Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Generation of genipin cross-linked fibrin-agarose hydrogel tissue-like models for tissue engineering applications

The generation of biomimetic and biocompatible artificial tissues is the basic research objective for tissue engineering (TE). In this sense, the biofabrication of scaffolds that resemble the tissues’ extracellular matrix is an essential aim in this field. Uncompressed and nanostructured fibrin-agarose hydrogels (FAH and NFAH, respectively) have emerged as promising scaffolds in TE, but their structure and biomechanical properties must be improved in order to broaden their TE applications. Here, we generated and characterized novel membrane-like models with increased structural and biomechanical properties based on the chemical cross-linking of FAH and NFAH with genipin (GP at 0.1%, 0.25%, 0.5% and 0.75%). Furthermore, the scaffolds were subjected to rheological (G, G′, G″ modulus), ultrastructural and ex vivo biocompatibility analyses. Results showed that all GP concentrations increased the stiffness (G) and especially the elasticity (G′) of FAH and NFAH. Ultrastructural analyses demonstrated that GP and nanostructuration of FAH allowed us to control the porosity of FAH. In addition, biological studies revealed that higher concentration of GP (0.75%) started to compromise the cell function and viability. Finally, this study demonstrated the possibility to generate natural and biocompatible FAH and NFAH with improved structural and biomechanical properties by using 0.1%–0.5% of GP. However, further in vivo studies are needed in order to demonstrate the biocompatibility, biodegradability and regeneration capability of these cross-linked scaffolds.
Intra-Industry Trade and Labor Market Adjustment in Taiwan

This paper investigates the relationship between intra-industry trade (IIT) expansion and labor market adjustment in Taiwan. We adopt a panel data set containing detailed employment information and utilize various measures of labor market adjustment to conduct empirical estimations. After controlling for industry-specific effects and occupational composition, the empirical results demonstrate that IIT expansion does have a smoothing effect on labor market adjustment. Moreover, industries with abundant skilled workers experience lower employment adjustment costs.
Pengembangan Identitas Organisasi sebagai Strategi Bisnis

This research aimed to explore how an organizational identity was used as business strategy for private TV station. Qualitative approach with traditional grounded theory was used as research design. The data were collected through observation, interview and document analysis. The study found that organizational identity can be useful as business strategy to gain market positioning. This research also emphasized a model of identity development that can be used as business strategy. Keywords: business strategy, organizational identity, TV station
Optimal test for Markov switching

We propose a new test for the stability of parameters in a Markov switching model where regime changes are driven by an unobservable Markov chain. Testing in this context is more challenging than testing in structural change and threshold models because, besides the presence of nuisance parameters that are not identified under the null hypothesis, there is the additional difficulty due to the singularity of the information matrix under the null. We derive a class of information matrix-type tests and show that they are equivalent to the likelihood ratio test. Hence, our tests are asymptotically optimal. Besides their optimality properties, these tests are more general than the competing tests proposed by Garcia (1998) and Hansen (1992). Indeed, the underlying Markov chain driving the regime changes may have a finite or continuous state space, as long as it is exogenous. It is not restricted to linear models either. Therefore, our technique applies for instance to testing stability in random coefficient GARCH models. We use this test to investigate the presence of rational collapsing bubbles in stock markets. There is bubble if the stock price is disconnected from the market fundamental value. We regress the stock price on dividends and use the residual as proxy for the bubble size. Using US data, we find that the residuals are stationary, which could be hastily interpreted as evidence against the presence of bubbles. However, our Markov switching test strongly rejects the linearity, suggesting that at least two regimes should be used to fit the data. Estimating a two-state Markov switching model (Hamilton, 1989) reveals that one regime has a unit root, while the other is mean reverting, which is consistent with periodically collapsing bubbles
Effect of maternal Tp53 gene G412C polymorphism on neural tube defects: A study from North India

CONTEXT: Tumor protein 53 (tp53) is one of the candidate gene proposed for neural tube defects, which affects central nervous system during early embryonic development, on the basis of mouse models. AIMS: The present study is an attempt to unfold the possible role of tp53 G412C polymorphism in the incidence of neural tube defect (NTDs) in humans. SETTINGS AND DESIGN: Case-control study was carried out in government hospitals of Delhi, India. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Subjects comprised of 100 mothers of NTD children and 100 matched control mothers. Information on some environmental exposures was collected along with blood samples. After DNA extraction, the genotyping of tp53 G412C polymorphism was carried out by PCR-RFLP method. Statistical Analysys: Fisher Exact or Chi square test, binary logistic model, and odds ratio (95% confidence interval) calculations were used to evaluate effect of risk factors on NTDs using SPSS v17.0. RESULTS: The ‘CC’ genotype of tp53 G412C showed protective effect towards the development of anencephaly and/or encephalocele (OR: 0.44; 95% CI: 0.19-1.00); however, no significant difference among overall NTD cases and controls was observed (P>0.05). Further segregation of all subjects based on 2 different communities, Hindus and Muslims, the association of ‘CC’ genotype of the polymorphism with reduced NTD risk was observed among Hindu community (OR: 0.33; 95% CI: 0.13-0.79). CONCLUSION: The study highlights the selective advantage provided by maternal ‘CC’ genotype, thereby reducing risk of cephalic NTDs, probably due to the lower apoptotic activity of the protein, however, more specifically in the presence of community-specific microenvironment.
Instantaneous Power Quality Indices Based on Single-Sideband Modulation and Wavelet Packet-Hilbert Transform

Diverse conditions in power systems, such as massive use of nonlinear loads, continuous switching and operation of large electrical loads, and the integration of renewable energies, among others, have adversely affected the power quality (PQ) because they produce undesirable distortions in the waveforms of voltage and current. The conventional way to quantify the PQ is using the PQ indices (PQIs). Yet, the nonstationary properties of voltage and current signals degrade the PQIs estimation whenever classical techniques are used. In this paper, a methodology based on single-sideband modulation method and the Wavelet and Hilbert transforms for the estimation of instantaneous PQIs is proposed. It is shown that the proposal yields better tracking of transitory changes in the voltage/current signals than classical techniques such as the short-time Fourier transform. The PQIs used are the root-mean-square values, frequency, total harmonic distortion, active power, reactive power, apparent power, distortion power, power factor, and total power factor. PQIs performance is validated using synthetic and real signals.
Decreasing mortality rate in early pneumonia following hematopoietic stem cell transplantation

Pulmonary complications after allogeneic hematopoietic stem-cell transplantation (HSCT) remain 1 of the most important causes of morbidity and mortality. This study evaluates the change over time of incidence, aetiology and risk factors for death related to pneumonia within 3 months after HSCT. 997 patients who underwent HSCT were studied retrospectively. Most patients (83%) had a haematological malignancy. The majority (89%) had an HLA-A, -B, and -DR matched related or unrelated donor. Conditioning consisted of cyclophosphamide and total-body irradiation or busulfan and graft-versus-host disease prophylaxis of cyclosporin and methotrexate in most cases. Death related to pneumonia occurred in 56 (5.6%) patients. Cytomegalovirus (37%) was the main pathogen involved, especially during the first 2 decades studied. In the multivariate risk factor analysis, we found that death from pneumonia was significantly associated with receiving a T-cell depleted graft (p<0.001), bacteraemia (p=0.001), and y of transplantation (p<0.001). In patients receiving a transplant during the last decade, the incidence of death related to pneumonia was 2.8% compared to 8.9% during the first decade. We conclude that the rate of mortality related to pneumonia has decreased over time, possibly as a result of improved diagnostic, prophylactic and therapeutic methods and treatment.
Population pharmacokinetics of a single intramuscular administration of tulathromycin in adult desert tortoises (Gopherus agassizii).

Tulathromycin, a long acting macrolide antibiotic, has demonstrated efficacy against respiratory pathogens including Mycoplasma bovis and M. hyopneumoniae. A pharmacokinetic study was performed to evaluate the clinical applicability of tulathromycin in desert tortoises following a single intramuscular dose of 5 mg/kg. A single blood sample was collected from 110 different desert tortoises at 0.25, 0.5, 1, 4, 8, 24, 48, 72, 120, and 240 h following drug administration. Plasma concentrations of the parent form of tulathromycin were measured using liquid chromatography/mass spectrometry. As each tortoise was only bled once, pharmacokinetic parameters were initially estimated using a naïve pooled data approach. Given the variability in the data, population-based compartmental modeling was also performed. Using nonparametric population compartmental modeling, a two-compartment model with first-order absorption and elimination best fit the data. An observed Cmax of 36.2 ± 29.7 μg/mL was detected at 0.25 h (observed Tmax ). The elimination half-life (T½el ) was long (77.1 h) resulting in detectable plasma concentrations 240 h postadministration. This study represents a preliminary step in evaluating the utility of tulathromycin in chelonian species and demonstrates that population data modeling offers advantages for estimating pharmacokinetic parameters where sparse data sampling occurs and there is substantial variability in the data.
My mother caused my illness: the story of a survivor of Münchausen by proxy syndrome.

OBJECTIVE Münchausen by proxy syndrome (MBPS) is a form of child abuse in which a parent fabricates or produces illness in a child. Although the medical consequences of MBPS have been well described, there is no detailed published account of what it was like to grow up in a family where the mother systematically induced serious illness. This article describes one victim's childhood experiences. METHODS The medical history was obtained from a review of the original medical records, notes from the primary physician, discussions with two physicians who provided treatment, and several meetings with the victim and the victim's therapist. RESULTS This article chronicles the actual experiences of an MBPS victim through 8 years of medical abuse at the hands of her mother, reveals the victim's account of what happened to her, describes what her family was like, details the long-term consequences on emotional and physical development, identifies the factors that influence recovery, and details the impact on family relationships. CONCLUSIONS Child maltreatment and MBPS need to be part of the differential diagnosis when the clinical picture is atypical or does not appear medically plausible. The consequences of MBPS are psychological and physical and impact the entire family. Suggestions to assist heath care providers recognize, assess, and report cases of suspected MBPS are provided.
‘Monday will never be the same again’: the transformation of employment and work in a public-private partnership

Under the public-private partnership (PPP) programme, private sector finance, management expertise and innovation are used in ‘partnership’ to modernize public services. However, advocates fail to account for the differing aims and responsibilities of the public and private sectors, in that private companies plan to make a profit out of non-profit public sector organizations. There is a paucity of critical empirical research into new ‘partnership’ forms of privatization and the implications that these have for employment and work. This article will examine the PPP of National Savings and Investments (NS&I) and some of the initiatives introduced and problems encountered, which resulted in the creation of a multi-tier workforce, together with the insourcing, outsourcing and the first ever offshoring of UK Government work to India.
Taste and olfactory processing in the brain and its relation to the control of eating.

Taste processing in primates through the nucleus of the solitary tract and the primary taste cortex is shown to represent the identity and intensity of taste inputs. In contrast, in the secondary taste cortex in the orbitofrontal area, single neurons respond to the taste of a food only if hunger is present. The neurons here reflect the reward value of taste. They show sensory-specific satiety. In addition to neurons with best responses to sweet, salt, bitter, and sour, there are separate representations of the taste of protein ("umami") and of astringency (e.g., tannic acid). In the orbitofrontal cortex, olfactory inputs converge onto neurons with taste inputs, forming representations of flavor. Neurons in this region may also respond to the sight of food and to its texture. The olfactory representation for some neurons reflects the taste association of odors; and olfactory sensory-specific satiety is represented in this part of the brain. Rapid learning of visual-to-taste associations is also a feature of the neural processing that occurs in the orbitofrontal cortex.
Derivation and solution of effective medium equations for bulk heterojunction organic solar cells

A drift-diffusion model for charge transport in an organic bulk heterojunction solar cell, formed by conjoined acceptor and donor materials sandwiched between two electrodes, is formulated. The model accounts for (i) bulk photogeneration of excitons, (ii) exciton drift and recombination, (iii) exciton dissociation (into polarons) on the acceptor–donor interface, (iv) polaron recombination, (v) polaron dissociation into a free electron (in the acceptor) and a hole (in the donor), (vi) electron/hole transport and (vii) electron–hole recombination on the acceptor–donor interface. A finite element method is employed to solve the model in a cell with a highly convoluted acceptor/donor interface. The solutions show that, with physically realistic parameters, and in the power generating regime, the solution varies little on the scale of the micro-structure. This motivates us to homogenise over the micro-structure; a process that yields a far simpler one-dimensional effective medium model on the cell scale. The comparison between the solution of the full model and the effective medium (homogenised) model is very favourable for applied voltages less than the built-in voltage (the power generating regime) but breaks down as the applied voltages increases above it. Furthermore, it is noted that the homogenisation technique provides a systematic way to relate effective medium modelling of bulk heterojunctions [19, 25, 36, 37, 42, 59] to a more fundamental approach that explicitly models the full micro-structure [8, 38, 39, 58] and that it allows the parameters in the effective medium model to be derived in terms of the geometry of the micro-structure. Finally, the effective medium model is used to investigate the effects of modifying the micro-structure geometry, of a device with an interdigitated acceptor/donor interface, on its current–voltage curve.
Identification of the latex test-reactive protein of Clostridium difficile as glutamate dehydrogenase

Computer analysis showed that the gene encoding the latex test-reactive protein of Clostridium difficile exhibited high levels of homology with glutamate dehydrogenases from various sources. Further analysis demonstrated that the recombinant protein possessed glutamate dehydrogenase activity. Our results show that the protein that reacts in commercial latex tests for C. difficile is a glutamate dehydrogenase.
Design of a Traffic-Aware Governor for Green Routers

Today the reduction of energy consumption in telecommunications networks is one of the main goals to be pursued by manufacturers and researchers. In this context, the paper focuses on routers that achieve energy saving by applying the frequency scaling approach. The target is to propose an analytical model to support designers in choosing the main configuration parameters of the Router Governor in order to meet Quality of Service (QoS) requirements while maximizing energy saving gain. More specifically, the model is used to evaluate the input traffic impacts on the choice of the active router clock frequencies and on the overall green router performance. A case study based on the open NetFPGA reference router is considered to show how the proposed model can be easily applied to a real case scenario.
Inverse dynamics analysis of the pelvic limbs in Labrador Retrievers with and without cranial cruciate ligament disease.

OBJECTIVES To quantify net joint moments, joint powers, and joint reaction forces (JRF) across the hock, stifle, and hip joints in Labrador Retrievers with and without cranial cruciate ligament (CCL) disease. To investigate differences in joint mechanics between normal, CCL deficient, and contralateral pelvic limbs. STUDY DESIGN Cross-sectional clinical study. ANIMALS Clinically normal (n=14) and CCL-deficient (n=9) Labrador Retrievers. METHODS Each limb was analyzed separately and classified as normal, CCL-deficient or sound contralateral limb. Kinematic, ground reaction force (GRF), and morphometric data were combined in an inverse dynamic approach to compute hock, stifle and hip net moments, powers and JRF, while trotting. RESULTS Vertical and braking GRF and JRF were significantly decreased in CCL-deficient limbs. In affected limbs, extensor moments at the hock and hip, flexor moment at the stifle and power in all 3 joints were less than normal. Kinetics also identified a greater joint moment and power of the contralateral limbs compared with normal, particularly of the stifle extensor muscles group. CONCLUSION Lameness resulting from CCL disease affected predominantly reaction forces during the braking phase and the extension during push-off. A greater contribution of the contralateral limbs to propel the dog forward was identified. CLINICAL RELEVANCE Reductions in joint motion, loads, and muscle contraction were interpreted as modifications adopted to reduce or avoid painful mobilization of the injured stifle joint. The increased joint moment and power of the contralateral compensating side may correlate with the lameness observed, but also with the predisposition of contralateral limbs to CCL deficiency in dogs.
Staged Development in Xinjiang

At the turn of the century, the Xinjiang Uighur Autonomous Region moved from a phase of accelerated integration by the centre, which typified the decade of the 1990s, to a phase of consolidation of the advances made during this period. The intertwined dimensions of state building and nation building embedded in the campaign to Open Up the West respond to the long-term strategic goal of placating the threat of ethno-nationalist unrest. This “staged development” of Xinjiang reflects in essence a classic process of peripheral territorial integration by the central state. Yet, the dynamics of penetration and resistance between the centre and what still remains an indigenous periphery can be expected to generate at the same time both increased sinicization and increased ethno-national unrest.
Genetic susceptibility to symptomatic norovirus infection in Nicaragua

Host genetic resistance to Norovirus (NoV) has been observed in challenge and outbreak studies in populations from Europe, Asia, and USA. In this study, we have investigated if histo‐blood group antigens can predict susceptibility to diarrhea caused by NoV in Nicaragua, Central America, and if this can be reflected in antibody‐prevalence and titer to NoV among individuals with different histo‐blood group antigen phenotypes. Investigation of 28 individuals infected with NoV and 131 population controls revealed 6% of non‐secretors in the population and nil non‐secretors among patients infected with NoV, suggesting that non‐secretors may be protected against NoV disease in Nicaragua. Surprisingly, 25% of the population was Lewis negative (Lea−b−). NoV infections with genogroup I (GI) and GII occurred irrespective of Lewis genotype, but none of the Lewis a positive (Lea + b−) were infected. The globally dominating GII.4 virus infected individuals of all blood groups except AB (n = 5), while the GI viruses (n = 4) infected only blood type O individuals. Furthermore, O blood types were susceptible to infections with GI.4, GII.4, GII.7, GII.17, and GII.18‐Nica viruses, suggesting that secretors with blood type O are susceptible (OR = 1.52) and non‐secretors resistant. The overall antibody‐prevalence to NoV GII.3 VLP was 62% with the highest prevalence among blood type B carriers (70%) followed by A (68%) and O (62%). All four investigated individuals carrying blood type AB were antibody‐negative. Among secretors, 63% were antibody‐positive compared to 33% among non‐secretors (P = 0.151). This study extends previous knowledge about the histo‐blood group antigens role in NoV disease in a population with different genetic background than North American and European. J. Med. Virol. 81:728–735, 2009 © 2009 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Group strength, accountability and growth under dictatorship

This article tests the hypothesis that group power affects development policy by holding dictators accountable through different mechanisms. New data on dictators’ modes of exit for the period 1946—2000 allow us to estimate the predicted likelihood that a given authoritarian head of government will be toppled by the elite, the military or the citizenry. When the predicted odds are used as a measure of group strength, the results of simple growth regressions reveal that a stronger citizen opposition or a greater military threat compels the ruler to improve economic growth rates. In contrast, elite power is negative for growth, although it turns positive when a country reaches a certain level of industrialized development.
Toward the DNA Library of Life

The special set of papers entitled “DNA Library of Life” constitutes an outcome of the project “Bibliotheque du vivant” (BdV), which aims to promote the molecular taxonomy of eukaryotes by offering research teams the possibility to produce and manage a molecular library linked with specimens deposited in natural history museums. The project was funded by three French institutions (the CNRS, INRA and MNHN), and provided access to the sequencing power offered by the Genoscope for 105 teams between 2011 and 2013. It was subsequently supported by the CNRS through the “Groupement de Recherche Genomique Environnementale”. The scientific objectives of this programme were threefold: 1) species delimitation among species complexes; 2) phylogenetic reconstruction (including phylogenomics); and 3) metabarcoding and improving NGS methods for systematic purposes. Within the present collection, 19 papers contribute to these objectives across a large taxonomic range and a worldwide geographic coverage. These papers propose taxonomic novelties (22 new species and 3 new genera) in both animal and plant taxa.