Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Assessment of the Reliability of the Conflict Tactics Scales

This article reports meta-analyses of self-agreement and partners' agreement for physical aggression in relationships, measured by the Conflict Tactics Scales. Evidence from concordance rates was inconclusive, and the limited correlational data indicated high interpartner agreement. Differences between self-reports and partners' reports for men and women were analyzed to address the following hypotheses: Men but not women underreport their own aggression, both sexes underreport their own aggression, and men underreport their victimization. In 18 studies of couples, mean weighted effect sizes showed higher ratings of aggression from partners than from self-reports for both men and women. In 43 studies of unmatched men and women, the mean differences were smaller than for couples but were greater for men than for women. Overall, this evidence indicated systematic underreporting in self-reports by both sexes (Hypothesis 2), which was greater for men among the larger number of studies in which the men and the women did not come from matched couples (Hypothesis 1).
Comet assay measures of DNA damage as biomarkers of irinotecan response in colorectal cancer in vitro and in vivo

The use of irinotecan to treat metastatic colorectal cancer (CRC) is limited by unpredictable response and variable toxicity; however, no reliable clinical biomarkers are available. Here, we report a study to ascertain whether irinotecan‐induced DNA damage measures are suitable/superior biomarkers of irinotecan effect. CRC‐cell lines (HCT‐116 and HT‐29) were treated in vitro with irinotecan and peripheral blood lymphocytes (PBL) were isolated from patients before and after receiving irinotecan‐based chemotherapy. Levels of in vitro‐, in vivo‐, and ex vivo‐induced DNA damage were measured using the Comet assay; correlations between damage levels with in vitro cell survival and follow‐up clinical data were investigated. Irinotecan‐induced DNA damage was detectable in both CRC cell‐lines in vitro, with higher levels of immediate and residual damage noted for the more sensitive HT‐29 cells. DNA damage was not detected in vivo, but was measurable in PBLs upon mitogenic stimulation prior to ex vivo SN‐38 treatment. Results showed that, following corrections for experimental error, those patients whose PBLs demonstrated higher levels of DNA damage following 10 h of SN‐38 exposure ex vivo had significantly longer times to progression than those with lower damage levels (median 291 vs. 173 days, P = 0.014). To conclude, higher levels of irinotecan‐induced initial and residual damage correlated with greater cell kill in vitro and a better clinical response. Consequently, DNA damage measures may represent superior biomarkers of irinotecan effect compared to the more often‐studied genetic assays for differential drug metabolism.
Improved quality factor of hetero acoustic layer (HAL) SAW resonator combining LiTaO3 thin plate and quartz substrate

A Hetero Acoustic Layer (HAL) SAW device is a new type of SAW device with a solidly mounted monocrystalline piezoelectric thin plate, which can obtain very high impedance ratio (ZR) and small temperature coefficient of frequency (TCF) at the same time. In this study, HAL SAW resonators using a LiTaO3 (LT) thin plate and a quartz substrate were investigated numerically and experimentally. The resonator fabricated using 20°YX LT and 40°Y90°X quartz exhibited a bandwidth (BW) of 5.0%, a ZR of 82 dB and a Bode Q of 3,000, which have been significantly improved from our previous report. The performance is better by a factor of 1.2 times in BW, 31 dB in ZR and 6.4 times in Bode Q compared with a standard SAW resonator on 42°YX LT, which was fabricated in the same facility. Further improvement in performance is expected after optimizing wafer cut angles, electrode metal and fabrication process.
Bmi1 is critical for lung tumorigenesis and bronchioalveolar stem cell expansion

Understanding the pathways that control epithelial carcinogenesis is vital to the development of effective treatments. The Polycomb group family member Bmi1 is overexpressed in numerous epithelial tumors, but its role in their development has not been established. We now show a key role for Bmi1 in lung adenocarcinoma. Whereas lung development occurs normally in Bmi1-deficient mice, loss of Bmi1 decreases the number and progression of lung tumors at a very early point in an oncogenic K-ras-initiated mouse model of lung cancer. This correlates with a defect in the ability of Bmi1-deficient putative bronchiolalveolar stem cells (BASCs) to proliferate in response to the oncogenic stimulus. Notably, in the absence of oncogenic K-ras, Bmi1-deficient BASCs show impaired proliferation and self-renewal capacity in culture and after lung injury in vivo. Abrogated lung cancer development and BASC self-renewal occur partially in a p19ARF-dependent manner. Our data suggest that Bmi1 deficiency suppresses tumor development by limiting the expansion potential of BASCs, the apparent lung cancer cells of origin. Because Bmi1 is elevated in additional tumor types, this suggests that Bmi1 plays a key role in regulating proliferation of both stem cells and tumor cells in diverse adult epithelial tissues.
Testing the dependability and performance of group communication based database replication protocols

Database replication based on group communication systems has recently been proposed as an efficient and resilient solution for large-scale data management. However, its evaluation has been conducted either on simplistic simulation models, which fail to assess concrete implementations, or on complete system implementations, which are costly to test with realistic large-scale scenarios. This paper presents a tool that combines implementations of replication and communication protocols under study with simulated network, database engine, and traffic generator models. Replication components can therefore be subjected to realistic large scale loads in a variety of scenarios, including fault-injection, while at the same time providing global observation and control. The paper shows first how the model is configured and validated to closely reproduce the behavior of a real system, and then how it is applied, allowing us to derive interesting conclusions both on replication and communication protocols and on their implementations.
The Library of Babel Problem : Hypothesis Testing With Archival Sources

The use of archival sources is widely understood to be an important tool research tool, but attempts to use archival material for hypothesis testing, as opposed to description or theory development, are troubled by the large size and often opaque structure of archives; factors which lead to misinterpretations of evidence and a tendency to confirm the author’s expectations. This paper discusses common features of archival materials and shows how they can compound traditional research design problems. It then proposes a set of best practices for avoiding these problems which differ from the types of archival analysis common within the historical profession, most notably the use of strong and explicit sampling procedures. These practices are illustrated using a brief discussion of material from the National Archives of India on the 1975 Emergency, which demonstrates how these methods produce different conclusions from a more traditional archival analysis.
Theory of masking with codewords in hardware: low-weight dth-order correlation-immune Boolean functions

In hardware, substitution boxes for block ciphers can be saved already masked in the implementation. The masks must be chosen under two constraints: their number is determined by the implementation area and their properties should allow to deny high-order zero-offset attacks of highest degree. First, we show that this problem translates into a known trade-off in Boolean functions, namely finding correlation-immune functions of lowest weight. For instance, this allows to prove that a byte-oriented block cipher such as AES can be protected with only 16 mask values against zero-offset correlation power attacks of orders 1, 2 and 3. Second, we study dth-order correlation-immune Boolean functions F2 → F2 of low-weight and exhibit such functions of minimal weight found by a satisfiability modulo theory tool. In particular, we give the minimal weight for n ≤ 10. Some of these results were not known previously, such as the minimal weight for (n = 9, d = 4) and (n = 10, d ∈ {4, 5}). These results set new bounds for the minimal number of lines of binary orthogonal arrays. In particular, we point out that the minimal weight wn,d of a dth-order correlation-immune function might not be increasing with the number of variables n.
DyXY - a proximity congestion-aware deadlock-free dynamic routing method for network on chip

A routing algorithm, namely dynamic XY (DyXY) routing, is proposed for NoCs to provide adaptive routing and ensure deadlock-free and livelock-free routing at the same time. New router architecture is developed to support the routing algorithm. Analytical models based on queuing theory are developed for DyXY routing for a two-dimensional mesh NoC architecture, and analytical results match very well with the simulation results. It is observed that DyXY routing can achieve better performance compared with static XY routing and odd-even routing
Facilitating creativity in management accounting: a computerized business simulation

This paper describes the development and use of a computerized business simulation in a second year management accounting course. The simulation has a number of features that were designed to provide students with the opportunity and stimuli to develop creative solutions. Furthermore, the assessment criteria were specifically developed to motivate appropriate information search and yet provide the freedom for creative responses. This paper rationalizes and assesses the key features of the simulation in terms of factors that have been identified as being important in facilitating creativity. The simulation is evaluated in terms of these factors through general comments from academics and students and the students' own self-ratings of creativity. Feedback from academics and the professional body suggest that this simulation is also a useful tool for management accounting educators who wish to provide students with an opportunity for experiential learning.
University Teachers’ Job Satisfaction in the North West Frontier Province of Pakistan

The major purpose of this study was to explore the level of job satisfaction of university teachers in the North West Frontier Province of Pakistan. The objectives of the study were: to assess the general satisfaction level of university teachers, to determine university teachers’ satisfaction level for each of the twenty dimensions of the job, and to give suggestions to improve university teachers’ job satisfaction level. All the university teachers working in North West Frontier Province of Pakistan constituted the population of this study. A sample of 108 university teachers was drawn from this population. A questionnaire following the theoretical framework of Herzberg’s two factor theory was developed. The findings show that university teachers were generally satisfied with their jobs. However teachers were neutral with dimensions: working conditions, organizational policies and practices, recognition, supervision technical and promotion opportunities. The teachers were satisfied with work variety, creativity, moral values, compensation, work itself, colleagues’ cooperation, responsibility, ability utilization, authority, activity, social status, job security, achievement and students’ interaction. Provision of sufficient fund to universities for the availability of modern tools, scholarly publications, properly equipped libraries and laboratories is recommended. It is also needed to provide instructional technology i.e., video cassettes, computer technology, project and transparencies and other modern gadgets in the classrooms. Teachers are not consulted in academic matter which causes distrust and frustration. Their participation in decision making, revision of curricula, and other academic matters must be ensured. A formal strategy needs to be put in place to address teacher’s needs while stressing and encouraging accountability and initiatives. A distinction is needed to be made between the efficient workers and shirk workers. The system of rewards should be introduced to encourage the teachers with better performance. Refresher courses, seminars and training workshops must be arranged for university teachers to keep them abreast with the contemporary teaching techniques and research skills. They should be properly trained in the development and proper use of A.V aids.
Laboratory diagnosis of tuberculosis: Advances in technology and drug susceptibility testing

There have been rapid technological advances in the detection of Mycobacterium tuberculosis and its drug susceptibility in clinical samples. These include advances in microscopic examination, in vitro culture and application of molecular techniques. The World Health Organization (WHO) has played a large role in evaluating these technologies for their efficacy and feasibility, especially in the developing countries. Amongst these, the Revised National Tuberculosis Control Programme (RNTCP), through its national network of designated microscopy centres and intermediate reference laboratories, has adopted certain technologies that are currently implemented in India. Advances in microscopy technology include fluorescent microscopy using light-emitting diode source, sodium hypochlorite microscopy and vital fluorescent staining of sputum smears. Automation of in vitro culture has markedly reduced the turnaround time (TAT), even in smear-negative samples, and permits simultaneous detection of resistant mutants. Molecular detection of drug resistance has further reduced the TAT, and the cartridge-based nucleic acid amplification test with its performance convenience and rapid results, appears poised to become the future of tuberculosis (TB) diagnosis in all settings, provided the cost of testing is reduced especially for use in private diagnostic settings. This article reviews technologies currently available for the diagnosis of TB, keeping in mind the WHO recommendations and the RNTCP practices. This is a thematic synthesis of data available on diagnosis in literature, preserving the conclusions of the primary studies.
Identification of Novel Human Immunodeficiency Virus Type 1-Inhibitory Peptides Based on the Antimicrobial Peptide Database

ABSTRACT To identify novel anti-HIV-1 peptides based on the antimicrobial peptide database (APD; http://aps.unmc.edu/AP/main.php ), we have screened 30 candidates and found 11 peptides with 50% effective concentrations (EC50) of <10 μM and therapeutic indices (TI) of up to 17. Furthermore, among the eight peptides (with identical amino acid compositions but different sequences) generated by shuffling the sequence of an aurein 1.2 analog, two had a TI twice that of the original sequence. Because antiviral peptides in the database have an arginine/lysine (R/K) ratio of >1, increases in the Arg contents of amphibian maximin H5 and dermaseptin S9 peptides and the database-derived GLK-19 peptide improved the TIs. These examples demonstrate that the APD is a rich resource and a useful tool for developing novel HIV-1-inhibitory peptides.
An approach to wireless sensor network design in home environment using ZigBee protocol

Although wireless sensor networks (WSN) are mainly designed for gathering information and measuring environmental parameters, they can be effectively used to control and manage the electrical devices in the house. Thus, they become part of an intelligent and autonomous environments that can take part of the obligation of the tenant in the house. By combining the WSN with other networks such as the Internet or mobile phone network, ZigBee networks receive full functionality and the ability of remote monitoring and control. This paper describes an example of the design of wireless networks with Xbee module and its application in home use. The achieved tasks of the network that was implemented through this paper are: measuring the temperature of home area, automatic and manual control of individual actuator nodes and ZigBee network connectivity with other networks, storage and graphical representation of measured values.
Critical urban heritage: from palimpsest to brecciation

This paper explores the commonly used metaphor of the palimpsest prevalent in urban studies, and suggests that there are realities in the field that are overshadowed by the dominant use of the metaphor. Whilst the palimpsest is a useful metaphor to illustrate chronological superimposition or traces of the past that remain hidden, it is inadequate in describing sites that feature material, spatial and temporal juxtapositions. To remedy this gap, the paper introduces the concept of brecciation, inspired by Sigmund Freud, to provide an alternative means to consider how the accumulation of materials affects planning in the city. Examples from two specific sites in Rome illustrate how brecciation enhances an understanding of the sites and enables to evaluate the practices of urban heritage in recent urban initiatives. By way of conclusion, the paper highlights the benefits of engaging with a concept that reveals concatenations at a site, and suggests that further work on brecciation could be expanded to include the exploration of intangible entanglements.
A novel thermoregulatory system maintains perioperative normothermia in children undergoing elective surgery

Background: Body heat loss during anaesthesia may result in increased morbidity, particularly in high‐risk populations such as children. To avoid hypothermia, a novel thermoregulatory system (Allon) was devised. We tested the safety and efficacy of this system in maintaining normothermia in children undergoing routine surgical procedures.
Safety, Pharmacokinetics, Pharmacodynamics, and Antitumor Activity of Dalantercept, an Activin Receptor–like Kinase-1 Ligand Trap, in Patients with Advanced Cancer

Purpose: The angiogenesis inhibitor dalantercept (formerly ACE-041) is a soluble form of activin receptor–like kinase-1 (ALK1) that prevents activation of endogenous ALK1 by bone morphogenetic protein-9 (BMP9) and BMP10 and exhibits antitumor activity in preclinical models. This first-in-human study of dalantercept evaluated its safety, tolerability, pharmacokinetics, pharmacodynamics, and antitumor activity in adults with advanced solid tumors. Experimental Design: Patients in dose-escalating cohorts received dalantercept subcutaneously at one of seven dose levels (0.1–4.8 mg/kg) every 3 weeks until disease progression. Patients in an expansion cohort received dalantercept at 0.8 or 1.6 mg/kg every 3 weeks until disease progression. Results: In 37 patients receiving dalantercept, the most common treatment-related adverse events were peripheral edema, fatigue, and anemia. Edema and fluid retention were dose-limiting toxicities and responded to diuretic therapy. No clinically significant, treatment-related hypertension, proteinuria, gross hemorrhage, or gastrointestinal perforations were observed. One patient with refractory squamous cell cancer of the head and neck had a partial response, and 13 patients had stable disease according to RECISTv1.1, eight of whom had prolonged periods (≥12 weeks) of stable disease. Correlative pharmacodynamic markers included tumor metabolic activity and tumor blood flow, which decreased from baseline in 63% and 82% of evaluable patients, respectively, and telangiectasia in eight patients. Conclusion: Dalantercept was well-tolerated at doses up to 1.6 mg/kg, with a safety profile distinct from inhibitors of the VEGF pathway. Dalantercept displayed promising antitumor activity in patients with advanced refractory cancer, and multiple phase II studies are underway. Clin Cancer Res; 20(2); 480–9. ©2013 AACR.
ApoptomiRs of Breast Cancer: Basics to Clinics

Apoptosis, a form of programmed cell death, is a highly regulated process, the deregulation of which has been associated with the tumor initiation, progression, and metastasis in various cancers including breast cancer. Induction of apoptosis is a popular target of various therapies currently being tested or used for breast cancer treatment. Thus, identifying apoptotic mediators and regulators is imperative for molecular biologists and clinicians for benefit of patients. The regulation of apoptosis is complex and involves a tight equilibrium between the pro- and anti-apoptotic factors. Recent studies have highlighted the role of miRNAs in the control of apoptosis and their interplay with p53, the master guardian of apoptosis. Here, we summarize and integrate the data on the role of miRNAs in apoptosis in breast cancer and the clinical advantage it may offer for the prognosis or treatment of breast cancer patients.
Software Tools for Technology Transfer Manuscript-nr. State Space Reduction Using Partial Order Techniques

With the advancement of computer technology , highly concurrent systems are being developed. The veriication of such systems is a challenging task, as their state space grows exponentially with the number of processes. Partial order reduction is an eeective technique to address this problem. It relies on the observation that the eeect of executing transitions concurrently is often independent of their ordering. In this paper we present the basic principles behind partial order reduction and its implementation.
Importance of Standardized DXA Protocol for Assessing Physique Changes in Athletes.

PURPOSE The implications of undertaking DXA scans using best practice protocols (subjects fasted and rested) or a less precise but more practical protocol in assessing chronic changes in body composition following training and a specialized recovery technique were investigated. METHODS Twenty-one male cyclists completed an overload training program, in which they were randomized to four sessions per week of either cold water immersion therapy or control groups. Whole-body DXA scans were undertaken with best practice protocol (Best) or random activity protocol (Random) at baseline, after 3 weeks of overload training, and after a 2-week taper. Magnitudes of changes in total, lean and fat mass from baseline-overload, overload-taper and baseline-taper were assessed by standardization (Δmean/SD). RESULTS The standard deviations of change scores for total and fat-free soft tissue mass (FFST) from Random scans (2-3%) were approximately double those observed in the Best (1-2%), owing to extra random errors associated with Random scans at baseline. There was little difference in change scores for fat mass. The effect of cold water immersion therapy on baseline-taper changes in FFST was possibly harmful (-0.7%; 90% confidence limits ±1.2%) with Best scans but unclear with Random scans (0.9%; ±2.0%). Both protocols gave similar possibly harmful effects of cold water immersion therapy on changes in fat mass (6.9%; ±13.5% and 5.5%; ±14.3%, respectively). CONCLUSIONS An interesting effect of cold water immersion therapy on training-induced changes in body composition might have been missed with a less precise scanning protocol. DXA scans should be undertaken with Best.