Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Variations in the serum concentrations of soluble Fas and soluble Fas ligand in Vietnamese patients infected with hepatitis B virus

Earlier studies of both chronic hepatitis B and C virus (HBV and HCV) patients have shown a strong correlation between the soluble membrane Fas (sFas) and Fas protein expression on hepatocytes. The serum concentrations of sFas and soluble Fas ligand (sFasL) was examined in both healthy and HBV‐infected Vietnamese patients to determine their relationship with the outcome of HBV infection. Patients with chronic rather than acute HBV had significantly higher amounts of sFas and sFasL, whilst the highest concentrations of both molecules were detected in those with malignant forms of HBV infection. sFas and sFasL concentrations tended to increase with a profile that paralleled the progression from asymptomatic to acute through chronic to malignant states, most markedly in the case of sFas. The sFas:sFasL ratio highlighted the relative predominance of sFas in those with acute and chronic HBV compared with asymptomatic or severe forms. In patients with hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) a significant correlation was also observed between sFasL and alpha‐feto protein (AFP) levels. The results indicate that sFas and to a lesser extent sFasL levels are to some degree associated with clinical progression in HBV infection. J. Med. Virol. 73:244–249, 2004. © 2004 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Regulatory Effect of Rac1 on Vascular Reactivity After Hemorrhagic Shock in Rats

We used isolated superior mesenteric arteries (SMAs) from hemorrhagic-shock rats and hypoxia-treated vascular smooth muscle cells (VSMCs; mimicking the shock state) to observe the effects of platelet-derived growth factor (PDGF; Rac1 stimulator) and NSC23766 (Rac1 antagonist) on vascular reactivity and the relationship with the Rho kinase-myosin light-chain phosphatase (MLCP) and p21-activated kinase (PAK)-myosin light-chain kinase (MLCK) signal pathway. The results indicated that the contractile responses of the SMAs and VSMCs were significantly increased at early shock or after transient hypoxia. NSC23766 (Rac1 antagonist) further increased, whereas PDGF (Rac1 stimulator) decreased the contractile responses of SMAs and VSMCs. In the late period of shock or prolonged hypoxia, the contractile responses of SMAs and VSMCs were significantly decreased; NSC23766 increased (whereas PDGF further decreased) the contractile response of the SMAs and VSMCs. Activation of Rac1 with PDGF significantly increased the activity of PAK and MLCP, and decreased Rho kinase and MLCK activity and 20-kDa myosin light-chain phosphorylation in VSMCs. The PAK inhibitor PAK-18 significantly antagonized the PDGF-induced decrease in MLCK activity, whereas the Rho kinase antagonist Y-27632 further enforced the PDGF-induced increase in MLCP activity. Simple fluid resuscitation did not improve but in combination with NSC23766 significantly improved vascular reactivity and animal survival at 24 hours. This suggested that Rac1 has an inhibitory effect on vasoreactivity after shock. Rac1-mediated regulation of vascular reactivity is mainly through activation of PAK, inhibition of MLCK and inhibition of Rho kinase, unpack the inhibition of Rho kinase to MLCP. Rac1 may be a potential target to treat vascular hyporeactivity in many critical conditions.
Safe Contexts for Interorganizational Collaborations Among Homeland Security Professionals

In many domains of increased turbulence and volatility, interorganizational ad hoc collaborations are common. One such domain is homeland security in which security professionals collaborate virtually with individuals outside of their own organizations in response to a security threat. In such a domain, a safe context is needed to ensure that interactions with collaborators not only help to solve the immediate threat but also avoid the improper use by outside parties of information released during these collaborations. We use the heuristic systematic model of information processing to hypothesize that the relationship between different safe context factors and a security professional's perceptions of collaboration success will be contingent on differences in geographic proximity of the collaborating parties—differences in proximity that are not related to differences in physical face-to-face contact but to differences in social proximity. Our exploratory empirical investigation finds support for the hypothesized interaction effect: safe contexts that require deeper processing are related to higher levels of perceived success when the parties are geographically proximal (with no differences in face-to-face contact), whereas safe contexts that involve heuristic-based processing are related to success when parties are geographically less proximal. Our findings suggest that the utility of safe context factors is contextualized based on the proximity of interacting parties, that geographical proximity's social space dimension plays a key role independent of differences in physical face-to-face contact, and that, practically, to be successful, ad hoc collaborators should have access to a range of safe context factors, using them in different combinations depending on the proximity of network members.
Nicotine Accelerates Atherosclerosis in Apolipoprotein E–Deficient Mice by Activating &agr;7 Nicotinic Acetylcholine Receptor on Mast Cells

Objective— Cigarette smoking is an independent risk factor for atherosclerosis. Nicotine, the addictive component of cigarettes, induces mast cell (MC) release and contributes to atherogenesis. The purpose of this study was to determine whether nicotine accelerates atherosclerosis through MC-mediated mechanisms and whether MC stabilizer prevents this pathological process. Approach and Results— Nicotine administration increased the size of atherosclerotic lesions in apolipoprotein E–deficient (Apoe−/−) mice fed a fat-enriched diet. This was accompanied by enhanced intraplaque macrophage content and lipid deposition but reduced collagen and smooth muscle cell contents. MC deficiency in Apoe−/− mice (Apoe−/−KitW-sh/W-sh) diminished nicotine-induced atherosclerosis. Nicotine activated bone marrow–derived MCs in vitro, which was inhibited by a MC stabilizer disodium cromoglycate or a nonselective nicotinic acetylcholine receptor blocker mecamylamine. Further investigation revealed that &agr;7 nicotinic acetylcholine receptor was a target for nicotine activation in MCs. Nicotine did not change atherosclerotic lesion size of Apoe−/−KitW-sh/W-sh mice reconstituted with MCs from Apoe−/−&agr;7nAChR−/− animals. Conclusions— Activation of &agr;7 nicotinic acetylcholine receptor on MCs is a mechanism by which nicotine enhances atherosclerosis.
Toward metrological traceability in the determination of prostate-specific antigen (PSA): calibrating Beckman Coulter Hybritech Access PSA assays to WHO standards compared with the traditional Hybritech standards

Abstract Background: The metrological traceability of prostate-specific antigen (PSA) assay calibration to WHO standards is desirable to potentially improve the comparability between PSA assays. A method comparison was performed between the traditionally standardized Beckman Coulter Hybritech Access PSA and free PSA (fPSA) assays and a new alternate calibration of assays aligned to the WHO standards 96/670 and 96/668, respectively. Methods: Sera from 641 men with and without prostate cancer, various control materials and mixtures of different proportions of the WHO standards were measured with both assay calibrations. Results: Excellent comparability between the corresponding assay calibrations was observed, with correlation coefficients of at least 0.996. The Passing-Bablok slopes were 0.747 for total PSA (tPSA), 0.776 for fPSA and 1.02 for the percentage ratio of fPSA to tPSA (%fPSA), while the corresponding percentages of the new WHO-aligned assay results related to the traditional assays were 76.2%, 77% and 102.2%. Receiver operating characteristics revealed no differences between the two PSA assay calibrations. Conclusions: The WHO calibration yields results approximately 25% lower for tPSA and fPSA values when compared with the conventional Hybritech calibration. Using the WHO-aligned PSA assay, a tPSA cut-off of 3 μg/L should be considered in clinical practice, while %fPSA cut-offs could be retained. Clin Chem Lab Med 2008;46:623–9.
Time Series Compression Based on Adaptive Piecewise Recurrent Autoencoder

Time series account for a large proportion of the data stored in financial, medical and scientific databases. The efficient storage of time series is important in practical applications. In this paper, we propose a novel compression scheme for time series. The encoder and decoder are both composed by recurrent neural networks (RNN) such as long short-term memory (LSTM). There is an autoencoder between encoder and decoder, which encodes the hidden state and input together and decodes them at the decoder side. Moreover, we pre-process the original time series by partitioning it into segments with various lengths which have similar total variation. The experimental study shows that the proposed algorithm can achieve competitive compression ratio on real-world time series.
The transition to primary education: insights from the Growing Up in Ireland Study

There has been considerable change in the early years policy landscape in recent years, with the expansion of funded preschool provision, the introduction of Aistear: The Early Childhood Curriculum Framework, work on facilitating the transition from preschool to primary school and the ongoing revision of the primary curriculum. It is therefore timely to look at children’s experiences adjusting to primary education and the dispositions and skills they bring with them to the school setting. The Growing Up in Ireland (GUI) study provides new information on this crucial transition phase, placing experiences and outcomes in the context of child and family factors from the first year of life. The report draws on information on over 9,000 five-year-old children and their families, as well as on the perspectives of their classroom teachers and school principals. The study, funded by the National Council for Curriculum and Assessment (NCCA), addresses the following key questions: • What factors influence age at starting school? How do parents go about helping prepare their children for starting school? • What kinds of learning experiences are offered to children in the early years of primary education? Does this differ across schools and classrooms? • How do children settle into primary school? Do some groups of children experience greater difficulties adjusting to the new setting? • What cognitive and non-cognitive skills and capacities do children have at this key transition phase? This executive summary presents an overview of the main findings and outlines their implications for policy development.
THE REFLUSH EFFECT—A PROSPECTIVE ANALYSIS OF LATE PERFUSION

This prospective randomized trial examines the effect of a “reflush” with preservation solution immediately prior to renal allograft implantation, using hyperosmolar citrate (HOC, n=10) or phosphate-buffered sucrose (PBS140, n=10) versus no reflush (n=10). All kidneys had been stored in HOC. The HOC reflush did not alter the postpreservation intra- or extracellular electrolyte milieu, whereas the PBS 140 reflush resulted in an apparent overall loss of both sodium and potassium from the kidney (P<0.0005). A small amount of calcium was released into the venous effluent in both reflush groups. A similar amount of lactic acid was released into the venous effluent of the two reflush groups, reflected by a lower pH (P<0.0005), and there was a similar loss of lactate dehydrogenase and creatine phosphokinase. An analysis of procoagulant activity in the first urine produced was performed as a marker of reperfusion injury. The median value was higher in the No Reflush group at 457.5 units, compared with 263.0 and 209.0 units for the PBS 140 and HOC Reflush groups, respectively (P=0.06). Reflushing the kidneys reduced the postoperative dialysis requirement (from 40% to 15%), but by the end of the first posttransplant week there was no significant difference between the renal functional analyses of the three groups, and there was no difference at one year. The proposed mechanism for the early renal functional improvement is a reduction in the calcium paradox and free radical formation, by release of calcium and ATP breakdown products into the venous effluent prior to implantation.
Influences of olfactory ensheathing cells transplantation on axonal regeneration in spinal cord of adult rats.

OBJECTIVE To observe whether olfactory ensheathing cells could be used to promote axonal regeneration in a spontaneously nonregenerating system. METHODS After laminectomy at the lower thoracic level, the spinal cords of adult rats were exposed and completely transected at T10. A suspension of ensheathing cells was injected into the lesion site in 12 adult rats, and control D/F-12 (1:1 mixture of DMEM and Ham's F-12) was injected in 12 adult rats. Six weeks and ten weeks after cell transplantation, the rats were evaluated by climbing test and motor evoked potentials (MEPs) monitoring. The samples were procured and studied with histologicl and immunohistochemical methods. RESULTS At the 6th week after cell transplantation, all the rats in both the transplanted and control groups were paraplegic and the MEPs could not be recorded. At the 10th week after cell transplantation, of 7 rats in the control group, 2 rats had muscles' contraction of the lower extremities, 2 rats had hips and/or knees' active movement; and 5 rats' MEPs could be recorded in the hind limbs in the transplanted group (n=7). None of the rats in the control group had functional improvement and no MEPs recorded (n=7). Numerous regenerating axons were observed through the transplantation and continued to regenerate into the denervated host tract. Cell labelling using anti-Myelin Basic Protein (MBP) and anti-Nerve Growth Factor Receptor (anti-NGFR) indicated that the regenerated axons were derived from the appropriate neuronal source and that donor cells migrated into the denervated host tract. But axonal degeneration existed and regenerating axons were not observed within the spinal cords of the adult rats with only D/F-12 injection. CONCLUSIONS The axonal regeneration in the transected adult rat spinal cord is possible after ensheathing cells transplantation.
Contextualising work-family conflict, social support and gender ideologies of professional/registered nurses in the Cacadu District, Eastern Cape

The focus of this study was to investigate work-family conflict, social support and gender ideologies of professional/registered nurses in the South African context, specifically within the Cacadu District (Eastern Cape). The study had four aims: (a) to investigate the construct validity of the measuring instrument, (b) to investigate the relationship between social support provided by family and family interference with work (FIW), (c) to ascertain the influence of shift work on perceived work-family conflict, and lastly, (d) to determine whether there is a difference between the number of children in households and nurses’ perceptions of work-family conflict. A quantitative research design was used in the study. The sample (N = 106) was taken from five district hospitals in the Cacadu District, Eastern Cape. The measuring instrument consisted of three scales, namely the Multi-dimensional Work-Family Conflict Scale (Carlson, Kacmar, & Williams, 2000), the Social Support Questionnaire (Sarason, Sarason, Shearin, & Pierce, 1987), and an adapted Gender Ideology Scale (Tsai, 2008). The results indicated that the construct validity of the Multi-dimensional Work-Family Conflict scale was satisfactory. However, analysis of the Social Support Questionnaire and Gender Ideology scales both suggested that these scales have not been validated for use with diverse samples outside the contexts in which they were developed. The results also indicated that there is a relationship between social support provided by families and behaviour-based family interference with work. Additionally, there appeared to be a difference between the shifts worked by nurses and their perceived work-family conflict, except for strain-based work interference with family. And lastly, the only significant difference between the number of children in the household and work-family conflict was reported for strain-based work interference with family. The implications of the results for future research suggest the importance of developing and validating work-family conflict, social support and gender ideology scales that are dependent on the context of the research. In so doing, the constructs of the scale are made meaningful. Additionally, the findings provide preliminary evidence of tailoring work-family initiatives that address the needs of the nursing profession and the context of healthcare institutions. Table of
A simplified molecular method for distinguishing among species and ploidy levels in European water frogs (Pelophylax)

Western Palearctic water frogs in the genus Pelophylax are a set of morphologically similar anuran species that form hybridogenetic complexes. Fully reliable identification of species and especially of hybrid ploidy depends on karyological and molecular methods. In central Europe, native water frog populations consist of the Pelophylax esculentus complex, that is, P. lessonae (LL), P. ridibundus (RR) and the hybrid form P. esculentus that can have different karyotypes (RL, LLR and RRL). We developed existing molecular methods further and propose a simple PCR method based on size‐differences in the length of the serum albumin intron‐1 and the RanaCR1, a non‐LTR retrotransposon of the chicken repeat (CR) family. This PCR yields taxon‐specific banding patterns that can easily be screened by standard agarose gel electrophoresis and correctly identify species in all of the 160 samples that had been identified to karyotype with other methods. To distinguish ploidy levels in LR, LLR and RRL specimens, we used the ratio of the peak heights of the larger (ridibundus specific) to the smaller (lessonae specific) bands of fluorescently labelled PCR products resolved on a capillary DNA sequencer and obtained a correct assignment of the karyotype in 93% of cases. Our new method will cut down time and expenses drastically for a reliable identification of water frogs of the P. esculentus complex and potentially for identification of other hybridogenetic complexes and/or taxa, and it even serves as a good indicator of the ploidy status of hybrid individuals.
Minimizing Preoperative and Postoperative Limping in Patients After Total Hip Arthroplasty: Relevance of Hip Muscle Strength and Endurance

ObjectiveThe aim of this study was to test the hypothesis that hip muscle function (strength and endurance) improves after total hip arthroplasty and is important for minimizing limping gait. DesignFifty-two patients who underwent total hip arthroplasty were assessed before and 6 mos after receiving a unilateral total hip endoprosthesis (Adaptiva stem with a Harris-Galante acetabular component). Severity of limping was assessed using a 4-point ordinal scale. Pain was assessed using a standardized ordinal scale. Eccentric, concentric, and isometric muscle strength and endurance of the hip extensors, flexors, adductors, and abductors were measured using a dynamometer. ResultsPostoperative limping severity and pain were significantly lower and postoperative muscle strength and endurance were significantly higher than the preoperative values (P < 0.05). The association between impaired muscle strength and endurance and limping severity was stronger postoperatively than preoperatively. This association was stronger for the hip extensor and flexor muscles than for the hip adductor and abductor muscles. Pain level was not associated with postoperative limping severity. ConclusionsHip extensor and flexor muscle strength and endurance seem to be relevant for minimizing postoperative limping in patients after total hip arthroplasty. Rehabilitation programs should include exercises aimed at improving hip extensor and flexor strength and endurance to improve gait function.
Boron, phosphorus and aluminum gettering of iron in crystalline silicon: Experiments and modelling

A direct comparison of boron diffusion gettering, phosphorus gettering, and aluminum annealing gettering of iron is presented, using both experiment and simulation results. Float zone silicon samples were implanted with Fe and exposed to either B, P, or Al gettering at various temperatures for experimental measurements. The gettering model simulates dopant diffusion, segregation to doped layers, and diffusion of interstitial iron towards the gettering layers. The segregation model for Boron diffusion gettering agrees with the experiment results that boron diffusion gettering was completely ineffective at gettering Fe for diffusion temperatures above 850°C. Experiment results show that phosphorus diffusion gettering was effective in removing more than 90% of the interstitial iron across a range of temperatures and doses. Surprisingly, even relatively light phosphorus diffusions (145 Ω/□) were found to give very effective gettering. The phosphorus diffusion gettering model agrees reasonably with experimental results in terms of the amount gettered, but shows an opposite trend with temperature between 780°C and 850°C. Aluminum annealing gettering is very effective and the experimental detection limit prevents accurate measurements for comparison with the model.
Sustainability, Popular and Integrated Reporting in the Public Sector: A Fad and Fashion Perspective

This paper provides a comparative analysis of different public accountability means used in the public sector - namely sustainability reporting, popular financial reporting and integrated reporting - in order to highlight their similarities and differences, and reflect on their development, with specific reference to the Italian context. In particular, we speculate about the practical and research implications of their emergence, through the lenses of accountability and managerial fad and fashion literature. The main novelty of the paper is that it is one of the first studies providing a comparative analysis of the three reporting tools debated both in practice and in research. We argue about their diffusion patterns, the commonalities and differences, which suggests different stages of evolution, different actors and forces at play. We provide some preliminary evidence on the risk that accountability innovations may end up just in a fad and fashion uptake, creating inefficiencies and not achieving the aims they are intended for. We also show how the available frameworks and standards have more in common than not, and that there is a risk of creating only new labels, without real innovation or improvement of public accountability.
Analyst Revenue Forecast Reporting and the Quality of Revenues and Expenses

We decompose earnings quality into revenue and expense quality and examine their associations with analyst propensity to supplement their earnings forecasts with revenue forecasts. Analysts report more revenue forecasts to I/B/E/S when expense quality is low to compensate for the low accuracy of their earnings estimates, which has a positive association with expense quality. Expense quality is unassociated with revenue forecast accuracy, thus revenue forecasts become increasingly useful for valuing firms when expense quality is low. Analysts report fewer revenue forecasts when revenue quality is low because both earnings and revenue forecast accuracy decline as revenue quality deteriorates. To control for endogeneity, we use firm-fixed effects to control for unobserved time-invariant heterogeneity across firms, instrumental variables regressions and regression in changes.