Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Pharmacokinetic and toxicology assessment of INTERCEPT (S-59 and UVA treated) platelets

The pathogen inactivation process developed by Cerus and Baxter Healthcare Corporations uses the psoralen, S-59 (amotosalen) in an ex vivo photochemical treatment (PCT) process to inactivate viruses, bacteria, protozoans, and leukocytes in platelet concentrates and plasma. Studies were performed by intravenous infusion of S-59 PCT formulations-compound adsorption device (CAD) treatment and with non-UVA illuminated S-59, using doses that were multiples of potential clinical exposures. The studies comprised full pharmacokinetic, single and repeated-dose (up to 13 weeks duration) toxicity, safety pharmacology (CNS, renal, and cardiovascular), reproductive toxicity, genotoxicity, carcinogenicity testing in the p53- mouse, vein irritation, and phototoxicity. No specific target organ toxicity (clinical or histopathological), reproductive toxicity, or carcinogenicity was observed. S-59 and/or PCT formulations demonstrated CNS, ECG, and phototoxicity only at supraclinical doses. Based on the extremely large safety margins (>30,000 fold expected clinical exposures), the CNS and ECG observations are not considered to have any toxicological relevance. Additionally, after a complete assessment, mutagenicity and phototoxicity results are not considered relevant for the proposed use of INTERCEPT platelets. Thus, the results of an extensive series of in vitro and in vivo studies have not demonstrated any toxicologically relevant effects of platelet concentrates prepared by the INTERCEPT system.
Cloning and nucleotide sequence of phoP, the regulatory gene for alkaline phosphatase and phosphodiesterase in Bacillus subtilis

Two DNA fragments which complement the alkaline phosphatase-negative mutation phoP of Bacillus subtilis were cloned from a B. subtilis chromosome with the prophage vector phi CM (a derivative of phi 105). One of the fragments contained the regulatory gene phoR in addition to phoP. Nucleotide sequence analysis of the phoP region revealed that the phoP gene product consists of 241-amino-acid residues and that the sequence of these amino acids is extensively homologous with the sequence of the phoB gene product. This protein is the positive regulator for the phosphate regulon in Escherichia coli. It therefore appears that phoP is a regulatory gene for alkaline phosphatase synthesis in B. subtilis.
Carbapenem-resistant Acinetobacter ventilator-associated pneumonia: Clinical characteristics and outcome

Objective: To study the clinical characteristics and 28-days mortality in patients with ventilator-associated pneumonia (VAP) due to carbapenem-resistant Acinetobacter (CRA). Design: Retrospective, observational, cohort study. Setting: Intensive care unit (ICU) of a university hospital. Materials and Methods: Microbiologically confirmed VAP due to CRA infection. Intervention: None. Results: Out of 87 patients with VAP due to CRA, 60 (69%) were male; whose median age was 51 years; 73 (84%) patients were medical; 26 (30%) had history of hospitalization in last 3 months; median acute physiology and chronic health evaluation (APACHE) II was 15 and median SOFA 9 at admission; primary reason for ICU admission was respiratory failure (34%); 46 (53%) patients had more than 2 organ failure at ICU admission; median length of ICU stay was 19 days; 66 (76%) patients need vasoactive agents during ICU stay, whereas 55 (63%) patients had renal failure; median duration of mechanical ventilation was 17 days; 22 (25%) patients had acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) during ICU stay; 72 (83%) patients had exposure to carbapenem before inclusion in the study; 33 (38%) patients had same organism at other sites. In the follow-up, 47 (54%) patient survived at 28 days after having VAP; whereas only 40 (46%) patients were discharged from the hospital. Conclusions: CRA-VAP has high crude mortality. Advanced age; severity of illness and presence of pneumonia at ICU admission; and presence of shock, ARDS and renal failure have impact on outcome in these patients.
Vaccination with autologous non‐irradiated dendritic cells in patients with bcr/abl+ chronic myeloid leukaemia

In chronic myeloid leukaemia (CML), dendritic cells (DC) and leukaemic cells share a common progeny, leading to constitutive expression of putative tumour antigens, such as bcr/abl, in DC. In this phase‐I/II study, autologous DC were used as a vaccine in patients with chronic phase bcr/abl+ CML, who had not achieved an adequate cytogenetic response after treatment with α‐interferon or imatinib. Ten patients were enrolled, DC were generated from peripheral blood monocytes and vaccination consisted of four subcutaneous injections of increasing numbers of DC (1–50 × 106 cells per injection) on days 1, 2, 8 and 21. Vaccination was feasible and safe. Improvement of the cytogenetic/molecular response, as detected by fluorescence in situ hybridization of peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC), was possibly related to vaccination in four of 10 patients. In three of these patients, T cells recognizing leukaemia‐associated antigens became detectable. The proliferative capacity of PBMC in response to autologous DC increased after vaccination in all evaluable patients. We conclude that vaccination with autologous, non‐irradiated ‘leukaemic’ DC is feasible, safe and induces anti‐leukaemic T‐cell responses in some CML patients. DC vaccination might be useful in CML as postremission therapy, i.e. after treatment with tyrosine kinase inhibitors.
Management of the non-descended testis: doubtful value of luteinizing-hormone-releasing-hormone (LHRH). A double-blind, placebo-controlled multicentre study.

In a double-blind, placebo-controlled multicentre study, the effect of luteinizing-hormone-releasing-hormone (LHRH) in 141 boys was analysed after 4-week treatment period with 0.4 mg LHRH nasal spray or placebo nasal spray three times daily. Data from 123 boys was analysed, with 62 boys in the treatment group and 61 in the placebo group. Full response i.e. the testis at the bottom of the scrotum on both sides in boys with bilaterally undescended testes, was found in six patients, one of them in the placebo group [Therapeutic gain of LHRH with 95% CI: 8.1% (0.1-16.6%, P = 0.12)]. Only in these boys could surgery be avoided. Considering the number of testes (and not the number of boys) a significant effect was found on at least one testis in 25% of boys with bilaterally undescended testes [Therapeutic gain with 95% CI: 24.0% (13.2-34.8%, P = 0.001)]. In unilateral undescended testes, the LHRH treatment showed no effect (P = 1.00). The inclusion of retractile testes did not affect our results. In our opinion LHRH has a limited place in treatment of the non-descended testis.
The validity of Antonovsky's Sense of Coherence measure in a sample of schizophrenic patients living in the community.

AIM OF THE STUDY To examine the construct and predictive validity of Antonovsky's Sense of Coherence (SOC) concept in a sample of schizophrenic persons living in the community. BACKGROUND The salutogenic model of Antonovsky proposes that the individual's sense of coherence, which is a personal orientation towards life, determines the health experience. The salutogenic perspective might in several advantageous aspects contribute to the care and support for patients with a long and persistent mental illness like schizophrenia. DESIGN The study is a 18-month follow-up study. Structured interviews were used to interview 120 patients with a diagnosis of schizophrenia or a schizoaffective disorder. Pearlin's mastery scale, Rosenberg's self-esteem scale, the Interview Schedule for Social Interactions (ISSI) and the Brief Psychiatric Rating Scale (BPRS) were used as construct validity measures of the SOC scale. Health related measures such as quality of life, global well-being, satisfaction with health assessed by the Lancashire Quality of Life Profile (LQOLP) and global psychosocial functioning (GAF) were used in calculations of the predictive validity of SOC. RESULTS The SOC was positively related to mastery, self-esteem and social support but negatively associated to psychopathology. In total, mastery, self-esteem and adequacy of social integration explained 61.1% of the variance in SOC, and mastery contributed with the greatest part of the variance, 46.3% SOC was positively associated to all health related measures and changes in SOC during an 18-month follow-up was positively correlated to changes in overall subjective quality of life, general health, global well-being and global psychosocial functioning. CONCLUSION The results gave support to the construct and predictive validity of the SOC measure in individuals suffering from a diagnosis of schizophrenia.
Is Creative Accounting Ethical–An Analysis into the Pros and Cons.

The use of creative accounting has become a controversial issue since there are parties both in favour and against the use of Creative accounting. While the management has its own arguments in favour of Creative accounting, to resort to the practices of Creative Accounting, its critics are of different opinion and have apprehensions regarding its use. Although it is a controversial topic still studies reveal that the practices of Creative accounting can be judiciously applied with ethical considerations. The present paper attempts to highlight the pros and cons of Creative Accounting by enumerating its importance to various interest groups. The study reveals that Creative Accounting helps to solve many problems which are faced by the management in today’s complicated and dynamic business environment. But owing to the dynamic and complicated nature of the business transactions and the liberty available in the accounting standards and the procedures, it is difficult to handle the issue of creative accounting.
Comorbid cognitive impairment and depression is a significant predictor of poor outcomes in hip fracture rehabilitation

ABSTRACT Background: The effects of depression and cognitive impairment on hip fracture rehabilitation outcomes are not well established. We aimed to evaluate the associations of depressive symptoms and cognitive impairment (individually and combined) with ambulatory, living activities and quality of life outcomes in hip fracture rehabilitation patients. Methods: A cohort of 146 patients were assessed on depressive symptoms (Geriatric Depression Scale, GDS ≥ 5), cognitive impairment (Mini-mental State Examination, MMSE ≤ 23), and other variables at baseline, and on ambulatory status, Modified Barthel Index (MBI), and SF-12 PCS and MCS quality of life on follow ups at discharge, 6 months and 12 months post fracture. Results: In these patients (mean age 70.8 years, SD 10.8), 7.5% had depressive symptoms alone, 28.8% had cognitive impairment alone, 50% had both, and 13.7% had neither (reference). Ambulatory status showed improvement over time in all mood and cognition groups ((β = 0.008, P = 0.0001). Patients who had cognitive impairment alone (β = −0.060, P = 0.001) and patients who had combined cognitive impairment with depressive symptoms β = −0.62, P = 0.0003), showed significantly less improvement in ambulatory status than reference patients. In the latter group, the relative differences in ambulatory scores from the reference group were disproportionately greater over time (β = −0.003, SE = 0.001, P = 0.021). Patients with combined depressive symptoms and cognitive impairment also showed a significantly lower MBI score, (β = −10.92, SE = 4.01, P = 0.007) and SF-12 MCS (β = −8.35, SE = 2.37, P = 0.0006). Mood and cognition status did not significantly predict mortality during the follow-up. Conclusion: Depression and cognitive impairment comorbidity is common in hip fracture rehabilitation patients and significantly predicts poor functional and quality of life outcomes.
Real Time Estimation and Prediction of Similarity in Human Activity Using Factor Oracle Algorithm

The human motion is defined as an amalgamation of several physical traits such as bipedal locomotion, posture and manual dexterity, and mental expectation. In addition to the “positive” body form defined by these traits, casting light on the body produces a “negative” of the body: its shadow. We often interchangeably use with silhouettes in the place of shadow to emphasize indifference to interior features. In a manner of speaking, the shadow is an alter ego that imitates the individual. The principal value of shadow is its non-invasive behaviour of reflecting precisely the actions of the individual it is attached to. Nonetheless we can still think of the body’s shadow not as the body but its alter ego. Based on this premise, my thesis creates an experiential system that extracts the data related to the contour of your human shape and gives it a texture and life of its own, so as to emulate your movements and postures, and to be your extension. In technical terms, my thesis extracts abstraction from a pre-indexed database that could be generated from an offline data set or in real time to complement these actions of a user in front of a low-cost optical motion capture device like the Microsoft Kinect. This notion could be the system’s interpretation of the action which creates modularized art through the abstraction’s ‘similarity’ to the live action. Through my research, I have developed a stable system that tackles various connotations associated with shadows and the need to determine the ideal features that contribute to the relevance of the actions performed. The implication of Factor Oracle [3] pattern interpretation is tested with a feature bin of videos. The system also is flexible towards several methods of Nearest Neighbours searches and a machine learning module to derive the ii same output. The overall purpose is to establish this in real time and provide a constant feedback to the user. This can be expanded to handle larger dynamic data. In addition to estimating human actions, my thesis best tries to test various Nearest Neighbour search methods in real time depending upon the data stream. This provides a basis to understand varying parameters that complement human activity recognition and feature matching in real time.
Isolation of Sertoli Cells from Adult Rat Testes: An Approach to Ex Vivo Studies of Sertoli Cell Function1

Abstract Much of what is known about the molecular regulation and function of adult Sertoli cells has been inferred from in vitro studies of immature Sertoli cells. However, adult and immature cells differ in significant ways and, moreover, many Sertoli cell functions are regulated by conditions that are difficult to replicate in vitro. Our objective was to develop a procedure to isolate Sertoli cells rapidly and in sufficient number and purity to make it possible to assess Sertoli cell function immediately after the isolation of the cells. The isolation procedure described herein takes less than 4 h and does not require culturing the cells. From a single 4-mo-old adult rat, we routinely obtain 7.0 ± 0.4 × 106 Sertoli cells per testis, and from a 21-mo-old rat, 7.2 ± 0.4 × 106 Sertoli cells per testis. The purity, determined by morphologic analyses of plastic-embedded cells or after staining for tyrosine-tubulin or vimentin, averaged 80%. The contaminants typically included germ cells (10%) and myoid cells (10%). The germ cell-expressed genes protamine-2 and hemiferrin were not detected in the Sertoli cell preparations by Northern blot analyses, but the Sertoli cell-expressed genes clusterin, cathepsin L, and transferrin were highly expressed. Transferrin mRNA levels were greater in Sertoli cells isolated from aged than from young adult rats, consistent with previous analyses of whole testes; and cathepsin L mRNA levels were far more highly expressed in Sertoli cells isolated from stages VI–VII than from other stages of the cycle of the seminiferous epithelium, also consistent with previous analyses of whole testes and isolated tubules. These studies indicate that the freshly isolated cells retain differentiated function, and thus it should be possible to assess the in vivo function of adult Sertoli cells by isolating the Sertoli cells and immediately assessing their function.
Chronic enteral ethanol treatment causes hypoxia in rat liver tissue in vivo

It is known that ethanol increases oxygen consumption in in vitro liver models, which could lead to hypoxia. Although it was shown recently that one large dose of ethanol caused hypoxia in rat liver in vivo, whether ethanol produces hypoxia in a clinically relevant chronic model remains unclear. In the present study, therefore, the effect of chronic ethanol on hypoxia was investigated in vivo using the 2‐nitroimidazole hypoxia marker, pimonidazole. Male Wistar rats (300‐325 g) were exposed to enteral ethanol continuously for 4 weeks. In this model, rats develop steatosis, inflammation, and necrosis characteristic of early stages of clinical alcoholic liver disease in humans. One hour before they were killed, rats were injected with pimonidazole (120 mg/kg intravenously), and livers were surgically isolated, removed, and fixed. Protein‐bound pimonidazole adducts were identified on formalin‐fixed, paraffin‐embedded tissue with immunohistochemistry. Ethanol administration for 4 weeks significantly increased serum aspartate transaminase levels and hepatic pathology scores for steatosis, inflammation, and necrosis, as expected. Ethanol treatment significantly increased both the extent and number of cells that stained positive for pimonidazole compared with control animals given an enteral diet without ethanol. Quantitative image‐analysis of pimonidazole binding showed that 4 weeks of ethanol administration nearly doubled the pimonidazole‐positive area in tissue. Ethanol also increased pimonidazole binding significantly at 7 days, long before inflammation and necrosis could be detected. These results indicate that chronic ethanol causes hypoxia at the cellular level in rat liver in vivo and lend support to the hypothesis that hypoxia is involved in mechanisms of early alcoholic liver injury.
SoC Symbolic Simulation: a case study on delay fault testing

Functional test methodologies such as software-based self-test appear to suit well SoC delay fault testing. State-of-the-art solutions in this topic are quite far from maturity and few works consider software-based diagnosis for delay faults. In this paper we evaluate benefits and costs in using symbolic simulation for SoCs, in particular focusing on embedded processor core testing. Symbolic simulation principles are key to enable fast analysis and speed up delay fault diagnosis; to cope with SoC behavior, the traditional 6-valued symbolic algebra was expanded in order to tackle X and Z logic states. As a case study we consider a large design including many core types and suitable DFT for performing high quality test without scan chains.
The Influence of Entrepreneurial Orientation and Business Performance: A Study of Small Hotels in Ghana.

Hospitality industry has seen an expansion especially in the small accommodation business sectors recently. We augment the extant attempts to provide meaningful system for the promotion of entrepreneurial culture in an organisation to stimulate performance. Empirically, testing the validity closeness of association between entrepreneurial orientation dimensions (innovation, proactiveness, risk competitive aggressiveness and autonomy) and its relationship with business performance was done. A total of 170 respondents, randomly sampled from small hotels filled pre-designed questionnaire. Data integrity checks were conducted after which a fitted logistic regression was used to evaluate the hypothesis. Results confirm the extant literature that innovation positively correlates with business performance in the same way as proactivity is emphatically connected with business performance. Risk is absolutely associated with business performance while competitive aggressiveness and autonomy is positively associated with business performance. The implications for the hotel sector in Ghana are presented in appropriate sections of the study. Keywords : Entrepreneurship, Orientation, Performance, Small Hotel Industry
Purification and Properties of Two Different Dihydroxyacetone Reductases in Gluconobacter suboxydans Grown on Glycerol

It is well known that in oxidative fermentation microbial growth is improved by the addition of glycerol. In a wild strain, glycerol was converted rapidly to dihydroxyacetone (DHA) quantitatively in the early growth phase by the action of quinoprotein glycerol dehydrogenase (GLDH), and then DHA was incorporated into the cells by the early stationary phase. Two DHA reductases (DHARs), NADH-dependent (NADH-DHAR) (EC 1.1.1.6) and NADPH-dependent (NADPH-DHAR) (EC 1.1.1.156), were detected in the same cytoplasm of Gluconobacter suboxydans IFO 3255. The former appeared to be inducible and labile in nature while the latter was constitutive and stable. The two DHARs were separated each other and were finally purified to crystalline enzymes. This report might be the first one dealing with NADPH-DHAR that has been crystallized. The two DHARs were specific only to DHA reduction to glycerol and thus contributed to cytoplasmic DHA metabolism, resulting in an improved biomass yield with the addition of glycerol.
Approche alternative de l'évaluation de l'herméticité des micro cavités : application au packaging des MEMS

Les MEMS, qui comportent des structures liberees et mobiles, sont particulierement sensibles aux variations de leur environnement de travail. L'hermeticite du packaging et la detection des phenomenes de fuites sont donc des points cles pour la fiabilite de ces composants. Or, avec l'apparition des techniques d'encapsulation niveau wafer et la miniaturisation des boitiers, l'hermeticite est de plus en plus difficile a controler. Les techniques de detection de fuite utilisees classiquement pour les composants electroniques ne sont plus applicables. Les travaux realises dans le cadre de cette these visent a ameliorer l'approche actuelle de ces problemes de test et d'evaluation de l'hermeticite des micro boitiers utilises pour l'encapsulation des MEMS. Pour y parvenir, nous nous sommes efforces dans un premier temps de mieux comprendre les phenomenes de fuite mis en jeu pour ce type de micro boitiers. Il a ensuite ete possible de developper des moyens plus adaptes pour evaluer le degre d'hermeticite des micro boitiers MEMS, a la fois d'un point de vue theorique en modelisant la diffusion du gaz a travers les colles organiques, et d'un point de vue experimental en developpant une technique alternative de detection de fuite par spectroscopie infrarouge pour les micro boitiers silicium
Rabbit sarcoplasmic reticulum Ca2+‐ATPase replaces yeast PMC1 and PMR1 Ca2+‐ATPases for cell viability and calcineurin‐dependent regulation of calcium tolerance

SERCA1a, the fast‐twitch skeletal muscle isoform of sarco(endo)plasmic reticulum Ca2+‐ATPase, was expressed in yeast using the promoter of the plasma membrane H+‐ATPase. In the yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae, the Golgi PMR1 Ca2+‐ATPase and the vacuole PMC1 Ca2+‐ATPase function together in Ca2+ sequestration and Ca2+ tolerance. SERCA1a expression restored growth of pmc1 mutants in media containing high Ca2+ concentrations, consistent with increased Ca2+ uptake in an internal compartment. SERCA1a expression also prevented synthetic lethality of pmr1 pmc1 double mutants on standard media. Electron microscopy and subcellular fractionation analysis showed that SERCA1a was localized in intracellular membranes derived from the endoplasmic reticulum. Finally, we found that SERCA1a ATPase activity expressed in yeast was regulated by calcineurin, a Ca2+/calmodulin‐dependent phosphoprotein phosphatase. This result indicates that calcineurin contributes to calcium homeostasis by modulating the ATPase activity of Ca2+ pumps localized in intracellular compartments.