Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Improving selection criteria for lung cancer screening. The potential role of emphysema.

RATIONALE Lung cancer (LC) screening using low-dose chest computed tomography is now recommended in several guidelines using the National Lung Screening Trial (NLST) entry criteria (age, 55-74; ≥30 pack-years; tobacco cessation within the previous 15 yr for former smokers). Concerns exist about their lack of sensitivity. OBJECTIVES To evaluate the performance of NLST criteria in two different LC screening studies from Europe and the United States, and to explore the effect of using emphysema as a complementary criterion. METHODS Participants from the Pamplona International Early Lung Action Detection Program (P-IELCAP; n = 3,061) and the Pittsburgh Lung Screening Study (PLuSS; n = 3,638) were considered. LC cumulative frequencies, incidence densities, and annual detection rates were calculated in three hypothetical cohorts, including subjects who met NLST criteria alone, those with computed tomography-detected emphysema, and those who met NLST criteria and/or had emphysema. MEASUREMENTS AND MAIN RESULTS Thirty-six percent and 59% of P-IELCAP and PLuSS participants, respectively, met NLST criteria. Among these, higher LC incidence densities and detection rates were observed. However, applying NLST criteria to our original cohorts would miss as many as 39% of all LC. Annual screening of subjects meeting either NLST criteria or having emphysema detected most cancers (88% and 95% of incident LC of P-IELCAP and PLuSS, respectively) despite reducing the number of screened participants by as much as 52%. CONCLUSIONS LC screening based solely on NLST criteria could miss a significant number of LC cases. Combining NLST criteria and emphysema to select screening candidates results in higher LC detection rates and a lower number of cancers missed.
(E)-5-[3-Cyano-2-(dicyanomethylene)-1-oxaspiro[4.5]dec-3-en-4-yl]-3-(1-methyl-1,4-dihydropyridin-4-ylidene)pent-4-en-1-yl 3,5-bis(benzyloxy)benzoate

In the title compound, C45H40N4O5, the cyclohexane entity on the (3-cyano-2,5-dihydrofuran-2-ylidene)propanedinitrile group, which replaces the usual dimethyl substituents, has not perturbed the delocalization geometry significantly. Weak intermolecular interactions, viz. C—H⋯N(cyano), C—H⋯O(ether), C—H⋯π and π–π [between the aromatic rings with the shortest centroid–centroid distance of 3.603 (3) Å], consolidate the crystal packing, which exhibits voids of 57 Å3.
Divisive identities, divided foreign policy? Policy makers' discourses on Russia in Germany, Poland and Finland

ii Chapter 1: Identity, memory and Russia as Europe’s Other: an introduction . 1 Chapter 2: Theorising national identity and foreign policy . 22 Chapter 3: Applying discourse-historical analysis: methodology and research design . 42 Chapter 4: National identities in historical perspective . 70 Chapter 5: The Nord Stream pipeline and European energy security . 111 Chapter 6: The August 2008 Russian-Georgian war . 155 Chapter 7: Post-electoral democratic protests in Russia, 2011-2012 . 201 Chapter 8: National identities in the EU discursive arena: German, Polish and Finnish presidencies of the EU . 235 Conclusion: towards a shared discourse on Russia? 267 Bibliography . 287
Higher HIV-1 DNA associated with lower gains in CD4 cell count among patients with advanced therapeutic failure receiving optimized treatment (ANRS 123--ETOILE).

OBJECTIVE To describe HIV-1 DNA levels from baseline (W0) to week 52 (W52) among patients receiving either interleukin-2 (IL-2) + optimized background therapy (OBT) or OBT as salvage treatment. METHODS This was evaluated in a substudy of the ETOILE Agence Nationale de Recherches sur le SIDA et les hépatites virales (ANRS) 123 trial (patients with CD4 ≤ 200/mm(3), HIV RNA>4 log(10) copies/mL and a genotypic score showing two or fewer active drugs). OBT included enfuvirtide whenever possible. HIV DNA was quantified with the ANRS assay. RESULTS Blood samples were available for 21 patients in the IL-2 + OBT arm and 23 in the OBT alone arm at baseline, and for 10 and 17 patients, respectively, at W52. Median baseline CD4 count was 47 cells/mm(3) and 68 cells/mm(3), respectively; median HIV RNA was 5.1 and 4.9 log(10) copies/mL. Baseline median HIV DNA load was 3.44 log(10) copies/10(6) peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) (interquartile range 3.31-4.08) and 3.51 (3.18-3.82) log(10) copies/10(6) PBMCs, respectively. At W52, it was 3.18 log(10) copies/10(6) PBMCs (2.75-3.52) and 3.48 log(10) copies/10(6) PBMCs (3.10-3.67), respectively. Cells were available at both W0 and W52 for 7 patients in the IL-2 + OBT arm and 14 in the OBT arm. Change in HIV DNA load was not associated with IL-2 use, but decreased among the seven patients receiving enfuvirtide (-0.22 log(10) copies/mL) as compared with the other 14 patients (+0.20 log(10); P=0.046). A steeper decrease in HIV DNA was observed among patients who had a larger increase in CD4 count (Pearson coefficient ρ=0.659, P=0.001). Adjusted for enfuvirtide use, there was a trend for an association between upper baseline HIV DNA level and a less frequent CD4 gain ≥ 50 cells/mm(3) at W52 (odds ratio=0.17, P=0.075). CONCLUSIONS HIV DNA levels were high in patients with advanced therapeutic failure. A larger viral reservoir may be associated with lower gains in CD4 count among patients receiving OBT. HIV DNA level could be a useful tool for the case management of patients in the late stages of disease.
Free Markets and Civil Peace: Some Theory and Empirical Evidence

Scholars of armed conflict generally focus on motive and opportunity as analytical categories for narrowing down causes, much the same way as investigators of crime narrow down a list of suspects (Poe, 2004; Gartzke, 2005; Collier, 2000; Most and Starr, 1989; de Soysa, 2002). Social and individual grievances of various sorts, such as the lack of political rights, may provide motive for organizing violence against a state, but opportunity must also exist, whatever the nature and level of grievance, which is a hard concept to measure objectively (Theuerkauf, 2010). Such a perspective has also been salient for understanding revolution, where means and opportunity play a leading role (Tilly, 1978). Recent research on conflict has focused on the capture of natural resources as motive but, more importantly, also as opportunity because expensive conflict can be financed (means) by looting resources. This article takes a broader perspective on both opportunity and means to argue that economic repression and economic mismanagement supply the “means, motive, and opportunity” for groups to challenge states because economic distortions spawn underground economies that form the “organizational bases” of insurgency that allow groups to succeed and be sustainable in the face of superior state forces. In other words, grievance alone cannot explain successful insurgency. Anti-government individuals in the United States have enough grievances to bomb a federal government building in Oklahoma City, but whether they have the means to sustain a fight against the US government’s law enforcement agencies is another matter. This article will first briefly argue why economic governance in a broader sense matters more than simple arguments about feasibility and demonstrate empirically the pacifying effects of economic freedom, or free markets.
High performance parameter observation of induction motor with sensorless vector Control using extended Kalman filter

Speed sensor less vector control of induction motor drive faces two major problems: speed estimation, and rotor flux observation. Because of the multiplication terms of state variables, the induction motor model is consisted of nonlinear state equations. To estimate the state variables of the motor model and gain the rotor flux and speed signals, a method is proposed in this paper using extended Kalman filter. Software programs are used to carry out extended Kalman filter (EKF) algorithm to estimate the rotor speed and fluxes. The obtained results prove that extended Kalman filter algorithm can estimate rotor speed and flux very accurately, and based on that, the speed sensor less drive system can have good static and dynamic performance.
Premium Increases in State Health Insurance Programs: Lessons from a Case Study of the Massachusetts Medicaid Buy-in Program

In March 2003, Massachusetts increased the premiums it charges to most enrollees in its CommonHealth-Working (CH-W) program. This study evaluates the impact of the premium change on disenrollment using a comparison group methodology. The findings indicate that the premium change had only a small, but statistically significant impact on program exits. The CH-W experience differs from other state programs that saw substantial enrollment declines in response to new or increased premiums. This is likely due to factors that make CH-W different from other programs, key of which are administrative procedures intended to minimize disenrollment due to premium nonpayment.
Green cellular access network operation through dynamic spectrum and traffic load management

This paper investigates the green or energy efficient operation of cellular access networks through dynamic spectrum and traffic load management techniques. Different energy saving techniques are discussed along with applications in realistic multi-cellular scenarios. The use of base station cooperation is discussed. The outage probability analysis is also discussed for different energy saving techniques in order to satisfy a particular Quality-of-Service (QoS) threshold for different services. The analysis is supported by different base station power consumption models, traffic models, and realistic statistics of different base stations in London, UK. Results show a considerable power saving potential of up to 65% or more in base station power.
Purification and characterization of endoglucanase C of Cellulomonas fimi, cloning of the gene, and analysis of in vivo transcripts of the gene

Two nonglycosylated endoglucanases which bind to Sephadex were purified from culture supernatants of Cellulomonas fimi grown on microcrystalline cellulose. Their Mrs were 120,000 and 130,000. The N-terminal amino acid sequences of the enzymes were identical, suggesting that the enzymes were related. A DNA fragment encoding this N-terminal sequence was cloned in Escherichia coli. The nucleotide sequence corresponding to the N-terminal amino acid sequence was preceded by a sequence encoding a typical leader peptide. Transcripts hybridizing to the cloned fragment were detected in total RNA isolated from C. fimi cells grown on carboxymethyl cellulose but not from cells grown on glycerol or glucose. Transcription started at a cluster of sites 53 to 59 nucleotides upstream of a GUG translation initiation codon and terminated at either of two closely spaced C residues immediately downstream of a region of potential secondary structure. The size of the transcript was approximately 3.5 kilobases, sufficient to encode a polypeptide of 130 kilodaltons. The 130-kilodalton polypeptide is designated endoglucanase C (CenC), and the gene encoding it is designated cenC.
Homo Reciprocans Revisited

Do reciprocal workers work more if their wage compares well to similar workers in the economy? Are they more satisfied with their job? Predictions vary from theories. With a survey dataset with a representative sample of the German population, I construct a reference wage and measures for reciprocity for each worker. Depending on how much more or less a worker earns than the reference, I investigate how effort and job satisfaction react to reciprocity tendencies. The results suggest that a worker's unpaid overtime hours increase with her relative earnings if above the reference; and the more so, the stronger her positive reciprocity tendency is. However, there is no such interaction for negative reciprocity. Job satisfaction is associated with reciprocity, yet insensitive to the interaction between reciprocity and relative income.
Isolation and physico-chemical characterisation of extracellular polymeric substances produced by the marine bacterium Vibrio parahaemolyticus

A marine bacterial strain identified as Vibrio parahaemolyticus by 16S rRNA gene (HM355955) sequencing and gas chromatography (GC) coupled with MIDI was selected from a natural biofilm by its capability to produce extracellular polymeric substances (EPS). The EPS had an average molecule size of 15.278 μm and exhibited characteristic diffraction peaks at 5.985°, 9.150° and 22.823°, with d-spacings of 14.76661, 9.29989 and 3.89650 Å, respectively. The Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) spectrum revealed aliphatic methyl, primary amine, halide groups, uronic acid and saccharides. Gas chromatography mass spectrometry (GCMS) confirmed the presence of arabinose, galactose, glucose and mannose. 1HNMR (nuclear magnetic resonance) revealed functional groups characteristic of polysaccharides. The EPS were amorphous in nature (CIxrd 0.092), with a 67.37% emulsifying activity, thermostable up to 250°C and displayed pseudoplastic rheology. MALDI-TOF–TOF analysis revealed a series of masses, exhibiting low-mass peaks (m/z) corresponding to oligosaccharides and higher-mass peaks for polysaccharides consisting of different ratios of pentose and hexose moieties. This is the first report of a detailed characterisation of the EPS produced by V. parahaemolyticus, which could be further explored for biotechnological and industrial use.
Diversity of Salmonella Strains Isolated from the Aquatic Environment as Determined by Serotyping and Amplification of the Ribosomal DNA Spacer Regions

ABSTRACT Salmonella species are pathogenic bacteria often detected in sewage, freshwater, marine coastal water, and groundwater.Salmonella spp. can survive for long periods in natural waters, and the persistence of specific and epidemic strains is of great concern in public health. However, the diversity of species found in the natural environment remains unknown. The aim of this study was to investigate the diversity of Salmonellastrains isolated from different natural aquatic systems within a Mediterranean coastal watershed (river, wastewater, and marine coastal areas). A total of 574 strains isolated from these natural environments were identified by both conventional serotyping and the ribosomal spacer-heteroduplex polymorphism (RS-HP) method (M. A. Jensen and N. Straus, PCR Methods Appl. 3:186–194, 1993). More than 40 different serotypes were found, and some serotypes probably mobilized from widespread animal-rearing activities were detected only during storm events. These serotypes may be good indicators of specific contamination sources. Furthermore, the RS-HP method based on the PCR amplification of the intergenic spacer region between the 16S and 23S rRNA genes can produce amplicon profiles allowing the discrimination of species at both serotype and intraserotype levels. This method represents a powerful tool that could be used for rapid typing of Salmonella isolates.
Antenatal Steroid Therapy for Fetal Lung Maturation: Is There an Association with Childhood Asthma?

Purpose: This study was designed to test the hypothesis that fetal exposure to corticosteroids in the antenatal period is an independent risk factor for the development of asthma in childhood. Methods: A population-based cohort study was conducted of all pregnant women who resided in Nova Scotia, Canada, and gave birth to a singleton fetus between January 1989 and December 1998 and lived to discharge. After exclusions, 79,395 infants were available for analysis. Using linked health care utilization records, incident asthma cases between 36 to 72 months of age were identified. Generalized Estimating Equations were used to estimate the odds ratio of the association between exposure to corticosteroids and asthma while controlling for confounders. Results: Over the 10 years of the study corticosteroid therapy increased by threefold. Exposure to corticosteroids during pregnancy was associated with a risk of asthma in childhood: adjusted odds ratio of 1.23 (95% confidence interval: 1.06, 1.44). Conclusions: Antenatal steroid therapy appears to be an independent risk factor for the development of asthma between 36 and 72 months of age. Further research into the smallest possible steroid dose required to achieve the desired post-natal effect is needed to reduce the risk of developing childhood asthma.
The Adoption of Social Innovations by Firms: An Inquiry into Organizational Benevolence

by ‘ALIM J. BEVERIDGE I propose that current organization theories tend to cast organizations, especially companies, as entities that only pursue their own interests. Thus, existing research on why firms go “beyond compliance” in adopting socially or environmentally beneficial policies or practices depict them as responding to a perceived opportunity to either make gains in financial performance and legitimacy or avoid potential losses in these. I, however, argue that, in some cases, firms may do so because they view benefiting an external constituency as a desirable end in itself. I call this organizational benevolence and suggest that it is likely to be visible in the early adoption of social innovations by companies. I present the results of qualitative and quantitative research on U.S. companies’ adoption of fair trade, a social innovation, which I conducted to inquire into the possible presence of organizational benevolence and to identify its characteristics. In the qualitative study, I found that some interviewees’ accounts of the adoption of fair tradecertified coffee describe a commitment to furthering the well-being of coffee farmers strong enough to take precedence over many other concerns. This commitment was characterized as rooted in organizational identity, reflected in close, long-term relationships with coffee growers, and leading to a willingness to prioritize their material benefits over the firms’. Using two vignette-based decision-making experiments, I tested 7 hypotheses which address the effects of institutional, organizational, situational and individual factors on the decision to have one’s firm adopt fair trade-certified coffee or seafood. I find that, in addition to the extent of current diffusion, decision makers’ interactions with potential beneficiaries and personal characteristics, such as moral identity, can have positive effects on adoption. I conclude that the organizational commitment to secondary stakeholders’ welfare must be fairly strong and salient to have an impact on such adoption decisions.
Proteomic and Physiological Studies Provide Insight into Photosynthetic Response of Rice (Oryza sativa L.) Seedlings to Microgravity

The mechanisms whereby how photosynthesis is regulated and maintained under conditions of microgravity remain incompletely understood. Herein, we took a combination of proteomic and physiological approaches to examine the response of rice (Oryza sativa L.) seedlings to spaceflight conditions. Our results show that both PSI fluorescence emission peak and P700 absorbance amplitude are severely decreased in spaceflight seedlings under microgravity. This is consistent with an observed significant reduction in PSI efficiency (ϕI). To further analyze global changes of protein profiles under microgravity, isobaric tags for relative and absolute quantization (iTRAQ) labeling technology were deployed. Four hundred fifty‐four differentially expressed proteins were identified by comparison of spaceflight and ground control. Of proteins relevant to photosynthesis, 34 were downregulated and 4 were upregulated. The significantly downregulated ones are essential components of PSI, NDH and the Cytb6f complex. This downregulation of PSI proteins and/or protein structure changes may cause the overall reduction in PSI activity. Intriguingly, although abundance of some PSII proteins was altered under microgravity, no significant changes in PSII activity were detected. Taken together, our results suggest that PSI, rather than PSII being usually much more sensitive to environmental stresses, is more susceptible to spaceflight conditions in rice seedlings.
Methicillin-resistant strains of Staphylococcus aureus resistant to quinolones

Since January 1988, Staphylococcus aureus strains with a high level of quinolone resistance have been isolated at 17 hospitals and 15 nursing homes in New York City. The majority of these strains were methicillin resistant. The bacteriophage types and susceptibility to other antibiotics were similar to those of quinolone-susceptible strains isolated at the same hospitals.
Inactivation of Template-Directed Misfolding of Infectious Prion Protein by Ozone

ABSTRACT Misfolded prions (PrPSc) are well known for their resistance to conventional decontamination processes. The potential risk of contamination of the water environment, as a result of disposal of specified risk materials (SRM), has raised public concerns. Ozone is commonly utilized in the water industry for inactivation of microbial contaminants and was tested in this study for its ability to inactivate prions (263K hamster scrapie = PrPSc). Treatment variables included initial ozone dose (7.6 to 25.7 mg/liter), contact time (5 s and 5 min), temperature (4°C and 20°C), and pH (pH 4.4, 6.0, and 8.0). Exposure of dilute suspensions of the infected 263K hamster brain homogenates (IBH) (0.01%) to ozone resulted in the in vitro destruction of the templating properties of PrPSc, as measured by the protein misfolding cyclic amplification (PMCA) assay. The highest levels of prion inactivation (≥4 log10) were observed with ozone doses of 13.0 mg/liter, at pH 4.4 and 20°C, resulting in a CT (the product of residual ozone concentration and contact time) value as low as 0.59 mg · liter−1 min. A comparison of ozone CT requirements among various pathogens suggests that prions are more susceptible to ozone degradation than some model bacteria and protozoa and that ozone treatment may be an effective solution for inactivating prions in water and wastewater.
Does the Introduction of Stock Index Futures Destabilize the Spot Market? Some Cross-Country Evidence from Asia

The role of stock index futures (SIFs) in the stock market is very much under debate in the literature. This article studies the effect of the introduction of SIFs to the spot market in China and six other Asian markets. Based on the previous literature, we develop a hypothesis that in a bull market in which bubbles and noise traders are more likely to exist, the introduction of SIFs as an arbitrage instrument may cause price reversal and increase short-term volatility in the underlying market. We examine China and six other major stock markets in Asia to test this hypothesis. Pre- and post-launch standard volatility comparison, rolling windows estimation of volatility, and Markov Switching ARCH estimation are employed in our empirical analysis. Our results are found to support our hypothesis.