Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Damage to Candida albicans hyphae and pseudohyphae by the myeloperoxidase system and oxidative products of neutrophil metabolism in vitro.

In previous studies, we noted that Candida hyphae and pseudohyphae could be damaged and probably killed by neutrophils, primarily by oxygen-dependent nonphagocytic mechanisms. In extending these studies, amount of damage to hyphae again was measured by inhibition of [(14)C]cytosine uptake. Neutrophils from only one of four patients with chronic granulomatous disease damaged hyphae at all, and neutrophils from this single patient damaged hyphae far less efficiently than simultaneously tested neutrophils from normal control subjects. Neutrophils from neither of two subjects with hereditary myeloperoxidase deficiency damaged the hyphae. This confirmed the importance of oxidative mechanisms in general and myeloperoxidase-mediated systems in particular in damaging Candida hyphae. Several potentially fungicidal oxidative intermediates are produced by metabolic pathways of normal neutrophils, but their relative toxicity for Candida hyphae was previously unknown. To help determine this, cell-free in vitro systems were used to generate these potentially microbicidal products. Myeloperoxidase with hydrogen peroxide, iodide, and chloride resulted in 91.2% damage to hyphal inocula in 11 experiments. There was less damage when either chloride or iodide was omitted, and no damage when myeloperoxidase was omitted or inactivated by heating. Azide, cyanide, and catalase (but not heated catalase) inhibited the damage. Systems for generation of hydrogen peroxide could replace reagent hydrogen peroxide in the myeloperoxidase system. These included glucose oxidase, in the presence of glucose, and xanthine oxidase, in the presence of either hypoxanthine or acetaldehyde. In the presence of myeloperoxidase and a halide, the toxicity of the xanthine oxidase system was not inhibited by superoxide dismutase and, under some conditions, was marginally increased by this enzyme. This suggested that superoxide radical did not damage hyphae directly but served primarily as an intermediate in the production of hydrogen peroxide. The possible damage to hyphae by singlet oxygen was examined using photoactivation of rose bengal. This dye damaged hyphae in the presence of light and oxygen. The effect was almost completely inhibited by putative quenchers of singlet oxygen: histidine, tryptophan, and 1,4-diazobicyclo[2.2. 2]octane. These agents also inhibited damage to hyphae by myeloperoxidase, halide, and either hydrogen peroxide or a peroxide source (xanthine oxidase plus acetaldehyde). Myeloperoxidase-mediated damage to hyphae was also inhibited by dimethyl sulfoxide, an antioxidant and scavenger of the hydroxyl radical. These data support the involvement of oxidative mechanisms and the myeloperoxidase-H(2)O(2)-halide system, in particular in damaging hyphae in vitro and perhaps in vivo as well.
Core Dependency Networks

Many applications infer the structure of a probabilistic graphical model from data to elucidate the relationships between variables. But how can we train graphical models on a massive data set? In this paper, we show how to construct coresets---compressed data sets which can be used as proxy for the original data and have provably bounded worst case error---for Gaussian dependency networks (DNs), i.e., cyclic directed graphical models over Gaussians, where the parents of each variable are its Markov blanket. Specifically, we prove that Gaussian DNs admit coresets of size independent of the size of the data set. Unfortunately, this does not extend to DNs over members of the exponential family in general. As we will prove, Poisson DNs do not admit small coresets. Despite this worst-case result, we will provide an argument why our coreset construction for DNs can still work well in practice on count data.To corroborate our theoretical results, we empirically evaluated the resulting Core DNs on real data sets. The results demonstrate significant gains over no or naive sub-sampling, even in the case of count data.
THE OBSTACLES FOR START-UPS AND THE CRITICAL FACTORS FOR THEIR SUCCESSFUL DEVELOPMENT

The analysis of the scientific literature has revealed that low technology sector has wantonly been left aside in terms of technology adaptation and generated potential for innovation (Santamaria et al., 2009; Hirsch-Kreinsen, Hahn and Jacobson, 2008). Recent studies emphasise that there is a need to unify the standards of industry classification since the classification provided by the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) seems to be working improperly (Yin, 2011; Hirsch-Kreinsen, 2006). This discourse in the scientific level is a pretext to analyse the phenomenon of innovation in low-tech sector from the qualitative approach focusing on the challenges that this sector faces while implementing innovations. Considering the broad concept of innovation, many qualitative and quantitative aspects should be disclosed including the most cited innovation dimensions such as process innovation, product innovation, marketing innovation and organisational innovation. The paper aims to explore the peculiarities of innovative activities in low technology sector focusing on the challenges that the companies face during the process of innovation implementation. Low-tech sector in this paper refers to the industrial companies that prefer the usage of traditional technology in the following three branches of manufacturing industry: wood, wood products and paper production; furniture production; textile and the wearing apparel production. The results of the research suggest that the ability to solve the issues of innovation adaptation, to follow a new attitude towards production, to satisfy the dynamic demand and to reach higher productivity level may lead low-tech sector companies to a more innovative performance, and this way could enable them to gain competitive advantage over their rivals.
Tethered Money: Managing Digital Currency Transactions

Tettered Money: Managing Digital Currency Transactions presents a comprehensive discussion of financial transactions using digital currencies, with the author, Gideon Samid, making the case for their expansion in tethered money. Exploring the technical, legal, and historical aspects of digital money, the author discusses how the emerging technology of money specified for a specific need or to perform a particular task will affect society. The ability to dictate, Samid argues, how money is spent could increase control over our lives and resources, enabling us to practice a certain efficiency that would, in due time, become a pillar of civilization. Informative and thought-provoking, the book describes an evolving future that, in some quarters, has already arrived. * Delivers an in-depth picture of security issues related to financial transactions* Explores recent regulatory developments regarding digital currencies* Considers existing cryptocurrencies and alternative payment schemes
The impact of the foreign corrupt practices act on us exports

In 1977 the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) was enacted to penalize US firms and their employees for paying bribes to foreign government officials. If bribe payments influence the awarding of contracts and the FCPA regulation differentially affects US exporters compared to foreign competitors, then US exporters' bribe-paying ability and market share would be expected to decline. This study provides empirical evidence that the FCPA had a negative effect on US exports to non-Latin American countries but not to bribery prone ones in Latin America.
Technical efficiency and embodied technical change in the Indonesian pulp and paper industry

In this paper the dynamics of technological change and technical efficiency in the Indonesian pulp and paper industry are analysed. The industry is characterised by rapid growth of output and capacity, with some mills investing heavily in state-of-the-art machinery after 1984. Using stochastic frontier analysis, we distinguish between technological advances of best practice mills and the rate of technological inefficiency. We use a newly constructed micro-level dataset describing the complete population of Indonesian paper mills and paper machines from 1975 to 1997. We find an increasing divergence in technical efficiency over time, indicating that most plants have been not able to keep up with the technological leaders in the industry. Several of the plants operating the latest technologies have lower levels of efficiency than mills operating more outdated equipment. These outcomes qualify the common understanding of dualistic economic structures in developing countries, composed of less efficient traditional and more efficient modern capital intensive establishments. Copyright © 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Glial expression of disease-associated poly-glutamine proteins impairs the blood–brain barrier in Drosophila

Expansion of poly-glutamine (polyQ) stretches in several proteins has been linked to neurodegenerative diseases. The effects of polyQ-expanded proteins on neurons have been extensively studied, but their effects on glia remain unclear. We found that expression of distinct polyQ proteins exclusively in all glia or specifically in the blood-brain barrier (BBB) and blood-retina barrier (BRB) glia caused cell-autonomous impairment of BBB/BRB integrity, suggesting that BBB/BRB glia are most vulnerable to polyQ-expanded proteins. Furthermore, we also found that BBB/BRB leakage in Drosophila is reflected in reversed waveform polarity on the basis of electroretinography (ERG), making ERG a sensitive method to detect BBB/BRB leakage. The polyQ-expanded protein Atxn3-84Q forms aggregates, induces BBB/BRB leakage, restricts Drosophila lifespan and reduces the level of Repo (a pan-glial transcriptional factor required for glial differentiation). Expression of Repo in BBB/BRB glia can rescue BBB/BRB leakage, suggesting that the reduced expression of Repo is important for the effect of polyQ on BBB/BRB impairment. Coexpression of the chaperon HSP40 and HSP70 effectively rescues the effects of Atxn3-84Q, indicating that polyQ protein aggregation in glia is deleterious. Intriguingly, coexpression of wild-type Atxn3-27Q can also rescue BBB/BRB impairment, suggesting that normal polyQ protein may have a protective function.
Using a two-dimensional fault list for compact Automatic Test Pattern Generation

Automatic Test Pattern Generation (ATPG) is one of the core algorithms in testing of digital circuits and systems. Based on a given fault model a list of all faults to be tested, i.e. the fault list, is being created. For each fault in this list, one test pattern is generated (this pattern may cover other faults). Thereby, the order of the faults is crucial. In industrial ATPG, typically a simple list is used as fault list until today. In this work, we introduce a two-dimensional fault list and different strategies to order this list. The target is to reduce the number of generated patterns. The techniques are implemented in an industrial ATPG-framework. They are evaluated on industrial circuits. The results are discussed and a general purpose strategy is given.
Boron-Dependent Translational Suppression of the Borate Exporter BOR1 Contributes to the Avoidance of Boron Toxicity1[OPEN]

Upstream open reading frames in the 5′ untranslated region of BOR1, a borate transporter, control boron-dependent translational suppression that, alongside BOR1 degradation, contributes to the avoidance of boron toxicity in plants. Boron (B) is an essential element for plants; however, as high B concentrations are toxic, B transport must be tightly regulated. BOR1 is a borate exporter in Arabidopsis (Arabidopsis thaliana) that facilitates B translocation into shoots under B deficiency conditions. When the B supply is sufficient, BOR1 expression is down-regulated by selective degradation of BOR1 protein, while additional BOR1 regulatory mechanisms are proposed to exist. In this study, we identified a novel B-dependent BOR1 translational suppression mechanism. In vivo and in vitro reporter assays demonstrated that BOR1 translation was reduced in a B-dependent manner and that the 5′-untranslated region was both necessary and sufficient for this process. Mutational analysis revealed that multiple upstream open reading frames in the 5′-untranslated region were required for BOR1 translational suppression, and this process depended on the efficiency of translational reinitiation at the BOR1 open reading frame after translation of the upstream open reading frames. To understand the physiological significance of BOR1 regulation, we characterized transgenic plants defective in either one or both of the BOR1 regulation mechanisms. BOR1 translational suppression was induced at higher B concentrations than those triggering BOR1 degradation. Plants lacking both regulation mechanisms exhibited more severe shoot growth reduction under high-B conditions than did plants lacking BOR1 degradation alone, thus demonstrating the importance of BOR1 translational suppression. This study demonstrates that two mechanisms of posttranscriptional BOR1 regulation, each induced under different B concentrations, contribute to the avoidance of B toxicity in plants.
Prospective randomized study of the efficacy of hydrogel, hydrocolloid, and saline solution—moistened dressings on the management of pressure ulcers

A total of 67 patients with pressure ulcers were randomized into one of three treatment modalities: hydrogel sheet dressing, hydrocolloid, or wet‐to‐moist gauze. Safety, efficacy, and physical attributes of the three dressings were evaluated. No statistical significance was found in wound healing rate among the three treatments. Hydrogel sheets were advantageous in allowing wound visualization without dressing or wound disruption.
Comparison of metabolic gas analysis between a standard laboratory system and a portable device.

The recent development of portable metabolic gas analysis systems gives scientists the capability of measuring physiological data, including oxygen consumption, associated with multi-directional movements in the field. However, careful consideration is necessary when comparing data from two metabolic systems (Jakovljevic et al., 2008), such as a portable metabolic system and a laboratory metabolic cart. Our group was specifically interested in comparing gas analysis data obtained using a portable metabolic system, the K4b (COSMED srl, Rome, Italy), and the laboratory metabolic cart, the TrueOne 2400 (Parvo Medics, Salt Lake City, UT). Although the readings from the K4b were similar to those from the Douglas-bag method during exercise (McLaughlin et al., 2000), Duffield et al. (2004) found that the K4b did not compare well to a standard laboratory metabolic cart. Furthermore, values measured by the K4b have not been directly compared to those measured by the TrueOne 2400 (T2400), which also gives readings similar to those from the Douglas-bag method (Bassett et al., 2001; Crouter et al., 2006). The purpose of this investigation was to assess the agreement between measurements of A) relative oxygen consumption (VO2), B) respiratory exchange ratio (RER), and C) minute ventilation (VE), obtained from the K4b and the T2400 during level treadmill exercise. Ten experienced runners (6M: 30.2 ± 2.8 years, 1.83 ± 0.05 m, 81.8 ± 7.1 kg; 4F: 27.8 ± 2.4 years, 1.66 ± 0.03 m, 57.7 ± 4.4 kg; mean ± SD) completed the study. Each subject walked and ran on a standard laboratory treadmill while metabolic gases were measured using either the T2400 or the K4b in a balanced-random order. Test sessions were separated by at least 48 hours and were completed within a 12-day period (5.3 ± 4.2 days) to minimize the potential effects of fatigue and altered fitness level, respectively. After donning a heart rate monitor (Polar Electro Oy, Model 6029, Kempele, Finland) and metabolic equipment, subjects began the testing protocol with a five-minute standing baseline period. Once the baseline period was completed, subjects walked on a level treadmill at 0.89 m·s for the first three-minute stage. Speed was increased 0.45 m·s every three minutes until the subject’s heart rate reached 85% of a previously measured peak heart rate (if measured within one year) or an agepredicted maximum heart rate (220 beats·min age). All ten subjects completed speeds up to 2.24 m·s, nine subjects completed the 2.68 m·s speed, and six subjects completed the 3.13 m·s speed. VO2, RER, and VE from the last minute of each stage were averaged and used for subsequent analysis. Figure 1. Repeated observations of VO2 (Panel A), VE (Panel B), and RER (Panel C) measured by the metabolic systems K4b and T2400 at different speeds. The plotted upper and lower horizontal lines are the Bland-Altman plots of limits of agreement (LOA). Shaded regions indicate ideal modeled LOA for repeated observations using only the T2400 device.
Sonication-assisted drug encapsulation in layer-by-layer self-assembled gelatin-poly (styrenesulfonate) polyelectrolyte nanocapsules: process optimization

Abstract We report the development of Layer-by-Layer (LbL) polyelectrolyte self-assembled nanocrystalline drug-delivery platform using two experimental factors, namely the number of coatings and temperature during deposition with three varying levels. The optimized formulation (Fopt) was assessed for zeta potential and particle size using Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (FT-IR), Differential Scanning Calorimetry (DSC), and Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM). Charge reversal along with an increase in particle size confirmed coating of polyelectrolyte on drug nanocrystals. The FT-IR study revealed no signs of incompatibility or change in formulation property during preformulation and stability study. This fact was further supported by DSC results.
DNA and RNA obtained from Bouin’s fixed tissues

Background: The use in many countries of acid fixatives, such as Bouin’s solution, has limited the use of archival tissue for molecular analysis. An acidic environment is one of the main causes of DNA degradation. Moreover, RNA extraction is difficult in these types of fixed tissues. Aims: To amplify DNA and RNA from Bouin’s fixed tissues. Methods: DNA and RNA were extracted from 20 breast cancer samples that had been routinely fixed in Bouin’s fixative. Amplification of several genes using primers that produced amplicons of different lengths was carried out using the polymerase chain reaction (PCR) for DNA (with and without restoration) and reverse transcription PCR for RNA. Results: The acid environment of Bouin’s fixative damaged both DNA and RNA. However, amplification was successful when the amplicon length was reduced to about 80 bp for RNA and 100–200 bp for DNA, especially if submitted to DNA reconstruction procedures. Conclusions: It is possible to recover and analyse DNA and RNA from Bouin’s fixed and paraffin wax embedded tissues.
A particle filter based autocontouring algorithm for lung tumor tracking using dynamic magnetic resonance imaging.

PURPOSE This study introduces a novel autocontouring algorithm based on particle filter for lung tumors. It is validated on dynamic magnetic resonance (MR) images and is developed in the context of MR-linac treatments. METHODS A sequential Monte Carlo method called particle filter is used as the main structure of the algorithm and is combined with Otsu's thresholding technique to contour lung tumors on dynamic MR images. Four non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) patients were imaged with a 1.5 T MR for 60 s at a rate of 4 images/s and were asked to breathe normally. Prior to treatment, some image processing is required by the proposed algorithm, which includes a manual contour of the tumor, the tumor's displacement, and its descriptive statistics. During treatment, the contours are automatically generated by thresholding around the center of mass of the particles. A comparison with the expert's contours is obtained by calculating the Dice similarity coefficient (DSC), the precision, the recall, the Hausdorff distance, and the difference in centroid positions (Δd). RESULTS This autocontouring algorithm is independent of pretreatment training and presents continuous adaptability as provided by the nature of particle filters. The number of particles is proportional to the area of the tumor and increases the computational time at a rate of 2 ms for every 500 particles, whereas the contouring step adds a constant 14 ms. The contours' comparison is obtained with a mean DSC of 0.89-0.91, mean precision of 0.88-0.91, mean recall of 0.89-0.95, and mean Δd of 0.6-2.0 mm. CONCLUSIONS This work presents a proof of concept of a new autocontouring algorithm for NSCLC patients on dynamic MR images. The contours were generated in good agreement with the expert's contours.
Malaysian bilateral trade relations and economic growth

This paper examines the structure and trends of Malaysian bilateral exports and imports and then investigates whether these bilateral exports and imports have caused Malaysian economic growth. Although the structure of Malaysia’s trade has changed quite significantly over the last threedecades, the direction of Malaysia’s trade remains generally the same. Broadly, ASEAN, the EU, East Asia, the US and Japan continue to be the Malaysia’s major trading partners. The Granger causality tests have shown that it is the bilateral imports that have caused economic growth in Malaysia rather than the bilateral exports.
The discounted cash flow model for property valuations: quarterly in advance cash flows

Purpose - There are three approaches to valuation: cost, market and income. As a subset to the income approach, the investment method looks at the pricing of assets that produce income over an investment holding period. The discounted cash flow (DCF) technique or model can be developed to look at the cash flows on a quarterly basis to reflect the actual receipt of the cash flows. This Education Briefing is a overview of the DCF quarterly model and the need to analyse comparables appropriately. The paper aims to discuss these issue. Design/methodology/approach - The DCF quarterly model can be seen to produce estimates of market value. Findings - As the use of DCF is developed and expanded, it is useful to be able to model the cash flows appropriately. Practical implications - The old adage “value as you analyse” applies to DCF valuations. If valuing quarterly, then the analysis needs to be done on the same basis. Originality/value - This briefing is an overview of the pricing of freehold rack rented properties in the UK.
Quantitative T2 analysis: The effects of noise, regularization, and multivoxel approaches

Typical quantitative T2 (qT2) analysis involves creating T2 distributions using a regularized algorithm from region‐of‐interest averaged decay data. This study uses qT2 analysis of simulated and experimental decay signals to determine how (a) noise‐type, (b) regularization, and (c) region‐of‐interest versus multivoxel analyses affect T2 distributions. Our simulations indicate that regularization causes myelin water fraction and intra/extracellular water geometric mean T2 underestimation that worsens as the signal‐to‐noise ratio decreases. The underestimation was greater for intra/extracellular water geometric mean T2 measures using Rician noise. Simulations showed significant differences between myelin water fractions determined using region‐of‐interest and multivoxel approaches compared to the true value. The nonregularized voxel‐based approach gave the most accurate measure of myelin water fraction and intra/extracellular water geometric mean T2 for a given signal‐to‐noise ratio and noise type. Additionally, multivoxel analysis provides important information about the variability of the analysis. Results obtained from in vivo rat data were similar to our simulation results. In each case, a nonregularized, multivoxel analysis provided myelin water fractions significantly different from the regularized approaches and obtained the largest myelin water fraction. We conclude that quantitative T2 analysis is best performed using a nonregularized, multivoxel approach. Magn Reson Med, 2010. © 2009 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.