Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Estimating the recreational value of freshwater inflows into the Klein and Kwelera estuaries: An application of the zonal travel cost method.

This study estimates the change in aggregate consumer surplus associated with increased freshwater supply into two South African estuaries, namely, the Klein and the Kwelera. The estimation entailed the application of a contingent behaviour, single-site Clawson-Knetsch travel cost model. The value estimates derived reflect the benefit of improved freshwater supplies into the estuaries in question over the status quo. In a survey, a questionnaire was administered face-to-face to 240 households at the Klein Estuary and 231 households at the Kwelera Estuary during the period between December 2005 and April 2006. It was deduced that in 2006 the marginal recreational value of freshwater inflow into the Klein Estuary was 5.7 cents/m3 (ZAR0.057/m3) and into the Kwelera Estuary 1.1 cents/m3 (ZAR0.011/m3). Keywords : estuary, water abstraction, revealed preference, single-site, travel cost method, freshwater inflows
High‐resolution slice‐selective Fourier velocity encoding in congenital heart disease using spiral SENSE with velocity unwrap

Quantification of peak velocity is important in the assessment of stenotic flow jets in patients with congenital heart disease. Phase‐contrast magnetic resonance underestimates peak velocities. Hence, clinically Doppler ultrasound is used as the reference standard for assessing stenoses. It is possible to accurately measure peak velocity in MR using Fourier velocity encoding (FVE). In this study, a fast, high‐resolution slice‐selective FVE sequence was developed with the use of spiral trajectories, parallel imaging, and partial Fourier in the velocity dimension and a novel velocity‐unwrap technique. The resulting sequence was acquired within a short breath‐hold (more than 15 heartbeats) making this FVE technique clinically achievable. Peak velocities were compared from Doppler ultrasound, phase‐contrast magnetic resonance, and FVE. Experiments were carried out in vitro and in vivo in 25 patients with congenital heart disease with stenoses. It was shown that in vitro and in vivo phase‐contrast magnetic resonance tended to underestimate peak velocity when compared with Doppler ultrasound, whereas FVE agreed well with Doppler ultrasound. Magn Reson Med, 2012. © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
Novel Mutations Responsible for α-Thalassemia in Iranian Families

α-Thalassemia (α-thal) is usually caused by deletions on the α-globin gene cluster and the role of point mutations is less well investigated. In the present study, a total of 1048 individuals with hypochromic microcytic anemia, who did not present the most common α-thal deletions, were referred for α-globin gene DNA sequencing. The nucleotide changes were studied and a total of five new mutations was identified, of which three were located on the α2 gene [codon7 (Lys→Stop), codon 34 (Leu→Pro) and codon 83 (Leu→Arg)] and two on the α1 gene [IVS-I-116 (A>G) and codon 44 (+C)]. These novel mutations not only explain new findings by molecular analysis of the α-globin gene but also have clinical importance due to their changes in α-globin production in means of decreased hemoglobin (Hb) related values. Moreover, considerations of its role in combination with other mutations, and the possibility of causing Hb H (β4) are yet to be studied.
Protection against Heat Stress-Induced Oxidative Damage in Arabidopsis Involves Calcium, Abscisic Acid, Ethylene, and Salicylic Acid

Plants, in common with all organisms, have evolved mechanisms to cope with the problems caused by high temperatures. We examined specifically the involvement of calcium, abscisic acid (ABA), ethylene, and salicylic acid (SA) in the protection against heat-induced oxidative damage in Arabidopsis. Heat caused increased thiobarbituric acid reactive substance levels (an indicator of oxidative damage to membranes) and reduced survival. Both effects required light and were reduced in plants that had acquired thermotolerance through a mild heat pretreatment. Calcium channel blockers and calmodulin inhibitors increased these effects of heating and added calcium reversed them, implying that protection against heat-induced oxidative damage in Arabidopsis requires calcium and calmodulin. Similar to calcium, SA, 1-aminocyclopropane-1-carboxylic acid (a precursor to ethylene), and ABA added to plants protected them from heat-induced oxidative damage. In addition, the ethylene-insensitive mutant etr-1, the ABA-insensitive mutant abi-1, and a transgenic line expressingnahG (consequently inhibited in SA production) showed increased susceptibility to heat. These data suggest that protection against heat-induced oxidative damage in Arabidopsis also involves ethylene, ABA, and SA. Real time measurements of cytosolic calcium levels during heating in Arabidopsis detected no increases in response to heat per se, but showed transient elevations in response to recovery from heating. The magnitude of these calcium peaks was greater in thermotolerant plants, implying that these calcium signals might play a role in mediating the effects of acquired thermotolerance. Calcium channel blockers and calmodulin inhibitors added solely during the recovery phase suggest that this role for calcium is in protecting against oxidative damage specifically during/after recovery.
Clinical characteristics and therapeutic options in hypnic headache

Background: Hypnic headache (HH) is a rare primary headache disorder that is characterized by exclusively sleep-related headache attacks. Because of its low prevalence, clinical features and therapeutic options are widely unknown or under discussion. Methods: Twenty patients with HH were examined and interviewed using a standardized questionnaire in regard to their clinical characteristics and effective treatment regimens. Data were evaluated according to current International Headache Society (IHS) diagnostic criteria. Individual treatment history and effective treatment options were compared with expected efficacy based on current literature. Results: In conflict to current IHS criteria, 15% of patients reported trigemino-autonomic symptoms. All patients showed distinct motor behavior during their headache attacks. In acute pain attacks caffeine was most effective. Lithium, topiramate, melatonin, amitriptyline and indomethacin were sometimes useful prophylactic treatment options but were often associated with side effects. Conclusions: Our results underline the need for modification of the IHS diagnostic criteria of HH to better reflect the actual clinical characteristics of this headache. Caffeine should be considered as first-line acute therapy. Prophylactic medical treatment should be carefully evaluated in regard to side effects in this aged patient population, as this seems to be a major concern of patients apart from pure pain reduction.
Privacy-Preserving Naive Bayesian Classification

Abstract : Privacy is an important issue in data mining and knowledge discovery. In this paper, we propose to use the randomized response techniques to conduct the data mining computation. Specifically, we present a method to build naive Bayesian classifiers from the disguised data. We conduct experiments to compare the accuracy of our classifier with the one built from the original undisguised data. Our results show that although the data are disguised, our method can still achieve fairly high accuracy.
Evaluation of a new dynamic viscometer for measuring the viscosity of whole blood and plasma.

We evaluated a new type of dynamic viscometer, the Sonoclot Coagulation Analyzer, for use in measuring the viscosity of whole-blood and plasma. Such information can be useful in monitoring patients with hyperviscosity syndromes, e.g., from multiple myeloma. A vibrating Teflon or plastic probe continuously measures dynamic viscosity. The instrument can be calibrated to measure a range of viscosities from 0.69 to 23 cP (mN X s X m-2) or more. The coefficient of variation at 0.69 cP was 3-4% for measurements with the Teflon probe, 7-9% with the plastic probe. Viscosity measured at 37 degrees C for plasma and whole-blood samples from 20 normal patients was 1.22 (SD 0.05) cP and 3.63 (SD 0.52) cP, respectively. Dynamic viscosity measured in blood samples from a single source, with contrived hematocrits ranging from 0 to 89%, increased exponentially as a function of hematocrit, confirming previous studies. Overall, we found this instrument simple and quick to operate, producing accurate, precise viscosity measurements over at least a 40-fold range of viscosity.
A cross-layer design for a software-defined millimeter-wave mobile broadband system

Heterogeneous networks, which deploy small cells in the mmWave band underlying the macrocell network, have attracted intense interest from both academia and industry. Different from the communication systems using lower carrier frequencies, mmWave communications have unique features, such as high propagation loss, directional communications, and sensitivity to blockage. Aiming to overcome the challenging problems in mmWave networks, such as interference management, spatial reuse, anti-blockage, QoS guarantee, and load balancing, we architecturally borrow the ideas of heterogeneous cloud radio access networks and software-defined networking to propose a software-defined mmWave mobile broadband system via a cross-layer design approach. In this architecture, a centralized controller is introduced by abstracting the control functions from the network layer to the physical layer. Through quantitative simulations in a realistic indoor scenario, we demonstrate the performance advantages of our system in terms of network throughput and flow throughput. This work is the first cross-layer and software-defined design for mmWave communications, which opens up an opportunity for mmWave communications to make a significant impact on future 5G networks.
Towards a practical maintainability quality model for service-and microservice-based systems

Although current literature mentions a lot of different metrics related to the maintainability of Service-based Systems (SBSs), there is no comprehensive quality model (QM) with automatic evaluation and practical focus. To fill this gap, we propose a Maintainability Model for Services (MM4S), a layered maintainability QM consisting of Service Properties (SPs) related with automatically collectable Service Metrics (SMs). This research artifact created within an ongoing Design Science Research (DSR) project is the first version ready for detailed evaluation and critical feedback. The goal of MM4S is to serve as a simple and practical tool for basic maintainability estimation and control in the context of SBSs and their specialization Microservice-based Systems (μSBSs).
EVALUACIÓN DE LA POTENCIALIDAD DE LOS PASTOS COMUNALES DEL MACIZO DE GORBEA EN BIZKAIA

El objetivo del presente trabajo es el estudio de la estructura y produccion de los pastos comunales de montana de la zona del Macizo del Gorbea (Bizkaia) durante los anos 1994 y 95. El estudio se realizo en 4 areas piloto: Altunoste y Arkaola como pastizales implantados en altitud baja (650 msm) y Algorta y Usotegieta como pastizales de vegetacion tipicamente montana, de mayor altitud (800-1.285 msm). Se determino la frecuencia de las especies presentes estimada visualmente por la cobertura, y se relacionaron las especies mas abundantes con determinados factores edaficos mediante el metodo de los perfiles ecologicos. Para el control de la produccion de los pastos se colocaron jaulas con exclusion del pastoreo. Se analizaran muestras de suelo recogidas para conocer el estado de fertilidad del pastizal. Los resultados obtenidos mostraron diferencias entre los dos grupos establecidos. El pH fue la caracteristica del suelo mas importante para el mantenimiento de las especies sembradas, y en las areas de vegetacion espontanea el gradiente de fertilidad es el que mejor explica la abundancia de las especies montanas mas importantes. Los pastizales implantados dieron una produccion media de 5.900 kg MS/ha/ano que duplico a la de las areas de vegetacion espontanea (2.400 kg MS/ha/ano)
Endoscopic Submucosal Tunnel Dissection for Upper Gastrointestinal Submucosal Tumors Originating from the Muscularis Propria Layer: A Single-Center Study

Background/Aims In recent years, endoscopic submucosal tunnel dissection (ESTD) has gained popularity worldwide. The aim of this study was to evaluate the safety and efficacy of ESTD in treating upper gastrointestinal submucosal tumors (SMTs) in a large-volume endoscopic center. Methods Patients with SMTs were enrolled in this study between January 2012 and January 2015. Demographic data, clinical data, and treatment outcome were collected and analyzed. Results Seventy SMTs originating from the muscularis propria (MP) layer were identified in 69 patients. All patients successfully underwent the ESTD procedure. The mean procedure time was 49.0±29.5 minutes, and the mean tumor size was 18.7±7.2 mm. Among all lesions, the majority (70.0%) were located in the esophagus, 12.9% in the cardia, and 17.1% in the stomach. Complete resection was achieved in 67 lesions (95.7%). Perforation occurred in three patients (4.3%), who were treated by endoclips. Pneumothorax occurred in two patients (2.9%) and was successfully managed by thoracic drainage. During a median follow-up of 18.1 months, patients were free of local recurrence or distant metastasis. Conclusions Our results demonstrated the feasibility and safety of ESTD in treating upper gastrointestinal SMTs originating from the MP layer. Large-scale comparative studies with other treatment methods should be conducted in the future.
IL-21 in cancer immunotherapy

Interleukin-21 (IL-21) has been described as a potent stimulator of antitumor T-cell immunity, but also of autoimmune reactions and oncogenesis. Antigen presenting cells genetically modified to release IL-21 allow for the expansion of tumor-specific T cells exhibiting favorable effector and growth characteristics and a minimal risk of detrimental side effects.
Quarterly intrinsic disorder digest (April–May–June, 2014)

ABSTRACT This is the 6th issue of the Digested Disorder series that continues to use only 2 criteria for inclusion of a paper to this digest: The publication date (a paper should be published within the covered time frame) and the topic (a paper should be dedicated to any aspect of protein intrinsic disorder). The current digest issue covers papers published during the second quarter of 2014; i.e., during the period of April, May, and June of 2014. Similar to previous issues, the papers are grouped hierarchically by topics they cover, and for each of the included papers a short description is given on its major findings.
Development of a Sendai virus vector-based AIDS vaccine inducing T cell responses

Virus-specific CD8+ T-cell responses play a major role in the control of HIV replication, and induction of HIV-specific T-cell responses is an important strategy for AIDS vaccine development. Optimization of the delivery system and immunogen would be the key for the development of an effective T cell-based AIDS vaccine. Heterologous prime-boost vaccine regimens using multiple viral vectors are a promising protocol for efficient induction of HIV-specific T-cell responses, and the development of a variety of potent viral vectors have been attempted. This review describes the current progress of the development of T cell-based AIDS vaccines using viral vectors, focusing on Sendai virus vectors, whose phase I clinical trials have been performed.
Analysis of parameters affecting impact force attenuation during landing in human vertical free fall.

The characteristics of impact forces on the legs during vertical landing of human vertical free fall in different falling conditions were studied to reveal the parameters which take part in the attenuation of these impact forces. The following parameters were investigated: body position during landing, range of flexion of the joints of the legs at impact, usage of ground-roll immediately after impact and softness of the ground.The results indicate that joint movements and muscle action play a major role in reducing peak forces during landing. This emphasizes the importance of adequate training to improve the pre-programmed non-reflex muscle action, necessary in the early phase of impact.
Structure and activity of ChiX: a peptidoglycan hydrolase required for chitinase secretion by Serratia marcescens

The Gram-negative bacterium Serratia marcescens secretes many proteins that are involved in extracellular chitin degradation. This so-called chitinolytic machinery includes three types of chitinase enzymes and a lytic polysaccharide monooxygenase. An operon has been identified in S. marcescens, chiWXYZ, that is thought to be involved in the secretion of the chitinolytic machinery. Genetic evidence points to the ChiX protein being a key player in the secretion mechanism, since deletion of the chiX gene in S. marcescens led to a mutant strain blocked for secretion of all members of the chitinolytic machinery. In this work, a detailed structural and biochemical characterisation of ChiX is presented. The high-resolution crystal structure of ChiX reveals the protein to be a member of the LAS family of peptidases. ChiX is shown to be a zinc-containing metalloenzyme, and in vitro assays demonstrate that ChiX is an l-Ala d-Glu endopeptidase that cleaves the cross-links in bacterial peptidoglycan. This catalytic activity is shown to be intimately linked with the secretion of the chitinolytic machinery, since substitution of the ChiX Asp-120 residue results in a variant protein that is both unable to digest peptidoglycan and cannot rescue the phenoytype of a chiX mutant strain.
Physician-Patient Concordance in Pharmacological Management of Patients with COPD

Abstract A retrospective analysis of a cross-sectional, multicenter survey was conducted in United States (US) medical practices to evaluate the concordance between patients with COPD and their physicians on disease-specific characteristics. Associations between patient and disease-related characteristics with monotherapy, dual therapy, or triple therapy prescribed as COPD maintenance regimens were also examined. Eligible physicians completed patient record forms (PRFs) for up to 6 consecutive patients with COPD. Patients for whom a PRF was completed were invited to complete a patient self-completion (PSC) survey consisting of questions similar to those on the PRF, as well as several validated measures to assess the impact of COPD on patients’ lives. A total of 469 patients completed a PSC that was matched with the PRF completed by their physician, forming the sample for the concordance analysis. Moderate agreement (kappa (κ) = 0.41–0.60) was observed for 79% of measures, with the lowest concordance rating corresponding to hemoptysis (κ = 0.22). There were few differences in demographic or clinical characteristics between patients prescribed monotherapy and dual therapy. Triple therapy rather than monotherapy or dual therapy was more often prescribed for patients with greater frequency of symptoms, negative impact of COPD on daily life and interpersonal relationships, and respiratory impairment based on the most recent FEV1. Diverse factors influence US physicians’ perceptions of disease and treatment choices, including patient symptoms, quality of life, and disease impact. Our results highlight that concordance between physicians and patients regarding symptoms and physical function may contribute to optimal management of COPD.
Strain relaxation in germanium-on-insulator fabricated by a modified germanium condensation

Germanium-on-insulator (GeOI) is a promising platform for silicon-based photonics as well as microelectronics. In this work a modified Ge-condensation technique in which Ge ions were implanted into a top silicon layer was proposed. Through a cyclic dry oxidation and annealing steps, ∼20 nm thick, single crystalline Ge layer could be obtained. X-ray diffraction and Raman scattering analyses also confirmed that the layer was fully-relaxed, which is desirable for the integration of Ge, GaAs, and strained silicon on the GeOI.
Significant solubility of carbon dioxide in Soluplus® facilitates impregnation of ibuprofen using supercritical fluid technology

Abstract Treatment of Soluplus® with supercritical carbon dioxide allows promising applications in preparing dispersions of amorphous solids. Several characterization techniques were employed to reveal this effect, including CO2 gas sorption under high pressure and physicochemical characterizations techniques. A gravimetric method was used to determine the solubility of carbon dioxide in the polymer at elevated pressure. The following physicochemical characterizations were used: thermal analysis, X-ray diffraction, Fourier transform, infrared spectroscopy and scanning electron microscopy. Drug loading of the polymer with ibuprofen as a model drug was also investigated. The proposed treatment with supercritical carbon dioxide allows to prepare solid solutions of Soluplus® in less than two hours at temperatures that do not exceed 45 °C, which is a great advantage to be used for thermolabile drugs. The advantages of using this technology for Soluplus® formulations lies behind the high sorption capability of carbon dioxide inside the polymer. This will ensure rapid diffusion of the dissolved/dispersed drug inside the polymer under process conditions and rapid precipitation of the drug in the amorphous form during depressurization accompanied by foaming of the polymer.
Louvain Clustering for Big Data Graph Visual Analytics

Challenges with using graphs to visualize extremely large entity-relationship datasets include visibility, usability and high degree nodes. Visual aggregation techniques, tools and easily tailorable components are needed that will support answering analytical questions with data description, characterization and interaction without loss of information. We present two case studies of prototype implementations of JavaScript browser-based visualization tools leveraging the Louvain clustering algorithm. Two “big data” datasets were used to test aggregation of large networks to reveal communities and answer analytical questions.