Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Characterization and analysis of osteopontin-immobilized poly(2-hydroxyethyl methacrylate) surfaces.

A wide array of technologies exist for the characterization and quantification of molecules present at surfaces. We have used several of these experimental and instrumental techniques for the analysis of a novel biomaterial surface. Osteopontin, an extracellular matrix molecule involved in wound-healing processes, has been chosen as a relevant model protein to immobilize onto poly(2-hydroxyethyl methacrylate) [poly(HEMA)]. Electron spectroscopy for chemical analysis and time-of-flight secondary ion mass spectrometry were used to verify the surface chemistry and the presence of protein. Iodination of osteopontin yielded quantitative data supportive of dose-dependent immobilization. Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay was also used to investigate the presence of osteopontin on poly(HEMA). Finally, the cell adhesive properties of immobilized osteopontin were confirmed by using a bovine aortic endothelial cell adhesion assay. The use of multiple tools to characterize the many facets of a biomaterial surface will undoubtedly improve our understanding of the surface and facilitate the amelioration of in vivo performance.
Combined Effects of the p53 and p73 Polymorphisms on Lung Cancer Risk

Lung cancer is a multigenic disease where one variant single nucleotide polymorphism may have only a modest independent effect on the disease phenotype, yet in aggregate, multiple biologically relevant single nucleotide polymorphisms may provide a more accurate representation of risk. Polymorphisms in members of the p53 family, such as p53 and p73, that have a functional relevance would be predicted to contribute to the disease phenotype. In this analysis, we used genotype data from 863 lung cancer cases and 852 healthy controls to test for multigenetic effects of polymorphisms at p53 exon 4, introns 3 and 6, and at p73 exon 2. All individuals in this analysis were self-reported non–Hispanic Caucasians. When the p73 and p53 variant alleles were combined and analyzed as a continuous variable, there was a 13% increase [odds ratios (OR), 1.13; 95% confidence intervals (CI), 1.05-1.21] in lung cancer risk for each additional variant allele. Furthermore, when the number of variant alleles was categorized into three groups (zero, one to three, and four or more variants), there was evidence of a gene-dosage effect with increased risks for individuals with one to three variants (OR, 1.30; 95% CI, 1.05-1.61) and four or more variants (OR, 1.78; 95% CI, 1.23-2.56). When the data were stratified by smoking status, an increased risk for lung cancer was evident only in current (OR, 2.32; 95% CI, 1.25-4.33) and former smokers (OR, 1.73; 95% CI, 1.02-2.94) with four or more variants. Younger individuals with four or more variants were also at a significantly increased risk for lung cancer (OR, 3.15; 95% CI, 1.62-6.12). This study provides support for the multigenetic effects of variant alleles from p53 exon 4, and introns 3 and 6, and p73, and their interplay with smoking, resulting in a significantly increased risk for lung cancer in this Caucasian population. (Cancer Epidemiol Biomarkers Prev 2006;15(1):158–61)
The ten outsourcing traps to avoid

As businesses struggle to lower cost and grow revenues, outsourcing initiatives are underway in many small, medium, and large global companies. Outsourcing strategies are considered by many as a “silver bullet” to resolve organizational problems. They have been touted as the “holy grail” to reduce costs, focus on core business processes, improve product and service offerings, and speed up time to market. These benefits are only achieved by organizations that master the art of devising, deploying, and maintaining outsourcing relationships, for many these benefits remain elusive. The following article identifies the ten traps of outsourcing.
Comparing MTI randomization procedures to blocked randomization

Randomization is one of the cornerstones of the randomized clinical trial, and there is no shortage of methods one can use to randomize patients to treatment groups. When deciding which one to use, researchers must bear in mind that not all randomization procedures are equally adept at achieving the objective of randomization, namely, balanced treatment groups. One threat is chronological bias, and permuted blocks randomization does such a good job at controlling chronological bias that it has become the standard randomization procedure in clinical trials. But permuted blocks randomization is especially vulnerable to selection bias, so as a result, the maximum tolerated imbalance (MTI) procedures were proposed as better alternatives. In comparing the procedures, we have somewhat of a false controversy, in that actual practice goes uniformly one way (permuted blocks), whereas scientific arguments go uniformly the other way (MTI procedures). There is no argument in the literature to suggest that the permuted block design is better than or even as good as the MTI procedures, but this dearth is matched by an equivalent one regarding actual trials using the MTI procedures. So the ‘controversy’, if we are to call it that, pits misguided precedent against sound advice that tends to be ignored in practice. We shall review the issues to determine scientifically which of the procedures is better and, therefore, should be used. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
The Blue Water Footprint of Primary Copper Production in Northern Chile

Water consumption related to the life cycle of metals is seldom reported, even though mines are often situated in very dry regions. In this study we quantified the life cycle consumption of groundwater and fresh surface water (blue water footprint [WFblue]) for the extraction and production of high‐grade copper refined from both a copper sulfide ore and a copper oxide ore in the Atacama Desert of northern Chile. Where possible, we used company‐specific data.
Agricultural Research Expenditures And Agricultural Productivity Change

This note comments on the econometric analysis of the dynamic relationship between agricultural research expenditures and agricultural productivity change. The validity of the Almon restrictions, particularly endpoint restrictions, commonly imposed on the distributed lag is questioned. It is suggested that models incorporating such restrictions may lead to biased estimates of the effects of research spending. More fundamentally, doubts are raised as to whether any meaningful relationship between research spending and productivity change can be established from the available data.
An Experimental Evolutionary Study on Adaptation to Temporally Fluctuating pH in Escherichia coli

In this study, we use the bacterium Escherichia coli to examine evolutionary responses to environmental acidity fluctuating temporally among pH 5.3, 6.3, 7.0, and 7.8 (5,000–15 nM [H+]). Two experimental protocols of temporal variation were used. One group (six replicate lines) of populations evolved for 2,000 generations during exposure to a cycled regime fluctuating daily between pH 5.3 and 7.8. The other group (also in six replicate lines) evolved during exposure for 2,000 generations to a randomly shifting regime fluctuating stochastically each day among pH 5.3, 6.3, 7.0, and 7.8. Adaptation to these fluctuating acidity regimes was measured as a change in fitness relative to the common ancestor by direct competition experiments in both constant and fluctuating pH regimes. For comparisons with constant pH evolution, a group evolved at a constant pH of 5.3 and another group evolved at pH 7.8 were also tested. This study initiated the first long‐term laboratory natural selection experiment on adaptation to variable acidity and addressed key questions concerning patterns of adaptation (trade‐offs, specialists, generalists, plasticity, transitions, and acclimation) in temporally fluctuating environments.
Optimal vs. Traditional Securities under Moral Hazard

Abstract This paper provides an explanation for the widespread use of traditional securities by well-established firms. Standard moral hazard models predict that equity, debt, and warrants are almost never optimal financing instruments. I show that issuing these securities is, nevertheless, nearly optimal: the issuer would gain very little by using non-traditional securities instead. Combined with equity, one debt issue (without multiple layers of seniority) and one warrant issue (without multiple exercise prices) suffice to achieve near optimality. The near optimality of traditional financing depends crucially on the issuer's ability to use warrants in addition to debt and equity.
PERSONALITY DIFFERENCES IN SUBJECTIVEEFFECTS OF ALCOHOL: A DYNAMICEXAMINATION OF THE PATHWAYSEXPLAINING ALCOHOL-RELATED REWARD

Through decades of research scientists have found personality traits such as extraversion and sensation-seeking to represent robust risk factors for Alcohol Use Disorder (AUD). Results of survey studies suggest that extraverted individuals gain greater mood enhancement from consuming alcohol than introverted individuals. However, alcohol administration studies to date have not found evidence of alcohol reward-sensitivity among extraverts. Of note, prior alcohol administration studies have examined these (highly social) individuals consuming alcohol alone. In the present study I examined whether extraverted individuals gained greater reward from consuming alcohol in a laboratory-based social drinking paradigm and, further, whether social processes explained alcohol reward sensitivity among extraverts. Social drinkers (n = 720) consumed a moderate dose of alcohol, placebo, or control beverage in groups of three over the course of 36 minutes. Their social interaction was video-recorded, and Duchenne smiling was coded using the Facial Action Coding System. Results suggested that extraverted individuals gained significantly more self-reported mood enhancement from alcohol than introverts. Further, findings of moderated mediation analyses indicated that social processes accounted for alcohol reward-sensitivity among extraverts. Alcohol significantly increased duration of smiles that were shared between group members (simultaneous smiles), and the association between simultaneous smiles and self-reported reward was strongest among extraverts. There was a non-significant trend (p <.10) suggesting sensation seeking moderated the impact of alcohol, but the processes underlying alcohol reward did not differ according to sensation-seeking. Findings point to the importance of considering social processes in the study of individuals vulnerable to alcohol problems and further offer new directions for alcohol research that combines the study of individual differences with the study of mechanism.
Demonstration of The Leaky Lens Antenna at Submillimeter Wavelengths

This paper presents the first demonstration of the applicability of the leaky lens antenna concept at THz frequencies. The antenna is integrated with a Kinetic Inductance Detector, so that the two of them function as an ultra sensitive detector over a bandwidth ranging from 0.15 to 1.5 THz. The system has been manufactured and characterized in terms radiation pattern properties and frequency response. We find that the measurements agree very well with the calculations. This demonstrates the manufacturability of the Leaky Lens for use at THz frequency, opening the possibilities for novel broad-band detection concepts.
Stimulating the Demand for Insurance

This article acts as a review and also a guide to policymakers who are interested in understanding the determinants of insurance demand and how it affects general economic development. By providing a synopsis and evaluation of existing empirical research on the development of insurance markets, this article provides a discussion of the factors that promote insurance market development. This article then highlights certain issues that both insurance companies and policymakers can utilize further in their own markets to design future policies that can be geared to promote insurance market development.
An Evaluation of the BASICS Alcohol Risk Reduction Model Among Predominantly Hispanic College Students

Although Hispanic college students consume alcohol in equal proportion to other ethnic groups, studies have not examined whether established alcohol-risk-reduction approaches are effective in this population. Accordingly, this study examined effectiveness of the Brief Alcohol Screening and Intervention for College Students (BASICS) risk-reduction model for reducing alcohol consumption and related problems in two samples of predominantly Hispanic college students (N = 206 and 405). The study also examined whether factors such as gender, baseline risk level, and readiness to change moderated program impact. Students first participated in an in-depth assessment of drinking patterns followed by relatively brief intervention including psychoeducation and personalized normative feedback. Behavioral outcomes were assessed six months after the intervention and included alcohol-risk scores, alcohol consumption-related problems, consumption, drinking and driving frequency, and stage of change. Supporting the effectiveness of BASICS, both samples showed significant improvement across all these outcomes. Moderator analyses suggested greater program impact among heavier drinkers and among high in change contemplation at assessment. Overall, the results strongly support use of the BASICS intervention model among Hispanic students. The study's limitations are noted.
[Pharmacokinetics of paclitaxel and carboplatin in a hemodialysis patient with metastatic urothelial carcinoma--a case report].

A 69-year-old-man undergoing hemodialysis for 8 years developed metastatic urothelial carcinoma and received combination chemotherapy with paclitaxel and carboplatin. Paclitaxel 175 mg/m2 was given as a 3-hour intravenous infusion, and carboplatin was dosed to the area under the plasma concentration-time curve (AUC) of 5 mg.min/ml calculated according to the Calvert formula as a 30-minute intravenous infusion immediately after paclitaxel. Hemodialysis was started 1 hour after carboplatin, then their pharmacokinetics was determined in the patient. The AUC of paclitaxel and carboplatin were 15.2 and 64.56 micrograms.h/ml, respectively. The metastatic tumor size was reduced by more than 20% after 3 courses of this chemotherapy. Grade 3 neutropenia and grade 1 thrombopenia were observed. This is the first report that the combination of paclitaxel and carboplatin is feasible in a patient with metastatic urothelial carcinoma undergoing hemodialysis, with low toxicity and safety.
Pneumatic Interactive Gait Rehabilitation Orthosis: Design and Preliminary Testing

Motor rehabilitation techniques based on passive movement of the lower limbs have been developed over the past 15 years. Gait training automation is the latest innovation in these techniques. This paper describes the design and development of a pneumatic interactive gait rehabilitation orthosis (PIGRO), as well as the first experimental results obtained with healthy subjects. PIGRO consists of a modular and size-adaptable exoskeleton, pneumatic actuation systems for the six actuated degrees of freedom (DoF), and a control unit. The foot orthosis and ankle actuation can be removed and/or replaced with orthopaedic shoes so as to permit gait rehabilitation while advancing between parallel bars with ground contact and partial body weight support (i.e. not walking in place). Control logic provides closed-loop position control independently on each joint, with position feedback for each joint in real time. Imposed curves are physiological joint angles: it is also possible to choose between activating one or both legs and to modify curves to obtain different gait patterns if required. The paper concludes with a presentation of experimental results for the device's performance.
Inflation and Relative Price Variability in a Low Inflation Country: Empirical Evidence for Germany

Abstract The recent literature on the welfare cost of inflation emphasizes inflation’s effect on the variability of relative prices. Expected and unexpected inflation have both been proposed to increase relative price variability (RPV) and, thereby, to distort the information content of nominal prices. This paper presents new evidence on the impact of inflation on RPV in Germany. Our results indicate that the influence of expected inflation disappears if a credible monetary policy stabilizes inflationary expectations on a low level. Yet the significant impact of unexpected inflation suggests that even low inflation rates can lead to welfare losses by raising RPV above its efficient level.
SIRW: a web server for the Simple Indexing and Retrieval System that combines sequence motif searches with keyword searches

SIRW (http://sirw.embl.de/) is a World Wide Web interface to the Simple Indexing and Retrieval System (SIR) that is capable of parsing and indexing various flat file databases. In addition it provides a framework for doing sequence analysis (e.g. motif pattern searches) for selected biological sequences through keyword search. SIRW is an ideal tool for the bioinformatics community for searching as well as analyzing biological sequences of interest.
The Political Economy and Class Analytics of International Capital Flows: US Industrial Capital in the 1970s and 1980s

The weakening of working class and popular organisations that is often attributed to the growing power of transnational corporations is an aspect of a generalised restructuring of class relations in both core and periphery. With class, rather than power or wealth, as our theoretical entry point, it appears that the state retains influence over international flows of industrial and banking capital.
Examining the Level of Sophistication and Success of Destination Marketing Systems

Abstract Great variations have been observed in the sophistication, interactivity and quality of the destination marketing systems operated by destination marketing organizations (DMOs). This paper argues that DMOs' Website characteristics (i.e., sophistication and interactivity) have a great impact on the success of their online marketing activities. It also argues that DMOs' organizational factors not only determines the level of sophistication of their marketing system, but also defines the level of success with their Web-based marketing efforts. The study provides empirical evidence to support the notion that the sophistication level of destination marketing systems does positively impact the performance of DMOs' Web-based marketing efforts. The results of the study show that three organizational factors have the most impact on Web marketing success: technology competence, organizational innovativeness, and absorptive capacity. It also shows that two organizational factors have significant impact on Website sophistication: organizational innovativeness and financial commitment. Discussions and implications are provided based on the study results.
Is Direction Position? Position- and Direction-Based Correspondence Effects in Tasks with Moving Stimuli

Five experiments were carried out to test whether (task-irrelevant) motion information provided by a stimulus changing its position over time would affect manual left–right responses. So far, some studies reported direction-based Simon effects whereas others did not. In Experiment 1a, a reliable direction-based effect occurred, which was not modulated by the response mode—that is, by whether participants responded by pressing one of two keys or more dynamically by moving a stylus in a certain direction. Experiments 1a, 1b, and 2 lend support to the idea that observers use the starting position of target motion as a reference for spatial coding. That is, observers might process object motion as a shift of position relative to the starting position and not as directional information. The dominance of relative position coding could also be shown in Experiment 3, in which relative position was pitted against motion direction by presenting a static and dynamic stimulus at the same time. Additionally, we explored the role of eye movements in stimulus–response compatibility and showed in Experiments 1b and 3a that the execution or preparation of saccadic eye movements—as proposed by an attention-shifting account—is not necessary for a Simon effect to occur.
CORRUPTION: AN EMPIRICAL INVESTIGATION

This paper examines whether protectionist policies on the part of the government leads to increased corruption on part of the bureaucracy. A one-sector small open economy model is presented where corruption is shown to be increasing in tariffs and subsidies. Using multiple measures of corruption and trade policies, we find strong evidence suggesting that corruption is significantly higher in countries with activist trade and industrial policies. The cross-country results are checked for robustness to endogeneity concerns. Next, a panel-data based GMM methodology is used to estimate a dynamic model corruption. This estimator controls for unobserved country-specific effects, the potential endogeneity of trade policy and other variables, and the existence of measurement errors afflicting the corruption data. The paper strengthens the case for trade liberalization and argues that trade reforms are a means to undertake improvements in governance.
Functional lipidomics: Palmitic acid impairs hepatocellular carcinoma development by modulating membrane fluidity and glucose metabolism

Lipids are essential cellular components and energy sources of living organisms, and altered lipid composition is increasingly recognized as a signature of cancer. We performed lipidomic analysis in a series of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) cells and identified over 1,700 intact lipids originating from three major lipid categories. Comparative lipidomic screening revealed that 93 significantly changed lipids and decreased palmitic acyl (C16:0)–containing glycerophospholipids were positively associated with metastatic abilities of HCC cells. Furthermore, both in vitro and in vivo experiments demonstrated that C16:0 incubation specifically reduced malignant cell proliferation, impaired cell invasiveness, and suppressed tumor growth in mouse xenograft models. Biochemical experiments demonstrated that C16:0 treatment decreased cell membrane fluidity and limited glucose metabolism. A phosphoproteomics approach further revealed such C16:0 incubation attenuated phosphorylation levels of mammalian target of rapamycin (mTOR) and signal transducer and activator of transcription 3 (STAT3) pathway proteins. Multiple reaction monitoring analysis of 443 lipid molecules showed 8 reduced C16:0‐containing lipids out of total 10 altered lipids when cancer tissues were compared with adjacent nontumor tissues in a cohort of clinical HCC specimens (P < 0.05). Conclusion: These data collectively demonstrate the biomedical potential of using altered lipid metabolism as a diagnostic marker for cancerous cells and open an opportunity for treating aggressive HCCs by targeting altered C16:0 metabolism. (Hepatology 2017;66:432–448).