Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
ICT in distribution networks with wind power generation to improve voltage profiles

Dispersed generation (DG) is today considered one of the most important openings for electric power systems in a liberalized energy market, able to join the increasing power demands and more and more pressing social and environmental constraints. In most cases, renewable power generation, such as wind power, solar power, or low head hydropower production, guarantees a low environmental impact and this fact is appealing to many people. However, no uniform demand of power by loads, of active power supplied and reactive power absorbed by wind power generators causes profile voltages and additional power losses. The paper investigates the possibility of adopting centralized control philosophies, based on information and communication technologies (ICT), to guarantee a greater efficiency, in terms of power losses and voltage profiles, in comparison with that assured by the existing local control techniques usually considered. In order to carry out steady state analysis, specific device models are introduced, an OPF simulator is implemented and tests on a real radial distribution network are run.
Dynamic Consistency Research on Change of Housing Price in Yangtze River Delta

This paper studies housing price in different districts(Shanghai,Jiangsu and Zhejiang) in Yangtze River Delta with monthly data and the result reveals that Shanghai not only elevates its housing price through accumulation effect,but also drives housing price in Zhejiang and Jiangsu up through overflowing effect.Jiangsu exerts the comparatively powerful influence on housing price in Shanghai and Zhejiang.And the three districts show strong consistent tendency of housing price through mutual influence.
TGF‐β‐induced repression of CBFA1 by Smad3 decreases cbfa1 and osteocalcin expression and inhibits osteoblast differentiation

Transforming growth factor‐β (TGF‐β), a secreted factor present at high levels in bone, inhibits osteoblast differentiation in culture; yet, the mechanism of this inhibition remains unclear. We studied the effects of TGF‐β and its effectors, the Smads, on the expression and function of the osteoblast transcription factor CBFA1. TGF‐β inhibited the expression of the cbfa1 and osteocalcin genes, whose expression is controlled by CBFA1 in osteoblast‐like cell lines. This inhibition was mediated by Smad3, which interacts physically with CBFA1 and represses its transcriptional activity at the CBFA1‐binding OSE2 promoter sequence. The repression of CBFA1 function by Smad3 contrasts with previous observations that Smads function as transcription activators. This repression occurred in mesenchymal but not epithelial cells, and depended on the promoter sequence. Smad3‐mediated repression of CBFA1 provides a central regulatory mechanism for the inhibition of osteoblast differentiation by TGF‐β, since it inhibits both cbfa1 transcription and transcriptional activation of osteoblast differentiation genes by CBFA1. Altering Smad3 signaling influenced osteoblast differentiation in the presence or absence of TGF‐β, implicating Smad3/TGF‐β‐mediated repression in autocrine regulation of osteoblast differentiation.
Vincristine treatment of cancer in children.

The alkaloid vincristine was administered intravenously once each week to 25 children with advanced cancer beginning with doses of 3 mg per estimated square meter of body surface. Objective tumor response of 1 to 5 mo duration was noted in 17 of 25 children in whom 9 of the 10 tumor types studied were represented. Complete remission was achieved in nine cases. There were six cases of acute lymphocytic leukemia, one of Hodgkin's disease, one of lymphosarcoma, and one of Wilms's tumor. Six other children experienced more than 50% tumor reduction and two children had 25% to 50% tumor reduction. Toxic manifestations included alopecia (17), absent patellar and Achilles tendon reflexes (14), leukopenia (12), vomiting (9), constipation (9), oral ulceration (3), hypertension (6), slapping gait (3), abducens paralysis (3), and visual defects (2).
Sequential Chemotherapies for Advanced Gastric Cancer: A Retrospective Analysis of 111 Patients

Background: The role of second-line chemotherapy in advanced gastric cancer is not yet fully established. Patients and Methods: We analysed 111 patients with advanced gastric cancer treated at the University Hospital Heidelberg (51) and the private oncology practice Bottrop/Dorsten (60) between 2001 and 2011, comparing the outcome of patients with first-line chemotherapy and those who received second-line chemotherapy. Results: Thirty-six patients were treated with one chemotherapy regimen, 75 patients received at least two different chemotherapies. Patients who received one chemotherapy regimen were older (median age 69 years) and had a shorter overall survival (6 months) than patients receiving sequential chemotherapies [median age 61 years, p = 0.009, overall survival 14 months (2-42), p = 0.001]. Under second-line chemotherapy, partial response was observed in 25 patients (33%) and stable disease for ≥3 months in 26 patients (35%). Patients treated before 2005 had a slightly better overall survival than patients treated in or after 2005. Survival was not influenced by the treatment centre (primary or tertiary), but was influenced by former surgery. Conclusion: The prognosis of advanced gastric cancer is still poor. Selected patients may benefit from individualized salvage chemotherapy after failure of first-line chemotherapy.
Efficacy and safety of the mosquitocidal drug ivermectin to prevent malaria transmission after treatment: a double-blind, randomized, clinical trial.

BACKGROUND Artemisinin combination therapy effectively clears asexual malaria parasites and immature gametocytes but does not prevent posttreatment malaria transmission. Ivermectin (IVM) may reduce malaria transmission by killing mosquitoes that take blood meals from IVM-treated humans. METHODS In this double-blind, placebo-controlled trial, 120 asymptomatic Plasmodium falciparum parasite carriers were randomized to receive artemether-lumefantrine (AL) plus placebo or AL plus a single or repeated dose (200 µg/kg) of ivermectin (AL-IVM1 and AL-IVM2, respectively). Mosquito membrane feeding was performed 1, 3, and 7 days after initiation of treatment to determine Anopheles gambiae and Anopheles funestus survival and infection rates. RESULTS The AL-IVM combination was well tolerated. IVM resulted in a 4- to 7-fold increased mortality in mosquitoes feeding 1 day after IVM (P < .001). Day 7 IVM plasma levels were positively associated with body mass index (r = 0.57, P < .001) and were higher in female participants (P = .003), for whom An. gambiae mosquito mortality was increased until 7 days after a single dose of IVM (hazard rate ratio, 1.34 [95% confidence interval, 1.07-1.69]; P = .012). Although we found no evidence that IVM reduced Plasmodium infection rates among surviving mosquitoes, the mosquitocidal effect of AL-IVM1 and AL-IVM2 resulted in 27% and 35% reductions, respectively, in estimated malaria transmission potential during the first week after initiation of treatment. CONCLUSIONS We conclude that IVM can be safely given in combination with AL and can reduce the likelihood of malaria transmission by reducing the life span of feeding mosquitoes. CLINICAL TRIALS REGISTRATION NCT0160325.
SDSS-IV MaNGA IFS GALAXY SURVEY—SURVEY DESIGN, EXECUTION, AND INITIAL DATA QUALITY

The MaNGA Survey (Mapping Nearby Galaxies at Apache Point Observatory) is one of three core programs in the Sloan Digital Sky Survey IV. It is obtaining integral field spectroscopy for 10,000 nearby galaxies at a spectral resolution of R ∼ 2000 from 3622 to 10354 Å. The design of the survey is driven by a set of science requirements on the precision of estimates of the following properties: star formation rate surface density, gas metallicity, stellar population age, metallicity, and abundance ratio, and their gradients; stellar and gas kinematics; and enclosed gravitational mass as a function of radius. We describe how these science requirements set the depth of the observations and dictate sample selection. The majority of targeted galaxies are selected to ensure uniform spatial coverage in units of effective radius (Re) while maximizing spatial resolution. About two-thirds of the sample is covered out to 1.5Re (Primary sample), and one-third of the sample is covered to 2.5Re (Secondary sample). We describe the survey execution with details that would be useful in the design of similar future surveys. We also present statistics on the achieved data quality, specifically the point-spread function, sampling uniformity, spectral resolution, sky subtraction, and flux calibration. For our Primary sample, the median r-band signal-to-noise ratio is ∼70 per 1.4 Å pixel for spectra stacked between 1Re and 1.5Re. Measurements of various galaxy properties from the first-year data show that we are meeting or exceeding the defined requirements for the majority of our science goals.
BIAN N-Heterocyclic Gold Carbene Complexes induced cytotoxicity in human cancer cells via upregulating oxidative stress.

BACKGROUND Nanoparticles of gold and silver are offering revolutionary changes in the field of cancer therapy. N-heterocyclic carbene (NHC) metal complexes possess diverse biological activities and are being investigated as potential chemotherapeutic agents. The purpose of this study was to examine the cytotoxicity and possible mechanisms of action of two types of newly synthesized nanofiber composites containing BIAN N-heterocyclic gold carbene complexes in two types of human cancer cells, namely breast cancer (MCF7) and liver cancer (HepG2) cells and also in normal human embryonic kidney cells (HEK 293). MATERIALS AND METHODS Cytotoxicity was assessed by MTT cell viability assay and oxidative stress by checking the total glutathione level. RESULTS Both compounds affected the cell survival of the tested cell lines at very low concentrations (IC50 values in the micro molar range) as compared to a well-known anti-cancer drug, 5 fluorouracil. A 60-80% depletion in total glutathione level was detected in treated cells. CONCLUSIONS Reduction in total glutathione level is one of the biochemical pathways for the induction of oxidative stress which in turn could be a possible mechanism of action by which these compounds induce cytotoxicity in cancer cell lines. The in vitro toxicity towards cancer cells found here means that these molecules could be potential anticancer candidates.
Boosting AthaMap Database Content with Data from Protein Binding Microarrays.

The AthaMap database generates a map of predicted transcription factor binding sites (TFBS) and small RNA target sites for the whole Arabidopsis thaliana genome. With the advent of protein binding microarrays (PBM), the number of known TFBS for A. thaliana transcription factors (TFs) has increased dramatically. Using 113 positional weight matrices (PWMs) generated from a single PBM study and representing a total number of 68 different TFs, the number of predicted TFBS in AthaMap was now increased by about 3.8 × 10(7) to 4.9 × 10(7). The number of TFs with PWM-predicted TFBS annotated in AthaMap has increased to 126, representing a total of 29 TF families and newly including ARF, AT-Hook, YABBY, LOB/AS2 and SRS. Furthermore, links from all Arabidopsis TFs and genes to the newly established Arabidopsis Information Portal (AIP) have been implemented. With this qualitative and quantitative update, the improved AthaMap increases its value as a resource for the analysis of A. thaliana gene expression regulation at www.athamap. de.
Interactions of nanoparticles with plasma proteins: implication on clearance and toxicity of drug delivery systems

Introduction: Intravenously injected nanoparticles, like any other foreign pathogen that enters the body, encounter multiple lines of defense intended to neutralize and eliminate the invading substance. Adsorption of plasma proteins on the nanoparticle surface is the first barrier of defense, which could lead to physical changes in the formulation, such as aggregation and charge neutralization, biochemical activation of defense cascades, and trigger elimination by multiple types of phagocytic cell. Areas covered: In this review, recent knowledge on the mechanisms that govern the interactions of nanoparticles (micelles, liposomes, polymeric and inorganic nanoparticles) with plasma proteins is discussed. In particular, the role of the nanoparticle surface properties and protective polymer coating in these interactions is described. The mechanisms of protein adsorption on different nanoparticles are analyzed and the implications on the clearance, toxicity and efficacy of drug delivery are discussed. The review provides readers with the biological insight into the plasma/blood interactions of nanoparticles. Expert opinion: The immune recognition of nanoparticles can seriously affect the drug delivery efficacy and toxicity. There is at present not enough knowledge on the mechanisms that dictate the nanoparticle immune recognition and stability in the biological milieu. Understanding the mechanisms of recognition will become an important part of nanoparticle design.
Increased risk of asthma attacks and emergency visits among asthma patients with allergic rhinitis: a subgroup analysis of the investigation of montelukast as a partner agent for complementary therapy [corrected].

BACKGROUND Inadequately controlled allergic rhinitis (AR) in asthmatic patients can contribute towards increased asthma exacerbations and poorer symptom control, which may increase medical resource use. We assessed asthma-related medical resource use and attacks in asthmatic patients who did and did not have concomitant AR and were adding montelukast or salmeterol to baseline treatment with inhaled fluticasone. METHODS A post hoc resource use analysis of a 52-week, double-blind multicentre clinical trial (Investigation of Montelukast as a Partner Agent for Complementary Therapy) [corrected] including 1490 adults with chronic asthma, aged 15-72 years, with FEV(1) 50-90% of predicted and > or =12% increase in FEV(1) after salbutamol administration, treated with either montelukast 10 mg daily or salmeterol 50 microg twice daily in addition to fluticasone 200 microg, was undertaken. Asthma-related medical resource use included medical visits (defined as either an unscheduled visit [to a general practitioner, a specialist or a non-medical provider] or a specialist visit), emergency room visits and hospitalizations during follow-up. Asthma attacks were defined as the worsening of asthma requiring unscheduled visit, emergency visit, hospitalization or oral/intravenous/intramuscular corticosteroids. RESULTS A self-reported history of concomitant AR was identified in 60% of the patients (n=893). Univariate analysis suggests that significantly more patients with concomitant AR experienced emergency room visits (3.6% vs. 1.7%, P=0.029) and asthma attacks (21.3% vs. 17.1%, P=0.046). Multivariate analysis adjusting for treatment group, age and baseline asthma severity confirmed these results since the presence of concomitant AR in patients with asthma increases the likelihood of emergency room visit (odds ratio (OR)=2.35, 95% confidence interval (CI)=1.12-4.80) and asthma attack (OR=1.35, 95% CI=1.03-1.77). Patients with asthma alone compared with patients with both conditions did not differ in terms of unscheduled or specialist visits and hospitalizations. CONCLUSIONS Presence of self-reported concomitant AR in patients with asthma resulted in a higher rate of asthma attacks and more emergency room visits compared with asthma patients without concomitant AR.
Correlation between the action research arm test and the box and block test of upper extremity function in stroke patients.

OBJECTIVE The objective of the present study was to determine the correlation between the scores of the Action Research Arm Test (ARAT) and the Box and Block Test (BBT), commonly used tests of upper extremity (UE)function. MATERIAL AND METHOD Forty first-time subacute stroke patients without severe cognitive, language, or motion impairment were administered the ARAT and BBT before and after participating in a 4-week rehabilitation program. Their scores were analyzed by Wilcoxon sign-rank testing and by Spearman's rank correlation, standardized response mean, and scatter-plot analysis. RESULTS The ARAT and the BBT scores have a high level of responsiveness to change and are highly correlated. The BBThas afloor effect compared with the ARAT while the ARAT has a small ceiling effect compared with the BBT CONCLUSION: The ARAT and the BBT scores have excellent concurrent validity and are highly responsive to change, indicating that the BBT can effectively assess UE function.
The associations among fundamental movement skills, self-reported physical activity and academic performance during junior high school in Finland

Abstract The purpose of this study was to analyse the longitudinal associations between (1) fundamental movement skills (FMSs) and academic performance, and (2) self-reported physical activity and academic performance through junior high school in Finland. The participants of the study were 325 Finnish students (162 girls and 163 boys), who were 13 years old at the beginning of the study at Grade 7. Students performed three FMS tests and responded to a self-reported physical activity questionnaire at Grades 7 and 8. Marks in Finnish language, mathematics and history from Grades 7, 8 and 9 were collected. Structural equation modelling with multigroup method demonstrated that in the boys’ group, a correlation (0.17) appeared between FMS and academic performance measured at Grade 7. The results also indicated that FMS collected at Grade 8 were significantly but weakly (path coefficient 0.14) associated with academic performance at Grade 9 for both gender groups. Finally, the results of this study demonstrated that self-reported physical activity was not significantly related to academic performance during junior high school. The findings of this study suggest that mastery of FMS may contribute to better student achievement during junior high school.
Decentralized Beamforming for Location-Aware SWIPT in Coordinated Multi-Cell Networks

This paper focuses on the simultaneous wireless information and power transfer (SWIPT) in coordinated multi-cell networks. In particular, the considered system has a location-aware feature, i.e., the conventional coordinated multi-point (CoMP) information transmission is available to the cell-edge users; meanwhile, the emerging wireless power transmission is available to the cell-center users. Subject to the SINR constraints for information decoding at edge CoMP users and the received power constraints for energy storage at center users, our objective is to minimize the total transmit power of all coordinated beamformers. Although the celebrated semi-definite relaxation (SDR) technique can be applied to obtain a centralized optimal solution, we prefer to decompose the original problem and derive a decentralized closed-form solution to decrease the cost of inter- cell cooperation. With this low-complexity solution, some important insights are further presented on the benefit of the location-aware SWIPT setup and the potential user scheduling mechanism. Simulation results validate our derivation and show that the decentralized solution can asymptotically approach the centralized optimal solution.
Low‐affinity spermine block mediating outward currents through Kir2.1 and Kir2.2 inward rectifier potassium channels

The outward component of the strong inward rectifier K+ current (IKir) plays a pivotal role in polarizing the membranes of excitable and non‐excitable cells and is regulated by voltage‐dependent channel block by internal cations. Using the Kir2.1 channel, we previously showed that a small fraction of the conductance susceptible only to a low‐affinity mode of block likely carries a large portion of the outward current. To further examine the relevance of the low‐affinity block to outward IKir and to explore its molecular mechanism, we studied the block of the Kir2.1 and Kir2.2 channels by spermine, which is the principal Kir2 channel blocker. Current–voltage relations of outward Kir2.2 currents showed a peak, a plateau and two peaks in the presence of 10, 1 and 0.1 μm spermine, respectively, which was explained by the presence of two conductances that differ in their susceptibility to spermine block. When the current–voltage relations showed one peak, like those of native IKir, outward Kir2.2 currents were mediated mostly by the conductance susceptible to the low‐affinity block. They also flowed in a narrower range than the corresponding Kir2.1 currents, because of 3‐ to 4‐fold greater susceptibility to the low‐affinity block than in Kir2.1. Reducing external [K+] shifted the voltage dependences of both the high‐ and low‐affinity block of Kir2.1 in parallel with the shift in the reversal potential, confirming the importance of the low‐affinity block in mediating outward IKir. When Kir2.1 mutants known to have reduced sensitivity to internal blockers were examined, the D172N mutation in the transmembrane pore region made almost all of the conductance susceptible only to low‐affinity block, while the E224G mutation in the cytoplasmic pore region reduced the sensitivity to low‐affinity block without markedly altering that to the high‐affinity block or the high/low conductance ratio. The effects of these mutations support the hypothesis that Kir2 channels exist in two states having different susceptibilities to internal cationic blockers.
Pulmonary , gastrointestinal and urogenital pharmacology Stimulation of large-conductance calcium-activated potassium channels inhibits neurogenic contraction of human bladder from patients with urinary symptoms and reverses acetic acid-induced bladder hyperactivity in rats

We have analysed the effects of large-conductance calcium-activated potassium channel (BK) stimulation on neurogenic and myogenic contraction of human bladder from healthy subjects and patients with urinary symptoms and evaluated the efficacy of activating BK to relief bladder hyperactivity in rats. Bladder specimens were obtained from organ donors and from men with benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH). Contractions elicited by electrical field stimulation (EFS) and carbachol (CCh) were evaluated in isolated bladder strips. in vivo cystometric recordings were obtained in anesthetized rats under control and acetic acid-induced hyperactive conditions. Neurogenic contractions of human bladder were potentiated by blockade of BK and small-conductance calcium-activated potassium channels (SK) but were unaffected by the blockade of intermediate calcium-activated potassium channels (IK). EFS-induced contractions were inhibited by BK stimulation with NS-8 or NS1619 or by SK/IK stimulation with NS309 (3 mM). CCh-induced contractions were not modified by blockade or stimulation of BK, IK or SK. The anti-cholinergic agent, oxybutynin (0.3 mM) inhibited either neurogenic or CCh-induced contractions. Neurogenic contractions of bladders from BPH patients were less sensitive to BK inhibition and more sensitive to BK activation than healthy bladders. The BK activator, NS-8 (5 mg/kg; i.v.), reversed bladder hyperactivity induced by acetic acid in rats, while oxybutynin was ineffective. NS-8 did not significantly impact blood pressure or heart rate. BK stimulation specifically inhibits neurogenic contractions in patients with urinary symptoms and relieves bladder hyperactivity in vivo without compromising bladder contractile capacity or cardiovascular safety, supporting its potential therapeutic use for relieving bladder overactivity. & 2014 Published by Elsevier B.V.