Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Thymidine kinase activation of ganciclovir in recurrent malignant gliomas: a gene-marking and neuropathological study.

OBJECT The gene therapy paradigm of intratumoral activation of ganciclovir (GCV) following transduction of tumor cells by retroviral vectors bearing the thymidine kinase (tk) gene has produced dramatic remissions of malignant gliomas in animal models. In human trials, although the technique has been deemed safe, little antitumor effect has been demonstrated. To evaluate the basis of this inefficacy in human gliomas, the authors conducted a gene-marking trial involving neuropathological and biochemical studies of treated tumor specimens. METHODS Five patients with malignant recurrent gliomas underwent stereotactic biopsy sampling and intratumoral implantation procedures with three aliquots of 10(6) vector-producing cells (VPCs) in columns. After 5 days, the tumor was resected and the tumor bed reimplanted with VPCs, and a course of GCV was given. Patients received clinical and radiological follow up for 6 months. Tumor specimens were analyzed neuropathologically and for tk gene expression by anti-TK immunohistochemistry and TK enzymatic activity. Four patients tolerated the treatment well but experienced tumor progression. The other developed an abscess after the second operation and died. Increased TK enzymatic activity was demonstrated in the one tumor specimen analyzed. Immunohistochemical evidence of tk gene expression was limited to VPCs. Transduction of tumor cells was not seen. Viable tumor cells were seen near VPCs containing TK. The lymphocytic immune response was mild. CONCLUSIONS Except for the risk of infection inherent in reoperation, this tk-GCV paradigm was both feasible and safe. Pathological studies indicated that limited dissemination of VPCs and vector from the infusion site and failure to transduce tumor cells with the tk gene are major barriers to efficacy.
In vitro identification and functional characterization of glial precursor cells in human gliomas

Human gliomas including astrocytomas and oligodendrogliomas are defined as being composed of neoplastic astrocytes and oligodendrocytes respectively. Here, on the basis of in vitro functional assays, we show that gliomas contain a mixture of glial progenitor cells and their progeny. We have set up explant cultures from pilocytic astrocytomas, glioblastomas and oligodendrogliomas and studied antigens that characterize glial lineage, from the precursor cells (glial restricted precursors and oligodendrocyte‐type2‐astrocyte/oligodendrocyte precursor cells expressing the A2B5 ganglioside) to the differentiated cells (oligodendrocyte and type‐1 and type‐2 astrocytes). All tumoral explants contain A2B5+ cells and can generate migrating cells with distinctive functional properties according to glioma subtypes. In pilocytic astrocytomas, very few migrating cells are dividing and can differentiate in type‐2 astrocytes or towards the oligodendrocyte lineage. In glioblastomas, most migrating cells are dividing, express A2B5 or glial fibrillary acid protein (GFAP) and can generate oligodendrocytes and type‐1 and type‐2 astrocytes in appropriate medium. Oligodendroglioma explants are made by actively dividing glial precursor cells expressing A2B5 or PSA‐NCAM. Only few cells can migrate and differentiation towards oligodendrocyte lineage does not occur. Isolated A2B5+ cells from both glioblastomas and oligodendrogliomas showed similar genetic alterations as the whole tumour. Therefore, pilocytic astrocytomas contain slowly dividing oligodendrocyte‐type2‐astrocyte/oligodendrocyte precursor cells in keeping with their benign behaviour whereas both glioblastomas and oligodendrogliomas contain neoplastic glial restricted precursor cells. In oligodendrogliomas, these cells are trapped in undifferentiated and proliferating state. The precursor cells properties present in gliomas give new insight into their histogenesis and open up new avenues for research in the field of gliomagenesis.
Determinants of Buyer Search in a Housing Market

Using data collected from specially-designed questionnaires, the duration of search by a house buyer is estimated. Duration is measured in two ways: in terms of time and in terms of the number of houses seen. To explain this data, several features must be added to a simple model when search models are applied to a housing market. Many of the statistically significant variables, such as prior information and the quality of information provided by a newspaper or a real estate agent, deal with the provision of information. The type of agency that employs the agent and the characteristics of the buyer have little effect.
Auricular Composite Graft for Skin Defect of the Philtrum Dimple

Our method of performing an auricular composite graft for a skin defect of the philtrum dimple in a patient whose lip is not damaged and has retained its original softness and elasticity is presented. After resecting the lesion, an auricular composite graft is harvested from the conchal region. The size of the graft is almost the same as the size of the resected lesion, although the cartilage is harvested in an elliptical shape, and its size is approximately 60% in area of the overriding skin of the graft. The graft is harvested from the site, which has a similar curvature to the defect. The cartilage is sutured tightly to the graft bed at a minimum of four points with 6-0 absorbable suture. The transversal axis of the harvested cartilage is sutured as vertically as possible so as to fit the direction of the wrinkle line of the upper lip. The skin is sutured to the defect margin using 5-0 nylon suture. The graft donor site is closed primarily. This method has been used for the closure of six comparatively large skin defects after resecting a skin lesion (pigmented nevus in three cases and hypertrophic scar in three cases) in the philtrum dimple in six patients. In all cases, the upper lip was not damaged and retained its original softness and elasticity. The “take” of the graft was complete in all patients, and the donor site healed without any problem. In all cases, postoperative shrinkage of the graft was not significant during the follow-up period, and the graft had a smooth surface. In addition, no patients suffered from a feeling of discomfort in moving the mouth, and an acceptable shape of the philtrum dimple was achieved in all cases. There were no deformational changes in the graft donor site. In conclusion, our method is valid in the patient whose lip is not damaged and has retained its original softness and elasticity and in whom a full-thickness skin graft is selected as the covering method for a skin defect of the philtrum dimple.
Using Absolute and Relative Reasoning in the Prediction of the Potential Metabolism of Xenobiotics

To be useful, a system which predicts the metabolic fate of a chemical should predict the more likely metabolites rather than every possibility. Reasoning can be used to prioritize biotransformations, but a real biochemical domain is complex and cannot be fully defined in terms of the likelihood of events. This paper describes the combined use of two models for reasoning under uncertainty in a working system, METEOR-one model deals with absolute reasoning and the second with relative reasoning.
Introducing the Eco-Friendly Hotel

industry that bases the rankings of its members on perceived opulence, luxury, and grandeur. While the standards of physical appointment and service are unchanged, there is a growing demand for environmentally sensitive travel suppliers. Property owners need not replace their cut-flower arrangements, Louis XV chairs, and embroidered-silk draperies with petiole incense, futon furniture, and organic-cotton curtains. But as consumers express their belief that industries should be held
The potential of management networks in the innovation and competitiveness of rural tourism: a case study on the Valle del Jerte (Spain)

Since the 1980s, rural tourism has witnessed a significant and generalised growth among the European Union members. However, from the perspective of business management, rural tourism suffers from several obstacles that complicates its competitiveness as a tourism product. By focusing on the Valle del Jerte (Extremadura, Spain) case study, this study analyses a rural tourism business network, from the social network analysis perspective, to critically discuss its potential as a structure that enhances competitiveness and innovation. The results demonstrate that these networking structures contribute towards the creation of a cohesive destination, whereby the sharing of resources enables innovative local responses to the global market challenges.
Two Algorithms for Unranking Arborescences

Colbourn, Day, and Nel developed the first algorithm requiring at mostO(n3) arithmetic operations for ranking and unranking spanning trees of a graph (nis the number of vertices of the graph). We present two algorithms for the more general problem of ranking and unranking rooted spanning arborescences of a directed graph. The first is conceptually very simple and requiresO(n3) arithmetic operations. The second approach shows that the number of arithmetic operations can be reduced to the same as that of the best known algorithms for matrix multiplication.
DTN-RPC: Remote procedure calls for disruption-tolerant networking

Remote Procedure Calls (RPCs) realize client-server interactions via a request-response message-passing protocol. They simplify distributed application programming by eliminating the need for explicitly having to code the details of a remote interaction. However, none of the existing RPC implementations are designed to work properly for Delay/Disruption-Tolerant Networking (DTN) where network connectivity is periodic, intermittent, and prone to disruptions. In this paper, we present DTN- RPC, a new approach to provide RPCs for DTN environments. DTN-RPC relies on (a) control and data channels to cope with potentially short contact durations in DTN where large amounts of data cannot be transmitted, (b) explicit and implicit modes to address remote servers, (c) Non-DTN and DTN transport protocols for issuing calls and receiving results, and (d) predicates that servers check to decide whether a procedure should be executed. The implementation of DTN-RPC is based on Serval, an open-source, disruption-tolerant wireless ad-hoc networking system. Our experimental results indicate that the measured CPU and network overheads for DTN-RPC are reasonably low so that it can be executed on smartphones or routers, and that the round-trip times and the number of successful RPCs are highly satisfactory in dynamic networks with unstable links.
Spillovers to and from the Nordic Economies: A Macroeconometric Model Based Analysis

This paper analyzes the transmission of shocks and policies among and across the Nordic economies and the rest of the world. This spillover analysis is based on a pair of estimated structural macroeconometric models of the world economy, disaggregated into thirty five national economies. We find that the Nordic economies are heavily exposed to external macroeconomic and financial shocks, but have significant scope to mitigate their domestic macroeconomic impacts through coordinated policy responses, given their high degree of regional integration.
Cutaneous non-Hodgkin's lymphoma of the foot: a rare case report.

UNLABELLED Lymphomas comprise a heterogeneous group of cancers originating in cells of the immune system at different stages of differentiation. Primary cutaneous non-Hodgkin lymphoma of the foot is a rare occurrence. We present a case involving a primary cutaneous marginal zone lymphoma of the foot, and highlight the clinical recognition and treatment of this condition. LEVEL OF CLINICAL EVIDENCE 4.
What, Me Vote?

This paper examines the pattern of change in turnout in elections and in the rate of voting of different socioeconomic groups in the US. It shows that while the changing education and income structure of the population and changes in laws and regulations that make it easier to register and to vote should have raised turnout, the proportion of the voting age population that votes has fallen. This is partly due to the increased proportion of voting age persons who are ineligible to vote, but it is hard to pin down the magnitude of that effect due to problems with data. It also finds that turnout has become much more unequal by age, education, and income.
Electronic ferroelectricity induced by charge and orbital orderings

After the revival of the magnetoelectric effect which took place in the early 2000s, the interest in multiferroic materials displaying simultaneous presence of spontaneous long-range magnetic and dipolar order has motivated an exponential growth of research activity, from both the experimental and theoretical perspectives. Within this context, and relying also on the rigorous formulation of macroscopic polarization as provided by the Berry-phase approach, it has been possible to identify new microscopic mechanisms responsible for the appearance of ferroelectricity. In particular, it has been realized that electronic spin, charge and orbital degrees of freedom may be responsible for the breaking of the space-inversion symmetry, a necessary condition for the appearance of electric polarization, even in centrosymmetric crystal structures. In view of its immediate potential application in magnetoelectric-based devices, many efforts have been made to understand how magnetic orderings may lead to ferroelectric polarization, and to identify candidate materials. On the other hand, the role of charge and orbital degrees of freedom, which have received much less attention, has been predicted to be non-negligible in several cases. Here, we review recent theoretical advances in the field of so-called electronic ferroelectricity, focusing on the possible mechanisms by which charge- and/or orbital-ordering effects may cause the appearance of macroscopic polarization. Generally, a naive distinction can be drawn between materials displaying almost localized electrons and those characterized by a strong covalent character and delocalized electrons. As for the latter, an intuitive understanding of basic mechanisms is provided in the framework of tight-binding model Hamiltonians, which are used to shed light on unusual charge/orbital effects in half-doped manganites, whereas the case of magnetite will be thoroughly discussed in light of recent progress pointing to an electronic origin of its proposed ferroelectric and magnetoelectric properties.
Does physician communication influence older patients' diabetes self-management and glycemic control? Results from the Health and Retirement Study (HRS).

BACKGROUND Effective chronic disease self-management among older adults is crucial for improved clinical outcomes. We assessed the relative importance of two dimensions of physician communication-provision of information (PCOM) and participatory decision-making (PDM)-for older patients' diabetes self-management and glycemic control. METHODS We conducted a national cross-sectional survey among 1588 older community-dwelling adults with diabetes (response rate: 81%). Independent associations were examined between patients' ratings of their physician's PCOM and PDM with patients' reported diabetes self-management (medication adherence, diet, exercise, blood glucose monitoring, and foot care), adjusting for patient sociodemographics, illness severity, and comorbidities. Among respondents for whom hemoglobin A1c (HbA1c) values were available (n=1233), the relationship was assessed between patient self-management and HbA1c values. RESULTS In separate multivariate regressions, PCOM and PDM were each associated with overall diabetes self-management (p<.001) and with all self-management domains (p<.001 in all models), with the exception of PDM not being associated with medication adherence. In models with both PCOM and PDM, PCOM alone predicted medication adherence (p=.001) and foot care (p=.002). PDM alone was associated with exercise and blood glucose monitoring (both p<.001) and was a stronger independent predictor than PCOM of diet. Better patient ratings of their diabetes self-management were associated with lower HbA1c values (B= -.10, p=.005). CONCLUSION Among these older adults, both their diabetes providers' provision of information and efforts to actively involve them in treatment decision-making were associated with better overall diabetes self-management. Involving older patients in setting chronic disease goals and decision-making, however, appears to be especially important for self-care areas that demand more behaviorally complex lifestyle adjustments such as exercise, diet, and blood glucose monitoring.
Earnings of students who change universities

Using data on Swedish university entrants, this study finds that earnings are significantly lower for students who change universities compared to students who do not change. Earnings differences decrease over time and over the earnings distribution. The pattern in the estimates seems consistent with non-transfer students having higher earnings because of their earlier labor market entry and transfer students catching up because of their additional human-capital investments. But by changing universities, individuals signal that they are more likely to jump between jobs, and some employers account for these factors when screening job applicants.
Microarray based comparative genomic hybridisation (array-CGH) detects submicroscopic chromosomal deletions and duplications in patients with learning disability/mental retardation and dysmorphic features

The underlying causes of learning disability and dysmorphic features in many patients remain unidentified despite extensive investigation. Routine karyotype analysis is not sensitive enough to detect subtle chromosome rearrangements (less than 5 Mb). The presence of subtle DNA copy number changes was investigated by array-CGH in 50 patients with learning disability and dysmorphism, employing a DNA microarray constructed from large insert clones spaced at approximately 1 Mb intervals across the genome. Twelve copy number abnormalities were identified in 12 patients (24% of the total): seven deletions (six apparently de novo and one inherited from a phenotypically normal parent) and five duplications (one de novo and four inherited from phenotypically normal parents). Altered segments ranged in size from those involving a single clone to regions as large as 14 Mb. No recurrent deletion or duplication was identified within this cohort of patients. On the basis of these results, we anticipate that array-CGH will become a routine method of genome-wide screening for imbalanced rearrangements in children with learning disability.
Time-Domain Homogenization of Windings in 3-D Finite Element Models

This paper deals with the time-domain homogenization of multiturn windings in 3-D finite element (FE) models. An elementary two- dimensional (2-D) FE model allows for the global eddy-current characterization of the winding by means of dimensionless frequency and time-domain coefficients regarding skin and proximity effects. These coefficients are used in the FE model of the complete device. The 3-D homogenization method is validated by considering an axisymmetric 120-turn inductor for which a brute-force 2-D FE model (each turn is finely discretized) provides an accurate reference solution.
Smile Dynamics -- A Theory of the Implied Leverage Effect

We correct a mistake in the published version of our paper. Our new conclusion is that the "implied leverage effect" for single stocks is underestimated by option markets for short maturities and overestimated for long maturities, while it is always overestimated for OEX options, except for the shortest maturities where the revised theory and data match perfectly.
Gene-environment interactions and alcohol use and dependence: current status and future challenges.

AIM To discuss the current status of gene-environment interaction research with regard to alcohol use and dependence. Further, we highlight the difficulties concerning gene-environment studies. METHODS Overview of the current evidence for gene-environment interactions in alcohol outcomes, and of the associated challenges in gene-environment studies. RESULTS Attention to the causative roles of gene-environment interactions in alcohol use and dependence is increasing. Studies with twin designs are beginning to examine gene-shared environment effects, and animal studies have investigated gene-environment interaction effects on alcohol intake in primates. Thirteen studies incorporated gene-environment interactions in examining alcohol use or dependence in humans. These studies held a variety of candidate genes and environmental risk factors and their heterogeneity made it impossible to draw firm general conclusions. CONCLUSIONS Challenges for future gene-environment studies are abundant, and consist of, for example, the development of clear theoretical assumptions about neurobiological mechanisms and the recruitment of large longitudinal samples that already start in childhood. Replication is essential to prevent an overload of false-positive results. Despite the difficulties, it is crucial to include gene-environment interactions in future studies in order to unravel the aetiological factors of human alcohol outcomes.
Detection and Quantitation of Hepatitis C Virus RNA in Feces of Chronically Infected Individuals

ABSTRACT Hepatitis C virus (HCV) RNA was detected and quantified in human fecal specimens with the Roche COBAS AMPLICOR system adapted by us for fecal specimens. HCV RNA could be detected in the feces of four of six (67%) patients chronically infected with HCV, with loads up to about 2.8 × 105 copies/ml of feces. The same HCV genotypes were observed in feces and plasma as determined by direct sequencing of the 5′ untranslated region.
Inventories and the Propagation of Sectoral Shocks

This paper studies the dynamic properties of an imperfectly competitive economy with inventory holdings. In particular, we focus on the serial correlation in aggregate output and employment produced by the holding of inventories in one sector of the economy and the co-movement between sectors of an economy over the cycle resulting from demand linkages. This model is then contrasted with a simple, competitive real business cycle model with inventories. We find that the predictions of these models with regards to the co-movement of employment may differ. Based on this, we present empirical evidence on the co-movement of employment over the business cycle which is consistent with the predictions of the model of imperfect competition with inventory holdings and demand linkages.
Community Control and Pricing Patterns of Nonprofit Hospitals: An Antitrust Analysis

Traditional control of nonprofit hospitals by the communities they serve has been offered as justification for restraining antitrust enforcement of mergers that involve nonprofit hospitals. The community is arguably a constraint on a nonprofit's inclination to exercise market power in the form of higher prices; however, community control is likely to be attenuated for hospitals that through merger or acquisition become members of hospital systems--particularly those that operate on a regional or multiregional basis. We report findings from a study in which we examined empirically the relationship between market concentration and pricing patterns for three types of nonprofit hospitals that are distinguishable based on degree of community control: an independent hospital, a member of a local hospital system, and a member of a nonlocal hospital system. Study results indicated that when conditions existed to create a more concentrated market, (1) all three types of nonprofit hospitals exercised market power in the form of higher prices, and (2) hospitals that were members of nonlocal systems were more aggressive in exercising market power than were either independent or local system hospitals. The results have important implications for antitrust enforcement policy.