Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
The hazard of acid differentiation in Gomori's method for acid phosphatase.

In his original method for the histochemical demonstration of acid phosphatase, Gomori prescribed differentiation of incubated sections by rinsing them in 14% aqueous acetic acid, to remove the nonspecifically precipitated lead deposits. According to him, the enzymatically produced lead phosphate is not washed out by this procedure. As a result of recent improvements in tissue preparation and shorter incubation time, this staining reaction as it is used now is quite sensitive to an acetic acid wash. If this wash is used as recommended originally, it may completely abolish a truly positive reaction. To avoid falsely negative results, and to compare sections of normal and pathological tissue, omission of this differentiation by acetic acid is essential. The risk of mistaking nonspecific lead precipitates in the interpretation of a positive reaction is very small, and can be avoided by running a negative control slide in which no lead phosphate can be produced enzymatically.
Retroactive interference and amount of original learning in verbal and motor tasks.

Abstract Earlier work has indicated that the relationship between amount of original learning (OL) and the subsequent retroactive inhibition (RI) was negative for verbal tasks and positive for motor tasks. The data from three earlier studies were reanalyzed and, when RI was measured as the mean decrement in performance in all studies, the relationship between OL and RI was positive for both motor and verbal tasks. However, relative RI score produced differences among the various findings, and an explanation was provided in terms of ceiling effects for the tasks. This reanalysis seems to indicate that a single theory of forgetting can be explanatory for both motor and verbal responding.
Probabilistic Topic Models for Graph Mining

Author(s): Cha, Young Chul | Advisor(s): Cho, Junghoo | Abstract: In this research, we extend probabilistic topic models, originally developed for a textual corpus analysis, to analyze a more general graph. Especially, we extend them to effectively handle: (1) a bias caused by a limited number of frequent nodes ("popularity bias"), and (2) complex graphs having more than two entity types.For the popularity bias problem, we propose LDA extensions and new topic models explicitly modeling the popularity of a node with a "popularity component". In extensive experiments with a real-world Twitter dataset, our approaches achieve significantly lower perplexity (i.e., better prediction power) and improved human-perceived clustering quality compared to LDA.To analyze more complex graphs, we propose a novel universal topic framework that takes an "incremental" approach of breaking a complex graph into smaller units, learning the topic group of each entity from the smaller units, and then "propagating" the learned topics to others. In a DBLP prediction problem, our approach achieves the best performance over many state-of-the-art methods. We also demonstrate huge potential of our approach with search logs from a commercial search engine.
A Programmable 0.18-$\mu\hbox{m}$ CMOS Electrochemical Sensor Microarray for Biomolecular Detection

A configurable electrochemical sensor microarray system-on-a-chip fabricated in a standard digital 0.18-mum complementary metal-oxide-semiconductor (CMOS) process is presented. Each pixel within this 5times10 array occupies a 160 mumtimes120 mum area and contains a differential electrochemical transducer with a programmable sensor. The sensor has a digitally configurable topology capable of performing different electroanalytical measurements for a variety of affinity-based biomolecular sensing applications. The main modes of operation for this system are impedance spectroscopy, voltammetry, potentiometry, and field-effect sensing
THE CANADIAN JOURNAL OF NEUROLOGICAL SCIENCES

Dysphagia is a common complication of cerebral infarction and is associated with aspiration pneumonia. According to previous studies, the frequency of dysphagia in patients with lateral medullary infarction (LMI) and medial medullary infarction (MMI) is 35% to 69%1,2 and 11% to 78%1-3, respectively. Nevertheless, dysphagia as the only presentation of medullary infraction has rarely been reported. We report a case of isolated severe dysphagia after a small posterolateral medullary infarct.
Virulence factors of Acinetobacter baumannii environmental isolates and their inhibition by natural zeolite

Acinetobacter baumannii is an emerging human pathogen causing great concern in hospitals. There are numerous studies regarding the virulence factors that contribute to the pathogenesis of A. baumannii clinical isolates, whereas data regarding environmental isolates are missing. The virulence factors (biofilm formation at the air-liquid/solid-liquid interfaces and surface motility) of A. baumannii isolated from natural environment were determined. The influence of natural zeolite (NZ) on the expression of virulence factors was examined by addition of 1 and 10% of NZ into the growth medium. In total 24 environmental isolates of A. baumannii were recovered from different stages of the secondary type of municipal wastewater treatment plant. 14 isolates were multi-drug resistant, while 10 of them were sensitive to all antibiotics tested. Isolates sensitive to antibiotics were statistically significantly more hydrophobic and formed stronger biofilm and pellicles than multi-drug resistant isolates. Biofilm and pellicle formation were statistically significantly positive correlated with hydrophobicity of cells. Biofilm formation and twitching motility were significantly inhibited by the addition of 1% of NZ into the growth medium due to the immobilization of bacterial cells onto NZ particles, while pellicle formation and swarming motility were inhibited only by the addition of 10% of NZ. NZ is a promising material for the reduction of the A. baumannii virulence factors and could find application in control of the adherence and subsequent biofilm formation of this emerging pathogen on abiotic surfaces.
Electrotransformation of Clostridium thermocellum

ABSTRACT Electrotransformation of several strains of Clostridium thermocellum was achieved using plasmid pIKm1 with selection based on resistance to erythromycin and lincomycin. A custom-built pulse generator was used to apply a square 10-ms pulse to an electrotransformation cuvette consisting of a modified centrifuge tube. Transformation was verified by recovery of the shuttle plasmid pIKm1 from presumptive transformants of C. thermocellum with subsequent PCR specific to the mls gene on the plasmid, as well as by retransformation of Escherichia coli. Optimization carried out with strain DSM 1313 increased transformation efficiencies from <1 to (2.2 ± 0.5) × 105 transformants per μg of plasmid DNA. Factors conducive to achieving high transformation efficiencies included optimized periods of incubation both before and after electric pulse application, chilling during cell collection and washing, subculture in the presence of isoniacin prior to electric pulse application, a custom-built cuvette embedded in an ice block during pulse application, use of a high (25-kV/cm) field strength, and induction of the mls gene before plating the cells on selective medium. The protocol and preferred conditions developed for strain DSM 1313 resulted in transformation efficiencies of (5.0 ± 1.8) × 104 transformants per μg of plasmid DNA for strain ATCC 27405 and ∼1 × 103 transformants per μg of plasmid DNA for strains DSM 4150 and 7072. Cell viability under optimal conditions was ∼50% of that of controls not exposed to an electrical pulse. Dam methylation had a beneficial but modest (7-fold for strain ATCC 27405; 40-fold for strain DSM 1313) effect on transformation efficiency. The effect of isoniacin was also strain specific. The results reported here provide for the first time a gene transfer method functional in C. thermocellum that is suitable for molecular manipulations involving either the introduction of genes associated with foreign gene products or knockout of native genes.
Draft Genome Sequence of a Novel Bacterial Strain, LSJC7, Belonging to the Family Enterobacteriaceae with Dual Resistance to Arsenic and Tetracycline

ABSTRACT Strain LSJC7, with dual resistance to arsenic and tetracycline, was isolated from an antimony tailing in China. Its 16S rRNA gene sequence has the highest similarity to that of Enterobacter cloacae subsp. dissolvens LMG 2683T (97.02%). Here we present the approximately 4.6-Mbp draft genome sequence of strain LSJC7.
Propensity score matched assessment of treatment patterns and cost of erythropoiesis stimulating agent treatment in patients with cancer receiving myelosuppressive chemotherapy

Objective: To examine epoetin alfa (EPO) and darbepoetin alfa (DARB) treatment patterns and erythropoiesis stimulating agent (ESA) costs in patients with cancer receiving chemotherapy (CRC), and to compare the results observed in the pre-matched total study population (TSP) with a propensity score matched population (PSMP). Methods: A medical claims analysis was conducted from 1 January 2004 through 31 July 2009 using the HealthCore Integrated Research Database. Patients were at least 18 years old, newly initiated on EPO or DARB, received ≥ 2 ESA doses, and had ≥ 1 claim for cancer and chemotherapy proximate to ESA treatment. Patients were matched using propensity scores. January 2010 Wholesale Acquisition Cost was used to calculate drug cost. Mean cumulative ESA dose and drug costs were evaluated in the TSP and PSMP. Results: 4921 EPO and 9173 DARB patients with CRC were identified. In the TSP, mean cumulative ESA doses were EPO: 398,770 units and DARB: 1508 mcg, with similar treatment durations for each. Mean cumulative drug costs were EPO: $6041 and DARB: $7861 (30% higher for DARB). The cumulative dose ratio (EPO units: DARB mcg) was 264:1. The PSMP analysis identified 4831 ESA treated CRC patients in each group. Mean drug costs were EPO: $6055 and DARB: $7863 (30% higher for DARB). The observed dose ratio (EPO units: DARB mcg) was 265:1. Conclusion: In both analyses, the costs of DARB were higher, even after accounting for baseline differences in the PSMP. Similar trends in dose ratios were also observed in both groups.
Mimicry of Apoptotic Cells by Exposing Phosphatidylserine Participates in the Establishment of Amastigotes of Leishmania (L) amazonensis in Mammalian Hosts1

Signaling through exposed phosphatidylserine (PS) is fundamental for the TGFβ1-dependent, noninflammatory phagocytosis of apoptotic cells. This same mechanism operates in the internalization of amastigotes of Leishmania (L) amazonensis (L(L)a) in a process quoted as apoptotic mimicry. Now we show that the host modulates PS exposure by the amastigotes and, as a consequence, BALB/c mice-derived amastigotes expose significantly more PS than those derived from C57BL/6 mice. Due to this difference in the density of surface PS molecules, the former are significantly more infective than the latter, both in vivo, in F1 (BALB/c × C57BL/6) mice, and in vitro, in thioglycollate-derived macrophages from this same mouse strain. PS exposure increases with progression of the lesion and reaches its maximum value in amastigotes obtained at the time point when the lesion in C57BL/6 mice begins to decrease in size and the lesions in BALB/c mice are still growing in size. Synthesis of active TGFβ1, induction of IL-10 message, and inhibition of NO synthesis correlate with the amount of surface PS displayed by viable (propidium iodide-negative) infective amastigote. Furthermore, we also show that, similar to what happens with apoptotic cells, amastigotes of L(L)a are internalized by macropinocytosis. This mechanism of internalization is consistent with the large phagolysosomes characteristic of L(L)a infection. The intensity of macrophage macropinocytic activity is dependent on the amount of surface PS displayed by the infecting amastigote.
Combining BET and HDAC inhibitors synergistically induces apoptosis of melanoma and suppresses AKT and YAP signaling

Histone acetylation marks have an important role in controlling gene expression and are removed by histone deacetylases (HDACs). These marks are read by bromodomain and extra-terminal (BET) proteins and novel inhibitiors of these proteins are currently in clinical development. Inhibitors of HDAC and BET proteins have individually been shown to cause apoptosis and reduce growth of melanoma cells. Here we show that combining the HDAC inhibitor LBH589 and BET inhibitor I-BET151 synergistically induce apoptosis of melanoma cells but not of melanocytes. Induction of apoptosis proceeded through the mitochondrial pathway, was caspase dependent and involved upregulation of the BH3 pro-apoptotic protein BIM. Analysis of signal pathways in melanoma cell lines resistant to BRAF inhibitors revealed that treatment with the combination strongly downregulated anti-apoptotic proteins and proteins in the AKT and Hippo/YAP signaling pathways. Xenograft studies showed that the combination of inhibitors was more effective than single drug treatment and confirmed upregulation of BIM and downregulation of XIAP as seen in vitro. These results support the combination of these two classes of epigenetic regulators in treatment of melanoma including those resistant to BRAF inhibitors.
Detection of Gamma-Ray Emission from the Vela Pulsar Wind Nebula with AGILE

Pulsar Wind Nebula Pulsar wind nebulae are the result of the interaction between the wind of relativistic charged particles emitted by pulsars and their surrounding interstellar medium. Using the AGILE satellite, Pellizzoni et al. (p. 663, published online 31 December) detected extended gamma-ray emission between 100 megaelectron volts and 3 gigaelectron volts from the 10,000-year-old Vela pulsar wind nebula. This detection sets constraints on the relativistic particle wind of pulsars, its energetic content, and its interactions with the surrounding medium. It also suggests that pulsar wind nebulae could form a subset of the yet unidentified galactic gamma-ray sources. Pulsar wind nebulae could account for some of the yet unidentified Galactic gamma-ray sources. Pulsars are known to power winds of relativistic particles that can produce bright nebulae by interacting with the surrounding medium. These pulsar wind nebulae are observed by their radio, optical, and x-ray emissions, and in some cases also at TeV (teraelectron volt) energies, but the lack of information in the gamma-ray band precludes drawing a comprehensive multiwavelength picture of their phenomenology and emission mechanisms. Using data from the AGILE satellite, we detected the Vela pulsar wind nebula in the energy range from 100 MeV to 3 GeV. This result constrains the particle population responsible for the GeV emission and establishes a class of gamma-ray emitters that could account for a fraction of the unidentified galactic gamma-ray sources.
Improvement of Emotion Recognition from Voice by Separating of Obstruents

Previous researchers in the area of emotion recognition have classified emotion from the whole voice. They did not consider that emotion features vary according to the phoneme. Hence, in the present work, we study the characteristics of phonemes in emotion features. Based on the results, we define the obstruents effect, which is a negative effect resulting from increased feature values. We then recognize emotion from the voice by separating obstruents rather than from the whole voice. By separating obstruents, we could improve the emotion recognition rate by about 4.3%
Coping and caring: support for family caregivers of stroke survivors.

AIMS AND OBJECTIVES This study examines the physical and emotional burden experienced by caregivers of stroke survivors, compared with caregivers of patients having neurological diseases. BACKGROUND Stroke survivors have residual neurological impairment, which requires long-term support and care. Anxiety, depression and poor physical health are common sequelae among family caregivers of stroke survivors. There is a reasonably consistent association between patients' levels of disability and emotional state and the emotional distress of their caregivers. DESIGN A convenience sample of 47 families was recruited: of the 47 families, 23 had a member who suffered from stroke and 24 had a member with neurological disease. METHOD Two interviews were conducted at three and six months after the occurrence of the index stroke or neurological disease. RESULTS When the two groups of caregivers were compared for anxiety, depression and physical health status after care giving, the caregivers of stroke patients demonstrated higher levels of anxiety and depression than their counterparts in the neurological disease group (p < 0.001). However, there was no significant difference in physical health status between the two groups. Educational attainment, patient group and physical and cognitive impairment of the patients were the predictors of anxiety and the depressive status of the caregivers, while their age and level of depression contributed significantly to their physical health status. CONCLUSION The physical and emotional well-being of two groups of family caregivers in a neurosurgical unit were compared in the caring context. The caregivers of stroke survivors are at a greater risk of developing poor physical and emotional health than the caregivers of patients having neurological diseases. RELEVANCE TO CLINICAL PRACTICE The results illustrated that enhanced discharge planning and nurse follow-up sessions are considered essential in maintaining the well-being of the stroke caregivers and bridging the gap between the hospital and the community.
Building Employees ’ Engagement through Leadership , Human Resources Management Practices and Organizational Culture

Competition in the business world is getting tougher. This circumstance requires employees who have good engagement because employees having good engagement will have high morale, spread positive information about the organization for which they work, and always strive to provide the best for the organization. Leadership and human resource management practices within an organization shape employees’ perceptions, attitudes, and behavior. Similarly, the organizational culture, shared values, governs the behavior patterns of the organizations members. This research aims to develop a development model of employees’ engagement through leadership and human resource management practices through organizational culture that supports employees’ engagement. The data were collected by using questionnaires involving 111 students working in companies in the Jakarta, Bogor, Tangerang and Bekasi (Jabodetabek) as research respondents. The data were analyzed by using structural equation modeling (SEM) with AMOS program. The results showed that leadership and human resource management practices have a significant positive effect on employee engagement through organizational culture. Human resource management practices directly influence employees’ engagement, but the leadership has no significant direct effect on employees’ engagement.
Revenues, State Formation, and the Quality of Governance in Developing Countries

Sources of state revenue have a major impact on patterns of state formation. This proposition from fiscal sociologyis valid and convincing in the context of western European history and comparisons among contemporary states in the South. This article investigates the extent to which we can conclude that the quality of governance in contemporary developing countries might improve if states were more dependent for their financial resources on domestic taxpayers. The radically different context of contemporary third-world states cautions against too firm conclusions.
Toward A Fully Integrated Neurostimulator With Inductive Power Recovery Front-End

In order to investigate new neurostimulation strategies for micturition recovery in spinal cord injured patients, custom implantable stimulators are required to carry-on chronic animal experiments. However, higher integration of the neurostimulator becomes increasingly necessary for miniaturization purposes, power consumption reduction, and for increasing the number of stimulation channels. As a first step towards total integration, we present in this paper the design of a highly-integrated neurostimulator that can be assembled on a 21-mm diameter printed circuit board. The prototype is based on three custom integrated circuits fabricated in High-Voltage (HV) CMOS technology, and a low-power small-scale commercially available FPGA. Using a step-down approach where the inductive voltage is left free up to 20 V, the inductive power and data recovery front-end is fully integrated. In particular, the front-end includes a bridge rectifier, a 20-V voltage limiter, an adjustable series regulator (5 to 12 V), a switched-capacitor step-down DC/DC converter (1:3, 1:2, or 2:3 ratio), as well as data recovery. Measurements show that the DC/DC converter achieves more than 86% power efficiency while providing around 3.9-V from a 12-V input at 1-mA load, 1:3 conversion ratio, and 50-kHz switching frequency. With such efficiency, the proposed step-down inductive power recovery topology is more advantageous than its conventional step-up counterpart. Experimental results confirm good overall functionality of the system.
Capsule function following anterior dislocation: Implications for diagnosis of shoulder instability

During shoulder dislocation, the glenohumeral capsule undergoes non‐recoverable strain, leading to joint instability. Clinicians use physical exams to diagnose injury and direct repair procedures; however, they are subjective and do not provide quantitative information. Our objectives were to: (1) determine the relationship between capsule function following anterior dislocation and non‐recoverable strain; and (2) identify joint positions at which physical exams can be used to detect non‐recoverable strain in specific capsule regions. Physical exams were simulated at three joint positions including external rotation (ER) using robotic technology before and after anterior dislocation. The resulting joint kinematics, strain distribution in the capsule, and non‐recoverable strain were determined. Following dislocation, anterior translation increased by as much as 48% (0° ER: p = 0.03; 30° ER: p = 0.03; 60° ER: p < 0.01). Capsule sub‐regions with less non‐recoverable strain required more ER to detect differences in the strain ratios between the intact and injured joint. Strain ratio changes on the humeral side of the posterior axillary pouch (0.31 ± 0.32) were significant at all joint positions (0° ER: p = 0.03; 30° ER: p = 0.048; 60° ER: p = 0.04), whereas strain ratio differences on the humeral side of the anterior axillary pouch (0.18 ± 0.21) were significant only at 60° of ER (p = 0.03). Therefore, standardizing physical exams for joint position could help surgeons identify specific locations of non‐recoverable strain that may have been ignored. © 2013 Orthopaedic Research Society. Published by Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Orthop Res 31: 962–968, 2013