Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Naturally induced auto-anit-idiotypic antibodies. Induction by identical idiotopes in some members of an outbred rabbit family

Naturally induced auto-anti-idiotypic (AAI) antibody responses specific for antimicrococcal antibody idiotypes were detected in 42% of the rabbits in a family immunized with Micrococcus lysodeikticus. The natural AAI response of each rabbit recognized only a portion (11-41%) of that individual's total antimicrococcal antibody population. Cross- reactions of idiotypes were observed within the group of rabbits exhibiting natural AAI responses. Examination of the basis for the cross-reactions showed that the natural AAI antisera recognized identical idiotopes on the antimicrococcal F(ab')2 fragments from each rabbit that made an AAI response. The cross-reactive idiotopes were shown to be of paternal origin and were found in the antimicrococcal antibodies of each offspring. The data strongly support the idiotypic network concept that naturally induced AAI responses may occur routinely in outbred normal individuals as a result of antigenic stimulation. Further, the data suggest that the induction of regulatory AAI antibody responses in outbred rabbits may depend on the expression of particular germ line idiotopes.
Importance sampling for physically-based hair fiber models

We present a new strategy for importance sampling hair reflectance models. To combine hair reflectance models with increasingly popular physically-based rendering algorithms, an efficient sampling scheme is required to select scattered rays that lead to lower variance and noise. Our new strategy, which is tied closely to the derivation of physically-based fiber functions, works well for both smooth and rough fibers based on the Marschner et al. model and also for Lambertian fibers. It should be directly usable with future hair reflectance models that allow for more general cross-sections and more complex surface properties, provided the lobes are derived in a similar, separable fashion. Our strategy includes lobe selection and can efficiently sample complex lobe shapes like the Marschner TRT function. The scheme is easy to implement and requires no precomputation, allowing fully heterogeneous variation of all fiber parameters.
[Follicular dynamics after treatment with hCG for ovulation induction in mares].

In this study the use of hCG for induction of ovulation is described. Factors such as follicle diameter at the time of administration of hCG (3000 IE hCG i.v.), follicular growth after hCG and the rate of double ovulations were evaluated. A total of 168 mares presented for artificial insemination were used. In 249 estrous periods hCG was given to mares exhibiting standing estrous when a minimum follicle diameter of 30 mm and a well developed edema of the endometrium could be detected by ultrasonography. In nine estrous periods ovulation occurred within 24 hours after hCG. The majority of mares (216; 86.7%) ovulated 24 to 48 hours after hCG and in 24 cases ovulation was delayed beyond 48 hours. Follicle size at the time of hCG administration (30-34 mm, 35-39 mm, > or = 40 mm) had no influence on the percentage of mares ovulating 24 to 48 hours after hCG (89.2%, 87.9%, and 83.7%, respectively). Double ovulations could be observed in 17.7% of estrous periods. The one cycle pregnancy rate was not influenced by follicle size (small 45.9%; medium 41.6%; large 47.5%). Repeated treatments with hCG during successive estrous cycles within one year did not influence the rate of responding to hCG. Mares in standing estrous respond well to hCG if a minimum follicle size of 30 mm and a well developed endometrial folding is present.
IgM monoclonal gammopathy–associated neuropathies with different IgM specificity

Background and purpose: Antibodies directed against myelin‐associated glycoprotein (MAG) are believed to be the most frequent biologic marker of the neuropathies associated with IgM monoclonal gammopathy of undetermined significance (MGUS). The objective of this study was to examine the prevalence of antiganglioside and/or sulfatide‐positive patients and their clinical findings, including therapeutic response, compared to anti‐MAG‐positive or seronegative patients.
Conscientiousness, perceived control over HIV and condom use in gay/bisexual men

Men who have sex with men remain a high-risk group for human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection in the United Kingdom. Quantitative psychological approaches to modelling sexual risk-taking have originated from two theoretical traditions: social-cognitive (e.g. perceived behavioural control over HIV) and trait/dispositional (e.g. personality traits). Conscientiousness is a potentially important trait, but as a recent addition to the five-factor model of personality traits, it has been under-researched. A latent variable model of data collected from 378 Internet users suggested an indirect effect, via perceived control, of conscientiousness to unprotected anal intercourse. However, the association was specific to the casual partner context. Ever having undergone HIV testing was predicted by age, stronger gay identity, but not conscientiousness. The model illustrates that social cognitions are useful additions to personality-health models and that partner type is an important contextual factor to determine which models of sexual risk-taking should be considered. Future research should evaluate a wider range of predictor variables, longitudinal designs and the impact of different statistical modelling strategies on the size of the association between traits and risky sexual health behaviours.
The impact of reporting MAC on cooperative spectrum sensing in multiband cognitive networks

Cooperative spectrum sensing generally consists of two consecutive stages: sensing and reporting, where sensors measure channels at the sensing stage and then use a multiple access protocol to report their local measurement results which we call the reporting MAC protocol. In this paper, we examine the impact of reporting MAC protocols on centralized cooperative sensing in multiband cognitive networks. Specifically, we study the applicability of TDMA and IEEE 802.11 CSMA/CA protocols for cooperative spectrum sensing reporting. A general mathematical model has been developed to quantify the achievable bandwidth utilization within a secondary system, which takes into account different combinations of sensor assignment strategies, reporting MAC, fusion rules, and regulatory constraints. The model allows the cross-layer optimization on the PHY and MAC layers of cooperative detection. The results show that the reporting control signaling can dominate the sensing overhead and result in significant capacity loss in some scenarios, which emphasizes the importance of using an efficient reporting MAC in cooperative sensing.
Norepinephrine Transporter in Major Depressive Disorder: A PET Study.

OBJECTIVE The norepinephrine transporter has been suggested to play a crucial role in major depressive disorder. However, norepinephrine transporter availability in major depressive disorder and its role with clinical symptoms are not known. The authors tested norepinephrine transporter availability in patients with major depressive disorder with the aim to identify any associations between test results and clinical symptoms. METHOD The present research was a cross-sectional study in which 19 patients with major depressive disorder and 19 age- and sex-matched healthy comparison subjects underwent positron emission tomography scanning to evaluate the norepinephrine transporter availability measured by the radioligand (S,S)-[18F]FMeNER-D2. Norepinephrine transporter availability in the thalamus and its subregions was quantified in terms of nondisplaceable binding potential (BPND). The authors also analyzed the association between norepinephrine transporter availability and clinical symptoms. RESULTS Compared with healthy subjects, patients with major depressive disorder showed 29.0% higher BPND values in the thalamus and, in particular, 28.2% higher values in the thalamic subregion anatomically connected to the prefrontal cortex. Elevated norepinephrine transporter availability in the thalamus in patients was positively correlated with attention, as measured by the Trail Making Test, part A. CONCLUSIONS These findings revealed altered norepinephrine transmission in patients with major depressive disorder, suggesting that this alteration could be related to attention in this patient population.
The poverty burden: a measure of the difficulty of ending extreme poverty

The commonly used poverty gap measure is extended to derive and analyse the properties of a poverty burden measure to address the question of whether the elimination of poverty is a feasible objective, given sufficient political commitment. The resources potentially available to address poverty may be measured by the total amount by which the incomes of the non-poor exceed the same poverty line. The ratio of the poverty gap to the resources potentially available is equal to the proportional tax rate on incomes in excess of the poverty line that would be required to fund a transfer sufficient to raise the incomes of all poor people to the poverty line. We refer to this ratio as the ‘poverty burden’ and provide some empirical evidence of what is required to eliminate poverty.
ReSurf: Reconstructing web-surfing activity from network traffic

More and more applications and services move to the web and this has led to web traffic amounting to as much as 80% of all network traffic. At the same time, most traffic classification efforts stop once they correctly label a flow as web or HTTP. In this paper, we focus on understanding what happens “under the hood” of HTTP traffic. Our first contribution is ReSurf, a systematic approach to reconstruct web-surfing activity starting from raw network data with more than 91% recall and 95% precision over four real network traces. Our second contribution is an extensive analysis of web activity across these traces. By utilizing ReSurf, we study web-surfing behaviors in terms of user requests and transitions between websites (e.g. the click-through history of following hyperlinks). A surprising result is the prevalence of advertising and tracking services that are being accessed during web-surfing that are without the user's explicit consent. In our traces, we found that with 90% chance a user will access such a service after just three user requests (or “clicks”). We believe that our methodology and findings provide valuable insights into modern traffic that can allow: (a) network administrators to better manage and protect their networks, (b) traffic regulators to protect the rights of on-line users, and (c) researchers to better understand the evolution of the traffic from modern websites.
Practicing Strategically: The Difference Between Knowledge and Action in Two Eighth-Grade Students’ Independent Instrumental Practice

This qualitative collective case study examined the practice strategies of two eighth-grade instrumentalists. Participants included two student—parent pairs from the author’s school district. Data were obtained through interviews and videotaped practice sessions. Results are presented according to two main themes: practice description versus practice action and personal enjoyment. The findings of this study suggest that a gap exists between the students’ knowledge and their application of effective strategies to their independent practicing.
Two orthogonal cleavages separate subunit RNAs in mouse ribosome biogenesis

Ribosome biogenesis is a dynamic multistep process, many features of which are still incompletely documented. Here, we show that changes in this pathway can be captured and annotated by means of a graphic set of pre-rRNA ratios, a technique we call Ratio Analysis of Multiple Precursors (RAMP). We find that knocking down a ribosome synthesis factor produces a characteristic RAMP profile that exhibits consistency across a range of depletion levels. This facilitates the inference of affected steps and simplifies comparative analysis. We applied RAMP to examine how endonucleolytic cleavages of the mouse pre-rRNA transcript in the internal transcribed spacer 1 (ITS1) are affected by depletion of factors required for maturation of the small ribosomal subunit (Rcl1, Fcf1/Utp24, Utp23) and the large subunit (Pes1, Nog1). The data suggest that completion of early maturation in a subunit triggers its release from the common pre-rRNA transcript by stimulating cleavage at the proximal site in ITS1. We also find that splitting of pre-rRNA in the 3′ region of ITS1 is prevalent in adult mouse tissues and quiescent cells, as it is in human cells. We propose a model for subunit separation during mammalian ribosome synthesis and discuss its implications for understanding pre-rRNA processing pathways.
Expression of a tumor-associated gene, LASS2, in the human bladder carcinoma cell lines BIU-87, T24, EJ and EJ-M3

Homo sapiens longevity assurance homolog 2 of yeast LAG1 (LASS2), a metastasis suppressor gene of human cancer, is the most abundantly expressed member of the ceramide synthase gene family. Expression of LASS2 has been reported in carcinomas of the prostate, liver and breast. However, there has been no report on the expression of LASS2 in human bladder cancer cell lines. In order to investigate the expression and potential role of this new tumor metastasis supressor gene in human bladder cancer, we compared the proliferation, metastasis and invasion among the BIU-87, T24, EJ and EJ-M3 human bladder cancer cell lines. The mRNA expression levels of the LASS2 gene were examined using real-time quantitative PCR (qPCR). The expression levels of LASS1 and LASS3 mRNA were used as references. The protein expression level of the LASS2 gene was detected using western blotting. The most aggressive of these four human cancer cell lines was observed to be EJ-M3. The expression of LASS2 mRNA was significantly correlated with diverse proliferation, metastasis and invasion. The expression levels of LASS1 and LASS3 mRNA were not correlated with these parameters. At the protein level, we observed that the more aggressive the cancer cell line, the lower the LASS2 protein expression level. Therefore, LASS2 expression may be correlated with the development and progression of human bladder cancer and may be a prognostic indicator for this cancer.
Debugging of Java Programs using a model-based approach

Poinsettia '586' is a new cultivar of the "curly" flower type, distinguished by red flower bracts, unique flower bract formation and presentation, dark green foliage and self-branching characteristics. The new plant produces a very desirable branched flowering pot plant. The post-production foliage and bract retention is excellent even under low light intensities in the consumer's home.
Individualized Education Programs in Resource and Inclusive Settings

In this study, Individualized Education Programs (IEPs) for students in resource and inclusive settings were compared. Participants were 108 students with mild disabilities (50 in resource settings and 58 in inclusive settings) in Grades 1 through 6 with IEPs in reading. IEPs for students in resource programs had more service minutes, more long-range goals, and used more sources of information than IEPs for students in inclusive programs Furthermore, there was a better concordance between IEP components and student ability level in resource programs, and differences in IEPs by disability category were more pronounced in resource programs than in inclusive programs. Finally, the relation between the IEP level of service intensity and the number of minutes allocated to reading each day was greater for students in inclusive programs than for students in resource programs. Results are discussed in terms of the extent to which educational programs are “individualized” for students in resource and inclusive settings.
Metformin and Cancer Risk and Mortality: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis Taking into Account Biases and Confounders

Previous meta-analyses have shown that the antidiabetic agent metformin is associated with reduced cancer incidence and mortality. However, this effect has not been consistently demonstrated in animal models and recent epidemiologic studies. We performed a meta-analysis with a focus on confounders and biases, including body mass index (BMI), study type, and time-related biases. We identified 71 articles published between January 1, 1966, and May 31, 2013, through Pubmed, ISI Web of Science (Science Citation Index Expanded), Embase, and the Cochrane library that were related to metformin and cancer incidence or mortality. Study characteristics and outcomes were abstracted for each study that met inclusion criteria. We included estimates from 47 independent studies and 65,540 cancer cases in patients with diabetes. Overall cancer incidence was reduced by 31% [summary relative risk (SRR), 0.69; 95% confidence interval (CI), 0.52–0.90], although between-study heterogeneity was considerable (I2 = 88%). Cancer mortality was reduced by 34% (SRR, 0.66; 95% CI, 0.54–0.81; I2 = 21%). BMI-adjusted studies and studies without time-related biases also showed significant reduction in cancer incidence (SRR, 0.82; 95% CI, 0.70–0.96 with I2 = 76% and SRR, 0.90; 95% CI, 0.89–0.91 with I2 = 56%, respectively), albeit with lesser magnitude (18% and 10% reduction, respectively). However, studies of cancer mortality and individual organ sites did not consistently show significant reductions across all types of analyses. Although these associations may not be causal, our results show that metformin may reduce cancer incidence and mortality in patients with diabetes However, the reduction seems to be of modest magnitude and not affecting all populations equally. Clinical trials are needed to determine if these observations apply to nondiabetic populations and to specific organ sites. Cancer Prev Res; 7(9); 867–85. ©2014 AACR.
Family psychoeducational interventions for schizophrenia in routine settings: impact on patients' clinical status and social functioning and on relatives' burden and resources

SUMMARY Objective — This study explored the effectiveness of a psychoeducational family intervention for schizophrenia on patients' clinical status and disability and relatives' burden and perceived support. Methods — The study has been carried out in 17 mental health centres. In each of them, 2 professionals were trained in a psychoeducational intervention and applied it for six months with families of users with schizophrenia. At baseline and six months later, patients' clinical status and disability, and relatives' burden, social network and professional support were assessed by validated tools. Results — Of the seventy-one recruited families, 48 (68%) completed the intervention. At six months, a significant improvement was found in patients' clinical status and social functioning, as well as in relatives' burden and social and professional support. In particular, the percentage of patients with poor or very poor global social functioning dropped from 50% to 27% at six months. Forty percent of patients and 45% of relatives reported a significant improvement in their social contacts over the intervention period. Conclusions — The results of this study confirm the hypothesis that psychoeducational family interventions may have a significant effect on social outcome and family burden in schizophrenia when provided in routine conditions. Declaration of Interest: none of the authors has had any interest or he/she has received any form of support, including that from drug companies and honoraria for lectures and consultancies, potentially in conflict with this scientific work. None of the authors has received any form of fee for his/her participation in this study. This study was supported by grants received from the “M. Lugli” Foundation (grant n. 2/18/8) and from the National Institute of Health, Italy (grant no. 1AL/F3).
Physiological compensation in antisense transformants: specific induction of an "ersatz" glucan endo-1,3-beta-glucosidase in plants infected with necrotizing viruses.

Plant class I glucan endo-1,3-beta-glucosidases (beta-1,3-glucanase; 1,3-beta-D-glucan glucanohydrolase, EC 3.2.1.39) have been implicated in development and defense against pathogen attack. Nevertheless, beta-1,3-glucanase deficiencies generated by antisense transformation of Nicotiana sylvestris and tobacco have little biological effect. We report here that another beta-1,3-glucanase activity is induced in these deficient mutants after infection with necrotizing viruses. Induction of class I beta-1,3-glucanase was markedly inhibited in leaves of N. sylvestris and tobacco antisense transformants infected with tobacco necrosis virus and tobacco mosaic virus, respectively. A serologically distinct beta-1,3-glucanase activity was present in the infected antisense transformants but was absent in both healthy and infected control plants and in antisense transformants treated with the stress hormone ethylene. Immunoblot analyses, localization studies, and measurements of antibody specificity indicate that this compensatory beta-1,3-glucanase activity is an intracellular enzyme different from known tobacco beta-1,3-glucanases. Therefore, plants can compensate for a deficiency in enzyme activity by producing a functionally equivalent replacement--i.e., "ersatz"--protein or proteins. The fact that compensation for beta-1,3-glucanase activity occurs in response to infection argues strongly for an important role of these enzymes in pathogenesis.
Day School Israel Education in the Age of Birthright

What are North American Jewish day schools doing when they engage in Israel education, what shapes their practices, and to what ends? In this article, we report on a multi-method study inspired by these questions. Our account is organized around an analytical model that helps distinguish between what we call the vehicles, intensifiers, and conditions of day school Israel education. Our discussion explores the possibility that when it comes to Israel education, schools have shifted from a paradigm of instruction to one of enculturation. This shift, we suggest, is indicative of a generalized anxiety about students' commitments to Israel and about their capacity to advocate for Israel when they “come of age” at university.
Myths or reality - a scrutiny of dominant beliefs in the Swedish science policy debate

This paper identifies and critically discusses the validity of a set of dominant beliefs in the current debate on Swedish science policy. The beliefs, which centre on academic research, include important assumptions about the scale, orientation, functions, control and funding of such work. We argue that these beliefs are either wrong or stand on very shaky empirical ground. Mistaken beliefs are dangerous in that they may lead policy-makers to define the key issues wrongly, or to ignore some of them. By formulating alternative beliefs, we point to a set of policy issues that need to be addressed, and urgently. Copyright , Beech Tree Publishing.
School-Wide Positive Behavior Support in High School

School-wide positive behavior support (SWPBS) is designed to promote positive teaching and learning climates supporting positive social behavior and academic achievement. As a proactive school-wide approach, all students and all staff across all settings are considered. This approach has been implemented in more than 5,000 schools across the United States to date, primarily in elementary and middle schools. High schools are complex organizations with multiple administrators, large numbers of staff and students, and varied expectations related to academic achievement and successful diploma completion. Although key features of SWPBS are similar across schools, specific implementation strategies often are different in high schools. In this article, the authors first delineate the critical features of SWPBS and then present results from a survey of sample high schools implementing SWPBS. They use survey results as a foundation from which to provide guidelines to school teams attempting to implement SWPBS in high schools.