Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Biomarkers of environmental tobacco smoke in preschool children and their mothers.

BACKGROUND Adverse health effects attributable to environmental tobacco smoke (ETS) include respiratory illness and lung cancer in nonsmokers. There is accumulating evidence that children may be at heightened risk of cancer later in life as a result of exposure to carcinogens during their early development. It is of concern that as many as 9 million American children under the age of 5 years may be exposed to ETS. PURPOSE Our goal was to assess whether levels of cotinine and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon-albumin (PAH-albumin) are associated with ETS exposure in children and in women of reproductive age, after accounting for background exposures to PAHs in the diet, workplace, and the home environment. METHODS The study cohort was composed of 87 Hispanic and African-American mothers and 87 of their preschool children (2-5 years of age). Plasma cotinine was analyzed by gas chromatography; PAH-albumin adducts in peripheral blood were analyzed by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. Exposure data were obtained by interview-administered questionnaires. RESULTS Both cotinine and PAH-albumin were significantly higher in the children whose mothers smoked than in the children of nonsmoking mothers (P < .001 and P < .05, respectively). Among the children of nonsmoking mothers, cotinine levels were also significantly higher in those who had ETS exposure from others in the household compared with the unexposed children. By regression analysis, after adjustment for ethnicity, there was a significant dose-response relationship between cotinine and the number of cigarettes smoked per day by the mother, both in the children (partial r2 = .23; P = .01) and in the mothers (partial r2 = .22; P = .01). Among the nonsmoking mothers, regression of biomarkers against total passive smoking exposure also showed a significant association with cotinine (r2 = .25; P = .04). PAH-albumin did not show the same dose-related response with the smoking variables. Mothers' cotinine levels were significantly correlated with those of their children (r = .76; P < .001) as were PAH-albumin adducts (r = .27; P = .014). CONCLUSION ETS exposure of young children via their mothers' smoking is associated with increases not only in the internal dose of ETS (cotinine), which has been previously reported, but also in the biologically effective dose of the carcinogenic (PAH) components of ETS (PAH-albumin adducts). This observation underscores the carcinogenic and public health hazard of ETS. IMPLICATIONS Given the relatively low level of ETS exposure in this study, these results reinforce the need for effective programs aimed at smoking prevention and cessation among women, particularly women of reproductive age and minorities.
Ant Colony Optimization Applied to Water Distribution System Design: Comparative Study of Five Algorithms

Water distribution systems (WDSs) are costly infrastructure, and much attention has been given to the application of optimization methods to minimize design costs. In previous studies, ant colony optimization (ACO) has been found to perform extremely competitively for WDS optimization. In this paper, five ACO algorithms are tested: one basic algorithm (ant system) and four more advanced algorithms [ant colony system, elitist ant system, elitist-rank ant system ( ASrank ) , and max-min ant system (MMAS)]. Experiments are carried out to determine their performance on four WDS case studies, three of which have been considered widely in the literature. The findings of the study show that some ACO algorithms are very successful for WDS design, as two of the ACO algorithms (MMAS and ASrank ) outperform all other algorithms applied to these case studies in the literature.
Statistical Analysis of Cascaded Multipath Fading Channels

Aalto University, P.O. Box 11000, FI-00076 Aalto www.aalto. fi Author Zhong Zheng Name of the doctoral dissertation Statistical Analysis of Cascaded Multipath Fading Channels Publisher School of Electrical Engineering Unit Department of Communications and Networking Series Aalto University publication series DOCTORAL DISSERTATIONS 209/2015 Field of research Communications Engineering Manuscript submitted 8 May 2015 Date of the defence 17 December 2015 Permission to publish granted (date) 13 November 2015 Language English Monograph Article dissertation (summary + original articles) Abstract In cellular communication systems, one of the prominent impairments due to the wireless channel is the multipath fading. In this thesis, we study the multipath effects, particularly in the so-called cascaded fading channels. These channel models are useful when characterizing the indoor signal propagation, time-reversal transmission, and the rank deficiency due to insufficient scattering in multiantenna communications.In cellular communication systems, one of the prominent impairments due to the wireless channel is the multipath fading. In this thesis, we study the multipath effects, particularly in the so-called cascaded fading channels. These channel models are useful when characterizing the indoor signal propagation, time-reversal transmission, and the rank deficiency due to insufficient scattering in multiantenna communications. Thesis focuses on the statistical performance metrics of wireless systems. More precisely, in single-antenna transmission, we analyze the received signal distribution via moment-based approximation in presence of correlated cascaded channels. Using these results, the impact of channel correlation and number of scatterers are investigated for the cascaded Nakagami-m channels. Furthermore, the signal distribution of the cascaded Rician channel is used to construct a test statistics for a blind time-reversal detector. In the presence of a point target embedded in the multipath scattering, we show by Monte Carlo simulation that the proposed detector outperforms the existing detectors. In multi-antenna communications framework we consider information theoretic limits for the cascaded Rayleigh MIMO channels. In the ergodic channel, we obtain a lower bound for the ergodic mutual information and deduce a rate scaling law using a recent result from the random matrix theory. For the non-ergodic channel, we study the outage probability by establishing the central limit theorem for the linear spectral statistics of the channel matrices. This result also motivates us to construct a simple approximation for the fundamental tradeoff between diversity gain and multiplexing gain of the MIMO channel at realistic SNR levels.
A Role for Saccharomyces cerevisiae Fatty Acid Activation Protein 4 in Regulating ProteinN-Myristoylation during Entry into Stationary Phase*

Saccharomyces cerevisiae contains four known acyl-CoA synthetases (fatty acid activation proteins, Faaps). Faa1p and Faa4p activate exogenously derived fatty acids. Acyl-CoA metabolism plays a critical role in regulating protein N-myristoylation by the essential enzyme, myristoyl-CoA:protein N-myristoyltransferase (Nmt1p). In this report, we have examined whether Faa1p and Faa4p have distinct roles in affecting protein N-myristoylation as cells transition from growth in rich media to a growth-arrested state during nutrient deprivation (stationary phase). The colony-forming potential of 10 isogenic strains was defined as a function of time spent in stationary phase. These strains contained either a wild type or mutant NMT1 allele, and wild type or null alleles of each FAA. Only the combination of the Nmt mutant (nmt451Dp; reduced affinity for myristoyl-CoA) and loss of Faa4p produced a dramatic loss of colony-forming units (CFU). The progressive millionfold reduction in CFU was associated with a deficiency in protein N-myristoylation that first appeared during logarithmic growth, worsened through the post-diauxic phase, and became extreme in stationary phase. Northern and Western blot analyses plusN-myristoyltransferase assays showed that Nmt is normally present only during the log and diauxic/post-diauxic periods, indicating that N-myristoylproteins present in stationary phase are “inherited” from these earlier phases. Moreover,FAA4 is the only FAA induced during the critical diauxic/early post-diauxic transition. Although substitution of nmt1–451D for NMT1 results in deficiencies in protein N-myristoylation, these deficiencies are modest and limited by compensatory responses that include augmented expression of nmt1–451D and precocious induction of FAA4in log phase. Loss of Faa4p from nmt1–451D cells severely compromises their capacity to adequately myristoylate Nmt substrates prior to entry into stationary phase since none of the other Faaps are able to functionally compensate for its absence. To identify Nmt1p substrates that may affect maintenance of proliferative potential during stationary phase, we searched the yeast genome for known and putative N-myristoylproteins. Of the 64 genes found, 48 were successfully deleted in NMT1 cells. Removal of any one of the following nine substrates produced a loss of CFU similar to that observed in nmt1–451Dfaa4Δ cells: Arf1p, Arf2p, Sip2p, Van1p, Ptc2p, YBL049W (homology to Snf7p), YJR114W, YKR007W, and YMR077C. These proteins provide opportunities to further define the molecular mechanisms that regulate survival during stationary phase.
Minimum MSE Design for Multiuser MIMO Relay

We study a joint optimal design of transceiver and relaying architecture in terms of mean square error (MSE) performance for multi-user multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) relaying system. We show a duality relationship in the design of MSE-optimal transceiver and relaying architecture. Based on that, we devise an alternating algorithm, which converges and provides a suboptimal joint design of transceiver and relaying. By simulation, we show that the proposed joint design improves on the average MSE performance of the existing transceiver and relaying architectures.
Essential tremor and parkinson's disease

brospinal fluid and angiographic studies were negative. The patient would explain “It’s my weak leg,” although strength was virtually normal. The only such patient to be autopsied had an infarct in the internal capsule. It is unlikely that our patients had thalamic hemorrhage, but thalamocapsular infarction sparing sensation is a possibility. MR will solve the problem. Drs Masdeu and Gorelick have convincingly demonstrated lateralized astasia with thalamic lesions. Teasing out the mechanism-sensory loss, weakness, cerebellar disturbance, neglect, akinesia, abulia, etc.-will be difficult. Standing and walking employ the coordinated action of almost al1 body muscles. Actual performances are not described. Their Case 3 had hydrocephalus in the symptomatic range, another factor in astasia. The authors selected patients with thalamic lesions unable to stand; clinical MR correlation in unselected thalamic ischemia would be of interest.
Why Do Companies Hold Cash

Over the past quarter century, Australian companies have been increasingly holding assets in the form of currency and deposits, or 'cash', rather than investing in other productive assets. This reflects a global trend and raises the question of whether Australian companies now hold 'too much' cash. Despite Australian non-financial companies holding high levels of cash by international standards, we find little evidence that the increase has been 'excessive'. Instead, we find that the rise in corporate cash is mostly due to changes over time in observable company characteristics, including an apparent increase in the growth opportunities of publicly listed companies (as proxied by Tobin's Q). We also find some evidence of 'cohort effects' as Australian companies are more likely to be 'born', or come into existence, today in industries that have relatively high levels of cash, such as information technology, pharmaceuticals and biotechnology. We also find evidence that public companies hold more cash than private companies, on average. This is consistent with agency conflicts between owners and managers playing a role in corporate decisions to hold cash. Overall, we find that, in the face of financing frictions, some Australian companies have speculative and precautionary motives for holding cash. It follows that high levels of corporate cash do not necessarily indicate a weak outlook for corporate investment but might, in some cases, actually imply more investment opportunities.
Generator dynamic model validation and parameter calibration using phasor measurements at the point of connection

Power system model quality is key to safe and reliable electricity delivery. A novel method using disturbance data recorded by phasor measurement units (PMUs) is proposed to improve the integrity of dynamic models, which consists of both model validation and model parameter identification. In the model validation step, event playback is applied to simulate the model's response for a rigorous comparison with measured response captured by PMUs. A large mismatch indicates model deficiency. In the parameter identification step, an automatic calibration method using the extended Kalman filter (EKF) techniques and trajectory sensitivity analysis is formulated to save significant effort and time from manual tuning. Case studies are presented to demonstrate that the proposed method has adequate performance for model validation and parameter calibration in terms of accuracy, good convergence speed and robustness with respect to measurement noises. The proposed method is cost-effective and complements traditional equipment testing for improving dynamic model quality.
Developing an Online Community to Promote Engagement and Professional Learning for Pre-Service Teachers Using Social Software Tools

To support students undertaking an initial teacher training program, a communities of practice model Wenger, 1998 was implemented, supported by a social software-based technology framework, to enable mutual engagement, joint enterprise, and a shared repertoire. Participants formed peer-to-peer mentoring relationships, creating and sharing web log blog entries and voice recordings of critical incidents while on their practicum. Data from the students' discourse was analyzed to explore issues and patterns that were indicators of a learning community. This data, together with data collected from post-practicum focus group discussions in which students reflected on the benefits of these media for peer mentoring and support, attests to the relevance and effectiveness of the adopted approach to developing a socio-professional community to support the development of pre-service teachers. The authors believe that best outcomes are achieved when activities are structured, when students are adequately trained in using the technologies, and when instructors or experts are available to scaffold reflection processes as the need arises.
An investigation into the effect of lean new product development on learning behaviours within routines : a practice-based perspective

7 DECLARATION . 8 COPYRIGHT STATEMENT . 8 ACKNOWLEDGEMENT . 9 CHAPTER ONE: INTRODUCTION . 10 1.1 CHAPTER OVERVIEW . 13 1.1.1 LEAN OVERVIEW . 14 1.1.2 LEAN AND PERFORMANCE . 16 1.1.3 LEAN NPD AND PERFORMANCE . 17 1.2 LEAN AND LEARNING . 19 1.3 THE NEED FOR A PRACTICE-BASED VIEW OF ROUTINES . 21 1.3.1 PRACTICE-BASED METHODOLOGIES . 24 1.4 THE RESEARCH QUESTIONS . 26 1.4.1 THESIS STRUCTURE . 27 1.4.2 CONCLUSION . 28 CHAPTER TWO: METASYNTHESIS LITERATURE REVIEW . 30 CHAPTER OVERVIEW . 30 2.1 CHOICE OF LITERATURE REVIEW METHODOLOGY – METASYNTHESIS . 30 2.2 THE METASYNTHESIS METHODOLOGY . 32 2.3 METASYNTHESIS RESULTS . 37 2.4 DISCUSSION OF THE RESULTS . 55 2.4.1 CONCLUSION . 57 CHAPTER THREE: THE GENERATION OF THE RESEARCH QUESTIONS . 59 CHAPTER OVERVIEW . 59 3.1 CENTRAL ARGUMENTS OVERVIEW . 59 3.1.1 AN ALTERNATIVE FRAMEWORK . 62 3.1.2 LEAN NPD MECHANISM THAT RESULT IN ROUTINE REFLECTIVE LEARNING . 63 3.1.3 RESEARCH QUESTIONS . 65 3.2 LEARNING AS REFLECTIVE LEARNING . 66 3.2.1 THE DEFINITION OF REFLECTIVE LEARNING . 67 3.3 A PRACTICE-BASED THEORY OF ROUTINES . 74 3.3.1 THE OSTENSIVE AND PERFORMATIVE ASPECT OF THE ROUTINE . 75 3.3.2 THE ROLE OF AGENCY IN ROUTINE BEHAVIOUR . 77 3.3.3 THE ROLE OF ORGANISATIONAL UNDERSTANDING IN ROUTINE BEHAVIOUR . 78 3.3.4 THE ROLE OF ARTEFACTS IN ROUTINE BEHAVIOUR . 78 3.4 IDENTIFYING LEAN NPD WITH PRACTICE-BASED ROUTINES . 81 3.4.1 CONCLUSION . 83 3.5 POSSIBLE ATTRIBUTES OF LEAN ACTORS AND ARTEFACTS . 85 3 3.5.1 CONCLUSION . 88 CHAPTER FOUR: RESEARCH METHODOLOGY . 90 CHAPTER OVERVIEW . 90 4.1 RESEARCH DESIGN . 92 4.1.1 RESEARCH PHILOSOPHY . 93 4.1.2 RESEARCH APPROACH . 99 4.1.3 RESEARCH STRATEGY . 100 4.1.4 METHOD . 102 4.1. 5 THE STUDY OF PRACTICE . 105 4.1. 6 THE ANALYSIS OF INTERACTION . 105 4.1. 7 SHADOWING . 108 4.1. 8 SECONDARY PRODUCT AND PROJECT DATA . 108 4.1. 9 DATA INTEGRATION AND METHOD OF ANALYSIS . 109 4.1.10 CASE SELECTION . 112 4.2 DATA COLLECTION . 113 4.2.1 THE CASE . 113 4.2.2 SAMPLING . 122 4.2.3 DATA COLLECTION . 124 4.2.4 PRODUCT PERFORMANCE . 127 4.2. 5 PROJECT PERFORMANCE . 130 4.3 QUALITY IN RESEARCH DESIGN . 134 4.3.1 CREDIBILITY . 137 4.3.2 DEPENDABILITY . 138 4.3.3 CONFIRMABILITY . 140 4.3.4 TRANSFERABILITY/LOGICAL INFERENCE . 140 4.3.5 CONCLUSION . 140 CHAPTER FIVE: THE WITHIN-TYPE ANALYSIS OF DEVELOPMENT ROUTINES . 142 CHAPTER OVERVIEW . 142 5.1 THE ANALYSIS OF ROUTINES FOR THE CREATION OF LEAN ARTEFACTS . 143 5.1.1 THE ANALYSIS OF REASONS FOR LEAN ARTEFACT CREATION . 145 5.1.2 ANALYSIS OF INTERACTIONS THAT RESULT IN ARTEFACT CREATION . 146 5.1.3 ANALYSIS OF RECOURSE AWAY FROM LEAN ARTEFACT CREATION . 154 5.1.4 FINDINGS . 155 5.2 THE ANALYSIS OF LEAN DEVELOPMENT ROUTINES . 157 5.2.1 ANTECEDENTS TO LEAN ARTEFACT USE .
Protection against experimental cholera by antitoxin.

Dogs immunized parenterally with purified cholera toxin plus adjuvant had elevated titers of antitoxin in serum for 18 months and were protected against challenge with viable Vibrio cholerae for 10 months. Parenteral immunization with formalinized cholera toxoid or natural toxoid resulted in lower titers of antitoxin, and protection induced by the former lasted for five months. Dogs previously immunized parenterally with formalinized toxoid were given oral toxoid after protection due to parenteral immunization had disappeared. No rise in serum antitoxin occurred, but the animals were again highly protected against challenge with viable V. cholerae. After parenteral immunization, serum antitoxin correlated with protection only when the titer was high. The lack of correlation at lower titers of antitoxin in serum and the restoration of protection after oral "boosting" without a concomitant change in titer of antitoxin in serum suggest that protection by antitoxin is due, in part, to locally derived intestinal secretory antibody.
Rigorous evaluation of performance and policy impacts of transport protocols and in-network devices

of the Thesis Rigorous Evaluation of Performance and Policy Impacts of Transport Protocols and In-Network Devices by Arash Molavi Kakhki Doctor of Philosophy in Computer Science Northeastern University, September 2017 Dr. David Choffnes and Dr. Alan Mislove, Advisor The popularity of resource-hungry applications is at record high and is increasing, creating a data consumption boom that is growing at a rapid rate. As a result, resource-constrained networks need to keep up with this demand for data and bandwidth, while guaranteeing accessibility, reliability, and speed to maintain a satisfactory level of end-to-end performance for all users and applications. To achieve this goal, much effort has been put into optimizing for network performance, including optimizing Web applications to adapt to network conditions, designing new transport protocols that better fit modern applications’ requirements, and applying in-network management techniques by network operators for better handling of traffic loads. However, many of aforementioned solutions do not go through sufficient evaluation, resulting in poor understanding of their implications or how well they interact with other optimization efforts. This can cause gaps between intended and actual performance of applications across a range of environments. Moreover, some of these approaches disrupt the Internet’s openness and neutrality. Further frustrating such scenarios is the lack of visibility into networks, making it very difficult (or impossible) to pinpoint the root causes of poor performance or detect open Internet violations. This thesis posits that an effective way to address these issues is to create frameworks and tools for rigorous evaluation of approaches for optimizing network performance. By building such tools, we can detect instances of inconsistency between intended and actual network behaviors, diagnose the root causes, and help developing techniques to address shortcomings. Given the above hypothesis, I first introduce a framework for rigorous evaluation of rapidly evolving transport protocols. Using this framework, I conduct a comprehensive study
Evaluation of Vaginal Tampons for Collection of Specimens for Detection of Chlamydial Infection

Background and Objectives: Previous studies have shown that self‐inserted vaginal tampons can be used to obtain specimens for detection of Neisseria gonorrhoeae. There is a need to expand testing for infection with Chlamydia trachomatis to women who do not undergo regular gynecologic examinations. Goal: To compare self‐inserted tampons with clinician‐obtained endocervical swabs for collection of samples to be examined for chlamydial infection. Study Design: Women referred because of recently detected untreated chlamydial infection inserted a vaginal tampon. Two endocervical swabs were obtained after the tampon was removed. One swab was cultured for Chlamydia trachomatis. The other swab and the tampon were examined with the Testpack Chlamydia antigen detection test. Results: Sixty‐nine women were studied. Chlamydial infection was detected by culture in 75.4%, by Testpack (swab) in 63.8%, and by Testpack (tampon) in 52.2%. Conclusions: Tampon‐obtained specimens evaluated in the Testpack Chlamydia test were relatively insensitive. More sensitive tests for the detection of Chlamydia trachomatis infection with self‐obtained specimens should be evaluated.
Tumor suppressor p53 induces miR‐1915 processing to inhibit Bcl‐2 in the apoptotic response to DNA damage

The antiapoptotic protein Bcl‐2 is overexpressed in human cancers, and confers resistance to antitumor agents in cancer cells. Bcl‐2 is negatively regulated by the tumor suppressor p53 in response to DNA damage during apoptotic cell death. However, this molecular mechanism remains unclear. The available evidence indicates that miR‐1915 represses Bcl‐2 expression at the post‐transcriptional level in human colorectal carcinoma cells, which is correlated with drug resistance. Here, we show that p53 controls miR‐1915 expression in response to DNA damage. Induction of p53 affects the expression of precursor and mature, but not primary, miR‐1915. Inhibition of miR‐1915 abrogates downregulation of Bcl‐2 expression following treatment with genotoxin. These findings demonstrate that p53 negatively regulates Bcl‐2 expression by targeting miR‐1915 processing from primary into precursor miRNA. Taken together, the findings of the current study reveal a novel mechanism whereby p53 negatively modulates Bcl‐2 by controlling miR‐1915.