Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Alternative treatment of chemoresistant, recurrent or advanced ovarian cancer. Part I

Ovarian cancer is one of the most fatal gynaecological malignancies, being responsible for at least 5% of female deaths caused by malignant tumours [1]. Due to scarce symptomatology during early development and aggressive growth of the tumour, most women worldwide are diagnosed in advanced clinical FIGO stage III/IV. Despite improved surgical treatment and modern chemotherapy the prognosis in advanced ovarian cancer is poor, and the overall survival rate is still unsatisfactory. Moreover, observed tumour chemoresistance against protocols based on cisplatin and taxanes necessitates the investigation of the possible benefits of alternative management which could augment or replace the classical chemotherapy. There are many forms of alternative therapies, including immunotherapy and therapy with inhibitors/modifiers of intracellular signalling pathways.
The non-indigenous parasitic copepod Neoergasilus japonicus (Harada) (Cyclopoida) from central Mexico: the earliest invasion in continental America

The Eastern Asian ectoparasitic copepod Neoergasilus japonicus (Harada, 1930) is a widely spread species with a high prevalence on many freshwater teleosts. It was recorded for the first time in Europe 45 years ago and continued its invasion to new geographic regions. Its presence in North America was first detected in 1993, followed by only two other continental records. In this work we present an illustrated record of N. japonicus from plankton samples collected during 1990 in a microreservoir of central Mexico. We confirm that this parasitic copepod was already present in continental America at least 3 years before previously known. This is the third published record of this Asian copepod in the Neotropical region. Its occurrence in Mexico is attributed to different events of introduction by human agency. This report supports the notion that N. japonicus is more widespread in Middle America than previously thought and it is intended to aid in the historical monitoring of the invasion of this species.
Land carbon sequestration within the conterminous United States: Regional‐ and state‐level analyses

A quantitative understanding of the rate at which land ecosystems are sequestering or losing carbon at national‐, regional‐, and state‐level scales is needed to develop policies to mitigate climate change. In this study, a new improved historical land use and land cover change data set is developed and combined with a process‐based ecosystem model to estimate carbon sources and sinks in land ecosystems of the conterminous United States for the contemporary period of 2001–2005 and over the last three centuries. We estimate that land ecosystems in the conterminous United States sequestered 323 Tg C yr−1 at the beginning of the 21st century with forests accounting for 97% of this sink. This land carbon sink varied substantially across the conterminous United States, with the largest sinks occurring in the Southeast. Land sinks are large enough to completely compensate fossil fuel emissions in Maine and Mississippi, but nationally, carbon sinks compensate for only 20% of U.S. fossil fuel emissions. We find that regions that are currently large carbon sinks (e.g., Southeast) tend to have been large carbon sources over the longer historical period. Both the land use history and fate of harvested products can be important in determining a region's overall impact on the atmospheric carbon budget. While there are numerous options for reducing fossil fuels (e.g., increase efficiency and displacement by renewable resources), new land management opportunities for sequestering carbon need to be explored. Opportunities include reforestation and managing forest age structure. These opportunities will vary from state to state and over time across the United States.
IGCT Technology — A Quantum Leap for High-power Converters

velopment of power semiconductors was nothing more than a search for the ideal switch. The lowest on-state and commutation losses, the highest possible commutation frequency and a simple drive circuit were and still are what is needed in practice. From the transistor and Darlington to the IGBT, low-voltage applications have benefited all the way along while the medium-voltage user could only look on — GTO’s and more GTO’s, nothing else was in sight. Then at last, the IGBT’s grew bigger . would they make the grade? ABB Switzerland has explored a new avenue of development with the aim of exploiting the advantages of the IGBT for higher powers while retaining the strengths of the GTO as far as possible. Thus the GCT (gate commutated thyristor) grew from the GTO — at first with an improved drive and a new gate connection and then with a new housing, newtechnology wafer, monolithically integrated diodes, hybrid integrated drive, a much simplified power circuit and much more. We now find the potential of the new device to be so large that we are convinced we have found a worthy successor for the GTO.
Radar interferogram filtering for geophysical applications

The use of SAR interferometry is often impeded by decorrelation from thermal noise, temporal change, and baseline geometry. Power spectra of interferograms are typically the sum of a narrow‐band component combined with broad‐band noise. We describe a new adaptive filtering algorithm that dramatically lowers phase noise, improving both measurement accuracy and phase unwrapping, while demonstrating graceful degradation in regions of pure noise. The performance of the filter is demonstrated with SAR data from the ERS satellites over the Jakobshavns glacier of Greenland.
Comparison of Ecosystem Services from Mixed and Monospecific Forests in Southwest Germany: A Survey on Public Perception

Scientific studies have shown that mixed forests of silver fir (Abies alba Mill.) and European beech (Fagus sylvatica L.) provide higher ecosystem services than monospecific forests. Mixed forests are known for their high resilience to climate change impacts and superior biodiversity compared to monospecific forests. Despite this superiority, the transformation from monospecific to mixed forests can meet socio-technical challenges that are manifested in dissent or even in conflicts. The integration of stakeholders and citizens plays a key role in analyzing their perceptions and views of forest transformation. Their knowledge is required to co-design and implement socially acceptable options and pathways to increase the share of mixed forests. Based on a survey in Southwest Germany, we analyzed stakeholders’ and citizens’ perceptions of ecosystem services of monospecific and mixed forests of silver fir and beech. The findings show that people believe that mixed forests provide better cultural, regulating, and supporting ecosystem services than monospecific forests. However, provisioning services were perceived as being equally or even better provided by monospecific forests. The assumed abundance of old trees and the feelings of pleasantness especially influenced the superior perception of ecosystem services provided by mixed forests. The results indicate that there is public support for the transformation of monospecific silver fir and beech forests into mixed forests in Southwest Germany.
Management of Natura 2000 sites in Italy: An exploratory study on stakeholders’ opinions

The Natura 2000 network includes the sites of community importance identified by Directive 92/43/ EEC and the special protection areas defined by Directive 79/409/EEC. This network can be considered the cornerstone of the European Union (EU) nature conservation policy in order to ensure the long-term protection of endangered species in their natural habitats. The European Union has adopted an integration approach to the Natura 2000 network. The integration approach is based on combining human activities and nature conservation purposes in Natura 2000 sites and in neighbouring areas. Furthermore, the stakeholders’ involvement in the site management is considered a fundamental point for the success of the network. The application of integration approach in Italy was different from one region to another, often presenting a framework where institutional actors collaborate with environmental non-governmental organizations and other groups. These stakeholders influence the Natura 2000 implementation with different strategies, increasing the complexity and unpredictability of the policy outcomes. The objective of this study is to analyse stakeholders’ opinions concerning the coexistence of different human activities in the Italian Natura 2000 sites. In order to achieve this objective a semi-structured questionnaire was administered by email to 146 stakeholders. 56 stakeholders filled in the questionnaire and the collected data were statistically processed. The stakeholders assessed the importance of five human activities (nature conservation, environmental education, recreational activities, agricultural activities and forestry activities) in Natura 2000 sites through a pairwise comparison and identified the main opportunities and obstacles of the network. The results show that the most relevant activities are nature conservation and environmental education according to stakeholders’ opinions. In addition, the respondents highlighted that the main opportunities are the possibility of access to EU funding and the enhancement of local green economy, while the main obstacle is the restriction of agricultural and forestry practices not adequately compensated.
Commentary Microsomal prostaglandin E synthase-1: the inducible synthase for prostaglandin E 2

Microsomal prostaglandin E synthase-1 (mPGES-1) is an inducible enzyme that catalyzes the conversion of prostaglandin (PG)H 2 to PGE 2 . Proinflammatory stimuli markedly increase levels of mPGES-1 expression both in vivo and in vitro. mPGES-1 knockout studies and animal models of inflammatory arthritis also provide a strong basis for the contribution of mPGES-1 in the increased local production of PGE 2 observed in inflammatory arthritis. The focus of this article is to review some recent advances in our understanding of mechanisms specific to the regulation of inducible mPGES-1 in inflammatory arthritis.
Comparative study of phenolic content, antioxidant potentials and cytotoxic activity of the crude and green synthesized silver nanoparticles′ extracts of two Phlomis species growing in Egypt

Bio-green method for synthesis of nanoparticles is advantageous compared to chemical and physical methods by virtue of being ecological friend and of comparable lower cost, the present study aimed the synthesis of silver nanoparticles for two Phlomis species (P. aurea Decne and P. floccosa D.) crude methanol extracts to give their nanoparticles’ extracts (PAAgNPs and PFAgNPs), they were characterized using UV/Vis spectrophotometer, Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM) and Transmission Electron Microscope (TEM) where formation and stability of the reduced silver nanoparticles in colloidal solution was monitored by UV/Vis spectrophotometer, the gained nanoparticles were more predominantly spherical in shape with an average particle size of 30 nm. Green synthesized nanoparticles’ extracts (PAAgNPs and PFAgNPs) showed more total phenolic compounds (64.96±2.90, 62.40±2.85 & 51.73±2.75, 49.33±2.71), flavonoid (32.16±2.05, 29.43±1.95 & 29.50±2.25, 27.58±2.14), phenylethanoid glycosides (21.40±1.51, 22.85±1.92 & 18.25±1.46, 18.60±1.25) and iridoid (11.03±1.02, 10.15±0.88 & 9.40±0.95, 8.65± 0.72) contents for P. aurea Decne and P. floccosa D. respectively. The nanoparticles’ extracts exhibited enhanced antioxidant potentials in dose dependent manner at two dose levels 50 and 100 μg ml-1 against stable DPPH radical (2, 2diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl) using butyl hydroxyl toluene (BHT) as a reference standard, the gained results were as follows; 67.83 ± 2.77, 62.05 ± 3.96 & 55.45 ± 2.52, 49.24 ±2.65 and 95.50 ± 1.84, 93.05 ± 1.75& 88.44 ± 3.90, 84.45 ± 1.51 for P. aurea Decne and P. floccosa D. respectively, moreover, the assessment of cytotoxic activity towards three cell lines namely HEP-G2, HCT-116 and MCV-7 using Cisplatin as a reference anticancer drug reported the significant selective reduction of IC50 of the nanoparticles' extracts compared to the crude methanol extracts. The overall results revealed that elevation of the level of different constituents in the nanoparticulated extracts was correlated to significant increase in their antioxidant potentials and cytotoxic activity which suggested the possible involvement of the phytochemical constituents in the prepared silver nanoparticle.
Public Monopoly and Economic Efficiency: Evidence from the Pennsylvania Liquor Control Board&Apos;S Entry Decisions

While private monopolists are generally assumed to maximize profits, the goals of public enterprises are less well known. Using the example of Pennsylvania's state liquor retailing monopoly, we use information on store location choices, prices, wholesale costs, and sales to uncover the goals implicit in its entry decisions. Does it seek to maximize profits or welfare? We estimate a spatial model of demand for liquor that allows us to calculate counterfactual configurations of stores that maximize profit and welfare. We find that welfare maximizing networks have roughly twice as many stores as would maximize profit. Moreover, the actual network is much more similar in size and configuration to the welfare maximizing configuration. An alternative to a state monopoly would be the common practice of regulated private entry. While such regimes can give rise to inefficient location decisions, little is known about the size of the resulting inefficiencies. Even for a given number of stores, a simple characterization of free entry with our model results in a store configuration that produces welfare losses of between 3 and 9% of revenue. This is a third to half of the overall loss from unregulated free entry.
Mismatch of Talent: Evidence on Match Quality, Entry Wages, and Job Mobility

We examine the impact of mismatch on entry wages, separations, and wage growth using unique data on worker talents. We show that workers are sorted on comparative advantage across jobs within occupations. The starting wages of inexperienced workers are unrelated to mismatch. For experienced workers, on the other hand, mismatch is negatively priced into their starting wages. Separations and wage growth are more strongly related to mismatch among inexperienced workers than among experienced workers. These findings are consistent with models of information updating, where less information is available about the quality of matches involving inexperienced workers. (JEL D83, J24, J31, J41, J63, J64)
Corporate Investment, Debt and Liquidity Choices in the Light of Financial Constraints and Hedging Needs

We study the simultaneous choice of investment, debt financing and liquidity for a large sample of US corporates between 1980 and 2014. We partition the sample according to the firms' financial constraints and their needs to hedge against future shortfalls in operating income. In contrast to results derived from isolated analyses of individual corporate decisions, our joint estimation approach shows that cash flow sensitivities of investment, net debt issuance and cash holdings are much higher for unconstrained firms than for constrained firms. Companies with high hedging needs moreover manage their ability to cover future financing needs in different ways: While unconstrained firms increase their debt issues with improving investment opportunities, constrained firms drive up their cash stocks to preserve financial flexibility. Even though the financial crisis erupting in 2007 greatly reduced the size of the cash flow sensitivities of corporate investment, financing and liquidity decisions, it left these general relations intact.
Gel forming ability of fish meat oxidized during washing.

: In order to examine the effect of meat oxidation on the gel forming ability before grinding the meat with salt, fish meat was washed with CuCl2 solution, and the gel strength as well as total sulfhydryl (SH) groups and sodium dodecylsulfate–polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (SDS-PAGE) patterns were analysed. Washing with CuCl2 solution resulted in a decrease in the total SH content of fish meat and the formation of myosin heavy chain (MHC) dimer through disulfide bonding. The plot of logarithmic gel strength versus protein concentration after heating the washed meat at 80°C in the presence of 3% NaCl to form a gel illustrated that the gel forming ability of meats washed with CuCl2 solution was weaker than the control meat. The gel of meat washed with CuCl2 showed the polymerization of MHC and MHC dimers through disulfide bonding much more than the control meat gel, although a small decrease in the SH group content after heating. Further washing with ethylene diamine tetra-acetic acid (EDTA) solution to remove CuCl2 from the CuCl2-washed meat also resulted in similar behavior for MHC polymerization and SH content as the CuCl2-washed meat, and the gel was still weaker than the control gel. It was found that the oxidation of SH groups during washing with CuCl2 solution accompanied by MHC dimer formation in the meat results in the weakening of its gel forming ability.
The influence of air pollution on the concentration of mineral elements, on the spectral reflectance response and on the production of stress–ethylene in the lichen Ramalina duriaei

summary Two parameters were applied to estimate the degree of stress induced by exposure of the lichen Ramalina duriaei (De Not.) Bagl. to air pollution in urban-industrial sites in Israel. Changes in the spectral reflectance response of the thallus and in the production of stress-ethylene, were compared with the concentration of sulphate-S, V, Ni, K, Pb, P, Cu, Cr, Fe, Mn and Mg in either in situ or in transplanted thalli of the lichen. The concentrations of Cu, Mg, Fe, Ni, Pb, V, Cr, Mn and sulphate-S in in situ thalli collected in a nature reserve in an industrial town (Ashdod, SW Israel) were higher than those detected in in situ thalli collected in a forest (HaZorea Forest) in the north-east of Israel. The high concentrations of these mineral elements in R. duriaei from the nature reserve coincided with a high rate of production of stress-ethylene and with a low normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI) indicating that changes in the spectral reflectance response relate to damage to the chlorophyll. Lichens collected in the unpolluted forest in February 1994, either resuspended in the same site or transplanted in nine sites in the Ashdod region, and retrieved in November of the same year, contained a higher concentration of sulphate-S, Pb, Cu, Ni, V and Cr in the urban-industrial sites than in most of the rural localities. Statistical analysis revealed a positive correlation between the amount of ethylene produced by R. duriaei and the concentration of V and Ni in the same thalli. To test the integrity of the ethylene-producing system, lichens were soaked in either 5 mM or 10 mM FeCl2 at pH 3–7. Thalli exposed to a very polluted environment produced less ethylene after this treatment. The NDVI correlated positively with the concentration of K in the thallus but negatively with the concentration of Mn, Ni, Pb and sulphate-S in the same material. It may be concluded that the in situ thalli of R. duriaei in the nature reserve are severely stressed and possibly-endangered by the pollution produced by the combustion of heavy fuel oil in the local power plant and oil refineries and by acid rain.
Regulation and Dynamics of Tryptophan Import in Yeast Analyzed Using High Hydrostatic Pressure

High hydrostatic pressure has an adverse influence in organisms that inhabit atmospheric pressure environments. In yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae, pressure in the range of 15-25 MPa markedly impairs the uptake of tryptophan, and thereby it limits growth of tryptophan auxotrophic strains. The susceptibility of tryptophan import is attributable to the dynamic structural change in tryptophan permease in the plasma membrane. Studies of mutants capable of growth at high pressure reveal that tryptophan permeases Tat1 and Tat2 undergo ubiquitin-dependent degradation when cells are exposed to high pressure. We suggest that hydrostatic pressure is a unique tool for probing the dynamic function and regulation of amino acid permeases in living yeast cells.
Instructional Leadership and the School Principal: A Passing Fancy that Refuses to Fade Away

One lasting legacy of the effective schools movement was the institutionalization of the term “instructional leadership” into the vocabulary of educational administration. Evidence from other recent reviews of the literature on principal leadership (e.g., Hallinger, 2001; Hallinger & Heck 1996; Southworth, 2002) suggest that twenty years later, the instructional leadership construct is still alive in the domains of policy, research, and practice in school leadership and management. Indeed, since the turn of the twenty-first century, the increasing global emphasis on accountability seems to have reignited interest in instructional leadership. This paper ties together evidence drawn from several extensive reviews of the educational leadership literature that included instructional leadership as a key construct (Hallinger, 2001, 2003b; Hallinger & Heck, 1996b; Southworth, 2002). The paper will seek to define the core characteristics underlying this approach to school leadership and management based upon both conceptual developments and empirical investigation. The review will identify the defining characteristics of instructional leadership as it has evolved, elaborate on the predominant model in use for studying instructional leadership, and report the empirical evidence about its effects. Finally, the paper will reflect on the relationship between this model and the evolving educational context in which it is exercised and how this is reshaping our perspective on instructional leadership. The author wishes to thank Ronald Heck and Ken Leithwood whose own work influenced many of the ideas presented in this paper, and who contributed insightful suggestions for improving the manuscript.
Phylogeography of the invasive polychaete Sabella spallanzanii (Sabellidae) based on the nucleotide sequence of internal transcribed spacer 2 (ITS2) of nuclear rDNA

Genetic relationships between different populations of the invasive species Sabella spallanzanii (Gmelin, 1791) (Polychaeta, Sabellidae) are investigated through the use of the internal transcribed spacer 2 (ITS2) of the nuclear ribosomal DNA (285 bp). Samples were taken from South Australian waters (3 populations), the Mediterranean Sea (8 populations) and the French Atlantic coast (1 population). The ITS2 sequences were analyzed using both maximum parsimony and unweighted pair-group mean analysis (UPGMA) algorithms; results showed genetic disjunction between the Australian and the Mediterranean populations. Within the Mediterranean populations, 3 different sub-groups, corresponding to different sub-basins, could be clearly detected (Northwest- ern, Central and Eastern basins). The Atlantic population showed strong differences with the Mediterranean and Australian populations, but did not allow the identification of the source of intro- duction from Europe to Australia. Data also suggest the occurrence of a reduced genetic variability of the Australian populations, probably due to the 'founder effect' of one introduction, either via ballast waters or hull fouling. The recent description of the life cycle and larval development of S. spallan- zanii in the Mediterranean Sea, with a long pelagic larval phase and a post-settlement stage of meta- morphosis (approx. 25 d), supports the hypothesis of introduction via ballast waters (larval pool). Our data show high consistency when compared with the allozyme analysis previously performed by Andrew & Ward (1997; Mar Ecol Prog Ser 152:131-143) on a reduced number of populations and emphasize the importance and suitability of ITS sequences as markers to study the genetic structure at the population level in S. spallanzanii.