Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
ESR spin trapping detection of hydroxyl radicals in the reactions of Cr(V) complexes with hydrogen peroxide.

Electron spin resonance (ESR) measurements provide direct evidence for the involvement of Cr(V) in the reduction of Cr(VI) by NAD(P)H. Addition of hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) to NAD(P)H-Cr(VI) reaction mixtures suppresses the Cr(V) signal and generates hydroxyl (.OH) radicals (as detected via spin trapping), suggesting that Cr(V) reacts with H2O2 to generate the . OH radicals. Reaction between H2O2 and a Cr(V)-glutathione complex, and between H2O2 and several Cr(V)-carboxylato complexes also produces . OH radicals. These results suggest that Cr(V) complexes catalyze the generation of . OH radicals from H2O2, and that . OH radicals might play a significant role in the mechanism of Cr(VI) cytotoxicity.
Magnetic and Magnetostrictive Properties of Tb-Dy-Ho-Fe-Co Alloys

In this work, the structural and magnetic properties of single-phase TbxDyyHoz(Fe,Co)2 (x + y + z = 1) alloys have been investigated by means of X-ray diffraction, 57Fe Mossbauer spectroscopy, magnetization measurements and a standard strain gage technique. The magnetostriction of TbxDyyHoz(Fe,Co)2 was examined against an applied magnetic field up to 10 kOe in 80 - 400 K temperature range. The Co-containing compounds are found to have high values of magnetostrictive susceptibility due to compensation of magnetic anisotropy in both the rare-earth and 3d transition metals sublattices.
Behavioral, Biological, and Demographic Risk and Protective Factors for New HIV Infections Among Youth in Rakai, Uganda

Background:Prevalence of HIV infection is considerable among youth, although data on risk factors for new (incident) infections are limited. We examined incidence of HIV infection and risk and protective factors among youth in rural Uganda, including the role of gender and social transitions. Methods:Participants were sexually experienced youth (15–24 years old) enrolled in the Rakai Community Cohort Study, 1999–2008 (n = 6741). Poisson regression with robust standard errors was used to estimate incident rate ratios (IRR) and 95% confidence intervals (CI) of incident HIV infection. Results:HIV incidence was greater among young women than young men (14.1 vs. 8.3 per 1000 person-years, respectively); this gender disparity was greater among teenagers (14.9 vs. 3.6). Beyond behavioral (multiple partners and concurrency) and biological factors (sexually transmitted infection symptoms), social transitions such as marriage and staying in school influenced HIV risk. In multivariate analyses among women, HIV incidence was associated with living in a trading village (adjusted IRR (aIRR) = 1.48; 95% CI: 1.04 to 2.11), being a student (aIRR = 0.22; 95% CI: 0.07 to 0.72), current marriage (aIRR = 0.55; 95% CI: 0.37 to 0.81), former marriage (aIRR = 1.73; 95% CI: 1.01 to 2.96), having multiple partners, and sexually transmitted infection symptoms. Among men, new infections were associated with former marriage (aIRR = 5.57; 95% CI: 2.51 to 12.36), genital ulceration (aIRR = 3.56; 95% CI: 1.97 to 6.41), and alcohol use (aIRR = 2.08; 95% CI: 1.15 to 3.77). Conclusions:During the third decade of the HIV epidemic in Uganda, HIV incidence remains considerable among youth, with young women particularly at risk. The risk for new infections was strongly shaped by social transitions such as leaving school, entrance into marriage, and marital dissolution; the impact of marriage was different for young men than women.
The Regulatory C-Terminal Determinants within Mycobacterial Heat Shock Protein 65 Are Cryptic and Cross-Reactive with the Dominant Self Homologs: Implications for the Pathogenesis of Autoimmune Arthritis1

The 65-kDa mycobacterial heat shock protein (Bhsp65) has been invoked in the pathogenesis of both adjuvant arthritis (AA) in the Lewis rat (RT.1l) and human rheumatoid arthritis. Arthritic Lewis rats in the late phase of AA show diversification of the T cell response to Bhsp65 C-terminal determinants (BCTD), and pretreatment of naive Lewis rats with a mixture of peptides representing these neoepitopes affords protection against AA. However, the fine specificity and physiologic significance of the BCTD-directed T cell repertoire, and the role of homologous self (rat) hsp65 (Rhsp65), if any, in spreading of the T cell response to Bhsp65 have not yet been examined. We observed that T cells primed by peptides comprising BCTD can adoptively transfer protection against AA to the recipient Lewis rats. However, these T cells can be activated by preprocessed (peptide) form of BCTD, but not native Bhsp65, showing that BCTD are cryptic epitopes. The BCTD-reactive T cells can be activated by the naturally generated (dominant) C-terminal epitopes of both exogenous and endogenous Rhsp65 and vice versa. Furthermore, certain individual peptides constituting BCTD and their self homologs can also induce protection against AA. These results support a model for the diversification of T cell response to Bhsp65 during the course of AA involving up-regulation of the display of cryptic BCTD coupled with spontaneous induction of T cell response to the cross-reactive dominant C-terminal epitopes of Rhsp65. The identification of disease-regulating cryptic determinants in Ags implicated in arthritis provides a novel approach for immunotherapy of rheumatoid arthritis.
Vascular endothelial growth factor receptor-3 mediates induction of corneal alloimmunity

There are no studies so far linking molecular regulation of lymphangiogenesis and induction of adaptive immunity. Here, we show that blockade of vascular endothelial growth factor receptor-3 (VEGFR-3) signaling significantly suppresses corneal antigen-presenting (dendritic) cell trafficking to draining lymph nodes, induction of delayed-type hypersensitivity and rejection of corneal transplants. Regulating the function of VEGFR-3 may therefore be a mechanism for modulating adaptive immunity in the periphery.
Recovery from severe cytomegalovirus pneumonia in a renal transplant patient.

Severe cytomegalovirus pneumonitis in a renal allograft recipient was characterized by rapid onset, a paucity of physical findings, severe hypoxemia, evidence of diffuse interstitial pneumonitis in the chest radiograph, and pulmonary function tests compatible with interstitial disease. Discontinuation of immunosuppressive drugs and aggressive supportive therapy, without specific antiviral therapy, resulted in slow clinical recovery with improvement in previously deteriorated renal function. At 15 months post-transplant, lung function had returned to normal, and at 22 months, the patient was well and fully rehabilitated.
A Tale of Two Sequences : A Friendly Introduction to the Theory of Non-Unique Factorizations

Throughout our work, we let Z = {. − 3,−2,−1, 0, 1, 2, 3, . } represent the integers, N = {1, 2, 3, . } represent the natural numbers, N0 = {0, 1, 2, . } represent the natural numbers adjoin 0, and Q the rationals. In a basic course in Number Theory or Abstract Algebra (such as one taught from [5] or [7]), a great deal of effort is taken to explore the notion of unique factorization. Over the past 30 years, a vast amount of mathematical literature has appeared which studies the other extreme (i.e., arithmetical systems where unique factorization fails see [8] for an extensive bibliography). While much of this literature is not accessible to undergraduates, many of the ideas explored are relatively simple. It is our goal to present some of these basic ideas using two very simple examples.
Genome Sequence and Attenuating Mutations in West Nile Virus Isolate from Mexico

The complete genome sequence of a Mexican West Nile virus isolate, TM171-03, included 46 nucleotide (0.42%) and 4 amino acid (0.11%) differences from the NY99 prototype. Mouse virulence differences between plaque-purified variants of TM171-03 with mutations at the E protein glycosylation motif suggest the emergence of an attenuating mutation.
Successful transfer of open surgical skills to a laparoscopic environment using a robotic interface: initial experience with laparoscopic radical prostatectomy.

PURPOSE For a skilled laparoscopic surgeon the learning curve for achieving proficiency with laparoscopic radical prostatectomy (LRP) is estimated at 40 to 60 cases. For the laparoscopically naïve surgeon the curve is estimated at 80 to 100 cases. The development of a robotic interface might significantly shorten the LRP learning curve for an experienced open yet naïve laparoscopic surgeon. To our knowledge we report the initial experience with robot assisted LRP of a surgeon without laparoscopic experience. MATERIALS AND METHODS Following a 1-day da Vinci (Intuitive Surgical, Mountain View, California) robotic laparoscopic training course and 2 cadaveric robotic LRPs an experienced oncologist (TEA) without laparoscopic experience performed 45 robotic LRPs. RESULTS All procedures were successfully completed laparoscopically with no rectal injuries or transfusions. The learning curve to 4-hour proficiency was 12 patients and mean operating time subsequently was 3.45 hours (range 2.5 to 5.1). Mean blood loss was 145 cc (range 25 to 350), the mean postoperative day 1 decrease in hemoglobin was 2.6 mg/dl (range 1.9% to 5.1) and mean hospital stay was 36 hours (range 18 to 168). Mean Gleason score was 6.8, mean prostate volume was 50.5 gm (range 12.5 to 163) and the margin positive rate was 35.5%. Four patients (8.8%) had a total of 6 complications, which were managed conservatively. Catheterization time was 7 days (range 7 to 42). Continence (0 pads) was 33% at 1 week, 63% at 1 month and 81% at 3 months. CONCLUSIONS A laparoscopically naïve yet experienced open surgeon successfully transferred open surgical skills to a laparoscopic environment in 8 to 12 cases using a robotic interface. This outcome is comparable to the reported experience of skilled laparoscopic surgeons after more than 100 LRPs.
THE EFFECTS OF ECONOMIC CRISIS AND POLITICAL CHANGE ON INDONESIA’S FOREST SECTOR, 1997-99

An economic crisis and political changes that have occurred in Indonesia since 1997 have presented grave dangers but also important opportunities for the country. On the one hand, the depreciation of the rupiah against the dollar is part of a drastic economic downturn, but on the other hand, it represents an opportunity for increased competitiveness of Indonesian exports and for increased prosperity for those involved in the export economy. The changeover of regimes from Suharto to B.J. Habibie led to much political instability, which compounded economic problems, but at the same time it has offered the potential for fundamental policy changes. This article assesses the consequences RI WKHVH FKDQJHV ERWK QHJDWLYH DQG SRVLWLYH RQ SHRSOH OLYLQJ LQ IRUHVWHG DUHDV RQ FRPPHUFLDO DFWLYLW\ ZLWKLQ WKH forest sector and on the extent of forest itself. Among the findings are that: (1) two-thirds of the people in forested areas have become worse off during the crisis compared with their situation in the year before the crisis; (2) small farmers are increasingly interested in clearing forests for perennial tree crops rather than raising food crops in shifting cultivation systems; (3) pulp and paper have replaced plywood as the mainstay source of export revenue in the forest sector, although the origins of this transformation pre-date the crisis and the change cannot be solely explained by the crisis; (4) illegal logging has boomed during the crisis, but also cannot be entirely explained by the crisis; (5) oil palm development has slowed in the crisis period but is poised for future growth; and (6) positive forest policy changes have been introduced but in general fall short of the expectations of the reform community in Indonesia.
Composites from Bast Fibres-Prospects and Potential in the Changing Market Environment

Abstract Composite materials reinforced with natural fibres, such as flax, hemp, kenaf and jute, are gaining increasing importance in automotive, aerospace, packaging and other industrial applications due to their lighter weight, competitive specific strength and stiffness, improved energy recovery, carbon dioxide sequestration, ease and flexibility of manufacturing and environmental friendliness besides the benefit of the renewable resources of bast fibres. The market scenario for composite applications is changing due to the introduction of newer biodegradable polymers, such as PLA synthesized from corn, development of composite making techniques and new stringent environmental laws requiring improved recyclability or biodegradability for industrial applications where stress bearing capacities and micro-mechanical failures dictate serviceability. Bast fibre reinforced composites, made from biodegradable polymers, will have to compete with conventional composites in terms of their mechanical behaviour. Biocomposites, in which natural fibres, such as kenaf, jute, flax, hemp, sisal, corn stalk, bagasse or even grass are embedded in a biodegradable matrix, made as bioplastics from soybean, corn and sugar, have openedup new possibilities for applications in automotive and building products. Obviously, new approaches to research and development will be required to improve their mechanical properties, such as tensile, bending and impact resistance to match their performance and commercial competitiveness against petroleum based products. The research community has to look at the various possibilities of combining natural fibres, such as sisal, flax, hemp and jute with polymer matrices from non-renewable and renewable resources to develop cost effective biocomposites. This paper will review the newer products and techniques that can improve the properties of bast fibre based composites as well as potential structural and non-structural applications which can increase their market share.
Experimental investigation into radiation-hardening-by-design (RHBD) flip-flop designs in a 65nm CMOS process

We comprehensively study three types of radiation-hardened flip-flops: DICE for SEU-hardening, temporal for SET-hardening, and Triple-Modular-Redundancy for SEU-cum-SET-hardening. Our study includes their trade-offs of circuit/radiation-hardness attributes. We find that DICE flip-flops remain the most competitive.
Anatomical Localization of Motor Points of the Abductor Hallucis Muscle: A Cadaveric Study

Objective To identify the anatomical motor points of the abductor hallucis muscle in cadavers. Methods Motor nerve branches to the abductor hallucis muscles were examined in eight Korean cadaver feet. The motor point was defined as the site where the intramuscular nerve penetrates the muscle belly. The reference line connects the metatarsal base of the hallux (H) to the medial tubercle of the calcaneus (C). The x coordinate was the horizontal distance from the motor point to the point where the perpendicular line from the navicular tuberosity crossed the reference line. The y coordinate was the perpendicular distance from the motor point to the navicular tuberosity. Results Most of the medial plantar nerves to the abductor hallucis muscles divide into multiple branches before entering the muscles. One, two, and three motor branches were observed in 37.5%, 37.5%, and 25% of the feet, respectively. The ratios of the main motor point from the H with respect to the H-C line were: main motor point, 68.79%±5.69%; second motor point, 73.45%±3.25%. The mean x coordinate value from the main motor point was 0.65±0.49 cm. The mean value of the y coordinate was 1.43±0.35 cm. All of the motor points of the abductor hallucis were consistently found inferior and posterior to the navicular tuberosity. Conclusion This study identified accurate locations of anatomical motor points of the abductor hallucis muscle by means of cadaveric dissection, which can be helpful for electrophysiological studies in order to correctly diagnose the various neuropathies associated with tibial nerve components.
Combined Use of Crystalline Sodium Salt and Polymeric Precipitation Inhibitors to Improve Pharmacokinetic Profile of Ibuprofen through Supersaturation

To maximize the pharmacological effect of a pain reliever such as ibuprofen, early onset of action is critical. Unfortunately, the acidic nature of ibuprofen minimizes the amount of drug that can be solubilized under gastric conditions and would be available for immediate absorption upon entry into the intestine. Although the sodium salt of ibuprofen has higher solubility, rapid conversion from the salt to the poorly soluble free acid phase occurs under gastric conditions. Therefore, the combination of the highly soluble sodium salt form of ibuprofen with polymers was evaluated as an approach to prolong supersaturation of ibuprofen during the disproportionation of the salt. Binary combinations of ibuprofen sodium with polymers resulted in the identification of several formulations that demonstrated high degrees and extended durations of supersaturation during in vitro dissolution experiments. These formulations included HPMC, polyvinyl pyrrolidone-vinyl acetate copolymer (PVP-VA64), methylcellulose (MC), and hydroxypropyl cellulose (HPC). The in vitro supersaturation observed with these ibuprofen-polymer formulations translated to an increase in Cmax and an earlier Tmax for the PVP-VA64, MC, and HPC formulations relative to ibuprofen only controls when administered orally to rats under fasted conditions. Based on these observations, combining ibuprofen sodium with polymers such as PVP-VA64, MC, or HPC is a viable formulation approach to prolong supersaturation in the stomach and enable an optimized pharmacokinetic profile in vivo where rapid onset of action is desired.
A Statistical Approach to Performance Monitoring in Soft Real-Time Distributed Systems

Soft real-time applications require timely delivery of messages conforming to the soft real-time constraints. Satisfying such requirements is a complex task both due to the volatile nature of distributed environments, as well as due to numerous domain-specific factors that affect message latency. Prompt detection of the root-cause of excessive message delay allows a distributed system to react accordingly. This may significantly improve compliance with the required timeliness constraints. In this work, we present a novel approach for distributed performance monitoring of soft-real time distributed systems. We propose to employ recent distributed algorithms from the statistical signal processing and learning domains, and to utilize them in a different context of online performance monitoring and root-cause analysis, for pinpointing the reasons for violation of performance requirements. Our approach is general and can be used for monitoring of any distributed system, and is not limited to the soft real-time domain. We have implemented the proposed framework in TransFab, an IBM prototype of soft real-time messaging fabric. In addition to root-cause analysis, the framework includes facilities to resolve resource allocation problems, such as memory and bandwidth deficiency. The experiments demonstrate that the system can identify and resolve latency problems in a timely fashion.
Persistent and high levels of Hes1 expression regulate boundary formation in the developing central nervous system

The developing central nervous system is partitioned into compartments by boundary cells, which have different properties than compartment cells, such as forming neuron-free zones, proliferating more slowly and acting as organizing centers. We now report that in mice the bHLH factor Hes1 is persistently expressed at high levels by boundary cells but at variable levels by non-boundary cells. Expression levels of Hes1 display an inverse correlation to those of the proneural bHLH factor Mash1, suggesting that downregulation of Hes1 leads to upregulation of Mash1 in non-boundary regions, whereas persistent and high Hes1 expression constitutively represses Mash1 in boundary regions. In agreement with this notion, in the absence of Hes1 and its related genes Hes3 and Hes5, proneural bHLH genes are ectopically expressed in boundaries, resulting in ectopic neurogenesis and disruption of the organizing centers. Conversely, persistent Hes1 expression in neural progenitors prepared from compartment regions blocks neurogenesis and reduces cell proliferation rates. These results indicate that the mode of Hes1 expression is different between boundary and non-boundary cells, and that persistent and high levels of Hes1 expression constitutively repress proneural bHLH gene expression and reduce cell proliferation rates, thereby forming boundaries that act as the organizing centers.
Virtual Tactile Maps

Tactile maps constitute the media most commonly use d by blind and partially sighted people for the xploration of spatial infor mation. However, compared to maps for sighted people, they are inconvenient to p roduce and contain less information. We have developed methods and implemente d them prototypically, by which visually impaired people can explore a geo graphical area flexibly with the help of acomputer through virtual tactile maps . The design of asystem is presented which captures hand positions through av ideo camera nd produces acoustic output. It uses digital map data which is adapted to the requirements of the users. One of the most compelling problem is ho w to deal with the scale of a map, in particular the non-linearity of maps. In th is paper, the development of the prototype and initial experience with it are pr esented.
Semantic High-Level Features for Automated Cross-Modal Slideshow Generation

This paper describes a technical solution for automated slideshow generation by extracting a set of high-level features from music, such as beat grid, mood and genre and intelligently combining this set with image high-level features, such as mood, daytime- and scene classification. An advantage of this high-level concept is to enable the user to incorporate his preferences regarding the semantic aspects of music and images. For example, the user might request the system to automatically create a slideshow, which plays soft music and shows pictures with sunsets from the last 10 years of his own photo collection.The high-level feature extraction on both, the audio and the visual information is based on the same underlying machine learning core, which processes different audio- and visual- low- and mid-level features. This paper describes the technical realization and evaluation of the algorithms with suitable test databases.