Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Cross Species applicability of Anti-human plasma IgY affinity column

In order to improve the sensitivity of proteomic analysis, our group has developed a chicken antibody based column that has successfully depleted high abundance proteins (HAPs) from human plasma prior to mass spectrometry analysis. The use of chicken as a host for polyclonal antibodies production conveys many advantages, including but not limited to, the capabilities of producing large quantities of IgY antibodies with minimal antigen quantities and enhanced immunogenicity exhibited by their immune systems against foreign immunogens. In this study, we explored the ability to use an anti-human IgY affinity column with a variety of plasma samples derived from different animals and demonstrate this column’s ability to deplete the two most common HAPs (albumin and immunoglobulins) reproducibly in phylogenetically related species. Hence, our study highly recommends that IgY-based immune depletion technologies could be used to capture targeted proteins among phylogenetically related species without having to produce separate columns for each clade.
Propedeutics to an international comparative analysis of state-based curriculum-making

Abstract Why should we assume systematic comparative research on state-based curriculum-making to be possible at all, given the high complexity and large variety of institutional forms of educational and political systems across nation-states? On the other hand, how can we explain the significant endeavour of nation-states all over the world to align their curricula with emergent issues, within their systems and on a global scale, if we reject the idea of comparability altogether? Drawing on research aiming at the re-analysis of data from parallel projects on curriculum-making in comparative perspective, this paper outlines some of the questions that need to be answered. It deals, first, with the issue of comparative methodology. It subsequently identifies the nation-state as the explanatory, but not necessarily observational, unit of analysis of research on state-based curriculum-making and discusses relationships between education, state and society. Finally, it attempts to distinguish different sources of challenges to the existing education system and to draw a line from their perception to their awareness and interpretation as issues to deal with and finally to their translation into charges for curriculum developers.
Review: Mitochondrial Defects in Breast Cancer

Mitochondria play important roles in cellular energy metabolism, free radical generation, and apoptosis. Mitochondrial DNA has been proposed to be involved in carcinogenesis because of its high susceptibility to mutations and limited repair mechanisms in comparison to nuclear DNA. Breast cancer is the most frequent cancer type among women in the world and, although exhaustive research has been done on nuclear DNA changes, several studies describe a variety of mitochondrial DNA alterations present in breast cancer. In this review article, we to provide a summary of the mitochondrial genomic alterations reported in breast cancer and their functional consequences.
Thermodynamics of mixing in MgSiO 3 – Al 2 O 3 perovskite and ilmenite from ab initio calculations

a Laboratory of Crystallography, ETH Zurich, Wolfgang-Pauli-Strasse 10, CH-8093 Zurich, Switzerland b Institute of Geosciences, University of Frankfurt, Altenhoeferallee 1, 60438 Frankfurt a. M. , Germany c TU Bergakademie Freiberg, Institut für Werkstoffwissenschaft, Gustav-Zeuner-Strasse 5, 09599 Freiberg, Germany d Department of Geosciences, Department of Physics and Astronomy, and New York Center for Computational Sciences, Stony Brook University, Stony Brook NY 11794-2100, USA e Geology Department, Moscow State University, 119992 Moscow, Russia f Institute for Mineralogy and Petrology, Clausiusstrasse 5, 8092 Zurich, Switzerland
Impact of Market Orientation and Entrepreneurial Orientation on Performance : A Study of Small and Medium Scale Garment Manufacturers in Sri Lanka

The purposes of this research was to identify relevant key performance drivers in small and medium scale business entities and to empirically examine the relationships between the identified performance drivers, using a sample of small and medium scale garment manufacturers in the Southern Province, Sri Lanka. To achieve these purposes, this study examined the following main research question: Does adopting a market orientation and an entrepreneurial orientation lead to better performance for small and medium scale business entities? The review of market orientation, entrepreneurial orientation and performance gave compelling reasons for continuing the search for relevant literature in the marketing research field and market orientation research in particular. This study used partial least squares path modeling to analyze the data collected using a structured questionnaire. The reliable and valid measurement model permits an empirical evaluation of the hypotheses in the structural path model. The results of two hypotheses in the structural model were statistically significant and all effects are in the expected direction.The current research is as such a response to the urge for more empirical studies within this novel research area in terms of surveys. It thereby added to the existing body of literature, and provided several insights for managers in retailing firms. This research also contributed to the ongoing effort within entrepreneurship research to develop valid and reliable scales. Entrepreneurial orientation is still a novel research area where researchers face measurement challenges due to the lack of sophisticated measures. The relationship between market orientation, entrepreneurial orientation and organizational performance will be an important study. Since this field of inquiry is fairly new it also offers numerous alternatives for further studies at the end of this study.
Character Recognition using Approximate Stroke Sequence Professor

Arabic character recognition of handwriting is addressed. A novel approach for the Arabic Character Recognition is presented based on statistical analysis of a typical Arabic text is presented. Results showed that the sub-word in Arabic language is the basic pictorial block rather than the word. The method of approximate stroke sequence is applied for the recognition of some Arabic characters in their stand-alone form. This method could be extended further for more accurate results. It is recommended that research in Arabic OCR systems in the future is based on the basis of the sub-word as the basic block rather than the word.
Do beliefs make a difference? Exploring how principal self-efficacy and instructional leadership impact teacher efficacy and commitment in Iran

Although the knowledge base on instructional leadership is quite well developed in Western societies empirical studies have only recently begun to emerge in the developing societies of Asia, Africa and Latin America. The current study was undertaken to fill a gap in leadership research in Iran, where there have been no prior studies of principal instructional leadership (PIL). The current study sought to understand the relationship between principal self-efficacy, instructional leadership, teacher collective efficacy and teacher organizational commitment in Iranian primary schools. Survey data collected from 111 principals and 345 teachers were analyzed using confirmatory factor analysis and structural equation modeling (SEM). The results confirmed the proposed conceptual model affirming the impact of both principal and teacher beliefs (i.e. self-efficacy) on their behaviors and on teacher commitment. More specifically, the SEM results identified robust, positive and statistically significant relationships among the constructs. These findings extend prior research by revealing how leader self-efficacy beliefs and instructional leadership behaviors interact to shape collective teacher efficacy and commitment. This research makes a distinct contribution not only to school leadership research in Iran, but also to the growing body of research on the effects of PIL in non-Western, developing societies.
Limits on anisotropy and inhomogeneity from the cosmic background radiation.

We consider directly the equations by which matter imposes anisotropies on freely propagating background radiation, leading to a new way of using anisotropy measurements to limit the deviations of the Universe from a Friedmann-Robertson-Walker (FRW) geometry. This approach is complementary to the usual Sachs-Wolfe approach: the limits obtained are not as detailed, but they are more model independent. We also give new results about combined matter-radiation perturbations in an almost-FRW universe, and a new exact solution of the linearized equations.
Truly Non-Repudiation Certificateless Short Signature Scheme from Bilinear Pairings

Certificateless signature scheme is a practical solution to confront the drawback, Key Generation Center (KGC) being able to forge the signature of a user, of an identity based (ID-based) signature scheme. Lots of previous research results have shown the security models and the generic constructions for certificateless signatures. However, most of them did not satisfy Girault’s level-3 security which the conventional public key infrastructure (PKI) can achieve. Until 2007, Hu et al. introduced a generic construction and security model that can fulfill the requirement of Girault’s level-3 security. Recently, Du and Wen proposed a certificateless short signature scheme which is more computation efficient than the previous ones. But a flaw in security proofs and lack of Girault’s level-3 security can be still found in their scheme. In this paper, a cryptanalysis on Du-Wen scheme and an improved scheme will be presented, and we also provide formal proofs to demonstrate the security of the proposed scheme.
Study on the impact of team teaching using the rasch measurement model: Perception of students and lecturers

This article reports the results of team teaching practice at the Department of Electrical, Electronic and Systems Engineering (JKEES), Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia (UKM). Two sets of questionnaires were used for lecturers and students to explore their perception of team teaching. A total of 21 lecturers and 253 students were chosen as survey respondents. The Rasch Measurement Model was employed to measure the reliability and validity of the survey instrument developed to evaluate the team teaching practice. Data were then analysed to identify the effectiveness of the team teaching method employed, and to measure its impact on students and lecturers. Results showed that the survey questions were developed with good individual and item reliability. Most of the respondents gave good feedback to the team teaching practice. Thus, students and lecturers perceive that team teaching as a method is effective and has positive impact on teaching and learning.
Endoscopic Ultrasonography In Portal Hypertension

Endoscopic ultrasonography (EUS) has recently emerged as an alternative means of providing data for patients with portal hypertension that is more accurate, less invasive and reproducible. It is well established that video-echo endoscopy, with combined endoscopic and sonographic examination, is comparable to endoscopy in diagnosing esophageal varices, but is more sensitive in diagnosing the presence of gastric varices. Dilated venous abnormalities outside the gastroesophageal lumen, which cannot be diagnosed by endoscopy, are readily visible by means of EUS or miniature probes. In the clinical setting of portal hypertension, endoscopic ultrasonography is also useful to predict the risk of variceal recurrence or rebleeding, which cannot be reliably predicted using endoscopy alone. The introduction of echo endoscopes equipped with Doppler facilities together with the performance of haemodynamic studies has allowed sonographic visualization of the vessels, playing thus an important role in the management of cirrhotic patients. It has thus become feasible not only to assess the vascular blood flow but also to evaluate possible morphologic and haemodynamic changes of the vessels after endoscopic or pharmacologic therapy. It is, nowadays, obvious that EUS is an exciting technological advance that has established its position in the diagnosis of varices and cirrhosis; what lies ahead for EUS is to positively find application in predicting the risk of variceal bleeding and in managing portal hypertension.
Zero-forcing based multiuser beamforming for coordinated Multi-Point transmission

Coordinated Multi-Point transmission and reception (CoMP) technique is a new promising scheme which has been adopted in LTE-Advanced. CoMP is mostly required to reduce the inter-cell interference (ICI). It also increases the cell edge user throughput and improves the coverage. For downlink CoMP, most research work mainly focuses on joint processing/transmission (CoMP-JP) mode. The Joint Processing technique for CoMP can maximize system performance, which is achieved mainly with zero-forcing beamforming algorithms. In this paper, we study the performance of multiuser beamforming for differently in various CoMP scenarios. The simulation results indicate that the proposed scheme offers much higher performance gain compared with the CoMP-JP mode.
Impact of General Channel Aging Conditions on the Downlink Performance of Massive MIMO

Recent works have identified massive multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) as a key technology for achieving substantial gains in spectral and energy efficiency. Additionally, the turn to low-cost transceivers, being prone to hardware impairments, is the most effective and attractive way for cost-efficient applications concerning massive MIMO systems. In this context, the impact of channel aging, which severely affects performance, is investigated herein by considering a generalized model. Specifically, we show that both Doppler shift due to the users' relative movement, as well as phase noise due to noisy local oscillators, contribute to channel aging. To this end, we first propose a joint model, encompassing both effects, to investigate the performance of a massive MIMO system based on the inevitable time-varying nature of realistic mobile communications. Then, we derive the deterministic equivalents for the signal-to-noise-and-interference ratios (SINRs) with maximum ratio transmission (MRT) and regularized zero-forcing (RZF) precoding. Our analysis not only demonstrates a performance comparison between MRT and RZF under these conditions but, most importantly, also reveals interesting properties regarding the effects of user mobility and phase noise. In particular, the large antenna limit behavior profoundly depends on both effects, but the burden due to user mobility is much more detrimental than phase noise even for moderate user velocities ( <inline-formula> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">$\approx$</tex-math></inline-formula> 30 km/h), whereas the negative impact of phase noise is noteworthy at lower mobility conditions. Moreover, massive MIMO systems are favorable even in general channel aging conditions. Nevertheless, we demonstrate that the transmit power of each user to maintain a certain quality of service can be scaled down, at most, by <inline-formula> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">$\text{1}\sqrt{M}$</tex-math></inline-formula> ( <inline-formula> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">$M$</tex-math></inline-formula> is the number of base station antennas), which indicates that the joint effects of phase noise and user mobility do not degrade the power scaling law but only the achievable sum-rate.
Influence of inflation pressure and balloon size on the development of intimal hyperplasia after balloon angioplasty. A study in the atherosclerotic rabbit.

To evaluate the effect of balloon size and inflation pressure on acute and subsequent outcome following balloon angioplasty (BA), 70 New Zealand White rabbits with bilateral femoral atherosclerosis were assigned to four groups: group 1, oversized balloon, low inflation pressure (n = 35 vessels; balloon size, 3.0 mm/inflation pressure, 5 atm); group 2, oversized balloon, high inflation pressure (n = 36; 3.0 mm/10 atm); group 3, appropriate size, low inflation pressure (n = 17; 2.5 mm/5 atm); and group 4, appropriate size balloon, high inflation pressure (n = 19; 2.5 mm/10 atm). Angiograms were obtained before, 10 minutes after, and 28 days after BA and read by two blinded observers using electronic calipers. The in vivo balloon-to-vessel ratio was measured for each group. There were eight non-BA controls. Rabbits were sacrificed either immediately (n = 34) or at 28 days after BA (n = 36), with the femoral vessels pressure perfused for histologic and morphometric analysis. The latter was performed at 28 days only. Absolute angiographic diameters increased in all groups immediately after BA (p less than 0.01). Acute angiographic success, defined as greater than 20% increase in luminal diameter, was higher using high inflation pressure (group 2, 32/36 [89%] and group 4, 16/19 [84%] vs. group 1, 23/35 [66%] and group 3, 9/17 [53%]; p less than 0.05). A 3.0-mm balloon resulted in significant oversizing irrespective of inflation pressure (balloon-to-vessel ratio, 1.5 +/- 0.1 vs. 1.1 +/- 0.1 to 1, for the 2.5-mm balloon). Vessels exposed to high inflation pressure had a significantly higher incidence of mural thrombus, dissection (p less than 0.01), and medial necrosis versus low pressure (p less than 0.05). At 28 days, the rates of restenosis (defined as greater than 50% loss of initial gain) were 14/20 (70%), 11/16 (69%), 5/10 (50%), and 5/10 (50%) for groups 1 through 4 (p = NS; a trend in favor of the groups using an oversized balloon). There was an increase in the degree of intimal hyperplasia by morphometric analysis in all groups, being most marked in group 2 (oversized balloon and high inflation pressure, 1.7 +/- 0.9 vs. 0.5 +/- 0.2 mm for controls, p less than 0.001). We reached two conclusions. First, all protocols resulted in a significant increase in luminal diameter immediately after angioplasty with the highest success rate in vessels subjected to high pressure dilatation. (ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 400 WORDS)
Behavioral/systems/cognitive Functional Dissociation between Anterior and Posterior Temporal Cortical Regions during Retrieval of Remote Memory

Retrieval of remote memory is considered to differentially involve the anterior and posterior temporal neocortices. Previous neuropsy-chological studies suggest that the different posterior temporal cortical regions are involved in the retrieval of remote memory of different categories of stimuli, whereas the anterior region is involved more generally in remote memory retrieval. In the present study, using functional magnetic resonance imaging of human brains, we tested this dissociation by examining the more precise characteristics of the anterior and posterior temporal cortical regions. Two categories of stimuli, faces and scenes, were used for paired stimuli to be retrieved, and the brain activity during retrieval of paired stimuli that were learned immediately before the scanning was compared with that during retrieval of paired stimuli that were learned ϳ8 weeks earlier. We found that the different posterior temporal cortical regions were activated during retrieval of different categories of remote memory in a category-specific manner, whereas the anterior temporal cortical region was activated during retrieval of remote memory in a category-general manner. Furthermore, by applying a multivariate pattern analysis to psychophysiological interactions during retrieval of remote memory relative to recent memory, we revealed the significant interaction from the category-specific posterior temporal cortical regions to the category-general anterior temporal region. These results suggest that the posterior temporal cortical regions are involved in representation and retrieval of category-specific remote memory, whereas the anterior cortical temporal region is involved in category-general retrieval process of remote memory.
Amyloid Deposition and Influx Transporter Expression at the Blood-Brain Barrier Increase in Normal Aging

Aging is the most important single risk factor for developing Alzheimer disease. We measured amyloid-&bgr; peptide (A&bgr;) levels in rat cerebral cortex and hippocampus during normal aging of Brown-Norway/Fischer rats. Amyloid-&bgr; accumulation was associated with expression of the A&bgr; influx transporter, the receptor for advanced glycation end-products (RAGEs) at the blood-brain barrier. Rats at selected ages from 3 to 36 months were analyzed by 1) immunohistochemistry for amyloid deposition and quantitative microvessel surfacearea RAGE expression, 2) ELISA for cortical A&bgr;40 and A&bgr;42 concentrations, and 3) Western blotting of microvessel proteins for RAGE expression. Immunohistochemistry showed increasing accumulation of brain A&bgr; with aging. By ELISA analysis, both A&bgr;40 and A&bgr;42 concentrations in cortical homogenates rose sharply from 9 to 12 months. The A&bgr;42 continued to rise up to age 30 months, whereas A&bgr;40 stabilized after 12 months. The expression of RAGE initially decreased between 3 and 12 months but then increased between 12 and 34 months by immunohistochemistry. On immunoblotting, RAGE decreased up to 9 months and then progressively increased up to 36 months. These data indicate an association between amyloid and microvessel RAGE during aging. An increase in capillary RAGE expression seems to play a role in the later A&bgr; accumulation but not in the initial increase.
Economic Cost of Childhood Unintentional Injuries

Aims: This study aims to review the economic cost of childhood (0-18 years) unintentional injuries (UI) and focuses upon comparing the cost burden between developing and developed countries. Methods: Articles were selected from PUBMED using the search words “Economic Cost”, “Unintentional injuries” and “Children”. Nine articles were selected. Results: Studies in China focused upon cost to hospitals, in Bangladesh they focused on personal payment in rural areas, and in Vietnam they focused upon community-based cost analysis. There was one study from Norway on UI at home. There were 5 articles from the USA focusing on submersion injury, UI insurance, unintentional traumatic brain injury, UI due to firearms and UI medical costs. The cost of childhood UI is enormous, ranging from US $516,938 to US $9,550,704 per year. This represents a large economic burden on society. Additionally, there is a large gap between lower-middle income countries (LMIC) and high income countries (HIC) in the burden of injury, injury health care and insurance systems. Conclusion: Different bases and contexts of studies make it difficult to draw a solid conclusion about the amount of costs of UI among children. Therefore, more studies of children's unintentional injuries should be carried out in low and middle income countries.
Adipokines and Sexual Hormones Associated with the Components of the Metabolic Syndrome in Pharmacologically Untreated Subjects: Data from the Brisighella Heart Study

We evaluated the association of the sex hormone pattern and the serum level of the main adipokines to metabolic syndrome (MS) and its components in 199 pharmacologically untreated subjects. Men and women included in the age-class subgroups were matched for body mass index, waist circumference, blood pressure, heart rate, fasting plasma glucose, and plasma lipids. Men without MS had significantly lower leptin/adiponectin ratio than men with MS. Women without MS had lower leptin and leptin/adiponectin ratio than women with MS but had significantly higher adiponectin, estrone, and dehydroepiandrosterone levels. In men, the leptin/adiponectin ratio is the main factor associated to MS diagnosis (OR: 3.36, 95% CI 1.40–8.08), while in women adiponectin alone appears to be a protective factor (OR: 0.87, 95% CI 0.79–0.95). In conclusion, in a sample of pharmacologically untreated subjects, leptin/adiponectin ratio seems to be the factor more strongly associated to MS and its components.