Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Increased mucosal ornithine decarboxylase activity in large bowel with multiple tumors, adenocarcinoma, and adenoma

The polyamine biosynthetase, ornithine decarboxylase (ODC), involved in tumor promotion, was investigated in grossly normal mucosa obtained from surgically resected large bowel; 48 cases with and six cases without large bowel cancer. The mucosal ODC activity was significantly higher in 17 multiple tumor cases bearing adenocarcinoma(s) plus adenoma(s) than in 31 solitary tumor cases bearing one adenocarcinoma alone. It was higher in the mucosa of the two groups of cases than in the mucosa of individuals without large bowel cancer. Furthermore, the enzyme activity in left‐sided cancer cases was significantly higher than that in right‐sided cancer cases. Carcinoma tissue showed a remarkable high level of enzyme activity, compared with the normal mucosa. The results indicate the larger the number of tumors the higher the level of the ODC activity in the normal mucosa, particularly in left‐sided cancer cases. It is concluded that the mucosal ODC may provide a good biological marker to detect individuals at higher risk for large bowel cancer due to exogenous or endogenous factors, and thus contribute to the prevention of mortality from large bowel cancer.
A Bayesian Framework to Account for Complex Non-Genetic Factors in Gene Expression Levels Greatly Increases Power in eQTL Studies

Gene expression measurements are influenced by a wide range of factors, such as the state of the cell, experimental conditions and variants in the sequence of regulatory regions. To understand the effect of a variable of interest, such as the genotype of a locus, it is important to account for variation that is due to confounding causes. Here, we present VBQTL, a probabilistic approach for mapping expression quantitative trait loci (eQTLs) that jointly models contributions from genotype as well as known and hidden confounding factors. VBQTL is implemented within an efficient and flexible inference framework, making it fast and tractable on large-scale problems. We compare the performance of VBQTL with alternative methods for dealing with confounding variability on eQTL mapping datasets from simulations, yeast, mouse, and human. Employing Bayesian complexity control and joint modelling is shown to result in more precise estimates of the contribution of different confounding factors resulting in additional associations to measured transcript levels compared to alternative approaches. We present a threefold larger collection of cis eQTLs than previously found in a whole-genome eQTL scan of an outbred human population. Altogether, 27% of the tested probes show a significant genetic association in cis, and we validate that the additional eQTLs are likely to be real by replicating them in different sets of individuals. Our method is the next step in the analysis of high-dimensional phenotype data, and its application has revealed insights into genetic regulation of gene expression by demonstrating more abundant cis-acting eQTLs in human than previously shown. Our software is freely available online at http://www.sanger. ac.uk/resources/software/peer/.
Protection in Macaques Immunized with HIV-1 Candidate Vaccines Can Be Predicted Using the Kinetics of Their Neutralizing Antibodies

Background A vaccine is needed to control the spread of human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1). An in vitro assay that can predict the protection induced by a vaccine would facilitate the development of such a vaccine. A potential candidate would be an assay to quantify neutralization of HIV-1. Methods and Findings We have used sera from rhesus macaques that have been immunized with HIV candidate vaccines and subsequently challenged with simian human immunodeficiency virus (SHIV). We compared neutralization assays with different formats. In experiments with the standardized and validated TZMbl assay, neutralizing antibody titers against homologous SHIVSF162P4 pseudovirus gave a variable correlation with reductions in plasma viremia levels. The target cells used in the assays are not just passive indicators of virus infection but are actively involved in the neutralization process. When replicating virus was used with GHOST cell assays, events during the absorption phase, as well as the incubation phase, determine the level of neutralization. Sera that are associated with protection have properties that are closest to the traditional concept of neutralization: the concentration of antibody present during the absorption phase has no effect on the inactivation rate. In GHOST assays, events during the absorption phase may inactivate a fixed number, rather than a proportion, of virus so that while complete neutralization can be obtained, it can only be found at low doses particularly with isolates that are relatively resistant to neutralization. Conclusions Two scenarios have the potential to predict protection by neutralizing antibodies at concentrations that can be induced by vaccination: antibodies that have properties close to the traditional concept of neutralization may protect against a range of challenge doses of neutralization sensitive HIV isolates; a window of opportunity also exists for protection against isolates that are more resistant to neutralization but only at low challenge doses.
Second-generation BCR-ABL kinase inhibitors in CML.

To the Editor: For patients with newly diagnosed chronic myeloid leukemia (CML) in the chronic phase, a complete cytogenetic response at 12 months is widely accepted as an optimal response.1 This response was used as a primary end point in the trial of dasatinib versus imatinib by Kantarjian et al. (June 17 issue). 2 Although a major molecular response at 18 months is also considered an optimal response,1 Saglio et al.,3 in the same issue of the Journal, reduced the time to 12 months. We would be grateful if the authors could explain whether a major molecular response at 12 months is a valid surrogate in trials of first-line treatments for CML in the chronic phase and how we should evaluate the treatment response when a patient does not reach this goal in daily clinical practice.
Varieties of developmental reading disorder: genetic and environmental influences.

There is widespread support for the notion that subgroups of dyslexics can be identified who differ in their reading profiles: Developmental phonological dyslexia is characterized by poor nonword reading, while developmental surface dyslexia is distinguished by a particular difficulty in reading irregular words. However, there is much less agreement about how these subtypes, and particularly the surface dyslexic pattern, are to be accounted for within theoretical models of the reading system. To assist in addressing this issue, the heritability of reading deficits in dyslexic subtypes was examined using a twin sample. Subjects' scores on (a) an exception word reading task and (b) a nonword reading task were used to create a subtype dimension, and surface and phonological dyslexic subgroups were selected from the ends of this distribution. Reading deficits were found to be significantly heritable in both subgroups. However, the genetic contribution to the group reading deficit was much greater in the phonological dyslexics than in the surface dyslexics. The finding of differential genetic etiology across subtypes suggests that there is at least partial independence in the development of the cognitive processes involved in reading exception words and nonwords. Also, the results support accounts of surface dyslexia which emphasize a strong environmental contribution.
What Do We Really Know About Employee Engagement

Employee engagement has become one of the most popular topics in management. In less than 10 years, there have been dozens of studies published on employee engagement as well as several meta-analyses. However, there continue to be concerns about the meaning, measurement, and theory of employee engagement. In this article, we review these concerns as well as research in an attempt to determine what we have learned about employee engagement. We then offer a theory of employee engagement that reconciles and integrates Kahn's (1990) theory of engagement and the Job Demands–Resources (JD-R) model (Bakker & Demerouti, 2007). We conclude that there continues to be a lack of consensus on the meaning of employee engagement as well as concerns about the validity of the most popular measure of employee engagement. Furthermore, it is difficult to make causal conclusions about the antecedents and consequences of employee engagement due to a number of research limitations. Thus, there remain many unanswered questions and much more to do if we are to develop a science and theory of employee engagement.
Discriminative Facility in Perceptions of Control and Its Relation to Psychological Distress

This study explored the relationship between discriminative facility and distress. Individuals high in discriminative facility were characterized by high perceptions of primary control and high use of problem- relative to emotion-focused coping with controllable stressors and by low perceptions of primary control, high perceptions of compensatory control, and low use of problem- to emotion-focused coping with uncontrollable stressors. Participants provided information regarding their perceptions of control (control over outcome and control over one's feelings), how they coped, and their level of stressor-specific distress with three stressors, which varied in degree of controllability. They also provided information regarding their level of general distress. Problem-focused coping was found to be adaptive with the two most controllable stressors, but more so when perceptions of primary control were high. Control over one's feelings was helpful with all three stressors, but more so for individuals who had low perceptions of primary control. Finally, individuals high in discriminative facility were found to experience less distress than individuals low in discriminative facility.
Science, Scientists, and Policy Advocacy

I am concerned that we scientists in conservation biology, ecology, natural resources, environmental science, and similar disciplines are collectively slipping into a morass that risks marginalizing the contribution of science to public policy. Advocating personal positions on ecological policy issues has become widely tolerated as acceptable professional behavior and is even encouraged by a substantial fraction of the scientific community (Marris 2006; Scott et al. 2007). Scientists are uniquely qualified to participate in public policy deliberations and they should, but advocating for their policy preferences is not appropriate. Despite an extensive debate in the literature on the proper role of science and scientists in policy deliberations, points of general agreement and specific differences often get lost amid the semantic confusion caused by inconsistent definitions for key words or concepts (Trudgill 2001). Table 1 provides the precise definitions I have used throughout this essay. Those of us who provide scientific information to decision makers and the public should strive to be more vigilant, precise, demanding, and rigorous in distinguishing between policy-neutral and policy-inculcated scientific information. Science is only one element of the complex deliberations over major ecological policy questions that take place in a democracy, but science is critical, and scientists can and do play an important role (Sarewitz 2004; Lackey 2006). My unequivocal overall view on the role of scientists in ecological policy and management is, first, that scientists should contribute to the policy process. This is not only the right thing to do, but we are also obligated to do so, especially if our work is funded by public resources. I do not hold with the notion that it is sufficient for scientists to publish their findings solely as scholarly papers. The assertion that scientists should be involved in providing
PDE3, but not PDE4, reduces β1‐ and β2‐adrenoceptor‐mediated inotropic and lusitropic effects in failing ventricle from metoprolol‐treated patients

PDE3 and/or PDE4 control ventricular effects of catecholamines in several species but their relative effects in failing human ventricle are unknown. We investigated whether the PDE3‐selective inhibitor cilostamide (0.3–1 μM) or PDE4 inhibitor rolipram (1–10 μM) modified the positive inotropic and lusitropic effects of catecholamines in human failing myocardium.
Boundary Detection in Music Structure Analysis using Convolutional Neural Networks

The recognition of boundaries, e.g., between chorus and verse, is an important task in music structure analysis. The goal is to automatically detect such boundaries in audio signals so that the results are close to human annotation. In this work, we apply Convolutional Neural Networks to the task, trained directly on mel-scaled magnitude spectrograms. On a representative subset of the SALAMI structural annotation dataset, our method outperforms current techniques in terms of boundary retrievalF -measure at different temporal tolerances: We advance the state-of-the-art from 0:33 to 0:46 for tolerances of0:5 seconds, and from 0:52 to 0:62 for tolerances of3 seconds. As the algorithm is trained on annotated audio data without the need of expert knowledge, we expect it to be easily adaptable to changed annotation guidelines and also to related tasks such as the detection of song transitions.
PET evidence that loxapine is an equipotent blocker of 5-HT2 and D2 receptors: implications for the therapeutics of schizophrenia.

OBJECTIVE Loxapine, a dibenzoxazepine antipsychotic, is closely related to clozapine and shares clozapine's high affinity for binding to serotonin 5-HT2 and dopamine D4 receptors. The purpose of this study was to document loxapine's 5-HT2 and D2 receptor occupancy in vivo in patients with psychoses. METHOD Ten patients who were taking loxapine (10-100 mg/day) had their D2 and 5-HT2 receptors assessed by means of positron emission tomography with [11C]raclopride and [18F]setoperone, respectively. RESULTS The D2 receptor occupancy ranged from 43% to 90%; 5-HT2 occupancy varied from 27% to near saturation. Statistical comparison of the results showed that loxapine was equipotent in blocking 5-HT2 and D2 receptors. CONCLUSIONS Loxapine differs from typical neuroleptics in demonstrating a high degree of 5-HT2 receptor occupancy. However, it is not "atypical" like clozapine and risperidone, since its 5-HT2 occupancy is not higher than its D2 occupancy. The results demonstrate that a high level of 5-HT2 occupancy is not a sufficient condition for atypicality. If atypical antipsychotic action is predicated on a combination of 5-HT2 and D2 effects, then it requires > 80% 5-HT2 occupancy in conjunction with < 80% D2 occupancy.
Land reform, political violence and the economic inequality‐political conflict nexus: A longitudinal analysis

This study seeks to persuade the reader that students of political violence should shift their focus away from nomological explanations of violent political conflict sui generis. Instead, scholars should concentrate on theoretically demarcating specific types of violent political conflict. Alas, we do not offer a new typology in this paper; rather, we seek to explain an anomaly in the political violence literature: the contradictory set of findings in statistical studies of the relationship between economic inequality and violent political conflict. We contend that contradictory findings exist because some scholars have included cases in their studies where different conflict processes have produced violence in different countries. When these different cases are treated as if they are equivalent in a cross‐sectional study, it is not surprising that the studies produce inconsistent findings. We suggest that the positive findings in these studies are most likely spurious. To systematically explore our conte.
Comparison of power converters for small-scale wind turbine operation

Small-scale wind turbines commonly use AC/DC converters such as rectifiers, switched mode rectifiers (SMRs) and inverters. Another power converter, the semi-bridge SMR has been researched for automotive applications, and is utilised by a number of small-scale wind turbine manufacturers. This paper applies a novel modulation technique developed for automotive applications of the semi-bridge SMR for Lundell and interior permanent magnet alternators to small-scale wind turbines utilising surface permanent magnet generators. The performance obtained using the semi-bridge SMR is compared to that obtained using single-switch SMRs and inverters.
'It's No Time or High Time': Young Offenders' Experiences of Time and Drug Use in Prison

This article explores perspectives of time amongst young male inmates in prison and reflects on their cannabis use as a strategy that enabled them to manage their long sentences. The article considers the theoretical foundations of time and its association with punishment and prison, arguing that prison time is conceptually distinct from experiences of time outside prison. The overt external control over inmates' time and the limited resources available to make time 'flow' means time is experienced consciously in prison. This experience of time influenced the significance and function of the inmates' cannabis use, which helped them to control and manipulate the passing of their sentence.
Exercise and Fall Prevention: Narrowing the Research‐to‐Practice Gap and Enhancing Integration of Clinical and Community Practice

Falls in older adults are a global public health crisis, but mounting evidence from randomized controlled trials shows that falls can be reduced through exercise. Public health authorities and healthcare professionals endorse the use of evidence‐based, exercise‐focused fall interventions, but there are major obstacles to translating and disseminating research findings into healthcare practice, including lack of evidence of the transferability of efficacy trial results to clinical and community settings, insufficient local expertise to roll out community exercise programs, and inadequate infrastructure to integrate evidence‐based programs into clinical and community practice. The practical solutions highlighted in this article can be used to address these evidence‐to‐practice challenges. Falls and their associated healthcare costs can be reduced by better integrating research on exercise intervention into clinical practice and community programs.
Active buffer design method for networked control systems

The paper studies the control of networked control systems (NCS), considering controller-to-actuator variable time delays and packet dropout. The idea presented in our previous papers - to reduce delay variability in the loop by introducing buffer at the actuator - is now extended. The controller sends less frequent but more informative packets. The data in each control packet contains the control signal for the current time step as well as the sequence of predicted future control signals, next buffered at the actuator. The active buffer operation algorithm is proposed in the paper. The performance of NCS as a function of the prediction horizon and sampling period, under assumed communication schemes, is investigated. The results of simulation experiments for both unstable and stable equilibrium point stabilization of a pendulum on the cart system are presented.
Macrophages are the major target cell for HIV infection in long‐term bone marrow culture and demonstrate dual susceptibility to lymphocytotropic and monocytotropic strains of HIV‐1

Haematological abnormalities are often seen in patients infected with HIV. A number of mechanisms are thought to contribute to this bone marrow suppression, including impaired stromal function and direct infection of progenitor cells. Evidence suggests that both bone marrow progenitor cells and perhaps stromal cells are open to infection by HIV, which raises the possibility that bone marrow stromal cells may serve as a reservoir for HIV. This study investigated the cellular targets and kinetics of in vitro infection of stroma in long‐term bone marrow culture (LTBMC) using both mono‐ and lymphocytotropic strains of HIV‐1. p24 ELISA and reverse transcriptase (RT) assay demonstrated that stroma could be infected with HIV and release infectious virions. The target cells for infection were shown to be macrophages by immunohistochemistry (APAAP), dual immunofluorescence staining (using CD68 and p24) and electron microscopy.
AlGaAs/GaAs HBTs fabricated by a self-alignment technology using polyimide for electrode separation

A self-aligned HBT (heterojunction bipolar transistor) technology using polymide for insulating the emitter contact from the base contact is described. A 1- mu m emitter-width HBT with maximum oscillation frequency of 86 GHz was successfully fabricated. This processing was also applied to fabricate frequency-divider ICs. An operating frequency of 18 GHz was obtained with good reproducibility. <<ETX>>
A Comparative Study of Students Entering College one or more Semesters Before Graduation/From High School

"Should bright youngsters who have finished junior year in high school be allowed to skip into college, earn both a high-school diploma and a year of college credits at the same time? This plan was recommended last fortnight by a joint committee of the National Education Association and the American Association of School Administrators. The committee predicted its widespread adoption by next autumn.
A Phenomenological Analysis of the Anointing among Religious Serpent Handlers

Holiness-Pentecostal sects that practice serpent handling do so out of compliance with a literal interpretation of Mark 16:17-18. To investigate the meaning of this practice from within its religious context, phenomenological interviews were conducted with 8 men and 3 women who focused on specific experiences of taking up serpents. Participants reported that serpents were taken up either by faith or by the anointing, but most often by the anointing. From transcripts of these interviews, descriptions of the anointing were presented to an interpretive research group for thematic analysis using hermeneutic techniques. This analysis revealed that the anointing was described as an embodied experience involving an awareness of five themes: (a) "God moving on me," (b) a feeling of empowerment, (c) "indescribable" good feelings, (c) a sense of feeling "not there" in the immediate context, and (d) a "contagious flow. " Relationships among these themes and the existential grounds of body, time, others, and world are discussed, as well as the significance of this type of study for other methodological investigations of the anointing experienced by members of Holiness-Pentecostal sects.