Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Anti–Mesothelin Immunotoxin SS1P in Combination with Gemcitabine Results in Increased Activity against Mesothelin-Expressing Tumor Xenografts

Purpose: To determine the antitumor activity of the anti–mesothelin immunotoxin SS1P in combination with gemcitabine against mesothelin-expressing tumor xenografts. Experimental Design: The in vitro activity of SS1P in combination with gemcitabine against the mesothelin-expressing cell line A431/K5 was evaluated using cytotoxicity and apoptosis assays. The antitumor activity of this combination was evaluated in nude mice bearing A431/K5 tumor xenografts. Tumor-bearing mice were treated with different doses and schedules of gemcitabine alone, SS1P alone (0.2 mg/kg i.v. every other day × three doses), or with both agents together, and tumor volumes were measured over time. Results:In vitro studies failed to show the synergy of SS1P plus gemcitabine against the mesothelin-expressing A431/K5 cells. In contrast, in the in vivo setting, there was a marked synergy when SS1P was combined with gemcitabine for the treatment of mesothelin-expressing tumor xenografts. This synergy was present using different doses and schedules of gemcitabine administration. In mice treated with fractionated doses of gemcitabine in combination with SS1P, complete tumor regression was observed in all mice and was long-lasting in 60% of the animals. Also, this antitumor activity was specific to SS1P because HA22, an immunotoxin targeting CD22 not expressed on A431/K5 cells, did not increase the efficacy of gemcitabine. Conclusions: SS1P in combination with gemcitabine results in marked antitumor activity against mesothelin-expressing tumors. This combination could be potentially useful for the treatment of human cancers that express mesothelin and are responsive to gemcitabine therapy.
Cochannel Interference Mitigation and Cooperative Processing in Downlink Multicell Multiuser MIMO Networks

Recently, the remarkable capacity potential of multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) wireless communication systems was unveiled. The predicted enormous capacity gain of MIMO is nonetheless significantly limited by cochannel interference (CCI) in realistic cellular environments. The previously proposed advanced receiver technique improves the system performance at the cost of increased receiver complexity, and the achieved system capacity is still significantly away from the interference-free capacity upper bound, especially in environments with strong CCI. In this paper, base station cooperative processing is explored to address the CCI mitigation problem in downlink multicell multiuser MIMO networks, and is shown to dramatically increase the capacity with strong CCI. Both information-theoretic dirty paper coding approach and several more practical joint transmission schemes are studied with pooled and practical per-base power constraints, respectively. Besides the CCI mitigation potential, other advantages of cooperative processing including the power gain, channel rank/conditioning advantage, and macrodiversity protection are also addressed. The potential of our proposed joint transmission schemes is verified with both heuristic and realistic cellular MIMO settings.
The effect of smoke-free homes on adult smoking behavior: a review.

INTRODUCTION Smoke-free homes are known to reduce exposure to harmful secondhand smoke. Recent studies suggest that they may also positively affect smoking behavior among smokers themselves. METHODS We review the literature on the effect of smoke-free homes on adult smoking behavior. The literature search included database (PubMed) and manual searches of related articles and reference lists for English-language studies published from 1 January 1990 to 16 November 2008. RESULTS We identified 16 cross-sectional and 7 longitudinal studies of the population-level association of smoke-free homes with adult smoking behavior. Additional studies provided population estimates of trends in and correlates of smoke-free homes. Prevalence of smoke-free homes varies but has been increasing over time in the countries studied and was greater among smokers who were younger, of higher income or educational attainment, smoked fewer cigarettes per day, or lived with a nonsmoking adult or child. Both longitudinal and cross-sectional studies showed that smokers who had or who newly implemented a smoke-free home were significantly more likely to make a quit attempt and to be abstinent, after controlling for confounding factors. In longitudinal studies, those who continued to smoke had a modest, but significant, decrease in cigarette consumption at follow-up. DISCUSSION There is strong and consistent population-level evidence that a smoke-free home is associated with increased smoking cessation and decreased cigarette consumption in adult smokers. As they not only reduce exposure to secondhand smoke but also increase cessation rates, promotion of smoke-free homes should be a key element in tobacco control programs.
Application of polymeric nanofibers in medical designs, part I: Skin and eye

ABSTRACT Nanotechnology has wide applications in many fields, especially in the biological sciences and medicine. Nanomaterials are applied as potential materials for treatment and diagnosis. The development of nanofibers has greatly enhanced the scope for fabricating designs that can be potentially used in medical sciences. The application of polymeric nanofibers in biomaterials sciences and tissue engineering review in four sections: skin and eye, neural and cardiovascular tissues, musculoskeletal and urological tissues, drug and biological materials’ delivery. The present review summarizes the currently available applications of nanofibers in skin and eye tissues. GRAPHICAL ABSTRACT
Smart seal: Unique obturation system in dentistry

Newly introduced root canal obturating system “SmartSeal” is established on the polymeric technology. The hydrophilic nature of the obturating points can absorb surrounding moisture and expand, resulting in filling of voids and spaces, onto which the principle of this system depends. Ever since its introduction, Smartseal has been extensively stated to be efficaciously used in endodontic treatment. This review article goals to deliver an ephemeral synopsis of this obturating system with a reference of the studies associated with it.
Integrating human abilities with the power of automated scheduling systems: representational epistemological interface design

An approach is considered to the integration of the flexibility and knowledge of humans with the computational power of automated systems, in the solution of demanding tasks. The Representational Epistemological (REEP) interface design approach advocates designing representational systems that directly encode the structure of the knowledge of the task domain to serve as user interfaces. A case study is presented in which a novel interface for examination scheduling was design and evaluated, which demonstrates the potential utility of the approach.
Evaluating night wakings in sleep-disturbed infants: a methodological study of parental reports and actigraphy.

The aim of this study was to investigate the use of objective and subjective sleep measures in diagnostic assessment of night-waking problems during infancy. Infant sleep-wake measures obtained from parental daily logs were compared with objective sleep measures derived from activity monitoring during a week-long period in 66 referred infants. Reported sleep measures were significantly correlated with objective sleep measures and showed a significant level of day-to-day stability. Parents were accurate reporters of sleep-schedule measures (e.g. sleep onset, r = 0.88; sleep duration, r = 0.74; p < 0.0001). However, parents were less accurate in assessing sleep quality measures, significantly overestimating the time that their infants spent in actual sleep and underestimating the number of their night-wakings (r = 0.41 and r = 0.60, respectively; P < 0.001). It is suggested that subjective and objective measures should play a complementary role in the clinical assessment of night-waking problems in early childhood.
Splenic infarction due to multiple left ventricular mobile thrombi in hypereosinophilic endomyocarditis.

A 30-year-old man was admitted for rapidly developing dyspnoea. He was a basketball player and had not felt chest discomfort until a few days earlier. A chest radiograph showed severe pulmonary congestion and the electrocardiogram revealed sinus tachycardia with ST-segment depression and inverted T waves in inferior leads. Echocardiography demonstrated …
Theory of mind deficit in subjects with alcohol use disorder: an analysis of mindreading processes.

AIM The aim of the study was to investigate multidimensional Theory of Mind (ToM) abilities in subjects with alcohol use disorder (AUD). METHOD A semi-structured interview and a set of brief stories were used to investigate different components of the participants' ToM, namely first- vs. third-person, egocentric vs. allocentric, first- vs. second-order ToM in 22 persons with AUD plus an equal number of healthy controls. Participants were administered the Theory of Mind Assessment Scale (Th.o.m.a.s., Bosco et al., 2009a) and the Strange Stories test ( Happé et al., 1999). RESULTS Persons with AUD performed worse than controls at all ToM dimensions. The patterns of differences between groups varied according to the Th.o. m.a.s. dimension investigated. In particular persons with AUD performed worse at third-person than at first-person ToM, and at the allocentric than at the egocentric perspective. CONCLUSION These findings support the hypothesis that the ability to understand and ascribe mental states is impaired in AUD. Future studies should focus on the relevance of the different ToM impairments as predictors of treatment outcome in alcoholism, and on the possibility that rehabilitative interventions may be diversified according to ToM assessment.
Temperature-dependent behavior of thin film by microtensile testing

As microsystem components decrease in size and current densities in interconnects increase, the device temperature increases. Thus the mechanical behavior of thin films at elevated temperature will become increasingly important. We developed the micro tensile testing system to evaluate the mechanical properties of thin films at elevated temperatures. The testing system consists of the high temperature furnace and the DIC (Digital Image Correlation) system which measures the strain of the specimen in real time. Programs of the testing system were developed using LabVIEW 8.5 programming language and Vision Development Module 8.5. The material of specimen is Ni thin film made by electroplating that is used as a UBM (under bump metallurgy) material. In this study, tensile tests were performed at room and elevated temperatures. As results, stress-strain curves were plotted at each temperature, and the mechanical properties such as Youngpsilas modulus, yield strength and tensile strength were acquired.
Assessment of the magnitude of geographical variations and socioeconomic contextual effects on ischaemic heart disease mortality: a multilevel survival analysis of a large Swedish cohort

Background: In a public health perspective, it is of interest to assess the magnitude of geographical variations in ischaemic heart disease (IHD) mortality and quantify the strength of contextual effects on IHD. Objective: To investigate whether area effects vary according to the individual and contextual characteristics of the population, socioeconomic contextual influences were assessed in different age groups and within territories of differing population densities. Design: Multilevel survival analysis of a 28-year longitudinal database. Participants: 341 048 residents of the Scania region in Sweden, reaching age 50–79 years in 1996, followed up over 7 years. Results: After adjustment for several individual socioeconomic indicators over the adult age, Cox multilevel models indicated geographical variations in IHD mortality and socioeconomic contextual effects on the mortality risk. However, the magnitude of geographical variations and strength of contextual effects were modified by the age of individuals and the population density of their residential area: socioeconomic contextual effects were much stronger among non-elderly than among elderly adults, and much larger within urban territories than within rural ones. As a consequence, among non-elderly residents of urban territories, the socioeconomic contextual effect was almost as large as the effect of individual 20-year cumulated income. Conclusions: Non-elderly residents of deprived urban neighbourhoods constitute a major target for both contextual epidemiology of coronary disease and public health interventions aimed at reducing the detrimental effects of the social environment on IHD.
Identification of Novel and Conserved microRNAs in Homalodisca vitripennis, the Glassy-Winged Sharpshooter by Expression Profiling

The glassy-winged sharpshooter (GWSS) Homalodisca vitripennis (Hemiptera: Cicadellidae), is a xylem-feeding leafhopper and an important vector of the bacterium Xylella fastidiosa; the causal agent of Pierce’s disease of grapevines. MicroRNAs are a class of small RNAs that play an important role in the functional development of various organisms including insects. In H. vitripennis, we identified microRNAs using high-throughput deep sequencing of adults followed by computational and manual annotation. A total of 14 novel microRNAs that are not found in the miRBase were identified from adult H. vitripennis. Conserved microRNAs were also found in our datasets. By comparison to our previously determined transcriptome sequence of H. vitripennis, we identified the potential targets of the microRNAs in the transcriptome. This microRNA profile information not only provides a more nuanced understanding of the biological and physiological mechanisms that govern gene expression in H. vitripennis, but may also lead to the identification of novel mechanisms for biorationally designed management strategies through the use of microRNAs.
Cruising on the Internet Highway

&NA; This study evaluated differences in sexual behavior and risk for sexually transmitted diseases (STDs) among men who have sex with men (MSM) who met their partners on‐line and those who did not. A self‐administered questionnaire on sexual behavior was offered to a convenience sample of patients seeking public STD services. Thirty‐two percent of MSM patients reported meeting a sexual partner over the Internet in the past year. MSM with on‐line partners were younger, more likely to report sex with an HIV‐positive person in the last year, and more likely to report casual partners in the last year compared with MSM with only off‐line partners. HIV‐negative MSM with on‐line partners were more likely than HIV‐negative MSM with only off‐line partners to have received money or drugs for sex in the past year and to report sex with an HIV‐positive partner in the past year. Although meeting partners on the Internet was common and associated with increased risk for STDs in MSM, it also presents new untapped opportunities for on‐line health promotion and disease prevention.
An Insight into the Algorithms on Real-Time People Tracking and Counting System

ABSTRACT People tracking and counting system is being widely used in modern days in the video surveillance for security purpose. In the recent, many algorithms have been proposed and developed in designing the system. But there always been confusions of using these algorithms based on their limitations and benefits. This paper provides a review on the methods that are used in the people tracking and counting system considering their limitations, benefits, speed and accuracy. In designing an efficient real time people tracking and counting system, designers can be effectively guided by this review work. Keywords object detection, background modeling, tracking, counting, counting lines. 1. INTRODUCTION People tracking and counting system is of great importance for surveillance purpose. At past, people involved in the counting process and later with the development of electronic devices, the counting process was somewhat reliable. But both of them were not fully efficient, as there contained errors, and also tracking could not be done with those processes. So, to sort out those difficulties, computer vision techniques have been used in the people counting system to give proper counting process and tracking. People tracking and counting process involves many phrases such as detection of moving objects, feature extraction, morphological processing, tracking and counting. For every process, there involves many algorithms to carry out the processes efficiently. Both the expert and the newcomer to this area can beconfused about the benefits and limitations of each step. This paper provides a thorough review of the main methods and their advantages and disadvantages based on speed and accuracy. The design process of people counting system has been described as the block given below. Different researchers use different algorithms for their design. The blocks shown consist of the algorithms that are widely used in the tracking and counting process. DETECTION
Bringing the Associative Ability to Social Tag Recommendation

Social tagging systems, which allow users to freely annotate online resources with tags, become popular in the Web 2.0 era. In order to ease the annotation process, research on social tag recommendation has drawn much attention in recent years. Modeling the social tagging behavior could better reflect the nature of this issue and improve the result of recommendation. In this paper, we proposed a novel approach for bringing the associative ability to model the social tagging behavior and then to enhance the performance of automatic tag recommendation. To simulate human tagging process, our approach ranks the candidate tags on a weighted digraph built by the semantic relationships among meaningful words in the summary and the corresponding tags for a given resource. The semantic relationships are learnt via a word alignment model in statistical machine translation on large datasets. Experiments on real world datasets demonstrate that our method is effective, robust and language-independent compared with the state-of-the-art methods.
Microstructural and mechanical characteristics of micro-scale intermetallic compounds interconnections

Following the continually increasing demand for high-density interconnection and multilayer packaging for chips, solder bump size has decreased significantly over the years, this has led to some challenges in the reliability of interconnects. This thesis presents research into the resulting effects of miniaturization on the interconnection with Sn-solder, especially focusing on the full intermetallics (IMCs) micro-joints which appear in the 3D IC stacking packaging. Thereby, systematic studies have been conducted to study the microstructural evolution and reliability issues of Cu-Sn and Cu-Sn-Ni IMCs micro-joints. (1) Phenomenon of IMCs planar growth: The planar IMCs interlayer was asymmetric and composed of (Cu,Ni)6Sn5 mainly in Ni/Sn (2.5~5 µm)/Cu interconnect. Meanwhile, it was symmetric two-layer structure in Cu/Sn (2.5~5 µm)/Cu interconnect with the Cu3Sn fine grains underneath Cu6Sn5 cobblestone-shape-like grains for each IMCs layer. Besides, it is worth noticing that the appearance of Cu-rich whiskers (the mixture of Cu/Cu2O/SnOx/Cu6Sn5) could potentially lead to short-circuit in the cases of ultra-fine (<10 µm pitch) interconnects for the miniaturization of electronics devices. (2) Microstructural evolution process of Cu-Sn IMCs micro-joint: The simultaneous solidification of IMCs interlayer supressed the scalloped growth of Cu6Sn5 grains in Cu/Sn (2.5 µm)/Cu interconnect during the transient liquid phase (TLP) soldering process. The growth factor of Cu3Sn was in the range of 0.29~0.48 in Cu-Cu6Sn5 diffusion couple at 240~290 °C, which was impacted significantly by the type of substrates. And the subsequent homogenization process of Cu3Sn grains was found to be consistent with the description of flux-driven ripening (FDR) theory. Moreover, Kirkendall voids appeared only in the Cu3Sn layer adjacent to Cu-plated substrate, and this porous Cu3Sn micro-joint was mechanically robust during the shear test. (3) Microstructural evolution of Cu-Sn-Ni IMCs micro-joint: There was obvious inter-reaction between the interfacial reactions in Ni/Sn (1.5 µm)/Cu interconnect. The growth factor of (Cu,Ni)3Sn on Cu side was about 0.36 at 240 °C, and the reaction product on Ni side was changed from Ni3Sn4 into (Cu,Ni)6Sn5 with the increase of soldering temperature. In particular, the segregation of Ni atoms occurred along with phase transformation at 290 °C and thereby stabilized the (Cu,Ni)6Sn5 phase for the high Ni content of 20 at. %. (4) Micro-mechanical characteristics of Cu-Sn-Ni IMCs micro-joint: The Young s modulus and hardness of Cu-Sn-Ni IMCs were measured by nanoindentation test, such as 160.6±3.1 GPa/ 7.34±0.14 GPa for (Cu,Ni)6Sn5 and 183.7±4.0 GPa/ 7.38±0.46 GPa for (Cu,Ni)3Sn, respectively. Besides, in-situ nano-compression tests have been conducted on IMCs micro-cantilevers, the fracture strength turns out to be 2.46 GPa. And also, the ultimate tensile stress was calculated to be 2.3±0.7 GPa from in-situ micro-bending tests, which is not sensitive with the microstructural change of IMCs after dwelling at 290 °C.
Fourier Transform Algorithms for Pricing and Hedging Discretely Sampled Exotic Variance Products and Volatility Derivatives under Additive Processes

We develop efficient fast Fourier transform algorithms for pricing and hedging discretely sampled variance products and volatility derivatives under additive processes (time-inhomogeneous Levy processes). Our numerical algorithms are non-trivial versions of the Fourier space time stepping method to nonlinear path dependent payoff structures, like those in variance products and volatility derivatives. The exotic path dependency associated with the discretely sampled realized variance is captured in the numerical procedure by updating two path dependent state variables across monitoring dates. The time stepping procedure between successive monitoring dates can be performed using fast Fourier transform calculations without the usual tedious time stepping calculations in typical nite di erence algorithms. We also derive effective numerical procedures that compute the hedge parameters of variance products and volatility derivatives. Numerical tests on pricing various variance products and volatility derivatives were performed that illustrate eciency, accuracy, reliability and robustness of the proposed Fourier transform algorithms.