relational learning on LOD data, based on the factorization of a sparse tensor that scales to data consisting of millions of entities, hundreds of relations and billions of known facts. Furthermore, we show how ontological knowledge can be incorporated in the factorization to improve learning results and how computation can be distributed across multiple nodes. We demonstrate that our approach is able to factorize the YAGO~2 core ontology and globally predict statements for this large knowledge base using a single dual-core desktop computer. Furthermore, we show experimentally that our approach achieves good results in several relational learning tasks that are relevant to Linked Data. Once a factorization has been computed, our model is able to predict efficiently, and without any additional training, the likelihood of any of the 4.3 ⋅ 1014 possible triples in the YAGO~2 core ontology.
Assessment of the sensitization potential of persulfate salts used for bleaching hair

Background: Persulfate salts have been associated with both allergic contact dermatitis and bronchial asthma. Because there is currently no experimental data available on the sensitizing properties of persulfate salts (ammonium, sodium, and potassium persulfates), we determined their dermal sensitizing capacity, using the murine local lymph node assay (LLNA).
Distribution of thorium isotopes between dissolved and particulate forms in the deep sea

The distribution of 234Th, 230Th, and 228Th between dissolved and particulate forms was determined in 17 seawater samples from the Guatemala and Panama basins. Sampling was carried out in situ with battery-powered, submersible pumping systems in which the seawater first passed through a Nuclepore filter (1.0-μm pore size) and then through a cartridge packed with Nitex netting that was impregnated with MnO2 to scavenge the dissolved Th isotopes. Natural 234Th was used as the tracer for monitoring the efficiency of scavenging. For all three isotopes, most of the activity was found in the dissolved form. On the average 4% of the 234Th, 15% of the 228Th, and 17% of the 230Th occurred in the particulate form, though the percentages were found to be strongly dependent on particle concentration. These distributions are not consistent with chemical scavenging models that assume irreversible uptake of Th on particle surfaces. The results can be explained, however, if continuous exchange of Th isotopes between seawater and the particle surfaces is assumed. Vertical profiles of both particulate and dissolved 230Th show increasing concentrations with depth, as required by the assumption of reversible exchange. Some of the dissolved 230Th profiles, however, show a reversal of this trend near the bottom, indicating accelerated scavenging near the water/sediment interface. Kinetics of both adsorption and desorption can be examined if at least two Th isotopes are measured in the same samples. Results show that reaction times are short (a few months) compared to the residence time of suspended matter in the deep ocean (several years), indicating that particles suspended in the deep sea are close to equilibrium with respect to exchange of metals at their surfaces.
Inhibition of Tissue Plasminogen Activator Inhibitor by Defibrotide in Atherosclerotic Patients

Defibrotide, an antithrombotic drug, was previously shown to activate fibrinolysis. In order to elucidate the relationship between defibrotide treatment and fibrinolysis, ten atherosclerotic patients were given 1200 mg/day defibrotide intravenously for 7 days and then 400 mg/day intramuscularly for another 20 days. t-PA antigen assessed before and after venous occlusion was not affected by the treatment. Tissue PAI activity significantly decreased and t-PA activity, measured after venous occlusion, increased after 8 and 28 days of treatment; both these changes disappeared after defibrotide was discontinued. No particular side effects were detected throughout the investigation. The study suggests that defibrotide increases t-PA activity by reducing PAI activity.
Man2Man: a promising approach to addressing the sexual and reproductive health needs of young men.

Despite a growing awareness of the importance of involving male adolescents in pregnancy and sexually transmitted disease (STD) prevention efforts, information is lacking regarding the design and delivery of effective male-specific strategies.1 In this special report, we describe the evolution of a promising program in Philadelphia, Man2Man, instituted through the collaborative efforts of the Family Planning Council (the Title X grantee for southeastern Pennsylvania); the Drexel University School of Public Health; St. Christopher’s Hospital for Children; and NorthEast Treatment Centers (NET), a local agency providing mental health, substance abuse treatment and social services.
Scenario 1 : Complication After a Surgical Procedure Not Caused by a Surgeon

Background and Aims: The lack of consensus on how to define and grade adverse postoperative events has greatly hampered the evaluation of surgical procedures. A new classification of complications, initiated in 1992, was updated 5 years ago. It is based on the type of therapy needed to correct the complication. The principle of the classification was to be simple, reproducible, flexible, and applicable irrespective of the cultural background. The aim of the current study was to critically evaluate this classification from the perspective of its use in the literature, by assessing interobserver variability in grading complex complication scenarios and to correlate the classification grades with patients’, nurses’, and doctors’ perception. Material and Methods: Reports from the literature using the classification system were systematically analyzed. Next, 11 scenarios illustrating difficult cases were prepared to develop a consensus on how to rank the various complications. Third, 7 centers from different continents, having routinely used the classification, independently assessed the 11 scenarios. An agreement analysis was performed to test the accuracy and reliability of the classification. Finally, the perception of the severity was tested in patients, nurses, and physicians by presenting 30 scenarios, each illustrating a specific grade of complication. Results: We noted a dramatic increase in the use of the classification in many fields of surgery. About half of the studies used the contracted form, whereas the rest used the full range of grading. Two-thirds of the publications avoided subjective terms such as minor or major complications. The study of 11 difficult cases among various centers revealed a high degree of agreement in identifying and ranking complications (89% agreement), and enabled a better definition of unclear situations. Each grade of complications significantly correlated with the perception by patients, nurses, and physicians (P 0.05, Kruskal-Wallis test). Conclusions: This 5-year evaluation provides strong evidence that the classification is valid and applicable worldwide in many fields of surgery. No modification in the general principle of classification is warranted in view of the use in ongoing publications and trials. Subjective, inaccurate, or confusing terms such as “minor or major” should be removed from the surgical literature.
COMPARISON OF ANNUAL AND PARTIAL DURATION SERIES FLOODS ON THE MURRUMBIDGEE RIVER

: In current hydrologic practice flood frequency estimates are usually based upon either the annual or the partial duration series of floods. Recurrence intervals generated by each series are not equivalent, however, and conversion of recurrence intervals from one series to the other is usually achieved by reference to a mathematical function developed by Langbein in 1949. Data collected on the Murrumbidgee River in New South Wales suggest, however, that the Langbein conversion function does not always provide a reliable means of comparing recurrence intervals. For discharges more frequent than the three year annual flood the Langbein function understates the discrepancy between the two sets of recurrence interval by approximately 35 percent. Langbein's own North American data appear to be consistent with those collected on the Murrumbidgee River.