Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Interferon-α2a in the Treatment of Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome-Related Kaposi's Sarcoma

Summary In a series of studies, recombinant interferon-α2a (rIFNα2a, Roferon- A) was administered alone (273 men) or combined with vinblastine (91 men) to patients with acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS)-related Kaposi's sarcoma (KS). Patients were treated with daily doses of rIFNα2aranging from 3 to 54 million international units (I.U.) administered intramuscularly. A dose of 36 million I.U. daily for approximately 10 weeks followed by a three times weekly maintenance schedule with the same dose resulted in the best overall therapeutic benefit. An escalating-dose regimen of 3, 9, and 18 million I.U. daily, each for 3 days, followed by 36 million I.U. daily, produced equivalent therapeutic benefit with amelioration of acute toxicity in some patients. Response was more likely in patients without a history of opportunistic infection or B symptoms (fever, night sweats, or weight loss). Response rate increased with increasing baseline CD4 lymphocyte count and was 45.5% in patients with a CD4 count of greater than 400/mm3. Responding patients with a CD4 count of greater than 200/mm3 had a distinct survival advantage over patients who had similar CD4 counts but whose tumors did not regress with therapy. The addition of vinblastine increased toxicity and did not improve the response rate or prolong survival. Side effects included fatigue, fever, chills, myalgias, headaches, anorexia, nausea, diarrhea, and dizziness. Mild abnormalities in hematologic and liver function tests occurred in some patients. Most adverse effects diminished or resolved with continued therapy. We conclude that rIFNα2a offers important therapeutic benefit in a select group of patients with AIDS-related KS.
DEVELOPMENT OF HYBRID FIBRE-CEMENT CORRUGATED SHEETS: A CASE STUDY OF EDGE CRACKS

This experiment investigates systematically the occurrence of edge cracks in the piles of fibre cement corrugated sheets due to stresses generated in the long term during the free water evaporation and the consequent dimensional variation suffered by the stacked sheets before their definitive installation on a roofing structure. This work presents a case study evaluating the influence of some raw materials applied in the composite formulation and natural weathering exposure on the occurrence of edge cracks in the hybrid fibrecement corrugated sheets produced by the Hatschek process. This work evaluated approximately 1200 hybrid fibre cement roofing sheets in different formulations with polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) and polypropylene (PP) fibres, as well as the combination of the two fibres, with and without silica fume. The hybrid fibre cement corrugated sheets were submitted to over 24 months of natural weathering exposure simulating the behaviour of stockpiles in the rural environment in the State of São Paulo, Brazil. The results show that the highest incidence of cracks occurs on the covering wave of the corrugated sheet pile after 9 months of weather exposure. However, fibre cement sheets reinforced with PVA fibre and without silica fume exhibited less edge cracks compared to other formulations evaluated in this work. Consequently, it was observed that the contribution of silica fume in some of the cement matrices remained inconclusive. It was also found that edge cracks do not have a significant effect on the flexural behaviour of the hybrid fibre cement roofing tiles.
a-amylase and their relationship to astringency perception

The ability of grape seed extracts to bind to bovine serum albumin (BSA) and a-amylase was studied by fluorescence quenching of protein intrinsic fluorescence and nephelometry. The influence of grape seed ripeness on astringency was also evaluated. From the spectra obtained, the modified Sterm–Volmer (Kapp) and the bimolecular quenching constants were calculated. Results showed that grape seed extracts had good affinity for proteins. The association strength of tannin–protein interactions varied with changes in tannin structure associated with the degree of ripeness affecting the binding/quenching process. In all cases studied, higher values of Kapp were obtained in samples at harvest which have greater ability to bind to proteins than have samples at post-veraison time. Nephelometric assays show the same trend as do fluorescence quenching studies. A possible explanation for this is that, as seeds ripen, their tannins increase in molecular mass, which relates to an increase in hydrophobicity of the molecules, and this increases protein affinity. However, that is contrary to the reported decrease in astringency of grape seeds during maturity. This indicates that tannin–protein interactions are not the only explanation for the complex sensations of astringency of grape seeds. 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
Consumer Choice Criteria When a Product is Free

If an employer reimburses a consumer for making a purchase, what changes occur in the consumer decision-making process? This question motivates our research. Specifically, we investigate this question using a vignette methodology: A job candidate is invited for an inperson interview, and in one condition the job candidate pays for travel and in the other condition the interviewing company reimburses travel (i.e., the service is free). We anticipated that the number of information sources and the decision criteria would vary by condition but do not find evidence in our experiment. We also expected that self-pay job candidates would select lower-priced travel arrangements that are less convenient and less favorable, and our findings are consistent with these hypotheses. In our presentation, we will present our research, discuss its implications, and consider future research.
Validity and reliability of Self Rated Health (SRH) measure among Iranian community-dwelling older adults

OPEN ACCESS © Copyright by Società Italiana di Gerontologia e Geriatria (SIGG) ❚ Received: September 7, 2018 Accepted: November 26, 2018 ❚ Correspondence: Yadollah Abolfathi Momtaz, Iranian Research Center on Aging, University of Social Welfare and Rehabilitation Sciences, Tehran, Iran. Malaysian Research Institute on Ageing (MyAgeing), Universiti Putra Malaysia, Islamic Republic of Iran. E-mail: yabolfathi@gmail.com Original investigatiOn
Diaphragm shape effect on the performance of foil-based capacitive pressure sensors

We present detailed shape-based analyses to compare the performance of metal foil-based capacitive pressure sensors based on the shape of the diaphragm (top electrode). We perform a detailed analysis on the use of new material and deflection in various shaped diaphragms to act as a performance indicator for pressure-based capacitive sensors. A low-cost, recyclable, and readily available material is used to present an alternative to the expensive materials used in conventional pressure sensors. Diaphragms of five different shapes (circle, ellipse, pentagon, square, and rectangle) are fabricated and analyzed. Mathematical, FEM, and experimental tests are performed for capacitive sensors fabricated in five different shapes. The mathematically calculated deflection for each shaped diaphragm is compared with the results of the corresponding FEM simulations. Two different experiments are performed to verify the performance of pressure sensors.
CIRBP Ameliorates Neuronal Amyloid Toxicity via Antioxidative and Antiapoptotic Pathways in Primary Cortical Neurons

It is generally accepted that the amyloid β (Aβ) peptide toxicity contributes to neuronal loss and is involved in the initiation and progression of Alzheimer's disease (AD). Cold-inducible RNA-binding protein (CIRBP) is reported to be a general stress-response protein, which is induced by different stress conditions. Previous reports have shown the neuroprotective effects of CIRBP through the suppression of apoptosis via the Akt and ERK pathways. The objective of this study is to examine the effect of CIRBP against Aβ-induced toxicity in cultured rat primary cortical neurons and attempt to uncover its underlying mechanism. Here, MTT, LDH release, and TUNEL assays showed that CIRBP overexpression protected against both intracellular amyloid β- (iAβ-) induced and Aβ25-35-induced cytotoxicity in rat primary cortical neurons. Electrophysiological changes responsible for iAβ-induced neuronal toxicity, including an increase in neuronal resting membrane potentials and a decrease in K+ currents, were reversed by CIRBP overexpression. Western blot results further showed that Aβ25-35 treatment significantly increased the level of proapoptotic protein Bax, cleaved caspase-3, and cleaved caspase-9 and decreased the level of antiapoptotic factor Bcl-2, but were rescued by CIRBP overexpression. Furthermore, CIRBP overexpression prevented the elevation of ROS induced by Aβ25-35 treatment by decreasing the activities of oxidative biomarker and increasing the activities of key enzymes in antioxidant system. Taken together, our findings suggested that CIRBP exerted protective effects against neuronal amyloid toxicity via antioxidative and antiapoptotic pathways, which may provide a promising candidate for amyloid-based AD prevention or therapy.
ARTESUNATE LOADED NANOFIBER AND ITS COMBINATIONS WITH SPIRAMYCIN FOR TREATMENT OF MURINE TOXOPLASMOSIS

Although toxoplasmosis is worldwide spread, the available medications have low efficacy and high toxicity. This research aims to study the effect of artesunate loaded nanofiber and its combination with spiramycin as an alternative treatment for murine toxoplasmosis. Two groups of male Swiss albino male mice were used for acute and chronic phases of Toxoplasma infection. Mice were infected with 100 viable tachyzoites of RH type-1 virulent strain intraperitoneally and orally with 100 viable tissue cysts of ME 49 Toxoplasma strain. They were orally treated with the drugs. The doses of the drug were administered from the first to the fifth day post-infection in acute infection and after six weeks in chronic one. Tachyzoites in peritoneum and cysts burden in the brain were subjected for parasitological analysis, Histopathological study and ultrastructural study by Scanning Electron microscopy (SEM). Liver enzymes analysis was done for biochemical assessment drugs. The combination artesunate loaded nanofiber and spiramycin gave the least number of tachyzoites (139) and brain tissue cysts (125) with the highest percentage reductions (85%, 84.3%) consequently. SEM revealed a reduction in the size of tachyzoites with surface irregularity and abnormal protrusions in the treated group with the drug combination. Brain tissue cyst of the same group showed a distortion in the shape and size with patches all over the surface.
Chemical Compounds Identification and Antioxidant and Calcium Oxalate Anticrystallization Activities of Punica granatum L.

The plant Punica granatum L. has several biological activities and a great curative and preventive power against chronic diseases. For this purpose, the objective of this work is to valorize the fruit peel of this plant in the field of phytomedicine, by quantifying and identifying its bioactive compounds and by evaluating their antioxidant and anticrystallization activities against calcium oxalate. This comparative study has been carried out by hydroalcoholic extract (E.PG) and infusion (I.PG) of the plant. The quantification of the phenolic compounds has been performed by spectrophotometric methods, and the chemical species identification has been performed by UPLC-PDA-ESI-MS. Moreover, the examination of the antioxidant activity has been executed by both methods of DPPH and FRAP. The crystallization inhibition has been studied in vitro by the turbidimetric model. The characterization of the synthesized crystals has been accomplished by microscopic observation and by Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy. The results found show the comparable importance of the two plant extracts in the elimination of free radicals; the values of the half maximal inhibitory concentration “IC50” obtained are in the order of 60.87 ± 0.27 and 59.91 ± 0.83 μg/mL by the DPPH method and in the order of 42.17 ± 7.46 and 79.77 ± 6.91 μg/mL by the FRAP method, for both E.PG and I.PG, respectively. Furthermore, the inhibition percentages of calcium oxalate crystallization are in the range of 98.11 ± 0.17 and 98.22 ± 0.71% against the nucleation and in the order of 88.98 ± 0.98 and 88.78 ± 2.48% against the aggregation, for E.PG and I.PG, respectively. These results prove the richness of the plant in bioactive compounds, offering an antioxidant and anticrystallization capacity; therefore, it can be used in the treatment and/or the prevention of stone formation.
Critical Review of Supporting Literature on Land Use Change in the EPA’s Second Triennial Report to Congress

Executive Summary This report evaluated the methods and data utilized in the land cover/land use change (LCLUC) research by Wright and Wimberly (2013), Lark et al. (2015), and Wright et al. (2017). These studies received a fair amount of consideration in the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) Second Triennial Report to Congress (2018). However, there are major concerns regarding both the data and the methods that were used by the researchers, which call their findings into question.
A Review on Oil-Based Nanofluid as Next-Generation Insulation for Transformer Application

Due to the increasing demand on developing good insulation, several researchers have performed experimental studies to prove the effectiveness and capabilities of transformer oil. This is done by suspending nanosized solid particles in the oil (nanofluid) for transformer applications. In brief, this paper presents a compilation of research studies which is divided into three parts. Part I discuss the preparation of the nanofluid which involves different types of nanomaterials, the optimal amount of concentrations, and applicable synthesisation methods for producing stably suspended nanofluids. In Part II, the nanofluid’s performances including the electrical breakdown voltages, impulse tests, and thermal and dielectric behaviour are reviewed in depth and compared. Part III emphasizes the limitation of nanofluids. Most researchers have agreed that appropriate concentrations of nanomaterials and the preparation method for nanofluids mainly affect the performance of nanofluids especially in terms of electrical properties. Meanwhile, types of nanomaterials and base oil also play a vital role in producing nanofluids as a better alternative transformer oil. However, among a few researchers, there are concerns regarding the issue of agglomeration and inconsistencies of findings that need to be resolved. Therefore, a few aspects must be taken into consideration to produce the next generation of high heat dissipation insulation.
PATIENT-LEVEL CLASSIFICATION ON BREAST CANCER METASTASES IN LYMPH NODES

In this paper, we describe the process of estimating pathologic N-stage (pN-stage) of a patient from his/her HE stained slides of lymph nodes, which is the task of Camelyon17 challenge. For tumor region detection, we developed patch-based classi-ﬁer, that is, a ResNet-like network. The number of edge pixels in a patch is counted to distinguish effective tissue patch from the background. Based on the patch-level evaluation, a conﬁdence map (a.k.a heatmap) is generated after smoothing. To classify each slide, the heatmap should be thresheld properly to give tumor blobs from which features as input to SVM (support vector machine) are extracted. Since the goal is to achieve maximum Cohen’s Kappa score ( κ ), we directly optimize the threshold and feature list by minimizing the cost as − κ using PSO (particle swarm optimization).
First International Wolbachia Conference Wolbachia 2000

From June 7 to 12, 2000, the "First International Wolbachia Conference" took place at the Orthodox Academy, Kolymbari, Crete, Greece. More than 100 researchers from four continents gathered to exchange their latest findings on the somewhat enigmatic bacterium Wolbachia pipientis. The talks of this meeting gave a thorough overview over the current trends in Wolbachia research and an outlook on a new development that promises to provide researchers with new tools and enable them to approach as yet unanswered questions of Wolbachia-host interactions. Wolbachia has taken a slow route to its present popularity. It was first identified in the mosquito Culex pipiens in 1924 (Hertig and Wolbach, 1924) and described in 1936 as the new genus and species Wolbachia pipentis (Hertig, 1936). Scientific progress in modem biology nearly always turns out to be technology-driven. And so with the advent of PCR techniques, it became possible to easily probe for the presence of Wolbachia in the cytoplasm of its host organisms and to obtain the necessary sequence information to allow the construction of molecular phylogenies. In the early 90's, O'Neill and colleagues
Magnetorheological Elastomer Precision Platform Control Using OFFO-PID Algorithm

The magnetorheological elastomer (MRE) is a kind of smart material, which is often processed as vibration isolation and mitigation devices to realize the vibration control of the controlled system. The key to the effective isolation of vibration and shock absorption is how to accurately and in real time determine the magnitude of the applied magnetic field according to the motion state of the controlled system. In this paper, an optimal fuzzy fractional-order PID (OFFO-PID) algorithm is proposed to realize the vibration isolation and mitigation control of the precision platform with MRE devices. In the algorithm, the particle swarm optimization algorithm is used to optimize initial values of the fractional-order PID controller, and the fuzzy algorithm is used to update parameters of the fractional-order PID controller in real time, and the fractional-order PID controller is used to produce the control currents of the MRE devices. Numerical analysis for a platform with the MRE device is carried out to validate the effectiveness of the algorithm. Results show that the OFFO-PID algorithm can effectively reduce the dynamic responses of the precision platform system. Also, compared with the fuzzy fractional-order PID algorithm and the traditional PID algorithm, the OFFO-PID algorithm is better.
Estimating population mobility using big data sources-the benefits and the challenges

The digital age is generating vast amounts of data in an expanding variety of formats. This has given rise to the concept of “big data”– large, often unstructured datasets, often available in real time, that require new methods and technologies to handle and analyse. As such it is more important than ever for official statistics to adapt to the changing data landscape. Big data and data science could impact throughout the statistical value chain, potentially delivering significant efficiency gains and quality improvements. One particular application that has been investigated by a number of National Statistics Organisations is population size and mobility. What potential benefits do big data sources offer over the traditional data sources and approaches (i.e. surveys, census, registers and admin data) in producing estimates of the population and migration? This paper will illustrate both potential opportunities (improved timeliness, frequency, relevance and reduced costs and respondent burden) but also the challenges (statistical, ethical, commercial) of estimating population mobility using big data sources through three case studies from the UK Office for National Statistics (ONS) focused on mobile phone data, geolocated social media data and Google trends. Current and proposed ONS research will also put forward some approaches to overcome the identified challenges and hence realise the benefits of these new data sources for official estimates of the population.
CLASSIFYING BREAST CANCER LYMPH NODE HISTOPATHOLOGY USING CONVOLUTIONAL NEURAL NETWORKS

Breast cancer is the most prevalent cancer among women worldwide, and histopathological evaluation of patients’ lymph nodes plays an indispensable role in tumor staging. However, this procedure is tedious and time-consuming. In this study, we processed the whole-slide histopathology images of lymph node biopsy from 200 breast cancer patients in the CAMELYON17 cohort. We built convolutional neural network models to distinguish lymph nodes with and without visible metastasis (AUC > 0.85) and recapitulated expert pathologists’ staging with a kappa value approximately 0.7. Our approach does not rely on manual segmentation, and can discover novel clinically-relevant histopathology patterns objectively. The procedure can potentially reduce the workload of pathologists and provide decision support to clinicians encountering ambiguous lymph node histopathology patterns.
SECOND-ORDER CREST STATISTICS OF REALISTIC SEA STATES

Current engineering design employs second-order irregular wave theory to predict extreme crest elevations (Forristall, 2000). However, there are several field measurements of waves with crest elevations significantly larger than those predicted at second-order; the New Year Wave at the Draupner East platform being one such example (Haver and Anderson, 2000). Consequently, several authors have sought explanations for the occurrence of these so-called freak, rogue or abnormal waves. These explanations include crossing-seas (Donelan and Magnusson, 2005) and higher-order unidirectional effects (Baldock et al., 1996; Gibson and Swan, 2007). Considering the second-order distribution (Forristall, 2000), there are two distinct shortcomings. First, the crest statistics are based on second-order, time-domain simulations that employ the JONSWAP spectrum and therefore are only strictly applicable for unimodal JONSWAP spectra. Evidence of this is given by BitnerGregersen and Hagen (2003) who have found discrepancies between Forristall’s distribution in bimodal sea states. Second, it neglects nonlinear effects that occur beyond second-order. These higher-order effects have been demonstrated by (Gibson and Swan, 2007) who found local and rapid energy shifts occurring in the vicinity of an extreme event on account of third-order resonant interactions. These energy shifts are dependent on both the frequency bandwidth and the directional spreading of the underlying spectrum. The first shortcoming can be overcome by employing the Spectral Response Surface (SRS) method (Tromans and Vanderschuren, 2004), which has no restriction on spectral shape and has been applied to combined windsea and swell sea states by Tromans et al. (2007). The second shortcoming has been resolved by Gibson et al. (2007) who coupled the SRS method with the fully nonlinear Fourier-based model of Bateman et al. (2001). However, so far this has only been achieved for unidirectional seas. Therefore, as realistic sea states are directional, it is necessary to revert to the SRS with second-order wave theory and build on the work of Tromans et al. (2007). This paper will add to the literature by employing the SRS method to investigate various bi-modal sea-states. These sea states will combine various fetch-limited wind-seas described by the JONSWAP spectrum . Some
SEQUENCE AND ANALYSIS OF BOVINE ENTERITIC CORONAVIRUS (F15) GENOME I.-- SEQUENCE OF THE GENE CODING FOR THE NUCLEOCAPSID PROTEIN; ANALYSIS OF THE PREDICTED PROTEIN

Sequences encoding the N protein of the bovine enteritic coronavirus-F15 strain (BECV-F15) have been cloned in PBR322 plasmid using cDNA produced by priming with oligo-dT on purified viral genomic RNA. Some 265 insert-containing clones were studied. Hybridization of these inserts with poly(A) + RNA extracted from infected cells led to the conclusion that they were located at the 3'-end of the genome.