Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Factors Affecting Third-Generation Mobile Services: Applying the Purchase Intention Model

Based on the theoretical framework of the Purchase Intention Model, this study integrated the constructs of perceived over performance, perceived relative advantage, network effects, perceived enjoyment, and individual optimal stimulation level to investigate the factors affecting third-generation (3G) mobile service adoption behavior in Taiwan. Data was collected from 322 potential services users in Taiwan. The empirical results indicated that perceived need and perceived enjoyment were key factors that determined whether or not an individual would adopt 3G service. Furthermore, this study confirmed the importance of perceived over performance and relative advantage on the perceived need for 3G service. Perceived price was also found to be positively correlated with purchasability, but purchasability and network effect did not significantly impact adoption behavior. At the end of this paper, we discuss several implications for 3G service management practices and future research regarding innovative technology acceptance.
A 1.1-mW Ground Effect-Resilient Body-Coupled Communication Transceiver With Pseudo OFDM for Head and Body Area Network

This paper presents a body-coupled communication (BCC) transceiver (TRX) that mitigates all the practical impairments of the body channel at once. The proposed pseudo orthogonal frequency-division multiplexing (P-OFDM) TRX combines baseband BPSK–OFDM with frequency-shift keying (FSK) to alleviate the impacts of variable ground effect and variable skin-electrode contact impedance, which have been the two major issues on the BCC. It can tolerate up to 20 dB of channel gain variation with measured bit error rate improvement of >70% compared to FSK modulation alone. The RC relaxed contact impedance monitor continuously monitors and compensates the variable skin-electrode contact impedance at both transmitter (TX) and receiver (RX). The proposed power-gated 8-point inverse fast Fourier transform/fast Fourier transform with no floating-point multipliers (FPMs) reduces the gate count and power by 54% and 30% compared to conventional FPMs, respectively. Additionally, the simple floating-point adder (FPA) reduces the gate count and energy consumption by 34% and 20% compared to conventional FPAs, respectively. A high input impedance glitch-free FSK demodulation RX with variable threshold limiter and all digital cycle correction is also proposed to support a scalable data rate (200 Kbps–2 Mbps). The 0.54 mm2 TRX in 65-nm CMOS consumes 1.1 mW.
Transfemoral TAVI using the self-expanding ACURATE neo prosthesis: one-year outcomes of the multicentre "CE-approval cohort".

AIMS The aim of this study was to assess the safety and performance of the ACURATE neo transcatheter heart valve and its transfemoral delivery system. METHODS AND RESULTS The prospective, multicentre "CE-approval cohort" consists of a prospective series of the first 89 patients implanted with the ACURATE neo prosthesis. The primary endpoint was all-cause mortality at 30 days. Mean patient age was 83.7±4.4 years and logistic EuroSCORE I was 26.5±7.7%. Procedural success was obtained in 84 patients (94.4%). At 30 days, three patients had died, and two major strokes and one reintervention for a ventricular septal defect occurred, leading to a major adverse cardiac and cerebrovascular event (MACCE) rate of 6.7%. Eight patients (10.3%) received a permanent pacemaker. At one year, 20 patients (22.5%) had died and the MACCE rate was 27%. Effective orifice area was 1.76±0.34 cm2, and mean gradient 7.5±2.8 mmHg. Only three patients (4.5%) had moderate paravalvular regurgitation. NYHA Class III/IV was present in 94.4% of patients at baseline, in 9.9% at 30 days and in 4.5% at one year post procedure. CONCLUSIONS This first-in-human experience with a novel self-expanding heart valve showed low rates of procedural mortality, major stroke and pacemaker implantation, and good performance outcomes.
Ischemic stroke in young adults of South Asia.

OBJECTIVE To study the risk factors, etiology and management of ischemic stroke in young adults in a South Asian population. METHODS Retrospective study conducted at a large tertiary hospital in Karachi. One hundred and eighteen patients between fifteen and forty-five years admitted over a five year period with a diagnosis of ischemic infarct constituted the study population. The study variables included the full clinical spectrum, spanning historical, laboratory, radiological and outcome parameters. RESULTS Forty-three percent of patients were hypertensive and 30% were diabetic. The combination of diabetes and hypertension was found in 19.5% of patients, intra-cranial and carotid artherosclerosis in 22% and embolism in 11% of the cases. The in-hospital mortality was 11%. The outcome was excellent in 27%, good in 50% and poor in 23% of patients. CONCLUSION The risk factors for artherosclerosis and the contribution of intra and extra-cranial artherosclerosis were found to be much higher than those from the Western Hemisphere.
Pancreatic cancer genomics: where can the science take us?

The incidence of pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) is steadily increasing and the annual death‐to‐incidence ratio approaches one. This is a figure that has not changed for several decades. Surgery remains the only chance of cure; however, only less than 20% of patients are amenable to operative resection. Despite successful surgical resection, the majority of the patients still succumb to recurrent metastatic disease. Therefore, there is an urgent need to develop novel therapeutic strategies and to better select patients for current therapies. In this review, we will discuss current management by highlighting the landmark clinical trials that have shaped current care. We will then discuss the challenges of therapeutic development using the current randomized‐controlled trial paradigm when confronted with the molecular heterogeneity of PDAC. Finally, we will discuss strategies that may help to shape the management of PDAC in the near future.
Interregional connectivity to primary motor cortex revealed using MRI resting state images

The topographic organization of cortical neurons is traditionally examined using histological procedures. Functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) offers the potential noninvasively to detect interregional connectivity of human brain. In the brain, there is spontaneous firing of neurons even in the resting state. Such spontaneous firing will increase local blood flow, cause MRI signal fluctuations, and affect remotely located neurons through the efferent output. By calculating covariance of each voxel referenced to the time course of a selected brain region, it is possible to detect the neurons connected to the selected region. Using this covariance method, neural connectivity to primary motor cortex was assessed during a resting state in six healthy right‐handed volunteers. This interregional connectivity is similar to connectivity established by other anatomical, histochemical, and physiological techniques. This method may offer in vivo noninvasive measurements of neural projections. Hum. Brain Mapping 8:151–156, 1999. © 1999 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Dietary supplementation with fresh pineapple juice decreases inflammation and colonic neoplasia in IL‐10‐deficient mice with colitis

Background: Bromelain, a mixture of proteolytic enzymes typically derived from pineapple stem, decreases production of proinflammatory cytokines and leukocyte homing to sites of inflammation. We previously showed that short‐term oral treatment with bromelain purified from pineapple stem decreased the severity of colonic inflammation in C57BL/6 Il10−/− mice with chronic colitis. Since fresh pineapple fruit contains similar bromelain enzymes but at different proportions, this study aimed to determine whether long‐term dietary supplementation with pineapple (supplied as juice) could decrease colon inflammation and neoplasia in Il10−/− mice with chronic colitis as compared with bromelain derived from stem. Methods: Colitis was triggered in Il10−/− mice by exposure to the non‐steroidal anti‐inflammatory drug piroxicam. Mice with colitis were supplemented with fresh vs. boiled pineapple juice or bromelain purified from stem for up to 6 months. Results: Experimental mice readily consumed fresh pineapple juice at a level that generated mean stool proteolytic activities equivalent to 14 mg bromelain purified from stem, while control mice received boiled juice with inactive enzymes. Survival was increased in the group supplemented with fresh rather than boiled juice (P = 0.01). Mice that received fresh juice also had decreased histologic colon inflammation scores and a lower incidence of inflammation‐associated colonic neoplasia (35% versus 66%; P < 0.02), with fewer neoplastic lesions/colon (P = 0.05). Flow cytometric analysis of murine splenocytes exposed to fresh pineapple juice in vitro demonstrated proteolytic removal of cell surface molecules that can affect leukocyte trafficking and activation. Conclusions: These results demonstrate that long‐term dietary supplementation with fresh or unpasteurized frozen pineapple juice with proteolytically active bromelain enzymes is safe and decreases inflammation severity and the incidence and multiplicity of inflammation‐associated colonic neoplasia in this commonly used murine model of inflammatory bowel disease. Inflamm Bowel Dis 2010
Two Distinct Effects of Oxygen on Vascular Tone in Isolated Porcine Coronary Arteries

The relation between Po2 and vessel tone was studied in isolated porcine left descending coronary artery rings. Porcine left descending coronary artery mounted isometrically and equilibrated in Krebs-bicarbonate solution (37°C, pH 7.4, when gassed with 95% oxygen +5% carbondioxide) exhibited spontaneous basal tone. Decreasing bath Po2 to 40%, 20%, and 12% elicited sustained increases in basal tension which were reversible, ranging between 10% and 20% of the contraction induced by 40 mM potassium chloride. Further decreases in Po2 to near zero (anoxia) resulted in relaxation to baseline. Cyclooxygenase inhibitors indomethacin (5.5 × 10−6 M), aspirin (5 × 10−5 M), and meclofenamate (10−5 M) decreased vascular tone and totally prevented coronary vasoconstriction induced by lowering bath Po2 to 12% or 40% but did not affect anoxic vasorelaxation. Neither basal tone nor the vasoconstriction induced by decreases in bath Po2 were influenced by the antihistaminergic drug pyribenzamine (105 M) or by the α-adrenergic blocker phentolamine (10−6). Isoproterenol (10−9 to 10−8 M) or an elevation of the bath potassium concentration from 5.9 to 11 mM significantly augmented coronary vasoconstriction induced by lowering bath Po2 from 95% to 40%. Elevation of the bath potassium chloride concentration to 40 mM further increased isometric force but inhibited the vasoconstriction in response to decreasing Po2 from 95% to 40%. Anoxia relaxed contractions induced by 40 mM potassium chloride, histamine, or ouabain. The data suggest the existence of two distinct oxygensensitive mechanisms in porcine coronary arteries, both of which regulate vascular tone. One is activated at relative high Po2 values (10–40%), and the vasoconstriction induced by this mechanism is mediated by vascular prostaglandin synthesis. The other is expressed at low Po2 values (near zero), and the depression of mechanical activity by this mechanism may be related to limitation of oxidative energy metabolism. The first mechanism can be augmented by β-adrenoceptor stimulation indicative of an interaction between vascular prostaglandin synthesis and β-adrenergic mechanisms in the coronary artery wall.
Abnormal Temperature Dependence of Mobility in a Disordered System With Traps: Experiment and Theory

Mobility μ is essential in electronic and optoelectronic devices. Abnormal temperature T dependence of the carrier mobility μ of poly [2-methoxy-5-2-ethyl-hexyloxy]-p-phenylenevinylene (MEH-PPV)/InP nanocrystal composites was observed using the time-of-flight technique. The slope of ln(μ) as a function of 1/T2 dramatically changed before and after the critical temperature Tc of 283 K. Using the variable range hopping theoretical mode, a new trap-filling factor (FF) was proposed as a key parameter to illustrate the effect of the trap on the mobility. According to FF, there are three regions. When FF ≫ 1 and FF≪1, the carrier behavior follows the Fermi and Boltzmann distributions, respectively. When FF~1, the derived transition temperature of 282.4 K represents a transition point from Fermi to Boltzmann distribution, which is consistent with Tc in the experiment. Finally, a universal dependence of ln(μ) on T was concluded based on FF in a disordered system with traps.
Neural pathways of somatic and visceral reflexes of the external urethral sphincter in female rats

The external urethral sphincter (EUS) plays a crucial role in maintaining urinary continence. The activity of the EUS is modulated by bladder and urethra sensory neurons. However, a complete understanding of the somatic or visceral sources that modulate the EUS is lacking. The aims of the present study were to characterize the response of the EUS to perineal skin, genital, rectal, and urethral mechanical stimulation, as well as to determine the peripheral neural pathways of the reflex. EUS reflex electromyographic activity (EMG), innervation of pelvic and perineal structures, and the anatomy of afferent and efferent nerves were determined in anesthetized female rats. The EUS responds to cutaneous as well as genital and rectal stimuli. However, the EUS EMG response is significantly larger when induced by genital stimulation. The dorsal nerve of the clitoris and the cavernous nerve both innervate the distal urethra and the distal vagina, as well as the clitoris and perigenital skin and are the main afferent pathways for the genito‐sphincteric reflex. Efferent axons travel through the pudendal nerve and the lumbosacral trunk and converge in the motor branch of the lumbosacral plexus, which innervates the EUS. Because the nerves are located on the vaginal walls, they are susceptible to damage during childbirth. Physiology and anatomy of the different neural pathways that regulate EUS activity are important to consider when inducing nerve damage to create models of urinary incontinence. J. Comp. Neurol. , 520:3120–3134, 2012. © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
QEEG Guided Neurofeedback Therapy in Personality Disorders: 13 Case Studies

According to DSM-IV, personality disorder constitutes a class only when personality traits are inflexible and maladaptive and cause either significant functional impairment or subjective distress. Classical treatment of choice for personality disorders has been psychotherapy and/or psychopharmacotherapy. Our study is to determine if subjects with antisocial personality disorders will benefit from quantitative EEG (qEEG) guided neurofeedback treatment. Thirteen subjects (9 male, 4 female) ranged in age from 19 to 48 years. All the subjects were free of medications and illicit drugs. We excluded subjects with other mental disorders by clinical assessment. Psychotherapy or psychopharmacotherapy or any other treatment model was not introduced to any of the subjects during or after neurofeedback treatment. For the subject who did not respond to neurofeedback, training was applied with 38 sessions of LORETA neurofeedback training without success. Evaluation measures included qEEG analysis with Nx Link data base, MMPI, T.O. V.A tests and SA-45 questionaries at baseline, and at the end of neurofeedback treatment. Lexicor qEEG signals were sampled at 128 Hz with 30 minutes-neurofeedback sessions completed between 80–120 sessions depending on the case, by Biolex neurofeedback system. At baseline and after every 20 sessions, patients were recorded with webcam during the interview. Twelve out of 13 subjects who received 80–120 sessions of neurofeedback training showed significant improvement based on SA-45 questionaries, MMPI, T.O. V.A. and qEEG/Nx Link data base (Neurometric analysis) results, and interviewing by parent/family members. Neurofeedback can change the view of psychiatrists and psychologists in the future regarding the treatment of personality disorders. This study provides the first evidence for positive effects of neurofeedback treatment in antisocial personality disorders. Further study with controls is warranted.
An in vitro comparison of the cytotoxicity of sulphur mustard in melanoma and keratinocyte cell lines

In vivo, the pigment producing melanocytes are the most susceptible cell type to sulphur mustard (HD) in the epidermal region of pig skin. It has been postulated that this is due to the melanogenic pathway producing a cytotoxic, free radical cascade within the melanocyte following HD poisoning, leading to cellular necrosis and subsequent inflammation. To test this hypothesis, the cytotoxicity of HD was tested in three human melanoma cell lines and compared to SVK-14 human keratinocytes, a cell line in which the response to HD has already been characterised. The results of both neutral red (NR) and gentian violet (GV) assays showed that all three melanoma cell lines, particularly the G361 line, were less susceptible to the toxic effects of HD than the SVK-14 keratinocyte cell line. Preliminary data indicate that the expression level of the DNA repair cofactor, proliferating cell nuclear antigen (PCNA), is up to 13-fold greater in the HD-resistant cell line G361 compared to the HD-sensitive SVK-14 cell line. The data point to the importance of DNA lesions in HD-induced cell death and to potential mechanisms associated with increased resistance to HD. A dose–response study was carried out to confirm the differences between these two cell lines. It was found that the G361 line is 5-fold more resistant to HD and 5.5-fold more resistant to the cytotoxic effects of H2O2 than the SVK-14 line, as determined by the MTT assay. The results suggest that differences in the relative efficiency of DNA repair processes may underlie these responses. Whilst the study indicates the limitations of using melanoma cell lines (in vitro) to model melanocyte responses to HD, analysis of the biochemical basis of the observed differences in sensitivity to HD could assist in the identification of novel therapeutic strategies against HD.
Bacteria and Bioactivity in Holder Pasteurized and Shelf-Stable Human Milk Products

Abstract Background: Historically, Holder pasteurization has been used to pasteurize donor human milk available in a hospital setting. There is extensive research that provides an overview of the impact of Holder pasteurization on bioactive components of human milk. A shelf-stable (SS) human milk product, created using retort processing, recently became available; however, to our knowledge, little has been published about the effect of retort processing on human milk. Objective: We aimed to assess the ability of retort processing to eliminate bacteria and to quantify the difference in lysozyme and secretory immunoglobulin A (sIgA) activity between Holder pasteurized (HP) and SS human milk. Methods: Milk samples from 60 mothers were pooled. From this pool, 36 samples were taken: 12 samples were kept raw, 12 samples were HP, and 12 samples were retort processed to create an SS product. All samples were analyzed for total aerobic bacteria, coliform bacteria, Bacillus cereus, sIgA activity, and lysozyme activity. Raw samples served as the control. Results: One raw sample and 3 HP samples contained B. cereus at the time of culture. There were no detectable bacteria in SS samples at the time of culture. Raw samples had significantly greater lysozyme and sIgA activity than HP and SS samples (P < 0.0001). HP samples retained significantly more lysozyme and sIgA activity (54% and 87%, respectively) than SS samples (0% and 11%, respectively). Conclusions: Human milk processed using Holder pasteurization should continue to be screened for the presence of B. cereus. Clinicians should be aware of the differences in the retention of lysozyme and sIgA activity in HP and SS products when making feeding decisions for medically fragile or immunocompromised infants to ensure that patients are receiving the maximum immune protection.
PRESSURE DISTRIBUTION FOR DIAMOND STORAGE RING

diamond is the United Kingdoms 3 generation light source project, which is currently moving from the design phase into the procurement and construction phase. It is due to come into operation with beam for users in 2006. diamond will be based on a 3 GeV electron storage ring of 561.6m circumference with a stored beam current of 300mA. As is the case for most such machines, the vacuum specification has been set at an operational pressure of 10 mbar to give a beam lifetime of 10 hours at the design current. The storage ring vacuum system will be based on conventional technology and the majority of the vacuum vessels will be constructed of stainless steel. The storage ring  with the exception of the insertion device vacuum chambers has not been designed to be bakeable in situ, but all components will be baked as sub assemblies prior to installation. This paper will describe a novel method of calculating pressure distributions in such large, conductance limited vacuum systems using the commercially available mathematical package Mathcad 2001. Such calculations demonstrate that the design pressure will be achieved after 100 Ah of beam conditioning using the pumping scheme, which will be described.
Isolation of Acanthamoeba culbertsoni from a patient with meningitis

A case of amoebic meningitis, presumably primary, was encountered in the Christian Medical College Hospital, Vellore, South India, in November 1983. The patient, a 40-year-old man, had cerebrospinal fluid rhinorrhea before the meningitis developed. Acanthamoeba culbertsoni was repeatedly demonstrated in and cultured from the cerebrospinal fluid. The patient responded dramatically to a combination therapy of penicillin and chloramphenicol.
Proteasome inhibitors suppress expression of NPM and ARF proteins

Proteasome inhibitors stabilize numerous proteins by inhibiting their degradation. Previously we have demonstrated that proteasome inhibitors thiostrepton, MG132 and bortezomib paradoxically inhibit transcriptional activity and mRNA/protein expression of FOXM1. Here we demonstrate that, in addition to FOXM1, the same proteasome inhibitors also decrease mRNA and protein expression of NPM and ARF genes. These data suggest that proteasome inhibitors may suppress gene expression by stabilizing their transcriptional inhibitors.