Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Effect of functional end groups of silane self‐assembled monolayer surfaces on apatite formation, fibronectin adsorption and osteoblast cell function

Bioactive glass (BG) can directly bond to living bone without fibrous tissue encapsulation. Key mechanistic steps of BG's activity are attributed to calcium phosphate formation, surface hydroxylation and fibronectin (FN) adsorption. In the present study, self‐assembled monolayers (SAMs) of alkanesilanes with different surface chemistry (OH, NH2 and COOH) were used as a model system to mimic BG's surface activity. Calcium phosphate (Ca‐P) was formed on SAMs by immersion in a solution that simulates the electrolyte content of physiological fluids. FN adsorption kinetics and monolayer coverage was determined on SAMs with or without Ca‐P coating. The surface roughness was also examined on these substrates before and after FN adsorption. The effects of FN‐adsorbed, Ca‐P‐coated SAMs on the function of MC3T3‐E1 were evaluated by cell growth, expression of alkaline phosphatase activity and actin cytoskeleton formation. We demonstrate that, although the FN monolayer coverage and the root mean square (rms) roughness are similar on OH and COOH terminated SAMs with or without Ca‐P coating, higher levels of ALP activity, more actin cytoskeleton formation and more cell growth are obtained on OH‐ and COOH‐terminated SAMs with Ca‐P coating. In addition, although the FN monolayer coverage is higher on Ca‐P‐coated NH2‐terminated SAMs and SiOx surfaces, higher levels of ALP activity and more cell growth are obtained on Ca‐P‐coated OH‐ and COOH‐terminated SAMs. Thus, with the same Ca‐P coatings, different surface functional groups have different effects on the function of osteoblastic cells. These findings represent new insights into the mechanism of bioactivity of BG and thereby may lead to designing superior constructs for bone grafting. Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Association of alcohol dehydrogenase genes with alcohol-related phenotypes in a Native American community sample.

BACKGROUND Previous linkage studies, including a study of the Native American population described in the present report, have provided evidence for linkage of alcohol dependence and related traits to chromosome 4q near a cluster of alcohol dehydrogenase (ADH) genes, which encode enzymes of alcohol metabolism. METHODS The present study tested for associations between alcohol dependence and related traits and 22 single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) spanning the 7 ADH genes. Participants included 586 adult men and women recruited from 8 contiguous Native American reservations. A structured interview was used to assess DSM-III-R alcohol dependence criteria as well as a set of severe alcohol misuse symptoms and alcohol withdrawal symptoms. RESULTS No evidence for association with the alcohol dependence diagnosis was observed, but an SNP in exon 9 of ADH1B (rs2066702; ADH1B*3) and an SNP at the 5' end of ADH4 (rs3762894) showed significant evidence of association with the presence of withdrawal symptoms (p = 0.0018 and 0.0012, respectively). Further, a haplotype analysis of these 2 SNPs suggested that the haplotypes containing either of the minor alleles were protective against alcohol withdrawal relative to the ancestral haplotype (p = 0.000006). CONCLUSIONS These results suggest that variants in the ADH1B and ADH4 genes may be protective against the development of some symptoms associated with alcohol dependence.
Measuring in vivo tumor pHe with CEST‐FISP MRI

Paramagnetic chemical exchange saturation transfer (PARACEST) MRI contrast agents have been developed that can measure pH in solution studies, but these agents have not previously been detected in vivo. To use the PARACEST agent Yb‐DO3A‐oAA to measure the extracellular pH (pHe) in tumor tissue, a chemical exchange saturation transfer fast imaging with steady state precession MRI protocol was developed, the saturation period was optimized for sensitive chemical exchange saturation transfer (CEST) detection, and median filtering was used to remove artifacts in CEST spectra. These improvements were used to correlate pH with a ratio of two CEST effects of Yb‐DO3A‐oAA at a 7 T magnetic field strength (R2 = 0.99, standard deviation of precision = 0.011 pH units). The PARACEST agent could not be detected in tumor tissue following i.v. injection due to the low sensitivity of in vivo CEST MRI. Yb‐DO3A‐oAA was detected in tumor tissue and leg muscle after directly injecting the PARACEST agent into these tissues. The measured CEST effects were used to measure a tumor pH of 6.82 ± 0.21 and a leg muscle pH of 7.26 ± 0.14, and parametric pH maps were also generated from these tissue regions. These results demonstrated that tumor pHe can be measured with a PARACEST agent and a rapid CEST‐MRI protocol. Magn Reson Med, 2012. © 2011 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
31P Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopy in Dilated Cardiomyopathy and Coronary Artery Disease: Altered Cardiac High‐Energy Phosphate Metabolism in Heart Failure

BackgroundThe purpose of this work was to further define the value of cardiac 31P magnetic resonance (MR) spectroscopy for patients with coronary artery disease and dilated cardiomyopathy. Methods and ResultsBlood-corrected and T1-corrected 31P MR spectra of anteroseptal myocardium were obtained at rest using image-selected in vivo spectroscopy localization, a selected volume of 85 ± 12 cm3, and a field strength of 1.5 T. Nineteen volunteers had a creatine phosphate (CP)/ATP ratio of 1.95 ± 0.45 (mean ± SD) and a PDE/ATP ratio of 1.06 ± 0.53; in four patients with left anterior descending coronary artery (LAD) stenosis, six patients with chronic anterior wall infarction, and four patients with chronic posterior wall infarction, CP/ATP and phosphodiester (PDE)/ATP ratios did not differ from those in volunteers. Twenty-five measurements of 19 patients with dilated cardiomyopathy yielded a CP/ATP of 1.78 ± 0.51 and a PDE/ATP of 0.98 ± 0.56 (p=NS versus volunteers). When these patients were grouped according to the severity of heart failure, however, CP/ATP was 1.9490. 43 in mild (p=NS versus volunteers) and 1.44 ± 0.52 in severe DCM (p < 0.05), respectively. No correlation was found between CP/ATP and left ventricular ejection fraction or fractional shortening, but correlation of CP/ATP with the New York Heart Association (NYHA) class was significant (r=0.60, p < 0.005). Six patients with dilated cardiomyopathy were studied repeatedly before and after 12 ± 6 weeks of drug treatment leading to clinical recompensation with improvement of the NYHA status by 0.8 ± 0.3 classes. Concomitantly, CP/ATP increased from 1.51 ± 0.32 to 2.1590. 27 (p < 0.01), whereas PDE/ATP did not change significantly. ConclusionsCardiac high-energy phosphate metabolism at rest is normal in LAD stenosis and chronic myocardial infarction in the absence of heart failure. The CP/ATP ratio has low specificity for the diagnosis of dilated cardiomyopathy. However, CP/ATP correlated with the clinical severity of heart failure and may improve during clinical recompensation.
Trade Policy in Majoritarian Systems: The Case of the U.S.

We provide a theory of trade policy determination that incorporates the protectionist bias inherent in majoritarian systems, suggested by Grossman and Helpman (2005). The prediction that emerges is that in majoritarian systems, the majority party favours industries located disproportionately in majority districts. We test this prediction using U.S. data on tariffs, Congressional campaign contributions, and industry location in districts represented by the majority party over the period 1989-97. We find evidence of a significant majority bias in trade policy: the benefit to being represented by the majority party appears at least as large in magnitude as the benefit to lobbying.
SENSITIVITY ANALYSIS OF THE BEE COLONY OPTIMIZATION ALGORITHM

Bee Colony Optimization (BCO) is a nature-inspired population-based meta-heuristic method that belongs to the class of Swarm intelligence algorithms. BCO was proposed by Lučić and Teodorović, who were among the first to use the basic principles of collective bee intelligence in dealing with optimization problems. Designing a BCO method in principle includes choosing a procedure for constructive/improvement moves, an evaluation function and setting BCO parameters to a suitable values. Topic of this work is addressing the influence of right choice of BCO underlying procedures, such as the choice of loyalty functions, and influence of parameter variations on algorithm performance, by means of visual inspection. Analyses were conducted for simple variant of scheduling problem. Also, to achieve good alternatives for reported solutions, new evaluation methods for scheduling problem are presented.
The SNARE Protein Syp71 Is Essential for Turnip Mosaic Virus Infection by Mediating Fusion of Virus-Induced Vesicles with Chloroplasts

All positive-strand RNA viruses induce the biogenesis of cytoplasmic membrane-bound virus factories for viral genome multiplication. We have previously demonstrated that upon plant potyvirus infection, the potyviral 6K2 integral membrane protein induces the formation of ER-derived replication vesicles that subsequently target chloroplasts for robust genome replication. Here, we report that following the trafficking of the Turnip mosaic potyvirus (TuMV) 6K2 vesicles to chloroplasts, 6K2 vesicles accumulate at the chloroplasts to form chloroplast-bound elongated tubular structures followed by chloroplast aggregation. A functional actomyosin motility system is required for this process. As vesicle trafficking and fusion in planta are facilitated by a superfamily of proteins known as SNAREs (soluble N-ethylmaleimide-sensitive-factor attachment protein receptors), we screened ER-localized SNARES or SNARE-like proteins for their possible involvement in TuMV infection. We identified Syp71 and Vap27-1 that colocalize with the chloroplast-bound 6K2 complex. Knockdown of their expression using a Tobacco rattle virus (TRV)-based virus-induced gene silencing vector showed that Syp71 but not Vap27-1 is essential for TuMV infection. In Syp71-downregulated plant cells, the formation of 6K2-induced chloroplast-bound elongated tubular structures and chloroplast aggregates is inhibited and virus accumulation is significantly reduced, but the trafficking of the 6K2 vesicles from the ER to chloroplast is not affected. Taken together, these data suggest that Syp71 is a host factor essential for successful virus infection by mediating the fusion of the virus-induced vesicles with chloroplasts during TuMV infection.
Stories From Intercultural Education in Serbia: Teacher Leadership and Parent Participation

This article explores the potential of teacher leadership as a strategy to promote intercultural education by empowering parents and members of ethnic minority groups to participate in the life of the school. It links the idea of participation for social justice with the goals of intercultural education within the context of the APREME (Advancing Participation and Representation of Ethnic Minority Groups in Education) project, which is located within a wider program of research, development, and advocacy designed to promote inclusion and social cohesion in the western Balkans. The outcomes of this action-based stage of the program are presented in the form of vignettes that portray teachers’ projects designed to enable parents and community members to participate more fully in the life of the school. Conclusions are drawn about the relationship between teacher leadership and a transformative approach to the intercultural education.
Management of pulmonary hypertension in left heart disease

Pulmonary hypertension (PH) due to left heart disease is classified as group II according to the Dana Point classification, which includes left ventricular systolic and/or diastolic left heart failure, and left-sided valvular disease. PH due to left heart disease is the most common cause and when present, especially with right ventricular dysfunction, is associated with a worse prognosis. Left heart disease with secondary PH is associated with increased left atrial pressure, which causes a passive increase in pulmonary pressure. Passive PH could be superimposed by an active protective, and in some patients by an ‘out of proportion’, elevated precapillary pulmonary vasoconstriction and vascular remodelling which leads to greater or lesser further increase of the pulmonary artery pressure. In this review, epidemiological and pathophysiologic mechanisms for the development of group II PH are summarized. The conflicting data about the haemodynamic and possible parameters to diagnose passive versus reactive and ‘out of proportion’ PH are presented. The different therapeutic concepts, along with novel treatment strategies, are reviewed in detail and critically discussed regarding their effectiveness and safety.
Implementation of 2D Space Vector pulse width Modulation for inverter applications with 16-bit dsPIC Controller

In modern motor drive system, Space Vector Modulation is encouraging approach for drives and traction operations. This paper illustrates generation of the control signals for motor drive applications with the help of open-loop SVPWM algorithm using 16-bit dsPIC33EP256MU806 Controller. The hardware implemented results are scrutinize to verify that present work produces proper power frequency with compact hardware. Presented flow chart employs the efficient resource utilization of controller. The waveforms regarding the maximum utilization of dc link is also justified.
Remuneração variável incentiva a criação de folga orçamentária

O estudo verifica em que medida a remuneracao variavel e um incentivo para os gestores criarem folga no processo orcamentario. Uma pesquisa foi realizada em empresa que possui remuneracao variavel atrelada as metas orcamentarias. O questionario foi encaminhado para os 48 gestores, sendo que a amostra constituiu-se dos 32 respondentes. O instrumento de coleta de dados consistiu de um questionario traduzido da pesquisa de Onsi (1973). Para delimitar a existencia ou nao dos elementos de folga organizacional utilizou-se de estatistica descritiva. Em seguida, compararam-se as medias das notas das respostas de dois grupos de respondentes: os com maior e os com menor alcance das metas orcamentarias. Os resultados indicaram que os gestores que tiveram desempenho inferior no alcance das metas tem maior propensao para criar folga em seus orcamentos. Assim, conclui-se que a remuneracao variavel atrelada as metas orcamentarias pode contribuir para a pratica de criar folga no processo orcamentario.
The growing threat of antibiotic resistance in the Eastern Mediterranean Region - what does it take to control it?

For decades, antibiotics represented an essential component of modern medicine. Not only were they responsible for saving millions of lives from previously deadly infections, but also made it possible to perform complex surgeries and better manage complications of chemotherapy and diabetes, among others. However, these miracle drugs are quickly losing their power and becoming ineffective, as bacteria have increasingly become resistant to them. The global rates of antimicrobial resistance (AMR) have become alarmingly high with dire consequences: over 700 000 deaths worldwide attributable to antibiotic resistant bacteria (1). In the Eastern Mediterranean Region (EMR), reported rates of resistance have reached dangerous levels both in healthcare settings and the community, threatening the hard-won gains in health and development, and the sustainability of public health response to many communicable diseases, including pneumonia, diarrhoea, tuberculosis, malaria, HIV/AIDS, sexually transmitted infections and healthcare acquired infections.
Vaginal washing and increased risk of HIV-1 acquisition among African women: a 10-year prospective study

Background:No prospective study has examined the risk of HIV-1 acquisition associated with vaginal washing, although intravaginal practices have been identified as potentially important contributors to HIV-1 susceptibility. Objective:To evaluate the contribution of vaginal washing to incident HIV-1 infection. Design:Prospective cohort study. Methods:Data were derived from a 10-year study of risk factors for HIV-1 acquisition among 1270 Kenyan female sex workers. Intravaginal practices were ascertained at study enrollment. At monthly follow-up visits, women completed a standardized interview and specimens were collected for diagnosis of HIV-1 and genital tract infections. Results:Compared with women who did not perform vaginal washing, there was an increased risk for acquiring HIV-1 among women who used water [adjusted hazard ratio (HR), 2.64; 95% confidence interval (CI), 1.00–6.97] or soap (adjusted HR 3.84; 95% CI, 1.51–9.77) to clean inside the vagina, after adjustment for demographic factors, sexual behavior, and sexually transmitted infections. Furthermore, women who performed vaginal washing with soap or other substances were at higher risk for HIV-1 compared with those who used water alone (adjusted HR, 1.47; 95% CI, 1.02–2.13). Conclusions:In populations where vaginal washing is common, this practice may be an important factor promoting the spread of HIV-1. Intervention strategies aimed at modifying intravaginal practices should be evaluated as a possible female-controlled HIV-1 prevention strategy.
Physiology of the Inactivation of Vegetative Bacteria by Thermal Treatments: Mode of Action, Influence of Environmental Factors and Inactivation Kinetics

Heat has been used extensively in the food industry as a preservation method, especially due to its ability to inactivate microorganisms present in foods. However, many aspects regarding the mechanisms of bacterial inactivation by heat and the factors affecting this process are still not fully understood. The purpose of this review is to offer a general overview of the most important aspects of the physiology of the inactivation or survival of microorganisms, particularly vegetative bacteria, submitted to heat treatments. This could help improve the design of current heat processes methods in order to apply milder and/or more effective treatments that could fulfill consumer requirements for fresh-like foods while maintaining the advantages of traditional heat treatments.
Testing interaction between treatment and high‐dimensional covariates in randomized clinical trials

In this paper, we considered different methods to test the interaction between treatment and a potentially large number (p) of covariates in randomized clinical trials. The simplest approach was to fit univariate (marginal) models and to combine the univariate statistics or p‐values (e.g., minimum p‐value). Another possibility was to reduce the dimension of the covariates using the principal components (PCs) and to test the interaction between treatment and PCs. Finally, we considered the Goeman global test applied to the high‐dimensional interaction matrix, adjusted for the main (treatment and covariates) effects. These tests can be used for personalized medicine to test if a large set of biomarkers can be useful to identify a subset of patients who may be more responsive to treatment. We evaluated the performance of these methods on simulated data and we applied them on data from two early phases oncology clinical trials.
Malaria Treatment with Atovaquone-Proguanil in Malaria-Immune Adults: Implications for Malaria Intervention Trials and for Pre-Exposure Prophylaxis of Malaria

ABSTRACT Eighty adults in areas of Kenya where malaria is holoendemic received presumptive treatment with atovaquone-proguanil and were followed closely. The time to the first Plasmodium falciparum parasitemia was 32 days. This prolonged prophylaxis period has implications for study design when used in malaria intervention trials and cautiously suggests clinical investigation of potential preexposure prophylaxis of malaria.
Modeling Noninvasive Neurostimulation in Epilepsy as Stochastic Interference in Brain Networks

Noninvasive brain stimulation is one of very few potential therapies for medically refractory epilepsy. However, its efficacy remains suboptimal and its therapeutic value has not been consistently assessed. This is in part due to the nonoptimized spatio-temporal application of stimulation protocols for seizure prevention or arrest, and incomplete knowledge of the neurodynamics of seizure evolution. Through simulations, this study investigated electroencephalography (EEG)-guided, stochastic interference with aberrantly coordinated neuronal networks, to prevent seizure onset or interrupt a propagating partial seizure, and prevent it from spreading to large areas of the brain. Brain stimulation was modeled as additive white or band-limited noise, and simulations using real EEGs and data generated from a network of integrate-and-fire neuronal ensembles were used to quantify spatio-temporal noise effects. It was shown that additive stochastic signals (noise) may destructively interfere with network dynamics and decrease or abolish synchronization associated with progressively coupled networks. Furthermore, stimulation parameters, particularly amplitude and spatio-temporal application, may be optimized based on patient-specific neurodynamics estimated directly from noninvasive EEGs.
Proposed Gravitational Wave Background from Black Hole-Torus Systems

Cosmological gamma-ray bursts may be powered by rotating black holes with contemporaneous emission of gravitational radiation from a surrounding torus. We calculate the resulting stochastic background radiation assuming strong cosmological evolution and a uniform black hole mass distribution of M = 4-14 M☉. The predicted spectral flux density corresponds to a peak spectral closure density of (1-2) × 10-7 and has comparable contributions at 450 Hz × κ and over 300-450 Hz × κ from nearby and distant sources, respectively, where κ refers to an uncertainty factor of order unity in the radius of the torus. For two optimized advanced Laser Interferometer Gravitational-Wave Observatory-type detectors the proposed gravitational wave background could be detectable within a year of integration.
Europeans’ work and life – out of balance? An empirical test of assumptions from the “acceleration debate”

Advanced modernity is regarded as an era of time obsession and people in modernized societies seem to live harried lives. Leading time sociologists like Hartmut Rosa adopt a modernization–critical stance and ascribe an accelerated pace of life and frequent time scarcity to socioeconomic and technological advancement. According to these protagonists of the “acceleration debate,” time becomes increasingly precious due to severely changed conditions of work and private life. Against this background it can be assumed that many people may suffer from an unsatisfactory work–life balance. This study uses individual-level data from the fifth round of the European Social Survey (fielded in 2010/11) as well as suitable country-level data capturing key features of advanced modernity to empirically test assumptions arising from the “acceleration debate. ” Results from multilevel analyses of 23 European countries provide some confirmation of these assumptions. While most macro indicators for 2010 reflecting a certain stage of development are uninfluential, a country's degree of globalization matters, and moreover growth rates of crucial macro indicators signaling paces of development exert an impact on people's work–life balance in the assumed direction: In countries with accelerations in terms of economic development, coverage of households with internet access and numbers of new cars working people show a significantly greater inclination toward an unsatisfactory work–life balance. Aside from results at the country-level individual-level determinants and group-specific differences of work–life balance under different conditions of advanced modernity are presented. This study's two main findings—(1) paces of development matter more than stages of development and (2) assumptions arising from the “acceleration debate” receive some empirical support—are thoroughly reflected on and discussed.