Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Hepatitis C viral infection is not associated with Waldenström's macroglobulinemia

While a familial predisposition may exist in up to 20% of patients with Waldenström's Macroglobulinemia (WM), the precipitating cause of this B‐cell malignancy remains unknown in most patients. In previous studies, an association between hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection and WM has been suggested as etiological. This relationship has been the subject of debate, however, with some studies demonstrating increased incidence of HCV infection among WM patients and other studies showing no such association exists. This discordance might be attributable to the analytical method used, HCV antibody detection, which might be ineffective in patients with immunosuppression. We therefore analyzed the prevalence of HCV in a large population of WM patients utilizing both an HCV antibody detection immunoassay as well as qualitative polymerase chain reaction assay to directly detect HCV presence in serum samples. None of 100 randomly tested WM patients in this study tested positive for HCV by either analytical method. Our results therefore demonstrate a lack of association between HCV and WM. Am. J. Hematol. , 2006. © 2006 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
A study and toolkit of CHECK‐THEN‐ACT idioms of Java concurrent collections

Concurrent collections are widely used in concurrent programs. However, programmers can misuse these concurrent collections when composing two operations where a check on the collection (e.g., collection contains an element) precedes an action (e.g., inserting an element). Unless the whole composition is atomic, the program contains an atomicity violation bug. This paper presents an extensive empirical study of CHECK‐THEN‐ACT idioms of Java (Oracle Corporation, Redwood, CA, USA) concurrent collections. We analyze 28 widely used open‐source Java projects (comprising 6.4 million lines of code) that use Java concurrent collections. We study the correct and incorrect use of idioms and the evolution of the programs with respect to idioms. Our tool, CTADETECTOR, detects and corrects misused idioms. CTADETECTOR discovered 60 bugs that were confirmed and fixed by developers. This shows that CHECK‐THEN‐ACT idioms are commonly misused in practice, and correcting them is important. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Statistical characterization of the hydrochemical data's of groundwater in the arid land of Wadi AdDawasir area, Saudi Arabia: A probabilistic assessment

The main purpose of this research is to determine the quality of ground water in Wadi AdDawasir by the assessmentof 12 chemical parameters: pH, EC, Eh, TDS, TH, Ca2+, Cl–, HCO3–, Mg2+, Na+, NO3–, and SO42–. Statistical analyseswere carried out using descriptive statistics, histograms, and normal quantile plots. The SPSS 15 software package(SPSS Inc. 2006) and JMPIN (version 4.0.4) were used as the main statistical software. Many locations withinthe study area show thatf pH, EC, HCO3–and Na+ values exceed permissible limits. The concentration of anions isin the order SO42–>Cl–>HCO3–. Some of the analyzed parameters approach a normal distribution, as both their skewnessand kurtoses are close to zero. However, skewness for some parameters such as Mg2+ and HCO3–is high. Kurtosisfor most of the elements varies from moderate to low. Only pH, HCO3– and SO42– have kurtoses. Both the resultsof cluster tree and geochemical features of variables could be generally classifi ed into three main groups. Group1 is comprised of Na and SO42–. The relationships within this group are strong. Group 2 consisted of Mg2+, NO3–,pH, HCO3–, and Ca2+. The fact that this group has a close relationship with group 1 demonstrates that the increase inthe concentration of some elements could be the same. Group 3 is comprised of TH, Cl–, Eh, and EC.
Effect of ACL transection on internal tibial rotation in an in vitro simulated pivot landing.

BACKGROUND The amount of resistance provided by the ACL (anterior cruciate ligament) to axial tibial rotation remains controversial. The goal of this study was to test the primary hypotheses that ACL transection would not significantly affect tibial rotation under the large impulsive loads associated with a simulated pivot landing but would increase anterior tibial translation. METHODS Twelve cadaveric knees (mean age of donors [and standard deviation] at the time of death, 65.0 ± 10.5 years) were mounted in a custom testing apparatus to simulate a single-leg pivot landing. A compound impulsive load was applied to the distal part of the tibia with compression (∼800 N), flexion moment (∼40 N-m), and axial tibial torque (∼17 N-m) in the presence of five trans-knee muscle forces. A differential variable reluctance transducer mounted on the anteromedial aspect of the ACL measured relative strain. With the knee initially in 15° of flexion, and after five combined compression and flexion moment (baseline) loading trials, six trials were conducted with the addition of either internal or external tibial torque (internal or external loading), and then six baseline trials were performed. The ACL was then sectioned, six baseline trials were repeated, and then six trials of either the internal or the external loading condition, whichever had initially resulted in the larger relative ACL strain, were carried out. Tibiofemoral kinematics were measured optoelectronically. The results were analyzed with a nonparametric Wilcoxon signed-rank test. RESULTS Following ACL transection, the increase in the normalized internal tibial rotation was significant but small (0.7°/N-m ± 0.3°/N-m to 0.8°/N-m ± 0.3°/N-m, p = 0.012), while anterior tibial translation increased significantly (3.8 ± 2.9 to 7.0 ± 2.9 mm, p = 0.017). CONCLUSIONS ACL transection leads to a small increase in internal tibial rotation, equivalent to a 13% decrease in the dynamic rotational resistance, under the large forces associated with a simulated pivot landing, but it leads to a significant increase in anterior tibial translation.
A Framework for Designing Complex Product-Service Systems with a Multi-Domain Matrix

Offering a Product-Service System (PSS) is a well-accepted strategy that companies may adopt to provide a set of systemic solutions to customers. PSSs were initially provided in a simple form but now take diversified and complex forms involving multiple services, products and technologies. With the growing interest in the PSS, frameworks for the PSS development have been introduced by many researchers. However, most of the existing frameworks fail to examine various relations existing in a complex PSS. Since designing a complex PSS involves full integration of multiple products and services, it is essential to identify not only product-service relations but also product-product/ service-service relations. It is also equally important to specify how they are related for better understanding of the system. Moreover, as customers tend to view their purchase from a more holistic perspective, a PSS should be developed based on the whole system’s requirements, rather than focusing only on the product requirements or service requirements. Thus, we propose a framework to develop a complex PSS that is coordinated fully with the requirements of both worlds. Specifically, our approach adopts a multi-domain matrix (MDM). A MDM identifies not only inter-domain relations but also intra-domain relations so that it helps to design a PSS that includes highly desired and closely related core functions/ features. Also, various dependency types and rating schemes proposed in our approach would help the integration process. Keywords—Inter-domain relations, intra-domain relations, multi-domain matrix, product-service system design.
Toward Agile: An Integrated Analysis of Quantitative and Qualitative Field Data

As business and technology environments change at an unprecedented rate, software development agility to respond to changing user requirements has become increasingly critical for software development performance. Agile software development approaches, which emphasize sense-and-respond, self-organization, cross-functional teams, and continuous adaptation, have been adopted by an increasing number of organizations to improve their software development agility. However, the agile development literature is largely anecdotal and prescriptive, lacking empirical evidence and theoretical foundation to support the principles and practices of agile development. Little research has empirically examined the software development agility construct in terms of its dimensions, determinants, and effects on software development performance. As a result, there is a lack of understanding about how organizations can effectively implement an agile development approach. Using an integrated research approach that combines quantitative and qualitative data analyses, this research opens the black box of agile development by empirically examining the relationships among two dimensions of software development agility (software team response extensiveness and software team response efficiency), two antecedents that can be controlled (team autonomy and team diversity), and three aspects of software development performance (on-time completion, on-budget completion, and software functionality). Our PLS results of survey responses of 399 software project managers suggest that the relationships among these variables are more complex than what has been perceived by the literature. The results suggest a tradeoff relationship between response extensiveness and response efficiency. These two agility dimensions impact software development performance differently: response efficiency positively affects all of on-time completion, on-budget completion, and software functionality, whereas response extensiveness positively affects only software functionality. The results also suggest that team autonomy has a positive effect on response efficiency and a negative effect on response extensiveness, and that team diversity has a positive effect on response extensiveness. We conducted 10 post hoc case studies to qualitatively cross-validate our PLS results and provide rich, additional insights regarding the complex, dynamic interplays between autonomy, diversity, agility, and performance. The qualitative analysis also provides explanations for both supported and unsupported hypotheses. We discuss these qualitative analysis results and conclude with the theoretical and practical implications of our research findings for agile development approaches.
Los factores determinantes de la innovación: un análisis econométrico sobre las regiones españolas

Este trabajo analiza los factores determinantes de la capacidad innovadora del sistema de I+D regional de Espana. Para ello se revisan, en primer lugar, las teorias acerca de los sistemas de innovacion y su incidencia en el desarrollo de un modelo econometrico como el aqui presentado. A continuacion se contrastan los resultados de los principales estudios empiricos, tanto a nivel regional Espana y Estados Unidos/ como nacional paises de la OCDE. Posteriormente se interpretan los resultados obtenidos con nuestro modelo, de los que se deduce el destacado papel que en la innovacion de las regiones espanolas desempena el sector empresarial y el esfuerzo innovador llevado a cabo, ademas de la importancia del entorno productivo innovador y, en menor medida, de la infraestructura de apoyo a la innovacion.
Flight String Models for Aircraft Fleeting and Routing

Given a schedule of flight legs to be flown by an airline, the fleet assignment problem is to determine the minimum cost assignment of flights to aircraft types, called fleets, such that each scheduled flight is assigned to exactly one fleet, and the resulting assignment is feasible to fly given a limited number of aircraft in each fleet. Then the airline must determine a sequence of flights, or routes, to be flown by individual aircraft such that assigned flights are included in exactly one route, and all aircraft can be maintained as necessary. This is referred to as the aircraft routing problem. In this paper, we present a single model and solution approach to solve simultaneously the fleet assignment and aircraft routing problems. Our approach is robust in that it can capture costs associated with aircraft connections and complicating constraints such as maintenance requirements. By setting the number of fleets to one, our approach can be used to solve the aircraft routing problem alone. We show how to extend our model and solution approach to solve aircraft routing problems with additional constraints requiring equal aircraft utilization. With data provided by airlines, we provide computational results for the combined fleet assignment and aircraft routing problems without equal utilization requirements and for aircraft routing problems requiring equal aircraft utilization.
Interleukin 8 production in whole blood assays: Is interleukin 10 responsible for the downregulation observed in sepsis?

Reduced cytokine production in ex vivo cultures has been regularly reported in patients suffering from sepsis syndrome. Using whole blood assays, we have now demonstrated that in sepsis patients, normal production of IL-8 was achieved with the higher concentration of lipopolysaccharide (LPS; 1 microg/ml) and with heat-killed streptococci, whereas the IL-8 production induced by lower LPS concentration (0.1 microg/ml) was significantly reduced as compared to healthy controls. In contrast, in patients undergoing cardiac surgery associated with cardio-pulmonary bypass, a group of patients with inflammation in the absence of infectious insult, none of the studied IL-8 productions were affected. Among the various anti-inflammatory cytokines known to regulate IL-8 production which we tested (i.e. IL-4, IL-10, IL-13, TGF-beta), IL-10 was the most active inhibitory cytokine in whole blood assays performed with blood samples from healthy subjects. However, its activity was not influenced by the amounts of LPS used. In addition, IL-10 also inhibited the heat-killed streptococci-induced IL-8 production and was the only cytokine to inhibit the release of IL-8 when TNF was added to LPS. It is worth noting that IL-13 which also inhibited the heat-killed streptococci-induced IL-8 production, failed to do so when the TNF production was analysed. Together, these data suggest that while circulating IL-10 in septic patients may be responsible for the hyporeactivity of circulating leukocytes, its presence is not sufficient to explain the observed dysregulation which occurs in septic patients.
Prokaryotic Cells Transformation Using Simple, Rapid And High Efficiency Method

Transformation is the basic experiment in molecular biology laboratory thus the present study was carried out to find new and rapid methods for performed it with low cost and time, Luria broth was used instead of other compromised media, the results show that Luria media have high efficiency to transform bacteria than other media The results show that using Luria medium suitable and easier for transformation experiment.
p38γ and p38δ reprogram liver metabolism by modulating neutrophil infiltration

Non‐alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is a major health problem and the main cause of liver disease in Western countries. Although NAFLD is strongly associated with obesity and insulin resistance, its pathogenesis remains poorly understood. The disease begins with an excessive accumulation of triglycerides in the liver, which stimulates an inflammatory response. Alternative p38 mitogen‐activated kinases (p38γ and p38δ) have been shown to contribute to inflammation in different diseases. Here we demonstrate that p38δ is elevated in livers of obese patients with NAFLD and that mice lacking p38γ/δ in myeloid cells are resistant to diet‐induced fatty liver, hepatic triglyceride accumulation and glucose intolerance. This protective effect is due to defective migration of p38γ/δ‐deficient neutrophils to the damaged liver. We further show that neutrophil infiltration in wild‐type mice contributes to steatosis development by means of inflammation and liver metabolic changes. Therefore, p38γ and p38δ in myeloid cells provide a potential target for NAFLD therapy.
Crystal methamphetamine initiation among street-involved youth

Abstract Background: Although many settings have recently documented a substantial increase in the use of methamphetamine-type stimulants, recent reviews have underscored the dearth of prospective studies that have examined risk factors associated with the initiation of crystal methamphetamine use. Objectives: Our objectives were to examine rates and risk factors for the initiation of crystal methamphetamine use in a cohort of street-involved youth. Methods: Street-involved youth in Vancouver, Canada, were enrolled in a prospective cohort known as the At-Risk Youth Study (ARYS). A total of 205 crystal methamphetamine-naïve participants were assessed semi-annually and Cox regression analyses were used to identify factors independently associated with the initiation of crystal methamphetamine use. Results: Among 205 youth prospectively followed from 2005 to 2012, the incidence density of crystal methamphetamine initiation was 12.2 per 100 person years. In Cox regression analyses, initiation of crystal methamphetamine use was independently associated with previous crack cocaine use (adjusted relative hazard [ARH] = 2.24 [95% CI: 1.20–4.20]) and recent drug dealing (ARH = 1.98 [95% CI: 1.05–3.71]). Those initiating methamphetamine were also more likely to report a recent nonfatal overdose (ARH = 3.63 [95% CI: 1.65–7.98]) and to be male (ARH = 2.12 [95% CI: 1.06–4.25]). Conclusions: We identified high rates of crystal methamphetamine initiation among this population. Males those involved in the drug trade, and those who used crack cocaine were more likely to initiate crystal methamphetamine use. Evidence-based strategies to prevent and treat crystal methamphetamine use are urgently needed.
A panel of microsatellite markers developed for solitary trap-nesting wasp Ancistrocerus trifasciatus (Müller, 1776) by cross-species amplification

Solitary cavity-nesting Hymenoptera constitute a group of important bioindicators of terrestrial habitats. Some of them, like caterpillar-hunting potter wasp Ancistrocerus trifasciatus (Hymenoptera: Vespidae: Eumeninae), are quite abundant in both continuous and fragmented habitats and might be a promising model species for studying the impact of habitat fragmentation and landscape connectivity on genetic diversity of entomophagous insects. Highly polymorphic microsatellites are a powerful molecular tool for intraspecific studies but the development of this marker system de novo is especially laborious and time-consuming. An alternative time- and effort-effective approach to establish the microsatellite markers for the species of interest is the cross-species amplification of loci already isolated in related species. Here we present a panel of five polymorphic microsatellite loci for A. trifasciatus developed by cross-species amplification of twenty-nine microsatellite markers published so far for nearctic potter wasps.
MANAGEMENT OF GIANT MIDDLE CEREBRAL ARTERY ANEURYSMS WITH INCORPORATED BRANCHES: PARTIAL ENDOVASCULAR COILING OR COMBINED EXTRACRANIAL‐ INTRACRANIAL BYPASS—A TEAM APPROACH

OBJECTIVE Our goal was to assess the long-term anatomic and clinical outcomes in patients with giant middle cerebral artery (MCA) aneurysms treated by endovascular coil embolization alone or in combination with cerebral revascularization. METHODS One hundred twenty-six patients with giant intracranial aneurysms were endovascularly treated at the University of California, Los Angeles, between 1990 and 2007. Of these, 9 patients had partially thrombosed MCA aneurysms with incorporated branches. Five patients presented with symptoms of mass effect, 3 had seizures, 2 had episodes of brain ischemia, and 1 presented with acute subarachnoid hemorrhage. RESULTS Three wide-neck saccular aneurysms were almost completely coil occluded, leaving only small neck remnants that were intended to preserve the patency of incorporated MCA branches. The other 6 fusiform aneurysms were effectively treated by superficial temporal artery-MCA or occipital artery-MCA bypass, followed by complete coil occlusion of these aneurysms. Immediate angiograms and mid- or long-term neuroradiological imaging follow-up examinations revealed complete obliteration or near-complete occlusion (90%–99%) of the aneurysms in all 9 patients. Seven patients had a favorable long-term clinical outcome, and 1 patient died as a result of unrelated congestive heart failure. One patient required emergent surgical aneurysm thrombectomy because of inadvertent coil occlusion of the frontal opercular artery, which was not protected by the bypass, and the patient subsequently sustained a moderate neurological disability. CONCLUSION Giant MCA aneurysms with branch incorporations and other unfavorable features such as intraluminal thrombus, mural calcification, and fusiform configuration can be effectively treated with a team approach, using coil embolization after protective surgical bypass. When aneurysms with MCA branches incorporated into the neck rather than the dome are treated by endovascular techniques alone, long-term angiographic follow-up is necessary to assess and further treat any significant remnant.
Parahydrogen‐induced polarization of carboxylic acids: a pilot study of valproic acid and related structures

Parahydrogen‐induced polarization (PHIP) is a promising new tool for medical applications of MR, including MRI. The PHIP technique can be used to transfer high non‐Boltzmann polarization, derived from parahydrogen, to isotopes with a low natural abundance or low gyromagnetic ratio (e.g. 13C), thus improving the signal‐to‐noise ratio by several orders of magnitude. A few molecules acting as metabolic sensors have already been hyperpolarized with PHIP, but the direct hyperpolarization of drugs used to treat neurological disorders has not been accomplished until now. Here, we report on the first successful hyperpolarization of valproate (valproic acid, VPA), an important and commonly used antiepileptic drug. Hyperpolarization was confirmed by detecting the corresponding signal patterns in the 1H NMR spectrum. To identify the optimal experimental conditions for the conversion of an appropriate VPA precursor, structurally related molecules with different side chains were analyzed in different solvents using various catalytic systems. The presented results include hyperpolarized 13C NMR spectra and proton images of related systems, confirming their applicability for MR studies. PHIP‐based polarization enhancement may provide a new MR technique to monitor the spatial distribution of valproate in brain tissue and to analyze metabolic pathways after valproate administration. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Mechanisms Associated with Thymocyte Apoptosis Induced by Simian Immunodeficiency Virus1

Despite considerable research, the mechanisms by which HIV disrupts thymic function remain controversial. We have described the phenotypic changes that occur in the thymus of SIV-infected macaques during acute SIV infection. In this study, we analyzed the effects of SIV infection on apoptotic pathways in thymic tissue from newborn macaques infected with SIV. Thymocyte apoptosis was accompanied by a modest increase in surface Fas expression, a profound decrease in the frequency of bcl-2-positive cells, as well as the amount of bcl-2 per cell. With control of viral replication, levels of bcl-2 and Fas returned to baseline together with a return to basal levels of apoptosis. In the thymus, SIV infection resulted in depletion of CD4+CD8+ thymocytes, an increase in apoptosis of thymocytes, and a down-regulation of MHC class I molecules. These changes peaked 14–21 days after infection at or just after peak viremia. This data further suggests disruption of the antiapoptotic pathway regulated by bcl-2 plays a critical role in SIV-induced apoptosis of thymocytes.