Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Polyclonal antibodies to the putative coat protein of Citrus leprosis virus C expressed in Escherichia coli: production and use in immunodiagnosis

This work reports the in vitro expression of Citrus leprosis virus C (CiLV-C) putative coat protein (p29) and the production of a polyclonal antibody to be used as a tool for serological diagnosis of citrus leprosis. The ORF2/RNA1, corresponding to p29, was cloned in pET28a and transformed into Escherichia coli cells (BL21). Expression of p29 was induced in vitro and the protein was purified and used for immunization of rabbits to produce the polyclonal antibody. The anti p29 serum was shown to be highly specific to CiLV-C detection by immunological methods (Western blot, PTA-ELISA, tissue blot and in situ immunolocalization), without cross reaction with healthy citrus plants or other cytoplasmic and nuclear viruses transmitted by Brevipalpus mites. These results demonstrate that the antibody against CiLV-C p29 protein is highly specific for CiLV-C detection. In situ immunogold labeling assays on thin sections of sweet orange leaf cells infected by CiLV-C demonstrated that short, bacilliform particles present within cisternae of the endoplasmic reticulum were specifically labeled, confirming their viral nature. The dense cytoplasmic viroplasm was also heavily labeled indicating that it represents a site of p29 accumulation.
Computational models of the hemodynamics in stage 1 palliations for the treatment of single ventricle diseases

The Doctoral Programme in Bioengineering trains graduate students through a strong interdisciplinary education on engineering, mathematics, medical and biological knowledge to develop high level engineering problem-solving abilities in life sciences inside a research group or in private or public industrial context. Students are involved in research works in fields currently ongoing at the Bioengineering Department of Politecnico di Milano which organizes the PhD track.PhD students in Bioengineering are about 20 per year, around 60 in the three year course. Research themes include modelling and analysis of physiological data, signals and systems; biomedical imaging processing and technologies; technologies and instrumentation for movement analysis, rehabilitation, ergonomics and sports; therapeutic devices and life support systems in cardiology, cardio/surgery and pneumology; design and assessment of prostheses; computer aided surgery and surgery optimization through modelling; cardiovascular fluid dynamics; molecular, cellular and tissue engineering for biomaterials and prostheses; neuro-engineering and nanobiosystems; genomic and proteomic data analysis; bioinformatics. Stage periods in distinguished research institutes in Italy and abroad are an essential feature of the student training.
ReVAMP: Requirements Validation Approach using Models and Prototyping - Practical Cases of Requirements Engineering in End-User Computing

: Prototyping practices are widely used. Requirements engineers develop screen prototypes with paper or HTML. However, feedback on the prototypes has limited e ﬀ ectiveness. Screen prototypes are mainly useful for re-viewing only user interface requirements. To cope with this situation, we propose a requirements validation approach using models and prototyping (ReVAMP). This approach provides customers with a set of requirement models and a system prototype generation tool for trial use. A generated system prototype is implemented with both business application features and access control features. Thus, customers could give requirements engineers more practical feedback on requirements for not only a user interface but also other aspects of a target system. To evaluate the proposed models and tool, we introduce two business information system development projects in which the proposed approach was applied.
Use of a mobile phone diary for observing weight management and related behaviours

We studied self-observations related to weight management recorded with a Wellness Diary application on a mobile phone. The data were recorded by 27 participants in a 12-week study, which included a short weight management lecture followed by independent usage of the Wellness Diary. We studied the validity of self-observed weight, and behavioural changes and weight patterns related to weight management success. Self-observed weight data tended to underestimate pre- and poststudy measurements, but there were high correlations between the measures (r ≥ 0.80). The amount of physical activity correlated significantly with weight loss (r = 0.44) as did different measures representing healthy changes in dietary behaviours (r ≥ 0.45). Weight changes and the weekly rhythms of weight indicated a strong tendency to compensate for high-risk periods among successful weight-losers compared to unsuccessful ones. These preliminary results suggest that the mobile phone diary is a valid tool for observing weight management and related behaviours.
Determinants of Information Security Affecting Adoption of Web-based Integrated Information Systems

— The purpose of this paper is to analyze determinants of information security affecting adoption of the Web-based integrated information systems (IIS). We introduced Web-based information systems which are designed to formulate strategic plans for Peruvian government. Theoretical model is proposed to test impact of organizational factors (deterrent efforts and severity; preventive efforts) and individual factors (information security threat; security awareness) on intentions to proactively use the Web-based IIS . Our empirical study results highlight that deterrent efforts and deterrent severity have no significant influence on the proactive use intentions of IIS, whereas, preventive efforts play an important role in proactive use intentions of IIS. Thus, we suggest that organizations need to do preventive efforts by introducing various information security solutions, and try to improve information security awareness while reducing the perceived information security threats.
Beyond Budgeting: Storm eller let brise

Det er nu snart 20 ar siden den sakaldte Beyond Budgeting-model blev praesenteret som et alternativ til budgetlaegningen, og denne artikels formal er at gore status pa udbredelse og erfaringer med Beyond Budgeting. Artiklen opsummerer budgetlaegningens opgaver samt de styrker og svagheder, der er forbundet hermed. Dernaest gennemgas hovedpunkterne i budgetkritikken og Beyond Budgeting-modellen, og erfaringerne hermed praesenteres. Pa baggrund af empiriske erfaringer diskuterer artiklen om Beyond Budgeting virker, og hvad virksomheder i praksis gor. Det konkluderes, at det ofte er vanskeligt ikke at styre efter en eller anden form for budgetmal samt at virksomheder, der indforer Beyond Budgeting, ofte erstatter budgetlaegningen med konkrete teknikker i form af rullende forecast, og ser ud til at styre efter en form for faste mal. Endeligt diskuterer artiklen ogsa, om Beyond Budgeting har storst potentiale i bestemte virksomhedstyper, og muligheden for at anvende Beyond Budgeting i offentlige virksomheder vurderes specifikt.
Optimization of an HTRF Assay for the Detection of Soluble Mutant Huntingtin in Human Buffy Coats: A Potential Biomarker in Blood for Huntington Disease

A means for measuring levels of soluble huntingtin proteins in clinical samples is essential for assessing the biological effects of potential mutant huntingtin (mtHtt) modifying treatments being developed for Huntington’s disease (HD). We have optimized a previously described cell-based Homogeneous Time Resolved Fluorescence method that can measure soluble mtHtt and its ratio to the total Htt (tHtt) in blood buffy coats [1]. The results of the optimization and assay qualification indicate the assay to be specific for mtHtt in HD compared to Control subjects, highly sensitive, and technically and biologically reproducible. We therefore generated a Good Laboratory Practice Standard Operating Procedure which we validated, using 30 HD and 8 control buffy coat samples in which significant differences in mtHtt levels were found. We intend to deploy the assay to evaluate sample sets from observational and therapeutic studies enrolling HD subjects to further validate soluble mtHtt measurement by HTRF as a biomarker for HD and to explore its potential uses.
Prognostic and predictive value of thymidylate synthase expression in primary colorectal cancer.

AIM To investigate thymidylate synthase (TS) expression in primary colorectal cancer (CRC) as a prognostic and predictive marker of benefit for adjuvant chemotherapy. PATIENTS AND METHODS TS expression was immuno0-histochemically (IHC) assessed on tumors from 1,389 patients with stage II and III CRC randomly assigned to either surgery alone or surgery plus 5-fluorouracil (5-FU)-based adjuvant chemotherapy. RESULTS In the subgroup treated with surgery alone (n=708), TS expression was prognostic using the classification of TS 0-1 versus 2-3 (p=0.045) as well as TS classified as 0-2 versus 3 (p=0.002). A high TS expression was associated with a shorter overall survival. Among patients with TS grade 3 (n=460), the subgroup treated with adjuvant chemotherapy had a significant longer OS (p=0.005). CONCLUSION In this study TS, immunohistochemically assessed, is a prognostic factor in CRC patients treated with surgery alone. Patients with the highest level of TS expression (grade 3) had an improved clinical outcome following adjuvant 5-FU-based chemotherapy.
XRCC1 gene rs25487, rs1799782 polymorphisms do not influence the susceptibility of CAD

Background: Two meta-analyses assessed the association between X-Ray Repair Cross Complementing 1 (XRCC1) gene polymorphisms and Coronary Artery Disease (CAD) risk. However, these two metaanalyses all included the studies without Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium (HWE). Therefore, their results were not reliable. Methods: PubMed, EMBASE, MEDLINE, and the Cochrane Library were searched up to May 2017. Odds Ratios (OR) and 95% Confidence Interval (CI) were evaluated to determine the strength. Results: Five case-control studies with 1715 cases and 1520 controls were included in this meta-analysis. A significant association was not found between XRCC1 rs25487 polymorphism and CAD risk (OR=0.93; 95% CI, 0.72-1.21; P=0.61). No significant association was found between XRCC1 rs25487 polymorphism and CAD risk in Caucasian (OR=0.93; 95% CI, 0.63-1.39; P=0.74) and Asian (OR=0.93; 95% CI, 0.50-1.75; P=0.83). A significant association was also not found between XRCC1 rs1799782 polymorphism and CAD risk (OR=1.07; 95% CI, 0.92-1.25; P=0.39). In the Caucasian subgroup, no significant association was observed (OR=1.07; 95% CI, 0.92-1.25; P=0.39). Conclusions: This meta-analysis suggested that XRCC1 gene rs25487, rs1799782 polymorphisms were not associated with CAD risk.
The Ankle-Brachial Index Is Associated With Cardiovascular Complications After Noncardiac Surgery

We thank Unlu et al and Altun and Cintosun for their interest in our study entitled ‘‘The Ankle-Brachial Index Is Associated With Cardiovascular Complications After Noncardiac Surgery. ’’ Altun and Cintosun argue that pulse wave velocity (PWV) and ankle-brachial index (ABI) are markers of cardiovascular (CV) disease and that PWV is considered the gold standard for the measurement of arterial stiffness (AS). They suggest that measuring PWV could have been useful in our study. We agree that the relationship between AS (assessed by PWV) and postoperative CV complications should be investigated. However, in our study, we used the ABI as a marker of lower extremity peripheral arterial disease (PAD) and not as a marker of AS. Although PAD and AS may coexist, they are distinct and may not be present simultaneously (eg, a patient with an ABI > 1.4 may have AS but not always occlusive disease). Several studies have assessed the relationship of troponin elevation and CV complications after surgery. The Vascular Events in Noncardiac Surgery Patients Cohort Evaluation (VISION) trial and other studies, including 2 meta-analyses, have shown that isolated troponin elevation after surgery is associated with a worse prognosis in short-term and longterm follow-up. The higher the troponin value, the worse the prognosis. In our study, preoperative serum creatinine (2.1 + 2.4 mg/dL vs 1.0 + 0.4 mg/dL, P 1⁄4 .001), abnormal ABI (47.4% vs 20.0%, P 1⁄4 .018), duration of anesthesia (444 + 184 minutes vs 372, + 176 minutes, P 1⁄4 .041), and hemodynamic instability (46.0% vs 14.1%, P 1⁄4 .001) were all associated with elevated levels of troponin. After logistic regression, an abnormal ABI (odds ratio [OR]: 13.4, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 3.0-59.9, P1⁄4 .001), history of heart failure (OR: 6.1, 95% CI: 1.7-21.4, P 1⁄4 .005), hemodynamic instability (OR: 11.0, 95% CI: 3.1-39.4, P < .001), and preoperative serum creatinine (OR: 3.5, 95% CI: 1.2-10.2, P 1⁄4 .021) remained in the final model. The Hosmer–Lemeshow test P was . 922. We fully agree with the comments and highlights from Unlu et al regarding the potential importance of ABI in this setting and that it must be evaluated in future studies with greater sample sizes. References
Selective and specific inhibition of 24 hour skin reactions in the guinea-pig. I. Immune deviation: description of the phenomenon and the effect of splenectomy.

Strong 24 hour skin reactions occur in guinea-pigs immunized with antigen in Freund's complete adjuvant. These reactions were reduced by the injection of 1 mg of the same antigen, in either the soluble or alum precipitated form, 14 days before immunization with antigen in Freund's complete adjuvant. There was also a reduction in the corneal reaction, which has been regarded as an index of delayed hypersensitivity. This phenomenon was called immune deviation. The phenomenon was demonstrated for bovine γ-globulin, human serum albumin, bovine serum albumin, egg albumin, diptheria toxoid, haemocyanin, purified protein derivative (PPD) and dinitrophenylated proteins. Ten mg of soluble bovine γ-globulin caused considerable reduction of the circulating antibody level and of the 24 hour skin reaction. Alum precipitated bovine γ-globulin and smaller doses of soluble antigen reduced the skin reaction but had less effect on the antibody level. Similar results were obtained with human serum albumin. This suggested that the conditions for eliciting immune paralysis and immune deviation were different. Immune deviation was obtained with either footpad or intravenous injections and with as little as 100 μg of antigen. Alum precipitated bovine γ-globulin caused immune deviation when given 14, 7 or 1 day before or 1 day after immunization with antigen in Freund's complete adjuvant. It was inactive when given 6 days after immunization. Splenectomy had no effect on the production or deviation of 24 hour skin reactions. Alum precipitated antigen had a variable and usually slight effect on the level of antibody following immunization with the same antigen in Freund's complete adjuvant. There was, however, a qualitative alteration in the antibody. The sera of guinea-pigs, which had been deviated by a prior injection of bovine serum albumin or bovine γ-globulin, showed only a γ1 line of antibody on immunoelectrophoresis, while the sera of control guinea-pigs also showed the γ2 line characteristically seen in guinea-pigs immunized with antigen in Freund's complete adjuvant. It was concluded that immune deviation was distinct from classical immune paralysis and that the immunologically specific reduction of the 24 hour skin reactions might be due, at least in part, to a selective loss of delayed hypersensitivity.
Diagnosis of power transformers through Frequency Response Analysis applying multiresolution analysis and pattern classification

Detection of abnormalities within transformers is a current field of study which aims to prevent future permanent damages. Among the automatic diagnostic methodologies there are some proposals, which make use of the Frequency Response Analysis (FRA) technique as a condition assessment criterion for its sensitivity to variations in the windings and the iron core. However, these methodologies are not completely robust due to the parameters that are used for its discrimination, which are generally statistics indicators. This paper shows a new diagnosis methodology which has been successfully applied in other fields based on the implementation of Wavelet multiresolution analysis and pattern recognition methods applied to FRA measurement records as a condition assessment tool.
Deepening understanding of the neural substrates of chronic pain.

Chronic pain has been labelled the silent health crisis, afflicting hundreds of millions of people worldwide. Chronic pain causes more disability than cancer and heart disease, and the annual monetary cost of treatment and lost productivity is above $500 billion per annum in the United States alone (Institute of Medicine, 2011). Once considered simply a response to disease or injury, chronic pain is increasingly recognized as a group of mechanistically separable nervous system processes produced and maintained by a variety of abnormal cellular signalling pathways (Woolf and Salter, 2000). A growing number of signalling pathways in the peripheral and central nervous systems have been implicated in chronic pain, along with neuron–glia as well as neuron–neuron interactions (Beggs et al. , 2012 b ), and genetic sensitivity (Mogil, 2012) coupled with epigenetic modulation (Stone and Szyf, 2013). Nevertheless, a core unresolved question is which neurons in the pain processing and transmission circuitry in the spinal cord provide the pathological output believed by most to drive the brain’s pain network in chronic pain. And how is the firing activity of those spinal cord neurons altered? In the current issue of Brain, Yves De Koninck and colleagues take a major step forward in answering these questions through their elegant investigation of de novo changes in neurons in the spinal dorsal horn after peripheral nerve injury (Lavertu et al. , 2014). The authors leveraged work from a number of groups that had indicated that loss of Cl−-mediated inhibition, particularly in neurons in the superficial laminae of the dorsal horn of the spinal cord (Moore et al. , 2002; Coull et al. , 2003), is critical for chronic pain hypersensitivity. In particular, De Koninck’s group had previously discovered that disinhibition …
Quantitative interpretation of magnetization transfer

Magnetization transfer contrast (MTC) experiments using off‐resonance irradiation have been performed with an agar gel model by systematically varying offset frequency, amplitude of the RF irradiation and gel concentration. The experimental results are shown to be quantitatively modelled by a two‐pool system consisting of a liquid pool with a Lorentzian line shape and a small semisolid pool with a Gaussian lineshape. The fitted model yields physically realistic fundamental parameters with a T2 of the semisolid pool of 13 μs. Further analysis shows that the off‐resonance irradiation MTC experiment has significant limitations in its ability to saturate the semisolid pool without directly affecting the liquid component.
The predictive utility of expressed emotion in schizophrenia: an aggregate analysis

Synopsis We analysed aggregate data from 25 studies linking Expressed Emotion (EE) and schizophrenia. We had access to original data sets from 17 studies, and used published data from the remainder. This provided us with 1346 cases from around the world. The association of EE with relapse was overwhelming, and was maintained whatever the geographical location. The predictive capacity of EE was virtually identical in men and women. While high contact with a high EE relative increased the risk of relapse, the opposite was true in low EE households. Medication and EE were independently related to relapse, and thus EE status has no bearing on the decision to prescribe. Our findings were confirmed using log–linear analysis.
Quimioterapia de inducción o neoadyuvante en el carcinoma de la mama en estadíos II y III: segunda comunicación

Determinar las respuestas terapeuticas de los estadios II y III de cancer mamario a la quimioterapia neoadyuvante. Comparar y determinar el valor que tienen los diferentes metodos (clinico, mamografico, ultrasonografico y patologico) de evaluacion y seguimiento. Determinar la influencia de los factores pronosticos biologicos sobre la respuesta patologica a la quimioterapia de induccion. Determinar la utilidad de la quimioterapia neoadyuvante en las cifras de sobrevida total y libre de enfermedad y determinar la proporcion de pacientes a cirugia preservadora. Estudio prospectivo de 65 pacientes con cancer de mama en estadios II y III, iniciado en enero de 1998 con evaluacion preliminar en agosto 1999 y agosto 2001. Estratificacion Grupo A (premenopausicas) y Grupo B (postmenopausicas). Las pacientes con historia clinica completa, examen fisico, estadiaje clinico y pruebas de laboratorio y radiologicas. Un equipo multidisciplinario fue evaluando ambos grupos durante el tratamiento: 4 ciclos esquema FAC a dosis estandar. El promedio tumoral en general 4,84 cms. Promedios de cada subgrupo: 4,73 cm y 4,95 cms respectivamente. Respuesta terapeutica global (RC + RP) de 64.7 por ciento y no respuesta (sin cambios) en 12 por ciento, casos en progresion: 1. Ambos grupos de riesgo tuvieron respuestas terapeuticas adecuadas y similares. Los factores y su distribucion entre las poblaciones en estudios no demostro diferencias estadisticas importantes. Predominio de pacientes con RE y RP positivos. Biopsias con catepsina D y Ki67 positivos. No se demostraron diferencias estadisticamente significativas entre los factores pronosticos y las respuestas terapeuticas. Los factores biologicos RE, RP, Catepsina D, ki67 y Her2neu no tuvieron influencias sobre la respuesta terapeutica. Se obtuvo, al tiempo de seguimiento actual de este estudio, una respuesta de sobrevida total y libre de enfermedad adecuadas
Ecological interfaces A technological imperative in high tech systems

function; flow of mass, energy, and information. Control of the flow of energy through the plant from source to electrical grid; Monitor major mass and energy balances for plant protection. General functions. Monitor and control individual functions such as coolant circulation, steam generation, power conversion from steam to electricity. Physical processes of equipment and components Adjust process parameters in order to align operational states of components and equipment to match requirements and limitations; Form, location, and configuration of equipment Connect and disconnect components; change anatomy and configuration of equipment and installations to match requirements of physical processes and activities. Table 1. The table illustrates how identification of the control task in a power plant can take place at several levels of abstraction. In other words, how deep into the system an operator has to go to identify the actual task depends on the situation. THE HUMAN PERCEPTUAL SYSTEM The argument brought forward in the present paper is that it is possible to bring into action the sensori-motor system, which accounts for people's high processing capacity and reliable performance in natural environments also in complex man-made systems (Rasmussen, 1974; 1986). The high efficiency of this part of the cognitive system cannot adequately be accounted for by the production systems normally adopted by cognitive scientists (e.g., Newell and Simon, 1972; Anderson, 1983) for modeling cognitive processes (cf. de Groot, 1966; Dreyfus, 1979; Rasmussen, 1974; 1986). In the present section, a model of the human cognitive system suggested to account for observations in field studies and analysis of human error, i.e., Technological Imperative 5 a cognitive engineering model, is compared with the findings of ecological psychology, in particular Gibson's 'direct perception. ' Update and Align World Model Values Goals Emotions and Biological Needs Goal Control