Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Generation of T-cell immunity to the HER-2/neu protein after active immunization with HER-2/neu peptide-based vaccines.

PURPOSE The HER-2/neu protein is a nonmutated tumor antigen that is overexpressed in a variety of human malignancies, including breast and ovarian cancer. Many tumor antigens, such as MAGE and gp100, are self-proteins; therefore, effective vaccine strategies must circumvent tolerance. We hypothesized that immunizing patients with subdominant peptide epitopes derived from HER-2/neu, using an adjuvant known to recruit professional antigen-presenting cells, granulocyte-macrophage colony-stimulating factor, would result in the generation of T-cell immunity specific for the HER-2/neu protein. PATIENTS AND METHODS Sixty-four patients with HER-2/neu-overexpressing breast, ovarian, or non-small-cell lung cancers were enrolled. Vaccines were composed of peptides derived from potential T-helper epitopes of the HER-2/neu protein admixed with granulocyte-macrophage colony-stimulating factor and administered intradermally. Peripheral-blood mononuclear cells were evaluated at baseline, before vaccination, and after vaccination for antigen-specific T-cell immunity. Immunologic response data are presented on the 38 subjects who completed six vaccinations. Toxicity data are presented on all 64 patients enrolled. RESULTS Ninety-two percent of patients developed T-cell immunity to HER-2/neu peptides (stimulation index, 2.1 to 59) and 68% to a HER-2/neu protein domain (stimulation index range, 2 to 31). Epitope spreading was observed in 84% of patients and significantly correlated with the generation of a HER-2/neu protein-specific T-cell immunity (P =.03). At 1-year follow-up, immunity to the HER-2/neu protein persisted in 38% of patients. CONCLUSION The majority of patients with HER-2/neu-overexpressing cancers can develop immunity to both HER-2/neu peptides and protein. In addition, the generation of protein-specific immunity, after peptide immunization, was associated with epitope spreading, reflecting the initiation of an endogenous immune response. Finally, immunity can persist after active immunizations have ended.
Some considerations for a high performance message-based interprocess communication system

We continue to be concerned with interprocess communications systems (such as those described in references 1, 2, and 3 and called “thin-wire” communications systems in reference 4) which are suitable for communication between processes that are not co-located in the same operating system but rather reside in different operating systems on different computers connected by a computer communications network. Further, the systems with which we are concerned are assumed to communicate using addressed messages (e.g., reference 5) which are multiplexed onto the logical communications channel between the source process and the destination process, rather than using such traditional methods as shared memory (an impossibility for distributed communicating processes) or dedicated physical communications channels between pairs of processes desiring to communicate (which is considered to be prohibitively expensive).
The role of religious fundamentalism and tightness-looseness in promoting collective narcissism and extreme group behavior.

The present study aims to understand the roles of religious fundamentalism and collective narcissism in predicting extreme behavior. It was hypothesized that religious fundamentalism may enhance collective narcissism and that this would in turn increase the tendency to endorse extreme behavior. It was also anticipated that perceptions of social tightness would moderate the indirect effect of religious fundamentalism on extreme behavior through collective narcissism. To test the hypotheses, we collected data from 788 members of Islamic religious groups in Indonesia (Male= 457, Female= 325), ages ranged from 17 to 52 (M= 25.14, SD= 8.49). Supporting the hypotheses, our findings demonstrated the validity of the expected pathways, confirming that it is important to consider the role of collective narcissism and tightnesslooseness when studying relationships between religious fundamentalism and extreme behavior. In particular, our findings demonstrate that there is a away for religious fundamentalists not to support for extreme behavior when they can have looseness culture, through which it can lower are low either in the level of collective narcissism or tightness.
On linear index coding from graph homomorphism perspective

In this work, we study the problem of linear index coding from graph homomorphism point of view. We show that the decision version of linear (scalar or vector) index coding problem is equivalent to certain graph homomorphism problem. Using this equivalence expression, we conclude the following results. First we introduce new lower bounds on linear index of graphs. Next, we show that if the linear index of a graph over a finite field is bounded by a constant, then by changing the ground field, the linear index of the graph may change by at most a constant factor that is independent from the size of the graph. Finally, we show that the decision version of linear index coding problem is NP-Complete unless we want to decide if this quantity is equal to 1 in which case the problem is solvable in polynomial time.
Towards a national agribusiness system : a conceptual framework

This paper examines today's challenges to the agribusiness sector. Through the Resource-Based View approach, we explore the potential roles and linkages between national public policies and local strategies in order to enhance the competitiveness and sustainability of a national agribusiness system. The main goal is to achieve a strategic alignment between the actions of multiple stakeholders, like firms, research centers, consumers, government, and the society in general. The essence of the paper is synthesized in a framework, which highlights the need for coordination of agribusiness systems by a National Strategy.
Who Speaks for Me? Addressing Variability in Informed Consent Practices for Minimal Risk Research Involving Foster Youth.

Background Youth in protective custody (e.g. foster care) are at higher risk for poorer physical and mental health outcomes compared with those who are not in custody. These differences may be due in part to the lack of research on the population to create evidence-based recommendations for health care delivery. A potential contributor to this lack of research is difficulties in obtaining informed consent for empirical studies in this population. The objective of this study was to describe the approaches to obtaining informed consent in minimal risk studies of foster youth and provide recommendations for future requirements. Methods We conducted a systematic review of the literature to characterize the informed consent approaches in published minimal risk research involving youth in foster care. We searched PubMed, CINAHL, PsychINFO, Embase, ERIC, Scopus, and EBMR. Inclusion criteria were: studies conducted in the United States, included current foster youth, minimal risk, peer reviewed, and published in English. Full text was reviewed, and individuals required to consent and assent were extracted. Results Forty-nine publications from 33 studies were identified. Studies required 0 to 3 individuals to consent. Individuals required to give consent included case workers (16, 48%), foster caregivers (12, 36%), biological parents (7, 21%), judges (5, 15%), and guardian ad litems (2, 6%). Twenty-nine (88%) studies required the youth's assent. The studies used 14 different combinations of individuals. One (3%) study utilized a waiver of consent. Conclusions There is no consistent approach for obtaining informed consent for foster youth to participate in minimal risk research. Consent should ideally involve individuals with legal authority and knowledge of the individual youth's interests and should not be burdensome. Consensus regarding consent requirements may facilitate research involving foster youth.
Aging of the inceptive cellular population: the relationship between stem cells and aging

The average life expectancy worldwide has about doubled and the global population has increased six fold over the past century. With improving health care in the developed world there is a proportional augmentation in the treatment necessary for elderly patients occasioning the call for increased research in the area of aging and age-related diseases. The manifestation of this research has been focalized on the causative cellular processes and molecular mechanisms involved. Here we will discuss the efforts of this research in the area of stem cells, delving into the regulatory mechanisms and how their de-regulation could be attributed to aging and age-related diseases.
Collision warning design to mitigate driver distraction

As computers and other information technology move into cars and trucks, distraction-related crashes are likely to become an important problem. This paper begins to address this problem by examining how alert strategy (graded and single-stage) and alert modality (haptic and auditory) affect how well collision warning systems mitigate distraction and direct drivers attention to the car ahead when it unexpectedly brakes. We conducted two experiments in which drivers interacted with an in-vehicle email system and a collision warning system signaled a braking lead vehicle. The first experiment showed that graded alerts led to a greater safety margin and a lower rate of inappropriate responses to nuisance warnings. A second experiment focused on attitudes toward the collision warning system and found that graded alerts were more trusted than single stage alerts and that haptic alerts, a vibrating seat in these experiments, were perceived as less annoying and more appropriate. Graded haptic alerts offer a promising approach to developing context aware computing in a safety-critical application.
FPGA Accelerated Computing Platform for MATLAB and C/C++

With latest advancements in architecture, reprogram ability and availability of abundant on-chip resources, FPGAs (Field Programmable Gate Array) are used as hardware accelerators to speedup computationally intensive tasks with inherent parallelism. However non-availability of standard MATLAB and C/C++ computation routines and communication interface for general purpose programming restricted researchers and developers from easily utilizing the parallel computational ability of FPGAs in MATLAB and C/C++. In this article we propose a proof of concept implementation for software-hardware co-design that can be used with MATLAB and C/C++ to share the burden of intensified computing with the FPGA. Typical applications which can be divided into multiple tasks to be executed in parallel can be easily transferred to FPGA by utilizing the proposed method. Some of the applications which can efficiently use this concept are image processing, video processing, data encryption and data compression. Results obtained by using our method and routines implemented in software and hardware provide 50% to 100% computational acceleration, as compared to routines running in software on MATLAB running on a computer. The design and concept can aid developers to use FPGAs in combination with higher level computational languages such as MATLAB and C/C++.
Continuous Femoral Nerve Block Versus Fascia Iliaca Compartment Block as Postoperative Analgesia in Patients with Hip Fracture

Abstract Introduction: Systemic postoperative analgesia is inefficient in most patients with hip fracture, which is the reason for pain, especially during leg movement. Peripheral and plexus nerve blocks are an efficient option for postoperative pain relief. The aim of this study was to compare the effect and duration of continuous FNB versus a single FIC block as a postoperative analgesia in patients with hip fracture. Methods: Sixty patients with hip fracture were included and were randomly assigned to two groups of 30 patients: FNB group – patients with continuous femoral nerve block; and FIC group –patients with a single fascia iliaca compartment block. In all patients, pain intensity was measured at rest and in passive leg movement by using VDS (0–4) at several intervals: 1, 2, 12, 24, 36 and 48 hours after intervention. The amount of supplemental analgesia was measured, together with the time when the patient needed it for the first time, as well as the side effects. Results: The values of VDS were significantly lower in patients with FNB block versus patients with FIC block in rest and movement at the 24-hour intervals (46.67% vs 0% felt moderate pain), after 36 hours (43.33% vs 0% felt moderate pain) and 48 hours after intervention (46.67% vs 3.33% felt moderate to severe pain) for p < 0.05. Patients with FNB block received a significantly lower amount of supplemental analgesia, 23.3% of the FNB group vs 50% of the FIC group (p < 0.05). Registered side effects were were nausea, dizziness and sedation, and they were statistically significantly more frequent in the FIC group (p < 0.05). Conclusion: Pain relief in the postoperative period was superior in the FNB group versus the FIC group at rest and in movement in patients with hip fracture.
Register Allocation via Hierarchical Graph Coloring

Register allocation is a vital stage in compiler optimization. It greatly impacts the effectiveness of other compiler optimization techniques. Graph coloring is the commonly used mechanism for register allocation. Since graph coloring is an NP-complete problem, heuristics are needed to find a practical solution. Several heuristics are available that perform well in practice. Commonly used heuristics, however, have a problem in that they do not include program structure information in register allocation. Without the information of program structure, poor spill decisions can be made. Callahan and Koblenz developed an algorithm that takes the program structure into account by performing register allocation hierarchically. Unfortunately, Callahan and Koblenz have not presented any experimental evidence to establish the effectiveness of their algorithm. This thesis examines the effectiveness of Callahan and Koblenz’s algorithm and shows that when register pressure is high, Callahan and Koblenz’s method generates worse code than Briggs’ method -the generally accepted method of graph coloring register allocation. The performance degradation of Callahan and Koblenz’s method is due to reserving registers in the graph coloring process. Also, by performing register allocation hierarchically, compensation move and jump instructions are required to ensure the correctness of program semantics. Furthermore, the experimental results suggest that without considering the degree of conflict in the spill cost, more values can be spilled than necessary.
Brain activation during human male ejaculation revisited

In a prior [15O]-H2O positron emission tomographic study we reported brain regions involved in human male ejaculation. Here, we used another, more recently acquired data set to evaluate the methodological approach of this previous study, and discovered that part of the reported activation pattern was not related to ejaculation. With a new analysis of these ejaculation data, we now demonstrate ejaculation-related activations in the deep cerebellar nuclei (dentate nucleus), anterior vermis, pons, and ventrolateral thalamus, and, most importantly, ejaculation-related deactivations throughout the prefrontal cortex. This revision offers a new and more accurate insight into the brain regions involved in human male ejaculation.
Certificateless threshold signature scheme without a trusted party

Certificateless threshold signature scheme proposed by Wang et al. needs a trusted party to generate the master key in the initial stage of system-setup. In many specific situations, the trusted party herein doesn't exist. And the emergence of complete mastered key in the system haves the security risk of disclosure of the master key. This paper proposed a certificateless threshold signature scheme without a trusted party based on the difficulty of solving the computational bilinear Diffie-Hellman problem. The members of a group cooperate to generate the master key without a trusted third party and the complete master key does not appear in the operational process of the system. It enhances the security of the system. The proposed scheme is provably secure.
The New Face of Digital Populism

Populist parties and movements are now a force to be reckoned with in many Western European countries. These groups are known for their opposition to immigration, their ‘anti-establishment’ views and their concern for protecting national culture. Their rise in popularity has gone hand-in-hand with the advent of social media, and they are adept at using new technology to amplify their message, recruit and organise. The online social media following for many of these parties dwarfs the formal membership, consisting of tens of thousands of sympathisers and supporters. This melange of virtual and real political activity is the way millions of people — especially young people — relate to politics in the 21st century. This is the first quantitative investigation into these digital populists, based on over 10,000 survey responses from 12 countries. It includes data on who they are, what they think and what motivates them to shift from virtual to real-world activism. It also provides new insight into how populism — and politics and political engagement more generally — is changing as a result of social media. The New Face of Digital Populism calls on mainstream politicians to respond and address concerns over immigration and cultural identity without succumbing to xenophobic solutions. People must be encouraged to become actively involved in political and civic life, whatever their political persuasion — it is important to engage and debate forcefully with these parties and their supporters, not shut them out as beyond the pale.
Effect of Mutations in VP5* Hydrophobic Loops on Rotavirus Cell Entry

ABSTRACT Experiments in cell-free systems have demonstrated that the VP5* cleavage fragment of the rotavirus spike protein, VP4, undergoes a foldback rearrangement that translocates three clustered hydrophobic loops from one end of the molecule to the other. This conformational change resembles the foldback rearrangements of enveloped virus fusion proteins. By recoating rotavirus subviral particles with recombinant VP4 and VP7, we tested the effects on cell entry of substituting hydrophilic for hydrophobic residues in the clustered VP5* loops. Several of these mutations decreased the infectivity of recoated particles without preventing either recoating or folding back. In particular, the V391D mutant had a diminished capacity to interact with liposomes when triggered to fold back by serial protease digestion in solution, and particles recoated with this mutant VP4 were 10,000-fold less infectious than particles recoated with wild-type VP4. Particles with V391D mutant VP4 attached normally to cells and internalized efficiently, but they failed in the permeabilization step that allows coentry of the toxin α-sarcin. These findings indicate that the hydrophobicity of the VP5* apex is required for membrane disruption during rotavirus cell entry.
Biodegradable Polymers for the Environment

The chemical industry plays a key role in sustaining the world economy and underpinning future technologies, yet is under unprecedented pres-sure from the effects of globalization and change in many of its traditional markets. Against this background, what will be needed for the industry to embrace efforts to make it “greener”? We explore some of the issues raised by the development of “green chemistry” techniques and identify potential barriers to their implementation by industry. Most processes therefore
Ordering dynamics with two non-excluding options: bilingualism in language competition

We consider an extension of the voter model in which a set of interacting elements (agents) can be in either of two equivalent states (A or B) or in a third additional mixed (AB) state. The model is motivated by studies of language competition dynamics, where the AB state is associated with bilingualism. We study the ordering process and associated interface and coarsening dynamics in regular lattices and small world networks. Agents in the AB state define the interfaces, changing the interfacial noise driven coarsening of the voter model to curvature driven coarsening. This change in the coarsening mechanism is also shown to originate for a class of perturbations of the voter model dynamics. When interaction is through a small world network the AB agents restore coarsening, eliminating the metastable states of the voter model. The characteristic time to reach the absorbing state scales with system size as τ ∼ lnN to be compared with the result τ ∼ N for the voter model in a small world network.
The ORF45 Protein of Kaposi's Sarcoma-Associated Herpesvirus Is Associated with Purified Virions

ABSTRACT Kaposi's sarcoma-associated herpesvirus (KSHV) ORF45 is encoded by an immediate-early gene in the KSHV genome. This protein was recently shown to interact with interferon regulatory factor 7 and inhibit virus-mediated alpha/beta interferon induction (Zhu et al., Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 99:5573-5578, 2002). ORF45 was characterized as a phosphorylated protein, and it is localized in the cytoplasm of infected cells. In this report, we provide evidence that ORF45 is associated with KSHV virions. (i) ORF45 was detected in gradient-purified virions by Western blotting along with known structural proteins of KSHV including gB, K8.1, and major capsid protein. In contrast, ORF50/Rta, K8α, and ORF59/PF8 were not detected in the same virion preparation. (ii) ORF45 comigrates with KSHV virions in sucrose gradient ultracentrifugation. (iii) Virion-associated ORF45 was resistant to trypsin digestion but became sensitive after the virions were treated with detergent which destroys the viral envelope. (iv) ORF45 remained associated with tegument-nucleocapsid complex when virion-specific glycoproteins were removed after detergent treatment. (v) An ORF45 protein band was visualized by sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis of extensively purified KSHV virions and identified by mass spectrometry. (vi) By immunoelectron microscopy, virus-like structures were specifically stained by anti-ORF45 antibody. Based on the evidence, we conclude that ORF45 is associated with purified KSHV virions and appears to be a tegument protein. The presence of ORF45 in KSHV virions raised the possibility that this protein may be delivered to host cells at the start of infection and therefore have the opportunity to act at the very early stage of the infection, suggesting an important role of ORF45 in KSHV primary infection.
PM Session 15 : Numerical Methods and General RF Measurements Chair : Dr

This study demonstrates the operation of 5.8 GHz backscatter radio links in a transient, high-voltage commercial power line environment. The measured results demonstrate that increased RF carrier frequency provides additional resistance to the noise, interference, and corona shielding of communication antennas that operate on high-voltage lines. This study also lists rules to assist in the design and implementation of low-powered wireless sensor applications for the future smart grid.
A Low-Jitter Area-Efficient LC-VCO Based Clock Generator in 0.13-µm CMOS

This letter presents an ultra low-jitter clock generator that employs an area-efficient LC-VCO. In order to fully utilize the area of the on-chip inductor, the loop filter of a phase locked loop (PLL) is located underneath the inductor. A prototype chip implemented in 0. 13µm CMOS process achieves 105MHz to 225MHz of clock frequency while consuming 4.2mW from 1.2V supply. The measured rms jitter and normalized rms jitter of the proposed clock generator are 2.8ps and 0.031% at 105MHz, respectively.