Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Environmental Factors and Breast Cancer

This review summarizes the results of studies on the effects of environment on breast cancer risk. As known risk factors such as reproductive life, inheritance, and socioeconomic status are estimated to explain only about half of the breast cancer cases, it has been thought that environmental factors could also be related to the risk of this disease. It is known that ionizing radiation is an environmental risk factor increasing the risk of breast cancer. The data of experimental studies show that some organochlorines could be associated with breast cancer risk although the data from epidemiological studies are not consistent due to the difficulties to assess exposure and other risk factors. Recent experimental studies show that cadmium is an environmental factor that mimics the effects of estradiol in estrogen-responsive breast cancer cell lines while solar radiation possibly decreases the risk due to protective effect of vitamin D. The data on the effect of electromagnetic fields are not consistent. Although evidence about the effect of environmental factors on the risk of breast cancer is not convincing, some of these factors together with inheritance, reproductive life, and age at exposure could be associated with an increased risk of the disease.
A reservoir for methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus in the Auckland community?

AIM To determine if there is a difference in methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) colonisation rates between patients over the age of 60 years admitted to Auckland Hospital from either residential care facilities (RCF) or the community. METHODS A prospective cohort study. The following information was collected: patient demographics; admission in the last 12 months; presence of risk factors for MRSA colonisation; any history of MRSA colonisation. Swabs from the nose, perineum and any infected wounds or skin lesions were collected. Urine was cultured if the patient had a urinary catheter in situ. RESULTS 19 (9%) patients of 213 from RCF, and 6 (3%) patients of 201 from the community were positive for MRSA (p = 0.02). Patients admitted to hospital in the previous 12 months were three times more likely to be colonised with MRSA than others (p = 0.01). Excluding those patients already known to be MRSA positive, patients admitted from RCF were six times more likely to be newly found to be MRSA positive. Twenty four of the 25 MRSA isolates were EMRSA-15. CONCLUSIONS Patients from RCF are statistically more likely to be colonised with MRSA compared with patients of similar age admitted from the community. Identification of such high-risk carriers allows targeted infection control activity to control MRSA within hospitals.
Heuristic technology mapper for LUT based FPGAs

One of the main objective in the process of mapping a circuit onto a look-Up Table (LUT) based FPGA is to minimize the number of LUTs required to implement the circuit. A new top-down technology mapper algorithm is discussed in this paper which aims at minimizing number of LUTs needed for mapping the digital circuit. The algorithm makes use of combination of node selection and covering heuristics using which maximum number of DAG nodes are covered by a selected LUT. The results obtained are better than Chortle, Level-map and Flow-map-r technology mapper algorithms.
Cytomegalovirus-Specific CD4+ T Cells in Healthy Carriers Are Continuously Driven to Replicative Exhaustion1

Repeated antigenic encounter drives proliferation and differentiation of memory T cell pools. An important question is whether certain specific T cells may be driven eventually to exhaustion in elderly individuals since the human life expectancy is increasing. We found that CMV-specific CD4+ T cells were significantly expanded in healthy young and old carriers compared with purified protein derivative-, varicella zoster virus-, EBV-, and HSV-specific populations. These CMV-specific CD4+ T cells exhibited a late differentiated phenotype since they were largely CD27 and CD28 negative and had shorter telomeres. Interestingly, in elderly CMV-seropositive subjects, CD4+ T cells of different specificities were significantly more differentiated than the same cells in CMV-seronegative individuals. This suggested the involvement of bystander-secreted, differentiation-inducing factors during CMV infection. One candidate was IFN-α, which induced loss of costimulatory receptors and inhibited telomerase in activated CD4+ T cells and was secreted at high levels by CMV-stimulated plasmacytoid dendritic cells (PDC). The CMV-specific CD4+ T cells in elderly subjects had severely restricted replicative capacity. This is the first description of a human memory T cell population that is susceptible to being lost through end-stage differentiation due to the combined effects of lifelong virus reactivation in the presence of bystander differentiation-inducing factors.
Gene flow and diversification in a species complex of Alcantarea inselberg bromeliads

Inselberg-adapted species of bromeliads (Bromeliaceae) have been suggested as model systems for understanding the evolutionary genetics of species complexes and radiations in terrestrial, island-like environments. Bromeliads are particularly suitable for addressing the potential roles of interspecific gene exchange during plant speciation and radiation. We have studied populations of five narrowly endemic Alcantarea species adapted to high-elevation inselbergs of the Atlantic Rainforest of Brazil with nuclear and plastid DNA markers, estimated outcrossing rates in the giant bromeliad A. imperialis using progeny arrays and carried out a pilot study on the use of next generation sequencing-based genotyping in this group. Our results suggest widespread and asymmetric interspecific gene flow in the studied species complex, which visibly affects patterns of genetic diversity in the phenotypically variable mixed outcrosser A. imperialis. Our data support the hypothesis that gene flow has contributed to the origin of phenotypic forms in the A. imperialis s.l. species complex. We discuss potential conflicts between our neutral marker data and previous taxonomic work and suggest how these might be resolved. We close with a brief outlook on the potential of genomic tools to uncover the hidden links between genotypes, phenotypes and niches in bromeliads and other plant radiations.
Video-based object recognition with weakly supervised object localization

With the number of videos growing rapidly in modern society, automatically recognizing objects from video input becomes increasingly pressing. Videos contain abundant yet noisy information, with easily obtained video-level labels. This paper targets the problem of video-based object recognition, whilst keeping the advantages of videos. We propose a novel algorithm, which only utilizes the weak video-level label in training, iteratively updating the classifier and inferring the object location in each video frame. During testing we obtain more accurate recognition results by inferring the location of the object in the scene. The background and temporal information are also incorporated in the model to improve the discriminability and consistency of recognition in video. We introduce a novel and challenging YouTube dataset to demonstrate the benefits of our method over other baseline methods.
Industrial Noise Cancellation System-Model

The active noise cancellation (ANC), also known as “anti-noise” and “active noise control” involves the electro-acoustic generation (usually with loudspeaker) of a sound field to cancel an unwanted existing sound field. A typical single-channel active noise system consist of: a microphone reference sensor to sampled the disturbance to be cancelled, an electronic control system to process the reference signal and generate the control signal, a loudspeaker driven by the control signal to generate the cancelling disturbance, an error microphone to provide the controller with information so that it can adjust itself to minimize the resulting sound field. In this paper I will present a model of the above technology which can be used in industries in order to prevent noise pollution and provide safety to the workers working under excessive noise.
Poor Storage and Handling of Tissue Mimics Mitochondrial DNA Depletion

Analysis of the mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) is an important part in the diagnosis of mitochondrial disorders. Besides point mutations and deletions in the mitochondrial genome a reduction in the amount of mtDNA molecules (mtDNA depletion) can also be the reason for mitochondrial defects. The DNA stability in clinical samples is essential for proper performance and interpretation of DNA based diagnosis. The stability of mtDNA was compared with that of nuclear DNA under poor handling and storage conditions. Fresh and thawed muscle tissue specimens were kept at different temperatures for a certain period of time before DNA isolation. Quantitative Southern blot analysis revealed a time-dependent decrease in the amount of mtDNA compared with nuclear DNA in thawed tissue specimens. Therefore, the current study demonstrates that proper specimen storage is a critical issue in quantitative mtDNA analysis and that poor handling and storage of tissue may mimic a severe mtDNA depletion.
Novel Approach to Prevent the Transition From the Hyperdynamic Phase to the Hypodynamic Phase of Sepsis: Role of Adrenomedullin and Adrenomedullin Binding Protein-1

ObjectiveTo determine whether the combined administration of adrenomedullin and adrenomedullin binding protein-1 (AM/AMBP-1) has any modulatory effects on the cardiovascular response during the progression of sepsis. Summary Background DataPolymicrobial sepsis is characterized by an early, hyperdynamic phase followed by a late, hypodynamic phase. Recent studies have shown that AM, a newly reported potent vasodilator peptide, plays a major role in initiating the hyperdynamic response. Moreover, the reduced vascular responsiveness to AM appears to be responsible for the transition from the hyperdynamic phase to the hypodynamic phase of sepsis. Although the novel AMBP-1 augments AM-mediated action in vitro, it remains unknown whether AM/AMBP-1 maintains vascular responsiveness to AM at the late stage of sepsis. MethodsSepsis was induced by cecal ligation and puncture (CLP) in adult male rats. Human AMBP-1 (40 &mgr;g/kg body weight) was infused intravenously at the beginning of sepsis for 20 minutes and synthetic AM (12 &mgr;g/kg body weight) was continuously administrated for the entire study period using an Alzert micro-osmotic pump, beginning 3 hours before the induction of sepsis. At 20 hours after the onset of sepsis (i.e., the late stage), cardiac output, systemic oxygen delivery, stroke volume, total peripheral resistance, and organ blood flow in the liver, gut, kidneys, and heart were determined using radioactive microspheres. Plasma levels of transaminases (ALT, AST) and lactate were also measured. Additional studies were conducted to determine whether administration of AM alone or AMBP-1 alone alters the cardiovascular response at 20 hours after CLP. In additional rats, the necrotic cecum was excised at 20 hours after CLP following AM/AMBP-1 treatment, the peritoneal cavity irrigated with saline, and the midline incision closed in layers. Survival was then examined for a period of 10 days thereafter. ResultsAdministration of AM/AMBP-1 prevented the decrease in the measured systemic and regional hemodynamic parameters at 20 hours after the onset of sepsis. Moreover, AM/AMBP-1 significantly attenuated hepatic damage and the elevation of plasma lactate, and prevented hemoconcentration. Treatment with AM/AMBP-1 reduced the overall 10-day mortality rate from 57% to 7%. Neither AM nor AMBP-1 alone was sufficient to maintain cardiovascular stability at 20 hours after CLP. ConclusionsSince AM/AMBP-1 delays or even prevents the transition from the hyperdynamic phase to the hypodynamic phase of sepsis, attenuates tissue injury, and decreases sepsis-induced morality, these agents should provide a novel approach for maintaining cardiovascular stability and preventing cell and organ damage during the progression of polymicrobial sepsis.
Poliovirus mutants resistant to neutralization with soluble cell receptors

Poliovirus mutants resistant to neutralization with soluble cellular receptor were isolated. Replication of soluble receptor-resistant (srr) mutants was blocked by a monoclonal antibody directed against the HeLa cell receptor for poliovirus, indicating that the mutants use this receptor to enter cells. The srr mutants showed reduced binding to HeLa cells and cell membranes. However, the reduced binding phenotype did not have a major impact on viral replication, as judged by plaque size and one-step growth curves. These results suggest that the use of soluble receptors as antiviral agents could lead to the selection of neutralization-resistant mutants that are able to bind cell surface receptors, replicate, and cause disease.
Passive cooperative targets for subsurface physical and chemical measurements

We investigate the development of passive cooperative targets as sub-surface sensors interrogated by Ground Penetrating RADAR (GPR). Using piezoelectric substrates for converting the incoming electromagnetic pulse to an acoustic wave confined to the sensor surface (Surface Acoustic Wave transducer - SAW) allows for shrinking the sensor dimensions while providing sensing capability through the piezoelectric substrate acoustic wave velocity dependence with the physical quantity under investigation. Two broad ranges of sensing mechanisms are discussed: intrinsic piezoelectric substrate velocity dependence with a quantity - restricted to the measurement of temperature or strain and hence torque or pressure - and extrinsic load dependence on the sensor, allowing for the measurement of variable capacitive or resistive loads. We demonstrate, using readily available surface acoustic wave filters diverted from their original use to become reflective cooperative targets, how commercially available GPR hardware can be used, with minor software addition, to probe such sensors with no hindrance to the shallow subsurface structure detection capability by defining multiple time windows - some for sub-surface monitoring and others for sensing capability.
The N676D and G697R mutations in the kinase domain of FLT3 confer resistance to the inhibitor AC220

The FLT3 receptor tyrosine kinase is constitutively activated by internal tandem duplication (ITD) in its juxtamembrane domain or tyrosine kinase domain in 30% of acute myeloid leukemia (AML) cases. [1][1]-[3][2] Alternatively, FLT3 can also be activated by mutations in the kinase domain (such as the
The Transplantation of Human Fetal Neuroretinal Cells in Advanced Retinitis Pigmentosa Patients: Results of a Long-Term Safety Study

The purpose of this study was to determine the long-term safety of transplanting human fetal neuroretinal cells (14 to 18 week gestational age) into a series of patients with advanced retinitis pigmentosa (RP). After obtaining informed consent, both hosts and mothers of donors were screened for transmissible diseases. Pre- and postoperative clinical exams, visual acuity, electroretinograms, and fluorescein angiograms were performed and visual field testing was attempted in each case. Surgically, an anterior approach through pars plana ciliaris was used. A retinotomy was performed in the paramacular area and a two-function cannula was introduced into the subretinal space to deliver a suspension of donor cells. The cell suspension carried approximately 4000 cells/microl; the volume injected did not exceed 150 microl. The patients were examined for periods ranging from 12 to 40 months posttransplantation. To date, no evidence of inflammation, infection, or overt rejection of the graft was noted in the host eye, neither was any change observed in the contralateral, unoperated eye. In conclusion, neuroretinal cells were injected into the subretinal space of 14 patients with advanced RP with no clinical appearance of detrimental effects at the time of surgery or up to 40 months postinjection except in 1 patient who developed retinal detachment. This sets the stage for a phase II clinical trial to determine the possible beneficial effects of this procedure in patients blinded by degenerative retinal disease.
Monitoring radiation‐induced changes in bone marrow histopathology with ultra‐small superparamagnetic iron oxide (USPIO)‐enhanced MRI

The purpose of this study was to monitor radiation‐induced alterations of the blood‐bone marrow barrier (BMB) and the reticuloendothelial system (RES) with AMI‐227‐enhanced magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). Twenty New Zealand white rabbits (n = 10 following total body irradiation and n = 10 controls) underwent AMI‐227‐enhanced MRI. Pulse sequences included dynamic fast low‐angle shot (FLASH; TR/TE 50/4 msec, flip angle 60°) MRI and static T1‐ and T2‐weighted spin‐echo (SE) and turbo‐SE sequences of the lumbar spine and sacrum. Bone marrow enhancement was quantified as Δ signal intensity (SI) (%) = |[(SIpost ‐ SIpre)/SIpre] × 100%| and compared with histopathology, including iron stains and electron microscopy. Dynamic bone marrow ΔSI (%) data steadily increased up to 10–15 minutes after AMI‐227 administration, while blood ΔSI (%) data stayed nearly constant, histologically corresponding to iron oxide leakage into the bone marrow interstitium. This bone marrow contrast enhancement increased significantly following irradiation, corresponding to alterations of the endothelial lining of the bone marrow sinusoids. Late postcontrast images exhibited a significant positive T1 enhancement and negative T2 enhancement of the normal bone marrow, which further increased with irradiation due to increased RES activity. Irradiation‐induced changes in bone marrow physiology could be reliably assessed with AMI‐227‐enhanced MRI. J. Magn. Reson. Imaging 1999;9:643–652, 1999. © 1999 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Partial Reporting : An Example from Charitable Giving ∗

Of necessity, many tax-price elasticities are calculated from tax return data. Survey data on families’ charitable giving and reporting on their tax returns indicate that reporting is a significant part of tax-price elasticity estimates. Roughly a quarter of the tax-price elasticity estimated from tax returns represents changes in reporting as opposed to changes in actual donations. These results are consistent with a model in which individuals face unit costs of reporting in addition to any fixed cost of itemization. JEL Codes: H2
Influence of Family Life on the Course of Schizophrenic Disorders: A Replication

In spite of the new methods of treatment and care introduced during the past fifteen years, schizophrenic patients are still liable to relapse with a recurrence of florid symptoms such as delusions, hallucinations and disturbed behaviour, and great suffering can be caused to all concerned (Brown et al., 1966). It has been shown that the onset of florid symptoms is often preceded during the previous three weeks by a significant change in the patient's social environment (Brown and Birley, 1968; Birley and Brown, 1970). Other studies have focused on the influence of more persistent environmental factors, such as the emotion expressed towards the patients by relatives with whom they were living. In an exploratory survey of discharged long-stay men it was found that close emotional ties with parents or wives indicated a poor prognosis (Brown, Carstairs and Topping, 1958; Brown, 1959). In a further study, patients were seen in hospital just before discharge, and their relatives were interviewed at home at the same time, and both were seen together at a joint interview shortly after discharge. It was found that those patients who returned home to live with relatives who were highly emotionally involved with them (as judged by ratings of the relatives' behaviour) were more likely to suffer a relapse of florid symptoms, even when the severity of psychiatric disturbance at the time of discharge was taken into account (Brown et al., 1962). Ratings of the patient's own expressed emotion showed much less involvement, and were much less highly associated with subsequent relapse. There was also a suggestion that short-term and long-term influences might have a cumulative effect; for example, that a raised level of tension in the home made relapse more likely in the event of a critical change in the patient's social environment (Brown and Birley, 1968). These facts, together with the contrasting but just as handicapping reaction of schizophrenic patients to an under-stimulating social milieu, were brought together in a more general theory of environmental influences on the course of schizophrenia (Wing and Brown, 1970). This also took account of the high physiological arousal which had been found in the most withdrawn schizophrenic patients (Venables, 1968; Venables and Wing, 1962). It was argued that in a socially intrusive environment acting upon a patient whose thought disorder was in any case liable to become manifest whenever circumstances became too complicated, a patient would tend to attempt to protect himself by social withdrawal; but this process might easily go too far, both in hospital and outside it, leading to complete social isolation and inability to care for himself. The optimum social environment, for those who remained handicapped, was seen as a structured and neutrally stimulating one with little necessity for complex decision making.
Adoption of centre pivot irrigation in the irrigated dairy industry of south-eastern Australia

This paper reports on a study to answer the research question; why do dairy farmers adopt (or not adopt as the case may be) centre pivot irrigation (CPI) in the Central Goulburn Irrigation District (CGID) of southeastern Australia? Twenty-two dairy farmers were interviewed. Ten of these farmers had adopted CPI, four were considering adopting, and eight of the farmers were not planning to adopt CPI. The farmers interviewed represented the range of irrigated dairy farm sizes and production practices found within the CGID. The interviews were conducted and the data analysed as per the methods developed by Kaine (2004; 2008). We found that dairy farmers in the CGID only adopted CPI if their farm context (the farm's physical characteristics, the farmers' mix of skills and existing practices) meant that CPI would provide a relative advantage over alternative irrigation options. Therefore, CPI was only adopted when a farmer: required additional cattle feed; wanted to grow crops in a 'cut and carry' system to meet these requirements; and had access to undeveloped, physically suitable land. These findings suggest that rather than the adoption rates of CPI in the CGID being low, the market for CPI within the CGID is small. This is useful information that will enable realistic targets for adoption to be set, and guide research and extension in the CGID.
Growth models of cultures with two liquid phases. VIII. Experimental observations on droplet size and interfacial area

Because of the importance of the drop she distribution and interfacial area of the dispersed liquid phase in hydrocarbon fermentations, experiments were carried out to determine the drop size distribution and the interfacial area during batch fermentations of Candida lipolytica on gas oil and on n‐hexadecane dissolved in dewaxed gas oil. The effects of cell concentration and dispersed phase volume fraction on size distribution and interfacial area were investigated. Measurements of interfacial tensions, densities, viscosities, and fatty acid concentrations were also made. The results show that the size distribution is skewed and that the Sauter mean diameter is in the range of 10 to 30 μ. Both the Sauter mean diameter and the interfacial area increased during the course of a batch fermentation; however, they decreased at the end of the fermentation. The interfacial area also increased with inoculum size.