Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
International Approaches to the Regulatory Governance of Nanotechnology

This report is an initial exploration into the question: "How have Canada and other jurisdictions reacted to the recent emergence of nanotechnology-based products in the marketplace (and what is the current state of affairs)" undertaken from the perspective of regulatory governance. The report is largely based on a literature review (up to March 2009) that has been corroborated with expert interviews. Our focus is on five jurisdictions (US, UK, EU, Australia and Canada) and we describe how the emergence of nanotechnology triggered activities in three domains: (a) public and stakeholder debate, (b) development of initial policy options, and (c) the management of regulatory development in a situation of scarce data. On the basis of these up-to-date descriptions, we have selected a set of six regulatory governance principles and discuss the extent to which best practices are starting to emerge.
The usefulness of masks in preventing transient carriage of epidemic methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus by healthcare workers.

We assessed the usefulness of wearing masks in preventing epidemic methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (EMRSA) carriage in nursing and physiotherapy staff on two dedicated EMRSA units. In the first phase of the study, members of staff were screened for EMRSA carriage immediately before and after periods of duty using nose, throat and hand swabs. During the second phase of the study, masks were worn by staff carrying out procedures associated with significant EMRSA exposure and examined for EMRSA as described for the first phase. Both phases were conducted over a period of two months. Forty-eight percent of nursing staff were colonized with EMRSA at some time during the first phase of the study. Wearing masks significantly reduced nasal, throat and hand carriage of EMRSA (P= 0.05). We conclude that the wearing of masks by healthcare workers performing certain activities for EMRSA positive patients may prevent transient colonization and hence may be a useful intervention in the control of EMRSA in the hospital environment.
The Perceived Impact of Trauma-Focused Research on Forensic Psychiatric Patients With Lifetime Victimization Histories

This study examined the perceived costs, benefits, and motivations for participating in individual trauma-focused interviews among forensic psychiatric patients (N = 74). The majority of our participants were male, and 100% endorsed adverse childhood experiences (e.g., abuse, neglect) or exposure to potentially traumatic events (e.g., assault). Levels of posttraumatic avoidance (41.9%), reexperiencing (59.5%), and increased arousal (51.3%) were high. In line with previous studies, our findings suggest an overall positive research experience in this sample. In spite of extensive histories of lifetime victimization we did not find an association between victimization, posttraumatic symptomatology, and a negative research experience. Our findings suggest that participation in trauma-focused research is not only possible with, but also potentially beneficial for forensic patients.
Proteolipid Promoter Activity Distinguishes Two Populations of NG2-Positive Cells throughout Neonatal Cortical Development

Transgenic mice expressing enhanced green fluorescent protein (EGFP) driven by the mouse myelin proteolipid protein (PLP) gene promoter have been developed to investigate cells in the oligodendrocyte lineage. Transgene expression is consistent with the developmental expression of PLP, with cells at all stages of oligodendrocyte differentiation clearly visualized. These animals were analyzed to establish the time course of oligodendrocyte progenitor migration, proliferation, and differentiation in neonatal cortex. In these animals, two populations of NG2 proteoglycan-positive oligodendrocyte progenitor cells were identified that exist in postnatal subventricular zone and cortex. These two populations are distinguished by the presence or absence of PLP gene expression. Thus, PLP gene expression defines a subpopulation of NG2-positive cells from very early postnatal ages, which migrates toward the pial surface and proliferates in situ. EGFP+/NG2+ cells are present in the cortex from postnatal day 1, and they remain in the cortex as undifferentiated oligodendrocyte progenitors for up to 3 weeks before myelination begins. These data could be explained by the presence of an important inhibitor of oligodendrocyte differentiation in the cortex during this period, which is downregulated in a region-specific manner to allow myelination. On the other hand, it is possible that oligodendrocyte progenitor cells remain undifferentiated in cortex until an essential signal is produced in situ to induce differentiation.
Cost-effectiveness of linezolid versus vancomycin in mechanical ventilation-associated nosocomial pneumonia caused by methicillin-resistant staphylococcus aureus.

UNLABELLED Linezolid, an oxazolidinone-class antimicrobial agent, is a new drug; its use has frequently been questioned due to its high price. However, recent trials have demonstrated that the use of linezolid in mechanical ventilation-associated nosocomial pneumonia caused by methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (VAP-MRSA) may be justified due to its improved efficacy compared to vancomycin. Price and cost have different magnitudes, and clinical efficacy should always be considered in the decision-making process. Our objective was to determine whether linezolid treatment was more cost-effective than vancomycin for treating VAP-MRSA. METHODOLOGY Elaboration of an economic model from a metanalysis of previous clinical trials comparing both drugs, through a cost-effectiveness analysis. Costs of the treatments were calculated using Brazilian parameters and were compared to the results obtained in the metanalysis. In order to compare the results with real life conditions, costs were calculated for both name brand and for generic vancomycin. RESULTS The cost (May/2004) per unit (vial, ampoule or bag) was R$ 47.73 for the name-brand vancomycin, R$ 14.45 for generic vancomycin and R$ 214.04 for linezolid. Linezolid's efficacy in VAP-MRSA according to the metanalysis was 62.2% and vancomycin's efficacy was 21.2%. The total cost per cured patient was R$ 13,231.65 for the name-brand vancomycin, R$ 11,277.59 for generic vancomycin and R$ 7,764.72 for linezolid. CONCLUSION Despite the higher price per unit, linezolid was more cost-effective than vancomycin.
Democratic Accountability During Performance Audits Under Pressure: A Recipe for Institutional Hypocrisy?

This study shows how the tensions between transparency and secrecy are likely to engender ‘institutional hypocrisy’ in the accountability process taking place during Supreme Audit Institutions’ performance audits. The examination of relations between the French Cour des comptes, Administration and Parliament has revealed gaps between Administration and Parliamentarians’ discourse and action, secrets and things left unsaid. This impression of Administration and Parliamentarians’ full participation in this democratic process may give to citizens a false sense of security leading them to believe that accounts are indeed rendered, which is not actually the case. Rather, the appearances of functional democracy have been preserved.
Characteristics of Citizen Groups Which Emerge With Respect to Hazardous Waste Sites

An increasingly noticeable feature of American society is the presence of newly formed groups of private citizens concerned with preventing and preparing for possible disasters or with recovering from actual impacts of such types of community crises. Their increased visibility and activity is probably reflective of broader trends in the country on the rights of consumers, and emphasis on participatory democracy, and an interest in organized self help, that are some of the legacies of the social turmoil of the late 60’s and early 70’s (for a partial examination of the historical background, see Boyte, 1980). Apart from any changes in popular beliefs and values about the rights and obligations of individual citizens to work together, there has also been an increase in local community and formal advocacy groups interested in activating and mobilizing private citizens (examples of the variety of such groupings are presented in Freeman, 1983). Thus, it is not surprising that there are also a variety of public interest groups across the nation who are consciously undertaking deliberate efforts to educate and train people in disaster preparedness, response, recovery and mitigation. The larger changes in American society suggest that it should be anticipated that not only will emergent groups of citizens continue to surface in potential and actual disaster situations, but that their numbers are very likely to increase in the future.
Time‐ and concentration‐dependent effects of resveratrol in HL‐60 and HepG2 cells

Abstract. Resveratrol, a phytochemical present in grapes, has been demonstrated to inhibit tumourigenesis in animal models. However, the specific mechanism by which resveratrol exerts its anticarcinogenic effect has yet to be elucidated. In the present study, the inhibitory effects of resveratrol on cell proliferation and apoptosis were evaluated in the human leukaemia cell line HL‐60 and the human hepatoma derived cell line HepG2. We found that after a 2 h incubation period, resveratrol inhibited DNA synthesis in a concentration‐dependent manner. The IC50 value was 15 µm in both HL‐60 and HepG2 cells. When the time of treatment was extended, an increase in IC50 value was observed; for example, at 24 h the IC50 value was 30 µm for HL‐60 cells and 60 µm for HepG2 cells. Flow cytometry revealed that cells accumulated in different phases of the cell cycle depending on the resveratrol concentration. Furthermore, an increase in nuclear size and granularity was observed in the G1 and S phases of HL‐60 treated and HepG2‐treated cells. Apoptosis was also stimulated by resveratrol in a concentration‐dependent manner in HL‐60 and HepG2 cells. In conclusion, resveratrol inhibits cell proliferation in a concentration‐ and time‐dependent manner by interfering with different stages of the cell cycle. Furthermore, resveratrol treatment causes stimulation of apoptosis as well as an increase in nuclear size and granularity.
Alternative Lengthening of Telomeres Is Characterized by High Rates of Telomeric Exchange

Telomere maintenance activity is a hallmark of cancer. In some telomerase-negative tumors, telomeres become lengthened by alternative lengthening of telomeres (ALT), a recombination-mediated DNA replication process in which telomeres use other telomeric DNA as a copy template. Using chromosome orientation fluorescence in situ hybridization, we found that postreplicative exchange events involving a telomere and another TTAGGG-repeat tract occur at remarkably high frequencies in ALT cells (range 28–280/100 metaphases) and rarely or never in non-ALT cells, including cell lines with very long telomeres. Like the ALT phenotype itself, the telomeric exchanges were not suppressed when telomerase was activated in ALT cells. These exchanges are telomere specific because there was no correlation with sister chromatid exchange rates at interstitial locations, and they were not observed in non-ALT Bloom syndrome cells with very high sister chromatid exchange rates.
Global adiposity rather than abnormal regional fat distribution characterizes women with polycystic ovary syndrome.

CONTEXT Obesity-related predisposition to polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) could reflect overall adiposity and/or regional accumulation of abdominal visceral fat. OBJECTIVE The objective of the study was to compare distributions of visceral, abdominal sc, and gluteofemoral sc adipose tissue in PCOS cases vs. control women. DESIGN This was a cross-sectional study. SETTING AND PARTICIPANTS Fat depot measurements from axial magnetic resonance imaging scans taken at anatomically predefined sites were compared between 22 body mass index (BMI)/fat mass-matched pairs of PCOS cases and controls; whole-group comparisons included 50 PCOS cases vs. 28 female controls. All subjects were of UK British/Irish origin. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURE(S) We measured cross-sectional areas of adipose tissue within visceral (mid-L4), abdominal (mid-L4) sc, and gluteofemoral (greater trochanteric and midfemoral) sc fat depots. Other measurements included fat mass, BMI, testosterone, SHBG, and homeostasis model assessment of insulin resistance (a measure of insulin sensitivity). Whole-group analyses were adjusted for fat mass and age. RESULTS There were no significant differences in fat-depot measurements between BMI/fat mass-matched pairs of PCOS cases and controls: mid-L4 visceral (P=0.40), abdominal sc (P=0.22), gluteal sc (P=0.67), and midfemoral sc (P=0.37) depots. Whole-group comparisons gave similar results after adjustments for fat mass and age. Fasting serum insulin concentrations (P=0.03) and homeostasis model assessment of insulin resistance (P=0.03) were significantly higher in the PCOS group than BMI/fat mass-matched controls. CONCLUSIONS PCOS cases and BMI/fat mass-matched control women are indistinguishable with respect to distribution of fat within visceral, abdominal sc, and gluteofemoral sc depots, despite significant differences in insulin resistance between these two groups.
Geographically Weighted Negative Binomial Regression Model Predicts Wildfire Occurrence in the Great Xing’an Mountains Better Than Negative Binomial Model

Wildfire is a major disturbance that affects large area globally every year. Thus, a better prediction of the likelihood of wildfire occurrence is essential to develop appropriate fire prevention measures. We applied a global negative Binomial (NB) and a geographically weighted negative Binomial regression (GWNBR) models to determine the relationship between wildfire occurrence and its drivers factors in the boreal forests of the Great Xing’an Mountains, northeast China. Using geo-weighted techniques to consider the geospatial information of meteorological, topographic, vegetation type and human factors, we aimed to verify whether the performance of the NB model can be improved. Our results confirmed that the model fitting and predictions of GWNBR model were better than the global NB model, produced more precise and stable model parameter estimation, yielded a more realistic spatial distribution of model predictions, and provided the detection of the impact hotpots of these predictor variables. We found slope, vegetation cover, average precipitation, average temperature, and average relative humidity as important predictors of wildfire occurrence in the Great Xing’an Mountains. Thus, spatially differing relations improves the explanatory power of the global NB model, which does not explain sufficiently the relationship between wildfire occurrence and its drivers. Thus, the GWNBR model can complement the global NB model in overcoming the issue of nonstationary variables, thereby enabling a better prediction of the occurrence of wildfires in large geographical areas and improving management practices of wildfire.
37 W, 75–100 GHz GaN power amplifier

This paper reports the first broadband, high-power solid-state power amplifier operating at W-band (75-110 GHz) frequencies. Utilizing a new broadband GaN MMIC chip, we report a radial combiner that effectively combines 24 of these MMICs. This amplifier achieves an average output power of 37 W CW across the 75 to 100 GHz band and more than 50 W below 80 GHz. The computed combining efficiency is, on average, 84.5% across the band. Using forced air cooling (in a wind-tunnel), the amplifier produces an output power of 45.6 dBm (36 W CW) ±1.4 dB across the 75 to 100 GHz band.
Lipopolysaccharide and Cecal Ligation/Puncture Differentially Affect the Subcellular Distribution of the Pregnane X Receptor but Consistently Cause Suppression of Its Target Genes CYP3A

The repressed expression of cytochrome P450 (CYP) enzymes in septic patients contributes significantly to therapeutic failures. Mice treated with sepsis-inducing agent lipopolysaccharide (LPS) sequentially express reduced mRNA levels of the pregnane X receptor (PXR) and its target genes Cyp3a(s), suggesting that reduction of Cyp expression is associated with the repression of PXR. The present study was undertaken to determine whether septic rats induced by LPS and cecal ligation/puncture (CLP) express reduced levels of rat PXR protein and whether the subcellular distribution of PXR is altered in septic conditions. Rats were treated with LPS (55 vs. 1 mg/kg) or underwent CLP, and the expression of CYP3A and PXR was determined. In LPS-treated rats, the expression of CYP3A enzymes was consistently decreased regardless of the doses used. In contrast, high dose and repeated low dose of LPS caused significant decreases on the nuclear PXR, whereas the opposite was true with the cytosolic PXR. When rats were administered with only a single low dose of LPS, both nuclear and cytosolic PXR levels were significantly increased. In the CLP model, rats undergoing CLP for 30 h expressed significantly lower levels of CYP3A but the PXR levels were not significantly altered. In addition, when rats were treated with dexamethasone, a significant induction of CYP3A was detected. However, such an induction was markedly antagonized by the treatment with LPS. The differential changes on the levels of the nuclear PXR and CYP3A between LPS and CLP models suggest that PXR plays negligible roles in the constitutive expression of CYP3A. The antagonism of LPS against dexamethasone-mediated CYP3A induction suggests that endotoxemia minimizes the inducibility of PXR target genes.
Combining winter hardiness and forage yield in white clover (Trifolium repens) cultivated in northern environments.

BACKGROUND AND AIMS White clover (Trifolium repens) is an important component of sustainable livestock systems around the world. Its exploitation for agriculture in the northern, marginal areas is, however, currently limited by the lack of cultivars that combine persistence and high production potential. The aims are to investigate whether it is feasible to create breeding material of white clover for these areas by combining winter hardiness of northerly populations with good yielding ability of more southerly cultivars. METHODS A total of 166 crosses of 14 different parental combinations between winter-hardy, low-yielding populations of northern origin and high-yielding commercial cultivars of more southerly origin were tested under field conditions in Iceland and Norway and the parental populations were compared in Norway. Spaced plants were transplanted into a smooth meadow grass (Poa pratensis) sward. Dry matter yield was estimated for 2 years after planting in Norway and morphological characters associated with yielding capacity were measured at both sites. KEY RESULTS The results showed that southerly cultivars had larger leaves and higher yielding potential than northern types but suffered more winter damage. Significant variation was found between full-sib families within the different parental combinations for all morphological characteristics measured in all three trials. However, it was difficult to detect any consistent morphological patterns between progeny groups across trial sites. No significant correlations were found between leaflet area and survival. CONCLUSIONS The present study has confirmed that it should be possible to simultaneously select for good winter survival and larger leaves and, hence, higher yielding ability under marginal conditions.
A design procedure of output regulation problems for anti-windup control systems

This paper considers an output regulation problem for a linear time invariant continuous-time system with saturation nonlinearities and/or an anti-windup control system which consists of controlled objects, servocompensators following the internal model principle, and dynamic output feedback, anti-windup and feedforward controllers. This problem is mainly concerned with perfect tracking and/or rejection of exogenous signals generated by some external systems. This paper proposes a convex design procedure which allows us to design dynamic output feedback, anti-windup and feedforward controllers simultaneously based on the existing output regulatable conditions. Our proposed design procedure guarantees a local stability and achieves the desired output regulation performance in a specific state space domain (a domain of quadratic performance). It is pointed out that our derived conditions can be recast as the linear matrix inequality (LMI) conditions permitting the existence of an algebraic loop from the output to the input of the saturation nonlinearities
Parameter-Optimized Model of Cardiovascular–Rotary Blood Pump Interactions

A lumped parameter model of human cardiovascular-implantable rotary blood pump (iRBP) interaction has been developed based on experimental data recorded in two healthy pigs with the iRBP in situ. The model includes descriptions of the left and right heart, direct ventricular interaction through the septum and pericardium, the systemic and pulmonary circulations, as well as the iRBP. A subset of parameters was optimized in a least squares sense to faithfully reproduce the experimental measurements (pressures, flows and pump variables). Our fitted model compares favorably with our experimental measurements at a range of pump operating points. Furthermore, we have also suggested the importance of various model features, such as the curvilinearity of the end systolic pressure-volume relationship, the Starling resistance, the suction resistance, the effect of respiration, as well as the influence of the pump inflow and outflow cannulae. Alterations of model parameters were done to investigate the circulatory response to rotary blood pump assistance under heart failure conditions. The present model provides a valuable tool for experiment designs, as well as a platform to aid in the development and evaluation of robust physiological pump control algorithms.