Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
5-aza-2'-deoxycytidine-induced expression of functional cancer testis antigens in human renal cell carcinoma: immunotherapeutic implications.

PURPOSE Limited therapeutic options are presently available for advanced renal cell carcinoma (RCC). This study was designed to define the clinical potential of the DNA hypomethylating agent 5-aza-2'-deoxycytidine (5-AZA-CdR) in human RCC, through its control of the expression of "therapeutic targets" of the cancer testis antigen (CTA) family, and of the tumor-associated antigen RAGE-1, in RCC cells. EXPERIMENTAL DESIGN Reverse transcription (RT)-PCR assays of a panel of RCC cells treated with 5-AZA-CdR, investigated the induction of the expression of several CTAs and of RAGE-1. Immunoprecipitation and Western blotting assessed whether the expression of CTA-specific mRNA induced by 5-AZA-CdR resulted in a translated protein of appropriate molecular weight. The functional activity of de novo expressed CTA was evaluated using (51)Cr release cytotoxicity assays of 5-AZA-CdR-treated HLA-A2-positive RCC cells using HLA-A2-restricted NY-ESO-1-specific CTLs. RESULTS Exposure to 5-AZA-CdR invariably induced the expression of the CTA MAGE-1, -2, -3, and -4, GAGE 1-6, and NY-ESO-1 in all of the RCC cells investigated. De novo expression of NY-ESO-1 was persistent, being still detectable 60 days after the end of treatment, and generated a functional protein efficiently recognized by HLA-A2-restricted NY-ESO-1-specific CTLs. 5-AZA-CdR also induced RAGE-1 expression in RAGE-1-negative RCC and sarcoma cells but not in neoplastic cells of different histology. CONCLUSIONS This study provides the scientific rationale to establish new strategies of chemoimmunotherapy in RCC patients. The well-defined immunogenicity of the investigated CTAs and of RAGE-1 suggest that systemic administration of 5-AZA-CdR represents a promising strategy to enhance the constitutively poor immunogenic potential of RCC cells, and to propose that virtually all RCC patients receive active and/or adoptive CTA- or RAGE-1-based immunotherapy.
The structure of the international telecommunications regime in transition: A network analysis of international organizations

This paper examines the structure of the international telecommunications regime in terms of networks of social interaction and institutional affiliation among international actors. Social interaction and overlapping membership data of 69 international telecommunications organizations in the Yearbook of International Organizations 1994/1995 are analyzed to describe the social structure of the international telecommunications system through network analysis. The analysis reveals a center‐periphery structure with the Western industrial countries at the center and the less developed countries at the periphery. The international telecommunications system is also regionally structured suggesting influence by geopolitical and cultural proximity. The results indicate that inter‐governmental global organizations such as the ITU and UNESCO play intermediate and coordinating roles at the central linking‐pin positions (or cut‐points) in the international telecommunications regime. In summary, this research shows that transitional trends in international telecommunications have affected the interaction patterns of international actors.
Sentencing and criminal justice

1. An introduction to English sentencing 2. Sentencing and the constitution 3. Sentencing aims, principles and policies 4. Elements of proportionality 5. Aggravation and mitigation 6. Persistence, prevention and prediction 7. Equality before the law 8. Multiple offenders 9. Custodial sentencing 10. Non-custodial sentencing 11. Procedural issues and ancillary orders 12. Special sentencing powers 13. Conclusions.
Bovine endothelial cells transformed in vitro by benzo(a)pyrene

A cloned strain of bovine vascular endothelial cells with a finite in vitro lifespan was treated with benzo(a)pyrene (BP) after approximately 75% of its lifespan was completed. Untreated cultures of this strain senesced upon serial subcultivation and contained large, nondividing cells. In three out of seven trials, BP treatment produced transformed cells appeared in the cultures concomitant with the senescence of the parent cells. All transformed cell lines examined exhibited indefinite lifespans and altered karyotypes. Two of the lines retained most of the characteristics of normal endothelial cells, except that one became aneuploid and the other polyploid, Neither of these lines formed tumors when inoculated into nude mice. The remaining two lines retained mostly diploid kayotypes, but a high percentage of cells contained Robertsonian translocations. In one line cell volume was markedly reduced. In addition, these lines grew in multilayers, were anchorage independent, and proliferated in medium containing 0.5% serum. When 107 cells of these lines were injected into nude mice, tumors appeared within 1 week and were identified as malignant hemangioendotheliomas of bovine origin.
Chamberlin and Robinson: their realism revisited and revised

Attempts to give greater realism to a general competitive equilibrium paradigm, such as, famously, by E.H. Chamberlin and Joan Robinson, founder on the excessive inferential potency of its assumptions, as, for example, in the familiar postulate that orders all possible preferences. Either the overtheorization must be restricted by illusory qualifying expressions such as ceteris paribus, which leave the inferential scheme unchanged, or the needed inferential steps are mathematically dubious, sometimes impermissible. A modified set of postulates are proposed for a more empirically sensitive economic science.
On the Causes and Consequences of Savings and Loan Deposit Rate Inflexibility

THE INFLEXIBILITY of Savings and Loan deposit rates in relation to the interest rate on new mortgages is a frequently observed and highly significant phenomenon. This sluggishness of response is an important determinant of the cyclical flows of funds to and from the Savings and Loan industry. Its consequences for the cost and availability of home mortgages are both predictable and direct. The relative inflexibility of the deposit rate can be explained in two distinct, although not mutually exclusive, ways. On the one hand, there are a set of justifications which are grounded in the microtheory of the S&L firm. ' We shall refer to these as "structural" explanations. Such explanations examine the individual firm in a context free of regulatory constraints and seek to show that a low elasticity of the deposit rate with reference to the mortgage rate is a predictable implication of rational, profit maximizing firm behavior. Thus, the cyclical flows of funds to and from the S&L industry would appear to be an inherent characteristic of the free functioning of such an industry. A second class of explanations finds the relative inflexibility of deposit rates the consequence of regulatory policies which set ceiling rates paid on the liabilities of S&L's and other financial intermediaries. Although both structural and regulatory factors may be at work simultaneously, those who oppose the regulatory practice of rate setting probably believe that the structural factors accounting for rate rigidity are either nonexistent or of marginal significance.2 It is the author's belief that the question of structural rigidity in deposit rates is of fundamental importance to the appraisal of regulatory policy. In the next section of this paper, two major structural explanations of deposit rate rigidity are examined. One of them, termed the 'justification by asymmetry' is shown to be incorrect on a priori grounds. The other, termed 'justification by inequality constraint,' is a valid implication of the model which will be presented in this paper. However, it is shown to be of limited empirical significance. Section III imposes a ceiling rate constraint on the basic model. The KuhnTucker optimization conditions are derived, and an interpretation of the private and social costs of ceiling rate regulation is developed from the optimization conditions. Finally, Section IV presents a summary and conclusion of the analysis.
The Tao of Evaluation

In his treatise on strategy entitled, A Book of Five Rings, famed samurai, Miyamoto Musashi, puts forward a nine-step method for learning Kendo or "the Way of the sword. " Musashi's words also speak to those of us who practice the evaluation profession. The same nine-step method can be applied for learning "the Way of evaluation . "
An Immune-Algorithm-Based Dead-Time Elimination PWM Control Strategy in a Single-Phase Inverter

In this paper, an immune algorithm (IA)-based dead-time elimination PWM control strategy is proposed. For existing dead-time elimination applications, one of the major problems is the dead-time control around the zero-current-crossing points. To deal with this problem, this paper proposes a different PWM control method which first restricts the control sequence to a specified level around the zero-crossing zone. Also, the proposed method can improve the current waveform quality by using the IA approach and three-level control strategy. Compared with conventional dead-time elimination methods, this technique has the features of simple hardware requirement and adaptive control. Moreover, this control strategy effectively eliminates the effect of dead-time, while at the same time significantly reducing the total harmonic distortion of output current and improving the amplitude of output RMS value in different modulation indexes and loads conditions. To verify the analysis, an experimental platform based on DSP and field-programmable gate array is built. The simulation and experimental results are given to demonstrate the effectiveness and feasibility of this new method.
Price Signals in “Energy-only” Wholesale Electricity Markets: An Empirical Analysis of the Price Signal in France

This paper analyzes the price signals of the French wholesale electricity market. We build a model of electricity prices that takes into account several key features of the French electricity market in order to assess the capacity of the price signal to guide investments. Wholesale prices should reflect the imbalances in the generation mix but the signal can be distorted if monopoly rents and/or “missing money” are present. We simulate over the 2003-2005 period theoretical perfectly competitive prices with the installed capacity and with the optimal mix to estimate the capacity imbalances and scarcity rents. We then compare the investment signal sent by observed electricity prices and the theoretical prices with the installed capacity. Although there are signs of market contestability for the mid-merit load, through market integration with the other continental markets, observed prices are too high for the baseload and too low for the peakload, as a result distorting the signal.
Universities in Evolutionary Systems of Innovation

This paper criticizes the current narrow view on the role of universities in knowledge-based economies. We propose to extend the current policy framework of universities in national innovation systems (NIS) to a more dynamic one, based on evolutionary economic principles. The main reason is that this dynamic view fits better with the practice of innovation processes. We contribute on ontological and methodological levels to the literature and policy discussions on the effectiveness of university-industry knowledge transfer and the third mission of universities. We conclude with a discussion of the policy implications for the main stakeholders.
RiskWheel: Interactive visual analytics for surveillance event detection

Detecting human behaviors in vast amounts of video is a challenging task in a variety of real-world applications. Thus an interactive tool designed to support this task with human in the loop is of significance in various domains including public safety and security. In this paper, we design and develop an interactive visual analytics system, RiskWheel, that enables effective analysis of detection results and utilization of user feedback to improve surveillance event detection. In particular, we propose 1) an interactive approach to visualize data with temporal relations and 2) a novel risk ranking method to differentiate detection results and present more informative ones to the user for better interaction. In our experiments, we demonstrate RiskWheel through a case study on TRECVID Surveillance Event Detection (SED) task [1]. The experimental results quantitatively show that RiskWheel outperforms multiple baselines, demonstrating the power of the risk ranking technique.
Telemedicine Room Design

Proper design of rooms for telemedicine store-and-forward and realtime interactive consultations is critical. The challenge is to incorporate communication technology into medical practice to facilitate efficient communication and effective patient care. If this is done properly, the technology becomes unnoticeable to those involved in the telemedicine interaction. This article describes some of the steps that can be taken in a telemedicine room design to achieve this goal. Room location, treatments, background, lighting, power and telecommunications aspects are reviewed. Although every room design will have its own unique challenges, adhering to these basic principles will provide an excellent foundation to begin with.
Mapping of a replication origin within the promoter region of two unlinked, abundantly transcribed actin genes of Physarum polycephalum

We analyzed the replication of two unlinked actin genes, ardB and ardC , which are abundantly transcribed in the naturally synchronous plasmodium of the slime mold Physarum polycephalum. Detection and size measurements of single-stranded nascent replication intermediates (RIs) demonstrate that these two genes are concomitantly replicated at the onset of the 3-h S phase and tightly linked to replication origins. Appearance of RIs on neutral-neutral two-dimensional gels at specific time points in early S phase and analysis of their structure confirmed these results and further established that, in both cases, an efficient, site-specific, bidirectional origin of replication is localized within the promoter region of the gene. We also determined similar elongation rates for the divergent replication forks of the ardC gene replicon. Finally, taking advantage of a restriction fragment length polymorphism, we studied allelic replicons and demonstrate similar localizations and a simultaneous firing of allelic replication origins. Computer search revealed a low level of homology between the promoters of ardB and ardC and, most notably, the absence of DNA sequences similar to the yeast autonomously replicating sequence consensus sequence in these Physarum origin regions. Our results with the ardB and ardC actin genes support the model of early replicating origins located within the promoter regions of abundantly transcribed genes in P. polycephalum.
Retinol‐induced apoptosis in larval pancreas of Bufo bufo

Tadpoles of Bufo bufo at the end of premetamorphosis were exposed to the action of retinol diluted in the rearing water at two concentrations: 20 and 40 µm, for 48 h. Assuming that retinol causes growth suppression by cell death induction, the TUNEL reaction for the detection of apoptotic cells was performed on paraffin sections of pancreas. The results showed that retinol induced a significant dose‐dependent increase of number of apoptotic cells with respect to controls, in which apoptosis was scarce. Electron microscopic observations of treated specimens showed that the effects of retinol mostly occurred on exocrine cells: condensed crescent‐shaped nuclear chromatin, dark cytoplasm with long projections; conversely, mitochondria and endoplasmic reticulum appeared unaffected.
A PUBLIC MANAGEMENT FOR ALL SEASONS

This article discusses: the doctrinal content of the group of ideas known as ‘new public management’(NPM); the intellectual provenance of those ideas; explanations for their apparent persuasiveness in the 1980 s; and criticisms which have been made of the new doctrines. Particular attention is paid to the claim that NPM offers an all-purpose key to better provision of public services. This article argues that NFM has been most commonly criticized in terms of a claimed contradiction between ‘equity’ and ‘efficiency’ values, but that any critique which is to survive NPM's claim to ‘infinite reprogrammability’ must be couched in terms of possible conflicts between administrative values. The conclusion is that the ESRC'S Management in Government’ research initiative has been more valuable in helping to identify rather than to definitively answer, the key conceptual questions raised by NPM.
The Balance multiprocessor system

A description is given of the architecture, operating system, and performance of Balance, a shared-memory, tightly coupled multiprocessor system. Balance can contain two to thirty 32-bit microprocessors with an aggregate performance of up to 21 million instructions per second (MIPS). Each processor has a private cache as well as a small local memory to hold frequently used kernel routines. The system features a high-bandwidth pipelined bus, up to 28 Mbytes of main memory, a diagnostic and console processor, up to four IEEE 769 (Multibus) adapters, an IEEE 802.3 (Ethernet) LAN interface, and an ANSI Small Computer System Interface (SCSI). Dynix, a multiprocessor operating system supporting both the 4.2 BSD and System V Unix environments, manages Balance, providing transparent support for multiprocessing as well as tools and libraries for developing parallel applications. The various subsystems and the Dynix operating system are examined. Applications and performance are discussed. <<ETX>>
Analysis and Design of Open-Loop Multiphase Local-Oscillator Generator for Wireless Applications

Multiphase local-oscillator (LO) generators have been widely adopted in modern wireless communication systems. This paper describes the analysis and design of two open-loop multiphase (quadri and octave) LO generators, which can lead to speed relaxation of the phase-locked loop and voltage-controlled oscillator when compared with conventional frequency-division methods. The mathematical model, sizing considerations, and two design examples targeting mobile-TV applications are presented. The first one is an octave-phase LO generator designed in 90-nm CMOS featuring multiple switchable phase correctors in cascade. It covers the VHF-III and UHF bands with an optimized phase precision within 0.8° . The second one combines quadri- and octave-phase LO generation to cover the full band of mobile TV from 170 to 1700 MHz. Optimized in 65-nm CMOS, it can be operated in octave-phase mode for image-reject harmonic-reject downconversion or in quadri-phase mode for simple image-reject downconversion. Extensive simulations accounting for process variations show that the achieved phase precisions are within 1.5° (quadri) and 1° (octave). The phase-noise performance is comparable with state-of-the-art solutions.
Domestic and international migration from rural Mexico: Disaggregating the effects of network structure and composition

This article explores the role of migrant networks in Mexican rural out-migration, focusing on how network composition influences rural-to-rural, rural-to-urban, and rural-to-international migration. Using data from rural Mexico, migration is considered in a multiple-choice context that allows for the possibility that rural Mexicans can migrate within Mexico, for agricultural and non-agricultural employment, as well as to the United States. The use of disaggregated measures of migrant networks highlights the complexity of network effects on migration decisions. When modelling the migration choice with aggregate measures, US migrant networks appear more important than migrant networks in Mexico. Once networks are disaggregated, however, certain types of migrant networks in Mexico become very important in the decision to migrate within the country. Further, the impact of migrant networks on the decision to migrate varies with the closeness of the bond: the closer the bond, the greater the impact on the migration decision.
Acquired coagulation inhibitor-associated bleeding disorders: An update

Abstract Acquired blood coagulation inhibitors are circulating immunoglobulins that neutralize the activity of a specific coagulation protein or accelerate its clearance from the plasma, thus causing a bleeding tendency. In this review, we focus on the nonhemophilic inhibitors of coagulation, i.e. the autoantibodies occurring in individuals without a pre-existent coagulation defect, reporting the most recent advances in the pathophysiology, diagnosis and treatment of these rare acquired bleeding disorders.
Suppression of Gradient Across Seam Line Using a Smoothing Filter in Spatially Compounded Ultrasonic Diagnostic Images

A method to reduce seam line artifact in spatial compounding of ultrasonic images is presented. Spatial compounding is a speckle reducing imaging technique in which a number of ultrasound images of a given target that have been obtained from multiple view angles are combined into a single compounded image by combining the data received from each data point in the compounded image. Since different view angle results in different view area, and the images of different view areas are combined into an image, the compounded image consists of regions with different signal to noise ratio, and the boundary lines between these regions are visible in the compounded images. In this paper, we present an algorithm that effectively reduces the visibility of this seam line in the spatially compounded images. Design procedure for a smoothing filter is described and the results of applying the filter to in-vivo ultrasonic images are analyzed.
Darbepoetin alfa for the treatment of anemia associated with myelodysplastic syndromes: efficacy and quality of life

To evaluate efficacy, safety, changes in biological features, and quality of life (QoL) in low-risk anemic patients with MDS treated with darbepoetin alfa (DPO), 41 patients received DPO 150 μg weekly for 24 weeks. The dose was increased to 300 μg weekly in non-responsive patients. During treatment, 10/17 (59%) transfusion-dependent (TD) and 13/23 (56%) transfusion-free (TF) patients responded. In TF patients, Hb increased from 9.2 ± 0.9 g/dL to 10.3 ± 1.4 g/dL by 24 weeks (p = 0.004). The mean response duration was 22 weeks (95% CI: 19.7–24.0) in TF patients compared with 15.1 weeks (95% CI: 13.3–17.5) in TD patients. Response to treatment was associated with increases in QoL. Decreases in the percentage of apoptotic progenitor cells (p = 0.007) and CD34+ cells (p = 0.005) were observed. These results confirm previous studies demonstrating the safety and efficacy of DPO in anemic patients with MDS. Biological changes and improvement in QoL were associated with response. Adequate dosing is to be determined.
Speed of Venture Financing for Emerging Technology‐Based Entrepreneurial Firms as a Function of Founder Reputation

One of the major commercialization hurdles for technology‐based entrepreneurial enterprises is financing and the speed of its acquisition. This is compounded in the case of emerging technology‐based enterprises by the nature of their technology acquisition and founding team structure. Many of these firms do not have founders with extensive reputations in the financial community. If founder reputation is important to funding sources with regard to speed and access, and emerging technology commercial development is important for solving twenty‐first‐century problems and generating economic growth, then there is cause for concern. Here we build on prior research and data from 140 Internet‐based firms to examine the effect that founder reputation has on the ability of an enterprise to swiftly obtain financing. Our results suggest that founder reputation expedites ventures' quick access to public but not to private financing. In addition, our results demonstrate that venture capital financing obtained early on and financing by large venture capital syndicates delay access to public financing for founders with extensive reputations.