Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Gewasbescherming en de balans van milieu en economie : berekeningen bij de 2e Nota Duurzame gewasbescherming

Volgens de evaluatie van de 1e nota Duurzame Gewasbescherming voldoet Nederland nog onvoldoende aan de kwaliteitsnormen voor oppervlaktewater. Tegen die achtergrond zijn de bedrijfskundige, economische en milieukundige effecten van enkele emissiebeperkende en/of biodiversiteit-bevorderende maatregelen doorgerekend. De belangrijkste aandachtspunten van de 2e nota Duurzame Gewasbescherming zijn verbetering van waterkwaliteit en biodiversiteit. De gewenste verbeteringen zijn technisch haalbaar. De betaalbaarheid voor bedrijven verschilt per maatregel. Voor de aanleg van akkerranden en de overgang op selectieve middelen zijn vergoedingen uit het GLB en ketenwerking (marktsegmentatie) noodzakelijk.
The human megakaryocytic cell line UT‐7/TPO responds to platelet agonists with intracellular Ca2+ elevation and P‐selectin expression

Megakaryocytes have several signal transduction cascades that are similar, but not identical to platelet activation signals. In order to understand platelet signals in detail, it is useful to compare the similarities and/or differences between platelets and megakaryocytes. We evaluated platelet activation signals related to three kinds of Gq protein‐coupled receptors using the megakaryocytic cell line UT‐7/TPO. It was found that UT‐7/TPO responded to thrombin, resulting in a continuous elevation of the [Ca2+]i (intracellular Ca2+) and P‐selectin expression on the surface of the cells. Activation of integrin αIIbβ3 and thromboxane generation was not detected by any of the three stimulations. Taken together, although strong [Ca2+]i elevation by thrombin stimulation caused further P‐selection expression, we could detect [Ca2+]i elevation, which is thought to be the individual signals through the thrombin, thromboxane A2 or ADP receptor, without considering the secondary signalling caused by αIIbβ3 activation and the arachidonic acid cascade using UT‐7/TPO.
Oxidative stability of biodiesel from soybean oil fatty acid ethyl esters

Biodiesel consists of long-chain fatty acid esters, derived from renewable sources such as vegetable oils, and its utilization is associated to the substitution of the diesel oil in engines. Depending on the raw material, biodiesel can contain more or less unsaturated fatty acids in its composition, which are susceptible to oxidation reactions accelerated by exposition to oxygen and high temperatures, being able to change into polymerized compounds. The objective of this work was to determine the oxidative stability of biodiesel produced by ethanolysis of neutralized, refined, soybean frying oil waste, and partially hydrogenated soybean frying oil waste. The evaluation was conducted by means of the Rancimat® equipment, at temperatures of 100 and 105oC, with an air flow of 20 L h-1. The fatty acid composition was determined by GC and the iodine value was calculated. It was observed that even though the neutralized, refined and waste frying soybean oils presented close comparable iodine values, biodiesel presented different oxidative stabilities. The biodiesel from neutralized soybean oil presented greater stability, followed by the refined and the frying waste. Due to the natural antioxidants in its composition, the neutralized soybean oil promoted a larger oxidative stability of the produced biodiesel. During the deodorization process, the vegetable oils lose part of these antioxidants, therefore the biodiesel from refined soybean oil presented a reduced stability. The thermal process degrades the antioxidants, thus the biodiesel from frying waste oil resulted in lower stability, the same occuring with the biodiesel from partially hydrogenated waste oil, even though having lower iodine values than the other.
Combined analysis of HPV‐DNA, p16 and EGFR expression to predict prognosis in oropharyngeal cancer

Molecular prognostic indicators for oropharyngeal squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC), including HPV‐DNA detection, epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) and p16 expression, have been suggested in the literature, but none of these are currently used in clinical practice. To compare these predictors, 106 newly diagnosed OSCC for the presence of HPV‐DNA and expression of p16 and EGFR were analyzed. The 5‐year disease‐free survival (DFS) and overall survival (OS) were calculated in relation to these markers and a multivariate Cox analysis was performed. Twenty‐eight percent of the cases contained oncogenic HPV‐DNA and 30% were positive for p16. The p16 expression was highly correlated with the presence of HPV‐DNA (p < 0.001). Univariate analysis of the 5‐year DFS revealed a significantly better outcome for patients with p16‐positive tumors (84% vs. 49%, p = 0.009). EGFR‐negative tumors showed a tendency toward a better prognosis in DFS (74% vs. 47%, p = 0.084) and OS (70% vs. 45%, p = 0.100). Remarkable and highly significant was the combination of p16 and EGFR expression status, leading to 5‐year DFS of 93% for p16+/EGFR− tumors vs. 39% for p16−/EGFR+ tumors (p = 0.003) and to a 5‐year OS of 79% vs. 38%, respectively (p = 0.010). In multivariate analysis p16 remained a highly significant prognostic marker for DFS (p = 0.030) showing a 7.5‐fold increased risk for relapse in patients with p16‐negative tumors. Our data indicate that p16 expression is the most reliable prognostic marker for OSCC and further might be a surrogate marker for HPV‐positive OSCC. HPV+/p16+ tumors tended to have decreased EGFR expression, but using both immunohistological markers has significant prognostic implications. © 2007 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
ISSUES AND INNOVATIONS IN NURSING PRACTICE Nurse prescribers : who are they and how do they perceive their role ?

Correspondence: Eleanor Bradley, Faculty of Health & Sciences, Staffordshire University, Blackheath Lane, Stafford ST18 0AD, UK. E-mail: e.j.bradley@staffs.ac. uk BRADLEY E. , CAMPBELL P. & NOLAN P. (2005) Journal of Advanced Nursing 51(5), 439–448 Nurse prescribers: who are they and how do they perceive their role? Aims. This paper reports a study to elicit background data from recently qualified nurse prescribers and explore aspects of their work. Background. Nurse prescribing has been introduced quite recently in the United Kingdom. Although a certain amount of information is available about the characteristics of nurse prescribers, relatively little is known about their professional backgrounds, their reasons for choosing to become nurse prescribers and their perceptions of their emerging role. More information is needed to inform the selection, education and support of nurse prescribers. Method. All nurses who undertook a nurse prescribing course in one university in the West Midlands during 2003–2004 were invited to participate in the study. A 40item questionnaire was used to gather data on demographics, expectations of nurse prescribing, personal and professional development and perceived education needs. Findings. Respondents considered that, despite initial problems, the nurse prescribing initiative would ultimately prove to be a cornerstone of improved service delivery for service users. The majority of nurses were already heavily involved in prescribing ‘by proxy’ and the course merely formalized what they were currently doing. Potentially, prescribing could advance the professional development of nurses, improve communication between professionals and patients, and make the experience of patients more beneficial. However, some concerns were expressed about how supportive the current climate in health care could be, given the multiple demands on time and energy required by so many other innovations. Conclusions. Respondents appeared balanced in their perceptions of this innovation and what it could realistically achieve. They were not indifferent to the many short and long-term problems that need to be resolved before it can be claimed to have become embedded in practice. The success of non-medical prescribing may depend on organizational support, coupled with a robust continuing professional development strategy for all nurse prescribers.
Serologic screening of pregnant women at high risk for transmitting hepatitis B to their newborn.

M sATERNAL transmission of hepatitis B virus to newborn infants has been documented as an important mode of dissemination of this disease entity.1 Studies clearly demonstrate that the risk of infection depends on the carrier state of the mother.2 Evidence suggests that these infants, over a lifetime, are at high risk of developing chronic hepatitis, cirrhosis and/or primary hepatocellular carcinoma.3 With the availability of hepatitis B immune globulin and hepatitis B vaccine, as well as specific clinical markers that can determine hepatitis B infection, clearly this disease entity can be controlled, but only with proper recognition of the mother's carrier status before delivery can appropriate medical treatment of the newborn be implemented. This study was undertaken to determine the specific carrier rate in a population of pregnant women with risk factors for the perinatal transmission of hepatitis B . Over a nine-month period between July 1983 and March 1984, pregnant women identified by history as belonging to a high risk category4 for carriers of hepatitis B were screened, using hepatitis B surface antigen to determine carrier state as well as hepatitis B surface antibody or hepatitis B core antibody to determine past exposure. During this nine-month period, a total of 148 patients were screened. Serum was analyzed by radioimun-noassay for the specific markers of hepatitis B. All serum was assayed for
Motif Recognition Using LVQ Classifiers with Overlap-based Similarity Metrics

Identifying locations and specificities of DNA-protein binding sites (also termed as motifs) is an important step towards understanding the mechanism of gene expressions. To save experimental cost and time, computational approaches have received increasing interest and demonstrated good potential for problem solving. Given a set of known motif instances associated with a transcription factor, motif recognition turns to be a biological data classification problem where the datasets demonstrate a remarkable imbalance property. This paper deals with a problem of single motif recognition using machine learning techniques. We first develop an overlap-based similarity metrics (OSIM) to compare DNA sub-sequences. As an application of the metrics to motif recognition, we then propose a motif recognition system that makes use of Learning Vector Quantization 1 (LVQ1) as a primary classifier. In the system, we replace the Euclidian norm of LVQ1 by OSIM and introduce corresponding modifications to the winning prototype update and classification process. The system is also integrated with a new sampling technique to handle the imbalance property of biological datasets. Finally, we examine the recognition capability of our motif recognition approach in comparison with P-Match and three well-known learner models, namely Neural Networks (NN), Support Vector Machine (SVM), and Learning Vector Quantization 1 (LVQ1). Experimental results show that with the support of OSIM and the sampling method, the learner models can produce high recall rates but quite low precision rates for the tested datasets.
Noise Propagation in Series Enzymatic Cascades

Abstract Series enzymatic cascades are ubiquitously found in signaling networks and act as key signal amplifiers. During signal transduction process, cell-to-cell variability or noise travels along with the signal and strongly affects the fitting response that the cells exhibit. Modulation of noise propagation through the enzymatic cascades can play a strong role in regulating cellular response. We find the conditions under which the noise propagation through the cascades is bounded. Using global sensitivity analysis, we quantified the dependence of these conditions on the system parameters and estimated the parameter range in which the system when operated will result in attenuation of noise propagation through the cascade.
Niveles de antioxidantes como parametro de actividad inflamatoria en la artritis reumatoidea

La artritis reumatoidea (AR) es una enfermedad sistemica caracterizada por la inflamacion cronica y simetrica de las articulaciones. Los radicales libres son moleculas que podrian intervenir en el proceso inflamatorio articular y sistemico. El sistema antioxidante es un conjunto de sustancias que impiden la formacion de radicales libres. Objetivo: determinar la actividad de dos sustancias antioxidantes, la glutation peroxidasa (GpX) y la superoxido dismutasa (SOD) en pacientes con AR y en controles sanos. Material y metodos: se incluyeron 60 individuos de ambos sexos entre 30 y 60 anos, divididos en tres grupos de 20 personas, uno constituido por pacientes con AR activa, otro por pacientes con AR en remision (segun los criterios de remision de Pinals) y el tercero por controles sanos apareados por sexo y edad con el grupo de pacientes con AR activa. En los dos grupos de pacientes con AR se realizo un recuento de articulaciones inflamadas utilizando el indice articular de Thompson (0= ninguna articulacion inflamada; 534= puntaje maximo de inflamacion). Se midieron la proteina C reactiva (POR) y la velocidad de sedimentacion globular (VSG) en todos los sujetos del estudio. Se realizo la medicion en sangre total de SOD (rango normal =164-240 U/ml) y de GpX (rango normal = 4170-10881 U/L) en los tres grupos. Metodo estadistico: se calcularon los valores p de la prueba t de diferencias de medias poblacionales entre los tres grupos para la SOD, la GpX, la PCR y la VSG. Resultados: el puntaje promedio del indice de Thompson en los pacientes con AR activa fue de 177.5 y en el grupo en remision fue de 5.5. El nivel promedio de GpX en los individuos sanos (X=6991.5 U/L) y en los pacientes con AR en remision (X=5703.4 U/L) se encontro dentro de los valores de referencia. En el grupo de AR activa se encontro disminuido de manera significativa (X=2847 U/L) si se compara con el grupo de AR en remision (p=0.008) y con el de controles sanos (p=4.7 x 105). Para la SOD se encontraron resultados similares en el grupo de sanos (X=212.5 U/ml) y el grupo de pacientes en remision (205.6 U/ml.
Morphological Heterogeneity and Phenotype Modifications during Long Term in Vitro Cultures of Six New Human Glioblastoma Cell Lines

Long term in vitro cultures of six human malignant gliomas were established to obtain permanent lines and to assess, under conditions of prolonged culture, changes in morphology and phenotype of neoplastic cells and the extent of these modifications. We analyzed expression of the following markers by immunocytochemistry: glioma-specific antigens (GE2 and CG12), fibronectin, intermediate filaments (GFAP, vimentin, neurofilaments), class I and II histocompatibility antigens (HLA-ABC and HLA-DR), growth factor and receptor (aTGF and EGF-receptor), proliferation-associated antigen (Ki-67). Strong and stable staining with the two antiglioma monoclonal antibodies (GE2 and CG12) was seen, with coexpression of GFAP and fibronectin in five of six cell lines (after 20 passages) and presence of vimentin and neurofilaments. HLA-DR expression was heterogeneous, with a peculiar intracellular compartmentation in four of six cell lines. Cells showed clear cytoplasmic positivity for aTGF and strong membrane staining for EGF-receptor. In previous studies we showed that these cell lines have increased copies of chromosome 7; therefore we speculate that an autocrine pathway of stimulation may maintain the neoplastic growth. The percentage of Ki-67 positive proliferating cells ranged from 40 to > 60%, depending on cell line and passage. A slight decrease in the positivity of some markers (GFAP, vimentin and HLA-DR in 2/6 cell lines) was observed after prolonged in vitro culture (> 12 months), but morphophenotypic modifications, established within a few passages after explanation, were maintained with time. A clonogenic assay showed values of plating efficiency (PE) higher than corresponding values of other similar cell lines with a tendency to increase in the late passages. PE and Ki-67 positivity were not associated with tumorigenicity into nude mice (except the Hu 197 cell line). These results indicate that, in culture, all six cell lines acquired stable morphology, a well defined antigenic phenotype and high growth rate. Further studies will be performed on these permanent cell lines to clarify differentiation steps of malignant gliomas.
Electron localization and delocalization indices for solids

The electron localization and delocalization indices obtained by the integration of exchange‐correlation part of pair density over chemically meaningful regions of space, e.g., QTAIM atoms are valuable tools for the bonding analysis in molecular systems. However, among periodic systems only few simplest models were analyzed with this approach until now. This contribution reports implementation and evaluation of the localization and delocalization indices on the basis of solid state DFT calculations. A comparison with the results of simple analytical model of Ponec was made. In addition, a small set of compounds with ionic (NaCl), covalent (diamond, graphite), and metallic (Na, Cu) bonding interactions was characterized using this method. Typical features of different types of bonding were discussed using the delocalization indices. © 2011 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Comput Chem, 2011
Etude et extension des relais de couverture de surface dans les réseaux de capteurs

L'objectif des protocoles de couverture de surface est de mettre en veille des capteurs redondants tout en assurant une couverture totale de la zone par les noeuds restant allumes. La connexite de l'ensemble des noeuds actifs doit egalement etre preservee dans la mesure ou il est imperatif d'assurer l'acheminement des rapports de surveillance vers les stations puits. La plupart des solutions existantes ne considerent pas ces deux problemes comme un seul et sont rarement evaluees sous des conditions realistes. Dans cet article, nous proposons une analyse approfondie et des ameliorations d'un protocole localise maintenant la couverture de zone par des ensembles connectes en se basant sur des relais de couverture de surface (SCR). Dans un premier temps, nous avons ameliore l'une des phases critiques de l'algorithme ; la selection des relais. Ceci nous a permis de diminuer le nombre de noeuds actifs sans alterer la couverture fournie. Nous avons ensuite souleve le probleme de sa resistance a des conditions de communication plus realistes. Nous verrons alors comment de nouvelles modifications durant la phase de selection des relais nous ont permis d'obtenir un protocole robuste et facilement configurable.
Is Moral Anger Justified? A Functionalist Defense Of Feeling And Expressing Moral Anger

Derk Pereboom argues that since we are not ultimately morally responsible for our thoughts and actions, it is irrational and unfair to feel and express moral anger towards agents for their wrongdoings. Furthermore, he argues, moral anger is not practically beneficial, typically causing more harm than good. Thus, he proposes that we replace moral anger with moral sadness, or disappointment in response to agents’ wrongdoings. I offer a functional account of moral anger to argue that moral anger has important intrapersonal and interpersonal functions that cannot be served by moral sadness. I show that when we feel and express moral anger in the right contexts, it a) promotes long-term wellbeing, b) benefits relationships, and c) is the best way to change agents’ future behavior. I conclude by discussing implications of my functional account for Pereboom’s claim that moral anger is rational and fair only if we are ultimately morally responsible. INDEX WORDS: Moral anger, Anger, Moral sadness, Disappointment, Sadness, Moral responsibility, Social-functionalism, Derk Pereboom IS MORAL ANGER JUSTIFIED? A FUNCTIONALIST DEFENSE OF FEELING AND EXPRESSING MORAL ANGER
Age‐related changes in rat cerebellar basket cells: a quantitative study using unbiased stereological methods

Cortical cerebellar basket cells are stable postmitotic cells; hence, they are liable to endure age‐related changes. Since the cerebellum is a vital organ for the postural control, equilibrium and motor coordination, we aimed to determine the quantitative morphological changes in those interneurons with the ageing process, using unbiased techniques. Material from the cerebellar cortex (Crus I and Crus II) was collected from female rats aged 2, 6, 9, 12, 15, 18, 21 and 24 mo (5 animals per each age group), fixed by intracardiac perfusion, and processed for transmission electron microscopy, using conventional techniques. Serial semithin sections were obtained (5 blocks from each rat), enabling the determination of the number‐weighted mean nuclear volume (by the nucleator method). On ultrathin sections, 25 cell profiles from each animal were photographed. The volume density of the nucleus, ground substance, mitochondria, Golgi apparatus (Golgi) and dense bodies (DB), and the mean surface density of the rough endoplasmic reticulum (RER) were determined, by point counting, using a morphometric grid. The mean total volumes of the soma and organelles and the mean total surface area of the RER [s̄N (RER)] were then calculated. The results were analysed with 1‐way ANOVA; posthoc pairwise comparisons of group means were performed using the Newman‐Keuls test. The relation between age and each of the parameters was studied by regression analysis. Significant age‐related changes were observed for the mean volumes of the soma, ground substance, Golgi, DB, and s̄N (RER). Positive linear trends were found for the mean volumes of the ground substance, Golgi, and DB; a negative linear trend was found for the s̄N (RER). These results indicate that rat cerebellar basket cells endure important age‐related changes. The significant decrease in the s̄N (RER) may be responsible for a reduction in the rate of protein synthesis. Additionally, it may be implicated in a cascade of events leading to cell damage due to the excitotoxic activity of glutamate, which could interfere in the functioning of the complex cerebellar neuronal network.
Control techniques for interleaved DC/DC converters with magnetic coupling

The interleaved boost converter with magnetic coupling is a recent DC-DC converter topology that has drawn attention for its reduced size and good voltage gain. However, for its proper functioning, a real converter has to be controlled to deal with the unavoidable imbalance of the currents. This paper compares two control techniques applied on an interleaved boost converter with magnetic coupling. Therefore, the characteristics of the selected converter, the average current control and predictive control techniques are presented. As a result, it was found that the average current controller has the characteristic of zero steady state error, in contrast, the predictive controller allows an error in the estimated variables which causes the output voltage not to be equal to the reference value. The predictive controller considers and uses the discontinuous mode of operation, but controller has a higher computational cost than the average current controller.
Spectral density of fluctuations of a double-well Duffing oscillator driven by white noise.

The power spectrum of the archetypal fluctuating bistable system, the underdamped double-well Duffing oscillator, is investigated both experimentally, with use of an electronic circuit, and theoretically. The experiment confirms previous analytic results for the structure of the spectrum, including the existence of three distinct peaks within a certain parameter range. The theoty is extended to describe analytically the shape of the peak due to intrawell fluctuations for arbitrary noise intensities as well as certain other features of the spectrum. Good quantitative agreement of theory and experiment is demonstrated.