Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Ability of Adenosine-2′(3′)-deoxy-3′(2′)-triphosphates and Related Analogues to Replace ATP as Phosphate Donor for all Human and Drosphila melanogaster Deoxyribonucleoside Kinases

Abstract Six non-conventional adenosine-2′- and 3′-triphosphate analogues of ATP were tested as potential phosphate donors for all four human, and D. melanogaster, deoxyribonucleoside kinases. With dCK (only dAdo as acceptor), TK1, TK2 and dNK only 3′-deoxyadenosine-2′-triphosphate was an effective donor (5–60% that for ATP). With dCK (dCyd as acceptor) and dGK (dGuo as acceptor), sharing 45% sequence identity, donor activities ranged from 13 to 119% that for ATP. Products were 5′-phosphates. In some instances, kinetics are dependent on the nature of the acceptor, and donor and acceptors properties are mutually interdependent. Results are highly relevant to studies on the modes of interaction with the enzymes, and to interpretations of reported crystal structures of dCK and dNK with bound ligands.
Vision based haptic multisensor for manipulation of soft, fragile objects

We present a vision based multisensor that is designed for robot interaction with small, soft, and possibly fragile objects. The sensor consists of a rubber membrane, a rectangular frame on which the membrane is mounted and a CCD camera. The entire system is airtight. Based on the observed deformations of the membrane, we determine the contact area, the integral force acting on the membrane, the 3D force distribution over the membrane, and derive properties of the target object by monitoring the evolution of its deformation. We can distinguish between different types of materials, i.e., solid, soft, amorphous, and determine the speed and nature of their deformation. The sensitivity of the sensor can be adjusted by changing the volume of air within the rectangular frame. We achieved a small noise to signal ratio, which allows us to observe small integral forces in the range of 0.5N to 2.5N, with an average error of 0.04 N.
Women and children in the global sex trade

English Around 1.2 million women and girls enter the sex trade every year, generating US$1.5 billion annually for their exploiters. Between 30 percent and 35 percent of the victims are girls under 18 years old. This article explores the growing problem of global trafficking of women and children for prostitution and outlines specific policy recommendations. French Environ 1,2 millions de femmes et de filles entrent le commerce de sexe chaque année, produisant $1,5 milliards dollars américains annuellement pour leurs exploiteurs. Les filles en bas de 18 ans comptent pour 30-35’ pour cent des victimes. Cet article explore le problème croissant du trafic global des femmes et des enfants, et offre des recommandations spécifiques pour les politiques sociales. Spanish Cada año 1,2 millones de mujeres y niñas entran en la industria del sexo, beneficiando a sus explotadores con $1,5 billones anuals. Del 30 al 35 por ciento de las víctimas son menores de 18 años. En este artículo se explora el problema creciente de prostitución de mujeres y menores de edad, y se perfilan algunas recomandaciones específicas de política social.
Automatic breath sound detection and removal for cognitive studies of speech and language

Speech has been previously investigated as means of gaining insight into certain psychiatric disorders. Correlation has been found between temporal characteristics of speech and negative symptoms associated with schizophrenia. However the presence of breath sounds in speech may lead to a decreased performance of classification between patient and control groups. This study presents an algorithmic approach for both breath sounds detection and removal, and also analyses its impact on the ability of a Linear Discriminant Analysis (LDA) classifier to discriminate between schizophrenic patients and control subject. Results demonstrate that more accurate feature extraction yielded to a 6.7% increase in discrimination ability from 67.5% to 74.2% to differentiate between schizophrenic patients and control subject based on speech alone.
INTERNAL LABOR MARKETS

This paper undertakes a selective review of theoretical and empirical studies of internal labor markets (ILMs). Three different conceptualizations of ILMs are identified in existing literature: (a) ILMs as all jobs within a firm; (b) variable describing firms or present in discrete clusters of jobs within firms; (c) and a phenomenon present in some occupational labor markets within and across firms. Some empirical research using each conceptualization is described. Evidence apropo sseveral arguments about the theoretical origins of ILMs is assessed and some topics of future research are indicated. This review documents the absence of consensus about the characteristics defining the 1LM concept; a resulting diversity of approaches to the measurement or location of ILMs further hinders both accumulation of findings and the comparative study of ILMs. The most promising of the theoretical origins of ILMs relates scarcities of highly skilled workers to job structures generating increasing skill and knowledge a.
Wavelength Conversion in Silicon

This paper reviews recent results on wavelength conversion in Silicon. The conversion in the 1300 to 1550 range is achieved through parametric Raman coupling between the pump, Stokes and anti-Stokes waves. High signal-to-noise ratio is measured despite a limited conversion efficiency. Achieving high conversion efficiency requires phase matching in the waveguides as well as means to reduce waveguide losses including the free carrier loss due to two photon absorption.
Epidemiology of extrapulmonary tuberculosis in the United States, 1993-2006.

BACKGROUND Almost one-fifth of United States tuberculosis cases are extrapulmonary; unexplained slower annual case count decreases have occurred in extrapulmonary tuberculosis (EPTB), compared with annual case count decreases in pulmonary tuberculosis (PTB) cases. We describe the epidemiology of EPTB by means of US national tuberculosis surveillance data. METHODS US tuberculosis cases reported from 1993 to 2006 were classified as either EPTB or PTB. EPTB encompassed lymphatic, pleural, bone and/or joint, genitourinary, meningeal, peritoneal, and unclassified EPTB cases. We excluded cases with concurrent extrapulmonary-pulmonary tuberculosis and cases of disseminated (miliary) tuberculosis. Demographic characteristics, drug susceptibility test results, and risk factors, including human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) status, were compared for EPTB and PTB cases. RESULTS Among 253,299 cases, 73.6% were PTB and 18.7% were EPTB, including lymphatic (40.4%), pleural (19.8%), bone and/or joint (11.3%), genitourinary (6.5%), meningeal (5.4%), peritoneal (4.9%), and unclassified EPTB (11.8%) cases. Compared with PTB, EPTB was associated with female sex (odds ratio [OR], 1.7; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.7-1.8) and foreign birth (OR, 1.5; CI, 1.5-1.6), almost equally associated with HIV status (OR, 1.1; CI, 1.1-1.1), and negatively associated with multidrug resistance (OR, 0.6; CI, 0.5-0.6) and several tuberculosis risk factors, especially homelessness (OR, 0.3; CI, 0.3-0.3) and excess alcohol use (OR, 0.3; CI, 0.3-0.3). Slower annual decreases in EPTB case counts, compared with annual decreases in PTB case counts, from 1993 through 2006 have caused EPTB to increase from 15.7% of tuberculosis cases in 1993 to 21.0% in 2006. CONCLUSIONS EPTB epidemiology and risk factors differ from those of PTB, and the proportion of EPTB has increased from 1993 through 2006. Further study is needed to identify causes of the proportional increase in EPTB.
Defining, Understanding, and Supporting Open Collaboration

In this short introductory piece, we define open collaboration and contextualize the diverse articles in this special issue in a common vocabulary and history. We provide a definition of open collaboration and situate the phenomenon within an interrelated set of scholarly and ideological movements. We then examine the properties of open collaboration systems that have given rise to research and review major areas of scholarship. We close with a summary of consistent findings in open collaboration research to date.
Usos e incompreensões do conceito de gênero no discurso educacional no Brasil

Gender is a complex concept and has practically become synonymous with sex in common discourse and even in academic discourse. This paper points out uses and misunderstandings of gender in the field of education in Brazil and their implications for educational policies and practices. First, it focuses on the substitution of gender for sex, as a sociological variable, in forms and tables, and the confusion between sex parity and gender equity, which reduces gender to an individual trait or identity. Second, it demonstrates the misunderstanding expressed in perceptions and discourses of university professors of both sexes, situated in predominantly masculine courses where the gendering of knowledge fields and careers remains invisible or unproblematic; and highlights the lack of acknowledgement of the problem in the discourses of female Mathematics professors, situated within a discipline where women participation remains reduced. Finally, it argues about the importance of mainstreaming gender in higher education and research. The research was supported by a CNPq grant
Fascin Overexpression Promotes Cholangiocarcinoma RBE Cell Proliferation, Migration, and Invasion

Fascin is overexpressed in various tumor tissues and is closely related to tumor metastasis and invasion. However, the role of fascin in cholangiocarcinoma RBE cells has not been clearly reported. This study aimed to establish a cholangiocarcinoma cell line with stable and high expression of fascin to observe the effect of fascin on cell proliferation, migration, and invasion. A fascin overexpression vector, pcDNA3.1-Fascin, was constructed and transfected into the human cholangiocarcinoma RBE cell line. The results of real-time polymerase chain reaction, Western blot, and immunofluorescence indicated that fascin was steadily and highly expressed in RBE cells. The results of 3-[4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl]-2,5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide and colony formation assay indicated that upregulated fascin expression could enhance cholangiocarcinoma cell proliferation. The results of wound healing assay and transwell assay indicated that fascin could promote cholangiocarcinoma cell migration and invasion, and a further study found that the nuclear factor-κB signaling pathway was activated after upregulation of fascin, whereas E-cadherin expression in these cells was significantly decreased. Additionally, E-cadherin expression was significantly increased after inhibiting nuclear factor-κB activity using inhibitor or small interfering RNA, and E-cadherin expression was decreased by fascin overexpression after nuclear factor-κB inhibition, suggesting that nuclear factor-κB signaling pathway was not involved in the regulation of E-cadherin by fascin. In summary, the results of this study demonstrated that fascin effectively promoted cholangiocarcinoma RBE cell proliferation, migration, and invasion. This study provides evidence for fascin as a potential target in the treatment of cholangiocarcinoma.
Constructing Compatibility: Managing Breast-Feeding and Weaning from the Mother’s Perspective

The purpose of this grounded theory study was to analyze the maternal process of managing the later stages of established breast-feeding and, ultimately, weaning the child from the breast within a Western Australian context. Data were analyzed from 33 participants’interview transcripts, field notes, 9 postal questionnaires from fathers, and individual and discussion group interviews with child health nurses. A common social problem of incompatible expectations was revealed. All participants faced a dilemma in the management of their experience when personal expectations were in opposition to others’ expectations. A process of Constructing Compatibility by Adapting Focus was adopted to compensate for this incompatibility.
RELAÇÃO ENTRE O AUTO-CONCEITO E BEM-ESTAR SUBJECTIVO EM DOENTES CARDÍACOS DO SEXO MASCULINO SUJEITOS A CIRURGIA DE BYPASS AORTO-CORONÁRIO

The aim of the present study is to identify the relationship between self- concept and subjective well-being and health perception. We assumed that all the variables are state variables (instead of trait), and that self-concept is more stable while subjective well being and health perception are more dependent on immediate context and events. Participants are 30 males aged between 40 and 77 years (M=59,16), that have been submitted to coronary artery bypass. Results show a strong relationship between self-concept, and subjective well-being and health perception. This association suggests that in terms of psychological intervention self-concept evaluation prior to surgery can facilitate in the orientation of post-operative recuperation, namely in the focus on psychological recovery which, as research has shown, is closely related to physical recovery. Therefore, improving self-concept would facilitate post-operative subjective well-being, permitting a more positive actual health perception and more positive future expectations.
Late Fields of the Magnetocardiographic QRS Complex as Indicators of Propensity to Sustained Ventricular Tachycardia after Myocardial Infarction

MCG Late Fields and Propensity to VT. Introduction: Magnetocardiographic (MCG) mapping is a new method to record cardiac signals. This study examined the association of MCG late fields with the propensity to sustained ventricular tachycardia (VT) after myocardial infarction (MI).
Enabling Fine-Grained Multi-Keyword Search Supporting Classified Sub-Dictionaries over Encrypted Cloud Data

Using cloud computing, individuals can store their data on remote servers and allow data access to public users through the cloud servers. As the outsourced data are likely to contain sensitive privacy information, they are typically encrypted before uploaded to the cloud. This, however, significantly limits the usability of outsourced data due to the difficulty of searching over the encrypted data. In this paper, we address this issue by developing the fine-grained multi-keyword search schemes over encrypted cloud data. Our original contributions are three-fold. First, we introduce the relevance scores and preference factors upon keywords which enable the precise keyword search and personalized user experience. Second, we develop a practical and very efficient multi-keyword search scheme. The proposed scheme can support complicated logic search the mixed “AND”, “OR” and “NO” operations of keywords. Third, we further employ the classified sub-dictionaries technique to achieve better efficiency on index building, trapdoor generating and query. Lastly, we analyze the security of the proposed schemes in terms of confidentiality of documents, privacy protection of index and trapdoor, and unlinkability of trapdoor. Through extensive experiments using the real-world dataset, we validate the performance of the proposed schemes. Both the security analysis and experimental results demonstrate that the proposed schemes can achieve the same security level comparing to the existing ones and better performance in terms of functionality, query complexity and efficiency.
The escalating cost and prevalence of alternative medicine.

BACKGROUND The purpose of this study was to measure trends in the prevalence and cost of alternative medicines and alternative practitioner use in an Australian population and to obtain a profile of users and their beliefs. METHODS In 2000, we repeated a 1993 representative population survey of persons ages 15 years or older living in South Australia, which provided 3,027 personal interviews. We assessed the rates of use, types of alternative medicine and therapists, costs, and beliefs of users and nonusers. Comparisons in usage patterns with the 1993 survey were also made. FINDINGS In 2000, the overall use of at least one nonmedically prescribed alternative medicine (excluding calcium, iron, and prescribed vitamins) was 52.1% (CI +/- 1.8). Users were more likely to be female, be better educated, have a higher income, and be employed. Since 1993, females were using significantly more herbal medicines, ginseng, Chinese medicines, and aromatherapy oils. Many were self-prescribed. Among users, 57.2% (CI +/- 1.2) did not tell their doctor. In 2000, 23.3% of respondents had visited at least one alternative practitioner with increasing use of acupuncturists, reflexologists, aromatherapists, and herbal therapists. Most thought alternative medicines were safe but thought they were, or should be, subject to the same standards as prescribed medicines. Among respondents, 92.9% wished product information to be of standard and content similar to those supplied with pharmaceuticals. INTERPRETATION Extrapolation of the costs to the Australian population gives an expenditure on alternative therapies in 2000 of $AUD2.3 billion and for the U.S. population an annual expenditure of $US34 billion. In Australia this represents a 120 and 62% increase in the cost of alternative medicines and therapists, respectively, since 1993. In 2000 expenditure on alternative therapies was nearly four times the public contribution to all pharmaceuticals. The public appears to have ambivalent standards for alternative therapies but wishes to be empowered with accurate information to facilitate self-prescription. The public health ramifications of an expanding alternative medicine industry are great.
Relevance Ranking for Predicting Web Search Results

In this paper, we focus on how incorporating user behaviour data on a web search engine can significantly improve the ranking accuracy of top results in real web search engine. A large click log dataset and a set of query-url relevance flags previously labelled by juries was used to train and evaluate a classifier, as well as to build a re-ranking alternative based on a cascade click model. Each one of these implicit feedback based ranking methods can improve the precision of a web search ranking algorithms by as much as 17% compared to the its original rankings.
Rectifying Behavior of Electrically Aligned ZnO Nanorods

We report on the electrical alignment of ZnO nanorods and their electrical properties. The ZnO nanorods were wet-chemically synthesized, and their length and diameter were adjusted to about 200-300 nm and 15-30 nm, respectively. The nanorods were deposited onto electrode structures and directed into 200- to 800-nm-wide electrode gaps by using alternating electric fields at frequencies between 1 and 10 kHz and field strengths between 10 6 and 10 7 V/m. The nanorods align parallel to the electric field lines and make electrical contact with the gold electrodes. Clear photoresponse to 366-nm ultraviolet light irradiation was demonstrated. The current-voltage characteristics of the aligned rods are strongly nonlinear and asymmetrical, showing rectifying, diode-like behavior and asymmetry factors up to 25 at 3-V bias voltage.
Prevalence and predictors of abandonment of therapy among children with cancer in El Salvador

Abandonment of therapy is one of the most common causes of treatment failure among children with cancer in low‐income countries. Our objectives were to describe the prevalence and predictors of abandonment among such children with cancer in El Salvador. We analyzed data on patients younger than 16 years, diagnosed with any malignancy between January 2001 and December 2003 at the Benjamin Bloom National Children's Hospital, San Salvador. Among 612 patients, 353 were male (58%); the median age at diagnosis was 5.1 years; 59% of patients were diagnosed with leukemia/lymphoma, 28% with solid tumors and 13% with brain tumors. The prevalence of abandonment was 13%. Median time to abandonment was 2.0 (range 0–36) months. In univariate analyses, paternal illiteracy [odds ratio (OR) 3.8, 95% confidence interval (CI) 2.0–7.2; p = 0.001]; maternal illiteracy (OR = 5.1, 95% CI 2.5–10; p < 0.0001); increasing number of household members (OR = 1.2, 95% CI 1.1–1.3; p = 0.004); and low monthly household income (OR per $100 = 0.59, 95% CI 0.45–0.75; p < 0.0001) all significantly increased the risk of abandonment, whereas travel time to hospital did not. In multiple regression analyses, low monthly income and increased number of people in the household were independently predictive of abandonment. In conclusion, in El Salvador, despite the provision of free treatment, socioeconomic variables significantly predict increased risk of abandonment of therapy. Understanding the pathways through which socioeconomic status affects abandonment may allow the design of effective interventions. © 2009 UICC
Rising Tides of Ideological Simplifications. A Comparative and Longitudinal Analysis of Local Parties

This article explores the strength and causal determinants of ideological thinking within Swiss local political parties. The concept of “ideologization” refers to (1): “horizontal couplings”, as they are manifested in intercorrelations between different opinions, and to (2) “vertical couplings” of specific opinions to abstract concepts of “left” and “right”. Results show high ideologization on the left-center section of the LR-scale, especially in the vertical dimension. On both sides of the spectrum, ideological constraints are significantly higher in larger communities than in than in smaller ones. Only in rather small communities, does ideologization correlate positively with the educational level, the modern occupational background of party members and the number of other local parties with which they have to compete. In communities of given size, ideological thinking is more pronounced when parties possess a small share of political power. Finally, it is found that ideological constraints have increased somewhat between 1989 and 2002.
Cortical and thalamic afferent connections of the insular and adjacent cortex of the cat

The thalamo‐cortical and cortico‐cortical afferents of the cat's insular cortex were investigated with the retrograde horseradish peroxidase technique. The most prominent loci of thalamic labeling were the suprageniculate nucleus and parts of the posterolateral nucleus. Injections into the anterior part of the insular cortex also resulted in labeled cells in the ventromedial posterior nucleus and in the intralaminar nuclei, while injections into posterior parts revealed projections from the medial and dorsal parts of the medial geniculate nucleus. Only the anterior and most ventral parts of the insular cortex overlying the anterior rhinal sulcus were connected with the mediodorsal nucleus of the thalamus. All injections into the gyrus sylvius anterior showed a specific pattern of cortical afferents: With the exception of the labeling in the prefrontal cortex and the inferotemporal region, the labeled cells were very narrowly restricted to the presylvian, the suprasylvian, and the splenial sulcus.