Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Neurotoxicity of Advanced Glycation End‐Products for Cultured Cortical Neurons

The Maillard reaction that leads to the formation of advanced glycation end-products (AGEs) plays an important role in the pathogenesis of angiopathy in diabetic patients and in aging. AGEs are believed also to contribute to the pathology of Alzheimer disease (AD) and other neurodegenerative processes. Incubation of cortical neurons with 5 immunochemically distinct AGEs, designated AGEs-1 to -5, produced a dose-dependent increase in neuronal cell-death, as assessed by MTT assay, Trypan blue and Hoechst 33258 staining. The structural epitope designated AGE-2 was found to have the greatest cytopathic effect and the neurotoxicity of AGE-2 was neutralized by the addition of an anti-AGE-2-specific antibody, but not by other types of anti-AGE antibodies. Distinct classes of AGE structures also have been established to circulate in the blood of individuals with diabetes mellitus and end-stage renal disease treated by hemodialysis (DM-HD). We fractionated serum from normal control and DM-HD patients by gel filtration and identified 2 fractions that contained AGE epitopes-1 to -5 and as well as the defined AGE structure carboxymethyllysine (CML). The addition of these 2 fractions led to the death of cultured neuronal cells and this cytotoxic effect was completely prevented by the addition of the anti-AGE-2-specific antibody. We propose that the structural epitope AGE-2 is an important toxic moiety for neuronal cells.
Cellular Responses to the DNA Strand-scission Enediyne C-1027 Can Be Independent of ATM, ATR, and DNA-PK Kinases*

The current paradigm based upon ionizing radiation (IR) studies states that cells deficient in either ataxia-telangiectasia-mutated kinase (ATM) or related phosphatidylinositol 3 (PI 3) -kinases (ATR and DNA-PK) are hypersensitive to DNA strand breaks because they are unable to rapidly activate downstream effectors such as p53. Here we have contrasted cell responses to IR and C-1027, a radiomimetic antibiotic that induces DNA strand breaks. At equal levels of DNA double strand breaks, cell lines with inactive ATM or other phosphatidylinositol 3-kinases displayed classical hypersensitivity to IR but not to C-1027. Moreover, phosphorylation of p53 Ser-15 induced by C-1027 was independent of ATM, ATR, or DNA-PK function. We have concluded that the model based on IR studies cannot always be directly applied to DNA damage induced by other strand-scission agents.
Recurrence Score in women with hormone receptor positive lymph-node 2 negative early stage breast cancer

Cross Stratification and Differential Risk by Breast Cancer Index and 1 Recurrence Score in women with hormone receptor positive lymph-node 2 negative early stage breast cancer 3 4 Ivana Sestak, Yi Zhang, Brock Schroeder, Catherine A. Schnabel, Mitch 5 Dowsett, Jack Cuzick, Dennis Sgroi 6 7 8 1 Centre for Cancer Prevention, Wolfson Institute of Preventive Medicine, Queen 9 Mary University London, London, UK 10 2 bioTheranostics, San Diego, USA 11 3 Institute of Cancer Research and Academic Department of Biochemistry, Royal 12 Marsden Hospital, London, UK 13 4 Molecular Pathology Unit and Centre for Cancer Research, Massachusetts 14 General Hospital, Boston, USA 15 16 Running title: Differential Risk for distant recurrence by Breast Cancer Index and 17 Recurrence Score 18 19
Combined AFS and DYC Control of Four-Wheel-Independent-Drive Electric Vehicles over CAN Network with Time-Varying Delays

This paper deals with the lateral motion control of four-wheel-independent-drive electric vehicles (4WID-EVs) subject to onboard network-induced time delays. It is well known that the in-vehicle network and x-by-wire technologies have considerable advantages over the traditional point-to-point communication. However, on the other hand, these technologies would also induce the probability of time-varying delays, which would degrade control performance or even deteriorate the system. To enjoy the advantages and deal with in-vehicle network delays, an H∞-based delay-tolerant linear quadratic regulator (LQR) control method is proposed in this paper. The problem is described in the form of an augmented discrete-time model with uncertain elements determined by the delays. Delay uncertainties are expressed in the form of a polytope using Taylor series expansion. To achieve a good steady-state response, a generalized proportional-integral control approach is adopted. The feedback gains can be obtained by solving a sequence of linear matrix inequalities (LMIs). Cosimulations with Simulink and CarSim demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed controller. Comparison with a conventional LQR controller is also carried out to illustrate the strength of explicitly dealing with in-vehicle network delays.
Capital Budgeting Surveys: The Future is Now

This research is motivated by two major factors: (1) the over twenty year hiatus since the last thorough review of the capital budgeting survey literature, and (2) past appeals to the finance academic community by researchers to explore neglected areas of the capital budgeting process. In response, and using a four-stage capital budgeting process as a guide, the authors review the capital budgeting survey literature from 1984 through 2008 and find that some of the neglected areas have in fact been directly addressed. Unfortunately, the most prevalent focus of capital budgeting surveys continues to be that of the selection stage. As a result, many areas of the capital budgeting process still remain relatively unexplored, providing numerous survey research opportunities.
Hyperactive Delirium and Blood Glucose Control in Critically Ill Patients

Delirium is a common complication of critically ill patients and is often associated with metabolic disorders. One of the most frequent metabolic disorders in intensive care unit (ICU) patients is hyperglycaemia. The aim of this retrospective study of 196 adult ICU patients was to determine if there is an association between hyperactive delirium and blood glucose levels in ICU patients. Hyperactive delirium was diagnosed using the delirium detection score. Blood glucose levels were monitored by blood gas analysis every 4 h. Hyperactive delirium was detected in 55 (28%) patients. Delirious patients showed significantly higher blood glucose levels than non-delirious patients Higher overall complication rates, length of ventilation, ICU stay and mortality rates were seen in the delirium group. In a multivariate analysis, glucose level, alcohol abuse, APACHE II score, complication by hospital-acquired pneumonia and a diagnosis of polytrauma on-admission all significantly influenced the appearance of delirium.
The Hateful Six - Factors Hindering Adoption of Innovation at Small and Medium Sized Enterprises

Adoption of innovations within small and middle-sized enterprises (SMEs) employing fewer than 250 employees is limited compared to large companies. Within the current study, our goal is to identify hindering factors influencing adoption of innovation within SMEs. To identify this, we conducted a case study on the usage of mobility related innovations within 20 small and medium-sized enterprises. We found six crucial factors hindering SMEs of adoption of innovations: perceived unbalance of risks and chances, compatibility with daily work routine, lacking fit in individual business processes, complexity in infrastructure investments, IT know how and amount of costs for setup. Our study contributes to an extended understanding of the theory of adoption of innovations. Based on the identification of these factors, the study provides practical implications for SMEs to integrate innovations into current business processes. The results foster the adoption of innovation within SMEs.
Problem-solving abilities and frontal lobe cortical thickness in healthy aging and mild cognitive impairment

Abstract Mild cognitive impairment (MCI) is considered a transitional state between normal aging and Alzheimer disease. Most MCI subjects present disturbances in multiple neuropsychological domains, including executive function. This study aimed at exploring frontal lobe cortical thinning in MCI and healthy controls, and its relationship with problem-solving abilities. Twenty-three MCI patients and 30 elderly controls underwent MRI and neuropsychological assessment. Cortical thickness was measured by means of FreeSurfer. Problem-solving was assessed by means of the Tower of London (TOL) task. MCI showed a global thinning of the cortex. With regard to specific regions of interest, a thinning in the left frontal lobe and the bilateral posterior cingulate gyri was found. Partial correlations, after controlling for age, education, Mini-Mental Status Examination, and non-frontal mean thickness revealed negative significant correlations between frontal lobe thickness and executive outcomes in the control group. This counterintuitive relationship was not observed in the MCI group, suggesting that the frontal cortical atrophy observed in MCI entails a specific pathology-related relationship with high-level executive outcomes that is qualitatively different from that observed in healthy aging. (JINS, 2010, 16, 836–845.)
Central Venous Port Catheters: Evaluation of Patients' Satisfaction with Implantation under Local Anesthesia

Purpose Evaluation of pain perception and patient satisfaction after implantation of a central venous port catheter system under local anesthesia. Methods A total of 100 consecutive patients (25 outpatients, 75 inpatients) who underwent successful implantation of a port catheter into the internal jugular vein from May through August 2007 were given an 8-item questionnaire. The extent of information about the implantation, the pain perception during implantation and the friendliness of the physician and nurse were evaluated. Furthermore, the patients were asked to assess their degree of anxiety and the pain they experienced during the intervention and to give an appraisal of whether local anesthesia was adequate. Each question was assessed on a 10–point scale (10 = very true to 1 = not at all true). In addition, the overall duration of the intervention (including patient preparation, implantation, patient aftercare, disinfection of the room) was documented. Results Patients felt highly satisfied with the way they were informed (mean score of 9.65) and considered the treating physician (9.89) and nurse (9.9) extremely friendly. Local anesthesia was rated as nearly completely adequate (9.56) and the degree of pain experienced was low (9.05; 10 = no pain). The average anxiety score was 8.56 (10 = not afraid at all). Overall satisfaction with the treatment was very high (9.62; outpatients: 9.72) and patients would recommend port catheter implantation at our department to others (9.77). The mean overall duration of the intervention was 76 min (range 40–120 min). Conclusion Positive patient reactions indicate that radiologic port catheter implantation under local anesthesia is a minimally invasive intervention with high patient satisfaction that can be performed on an outpatient basis and is a valid alternative to surgical implantation.
One-Piece Modified Gasket Seal Technique

Abstract Objectives Review the effectiveness of a modified gasket seal technique utilizing a porous high-density polyethylene plate/rectus sheath fascia construct without fat grafting for primary closure of anterior defects following endoscopic skull base surgery. Design Retrospective review (2011–2012). Setting Single academic medical center. Methods A retrospective review of five patients who underwent expanded endoscopic endonasal surgery for various pathologies (two craniopharyngiomas, two tuberculum meningiomas, and one planum meningioma) was performed. Skull base closure was performed using a one-piece modified gasket seal technique. Primary outcome measures included postoperative cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) leaks and donor site morbidity. Results There were no postoperative CSF leaks. Two patients experienced aseptic meningitis treated with a 14-day course of steroids. Two patients experienced new postoperative chronic/recurrent sinusitis treated with oral antibiotics and topical nasal therapy. There was no donor site morbidity such as infection, hematoma, or hernias. Conclusions The one-piece modified gasket-seal closure is a safe and effective method for reconstruction of endonasal defects of the anterior skull base. Rectus sheath fascia is an appropriate dural substitute for free tissue grafting with low donor site morbidity. The construction of the one-piece graft significantly decreases operative time and lowers the learning curve for multilayered closure.
Psychosocial factors associated with relapse in men with alcohol or opioid dependence.

BACKGROUND & OBJECTIVE Relapse is a common and distressing aspect of substance dependence mediated by several biological and psychosocial factors. This study examined the association between demographic variables, clinical parameters and certain psychosocial factors and relapse among patients with either alcohol or opioid dependence. METHODS Structured assessments of clinical/demographic parameters, relapse precipitants, coping strategies, self-efficacy, stressful life events and perceived social support were carried out among patients with alcohol/opoid dependence (n=30) who had relapsed and compared with those (n=30) who had managed to remain abstinent. Similar comparisons were also carried out between relapsed and abstinent patients in the individual subgroups of alcohol and opioid dependence. RESULTS Patients who had relapsed were significantly more likely (i) to have a positive family history of substance use and higher number of previous relapses; (ii) to be using maladaptive coping strategies; (iii) to have been exposed to a higher total number of 'high risk' situations; and (iv) have experienced a higher number of undesirable life events. Those who had remained abstinent tended to use significantly more number of coping strategies, principally adaptive ones and scored significantly higher on all measures of self-efficacy. Factors influencing relapse appeared to be largely similar among patients with alcohol and opioid dependence. INTERPRETATION & CONCLUSION This study provided further evidence in support of the importance of certain clinical/psychosocial factors in relapse in substance dependence. It extended these results to substances other than alcohol and provides the basis for investigating correlates of relapse in a wide range of behavioural and substance use problems.
Cyclic Formation Control for Satellite Formation Using Local Relative Measurements

This paper introduces a cyclic formation control design for satellite formation using circulant matrix. Each satellite controls itself by using only the local relative states from itself to its two neighbouring satellites. The local relative states can be obtained by local line-ofsight measurements. The formation control problem with n satellites is thus reduced into stabilization problem of a single satellite with the same relative dynamics, individualized by a specific scalar. The scalar takes the values of nonzero eigenvalues of a circulant matrix which represents the topology of relative measurements among satellites. The modified relative dynamics can be viewed as linear system with uncertain parameters and an optimal guaranteed cost control law can be applied. Simulation results are presented to show the efficiency of the proposed cyclic formation control for satellite formation flying.
WEB-Enabled Government-Citizen Interface in India - The Case of Lokmitra

LokMitra (Friend of People) is a web-enabled E-Governance project providing a range of government to citizen (G2C), government to Business (G2B) and government to government (G2G) services in the state of Himachal Pradesh in India. It also solicits active and direct contributions from citizens for improving governance of the state. According to a study by the Department of Information Technology (government of India), the project achieved an overall score of 68.53 on a scale of 0-100, which according to the performance index was considered as a 'Good' Project. This paper provides information on planning and implementation of LokMitra, various services offered, challenges faced during implementation, and its impact on the citizens. A survey carried out as part of the study to gauge the users' perceptions of the quality of services yielded some interesting insights.
Enzyme supplemented poultry diets: Benefits so far - a review

Availability of good quality feed on a sustainable basis at stable prices is a major challenge for poultry farming, hence alternative feedstock are constantly being sourced. The use of supplemented feedstock particularly cereal-by products is challenging due to the presence of non-starch polysaccharides (NSPs). This review presents opportunities in the use of enzymes to enhance the digestibility of supplemented poultry diets. At 20% inclusion, cereal by-products including wheat offal, rice offal, brewers dried grain and corn offal have been successfully used for the replacement of grains but with the application of enzymes especially xylanase, cellulase, glucanase and phytase. These enzymes reduced anti-nutrients, improve digestibility and utilization of nitrogen and phosphorus and caused a reduction of detrimental microbes such as coliforms and enhanced beneficial microbes including lactobacillus and bifidobacteria. The use of enzymes in poultry feed formulation also improved performance, feed conversion ratio and reduced waste generation. The study concluded by suggesting that enzymes which are not produced by mono gastric animals can be supplemented to alleviate the anti – nutrition effects of NSP.
The "suite" smell of success: Complementary personnel practices and firm performance

How do personnel practices affect firm performance? To examine this issue we use a panel of over 1,500 New Zealand firms, drawn from a diverse range of industries.The panel comprises respondents to official surveys of management practices in 2001 and 2005. These surveys ask a wide range of comparable qualitative questions covering organisational practices including human resource management (HRM). To this panel, we link longitudinal firm performance data from Statistics New Zealand's Longitudinal Business Database. We find that suites of complementary HRM-related practices impact positively on firm productivity and wages; effects on employee turnover depend on the practices considered.
Evidence for refractoriness of the pituitary‐gonadal axis to the pineal gland in golden hamsters and its possible implications in annual reproductive rhythms

The testes of adult hamsters maintained in short daily photo‐periods (light:dark “LD” cycles of 1:23, in hours) undergo regression within ten weeks and spontaneous regeneration within about 30 weeks. Thereafter (at least up to 80 weeks), as long as these animals are kept in short photoperiods the gonads do not experience a second atrophic response. After the 30 week period of dark exposure, if the hamsters are moved into a long photoperiodic environment (LD 14:10) for either one or ten weeks and are then returned to short photoperiods, the gonads do not involute a second time. However, if the duration of exposure to LD 14:10 is increased to 22 weeks, the return to LD 1:23 causes the gonads to degenerate. The regressive responses of the testes never occur in hamsters that have been pinealectomized indicating that the observed changes are mediated by this gland. The inability of darkness and, thus the pineal gland, to induce a second gonadal involution unless the hamsters are maintained in LD cycles of 14:10 for 22 weeks (after a 30 week period of dark exposure) may be explicable in terms of (1), a transient refractoriness of the brain to the pineal antigonadotropic principle or (2), the temporary failure of the pineal to be activated by short daily photoperiods.
Non-oral drug delivery in Parkinson’s disease: a summary from the symposium at the 7th International Congress of Parkinson’s Disease and Movement Disorders

This symposium reviewed the issues of non-oral therapy in the late stage Parkinson’s disease (PD). The accepted standard treatment of PD is oral levodopa or oral dopamine agonists. However, the long-term complications and limitations of this treatment might be improved by changing therapy from the present pulsatile stimulation to a more constant stimulation of central dopamine receptors. Stimulation of these receptors may be possible with non-oral drug delivery treatments. Many of these non-oral options have been evaluated during the last few decades to find a more continuous drug delivery. The non-oral treatment options include invasive measures such as intraduodenal levodopa, subcutaneous apomorphin and most recently, the non-invasive transdermal (patch) delivery system, with the novel dopamine agonist rotigotine (Aderis Pharmaceuticals Inc.). The benefits of the non-oral, more continuous dopaminergic treatment of PD needs to be demonstrated in clinical trials and long-term clinical practice, before they can be considered as potential replacements of the standard oral therapy.
A COMPARATIVE EVALUATION OF FREIGHT TRANSPORTATION CHOICE MODELS. IN: TRANSPORT LOGISTICS

This paper discusses four models that are the classical economic model, the inventory-theoretic model, the trade-off model, and the constrained optimization model. These models are reviewed within the context of the empirical evidence reported in the literature and the paper proposes an overall theory that is consistent with the empirical results. The analysis of the studies reviewed for this paper indicates that freight transportation choice is the result of interactions among an array of variables. The results of this paper suggest that many of the variables that affect modal choice vary with the shipper. As a result, public policy makers should recognize that effective policy must consider both the needs of the transportation industry and transportation users. In particular, the public policy makers should recognize that transportation choice results from an array of interactions among freight rates, reliability, transit, time loss and damage experience, shipper market needs, carrier capabilities, and product characteristics.