Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Factor H Binding and Function in Sialylated Pathogenic Neisseriae is Influenced by Gonococcal, but Not Meningococcal, Porin1

Neisseria gonorrhoeae and Neisseria meningitidis both express the lacto-N-neotetraose (LNT) lipooligosaccharide (LOS) molecule that can be sialylated. Although gonococcal LNT LOS sialylation enhances binding of the alternative pathway complement inhibitor factor H and renders otherwise serum-sensitive bacteria resistant to complement-dependent killing, the role of LOS sialylation in meningococcal serum resistance is less clear. We show that only gonococcal, but not meningococcal, LNT LOS sialylation enhanced factor H binding. Replacing the porin (Por) B molecule of a meningococcal strain (LOS sialylated) that did not bind factor H with gonococcal Por1B augmented factor H binding. Capsule expression did not alter factor H binding to meningococci that express gonococcal Por. Conversely, replacing gonococcal Por1B with meningococcal PorB abrogated factor H binding despite LNT LOS sialylation. Gonococcal Por1B introduced in the background of an unsialylated meningococcus itself bound small amounts of factor H, suggesting a direct factor H-Por1B interaction. Factor H binding to unsialylated meningococci transfected with gonococcal Por1B was similar to the sialylated counterpart only in the presence of higher (20 μg/ml) concentrations of factor H and decreased in a dose-responsive manner by ∼80% at 1.25 μg/ml. Factor H binding to the sialylated strain remained unchanged over this factor H concentration range however, suggesting that LOS sialylation facilitated optimal factor H-Por1B interactions. The functional counterpart of factor H binding showed that sialylated meningococcal mutants that possessed gonococcal Por1B were resistant to complement-mediated killing by normal human serum. Our data highlight the different mechanisms used by these two related species to evade complement.
Amygdalar Volume in Borderline Personality Disorder With and Without Comorbid Post-traumatic Stress Disorder: A Meta-analysis

Abstract Introduction Four studies have found a smaller amygdalar volume in patients with borderline personality disorder (BPD) relative to controls, whereas four other studies have found similar amygdalar volume in BPD patients relative to controls. This study aims to compare amygdalar volumes of BPD patients with controls, and also to compare BPD patients with and without post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) with controls in order to determine whether PTSD can explain the heterogeneity of findings. Method Systematic review and meta-analysis of magnetic resonance imaging studies that measured amygdalar volumes in BPD patients and healthy controls. Findings A significant reduction of amygdalar volumes in BPD patients was confirmed (p < .001). However, data from the studies that discriminated BPD patients with and without PTSD indicated that amygdalar volumes were significantly smaller in BPD patients without PTSD relative to controls (left: p = .02; right: p = .05), but not in BPD patients with PTSD relative to controls (left: p = .08; right: p = .20). Conclusion This meta-analysis suggests that amygdalar volumes are reduced in patients with BPD. This pattern is confirmed in BPD patients without PTSD, but not in BPD patients with PTSD, raising the possibility that reduced amygdalar volume in BPD patients cannot be explained by comorbid PTSD.
Effects of ambient temperature on surface charge and flashover of heat-shrinkable polymer under polarity reversal voltage

DC transmission helps to solve the decentralization of distributed wind power generation and other renewable power sources to enhance system performance. But the existence of surface charges by the corona makes earlier insulation failure and plays an important role during the development of the surface flashover. The influences of the ambient temperature and the polarity reversal voltage on the surface charge and the flashover of the heat-shrinkable polymer are not completely clear. In this paper, the carrier mobility and the volume conductivity were employed to explain the temperature dependent surface charge decay results. The initial surface charge density and decay rates served for analyzing the effects of polarity reversal voltage. Furthermore, the flashover experiments of the samples charged by the polarity reversal voltage at different ambient temperatures were conducted. Obtained results show that the descending speed of the surface charge becomes faster at higher temperature. An obvious temperature dependence of the carrier mobility and the volume conductivity is observed. Moreover, the surface charges of the samples charged by the voltage with shorter reversal time decay more rapidly. The flashover voltage increases with the increasing ambient temperature because of less accumulated surface charges in this condition. Considering the accelerated surface charge decay by the increasing temperature and easier charge accumulation during the steady negative period, attentions should be paid to the design of DC insulation and the security of operation.
Cancer Patients and Awareness of Venous Thromboembolism

ABSTRACT Cancer-associated thrombosis leads to morbidity and mortality in cancer patients. We sought to ascertain awareness of venous thromboembolism (VTE) and receptiveness to thromboprophylaxis amongst ambulatory cancer patients. In all 190 patients completed the survey over a three-week period. Of these, 100 patients (53%) reported unawareness of the increased risk of thrombosis with malignancy. Of the examined patients, 161 (86%) were willing to use oral anticoagulant for prophylaxis, and 86 (46%) were willing to perform daily anticoagulant injections. This study reveals an alarming lack of knowledge amongst patients regarding the increased risk of thrombosis. Informed patients are willing to use prophylaxis, if its effectiveness is established.
Energy Efficient Algorithm for VNF Placement and Chaining

This paper addresses energy efficient VNF placement and chaining over NFV enabled infrastructures. VNF placement and chaining are formulated as a decision tree search to overcome this NP-Hard problem complexity. The proposed approach is an extension of the Monte Carlo Tree Search(MCTS) method to achieve energy savings using physical resourceconsolidation and sharing VNFs between multiple tenants. A realcloud testbed and extensive simulations are used to assessperformance and ability to scale with problem size. Evaluationresults show significant reduction in energy consumption of theproposed placement solution compared to related work. The polynomialcomplexity of our proposal is highlighted by the simulation results.
A CLINICAL STUDY OF GERIATRIC DERMATOSES

Introduction: The geriatric population is composed of persons over 65 years of age and very few studies are available on the dermatologic diseases in this group. This study was done to study the spectrum of cutaneous manifestations and prevalence of physiological and pathological changes in the skin of elderly people. Material and Methods: Two hundred consecutive patients aged more than 65 years of age attending the outpatient clinic or admitted as inpatients in the Department of Dermatology at Vydehi Institute of Medical Sciences and Research Centre were subjects for the study. A detailed history of cutaneous complaints, present and past medical ailments was taken. A complete general physical, systemic examination and dermatological examination was done and all findings were noted in a pre designed proforma. Skin changes observed due to ageing were classified as physiological and pathological. Findings were collated in a master chart and results analyzed. Results: Out of 200 patients studied, 71% were males and 29% were females. Pruritus was the single most common complaint elicited (44%). Among the physiological changes, xerosis was the commonest (93%). Among the pathological changes skin tumours, eczemas, infections were the common findings. Conclusions: The geriatric dermatoses are different in different populations as some of the skin changes seen in western skin and Indian skin are not identical.
The effect of Min proficiency on production and perception of tones in taiwan Mandarin

This paper aimed to investigate how Min proficiency affects tonal production and perception in Taiwan Mandarin. Experiment 1 recruited two groups of Mandarin-Min bilinguals, with Min proficiency varied. Results sho wed that high Min proficiency speakers produced a lower tona l register and a narrower tonal range in Mandarin compared to low Min proficiency speakers. The tonal variations also int eracted with tonal target types. Experiment 2 further investigat ed whether different levels of pitch heights led to any differ ence in listeners’ interpretation of talkers’ language back grounds. Results showed that the lower the tonal register was , the more likely the listeners regarded the talker as a “Minspeaking” person, mirroring the results on tonal production.
The formation and persistence of benzo(a)pyrene metabolite‐deoxyribonucleoside adducts in rat skin in vivo

The extent of reaction of benzo(a)pyrene with DNA and the formation of benzo(a)pyrene‐deoxyribonucleoside adducts in the skins of male Wistar rats were investigated. Following topical application of benzo(a)pyrene (200 nmoles), binding reached a maximum of 0,74 pmoles/mg DNA, 12 h after treatment, and remained high up to 48 h after treatment. Hydrolysis of the DNA and analysis of the deoxyribonucleoside adducts by HPLC revealed several products. The major adduct, C, (27‐40% of the total adducts), co‐chromatographed with deoxyribonucleoside adducts formed by reaction of (±)7β, 8α‐dihyroxy‐9α, 10α‐epoxy‐7,8,9,10‐tetrahydrobenzo(a)pyrene (anti BPDE) with DNA, whilst product B, (19–23% of the total adducts), also formed in significant amounts, co‐chromatographed with a further metabolite of 9‐hydroxybenzo(a)pyrene bound to an as yet undertermined base in the DNA. Smaller amounts of other deoxyribonucleoside adducts, D and I, were also observed and co‐chromatographed with marker compounds derived from reaction of anti BPDE with deoxyadenosine and (±)7β, 8α‐dihydroxy‐9β, 10β‐epoxy‐7,8,9,10‐tetrahydrobenzo(a)pyrene (Syn BPDE) with DNA respectively. There was no evidence for preferential removal of any of the four adducts (B, C, D and I) during the 48 h after treatment with benzo(a)pyrene. The relative resistance of rat skin, compared with mouse skin, to benzo(a)pyrene‐induced skin carcinogenesis may be due in part to a lower extent of binding of benzo(a)pyrene to DNA, and a smaller percentage of both methanol‐soluble hydrocarbon‐deoxyribonucleoside adducts and of adducts derived from the putative ultimate carcinogen, BPDE.
Fibrosarcoma in pediatric patients: Results of the Italian Cooperative Group studies (1979–1995)

Fibrosarcoma is a rare soft tissue sarcoma (STS) that has two peaks of incidence in pediatric patients: one in infants and young childern (infantile fibrosarcoma), another in older children (“adult type” fibrosarcoma). The purpose of this study was to describe the clinical features and the treatment results in patients affected by fibrosarcoma enrolled in two consecutive studies run by the STS‐Italian Cooperative Group (ICG) between 1979 and 1995.
Explicit Model Predictive Control of DC–DC Switched-Mode Power Supplies With Extended Kalman Filtering

This paper presents a sensorless explicit model predictive control scheme for the dc-dc boost converter. No direct inductor current measurement is needed as the coil current is derived either via a static approximation or, for improved accuracy, through an extended Kalman filter. The estimate is used in the chosen optimal control problem formulation which yields the optimal input by intrinsically accounting for duty cycle and current constraints. The optimization problem is explicitly presolved offline so that the online effort is reduced to a simple search in the resulting lookup table. No online optimization is required, greatly facilitating physical implementation and allowing for experimental validation on an integrated dc-dc converter through a fixed-point DSP.
Resonance and Anti-Resonance in the Design of Chemotherapeutic Protocols

Analytical and computational results suggest that one can control the growth of cell populations by exposing them to certain dosing frequencies of cell-cycle phase-specific cytotoxic agents. Thus, it has been shown theoretically that a resonance effect, manifesting itself in maximal population sizes, can be created, if the period of the drug pulse and that of the population are commensurable. Based on this theory a method (denoted The ZMethod) is suggested for improving the efficacy of cancer therapy. The underlying idea of the Z-method is to improve treatment efficacy by selecting treatment periods that create resonance for the limiting normal cell population, and by avoiding resonance for the cancer cells. These theoretical results are supported by in 11ivo murine experiments. mggesting that intermittent delivery of cell-cycle phase-specific drugs at intervals equivalent to the mean cell-cycle time, might minimize harmful toxicity without con~promising therapeutic effects on target cells. A new implementation of the theory, to be denoted the (intiresonance effect, is suggested in the present work. In essence, anti-resonance is a practical method of preventing resonance in systems where cancer cell kill needs to be maximized and toxicity to normal cells is marginal. The idea here is to reduce the effective number of cell lines whose period will resonate with the treatment period, by creating a stochastic treatment protocol. An algorithm has been developed for computing the efficacy of specific treatment protocols. The algorithm is independent of the assumptions of the Z-Method. It supports this method by showing theoretically that one can increase treatment success by generating a resonancekanti-resonance relationship between the frequency of drug administration and those of the involved cell populations.
The control of Simulium damnosum at Abuja, Northern Nigeria, 1955-60.

This paper gives a comprehensive account of the first six years of operation of an onchocerciasis control pilot project in an area of over 3000 km(2) in the Abuja Emirate, Northern Nigeria. Control was attempted by the use of DDT against the larvae of the vector, Simulium damnosum. For the first two years technical DDT in diesel oil was applied. Later, this insecticide was used in miscible liquid form; this formulation gave as good results as the technical DDT and was easier to handle and apply.The authors conclude that, by the methods and in the conditions described, 90% control (although not eradication) of S. damnosum can be achieved by the addition of DDT to river water and that the best results are obtained by application in the early wet season, from May to July.Although the cost of the operations was relatively high, it is thought that the concentration of DDT actually used could be lowered with no loss in efficacy and that this, together with some reduction in the number of treatment-points, might reduce costs to a level that could be met by a local administration.
Software radio: a catalyst for wireless innovation

In this article, we deal with software radio in an original manner, emphasizing the fact that software radio is a major evolution of radio technologies and a convergence of different pre-existing fields. Joseph Mitola deserves credit for formalizing and conceptualizing this evolution. We do not define software radio. Rather, we look at software radio from different perspectives. New equipments include more and more software radio “capacities,” that is, they can be reconfigured thanks to software. Certain former analog functionalities are now performed digitally. We think that the timeframe during which software radio is advantageous, compared to a velcro1 approach for multi-standard terminals, is probably over. However, software radio has taken concrete form in the military field. We show that software radio is used de facto in all equipment and products because of the technological progress to which it has led. Software radio's legacy indeed is that it has been and still is a catalyst for wireless innovation. We conclude by showing that software radio will be used to its full potential when it is the support technology for other more complex fields such as cognitive radio.
Chronic Urticaria — Mechanism and Treatment Chronic urticaria : Diagnosis and management

Chronic urticaria (CU) is a common condition faced by the practicing allergist. There is a considerable degree of variation in the evaluation of patients with CU. The intent of this article is to provide the practicing allergist with an appropriate, evidence-based strategy for diagnosis and initial management of patients with CU. A review was performed of pertinent literature of CU pertaining to its natural history, impact on quality of life, subtypes, utility of diagnostic tests, and initial treatment recommendations. The reported duration of CU varies based on the nature of the referring center; however, physical urticarias persist longer than idiopathic CU. CU has adverse effects on quality of life and is comparable with other chronic diseases. Idiopathic urticaria, autoimmune CU, and physical urticarias are the most common types of CU. A detailed history is the best diagnostic tool in determining an etiology of CU and routine laboratory tests are of little value in the evaluation of CU patients. Antihistamines, particularly first-generation antihistamines, are the preferred initial treatment for CU and higher doses may be required for adequate control. Several alternative agents exist for patients who have antihistamine-resistant CU. A detailed history is the best tool for diagnosing the etiology of CU although most patients will not have a specific etiology found. The ultimate goal should be to control urticaria to reduce its impact on the quality of life of the patient, minimize adverse effects of medications, and eliminate chronic or frequent oral corticosteroids. (Allergy Asthma Proc 29:439–446, 2008; doi: 10.2500/aap.2008.29.3151)
Eurasian pastoralists and their shifting regional interactions at the steppe margin: settlement history at Mukri, Kazakhstan

Abstract Recent excavations at the prehistoric and historic encampment at Mukri, in the foothills of the Dzhungar Mountains of eastern Kazakhstan, challenge the view that it was a small, isolated pastoralist camp situated in an ecologically marginal territory. When viewed as a strategically situated node within a dynamic ecology of pastoralist activity, the site's archaeology reveals shifting patterns of land use and networks of interaction that contributed to socio-political change and material diffusion over millennia. This article draws on the granular archaeological evidence of continuity and change at Mukri to understand how pastoralist societies, in local contexts, resonated broader trends in the documentary history of Inner Eurasia. We highlight the effectiveness of pastoralists' strategies in order to reconsider common paradigms of extensive nomadic migrations and episodic conquest as appropriate explanatory models for Eurasian pastoralists throughout antiquity.
Effects of low doses and low dose rates of external ionizing radiation: cancer mortality among nuclear industry workers in three countries.

Studies of the mortality among nuclear industry workforces have been carried out, and nationally combined analyses performed, in the U.S., the UK and Canada. This paper presents the results of internationally combined analyses of mortality data on 95,673 workers (85.4% men) monitored for external exposure to ionizing radiation and employed for 6 months or longer in the nuclear industry of one of the three countries. These analyses were undertaken to obtain a more precise direct assessment of the carcinogenic effects of protracted low-level exposure to external, predominantly gamma, radiation. The combination of the data from the various studies increases the power to study associations between radiation and specific cancers. The combined analyses covered a total of 2,124,526 person-years (PY) at risk and 15,825 deaths, 3,976 of which were due to cancer. There was no evidence of an association between radiation dose and mortality from all causes or from all cancers. Mortality from leukemia, excluding chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL)--the cause of death most strongly and consistently related to radiation dose in studies of atomic bomb survivors and other populations exposed at high dose rates--was significantly associated with cumulative external radiation dose (one-sided P value = 0.046; 119 deaths). Among the 31 other specific types of cancer studied, a significant association was observed only for multiple myeloma (one-sided P value = 0.037; 44 deaths), and this was attributable primarily to the associations reported previously between this disease and radiation dose in the Hanford (U.S.) and Sellafield (UK) cohorts. The excess relative risk (ERR) estimates for all cancers excluding leukemia, and leukemia excluding CLL, the two main groupings of causes of death for which risk estimates have been derived from studies of atomic bomb survivors, were -0.07 per Sv [90% confidence interval (CI): -0.4, 0.3] and 2.18 per Sv (90% CI: 0.1, 5.7), respectively. These values correspond to a relative risk of 0.99 for all cancers excluding leukemia and 1.22 for leukemia excluding CLL for a cumulative protracted dose of 100 mSv compared to 0 mSv. These estimates, which did not differ significantly across cohorts or between men and women, are the most comprehensive and precise direct estimates of cancer risk associated with low-dose protracted exposures obtained to date. Although they are lower than the linear estimates obtained from studies of atomic bomb survivors, they are compatible with a range of possibilities, from a reduction of risk at low doses, to risks twice those on which current radiation protection recommendations are based. (ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 400 WORDS)
Ultrastructural study of the intracellular behavior of four mineral elements in the lactating mammary gland cells: Study using conventional transmission electron microscopy

The effects of parenteral injection of aluminum, indium, gadolinium, or terbium in rats have been previously studied in several organs such as the liver, the kidneys, etc., but never in mammary glands. In this work, we have attempted to study the subcellular localization of these elements after their intraperitoneal administration. Their subsequent effects in the lactating mammary gland cells have also been studied. Our results using conventional transmission electron microscopy have shown that the lysosomes of the mammary glandular epithelial cells are the intracellular site of accumulation of the studied elements. Our results have also show intracellular deteriorations such as an expanded ergastoplasm and altered mitochondria after intraperitoneal injection of aluminum and indium. Microsc. Res. Tech., 2008. © 2008 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
FROM POLIS TO MADINA: URBAN CHANGE IN LATE ANTIQUE AND EARLY ISLAMIC SYRIA

La civilisation urbaine qui, en Occident, s'est effondree sous les coups des invasions barbares, a continue a s'epanouir en Orient, mais en subissant des changements qui, en plusieurs siecles, transformerent la polis antique en madina islamique. Exemple de la Syrie.