Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Residential magnetic fields as a risk factor for childhood acute leukaemia: Results from a German population‐based case‐control study

Our objective was to investigate whether exposure to residential power‐frequency (50 Hz) magnetic fields above 0.2 μT increases a child's risk of leukaemia and to confirm or reject a finding from a previous German study on this topic, which reported increased leukaemia risk with exposure to stronger magnetic fields during the night. A population‐based case‐control study was used, covering the whole of the former West Germany. Residential magnetic fields were measured over 24 hr for 514 children with acute leukaemia identified by the German Childhood Cancer Registry and 1,301 control children taken from population registration files. Magnetic fields above 0.2 μT were relatively rare in Germany (only 1.5% of the study population). Childhood leukaemia and 24 hr median magnetic fields were only weakly related (OR = 1.55, 95% CI 0.65–3.67). A significant association was seen between childhood leukaemia and magnetic field exposure during the night (OR = 3.21, 95% CI 1.33–7.80). A dose‐response‐relationship was observed after combining the data of all German studies on magnetic fields and childhood leukaemia. The evidence for an association between childhood leukaemia and magnetic field eposure in our study comes from a measure of exposure during the night. Despite the large size of our study, the results are based on small numbers of exposed children. If the observed association stands, the effect on a population level in Germany would be small. © 2001 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
On Redundant Multipath Operating System Support for Wireless Mesh Networks

Low-cost wireless routers are changing the way people connect to the Internet. They are also very cheap, albeit quite limited, Linux boxes. These attributes make them ideal candidates for wireless mesh routers. This paper presents a minimally invasive mechanism for redundant multipath routing in kernel-space to achieve high reliability with high throughput in a mesh network. This service is essential for achieving fast, lossless handoff as mobile devices roam throughout the wireless mesh coverage area. However, redundant multipath is not natively supported by current operating systems, limiting the routing mechanisms that can be used in these networks to user-level implementations, which can greatly degrade performance. We show an architecture that integrates this mechanism in a wireless mesh system, resulting in a high-throughput 802.11 mesh network with fast handoff over low-cost routers.
Is there a place for children's geographers in the policy arena?

Despite a limited number of notable exceptions, children's geographers are not generally engaged with the policy process. Drawing on research carried out for the UK's Department for Education and Skills, this paper will argue that children's geographers are ideally placed to explore a number of important research questions appertaining to the impact of policy reform on children's lives. It suggests that by actively engaging with the policy process, we, as children's geographers, can bring a fresh and important perspective to the policy arena.
The nation as an artichoke? A critique of ethnosymbolist interpretations of nationalism*

Abstract. The aim of this article is to offer a critique of ethnosymbolism in the light of recent approaches to nations and nationalism. The article will engage with ethnosymbolist interpretations on three different levels. Since ethnosymbolists present their approach as an attempt to revise the modernist analysis from within, it will first address their critique of modernism. It will then assess the analytical contributions of ethnosymbolism, focusing in particular on four issues: the antiquity of nations and national feelings, the importance of the past for the present and the related issue of the role of elites in nation-formation, the notorious issue of resonance and the plurality of ethnic pasts. Finally, it will question the normative implications of ethnosymbolism and conclude that ethnosymbolism is more an attempt to resuscitate nationalism than to explain it.
Justifying Sex: The Place of Women's Sexuality on a Social Justice Agenda

Within popular and professional discourses, consideration of women's sexuality often centers on its dangers and difficulties: unintended pregnancy, infection, varying forms of coercion and objectification, and sexual dysfunction. Such rhetoric is so persistent that sexuality itself is often perceived as inherently risky and dangerous. The present article challenges this equation by arguing that women's sexual vulnerability is attributable to social injustice and inequality on the basis of gender, heteronormativity, class, and race, rather than sexuality itself. The emerging interdisciplinary movement toward positive sexuality, including the relevance of desire and pleasure to social justice and social change, is reviewed with particular attention to the ways in which social work is especially well suited to assume a positive, social justice orientation to women's sexuality.
Pulsatile spiral blood flow through arterial stenosis

Pulsatile spiral blood flow in a modelled three-dimensional arterial stenosis, with a 75% cross-sectional area reduction, is investigated by using numerical fluid dynamics. Two-equation k-ω model is used for the simulation of the transitional flow with Reynolds numbers 500 and 1000. It is found that the spiral component increases the static pressure in the vessel during the deceleration phase of the flow pulse. In addition, the spiral component reduces the turbulence intensity and wall shear stress found in the post-stenosis region of the vessel in the early stages of the flow pulse. Hence, the findings agree with the results of Stonebridge et al. (2004). In addition, the results of the effects of a spiral component on time-varying flow are presented and discussed along with the relevant pathological issues.
Tangibilidade e intangibilidade na determinação do desempenho persistente de firmas Brasileiras

RBV states that resources and capabilities are heterogeneously distributed among firms and are the main drivers of their different performances. When these resources are rare, valuable and difficult to imitate and the firm has a suitable organizational structure for exploiting them, they have the potential to lead the firms to a persistent, above average performance. The aim of this article is to analyze whether the firm's persistent performance is related to the intangibility or tangibility of their resources. The sample comprises Brazilian public companies listed on the Bovespa Stock Exchange in Sao Paulo. The statistical technique employed was the dynamic panel data, with estimates obtained by the generalized method of moments. The results show that, in the case of the Brazilian companies under study, the intangibility of resources was not a sustainable competitive advantage because these resources do not persistently contribute to the higher performance of firms. On the other hand, the tangibility of resources played a significant contribution to the persistent performance of firm operating in different industries.
Reasons for Inhalant Use

The reasons for initiation and quitting toxicant inhalant drug use were examined in a sample of 110 Mexican American adolescents. Results supported the etiological importance of availability, psychologicalproneness, sensation-seeking and curiosity, parental and home problems, and peer influences. In this sample, however, the role of parental problems and peer influences in starting inhalant use were not as influential as the literature suggests for initial use of other drugs. Availability was not considered an important reason for quitting inhalant use, but social pressures, attitudinal changes, and perceived health risks were important.
A block in release of progeny virus and a high particle-to-infectious unit ratio contribute to poor growth of enteric adenovirus types 40 and 41 in cell culture

The fastidious enteric adenovirus (FEAd) types 40 (Ad40) and 41 (Ad41) are found in stool specimens of infants and young children in association with gastroenteritis. Although they can be isolated routinely from clinical specimens by using 293 cells, they are propagated with variable success in cell lines which support the replication of other adenovirus serotypes. HeLa cells are generally considered to be nonpermissive for the replication of FEAds, but in this study, Ad40 and Ad41 grew to comparable titers in individual 293 and HeLa cells. However, virus was not efficiently released from infected HeLa cells and thus did not undergo multiple cycles of infection in HeLa cell cultures. The block in virus release was not overcome in KB18 cells which, like 293 cells, constitutively express proteins encoded by the E1B region of a subgroup C adenovirus (in this case Ad2). Moreover, it was apparent from these studies that Ad40 and Ad41 have particle-to-infectious unit ratios several orders of magnitude greater than that for Ad5, even in 293 cells which express the E1A and E1B proteins of Ad5 and are considered to be permissive for replication of the FEAds. Neither the block in release of progeny virus nor the high particle-to-infectious unit ratio is explained solely by the defect in expression of the E1B 55K protein identified by Mautner et al. (V. Mautner, N. MacKay, and V. Steinthorsdottir, Virology 171:619-622, 1989; V. Mautner, N. MacKay, and K. Morris, Virology 179:129-138, 1990).
Crawl into Inquiry-Based Learning

There is a particular need for inquiry-based lessons in the early elementary grades, when students are starting to develop their analytical skills. In this article, the authors present a 2-tiered inquiry-based lesson plan for 1st and 2nd grades that has been successfully used by graduate teaching fellows involved in the National Science Foundation GK—12 program at the Oregon Institute of Marine Biology (OIMB), University of Oregon. This lesson involves the use of live marine or terrestrial hermit crabs. The first tier of the lesson covers the anatomy, general ecology, and classification of the hermit crabs, with students making detailed observations and asking questions about their live subjects. The second tier is an experiment to test a question commonly raised by students: Do hermit crabs like to live on sand or on rocks? Students use this question to design and choose an experimental setup, make hypotheses, record and report results, evaluate their experiment, and suggest possible improvements.
Dysregulation of working memory and default‐mode networks in schizophrenia using independent component analysis, an fBIRN and MCIC study

Deficits in working memory (WM) are a consistent neurocognitive marker for schizophrenia. Previous studies have suggested that WM is the product of coordinated activity in distributed functionally connected brain regions. Independent component analysis (ICA) is a data‐driven approach that can identify temporally coherent networks that underlie fMRI activity. We applied ICA to an fMRI dataset for 115 patients with chronic schizophrenia and 130 healthy controls by performing the Sternberg Item Recognition Paradigm. Here, we describe the first results using ICA to identify differences in the function of WM networks in schizophrenia compared to controls. ICA revealed six networks that showed significant differences between patients with schizophrenia and healthy controls. Four of these networks were negatively task‐correlated and showed deactivation across the posterior cingulate, precuneus, medial prefrontal cortex, anterior cingulate, inferior parietal lobules, and parahippocampus. These networks comprise brain regions known as the default‐mode network (DMN), a well‐characterized set of regions shown to be active during internal modes of cognition and implicated in schizophrenia. Two networks were positively task‐correlated, with one network engaging WM regions such as bilateral DLPFC and inferior parietal lobules while the other network engaged primarily the cerebellum. Our results suggest that DLPFC dysfunction in schizophrenia might be lateralized to the left and intrinsically tied to other regions such as the inferior parietal lobule and cingulate gyrus. Furthermore, we found that DMN dysfunction in schizophrenia exists across multiple subnetworks of the DMN and that these subnetworks are individually relevant to the pathophysiology of schizophrenia. In summary, this large multsite study identified multiple temporally coherent networks, which are aberrant in schizophrenia versus healthy controls and suggests that both task‐correlated and task‐anticorrelated networks may serve as potential biomarkers. Hum Brain Mapp, 2009. © 2009 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Reevaluation of a Quantitative Structure Pharmacokinetic Model for Biliary Excretion in Rats

Quantitative structure pharmacokinetic relationship (QSPKR) modeling can be used to predict the biliary clearance and percentage of dose eliminated in bile (PDb) in humans before clinical studies. Recently, a QSPKR model based on in-house compounds was derived using simple physicochemical descriptors to predict the PDb in rats (Drug Metab Dispos 38:422–430, 2010). Our objective was to evaluate the QSPKR model derived for the prediction of PDb for our larger dataset of 164 compounds in the rat and for the 97 compounds in our human dataset (AAPS J 11:511–525, 2009). Re-analysis of the published QSPKR model revealed the model to be statistically insignificant (Drug Metab Dispos 38:422–430, 2010). Thus, a new statistically significant QSPKR model, consisting of one less descriptor than the published model, was derived from the published data. The newly derived model performed as well as the published model in predicting the PDb for the training and test sets (Drug Metab Dispos 38:422–430, 2010). In contrast, the new model performed poorly in predicting the PDb for our larger rat (r2 = 0.253) and human dataset (r2 = 0.013). The poor predictions for our datasets may be due, in part, to the quality and diversity of the data used to derive and test the model. Our reevaluation suggests that hepatobiliary excretion is a process that cannot truly be captured by simple physicochemical descriptors when examining chemically dissimilar compounds. A simple approach involving a limited number of physicochemical predictors may be useful when examining a structurally similar series of compounds.
Stochastic Optimization on Continuous Domains With Finite-Time Guarantees by Markov Chain Monte Carlo Methods

We introduce bounds on the finite-time performance of Markov chain Monte Carlo (MCMC) algorithms in solving global stochastic optimization problems defined over continuous domains. It is shown that MCMC algorithms with finite-time guarantees can be developed with a proper choice of the target distribution and by studying their convergence in total variation norm. This work is inspired by the concept of finite-time learning with known accuracy and confidence developed in statistical learning theory.
The Combination of Novel Targeted Molecular Agents and Radiation in the Treatment of Pediatric Gliomas

Brain tumors are the most common solid pediatric malignancy. For high-grade, recurrent, or refractory pediatric brain tumors, radiation therapy (XRT) is an integral treatment modality. In the era of personalized cancer therapy, molecularly targeted agents have been designed to inhibit pathways critical to tumorigenesis. Our evolving knowledge of genetic aberrations in pediatric gliomas is being exploited with the use of specific targeted inhibitors. These agents are additionally being combined with XRT to increase the efficacy and duration of local control. In this review, we discuss novel agents targeting three different pathways in gliomas, and their potential combination with XRT. BRAF is a serine/threonine kinase in the RAS/RAF/MAPK kinase pathway, which is integral to cellular division, survival, and metabolism. Two-thirds of pilocytic astrocytomas, a low-grade pediatric glioma, contain a translocation within the BRAF gene called KIAA1549:BRAF that causes an overactivation of the MEK/MAPK signaling cascade. In vitro and in vivo data support the use of MEK or mammalian target of rapamycin (mTOR) inhibitors in low-grade gliomas expressing this translocation. Additionally, 15–20% of high-grade pediatric gliomas express BRAF V600E, an activating mutation of the BRAF gene. Pre-clinical in vivo and in vitro data in BRAF V600E gliomas demonstrate dramatic cooperation between XRT and small molecule inhibitors of BRAF V600E. Another major signaling cascade that plays a role in pediatric glioma pathogenesis is the PI3-kinase (PI3K)/mTOR pathway, known to be upregulated in the majority of high- and low-grade pediatric gliomas. Dual PI3K/mTOR inhibitors are in clinical trials for adult high-grade gliomas and are poised to enter studies of pediatric tumors. Finally, many brain tumors express potent stimulators of angiogenesis that render them refractory to treatment. An analog of thalidomide, CC-5103 increases the secretion of critical cytokines of the tumor microenvironment, including IL-2, IFN-γ, TNF-α, and IL-10, and is currently being evaluated in clinical trials for the treatment of recurrent or refractory pediatric central nervous system tumors. In summary, several targeted inhibitors with radiation are currently under investigation in both translational bench research and early clinical trials. This review article summarizes the molecular rationale for, and the pre-clinical data supporting the combinations of these targeted agents with other anti-cancer agents and XRT in pediatric gliomas. In many cases, parallels are drawn to molecular mechanisms and targeted inhibitors of adult gliomas. We additionally discuss the potential mechanisms underlying the efficacy of these agents.
Immunogenic cell death of human ovarian cancer cells induced by cytosolic poly(I:C) leads to myeloid cell maturation and activates NK cells

Owing to high rates of tumor relapse, ovarian cancer remains a fatal disease for which new therapeutic approaches are urgently needed. Accumulating evidence indicates that immune stimulation may delay or even prevent disease recurrence in ovarian cancer. In order to elicit proinflammatory signals that induce or amplify antitumor immune reactivity, we mimicked viral infection in ascites‐derived ovarian cancer cells. By transfection or electroporation we targeted the synthetic double‐stranded RNA poly(I:C) intracellularly in order to activate melanoma differentiation‐associated gene‐5 (MDA‐5), a sensor of viral RNA in the cytosol of somatic cells. Cancer cells reacted with enhanced expression of HLA‐class I, release of CXCL10, IL‐6, and type I IFN as well as tumor cell apoptosis. Monocytes and monocyte‐derived DCs (MoDCs) engulfed MDA‐5‐activated cancer cells, and subsequently upregulated HLA‐class I/II and costimulatory molecules, and secreted CXCL10 and IFN‐α. Further, this proinflammatory milieu promoted cytolytic activity and IFN‐γ secretion of NK cells. Thus, our data suggest that the engagement of MDA‐5 in a whole tumor cell vaccine is a promising approach for the immunotherapy of ovarian cancer.
Exopolysaccharide-Independent Social Motility of Myxococcus xanthus

Social motility (S motility), the coordinated movement of large cell groups on agar surfaces, of Myxococcus xanthus requires type IV pili (TFP) and exopolysaccharides (EPS). Previous models proposed that this behavior, which only occurred within cell groups, requires cycles of TFP extension and retraction triggered by the close interaction of TFP with EPS. However, the curious observation that M. xanthus can perform TFP-dependent motility at a single-cell level when placed onto polystyrene surfaces in a highly viscous medium containing 1% methylcellulose indicated that “S motility” is not limited to group movements. In an apparent further challenge of the previous findings for S motility, mutants defective in EPS production were found to perform TFP-dependent motility on polystyrene surface in methylcellulose-containing medium. By exploring the interactions between pilin and surface materials, we found that the binding of TFP onto polystyrene surfaces eliminated the requirement for EPS in EPS- cells and thus enabled TFP-dependent motility on a single cell level. However, the presence of a general anchoring surface in a viscous environment could not substitute for the role of cell surface EPS in group movement. Furthermore, EPS was found to serve as a self-produced anchoring substrate that can be shed onto surfaces to enable cells to conduct TFP-dependent motility regardless of surface properties. These results suggested that in certain environments, such as in methylcellulose solution, the cells could bypass the need for EPS to anchor their TPF and conduct single-cell S motility to promote exploratory movement of colonies over new specific surfaces.
Meteorin promotes the formation of GFAP-positive glia via activation of the Jak-STAT3 pathway

Meteorin is an orphan ligand which has been previously reported to control neuritogenesis and angiogenesis, as well as gliogenesis. However, the precise function of this factor in CNS development and the underlying molecular mechanisms are poorly understood. Here, we demonstrate that meteorin is involved in GFAP-positive glial differentiation through activation of the Jak-STAT3 pathway, by using neurosphere and retinal explant culture systems. During embryonic brain development, meteorin is highly expressed in neural stem and radial glia cells of the ventricular zone and immature neurons outside the ventricular zone but its expression disappears spontaneously as development proceeds except in GFAP-positive astrocytes. In cultured neurospheres, meteorin activates STAT3, and in turn increases the transcriptional activity of GFAP by enhancing the binding of STAT3 to the promoter. By meteorin stimulation, differentiating neurospheres show increased numbers of GFAP-positive cells, but the effect is abrogated by a blockade of the Jak-STAT3 pathway using either a Jak inhibitor or STAT3 siRNA. Furthermore, we expand our findings to the retina, and show that meteorin increases GFAP expression in Müller glia. Together, our results suggest that meteorin promotes GFAP-positive glia formation by mediating the Jak-STAT3 signaling pathway during both cortical stem cell differentiation and retinal glia development.
Opens and Delay Faults in CMOS RAM Address Decoders

This paper presents a complete electrical analysis of address decoder delay faults "ADFs" caused by resistive opens in RAMs. A classification between inter and intragate opens is made. A systematic way is introduced to explore the space of possible tests to detect these faults; it is based on generating appropriate sensitizing address transitions and the corresponding sensitizing operation sequences. DFT features are given to facilitate the BIST implementation of the new tests