Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Co-expression of PDGF-B and VEGFR-3 strongly correlates with lymph node metastasis and poor survival in non-small-cell lung cancer.

BACKGROUND Platelet-derived growth factors (PDGFs) and vascular endothelial growth factors and their receptors [platelet-derived growth factor receptors (PDGFRs) and vascular endothelial growth factor receptors (VEGFRs)] are related to both angiogenesis and lymphangiogenesis and are important targets in new cancer treatment strategies. We aimed to study the PDGFs/PDGFRs and correlations with lymph node metastasis (LNM) and investigate the prognostic impact of the co-expression of PDGF-B and VEGFR-3 and its correlation with LNM. PATIENTS AND METHODS Tumor tissue samples from 335 resected patients with stage I-IIIA non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC) were obtained and tissue microarrays were constructed from duplicate cores of tumor cells and tumor-related stroma from each specimen. Immunohistochemistry was used to evaluate the expression of the molecular markers PDGF-A, PDGF-B, PDGF-C, PDGF-D, PDGFR-alpha, PDGFR-beta, VEGFR-3 and D2-40. RESULTS There were 232 N0 and 103 N+ patients (76 N1 and 27 N2). In multivariate analyses, high tumor cell PDGF-A expression (P = 0.017) correlated with LNM. Tumor cell co-expression of VEGFR-3 and PDGF-B correlated with nodal metastasis and was an independent indicator of poor prognosis (hazard ratio 4.8, confidence interval 95% 2.80-8.31, P < 0.001). CONCLUSION Tumor cell PDGF-A expression correlates with LNM, and the co-expression of PDGF-B and VEGFR-3 is strongly associated with poor survival in NSCLC patients.
Experimental evaluation of Z-directional fibre-fibre bond strength using microrobotics

There is a large interest in the measurement of the Z-directional bond strength in pulp and paper/board industry. Several methods have been developed to measure the Z-directional strength at a handsheet level; however, there is not any reported device capable of the Z-directional fibre-fibre bond strength measurement at a fibre level. This paper presents a novel method for the experimental evaluation of the Z-directional bond strength using microrobotics and a Polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF) film microforce sensor. In bond strength experiments, different deformation rates are needed. Therefore, the effect of the deformation rate on the performance of the proposed sensor is studied and successful experiments on unrefined bleached softwood kraft pulp fibres are demonstrated.
Direct Democracy and Trust in Government

>> an abundance of recent research has suggested that direct democracy institutions, such as the initiative and referendum, craft an environment ripe for encouraging better democratic citizenship. High and frequent exposure to ballot measures has been shown to increase the awareness, efficacy, political participation, and even the general level of happiness of citizens. In contrast to these studies, I develop and test a theory that the use of ballot initiatives undermines the ability of government to prove themselves trustworthy. Using data from two surveys, I demonstrate that ballot initiatives in the a merican states do indeed create an environment that encourages citizens to distrust their government. The findings have implications in assessing the positive externalities to direct legislation as well as in understanding policy choice made in these elections.
Difference in sleep regulation between morning and evening circadian types as indexed by antero‐posterior analyses of the sleep EEG

Circadian types classify individuals according to their preferred timing for activity and sleep, morning and evening types showing, respectively, early or late preferences. This characteristic has been associated with corresponding differences in circadian sleep propensity. In this study, quantitative analysis of the sleep EEG in antero‐posterior derivations was used to test the hypothesis that morning and evening types differ not only in the circadian aspect of sleep regulation but also in the homeostatic aspect. Morning types and evening types (six men and six women per group, aged 19–34 years) were selected using the Morningness–Eveningness Questionnaire. They were studied by polysomnography according to their preferred sleep schedule. Spectral activity in four midline derivations (Fz, Cz, Pz, Oz) was calculated separately in nonrapid eye movement (NREM) sleep and in rapid eye movement (REM) sleep. In NREM sleep, morning types showed a steeper decrease of slow‐wave activity (SWA; 1–5 Hz) per sleep cycle in the fronto‐central derivations and a steeper increase in 13–14 Hz activity in the parieto‐occipital derivations than did evening types. Nonlinear regression analysis revealed that the exponential decay rate of relative values of SWA in NREM sleep was faster in morning than evening types, in the frontal derivation. In REM sleep, morning types showed a steeper decrease of high sigma (14–16 Hz) and beta (16–24 Hz) activities across the night in centro‐parietal derivations than did evening types. These results show for the first time a clear difference between morning types and evening types in homeostatic sleep regulation.
Improvement of thermal parameters of building materials based on clay

This study aims to develop the local building materials based on clay by mixing them with natural additives such as cow dung, pod of millet and palm's leaves. Baking these clay bricks burn the adjuvants and contribute to obtain porous composite materials with lightweight and hardness increased. We used the “boxes method” for performing thermal testing on the samples of clay bricks in crude and baked state. The results of thermal tests showed interesting thermal characteristics. Indeed, the heat resistance increases with the addition of adjuvants and baking. Moreover, it decreases according to the water content. The comparison with cement mortar shows that more than 49% energy saving is observed on a house built with these materials.
Fetal sex and maternal alpha‐fetoprotein concentration at late normal singleton pregnancies

The aim of this study is to investigate maternal and fetal clinical parameters on maternal serum alpha‐fetoprotein (MAFP) levels at late pregnancies. The studied subjects were 36 to 40 weeks pregnant. The pregnancies were singletons without any medical or gynecologic disease. Delivery followed within three days after blood sampling. A total of 192 subjects were included. The MAFP levels were measured by radioimmunoassay. The results showed the average MAFP was 108.2 ng/ml (SE 4.8 ng/ml). Male‐fetus‐bearers had higher MAFP (mean 121.4, SE 8.2 ng/ml, n = 84) than female‐fetus‐bearers (mean 97.9, SE 5.43 ng/ml, n= 108) (p = 0.014). MAFP did not have significant correlation with fetal weight (p>0.05) regardless of whether the fetus was a male (p>0.05) or female (p>0.05). By stepwise multiple regression, fetal sex was revealed to be the only factor that can affect MAFP (p = 0.0071). MAFP did not correlate with maternal age, gravidity, parity, maternal weight, total weight gain during pregnancy, gestational weeks, or fetal weight (all p > 0.05). Since fetal sex is the only factor that influences MAFP levels at uncomplicated late pregnancies, MAFP values should be interpreted with caution.
A three‐dimensional tissue culture model for the study of attach and efface lesion formation by enteropathogenic and enterohaemorrhagic Escherichia coli

We sought to develop a practical and representative model to study the interactions of enteropathogenic and enterohaemorrhagic Escherichia coli (EPEC and EHEC, respectively) with human intestinal tissue. For this purpose, human intestinal epithelial HCT‐8 cells were cultured under low‐shear microgravity conditions in a rotating cell culture system. After 10 days, layered cell aggregates, or ‘organoids’, developed. Three lines of evidence indicated that these organoids exhibited traits characteristic of normal tissue. First, the organoids expressed normal intestinal tissue markers in patterns that suggested greater cellular differentiation in the organoids than conventionally grown monolayers. Second, the organoids produced higher levels of intestinally expressed disaccharidases and alkaline phosphatase on a cell basis than did conventionally cultured monolayers. Third, HCT‐8 organoid tissue developed microvilli and desmosomes characteristic of normal tissue, as revealed by electron microscopy. Because the low‐shear microgravity condition is proposed by modelling studies to more closely approximate conditions in the intestinal microvilli, we also tested the impact of microgravity of bacterial growth and virulence gene expression. No influence on growth rates was observed but intimin expression by EHEC was elevated during culture in microgravity as compared with normal gravity. That the responses of HCT‐8 organoids to infection with wild‐type EPEC or EHEC under microgravitational conditions approximated infection of normal tissue was demonstrated by the classical appearance of the resultant attaching and effacing lesions. We concluded that the low shear microgravity environment promoted growth of intestinal cell organoids with greater differentiation than was seen in HCT‐8 cells maintained in conventional tissue culture and provided a reduced gravity environment for study of bacterial–host cell interactions.
Crossing Borders for Civic Engagement: A Narrative Inquiry of Service-Learning's Participant Perspectives

Service-learning initiatives often serve as higher education’s approach to achieving institutional goals of fostering students’ civic growth. Alternative Spring Breaks (ASBs), defined in this study as short-term immersion trips developed to engage college students in direct service experiences, have been understudied as service-learning programmatic options in higher education, thus leaving little to no indication of the larger context of the service experience, nor its participant outcomes in terms of civic engagement (Jones, Robbins, & LePeau, 2011). This study addresses gaps in researcher and practitioner understanding of ASBs, by uncovering long-term effects of these widely utilized, yet under-researched programs. Through a narrative inquiry methodology, this study captures the stories of five alternative spring break participants from a mid-sized suburban private institution which organizes two domestic ASBs yearly. The respondent narratives speak to service-learning’s ability to not only engage students in cross-cultural experiences, but to also cross internal borders within themselves, challenging pre-conceived notions of otherness and social issues. This study highlights the aesthetic and emotive meaning participants ascribe to their service experience long-term, noting shifts in their civic mindfulness and cultural sensitivity as well as propensity to civically engage post- graduation. By studying students’ experiences with border-crossing, challenging pre-conceived notions of difference, and individual civic responsibility development, this study unpacks the alternative spring break participant perspective shift and development experience. Through the use of Dewey’s philosophy of education and Giroux’s theory of border-crossing, this study sheds light on the blind spots of service-learning, specifically ASBs, generating critique of the pedagogy in the hope of advancing the field, and ultimately the experience for future alternative spring break participants.
Terrorism and tourism in Israel

While the relation between terrorism and tourism has been an important topic for tourism research, the questions whether terrorism affects tourism immediately and how long after a terrorism event tourism recovers are, as yet, not clearly answered. The aim of this article is to better understand the magnitude and temporal scale of the impact of terrorism on tourism. To this end, a research model differentiating between short-term and long-term effects of terrorism on tourism is developed and analyzed for the destination Israel using data on tourists from Germany. The results show both short-term and long-term impacts with a time lag between the terrorist event and the beginning of tourism decline of 1 or up to 6 months. An economic influence on the development of tourist arrivals was not detected, but seasonality plays an important role in the relationship between terrorism and tourism.
Power delivery network analysis of 3D double-side glass interposers for high bandwidth applications

Logic-to-memory interconnections by double-side mounting on ultra-thin 3D glass interposers with Through-Package-Vias (TPVs) achieves high bandwidth (BW) (>25.6GB per second), without the complex TSV processes in logic ICs, required for wide I/O 3D-IC stack. While this interposer/packaging technology offers several advantages including power delivery by enabling thick power-ground (P/G) planes, the power distribution network (PDN) challenges such as resonances must be addressed. This paper investigates the impedance characteristics of PDN in 3D glass interposers at chip, interposer, package, and board-levels. The resonance characteristics of power and ground planes in ultra-thin glass packages are compared with other interposer technologies through 3D EM simulations with variations in core thickness. Test vehicles fabricated with 10×10mm power-ground plane pairs on ultra-thin 30μm glass samples were characterized for primary resonance modes, with good model-to-hardware correlation. Self-impedance (Z11) was studied with variations in (a) number of power and ground BGA interconnections, (b) power and ground path distance, and (c) placement of decoupling capacitors. In all these three cases, the contribution of increased package-level loop inductance to total system level impedance (on-chip + interposer/package + PWB PDN) was shown to be minimal. Thus, through a combination of integrated power and ground planes, decoupling capacitors, and optimal power-ground BGA interconnection placements, ultra-thin 3D glass interposers can achieve the target impedance guidelines for high BW systems.
Procalcitonin in fever of unknown origin after liver transplantation: A variable to differentiate acute rejection from infection

Objective: Does procalcitonin (PCT) differentiate between infection and rejection after liver transplantation in patients with fever of unknown origin? Design: Open prospective trial. Setting: Transplant intensive care unit at a university hospital. Patients: Forty patients after liver transplantation. Interventions: Liver biopsy for the diagnosis of rejection and transcutaneous aspiration cytology for monitoring of lymphocyte activation. Measurements: Procalcitonin from EDTA plasma, Acute Physiology and Chronic Health Evaluation II, and sepsis score. Results: Eleven patients experienced an infectious complication resulting in an increase in PCT concentrations (2.2‐41.7 ng/mL). Eleven patients had a rejection episode; none of these patients showed a rise in PCT concentrations. The statistical difference between PCT concentrations in rejection and infection was significant (p < .05) on the day of diagnosis. Conclusion: PCT allows for differentiation between rejection and infection in patients with fever of unknown origin. Elevation of PCT plasma concentrations develops early postoperatively from operation trauma, and in the case of fever of unknown origin, with no rise in PCT, a rejection may be suspected.
Evaluation of the point of care Afinion AS100 analyser in a community setting

Background A ‘one stop shop’ model for multifactorial risk factor management in a culturally sensitive environment may improve cardiovascular disease and diabetes prevention. A full biochemical profile for cardiovascular disease risk assessment includes a lipid profile, glucose, glycated haemoglobin and urine albumin creatinine ratio measurements. This may require the use of more than one point of care testing instrument. Methods Individuals who attended a community cardiovascular disease risk screening or an audit programme of the diabetic care pathway in the community were sampled. Bland–Altman and Deming regression plots were used to assess agreement between methods for total cholesterol, high-density lipoprotein cholesterol, triglycerides, glycated haemoglobin and urine albumin creatinine ratio. Results There was good agreement between the Afinion AS100 analyser, Cholestech LDX and the laboratory methods for total cholesterol, high-density lipoprotein cholesterol and triglycerides (n = 232). The Afinion AS100 agreed well with the laboratory method for glycated haemoglobin (n = 255) and urine albumin creatinine ratio (n = 176). There was statistically significant bias (p = 0.03 to <0.0001) for several measurements. However, these were judged not to be clinically relevant. Specifically for the total cholesterol and high-density lipoprotein cholesterol values, we obtained good agreement (weighted kappa: 0.91 and 0.94 for the Afinion AS100 vs. Cholestech LDX and Afinion AS100 vs. laboratory method, respectively) for cardiovascular disease risk calculation using QRISK2. Conclusions Point of care testing can support a ‘one stop shop’ approach by providing rapid, reliable results. The Afinion AS100 analyser provides a multi-analyte platform and compares well with laboratory-based methods and another well-established point of care testing analyser.
Increasing trends in the use of breast-conserving surgery in California.

OBJECTIVES The purpose of this study was to determine temporal trends in breast-conserving surgery in California from 1988 through 1995. METHODS Logistic regression was used to analyze data on 104,466 cases of early-stage breast cancer reported to the California Cancer Registry. RESULTS A monotonically increasing trend in breast-conserving surgery was detected after adjustment for age, race/ethnicity, stage at diagnosis, and neighborhood education level. Breast-conserving surgery increased at similar rates among all racial/ethnic groups. Older age, Asian or Hispanic race/ethnicity, late-stage diagnosis, and residence in an undereducated neighborhood were factors associated with lower use of breast-conserving surgery. CONCLUSIONS Although disparities are evident, use of breast-conserving surgery increased steadily in all groups examined in this study.
Market trends for seafood products in the USA: Implication for Southern aquaculture products

ABSTRACT Increased understanding of trends in supermarket sales of seafood and fish has potential to assist the U.S. aquaculture industry to refine marketing strategies and target markets. This article focuses on understanding the marketing of seafood products in grocery retail stores with special emphasis on four major southern aquaculture products (catfish, shrimp, clams and crawfish). The study used store-based as well as household-based scanner data from the Nielsen Company. Results show that frozen/chilled finfish sales (in value) are increasing faster than total frozen seafood sales. Shrimp is the major type of frozen seafood sold in the United States. Among unbreaded finfish, tilapia, whiting, salmon, catfish and flounder occupied the top five ranks in terms of cumulative 5-year sales from 2005–06 to 2009–10. The share of tilapia in retail markets has risen consistently and steeply over the years. Sales performance of products in a market is correlated positively with the degree of promotional pricing given to that product. The study found that the U.S. aquaculture industry needs to develop market-specific strategies to gain further market share in retail stores. Several aquaculture farmers/processors have used the study results to design or redesign their marketing plans and strategies.
Illuminance, sexual maturation, and early egg production in female broiler breeders

1. Broiler breeders were reared at an initial illuminance of 13, 21 or 44 lux and transferred at 20 weeks and a mean body weight of 2.06 kg to floor pens at 25, 55 or 71 lux, or to individual cages at various intensities between 3 and 138 lux. 2. Rate of sexual maturation was not significantly affected by the light intensity experienced during the rearing period, but was progressively accelerated by the provision of a brighter illuminance after 20 weeks, up to a ceiling of about 14 lux. There was no interaction between the pre- and post-20-week illuminance. 3. Cumulative egg numbers to 39 weeks were unaffected by illuminance in the rearing period, positively correlated with illuminance post 20 weeks up to an asymptote at about 8 lux, and highly correlated with age at sexual maturity. Peak rate of lay was both delayed and depressed at 3 lux. 4. It is concluded that the minimum light intensity required at bird-head height to achieve satisfactory photostimulation and an optimal peak rate of lay in broiler breeders is 10 lux, but that a higher illuminance would be prudent for broiler breeders kept in floor pen facilities to maximise nest-box usage.
Maintenance of Serological Memory by Polyclonal Activation of Human Memory B Cells

Production of antibodies can last for a lifetime, through mechanisms that remain poorly understood. Here, we show that human memory B lymphocytes proliferate and differentiate into plasma cells in response to polyclonal stimuli, such as bystander T cell help and CpG DNA. Furthermore, plasma cells secreting antibodies to recall antigens are produced in vivo at levels proportional to the frequency of specific memory B cells, even several years after antigenic stimulation. Although antigen boosting leads to a transient increase in specific antibody levels, ongoing polyclonal activation of memory B cells offers a means to maintain serological memory for a human lifetime.
Lung Transplant Metalloproteinase Levels Are Elevated Prior to Bronchiolitis Obliterans Syndrome

Parenchymal disease in the allograft lung is associated with interstitial remodeling believed to be mediated by matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs). Recent studies suggest high levels of MMP‐9 are associated with bronchiolitis obliterans syndrome (BOS) in lung transplant recipients. Since BOS occurs late in the posttransplant period and may be preceded by episodes of acute rejection or infection, which are associated with interstitial remodeling, we examined MMP profiles in allograft bronchoalveolar lavage (BAL) fluid in the early posttransplant period (preceding BOS). Gelatin zymography, protein array analysis and specific ELISA on BAL fluids from transplanted lungs indicated that MMP‐8, MMP‐9 and TIMP‐1 were strongly expressed in allograft BAL fluid from stable patients, or those with infection or rejection compared to BAL fluid from normal volunteers. Elevated expression of MMP‐8, MMP‐9 and TIMP‐1 occurred early, and was sustained for the 3.2 years covered in this study. Elevations of MMP‐8, MMP‐9 and TIMP‐1 in the first 2 years posttransplant appear to be associated with lung transplantation itself, and not infection or rejection. These data suggest that ongoing and clinically silent MMP activity could perpetuate progressive disease in the allograft lung.