Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Functional significance of VEGFR‐2 on ovarian cancer cells

Vascular endothelial growth factor receptor (VEGFR) has recently been discovered on ovarian cancer cells, but its functional significance is unknown and is the focus of this study. By protein analysis, A2780‐par and HeyA8 ovarian cancer cell lines expressed VEGFR‐1 and HeyA8 A2774, and SKOV3ip1 expressed VEGFR‐2. By in situ hybridization (ISH), 85% of human ovarian cancer specimens showed moderate to high VEGFR‐2 expression, whereas only 15% showed moderate to high VEGFR‐1 expression. By immunofluorescence, little or no VEGFR‐2 was detected in normal ovarian surface epithelial cells, whereas expression was detected in 75% of invasive ovarian cancer specimens. To differentiate between the effects of tumor versus host expression of VEGFR, nude mice were injected with SKOV3ip1 cells and treated with either human VEGFR‐2 specific antibody (1121B), murine VEGFR‐2 specific antibody (DC101) or the combination. Treatment with 1121B reduced SKOV3ip1 cell migration by 68% (p < 0.01) and invasion by 72% (p < 0.01), but exposure to VEGFR‐1 antibody had no effect. Treatment with 1121B effectively blocked VEGF‐induced phosphorylation of p130Cas. In vivo treatment with either DC101 or 1121B significantly reduced tumor growth alone and in combination in the SKOV3ip1 and A2774 models. Decreased tumor burden after treatment with DC101 or 1121B correlated with increased tumor cell apoptosis, decreased proliferative index, and decreased microvessel density. These effects were significantly greater in the combination group (p < 0.001). We show functionally active VEGFR‐2 is present on most ovarian cancer cells. The observed anti‐tumor activity of VEGF‐targeted therapies may be mediated by both anti‐angiogenic and direct anti‐tumor effects. © 2008 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Concrete encapsulated electrodes

Concrete encapsulated electrodes have been in use for over 40 years, and in general have been found to be an effective and safe component in grounding systems of industrial and commercial power systems as well as in lightning protection systems. As a current conducting medium, concrete is a fair conductor, similar to many moist soils. Concrete's ability to quickly absorb moisture and release it slowly over a long period of time makes the electrode implementation practical, especially for dry locations. The alkalinity properties of concrete and the release of moisture and salts enhance the conductivity of the surrounding soil.
A Generic Six-Step Direct PWM (SS-DPWM) Scheme for Current Source Converter

This paper aims to explore the pulsewidth modulation (PWM) schemes for three-phase current source converter, and a generic six-step direct PWM (SS-DPWM) scheme is proposed. In the SS-DPWM, one line cycle is divided into six 60° intervals, so called as ¿six-step. ¿ During each interval, only two of the three references, referred to as the Master and Slave references, respectively, compare with the carriers to directly generate the required switching patterns instead of using the transformation from bilogic signals to trilogic ones, as used in the conventional sinusoidal PWM (SPWM). In this paper, the variety of the Slave reference for each interval is identified, and many sets of modulating waveforms are presented for the SS-DPWM, resulting in very flexible and expanded modulations. The mechanism of the SS-DPWM is also presented to develop its modulating characteristics, and it is shown that, comparing with the conventional SPWM, the SS-DPWM has lower switching frequency, higher dc current utilization ratio, and in-phase transfer between the line currents and their references. A prototype has been built in the lab and the validity of the theoretical analysis is verified by the experimental results.
Population-based optimization having deterministic and discrete dynamics

In this paper, we propose a method celled Integer algorithm of Population-based Optimization based on Piecewise Constant Oscillator (IPO-PCO). Well known Particle Swarm Optimization method (PSO) has several open problems. We focus on two of them. First, in order to solve discrete optimization problems, PSO needs some modifications. Second, since PSO has stochastic factors in the dynamics, the analysis of the dynamic behavior is pretty complex. Some means to resolve the problems have been proposed in previous works. However there is no method which can manage both problems. Then, this paper considers a deterministic and discrete method. We compare the proposed method with a discretized PSO by repositioned to near lattice point and verify the effectiveness of the propose method.
Application of identification methods for predicting the flashover voltage of contaminated insulators covered with ice

The arc characteristics on contaminated insulator surfaces covered with ice were investigated. The arc constants (A, n), as well as the ac re-ignition parameters (K, b) were determined using a simplified cylindrical physical model. Based on identification methods, a new approach for calculating the residual voltage is introduced. These results will serve to extend the previous mathematical model developed at CIGELE for its application to predicting the flashover voltage of contaminated insulators covered with ice. The model was successfully applied to a five-unit IEEE standard insulator string, and the calculated results were in good agreement with the experiments.
Packaged integrated transceiver for short-range high data-rate communications at 60 GHz

A 60-GHz folded dipole antenna integrated with a transceiver on a 65-nm CMOS-SOI chip for short range and low power wireless communications is presented. The chip is packaged in a QFN48L pre-molded cavity package with removable lid. Radiating patch elements coupled to the on-chip folded dipole and surrounded by metallic via walls are fabricated under the package lid to improve the radiation performances. The experimental radiation patterns and gain values show an excellent agreement with the simulations. An antenna gain up to 3.7-5.2 dBi at 60 GHz is demonstrated.
Is the Medical Home for Adult Patients with Sickle Cell Disease a Reality or an Illusion?

Abstract Recently, the patient-centered medical home (PCMH) emerged as a viable method to improve delivery of medical care. Due to all the promotion about the effectiveness of the PCMH, patients with sickle cell disease, their families and the community hoped that this could be a possible solution to the problems that arise in the treatment of adult patients with sickle cell disease. Review of the literature and review of the criteria for the establishment of a PCMH show that the PCMH is not an ideal model for patients with sickle cell disease because finding a personal physician, which is the first criteria of a functional PCMH, is a major problem in the process of transitioning the care of patients with sickle cell disease from pediatrics to adult care. Moreover, garnering hospital support to defray the initial costs to establish a PCMH for adults with sickle cell disease is unlikely given the already high costs of care for patients with sickle cell disease. Moreover, recent studies have shown insufficient evidence to determine the presumed beneficial effects of the PCMH, especially in patients with chronic disease.
Contractile State of the Heart Characterized by Force‐Velocity Relations in Variably Afterloaded and Isovolumic Beats

Relations between tension and the velocity of shortening in the intact left ventricle of the dog were examined in a manner analogous to that employed in isolated muscle, i.e., by serial, reproducible variations in the afterload alone, from a constant end diastolic volume. Sudden increases or decreases in the aortic pressure during diastole were produced, and ejection rate was measured with an electromagnetic flowmeter; LV wall tension and the shortening velocities of the myocardial fibers and the contractile elements were then calculated. By analyzing isovolume points early in ejection, effects resulting from two other determinants of shortening velocity, duration of active state and instantaneous muscle length, were minimized. Shifts in the basic force-velocity relation with alterations in Vmax, obtained by extrapolation, and maximum tension were clearly demonstrated. Norepinephrine and paired electrical stimulation caused a shift in this relation to the right, with increases in velocity at any tension, and acute heart failure produced a shift to the left, with decreases in velocity at any tension. Similar shifts were also apparent in curves relating tension to velocity, calculated during single isovolumic contractions. It was suggested that determination of these relations expands traditional definitions of ventricular performance, and that estimation of changes in maximum velocity as well as maximum strength relative to muscle length provides direct information concerning alterations in the contractile state of the intact heart.
Sickness absence associated with shared and open-plan offices--a national cross sectional questionnaire survey.

OBJECTIVE The aim of this study was to examine whether shared and open-plan offices are associated with more days of sickness absence than cellular offices. METHODS The analysis was based on a national survey of Danish inhabitants between 18-59 years of age (response rate 62%), and the study population consisted of the 2403 employees that reported working in offices. The different types of offices were characterized according to self-reported number of occupants in the space. The log-linear Poisson model was used to model the number of self-reported sickness absence days depending on the type of office; the analysis was adjusted for age, gender, socioeconomic status, body mass index, alcohol consumption, smoking habits, and physical activity during leisure time. RESULTS Sickness absence was significantly related to having a greater number of occupants in the office (P<0.001) when adjusting for confounders. Compared to cellular offices, occupants in 2-person offices had 50% more days of sickness absence [rate ratio (RR) 1.50, 95% confidence interval (95% CI) 1.13-1.98], occupants in 3-6-person offices had 36% more days of sickness absence (RR 1.36, 95% CI 1.08-1.73), and occupants in open-plan offices (>6 persons) had 62% more days of sickness absence (RR 1.62, 95% CI 1.30-2.02). CONCLUSION Occupants sharing an office and occupants in open-plan offices (>6 occupants) had significantly more days of sickness absence than occupants in cellular offices.
Effect of coil geometry and shielding on wireless power transfer system

Magnetic resonance coupling (MRC) based wireless power transfer (WPT) system is recognized as an efficient and promising technology for safe, convenient and elegant charging solution for various electronic portable devices. MRC technology helps in transferring power wirelessly from transmitter to receiver over larger distances. However in such loosely coupled systems, low power transfer efficiency is the major issue in comparison to conventional wired charging systems. The paper presents detailed analysis of power transfer efficiency between two independent coils separated by distance of 15 cm. The analysis involves an effect of coil geometrical dimensions on power transfer efficiency and mutual inductance between transmitter (TX) and receiver coils (RX). In addition, the investigations are further extended to analyze the role of shielding and effect of shielding geometry on power transfer efficiency and mutual inductance between the two coils.
Cellular effects of monohydrochloride of l‐arginine, Nα‐lauroyl ethylester (LAE) on exposure to Salmonella typhimurium and Staphylococcus aureus

Aims: Here we study the effect of monohydrochloride of l‐arginine, Nα‐lauroyl ethylester (LAE), a cationic preservative derived from lauric acid and arginine, on the cell envelopes of Salmonella typhimurium and Staphylococcus aureus at sub‐lethal concentration such as their respective minimal inhibitory concentrations, 32 and 8 μg ml−1, respectively.
An Introduction to Molecular Hospital Epidemiology

One of the primary goals of the hospital epidemiologist is the identification and characterization of nosocomial outbreaks. Outbreaks usually are identified by the recovery of a unique strain from a cluster of patients infected with a nosocomially acquired pathogen. Until recently, the microbiologic tools available to any hospital epidemiologist permitted identification of novel strains by speciation and antibiogram. Thus, most outbreak descriptions consisted of the identification of an unusual species or the appearance of a new antibiotic resistance phenotype in a recognized nosocomial pathogen. The emergence of enterococci in this decade or the emergence of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) in the 1970s am notable examples. Where resources have existed, additional methods have been used for further discrimination. Outbreak and endemic strains have been compared by phage typing, serologic typing, and capsular typing. For example, beta-hemolytic streptococci may be grouped by Lancefield antisera, and Staphylococcus aureus may be grouped by phage typing. However, certain Lancefield groups and certain phage groups are common among epidemic and endemic isolates, which may prevent identification of a specific epidemic strain.
Notice of RetractionEvaluation of Technologies Research & Development Program's Operation Performance

National Key Technologies Research & Development (R&D) Program has not been formed into a perfect application and supervising system or a complete evaluate quota system since its foundation. Therefore, it is necessary to set up a scientific, simple, practical, and combined the quantitative and qualitative evaluate quota system. This paper analyzed the influential factors of Technologies R&D Program, Evaluate quota system of Technologies R&D Program's Operation Performance and set up a mathematical model of Technologies R&D Program's Operation Performance.
Depression, Weight Loss and the Dexamethasone Suppression Test

Summary The dexamethasone suppression test (DST) was carried out on 143 patients with a major depressive disorder, who were classified into those with a history of weight loss (n = 89) and those without (n = 54). Seventy-three per cent of patients with weight loss and 61% of patients without had an abnormal DST; this difference was not statistically significant. Of the patients receiving prophylactic lithium therapy, 13 were found to have changed their DST status on retesting after a period of 14 months, but there was no significant difference in their weight. It is concluded that weight loss is not a necessary condition for an abnormal DST in depressive illness.
Parents’ experience of giving consent for their child to undergo surgery

This study considered the experiences of parents giving consent for their children to undergo surgery at a regional centre for paediatric surgery. Eighteen purposively selected parents whose children had undergone surgery were interviewed for this qualitative study. All parents wanted to receive understandable but comprehensive information, they expected opportunities to ask questions and wanted to be given sufficient time to make their decision. Their reactions to being given the information varied, with some parents’ anxiety levels increasing, while others felt re-assured. Most parents were willing to give their consent only once they had been convinced of the need for surgery. On the other hand, two parents wanted the surgeon to decide for them. Many parents also wanted to share the responsibility and give consent together. The main outcome of this study was that the parents’ decisions and decision-making was more individualised than previously thought.
Medical implications of understanding the functions of human small heat shock proteins

Small heat shock proteins (sHsps) are ubiquitous molecular chaperones that are implicated in a variety of diseases. Upon stress, they stabilize unfolding proteins and prevent them from aggregating. However, under physiological conditions without severe stress, some sHsps interact with other proteins. In a perspective view, their ability to bind specific client proteins might allow them to fine-tune the availability of the client for other, client-dependent cellular processes. Additionally, some sHsps seem to interact with specific co-chaperones. These co-chaperones are usually part of large protein machineries that are functionally modulated upon sHsps interaction. Finally, secreted human sHsps seem to interact with receptor proteins, potentially as signal molecules transmitting the stress status from one cell to another. This review focuses on the mechanistic description of these different binding modes for human sHsps and how this might help to understand and modulate the function of sHsps in the context of disease.
Delay Compensation Strategies for an Efficient Radio Resource Management in DVB-S2 Systems

This paper deals with the design and evaluation of a complementary issue that supports efficient radio resource management strategies in DVB-S2 systems with adaptive coding and modulation: the selection of suitable modulation and coding schemes that maximize instantaneous channel efficiency for each receiver. The inherent delays in the considered satellite system causes that when the channel information is available at the gateway, it is outdated. For this reason, delay compensation techniques are proposed in this paper in order to optimize the selection of suitable physical layer configurations
Performance evaluation of a silk protein‐based matrix for the enzymatic conversion of tyrosine to L‐DOPA

L‐DOPA (3,4‐dihydroxyphenyl‐L‐alanine), one of the most important intermediates in the melanin biosynthesis pathway, is used for the treatment of Parkinson's disease. With a view of developing a cheaper and more effective method for the bioconversion of tyrosine to L‐DOPA, the potential and performance of a novel fibrous matrix prepared from Bombyx mori silk protein fibroin were evaluated for the immobilization of tyrosinase. Cross‐linkage between fibroin and tyrosinase using glutaraldehyde was evident from Fourier transform infra red spectroscopy. Maximum product formation occurred when 1000 U enzyme was immobilized on 20 mg fibroin. The optimum conditions for maximal L‐DOPA production using immobilized tyrosinase were 40°C and pH 5.5, conditions that caused a 50% loss of free enzyme activity. Immobilized tyrosinase also showed to have a higher degree of stability during storage and it retained 80% of its original activity after repeated reuses. The efficiency of this immobilized tyrosinase system to produce L‐DOPA was high, as evident from a high effectiveness factor, between 0.7 and 0.8, thereby making this method feasible for the large‐scale production of L‐DOPA.
Extrahepatic manifestations of hepatitis C among United States male veterans

Hepatitis C virus (HCV) has been associated with several extrahepatic conditions. To date, most studies assessing these associations involved small numbers of patients and lacked a control group. Using the computerized databases of the Department of Veterans Affairs, we carried out a hospital‐based case‐control study that examined all cases of HCV‐infected patients hospitalized during 1992 to 1999 (n = 34,204) and randomly chosen control subjects without HCV (n = 136,816) matched with cases on the year of admission. The inpatient and outpatient files were searched for several disorders involving the skin (porphyria cutanea tarda [PCT], vitiligo, and lichen planus); renal (membranous glomerulonephritis [GN] and membranoproliferative glomerulonephritis); hematologic (cryoglobulin, Hodgkin's and non‐Hodgkin's lymphoma [NHL]); endocrine (diabetes, thyroiditis); and rheumatologic (Sjögren's syndrome). The association between HCV and these disorders was examined in multivariate analyses that controlled for age, gender, ethnicity, and period of military service. Patients in the case group were younger in age (45 vs. 57 years), were more frequently nonwhite (39.6% vs. 26.3%), and were more frequently male (98.1% vs. 97.0%). A significantly greater proportion of HCV‐infected patients had PCT, vitiligo, lichen planus, and cryoglobulinemia. There was a greater prevalence of membranoproliferative GN among patients with HCV but not membranous GN. There was no significant difference in the prevalence of thyroiditis, Sjögren's syndrome, or Hodgkin's or NHL. However, NHL became significant after age adjustment. Diabetes was more prevalent in controls than cases, but no statistically significant association was found after adjustment for age. In conclusion, we found a significant association between HCV infection and PCT, lichen planus, vitiligo, cryoglobulinemia, membranoproliferative GN, and NHL. Patients presenting with these disorders should be tested for HCV infection. (HEPATOLOGY2002;36:1439–1445).
Mindful Meditation: Healing Burnout in Critical Care Nursing

The nursing profession is experiencing a crisis in both manpower and the ability to fend off the deleterious effects of burnout. Nursing professionals face extraordinary stress in our present medical environment, and studies have frequently found moderate-to-high levels of burnout among nurses. Nurses experience burnout for a variety of reasons, some inherent to the profession and others related to our 21st-century values that have necessitated multiple breadwinners within the household. Mindful meditation represents a complementary therapy that has shown promise in the reduction of negative stress and those extraneous factors that lead to burnout. A mindful, meditative practice can be another tool with which critical care nurses can regain the control of their careers and personal lives. The purpose of this article is to describe nurse burnout, identify those factors that contribute to burnout, and offer a solution to a continuing problem for nurses.
Impaired brain development and hydrocephalus in a line of transgenic mice with liver-specific expression of human insulin-like growth factor binding protein-1.

Insulin-like growth factors (IGFs) produced in the brain are known to participate in brain development via activation of the type 1 IGF receptor. IGF binding proteins (IGFBPs) modulate the cellular action of IGFs and some are expressed in the fetal brain. Under normal conditions IGFBP-1 is not one of these, but IGFBP-1 expression obtained via transgenesis using ubiquitous promoters affects brain development. In earlier work, we established a model of transgenic mouse in which liver-specific IGFBP-1 expression begins during fetal life. The repercussions of this IGFBP-1 over-expression include reproductive defects, ante- and perinatal mortality and post-natal growth retardation, the extent of which is related to the degree of transgene expression. Unexpectedly, during the first 2 months of postnatal life, there were some cases of head enlargement revealing hydrocephalus among homozygotes, frequently associated with motor disorders. Brain sections showed dilatation of the lateral ventricles in 10 out of 15 homozygotes examined. Histologically, dilatation was evident in four out of nine heterozygotes. Brain weight in transgenics was relatively less reduced than the weights of other organs. Hence, brain weight/body weight ratios were normal in heterozygotes and on average higher than normal in homozygotes. The width of the cerebral cortex was reduced in homozygotes, with disorganized neuronal layers. The corpus callosum was underdeveloped, particularly in homozygotes. The area of the hippocampus was reduced in homozygotes and one-third of the heterozygotes, with a short and thick dentate gyrus in the former. Similar anomalies have been reported in mice with disruption of the igf-I gene and in a model of transgenic mice over-expressing IGFBP-1 in all tissues, including the brain. Hydrocephalus was not mentioned in these reports, raising the possibility that insertional mutagenesis may have been involved in our mice. Nevertheless, our observations indicate that hepatic over-expression of IGFBP-1 may have endocrine effects on brain development.