Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
KIT protein expression in uterine sarcomas: an immunohistochemical study and review of the literature.

PURPOSE The aim of the present study was to investigate the possibility of treating uterine sarcomas with imatinib mesylate. Imatinib mesylate, a selective tyrosine kinase inhibitor, is very efficient against mesenchymal tumors of the gastrointestinal tract, known as GISTs. Imatinib mesylate acts against a tyrosine kinase encoded by the KIT gene in GISTs, and is more effective in tumors expressing this protein. METHODS Expression of KIT was analyzed immunohistochemically (n = 12) in formalin-fixed paraffin-embedded primary uterine sarcomas. RESULTS Using a semi-quantitative immunohistochemical score we found that KIT expression was very weak in the majority of tumors, while none of the uterine sarcomas tested showed strong expression. Overall, published studies addressing this issue in small series of uterine sarcomas yielded similar results. CONCLUSION Current data suggest that it is unlikely that imatinib mesylate could be used effectively as a single agent in patients with uterine sarcomas.
What is the Rationale for Controlling Hyperglycemia in Diabetic Patients ?

Hyperglycemia occurs in patients with diabetes and in nondiabetic patients during acute illness. Epidemiologic and observational studies have demonstrated that hyperglycemia is associated with significant adverse outcomes. Nevertheless, studies evaluating the benefits of normalizing glycemia have produced inconsistent results. For instance, intensive control of hyperglycemia had been shown to provide microvascular benefit in type 1 and type 2 diabetic patients, but its macrovascular benefits had only been clearly demonstrated in type 1 diabetic patients. Moreover, although initial studies in critically ill patients showed decreased morbidity and mortality with tight glycemic control, subsequent studies yielded conflicting results. A series of recent studies provide further insight and show that intensive glycemic control in type 2 diabetic patients does provide macrovascular benefit but is associated with increased risk of hypoglycemia. In the critically ill patient, tight glycemic control could be detrimental; thus, a less aggressive glycemic target of 140 to 180 mg/dL is preferred.
A Model of Image Denoising Based on the Fusion of Anisotropic Diffusion and Total Variation Models

In this paper, a new denoising technique for images corrupted with additive salt and pepper noise and white Gaussian noise is proposed. The technique used here is to combine the anisotropic diffusion (PM) model and total variation (TV) model. The new technique utilizes both advantages of PM model and TV model, while avoiding the disadvantages of both of them. To evaluate our algorithm several experiments have been conducted. The experimental results affirm the high performance of our model.
Application of Bioinformatics Tools in Gel-Based Proteomics

Personalized medicine is the most promising approaches in the treatment of various diseases, especially cancer. The use of appropriate biomarkers for personalized treatment has advantage over conventional therapeutics approach, as it confer maximum effectiveness with minimum side effect. Personalized treatment can be achieved by implementation of omic studies in clinical practices. Application of genomic, transcriptomic, proteomic and metabolomic studies deliver a vast amount of data that lead to the discovery of novel biomarkers for diagnostic, prognostic and therapeutic purposes. Therefore, further exploration in omic study could lead to the implementation of personalized medicine as a standard therapeutic scheme in the clinic. Proteomics is a global study of entire proteins of cell, tissue and organism in a particular condition and time point (Graves & Haystead, 2002). Proteomics is a very comprehensive discipline that includes the study of expression, function, localization, structure, modification, and protein-protein interaction (Graves & Haystead, 2002; Lim & ElenitobaJohnson, 2004). A proteomics experiment generates vast amount of data that require further analysis, and systems biology is the main approach. Systems biology is an integrative science that studies the complex behavior of biological entities at the systems level (Kitano, 2002a, 2002b). Integrating the proteomics data into systems biology language is an important approach in understanding the behavior of the complex organisms at various levels (Souchelnytskyi, 2005). In recent years, our knowledge of proteomics and system biology is growing rapidly and create an excitement in scientific community because of its potential in novel biomarker and drug discovery (Duncan & Hunsucker, 2005). Proteomics studies are highly dependent on the technology for protein separation and identification, and bioinformatics for data analysis. By protein separation techniques, gelbased and liquid chromatography (LC)-based approaches represent the primary stream in proteomics. In gel-based approach, that is, conventional 2D gel electrophoresis (2D-GE) and 2D differential gel electrophoresis (2D-DIGE), the proteins are separated by their molecular weight and isoelectric point. In LC-based approach, the proteins or peptides are separated by using high performance liquid chromatography (Aebersold & Mann, 2003; Cravatt et al., 2007). The identification and characterization of proteins or peptides by mass spectrometry are followed after separation (Kolker et al., 2006). In more recent years, antibody-based methods emerging as important approaches in proteomics. These approaches included the
Characterization of Soils as Potential Raw Materials for Soil Stabilization Application Using Geopolymerization Method

Soft soil has been associated to many problems especially in engineering field. Continues research and studies are done to find other alternatives in soil stabilization that environmental friendly and economic. Geopolymerization is one of the developing fields that can fulfill those requirements. In this preliminary study, three samples of soil (Soil 1, 2 and 3) were examined to investigate their potential for geopolymerization method based on their characterization. X-ray fluorescence, X-ray diffraction and scanning electron microscope were conducted. From the results, the soils do have potential, however, further investigations need to be done after this study to evaluate whether the soils are suitable using geopolymerization method for soil stabilization.
Size and complex index of nanocenters: optical measurements

Non destructive detection, localization and characterization of nanocenters today remains a challenge for investigation of laser-induced damage in optical materials. In this study we propose an attempt to reach this aim via optical techniques, and extract size and complex index of nanocenters. The procedure is described and results are given for SiO2 thin film samples. All conclusions are discussed in regard to assumptions.
Integrated Management of Neonatal and Childhood Illness (IMNCI): implementation challenges in India.

The continued high childhood mortality in the developing regions of the world towards the end of the last century resulting mainly from common childhood illnesses with underlying undernutrition for which interventions have been known was a challenge for the international medical community. It was time for child health programmes to move beyond single diseases since many children present with overlapping signs and symptoms of diseases making a single diagnosis difficult often not feasible nor appropriate. Integrated Management of Childhood Illness (IMCI) was a response to this global challenge. India which has the largest share of global childhood deaths was clearly in need of some fresh initiatives to meet its commitment towards the Millennium Development Goals related to child survival. IMCI appeared to be the "panacea" for the ailment. National consultations of the adaptation task force in 2000 rechristened the strategy as Integrated Management of Neonatal and Childhood Illness (IMNCI) andbrought neonatal health to the forefront to address the nations felt need and also for the first time developed a health workers IMNCI package. (excerpt)
Impact of insecticidal proteins expressed in transgenic plants on bumblebee microcolonies

In order to assess the risk that insecticidal transgenic plants may pose for bumblebees, we tested whether Bombus terrestris (L.) (Hymenoptera: Apidae) workers are able to detect insecticidal proteins dissolved in sucrose solution and whether consumption of these proteins will affect survival and offspring production. Feeders containing either Bacillus thuringiensis toxin (Cry1Ab), Kunitz soybean trypsin inhibitor (SBTI), or Galanthus nivalis agglutinin (GNA) were offered to bumblebee colonies at low (0.01% wt/vol for SBTI and GNA, 0.001% for Cry1Ab) and high concentrations (0.1% for SBTI and GNA, 0.01% for Cry1Ab) together with a control (pure sucrose solution) in a glasshouse chamber. No difference was found in the number of visits and the duration of visits among the different concentrations for each of the insecticidal proteins, indicating that bumblebees do not discriminate the compounds. To investigate the impact of the different insecticidal proteins on B. terrestris, microcolonies were established by placing three newly emerged bumblebee workers in wooden boxes. Within a few days, a hierarchy in each microcolony was established and the dominant worker developed its ovaries and laid haploid eggs. Bumblebees were fed with Cry1Ab (0.01%), SBTI, or GNA (both at 0.01 and 0.1%) dissolved in sucrose solution and also fed mixed floral pollen for a maximum period of 80 days. Additionally, microcolonies with three drones each were established to measure individual bee longevity. While the Cry1Ab did not affect microcolony performance, the consumption of SBTI and especially GNA affected survival of B. terrestris workers and drones and caused a significant reduction in the number of offspring. The use of microcolonies appears to be well‐suited to measure lethal and sublethal effects of insecticidal proteins expressed in transgenic plants on bumblebees.
Delta-Like Ligand 4 Plays a Critical Role in Pericyte/Vascular Smooth Muscle Cell Formation during Vasculogenesis and Tumor Vessel Expansion in Ewing's Sarcoma

Purpose: Bone marrow (BM) cells contribute to tumor vessel formation that supports the growth of Ewing's sarcoma. These BM cells migrate into the tumor and differentiate into endothelial cells and pericytes. We investigated whether delta-like ligand 4 (DLL4) played a role in the formation of BM-derived pericytes/vascular smooth muscle cells (vSMC) during tumor vessel formation. Experimental Design: Using immunohistochemistry, we examined the expression pattern of DLL4 in 14 patient samples and two xenograft mouse models of Ewing's sarcoma. We then used intratumor injections of short hairpin RNA to inhibit DLL4 expression in Ewing's sarcoma tumors in mice, and evaluated the effect on BM-derived pericytes/vSMCs. Results: DLL4 was expressed by perivascular cells in 12 of 14 human samples and in BM-derived pericytes/vSMCs in both A4573 and TC71 xenograft tumors. Inhibition of DLL4 expression by short hairpin RNA correlated with the decreased numbers of BM-derived cells in tumor vessels and the decreased numbers of α-SMA+, desmin+, and NG2+ pericytes/vSMCs, as well as increased tumor hypoxia. Conclusions: DLL4 is important for the formation of BM-derived pericytes/vSMCs during vasculogenesis in Ewing's sarcoma. DLL4 may be a therapeutic target for treatment of Ewing's sarcoma by inhibition of blood vessel formation. Clin Cancer Res; 16(3); 848–56
The costs of risky male behaviour: sex differences in seasonal survival in a small sexually monomorphic primate

Male excess mortality is widespread among mammals and frequently interpreted as a cost of sexually selected traits that enhance male reproductive success. Sex differences in the propensity to engage in risky behaviours are often invoked to explain the sex gap in survival. Here, we aim to isolate and quantify the survival consequences of two potentially risky male behavioural strategies in a small sexually monomorphic primate, the grey mouse lemur Microcebus murinus: (i) most females hibernate during a large part of the austral winter, whereas most males remain active and (ii) during the brief annual mating season males roam widely in search of receptive females. Using a 10-year capture–mark–recapture dataset from a population of M. murinus in Kirindy Forest, western Madagascar, we statistically modelled sex-specific seasonal survival probabilities. Surprisingly, we did not find any evidence for direct survival benefits of hibernation—winter survival did not differ between males and females. By contrast, during the breeding season males survived less well than females (sex gap: 16%). Consistent with the ‘risky male behaviour’ hypothesis, the period for lowered male survival was restricted to the short mating season. Thus, sex differences in survival in a promiscuous mammal can be substantial even in the absence of sexual dimorphism.
Genome Sequence of Aeromonas hydrophila ATCC 7966T: Jack of All Trades

ABSTRACT The complete genome of Aeromonas hydrophila ATCC 7966T was sequenced. Aeromonas, a ubiquitous waterborne bacterium, has been placed by the Environmental Protection Agency on the Contaminant Candidate List because of its potential to cause human disease. The 4.7-Mb genome of this emerging pathogen shows a physiologically adroit organism with broad metabolic capabilities and considerable virulence potential. A large array of virulence genes, including some identified in clinical isolates of Aeromonas spp. or Vibrio spp. , may confer upon this organism the ability to infect a wide range of hosts. However, two recognized virulence markers, a type III secretion system and a lateral flagellum, that are reported in other A. hydrophila strains are not identified in the sequenced isolate, ATCC 7966T. Given the ubiquity and free-living lifestyle of this organism, there is relatively little evidence of fluidity in terms of mobile elements in the genome of this particular strain. Notable aspects of the metabolic repertoire of A. hydrophila include dissimilatory sulfate reduction and resistance mechanisms (such as thiopurine reductase, arsenate reductase, and phosphonate degradation enzymes) against toxic compounds encountered in polluted waters. These enzymes may have bioremediative as well as industrial potential. Thus, the A. hydrophila genome sequence provides valuable insights into its ability to flourish in both aquatic and host environments.
Circulating T cell subtypes in polymyalgia rheumatica and giant cell arteritis: variation in the percentage of CD8+ cells with prednisolone treatment.

OBJECTIVES--Some reports have described a decreased percentage of circulating CD8+ cells in patients with polymyalgia rheumatica and giant cell arteritis (PMR/GCA) before treatment and persisting for some months during treatment with corticosteroids. Other studies have found no such changes. There are overt methodological variations between these studies and there may also hidden differences, such as the timing of blood samples. The purpose of this study was to investigate T cell subtypes in patients with PMR/GCA while controlling for variables known to affect T cells. METHODS--Circulating T cell subsets were measured in 36 patients with PMR/GCA before and during treatment with prednisolone. Blood samples during treatment were taken before the daily dose of prednisolone. The whole blood lysis method was used followed by flow cytometry. RESULTS--Compared with controls, CD8+ cells were not reduced before treatment in patients with PMR/GCA (0.44 x 10(9)/l; 28% of lymphocytes). CD4+ cells were also normal (0.78 x 10(9)/l; 48% of lymphocytes). During treatment with prednisolone total T cells increased from 1.18 to 1.59 x 10(9)/l and CD4+ cells increased from 0.78 to 1.05 x 10(9)/l. The percentage of CD8+ cells decreased on treatment from 28 to 25%. CONCLUSIONS--This study does not confirm the finding of some groups that the percentage of circulating CD8+ cells is reduced in patients with PMR/GCA before treatment. It does show that the percentage of CD8+ cells decreases during treatment with corticosteroids. This needs to be considered when designing studies of lymphocyte subsets in diseases treated with corticosteroids.
A Split-Merge Framework for Comparing Clusterings

Clustering evaluation measures are frequently used to evaluate the performance of algorithms. However, most measures are not properly normalized and ignore some information in the inherent structure of clusterings. We model the relation between two clusterings as a bipartite graph and propose a general component-based decomposition formula based on the components of the graph. Most existing measures are examples of this formula. In order to satisfy consistency in the component, we further propose a split-merge framework for comparing clusterings of different data sets. Our framework gives measures that are conditionally normalized, and it can make use of data point information, such as feature vectors and pairwise distances. We use an entropy-based instance of the framework and a coreference resolution data set to demonstrate empirically the utility of our framework over other measures.
Automatic Detection and Correction of Repairs in Human-Computer Dialog

We have analyzed 607 sentences of spontaneous human-computer speech data containing repairs (drawn from a corpus of 10,718). We present here criteria and techniques for automatically detecting the presence of a repair, its location, and making the appropriate correction. The criteria involve integration of knowledge from several sources: pattern matching, syntactic and semantic analysis, and acoustics.
Coupled thermo-electromechanical effects in quantum dots and nanowires

We report some results on the analysis of thermo-electromechanical effects in low dimensional semiconductor nanostructures (LDSNs). A coupled model of thermoelectroelasticity has been applied to the analysis of quantum dots and quantum wires. Finite element solutions have been obtained for different thermal loadings and their effects on the electromechanical properties in quantum dots and quantum wires are presented. Our model accounts for a practically important range of internal and external thermoelectromechanical loadings. Results are obtained for typical quantum dot and quantum wire systems with cylindrical geometry. The comparative analysis of thermoelectromechanical effects in quantum dots and quantum wires is also presented. It is observed that the electromechanical effects in LDSNs are noticeably influenced by thermal loadings. The influence is more significant in quantum dots as compared to that of quantum wires.
Konfigurationsflachheit linearer mechanischer Systeme

Zusammenfassung Zusätzlich zum Konzept der differentiellen Flachheit existiert für mechanische Systeme der Begriff der Konfigurationsflachheit. Dieser Spezialfall erfordert, dass der flache Ausgang nur von den Konfigurationskoordinaten abhängt, nicht aber von den Geschwindigkeiten und dem Eingang. Zahlreiche Beispiele legen die Hypothese nahe, dass für konservative mechanische Systeme allgemeine Flachheit und Konfigurationsflachheit äquivalent sind. Der vorliegende Beitrag zeigt, dass diese Hypothese zumindest für lineare mechanische Systeme erfüllt ist. Ausgangspunkt sind die Bewegungsgleichungen als rechteckige Polynommatrix zweiter Ordnung. Konfigurationsflachheit wird dann als rein reelle Ergänzung dieser Polynommatrix zu einer unimodularen Matrix eingeführt. Mit Hilfe der Kronecker-Normalform wird gezeigt, dass diese Ergänzung für konservative Systeme stets existiert.
Changes of higher order aberration with various pupil sizes in the myopic eye.

PURPOSE To investigate the effect of pupil diameter on higher order aberration in myopic eyes. METHODS One hundred and two eyes of 51 normal subjects were evaluated with the Nidek OPD-Scan. RESULTS All types of aberration increased significantly with increasing pupil size (P<.001). However, optical aberrations had a less pronounced increase in C3(-1) and C3(+1) , more pronounced increase in C4(0) with pupil area increased (P<.05), 2nd coma (C5(-1) and C6(+1)) and high order astigmatism (C4(-2), C4(+2) C6(-2), C6(+2) with larger pupil diameter. Compared with the aberrations of each high order aberration at 4 mm, the average increase root mean square values were 1.54, 1.59, 1.71, and 1.87 on S3, S4, S5, and S6 respectively, with a 5-mm pupil, whereas increased root mean square values were 1.46, 1.88, 1.51, and 1.60 for a 6-mm-diameter pupil. CONCLUSION For an equal increase of pupil size, not all Zernike polynomial coefficients induced equivalent increase of values. Coma-like aberrations increased less with pupil dilation. Spherical-like aberration showed only a small increase from 4 mm to 5 mm pupil size, but a larger increase from 5 mm to 6 mm pupil size. Other higher order aberrations (S5 and S6) increased slightly with pupil dilation. Coma-like aberration was larger than spherical aberration, and larger than other higher order aberrations for all pupil sizes.
A Software Development Capstone Course and Project for CIS Majors

This paper presents a capstone course given to CIS seniors involving projects which utilize programming, database design, requirements analysis, use cases, object modeling, project management, and written and oral communication skills in an active learning environment. The learning objectives for this course correspond with most of the learning units described for the upper level courses in the IS 2002 model curriculum. The course content and capstone project are based on an object-oriented methodology that centers on component-based design. Project elements emphasize both creative and critical thinking processes and are designed to utilize and challenge the technical, managerial, and communication skills of students, who also engage in reflective analysis by constructing project workbooks and journals.
The Need for Security in Distributed Automotive Systems

The papers main focus is on security in the automotive domain. It gives an overview about the current state of the art in this area. There is a trend to open today’s vehicle architecture to technology known from the consumer segment (e.g. All IP Car). This is mainly motivated by cost reduction, reduced cabling effort and innovative functionality (e.g. car to car communication, intelligent navigation systems). By opening the architecture in such a way cars are getting more external interfaces which make them more accessible from the outside. Hence, an attacker does not need direct physical access to attack the car anymore but rather can use one of its wireless external interfaces. Using technology from the consumer segment does not only make the software and hardware development easier due to reusability but also makes the car an easier target. Therefore, additional research is needed to harden the automotive and make it more resistant.
A Note on Demand Estimation with Supply Information in Non-Linear Models

This paper compares demand estimation with and without full supply information in non-linear models. The main result is that, in a non-linear model, under general monotonicity conditions, there is a speci cation of the full supply model which is consistent with an arbitrarily speci ed auxiliary equation to account for endogeneity in demand estimation. In particular, there is a speci cation of the full supply model that is consistent with a typical linear auxiliary equation of the endogenous variable in a limited information approach of demand estimation. In general, in a non-linear model, a full supply model and the auxiliary equation speci cations do not represent the same model, but the auxiliary equation model covers a \larger" range of the space of potential models than a fully speci ed supply model. The paper presents an application to monopoly pricing with non-linear demand, and shows some simulation results of the relationship between the auxiliary equation and the full supply model in that application.