Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Topical mitomycin C-induced inhibition of postlaminectomy peridural fibrosis in rabbits.

OBJECT The authors conducted a study to determine the effectiveness of mitomycin C in preventing postlaminectomy peridural fibrosis in rabbits. METHODS Laminectomies were performed at L-4 in 12 rabbits. Color-coded cotton pads soaked either with 0.02% mitomycin C or saline were applied in a blinded fashion to the operative sites, with saline-treated laminectomy sites serving as controls. The rabbits were killed 30 days after surgery. The extent of peridural fibrosis was evaluated by histological analysis. The mitomycin C-treated sites showed significantly decreased peridural fibrosis. CONCLUSIONS Peridural fibrosis can be a devastating condition that develops after laminectomy. Topical application of mitomycin C may be a successful method of preventing postlaminectomy peridural fibrosis.
A salivary serine protease of the haematophagous reduviid Panstrongylus megistus: sequence characterization, expression pattern and characterization of proteolytic activity

A cDNA encoding a trypsin‐like protease from the salivary glands of the haematophagous reduviid Panstrongylus megistus was cloned and sequenced. The deduced protein sequence showed similarities to serine proteases of other hemipterans but with substitutions in the catalytic triad and the substrate binding site. The expression of the gene increased more than sixfold after feeding. Saliva showed the highest proteolytic activity at neutral to slightly basic pH. Substrate and inhibitor profiles and zymography indicated the presence of a trypsin‐like protease with preference for Arg and Lys at P1. Using chromatography, a fibrinolytic enzyme was purified whose sequence was identified by tandem mass spectrometry as that encoded by the cDNA.
A Universal Windows Bootkit: An Analysis of the MBR Bootkit "HDRoot"

In October, 2015 Kaspersky released an analysis of the bootkit “HDRoot”. Their analysis highlighted mistakes in the bootkit, which made it ineffective at performing its task. Upon attempts to replicate that analysis however, it appears that these conclusions were in error and the bootkit works with any Windows version in the last 16 years. HDRoot represents a serious commitment in time and effort to develop, and an in-depth analysis reveals the work of a significantly capable threat actor. The sample analyzed here dates to 2013, and is the same sample Kasperky reports to have analyzed in their post. However, all evidence points to Kaspersky performing analysis with a 2006 sample, likely the reason for their conclusions. Additionally, mistakes made in reporting the capability of offensive software, provided without means to verify, hurt the security industry by misleading practitioners and limiting their ability for informed decision making.
An Analytical Method Combining Equivalent Circuit and Magnetic Circuit for BDFRG

This paper presents an analytical method that integrates the equivalent circuit (EC) and magnetic circuit (MC) in order to analyze and design a brushless doubly fed reluctance generator (BDFRG). The proposed method is capable of evaluating the BDFRG performance at the design stage because the terminal voltage can be predicted through the MC and the torque can be calculated from the EC. The MC is used to calculate the air gap flux density so that the flux linkage can be further obtained for the calculation of the machine performance using the EC and a set of particular operating conditions. The integration of the EC and MC provides a rapid analysis for a direct connection between the physical dimensions and the machine performances, including torque, mechanical power, electric power, and efficiency. The proposed analytical method is applied to two BDFRG designs. One is a manufactured prototype. Finite element analysis and experiments are used to verify the analytical results.
CALCIFEROLS AND BAIT SHYNESS IN THE LABORATORY RAT

Rodenticides with delayed action are generally more effective than fast-acting compounds because of the phenomenon of bait shyness. Calciferols have a stop-feed effect quite soon after dosing, and physiological effects are measurable within one day of dosing. We investigated whether bait shyness might result from these fairly rapid effects in the laboratory rat. We found evidence of bait shyness following recovery from sub-lethal dosing with two forms of calciferol. Use of intubation as well as feeding showed that the response was to the bait carrier rather than to detection of calciferols per se.
Destination Assisted Secret Transmission in Wireless Relay Networks

To improve physical (PHY) layer security of a wireless relay system in the presence of an eavesdropper, a two-phase cooperative relaying scheme is investigated in this paper. In phase I, the source transmits confidential message, simultaneously, it cooperates with the friendly jammers and destination to create jamming signal at the eavesdropper without affecting the forwarding relay which is preselected. In phase II, the forwarding relay retransmits the decoded signal, meanwhile, the particular relay cooperates with the friendly jammers to create jamming signal at the eavesdropper without affecting the destination. We focus on the investigation of optimal power allocation for maximizing achievable secrecy rate subject to a total power constraint. Optimal relay selection and suboptimal relay selection schemes are also proposed. It is shown that as the number of relays increases, both secrecy rate and the performance of suboptimal relay selection scheme improve significantly. Numerical results are presented to validate the derived analytical results and compare them to existing work
Design and Implementation of SDN-enhanced MPI Broadcast Targeting a Fat-Tree Interconnect

To meet the rising demands on high-performance computing, the number of computing nodes composing a high- performance computing system has been continuously growing. Simultaneously, the complexity of networks linking such computing nodes, or the interconnect, has also been increasing. Taking the scale-out of computing nodes in future high-performance computing systems into consideration, it is unrealistic to build more nodes with the strategy of building a network capacity sufficient enough to accommodate maximum traffic. We have worked on SDN-enhanced MPI based on the challenging idea that network traffic should be controlled based on the time-variant requirements of applications running on the high-performance computing systems. In particular, this paper aims to accelerate MPI_Bcast execution through the use of Software Defined Net-working (SDN), targeting a high-performance computing system with a Fat-tree interconnect. The MPI_Bcast proposed in this paper has the functionality of making a delivery tree of data based on traffic information obtained from SDN switches that compose the deployed interconnect. Our evaluation observed our proposed MPI_Bcast was executed up to 8.6 times faster than our previous MPI_Bcast implementation when a 700 Mbps pseudo traffic was flowed on the Fat-tree interconnect.
A Novel “By Difference” Method for Assessing Dermal Absorption of Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons from Soil at Federal Contaminated Sites

A highly precautionary cost-effective method for estimating dermal absorption using data from 24-h skin soap washes from in vitro dermal absorption tests in Bronaugh flow-through diffusion cells with human skin is reported. Skin was dosed with 16 U.S. Environmental Protection (EPA) priority polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAH) applied in mixture each at 2 μg/ml (ppm) in acetone without soil. Concurrent tests were conducted with an unspiked aqueous suspension of PAH-contaminated soil obtained from a Canadian federal contaminated site. Percentage dermal absorption was estimated “by difference” from the applied dose and that detected by high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) in 24-h skin soap washes. The dermal absorption for 11 PAH ranged from 71 to 88.3% without and with soil, respectively. Lower absorption was found for 5 PAH in soil, in the range of 26.4 to 60.8%. Data could not be corrected for evaporative loss due to inconsistent data from Tenax adsorbent. Corroboratory gas chromatography/mass spectroscopy (GC/MS) tests are needed. Previously published in vitro data from the authors' laboratory supported use of the “by difference” method.
Perinatal and early life risk factors for inflammatory bowel disease.

AIM To investigate associations between perinatal risk factors and subsequent inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) in children and young adults. METHODS Record linked abstracts of birth registrations, maternity, day case and inpatient admissions in a defined population of southern England. Investigation of 20 perinatal factors relating to the maternity or the birth: maternal age, Crohn's disease (CD) or ulcerative colitis (UC) in the mother, maternal social class, marital status, smoking in pregnancy, ABO blood group and rhesus status, pre-eclampsia, parity, the infant's presentation at birth, caesarean delivery, forceps delivery, sex, number of babies delivered, gestational age, birthweight, head circumference, breastfeeding and Apgar scores at one and five minutes. RESULTS Maternity records were present for 180 children who subsequently developed IBD. Univariate analysis showed increased risks of CD among children of mothers with CD (P = 0.011, based on two cases of CD in both mother and child) and children of mothers who smoked during pregnancy. Multivariate analysis confirmed increased risks of CD among children of mothers who smoked (odds ratio = 2.04, 95% CI = 1.06-3.92) and for older mothers aged 35+ years (4.81, 2.32-9.98). Multivariate analysis showed that there were no significant associations between CD and 17 other perinatal risk factors investigated. It also showed that, for UC, there were no significant associations with the perinatal factors studied. CONCLUSION This study shows an association between CD in mother and child; and elevated risks of CD in children of older mothers and of mothers who smoked.
Acute lung injury and the acute respiratory distress syndrome: four decades of inquiry into pathogenesis and rational management.

In 2005, the American Thoracic Society marks its 100th year of existence. For over a third of this span, since 1967, clinicians and investigators have struggled with a common, often lethal condition originally termed the adult respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) (1). * While the syndrome almost certainly occurred in earlier times well before the advent of intensive care units, this date establishes its modern era. Subsequently, ARDS has more correctly come to indicate the acute respiratory distress syndrome because it occurs in children as well as in adults (2). ARDS causes severe acute respiratory failure with dynamic impairment in oxygen and carbon dioxide transfer, with the need for high levels of supplementary oxygen and a high minute ventilation (3, 4). Efforts to understand the pathophysiologic events underlying ARDS, a constellation that is now generally termed acute lung injury (ALI), have been substantial and remain a priority of the National Institutes of Health (5). The expectation has been that basic, translational, and clinical studies will result in new strategies for management of ALI/ARDS based on clear definition of the cellular and molecular events requisite in lung injury and repair. While important discoveries have been made, the goal of fundamental characterization of ALI/ARDS in a way that results in highly effective prevention and treatment remains incomplete and elusive. One major advance in supportive care, a strategy of lung protective mechanical ventilation, has substantially reduced mortality in ALI/ARDS (6, 7). This therapeutic intervention resulted from both experimental and clinical studies that evaluated the effect of different ventilation strategies on the course of ALI, and continues a theme initiated in the original description of ALI/ARDS in which positive end-expiratory pressure was introduced as a management modality (1). In spite of the advances in supportive care of patients with ALI/ARDS, unacceptable morbidity and mortality persist and formidable challenges remain. Our objective here is to review briefly what we knew in 1967 regarding pathogenesis and what we know in 2005, and to provide a perspective on how insights have evolved over the last four decades.
Design & characterization of an antenna system for UWB-MIMO communications systems

In this paper, an antenna system is presented which is designed and analyzed for the wireless communication systems using Ultra-Wideband (UWB) technology combined with Multiple-Input Multiple-Output (MIMO) technique. The proposed planar antenna system consists of two heterogeneous antenna elements integrated on the same substrate. The presented antenna system works efficiently in the frequency range of 3.1–10.6 GHz. The parameters like reflection coefficient, gain, mutual coupling between the elements, correlation coefficients, diversity gain and total active reflection coefficient have been simulated to verify the functionality of the antenna system having the dimensions of 30 × 85 mm2.
Part mutual information for quantifying direct associations in networks

Significance Measuring direct associations between variables is of great importance in various areas of science, especially in the era of big data. Although mutual information and conditional mutual information are widely used in quantifying both linear and nonlinear associations, they suffer from the serious problems of overestimation and underestimation. To overcome these problems, in contrast to conditional independence, we propose a novel concept of “partial independence” with a new measure, “part mutual information,” based on information theory that can accurately quantify the nonlinearly direct associations between the measured variables. Quantitatively identifying direct dependencies between variables is an important task in data analysis, in particular for reconstructing various types of networks and causal relations in science and engineering. One of the most widely used criteria is partial correlation, but it can only measure linearly direct association and miss nonlinear associations. However, based on conditional independence, conditional mutual information (CMI) is able to quantify nonlinearly direct relationships among variables from the observed data, superior to linear measures, but suffers from a serious problem of underestimation, in particular for those variables with tight associations in a network, which severely limits its applications. In this work, we propose a new concept, “partial independence,” with a new measure, “part mutual information” (PMI), which not only can overcome the problem of CMI but also retains the quantification properties of both mutual information (MI) and CMI. Specifically, we first defined PMI to measure nonlinearly direct dependencies between variables and then derived its relations with MI and CMI. Finally, we used a number of simulated data as benchmark examples to numerically demonstrate PMI features and further real gene expression data from Escherichia coli and yeast to reconstruct gene regulatory networks, which all validated the advantages of PMI for accurately quantifying nonlinearly direct associations in networks.
The Prognostic Impact of Early Change in Standardized Uptake Value of 18 F-fluorodeoxy-glucose Positron Emission Tomography after Neoadjuvant Chemotherapy in Locally Advanced Breast Cancer Patients

Standardized uptake value (SUV), which is an indicator of the degree of glucose uptake in 18 F-fluorodeoxy-glucose positron emission tomography ( 18 FDG-PET), can be applied as a prognostic factor in various malignant tumors. We investigated the prognostic impact of early changes in 18 FDG-PET uptake in patients with locally advanced breast cancer who received neoadjuvant chemotherapy (NAC). Methods: We retrospectively identified 87 patients who were treated with NAC followed by surgery for locally advanced breast cancer. All patients underwent 18 FDG-PET at baseline and after three cycles of NAC and the maximum SUV (SUV max ) of primary tumor mass were assessed in each scan. Pathologic slides were retrospectively reviewed and residual cancer burden (RCB) index was calculated to estimate pathologic response. RCB-0 is referred to no residual disease (RD) and patients with RD is categorized into three classes: RCB-I (minimal RD), RCB-II (moderate RD), and RCB-III (extensive RD). Results: There was a negative correlation between reduction rate of SUV max ( Δ SUV max) and RCB index (correlation coefficient = -0.408; p <0.001). In multivariate analyses, Δ SUV max were significant independent prognostic factor for recurrence-free survival (RFS) and overall survival (OS), and corresponding adjusted hazard ratios were 0.31 (95% CI: 0.12-0.77, p =0.011) and 0.20 (95% CI: 0.26-0.71, p =0.013), respectively. When patients were classified into four groups according to pathologic response (RCB index ≤ 1 vs. ≥ 2) and metabolic response ( Δ SUV max ≤ 66.4% vs. >66.4%), metabolic responders presented significantly better RFS and OS than metabolic non-responders within poor pathologic response patients. In contrast, within metabolic responders, there was no survival difference according to pathologic response. Conclusions: The early change in SUV max of 18 FDG-PET after 3 rd cycle NAC is an independent and good prognostic marker beyond pathologic response in locally advanced breast cancer patients. We suggest that
cis-Prenyltransferase: New Insights into Protein Glycosylation, Rubber Synthesis, and Human Diseases*

cis-Prenyltransferases (cis-PTs) constitute a large family of enzymes conserved during evolution and present in all domains of life. cis-PTs catalyze consecutive condensation reactions of allylic diphosphate acceptor with isopentenyl diphosphate (IPP) in the cis (Z) configuration to generate linear polyprenyl diphosphate. The chain lengths of isoprenoid carbon skeletons vary widely from neryl pyrophosphate (C10) to natural rubber (C>10,000). The homo-dimeric bacterial enzyme, undecaprenyl diphosphate synthase (UPPS), has been structurally and mechanistically characterized in great detail and serves as a model for understanding the mode of action of eukaryotic cis-PTs. However, recent experiments have revealed that mammals, fungal, and long-chain plant cis-PTs are heteromeric enzymes composed of two distantly related subunits. In this review, the classification, function, and evolution of cis-PTs will be discussed with a special emphasis on the role of the newly described NgBR/Nus1 subunit and its plants' orthologs as essential, structural components of the cis-PTs activity.
Gamification in Crowdsourcing: A Review

This study investigates how different gamification implementations can increase crowdsourcees' motivation and participation in crowdsourcing (CS). To this end, we review empirical literature that has investigated the use of gamification in crowdsourcing settings. Overall, the results of the review indicate that gamification has been an effective approach for increasing crowdsourcing participation. When comparing crowdcreating, -solving, -processing and-rating CS approaches, the results show differences in the use of gamification across CS types. Crowdsourcing initiatives that provide more monotonous tasks most commonly used mere points and other simpler gamification implementations, whereas CS initiatives that seek for diverse and creative contributions have employed gamification in more manifold ways employing a richer set of mechanics. These findings provide insights for designers of gamified systems and further research on the topics of gamification and crowdsourcing.
Safe pre‐operative fasting times after milk or clear fluid in childrenA preliminary study using real‐time ultrasound

Gastric emptying of orange‐flavoured glucose (group I), low‐fat milk (group II) and breast milk (group III) was evaluated in 45 ASA grade I children of ≤ 5 years of age by using real‐time ultrasonography and residual gastric volume and pH was then measured. In 15 more children, residual gastric volume and pH was measured after a midnight fast (group IV). Mean (SD) gastric emptying time in group I was 1.53 (0.25) h (range 1.00–1.75), group II 2.32 (0.31) h (range 1.75–2.75) and group III 2.43 (0.27) h (range 2.00–2.75). According to Robert and Shirley's criteria, no children of group I and II were found to be ‘at risk’ at 2 h and 3 h, respectively, but 13.3% of group III children were labelled as ‘at risk’ at 3 h. The incidence of ‘at risk’ children in group IV was 33.3%. It was concluded that 3% fat milk or 17.5% glucose in a volume of 10 ml.kg−1 (maximum volume of 100 ml) can be given in children safely 3 h and 2 h, respectively, before anaesthesia. More real‐time studies are required on breast milk to establish guidelines for its potential use as a pre‐operative feed 3 h before anaesthesia.
Institutional Repository Youth employment in a globalising world

Young people in the global South are seeking employment opportunities in challenging economic and social environments. This paper provides an overview of current debates regarding youth employment highlighting conceptualizations of youth and (un)employment, emerging youth employment trends, and the nature of policies introduced to tackle youth (un)employment. It provides an overview of the six papers that make up this special issue and shows how highlighting the complexities and diversities of youth employment strategies in sub-Saharan Africa, provides valuable lessons both for enhancing current conceptualisations and theorization of youth employment and in terms of related policy instruments. Introduction Young people in the global South are growing up in challenging social and economic environments. Economic restructuring and the transformation of labour markets have resulted in limited employment opportunities with the youth being especially affected. Although some young people are able to gain employment in the formal economy, especially in growing sectors such as IT and tourism, many have to create jobs for themselves. Rates of unemployment and underemployment are especially high for young people, which present challenges not only for the youth themselves but also for their families and society in general. There are increasing concerns that large sections of young people are being marginalized and excluded from employment and subsequently the status of adulthood. It is widely believed, though not entirely substantiated, that lack of employment can cause idleness and frustration among young people, which in turn can result in risky behaviour and involvement in crime, organised violence and protests (Garcia and Fares, 2008; World Bank, 2007; World Bank, 2013). Despite this rather bleak picture, many young people do manage to gain employment, either working for others or more commonly setting up their own enterprises. This often requires a degree of entrepreneurship as the competition is fierce and the economic climate challenging (Langevang and Gough, 2012; Langevang et al., 2012). Against the odds, many young people in the global South hang onto the possibility of improving their lives through working and achieving social mobility (Gough, 2008). They engage in various strategies including: extending their formal education and gaining new skills, setting up their own businesses, forming networks and alliances, and migrating in search of new opportunities. Some of these strategies result in success whereas others fail causing increased disillusionment. The issue of youth employment remains one of the major challenges for governments and is a key issue of concern for many development partners. Policy initiatives, however, tend to focus on formal employment and education, ignoring less formal means of meeting youth