Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
TAT-NEP1-40 as a novel therapeutic candidate for axonal regeneration and functional recovery after stroke

Currently available therapeutics has been less effective in promoting functional recovery from stroke or other injuries in the central nervous system (CNS). Axonal damage is a characteristic pathology seen in CNS injuries. Previously, it was reported that Nogo-A extracellular peptide residues 1-40 (NEP1-40), a competitive antagonist of Nogo-66 receptor (NgR1), has the ability to promote axonal regrowth and functional recovery after CNS injury. However, delivery of the therapeutic proteins into the brain parenchyma is limited due to its inability to cross the blood–brain barrier (BBB). We first generated a biologically active NEP1-40 fusion protein containing the protein transduction domain (PTD) of the transactivator of transcription (TAT), TAT-NEP1-40, which crosses the BBB in vivo after systemic delivery. The TAT-NEP1-40 can protect PC12 cells against oxygen and glucose deprivation (OGD) and promote neurite outgrowth when added exogenously to culture medium. The TAT-NEP1-40 protein transduced into the brain continued to sustain biological activities and protected the brain against ischemia/reperfusion injury through inhibition of neuronal apoptosis. Collectively, our data suggest that TAT-NEP1-40 may be a novel therapeutic candidate for axonal regeneration and functional recovery from CNS injuries such as cerebral hypoxia-ischemia, cerebral hemorrhage, brain trauma, and also for spinal cord injury.
A phase II randomized study of HIV-specific T-cell gene therapy in subjects with undetectable plasma viremia on combination antiretroviral therapy.

Highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART) can suppress HIV replication to undetectable levels in plasma, but it is unlikely to eradicate cellular reservoirs of virus. Immunotherapies that are cytolytic may be useful adjuncts to drug therapies that target HIV replication. We have generated HIV-specific CD4(+) and CD8(+) T cells bearing a chimeric T-cell receptor (CD4zeta) composed of the extracellular and transmembrane domain of human CD4 (which binds HIVgp120) linked to the intracellular-zeta signaling chain of the CD3 T-cell receptor. CD4zeta-modified T cells can inhibit viral replication, kill HIV-infected cells in vitro, and survive for prolonged periods in vivo. We report the results of a phase II randomized trial of CD4zeta gene-modified versus unmodified T cells in 40 HIV-infected subjects on HAART with plasma viral loads <50 copies/ml. Serial analyses of residual blood and tissue HIV reservoirs were done for 6 months postinfusion. No significant between-group differences were noted in viral reservoirs following therapy. However, infusion of gene-modified, but not unmodified, T cells was associated with a decrease from baseline in HIV burden in two of four reservoir assays and a trend toward fewer patients with recurrent viremia. Both groups experienced a treatment-related increase in CD4(+) T-cell counts.
Experience from a real-life cohort: outcome of 606 patients with hepatocellular carcinoma following transarterial chemoembolization

Abstract Background: Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is one of the most lethal cancers. Transarterial chemoembolization (TACE) has been accepted as the standard care for intermediate stage disease. Methods: In this study, we characterized 606 with HCC patients from Hannover Medical School treated with TACE. Results: 606 with HCC patients treated with TACE were identified between 2000 and 2015. Most patients (59.8%) were at intermediate stage. Following TACE, most patients subsequently received systemic therapy or best supportive care (BSC), whereas 227 (37.5%) patients were bridged to potentially curative local treatments. Depending on subsequent therapies, median post-TACE survival ranged from 7 to 162 months. Ascites, cholinesterase, c-reactive and alpha-feto protein and tumor size were identified as prognostic factors. These factors as well as the HAP, mHAP-II and STATE score also determined post-TACE survival independent of subsequent therapies. Hepatic function progressively deteriorated with repeated TACE sessions. Despite that, post-TACE survival was not shortened in frequently treated patients (≥5 times) as compared to patients treated 4 times or less (p = not significant [n.s.]). Patients treated ≥5 times with TACE received significantly more often systemic therapy following TACE (37.3%) as compared to patients with 3–4 (30.1%), 2 (27.4%) and 1 (21.8%) sessions (p < .05). Conclusion: TACE is performed in a heterogeneous population as bridging therapy to other local treatments and palliative therapy. The long-term survival following TACE is determined by baseline tumor, patient-related factors and by subsequent therapies. Post-TACE survival is not shorter in patients with frequent treatments (≥5), and the rate of subsequent systemic treatments is higher compared to less frequently treated patients.
Changes in Ocular Subfoveal Choroidal Thickness After Carotid Endarterectomy Using Enhanced Depth Imaging Optical Coherence Tomography: A Pilot Study

The influence of both severe chronic carotid stenosis and carotid endarterectomy (CEA) on ocular tissue has been poorly evaluated. The goal of this study was to measure subfoveal choroidal thickness (SFCT), before and after CEA, in patients with severe carotid stenosis. Consecutive patients (n = 36) with severe carotid stenosis were prospectively included. Patients (n = 19) were followed up at 1 and 3 months after CEA. The SFCT was measured bilaterally using enhanced depth imaging optical coherence tomography (EDI-OCT). Preoperatively, the median SFCT of the ipsilateral eye did not differ significantly from the contralateral eye (223 vs 236 µm; P = .75). In the ipsilateral eye, the mean SFCT was significantly higher at 1 month postsurgery and the effect was maintained at 3 months (226.3 ± 17.1 at 3 months vs 210.8 ± 16.5 µm at baseline; P < .001). For the contralateral eye, the increase in SFCT reached statistical significance at 3 months (220.1 ± 11.3 at 3 months vs 214.8 ± 11.5 µm at baseline; P = .04). The mean SFCT significantly increased bilaterally after CEA, with a more noticeable effect in the ipsilateral eye. Further studies are required to determine whether EDI-OCT could be useful as a potential marker of ophthalmologic outcomes.
Periodontal pathogens Porphyromonas gingivalis and Fusobacterium nucleatum promote tumor progression in an oral-specific chemical carcinogenesis model

Oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC) is a lethal disease whose incidence is increasing. Epidemiologic studies demonstrate an association between periodontitis and oral cancer, and periodontal pathogens are implicated in the pathogenesis of numerous disorders, including rheumatoid arthritis, cardiovascular diseases, diabetes and gastrointestinal malignancies. Nevertheless, a causal role for periodontal pathogens in OSCC has not been shown, partly due to the lack of an appropriate animal model. Here, utilizing a newly-established murine model of periodontitis-associated oral tumorigenesis, we report that chronic bacterial infection promotes OSCC, and that augmented signaling along the IL-6-STAT3 axis underlies this effect. Our results indicate that periodontal pathogens P. gingivalis and F. nucleatum stimulate tumorigenesis via direct interaction with oral epithelial cells through Toll-like receptors. Furthermore, oral pathogens stimulate human OSCC proliferation and induce expression of key molecules implicated in tumorigenesis. To the best of our knowledge, these findings represent the first demonstration of a mechanistic role for oral bacteria in chemically induced OSCC tumorigenesis. These results are highly relevant for the design of effective prevention and treatment strategies for OSCC.
A highly integrated high-voltage bi-directional switch

In recent years, a bondwire-less integration approach has been demonstrated for vertical power devices [1]. It is based on the use of bumps (e.g. small blocks of copper) to connect the top of vertical power components. This enables a significant improvement in power density and performance compared with standard modules, the major benefits being a dramatic reduction of the stray inductance and the possibility for double-sided cooling. The approach of [1] was extended to stacked device integration in [2], which proposed a prototypal half-bridge switch design. In this paper, an approach is presented which advances the previous work by implementing a front-to-front device stacking concept, thus resulting in an improved utilization of space, optimized device performance and a more simplified assembly process. As a case study, the design and implementation of a high-voltage bi-directional switch is considered, and upon which preliminary functional tests are carried out.
Inside Sales Force and Gender: Mediating effects of intrinsic motivation on sales controls and performance

B2B sales organizations are experiencing inside sales growth as well as increased importance and utilization of the inside salesperson. This dynamic role change towards inside sales is resulting in organizations re-thinking their sales control structure. Such topics as how gender influences the way sales managers motivate their inside sales force to what forms of motivation are most impactful are important considerations in the design and implementation of more effective sales control systems. To fill this gap, this research empirically investigates B2B inside salespersons and the moderating influences of gender on the sales control and job performance relationship. Comprising this study is an evaluation of a two group subsample moderation on the mediating effect of intrinsic motivation, both challenge seeking and task enjoyment, on the model relationships. Practitioners will benefit from this research as the need for greater understanding of how role and gender variables along with control systems and intrinsic motivation work together in the design and implementation of various sales control systems.
Entropy-based Assessment of Written Albanian Language*

Abstract The entropy analysis of a printed language is vital for a wide range of applications, such as compression, written text recognition, text processing, and encryption. In this paper, we present empirical results on the entropy of written Albanian language based on a frequency analysis of letters, digrams, trigrams, and for orthographic words of length one, two and three characters. This work represents the first attempt at calculating some statistics for the Albanian language. Our sample consists of more than 1.86 million letters with a total of 433,366 words obtained electronically from various sources – newspapers, journals, books, and websites – and comes from different applications such as business, politics, health, religion, sports, literature, and history. Because the real probability distribution of Albanian language n-grams is not known, we consider our calculated (trigram) entropy of 3.2972 as an upper bound estimate for the true entropy of the Albanian language. We established that words of one, two, and three characters represent nearly 43% of the total language volume, which is comparable to the English language.
Service audit of a forensic rehabilitation ward

An open forensic rehabilitation ward provides an important link bridging the gap between secure and community provisions. This paper provides an audit of such a service by examining the records of an open forensic rehabilitation ward over a five-year period from 1 June 2000 until 31 May 2005. During the audit period there were 51 admissions, involving 45 different patients, and 50 discharges. The majority of the patients came from secure unit facilities, acute psychiatric wards or home. Thirty-nine patients were discharged either into hostels (66%) or their home (12%). The majority of patients (80%) had on admission a primary diagnosis of either schizophrenia or schizoaffective disorder. Most had an extensive forensic history. The focus of their admission was to assess and treat their mental illness/disorder and offending behaviour and this was successful as the majority of patients were transferred to a community placement after a mean of 15 months. It is essential that there is a well-integrated care pathway for forensic patients, involving constructive liaison with generic services and a well-structured treatment programme which integrates the key principles of the `recovery model' approach to care.
Modification of the radiation effect on the reproductive capacity of tumor cells in vivo with pharmacological agents.

It has recently been demonstrated that the reproductive capacity of mammalian tumor cells can be quantitatively studied in vivo, and that the response of cells of a murine leukemia to ionizing radiation is qualitatively and quantitatively similar to results obtained with clonal culture methods in vitro (1). Djordjevic and Szybalski (2), and Erikson and Szybalski (3) described experiments in which the fraction of cells in clonal culture remaining reproductively intact after given doses of X-ray or ultraviolet irradiation could be decreased by pretreatment of the cells with halogenated DNA (deoxyribonucleic acid) precursor analogs. The study reported here was undertaken to see whether similar potentiation of radiation effect could be observed in vivo. The experimental criteria were the numbers of leukemic cells from control and variously treated tumor-bearing animals necessary to produce
Simulation and analysis of MIMO-OFDM system based on simulink

MIMO-OFDM is the key technology for future mobile communications. This article briefly analyzed the basic principles of MIMO-OFDM and gave the model of the MIMO-OFDM based on simulink. Then we simulated the entire system. And the system performance under different channel estimation algorithms is analysed. The simulation results show that the proposed model of the MIMO-OFDM is good. And this model also provides convenience for researching MIMO-OFDM communication system in the future.
PMHT Approach for Underwater Bearing-Only Multisensor–Multitarget Tracking in Clutter

In this work, we apply the probabilistic multihypothesis tracker (PMHT) for the problem of underwater bearing-only multisensor-multitarget tracking in clutter. The PMHT is a batch tracking algorithm that can efficiently process a large number of measurements from multiple sensors. We investigate both the extended Kalman filter (EKF) and the unscented Kalman filter (UKF) for dealing with the high degree of nonlinearity in the measurement model. Due to multiple sensors, the unobservability of single sensor bearing-only target tracking is avoided. Simulation results show that the PMHT works very well in a highly cluttered environment and its computational load is low.
Risk management practices and implementation challenges at kenya electricity generating company ltd

viii CHAPTER ONE: INTRODUCTION . 1 1.1 Background of the Study . 1 1.1.1 Concept of Risk.2 1.1.2 Risk Management Practices . 3 1.1.3 Challenges of Risk Management Implementation . 5 1.1.4 Power Sector in Kenya . 5 1.1. 5 Kenya Electricity Generating Company Limited . 6 1.2 Research Problem . 7 1.3 Research Objectives . 9 1.4 Value of the Study . 9 CHAPTER TWO: LITERATURE REVIEW . 10 2.
Unannounced in situ simulations: integrating training and clinical practice

Simulation-based training for healthcare providers is well established as a viable, efficacious training tool, particularly for the training of non-technical team-working skills. These skills are known to be critical to effective teamwork, and important in the prevention of error and adverse events in hospitals. However, simulation suites are costly to develop and releasing staff to attend training is often difficult. These factors may restrict access to simulation training. We discuss our experiences of ‘in situ’ simulation for unannounced cardiac arrest training when the training is taken to the clinical environment. This has the benefit of decreasing required resources, increasing realism and affordability, and widening multidisciplinary team participation, thus enabling assessment and training of non-technical team-working skills in real clinical teams. While there are practical considerations of delivering training in the clinical environment, we feel there are many potential benefits compared with other forms of simulation training. We are able to tailor the training to the needs of the location, enabling staff to see a scenario that is relevant to their practice. This is particularly useful for staff who have less exposure to cardiac arrest events, such as radiology staff. We also describe the important benefit of risk assessment for a clinical environment. During our simulations we have identified a number of issues that, had they occurred during a real resuscitation attempt, may have led to patient harm or patient death. For these reasons we feel in situ simulation should be considered by every hospital as part of a patient safety initiative.
DPLL with Caching: A new algorithm for #SAT and Bayesian Inference

Bayesian inference and counting satisfying assignments are important problems with numerous applications in probabilistic reasoning. In this paper, we show that plain old DPLL equipped with memoization can solve both of these problems with time complexity that is at least as good as all known algorithms. Furthermore, DPLL with memoization achieves the best known time-space tradeoff. Although their worst case time complexity is no better, our DPLL based algorithms have the potential to achieve much better performance than known algorithms on problems which possess additional structure. Probabilistic models of real situations tend to have such additional structure. Electronic Colloquium on Computational Complexity, Report No. 3 (2003)
Species differences in the expression of major histocompatibility complex class II antigens on coronary artery endothelium: implications for cell-mediated xenoreactivity.

BACKGROUND There is controversy in the literature as to whether swine coronary endothelium expresses major histocompatibility complex (MHC) class II antigens constitutively. METHODS Because this issue has implications for cell-mediated human anti-swine xenogeneic responses, we stained tissue sections from human, pig, rat, and mouse hearts with the anti-class II monoclonal antibody ISCR3, which has a similar specificity and titer when binding to human, porcine, and rodent class II molecules. RESULTS Immunoperoxidase staining of human and porcine hearts with ISCR3 resulted in a dense reaction on the coronary endothelium of epicardial arteries, intramuscular arterioles, and capillaries. In contrast, the coronary endothelium of rat and mouse hearts did not stain with ISCR3. When freshly harvested porcine aortic endothelial cells were placed in culture, class II MHC antigen expression was lost within three to four passages. CONCLUSIONS Thus, using a single antibody with cross-species reactivities, we demonstrate that swine coronary endothelium, unlike rodent coronary arteries, expresses similar basal amounts of class II MHC antigens to human coronary vessels. The constitutive expression of class II MHC antigens on swine coronary artery endothelium may contribute to host T cell-mediated xenogeneic responses in clinical pig-to-human cardiac xenotransplantation and thus become a target for therapeutic intervention.
Genetic optimization of big data sentiment analysis

This paper deals with opinion mining from unstructured textual documents. The proposed method focuses on approach with minimum preliminary requirements about the knowledge of the analysed language and thus it can be deployed to any language. The proposed method builds on artificial intelligence, which consists of Support Vector Machines classifier, Big Data analysis and genetic algorithm optimization. To make the optimization feasible together with big data approach we have proposed GA operators, which significantly accelerate conversion to the accurate solutions. In this work we outperformed the traditional approaches (which use language dependent text preprocessing) for text valence classification with the highest achieved accuracy 90.09 %. The data set for validation was Czech texts.
Endogenous apoC-I increases hyperlipidemia in apoE-knockout mice by stimulating VLDL production and inhibiting LPL Published, JLR Papers in Press, March 14, 2006.

Previous studies have shown that overexpression of human apolipoprotein C-I (apoC-I) results in moderate hypercholesterolemia and severe hypertriglyceridemia in mice in the presence and absence of apoE. We assessed whether physiological endogenous apoC-I levels are sufficient to modulate plasma lipid levels independently of effects of apoE on lipid metabolism by comparing apolipoprotein E gene-deficient/apolipoprotein C-I gene-deficient (apoe−/−apoc1−/−), apoe−/−apoc1+/−, and apoe−/−apoc1+/+ mice. The presence of the apoC-I gene-dose-dependently increased plasma cholesterol (+45%; P < 0.001) and triglycerides (TGs) (+137%; P < 0.001), both specific for VLDL. Whereas apoC-I did not affect intestinal [3H]TG absorption, it increased the production rate of hepatic VLDL-TG (+35%; P < 0.05) and VLDL-[35S]apoB (+39%; P < 0.01). In addition, apoC-I increased the postprandial TG response to an intragastric olive oil load (+120%; P < 0.05) and decreased the uptake of [3H]TG-derived FFAs from intravenously administered VLDL-like emulsion particles by gonadal and perirenal white adipose tissue (WAT) (−34% and −25%, respectively; P < 0.05). As LPL is the main enzyme involved in the clearance of TG-derived FFAs by WAT, and total postheparin plasma LPL levels were unaffected, these data demonstrate that endogenous apoC-I suffices to attenuate the lipolytic activity of LPL. Thus, we conclude that endogenous plasma apoC-I increases VLDL-total cholesterol and VLDL-TG dose-dependently in apoe−/− mice, resulting from increased VLDL particle production and LPL inhibition.
Evaluation of the rapid loop‐mediated isothermal amplification assay Illumigene for diagnosis of Clostridium difficile in an outbreak situation

An outbreak of Clostridium difficile infection (CDI) at Höglandet Hospital Eksjö in southern Sweden in 2011 was mainly due to a multidrug‐resistant PCR ribotype 046 (30% of all samples). Diagnostics used routinely was the Vidas CDAB assay, but to control the outbreak the rapid loop‐mediated isothermal amplification (LAMP) assay Illumigene was introduced and both techniques were compared to Toxigenic culture (TC) prospectively. The LAMP assay had a superior sensitivity, that is, 98% compared to 79% for the Vidas CDAB assay. Most importantly, the mean turn‐around‐time from collecting sample to result was reduced from 59 h to 2 h enabling early isolation of patients and effective hygiene precautions. This may potentially decrease the morbidity and nosocomial transmissions of C. difficile.
Sales training practices in Malaysia : comparisons of domestic and multinational companies

© 2006 PSE National Educational Foundation. All rights reserved. ISSN 0885-3134 / 2006 $9.50 + 0.00. Sales Training Practices in Malaysia: Comparisons of Domestic and Multinational Companies M. Asri Jantan, State University of New York at Brockport Ashraf M. Attia, State University of New York at Oswego This study compares current and perceived state of initial sales training practices for domestic and multinational companies (MNCs) in Malaysia. Results reveal that MNCs differ significantly from their domestic counterparts in needs determination, objective setting, program methods, program contents, and training evaluation. Unlike domestic firms, MNCs also score significantly higher in their perception ratings toward important sales training tasks: planning and evaluation, organizing, and directing tasks. Managerial implications and suggestions for future research are provided.