Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
PII: S0045-6535(97)00108-2

This study entails a pharnutcokinetic analysis of the relationship between the external dose of 2,3,7,8tetrachlorodibenzo-p-dioxin (dioxin, TCDD) and resulting concentrations of TCDD in internal tissues and organs of humans and rodent species. The methodology is based on the development and testing of physiologically based pharmaeokinetic models for several rodent species and humans. The results indicate that the relationship between the external dose of TCDD and resulting TCDD concmltnttions in 5vef and adipose tissue of humans and various species of rats and mice can vary by as much as 725 fold, illustrating that humans and experimental animals differ considerably in their ability to convert external dosages of dioxin to tissue concentrations. Interspecies scaling factors are reported to express the differences in tissue concentrations of dioxin between mice, rats and humans in response to an equivalent external dose. The significance of these findings for conducting human cancer and ecological risk assessments is discussed. It is recommended that pharmacokinetic differences be considered explicitly in risk estimation, while separately recognizing interspecies differences in pharmacodynamics (sensitivity). © 1997 Elsevier Science Ltd In human health and ecological risk assessments of environmental contaminants it is common practice to extrapolate toxicological responses observed in animal bioassays to those in humans (Albert, 1989; Fishbein, 1986; Gaylor et al,, 1993). In most cases concerned with contaminants at environmental concentrations, this extrapolation involves (i) an interspeeies extrapolation, where the effects observed in test organisms are extrapolated to humans or other organisms, and (ii) a high-to-low-dose extrapolation, where the effects observed at high "experimental" doses are extrapolated to the low "environmentad" doses to which humans and organisms are typically exposed. The interspecies extrapolation is often performed by scaling the dose administered to the test organism to body weight, resulting in what we will refer to as an "external dose", typically expressed in units of milligrams of chemical per kilogram of organism body weight per day. If the chemical is recognized as a
Psychic Akinesia following Bilateral Pallidal Lesions

After suffering a carbon monoxide intoxication, a thirty-nine-year-old patient presented a marked behavioral change, with a severe anterograde and retrograde amnesia, extreme placidity, bulimia, and hypersexuality. This picture lasted for twenty days. Placidity and anterograde amnesia persisted, while marked psychic akinesia and abnormal involuntary movements soon appeared. A CT scan disclosed bilateral low density lesions involving the pallidum. The patient showed marked improvement after treatment with bromocriptine.
Influence of substructure design and occlusal reduction on the stress distribution in metal ceramic complete crowns: 3D finite element analysis.

PURPOSE Occlusal reduction is considered a fundamental step for providing adequate and uniform space for the ceramic prosthesis; however, a flat occlusal surface is usually found. The prosthesis design influences the resistance to deformation and the stress state within the ceramic. This finite element (FE) study analyzes the influence of changing the substructure design on the stress distribution of a metal-ceramic crown in a premolar tooth with three types of occlusal reduction. MATERIALS AND METHODS Each part of three-dimensional metal ceramic complete crown models was designed according to the space provided by different levels of occlusal reduction and the same external morphology of the tooth. Three models were designed: (1) correct occlusal reduction with a uniform thickness of the substructure (0.3 mm) and the veneering porcelain (1.5 mm); (2) flat occlusal reduction with different thicknesses of veneering porcelain to produce a uniform substructure; and (3) a flat occlusal reduction with different thicknesses of substructure for a uniform thickness of veneering porcelain. RESULTS Stress distributions were very similar in the three models. The highest tensile stresses were concentrated immediately below the midline fissure in both the veneering porcelain and the metal alloy substructure. Although models with flat occlusal reduction had lower stress values, this preparation results from a reduction that removes a greater amount of sound tissue, which may increase the probability of dental pulp injury. CONCLUSIONS Occlusal reduction must be anatomic; however, when a flat occlusal reduction already exists, the substructure must reproduce the correct anatomic form to allow a uniform thickness of the veneering porcelain.
Killed subunit influenza vaccine in children.

Thirty-three children ranging in age from 5 to 9 years were immunized with varying doses of bivalent A2 (Hong Kong variant) B subunit influenza vaccine. The immunization was given intramuscularly. There were no local or systemic reactions. Thirty-one of 33 children (94%) demonstrated four-fold or greater rises in antibody titer to type A antigen. Twenty-one of 33 (64%) showed four-fold or greater rises to type B antigen. A booster four weeks after immunization produced no significant increase in antibody titer. The subunit influenza vaccine, which is antigenic and well tolerated in children, should be considered for use if routine immunization of children against influenza is deemed desirable.
A New AI Evaluation Cosmos: Ready to Play the Game?

We report on a series of new platforms and events dealing with AI evaluation that may change the way in which AI systems are compared and their progress is measured. The introduction of a more diverse and challenging set of tasks in these platforms can feed AI research in the years to come, shaping the notion of success and the directions of the field. However, the playground of tasks and challenges presented there may misdirect the field without some meaningful structure and systematic guidelines for its organization and use. Anticipating this issue, we also report on several initiatives and workshops that are putting the focus on analyzing the similarity and dependencies between tasks, their difficulty, what capabilities they really measure and ultimately on elaborating new concepts and tools that can arrange tasks and benchmarks into a meaningful taxonomy.
Market Entry Strategies

M entry decisions are among the most critical made by a firm on the path towards internationalization.The choice of which country to enter commits a firm to operating on a given terrain and sets the pattern for future development. It signals the firm’s intent to its competitors and determines the basis for future battles. Hence, as in a chess game, a wrong move early on will presage future disaster. Once operations in a given country have been established, local management hired, and relations with local distributors and other firms developed, substantial penalties are incurred by withdrawing from the market. Ill-conceived, ill-timed or poorly executed entry decisions can thus seal the firm’s fate in its quest for success in international markets ( Douglas and Craig, 1995).
Earnings of temporary versus permanent employees

In the early 1990s, non-standard employment— temporary work, part-time work and self employment—seemed to be escalating at a worrisome rate. This led to fears that employment conditions were deteriorating for a substantial percentage of workers (OECD 2002; Krahn 1995; Schellenberg 1996). From 1997 to 2003, temporary work grew much more rapidly than permanent employment, despite a period of economic growth and favourable employment conditions. Indeed, GDP expanded during the entire period and the unemployment rate stayed below 8%. Temporary jobs are generally less well paid than permanent ones, offer fewer employee benefits, are less likely to offer on-the-job training, and are precarious. Indeed, temporary work does not seem to be the first choice of many who do it. Recent data are sparse, but in 1994, two-thirds of temporary employees would have preferred permanent employment (Schellenberg 1996). Nonetheless, temporary employment has certain advantages for both employee and employer. Greater flexibility may allow employees to achieve a better balance between work and personal life, while employers can adjust operations to meet fluctuations in demand. Temporary work may also provide a gateway into the labour market or serve as a springboard to a permanent position (Kapsalis and Tourigny 2004). 1 On the whole, temporary work can be viewed as an inexpensive buffer that reduces frictional unemployment and improves the overall functioning of the labour market. However, the workers involved pay part of the price for this adjustment mechanism. Using the Labour Force Survey, this study attempts to explain the earnings gap between temporary and permanent employees based on some of their characteristics. For the first time, this comparison is made by type of temporary employment, since the characteristics of such employees vary greatly depending on whether their jobs are term or contract, seasonal, casual, or obtained through an employment agency (see Data source and definitions). Economic vulnerability is also addressed: How persistent is the earnings gap when hours worked, earnings of other members of the household, and number of dependants are taken into account? 2
Refining the value of secretory phospholipase A2 as a predictor of acute chest syndrome in sickle cell disease: results of a feasibility study (PROACTIVE)

Acute chest syndrome (ACS) is defined as fever, respiratory symptoms and a new pulmonary infiltrate in an individual with sickle cell disease (SCD). Nearly half of ACS episodes occur in SCD patients already hospitalized, potentially permitting pre‐emptive therapy in high‐risk patients. Simple transfusion of red blood cells may abort ACS if given to patients hospitalized for pain who develop fever and elevated levels of secretory phospholipase A2 (sPLA2). In a feasibility study (PROACTIVE; ClinicalTrials.gov NCT00951808), patients hospitalized for pain who developed fever and elevated sPLA2 were eligible for randomization to transfusion or observation; all others were enrolled in an observational arm. Of 237 enrolled, only 10 were randomized; one of the four to receive transfusion had delayed treatment. Of 233 subjects receiving standard care, 22 developed ACS. A threshold level of sPLA2 ≥ 48 ng/ml gave optimal sensitivity (73%), specificity (71%) and accuracy (71%), but a positive predictive value of only 24%. The predictive value of sPLA2 was improved in adults and patients with chest or back pain, lower haemoglobin concentration and higher white blood cell counts, and in those receiving less than two‐thirds maintenance fluids. The hurdles identified in PROACTIVE should facilitate design of a larger, definitive, phase 3 randomized controlled trial.
The Effect of Board Monitoring Role on the integration of Corporate Social Responsibility into Corporate Governance: A Qualitative Investigation

Abstract This study aims to explore the board monitoring roles in Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) context and provide better understanding of how directors perform their monitoring role in order to facilitate the integration of CSR into the Corporate Governance (CG) structure. To achieve these objectives, this study adopted a qualitative case study, by conducting in-depth interviews with participants at various levels of board and management in the two Saudi companies. The findings revealed that there six board monitoring roles are crucial to improve the integration of CSR into governance structure. Based on the findings, theoretical proposition have been developed to direct further research on the CG and CSR topics. With growing of board of directors’ role in protecting stakeholders, the study’s findings are important to be considered in the reforming CG Codes, particularly in the context of protecting stakeholders’ interests. This practical implication is useful to alert the policy makers to reform CG codes regulatory and judicial systems in order to protect stakeholders’ interests and meet their expectations from the organization.
Enhancement of primary neuronal cell proliferation using printing-transferred carbon nanotube sheets.

Artificial nerve guidance conduits (aNGCs) prepared from polymer scaffolds and carbon nanotubes (CNTs) possess unique chemical and physical properties, and have been widely used in preclinical trials to promote neuronal differentiation and growth. However, there have been only a few reports on the clinical applicability of CNT sheets for proliferation of primary neuronal cells due to safety concerns. The present study assesses the ability and potential applicability of multiwalled CNTs (MWNTs) composited with polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) sheets to promote and enhance the proliferation of primary neuronal cells. In this study, the aqueous MWNT dispersion was filtered, and the PDMS/MWNT sheets were prepared using a simple printing transfer method. Characterization of PDMS/MWNT sheets demonstrated their unique physical properties such as superior mechanical strength and electroconductivity when compared with PDMS sheets. The effect of the PDMS/MWNT sheets on the neural cell proliferation and cytotoxicity was evaluated using MTT and alamar blue assays. Our results indicate the viability and proliferation of primary neuronal cells and Schwann cells in PDMS/MWNT sheets increased over twice when compared with a noncoated dish that is not usual in the primary neuronal cell growth control (p < 0.05). In addition, PDMS/MWNT sheets enhanced the adhesion and viability of the cells compared with poly-l-lysine coated dishes, which are most commonly used for improving cell adherence. Additionally, the PDMS/MWNT sheets exhibited excellent biocompatibility for culturing neuronal and Schwann cells. Overall, all assessments indicate that PDMS/MWNT sheets are ideal candidates for the development of artificial nerve conduits for clinical use following peripheral nerve injury.
Scalable Traffic Sampling Using Centrality Measure on Software-Defined Networks

With regard to cyber security, pervasive traffic visibility is one of the most essential functionalities for complex network systems. A traditional network system has limited access to core and edge switches on the network; on the other hand, SDN technology can provide flexible and programmable network management operations. In this article, we consider the practical problem concerning how to achieve scalable traffic measurement using SDN functionalities. Less intrusive traffic monitoring can be achieved by using a packet sampling technique that probabilistically captures data packets at switches, and the sampled traffic is steered toward a traffic analyzer such as an IDS on SDN. We propose the use of a centrality measure in graph theory for deciding the traffic sampling points among the switches. In addition, we discuss how to decide the traffic sampling rates at the selected switches. The results of the simulation and SDN testbed experiments indicate that the proposed sampling point and rate decision methods enhance the intrusion detection performance of an IDS in terms of malicious traffic flows in large-scale networks.
Developmental patterning deciphered in avian chimeras.

I started my scientific carer by investigating the development of the digestive tract in the laboratory of a well-known embryologist, Etienne Wolff, then professor at the College de France. My animal model was the chick embryo. The investigations that I pursued on liver development together with serendipity, led me to devise a cell-marking technique based on the construction of chimeric embryos between two closely related species of birds, the Japanese quail (Coturnix coturnix japonica) and the chick (Gallus gallus). The possibility to follow the migration and fate of the cells throughout development from early embryonic stages up to hatching and even after birth, was a breakthrough in developmental biology of higher vertebrates. This article describes some of scientific achievements based on the use of this technique in my laboratory during the last 38 years.
Three-dimensional imaging of normal skin and nonmelanoma skin cancer with cellular resolution using Gabor domain optical coherence microscopy

Abstract. We investigate morphological differences in three-dimensional (3-D) images with cellular resolution between nonmelanoma skin cancer and normal skin using Gabor domain optical coherence microscopy. As a result, we show for the first time cellular optical coherence images of 3-D features differentiating cancerous skin from normal skin. In addition, in vivo volumetric images of normal skin from different anatomic locations are shown and compared.
GLIOMA EXTENT OF RESECTION AND ITS IMPACT ON PATIENT OUTCOME

OBJECTIVEThere is still no general consensus in the literature regarding the role of extent of glioma resection in improving patient outcome. Although the importance of resection in obtaining tissue diagnosis and alleviating symptoms is clear, a lack of Class I evidence prevents similar certainty in assessing the influence of extent of resection. METHODSWe reviewed every major clinical publication since 1990 on the role of extent of resection in glioma outcome. RESULTSTwenty-eight high-grade glioma articles and 10 low-grade glioma articles were examined in terms of quality of evidence, expected extent of resection, and survival benefit. CONCLUSIONDespite persistent limitations in the quality of data, mounting evidence suggests that more extensive surgical resection is associated with longer life expectancy for both low- and high-grade gliomas.
A simulation study of ray-tracing software in through-wall sensing (TWS) applications

This paper analyzes the suitability of commercially-available propagation software to model large scale through-wall synthetic aperture radar (SAR) scenarios via ray-tracing. Performance criteria were established and compared with results from finite-difference time-domain (FDTD) algorithms. While there are physical restrictions to the range of applicability, algorithms based on ray-tracing are sufficiently accurate and readily adaptable for use in a simulation environment, and can do so much more efficiently than standard FDTD methods.
Gained in translation: the importance of biologically relevant models of Helicobacter pylori-induced gastric cancer

The attributable risk of gastric cancer conferred by Helicobacter pylori ranges from 75% to more than 90% depending on H pylori prevalence; however, only a fraction of colonised persons ever develop neoplasia.1 2 Disease risk involves well-choreographed interactions between pathogen and host, which are dependent upon strain-specific bacterial factors as well as host genotypic traits, each of which can be amplified by the environment. In their paper published in Gut , Kwon et al provide fresh insights into the role of a tumour suppressor, vitamin D3 upregulated protein 1 (VDUP1), in H pylori -associated gastric carcinogenesis ( in press ). 3 Importantly, these investigators used multiple model systems to demonstrate that VDUP1 negatively regulates carcinogenesis induced by the combination of H pylori and N-methyl-N-nitrosourea (MNU) via dissociating proliferation from apoptosis and suppression of tumour necrosis factor α (TNFα)-dependent nuclear factor κB (NF-κB) activation and subsequent cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2) expression. Using a genetic model of VDUP1 deficiency, Kwon and colleagues observed that the incidence and severity of gastric premalignant and malignant lesions was increased in vdup1−/− mice compared with wild-type mice.3 This was accompanied by hyperproliferation that was not balanced by a corresponding increase in apoptosis. Contact between H pylori and epithelial cells in vitro dysregulates signalling pathways that influence oncogenesis, which mirrors interactions between H pylori and epithelial cells that occur within infected tissue. Kwon et al therefore also used an in vitro …
Determinants and Outcomes of Citizens' Satisfaction with Public Services in Cluj-Napoca

Customer satisfaction is used more and more in order to assess the quality of a service or product. Two main approaches are presented: Customer Satisfaction Indices and the SERVQUAL model. Inspired from the American Customer Satisfaction Index and SERVQUAL a study in Cluj-Napoca tried to assess citizens’ satisfaction as a result of the perceived quality of different activities or services and of specific quality drivers related to the way in which services were offered. Also citizens’ satisfaction was supposed to have, as outcomes, trust in mayor and in City Hall. The actual results showed weak relationships and most of the factors included were not significant. As possible explanations we can have the difference between citizens and customers and the complex pattern of interactions between citizens and municipalities.
Scene text extraction with local symmetry transform

As an important part of scene understanding, scene text extraction can promote the performance of text recognition significantly. This paper focuses on extracting text pixels from background in images of natural scenes. First, a novel feature descriptor called local symmetry transform is proposed to detect local symmetry relationship of strokes for each image pixel. The presented method is local and color invariant, which makes it robust enough to handle many complex situations for scene text extraction such as variation of lighting, blur of text regions, shadow and complex background. Then, guided filter is introduced to enhance the local symmetry map produced by the local symmetry transform, which can smooth the feature map and reduce noise noticeably. Finally, text candidates are generated as seed points, and by seed-based segmentation we automatically judge the text polarity to obtain correct text regions. Experimental results on KAIST dataset show that our method leads to a high performance.
Online statistical model recognition and State estimation for autonomous compliant motion

Autonomous execution of robot tasks requires the ability to deal online with uncertainties such as partially unknown environments, inaccurate models, and measurement noise. This is especially true for the execution of motions maintaining stiff contacts ("compliant motions"), as contact forces become very high even for small position errors. The autonomy during compliant motion tasks is based on i) a force controller, dealing with small misalignments and keeping the contact forces within safe limits, and ii) an estimator, which recognizes the model (e.g., the type of contact) and estimates the system state (e.g., the relative position of the contacting objects). This paper focuses on Bayesian model-based solutions to the model recognition problem. We discuss Bayesian hypothesis testing and practical approximations. Experimental results are provided for two autonomous-compliant motion tasks by applying consistency testing and likelihood ratio testing. The system state is estimated simultaneously with the model recognition. This estimation is performed by the Iterated Extended Kalman filter for (approximate) linear problems and by the nonminimal state Kalman filter for nonlinear problems.