Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
A Randomized, Controlled Trial to Assess the Immunogenicity and Safety of a Heptavalent Diphtheria, Tetanus, Pertussis, Hepatitis B, Poliomyelitis, Hib and Meningococcal Serogroup C Combination Vaccine Administered at 2, 3, 4 and 12–18 Months of Age

Background: Combination vaccines offer protection against multiple diseases with fewer injections. This study evaluated the immunogenicity and safety of an investigational diphtheria, tetanus, acellular pertussis, hepatitis B, poliomyelitis, Haemophilus influenzae type b (Hib) and meningococcal serogroup C (MenC) heptavalent combination vaccine (heptavalent vaccine) given as 4 doses at 2, 3, 4 and 12–18 months of age. Methods: In this randomized, open, phase II study (NCT00970307/NCT01171989) conducted in Poland, 421 infants were enrolled to receive the heptavalent vaccine or licensed comparator vaccines. Immunogenicity against study vaccine antigens was measured prior to and 1 month after primary and booster vaccinations. Safety and reactogenicity of the vaccines were also evaluated. Results: The primary noninferiority objectives of the MenC and Hib immune responses induced by the heptavalent vaccine versus comparator vaccines were reached after primary vaccination, but no statistical conclusion could be drawn after booster dose. One month after primary and booster vaccinations, ≥98.4% of the heptavalent vaccine recipients were seroprotected for MenC and Hib. Exploratory analyses indicated that the heptavalent vaccine induced higher postprimary vaccination antibody geometric mean concentrations against Hib, but lower postprimary and postbooster vaccinations geometric mean titers against MenC compared with the relevant comparator vaccines. The reactogenicity profiles of the vaccines were acceptable, although 1 infant vaccinated with the heptavalent vaccine experienced a serious adverse event (thrombocytopenia) considered possibly related to vaccination. Conclusions: The heptavalent vaccine was immunogenic and had a clinically acceptable safety profile when administered to infants and toddlers.
Identification of a Biomarker Profile Associated With Resistance to Neoadjuvant Chemoradiation Therapy in Rectal Cancer

Objective:To identify a biomarker profile associated with tumor response to chemoradiation (CRT) in locally advanced rectal cancer. Background:Rectal cancer response to neoadjuvant CRT is variable. Whereas some patients have a minimal response, others achieve a pathologic complete response (pCR) and have no viable cancer cells in their surgical specimens. Identifying biomarkers of response will help select patients more likely to benefit from CRT. Methods:This study includes 132 patients with locally advanced rectal cancer treated with neoadjuvant CRT followed by surgery. Tumor DNA from pretreatment tumor biopsies and control DNA from paired normal surgical specimens was screened for mutations and polymorphisms in 23 genes. Genetic biomarkers were correlated with tumor response to CRT (pCR vs non-pCR), and the association of single or combined biomarkers with tumor response was determined. Results:Thirty-three of 132 (25%) patients achieved a pCR and 99 (75%) patients had non-pCR. Three individual markers were associated with non-pCR; v-Ki-ras2 Kirsten rat sarcoma viral oncogene homolog mutation (P = 0.0145), cyclin D1 G870A (AA) polymorphism (P = 0.0138), and methylenetetrahydrofolate reductase (NAD(P)H) C677T (TT) polymorphism (P = 0.0120). Analysis of biomarker combinations revealed that none of the 27 patients with both tumor protein p53 (p53) and v-Ki-ras2 Kirsten rat sarcoma viral oncogene homolog mutations had a pCR. Further, in patients with both p53 and v-Ki-ras2 Kirsten rat sarcoma viral oncogene homolog mutations or the cyclin D1 G870A (AA) polymorphism or the methylenetetrahydrofolate reductase (NAD(P)H) C677T (TT) polymorphism (n = 52) the association with non-pCR was further strengthened; 51 of 52 (98%) of patients were non-pCR. These biomarker combinations had a validity of more than 70% and a positive predictive value of 97% to 100%, predicting that patients harboring these mutation/polymorphism profiles will not achieve a pCR. Conclusions:A specific biomarker profile is strongly associated with non-pCR to CRT and could be used to select optimal oncologic therapy in rectal cancer patients. ClinicalTrials.org Identifier: NCT00335816.
Effects of the genome on immune regulation in type 1 diabetes

Type 1 diabetes (T1DM) is a complex disease, arising through the interaction of an incompletely defined combination of genetic susceptibility and environmental factors. It is well accepted that T1DM results from selective immune‐mediated destruction of the insulin‐producing β cells in the islets of langerhans. Genetic studies of T1DM have identified several regions of susceptibility and identified major networks and pathways contributing to risk. In this study, we have taken advantages of the Immunochip fine‐mapping genotyping data to address different aspects of immune regulation in relation to T1DM. First, we confirm that dense single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) genotyping of the major histocompatibility complex/human leukocyte antigen (MHC/HLA) region capture the complex genetic contribution of this region to disease risk. Furthermore, it is shown that Immunochip genotyping can translate into a limited number of DRB1 and DQB1 amino acid residues that account for most of the HLA‐risk. Second, we use the Immunochip data to look for functional significance by correlation to circulating levels of chemokines and demonstrate that genetic variation at chromosome 2, 3, and 6 correlates with circulating CCL2 and CCL4 in recent onset T1DM patients. Finally, we report that genetic variants predict autoantibody positivity in T1DM cases.
Successful Entrepreneurial Process as Contributor towards Business Performance in Banking: Moderating Role of Passion for Inventing

In last decade, banking landscape has faced different constraints and witnessed significant changes in Pakistan. That is the reason, the economy of Pakistan and banking sector has faced several challenges. Pakistani banking sector is lacking in entrepreneurial activities, in reflection, banking industry is suffering from low performance. To resolve this issue of lower level of entrepreneurial activities, the current study comes up with the prime objective to highlight the significant entrepreneurial factors to boost up the banking sector performance. To achieve this objective, this study adopted the survey approach to collect the data by using area cluster sampling. Total numbers of 500 questionnaires were distributed among the employees of banking sector from different localities of Pakistan. The results of the study found that entrepreneurial factors such as management support, work discretion, entrepreneurial education, previous entrepreneurial experience and time availability have significant positive impact on business performance in banking sector. Moreover, it is found that entrepreneurship passion for inventing moderating the relationship between these factors and business performance, except time availability. Thus, the current study is contributing to the body of knowledge by determining the entrepreneurial success factors in banking sector. For the reason, this study is beneficial for practitioners to boost up the banking sector performance in Pakistan.
A Functional Germline Variant in GLI1 Implicates Hedgehog Signaling in Clinical Outcome of Stage II and III Colon Carcinoma Patients

Purpose: Cumulating evidence indicates that germline variants in the Wnt, Notch, and Hedgehog pathways are involved in colon carcinoma progression and metastasis. We investigated germline polymorphisms in a comprehensive panel of Wnt, Notch, and Hedgehog pathway genes to predict time to recurrence (TTR) and overall survival in patients with stage II and III colon carcinoma. Experimental Design: A total of 742 consecutively collected patients with stage II and III colon carcinoma were included in this retrospective study. Genomic DNA was analyzed for 18 germline polymorphisms in Wnt, Notch, and Hedgehog pathway genes (SFRP, DKK 2 and 3, AXIN2, APC, MYC, TCF7L2, NOTCH2, and GLI1) by TaqMan 5′-exonuclease assays. Results: In univariate analysis, the homozygous mutant variant of GLI1 rs2228226 G>C was significantly associated with decreased TTR in a recessive genetic model after adjustment for multiple testing [HR = 2.35; confidence interval (95% CI), 1.48–3.74; P < 0.001] and remained significant in multivariate analysis including clinical stage, lymphovascular-, vascular-, and perineural-invasion (HR = 2.43; CI 95%, 1.52–3.87; P < 0.001). In subanalyses, the association was limited to patients with surgery alone (HR = 3.21; CI 95%, 1.59–6.49; P = 0.001), in contrast with patients with adjuvant chemotherapy (HR = 0.82; CI 95%, 0.35–1.95; P = 0.657). When the subgroup of patients with “high-risk” GLI1 rs2228226 C/C genotype was analyzed, no benefit of adjuvant 5-fluorouracil–based chemotherapy could be found. Conclusion: This is the first study identifying GLI1 rs2228226 G>C as an independent prognostic marker in patients with stage II and III colon carcinoma. Prospective studies are warranted to validate our findings. Clin Cancer Res; 20(6); 1687–97. ©2014 AACR.
Network Anomaly Traffic Detection Algorithm Based on SVM

In order to guarantee the high level of network security and improve the user experience of the network, in this paper, we propose an effective network anomaly traffic detection algorithm. Firstly, six types of network features are used in our work, such as 1) Number of source IP address, 2) Number of source port number, 3) Number of destination IP address, 4) Number of destination port number, 5) Number of packet type, 6) Number of distinct packets with same packet size. Afterwards, we discuss how to generate normalized entropy for the features which are exploited in the network anomaly traffic detection. Secondly, we convert the network traffic anomaly detection problem to a classification problem, and proposed a hybrid PSO-SVM model to solve it. Finally, experimental results demonstrate that the proposed method can detect different network traffic anomaly behaviors with high accuracy.
Humanae vitae, a generation later

Rather than end the debate over artificial means of contraception once and for all, the encyclical letter "Humanae Vitae" only energized the debate when it appeared in 1968, and that debate continues to this day. Janet E. Smith presents a comprehensive review of this issue from a philosophical and theological perspective. Tracing the emergence of the debate from the mid-1960s and reviewing the documents from the Special Papal Commission established to advise Pope Paul V1, Smith also examines the Catholic Church's position on marriage, which provides the context for its condemnation of contraception. Smith analyzes the various moral principles that are crucial to an understanding of "Humanae Vitae". She offers new renderings of several traditional arguments based on natural law, among which is an argument based on personalist values. Throughout the book, Smith's observations and perceptions contribute to a thought-provoking study.
A variable step maximum power point tracking algorithm based on gradient descent method

Solar energy is considered as one of the most effective, less expensive, harmless and less environment pollution effect of renewable energy sources. The problem of using solar power including varying weather condition brings different output power of the photovoltaic (PV) array, which may cause a serious waste of solar power. For solving this problem, a Maximum Power Point Tracking (MPPT) strategy is always required to make PV array keep giving maximum power under different environment condition. In this paper, a variable step MPPT based on gradient descent method is proposed for faster and more precise tracking process. A model based on matlab/simulink was established to analysis the performance of the proposed MPPT strategy. Simulation proves that this MPPT method is practical with a better performance than the traditional strategies.
The development of autonomously controlled vehicle, PVS

This paper describes an autonomously controlled vehicles which is equipped with two sensing modes, one employing cameras and the other ultrasonic detectors.In either mode the vehicle can move smoothly, along a white line on the road(camera mode) or along a guard rail(ultrasonic mode), avoiding obstacles on straightaways and turning corners at intersections. In the camera mode, the vehicle can travel at 60km/h along a straight road.
Neural activity in areas V1, V2 and V4 during free viewing of natural scenes compared to controlled viewing

UNDER natural viewing conditions primates make frequent exploratory eye movements across complex scenes. We recorded neural activity of 62 cells in visual areas V1, V2 and V4 in an awake behaving monkey that freely viewed natural images. About half of the cells studied showed a modulation in firing rate following some of the eye movements made during free viewing, though the proportions showing a discernible modulation varied across areas. These cells were also examined under controlled viewing conditions in which gratings or natural image patches were flashed in and around the classical receptive field while the animal performed a fixation task. Activity rates were generally highest with flashed gratings and lowest during free viewing. Flashed natural image patches evoked responses between these two extremes, and the responses were higher when the patches were confined to the classical receptive field than when they extended into the non-classical surround. Thus the reduction of activity during free viewing relative to that obtained with flashed gratings is partly attributable to natural images being less effective stimuli and partly to suppressive spatio-temporal neural mechanisms that are important during natural vision.
Central and Peripheral Sensitivity to Temporally Modulated Stimuli Presented to the Sighting and Nonsighting Eyes

Thirty-two visually normal observers showed reduced sensitivity to uniform field flicker in the fovea of the nonsighting eye relative to the sighting eye. The two eyes showed equal sensitivity to flicker in the peripheral retina. This result with visually normal observers is analogous to that found in observers with functional amblyopia. It is also consistent with the hypothesis that amblyopic and normal suppressive processes share a common mechanism.
A novel suicide vector and its use in construction of insertion mutations: osmoregulation of outer membrane proteins and virulence determinants in Vibrio cholerae requires toxR

The toxR gene of Vibrio cholerae encodes a transmembrane, DNA-binding protein that activates transcription of the cholera toxin operon and a gene (tcpA) for the major subunit of a pilus colonization factor. We constructed site-directed insertion mutations in the toxR gene by a novel method employing the chromosomal integration of a mobilizable suicide plasmid containing a portion of the toxR coding sequence. Mutants containing these new toxR alleles had an altered outer membrane protein profile, suggesting that two major outer membrane proteins (OmpT and OmpU) might be under the control of toxR. Physiological studies indicated that varying the concentration of the amino acids asparagine, arginine, glutamate, and serine caused coordinate changes in the expression of cholera toxin, TcpA, OmpT, and OmpU. Changes in the osmolarity of a tryptone-based medium also produced coordinate changes in the expression of these proteins. Other environmental signals (temperature and pH) had a more pronounced effect on the expression of cholera toxin and TcpA than they did on the outer membrane proteins. These results suggest that certain environmental signals (i.e., osmolarity and the presence of amino acids) are tightly coupled to the expression of toxR-regulated proteins and therefore may be signals that are directly sensed by the ToxR protein.
Seeing flowers through the mist: how social workers in disability services retrospectively view their educational experiences related to case management in Hong Kong

ABSTRACT This article is principally designed to examine social workers’ retrospective views on their past educational experiences with case management in disability services to supply a deficiency that very little literature attention has been paid to how prior professional education shape their case management practice. Using qualitative methods, 13 social workers selected by purposive sampling were invited to participate in in-depth interviews. The qualitative data were analysed to generate some themes. Three themes found are “from ‘rarely heard of it’ to ‘remember it being referred to’”; “buy a lottery ticket before starting a field placement”; and “Ambiguity”. These themes indicate that social work education related to case management was lagging behind, which may exacerbate social work’s polarisation and lead to social workers’ confusion about their professionality. As a result, an urgent need for greater knowledge of case management in university education and in-service training should be addressed in Hong Kong.
Pharmacy Students’ Attitudes Toward Debt

Objective. To examine pharmacy students’ attitudes toward debt. Methods. Two hundred thirteen pharmacy students at the University of Minnesota were surveyed using items designed to assess attitudes toward debt. Factor analysis was performed to identify common themes. Subgroup analysis was performed to examine whether students’ debt-tolerant attitudes varied according to their demographic characteristics, past loan experience, monthly income, and workload. Results. Principal component extraction with varimax rotation identified 3 factor themes accounting for 49.0% of the total variance: tolerant attitudes toward debt (23.5%); contemplation and knowledge about loans (14.3%); and fear of debt (11.2%). Tolerant attitudes toward debt were higher if students were white or if they had had past loan experience. Conclusion. These 3 themes in students’ attitudes toward debt were consistent with those identified in previous research. Pharmacy schools should consider providing a structured financial education to improve student management of debt.
Inhibitory Effect of Umbelliferone Aminoalkyl Derivatives on Oxidosqualene Cyclases from S. cerevisiae, T. cruzi, P. carinii, H. sapiens, and A. thaliana: a Structure–Activity Study

Eighteen coumarin derivatives were tested as inhibitors of oxidosqualene cyclases (OSCs) from Saccharomyces cerevisiae, Trypanosoma cruzi, Pneumocystis carinii, Homo sapiens, and Arabidopsis thaliana, all expressed in an OSC‐defective strain of S. cerevisiae. 35 All the compounds have an aminoalkyl chain bound to an aromatic nucleus; unconventional synthetic procedures (microwave‐ and ultrasound‐promoted reactions) were successfully used to prepare some of them. The most interesting structure‐dependent difference in inhibitory activities was observed with an N‐oxide group replacement of the tertiary amino group at the end of the side chain. An interesting species specificity also emerged: T. cruzi OSC was the least sensitive enzyme; P. carinii and A. thaliana OSCs were the most sensitive. The remarkable activities of three compounds on the T. cruzi enzyme and of five of them on the P. carinii enzyme suggest the present series as a promising compound family for the development of novel antiparasitic agents.
A business case argument for corporate social responsibility disclosure in Nigeria

ABSTRACT From the theoretical perspectives of stakeholder, agency and slack resources, and using fixed effects and random effects models, this study investigates the relationship between corporate social responsibility (CSR) and financial performance. The study adopts fixed and random effects panel estimates which deal with unobserved heterogeneity not addressed by OLS. The result is positive between CSR and Tobin’s q. This strengthens the argument that CSR creates value for stakeholders. The implications of this study lie in the common knowledge that Nigerian companies should address CSR from a strategic context of meeting stakeholder needs, in addition to satisfying shareholder expectations. Given that Nigeria’s economy by GDP is the largest in Africa, findings in this study have far-reaching implications in the African context.
Why the Bank of Israel Intervenes in the Foreign Exchange Market, and What Happens to the Exchange Rate

The Bank of Israel renewed its intervention in the foreign exchange market in early 2008 after about a decade of not intervening. This study examines the effect of the Bank’s purchases on the shekel exchange rate. The two-stage estimation approach provides the opportunity to understand the factors influencing the timing and scope of the intervention. The results of the estimation show that the Bank of Israel’s purchases contributed to a depreciation of the shekel. The average monthly volume of purchases for periods in which the Bank of Israel actually intervened in the market, approximately $830 million, contributed to a depreciation in the nominal effective exchange rate that was larger by about 0.6 percent, compared with a month with no intervention. The level of foreign exchange reserves (relative to GDP) and the deviation of the real exchange rate from its long-term equilibrium level tend to increase the volume of purchases by the central bank. Support for "leaning against the wind" behavior by the central bank was also found. The results suggest that the "signaling channel" is important in explaining the effect of intervention on the exchange rate.
Impaired regulation of the incretin effect in patients with type 2 diabetes.

OBJECTIVE In healthy subjects, the incretin effect during an oral glucose tolerance test increases with the size of glucose load, resulting in similar glucose excursions independently of the glucose loads. Whether patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) are able to regulate their incretin effect is unknown. RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS Incretin effect was measured over 6 d by means of three 4-h oral glucose tolerance test with increasing glucose loads (25, 75, and 125 g) and three corresponding isoglycemic iv glucose infusions in eight patients with T2DM [fasting plasma glucose, mean 7.7 (range 7.0-8.9) mM; glycosylated hemoglobin, 7.0% (6.2-8.4%)] and eight matched healthy control subjects [fasting plasma glucose, 5.3 (4.8-5.7) mM; glycosylated hemoglobin, 5.4% (5.0-5.7%)]. RESULTS Patients with T2DM exhibited higher peak plasma glucose in response to increasing oral glucose loads, whereas no differences in peak plasma glucose values among control subjects were observed. The incretin effect was significantly (P < 0.003) lower in patients with T2DM (0 ± 7, 11 ± 9, and 36 ± 5%) as compared with control subjects (36 ± 5, 53 ± 6, and 65 ± 6%). Equal and progressively delayed gastric emptying due to the increasing loads was found in both groups. Incretin hormone responses were similar. CONCLUSIONS Up-regulation of the incretin effect in response to increasing oral glucose loads seems to be crucial for controlling glucose excursions in healthy subjects. Patients with T2DM are characterized by an impaired capability to regulate their incretin effect, which may contribute to the exaggerated glucose excursions after oral ingestion of glucose in these patients.