Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Incidence of pemphigus in Thrissur district, south India.

BACKGROUND Pemphigus is a common autoimmune blistering disorder in India. However, there are no population based surveys from India available to study the prevalence of this disease. AIMS To estimate the incidence of pemphigus in Thrissur district, Kerala, South India. METHODS Questionnaire based survey was conducted among the practicing dermatologists of Trichur district between 1 st January 2001 and 1 st January 2002 to determine the incidence of pemphigus in the district. RESULTS Ten cases of pemphigus vulgaris, one case of pemphigus erythematosus, and two cases of pemphigus foliacious were diagnosed during the study period in a population of 2.9 million in Thrissur district. The average age of pemphigus vulgaris patients was 58years in males [42 to 82 years] and 37 in females [25 to 57 years]. The average age of the two male pemphigus foliacious patients was 46 years [52 and 40 years] and the only pemphigus erythematosus patient was a 45 year-old female.Five cases of pemphigus vulgaris were investigated clinically histopathologically and by using direct immunofluorescence, while two were investigated clinically and histopathologically, two cases clinically, and one case clinically and with Tzanck smear. Two cases ofpemphigus foliacious were diagnosed with the aid of direct immunofluorescence and the only case of pemphigus erythematosus was diagnosed with the aid of direct immunofluorescence. Pemphigus vulgaris was common among females. The incidence of pemphigus in Thrissur district is 4.4 per million. CONCLUSIONS This study indicates that the incidence of pemphigus in Thrissur district is high in comparison to the available studies from Germany, France, and the North African country Tunisia.
Use of research-based instructional strategies in introductory physics: Where do faculty leave the innovation-decision process?

Department of Statistics, Western Michigan University, Kalamazoo, Michigan 49008, USA(Received 20 February 2012; published 31 July 2012)During the fall of 2008 aweb survey, designed to collect information about pedagogical knowledge andpractices, was completed by a representative sample of 722 physics faculty across the United States(50.3% response rate). This paper presents partial results to describe how 20 potential predictor variablescorrelate with faculty knowledge about and use of research-based instructional strategies (RBIS). Theinnovation-decision process was conceived of in terms of four stages: knowledge versus no knowledge,trial versus no trial, continuationversus discontinuation, and high versus low use. The largest losses occurat the continuation stage, with approximately 1=3 offaculty discontinuing use of all RBIS after trying oneor more of these strategies. Nine of the predictor variables were statistically signiﬁcant for at least one ofthese stages when controlling for other variables. Knowledge and/or use of RBIS are signiﬁcantlycorrelated with reading teaching-related journals, attending talks and workshops related to teaching,attending the physics and astronomy new faculty workshop, having an interest in using more RBIS, beingfemale, being satisﬁed with meeting instructional goals, and having a permanent, full-time position. Thetypes of variables that are signiﬁcant at each stage vary substantially. These results suggest that commondissemination strategies are good at creating knowledge about RBIS and motivation to try a RBIS, butmore work is needed to support faculty during implementation and continued use of RBIS. Also, contraryto common assumptions, faculty age, institutional type, and percentage of job related to teaching were notfoundtobebarrierstoknowledgeoruseatanystage.Highresearchproductivityandlargeclasssizeswerenot found to be barriers to use of at least some RBIS.
Decorando el plano

Los motivos y patrones que se repiten ejercen una fuerte influencia sobre nosotros. Las grecas y los mosaicos son los ejemplos más característicos: los podemos encontrar decorando vasijas, jarrones, paredes y muros de diferentes culturas. El porqué de ese influjo es difícil de determinar; quizá sea porque, como en el Tangram, es posible construir una infinidad de diferentes imágenes de gran belleza a partir, simplemente, de unas pocas piezas elementales. Quizá se deba a ese orden que desprenden, en el que cada pieza depende de las demás.
Autosomal dominant chorea–acanthocytosis with polyglutamine-containing neuronal inclusions

BackgroundThe term chorea-acanthocytosis describes a heterogeneous group of neurodegenerative disorders with variable clinical features and modes of inheritance. The characteristic acanthocytic appearance of red blood cells is attributed to abnormalities of a membrane protein, band 3, although the relationship between this and the neurodegenerative process has yet to be determined. ObjectiveTo describe features of phenotype, inheritance, and neuropathological findings in a family with this disorder. MethodsClinical and hematologic evaluations were performed on all available family members and neuropathological examination was performed on one case. ResultsAutosomal dominant inheritance was evident, with variable clinical features of chorea or parkinsonism, marked cognitive changes, but no seizures or peripheral neurologic abnormalities. Abnormalities of band 3 were demonstrated on gel electrophoresis of red blood cell membranes. Neuropathological examination revealed severe neuronal loss of the caudate-putamen and intranuclear inclusion bodies in many areas of the cerebral cortex. These inclusion bodies were immunoreactive for ubiquitin, expanded polyglutamine repeats, and torsinA. ConclusionsThis family extends the genetic spectrum of chorea-acanthocytosis to include autosomal dominant inheritance, possibly due to expanded trinucleotide repeats. Intraneuronal inclusion bodies have recently been associated with a wide range of inherited neurodegenerative disorders and may provide a clue to etiopathogenesis, in addition to potentially indicating a function of torsinA.
Optimal assignment of principalship in teams q

This paper investigates the optimal assignment of principalship in teams. We formalize a theory of the firm pioneered by Alchian and Demsetz [Am. Econ. Rev. 62 (1972) 777] using an approach in the spirit of Grossman and Hart [J. Pol. Econ. 94 (1986) 691]. Our theory makes a distinction between production effort and monitoring effort. When it is costly to sign contracts on efforts, it may be optimal to let one party purchase the rights to monitor and to direct, and claim full residual. Principalship is the purchase of these rights. These rights are limited residual rights of control over actions. We have confirmed Alchian and Demsetz’s celeberated conjecture that residual claims should match residual control. We have also explored how the optimal assignment of principalship and partnership depends on the interaction between each member’s importance in production, the effectiveness of monitoring and the degree of teamwork. © 2001 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved. JEL classification:D2; D8; L2
Macroautophagy: Protector in the Diabetes Drama?

Macroautophagy (“autophagy”) is regulated by the same insulin-amino acid-mTOR signaling pathway that controls protein synthesis. Although the literature does not so far include any direct studies confirming this, we expect autophagy to increase during insulin resistance. We discuss the possibility that this may be a useful mechanism for eliminating damaged mitochondria and other cell structures to prevent cell death.
Cogon grass (Imperata cylindrica), a potential biomass candidate for bioethanol: cell wall structural changes enhancing hydrolysis in a mild alkali pretreatment regime.

BACKGROUND Imperata cylindrica is being considered as a biomass candidate for bioethanol. This work aimed to evaluate a mild alkali pretreatment effect on the Imperata recalcitrant structure. Therefore, varied concentrations of NaOH (0, 7.5, 15, 20, and 25 g L(-1) ) were applied as treatments to Imperata at 105 °C for 10 min. RESULTS Scanning electron microscopy, atomic force microscopy, and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy studies revealed that 20 to 25 g L(-1) NaOH-treated Imperata exposed amorphous cellulose on surface granules composed of lignin, waxes, and partly hemicelluloses were abolished due to the comprehensive disruption of the linkages between lignin and carbohydrates. The cellulose crystalline index was increased with 7.5 to 20 g L(-1) NaOH treatments and reduced with a 25 g L(-1) NaOH treatment. In fact, the cellulose content in solids increased with the increasing NaOH concentration and was estimated to be 720 and 740 g kg(-1) for the 20 and 25 g L(-1) NaOH treatments, respectively. The yield of the reducing sugar was obtained 805 and 813 mg g(-1) from 20 and 25 g L(-1) NaOH-treated Imperata, respectively. CONCLUSION Considering the cost of pretreatment, the 20 g L(-1) NaOH treatment is judged to be effective for disrupting Imperata recalcitrance in this pretreatment regime.
Dermal Absorption of Benzene: Implications for Work Practices and Regulations

Abstract Because the risk of leukemia for workers exposed to 1 ppm of benzene for 40 years is estimated to be 70% greater than the risk for unexposed persons, the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) and the: American Conference of Governmental Industrial Hygienists (ACGIH) recommend that the allowable airborne exposure level be 0.1 ppm. Using an experimentally determined dermal flux (permeability) value for benzene through skin, the authors calculated the amount of benzene absorbed through a known surface area (e.g., hands) during exposures where solvents contaminated with benzene were used for cleaning. Even at current contamination levels, which are less than 0.1% in most products, the amount of benzene absorbed through the skin over a long period can be significant, depending on exposure time and exposed skin surface areas. In the example given, the risk for leukemia was increased by 42%. Therefore, the authors recommend that the liquid benzene concentration that triggers labeling, worker education, and protective measures to minimize skin exposure be reduced from 0.1% to 0.01 %.
Quality of Life in Patients with Intermittent Claudication: Relationship with Laboratory Exercise Performance

In patients with peripheral arterial disease, limitation of exercise capacity will reduce the level of everyday physical activity and affect the quality of life. This study was designed (1) to examine the health-related quality of life of patients with intermittent claudication, and (2) to verify whether treadmill performance is related to the patient's perceived ability to function in the community. In 251 patients with intermittent claudication and 89 matched normal subjects, quality of life was assessed by a general health index questionnaire, the McMaster Health Index Questionnaire (MHIQ), which covers three dimensions of life (physical, social and emotional function). The maximal walking capacity of intermittent claudication patients was measured by the treadmill test. When controls were compared to intermittent claudication patients using the MHIQ, it was found that intermittent claudication patients showed a significant (p<0.01) impairment of ‘general health’ and lower scores for physical (0.90±0.17 vs 0.65±0.17; p<0.01), social (0.71±0.11 vs 0.63±0.12; p<0.01) and emotional (0.75±0.17 vs 0.65±0.15; p<0.01) function. Age, gender and work status had a significant impact upon health scores in several areas. Treadmill performance did not correlate with social or emotional function, whereas there was a small but significant relationship between maximal walking capacity and physical function scores (r=0.197; p<0.01). This study suggests that impairment in quality of life experience by patients with intermittent claudication poorly correlates with the reduced exercised capacity assessed by the treadmill test. Therefore, the evaluation of medical and surgical treatment of intermittent claudication should include the administration of a questionnaire for quality of life assessment.
Biases in Betting: An Application of Laboratory Findings

Three experimentally established biases away from optimality that result from misconceptions of chance, variations in the framing of outcomes, and the illusion of validity are of detectable dysfunctional consequence in the natural world of the gambler. A study of the public's betting in 12,316 horse races shows that the gambler's fallacy, increasing risk preference within a day, and insensitivity to actual contingencies contradicting expert opinion, principles derived from the results of laboratory experiments, can be meaningfully applied in the practical setting.
Three‐dimensional solution structure of mouse [Cd7]‐metallothionein‐l by homonuclear and heteronuclear NMR spectroscopy

Sequential 1H‐NMR assignments of mouse [Cd7]‐metallothionein‐l (MT1) have been carried out by standard homonuclear NMR methods and the use of an accordion‐heteronuclear multiple quantum correlation (HMQC) experiment for establishing the metal, 113Cd2+, to cysteine connectivities. The three‐dimensional structure was then calculated using the distance constraints from two‐dimensional nuclear Overhauser effect (NOE) spectroscopy spectra and the Cys‐Cd connectivities as input for a distance geometry‐dynamical simulated annealing protocol in X‐PLOR 3.851. Similar to the mammalian MT2 isoforms, the homologous primary structure of MT1 suggested two separate domains, each containing one metal cluster. Because there were no interdomain constraints, the structure calculation for the N‐terminal β‐ and the C‐terminal α‐domain were carried out separately. The structures are based on 409 NMR constraints, consisting of 381 NOEs and 28 cysteine‐metal connectivities. The only elements of regular secondary structure found were two short stretches of 310 helices along with some half‐turns in the α‐domain. Structural comparison with rat liver MT2 showed high similarity, with the β‐domain structure in mouse MT1 showing evidence of increased flexibility compared to the same domain in MT2. The latter was reflected by the presence of fewer interresidue NOEs, no slowly exchanging backbone amide protons, and enhanced cadmium‐cadmium exchange rates found in the β‐domain of MT1.
Perceptual Comparison of Demosaicing Algorithms and In-camera Demosaicing with JPEG Compression

Color image acquisition in digital cameras is often performed by using CCD or CMOS sensor chips with a color filter array on the top of a single monochromatic sensor. In this paper, a perceptual comparison is per- formed among three well known demosaicing algorithms plus in-camera demosaicing with lossy compression JPEG, by means of subjective tests, that is with the help of human beings. The novelty of the approach is that chosen algorithms have been selected as representative of those used in commercial raw image converters used by professionals in graphics and that the test has been performed on a large number of people, achieving results only partially similar to the results got by means of computed metrics. The results show that in the greatest part of conditions and for non particularly expert users, the capability of the most advanced demosaic- ing algorithms of producing an almost perfect reconstruction on the full-color image is not strictly required. Only for selected categories of images it is possible to find a clear winner among the algorithms
Dynamic text classifier based on search engine features

Search engines and text categorization are two research areas almost inseparable. Where one is studied, the other is referred sooner or later. Automatic text categorization became more important with the enormous increase of the online information, and text classifiers are often there to help search engines classify indexed documents. The main idea presented in this paper consists of using a search engine as a text classifier. A search engine can take advantage of its scoring performances to categorize a new document without requiring building and using other categorization model. K Nearest Neighbors (KNN) principal based on search engine score as similarity measure was used. This approach is highly dependent on the scoring quality of the used search engine. It is a simple approach but can be competitive to other more complex categorization models. Also, this method is useful as a kind of categorization on the fly when indexing a new document. Through its evolving index, the search engine becomes a dynamic classifier of the fact that any document, recently joining the index, participate in the categorization of other new documents.
Specific depletion reveals a novel role for neutrophil‐mediated protection in the liver during Listeria monocytogenes infection

Previous studies have suggested that neutrophils are required for resistance during infection with multiple pathogenic microorganisms. However, the depleting antibody used in those studies binds to both Ly6G and Ly6C (anti‐Gr‐1; clone RB6‐8C5). This antibody has been shown to deplete not only neutrophils but also monocytes and a subset of CD8+ T cells. Recently, an antibody against Ly6G, which specifically depletes neutrophils, was characterized. In the present study, neutrophils are depleted using the antibody against Ly6G during infection with the intracellular bacterium Listeria monocytogenes (LM). Our data show that neutrophil‐depleted mice are much less susceptible to infection than mice depleted with anti‐Gr‐1. Although neutrophils are required for clearance of LM, their importance is more pronounced in the liver and during a high‐dose bacterial challenge. Furthermore, we demonstrate that the protection mediated by neutrophils is due to the production of TNF‐α, but not IFN‐γ. Additionally, neutrophils are not required for the recruitment of monocytes or the generation of adaptive T‐cell responses during LM infection. This study highlights the importance of neutrophils during LM infection, and indicate that depletion of neutrophils is less detrimental to the host than depletion of all Gr‐1‐expressing cell populations.
The Entrepreneur ' s General Personality Traits and Technological Developments

Technological newness and innovativeness are important aspects of small firm development, growth and wealth creation. The contribution of the study to entrepreneurship personality research and to technology-related research in entrepreneurship is that the model of the general personality driven technological development was developed and empirically tested. Hypotheses relating the big five personality factors (OCEAN: openness, conscientiousness, extraversion, agreeableness, and neuroticism) and technological developments were tested by using multiple regression analysis on survey data from a sample of 160 entrepreneurs from Slovenia. The model reveals two personality factors, which are predictive of technological developments: openness (positive impact) and neuroticism (negative impact). In addition, a positive impact of firm age on technological developments was found. Other personality factors (conscientiousness, extraversion and agreeableness) of entrepreneurs may not be considered important for their firm technological developments. Keywords—Big five factors, entrepreneur, personality, technology development.
Real-time, in vivo measurement of tissular pO2 through the delayed fluorescence of endogenous protoporphyrin IX during photodynamic therapy

Abstract. Tissular oxygen concentration plays a key role during photodynamic therapy (PDT). Therefore, monitoring its local oxygen partial pressure (pO2) may help predict and/or control the outcome of a PDT treatment. The first real-time, in vivo measurements of the pO2 in the chicken egg’s chorioallantoic membrane, using the delayed fluorescence of photoactivable porphyrins (PAPs), including protoporphyrin IX (PpIX), as monitored with a dedicated optical, fiber-based, time-resolved spectrometer, are reported here. The formation of PAPs/PpIX, photosensitizers of extensive clinical use, was induced in the chicken egg’s chorioallantoic membrane (CAM) with aminolevulinic acid. An excellent correlation between the vascular damage induced by PDT and the reduction in tissular pO2 is found. This study suggests that clinical measurement of the pO2 using the PAPs’/PpIX’s delayed fluorescence (DF) may be used to individualize in real time the PDT light dose applied.
Arterial stiffness is associated with raised levels of the inflammatory marker erythrocyte sedimentation rate among ischaemic stroke patients

We studied the relationship of arterial stiffness, measured by carotid–femoral pulse wave velocity and inflammation, measured by serum erythrocyte sedimentation rate among 334 ischaemic stroke patients. There was a significant correlation between carotid–femoral pulse wave velocity and erythrocyte sedimentation rate (P = 0.001), a relationship independent of age, hypertension, diabetes and smoking. Arterial stiffness and inflammation are associated among ischaemic stroke patients and are independent of established vascular risk factors.
Cyr61 Suppresses Growth of Human Endometrial Cancer Cells*

Cyr61 (CCN1) is a member of the CCN protein family; these secreted proteins are involved in diverse biological processes such as cell adhesion, angiogenesis, apoptosis, and either growth arrest or growth stimulation depending on the cellular context. We studied the role of Cyr61 in endometrial tumorigenesis. Levels of Cyr61 were decreased in endometrial tumors compared with normal endometrium. Knockdown of Cyr61 expression by RNA interference in a well differentiated endometrial adenocarcinoma cell line (Ishikawa) stimulated its cellular growth. Conversely, overexpression of the protein in the undifferentiated AN3CA endometrial cancer cell line decreased their growth concurrently with increased apoptosis in liquid culture. These same cells had decreased clonogenic capacity and a nearly complete loss of tumorigenicity in vivo. Furthermore, partially purified Cyr61 suppressed growth of endometrial cancer cells. The increased apoptosis in these endometrial cancer cells with forced overexpression of Cyr61 was associated with elevated expression of the pro-apoptotic proteins Bax, Bad, and TRAIL (tumor necrosis factor receptor-associated ligand). Cyr61-induced caspase-3 activation and depolarization of mitochondrial membrane. In summary, endometrial cancer cells have decreased expression of Cyr61 compared with normal endometrium, and this lowered expression may provide the transformed cells a growth advantage over their normal counterpart.
Data Deduplication: A technique for efficient storage in cloud

: Cloud Computing allows users to outsource storage and computation to servers using internet. In this paper we propose a data Deduplication technique to reduce the amount of storage space and to save bandwidth. The convergent encryption technique has been proposed to protect the confidentiality of sensitive data. Our scheme has the feature of access which allows only valid users to share the data over the cloud storage. Data Deduplication is not only an efficient means of storage over the cloud but also enforces security over the stored data. We ensure that the authorized duplicate check scheme does not create any overhead. The hybrid cloud approach is used for data storage which is very different from the traditional systems.