Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
[Duration of tetanus immunity in relation to the number of doses of vaccine].

A study of the duration of the immunity to tetanus, by means of the passive haemagglutination test, was undertaken in three groups of subjects immunized with two (primary immunization), three (basic immunization) and four (basic immunization with booster) does of DT. All the subjects of the first group, who had gone 9 months since their last dose, possessed antitoxin titers greater than or equal to 0.01 I.U. /ml. Among the subjects of the second group within 12 months of the basic immunization course none had less than 0.01 I.U. /ml, within 13-48 months 3% had less than 0.01 I.U. /ml, within 49-72 months 9.7% had less than 0.01 I.U. /ml and after 73 months 26.5% had less than 0.01 I.U. /ml. No dependence on age at time of vaccination could be demonstrated. In the third group of subjects within 48 months of the immunization course with four doses none had less than 0.01 I.U. /ml, after 48 months 11.1% had less than 0.01 I.U. /ml. Interpolation of the data with the use of linear regression (y = a + bx), which better-fits in comparison with polynomial model (y = a + b1x + b2x2.+ bnxn) until the quartic term, pointed out the possibility that titer falls below the "alert level" (0.1 I.U./ml) and the protective threshold (0.01 I.U./ml): after 22 and 34 months for subjects of the first group; after 110 and 180 months for subjects of the second group and after 164 and 269 months for subjects of the third group. However, the presence of "poor" or "not responders" in the second group is not negligible and justifies the necessity that the first booster dose be given at five-year intervals.
Molecular cloning, characterization, and regulation of a Pseudomonas pickettii PKO1 gene encoding phenol hydroxylase and expression of the gene in Pseudomonas aeruginosa PAO1c

A 26-kilobase BamHI restriction endonuclease DNA fragment was cloned from Pseudomonas pickettii PKO1, a strain isolated from a soil microcosm that had been amended with benzene, toluene, and xylene. This DNA fragment, cloned into vector plasmid pRO1727 and designated pRO1957, allowed Pseudomonas aeruginosa PAO1c to grow on phenol as the sole source of carbon. Physical and functional restriction endonuclease maps have been derived for the cloned DNA fragment. Two DNA fragments carried in trans and derived from subclones of pRO1957 show phenol hydroxylase activity in cell extracts of P. aeruginosa. Deletion and subcloning analyses of these fragments indicated that the gene encoding phenol hydroxylase is positively regulated. Phenol and m-cresol were shown to be inducers of the enzyme. o-Cresol and p-cresol did not induce enzymatic activity but could be metabolized by cells that had been previously exposed to phenol or m-cresol; moreover, the enzyme exhibited a rather broad substrate specificity and was sensitive to thiol-inhibiting reagents. A novel polypeptide with an estimated molecular mass of 80,000 daltons was detected in extracts of phenol-induced cells of P. aeruginosa carrying plasmid pRO1959.
Automated Technology Based Behavioural Intervention to Promote Exercise Adherence: A Pilot Study to Ascertain Efficacy

Exercise has been shown to be an effective treatment for a range of physical and mental health problems. Development of automated exercise therapy options will result in greater accessibility of treatment for those who would be otherwise unable to access it. The purpose of this study was to design and evaluate an automated technology based behavioural intervention for the purpose of increasing the participant’s physical exercise adherence. The study was run as a non-concurrent multiple baseline across participants design over a 12 week period. Nine participants (2 male, 7 female) aged 18 to 34 (M = 23.11) took part in the study. They completed a baseline phase of three to six weeks during which exercise data were recorded. The intervention phase lasted seven to eight weeks, during which an intervention was delivered via email and online survey in an attempt to increase physical exercise, and promote long term exercise adherence. Effectiveness of the intervention was evaluated using measures of duration and intensity of exercise activity, and an 18 item Exercise Self-Efficacy Scale. For most participants there was a significant increase in exercise activity and exercise self-efficacy score as a result of the intervention. Component analysis of the intervention provided information as to which aspects were effective, and which may need to be modified for subsequent iterations. These results show that an automated technology based behavioural intervention can increase exercise behaviour in such a way that promotes long term adherence. Future studies could focus on using a smartphone app as the delivery method for similar interventions as this would allow for additional features to be added, and more effective delivery of the aspects of the intervention that have been shown to work.
Short stature in Saudi Arabia: etiologic profile in adult endocrine clinic.

BACKGROUND To determine causes of short stature (SS) in adult endocrine service at a Saudi Arabian tertiary center. METHODS A retrospective analysis was made of data from 104 subjects who were primarily evaluated for causes of SS in the endocrinology unit of King Khalid University Hospital Riyadh from January 1 997 to December 2006. RESULTS Growth hormone deficiency (GHD) and normal variant short stature (NVSS) were the leading causes of SS contributing 90 subjects (86%; 43% for each), followed by celiac disease in 4 subjects (4%). Other etiologies of short stature included primary hypothyroidism, diabetes mellitus, and Turner's syndrome (2% each). CONCLUSION We conclude that GHD and NVSS are the commonest causes of SS in Saudi Arabia. In view of the need to differentiate the two major etiologies, it is suggested that growth hormone stimulatory tests be conducted on all patients with SS associated with delayed bone age. Further prospective study in a larger population is needed to characterize this finding.
System Identification of Partial Differential Equations

Over the past several decades machine learning and artificial intelligence has made great strides in learning patterns from large amounts of data. Although accurate, these systems are often uninterpretable by the human researchers who create them. They do not report an explanation for their predictions nor do they generalize well when the task is changed slightly. Recently, however, strides have been made to create AI systems that, rather than just looking for trends, look for causal explanations of observed data (Bridewell, 2008, Brunton, 2016). If an AI system can correctly determine a simple underlying model for a system then it has the capability of providing an explanatory account of the data as well as the ability to generalize well in predicting behavior under a wider variety of situations. This can help researchers more quickly discover models that explain experimental data. The goal of this project is to implement a system identifier for the discovery of physical processes in terms understandable by a human researcher (i.e. stated as partial differential equations (PDEs)). The system should work with multi-dimensional data, be robust to noise, and require small amounts of data to operate. This paper is outlined as follows: The next section discusses the approach to system identification that will be used, including how features are generated and selected from observed data. The following section describes two test systems from which synthetic noisy data is obtained to demonstrate the system identifier. The last two sections report the results of the system identifier and a discussion of how it can be improved.
Delayed-Start Analyses in the Phase 3 Solanezumab EXPEDITION3 Study in Mild Alzheimer’s Disease

ObjectiveA delayed-start design has been proposed to assess a potential disease-modifying effect in investigational drugs for Alzheimer’s disease that target the underlying disease process. We extended this methodology to recently obtained data from the EXPEDITION3.MethodsEXPEDITION3 was a Phase 3, double-blind study with participants randomized to solanezumab (400 mg) or placebo every 4 weeks for 80 weeks, with an optional extension of active treatment. The delayed-start analysis was designed to determine if a statistically significant treatment difference established during the placebo-controlled period is maintained (at predefined level) during the delayed-start period, which would suggest the active drug has a disease-modifying effect. The delayed-start analysis was assessed across multiple efficacy measures, and includes data from baseline in the placebo-controlled period and up to 9 months in the delayed-start period.ResultsNo significant difference was observed between the placebo and solanezumab treatment groups at the end of the placebo-controlled period for the Alzheimer’s Disease Assessment Scale-Cognitive 14-item subscale. A significant treatment difference was observed at the end of the placebo-controlled period for the Alzheimer’s Disease Cooperative Study-Activities of Daily Living instrumental items, an effect also seen at 6 months in the delayed-start period, and the noninferiority criterion was met. No other efficacy measures met these criteria.ConclusionsDelayed-start statistical methodology was used to understand the longitudinal outcomes in EXPEDITION3 and its extension. The small treatment differences observed at the end of the placebo-controlled phase prevented adequate assessment of any putative disease modifying effect.
Oxygen free radicals and pulmonary disease

* Study carried out in the Laboratório de Investigação Médica LIM-54 (Laboratory of Medical Investigation) at the University of São Paulo Faculdade de Medicina (School of Medicine), São Paulo, SP. Financial Support FAPESP Correspondence to: Dahir Ramos de Andrade Júnior, Av. Paes de Barros 701, ap. 101, Moóca, CEP 03115-020, São Paulo, SP. Phone: 55-11 3066 7029. E-mail: dahira@uol.com. br Submitted: 30 May 2004. Accepted, after review: 18 August 2004. Oxygen free radicals are molecules that present unpaired electrons in their outer orbit and can transform other molecules such as proteins, carbohydrates, lipids and deoxyribonucleic acid. Oxygen free radicals are produced in various clinical conditions in which hypoxic microenvironments are generated and reoxygenation follows. Such situations include clinical shock, septicemia, systemic inflammatory response, fulminant hepatitis, organ transplant and respiratory failure. In this review, we discuss the main concepts related to oxygen free radicals: the principal types and their formation, as well as the way in which they affect cellular structures and cause significant tissue damage. We present also the main antioxidants that guard against oxidative stress, including glutathione, glutathione peroxidase, superoxide dismutase, catalase, and N-acetylcysteine. The influence of oxygen free radicals on the principal pulmonary diseases are also discussed, with special emphasis given to oxygen free radicals in cigarette smoke, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, asthma, sleep apnea syndrome and acute respiratory distress syndrome.
Cholinergic ion secretion in human colon requires coactivation by cAMP.

Cl- secretion in the colon can be activated by an increase of either intracellular Ca2+ or cAMP. In this study we examined a possible interdependence of the two second-messenger pathways in human colonic epithelium. When measured in a modified Ussing chamber, carbachol (CCH; 100 micromol/l, basolateral), via an increase in cytosolic Ca2+ concentration ([Ca2+]i), activated a transient lumen-negative equivalent short-circuit current (Isc) [change (Delta) in Isc = -79.4 +/- 7.5 microA/cm2]. Previous studies indicated that intracellular Ca2+ directly acts on basolateral K+ channels, thus enhancing driving force for luminal Cl- exit. Increased intracellular cAMP (by basolateral addition of 100 micromol/l IBMX and 1 micromol/l forskolin) activated a sustained lumen-negative current (DeltaIsc = -42.4 +/- 7.2 microA/cm2) that was inhibited by basolateral trans-6-cyano-4-(N-ethylsulfonyl-N-methylamino)-3-hydroxy-2, 2-dimethyl&2-chromane (10 micromol/l), a blocker of KvLQT1 channels. In the presence of elevated cAMP, the CCH-activated currents were augmented (DeltaIsc = 167.7 +/- 32.7 microA/cm2), suggesting cooperativity of the Ca2+- and cAMP-mediated responses. Inhibition of endogenous cAMP production by indomethacin (10 micromol/l) significantly reduced CCH-activated currents and even reversed the polarity in 70% of the experiments. The transient lumen-positive Isc was probably due to activation of apical K+ channels because it was blocked by luminal Ba2+ (5 mmol/l) and tetraethylammonium (10 mmol/l). In the presence of indomethacin (10 micromol/l, basolateral), an increase of cAMP activated a sustained negative Isc. Under these conditions, CCH induced a large further increase in lumen-negative Isc (DeltaIsc = -100.0 +/- 21.0 microA/cm2). We conclude that CCH acting via [Ca2+]i can induce Cl- secretion only in the presence of cAMP, i.e., when luminal Cl- channels are already activated. The activation of a luminal and basolateral K+ conductance by CCH may be essential for transepithelial KCl secretion in human colon.
BUSINESS PROCESS REENGINEERING AND ERP SYSTEMS BENEFITS

BPR has long been widely recognized as a required precedent step as well as a critical successful factor for the implementation of ERP systems. This research first assumed that there exists a cause and effect relationship between BPR processes and ERP benefits. The benefits brought by the quality of implementing BPR will drive major cost savings and operational efficiencies and increase the speed and quality of production. For evaluating the quality of implementing BPR, the generic BPR assessment framework originally developed by the Accounting and Information Management Division of US government was adopted. The adopted framework includes the following three dimensions: (1) the organization’s decision to pursue reengineering, (2) the situation of new process development, (3) project implementation and results. On the other hand, companies implemented ERP systems were expected to benefit from the system. Therefore, benefits come from ERP implementation are classified into five dimensions: operational, managerial, strategic, IT infrastructure, and organizational benefits. The sampled organizations are top 1000 manufacturers in Taiwan. The result revealed that the implementation and results of BPR is the most important success factor for generating ERP benefits. The detailed execution of BPR processed such as following up a comprehensive implementation plan, and measuring performance at implementing stage contribute the most ERP benefits. This research could be used as a guidance for the future direction for integrating BPR activities into an ERP system at the strategic level.
Distance Range Queries in SpatialHadoop

Efficient processing of Distance Range Queries (DRQs) is of great importance in spatial databases due to the wide area of applications. This type of spatial query is characterized by a distance range over one or two datasets. The most representative and known DRQs are the ε Distance Range Query (εDRQ) and the ε Distance Range Join Query (εDRJQ). Given the increasing volume of spatial data, it is difficult to perform a DRQ on a centralized machine efficiently. Moreover, the εDRJQ is an expensive spatial operation, since it can be considered a combination of the εDR and the spatial join queries. For this reason, this paper addresses the problem of computing DRQs on big spatial datasets in SpatialHadoop, an extension of Hadoop that supports spatial operations efficiently, and proposes new algorithms in SpatialHadoop to perform efficient parallel DRQs on large-scale spatial datasets. We have evaluated the performance of the proposed algorithms in several situations with big synthetic and real-world datasets. The experiments have demonstrated the efficiency and scalability of our proposal.
Compressive Properties of Hawaiian Gold Timber Bamboo under Different Conditions

With the current emphasis on environmental-friendliness and sustainability, natural fibre composites are starting to gain attentions from various industries to serve as alternative materials. However, not many elementary studies have been done on the mechanical properties of natural fibre composites. Therefore, this project will study on the compressive properties of bamboo, a type of natural fibre composite. The bamboo species used for this project is the Hawaiian Gold Timber Bamboo and this project will focus on three conditions of this bamboo species, which are dry bamboo, wet bamboo that have been immersed in distilled water at room temperature until it reaches enough saturation and boiled bamboo that have been immersed in boiled distilled water for 2 hours. The compressive properties of these three bamboo conditions will be compared to study the effects due to different conditions. Immersing the bamboo in distilled water allows water absorption while boiling it will accelerate the aging process of bamboo. From the tests, it is found that boiling the bamboo specimens has drastic effects on their compressive properties compared to dry bamboo specimens. But, the effects are not as drastic on the compressive properties of wet bamboo specimens. Nevertheless, the compressive strength of this Hawaiian Gold Timber bamboo is considered tough as it is comparable with other conventional materials such as granite and concrete at its maximum and minimum ultimate compressive stress respectively and could be enhanced by hybridized it with other conventional composite materials. Copyright © 2016 Penerbit Akademia Baru All rights reserved.
Review of Human Infections with Avian Influenza A ( H 7 N 9 ) Virus in China

The emergence of H7N9 virus attracted worldwide concerns about the possibility of a new influenza pandemic in March 2013, and the human cases were mainly distributed in the southeast coastal areas in China, and the winter-spring season was the peak period for human infection with H7N9 virus. The studies on Human infections with avian influenza A(H7N9) virus at present are mainly divided into three categories: gene research, animal model research, outbreak simulation and risk prediction model research. The former two kinds of studies can provide lots of useful information on the mechanisms of H7N9 virus and the principles of infection, and the third kind of research can provide scientific basis and information decision-making tool for the prevention and monitoring of Human infections with avian influenza A(H7N9) virus. The impacts of environmental factors on H7N9 outbreak should be taken into account in the future study, and the closure of live poultry market as well as the suspension of live poultry trading should be vigorously pursued to control the spread of H7N9 epidemic in the high incidence areas in China.
CORPORATE MERGERS AND THE IMPACT IF PRE-MERGER VARIANCE, LEVERAGE AND MATURITY OF BONDS ON WEALTH TRANSFERS

This paper addresses several hypotheses concerning wealth transfers among bondholders and stockholders in two firms which merge. In so doing, several refinements relative to the previous research in this area are introduced. We find evidence which supports the presence of diversification effects (coinsurance) to some bondholders, incentive effects (risk increases) to other bondholders, and wealth transfers between stockholders and bondholders. This study examines the impact of 49 industrial mergers between 1970 through 1984 on the returns to bondholders and stockholders of the merging firms. Results indicate that bondholders of the acquired firm group gain significantly in the announcement month, suggesting a diversification effect for acquired firm bondholders. Acquiring firm bondholders suffer significant losses in the pre-announcement month supporting the incentive effects hypothesis for the acquiring firm bondholders. Further analysis indicates that abnormal returns to bondholders are greater for firms with high variance and high leverage pre-merger. We do not find any direct evidence that differences in maturity of merging firms' bonds have a significant impact on merger-related bondholder returns. We find evidence of wealth transfers between stockholders and bondholders of merging firms and some support for the theory that bondholder returns are negatively related to the pre-merger correlation between cash flows of the merging firms. In total, the empirical findings enable more definitive conclusions regarding the wealth effects of mergers on important classes of claimholders of merging firms, and buttress the theoretical developments relating to wealth transfers among those claimholders.
Probabilistic RandomWalks for Churn Prediction using Representation Learning

Unleashing the full potential of data is oftentimes a cumbersome task, especially when dealing with network data. It is therefore possible that while focusing on one part of the solution, other valuable pieces of information remain under-treated leading to under-performing results. In this work, we zoom into the nature of an augmentation of call graphs devised for addressing churn prediction in telco. By shifting the focus from a homogeneous to a heterogeneous perspective, by defining different probabilistic meta paths, and by applying representation learning on graphs using these defined meta paths, we demonstrate the benefits of this approach, not only by means of improvements of predictive results, but also with promising insights regarding the interplay of meta path type and predictive outcome. As such, this is still a work in progress but the current results have also been submitted to (and are currently under review at) another conference.
Combined Effects of Fine Particulate Matter and Lipopolysaccharide on Apoptotic Responses in NR8383 Macrophages

Alveolar macrophages (AM) are the predominant lung cells responsible for both ingestion and clearance of inhaled particulate matter (PM). The aims of this study were (1) to examine effects of fine PM on rat NR8383 cell line apoptosis, and (2) to determine whether NR8383 cell functions are further affected when exposed to fine PM in the presence of inflammation induced by lipopolysaccharide (LPS). Standard Reference Material 2786 (SRM 2786) for fine PM was used to measure the following parameters: cytotoxicity, apoptotic rate, Bax/Bcl-2 expression, nitric oxide (NO) production, and reactive oxygen species (ROS) generation in NR8383 cells. Data showed that SRM 2786 alone induced damage and apoptosis in NR8383 cells in a concentration-dependent manner as demonstrated by significant decrease in expression of Bcl-2 and increase in expression of Bax, suggesting fine PM might trigger apoptosis involving a mitochondria-mediated apoptotic pathway. In addition, there was elevated production of free radicals, such as NO and ROS, suggesting oxidative stress plays a role in the observed apoptotic responses. Further, LPS pretreatment enhanced apoptosis of NR8383 cells induced by SRM 2786. Consequently, data indicate that SRM 2786 triggered cell apoptosis in NR8383 cells, probably by mechanisms involving oxidative stress, as evidenced by elevated NO and ROS levels, while the degree of apoptosis was further aggravated by inflammation.