Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Gemcitabine--a novel immunosuppressive agent--prevents rejection in a rat cardiac transplantation model.

BACKGROUND 2',2' -difluorodeoxycytidine (dFdC, gemcitabine) is a pyrimidine antimetabolite with antineoplastic activity against a wide range of solid tumors. The immunosuppressive activities of this compound have not been described to date. METHODS The in vitro effects on activated T lymphocytes were studied with a lymphocyte colony-forming assay in a microagar culture system. Heart transplantations were performed in the fully allogeneic Lewis/ Brown Norway combination. dFdC was administered once daily at various dosages from the time of surgery until day 50. RESULTS Phytohemagglutinin-induced lymphocyte proliferation was inhibited 50% by dFdC at a concentration of 3.25+/-0.9 nmol/L. Allografts of untreated animals survived for 7.5 (7-8) days and those with 25, 50, and 75 microg/kg body weight dFdC for 7.3 (7-8), 9.3 (8-10), and 16.3 (10-38) days, respectively. Treatment with 100 or 125 microg/kg body weight of dFdC, however, prolonged allograft survival until day 152.8 (129-178). Dose-dependent leukopenia was the main toxicity. CONCLUSIONS DFdC is a new immunosuppressive agent that can successfully prevent cardiac rejection in a rat transplantation model.
Les recommandations 2007 de la Commission internationale de protection radiologique

Apres neuf annees de travaux, deux consultations sur Internet et de multiples reunions et seminaires, la CIPR vient d'adopter ses nouvelles recommandations. Actualisees sur le plan scientifique, elles presentent des avancees notables pour la gestion du risque radiologique, en particulier dans les situations d'exposition d'urgence, post-accidentelles ou aux rayonnements naturels. Le processus se poursuit avec la revision des normes de base en radioprotection de l'AlEA et de l'Union europeenne (Euratom).
Modeling Methods for Silent Boundaries in Infinite Media

In several problems of interest in computational modeling there is a media that is either infinite or semi-infinite. Some examples include: modeling the ocean when doing ship analysis, modeling the soil underneath a footing, and modeling the air around an airplane. However, every finite element model must be terminated at some finite boundary. Unfortunately, for problems involving wave propagation analysis, the usual finite boundary of the finite element model will cause the elastic waves to be reflected and superimposed with the progressing waves. Therefore, we wish to create a boundary, which is perfectly radiating to outgoing waves (no spurious reflections) and transparent to incoming waves. In addition, we would like the boundary to be as close to the finite structure as possible for computational efficiency. A simple solution to the problem is to move the boundary a great distance away from the finite structure so that the boundary does not influence the results. However, this violates the concept of computational efficiency. Hence, we need an artificial boundary condition to simulate a model without any finite boundary. Through a literature research there appears to be two basic approaches to this boundary condition. The first is to create boundary elements with special properties to absorb the outgoing waves. The second approach is to create infinite elements. This report will discuss three concepts of the boundary element approach: plane wave approximation, viscous damping boundary method, and perfectly matched layers. A brief introduction into infinite elements will be presented as well.
Comparing developing countries under potential carbon allocation schemes

Abstract To stabilise atmospheric greenhouse gas concentrations, all countries will eventually need to be included in the effort to limit climate change. This article explores what potential future greenhouse gas allocation schemes might mean for key developing countries. The need for development is widely acknowledged, but growth in non-Annex I country emissions means that such development may need to take a different path to business as usual. The national interests of developing countries in negotiating potential future commitments are shaped by basic characteristics, notably emissions (both annual and historical cumulative), economic growth and population. These factors in turn shape the acceptability of allocations based on ability to pay, emissions intensity, or emissions per capita. Results for six major developing countries (China, India, Brazil, South Africa, Argentina and Nigeria) show that the implications for developing countries differ widely. For example, ability to pay does not favour Argentina; a reduction based on emissions intensity is not appropriate for Brazil; and per capita allocations would be problematic for South Africa. It is difficult to conceive of a single allocation scheme that would be appropriate for all developing countries. This points to the need for differentiation between developing countries in terms of any potential future commitments.
Durable Antibody Responses Following One Dose of the Bivalent Human Papillomavirus L1 Virus-Like Particle Vaccine in the Costa Rica Vaccine Trial

The Costa Rica HPV16/18 Vaccine Trial (CVT) showed that four-year vaccine efficacy against 12-month HPV16/18 persistent infection was similarly high among women who received one, two, or the recommended three doses of the bivalent HPV16/18 L1 virus-like particle (VLP) vaccine. Live-attenuated viral vaccines, but not simple-subunit vaccines, usually induce durable lifelong antibody responses after a single dose. It is unclear whether noninfectious VLP vaccines behave more like live-virus or simple-subunit vaccines in this regard. To explore the likelihood that efficacy will persist longer term, we investigated the magnitude and durability of antibodies to this vaccine by measuring HPV16- and HPV18-specific antibodies by VLP-ELISA using serum from enrollment, vaccination, and annual visits through four years in four vaccinated groups; one-dose (n = 78), two-doses separated by one month (n = 140), two doses separated by six months (n = 52), and three scheduled doses (n = 120, randomly selected). We also tested enrollment sera from n = 113 HPV16- or HPV18 L1-seropositive women prevaccination, presumably from natural infection. At four years, 100% of women in all groups remained HPV16/18 seropositive; both HPV16/18 geometric mean titers (GMT) among the extended two-dose group were non-inferior to the three-dose group, and ELISA titers were highly correlated with neutralization titers in all groups. Compared with the natural infection group, HPV16/18 GMTs were, respectively, at least 24 and 14 times higher among the two-dose and 9 and 5 times higher among one-dose vaccinees. Antibody levels following one-dose remained stable from month 6 through month 48. Results raise the possibility that even a single dose of HPV VLPs will induce long-term protection. Cancer Prev Res; 6(11); 1242–50. ©2013 AACR.
A design proposal of the reverse DNA polymerase (3'-5' direction)

DNA Polymerase is an enzyme that participates in the process of DNA replication. In general, forward DNA polymerase moves along the template strand in a 3'-5' direction, and the daughter strand is formed in a 5'-3' direction. This paper theoretically analyzes the mechanism of forward DNA polymerase, and gives the design proposal of a new reverse DNA polymerase (3'-5' direction).
School Quality, Labor Markets and Human Capital Investments: Long-Term Impacts of an Early Stage Education Intervention in the Philippines

This paper examines the long-term impacts of improved school quality at the elementary school stage on subsequent schooling investments and labor market outcomes using unique data from a recent survey that tracked students in the Philippines. The empirical results, which are based on a comparison of students who graduated from schools located in adjacent treatment and control areas before and after a school intervention, show significant differences in subsequent schooling investments, migration, and labor market earnings between females and males. That is, females study more (relative to males) and tend to migrate and earn more if they receive high-quality educational investments at an early stage. The above results are consistent with females' greater incentives to study, driven by their higher returns to schooling, especially after high school completion, observed in the labor market.
Chromatin remodelling and histone mRNA accumulation in bovine germinal vesicle oocytes

Major remodelling of the chromatin enclosed within the germinal vesicle occurs towards the end of oocyte growth in mammals, but the mechanisms involved in this process are not completely understood. In bovine, four distinct stages of chromatin compaction—ranging from a diffused state (GV0) to a fully compacted configuration (GV3)—are linked to the gradual acquisition of developmental potential. To better understand the molecular events and to identify mRNA modulations occurring in the oocyte during the GV0‐to‐GV3 transition, transcriptomic analysis was performed with the EmbryoGENE microarray platform. The mRNA abundance of several genes decreased as chromatin compaction increased, which correlates with progressive transcriptional silencing that is characteristic of the end of oocyte growth. On the other hand, the abundance of some transcripts increased during the same period, particularly several histone gene transcripts from the H2A, H2B, H3, H4, and linker H1 family. In silico analysis predicted RNA‐protein interactions between specific histone transcripts and the bovine stem‐loop binding protein 2 (SLBP2), which helps regulate the translation of histone mRNA during oogenesis. These results suggest that some histone‐encoding transcripts are actively stored, possibly to sustain the needs of the embryo before genome activation. This dataset offers a unique opportunity to survey which histone mRNAs are needed to complete chromatin compaction during oocyte maturation and which are stockpiled for the first three cell cycles following fertilization. Mol. Reprod. Dev. 82: 450–462, 2015. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
What Do We Know About Metal Recycling Rates?

The recycling of metals is widely viewed as a fruitful sustainability strategy, but little information is available on the degree to which recycling is actually taking place. This article provides an overview on the current knowledge of recycling rates for 60 metals. We propose various recycling metrics, discuss relevant aspects of recycling processes, and present current estimates on global end‐of‐life recycling rates (EOL‐RR; i.e., the percentage of a metal in discards that is actually recycled), recycled content (RC), and old scrap ratios (OSRs; i.e., the share of old scrap in the total scrap flow). Because of increases in metal use over time and long metal in‐use lifetimes, many RC values are low and will remain so for the foreseeable future. Because of relatively low efficiencies in the collection and processing of most discarded products, inherent limitations in recycling processes, and the fact that primary material is often relatively abundant and low‐cost (which thereby keeps down the price of scrap), many EOL‐RRs are very low: Only for 18 metals (silver, aluminum, gold, cobalt, chromium, copper, iron, manganese, niobium, nickel, lead, palladium, platinum, rhenium, rhodium, tin, titanium, and zinc) is the EOL‐RR above 50% at present. Only for niobium, lead, and ruthenium is the RC above 50%, although 16 metals are in the 25% to 50% range. Thirteen metals have an OSR greater than 50%. These estimates may be used in considerations of whether recycling efficiencies can be improved; which metric could best encourage improved effectiveness in recycling; and an improved understanding of the dependence of recycling on economics, technology, and other factors.
Approach to withdrawal from tacrolimus in a fully allogeneic murine skin graft model

With few exceptions, transplant patients must take immunosuppressants throughout their lives. In this study, we used anti‐T‐cell receptor (TCR/CD3) monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) to induce immunological tolerance to alloantigens after withdrawal from tacrolimus in a fully allogeneic murine skin graft model. Skin grafts from AKR donor mice were maintained in C57BL/6 recipients by administering tacrolimus for one month. Anti‐T‐cell receptor (TCR) αβ mAb was administered to recipient mice on the day of withdrawal from tacrolimus administration. Seven days after mAb administration, the recipient mice were treated with various combinations of the following treatments: low‐dose whole body irradiation, AKR bone marrow transfer (BMT), and anti‐CD3 mAb administration. The control recipient mice did not receive treatment with either mAb, nor any other treatment. All the control recipient mice showed rejection of AKR skin grafts 42 days after tacrolimus withdrawal (mean skin graft survival: 77 days). Mice treated with a combination of anti‐TCR αβ antibody, low‐dose irradiation and AKR BMT showed stable chimerism in their peripheral blood lymphocytes and significantly prolonged skin graft survival (mean skin graft survival: >151·2±15·3 days). Mice given the combination of anti‐TCR αβ mAb, anti‐CD3 mAb, low‐dose irradiation, and AKR BMT exhibited more stable chimerism but had earlier skin graft rejection (mean skin graft survival: 116·7±17·6 days) than the mice that did not receive anti‐CD3 mAb. These results suggest that anti‐TCR αβ mAb, but not anti‐CD3 mAb, in combination with low‐dose irradiation and BMT, is useful for long‐lasting allograft survival after withdrawal from tacrolimus in mice with fully allogeneic skin grafts.
Research Commentary - Informing Privacy Research Through Information Systems, Psychology, and Behavioral Economics: Thinking Outside the "APCO" Box

Recently, several researchers provided overarching macromodels to explain individuals’ privacy-related decision making. These macromodels—and almost all of the published privacy-related information systems (IS) studies to date—rely on a covert assumption: responses to external stimuli result in deliberate analyses, which lead to fully informed privacy-related attitudes and behaviors. The most expansive of these macromodels, labeled “Antecedents–Privacy Concerns–Outcomes” (APCO), reflects this assumption. However, an emerging stream of IS research demonstrates the importance of considering principles from behavioral economics (such as biases and bounded rationality) and psychology (such as the elaboration likelihood model) that also affect privacy decisions. We propose an enhanced APCO model and a set of related propositions that consider both deliberative (high-effort) cognitive responses (the only responses considered in the original APCO model) and low-effort cognitive responses inspired by frameworks and theories in behavioral economics and psychology. These propositions offer explanations of many behaviors that complement those offered by extant IS privacy macromodels and the information privacy literature stream. We discuss the implications for research that follow from this expansion of the existing macromodels.
Fault tolerant improvement with chaos synchronization using Fuzzy-PID control

In this study, fault tolerant control for a Rotary Inverted Pendulum (RIP) has been improved by using chaos synchronization with adding a chaotic signal as a reference. Rotary inverted pendulum is a nonlinear, under-actuated, unstable and non-minimum-phase system. The proposed control consists of a state-feedback (LQR) and a fuzzy-PID control. The state-feedback control is used to stabilize system near the operating point, and the fuzzy-PID is used to track the chaos signal. PID controller gains adjust by fuzzy rule. The designed controller is implemented on a Quanser laboratory system.
Diversity and Affirmative Action in Higher Education

We examine the practice of affirmative action and consequences of its proscription on the admission and tuition policies of institutions of higher education in a general equilibrium framework. Colleges are differentiated ex ante by endowments and compete for students that differ by race, household income, and academic qualification. Proscription of affirmative action requires that admission and tuition policies are race blind. Colleges then use the informational content about race in income and academic qualification in reformulating their optimal policies. We find that minority students pay lower tuition and attend higher-quality schools because of affirmative action. A ban of affirmative action will lead to a substantial decline of minority students in the top-tier colleges. Copyright © 2008 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
Are we too busy to volunteer? The relationship between time and volunteering using the 1997 ABS Time Use Data

Time availability is a key concept in relation to volunteering, leading to organisations and governments targeting those outside paid work as a potential source of volunteers. It may be that factors such as a growth in female participation in the labour market and an increase in work hours will lead to more people saying they are simply too busy to volunteer This paper discusses how social and economic change, such as changing work patterns, are impacting on time availability. Using the 1997 ABS Time Use data, it identifies a predictive model of spare time by looking at demographic, life stage and employment related variables. Results confirm that those outside paid work, particularly the young, males and those without partners or children, are the groups most likely to have time to spare. These groups do not currently report high rates of volunteering. The paper concludes by questioning the premise that people will volunteer simply because they have time to spare. This is just one component of a range of motivations and factors that influence the decision to volunteer.
This Field is Our Field: Foreign Players, Domestic Leagues, and the Unlawful Racial Manipulation of American Sport

Sport is a potent unifying force and a potentially powerful tool in bridging societal divides. As such, the increasing frequency of professional athletes leaving their home nations and continents to access employment opportunities abroad portends positively for greater cultural understanding in our global community. This paper argues, however, that in America’s professional sporting context, internationalization of sport plays an additional, unsavory, role - it serves as a means of manipulating leagues’ racial compositions. Research reveals that American sports team and league power brokers have long believed in-stadium spectators - a substantial majority of whom are Caucasian - exhibit preferences for seeing Caucasian players participate in the games they attend. Research further reveals that teams often responded to such preferences by discriminating in favor of Caucasian players when constructing their rosters. Such racial employment discrimination is unlawful under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and exposes the perpetrating organization to liability. To the extent, therefore, that teams and leagues seek to manipulate racial composition, they are incentivized to do so indirectly. This paper argues that regulation of international entrants through international player restrictions provides that indirect vehicle. Specifically, this paper asserts that where inclusion of international players would decrease the proportion of a league’s players of color or maintain the league’s racial status quo, internationalization is encouraged. Where, on the other hand, inclusion of international players would increase the proportion of a league’s players of color, internationalization is discouraged or restricted. Through examining the racial compositions and international player policies of America’s five premier professional sports leagues - the National Basketball Association, the National Football League, the National Hockey League, Major League Soccer, and Major League Baseball - this paper contends that international player restrictions effectuate unlawful racial discrimination and should, therefore, trigger scrutiny under American anti-discrimination law.
Versailles and after, 1919-1933

Ruth Henig's fully revised and extended second edition of Versailles and After includes a new chapter on recent historiography of the subject and provides students with concise coverage of the following topics: * the terms of the Treaty of Versailles * the inadeqacies of the League of Nations as a supranational peacekeeping body * why hopes of long term stability gradually faded.
VEGF is major stimulator in model of choroidal neovascularization.

PURPOSE Vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) is upregulated by hypoxia and is a major stimulatory factor for retinal neovascularization in ischemic retinopathies such as diabetic retinopathy. This study sought to determine if VEGF is a stimulatory factor in a murine model of choroidal neovascularization (CNV). METHODS Mice with laser-induced ruptures in Bruch's membrane were treated with vehicle alone; a drug that inhibits both VEGF and platelet-derived growth factor (PDGF) receptor kinases; a drug that inhibits PDGF, but not VEGF receptor kinase; or genistein, a nonspecific kinase inhibitor. After two weeks, CNV was quantified and compared. RESULTS Blockade of phosphorylation by VEGF and PDGF receptors caused dramatic, almost complete inhibition of CNV. Genistein also had an inhibitory effect, but less so than the VEGF/PDGF receptor blocker. Blockade of phosphorylation by PDGF receptors, but not VEGF receptors, had no significant effect on CNV. CONCLUSIONS These data and our previous study, which demonstrated that a kinase inhibitor that blocks VEGF and PDGF receptors and several isoforms of protein kinase C causing dramatic inhibition of CNV, suggest that VEGF signaling plays a critical role in the development of CNV in this model. If safety is established, the effect of inhibiting VEGF receptor kinase activity should be investigated in patients with CNV.
“LOCAL” DEVELOPMENT IN SOUTHERN EUROPE: TOWARDS A NEW MYTHOLOGY

From the mid-1970s onwards, many southern European regions experienced a pattern of decentralized development and growth. This pattern has been largely explained by theories of “local” or “endogenous” development which became the new catch-phrases during a period of great financial difficulties. Despite logical improvements and the use of some radical rhetoric, local development approaches based on rationalization of existing cases (especially in Third Italian regions) suffer both in their theory and practice from the same inherent limitations of two decades ago. The paper argues for an alternative interpretation of local development characteristics in Portugal, Spain, Italy and Greece, discussing the political implications of proposed policies.
Aspectos Metodológicos da Segmentação de Mercado: Base de Segmentação e Métodos de Classificação

This work provides a broad review of the past literature on market segmentation, focusing on a discussion of proposed bases and classification methods. Multiple segmentation bases are detached, organized according to two axes - observable/ unobservable, general/ specific of the product and evaluated according to some criteria that must be satisfied for an effective segmentation: identifiability, substantiality, accessibility, stability, actionability and responsiveness Classification methods grouped in three classes - nonoverlapping, overlapping and fuzzy, according to the format of the partition matrix they provide.