Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Evaluating the Sources of Inequality

This paper presents empirical evidence on the determinants of labor market earnings and inequality for males in Panama. Using newly available microdata, we estimate earnings equations based on the measurement framework of Mincer (1974) and compare them with those for other countries at various stages of economic development. We present evidence on two aspects of inequality in less developed economies: labor market segmentation and social stratification. We present tests of the segmentation hypothesis, including several of the dual labor market hypotheses and discuss their inherent ambiguity. We also present evidence on the importance of family background for earnings determination and educa
Optimization of the lyophilization process for long-term stability of solid–lipid nanoparticles

Objectives: To optimize a lyophilization protocol for solid–lipid nanoparticles (SLNs) loaded with dexamethasone palmitate (Dex-P) and to compare the long-term stability of lyophilized SLNs and aqueous SLN suspensions at two storage conditions. Materials and Methods: The effect of various parameters of the lyophilization process on SLN redispersibility was evaluated. A three month stability study was conducted to compare changes in the particle size and drug loading of lyophilized SLNs with SLNs stored as aqueous suspensions at either 4°C or 25°C/60% relative humidity (RH). Results and Discussion: Of nine possible lyoprotectants tested, sucrose was shown to be the most efficient at achieving SLN redispersibility. Higher freezing temperatures, slower freezing rates, and longer secondary drying times were also shown to be beneficial. Loading of the SLNs with Dex-P led to slightly larger particle size and polydispersity index increases, but both parameters remained within an acceptable range. Drug loading and particle shape were maintained following lyophilization, and no large aggregates were detected. During the stability study, significant growth and drug loss were observed for aqueous SLN suspensions stored at 25°C/60% RH. In comparison, lyophilized SLNs stored at 4°C exhibited a consistent particle size and showed <20% drug loss. Other storage conditions led to intermediate results. Conclusions: A lyophilization protocol was developed that allowed SLNs to be reconstituted with minimal changes in their physicochemical properties. During a three month period, lyophilized SLNs stored at 4°C exhibited the greatest stability, showing no change in the particle size and a minimal reduction in drug retention.
Classification based on label semantic characteristic analysis

Classification is a machine learning technique that assigns labels to a collection of data in order to aid in more accurate predictions and analysis. It has been widely studied and many classification approaches have been proposed from different fields. However, there is no one optimal classifier in all respects or for all the data sets as No-Free-Lunch theorem states. In addition, there is a lack of attention to do classification by analyzing label semantic characteristics which can reflect the intrinsic characteristics of one label distinguishing from the others. So from the perspective of knowledge modeling and mining about label semantic characteristics, new classification idea was put forward and a concrete label characteristic value oriented classification approach was proposed in this paper. Experimental results demonstrated that the proposed classification algorithm has relatively high training performance and high accuracy, and classification based on label semantic characteristic analysis is an effective classification idea.
Failure to discriminate initiation from promotion of liver tumors in a long-term study with the phenobarbital-type inducer alpha-hexachlorocyclohexane and the role of sustained stimulation of hepatic growth and monooxygenases.

alpha-Hexachlorocyclohexane (alpha-HCH) was administered p.o. to female Wistar rats for periods of up to 33 months; doses were 20 mg/kg/day, 200 mg/kg every second week, or 420 mg/kg every third week. Increases of liver size, DNA, RNA, and protein (by 50 to 100%) and of drug-metabolizing enzyme activities (up to 300%) observed previously after single doses of alpha-HCH were found to persist after approximately one-third, 1, and 2 years of treatment. At 1 and 2 years, DNA synthesis was measured by [3H]thymidine uptake and was no higher than in controls. All changes regressed upon withdrawal of alpha-HCH after 1 year of treatment. These findings provide no evidence to suggest a protracted development of toxicity or of growth autonomy in the majority of liver cells. Foci of altered cells, neoplastic nodules, and in 2 animals hepatocellular carcinoma were detected histologically in the livers of 24 of 34 treated rats. In livers of 10 of 22 untreated control rats, foci of altered cells developed "spontaneously" between 12 and 34.5 months. If neoplastic lesions were induced by a single dose of diethylnitrosamine, 75 or 150 mg/kg, subsequent treatment with alpha-HCH led to the appearance of hepatocellular carcinoma with 7 months. Altogether, hepatocellular carcinoma within 7 months. Altogether, hepatocellular carcinomas were found in 18 of 21 rats treated with both agents but in only 3 of 26 animals treated with diethylnitrosamine alone. The results show that determination of tumor numbers alone in a long-term animal experiment does not allow one to decide whether alpha-HCH (and similar "xenobiotic inducers") is an initiating carcinogen or merely promotes tumorigenesis from "spontaneous" lesions. Our findings support the latter possibility by the failure to detect evidence suggesting initiating potential of alpha-HCH, by the enhanced mitotic response to alpha-HCH, by the enhanced mitotic response to alpha-HCH in foci of altered cells as reported elsewhere, and by the observation of a permanent stimulatory action on liver growth during prolonged exposure to alpha-HCH.
NURR1 Downregulation Favors Osteoblastic Differentiation of MSCs

Mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) have been identified in human dental tissues. Dental pulp stem cells (DPSCs) were classified within MSC family, are multipotent, can be isolated from adult teeth, and have been shown to differentiate, under particular conditions, into various cell types including osteoblasts. In this work, we investigated how the differentiation process of DPSCs toward osteoblasts is controlled. Recent literature data attributed to the nuclear receptor related 1 (NURR1), a still unclarified role in osteoblast differentiation, while NURR1 is primarily involved in dopaminergic neuron differentiation and activity. Thus, in order to verify if NURR1 had a role in DPSC osteoblastic differentiation, we silenced it during all the processes and compared the expression of the main osteoblastic markers with control cultures. Our results showed that the inhibition of NURR1 significantly increased the expression of osteoblast markers collagen I and alkaline phosphatase. Further, in long time cultures, the mineral matrix deposition was strongly enhanced in NURR1-silenced cultures. These results suggest that NURR1 plays a key role in switching DPSC differentiation toward osteoblasts rather than neuronal or even other cell lines. In conclusion, DPSCs represent a source of osteoblast-like cells and downregulation of NURR1 strongly prompted their differentiation toward the osteoblastogenesis process.
Simulation Intervention With Manikin-Based Objective Metrics Improves CPR Instructor Chest Compression Performance Skills Without Improvement in Chest Compression Assessment Skills

Introduction Cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) instructor/coordinator (CPR-I/C) adherence to published guidelines during resuscitation and learner assessment for basic life support (BLS)/CPR skills has not been experimentally studied. Investigators sought to (1) determine the quality of CPR-I/C chest compression and the accuracy of CPR-I/C chest compression assessment, and (2) improve CPR-I/C compression and assessment skills through cardiac arrest simulations with objective in-scenario performance feedback. Methods Thirty CPR-I/Cs (median, 20 years [range, 4–40 years] of BLS provider experience; 6 years [range 1–40 years] of BLS instructor experience) were randomized to control or experimental group. Each subject performed compressions during a 2-minute simulation, then reviewed 6 videos of simulated CPR performances (featuring prespecified chest compression parameters) for scoring as “pass” or “needs remediation. ” Subjects participated in a second simulation with or without real-time manikin compression feedback, then reviewed 6 additional videos. Primary outcome variables were the proportion of subjects with more than 80% (American Heart Association regional criteria) or more than 23 of 30 (ie, 77%; American Heart Association instructor manual criteria) correct compressions and subjects’ accuracy of “pass”/“needs remediation” assessment for videos. The secondary outcome variable was correlation between subjects’ correctness of chest compressions and their assessment accuracy for simulated CPR compression performance. Results All CPR-I/C subjects compressed suboptimally at baseline; real-time manikin feedback improved the proportion of subjects with more than 77% correct compressions to 0.53 (P < 0.01). Video review data revealed persistently low CPR-I/C assessment accuracy. Correlation between subjects’ correctness of compressions and their assessment accuracy remained poor regardless of interventions. Conclusions Real-time compression feedback during simulation improved CPR-I/C’s chest compression performance skills without comparable improvement in chest compression assessment skills.
A high speed pipelined analog-to-digital converter using modified time-shifted correlated double sampling technique

In this paper, a pipelined analog-to-digital converter (ADC) which employs a modified time-shifted correlated double sampling (CDS) technique is proposed. The conventional time-shifted CDS technique can significantly reduce the errors due to the finite gain of the operational amplifier (op-amp) without compromising the conversion speed. However, it needs a high-linearity op-amp to realize the front-end sample-and-hold (SHA) such that the sampled signal without being distorted too much. In order to relax the high-linearity requirement of the op-amp, a new type of SHA circuit is presented
Home, training and work: mobility of British doctors

This study examines the locations of family homes, medical schools and places of specialist training, and work of doctors qualifying from UK medical schools in 5 calendar years between 1974 and 1993. The contribution of each UK region to the medical workforce relative to its population is assessed and trends over time are examined. The relationship between place of family home and medical school attended is examined for 14,108 doctors. Career appointment location and its relationship to medical school and family home loc‐ation are examined for over 4000 doctors. For the qualifiers of 1983, an additional analysis incorporating place of training is included. Large differences were found in the percentage of medical students from local family homes attending each regional medical school. In some cases differences reflected local populations but other cases had no obvious cause. Over all cohorts studied, 38% of respondents attended a medical school in the region of their family home (32% of 1993 qualifiers), 42% held a career post in the same region as their medical school, and 38% held a career post in the same region as their family home. Among the qualifiers of 1983, 65% had a career post in the same region as their postgraduate training, 34% also attended medical school in the same region, and 19% also came from family homes in the same region. More women than men took up a career post in the same region as their postgraduate training. The relationships to family home and medical school did not differ by gender. Consultants appeared slightly less likely than GPs to have stayed within a region, but this difference was not statistically significant.
A two-path tree search algorithm for use with DFE

The two-path tree search is a detection algorithm that improves the performance of standard decision-feedback equalizer detectors by examining two likely paths through the decision tree. The method achieves about 1-dB improvement over standard decision-feedback equalization for typical magnetic recording channels used in hard disk drives. The implementation complexity is modest and is compared with other improved decision-feedback structures.
An interactive modeling lesson increases students' understanding of ploidy during meiosis

Chromosome structure is confusing to students at all levels, and chromosome behavior during meiosis is a notoriously difficult topic. Undergraduate biology majors are exposed to the process of meiosis numerous times during their presecondary and postsecondary education, yet understanding of key concepts, such as the point at which haploidy is established, does not improve substantially with repeated exposure. Based on student's drawings, 96% of intermediate‐level biology majors have unclear or incorrect ideas about meiosis. Students have difficulty diagramming the process of meiosis starting with three unreplicated pairs of chromosomes, and even when they can produce an accurate diagram, they are unclear how to assign the terms “haploid” and “diploid. ” We designed an interactive lesson based on constructivist theory to address these issues in a large lecture class. Pretest and posttest scores showed a significant improvement in students' understanding of ploidy compared to a parallel class taught in the traditional way (e.g. using the textbook diagrams). In interviews afterward, those students whose scores improved on exams specifically pointed to the features of the in‐class modeling that were deliberately incorporated for that purpose. Biochemistry and Molecular Biology Education Vol. 39, No. 5, pp. 344–351, 2011
Flexible Third Harmonic Voltage Control of Low Capacitance Cascaded H-Bridge STATCOM

The recently presented low-capacitance cascaded H-bridge (LC-CHB) STATCOM presents a compact and cost-effective STATCOM solution, which varies the averaged dc voltage according to the compensated reactive power during operation to intentionally enlarge the low-frequency dc voltage ripple and meanwhile keep the dc voltage within the allowed range. This letter further optimizes the operational performance of LC-CHB STATCOM by using a flexible third harmonic control method, which could reduce the voltage stress on semiconductors during operation and the switching losses in consequence. Experimental prototype verified the performance of the proposed control strategy.
A Hydrogen-Oxidizing, Fe(III)-Reducing Microorganism from the Great Bay Estuary, New Hampshire

A dissimilatory Fe(III)- and Mn(IV)-reducing bacterium was isolated from bottom sediments of the Great Bay estuary, New Hampshire. The isolate was a facultatively anaerobic gram-negative rod which did not appear to fit into any previously described genus. It was temporarily designated strain BrY. BrY grew anaerobically in a defined medium with hydrogen or lactate as the electron donor and Fe(III) as the electron acceptor. BrY required citrate, fumarate, or malate as a carbon source for growth on H2 and Fe(III). With Fe(III) as the sole electron acceptor, BrY metabolized hydrogen to a minimum threshold at least 60-fold lower than the threshold reported for pure cultures of sulfate reducers. This finding supports the hypothesis that when Fe(III) is available, Fe(III) reducers can outcompete sulfate reducers for electron donors. Lactate was incompletely oxidized to acetate and carbon dioxide with Fe(III) as the electron acceptor. Lactate oxidation was also coupled to the reduction of Mn(IV), U(VI), fumarate, thiosulfate, or trimethylamine n-oxide under anaerobic conditions. BrY provides a model for how enzymatic metal reduction by respiratory metal-reducing microorganisms has the potential to contribute to the mobilization of iron and trace metals and to the immobilization of uranium in sediments of Great Bay Estuary.
Overall survival (OS) in the management of pretreated patients with unresectable stage III/IV melanoma: A systematic literature review and meta-analysis.

8580 Background: Ipilimumab is the first treatment to show an OS benefit in a phase III trial (MDX010-20) compared with a gp100 vaccine. The majority of ipilimumab-associated adverse events were mechanism based, inflammatory in nature and although generally mild, can be severe. Toxicities were managed using product-specific treatment guidelines. Data on comparative effectiveness with other routinely used therapies for advanced melanoma is lacking. The objective of this study was to systematically identify, review, and synthesize available evidence related to OS for 2nd line systemic treatments for unresectable stage III/IV melanoma. METHODS A systematic literature search was performed to identify relevant clinical trials. From these trials, Kaplan-Meier (KM) OS curves for each intervention were digitized, survival proportions over time were obtained from these images, and data were combined with a fixed-effects Bayesian meta-analysis using Weibull survival distributions. The Korn algorithm (Korn EL. JCO. 2008;26:527) was used to adjust for differences in prognostic patient characteristics between identified trials and MDX010-20. The outcome of interest was expected OS (mean survival; area under the curve [AUC]). RESULTS 38 trials were reviewed, 25 of which reported KM curves that were included in this analysis. Populations included in the trials were of broadly comparable age, gender, race, performance, and M status, but not in regard to previous systemic treatment or inclusion of patients with brain metastases. After adjustment based on Korn, the expected OS for ipilimumab 3 mg/kg was 16.7 months (95% Credible Interval 12.8-22.4) compared with 10.1 months (6.9-14.9) for gp100, and about 11 months for all other treatments. CONCLUSIONS Results of this meta-analysis suggest that expected OS (AUC) with ipilimumab is greater than that of alternative systemic therapies, and gp100 is similar to existing treatments, for the management of pretreated patients with unresectable stage III/IV melanoma.
Activation of Peroxisome Proliferator-Activated Receptor γ (PPARγ) Through NF-κB/Brg1 and TGF-ß1 Pathways Attenuates Cardiac Remodeling in Pressure-Overloaded Rat Hearts

Background/Aims: Cardiac remodeling is a common pathophysiological change along with chronic hypertension and myocardial infarction. Recent evidence indicated that cardiac tissue expressed peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor γ (PPARγ). However, the functional role of PPARγ in cardiac remodeling remained unclear. The present study was designed to investigate the relationship between PPARγ activation and pressure overload-induced cardiac remodeling. Methods: Cardiac remodeling model was successfully established by abdominal aorta ligation. Cardiac fibrosis and cardiomyocyte hypertrophy were simulated by 100 nM angiotensin II (Ang II) in vitro. Haemodynamic parameters, the expressions of Brg1, a-MHC, ß-MHC, transforming growth factor beta 1 (TGF-ß1), collagen-I, collagen-III and NF-γB were examined. Results: Morphological and haemodynamic measurements showed that the activation of PPARγ improved the impaired cardiac function and decreased interstitial fibrosis in cardiac remodeling rats. Further results also showed that the activation of PPARγ inhibited the expressions of Brg1 and TGF-ß1 in the cardiac remodeling hearts. The activation of PPARγ also inhibited the proliferation and collagen production of cardiac fibroblasts, and down-regulated the activity of Brg1 and the expression of TGF-ß1 induced by Ang II in cultured neonatal rat cardiomyocytes and cardiac fibroblasts, respectively, through NF-γB pathway. Conclusions: These results suggested that PPARγ activation effectively inhibited cardiac remodeling processes by suppression of Brg1 and TGF-ß1 expressions through NF-γB pathway in the pressure-overloaded hearts induced by abdominal aorta ligation in rats.
Application of bitmap index to information retrieval

We developed the HS-bitmap index for efficient information retrieval. The HS-bitmap index is a hierarchical document-term matrix: the original document-term matrix is called the leaf matrix and an upper matrix is the summary of its lower matrix. Our experiment results show the HS-bitmap index performs better than the inverted index with a minor space overhead.
The differential difference amplifiers of sensor systems with input transistors of various physical nature

The article considers basic connection circuits of asymmetrical inputs and outputs (according to their features) of differential stages (ADS), realized on the transistors of various physical nature and operating principles (bipolar transistors, JFETs and CMOS FETs). It is shown that the nonidentity of input transistors and the instability of the output currents in one ADS can be compensated by differential connection of two unstable but identical ADSs. The application conditions of ADS of this class in differential difference (DDAs) and instrumentation amplifiers (IAs) of sensor systems and analog processors are set. The main feature of the suggested schematic solutions is the absence of classical reference current sources, setting the steady-state behavior of ADS. The static currents in the circuit are determined by geometrical dimensions of the used FETs. The results of DDA simulation on asymmetrical ADSs are given in conditions of thermal effects and neutron flux (Fn≤5·1013 n/cm2).
Coating multi-walled carbon nanotubes with rare-earth complexes by an in situ synthetic method

Multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) were coated with rare-earth (RE) (Eu3+, Tb3+) complex layers by a simple in situ synthetic method via noncovalently functionalized MWCNTs with sodium dodecyl sulfate. Extensive characterizations of the resulting nanocomposite materials have been performed using scanning electron microscopy (SEM), FT-IR spectra, x-ray diffraction (XRD), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), high-resolution transmission electron microscopy (HRTEM), energy-dispersive x-ray spectroscopy (EDS) and x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS). The photoluminescence properties of the RE-complex-modified MWCNTs were also investigated. Under the excitation of UV light, these samples exhibit characteristic emissions of Eu3+ or Tb3+ ions. The presence of the MWCNT framework does not quench the lanthanide-centered luminescence originating from the characteristic electronic transitions within the 4f shell of the RE ions. Furthermore, the existence of the nanotube framework can improve the stability of the RE complex under UV irradiation and elongate the fluorescence lifetime of the RE complex.