Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Distribution of Forebrain Diffuse Axonal Injury Following Inertial Closed Head Injury in Miniature Swine

Diffuse axonal injury (DAI) is one of the most frequently encountered types of brain damage resulting from closed head injury. This study was designed to verify whether DAI could be produced in miniature swine by rapid acceleration and deceleration of the head in the coronal plane. Hanford miniature swine (16-19 kg) were anesthetized with 3% isoflurane and their heads accelerated rapidly once through a 60-105 degrees arc in the coronal plane, producing only transient post-traumatic unconsciousness without prolonged coma. All animals made a good recovery and were sacrificed between 6 h and 10 days after injury. The response of forebrain projection systems to this injury was studied using neurofilament immunohistochemistry with antisera to nonphosphorylated (SMI-32) and phosphorylated (SMI-31) epitopes common to heavy (200 kDa) and medium (160 kDa) neurofilament proteins. In 9 of 12 animals, lesions characterized by foci of SMI-32 positive axonal retraction balls were present at the white matter/gray matter junction at the crests of gyri in the dorsolateral regions of the frontal, parietal, and temporal cortices and along margins of the lateral ventricles. A high density of pyramidal neuron perikarya in layers III and V within cortical gyri associated with subcortical DAI were intensely positive for SMI-31 immunohistochemistry. These results validate the use of miniature swine in studies of axonal injury and demonstrate that axonal injury analogous to that seen in the mildest form of DAI (grade I) can be produced in these animals without producing prolonged coma.
Dynamic performance of a modular multilevel back-to-back HVDC system

The modular multilevel converter (MMC) is a newly introduced switch-mode converter topology with the potential for high-voltage direct current (HVDC) transmission applications. This paper focuses on the dynamic performance of an MMC-based, back-to-back HVDC system. A phase-disposition (PD) sinusoidal pulsewidth modulation (SPWM) strategy, including a voltage balancing method, for the operation of an MMC is presented in this paper. Based on the proposed PD-SPWM switching strategy, a mathematical model for the MMC-HVDC system, under both balanced and unbalanced grid operation modes, is developed. Dynamic performance of the MMC-based back-to-back HVDC converter system, based on time-domain simulation studies in the PSCAD/EMTDC environment, is then evaluated. The reported time-domain simulation results show that based on the adopted PD-SPWM switching strategy, the MMC-HVDC station can respond satisfactorily to the system dynamics and control commands under balanced and unbalanced conditions while maintaining voltage balance of the dc capacitors.
The Impact of Employee Compensation and Financial Performance on Nonprofit Organization Donations

This study focuses on the complex interaction between employee compensation and organizational financial performance. In particular, we investigate the impact of higher than median employee compensation on nonprofit donations and whether such impact is conditional on the financial performance of the organization. Using recent panel data from 10,206 nonprofit organizations across multiple tax designations, we test the hypotheses with Tobit maximum likelihood estimation that incorporates measures of employee compensation, financial performance, financial capacity, and controls for state factors and nonprofit type. Findings demonstrate that employee compensation above the median is unfavorable for donations overall; however, the negative effect is mitigated by sound financial performance. This study highlights the collective impact that exists between financial performance and employee compensation on organizational donative resources, directly speaks to an organization’s internal capacity to raise private revenue, and adds subtlety to the ongoing discussions of how much is enough compensation for high-quality nonprofit leadership.
Pattern reconfigurable leaky-wave antenna design by FDTD method and Floquet's Theorem

A pattern reconfigurable millimeter-wave coplanar waveguide leaky-wave antenna is designed by using the finite-difference time-domain (FDTD) method combined with Floquet's theorem and the simple linear interpolation technique. The concept of equivalent period is presented for mixed-periodic structures. The novel design process results in a reduction in the design time compared with that of the traditional FDTD method.
Novel mitochondrial DNA deletion found in a renal cell carcinoma

Polymerase chain reaction (PCR) was used to analyze a rarely deleted region of mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) from 39 human renal cell carcinomas (RCC) and matched normal kidney tissue removed during radical nephrectomy. One tumor specimen (E.R.) had a unique PCR product approximately 250 base pairs (bp) smaller than the PCR product found in the normal E.R. kidney. Sequence analysis of the tumor‐specific PCR fragment revealed a 264 bp deletion in the first subunit (NDI) of NADH:ubiquinone oxidoreductase (complex I) of the electron transport chain. Southern analysis of the RCCs demonstrated that approximately 50% of the mtDNA molecules in the primary RCC contained a unique 3.2 kb EcoRV restriction fragment found only in E.R. tumor mtDNA. Northern analysis demonstrated preferential transcription of the truncated NDI mRNA. None of the five metastases or any normal tissue from E.R. contained levels of the NDI deletion detectable by PCR. This is the first reported case of an intragenic NDI mtDNA deletion. Genes Chromosom Cancer 15:95–101 (1996). © 1996 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Chemical remediation of Aflatoxin B1 using encapsulated polyvinylpyrrolidone as an environmental-friendly control.

Aflatoxins (AFs) are difuranocoumarin derivatives produced as secondary metabolites by fungi belonging to several Aspergillus species. Aflatoxin B1 (AFB1) is one of the most potent naturally occurring hepatic carcinogens to both human and animals and is classified as a group (1) human carcinogen. Therefore, the aim of this study is to assess the effect of encapsulating polyvinylpyrrolidone (PVP 10, 360 and 1300 kDa)-Tannic acid complexed nanoparticles (PVP-TA NPs) inside yeast cell walls (YCW) to remediate AFB1 in the gastrointestinal models. Glucan Mannan Lipid Particles (GMLPs) from Saccharomyces cescerevisie cell walls showed the highest AFB1 adsorption in simulated gastric fluid (SGF) after 10 min, and in simulated intestinal fluid (SIF) after 1 h. Glucan Mannan Lipid Particles are hollow 3–4-micron porous microspheres that provide an efficient system for the synthesis and encapsulation of AFB1-absorbing nanoparticles (NPs). Although tannic acid (28%) was released from GMLP particles after three water washes, only 10, 5.6 and 7.6% of the total loaded TA was released when complexed with optimal ratios of PVP 10, 360 and 1300kDa; respectively. Fluorescence microscopic images supported the conclusion that PVP TA complexed NP cores were successfully synthesized inside the GMLPs. Encapsulation of PVP TA NPs inside GMLPs significantly increased the stability of the GMLP encapsulated PVP TA NPs formulation. Data also showed that AFB1 adsorption by the multi-functional GMLP PVP-TA NPs was enhanced synergistically in SGF and in SIF binding compared to individual GMLP.
Liver transplantation in Germany

Liver transplantation (LT) is a well‐accepted procedure for end‐stage liver disease in Germany. In 2015, 1489 patients were admitted to the waiting list (including 1308 new admissions), with the leading etiologies being fibrosis and cirrhosis (n = 349), alcoholic liver disease (n = 302), and hepatobiliary malignancies (n = 220). Organ allocation in Germany is regulated within the Eurotransplant system based on urgency as expressed by the Model for End‐Stage Liver Disease score. In 2015, only 894 LTs (n = 48 from living donors) were performed at 23 German transplant centers, reflecting a shortage of organs. Several factors may contribute to the low number of organ donations. The German transplant legislation only accepts donation after brain death (not cardiac death), whereas advances in neurosurgery and a more frequently requested “palliative care” approach render fewer patients suitable as potential donors. The legislation further requires the active consent of the donor or first‐degree relatives before donation. Ongoing debates within the German transplant field address the optimal management of patients with alcoholic liver cirrhosis, hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), and cholangiocarcinoma and measures to increase living donor transplantations. As a result of irregularities at mainly 4 German transplant centers that were exposed in 2012, guiding principles updated by the German authorities have since implemented strict rules (including internal and external auditing, the 8‐eyes principle, mandatory repeated testing for alcohol consumption) to prohibit any manipulations in organ allocation. In conclusion, we will summarize important aspects on the management of LT in Germany, discuss legal and organizational aspects, and highlight challenges mainly related to the relative lack of organ donations, increasing numbers of extended criteria donors, and the peculiarities of the recipient patients. Liver Transplantation 22 1136–1142 2016 AASLD
A simple score for predicting renal artery stenosis in patients with ischemic heart disease.

BACKGROUND Previous risk score is not simple for predicting existence of atherosclerotic renal artery stenosis (ARAS). Our study aims to develop a simple score to predict ARAS in eastern people with ischemic heart disease. METHODS There were two data sources involved in this study. From the data source of patients with acute myocardial infarction, we developed a clinical score for predicting existence of ARAS. After this, we validated this clinical score in data source of patients with ischemic heart failure. RESULTS By multivariable logistic regression analysis, only age, hypertension, stroke or intermittent claudication, serum creatinine were involved in this model. Receiver operating characteristic curve was plotted. In the first data source, area under curve is 0.808 to predict ARAS, and 0.762 for bilateral ARAS. In the second data source, area under curve is 0.721 to predict ARAS, and 0.827 for ARAS. Cutoff value of 35.0 yields a sensitivity of 82.4% and a specificity of 51.0% for ARAS, a sensitivity of 78.9% and a specificity of 47.1% for bilateral ARAS. In the second data source, this cutoff value yields a sensitivity of 85.0% and a specificity of 30.5% for ARAS, a sensitivity of 85.7% and a specificity of 17.5% for bilateral ARAS. CONCLUSIONS We have developed a simple score for eastern people to predicting existence of ARAS with acceptable sensitivity and specificity in patients with ischemic heart disease. This score is still needed to be validated in general population or patients with no coronary heart disease.
Temperature variation of actuation voltage in capacitive MEMS switches

A simple theoretical model for temperature variation of actuation voltage for fixed-fixed beam switches is developed and applied to model capacitive radio frequency microelectromechanical systems switches. Measured data from these switches fit very well with the model over a 120/spl deg/C operating temperature range, demonstrating an average 0.127V//spl deg/C to 0.132V//spl deg/C with less than 8% deviation between measured and modeled results. The proposed model provides valuable insight into the factors impacting variability of actuation voltage over broad temperature ranges.
Similarity search of time series trajectories based on shape

Many researchers have been attracted towards searching of similar moving objects' trajectories due to their myriad applications. Similarity of trajectories is determined mainly by closeness or shape parameters. Closeness is measured by distance measures like Dynamic Time Warping (DTW), Edit Distance with Real Penalty (ERP), Edit Distance with Real Sequence (EDR) and Longest Common Subsequence (LCSS). These edit distance measures support scaling and translation property, but do not support rotation invariant property. Rotation Invariant (RI) distance measure supports all three properties and hence it is considered to be superior compared to other edit distance measures. However, it has two main drawbacks. The first one is, RI does not compares trajectories based on the shape. The second drawback is, RI is not robust to noise and hence produces poor results. In order to eliminate drawbacks faced by existing measures, in this paper, we have proposed Polygon Based Distance (PBD) measure to compare trajectories for similarity. Our proposed PBD distance measure supports scaling and translation properties like other measures. The main advantages of PBD distance measure are, it is invariant of rotation, it compares the trajectories based on the shape and it is robust to noise. We have performed experimental study on real time and synthetic datasets. The average accuracy of DTW is 21.67, RI is 35 and PBD is 58.33. Since PBD measure compares the trajectories based on shape and is robust to noise, its accuracy is higher compared to DTW and RI distance measures.
Demethylation of the aryl hydrocarbon receptor repressor as a biomarker for nascent smokers

Epigenetic modifications to peripheral white blood cell DNA occur in response to a wide variety of exposures. In prior work, we and others have shown that broad changes in DNA methylation, particularly at the aryl hydrocarbon receptor repressor (AHRR) locus, occur in samples from subjects with long histories of smoking. However, given the large number of epigenetic changes that occur in response to prolonged smoking, the primacy of the response at AHRR and the sensitivity of these changes to low levels of smoking are not known. Therefore, we examined the association of smoking to genome lymphocyte DNA methylation status in a representative sample of 399 African American youths living in the rural South that includes 72 subjects with less than one half-pack year of exposure. Consistent with our prior findings, we found a stepwise effect of smoking on DNA methylation among youth with relatively brief exposure histories at a CpG residue in AHRR (cg05575921) (FDR corrected p values; 3 × 10−7 and 0.09 in the male and female samples, respectively) that was identified in previous studies and at which the effects of smoking were significant, even in those subjects with less than one half pack year exposure. We conclude that AHRR demethylation at cg05575921 in peripheral cells may serve as an early, sensitive biomarker for even low levels of exposure to tobacco smoke, providing a non-self-report alternative for nascent exposure to tobacco smoke. We also suggest that the AHRR/AHR pathway may be functional in the response of peripheral white blood cells to tobacco smoke exposure.
Synthesis and delivery of short, noncoding RNA by B lymphocytes

Significance Short, noncoding RNAs are a powerful way to regulate gene expression. As such, they are potential candidates for new forms of therapy. However, clinical translation is still hampered by lack of suitable and cost-effective delivery methods. Here we demonstrate that primary B lymphocytes can be programmed with plasmid DNA, effectively and easily, for the synthesis and delivery of antisense sequences (anti-microRNA) in vitro and in vivo. We also demonstrate that anti-microRNAs secreted by primary B lymphocytes in vivo are taken up by T lymphocytes during antigen activation. These initial observations predict that microRNA-based intervention to modulate immune responses or to target cancer cell growth may be possible through the type of cell-based therapy disclosed here. Evolutionarily conserved short (20–30 nucleotides) noncoding RNAs (microRNAs) are powerful regulators of gene expression in a variety of physiological and pathological processes. As such, means to efficiently modulate microRNA function constitute an important therapeutic opportunity. Here we demonstrate that primary B lymphocytes can be genetically programmed with nonviral plasmid DNA for the biogenesis and delivery of antisense sequences (anti-microRNA) against microRNA-150 (miR-150). Within 18 h of transfection with an anti-miR-150 construct, primary B lymphocytes secrete ∼3,000 copies of anti-miR-150 molecules per cell. Anti-miR-150 molecules released by B lymphocytes were internalized by CD8 T lymphocytes during cross-priming in vitro and in vivo, resulting in marked down-regulation of endogenous miR-150. However, such internalization was not observed in the absence of cross-priming. These results suggest that shuttling anti-miR-150 molecules from B lymphocytes to T cells requires the activation of receiver T cells via the antigen receptor. Finally, anti-miR-150 synthesized in B cells were secreted both as free and extracellular vesicle-associated fractions, but only extracellular vesicle-associated anti-miR-150 were apparently taken up by CD8 T cells. Collectively, these data indicate that primary B lymphocytes represent an efficient platform for the synthesis and delivery of short, noncoding RNA, paving the way for an approach to immunogenomic therapies.
Presentation of Personal Control in the Rhetoric of Farm Families Engaged in Business Diversification in Finland

Although business diversification appears to be an attractive alternative from an entrepreneurial perspective because it allows farmers to achieve personal control in the market arena, not all farmers who engage in diversification manage to detach themselves from vertical relations and achieve marketing control. Farmers' awareness that diversification implies an entrepreneurial role can be recognized in their self-presentations and in those of their families.Following a discussion of family farming and the entrepreneurial identity of farmers in Finland, data from 27 interviews conducted with Finnish farmers engaged in additional businesses in eight different industries (including tourism, energy production, and transportation) are presented.Two of the interviews are then further analyzed statement by statement.In the first interview, business diversification creates personal control and eliminates vertical relations. In the second interview studied, however, the farmer is the underdog in a vertical relationship.In-depth discussions of three other interviews suggest that farmers serving only one key customer possess little personal control in the market arena. As a whole, the data suggest considerable variation in the experiences of personal control among Finnish farm families engaged in business diversification.Farmers' degree of personal control in the market area depends largely on their relation to vertical networks. (SAA)
On the Origins of Fracture Toughness in Advanced Teleosts: How the Swordfish Sword's Bone Structure and Composition Allow for Slashing under Water to Kill or Stun Prey

The osseous sword of a swordfish (Xiphias gladius) is specialized to incapacitate prey with stunning blows. Considering the sword's growth and maturation pattern, aging from the sword's base to the tip, while missing a mechanosensitive osteocytic network, an in‐depth understanding of its mechanical properties and bone quality is lacking. Microstructural, compositional, and nanomechanical characteristics of the bone along the sword are investigated to reveal structural mechanisms accounting for its exceptional mechanical competence. The degree of mineralization, homogeneity, and particle size increase from the base toward the tip, reflecting aging along its length. Fracture experiments reveal that crack‐growth toughness vastly decreases at the highly and homogeneously mineralized tip, suggesting the importance of aging effects. Initiation toughness, however, is unchanged suggesting that aging effects on this hierarchical level are counteracted by constant mineral/fibril interaction. In conclusion, the sword of the swordfish provides an excellent model reflecting base‐to‐tip‐wise aging of bone, as indicated by increasing mineralization and decreasing crack‐growth toughness toward the tip. The hierarchical, structural, and compositional changes along the sword reflect peculiar prerequisites needed for resisting high mechanical loads. Further studies on advanced teleosts bone tissue may help to unravel structure–function relationships of heavily loaded skeletons lacking mechanosensing cells.
The Single Constituency Argument in the Economic Analysis of Business Law

The essay points out a common thread that runs through law-and-economics business law scholarship. Working largely independently of each other, economically oriented scholars working in different areas have argued that the law should focus on the interests of a single constituency – shareholders in corporate law, creditors in bankruptcy law, and consumers in antitrust law. Economic analysts thus have rejected arguments advanced by “progressive” scholars working in each of these areas that the law should instead concern itself with the full range of constituencies affected by business activity. The law-and-economics single constituency claim rests in part on skepticism about judicial competence, but the underlying premise is an objection to the use of law for redistributive purposes. The primary value is efficiency, defined in terms of market-generated outcomes. It is argued here that this political commitment implies a strong tendency toward maintenance of the existing distribution of wealth, and that even more importantly, the single constituency claim may actually have redistributive implications. In each of these areas of business law, however, a regressive program favors owners of capital against those who are generally less well off, such as workers and small-business owners.
Effect of tidal volume and PEEP on rate of edema formation in in situ perfused canine lobes.

The effects of raising tidal volume and positive end-expiratory pressure (PEEP) on rate of edema formation were studied in in situ canine left upper lobe preparations. Edema was induced by increasing blood flow to the left upper lobe (4-8 times normal). In the same animal, at equivalent flows and microvascular hydrostatic pressures, rate of edema formation observed with larger tidal volumes was significantly higher than that observed with smaller tidal volumes (0.73 +/- 0.29 vs. 0.58 +/- 0.30, P less than 0.001). Edema was also induced under static conditions (i.e., flow = 0) over a wide range of vascular pressures. Rate of edema formation was plotted against pressure and the best-fit linear regression was obtained. The slopes (g.min-1.mmHg-1.100 g-1) of the regression lines were significantly higher with larger tidal volumes compared with smaller tidal volumes [0.106 +/- 0.010 (SE) vs. 0.081 +/- 0.009, P less than 0.01]. The pressure intercepts were not different (16.1 +/- 1.6 vs. 15.7 +/- 1.8). When mean airway pressures were increased to levels equivalent to those obtained with larger tidal volumes, but by raising end-expiratory pressures, rate of edema formation dropped to levels below base line. We conclude that increasing the amplitude of cyclic changes in lung volume increases edema formation through mechanisms that are independent of changes in operating (i.e., mean) lung volume.
Range-Dependent Decision Utility Model

First, this paper introduces and axiomatizes range-dependent utility as a new conceptual framework for decision-making under risk. It is a simple and welldefined modification of Expected Utility Theory in which utility depends on the range of lottery outcomes. Second, a special case of this framework is proposed for prediction which is based on a single utility function (called decision utility) applied to every lottery range. Both experimental data as well as normative considerations suggest that it has an S-shape. The resulting decision utility model, predicts well known Expected Utility paradoxes without recourse to probability weighting.