Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Reactivity of 13 in vitroexpressed hepatitis B surface antigen variants in 7 commercial diagnostic assays

The primary marker of current hepatitis B infection is the surface antigen (HBsAg), however HBsAg negativity does not exclude hepatitis B viremia. HBsAg variants can be responsible for such diagnostic failures. Here 13 different HBsAg variants were cloned, variant protein produced in a mammalian expression system, and tested using 7 commercial HBsAg diagnostic assays. Of 12 variants analyzed, 6 samples displayed similar reactivity to the positive control (containing standard HBsAg sequence) in most of the assays, but 6 samples, containing various mutations throughout the entire major hydrophilic region (MHR), showed reduced reactivity. It was found that the loss of cysteine at amino acid (aa) 124 in 1 sample affected the secretion as well as the reactivity of HBsAg in the expression system. Thus, not all assays are equally able to detect HBsAg variants, implying that, to attain an acceptable level of sensitivity, the antibody repertoire of the current assays should be extended.
A Reliability Model of Large Wind Farms for Power System Adequacy Studies

In this paper, an analytical approach for the reliability modeling of large wind farms is presented. A systematic method based on frequency and duration approach is utilized to model a wind farm like a multistate conventional unit, where the probability, frequency of occurrence, and departure rate of each state can be obtained using the regional wind regime of wind farm and wind turbine characteristics. The proposed method is capable of finding both annual frequency and average time of load curtailment analytically in the presence of wind power. A wind farm in the northern region of Iran with the wind speed registration of one year is studied in this paper. To accommodate time-varying patterns of wind speed, reliability analysis considering seasonal patterns of wind speed is also carried out. The results show that seasonal patterns significantly affect the reliability indexes. A reliability analysis is also performed using a load profile similar to that of Iran power network. It will be shown that the coincidence of high-load-demand and high-wind-speed periods makes the North Iran wind farm projects highly attractive from a reliability point of view.
The Costs of Sovereign Default: Evidence from the Stock Market

We use stock market data to test cross-sectional implications of theories of sovereign default and provide a market-based estimate of sovereign default costs. We find that the stock prices of firms vulnerable to financial intermediation disruption, or firms more exposed to the government, are particularly sensitive to changes in sovereign credit spreads. This is consistent with theories in which default is costly because it disrupts financial intermediation and damages government reputation. Estimation of a structural valuation model indicates that the market prices stocks as if sovereign default has large effects on vulnerable stocks, translating to a 12% destruction of the value of their productive assets. Received July 9, 2011; editorial decision August 16, 2017 by Editor Geert Bekaert.
Drinking Water Quality Status and Contamination in Pakistan

Due to alarming increase in population and rapid industrialization, drinking water quality is being deteriorated day by day in Pakistan. This review sums up the outcomes of various research studies conducted for drinking water quality status of different areas of Pakistan by taking into account the physicochemical properties of drinking water as well as the presence of various pathogenic microorganisms. About 20% of the whole population of Pakistan has access to safe drinking water. The remaining 80% of population is forced to use unsafe drinking water due to the scarcity of safe and healthy drinking water sources. The primary source of contamination is sewerage (fecal) which is extensively discharged into drinking water system supplies. Secondary source of pollution is the disposal of toxic chemicals from industrial effluents, pesticides, and fertilizers from agriculture sources into the water bodies. Anthropogenic activities cause waterborne diseases that constitute about 80% of all diseases and are responsible for 33% of deaths. This review highlights the drinking water quality, contamination sources, sanitation situation, and effects of unsafe drinking water on humans. There is immediate need to take protective measures and treatment technologies to overcome unhygienic condition of drinking water supplies in different areas of Pakistan.
Delay-Integral-Quadratic Constraints and Stability Multipliers for Systems With MIMO Nonlinearities

The formula for stability multipliers for systems with MIMO nonlinearities is derived using the method of delay-integral-quadratic constraints. The results, applicable to both time-invariant and time-periodic systems, are then used to derive a solution for a special case of a nonlinear regulation problem and a criterion for stability of forced oscillations. A linear time-periodic system is considered to illustrate the difference between the delay-integral-quadratic constraints that yield stability criteria in multiplier form and those that do not.
The NF-κB inhibitors (bortezomib and DHMEQ) sensitise rituximab-resistant AIDS-B-non-Hodgkin lymphoma to apoptosis by various chemotherapeutic drugs

Rituximab in combination with chemotherapy is considered for the treatment of patients with AIDS-associated B-cell non-Hodgkin lymphoma (NHL); however, a subgroup of patients does not respond or develops resistance following initial treatments. To address the mechanism of rituximab-resistance, we have generated rituximab-resistant (RR) clones from wild-type (wT) 2F7. A representative 2F7-RR1 clone was examined for its response to rituximab treatment as well as rituximab-mediated chemosensitisation. In comparison with wT-2F7, 2F7-RR1 had less CD20 cell surface expression and failed to respond to rituximab-induced complement-dependent cytotoxicity (CDC) and apoptosis following cross-linking. In addition, rituximab failed to inhibit the constitutively activated p38 MAPK/NF-κB pathways and failed to sensitise 2F7-RR1 to various chemotherapeutic drugs (examples: taxol, vincristine, VP16, CDDP). In contrast to rituximab, treatment of 2F7-RR1 with the proteasome inhibitor, bortezomib, and the NF-κB inhibitor, dehydroxymethylepoxyquinomicin (DHMEQ), resulted in inhibition of Bcl-2 expression and sensitisation of 2F7-RR1 to apoptosis by chemotherapeutic drugs. These findings demonstrate that rituximab resistance may be due to failure of rituximab to modify survival pathways. However, pharmacologic inhibitors that inhibit survival pathways can reverse RR tumor cells and sensitise the cells to apoptosis by various chemotherapeutic drugs. These findings offer novel potential therapeutic applications in the reversal of rituximab/drug resistant AIDS-derived B-NHL.
Altered Self-Erythrocyte Recognition and Destruction in an Inbred Line of Tilapia (Oreochromis aureus)

Carboxyfluorescein diacetate (cFDA)-stained autologous and syngeneic tilapia (Oreochromis aureus) erythrocytes are recognized by effector peripheral blood leukocytes and lysed after a short culture period of 4 h. The hemolysis level was evaluated by measuring the fluorescence of the released cFDA. The degree of lysis of stained target erythrocytes of 60 individuals revealed a trimodal distribution statistically stratified into three groups of low (LR), intermediate (IR), and high (HR) responders. Depletion of the majority of phagocytes from leukocytes lowered the lysis level of HR to that of LR. A highly significant increase of LR cytotoxicity was obtained after the addition of conditioned medium from HR but only in the presence of phagocytes. Genetic analysis of offspring from four crosses (IR × HR, IR × LR, HR × LR, and LR × LR) revealed a quantitative trait locus (QTL) segregating for the level of response linked to markers UNH207 and UNH231 on linkage group 6 of tilapia. Based on segregation analysis of 58 gynogenetic BIU-1 offspring, the distances from the centromere were estimated as 21.5, 11.5, and 9.0 cM for UNH207, UNH231, and the QTL, respectively. It is suggested that 1) self-target recognition and destruction requires both cFDA-altered self-erythrocyte membrane and membrane structures normally present in autologous, syngeneic, and xenogeneic targets; 2) natural cytotoxic cells and/or macrophages are involved in erythrocyte lysis; and 3) the lysis level is codominantly inherited by a QTL segregating on tilapia linkage group 6.
In situ self‐template synthesis of cobalt/nitrogen‐doped nanocarbons with controllable shapes for oxygen reduction reaction and supercapacitors

Shape‐controlled Co/N‐doped nanocarbons derived from polyacrylonitrile (PAN) were synthesized by a one‐step in situ self‐template method followed by a pyrolysis procedure. This is the first study to tune the nanostructure of Co/N‐doped carbon materials by providing a metal salt as the template and additive. The moderate surface area (699.47 m2 g−1), highly developed pore structure, homogenous Co and N doping and designed “egg‐box” structure impart Co/N‐doped cross‐linked porous carbon (Co/N‐CLPC) with excellent electrocatalytic activity and capacitive performance. This material displayed an onset potential of 0.805 V (vs RHE), a current density of −5.102 mA cm−2, excellent long‐term durability, and good resistance to methanol crossover, which are comparable with the characteristics of a commercial 20‐wt% Pt/C catalyst. In addition, Co/N‐CLPC demonstrated a high specific capacitance of 313 F g−1 at 0.5 A g−1, notable rate performance of 63% at 50 A g−1, and good cycling stability of 104.8% retention after 5000 cycles when used as a supercapacitor electrode. This method enables new routes to obtaining Co/N‐doped nanocarbons with shape‐controlled structures for energy conversion and storage applications.
A realistic expectation of electricity production from current design concentrated solar power solar tower with thermal energy storage

The costs and electricity production of concentrated solar power (CSP) solar tower (ST) with molten salt (MS) thermal energy storage (TES) technology are here analyzed for the latest, recently dismissed, Aurora project. For a 135 MW net nominal capacity, the likely electricity production is less than the planned 495 GWh/year, corresponding to a capacity factor (CF) of 42%. The dispatchability of this electricity production is also less than the expected. The costs of the electricity produced by this technology are larger than the AU$ 78/MWh of the power purchase agreement (PPA). The larger costs are due to the large‐scale generation certificates (LGCs), valued at around AU$80/MWh, the low‐interest loan of 110 m$AU, and the indirect costs of the larger share of intermittent and unreliable electricity. In a state with peak power prices already up to AU$14000/MWh, the peak power costs are indeed expected to rise further, if the PPA does not specify any minimum amount of electricity to be produced. Given the electricity production of the similar plant of Crescent Dunes, one‐third of the planned, despite more than double the cost, it has been impossible to secure the investments needed even at a cost of AU$ 158/MWh.
Toward the Measurement of Alliance Entrepreneurship: Initial Scale Development and Validation

This study attempts to develop and empirically test a measurement instrument assessing alliance entrepreneurship. The proposed scale comprises three dimensions: pre-alliance formation factors, post-alliance formation factors, and alliance performance, each incorporating several sub-dimensions. A series of three studies are implemented to generate an initial pool of items, to test the quality of data, and to purify the proposed scale. Data analysis is conducted in terms of reliability and validity assessment, confirmatory factor analysis (CFA), and also outer and inner model estimation. Employing the structural equation modelling (SEM) technique in both covariance-based and component-based approaches, our findings from a sample of firms in Iran's telecommunication and automotive industries provide strong evidence of reliability and validity, multidimensionality of constructs in second-order hierarchical modes, and the goodness of fit for measurement models as well as the structural model.
Suppression of Catechol-O-Methyltransferase Activity through Blunting of α2-Adrenoceptor Can Explain Hypertension in Dahl Salt-Sensitive Rats

Catecholamines have been reported to be involved in the development of salt-sensitive hypertension. We investigated the relation between catechol-O-methyltransferase (COMT) and salt-sensitivity. In the first experiment, Dahl salt-sensitive (DS) rats were given a normal-salt (NS), high-salt (HS), or HS+hydralazine (80 mg/l water) diet for 4 or 13 weeks, and Dahl salt-resistant (DR) rats were given a NS or HS diet. COMT activities in both the kidneys and liver and urinary norepinephrine (NE) and dopamine (DA) excretion were measured. In the second experiment, HepG2 cells were used to investigate the role of NE in regulating COMT activity. In the third experiment, we investigated the reactivity of pre- and postsynaptic α2-adrenoceptor (AR) in DS rats. HS loading significantly suppressed the activities of membrane-bound COMT (MB-COMT) and, consistent with this finding, increased the urinary NE level in DS rats, but not in DR rats. Hydralazine did not restore the MB-COMT activities, which suggested that HS loading rather than elevated blood pressure suppressed the MB-COMT activities. The in vitro experiment using HepG2 cells revealed that NE increased the MB-COMT activity via the α2-AR. However, both the pre- and postsynaptic α2-AR reactivity was decreased by HS loading in DS rats. In conclusion, HS intake suppresses the MB-COMT activities in DS rats, presumably by blunting α2-AR signaling. The suppression of MB-COMT activities, consequent decrease in degradation of NE, and increase in NE release by blunting of α2-AR function may be involved in the development of salt-sensitive hypertension in DS rats, in whom DA-dependent natriuresis may be suppressed.
Strong and Selective Inhibitors of Hepatitis B Virus Replication among Novel N4-Hydroxy- and 5-Methyl-β-l-Deoxycytidine Analogues

ABSTRACT Novel N4-hydroxy- and 5-methyl-modified β-l-deoxycytidine analogues were synthesized and evaluated as anti-hepatitis B virus (HBV) agents. Their in vitro efficiencies were investigated in HepG2.2. 15 cells stably transfected with HBV. β-l-2′,3′-Didehydro-2′,3′-dideoxy-N4-hydroxycytidine (β-l-Hyd4C) was most effective in reducing secreted HBV DNA (50% effective concentration [EC50], 0.03 μM), followed by β-l-2′,3′-dideoxy-3′-thia-N4-hydroxycytidine (EC50, 0.51 μM), β-l-2′,3′-dideoxy-N4-hydroxycytidine (EC50, 0.55 μM), and β-l-5-methyl-2′-deoxycytidine (EC50, 0.9 μM). The inhibition of the presumed target, the HBV DNA polymerase, by the triphosphates of some of the β-l-cytidine derivatives was also assessed. In accordance with the cell culture data, β-l-Hyd4C triphosphate was the most active inhibitor, with a 50% inhibitory concentration of 0.21 μM. The cytotoxicities of some of the 4-NHOH-modified β-l-nucleosides were dramatically lower than those of the corresponding cytidine analogues with the unmodified 4-NH2 group. The 50% cytotoxic concentrations for β-l-Hyd4C in HepG2 and HL-60 cells were 2,500 μM and 3,500 μM, respectively. In summary, our results demonstrate that at least β-l-Hyd4C can be recommended as a highly efficient and extremely selective inhibitor of HBV replication for further investigations.
Semi-automatic Breast Ultrasound Image Segmentation Based on Mean Shift and Graph Cuts

Computerized tumor segmentation on breast ultrasound (BUS) images remains a challenging task. In this paper, we proposed a new method for semi-automatic tumor segmentation on BUS images using Gaussian filtering, histogram equalization, mean shift, and graph cuts. The only interaction required was to select two diagonal points to determine a region of interest (ROI) on an input image. The ROI image was shrunken by a factor of 2 using bicubic interpolation to reduce computation time. The shrunken image was smoothed by a Gaussian filter and then contrast-enhanced by histogram equalization. Next, the enhanced image was filtered by pyramid mean shift to improve homogeneity. The object and background seeds for graph cuts were automatically generated on the filtered image. Using these seeds, the filtered image was then segmented by graph cuts into a binary image containing the object and background. Finally, the binary image was expanded by a factor of 2 using bicubic interpolation, and the expanded image was processed by morphological opening and closing to refine the tumor contour. The method was implemented with OpenCV 2.4. 3 and Visual Studio 2010 and tested for 38 BUS images with benign tumors and 31 BUS images with malignant tumors from different ultrasound scanners. Experimental results showed that our method had a true positive rate (TP) of 91.7%, a false positive (FP) rate of 11.9%, and a similarity (SI) rate of 85.6%. The mean run time on Intel Core 2.66 GHz CPU and 4 GB RAM was 0.49 ± 0.36 s. The experimental results indicate that the proposed method may be useful in BUS image segmentation.
Erythrocyte Antioxidant Defenses Against Cigarette Smoking in Ischemic Heart Disease.

BACKGROUND Cigarette smoke promotes atherogenesis by producing oxygen-derived free radicals. AIM The present study was conducted to determine the effect of cigarette smoking on lipid peroxidation and erythrocyte antioxidant status in ischemic heart disease (IHD). MATERIALS AND METHODS A total of 327 male subjects were enrolled for this study, divided into two groups consisting of 200 patients, who were consecutively admitted for IHD in the intensive cardiac care unit (ICCU) of a Government Hospital and 127 age matched male healthy subjects. Both the groups were subsequently categorised into smokers and non smokers sub groups depending upon the smoking history {>/= 20 pack years of smoking; (20 cigarettes per day for one year constitutes one pack year)}. All 327 subjects were investigated for lipid profile, malondialdehyde (MDA) levels and the antioxidant enzymes catalase (CAT), superoxide dismutase (SOD) and glutathione peroxidase (GPX). STATISTICAL ANALYSIS The differences in the parameters between the groups were tested for significance by one way ANOVA using the SPSS software version 19. A p-value of < 0.001 was considered to be significant statistically. Multiple comparisons were made between all the four groups by Post Hoc Tukey test. RESULTS There was highly significant difference (p<0.001) observed in GPX activity, in comparison to CAT and SOD (p=0.032, p=0.009) between smokers vs non smokers in control group as well as patient group. The plasma MDA levels were found to be increased significantly (p<0.001) in IHD patients, who smoked as compared to those who did not. CONCLUSION Chronic smoking enhances erythrocyte lipid peroxidation in IHD patients with concomitant failure of both plasma and erythrocyte antioxidant defense mechanisms. Along with conventional lipid markers and plasma MDA levels, the erythrocyte GPX activity was observed to be a better marker of oxidative stress, in chronic smokers, who are at risk of developing IHD.
Toward a Framework for Black Male Professional Identity

Abstrac t— The purpose of this exploratory qualitative study was to understand how Black male doctoral degree recipients’ make sense of their professional identity. Three major research questions guided our analysis: (a) How do Black male doctoral degree recipients define their professional identity? (b) What factors do Black male doctoral recipients attribute to the development of their professional identity? (c) What is the role of race in the development of Black male doctoral degree recipients’ professional identity? Three major themes were identified. Implications for research, theory, policy and several campus constituencies, including graduate faculty and mentors/advisors are noted. Key Terms— Black Men, Higher Education, Professional Identity
Multiple Testing. Part II. Step-Down Procedures for Control of the Family-Wise Error Rate

The present article proposes two step-down multiple testing procedures for asymptotic control of the family-wise error rate (FWER): the first procedure is based on maxima of test statistics (step-down maxT), while the second relies on minima of unadjusted p-values (step-down minP). A key feature of our approach is the characterization and construction of a test statistics null distribution (rather than data generating null distribution) for deriving cut-offs for these test statistics (i.e., rejection regions) and the resulting adjusted p-values. For general null hypotheses, corresponding to submodels for the data generating distribution, we identify an asymptotic domination condition for a null distribution under which the step-down maxT and minP procedures asymptotically control the Type I error rate, for arbitrary data generating distributions, without the need for conditions such as subset pivotality. Inspired by this general characterization, we then propose as an explicit null distribution the asymptotic distribution of the vector of null value shifted and scaled test statistics. Step-down procedures based on consistent estimators of the null distribution are shown to also provide asymptotic control of the Type I error rate. A general bootstrap algorithm is supplied to conveniently obtain consistent estimators of the null distribution.
Majorana Fermions and representations of the braid group

In this paper we study unitary braid group representations associated with Majorana Fermions. Majorana Fermions are represented by Majorana operators, elements of a Clifford algebra. The paper recalls and proves a general result about braid group representations associated with Clifford algebras, and compares this result with the Ivanov braiding associated with Majorana operators. The paper generalizes observations of Kauffman and Lomonaco and of Mo-Lin Ge to show that certain strings of Majorana operators give rise to extraspecial 2-groups and to braiding representations of the Ivanov type.
Short pulse dielectric strength of vacuum gaps with different electrode materials

The study attempts to clarify whether the short pulse electric strength (SPES) of a millimeter plane-parallel vacuum gap depends on the properties of electrode materials such as microhardness, work function, and crystallographic structure. Of all properties considered, the study confirms only the influence of the crystallographic structure on SPES, as was found earlier for dc voltage and gaps of several tense of micrometers. Despite the well-known fact of breakdown ignition at a cathode, the mechanism triggering this ignition is not necessarily related to only one of the electrodes.