Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
The omega-3 fatty acids EPA and DHA decrease plasma F2-isoprostanes: Results from two placebo-controlled interventions

Abstract Omega-3 (ω3) fatty acids, particularly eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA), protect against cardiovascular disease. Despite these benefits, concern remains that ω3 fatty acids may increase lipid peroxidation. It has previously been shown that urinary F2-isoprostanes (F2-IsoPs) were reduced following ω3 fatty acid supplementation in humans. It is now determined whether EPA or DHA supplementation affects plasma F2-IsoPs. In two 6-week placebo-controlled interventions, Study A: overweight, dyslipidaemic men; and Study B: treated-hypertensive Type 2 diabetic, patients were randomized to 4 g daily EPA, DHA. Post-intervention plasma F2-IsoPs were significantly reduced by EPA (24% in Study A, 19% in Study B) and by DHA (14% in Study A, 23% in Study B) relative to the olive oil group. The fall in plasma F2-IsoPs was not altered in analyses that corrected for changes in plasma arachidonic acid, which was reduced with EPA and DHA supplementation. Neither F3- nor F4-IsoPs were observed in plasma in both studies. These results show that in humans, EPA and DHA reduce in vivo oxidant stress as measured in human plasma and urine.
Human Immunodeficiency Virus Type 1 Replication in the Absence of Integrase-Mediated DNA Recombination: Definition of Permissive and Nonpermissive T-Cell Lines

ABSTRACT Functional retroviral integrase protein is thought to be essential for productive viral replication. Yet, previous studies differed on the extent to which integrase mutant viruses expressed human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) genes from unintegrated DNA. Although one reason for this difference was that class II integrase mutations pleiotropically affected the viral life cycle, another reason apparently depended on the identity of the infected cell. Here, we analyzed integrase mutant viral infectivities in a variety of cell types. Single-round infectivity of class I integration-specific mutant HIV-1 ranged from <0.03 to 0.3% of that of the wild type (WT) across four different T-cell lines. Based on this approximately 10-fold influence of cell type on mutant gene expression, we examined class I and class II mutant replication kinetics in seven different cell lines and two primary cell types. Unexpectedly, some cell lines supported productive class I mutant viral replication under conditions that restricted class II mutant growth. Cells were defined as permissive, semipermissive, or nonpermissive based on their ability to support the continual passage of class I integration-defective HIV-1. Mutant infectivity in semipermissive and permissive cells as quantified by 50% tissue culture infectious doses, however, was only 0.0006 to 0.005% of that of WT. Since the frequencies of mutant DNA recombination in these lines ranged from 0.023 to <0.093% of the WT, we conclude that productive replication in the absence of integrase function most likely required the illegitimate integration of HIV-1 into host chromosomes by cellular DNA recombination enzymes.
The impact of neighborhood types on the prices of residential properties

This paper attempts to examine the impact of neighborhood types on residential property prices in the Klang Valley, Malaysia. Results show that the gated-guarded landscape compound neighborhood could attract higher market prices by 14.26%, and the freehold neighborhood could fetch a 20.68% higher price than the leasehold neighborhood. It is interesting to note that house buyers are willing to pay 23.52% to live in the gated-guarded and freehold neighborhoods. In order to meet the increasingly demanding house buyers, instead of just offering dram houses in prime locations, housing developers should provide intangible benefits in the neighborhood that are just as sought after by today? s house buyers, such as a sense of security, a feeling of harmony with one? s surroundings, and an infrastructure which supports a eco-friendly lifestyle.
IDIoT: Securing the Internet of Things like it's 1994

Over 20 billion Internet of Things devices are set to come online by 2020. Protecting such a large number of underpowered, UI-less, network-connected devices will require a new security paradigm. We argue that solutions dependent on vendor cooperation such as secure coding and platform changes are unlikely to provide adequate defenses for the majority of devices. Similarly, regulation approaches face a number implementation challenges which limit their effectiveness. As part of the new paradigm, we propose IDIoT, a network security policy enforcement framework for IoT devices. IDIoT prevents widespread network attacks by restricting IoT devices to only their necessary network behavior. IDIoT is simple and effective, building on decades of tried-and-true network security principles without requiring changes to the devices or cloud infrastructure.
Malignant non‐teratoid medulloepithelioma of ciliary body with retinoblastic differentiation: A case report and review of literature

We present a 6‐year‐old child with intraocular and extraocular mass and high intraocular pressure. The tumor mass involved a disorganized anterior segment and extended through the medial cornea and sclera. A preliminary diagnosis of retinoblastoma with extraocular extension was made. An exenteration of the left globe and orbital tissue was performed. Histological examination showed that the lesion, which occupied the posterior chamber, involved the ciliary body, extending into the iris, sclera and cornea, projecting beyond the cornea anteriorly and extending to the retina posteriorly. The tumor cells were diffusely immunoreactive to vimentin, neuron specific enolase and CD 138. The medulloepithelioma cells were focally positive to cytokeratin (AE1/AE3), cytokeratin 18, CD56,CD57, S100, HMB‐45 and bcl2 while areas of retinoblastic differentiation showed diffuse immunoreactivity to synaptophysin, neurofilament and CD138 with focal immunoreactivity to calretinin. All tumor cells showed no immunoreactivity to cytokeratin 7, cytokeratin 20, epithelial membrane antigen, carcinoembryonic antigen, desmin, GFAP, and chromogranin. Nuclear staining for P53 was seen in 80% of tumor cells. The ki‐67 index was 90%. The tumor was described as malignant intraocular non‐teratoid medulloepithelioma with retinoblastic differentiation arising from the ciliary body. Tumor satellites were seen in the adjacent periocular soft tissue. The treatment involved exenteration of the left globe and orbital tissue with secondary skin graft following chemotherapy. The patient is well and has no recurrence after 1 year of treatment. We report that medulloepithelioma can present as a case of infantile glaucoma, can show signs of intraocular calcifications and can show retinoblastic differentiation.
Potential factors associated with fruit and vegetable intake after premature acute coronary syndrome: a prospective cohort study

Abstract Studies on dietary changes and their associated factors are limited, particularly with respect to younger cardiovascular patients. Our objective was to evaluate the factors associated with fruit and vegetable intake among adults with premature acute coronary syndrome (ACS) 1 year after the event. We used data from GENESIS-PRAXY, a multicentre prospective study of adults aged 18–55 years, hospitalised for ACS. Participants were 704 adults from 24 centres in Canada, 1 in USA and 1 in Switzerland. Data were collected through questionnaires and chart reviews at baseline and 1 year post-ACS. Fruit and vegetable intake was low among adults with premature ACS, and remained suboptimal at 1 year post-ACS, with only 21% meeting the minimum recommendations of at least 5 daily servings. The findings suggest that patient lifestyle characteristics, such as the number of hours spent at work and baseline intake are factors that may be associated with the intake of fruits and vegetables. More research is needed to assess effective strategies to increase fruit and vegetable intake among patients with premature ACS so that they meet dietary recommendations.
crdbrd: Shape Fabrication by Sliding Planar Slices

We introduce an algorithm and representation for fabricating 3D shape abstractions using mutually intersecting planar cut‐outs. The planes have prefabricated slits at their intersections and are assembled by sliding them together. Often such abstractions are used as a sculptural art form or in architecture and are colloquially called ‘cardboard sculptures’. Based on an analysis of construction rules, we propose an extended binary space partitioning tree as an efficient representation of such cardboard models which allows us to quickly evaluate the feasibility of newly added planar elements. The complexity of insertion order quickly increases with the number of planar elements and manual analysis becomes intractable. We provide tools for generating cardboard sculptures with guaranteed constructibility. In combination with a simple optimization and sampling strategy for new elements, planar shape abstraction models can be designed by iteratively adding elements. As an output, we obtain a fabrication plan that can be printed or sent to a laser cutter. We demonstrate the complete process by designing and fabricating cardboard models of various well‐known 3D shapes.
Investigating Exchange Rate Exposure of Energy Firms: Evidence from Turkey

This study investigates the exchange rate exposure of Turkish energy firms from 2002 to 2010. We employed a regression model that is constructed by adding exchange rate and oil price factors to Fama-French Three Factor Model. Empirical results suggest that exchange rate risk appears to impact energy firms diversely. Among the 9 energy firms in our sample, only 2 firms seem to be exposed to exchange rate risk. These two energy firms appear to have larger open foreign currency positions and do not use any hedging methods. On the contrary, rest of the energy firms that are not found to be affected by exchange rate risk either seem to have smaller open foreign currency positions or employ hedging methods to manage exchange rate risk. Overall, our results provide evidence that energy firms exposed to exchange rate risk share similar characteristics.
Production of recombinant Bordetella pertussis serotype 2 fimbriae in Bordetella parapertussis and Bordetella bronchiseptica: utility of Escherichia coli gene expression signals

Serotype-specific fimbriae of Bordetella pertussis are considered potential components of new-generation vaccines against whooping cough. Attempts to characterize fimbriae, and indeed other virulence determinants, produced by B. pertussis have been frustrated on one hand by low yields from B. pertussis itself and on the other by an inability to produce native recombinant products in Escherichia coli. In order to try to circumvent this problem, we have examined the expression of B. pertussis serotype 2 fimbriae in Bordetella parapertussis and Bordetella bronchiseptica from native as well as E. coli expression signals. These studies revealed that the fimbrial gene product was expressed from the original B. pertussis promoter and Shine-Dalgarno sequence in both B. parapertussis and B. bronchiseptica. The transcriptional start site of the gene was located 146 nucleotides upstream of its ATG start codon. A recombinant fimbrial subunit gene containing PLAC and the atpE translation initiation region of E. coli was also expressed in B. bronchiseptica. In all cases in which gene expression was detected the gene product was expressed as serotype 2-specific fimbriae as determined by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) and immunoelectron microscopic investigation of the bacterial cell surface.
Novel Chiral Bis-Phosphoramides as Organocatalysts for Tetrachlorosilane-Mediated Reactions

The formation of novel chiral bidentate phosphoroamides structures able to promote Lewis base-catalyzed Lewis acid-mediated reactions was investigated. Two different classes of phosphoroamides were synthetized: the first class presents a phthalic acid/primary diamine moiety, designed with the aim to perform a self-assembly recognition process through hydrogen bonds; the second one is characterized by the presence of two phosphoroamides as side arms connected to a central pyridine unit, able to chelate SiCl4 in a 2:1 adduct. These species were tested as organocatalysts in the stereoselective allylation of benzaldehyde and a few other aromatic aldehydes with allyl tributyltin in the presence of SiCl4 with good results. NMR studies confirm that only pyridine-based phosphoroamides effectively coordinate tetrachlorosilane and may lead to the generation of a self-assembled entity that would act as a promoter of the reaction. Although further work is necessary to clarify and confirm the formation of the hypothesized adduct, the study lays the foundation for the design and the synthesis of chiral supramolecular organocatalysts.
Involvement of leukotrienes, TNF‐α, and the LFA‐1/ICAM‐1 interaction in substance P‐induced granulocyte infiltration

Substance P (SP) has been shown to mediate granulocyte infiltration into the mouse skin by inducing mast cell degranulation. In this study, using a variety of specific inhibitors, we investigated the cascade of events involved in the response of neutrophils and eosinophils to SP. The prostaglandin inhibitor, indomethacin, had little effect on SP‐induced leukocyte migration. In contrast, pretreatment with the leukotriene (LT) synthesis inhibitor, A‐64077, completely blocked neutrophil but not eosinophil migration in response to SP. Participation of tumor necrosis factor α (TNF‐α) and LFA‐1/ICAM‐1 interaction was confirmed by inhibition of SP‐induced leukocyte migration by pretreatment of mice with monoclonal antibodies to TNF‐α, LFA‐1, and ICAM‐1. Moreover, alteration in leukocyte migration by indomethacin was found to depend on the concentration of TNF‐α used. Indomethacin did not alter the number of leukocytes induced by low concentrations of TNF‐α (0.1 ng), but reduced the number of cells stimulated with high TNF‐α concentrations (1.0 ng). These results support the concept that SP modulates in vivo neuroinflammatory responses, as measured by granulocyte migration, initiating a cascade of events that includes LT production, TNF‐α secretion, and engagement of LFA‐1 and ICAM‐1. J. Leukoc. Biol. 61: 445–451; 1997.
Relevance of a positive crossmatch in liver transplantation

We studied 27 liver transplants in 24 patients performed between November 1984 and January 1988. We investigated retrospectively the importance of donor reactive HLA class I and class II and of non-HLA antibodies for graft survival in these patients. In order to determine the specificity and class of the antibodies, we used monoclonal antibodies to HLA-A,-B,-C and DR and DQ antigens to block cytotoxicity of sera and the reagent dithiothreitol to characterize the immunoglobulin class. We found that humoral immunity to HLA antigens in liver-grafted patients, demonstrable as the presence of cytotoxic antibodies reactive with donor splenic T and/or B cells in the pretransplantation period, is associated with significantly lower graft survival as compared with patients without demonstrable preformed HLA antibodies (P=0.01). In addition we found that a substantial proportion of patients had donor-reactive cytotoxic antibodies which were not HLA specific. Thus, our study shows that HLA immunity can influence liver allograft survival, and that it is useful to have patient cytotoxic antibodies characterized with regard to HLA reactivity prior to transplantation.
Awareness, perception and practice of stakeholders in India regarding Village Health and Nutrition Day

Background: Village Health and Nutrition Day (VHND) is a community-based health service package delivered on a fixed day approach. Services like early registration of pregnancy, regular antenatal care and postnatal care, growth monitoring and referral of sick children, discussion of health topics to generate awareness, and convergence between health and ICDS, are delivered every month at VHND at the Anganwadi Center. This study explores the awareness, perception and practice of service providers, and beneficiaries, regarding VHND. Materials and Methods: It was a cross-sectional study conducted in Odisha during December 2009–November 2010. Personal interviews were conducted at the VHND sessions with 111 beneficiaries and 45 service providers using a semi-structured schedule to know their awareness, perception and practice regarding VHND sessions. Data analysis was done and reported as simple percentages. Results: Most of the health worker females and anganwadi workers considered health awareness as a key component of VHND. 52% of HWFs and 41% of AWWs had misconception about additional roles and responsibilities. 34% of beneficiaries had knowledge regarding fixed day approach of VHND, while 24% did not have knowledge regarding any of its purpose. Only 8% of referral cases had complete knowledge on the reason of referral. There was significant difference in between awareness and practice among the blocks. Conclusion: Service providers’ orientation should be improved. Behavior change communication activities should also be increased by the state. Referral cases should be properly counseled. The community believed that such a program should continue with better package and quality of services.
Crosstalk suppression in a 650-V GaN FET bridgeleg converter using 6.7-GHz active gate driver

With switching transients as fast as 100 V/ns and a low threshold voltage of 1–2 V, GaN FETs in bridge-leg topologies are potentially vulnerable to crosstalk and the resultant unwanted partial turn-on, noise interference, and increased losses. Constant-strength gate drivers for GaN FETs limit switching speed to suppress crosstalk. In this work, active gate driving is shown to permit faster switching, whilst still suppressing crosstalk. This is demonstrated in a GaN FET bridge-leg converter. The control device transients are shaped to reduce crosstalk, whilst the synchronous device's gate impedance is actively varied to increase its immunity to crosstalk. This is carried out using two 6.7-GHz active gate drivers that can dynamically vary their output resistance from 0.12 Ω to 64 Ω every 150 ps during the sub-10-ns switching transients. It is demonstrated that unwanted turn-on is suppressed without incurring undershoot and oscillation in the gate, that negative spurious gate voltages can be greatly reduced, and that oscillations in the transient drain current are damped, without incurring additional loss.
Testing the Role of Country Image in Consumer Choice Behaviour

The role of country image in consumer choice behaviour is examined. Based on a previous view of country image as a “halo”, four hypotheses are developed and tested as to (1) the role of country image in consumers′ attitudes towards a brand, (2) its role in purchase intentions, (3) its role in product attribute ratings, and (4) the role of country image for a product category in other categories from the same country. The test results are mixed, supporting only the second and third hypotheses. Finally, theoretical and marketing implications of the findings are addressed.
The hidden causes of surgery-resistant temporal lobe epilepsy: extratemporal or temporal plus?

Temporal lobe epilepsy (TLE) surgery has benefited from several important advances during the past 2 decades, thanks to the development of neuroimaging and the identification of various predictors of favourable postoperative seizure outcome, including the presence of magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) signs of hippocampal sclerosis [1]. Accordingly, the rate of patients free from disabling seizures after TLE surgery (Engel class I) was found to improve over time when data gathered from 100 facilities were pooled [2]; 68% of 3579 anterior temporal lobectomies (ATLs) performed after 1986 resulted in a class I outcome, as compared with only 56% of 2336 ATL procedures performed before that date.
Transplanting Social Capital to the Online World: Insights from Two Experimental Studies

The recent proliferation of computer networks has stimulated the emergence of thousands of online communities. Facebook, which has grown to 175-million users in five years and recently surpassed megasite MySpace to become the world's largest social networking site, is a classic example. As the importance of online communities continues to grow, a good understanding of their success factors for building and sustaining a community becomes crucial. In this article, we apply social capital theories to examine the interactions among individuals and trust building at the initial development of an online community. Specifically, we postulate that offline social capital can be transplanted into an online community (small or large) to foster the development of trust and social norms that make a community thrive. We conduct two experimental studies: one in the context of real-world, small-scale online communities, and the other in the context of computer-simulated large-scale online communities. Results from these studies provide strong support for our proposition. We interpret these results and discuss their implications and contributions to theory and practice.
Strategic Human Rfesource Management in Indian it Companies: Development and Validation of a Scale*

In this paper, we have studied the range of Strategic Human Resource Management (SHRM) practices prevalent in the Indian IT industry through content analysis of the Chairperson's speech and Directors' report in the annual reports of 100 IT companies. A scale for strategic human resource practices is developed based on the literature and the SHRM practices prevalent in the Indian industries. This scale was then used to study the extent of SHRM in 100 IT companies. Factor analysis yielded three key facets of SHRM- Employee Growth, Performance Management and HR metrics. Performance Management is significantly correlated with the firm's market performance measured by Tobin's q.
Precise Documentation of Well-Structured Programs

Describes a new form of program documentation that is precise, systematic and readable. This documentation comprises a set of displays supplemented by a lexicon and an index. Each display presents a program fragment in such a way that its correctness can be examined without looking at any other display. Each display has three parts: (1) the specification of the program presented in the display, (2) the program itself, and (3) the specifications of programs invoked by this program. The displays are intended to be used by software engineers as a reference document during inspection and maintenance. This paper also introduces a specification technique that is a refinement of H.D. Mills's (1975) functional approach to program documentation and verification; programs are specified and described in tabular form. >
Implementation of Six Sigma approach to quality improvement in a multinational automotive parts manufacturer in India: a case study

Manufacturing managers in Indian companies are faced with fierce global competitive strategies by the shift of many multinational companies to India. They are forced to excel in all the domains of manufacturing including quality, cost, delivery, and flexibility. In this paper, by means of a case study, we illustrate how a multinational Indian corporation was able to successfully implement Six Sigma principles to improve its operations. The objective for presenting the case study is to assess the importance of Six Sigma strategy in Indian manufacturing companies.