Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Evaluation of Disinfection By-products Formation During Ozonation of Bromide-Containing Groundwater

Abstract Ozonation of natural waters containing bromide ion leads to the formation of inorganic bromate and many organic by-products, only a few of which have been identified. The object of this article is to identify primary ozone disinfection by-products (DBPs) and to ascertain the effects of bromide (Br−) concentration, pH, natural organic material (NOM) characteristics, ozone dosage, and other water quality parameters on their formation in ozonated waters derive from seven groundwaters. The results of this study show that bromate formation is favored at high pH, high initial bromide concentrations, and high ozone dosage, but low dissolved organic carbon (DOC), and ammonia levels. On the other hand, organic by-products were favored at low pH, high bromide levels, and high O3/DOC ratios. In general, bromoform (CHBr3) and aldehydes concentration first increased, then diminished, as the dosage of ozone was increased. Ammonia appears to reduce both bromate and bromoform. Additional brominated organic by-products produced via ozonation of a variety of groundwaters in this study were monobromoacetic acid (MBAA), dibromoacetic acid (DBAA), 2,4-dibromophenol (2,4-DBP), dibromoacetonitrile (DBAN). The levels of these by-products are affected by the water quality characteristics. The background organic nitrogen (organic-N) content of the different water sources may be correlated with amounts of DBAN formed. It was also found that the characteristic of organic precursors have significant influences on brominated organic by-products formation. Humic acid demonstrated the highest CHBr3, DBAA, and 2,4-DBP formation, whereas hydrophilic neutral produced less CHBr3 and 2,4-DBP than the rest of the organic fractions but produced the highest amount of DBAN.
Human leucocyte antigen class II DRB1 and DQB1 associations in human immunodeficiency virus‐infected patients of Mumbai, India

The pathogenesis of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection clearly involves immunoregulatory host factors and products of major histocompatibility complex class II genes, which present antigenic peptides to the T‐cell receptor on CD4+ cells, which in turn increase the production of specific antibodies and cytotoxic T lymphocytes. The main objective of this study was to determine the associations of human leucocyte antigen (HLA) DRB1 and DQB1 alleles and their haplotypes in 210 HIV‐1‐infected patients and compare them with 129 healthy normal individuals with same ethnic background. The HLA DRB1 and DQB1 alleles were genotyped using polymerase chain reaction product and sequence‐specific probes for reverse line hybridization, analysed with the Invitrogen Dynal PMP software. Our results revealed a highly significant increase of HLA DRB1*0902 [odds ratio (OR) = 17.12; P = 0.004], DQB1*030103 (OR = 53.53; P = 4.61E‐07) and DQB1*050201 (OR = 16.26; P = 0.0002) alleles while in contrast highly significant decrease in frequency of HLA DQB1*030101 (OR = 0.36; P = 0.0002), DQB1*050301 (OR = 0.22; P < 0.0001) and DQB1*060101 (OR = 0.43; P < 0.0001) among the HIV‐1‐infected patients when compared with the controls. The haplotype DRB1*0902‐DQB1*030103 (OR = 10.65; P = 0.06) was significantly increased in HIV1 patients, while haplotypes DRB1*150101–DQB1*060101 (OR = 0.386, P < 0.0001), DRB1*030101–DQB1*020101 (OR = 0.197, P = 0.004) and DRB1*070101–DQB1*0202 (OR = 0.167, P = 0.001) were significantly decreased. Our results indicate clearly that there are HLA class II alleles involved in the susceptibility to and protection from HIV‐1 infection in our study group and further they vary in different ethnic groups reported in literature.
Labour's Response to the Informalization of Work in the curreit Restructuring of Global Capitalism: China, South Korea, and South Africa

ABSTRACT This article focuses on “the inforrnalization of work” that is proliferating in all regions of the world. How and why has it come about? What are the effects? What are the implications for the labour movement? The article has three interconnected parts: fint, I provide some explanations of concepts and terminology, especially to distinguish the process of “informalization of work” from the paradigm of the informal/formal sector, which may never have been an accurate way of viewing; second, three examples—China, South Korea, and South Afica—are given to ground more concretely this current informalization process; and finally I analyze strategies undertaken by labour to address the indisputable adverse consequences of this current phase of global capitalism.
Genome organization of the Kresse strain of porcine parvovirus: identification of the allotropic determinant and comparison with those of NADL-2 and field isolates

The Kresse strain of porcine parvovirus (PPV) was cloned into pUC19, and independent infectious clones were sequenced. The PPV Kresse and NADL-2 strains, which have different pathogenicities, shared an identical genomic organization and a high degree of sequence identity. Partial genomes (1.5 or 1.6 kb) of 15 field isolates were also amplified by PCR in regions with significant sequence differences between the laboratory strains. Five amino acid differences were consistently present within the VP1/VP2 coding region of the Kresse strain and virulent field isolates. A number of inconsistent point mutations were also found throughout the genomes of field isolates. In addition, among those with the vaccine amino acid profile, all but one isolate (IAF-3) contained a 127-bp noncoding direct repeat downstream of the capsid protein gene. The one exception was also the only vaccine-type PPV obtained from a mummified fetus. In order to identify genetic elements responsible for the distinct tropism (and possibly the pathology) of the Kresse strain, in vitro cell systems which differentiated the virulent from the vaccinal strains were established. Subsequently, chimeric infectious clones of the Kresse and NADL-2 strains were used to identify the allotropic determinant located in the VP1/VP2 region. The transfer of the BglII fragment of the Kresse genome, containing three amino acid differences, into the NADL-2 background, or the opposite construct, caused the phenotype of the target genome to revert to that of the parent strain of the BglII fragment. Prediction of the localization of amino acid differences on the basis of canine parvovirus capsid structure indicates that each is located on or near the outer surface of the virion. In particular, the position of one mutation (S-436-->P) maps by analogy to the threefold spike, the most accessible region of the capsid.
Performance and sensitivity of rapid sublethal sediment toxicity tests with the amphipod Melita plumulosa and copepod Nitocra spinipes

Sublethal whole‐sediment toxicity tests are an important tool for assessing the potential effects of contaminated sediments. However, the longer duration required for evaluating potential chronic effects may increase endpoint variability and test costs compared to survival endpoints. In the present study we compare the performance and sensitivity to contaminants of 10‐d sublethal sediment toxicity tests with the amphipod Melita plumulosa and harpacticoid copepod Nitocra spinipes. For both tests, sublethal effects were consistently observed when sediment contaminant concentrations exceeded sediment quality guideline (SQG) concentrations. The response of these bioassays in metal‐contaminated sediments was shown to conform ideally with respect to the mean SQG quotient calculated on the basis of the Australian and New Zealand lower SQG trigger value, with toxicity being observed only in those sediments where the mean quotient exceeded one. Better predictions of nontoxicity were obtained when dilute acid‐extractable rather than total metal concentrations were used. Using the upper SQG, toxicity frequently occurred at mean quotients below one. The effects were generally consistent with predictions from the acid‐volatile sulfide and simultaneously extracted metal model. Effects on reproduction of M. plumulosa were detected for sediments that did not cause effects on survival and highlighted the environmental relevance and importance of using these sublethal endpoints. When using four replicates for M. plumulosa and five replicates for N. spinipes, the endpoint variability (standard error) was less than 10%. Variations in sediment particle size and organic carbon content did not affect endpoint variability. Both species are relatively easily cultured in the laboratory, and the estimated effort and cost of achieving the sublethal endpoints is 1.5 times that of the acute survival test endpoints. Environ. Toxicol. Chem. 2011;30:2326–2334. © 2011 SETAC
Polymorphisms in DNA repair genes and epithelial ovarian cancer risk

DNA repair gene polymorphisms and mutations are known to influence cancer risk. We studied whether polymorphisms in DNA double strand break (DSB) repair genes are associated with epithelial ovarian cancer (EOC) risk. Up to 1,600 cases and 4,241 controls from 4 separate genetic association studies from 3 countries were genotyped for 13 single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNP) in 6 genes (BRCA1, NBS1, RAD51, RAD52, XRCC2 and XRCC3) involved in homologous recombination of DNA double strand breaks. Genotype specific risks were estimated as odds ratios (OR) by unconditional logistic regression. No association was detected between EOC risk and BRCA1 Q356R, BRCA1 P871L, RAD51 g135c, RAD51 g172t, RAD52 c2259t, NBS1 L34L, NBS1 E185Q, NBS1 A399A, NBS1 P672P, XRCC2 g4324c, XRCC2 c41657t and XRCC3 T241M. The XRCC2 R188H polymorphism was associated with a modest reduction in EOC risk: OR for heterozygotes was 0.8 (95% confidence interval [CI] = 0.7–1.0) and for rare homozygotes 0.3 (0.1–0.9). The XRCC3 a4541g polymorphism, situated in the 5′UTR, and the intronic XRCC3 a17893g polymorphism were not associated with EOC risk in general, but when the serous EOC subset only was analysed, the OR for heterozygotes for a4541g was 1.0 (0.9–1.2) and for the rare homozygotes 0.5 (0.3–0.9). For the XRCC3 a17893g polymorphism, the OR for the heterozygotes and the rare homozygotes were 0.8 (0.7–0.9) and 0.9 (0.7–1.2), respectively. In our study, some polymorphisms in XRCC2 and XRCC3 genes were associated with EOC risk. Further research on the role of these genes on epithelial ovarian cancer is warranted. © 2005 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Emissions trading in China: lessons from Taiyuan SO2 emissions trading program

Purpose – This paper seeks to investigate sulphur dioxide (SO2) emissions trading practice in China and discusses what it might reveal about the suitability of using emissions trading to achieve carbon reductions in China.Design/methodology/approach – The paper explores the Taiyuan SO2 emissions trading program case through interviews with key participants in the scheme. The interview questions are developed from the literature on emissions trading practice and theory.Findings – The Taiyuan SO2 emissions trading program does not seem to be functioning anything like a theoretically ideal model and this brings into question proposals to introduce emissions trading in China. Limitations would seem to be the semi‐free market, the weakness of the legal system and the nature of business‐bureaucracy interactions.Research limitations/implications – This case study is geographically limited, as are most emissions trading schemes in China and the number of interviewees is relatively small. There was also little his.
Consumption, Sentiment, and Economic News

This paper investigates the influence of economic news on consumer sentiment, and examines whether “news shocks”—changes in coverage that would not be expected from incoming data on economic fundamentals—have aggregate effects. Using monthly U.S. data and a structural vector autoregression, I find that (1) sentiment is affected by news shocks; (2) after filtering out effects of news shocks, shocks to sentiment still have positive effects on consumer spending; and (3) news shocks influence both spending and unemployment in significant, though transitory ways. These results are consistent with other evidence of a role of nonfundamental factors in aggregate fluctuations. (JEL E21, E32, D12)
High Plasma TIMP-1 and Serum CEA Levels during Combination Chemotherapy for Metastatic Colorectal Cancer Are Significantly Associated with Poor Outcome

Objective: To evaluate whether combination chemotherapy leads to early changes in plasma TIMP-1 and serum carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA) levels in patients with metastatic colorectal cancer (mCRC), and whether such changes relate to subsequent objective response, time to progression (TTP) and overall survival. Materials and Methods: Eighty-eight patients with mCRC were included. Blood samples were collected before initiation and after 2, 4 and 6 weeks of treatment with an irinotecan-5-fluorouracil combination. Plasma TIMP-1 and serum CEA levels were determined by validated ELISA platforms. The first response evaluation was performed after 8 weeks of chemotherapy. Results: Median plasma TIMP-1 and serum CEA levels did not change significantly during 6 weeks of treatment. High plasma TIMP-1 and high serum CEA levels before treatment and at weeks 2, 4 and 6 were related to poor objective response. Moreover, high levels of plasma TIMP-1 before treatment and at weeks 2 and 4 were significantly associated with short TTP, while high levels of serum CEA at week 4 were significantly associated with short TTP. Finally, high levels of plasma TIMP-1 before and during treatment were significantly associated with poor overall survival; p < 0.0001 in all 4 determinations. A similar association between serum CEA and overall survival could only be demonstrated before treatment. Conclusion: Median plasma TIMP-1 or serum CEA levels do not change significantly during the first 6 weeks of chemotherapy for mCRC. The results indicate that plasma TIMP-1 in particular and serum CEA may be valuable biomarkers even in samples collected during treatment with chemotherapy.
Managing Incoterms 2010 risks: tension with trade and banking practices

Incoterms 2010, issued by the International Chamber of Commerce and effective from 1 January 2011, is a set of rules for the delivery of product between sellers and buyers that is routinely incorporated into international contracts of sale. Incoterms 2010, outline, on a mutually exclusive basis, the rights, duties, obligations and responsibilities of sellers and buyers in the discharge of their respective contractual obligations. Properly used, Incoterms 2010 are an effective risk management tool. However, old trading practices create tension with modern transport practices and Incoterms 2010, potentially increasing risks for traders. For example, the term free on board (FOB) is not recommended for maritime containers, because of transport risk transfer considerations, yet it is known that a significant proportion of traders still use FOB in their international contracts. Banking practices also appear to be lagging behind, and in the case of letter of credit FOB transactions, documentary demands are placed on sellers that are at times contrary to the Incoterms 2010 recommendations. This paper considers the impact of outdated trade and banking practices and their likely impact on traders, concluding that an enterprise risk management approach is required, incorporating specific staff training, to modernise trade practices and reduce organisational risk.
How to meet the neighbors: Modality effects on phonological generalization

Abstract Long-term auditory priming of words from dense neighborhoods has been posited as a learning mechanism that affects change in the phonological structure of children's lexical representations. An apparent confound associated with the modality of priming responsible for structural change has been introduced in the literature, which challenges this proposal. Thus, our purpose was to evaluate prime modality in the treatment of children with phonological delay. Nine children were assigned to auditory–visual, auditory, or visual priming of words from dense neighborhoods prior to the treatment of production as the independent variable. The dependent variable was phonological generalization. Results showed that auditory priming (with or without visual input) promoted greater generalization on an order of magnitude of 3:1. Findings support the theoretical significance of auditory priming for phonological learning and demonstrate the applied utility of priming in clinical treatment.
The Job Search Behavior of Employed Youth

An employed worker's search strategies include (1) employed-not searching, (2) employed-searching, and (3) unemployed-searching. The last requires that the worker quit to search. Under plausible assumptions on search costs, the optimal algorithm involves a dual reservation wage strategy (Burdett, 1978). The probability of on-the-job search increases as the current wage decreases relative to the distribution of alternative wages. If the wage is sufficiently low, the searcher quits to search, substituting time for financial outlays. Estimates based on the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth indicate that these calculations characterize the search strategies of young workers. Copyright 1991 by MIT Press.
Bladder dysfunction in a transgenic mouse model of multiple system atrophy

Multiple system atrophy (MSA) is an adult‐onset neurodegenerative disorder presenting with motor impairment and autonomic dysfunction. Urological function is altered in the majority of MSA patients, and urological symptoms often precede the motor syndrome. To date, bladder function and structure have never been investigated in MSA models. We aimed to test bladder function in a transgenic MSA mouse featuring oligodendroglial α‐synucleinopathy and define its applicability as a preclinical model to study urological failure in MSA. Experiments were performed in proteolipid protein (PLP)–human α‐synuclein (hαSyn) transgenic and control wild‐type mice. Diuresis, urodynamics, and detrusor strip contractility were assessed to characterize the urological phenotype. Bladder morphology and neuropathology of the lumbosacral intermediolateral column and the pontine micturition center (PMC) were analyzed in young and aged mice. Urodynamic analysis revealed a less efficient and unstable bladder in MSA mice with increased voiding contraction amplitude, higher frequency of nonvoiding contractions, and increased postvoid residual volume. MSA mice bladder walls showed early detrusor hypertrophy and age‐related urothelium hypertrophy. Transgenic hαSyn expression was detected in Schwann cells ensheathing the local nerve fibers in the lamina propria and muscularis of MSA bladders. Early loss of parasympathetic outflow neurons and delayed degeneration of the PMC accompanied the urological deficits in MSA mice. PLP‐hαSyn mice recapitulate major urological symptoms of human MSA that may be linked to αSyn‐related central and peripheral neuropathology and can be further used as a preclinical model to decipher pathomechanisms of MSA. © 2013 Movement Disorder Society
People-following system design for mobile robots using kinect sensor

A system of Kinect-based people following for mobile robots is presented. The function of skeleton tracking of Kinect, a 3D somatosensory camera, is used to identify a specific person in the depth image. And then the position of the identified person in robot local coordinates is attained by using the ranging data obtained from the Kinect sensor. A rule-based control law is designed to keep the person in the center of depth images and in a fixed distance away from the mobile robot. Finally, a physical experiment in a corridor of an office building is shown.
International Interlaboratory Quality Control Program for Measurement of Antiretroviral Drugs in Plasma

ABSTRACT An international interlaboratory quality control program for measurement of antiretroviral drugs was initiated. The first round was confined to protease inhibitors and showed large variability in the performance of participating laboratories. The results demonstrate the need for and utility of an ongoing quality control program in this area of bioanalysis.
Developing management skills.

Building bridges is an innovative programme for developing nurses, midwives and health visitors in Wales. In May 1996, the NHS Staff College in Wales set up a think tank to examine the issue of management development for nurses. Participants concluded that a group of executive nurses should draw up proposals for nurse development with support from the Staff College.
Frequency-domain analysis of uncontrolled rectifiers

This paper develops a systematic analytical method to calculate the harmonic components of uncontrolled single and three phase rectifiers. Based on frequency domain linearity (A.R. Wood and J. Arrillaga, 1995), the dc side voltage and current of discontinuous rectifiers are divided into on and off period segments, then through superposition, the analysis is greatly simplified. Similarly, the effects of the commutation and firing angle shift of continuous three phase rectifiers can be analyzed separately. Based on these analyses, simple expressions of the switching angle of discontinuous mode rectifier and the overlap period and firing angle shift of continuous three-phase rectifiers are obtained. All the calculations are purely algebraic, with high accuracy. The simulation results validated the proposed method.
Financial reporting quality and price competition among nonprofit firms

Donors increasingly rely on financial information reported by Internal Revenue Service (IRS) Form 990 to allocate donations among nonprofit firms. However, competition among nonprofits creates an incentive for managers to under-report management and fund-raising expenditures to make their firms appear relatively efficient. Increasingly, researchers suspect that information provided in the Form 990 may not accurately portray the true financial condition of nonprofit firms. Inaccurate price information weakens the ability of donors to promote efficiency and discipline excess among nonprofit managers. This article examines the reaction of donors to variation in Form 990 reporting quality. We find that donors reward nonprofit firms for investments in more accurate financial reporting. Additionally, higher quality financial information sharpens the ability of donor markets to discipline nonprofit firms by increasing price sensitivity. The primary implication of this study is that regulatory improvements in reporting quality could increase the ability of donor markets to serve as a viable governance mechanism for improving nonprofit efficiency.
Expatriate Policy and Practice: A Ten-Year Comparison of Trends

Expatriates are essential to meeting the need for operations in the expanding global marketplace. Employers are trying to use expatriates in ways that are not only in the best interests of the com-pany, but also consider the employees' personal and career interests. Expatriate management is increasingly a balancing act. The balance of con-trolling costs against designing an attractive package is a constant issue. The balance between a rigid policy and a flexible approach is a further challenge. Clear policy guidelines help avoid dif-fering treatment of individuals, while reassuring employees that the package is fair and reason-able. However, companies need to respond quickly and flexibly to an ever-changing set of business needs. This dilemma requires creativity and flexibility within an expatriate policy. The success in finding the right balance on these issues will go a long way toward enticing employ-ees to go abroad in years to come.