Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Propylene Glycol Liposomes as a Topical Delivery System for Miconazole Nitrate: Comparison with Conventional Liposomes

Propylene glycol (PG)-phospholipid vesicles have been advocated as flexible lipid vesicles for enhanced skin delivery of drugs. To further characterize the performance of these vesicles and to address some relevant pharmaceutical issues, miconazole nitrate(MN)-loaded PG nanoliposomes were prepared and characterized for vesicle size, entrapment efficiency, in vitro release, and vesicle stability. An issue of pharmaceutical importance is the time-dependent, dilution-driven diffusion of propylene glycol out of the vesicles. This was addressed by assessing propylene glycol using gas chromatography in the separated vesicles and monitoring its buildup in the medium after repeated dispersion of separated vesicles in fresh medium. Further, the antifungal activity of liposomal formulations under study was assessed using Candida albicans, and their in vitro skin permeation and retention were studied using human skin. At all instances, blank and drug-loaded conventional liposomes were included for comparison. The results provided evidence of controlled MN delivery, constant percent PG uptake in the vesicles (≈45.5%) in the PG concentration range 2.5 to 10%, improved vesicle stability, and enhanced skin deposition of MN with minimum skin permeation. These are key issues for different formulation and performance aspects of propylene glycol-phospholipid vesicles.
Natural Resources and Economic Growth: Some Theory and Evidence

We develop a one-sector endogenous growth model in which renewable natural resources are both a factor of production and measure of environmental quality. Along the balanced growth path, sustained economic growth and a non-deteriorating environment are shown to coexist. Moreover, steady-state economic growth and natural-resource utilization are positively related. Empirically, a cross-country growth regression that includes a broad measure of productive natural resources ia the Ecological Footprint ia provides strong support. Our estimation results also suggest conservation costs are minimal, and growth strategies based on greater physical capital formation and trade openness outperform those relying on more intensive utilization of the environment.
Estimating the Risk of Parvovirus B19 Infection in Blood Donors and Pregnant Women in Japan

Background Seroepidemiological study of parvovirus B19 has not taken place for some 20 years in Japan. To estimate the risk of parvovirus B19 infection in Japan among blood donors and pregnant women in this century, a seroepidemiological survey and statistical modeling of the force of infection were conducted. Methodology/Principal Findings The time- and age-specific seroprevalence data were suggestive of strong age-dependency in the risk of infection. Employing a piecewise constant model, the highest forces of infection of 0.05 and 0.12 per year were observed among those aged 0–4 and 5–9 years, respectively, while estimates among older individuals were less than 0.01 per year. Analyzing the antigen detection data among blood donors, the age-specific proportion positive was highest among those aged 30–39 years, agreeing with the presence of dip in seroprevalence in this age-group. Among pregnant women, up to 107 fetal deaths and 21 hydrops fetalis were estimated to have occurred annually across Japan. Conclusions Seroepidemiological profiles of PVB19 infection in Japan was characterized with particular emphasis on the risk of infection in blood donors and the burden of infection among pregnant women. When a vaccine becomes available in the future, a similar seroepidemiological study is expected to play a key role in planning the appropriate immunization policy.
Testing the timing of radiocarbon-dated events between proxy archives

For interpreting past changes on a regional or global scale, the timings of proxy-inferred events are usually aligned with data from other locations. However, too often chronological uncertainties are ignored in proxy diagrams and multisite comparisons, making it possible for researchers to fall into the trap of sucking separate events into one illusionary event (or vice versa). Here we largely solve this ‘suck in and smear syndrome’ for radiocarbon (14C) dated sequences. In a Bayesian framework, millions of plausible age-models are constructed to quantify the chronological uncertainties within and between proxy archives. We test the technique on replicated high-resolution 14C-dated peat cores deposited during the ‘Little Ice Age’ (c. AD 1400-1900), a period characterized by abrupt climate changes and severe 14C calibration problems. Owing to internal variability in proxy data and uncertainties in age-models, these (and possibly many more) archives are not consistent in recording decadal climate change. Through explicit statistical tests of palaeoenvironmental hypotheses, we can move forward to systematic interpretations of proxy data. However, chronological uncertainties of non-annually resolved palaeoclimate records are too large for answering decadal timescale questions.
The Influence of Contour on Similarity Perception of Star Glyphs

We conducted three experiments to investigate the effects of contours on the detection of data similarity with star glyph variations. A star glyph is a small, compact, data graphic that represents a multi-dimensional data point. Star glyphs are often used in small-multiple settings, to represent data points in tables, on maps, or as overlays on other types of data graphics. In these settings, an important task is the visual comparison of the data points encoded in the star glyph, for example to find other similar data points or outliers. We hypothesized that for data comparisons, the overall shape of a star glyph-enhanced through contour lines-would aid the viewer in making accurate similarity judgments. To test this hypothesis, we conducted three experiments. In our first experiment, we explored how the use of contours influenced how visualization experts and trained novices chose glyphs with similar data values. Our results showed that glyphs without contours make the detection of data similarity easier. Given these results, we conducted a second study to understand intuitive notions of similarity. Star glyphs without contours most intuitively supported the detection of data similarity. In a third experiment, we tested the effect of star glyph reference structures (i.e., tickmarks and gridlines) on the detection of similarity. Surprisingly, our results show that adding reference structures does improve the correctness of similarity judgments for star glyphs with contours, but not for the standard star glyph. As a result of these experiments, we conclude that the simple star glyph without contours performs best under several criteria, reinforcing its practice and popularity in the literature. Contours seem to enhance the detection of other types of similarity, e. g. , shape similarity and are distracting when data similarity has to be judged. Based on these findings we provide design considerations regarding the use of contours and reference structures on star glyphs.
EXPERIMENTAL CHARACTERIZATION OF AN EIS-BASED METHOD FOR LOW-INVASIVE DIAGNOSIS OF PROSTHESIS OSSEOINTEGRATION

A digital measurement method for lowinvasive clinical diagnosis of metallic prosthesis osseointegration was proposed. Electrical impedance spectroscopy is exploited to characterize the quality of the interface bone-prosthesis tissue. In this paper, in vitro and in vivo experimental results of the application of the proposed method to the evaluation of osseointegration of metallic implants used for percutaneous fixation are shown with a specific clinical case study in audiology. In particular, a cochlear implant BAHA ® from Cochlear TM with direct bone conduction was used. In vivo measurements were performed on children with fixtures implanted respectively 7, 9, and 18 months before the test.
Endotoxin Sensitivity A Critical Role for Human Caspase-4 in

D. BuxbaumA. Gama Sosa, Gregory Elder, Ozlem Bozdagi and Joseph Yuji Kajiwara, Tamar Schiff, Georgios Voloudakis, Miguelol.1303424http://www.jimmunol.org/content/early/2014/05/29/jimmunJ Immunol€ published online 30 May 2014MaterialSupplementary4.DCSupplemental. htmlhttp://www.jimmunol.org/content/suppl/2014/05/29/jimmunol.130342Subscriptionshttp://jimmunol.org/subscriptionsInformation about subscribing to The Journal of Immunology is online at: Permissionshttp://www.aai. org/ji/copyright.htmlSubmit copyright permission requests at: Author ChoiceAuthor Choice option Freely available online through The Journal of ImmunologyEmail Alertshttp://jimmunol.org/cgi/alerts/etocReceive free email-alerts when new articles cite this article. Sign up at:
Aggression In Lesbian And Bisexual Relationships

For years, researchers, clinicians, and those working with victims/survivors of domestic abuse have overlooked the issue of same-sex partner aggression among lesbians and bisexual women. Through in-depth interviews with 19 women who identify themselves as either lesbian or bisexual, information was documented in this study demonstrating the severity of issues of power and control among some same-sex partners, as well as some if the dynamics that are unique to same-sex abusive relationships. Patterns of abuse within same-sex relationships often mirror those that are so commonly associated with partner aggression among heterosexual couples, and therefore demonstrate not only the need for further research on the topic of samesex partner abuse, but also the urgency to provide more assistance to the victims/survivors of domestic violence.
An Electrophysiological Investigation of Emotional Attention and Memory Biases in Depression: The Role of Working Memory Inhibitory Control Deficits

The high recurrence rate in depression suggests specific cognitive factors increase an individual’s risk for developing repeated episodes of the disorder. A factor implicated in the literature is biased cognitive processing of negative information. This includes sustained attention, elaboration and autobiographical memory for negative versus positive events. Empirical evidence and contemporary models suggest impaired ability to utilise inhibitory control over the entry and removal of extraneous negative information in working memory mediates these emotional processing biases (see Beck, 2008; Joormann, Yoon, & Zetsche, 2007). In depression, inhibitory control deficits are linked to poor emotional regulation (Joormann & Vanderlind, 2014) and increased tendency to rumination (Joormann & Gotlib, 2008), which serve to perpetuate and exacerbate depressed affect (Beck, 2008; Joormann, Yoon, & Zetsche, 2007). Previous research has primarily focused on examining the relationship between depression and biased cognitive processes and cognitive control deficits in different studies. However, the predicted interrelations between these processes in depressed and remitteddepressed samples have received limited investigation. To advance insight into the functional relations among these emotional information processing biases and cognitive deficits, the aim of the dissertation was to investigate these processes in a single investigation. The current work consisted of three event related potential (ERP) studies of information processing of emotional word stimuli in a sample of female university students. Participants underwent diagnostic assessment and subgroups were selected for subsequent studies if they met the criteria for one of the three
Web Queries as a Source for Syndromic Surveillance

In the field of syndromic surveillance, various sources are exploited for outbreak detection, monitoring and prediction. This paper describes a study on queries submitted to a medical web site, with influenza as a case study. The hypothesis of the work was that queries on influenza and influenza-like illness would provide a basis for the estimation of the timing of the peak and the intensity of the yearly influenza outbreaks that would be as good as the existing laboratory and sentinel surveillance. We calculated the occurrence of various queries related to influenza from search logs submitted to a Swedish medical web site for two influenza seasons. These figures were subsequently used to generate two models, one to estimate the number of laboratory verified influenza cases and one to estimate the proportion of patients with influenza-like illness reported by selected General Practitioners in Sweden. We applied an approach designed for highly correlated data, partial least squares regression. In our work, we found that certain web queries on influenza follow the same pattern as that obtained by the two other surveillance systems for influenza epidemics, and that they have equal power for the estimation of the influenza burden in society. Web queries give a unique access to ill individuals who are not (yet) seeking care. This paper shows the potential of web queries as an accurate, cheap and labour extensive source for syndromic surveillance.
An improved Sum-Of-Sinusoids based simulation model for Rayleigh fading channel

In multipath propagation scenario, Rayleigh fading is commonly modeled by Sum-Of-Sinusoid simulators. Many simulation models have been proposed in this direction, with Clarke's model as the reference model which was later simplified by Jake's model, which could not maintain the wide-sense stationary characteristics. Then an improved model was proposed by Pop and Beaulieu which was further modified by Zheng and Xiao. In this paper, we have considered that the probability of angle of arrival of received signal is not same in the entire range but is assumed high between -π/2 to π/2 and is assigned small value in the remaining ranges -π to -π/2 and π/2 to π. However in each segment the angle of arrival of received signal is considered to have uniform probability distribution function. This proposed probability distribution for the angle of arrival seems to be more realistic in some practical scenario. The autocorrelation, probability density function and power spectral density of the fading envelop is in close agreement with the mathematical model proposed by Clark.
Grid computing in the undergraduate classroom topics, exercises and experiences

Grid protocols and technologies arc being adopted in a wide variety of academic, government, and industrial environments, and there is a growing body of research-oriented literature in grid computing. However, there is a need for educational material that is suitable for classroom use. This paper describes our topics, exercises and experiences of teaching grid computing courses in the fall semester, 2004. to undergraduate computer science students at Lewis & Clark College and to a mix of undergraduate and graduate computer science students at the University of Arkansas. We identify a set of six knowledge areas that can help to structure course material in grid computing. In conclusion, we recommend that a grid computing course cover, or have as prerequisites, material on (1) remote method invocation and (2) security and certificates. Finally, student comments indicate the need for a series of grid programming exercises of increasing complexity.
A dynamic algorithm used in multicast routing

A dynamic multicast routing algorithm called CRMR is presented. An initial multicast tree is constructed by the KPP algorithm and a virtual trunk (VT) is built simultaneously in the algorithm. The trigger function (TF) that associates the QoS effected by members update in this region is used in CRMR. We also introduce a bandwidth indication function to alter CRMR algorithm to fit multiple QoS guaranteed, which can deal with the constraints of bandwidth and delay. The performances are compared among CRMR algorithm with others by simulation. The results indicate that CRMR is better.
Identification of Environmental Factors Associated with Inflammatory Bowel Disease in a Southwestern Highland Region of China: A Nested Case-Control Study

Background The aim of this study was to examine environmental factors associated with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) in Yunnan Province, a southwestern highland region of China. Methods In this nested case-control study, newly diagnosed ulcerative colitis (UC) cases in 2 cities in Yunnan Province and Crohn’s disease (CD) cases in 16 cities in Yunnan Province were recruited between 2008 and 2013. Controls were matched by geography, sex and age at a ratio of 1:4. Data were collected using the designed questionnaire. Conditional logistic regression models were used to estimate adjusted odds ratios (ORs). Results A total of 678 UC and 102 CD cases were recruited. For UC, various factors were associated with an increased risk of developing UC: dietary habits, including frequent irregular meal times; consumption of fried foods, salty foods and frozen dinners; childhood factors, including intestinal infectious diseases and frequent use of antibiotics; and other factors, such as mental labor, high work stress, use of non-aspirin non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs and allergies (OR > 1, p < 0.05). Other factors showed a protective effect: such as consumption of fruits, current smoking, physical activity, and drinking tea (OR < 1, p < 0.05). For CD, appendectomy and irregular meal times increased the disease risk (OR >1, p < 0.05), whereas physical activity may have reduced this risk (OR < 1, p < 0.05). Conclusions This study is the first nested case-control study to analyze the association between environmental factors and IBD onset in a southwestern highland region of China. Certain dietary habits, lifestyles, allergies and childhood factors may play important roles in IBD, particularly UC.
The Ciliary Protein Ftm Is Required for Ventricular Wall and Septal Development

Ventricular septal defects (VSDs) are the most common congenital heart defects in humans. Despite several studies of the molecular mechanisms involved in ventricular septum (VS) development, very little is known about VS-forming signaling. We observed perimembranous and muscular VSDs in Fantom (Ftm)-negative mice. Since Ftm is a ciliary protein, we investigated presence and function of cilia in murine hearts. Primary cilia could be detected at distinct positions in atria and ventricles at embryonic days (E) 10.5–12.5. The loss of Ftm leads to shortened cilia and a reduced proliferation in distinct atrial and ventricular ciliary regions at E11.5. Consequently, wall thickness is diminished in these areas. We suggest that ventricular proliferation is regulated by cilia-mediated Sonic hedgehog (Shh) and platelet-derived growth factor receptor α (Pdgfrα) signaling. Accordingly, we propose that primary cilia govern the cardiac proliferation which is essential for proper atrial and ventricular wall development and hence for the fully outgrowth of the VS. Thus, our study suggests ciliopathy as a cause of VSDs.
A Multi-Method Investigation of the Effects of Alcohol on Depression in Undergraduate Students Who Drink to Cope with Depression

Heavy drinking is prevalent among undergraduate students and is linked with drinking to cope with depression motives for drinking. Drinking to cope with depression remains poorly understood given that alcohol has been shown to have aversive effects on mood when consumed at high doses. Using semi-structured qualitative interviews, the present study examined the perceived effects of alcohol on depressive symptoms as reported by undergraduate students who report high levels of drinking to cope with depression. Sixteen undergraduate coping-with-depression-motivated drinkers (9 women, 7 men) reported on their experiences of drinking to cope with depression. Thematic analysis was conducted to identify themes and subthemes in the data; this analysis was supplemented with analyses of variance which examined the characteristics (demographics, alcohol use patterns, and depressive symptoms) of individuals who endorsed each subtheme. Undergraduate students reported several effects of alcohol on affective, cognitive, and behavioural depressive symptoms. While the majority of the effects they described were perceived as providing relief from depressive symptoms, some of the effects reported were perceived as worsening depressive symptoms. Theoretical and clinical implications, as well as directions for future research, are described.
Growth of cell colonies in soft agar from biopsies of different human solid tumors.

Abstract Colony growth in soft agar of cells disaggregated from 87 solid tumor specimens was evaluated. Tumors were disaggregated by an enzymatic method consisting of microtome slicing of tissues and incubation at 37° for 2 hr in Roswell Park Memorial Institute Tissue Culture Medium 1640 containing 10% fetal bovine serum, 0.8% collagenase II, and 0.002% DNase I. Tumor cells were cultured in a two-layer agar system (0.5% agar feeder, 0.3% agar plating layer) in enriched medium with or without addition of different factors. Fifty-eight of 87 malignant tumors (16 of 22 melanomas, 11 of 16 sarcomas, 8 of 16 pulmonary carcinomas, 8 of 11 colon carcinomas, 5 of 8 breast carcinomas, 2 of 3 carcinomas of unknown site, 2 of 2 ovarian carcinomas, 1 of 1 urinary bladder carcinoma, 0 of 1 kidney carcinoma, 1 of 1 epiglottic carcinoma, 1 of 1 pancreatic carcinoma, 1 of 1 pleural mesothelioma, 1 of 1 lung hemangiopericytoma, 0 of 1 malignant schwannoma, 0 of 1 malignant giant cell tumor, and 1 of 1 neuroblastoma) grew in the soft-agar system yielding an overall cloning success rate of 67%. The number of colonies (30 or more cells) after plating 5 × 105 cells ranged from 50 to 3774 per plate, yielding plating efficiency from 0.01 to 0.8%. Considerable variations in plating efficiency were noticed among tumors of the same type. A linear relationship was obtained between the number of cells plated and the number of colonies formed. Tumor cells washed after enzymatic disaggregation yielded more colonies per plate than did tumor cells plated without washing. Refrigeration of tumor tissue for 24 hr in Roswell Park Memorial Institute Tissue Culture Medium 1640 containing 10% fetal bovine serum did not decrease the number of colonies. The number of colonies formed was not increased with two different cell-conditioned media. Murine and rat red blood cells did not affect tumor colony growth. The cells plucked from individual colonies and stained by the Wright-Giemsa and Papanicolaou methods had the same morphological characteristics as did tumor cells in the original cell suspension. The histological pattern of the original tumors was maintained after passage from agar methyl cellulose into the nude mouse.