Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Inflammatory Blockade Improves Human Pancreatic Islet Function and Viability

The pathogenesis of pancreatic β‐cell death in diabetes mellitus is still under investigation. Inflammation is likely to be one of the factors responsible for β‐cell death during disease development. In this study, we have used a novel antiinflammatory compound, Lisofylline (LSF), to investigate the role of inflammatory blockade in protecting human pancreatic islets. LSF is a small synthetic molecule that reduces inflammatory cytokine production and action, improves β‐cell mitochondrial metabolism, and regulates immune activities. The present study has demonstrated that the treatment of human islets with LSF not only allows the retention of glucose responsiveness and insulin secretion in the presence of multiple proinflammatory cytokines, but also enhances basal insulin secretion of β cells in vitro. LSF also significantly reduces islet apoptosis, protects β cells from proinflammatory cytokine damage, and maintains cellular viability. In a mouse transplantation model, insulin independence could be reached in diabetic recipient mice by implantation of 30% fewer islets when LSF was used in islet culture compared to the control group. These results demonstrate that LSF profoundly enhances β‐cell function, and suggest the potential of using inflammatory blockade, such as LSF, to improve β‐cell function for islet transplantation.
The Political Economy of Distribution Systems

The policital economy paradigm is a unifying framework that has fostered a richer understanding of distribution systems. Dahlstrom and Dwyer (1992) recently outlined theoretical developments and empirical trends within the internal polity and economy of marketing channels. In this follow-up article a network approach supports the development of illustrative propositions to advance simultaneous assessment of the political and economic components of multiparty exchange systems.
Effect of Oral Lactoferrin on Cataract Surgery Induced Dry Eye: A Randomised Controlled Trial.

CONTEXT Cataract surgery is one of the most frequently performed intra-ocular surgeries, of these manual Small Incision Cataract Surgery (SICS) is a time tested technique of cataract removal. Any corneal incisional surgery, including cataract surgery, can induce dry eye postoperatively. Various factors have been implicated, of which oneis the inflammation induced by the surgery. Lactoferrin, a glycoprotein present in tears is said to have anti-inflammatory effects, and promotes cell growth. It has been used orally in patients of immune mediated dry eye to alleviate symptoms. AIM This study was aimed to evaluate the dry eyes induced by manual Small Incision Cataract Surgery, and the effect if any, of oral lactoferrin on the dry eyes. SETTINGS AND TRIAL DESIGN A single centre, prospective randomised controlled trial with a concurrent parallel design. The study was carried out on patients presenting in the OPD of Rohilkhand Medical College hospital for cataract surgery. MATERIALS AND METHODS Sixty four patients of cataract surgery were included in the study. Patients with pre-existing dry eyes, ocular disease or systemic disease predisposing to dry eyes were excluded from the study. The selected patients were assigned into two groups by simple randomisation-Control Group A-32 patients that did not receive oral lactoferrin postoperatively. Group B-32 patients that received oral lactoferrin 350 gm postoperatively from day 1 after SICS. All patients were operated for cataract and their pre and postoperative (on days 7, 14, 30 and 60) dry eye status was assessed using the mean tear film break-up time (tBUT) and Schirmer test 1 (ST 1) as the evaluating parameters. Subjective evaluation of dry eye was done using Ocular Surface Disease Index (OSDI) scoring. Data was analysed for 58 patients, as 6 did not complete the follow up. STATISTICAL ANALYSIS Unpaired t-test was used to calculate the p-values. RESULT There was a statistically significant difference between the tBUT values of the Control and Lactoferrin group from day 14 onwards. The tBUT of control group on day 60 was 7.86 (±0.86) seconds as compared to 13.9(± 0.99) seconds in the lactoferrin group. The Schirmer test 1 values also showed a statistically significant difference between the two groups- 15.86 (± 5.83) seconds in the control group versus 30.9 (±1.66) in the lactoferrin group on day 60. OSDI score showed 42.8% patients complaining of at least mild dry eye symptoms in the control group, as compared to 26.6% patients in the lactoferrin group on day 60. CONCLUSION Small Incision Cataract Surgery induces dry eye postoperatively. Oral lactoferrin given postoperatively improves tear film status and dry eye after cataract surgery.
Hat Ungleichheit negative Auswirkungen auf das Wirtschaftswachstum

Der vorliegende Text behandelt die Frage, ob Ungleichheit negative Auswirkungen auf das Wirtschaftswachstum hat. Hierzu wird zunächst ein in der Zeitschrift American Economic Review publiziertes Papier von Torsten Persson und Guido Tabellinimit dem Titel „Is Inequality Harmful for Growth? “ (1994) vorgestellt, bevor weitere einschlägige Artikel dieses Themenkreises diskutiert werden. Ziel soll es sein, Aufbau, Methodik und Ergebnisse der Modelle zu schildern, um dem Leser einen Zugang zu verschiedenen Fragestellungen politökonomischer Forschung zu ermöglichen.
The Process of Marriage in African Societies: A Multiple Indicator Approach

This article demonstrates the use of multiple indicators of union formation to study marriage customs in African societies. While previous studies of African marriage generally provide information only on type of union as self-reported this study uses information from the 1980-81 Cote dIvoire Fertility Survey to develop a more detailed typology of marital unions based on the sequence of events in the union formation process. This new classification incorporates information on the processual nature of Ivorian unions and more adequately reflects the diversity of marital systems practiced in Cote dIvoire. (SUMMARY IN FRE AND SPA) (EXCERPT)
Highly Frequent Frameshift DNA Synthesis by Human DNA Polymerase μ

ABSTRACT DNA polymerase μ (Polμ) is a newly identified member of the polymerase X family. The biological function of Polμ is not known, although it has been speculated that human Polμ may be a somatic hypermutation polymerase. To help understand the in vivo function of human Polμ, we have performed in vitro biochemical analyses of the purified polymerase. Unlike any other DNA polymerases studied thus far, human Polμ catalyzed frameshift DNA synthesis with an unprecedentedly high frequency. In the sequence contexts examined, −1 deletion occurred as the predominant DNA synthesis mechanism opposite the single-nucleotide repeat sequences AA, GG, TT, and CC in the template. Thus, the fidelity of DNA synthesis by human Polμ was largely dictated by the sequence context. Human Polμ was able to efficiently extend mismatched bases mainly by a frameshift synthesis mechanism. With the primer ends, containing up to four mismatches, examined, human Polμ effectively realigned the primer to achieve annealing with a microhomology region in the template several nucleotides downstream. As a result, human Polμ promoted microhomology search and microhomology pairing between the primer and the template strands of DNA. These results show that human Polμ is much more prone to cause frameshift mutations than base substitutions. The biochemical properties of human Polμ suggest a function in nonhomologous end joining and V(D)J recombination through its microhomology searching and pairing activities but do not support a function in somatic hypermutation.
Correction: A Systematic Analysis of the Peripheral and CNS Effects of Systemic LPS, IL-1β, TNF-α and IL-6 Challenges in C57BL/6 Mice

An error was introduced into the title of the article during preparation for publication. The greek symbol beta in IL-1β was incorrectly substituted with the letter B. The correct title is: A Systematic Analysis of the Peripheral and CNS Effects of Systemic LPS, IL-1β, TNF-α and IL-6 Challenges in C57BL/6 Mice. The correct citation is: Skelly DT, Hennessy E, Dansereau M-A, Cunningham C (2013) A Systematic Analysis of the Peripheral and CNS Effects of Systemic LPS, IL-1β, TNF-α and IL-6 Challenges in C57BL/6 Mice. PLoS ONE 8(7): e69123. doi:10.1371/journal.pone. 0069123
Relationship between Exposure to Community Violence and Psychological Distress: Linear or Curvilinear?

This paper presents data testing the hypothesis that the relationship between exposure to recurring community violence during high school years and later experiencing of psychological distress symptoms is a quadratic curvilinear one. Data were collected between 1994—1996 by self-administered questionnaires using multi-item scales; the sample (N = 452) comprises older urban adolescents. Although exposure to community violence was positively and linearly related to psychological distress, no statistically significant quadratic curvilinear relationship was found between community violence and psychological distress.
Poverty, Inequality, and Development: Inequality and development

The extent of poverty and inequality in the world is staggering. Recently compiled data on absolute poverty and relative inequality in a large number of countries may be found in Tables 1.1 and 1.2 respectively. Just in the countries assisted by the U.S. Agency for International Development (AID), nearly 800 million persons receive annual incomes below $150 (as of about 1970, in 1969 prices). The president of the World Bank has voiced the human dimensions of these data well: Among our century's most urgent problems is the wholly unacceptable poverty that blights the lives of some 2,000 million people in the more than 100 countries of the developing world. Of these 2,000 million, nearly 800 million are caught up in what can only be termed absolute poverty–a condition of life so limited as to prevent realization of the potential of the genes with which they were born; a condition of life so degrading as to be an insult to human dignity. [McNamara in World Bank, 1975:v]. In terms of inequality, the richest 5% of income recipients in less-developed countries receive income shares that on the average are five or six times higher than the income shares of the poorest 20% (which means that the income ratios of richest to poorest are more than twenty to one). If the poor in poor countries were compared with the rich in rich countries, the gap between rich and poor would be many times higher.
Vehicle License Plate Recognition (VLPR)

In general, human can easily read the character but the computer cannot read the character easily unless the computer is pre-trained to do so. VLPR deals with License Plate localization and vehicle number recognition. VLPR has three modules namely License Plate Extraction, Segmentation and Recognition. Extraction of plate is mostly carried out using edge detection. In Segmentation various tasks such as Filtering, Thinning, Vertical and Horizontal projections are performed. Recognition is the final stage to recognize character and numbers. The fulfillment of the Automated License Plate recognition system depends on quality of the input image. The performance of VLPR is degraded due to noise such as shadow, occlusion, rain streaks and blur due to vehicle speed. This paper analyzes various VLPR methods, classifies the VLPR literature based on feature extraction and classification schemes, presents the survey of approaches for detection, localization and recognition of plate character & numbers and addresses the challenges in performance improvement. Based on the challenges, an efficient scheme is suggested for VLPR which can handle dynamic weather condition.
Data-driven and calibration-free lamb wave source localization with sparse sensor arrays

Most Lamb wave localization techniques require that we know the wave's velocity characteristics; yet, in many practical scenarios, velocity estimates can be challenging to acquire, are unavailable, or are unreliable because of the complexity of Lamb waves. As a result, there is a significant need for new methods that can reduce a system's reliance on a priori velocity information. This paper addresses this challenge through two novel source localization methods designed for sparse sensor arrays in isotropic media. Both methods exploit the fundamental sparse structure of a Lamb wave's frequencywavenumber representation. The first method uses sparse recovery techniques to extract velocities from calibration data. The second method uses kurtosis and the support earth mover's distance to measure the sparseness of a Lamb wave's approximate frequency-wavenumber representation. These measures are then used to locate acoustic sources with no prior calibration data. We experimentally study each method with a collection of acoustic emission data measured from a 1.22 m by 1.22 m isotropic aluminum plate. We show that both methods can achieve less than 1 cm localization error and have less systematic error than traditional time-of-arrival localization methods.
Level and Effect of Adrenomedullin on Endotoxin Induced Disseminated Intravascular Coagulation Model in Rabbits

Adrenomedullin (ADM) is a regulatory peptide having a variety of pharmacological properties secreted from vascular endothelial cells and adrenal medulla. There are only a few studies about the effects of ADM on coagulation and platelets which is secreted from endothelial cells. The aim of this study is to assay ADM levels in rabbits with endotoxin induced disseminated intravascular coagulation (DIC) model and to investigate the probable effects of ADM on coagulation parameters in this model. Four groups (Control, DIC, Heparin, ADM) each consisting of eight New Zeland rabbits were formed randomly. A DIC model was developed by infusion of endotoxin from Escherichia coli. Then the effect of standard dose heparin and 0. 05μg/kg/min ADM infusion were evaluated. Administration of endotoxin resulted in severe changes of coagulation parameters as shown by the significant prolongation of the prothrombin time and activated partial thromboplastin time, decrease in platelet count, plasma fibrinogen level, antithrombin, and protein C activity. These results were in accordance with DIC findings and were significantly different from baseline and control group. In DIC group, the baseline, second, and sixth hour mean ADM levels were 7.09±1.63, 8.10±1.55, 9.35±0.76 ng/dl, respectively. ADM levels on sixth hour were significantly higher than baseline and control group. Heparin and ADM were used in the DIC model but both of them were not effective. In conclusion, ADM levels were found elevated during the progress of endotoxin induced DIC model. ADM were not effective in overt DIC model but it might be useful in the early phase of the DIC.
Communities of Practice in Tourism: Working and Learning Together. An Illustrative Case Study from Northern Norway

The purpose of this paper is to discuss the application of Wenger's theory of Communities of Practice (CoP) to cooperative groups of small tourism actors. Empirical data about a case study of a group of firms operating in northern Norway are presented in order to illustrate and challenge the discussion. The findings suggest that Wenger's theory can be usefully applied to describe the processes and dynamics relative to the development and management of tourism products based on the identity of the local area. The element of Wenger's theory that makes it particularly useful is its focus on social processes, knowledge and identity. The findings suggest also that the CoP framework could gain completeness from the integration of the concepts of terroir, lifestyle entrepreneurship and community entrepreneurship. In regard to the adoption of Wenger's framework as a practical tool to promote cooperation, the case study shows that the existence of formal programmes directed to cooperative groups that can be qualified as CoP can help to identify them and support the implementation of collective projects.
A novel high performance and reliability p-type floating gate n-channel flash EEPROM

In the design of either n-channel or p-channel flash memory, a conventional n-type poly-Si floating gate (Tam et al., 1988; Ohnakado et al., 1995; Hsu et al., 1992; Chung et al., 1997) is normally used. None has been reported using p-type as a floating gate in these cells. Recently, p-type polysilicon gate technology in a dual gate CMOS process with p/sup +/ polysilicon gate has matured (Kurio et al., 1993). On the other hand, multi-level memory cell technology for bit cost reduction has gained a lot of interest (Aritome et al., 1995; Kencke et al., 1996). One major requirement is that the threshold voltage distributions for various states must be separated to avoid read errors. However, widely spread distributions need higher programming voltages. In this paper, we propose for the first time use of p-type polysilicon as the floating gate in an n-channel flash memory in order to improve the cell performance and reliability. Results show that the flash cell with p-type floating gate has much better performance by comparison with conventional n-type floating-gate structures, such as faster programming/erase speed, larger operating window, better read-disturb and endurance characteristics. Successful application of this flash memory cell for multi-level operation is also demonstrated.
Pregabaline as a Rare Cause of Hepatotoxicity.

Pregabalin is an analogue of the neurotransmitter d-aminobutyric acid mainly used for the treatment of neuropathic pain and fibromyalgia in the musculoskeletal pain practice. It binds to a2–d site (an auxiliary subunit of voltage-gated calcium channels) with high affinity in central nervous system tissues. It does not undergo any metabolism in the liver and does not induce or inhibit any liver enzyme [1].
Cloud computing based radio access network

Cloud computing based radio access network (CCRAN) is a promising new paradigm for achieving high spectral efficiency (SE) and energy efficiency (EE) performances through embedding cloud computing into the wireless communication system. Cloud radio access network (C-RAN), heterogeneous cloud radio access network (H-CRAN), and fog computing based radio access network (F-RAN) as three application examples of CC-RANs that have gained significant traction in the research community and industry recently.
Governance for Sustainability: Insights from Marine Resource Use in a Tropical Setting in the Western Indian Ocean

The last decade has seen a shift in the Natural Resource Management discourse, a shift from management to governance. Governance is held forward as a prime solution to problems associated with the sustainability of natural resources, including fisheries and other marine resources. Several countries in the Western Indian Ocean are framing governance solutions as a response to coastal/marine resource depletion and environmental degradation, but the challenges are huge and success stories remain few. This study provides an analysis of the governance situation in Chwaka Bay, Zanzibar, Tanzania. It presents the governance actors and how governance is expressed in terms of hierarchy (state), heterarchy (self-organized networks of resource users), and anarchy (market). The analysis illustrates the extreme difficulties of using governance approaches to steer human behavior to solve environmental problems and achieve sustainability. The study also provides some insights when considering the use of governance as a .
International human resource policies and practices in japanese, european, and united states multinationals

This article presents the results of a survey comparing international human resource policies and practices in Japanese, European, and United States multinational companies. The survey focused on the use of expatriates over local nationals in overseas management positions, adoption of nonethnocentric policies, and incidence of international human resource management problems. Regression analysis using the entire sample indicated that ethnocentric staffing and policies are associated with higher incidence of international human resource management problems. Also, Japanese companies as a group are shown to have more ethnocentric staffing practices and policies, and they experience more international human resource management problems than do American and European firms.
Clinical and imaging predictors of intracerebral haemorrhage in stroke patients treated with intravenous tissue plasminogen activator

Objective: To evaluate clinical, biological, and pretreatment imaging variables for predictors of tissue plasminogen activator (tPA) related intracerebral haemorrhage (ICH) in stroke patients. Methods: 48 consecutive patients with hemispheric stroke were given intravenous tPA within seven hours of symptom onset, after computed tomography (CT) and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) of the brain. Baseline diffusion weighted (DWI) and perfusion weighted (PWI) imaging volumes, time to peak, mean transit time, regional cerebral blood flow index, and regional cerebral blood volume were evaluated. The distribution of apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC) values was determined within each DWI lesion. Results: The symptomatic ICH rate was 8.3% (four of 48); the rate for any ICH was 43.8% (21 of 48). Univariate analysis showed that age, weight, history of hyperlipidaemia, baseline NIHSS score, glucose level, red blood cell count, and lacunar state on MRI were associated with ICH. However, mean 24 hour systolic blood pressure and a hyperdense artery sign on pretreatment CT were the only independent predictors of ICH. Patients with a hyperdense artery sign had larger pretreatment PWI and DWI lesion volumes and a higher NIHSS score. Analysis of the distribution of ADC values within DWI lesions showed that a greater percentage of pixels had lower ADCs (<400×10−6 mm2/s) in patients who experienced ICH than in those who did not. Conclusion: Key clinical and biological variables, pretreatment CT signs, and MRI indices are associated with tPA related intracerebral haemorrhage.
Functional analysis of Toxoplasma lactate dehydrogenases suggests critical roles of lactate fermentation for parasite growth in vivo

Glycolysis was thought to be the major pathway of energy supply in both fast‐replicating tachyzoites and slowly growing bradyzoites of Toxoplasma gondii. However, its biological significance has not been clearly verified. The genome of T. gondii encodes two lactate dehydrogenases (LDHs), which are differentially expressed in tachyzoites and bradyzoites. In this study, we knocked out the two LDH genes individually and in combination and found that neither gene was required for tachyzoite growth in vitro under standard growth conditions. However, during infection in mice, Δldh1 and Δldh1 Δldh2 mutants were unable to propagate and displayed significant virulence attenuation and cyst formation defects. LDH2 only played minor roles in these processes. To further elucidate the mechanisms underlying the critical requirement of LDH in vivo, we found that Δldh1 Δldh2 mutants replicated significantly more slowly than wild‐type parasites when cultured under conditions with physiological levels of oxygen (3%). In addition, Δldh1 Δldh2 mutants were more susceptible to the oxidative phosphorylation inhibitor oligomycin A. Together these results suggest that lactate fermentation is critical for parasite growth under physiological conditions, likely because energy production from oxidative phosphorylation is insufficient when oxygen is limited and lactate fermentation becomes a key supplementation.
The European Regime on Takeovers

On the eve of 20th May 2006, the deadline of the transposition by Member States of the Directive n° 2004/25 of 21st April 2004 on Takeovers Bids, the question is: what will be the impact of this Directive? Is it a useful text or is it merely a mirage?