Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Imaging of language-related brain regions in detoxified alcoholics.

BACKGROUND Neuroimaging studies showed clear evidence of alcoholism-related damage to the frontal lobes and cerebellum. Although these regions have been involved in language processing, language skills are relatively spared in alcoholics. Here, we aimed at identifying neural substrates associated with the preserved mechanisms of language processing in alcoholics. We hypothesized that alcoholics would show a different pattern of neural activity compared with the controls. METHODS Alcoholic and nonalcoholic subjects performed an auditory language task while receiving a functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) scan in a 1.5 T magnet. This task has been previously shown to solicit the comprehension processing in healthy controls, with reliable fMRI response in the left frontal and temporal/parietal lobes. RESULTS Behavioral results showed comparable performance (error rates, response time) between the alcoholics and the matched controls. However, analysis of the functional data revealed that the alcoholics exhibited greater fMRI response in the left middle frontal gyrus (pars triangularis), the right superior frontal gyrus, and the cerebellar vermis relative to the controls. CONCLUSIONS These findings suggest that frontocerebellar neural activity, supporting the comprehension processing of the auditory language task, may require compensatory mechanisms in alcoholics in order to maintain the same level of performance as the controls.
Social Entrepreneurship and Disability Inclusion in the Hospitality Industry

ABSTRACT The purpose of this study is to examine hospitality businesses that engage in social entrepreneurial activities and hire a significant percentage of people with disabilities in frontline positions. The study suggests that hospitality can make a significant social impact by questioning preexisting stereotypes toward people with disabilities and provide significant knowledge to startup hospitality social entrepreneurs. Furthermore, many of these social entrepreneurship initiatives are aligned with principles of blue ocean strategy. Social enterprises provide employment for individuals with disabilities, raise awareness among the public, and create a disability-friendly environment by offering a unique experience to the guests. This study is among the first to examine hospitality social enterprises with an intentional focus on providing employment opportunities to people with disabilities who serve guests.
Benzophenone-1 and Nonylphenol Stimulated MCF-7 Breast Cancer Growth by Regulating Cell Cycle and Metastasis-Related Genes Via an Estrogen Receptor α-Dependent Pathway

Endocrine-disrupting chemicals (EDC) are defined as environmental compounds that produce adverse health manifestations in mammals by disrupting the endocrine system. Benzophenone-1 (2,4-dihydroxybenzophenone, BP1) and nonylphenol (NP), which are discharged from numerous industrial products, are known EDC. The aim of this study was to examine the effects of BP1 and NP on proliferation and metastasis of MCF-7 human breast cancer cells expressing estrogen receptors (ER). Treatment with BP1 (10−5-10−7M) and NP (10−6-10−7 M) promoted proliferation of MCF-7 cells similar to the positive control 17 -beta-estradiol (E2). When ICI 182,780, an ER antagonist, was co-incubated with E2, BP1, or NP, proliferation of MCF-7 cells returned to the level of a control. Addition of BP1 or NP markedly induced migration of MCF-7 cells similar to E2. To elucidate the underlying molecular mechanisms produced by these EDC, alterations in transcriptional and translational levels of proliferation and metastasis-related markers, including cyclin D1, p21, and cathepsin D, were determined. Data showed increase in expression of cyclin D1 and cathepsin D and decrease in p21 at both transcriptional and translational levels. However, BP1- or NP-induced alterations of these genes were blocked by ICI 182,780, suggesting that changes in expression of these genes may be regulated by an ERα-dependent pathway. In conclusion, BP1 and NP may accelerate growth of MCF-7 breast cancer cells by regulating cell cycle-related genes and promote cancer metastasis through amplification of cathepsin D.
Takeover Protection and Firm Value

Abstract We examine firm value consequences of anti-takeover regulation, exploiting the staggered announcement and implementation of an anti-takeover regulation in the U.K. We show that, on average, takeover protection increases firm value. This effect is partly driven by innovative firms expanding their R&D activities. However, the anti-takeover regulation also increases the value of less productive firms. Anti-takeover regulation could thus constrain highly productive firms from taking over low-productivity firms. Our results imply that, while takeover protection may stimulate innovation, it can distort the allocation of funds by preventing market share from moving from less efficient to more efficient firms.
Cascading contingencies in low inertia power systems: Frequency response challenges and a potential solution

South Australia has the highest level of combined wind and rooftop solar photovoltaic (PV) generation capacity of any states in Australia. Most of the recent wind farms in South Australia use variable speed machines, namely, type III and IV wind turbine generators. Unlike synchronous generators, type III and IV wind machines usually do not participate in frequency regulation. In addition, PV sources do not provide any frequency support after a contingency. Under high penetration of the above non-synchronous generation and cheaper interconnection import from the adjacent state, a few synchronous generators may be committed in the South Australian grid. During such operating conditions, network frequency response following the loss of interconnection may become a concern. Moreover, the default under frequency protection setting of some existing PV units in South Australia could be higher than the under frequency load shedding (UFLS) threshold. Hence, the loss of interconnection may cause a substantial ‘secondary PV trip’. Consequently, the frequency response may further deteriorate and the network may experience a considerable amount of load shedding. To address the above issues, this research work investigates the frequency response of the equivalent low inertia South Australian power system by considering the cascading PV trip phenomenon. Then, a countermeasure to prevent the subsequent PV trip is explored by activating emulated inertia and active power control from variable speed wind machines.
Molecular genetic evidence that endometriosis is a precursor of ovarian cancer

Histopathology and epidemiology studies have consistently demonstrated a strong link between endometriosis and endometriosis‐associated ovarian cancers (EAOCs)—in particular, the endometrioid and clear cell subtypes. However, it is still unclear whether endometriosis is a precursor to EAOCs, or whether there is an indirect link because similar factors predispose to both diseases. In order to search for evidence of clonal progression, we analyzed 10 EAOCs (endometrioid = 4; clear cell = 6) with coexisting endometriosis for common molecular genetic alterations in both the carcinoma and corresponding endometriosis. We used 82 microsatellite markers spanning the genome to examine loss of heterozygosity (LOH) in the coexisting carcinoma and endometriosis samples. A total of 63 LOH events were detected in the carcinoma samples; twenty two of these were also detected in the corresponding endometriosis samples. In each case, the same allele was lost in the endometriosis and cancer samples. Interestingly, no marker showed LOH in the endometriosis alone. These data provide evidence that endometriosis is a precursor to EAOCs. © 2006 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
A Pragmatic Approach for Measuring Maintainability of DPRA Models

Dynamic Probabilistic Risk Assessment (DPRA) is a powerful concept that is used to evaluate design and safety of complex industrial systems. A DPRA model uses a conceptual system representation as a formal basis for simulation and analysis. In this paper we consider an adaptive maintenance of DPRA models that consist in modifying and extending a simplified model to a real-size DPRA model. We propose an approach for quantitative maintainability assessment of DPRA models created with an industrial modeling tool called PyCATSHOO. We review and adopt some metrics from conceptual modeling, software engineering and OO design for assessing maintainability of PyCATSHOO models. On the example of well-known "Heated Room" test case, we illustrate how the selected metrics can serve as early indicators of model modifiability and complexity. These indicators would allow experts to make better decisions early in the DPRA model development life cycle.
Energy, Insurance, and Health: Viewpoints of a Microeconomist

Abstract This contribution reviews developments in the microeconomic analysis applied to three fields that are rarely considered in combination – energy, insurance, and health – focusing on four themes. First, it finds that stocks are crucial not only in energy but also motivate (in the guise of assets) demand for insurance coverage, as well as healthcare services designed to maintain one’s stock of health. Second, however, the three fields strongly diverge in terms of their industry structure. While oil and, until recently, electricity are vertically integrated, healthcare has been the leading example of a cottage industry, with private insurance in between. Third, the structure of innovation also differs. In energy and private insurance, process and organizational innovation prevail; in healthcare, it is product innovation, meaning new characteristics at higher cost, facilitated by health insurance. Finally, government regulation impinges on all three industries.
PCB embedded compact balanced filter with coupled LC resonators

In this paper, PCB embedded compact unbalanced-to-balanced filter was newly proposed for low cost Bluetooth and wireless LAN applications. In order to obtain excellent bandpass transmission characteristic, the proposed filter was configured by using two pair of modified magnetically coupled LC resonator. This proposed structure provides transmission zero pole at upper frequency regime. Out-of-band suppression under the passband was enhanced by applying parallel connected LC resonator at single-ended port. In order to reduce the size of PCB embedded balanced filter, BaSrTiO3 (BST) composite high Dk RCC film was applied to improve the capacitance density. This high Dk film provided the capacitance density of 12.2 pF/mm2. The fabricated filter had insertion loss and minimum return loss of 2.2dB and 11dB in the frequency ranged from 2.4∼2.5GHz, respectively. The maximum magnitude and phase imbalance were 0.9dB and 1.5 degree in its passband, respectively. The out-of-band suppression was observed approximately 30dB and 22dB below 1.9GHz and over 3.5GHz, respectively. It has a compact volume of 1.7 mm × 2 mm × 0.7 mm (height).
Generation of buds, swellings, and branches instead of filaments after blocking the cell cycle of Rhizobium meliloti

Inhibition of cell division in rod-shaped bacteria such as Escherichia coli and Bacillus subtilis results in elongation into long filaments many times the length of dividing cells. As a first step in characterizing the Rhizobium meliloti cell division machinery, we tested whether R. meliloti cells could also form long filaments after cell division was blocked. Unexpectedly, DNA-damaging agents, such as mitomycin C and nalidixic acid, caused only limited elongation. Instead, mitomycin C in particular induced a significant proportion of the cells to branch at the poles. Moreover, methods used to inhibit septation, such as FtsZ overproduction and cephalexin treatment, induced growing cells to swell, bud, or branch while increasing in mass, whereas filamentation was not observed. Overproduction of E. coli FtsZ in R. meliloti resulted in the same branched morphology, as did overproduction of R. meliloti FtsZ in Agrobacterium tumefaciens. These results suggest that in these normally rod-shaped species and perhaps others, branching and swelling are default pathways for increasing mass when cell division is blocked.
Accounting for the effects of widespread discrete clutter in subsurface EMI remote sensing of metallic objects

In practice, most signal processing strategies for discrimination of buried objects are clutter limited. This applies even to discrimination of shallow sizable metallic objects, such as unexploded ordnance (UXO), which are to be found predominantly in the top meter of soil. The environment typically features widespread metallic clutter from detonated ordnance or other sources. Such fragments can be numerous and are often shallower than the objects of interest. Currently, the preeminent remote sensing mode for buried UXO is ultrawideband electromagnetic induction (EMI), operating over part or all of the band from some tens of hertz up to perhaps hundreds of kilohertz. Particularly because EMI fields fall off sharply with range, signals from shallow clutter may be relatively strong and can easily obscure essential scatterer signatures. To treat this, a rational theory of EMI scattering from widespread metallic clutter is formulated and tested. For dense, well-distributed clutter, analytical rules are derived for dependence of signal strength on sensor elevation, under various fundamental excitation types. For more erratic, sparse clutter distributions, signal statistics from Monte Carlo simulations show patterns like those from the analytical rules. The dependence of clutter signal magnitude on antenna elevation is determined for both thin surface layers and for volume layers of widespread small items, and for both dense and sparse clutter distributions. These are contrasted with the patterns expected from single, larger, discrete objects of interest, and the contrast is exploited in discrimination exercises for the screening problem. For sparse clutter distributions, results from inversion processing formulations that account for the patterns of clutter statistics are compared to simple least squares treatments.
Interaction of the heart and its close and distant neighbours: report of the Meeting of the ESC Working Groups Myocardial Function and Cellular Biology.

Intercellular and inter-organ communication is required to maintain homoeostasis in multicellular organisms. Given its life-supporting function, the heart is at the centre of a heavily studied network of interactions. Despite the long-recognized ability to receive and relay inputs to and from far and close neighbours, surprising new networks of interactions as well as new communication factors and mechanisms are currently emerging. The Myocardial Function and the Cellular Biology of the Heart Working groups of the European Society of Cardiology convened during 2–5 May 2013 to discuss emerging data and ongoing studies on intercellular and inter-organ communication, in health and disease. Cells interact through either direct contact or secreted agonists. The signal transduction machinery inside cells eventually translates interactions with limited numbers of agonists into a cellular response. This process of scanty molecules being pinpointed by high-affinity receptors is now flanked by other emerging mechanisms of communication that involve highly abundant messengers binding to relatively low-affinity detectors. Two novel intercellular communication paths are currently arising: the flooding of cells with secreted vesicles, the so-called exosomes, with various but information-rich contents, and the sensing of different species of circulating RNA, such as miRNAs that, once captured, elicit post-transcriptional regulation of gene expression, and the extracellular RNAs (eRNA) that, from the outside of cells, trigger membrane enzyme activation and generation of classical receptor agonists. ### 2.1 Exosomes and miRNA An exciting new concept in the field of intercellular and inter-organ communication is the idea that microscopic vesicles may ferry proteins and RNA through interstitial fluid and blood. Building on this concept, miRNA and proteins from plasma microvesicles and exosomes may offer a great potential as biomarkers for cardiovascular risk and cellular injury. Specific miRNAs act as master regulators of angiogenesis, cardiomyocyte proliferation, and regulation of cell survival. In particular, the importance of miR-199, which seems to regulate a …
Effect of surgery on granulocyte/macrophage colony‐stimulating factor

Eighteen surgical patients were studied to determine the effect of anesthesia (general or spinal) and surgery on serum and urinary colony‐stimulating factor(s) (CSF). CSF is a leukopoietin that stimulates proliferation of macrophages and granulocytes from bone marrow precursor cells. CSF was assayed by adding aliquots of serum or urine to semisolid agar cultures of bone marrow cells and scoring the number of colonies developing after 7 days of incubation. In all but 1 case, a 3‐ to 30‐fold increase in the 24 hour excretion of urinary CSF was seen on the day of surgery and the first postoperative day. CSF urinary excretion began declining toward normal by the second postoperative day. A parallel increase in granulocyte count, a delayed rise in monocytes, and a decline in absolute lymphocyte counts were also observed.
The empirical relationship between income poverty and income inequality in rich and middle income countries

This research draws on inequality and poverty statistics from various databases including the European Union Statistics on Incomes and Living Conditions (EU-SILC), the OECD Income Distribution Database (IDD) and the World Wealth and Income Database (WID) to investigate the relationship between inequality and poverty in rich and middle income countries. The analysis is supplemented with detailed case studies for the UK, US, Sweden and Denmark (using in addition distributional statistics from national databases) in order to gain a better understanding of the driving forces behind the correlation between poverty and inequality trends.
Study of Central Retinal Ganglion Cell Loss in Experimental Glaucoma in Monkey Eyes

PurposeThe objective of this research was to compare the loss of retinal ganglion cells subserving the fovea to that of the ganglion cells in the surrounding perifoveal region in eyes with experimental glaucoma. MethodsGanglion cell nucleoli were counted using light microscopy from vertically oriented retinal, strips and the cell density was calculated using the modified Abercombie formula. Percent ganglion cell loss in glaucomatous eyes from five monkeys was determined for each of up to five contiguous areas within the central 12°; of the retina by comparison to normal fellow eyes. ResultsLoss of central ganglion cells was present even in eyes with mild glaucomatous damage. The percent ganglion cell loss in glaucomatous eyes at five adjacent areas within the central 12°; of the retina did not differ significantly (ANOVA, p = 0.77, n = 8). Cell loss in areas nearest to the fovea was indistinguishable from that in more peripheral perifoveal areas. ConclusionsFoveal ganglion cells appear to be susceptible to experimental glaucoma injury. Psychophysical testing of foveal functions may deserve renewed attention in glaucoma diagnosis and follow-up.
Preoperative values of CA 15-3 and CEA as prognostic factors in breast cancer: a multivariate analysis.

The role of circulating tumor markers in providing prognostic information has not been widely studied. In the current study, serum levels of the carbohydrate antigen 15-3 (CA 15-3) and carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA) were determined preoperatively in 364 breast cancer patients with no clinical signs of metastasis. The prognostic relevance of these markers for recurrence (175/364) and death of disease (104/175) was determined by Cox multivariate analysis, including the comparison with classical prognostic factors. High levels of both tumor markers were associated with aneuploid tumors with high S-phase fraction and high ornithine decarboxylase activity. CA 15-3 was highly associated with the number of positive lymph nodes and peritumoral lymphatic or blood vessel invasion. No significant associations were found between CEA or CA 15-3 levels and histologic grade, necrosis and steroid receptor status. In univariate analysis, preoperative values, using optimum cutoff values of CA 15-3 (40 U/ml) and CEA (6 ng/ml), were statistically significant for relapse-free survival and overall survival. In multivariate analysis, only node status, DNA ploidy and ornithine decarboxylase activity were independent predictors for relapse-free survival; the estrogen receptor status was a predictor of overall survival. In node-negative patients, ornithine decarboxylase activity was the only factor selected for relapse-free survival. In node-positive patients, the number of lymph nodes and DNA ploidy were the only variables selected for relapse-free survival or overall survival. Estrogen receptor and ornithine decarboxylase activity were excluded for relapse-free survival, but were significant prognostic factors for overall survival.
Cerebellar nuclei and the nucleocortical projections in the rat: Retrograde tracing coupled to GABA and glutamate immunohistochemistry

The amino acids GABA and glutamate (Glu) are thought to be the principal substances in the central nervous system responsible for neuronal inhibition and excitation. Their distributions among the different neurons in a defined pathway may thus be indicative of the contributions of the cells to pathway function. Examples of such neurons are those of the cerebellar nuclei which, while regulating output from the Purkinje cells of the cerebellar cortex, are also found to project back to the cerebellar cortex.