Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Contribution ACOUSTIC MODELING OF SHELL-ENCAPSULATED GAS BUBBLES

Existing theoretical models do not adequately describe the scatter and attenuation properties of the ultrasound contrast agents QuantisonTM and MyomapTM. An adapted version of the Rayleigh–Plesset equation, in which the shell is described by a viscoelastic solid, is proposed and validated for these agents and Albunex t. The acoustic transmission and scattering are measured in the frequency band from 1–10 MHz. The measured transmission is used to estimate two parameters, the effective bulk modulus, Keff, describing the elasticity, and the friction parameter, SF, describing the viscosity of the shell. For the scattering, the difference between measurements and calculations is< 3 dB. For QuantisonTM, the effective bulk modulus is independent of the bubble diameter. For Albunext, it increases for decreasing bubble diameter. The nonlinear response of QuantisonTM is minimal for acoustic pressures up to 200 kPa. For acoustic pressures above 200 kPa, the measured scattering abruptly increases. This increase reaches a level of 20 dB for an acoustic pressure of 1.8 MPa. This response cannot be predicted by the theoretical model developed in this article. © 1998 World Federation for Ultrasound in Medicine & Biology.
Hepatocyte growth factor (HGF) autocrine activation predicts sensitivity to MET inhibition in glioblastoma

Because oncogene MET and EGF receptor (EGFR) inhibitors are in clinical development against several types of cancer, including glioblastoma, it is important to identify predictive markers that indicate patient subgroups suitable for such therapies. We investigated in vivo glioblastoma models characterized by hepatocyte growth factor (HGF) autocrine or paracrine activation, or by MET or EGFR amplification, for their susceptibility to MET inhibitors. HGF autocrine expression correlated with high phospho-MET levels in HGF autocrine cell lines, and these lines showed high sensitivity to MET inhibition in vivo. An HGF paracrine environment may enhance glioblastoma growth in vivo but did not indicate sensitivity to MET inhibition. EGFRvIII amplification predicted sensitivity to EGFR inhibition, but in the same tumor, increased copies of MET from gains of chromosome 7 did not result in increased MET activity and did not predict sensitivity to MET inhibitors. Thus, HGF autocrine glioblastoma bears an activated MET signaling pathway that may predict sensitivity to MET inhibitors. Moreover, serum HGF levels may serve as a biomarker for the presence of autocrine tumors and their responsiveness to MET therapeutics.
Factor Structure and Internal Consistency of the Greek Version of the Flow State Scale

The present study tested the internal consistency and the factor structure of a translated version of the Flow State Scale with Greek sport participants. Sport psychology literature is not conclusive regarding sex differences and the type of sport in flow. The sample was comprised of 144 women from interactive sports (volleyball and handball) who were drawn from the second division of the first national category. Athletes completed the scale immediately after a game. Values of Cronbach alpha were used to estimate the internal consistency of the scale and confirmatory factor analysis to examine the model. The results showed acceptable psychometric properties of the scale and suggest a need for improvement of the problematic items.
The Relationship between Negative Communication and Body Image Dissatisfaction in Adolescent Females with Type 1 Diabetes Mellitus

Maladaptive eating attitudes and behaviors are common in adolescent females with Type 1 Diabetes Mellitus (T1DM). This research assessed potential pathways through which individual and familial factors relate to treatment adherence and glycemic control. Seventy-five females with T1DM (aged 11—17 years) and their mothers completed questionnaires regarding communication, diabetes management, and eating attitudes and behaviors. Hierarchical regression analyses found that body image dissatisfaction moderates the relationship between negative communication and maladaptive eating attitudes and behaviors. Treatment adherence mediates the relationship between maladaptive eating attitudes and behaviors and glycemic control. None of the participants endorsed omitting insulin for the purposes of weight management. This study highlights the need to address familial and individual factors along with treatment adherence within this population.
Isolation and Sequencing of a Temperate Transducing Phage for Pasteurella multocida

ABSTRACT A temperate bacteriophage (F108) has been isolated through mitomycin C induction of a Pasteurella multocida serogroup A strain. F108 has a typical morphology of the family Myoviridae, presenting a hexagonal head and a long contractile tail. F108 is able to infect all P. multocida serogroup A strains tested but not those belonging to other serotypes. Bacteriophage F108, the first P. multocida phage sequenced so far, presents a 30,505-bp double-stranded DNA genome with cohesive ends (CTTCCTCCCC cos site). The F108 genome shows the highest homology with those of Haemophilus influenzae HP1 and HP2 phages. Furthermore, an F108 prophage attachment site in the P. multocida chromosome has been established to be inside a gene encoding tRNALeu. By using several chromosomal markers that are spread along the P. multocida chromosome, it has been demonstrated that F108 is able to perform generalized transduction. This fact, together with the absence of pathogenic genes in the F108 genome, makes this bacteriophage a valuable tool for P. multocida genetic manipulation.
Tax compliance under tax regime changes

We focus on the compliance effects of tax regime changes. According to the economic model of tax evasion, a tax reform should affect compliance through its impact on tax rates and incentives. Our findings demonstrate the importance of at least two further effects not covered by the traditional model: First, ceteris paribus reform losers tend to evade more taxes after the reform. Second, a reform from a proportionate to a progressive system decreases compliance compared to a switch in the reverse direction. However, the level of compliance is generally higher under the progressive than under the proportionate regime.
Optimal Risk-Based Group Testing

Group testing (i.e., testing multiple subjects simultaneously with a single test) is essential for classifying a large population of subjects as positive or negative for a binary characteristic (e.g., presence of a disease). We study optimal group testing designs under subject-specific risk characteristics and imperfect tests, considering classification accuracy-, efficiency- and equity-based objectives, and characterize important structural properties of optimal testing designs. These properties allow us to model the testing design problems as partitioning problems, develop efficient algorithms, and derive insights on equity versus accuracy trade-off. One of our models reduces to a constrained shortest path problem, for a special case of which we develop a polynomial-time algorithm. We also show that determining an optimal risk-based Dorfman testing scheme that minimizes the expected number of tests is tractable, resolving an open conjecture. We demonstrate the value of optimal risk-based testing schemes with a case study of public health screening. This paper was accepted by Yinyu Ye, optimization.
Population-based study of diabetes and risk characteristics in Turkey: results of the turkish diabetes epidemiology study (TURDEP).

OBJECTIVES To investigate for the first time the prevalence of diabetes and impaired glucose tolerance (IGT) nationwide in Turkey; to assess regional variations and relationships between glucose intolerance and lifestyle and physical risk factors. RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS The Turkish Diabetes Epidemiology Study (TURDEP) is a cross-sectional, population-based survey that included 24,788 subjects (age > or =20 years, women 55%, response 85%). Glucose tolerance was classified according to World Health Organization recommendations on the basis of 2-h blood glucose values. RESULTS Crude prevalence of diabetes was 7.2% (previously undiagnosed, 2.3%) and of IGT, 6.7% (age-standardized to world and European populations, 7.9 and 7.0%). Both were more frequent in women than men (P < 0.0001) and in those living in urban rather than rural communities (P < 0.001). Prevalence rates of hypertension and obesity were 29 and 22%, respectively. Both were more common among women than men (P < 0.0001). Prevalence of diabetes and IGT increased with rising BMI, waist-to-hip ratio (WHR), and waist girth (P < 0.0001). Multiple logistic regression analysis revealed that age, BMI, WHR, familial diabetes, and hypertension were independently associated with diabetes, age, BMI, WHR, familial diabetes, and hypertension with IGT (except for familial diabetes in women with IGT). Education was related to diabetes in men but was protective for diabetes and IGT in women. Socioeconomic status appeared to decrease the risk of IGT in men while it increased the risk in women. Smoking had a protective effect for IGT in both sexes. CONCLUSIONS Diabetes and IGT are moderately common in Turkey by international standards. Associations with obesity and hypertension have been confirmed. Other lifestyle factors had a variable relationship with glucose tolerance.
The effect of N-acetylcysteine on cyclophosphamide immunoregulation and antitumor activity.

In unselected populations of women, the progestins medroxyprogesterone acetate (MPA) and megestrol acetate (MA) have produced response rates of 14% to 31% in metastatic breast cancer, sparking new investigative activity to define their proper role. One proposed mechanism of action for progestins is that they interfere with replenishment of the cytoplasmic estrogen receptor. Although not binding to estrogen receptors, progesterone has been shown to decrease the quantity of estrogen receptor in target tissue. Prediction of response of metastatic breast cancer to progestins largely follows the conventional rules established for the selection of additive hormonal therapy. Little difference is seen between appropriate doses of MPA and of MA in reports of prognostic factors associated with tumor response. The presence of hormone receptors in tumor tissue may be the most significant predictor for response to progestins. Tumors that contain both estrogen and progesterone receptors will respond to progestins in over 61% of instances, whereas those with only one type of hormone receptor will respond 20% to 30% of the time. Response to MPA or MA is probably independent of the presence of progesterone receptor. Response rates to MA of around 30% have been noted in patients who had previously responded to tamoxifen and then progressed. Previous exposure to chemotherapy does not appear to jeopardize chances for response to MA. A limited number of randomized trials of tamoxifen versus MA show no significant response difference between the two therapies in breast cancer patients with similar prognoses.
Epigenetic regulation of human telomerase reverse transcriptase promoter activity during cellular differentiation

The human telomerase reverse transcriptase (TERT) gene is transcriptionally inactivated in most differentiated cells but is reactivated in the majority of cancer cells. To elucidate how TERT is inactivated during differentiation, we applied all‐trans retinoic acid (ATRA) to induce the differentiation of human teratocarcinoma (HT) cells and human acute myeloid leukemia (HL60) cells. We first showed that TERT promoter activity decreased rapidly, which preceded a gradual loss of endogenous telomerase activity following ATRA induction. To elucidate the underlying mechanisms of the reduced TERT promoter activity during differentiation, we performed epigenetic studies on the TERT promoter and found a progressive histone hypoacetylation coupled with a gradual accumulation of methylated cytosines in the TERT promoter. We also observed that the TERT promoter was less methylated in pluripotent HT cells than in multipotent HL60 cells throughout a 12‐day differentiation process. This origin‐dependent epigenetic change was also confirmed in histone acetylation studies, indicating that the TERT promoter was more resistant to deacetylation in HT cells than in HL60 cells. Taken together, our results demonstrate synergistic involvement of DNA methylation and histone deacetylation in the down‐regulation of TERT promoter activity that may be dependent on the origin of the cell types, and they add new insight into the way telomerase activity may be regulated during differentiation. © 2004 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Cognitive Constraints on Syntactic Islands

Competence-based theories of island effects play a central role in generative grammar, yet the graded nature of many syntactic islands (Deane 1991; Kluender 1992) has never been properly accounted for. Indeed, syntactic accounts of island effects have persisted in spite of a wealth of data suggesting that island effects are not categorical in nature and that non-structural manipulations (i.e. ones leaving the island intact) can radically alter judgments of island violations. We argue here that processing (performance) factors have the potential to account for this otherwise unexplained variation in acceptability judgments. Processing factors are known to play a significant role in the perception of (un)acceptability (e.g. Chomsky & Miller, 1963); however, processing-based accounts of variation in acceptability judgments are not well-represented in the literature. Notably, syntactic island constructions are characterized by linguistic properties that are predicted to incur heavy processing costs and which have been noted by previous authors as markedly influencing acceptability judgments. Self-paced reading experiments and controlled acceptability studies are used here to explore the relationship between processing costs and judgments of acceptability. In each of the three self-paced reading studies, the data indicates that the processing cost of different types of island violations can be significantly reduced to a degree comparable to that of non-island filler-gap constructions by manipulating a single non-structural factor. Moreover, this reduction in processing cost is accompanied by significant improvements in acceptability. This evidence favors the hypothesis that island-violating constructions involve numerous processing pressures that aggregate to drive processing difficulty above a threshold so that a perception of unacceptability ensues. We also consider the extent to which competence-based theories can account for these and related results and the implications of these findings for syntactic theories of filler-gap dependencies.
Available phosphorus for 15- to 30-kg pigs kept in hot environment

This experiment was conducted to determine the requirement of available phosphorus (aP) for pigs kept in hot environment. Seventy-two pigs (36 castrated males and 36 females) with initial weight of 15.10±0.31 kg were allotted in a completely randomized block design with six treatments (0.107, 0.214, 0.321, 0.428, 0.535, and 0.642% of aP), six replicates and two pigs (1 castrated male and 1 female) per experimental unit. Pigs were kept in a hot environment with temperature of 34.1±0.8 oC. The levels of aP influenced the daily weight gain, which increased quadratically up to the estimated level of 0.477%, and feed conversion, which improved quadratically up to the estimated level of 0.457%. The levels of aP also influenced the content of phosphorus in the bone, which increased quadratically up to the estimated level of 0.529%. The available phosphorus requirement of 15- to 30-kg pigs kept in a hot environment, for the best results of daily weight gain, feed conversion and bone parameters are 0.477, 0.457, and 0.529%, corresponding to the estimated daily available phosphorus intakes of 4.75; 4.55 and 5.27 g, respectively.
Acidification and starch behaviour during co-fermentation of cassava (Manihot esculenta Crantz) and soybean (Glycine max Merr) into gari, an African fermented food

Changes in acidification and starch behaviour were investigated during co-fermentation of cassava and soybean into gari, an African fermented product. Non-volatile acidity, pH and starch content were evaluated using standard analytical methods. Starch breakdown and pasting characteristics were also analysed using a Brabender viscoamylograph. Fermentation caused significant variations in the pH, non-volatile acidity and starch concentration. The pH decreased with concomitant increases in non-volatile acidity during co-fermentation of the cassava dough. Soy fortification up to 20% caused only minimal effects on the pH, titratable acidity and starch content during the fermentation period. Starch content decreased from 69.8% to 60.4% within the 48 h fermentation time in the unfortified sample, with similar trends noted at all levels of fortification. Starch pasting characteristics showed varied trends in pasting temperature, peak viscosity, viscosity at 95°C and at 50°C-hold with increasing fermentation time and soybean concentration. Cassava could be co-fermented with soybean up to 20% concentration during gari processing without significant effect on its process and product quality characteristics.
High anxiety in clinically healthy patients and increased QT dispersion: A meta-analysis

Background Exaggerated dispersion of repolarization is likely to play a role in both the initiation and the maintenance of malignant ventricular arrhythmias. It was proposed that the inter-lead QT interval differences within a 12-lead ECG termed ‘QT dispersion’ might reflect regional differences in myocardial refractoriness, and that this might predict cardiac dysrhythmias. Aim The study aimed to perform a meta-analysis of the relevant available publications. Methods A MEDLINE search from 1990 to 2012 at PubMed (NLM) was performed. An all-fields search for index terms ‘QT dispersion’ and ‘anxiety’ was done. Case-control studies and surveys were included in the analysis provided they encompassed physically healthy subjects who had been evaluated for anxiety disorders with validated inventories. Outcome measures were either crude or heart rate-corrected QT dispersions. Results Five studies were included in the analysis, which encompassed 580 patients with calculated mean age of 36.8 years (standard error = 5.5). The values of crude and heart rate-corrected QT dispersions across the studies were statistically significantly higher in the patients with anxiety disorders. Crude values of QT dispersion were available in 164 patients with anxiety and in 273 controls. Summarized standardized difference in the means (random effect model) was equal to 1.472 (95% confidence interval: 1.034–1.911). Heart rate-corrected QT dispersion values were available in 193 patients with anxiety and in 282 controls, and the summarized standardized difference in the means was equal to 3.299 (95% confidence interval: 1.215–5.384). Conclusion High anxiety is associated with increased QT dispersion, which may predispose to cardiac arrhythmias.
Do verb bias effects on sentence production reflect sensitivity to comprehension or production factors?

Speakers should be motivated to produce easy-to-understand sentences, but they must successfully say sentences that are harder to produce. Four experiments assessed how verb bias influences the mention of the optional “that” in sentence-complement structures. Without the “that”, such sentences can be incorrectly interpreted as including direct objects (garden paths), and especially so after direct-object-biased verbs (compared to embedded-clause-biased verbs). But direct-object-biased verbs are rarely produced as sentence-complement structures, and so they might be harder to produce as such. Experiments 1 and 2 show that speakers mention the “that” more after direct-object-biased verbs than after embedded-clause-biased verbs. Experiment 3a shows that sentences with verbs biased toward neither direct objects nor embedded subjects were often produced with the “that”, and Experiment 3b shows that postverbal noun phrases after neither-biased verbs are interpreted as direct objects less than direct-object-biased verbs and so should cause a milder garden path. Thus, frequent “that” mention is not sensitive to the tendency of a verb to be followed by a direct object, but by how rarely the verb has been produced in the formulated structure.
Recombinant interferon alpha 2b for ocular surface squamous neoplasia: An efficient and cost-effective treatment modality in Asian Indian patients

Purpose: The purpose was to study the efficacy of interferon alpha 2b (INF α2b) in the treatment of ocular surface squamous neoplasia (OSSN) and analyze its cost-effectiveness in India. Study Design: This was a retrospective study of thirty patients with OSSN treated with topical INF α2b (1 MIU/cc) ± perilesional INF α2b (5 MIU/cc). Results: The tumor involved cornea (n = 9, 30%), conjunctivo-limbal-corneal surface (n = 19, 63%), or bulbar conjunctiva (n = 2, 7%). The mean basal dimension of the tumor was 16 mm. The tumors belonged to Tis (n = 6, 20%) or T3 (n = 24, 80%) based on the American Joint Committee Classification, 7th edition. In the six patients with Tis, three cycles of topical INF α2b were used for immunoprevention. In the remaining 24 patients, INF α2b was advised for immunoreduction, but served as immunotherapy with 100% tumor regression in 22 (92%) cases, and resulted in 95% immunoreduction in 2 (6%) cases. Complete tumor regression by immunotherapy (n = 22) was achieved with a mean number of three topical INF α2b cycles and two perilesional injections. All these 22 patients received three additional topical INF α2b cycles after complete tumor regression. For immunoreduction (n = 2), both patients received six cycles of topical INF α2b which was three perilesional INF α2b injections. The mean total treatment cost per patient with INF α2b was INR 9164 ($US 137). Based on maximum basal diameter of tumor at presentation, the mean total treatment cost per patient with INF α2b was INR 4866 ($US 73) for eyes with microscopic evidence of tumor residue (n = 6), INR 9607 ($US 143) for tumors ≤10 mm (n = 13), and INR 10,985 ($US 164) for tumors >10 mm (n = 11), with two patients needing additional surgical excision for complete tumor control. Conclusion: INF α2b can be used for immunoreduction, immunotherapy, or immunoprevention of OSSN. INF α2b is a cost-effective treatment modality for OSSN at an average total treatment cost of INR 9164 ($US 137) per patient.
A 65-nm, 1-A buck converter with multi-function SAR-ADC-based CCM/PSK digital control loop

A 1-A DC-DC converter with embedded digital controller is implemented in 65-nm CMOS technology. The digital controller based on a customized, multi-function SAR ADC, occupies 0.038 mm2 and consumes 115.5 μA from a 1.2-V supply, making the DC-DC converter suitable for portable applications. The DC-DC converter implements Continuous-Conduction Mode (CCM) control for high-current loads, a Pulse-Skipping (PSK) feature, in order to keep high efficiency at light loads, and automated switching between these two modes, in order to guarantee the best possible transient performance and efficiency.