Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Role of CD4 endocytosis in human immunodeficiency virus infection

We have analyzed the role of CD4 endocytosis in human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) entry by measuring the infection of HeLa cells expressing various CD4 constructs with endocytosis rates of between 0.2 and 30%/min in a quantitative infectious focus assay. For a number of laboratory-adapted HIV-1 and HIV-2 strains, the highest levels of infection were found on cells with very limited CD4 endocytosis, while cells with efficient CD4 uptake were only poorly infectable, suggesting that CD4 internalization is not required for HIV entry. This was confirmed in a modified assay involving prebinding of HIV-1LAI to HeLa-CD4 cells at 4 degrees C, synchronized virus entry during warming to 37 degrees C, and neutralization of virions remaining at the cell surface with anti-V3 loop antibodies. Warming cells in hypertonic medium inhibited CD4 endocytosis but did not affect the rate or the extent of infection. These studies confirm that HIV infection does not require endocytosis and that laboratory-adapted virus strains can enter HeLa-CD4 cells by fusion at the plasma membrane.
Cyclopropanation of Membrane Unsaturated Fatty Acids Is Not Essential to the Acid Stress Response of Lactococcus lactis subsp. cremoris

ABSTRACT Cyclopropane fatty acids (CFAs) are synthetized in situ by the transfer of a methylene group from S-adenosyl-l-methionine to a double bond of unsaturated fatty acid chains of membrane phospholipids. This conversion, catalyzed by the Cfa synthase enzyme, occurs in many bacteria and is recognized to play a key role in the adaptation of bacteria in response to a drastic perturbation of the environment. The role of CFAs in the acid tolerance response was investigated in the lactic acid bacterium Lactococcus lactis MG1363. A mutant of the cfa gene was constructed by allelic exchange. The cfa gene encoding the Cfa synthase was cloned and introduced into the mutant to obtain the complemented strain for homologous system studies. Data obtained by gas chromatography (GC) and GC-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) validated that the mutant could not produce CFA. The CFA levels in both the wild-type and complemented strains increased upon their entry to stationary phase, especially with acid-adapted cells or, more surprisingly, with ethanol-adapted cells. The results obtained by performing quantitative reverse transcription-PCR (qRT-PCR) experiments showed that transcription of the cfa gene was highly induced by acidity (by 10-fold with cells grown at pH 5.0) and by ethanol (by 9-fold with cells grown with 6% ethanol) in comparison with that in stationary phase. Cell viability experiments were performed after an acidic shock on the mutant strain, the wild-type strain, and the complemented strain, as a control. The higher viability level of the acid-adapted cells of the three strains after 3 h of shock proved that the cyclopropanation of unsaturated fatty acids is not essential for L. lactis subsp. cremoris survival under acidic conditions. Moreover, fluorescence anisotropy data showed that CFA itself could not maintain the membrane fluidity level, particularly with ethanol-grown cells.
Treatment results of advanced neuroblastoma with the first Japanese study group protocol. Study Group of Japan for Treatment of Advanced Neuroblastoma.

PURPOSE To elucidate the efficacy of intensive induction and consolidation chemotherapy regimens (Study Group of Japan for Advanced Neuroblastoma [JANB] 85) for patients with advanced neuroblastoma aged 1 year or older. PATIENT AND METHODS One hundred fifty-seven patients with newly diagnosed advanced neuroblastoma were entered into this study between January 1985 and December 1990. Eligible patients were 12 months old or older with stage III or IV disease. The patients first received six cyclic courses of intensive induction chemotherapy (designated regimen A1) consisting of cyclophosphamide (1,200 mg/m2), vincristine (1.5 mg/m2), tetrahydro-pyranyl Adriamycin (pirarubicin; 40 mg/m2), and cisplatin (90 mg/m2). The patients were further treated with three different consolidation protocols: 3-[(4-amino-2-methyl-5-pyrimidinyl)methyl]-1-(2-chloroethyl)-1-nitrosour ea, dacarbazine, and bone marrow transplantation. RESULTS Overall survival rates for patients with stage III disease without reference to the consolidation protocols were 80.8%, 76.9%, and 66.3% at 2, 5, and 10 years, respectively. The overall survival rates for patients with stage IV disease were 58.8%, 34.4%, and 28.9% at 2, 5, and 10 years, respectively. There were no statistically significant differences between the three consolidation treatment groups. Patients who did not achieve complete remission (CR) with induction chemotherapy and surgery all died, suggesting that CR is essential for the cure of advanced neuroblastoma. The overall 5-year survival rate of the 24 patients with N-myc amplified stage III and IV disease was 33.3%, and the longest survival time of a relapse-free patient was 103 months. CONCLUSION The intensive induction chemotherapy regimen used in this study may be of significant value in increasing the CR rate and survival for patients with N-myc amplified and nonamplified advanced neuroblastoma.
What Drives Advertising Success on Facebook? An Advertising-Effectiveness Model

ABSTRACT Online social networks have challenged the current knowledge of advertising effectiveness. Using 12 months of aggregate-level, daily data from a major German e-commerce retailer, the authors of the current study analyzed four types of advertising stimuli on Facebook—“stream” (news feed) impressions, page views, “Likes,” and user contributions—to determine their short-term and long-term impact on sales. Access to the data provided an opportunity to integrate a direct-aggregation approach that accounted for time lags between user activity and sales effects. This research builds on an earlier framework for studying how advertising works (Vakratsas and Ambler, 1999), reflecting changes brought on by emerging online channels.
DeepSearch

Content-based image retrieval (CBIR) is one of the most important applications of computer vision. In recent years, there have been many important advances in the development of CBIR systems, especially Convolutional Neural Networks (CNNs) and other deep-learning techniques. On the other hand, current CNN-based CBIR systems suffer from high computational complexity of CNNs. This problem becomes more severe as mobile applications become more and more popular. The current practice is to deploy the entire CBIR systems on the server side while the client side only serves as an image provider. This architecture can increase the computational burden on the server side, which needs to process thousands of requests per second. Moreover, sending images have the potential of personal information leakage. As the need of mobile search expands, concerns about privacy are growing. In this article, we propose a fast image search framework, named DeepSearch, which makes complex image search based on CNNs feasible on mobile phones. To implement the huge computation of CNN models, we present a tensor Block Term Decomposition (BTD) approach as well as a nonlinear response reconstruction method to accelerate the CNNs involving in object detection and feature extraction. The extensive experiments on the ImageNet dataset and Alibaba Large-scale Image Search Challenge dataset show that the proposed accelerating approach BTD can significantly speed up the CNN models and further makes CNN-based image search practical on common smart phones.
Investigating the Sufficiency of Geographic Diversi fication in Limiting Contract Grower Risk

Despite the volatile environment farmers are exposed to, lending institutions continue to seek methods of expanding their portfolio into agriculture. These inroads have been limited due to the risks associated with lending to farmers who lack traditional forms of collateral and face price and yield risk. However, market-based instruments are readily available for price risk. The use of these instruments, and multi peril crop insurance products, is expensive and does not provide full protection for financial lending institutions to limit their credit risk exposure. The article determined whether geographic diversification would be sufficient for lending institutions as a risk management tool to limit credit risk.
FSH response-dose can be predicted in ovulation induction for normogonadotropic anovulatory infertility.

OBJECTIVE To evaluate the ability of a prediction model to identify the individual starting dose of FSH for ovulation induction using a step-down regimen. DESIGN Retrospective analysis of clinical data in an academic fertility unit. Fifty-six normogonadotropic anovulatory infertile patients who failed to ovulate or conceive with clomiphene citrate were included. They were treated with exogenous gonadotropins with a flexible starting dose for ovulation induction using a step-down regimen. The clinically applied starting dose of exogenous gonadotropins was compared with the calculated response-dose using a previously published prediction model. RESULTS Patients were arbitrarily divided into three groups according to the day of the first decrease in gonadotropin dose: (a) early step-down (day 3 or earlier); (b) standard step-down (day 4 or later); (c) no step-down. These groups had average starting doses of 28.5 IU (group a) and 13 IU (group b) above the calculated response-dose, and 43 IU (group c) under the calculated response-dose. A significant correlation between day of first step-down and the difference between clinically applied and calculated response-dose was observed (P<0.0001, F-test for ANOVA). CONCLUSIONS The patient group with the best step-down profile for ovulation induction exhibited the closest match between the clinically applied and calculated starting dose of gonadotropins. Therefore, this study provides support for the concept that the individual effective FSH starting dose for gonadotropin induction of ovulation in anovulatory infertile patients can be predicted on the basis of initial screening characteristics, such as body mass index, clomiphene resistance or failure, free IGF-I and FSH. This may result in more effective patient treatment protocols, reduced complication rates and health-economic benefits.
State Aid, Open Access and Market Size: Two Cases of FTTH Network Implementation in Dutch Municipalities

The discussion on the EU regulatory framework of 2003 in particular on emerging markets provides for a new dynamic approach towards investment in next generation broadband infrastructure in municipalities. By using the criterion of non-replicable assets, FTTH networks in local municipalities can be characterized as a new infrastructure which is aimed at providing new services which should be exempted from ex ante regulation. However, to justify public investment in these networks in particular in 'black areas' their compatibility with Article 87 of the EC Treaty has to be guaranteed. In this context, the paper uses the examples of two FTTH networks in local communities in the Netherlands to show that (different) open access agreements are vital but not sufficient to guarantee service competition. We show that for small networks public investment in the start up phase of the network is required to facilitate a multiple supplier environment.
Sales Manager Behavior-Based Control and Salesperson Performance: The effects of Manager Control Competencies and Organizational Citizenship Behavior

Sales management control strategy attracts considerable research attention because of its importance to achieving superior salesperson performance. However, the research stream on this topic evaluates the type of control exercised by sales managers (e.g., behavior versus outcome based) and the level of control. First, this paper introduces the construct of sales manager control competencies and examines not simply how much control managers exercise, but how well they implement control. Second, the paper examines the role of sales manager organizational citizenship behavior in the implementation of control. Sales manager control competencies is examined as a moderator of the relationship between control and salesperson performance, and sales manager organizational citizenship behavior as a mediator of the control-performance relationship. The study findings provide provocative new insights into the implementation of sales management control. Relevant new research directions and managerial implications are identified.
USE OF LOW-LEVEL LASER THERAPY ( LLLT ) FOR TREATMENT OF THE PATIENTS WITH A CANCER OF A ESOPHAGUS T 3 N 0 MX

In this part of work at 20 patients received the laser therapy (LLLT) in a combination with external radial therapy under the radical program (1group), 15 patients (2 groups) received only one laser therapy , the control group consist of 18 men receiving only external radial therapy on the radical program (3 groups), 10 patients received only symptomatic therapy (4 groups). The stage of disease T3N0MX and spent treatment in skilled and control groups was identical. Radial therapy carried out on kettles "Lutch-1" and "Agat? " on a procedure from three fields (1 parasternal, 2 and 3 juxtaspinal under an angle of 40 degrees to a backbone) with a single dose till 90 % on doses by a curve 1,8 Gr and cooperative dose 64-66 Gr. The irradiation was carried out 5 days per one week with a break 2 days. A GaAs semiconductor laser (wavelength 890 nm., pulsed mode, pulse power 5-10 W.) was used for laser therapy. Laser therapy carried out after leading to a tumor of a dose 15-20 Gr. The sessions LLLT carried out 3 times per one week in day. A cooperative dose 5,8 J/cm2 The analysis of lifespan of the patients in group receiving LLLT with radial therapy and in control group has shown, that use of laser therapy increases lifespan of the patients: 1 group up to 10,28 ±2,03 months, in 2 groups up to 11,4 ±3,02 months, in 3 groups it makes 7,35 ±2,4 months, in 4 groups 6,3 ± 1,94 months. Use LLLT allows to reduce quantity of occurrence of complications after radiation therapy in 2,9 times.
Is it all about the Price? Decision Drivers Affecting Ad Placement of Media Planners in Magazines

Abstract Advertising is the main resource of revenue for publishing houses. With the increasing number of advertising media and the development of the internet, however, selling advertising space has become a key challenge. Nevertheless, selling processes in the media industry have not yet been thoroughly analyzed. This article explores the determinants of selling advertising space in magazines, by applying a structural equation model theoretically based on the “4Ps” approach. It shows that not only the rate for an ad is decisive for whether media planners choose magazines for advertisements but also other factors as the editorial environment and service quality.
Fast Visual Object Tracking Using Modified kalman and Particle Filtering Algorithms in the Presence of Occlusions

In the present day real time applications of visual object tracking in surveillance, it has become extremely complex, time consuming and tricky to do the tracking when there are occlusions are present for small duration or for longer time and also when it is done in outdoor environments. In these conditions, the target to be tracked can be lost for few seconds and that should be tracked as soon as possible. As from the literature it is observed that particle filter can be able to track the target robustly in different kinds of background conditions, and it‘s robust to partial occlusion. However, this tracking cannot recover from large proportion of occlusion and complete occlusion, to avoid this condition, we proposed two new algorithms (modified kalman and modified particle filter) for fast tracking of objects in the presence of occlusions. We considered the complete occlusion of tracking object and the main objective is how fast the system is able to track the object after the occlusion is crossed. From the experimental results, it is observed that the proposed algorithms have shown good improvement in results compared to the traditional methods.
Decision Tree Construction for Genetic Applications Based on Association Rules

A decision tree is an effective means of data classification from which rules can be both expressive and precise. However decision tree is only applicable in the applications that the data is expressed with attribute-value pairs. Since genetic data are not attribute-pairs, the only method that we know of to make decision-tree for them is based on a greedy graph-based data mining algorithm known as DT-GBI. Due to its greedy nature, some of the important rules may be missed. Even though recently some attempts to make the algorithm complete has been presented, the computational complexity of algorithm increased so much that is not appropriate for practical purposes. In this paper we present an approach to make decision tree for DNA based data, which basically uses regular association-rule algorithms. Thus it has computational complexity which is much more tractable. Our contribution in this paper is to convert DNA based problems to regular data mining methods and by this conversion we present a method that can be applied to all classes of classification based on association rules.
Optimum and suboptimum channel estimation for the uplink of CDMA mobile radio systems with joint detection

In the present paper, channel estimation in the uplink of CDMA mobile radio systems with burst transmission applying joint detection is considered. The different radio channels are estimated at the receiver using known midamble codes. Either maximum-likelihood, i.e. optimum, or suboptimum channel estimation can be realized at the receiver. Several methods for constructing code sets for the simultaneously active users are proposed. It is shown that the structure of the channel estimator for a multi-user synchronous CDMA mobile radio system is the same as for a single-user system when the mid amble codes of the users are segments derived from a single basic code. Furthermore, it is shown that the channel estimator can be implemented as a correlator when the midamble codes are constructed from a periodic basic code. Finally, the effect of noisy channel estimation, i.e. the presence of channel estimation errors, on the detected data is examined.
Tax Shelters, Tax Havens and Permanently Reinvested Earnings

We examine the relationship between corporate subsidiaries located in tax haven countries, the parent firms’ tax sheltering activity, and permanently reinvested earnings. We measure tax shelter intensity with tax reserves established under ACS 740-10 for uncertain tax positions that are unlikely to be upheld upon audit. In the sample of 768 Fortune 1000 firms, each firm has, on average, 84 subsidiaries in 19 locations, with 8 subsidiaries in tax haven countries. Firms with larger amounts of permanently reinvested earnings show greater tax shelter intensity; for every $1 billion in permanently reinvested earnings, firms increase tax reserves for uncertain positions by $20.6 million. After controlling for the level of permanently reinvested earnings, we find that firms’ tax shelter intensity increases with the number of tax haven jurisdictions in which they establish subsidiaries. In additional analysis controlling for industry, foreign operations and tax burden, we find tax shelter intensity increases for firms having subsidiaries located in four tax havens: British Virgin Islands, Hong Kong, Malta and Singapore.
Liposomes in drug delivery: a patent review (2007 – present)

Introduction: Drug therapy is frequently limited by the widespread biodistribution of the active agents and the little specificity for non-healthy cells. Therefore, inadequate drug concentrations result into the site of action, and severe toxicity may also arise. To address the problem, liposome-based medicines have tried to improve pharmacotherapy. Areas covered: The review provides an updated revision of the lately published patents covering recent advances in liposome-based drug delivery. They are principally related to the control of drug biodistribution by using stealth, stimuli-sensitive and/or liposomal structures surface modified for ligand-mediated delivery. The contribution further highlights liposome-based theranosis. Expert opinion: Liposomes have received great attention given their biocompatibility, biodegradability and targetability. From 2007 to present date, patent publications related to their use in drug delivery have shown the move towards more stable structures with optimized drug delivery capabilities, further combining passive and active targeting concepts to gain control of the in vivo fate. However, the introduction of all these liposomal structures in the disease arena is still a challenge. Two key aspects are the difficulty of identifying easy and economic synthesis conditions which can be scaled up in the pharmaceutical industry, and the need for complementary investigations illustrating risks of toxicity/immunogenicity.
The Bionanoprobe: Synchrotron-Based Hard X-ray Fluorescence Microscopy for 2D/3D Trace Element Mapping

Trace elements, particularly metals, play an important role in a large variety of cellular processes in a biological system. In the context of biological organisms and tissues, the term trace element means that over the entire organism an element is present at only trace levels, say 100 ppm or lower. Trace element distribution and content can be analyzed using several techniques, for example, visible light optical fluorescence imaging, energy-dispersive x-ray spectroscopy on an electron microscope, synchrotron-based x-ray fluorescence (XRF) imaging, secondary-ion mass spectrometry, and laser ablation inductively coupled with mass spectrometry. Comprehensive reviews on these techniques are given by Lobinski et al. [1] and McRae et al. [2]. Among these techniques, synchrotron-based XRF microscopy, particularly utilizing third-generation x-ray sources and advanced x-ray focusing optics, offers the most suitable capabilities to perform trace element studies of biological samples: The penetrating power and non-destructive nature of x-rays allows one to image many-micron-thick biological samples such as biological whole cells in a way that visible light or electron microscopes cannot; the sensitivity of x-ray-induced XRF is down to parts per million, several orders of magnitude better than standard electron-based techniques due to the absence of bremsstrahlung background in x-ray-induced x-ray emission. The capability of imaging frozen samples in both 2D and 3D with sub-50 nm resolution in various x-ray modes has greatly advanced a broad range of scientific studies. This article describes how this technique can be used to track the incorporation of nanocomposites into cancer cells.
Customers' Perception about the Determinants of Service Quality of Foreign and Domestic Banks: An Empirical Study on Bangladesh

This paper investigates the determinants of perceived service quality among the customers of domestic and foreign banks in Dhaka, Bangladesh using a modified version of SERVQUAL model. It finds that in general the foreign banks provided marginally better measures in most of the dimensions than did the domestic banks. For domestic private banks reliability, communication, credibility, security, and tangibility are found to be significantly affecting the service quality. On the other hand, for foreign banks, reliability, credibility, and tangibility are the only significant factors affecting their service quality. Keywords: Determinants of Service quality; Banking industry; Bangladesh; SERVQUAL Model. DOI: http://dx.doi. org/10.3329/jbt.v6i1. 9991 Journal of Technology (Dhaka) Vol. 6(1), January-June, 2011 1-14