Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Case study: predicting the impact of a physical access control intervention

We investigate a planned physical security intervention at a partner organisation site, to determine the potential individual cost of security upon employees when replacing a secure door with a turnstile. Systems modelling techniques are applied to model the lobby area of the site, and to guide data collection to situate the model. Managers at the site were consulted during preference elicitation to identify meaningful model parameters. Direct observation of regular employee behaviours from pre-recorded CCTV footage provided localised data: 1800 sequences of behaviour events were logged over one working day for approximately 600 employees and visitors. This included responses to security events, such as returning to the card reader or moving to a different turnstile. Model results showed that if one turnstile was implemented at the observed site, an average of 0.5 seconds would be added to individual entry times for employees, amounting to over sixty hours for the site as a whole over a year. Three turnstiles approach the time cost of a secure door.
Reproductive maternal centrosomes are cast off into polar bodies during maturation division in starfish oocytes.

Animal egg inherits a maternal centrosome from the meiosis-II spindle and sperm can introduce another centrosome at fertilization. It has been believed that in most animals only the sperm centrosome provides the division poles for mitosis in zygotes. This uniparental (paternal) inheritance of the centrosome must depend on the loss of the maternal centrosome. In starfish, suppression of polar body (PB) extrusion is a prerequisite for induction of parthenogenesis (Washitani-Nemoto et al. (1994) Dev. Biol. 163, 293-301), suggesting that the centrosomes cast off into PBs have reproducing capacity. Due to the absence of centriole duplication in meiosis II of starfish oocytes, each centrosome of a meiosis-II spindle has only one single centriole, whereas in meiosis I each has a pair of centrioles (Sluder et al. (1989) Dev. Biol. 131, 567-579; Kato et al. (1990) Dev. Growth Differ. 32, 41-49). Hence, the first PB (PB1) has two centrioles, whereas the second PB (PB2) and the mature egg have only one centriole, respectively. The present study examined the reproductive capacity of PB centrosomes by transplanting them into artificially activated eggs, and then the recipient egg nucleus with the surrounding cytoplasm was removed. A transplanted PB2 centrosome with a single centriole formed a monopolar spindle at the first mitosis, followed by formation of a bipolar spindle in the next mitosis, leading to actual cleavage and subsequent development. This proves the reproducing capacity of the single centriole in the PB2 centrosome. The behavior of the transplanted PB1 centrosome was exactly the same as in the PB2 centrosome, in spite of the difference in the number of centrioles. These results clearly show that four maternal centrioles are heterogeneous in duplicating capacity, during meiosis only one centriole in each of the centrosomes of a meiosis-I spindle pole retains duplicating capacity, the reproductive centrioles are successively cast off into PBs, and finally a mature egg inheriting a nonreproductive centriole alone is formed, and the presence of a single reproductive centriole is sufficient condition for embryonic development in starfish.
3.4 A dual-mode transformer-based doherty LTE power amplifier in 40nm CMOS

Modern high-data-rate communication systems such as LTE use spectrally efficient modulation schemes with a high peak-to-average power ratio (PAPR), placing stringent linearity demands on the RF power amplifiers (PA). The main challenge for LTE power amplifiers is therefore to achieve high efficiency and high linearity for a wide power range. In addition, delivering Watt-level output power is another challenge for CMOS RF power amplifiers due to the low breakdown voltage of the transistors. Series-combining transformers (SCT) enable high output power levels by summing up the output voltages of low-voltage CMOS power amplifiers [1-4].
A Novel Single Stage AC–DC Self-Oscillating Series-Parallel Resonant Converter

This paper presents an improved self-sustained oscillating controller suitable for the single stage single phase power factor correction circuits. It has a modified active controller, which improves the performance from no-load up to full-load. The steady state characteristics are developed and a design example is given in detail. The proposed controller allows zero voltage switching at any loading condition with a reasonable power factor that satisfies the IEC 61000-3-2 standards together with a promising efficiency. Analytical, simulation, and experimental results verify the achievement the design specifications
Urinary pregnanetriol‐3‐glucuronide in children: Age‐related change and application to the management of 21‐hydroxylase deficiency

Urinary concentrations of pregnanetriol‐3‐glucuronide (PT‐3‐G) were determined in 485 normal Japanese subjects (277 males and 208 females), aged 5 days to 20 years, using an enzyme‐linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). The usefulness of urinary PT‐3‐G concentrations before giving the morning dose of medications in monitoring the adequacy of glucocorticoid treatment was assessed in eight patients with 21‐hydroxylase deficiency (21‐OHD). The ratio of PT‐3‐G to excreted creatinine (PT‐3‐G/Cre ratio) increased significantly during the first month and did not change from age 1 month to 1 year of life. The ratio decreased to a nadir at age 3 or 4 years followed by continuous, significant increase until late adolescence. In the subjects treated with corticosteroids for 21‐OHD, PT‐3‐G/Cre ratios at the 50th percentile or below suggested a risk of excessive treatment, as judged by the patients' growth. Measurement of the PT‐3‐G/Cre ratio enabled recognition of corticosteroid overtreatment, which was not demonstrated by determining the serum concentrations of 17α‐hydroxyprogesterone (17‐OHP) On the other hand, ratios at the upper 95–99% tolerance limits seemed to be required for optimal control. The present study revealed the normal age‐related changes in urinary excretion of PT‐3‐G and showed it to be a reliable marker for evaluating glucocorticoid treatment in young children with 21‐OHD.
Effects of Pesticides on the Survival of Rove Beetle (Coleoptera: Staphylinidae) and Insidious Flower Bug (Hemiptera: Anthocoridae) Adults

ABSTRACT This study determined the direct, indirect, or both effects of pesticides on the rove beetle, Dalotia coriaria (Kraatz) (Coleoptera: Staphylinidae), and the insidious flower bug, Orius insidiosus (Say) (Hemiptera: Anthocoridae). The pesticides evaluated were Capsicum oleoresin extract, garlic oil, and soybean oil; cyantraniliprole; flupyradifurone; GS-omega/kappa-Hxtx-Hv1; Isaria fumosorosea; tolfenpyrad; pyrethrins; and spinosad. One experiment was conducted in a greenhouse with rove beetle adults exposed to growing medium applications of cyantraniliprole. The number of live and dead rove beetle adults was determined after 10 d. Four additional experiments were conducted under laboratory conditions. Rove beetle or insidious flower bug adults were individually placed into Petri dishes with filter paper treated with the pesticides. After 24, 48, 72, and 96 h, the number of live and dead adults of both natural enemies was recorded. GS-omega/kappa-Hxtx-Hv1 (VST-006340LC); tolfenpyrad; Capsicum oleoresin extract, garlic oil, and soybean oil (Captiva); and Isaria fumosorosea were not directly harmful to O. insidiosus (80–100% adult survival). Likewise, the pesticides such as tolfenpyrad, Captiva, and I. fumosoroea were not directly harmful to D. coriaria (80–100% adult survival). D. coriaria was more sensitive to VST-006340LC (40% survival) than O. insidiosus (100% survival), whereas O. insidiosus was more sensitive to flupyradifurone (0% survival) than D. coriaria (80% and 40% survival for both rates tested, respectively). The pesticides pyrethrins, spinosad, flupyradifurone, and combinations of tolfenpyrad and Captiva were directly harmful (<50% adult survival) to both natural enemies. However, none of the pesticides tested affected the ability of O. insidiosus adults to feed on western flower thrips adults.
Malignancy following renal transplantation.

BACKGROUND A markedly increased incidence of malignancy in transplant recipients is well recognized. However, the incidence and pattern of post-transplantation malignancies shows some discrepancy among different reports. The renal transplant recipients monitored at Taichung Veterans' General Hospital comprise the largest group in Taiwan. An analysis of the characteristics of post-transplant malignancies emphasizes the differences from malignancies that occur in the Taiwanese general population and those reported in Western countries. METHODS The incidence and characteristics of de novo malignancy in 390 renal transplant recipients who underwent renal transplantation between May 1983 and June 1996 were analyzed. A total of 232 men and 158 women (mean age at transplantation: 38.5 +/- 10.7 years) were included. The relative risk for developing malignancies was calculated based on the sex- and age-matched cancer incidence of reference for the Taiwanese population; data from the Cancer Registry Annual Report in Taiwan (1989) was obtained for comparison. RESULTS A total of 25 cancers were diagnosed in 24 renal transplant recipients, for an incidence of 6.2%. The relative risk of renal malignancy was 13.8-fold higher among transplant recipients than in the general population. The impact of gender and age on the development of post-transplantation malignancy was not significant. The most common types of cancer were transitional cell carcinoma (TCC) of the urinary tract (8/25), and hepatoma (8/25), followed by two cases of Kaposi's sarcoma. Aside from immunosuppressive agents, the high incidence of hepatoma and TCC may be attributed to the high incidence of hepatitis infection and the possible carcinogenic effect of abnormal milieu induced by uremia per se. Survival was largely dependent on the extent of disease at presentation, and post-transplantation cancer did not show more aggressive behavior if detected early. CONCLUSIONS The high cumulative incidence of malignancies makes it imperative to define an effective safe immunosuppressive regimen to achieve a lower risk of malignancies. In the future, the prime approach to treatment of post-transplantation malignancies should begin with early detection and ensuing aggressive treatment to improve the outcome.
Identification of overexpressed genes in frequently gained/amplified chromosome regions in multiple myeloma.

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES Multiple myeloma (MM) is a malignancy characterized by clonal expansion of plasma cells. In 50% of the cases, the neoplastic transformation begins with a chromosomal translocation that juxtaposes the IGH gene locus to an oncogene. Gene copy number changes are also frequent in MM but less characterized than in other neoplasias. We aimed to characterize genes that are amplified and overexpressed in human myeloma cell lines (HMCL) to provide putative molecular targets for MM therapy. DESIGN AND METHODS Nine HMCL were characterized by fluorescent in situ hybridization, comparative genomic hybridization (CGH) and cDNA microarrays for gene expression profiling and copy number changes. RESULTS After defining the IGH-translocations present in the cell lines, we conducted expression-profiling analysis. Supervised analysis identified 166 genes with significantly different expression among the cell lines harboring MMSET/FGFR3 (4p16), MAF (16q) and CCND1 (11q13) rearrangements. Array-CGH was then performed. Five chromosomes recurrently affected by gains/amplifications in primary samples and cell lines were analyzed in detail. Sixty amplified and overexpressed genes were found and 25 (42%) of them were only overexpressed when amplified; moreover, six showed a significant association between overexpression and gain/amplification. We also found co-amplification and overexpression for genes located within the same amplicons, such as MALT1 and BCL2. INTERPRETATION AND CONCLUSIONS Parallel analysis of gene copy numbers and expression levels by cDNA microarray in MM allowed efficient identification of genes whose expression levels are elevated because of increased copy number. This is the first time that MALT1 and BCL2 have been shown to be overexpressed and amplified in MM.
Dose-Response Relationships for Experimental Heterochrony in a Colonial Hydroid.

Hydractiniid hydroids display a range of morphological variation. At one end of the spectrum, the colonies grow in a sheet-like configuration with their polyps close together and short stolons. At the other extreme, the colonies have a runner-like form in which the polyps are farther apart and connected by long stolons. These patterns exemplify the heterochronic variation found in many colonial animals and correspond to changes in the timing of the production of polyps and stolon tips relative to rates of stolon growth and colony maturation. Experimental studies of clonal replicates of a Podocoryne carnea colony demonstrated a dose-response relationship between these heterochronic traits and within-colony gastrovascular flow to peripheral stolons. A dose-response relationship was found whether flow was perturbed by manipulating the amount of food consumed by the colonies or by treating the colonies with 2, 4-dinitrophenol, an uncoupler of oxidative phosphorylation. In colonies in which flow was highly perturbed by either treatment, a similar rate of flow produced a similar morphological response. These data support the hypothesis of a causal relationship between flow rate and heterochronic variation. Nevertheless, flow was diminished by two clearly different mechanisms. Feeding manipulation altered flow relative to the size of the stolon by altering stolon thickness, without affecting the absolute quantity of flow. Uncoupling with dinitrophenol diminished the absolute quantity of flow, but did not affect the size of the stolon. A plausible assumption is that feeding manipulation affects the resistance of the stolon tissue to flow, or the fluid absorption of this tissue, or both; whereas uncoupling affects the amount of energy available to drive the flow. At the level of cellular metabolism, on the other hand, feeding manipulation and uncoupling again have similar effects, triggering metabolic activation (e.g., an increase in oxygen uptake and a shift in the mitochondrial redox state in the direction of oxidation). In the context of theories suggesting the metabolic control of development, a direct effect of feeding and uncoupling on colony development thus cannot be ruled out. Further, there may be an interaction between flow rate and metabolism, since gastrovascular flow distributes food throughout the colony, and since such substrate affects metabolic state. Both within-colony flow rate and metabolism may affect heterochronic variation in these hydroids, and methods appropriate to distinguish these two effects are discussed.
Smokeless tobacco use in adult Nigerian population.

OBJECTIVES The study aim was to establish the prevalence and determinants of smokeless tobacco use in Nigerian adults' population. METHODS Across-sectional survey of 1776 adults in Yola, North-East Nigeria was carried out in June 2007.A modified World Health Organization (WHO) tobacco survey questionnaire was used for interview and data collection. RESULTS Out of 1776 interviewed respondents, 133 (7.49%) were user of smokeless tobacco. Snuffing of tobacco powder was the most common method of using smokeless tobacco (6.8%). Fifteen (0.9%) chewed tobacco while only 2(0.1%) both chewed and snuffed tobacco. Social acceptance (21.8%) was the major reason for using smokeless tobacco. Males, 5 th and 6 th decades of life, poor education, lower socioeconomic class, Margi, Hausa and Fulani tribes were the determinants of smokeless tobacco use. About 89.5% of the smokeless tobacco users believed that smokeless tobacco was not harmful to their health. CONCLUSION Although the prevalence of smokeless tobacco use was low among Nigerian adult population in this study. Ignorance of the potential health dangers of smokeless tobacco was rampant therefore; concerted efforts should be made to discourage the use of all forms of tobacco rather than concentrating on cigarette smoking.
Recent developments in capillary EKC based on carbon nanoparticles

This paper provides an overview of the use of carbon nanoparticles (CNPs) as pseudo‐stationary phases (PSPs) in EKC. Specifically, it describes the characteristics and properties of the major types of CNPs used as PSPs in EKC separations, namely C60 fullerenes, carbon nanotubes and covalently modified carbon nanotubes. Based on such properties, a plausible mechanism for the interactions governing EKC separation with these materials is proposed. Also, the most salient uses of CNPs as PSPs are outlined. Finally, CNPs are compared in terms of performance with other well‐established types of nanostructures used to enhance selectivity in EKC over the past decade.
Tissue Specificity of the Kaposi's Sarcoma-Associated Herpesvirus Latent Nuclear Antigen (LANA/orf73) Promoter in Transgenic Mice

ABSTRACT Kaposi's sarcoma-associated herpesvirus (KSHV/HHV-8) is a human-oncogenic herpesvirus. Cells from KSHV-associated tumors, such as Kaposi's sarcoma (KS) and primary effusion lymphoma (PEL), are of endothelial and B-cell origin, respectively. KSHV persists indefinitely in these cell lineages during latent infection. Indeed, cellular latency is a hallmark of all herpesviruses that is intimately linked to their pathogenesis. We previously characterized the promoter for the KSHV latency-associated nuclear antigen LANA/orf73. LANA is required for latent episome maintenance and has also been implicated in oncogenesis. Hence, regulation of LANA expression is critical to KSHV persistence. We find that a region extending to bp −1299 upstream of the LANA transcription start site is able to drive lacZ-reporter gene expression in several lines of transgenic mice. In agreement with KSHV's natural tropism, we detected reporter gene expression in CD19-positive B cells but not in CD3-positive T cells. We also detected expression in the kidney and, at a lower level, in the liver. In contrast to KS tumors, transgene expression was localized to kidney tubular epithelium rather than vascular endothelial cells. This suggests that our promoter fragment contains all cis-regulatory elements sufficient for B-cell specificity but not those required for endothelial specificity. Alternatively, while the trans-acting factors required for LANA expression in B cells are evolutionarily conserved, those that regulate endothelial cell-specific expression are unique to humans. Our in vivo studies address a conundrum in KSHV biology: in culture, KSHV is able to infect a variety of cell types indiscriminately, while in healthy latent carriers KSHV is found in B lymphocytes. The transgenic-mouse experiments reported here suggest that tissue-restricted LANA gene expression could explain B-cell-specific viral persistence.
Nitric oxide adducts of the binuclear iron site of hemerythrin: spectroscopy and reactivity.

Nitric oxide forms adducts with the binuclear iron site of hemerythrin (Hr) at [Fe(II),Fe(II)]deoxy and [Fe(II),Fe(III)]semimet oxidation levels. With deoxyHr our results establish that (i) NO binds reversibly, forming a complex which we label deoxyHrNO, (ii) NO forms a similar but distinct complex in the presence of fluoride, which we label deoxyHrFNO, (iii) NO is directly coordinated to one iron atom of the binuclear pair in these adducts, most likely in a bent end-on fashion, and (iv) the iron atoms in the binuclear sites of both deoxyHrNO and deoxyHrFNO are antiferromagnetically coupled, thereby generating unique electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) detectable species. The novel EPR signal of deoxyHrNO (deoxyHrFNO) with g[[ = 2.77 (2.58) and g = 1.84 (1.80) is explained by the magnetic interaction of the Fe(II) (S' = 2) and [FeNO]7 (S = 3/2) centers observed by Mössbauer spectroscopy. Antiferromagnetic coupling leads to a ground state of Seff = 1/2. Analysis of the EPR parameters using the isotropic spin-exchange Hamiltonian, Hex = 2JS3/2.S2, and including zero-field splitting leads to a coupling constant, -J approximately 23 cm-1, for deoxyHrNO. The resonance Raman spectrum of deoxyHrNO shows features at 433 and 421 cm-1 that shift downward with 15N16O and that are assigned to stretching and bending modes, respectively, of the [FeNO]7 unit. Sensitivity of the bending mode to D2O suggests that bound NO participates in hydrogen bonding. We propose that the terminal oxygen atom of NO is hydrogen bonded to the proton of the mu-hydroxo bridge in the Fe-(OH)-Fe unit. A bent Fe-N-O geometry is supported by spectroscopic and structural comparisons to synthetic complexes and is consistent with a limiting [FeII,FeIIINO-] formulation for deoxyHrNO. Reversibility of NO binding to deoxyHr is demonstrated by bleaching of the optical and EPR spectra of deoxyHrNO upon additions of excess N3- or CNO-. DeoxyHrNO undergoes autoxidation under anaerobic conditions over the course of several hours. The product of this autoxidation appears to be an EPR-silent NO adduct of semimetHr. The formal one-electron oxidations of the binuclear iron site of deoxyHr by NO and by HNO2 can conceivably occur with no net change in charge on the iron site. In contrast, autoxidation of oxy- to metHr requires a change in net charge on the iron site, which may provide a kinetic barrier.
Multiple sclerosis in Jordan and Iraq. Clinical and social overview.

OBJECTIVES To verify clinical features of multiple sclerosis (MS) patients throughout the course of their illness and to study the socioeconomic status of MS patients in Jordan and Iraq. METHODS Fifty-two patients were examined by 2 neurologists looking for the clinical and radiological features of MS at Al-Bashir Teaching Hospital, Amman, Jordan (35 patients), and Rezgary Teaching Hospital-Erbil, Kurdistan, Iraq (17 patients) from January 2004 to July 2007. The study design was based on full clinical examination of MS patients, investigate the signs, and symptoms, tabulating them, and show the percentage of their presence in all patients, and then comparing the results with other findings through systematic review of the available data from other reviews. RESULTS The percentage of different symptoms, signs, and radiological features of the 52 MS patients were recorded. Weakness in one limb, mostly the leg (90.4%) was the most common symptom described by our patients, while hyperreflexia was the most prominent sign in MS patients (75%). Higher level of school performance, and moderate to good socioeconomic status were the common status between MS patients. The MRI results were interpreted according to the anatomical sites, and according to different MRI sequences, and the MRI showed MS plaques in almost all patients. CONCLUSION This study showed comparable findings with other studies, except nystagmus, which was less observed in Jordanian and Iraqi patients.