Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Rapid Acquisition of Isolate-Specific Antibodies to Chondroitin Sulfate A-Adherent Plasmodium falciparum Isolates in Ghanaian Primigravidae

ABSTRACT Recent evidence suggests that pregnancy-associated malaria (PAM), associated with maternal anemia and low birth weight, results from preferential sequestration of parasitized red blood cells (pRBC) in the placenta via binding of variant surface antigens (VSA) expressed on the surface of pRBC to chondroitin sulfate A (CSA). The VSA mediating CSA binding (VSACSA) and thus sequestration of pRBC in the placenta are antigenically distinct from those that mediate pRBC sequestration elsewhere in the body, and it has been suggested that VSACSA are relatively conserved and may thus constitute an attractive target for vaccination against PAM. Using flow cytometry, levels of antibody to VSA and VSACSA expressed on the surface of red blood cells infected with Plasmodium falciparum isolates were measured during pregnancy and lactation in Ghanaian primigravid women enrolled in a trial of maternal vitamin A supplementation. Antibody responses to VSACSA were detected within the first trimester of pregnancy and increased with increasing duration of pregnancy, and they seemed to be isolate specific, indicating that different CSA-adherent parasite lines express antigenically distinct VSA and thus may not be as antigenically conserved as has been previously suggested. Levels of anti-VSACSA were not significantly associated with placental malarial infection determined by histology, indicating that primary immune responses to VSACSA may not be sufficient to eradicate placental parasitemia in primigravidae.
Treatment of Pilonidal Disease with Laser Epilation

Pilonidal disease is a debilitating, chronic disease of the natal cleft. It mainly involves the sacrococcygeal region and the presentation varies from asymptomatic pits to painful draining abscesses. Treatment options vary from observation to wide excision. Unfortunately, surgical treatment often results in recurrence. The etiologic agent remains in question, as does the optimal treatment. Our objective was to assess the efficacy of laser epilation as an adjunctive therapy to surgical excision of the pilonidal sinus. Eighteen men and five women were treated with laser epilation in our office from 2001 to 2004. All patients had experienced recurrent folliculitis and had undergone some form of drainage procedure or prior excision. After surgical excision of the affected area, a Vasculite™ Plus laser was used for the epilation treatments. Each session involved 9 to 12 treatments and the patients underwent an average of two sessions. All 19 of the patients that remain in follow-up report no recurrence of their folliculitis or need for further surgical procedures. During treatment, six of the men and one of the women experienced a superficial wound dehiscence. All healed with local wound care and continued laser treatments. Laser epilation is an effective adjunctive therapy for the treatment of pilonidal disease. Although not curative in and of itself, the removal of hair allows better healing and decreases the chance of recurrence by removal of a significant etiology of pilonidal disease.
Polymerase Chain Reaction and Restriction Endonuclease Digestion for Selected Members of the “Mycoplasma Mycoides Cluster” and Mycoplasma Putrefaciens

A specific diagnostic method using the polymerase chain reaction, together with restriction endonuclease digestion patterns, was developed for members of the “Mycoplasma mycoides cluster” that normally occur in the United States (i.e., Mycoplasma mycoides subsp. mycoides Large Colony and Mycoplasma capricolum subsp. capricolum in addition to “cluster” mycoplasma, bovine serogroup 7, and Mycoplasma putrefaciens. The digestion of “cluster” polymerase chain reaction DNA (1,225 bp) amplification products with restriction enzymes Asel and SspI gave mycoplasma species-specific patterns for all strains of M. mycoides subsp. mycoides Large Colony, M. capricolum subsp. capricolum, and bovine group 7 tested. Moreover, we found a nonspecific amplification product for M. putrefaciens that occurred with the oligonucleotide primers used for the “M. mycoides cluster” reaction. However, the restriction endonuclease digestion patterns observed with the restriction enzymes AluI, AseI, and SspI for M. putrefaciens were different than the digestion patterns obtained for the other “cluster” mycoplasmas. This report confirms the usefulness of polymerase chain reaction DNA amplification allied with restriction enzyme digestion profile analysis for the rapid and specific identification of mycoplasmas belonging to the “M. mycoides cluster” and M. putrefaciens.
Motion Field and Optical Flow: Qualitative Properties

It is shown that the motion field the 2-D vector field which is the perspective projection on the image plane of the 3-D velocity field of a moving scene, and the optical flow, defined as the estimate of the motion field which can be derived from the first-order variation of the image brightness pattern, are in general different, unless special conditions are satisfied. Therefore, dense optical flow is often ill-suited for computing structure from motion and for reconstructing the 3-D velocity field by algorithms which require a locally accurate estimate of the motion field. A different use of the optical flow is suggested. It is shown that the (smoothed) optical flow and the motion field can be interpreted as vector fields tangent to flows of planar dynamical systems. Stable qualitative properties of the motion field, which give useful informations about the 3-D velocity field and the 3-D structure of the scene, usually can be obtained from the optical flow. The idea is supported by results from the theory of structural stability of dynamical systems. >
Microglial Cathepsin B Contributes to the Initiation of Peripheral Inflammation-Induced Chronic Pain

Interleukin (IL)-1β and IL-18 play critical roles in the induction of chronic pain hypersensitivity. Their inactive forms are activated by caspase-1. However, little is known about the mechanism underlying the activation of pro-caspase-1. There is increasing evidence that cathepsin B (CatB), a typical lysosomal cysteine protease, is involved in the pro-caspase-1 activation and the subsequent maturation of IL-1β and IL-18. In this context, CatB is considered to be an important molecular target to control chronic pain. However, no information is currently available about the role of CatB in chronic pain hypersensitivity. We herein show that CatB deficiency or the intrathecal administration of CA-074Me, a specific CatB inhibitor, significantly inhibited the induction of complete Freund's adjuvant-induced tactile allodynia in mice without affecting peripheral inflammation. In contrast, CatB deficiency did not affect the nerve injury-induced tactile allodynia. Furthermore, CatB deficiency or CA-074Me treatment significantly inhibited the maturation and secretion of IL-1β and IL-18 by cultured microglia following treatment with the neuroactive glycoprotein chromogranin A (CGA), but not with ATP. Moreover, the IL-1β expression in spinal microglia and the induction of tactile allodynia following the intrathecal administration of CGA depended on CatB, whereas those induced by the intrathecal administration of ATP or lysophosphatidic acid were CatB independent. These results strongly suggest that CatB is an essential enzyme for the induction of chronic inflammatory pain through its activation of pro-caspase-1, which subsequently induces the maturation and secretion of IL-1β and IL-18 by spinal microglia. Therefore, CatB-specific inhibitors may represent a useful new strategy for treating inflammation-associated pain.
Rule Merging in a Rule-Based Arabic Stemmer

Semitic languages require more complicated systems for processing their morphology. Arabic language, for example, exhibits a very complex but very regular morphological structure. Many approaches were proposed to analyze Arabic language at the morphological level. Proposed approaches can be classified into table lookup, linguistic, combinatorial and rule-based techniques.This paper proposes a new approach to enhance a rule-based Arabic stemmer. The enhancement is based on rule merging process to reduce number of rules, increase language coverage and maintain the same level of performance.
Current dependence of the hot-spot response spectrum of superconducting single-photon detectors with different

We report on the optimisation of amorphous molybdenum silicide thin film growth for superconducting nanowire single-photon detector (SNSPD) applications. Molybdenum silicide was deposited via co-sputtering from Mo and Si targets in an Ar atmosphere. The superconducting transition temperature (Tc) and sheet resistance (Rs) were measured as a function of thickness and compared to several theoretical models for disordered superconducting films. Superconducting and optical properties of amorphous materials are very sensitive to short(up to 1 nm) and medium-range order (∼1–3 nm) in the atomic structure. Fluctuation electron microscopy studies showed that the films assumed an A15-like medium-range order. Electron energy loss spectroscopy indicates that the film stoichiometry was close to Mo83Si17, which is consistent with reports that many other A15 structures with the nominal formula A3B show a significant non-stoichiometry with A:B > 3:1. Optical properties from ultraviolet (270 nm) to infrared (2200 nm) wavelengths were measured via spectroscopic ellipsometry for 5 nm thick MoSi films indicating high long wavelength absorption. We also measured the current density as a function of temperature for nanowires patterned from a 10 nm thick MoSi film. The current density at 3.6 K is 3.6 × 10 A cm for the widest wire studied (2003 nm), falling to 2 × 10 A cm for the narrowest (173 nm). This investigation confirms the excellent suitability of MoSi for SNSPD applications and gives fresh insight into the properties of the underlying materials.
The link between total quality management and organizational performance in Malaysian automotive industry: The mediating role of ISO/TS16949 efforts

The principal aim of this article is to determine the impact of total quality management (TQM) and ISO/TS16949 efforts on organizational performance of Malaysian automotive industry. Based on theoretical considerations, a model is proposed linking the TQM constructs and ISO/TS16949 efforts to the organizational performance. Exploratory factor analyses and reliability analysis empirically verified and validated the underlying items of TQM, ISO/TS16949 and organizational performance. Structural equation modeling was employed to test the model drawing on a sample of 161 Malaysian automotive industries. Data analysis reveals that, TQM implementations have a strong and positive impact on organizational performance through direct relationship and also through a mediating role of ISO/TS16949 efforts.
Confirming Delivery

The purpose of our study was to gain an understanding of current patient involvement in medication administration safety from the perspectives of both patients and nursing staff members. Administering medication is taken for granted and therefore suited to the development of theory to enhance its understanding. We conducted a constructivist, grounded theory study involving 24 patients and 26 nursing staff members and found that patients had the role of confirming delivery in the administration of medication. Confirming delivery was characterized by three interdependent subprocesses: engaging in the medication administration process, being “half out of it” (patient mental status), and perceiving time. We believe that ours is one of the first qualitative studies on the role of hospitalized patients in administering medication. Medication administration and nursing care systems, as well as patient mental status, impose limitations on patient involvement in safe medication administration.
Regulation of cyclic AMP synthesis in Escherichia coli K-12: effects of the rpoD800 sigma mutation, glucose, and chloramphenicol

An immediate 12-fold inhibition in the rate of beta-galactosidase synthesis occurs in Escherichia coli cells containing the mutant sigma allele rpoD800 after a shift to 42 degrees C. In the present study we characterize the nature of the inhibition. The severe inhibition of beta-galactosidase synthesis was partly relieved by cyclic AMP (cAMP). We inferred that the inhibition might be mediated by a decreased intracellular concentration of cAMP. Consistent with this inference, the rate of cAMP accumulation in mutant cells after a temperature upshift was depressed relative to that in wild-type cells. Glucose and chloramphenicol, two agents known to inhibit differentially beta-galactosidase mRNA synthesis, caused a similar inhibition in the rate of cAMP accumulation. Thus, three diverse stimuli, glucose, chloramphenicol, and a temperature-sensitive sigma mutation, appear to affect beta-galactosidase synthesis by regulating the synthesis of cAMP.
Utility of the stroke-thrombolytic predictive instrument

Objective: The goal of this study was to evaluate the utility of the stroke thrombolytic predictive instrument (s-TPI) in predicting clinical outcome in patients with acute ischaemic stroke treated with intravenous tissue plasminogen activator (t-PA). Methods: The study assessed the external validity of the s-TPI in 301 consecutive stroke patients treated with intravenous t-PA. Clinical outcome was measured with the modified Rankin scale (mRs) at 3 months. The study used the s-TPI to calculate probabilities of a good outcome (mRs 0–1) and a poor outcome (mRs 5–6). We compared these probabilities with the observed outcome using receiver-operator characteristics (ROC) curves and calibration curves. Subgroup analyses for different onset-to-treatment time windows were performed. Results: According to the s-TPI, the mean predicted probability of a good and a poor outcome in the validation cohort were 0.45 and 0.17. The area under the ROC curves were 0.80 (4.5-hour time window), 0.82 (3-hour time window) and 0.77 (3–4.5 hours time window) for predicting good outcome, and 0.78 (4.5 hours), 0.80 (3 hours) and 0.74 (3–4.5 hours) for predicting poor outcome. Calibration curves revealed a slight overestimation of probabilities of a good outcome and underestimation of probabilities of a poor outcome. Conclusions: The s-TPI appears to be reasonably valid for predicting outcome after t-PA treatment in daily practice, although a slight overestimation of a good and underestimation of a poor outcome was observed.
Chemotherapy-Regulated microRNA-125–HER2 Pathway as a Novel Therapeutic Target for Trastuzumab-Mediated Cellular Cytotoxicity in Small Cell Lung Cancer

Small cell lung cancer (SCLC) accounts for 15% of all lung cancer cases and is a highly lethal disease. For the last several decades, the standard treatment for SCLC has been deadlocked, and new therapeutic strategies are urgently needed. HER2 is a member of the HER family and has been reported to be overexpressed in 30% of SCLC cases with poor prognosis. However, the clinical relevance of HER2-targeted therapy for SCLC remains unclear. Here, we first identify that cytotoxic drugs induce significant HER2 overexpression through microRNA-125a (miR-125a) and miR-125b downregulation, which in turn act as a novel therapeutic target for trastuzumab-mediated cellular cytotoxicity in SCLC. In this study, we showed that treatment of the HER2-positive SCLC cells, SBC-3 and SBC-5, with cytotoxic drugs induced a significant upregulation of HER2. Cisplatin (CDDP) treatment of SCLC cells resulted in a significant downregulation of miR-125a and miR-125b. We confirmed that miR-125a and miR-125b bound to the 3′-untranslated regions of HER2 mRNA, and that downregulation of miR-125a and miR-125b resulted in upregulation of HER2 in SCLC cells, suggesting a relationship between cytotoxic drug exposure and miR-125/HER2 dysregulation. Furthermore, using a calcein assay, we demonstrated a significantly enhanced cytotoxic effect of CDDP and trastuzumab that was mediated via antibody-dependent cellular cytotoxicity. Finally, we clearly demonstrated the enhanced antitumor effect of these agents in an orthotopic lung cancer model in vivo. Our results offer a novel therapeutic strategy for HER2-positive SCLCs by using trastuzumab combined with cytotoxic drugs. Mol Cancer Ther; 14(6); 1414–23. ©2015 AACR.
Performance analysis of OFDM-OSTBC system under various fading channels using different Doppler spectra

The era of wireless communication is rapidly increasing in our day-to-day lives. The main aim of 4G wireless systems is to provide users with high speed and high performance in different channel conditions. 4G systems support interactive multimedia, voice, streaming video, internet and other broad band services. 4G is a IP based mobile system with high speed, high capacity and low cost per bit. Orthogonal Frequency Division multiplexing (OFDM) is one of the most promising techniques to meet the challenges. A Multiple-Input-Multiple-Output (MIMO) system utilizes multiple number of antennas both at transmitter and receiver. This paper presents the performance of OFDM-OSTBC system under various fading channels using different Doppler spectra. Simulation results shows that for two transmitting antennas and one receiving antenna the Bit Error Rate (BER) for OFDM-OSTBC system is observed to be 0.03919 at SNR 6dB and for three transmitting antennas and two receiving antennas the Bit Error Rate (BER) for OFDM-OSTBC system is observed to be 0.0013 at same SNR. It has been observed that BER is low for flat Doppler spectrum. Hence by using MIMO system ie. , by implementing both transmit and receive diversity bit error rate (BER) is reduced. With reduced Bit Error Rate (BER), it is possible to achieve high bit rate.
Rough Set-Based SVM Classifier for Text Categorization

Efficiency of feature selection affects the whole classifier performance in text categorization. Integrating the distinct aspects of indiscernibility capability of rough set theory and good generalization ability of support vector machine, this paper proposes a new classification method named Rough Support Vector Machine. Rough set was employed as an attribute reduction tool to work on the original attribute set in order to carry out a redundancy removing. The reduct attribute result, which is composed of a low dimensional set of attributes with minimal loss of information, is then combined together according to our new attribute creation method and used as input to a support vector classifier with good generalization performance. The efficiency of the approach is demonstrated experimentally on classifying the text classification benchmark dataset and compared with the traditional rough set method and other machine learning methods.
The application status of accelerated test technology in gyroscopes life assessment

The theory and characteristics of the accelerated life test (ALT) and the accelerated degradation test (ADT) is introduced. Based on the discussion about the classification and characteristics of gyroscopes, the accelerated test technology of mechanical gyroscopes and optic gyroscopes is summarized, including test types, stress, accelerated models, failure criterion and some other fundamental test conceptions. The conclusion is that ALTs and ADTs of critical components are valid way to evaluate the overall life of the gyroscopes. In the end, the deficiencies of civil accelerated tests are pointed out and suggestions are given correspondingly. These suggestions can provide somehow support for examining the quality of gyroscopes' life prediction and health management model.
A Note on Houthakker's Aggregate Production Function in a Multifirm Industry

ONE OF THE common problems facing an economist dealing with production functions is the problem of aggregation of factors. In a rather neglected paper, Houthakker advances an ingenious approach for explaining the possibility of finding a neoclassical production function for an industry even when production within each of the firms (or "cells")3 is done according to a fixed coefficients production function. These fixed proportions vary in a regular way from one cell to another so that the overall input-output relationship takes the form of a regular neoclassical production function. As Solow notices in a survey article on production functions4 this paper has been forgotten and not followed in any direction. In this note we try to reverse Houthakker's procedure and to show how each neoclassical production function implies some density function or distribution function over the cells. We here do it for CES production functions, but it will be obvious that the same method applies to any production function. Following Houthakker we normalize the cells so that each of them is capable of producing one unit of output. Each cell has a requirement, say t, of the variable factor and this requirement varies from one cell to another. If the wage rate in terms of output produced is p then all the cells with tp < 1 will produce a unit of output, all others will be idle. Assume that we are given a density function of the various cells by g(t). Output produced will then be Q = f Pg(t)dt and the input used A f f'IP tg(t)dt. By eliminating i/p one gets a relationship between Q and A. In this way Houthakker has shown that a Pareto distribution implies a CobbDouglas production function. Notice that the relationship between Q and A the cumulated product and factor used-is the familiar Lorenz curve. Assume that the overall relationship between output and the variable factor follows a CES production function with elasticity of substitution (a) smaller than 1;
Adjustment of water-crop production models for ratoon sugarcane 1

Sugarcane (Saccharum spp.) is one of the main products in the Brazilian agribusiness. In the Paraná State, sugarcane occupies an area of 665,000 ha, with an annual production of about 50 million tons. The Paranavaí region accounts for 20 % of this production, and the planted area is increasing fast in this region (Paraná 2015). Agriculture is the economic activity that has a higher dependence on weather conditions, which are responsible for the oscillations of agricultural seasons (Souza 2014). Environmental factors directly affect plant growth and development. However, the relations between climatic parameters and agricultural production are quite complex. The influence of climate on sugarcane is remarkable because it is a semiperennial crop, grown under different environmental conditions, causing production variations over the years (Silva et al. 2008). ABSTRACT RESUMO
A Conceptual Model of Tunable Security Services

In this paper, we propose a conceptual model for tunable security services. The aim of the model is to provide a tool that can be used to describe and analyze such services in a structured and consistent way. The proposed model can thus serve as a basis to examine the possibilities available for constructing tunable security services based on current and future networking standards and to identify missing requirements. It can also be used to describe and compare previous research results. In the paper, four different use cases are presented that illustrates the powerfulness of the proposed model.
Using quality of life measurement to enhance interdisciplinary collaboration.

The use of quality of life (QOL) measurement in the End-Stage Renal Disease (ESRD) setting can be useful to measure the impact of interventions on outcomes. Using QOL results can also increase patient participation in care planning and, thus, increase patient satisfaction with care. Clinical indicators can be developed to trigger further assessment of various patient needs.