Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Sorafenib delays recurrence and metastasis after liver transplantation in a rat model of hepatocellular carcinoma with high expression of phosphorylated extracellular signal‐regulated kinase

Liver transplantation (LT) is one of the curative treatments for hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). However, cancer recurrence and metastasis after LT are common in some HCC patients with high‐risk factors (even in those within the Milan criteria). It remains unclear whether adjuvant therapy with sorafenib inhibits HCC recurrence and metastasis after LT. Therefore, we performed orthotopic LT in an August Irish Copenhagen (ACI) rat model of HCC. Because LT involves immune rejection and tolerance and it is unknown whether sorafenib influences the immune response, we also investigated the effects of sorafenib on immune balance. In this study, we established an allogeneic rat LT model in which liver grafts were taken from Lewis rats and transplanted into ACI rats with orthotopic HCC, and they were administered cyclosporine A to prevent acute allograft rejection. From day 7 after LT, sorafenib was administrated at 30 mg/kg/day for 3 weeks. Our results showed that the serum levels of vascular endothelial growth factor and hepatocyte growth factor significantly increased after LT, and the T helper 1 (Th1)/T helper 2 (Th2) immune balance was shifted toward a Th2 response after immunosuppressant administration. In comparison with controls, the rats in the sorafenib group showed significantly inhibited extracellular signal‐regulated kinase phosphorylation and improved progression‐free survival and overall survival. The tumor proliferation rate and angiogenesis in posttransplant recurrent tumor tissues decreased in the sorafenib group, and the tumor apoptosis rate increased. There was no significant difference in the Th1/Th2 immune balance between the sorafenib and control groups. In conclusion, adjuvant therapy with sorafenib is highly effective at inhibiting cancer recurrence and metastasis without influencing the immune balance after LT for HCC with high expression of phosphorylated extracellular signal‐regulated kinase. This study suggests that sorafenib may have potential, particularly as part of a stratified medicine approach to HCC treatment after LT. Liver Transpl 19:507–520, 2013. © 2013 AASLD.
A Single Tyrosine in the Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus Membrane Protein Cytoplasmic Tail Is Important for Efficient Interaction with Spike Protein

ABSTRACT Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus (SARS-CoV) encodes 3 major envelope proteins: spike (S), membrane (M), and envelope (E). Previous work identified a dibasic endoplasmic reticulum retrieval signal in the cytoplasmic tail of SARS-CoV S that promotes efficient interaction with SARS-CoV M. The dibasic signal was shown to be important for concentrating S near the virus assembly site rather than for direct interaction with M. Here, we investigated the sequence requirements of the SARS-CoV M protein that are necessary for interaction with SARS-CoV S. The SARS-CoV M tail was shown to be necessary for S localization in the Golgi region when the proteins were exogenously coexpressed in cells. This was specific, since SARS-CoV M did not retain an unrelated glycoprotein in the Golgi. Importantly, we found that an essential tyrosine residue in the SARS-CoV M cytoplasmic tail, Y195, was important for S-M interaction. When Y195 was mutated to alanine, MY195A no longer retained S intracellularly at the Golgi. Unlike wild-type M, MY195A did not reduce the amount of SARS-CoV S carbohydrate processing or surface levels when the two proteins were coexpressed. Mutating Y195 also disrupted SARS-CoV S-M interaction in vitro. These results suggest that Y195 is necessary for efficient SARS-CoV S-M interaction and, thus, has a significant involvement in assembly of infectious virus.
The role of the Practice Consultant in cross organizational electronic collaboration in the health sector

This paper addresses how Practice Consultants can act as boundary spanners [1], [2] in order to improve collaboration and knowledge sharing in the health sector. Practice Consultants are in this paper defined as General Practitioners (GPs) that work in part time positions at hospitals with issues that are related to collaboration between primary care and specialized care. They are often experienced and know the work processes in primary care well. Special attention is paid to how the Practice Consultant can have a role in deployment of systems the support electronic collaboration across organizational boarders. The electronic referral and discharge letter are used as examples of boundary objects that can be influenced by the Practice Consultants work. Their knowledge about the work processes in collaborating organizations can be important for improvement of the quality of care in the patient trajectory.
Dietary determinants of plasma enterolactone.

Enterolactone is a lignan produced by fermentation of dietary precursors in the human gut. Because lignan precursors are uniquely found in plant foods, plasma enterolactone concentration may serve as a biological marker of plant food consumption. This cross-sectional study examined associations of dietary intake with plasma enterolactone concentration. Weight-stable, 20-40-year-old volunteers (115 women and 78 men in Seattle, Washington) reporting intake of < or =2.5 or > or =4.5 fruit and vegetable servings/day and no antibiotic use for > or =3 months completed a food frequency questionnaire and 3-day food record. Time-resolved fluoroimmunoassay was used to measure plasma enterolactone. Based on diet records, plasma enterolactone was positively correlated with daily vegetable servings (r = 0.17; P < 0.05), fiber (r = 0.36; P < 0.0001), alcohol (r = 0.24; P < 0.001), caffeine (r = 0.21; P < 0.001), and daily botanical group servings [Chenopodiaceae (r = 0.15; P < 0.05), Juglandaceae (r = 0.15; P < 0.05), Leguminosae (r = 0.20; P < 0.001), Pedaliaceae (r = 0.20; P < 0.001), and Vitaceae (r = 0.20; P < 0.001)]. Fat-related variables were not correlated with plasma enterolactone. Based on linear regression models, plasma enterolactone increased by 37.0% (SE = 2.3%) for each 10-g increase in fiber and by 6.6% (SE = 0.2%) for each 50-mg serving of caffeine. Participants consuming 0.5-1 alcoholic drink/day had plasma enterolactone concentrations that were 131.4% (SE = 37.6%) higher than those of nondrinkers. Although plasma enterolactone may be useful as a biological measure of exposure to lignan-containing foods, it may be of limited use as a specific biomarker of fruit and vegetable or plant food intake because coffee, tea, and alcoholic beverages also significantly increase its plasma concentration.
Effective Tools for Customer Knowledge Management

Customer knowledge management (CKM) is becoming vital for organizations’ operative and innovative performance. Currently, organizations are transforming their business strategies from mass production to mass customization and customer focused strategies to respond to business pressures and achieve a competitive advantage. Customer knowledge enables organizations to develop effective business strategies and achieve a competitive advantage. The capability of organizational knowledge management is assessed by incorporating tools that support knowledge management. Based on the experience of customer service managers’ perspective in successful CKM organizations, this chapter discusses effective tools for customer knowledge management that add value to organizations. Specifically, the chapter examines the most effective IT tools and non-IT tools (organizational mechanisms) that support the acquisition, storage, transfer, and application of customer knowledge. The chapter also examines the impacts of CKM tools on organizations. DOI: 10.4018/978-1-61350-089-7.ch007
Estimation with bilinear constraints in computer vision

A complete analysis of the statistical issues related to the estimation of a bilinear form, one of the fundamental problems in computer vision, is presented. It is shown why already at moderate noise levels most available techniques fail to provide a satisfactory solution. A new estimation procedure is proposed in which the nonlinear nature of the errors is taken into account and the implementation is based on the generalized singular value decomposition for superior numerical behavior. As an example, the ellipse fitting problem is discussed, and the performance of the new algorithm is compared with the current state-of-the-art.
Big Data for Modern Industry: Challenges and Trends [Point of View]

We are living in an era of data deluge and as a result, the term ‘‘big data’’ is appearing in many contexts, from meteorology, genomics, complex physics simulations, biological and environmental research, finance and business to healthcare. Explores ways in business and industry is working to manage data and reports on applications that support these initiatives.
Direct dilution sampling, quantitation, and microbial assessment of open-system ventilation circuits in intensive care units

In a systematic approach, 37 duplicate samples of open system circuits (Bennett MA-1 ventilators) of patients in medical and surgical intensive care units were processed by direct and serial (APHA guidelines) dilutions. The paired difference test on 15 of the in-use circuitry solution samples indicated no difference between the direct and serial dilution methods (P less than 0.001). Seventy-seven additional respiratory therapy circuitry samples from similar intensive care patients were analyzed via a direct dilution method alone and processed microbiologically. The direct dilution procedure was a rapid and accurate means of evaluation of microbial contamination in the range of greater than or equal to 10 to less than or equal to 10(6) CFU/ml. High densities of organisms frequently were found. Sites of contamination included the proximal or patient end of the circuitry (heaviest), the nebulizer trap, and the distal or humidifier portions of the circuitry. The contaminants found were predominantly gram-negative nonfermenters: Acinetobacter calcoaceticus var. antitratus, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Pseudomonas maltophilia, and Flavobacterium meningosepticum. Fermenters were Klebsiella pneumoniae, Proteus sp. , Enterobacter cloacae, Citrobacter diversus, and Enterobacter agglomerans. Infrequently, gram-positive Streptococcus spp. and Staphylococcus spp. were noted.
Affective Pedagogical Agent in E-Learning Environment: A Reflective Analysis

In educational research the relationship between affect/emotion and performance on cognitive tasks is well documented in both the neuroscience and psychology literatures. Researchers have claimed that emotions play a vital role in perception, learning, decision making, rational thinking and other cognitive functions. At the same time some others have added that both the positive and negative affective states are equally important in the learning process. In the real-life physical learning environment students’ affective feedback is a major cue that human tutors use to constantly adapt their teaching strategies, so that learning would be most effective and efficient for each individual learner. Thus, in e-learning environment it’s a research issue to think about how to design an artificial affective tutor or pedagogical agent, who can respond to students’ emotion and accordingly guide and motivate them for better learning. However, for post-secondary learners it may be relevant, but for secondary level Indian students can it be feasible and cost-effective ICT learning tools. This raises many more questions about content, pedagogy, software designing and implementation of affective pedagogical agents as ICT learning tools in Indian school education system.
Intra-arterial verapamil post-thrombectomy is feasible, safe, and neuroprotective in stroke

Large vessel ischemic stroke represents the most disabling subtype. While t-PA and endovascular thrombectomy can recanalize the occluded vessel, good clinical outcomes are not uniformly achieved. We propose that supplementing endovascular thrombectomy with superselective intra-arterial (IA) verapamil immediately following recanalization could be safe and effective. Verapamil, a calcium channel blocker, has been shown to be an effective IA adjunct in a pre-clinical mouse focal ischemia model. To demonstrate translational efficacy, mechanism, feasibility, and safety, we conducted a group of translational experiments. We performed in vivo IA dose–response evaluation in our animal stroke model with C57/Bl6 mice. We evaluated neuroprotective mechanism through in vitro primary cortical neuron (PCN) cultures. Finally, we performed a Phase I trial, SAVER-I, to evaluate feasibility and safety of administration in the human condition. IA verapamil has a likely plateau or inverted-U dose–response with a defined toxicity level in mice (LD50 16–17.5 mg/kg). Verapamil significantly prevented PCN death and deleterious ischemic effects. Finally, the SAVER-I clinical trial showed no evidence that IA verapamil increased the risk of intracranial hemorrhage or other adverse effect/procedural complication in human subjects. We conclude that superselective IA verapamil administration immediately following thrombectomy is safe and feasible, and has direct, dose–response-related benefits in ischemia.
Partial discharge signals separation using cumulative energy function and mathematical morphology gradient

Partial discharge (PD) measurement and interpretation have become a powerful tool for condition monitoring and failure risk assessment of high voltage power equipment insulation. The occurrence of multiple discharge sources affects interpretation accuracy. This paper presents a PD signal separation algorithm using cumulative energy (CE) function parameters clustering technique. The waveform of PD signals are acquired by digital detection instruments with high sampling rate. Cumulative energy functions in time domain (TCE) and frequency domain (FCE) are calculated from PD waveforms and their FFT spectrums, respectively. Mathematical morphology gradient (MMG) operation is applied to the TCE and FCE to describe their variation characteristics. The feature parameters including width, sharpness and gravity are extracted from CEs and MMGs in both time and frequency domain, and compose a six-dimension feature space. The improved density-based spatial clustering of applications with noise (IDBSCAN) clustering algorithm is adopted to discover clusters in the feature space. The proposed separation algorithm is examined with mixed current impulse signals acquired from PD experiments on artificial multi-defect models and an on-site transformer. The separation results indicate that the proposed algorithm is effective for separating mixed PD signals initiated from multiple sources.
Wideband-to-Narrowband Tunable Monopole Antenna With Integrated Bandpass Filters for UWB/WLAN Applications

A novel wideband-to-narrowband tunable monopole antenna with switchable integrated feed network for ultrawideband (UWB)/wireless local area network (WLAN) applications is proposed in this letter. The integrated feed network is composed of a 50 Ω microstrip line, an open-loop bandpass filter, and a three-pole hairpin bandpass filter. The feed network can enable the ultrawideband state, the 2.4 GHz WLAN narrowband state, and 5.8 GHz WLAN narrowband state separately by selecting different RF paths. The RF path selections resulting in frequency reconfiguration are realized by dc controlled p-i-n diodes. The antenna is simulated, fabricated, and measured. Measured tuning ranges and radiation patterns indicate that the proposed reconfigurable filtering antenna is in good performance. The antenna is suitable for multifunctional systems incorporating UWB and WLAN systems.
In Vitro Analysis of Finasteride Activity against Candida albicans Urinary Biofilm Formation and Filamentation

ABSTRACT Candida albicans is the 3rd most common cause of catheter-associated urinary tract infections, with a strong propensity to form drug-resistant catheter-related biofilms. Due to the limited efficacy of available antifungals against biofilms, drug repurposing has been investigated in order to identify novel agents with activities against fungal biofilms. Finasteride is a 5-α-reductase inhibitor commonly used for the treatment of benign prostatic hyperplasia, with activity against human type II and III isoenzymes. We analyzed the Candida Genome Database and identified a C. albicans homolog of type III 5-α-reductase, Dfg10p, which shares 27% sequence identity and 41% similarity to the human type III 5-α-reductase. Thus, we investigated finasteride for activity against C. albicans urinary biofilms, alone and in combination with amphotericin B or fluconazole. Finasteride alone was highly effective in the prevention of C. albicans biofilm formation at doses of ≥16 mg/liter and the treatment of preformed biofilms at doses of ≥128 mg/liter. In biofilm checkerboard analyses, finasteride exhibited synergistic activity in the prevention of biofilm formation in a combination of 4 mg/liter finasteride with 2 mg/liter fluconazole. Finasteride inhibited filamentation, thus suggesting a potential mechanism of action. These results indicate that finasteride alone is highly active in the prevention of C. albicans urinary biofilms in vitro and has synergistic activity in combination with fluconazole. Further investigation of the clinical utility of finasteride in the prevention of urinary candidiasis is warranted.
ECONOMIC IMPACT OF DOUBLE SYNCH PROTOCOL IN BUFFALOES DURING SUMMER SEASON

The aim of the study was to evaluate the economic impact of Doublesynch protocol by improving fertility in postpartum buffaloes. The experiment was conducted in 200 lactating buffaloes at dairy farm, Guru Angad Dev Veterinary and Animal Sciences University, Ludhiana, Punjab during summer months (April to July). The buffaloes were divided into 2 groups. The buffaloes in group I (Doublesynch group, n=100) were administered PGF2α (Cloprostenol, 500 μg i.m.) on day -2, GnRH (Buserelin acetate, 20 μg, i.m.) on day 0, a second PGF2α on day 7 and a second GnRH on day 9 (Buserelin acetate, 10 μg, i.m.). The buffaloes were inseminated twice at 14 to 16 h and 38 to 40 h following second GnRH. Buffaloes in group II (Control group, n=100) that exhibited natural estrus during the study period were inseminated at detected estrus. Pregnancy diagnosis was performed at 45 days post AI by ultrasonography. The higher (P<0.05) pregnancy rate in Doublesynch (58.0%) compared to control group (39.0%) indicated the success of Doublesynch protocol in buffaloes during summer. The service period in Doublesynch group was 12 days shorter than in control group that improved the economics of dairy farm by Rs. 3225.12/pregnancy. In conclusion, profitability in dairy farming can be enhanced through application of Doublesynch protocol in postpartum buffaloes during summer season.
Approximation Approaches for Solving Security Games with Surveillance Cost : A Preliminary Study

Security game models have been deployed to allocate limited security resources for critical infrastructure protection. Much work on this topic assumes that attackers have perfect knowledge of the defender’s randomized strategy. However, this assumption is not realistic, considering surveillance cost, since attackers may only have partial knowledge of the defender’s strategies, and may dynamically decide whether to attack or conduct more surveillance. Recently, a model called OPTS (OPtimal sTopping Security games) considered surveillance cost and formulated the attacker’s optimal decision making problem as a finite state space MDP (Markov Decision Process). However, the known exact algorithms for this MDP cannot scale up. In this paper, we extend several approximation approaches based on the MCTS (MonteCarlo Tree Search) method and RTDP (Real-Time Dynamic Programming) to MDPs of the OPTS model. We also propose an iterative deepening based approximation algorithm. Experimental results show that these approaches can solve much larger security games with surveillance cost.
A simulation model for evaluating the impact of communication services in a functional-block-based network protocol graph

A flexible Future Internet Architecture based on functional blocks will allow the use of different mechanisms to fulfill emerging communication requirements. With this freedom of choice, we can make use of application requirements and system constraints to choose the best Protocol Graph. Each available block impacts the quality of the Protocol Graph. How then can the given requirements and constraints be used to determine which block to use? In this paper we present a simulation model to evaluate the impact of network communication services to decide if a block or a set of blocks composed into a protocol graph is able to fulfill the given application requirements and system constraints. The results gained by simulating our presented model show that it is possible to select an appropriate mechanism by matching the application requirements with given offers.
Stealthy Dopant-Level Hardware Trojans

With the increase in outsourcing manufacturing of integrated circuits to di erent countries, the topic of trust and security becomes more and more important. The built circuits could contain some malicious modi cations introduced during production, known as hardware trojans. Common ways of detecting these modi cation include optical inspection with electron-microscopes, comparing side-channel information to a known trojan-free golden chip, and just plain functional testing. This seminar paper, based on [1] by Becker, Regazzoni, Paar, and Burleson, describes a method of implementing hardware trojans on the dopant-level without being detectable by the aforementioned methods. The trojans circuits look physically the same as a trojan-free one, with modi cations in only the physical composition of the materials used. The attack is demonstrated on two casestudies: reducing the quality of random numbers generated by Intel's Ivy Bridge processors random number generator, and introducing a power side-channel to an AES SBox implemented in side-channel resistant logic. To understand the operation of transistors and how these dopant-level hardware trojans work, it is rst necessary to have a basic understanding of semiconductor doping this will be brie y introduced in Section 2. Section 3 explains the construction and operation of most transistors used today and how logic gates are built from them. Section 4 describes the dopant-level attack on a simple component and Section 5 gives an overview of the two case studies to see practical applicability of the attack. The last section summarizes the results and gives conclusions.