Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Economic Policies: Is it Effective to Achieve Sustainability? A SVAR Evidence from Algeria

Algeria has adopted many development plans to achieve economic, social and even environmental stability, from the Economic Recovery Program (2000-2004) to the new growth support program (2015-2019). In order to analyze and measure the impact of fiscal and monetary policy variables on three indicators of Sustainable Development under the conditions of globalization, an SVAR model has been used. The results of the structural impulse response and GRANGER causality have shown that economic policies in Algeria have an effective role in achieving economic and social development even with the absence of the impact of globalization and in turn have failed to achieve environmental development in the agricultural sector. However, Algerian authorities face a major challenge to achieve greater levels of development in a manner that includes all sectors and diversifies their economies to integrate into the international markets and benefit from the experiences of developed countries. Citation: Boulila H, Benbekhti SE, Mohemed B, Benladgham F (2018) Economic Policies: Is it Effective to Achieve Sustainability? A SVAR Evidence from Algeria. J Glob Econ 6: 307. doi: 10.4172/2375-4389.1000307
Survival of human immunodeficiency virus-infected liver transplant recipients.

Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection has been considered an absolute contraindication to solid-organ transplantation. With immune function restoration possible with highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART), we evaluated 24 HIV-positive subjects with end-stage liver disease who were undergoing orthotopic liver transplantation (OLTX) after the availability of HAART. The cumulative survival among HIV-positive recipients was similar to that among age- and race-comparable HIV-negative recipients (P=.365, by log-rank test). At 12, 24, and 36 months after OLTX, survival was, respectively, 87.1%, 72.8%, and 72.8% among HIV-positive patients, versus 86.6%, 81.6%, and 77.9% among HIV-negative patients. Survival was poorer among subjects with post-OLTX antiretroviral intolerance (P=.044), a post-OLTX CD4(+) cell count of <200 cells/microL (P=.005), a post-OLTX HIV load of >400 copies/mL (P=.016), and hepatitis C virus infection (P=.023). These findings suggest that survival of HIV-positive liver transplant recipients does not differ from that of HIV-negative liver transplant recipients, and they suggest that HIV infection should no longer be a contraindication to OLTX. Further prospective studies are warranted.
TV video context extraction

In this paper authors have presented a web application for the developing countries like India. Here we have proposed a method that can extract the contextual information from any TV video and then fetch related information from the web to provide a true connected TV experience to the viewers. Number of applications can be developed using those information to improve the user experience. Though Digital TV is being popular all over the developed countries, even today in India more than 90% of TV households have analog broadcast cable TV. Thus unlike digital TV transmission it is not possible to automatically get contextual information from any metadata. In the proposed method we have used two context information from the TV video namely (i) the channel an user is viewing and (ii) the synthetic text in the video like subtitle of a movie, or score card of a sports show or news ticker of a breaking news in a news channel. The current viewing channel is recognized by matching the channel logo against the set of pre existing channel logo templates. The text in a TV channel is extracted by text region identification followed by pre-processing of the text regions and performing Optical Character Recognition (OCR) on the text regions. The method of testing, test environments and the evaluation of the applications are presented for ×86 based PC platform. Some modules are also ported on ARM based dual-core platform.
Lessons learned from two decades of Quality in Higher Education

Quality in Higher Education was established in the early years of the quality revolution and has published 529 articles in the 21 annual volumes up to and including 2015. The journal was entitled quality in higher education to enable a focus on all aspects of higher education quality rather than just quality assurance. However, quality assurance issues loom large in the pages of the journal and about a quarter of all articles addressed external quality assurance. Nonetheless, throughout its history, Quality in Higher Education has avoided articles that primarily set out national quality assurance processes, preferring instead studies that explore the nature, impact of quality assurance or comparative studies. In similar vein, the journal tends not to publish studies based on a single institution unless they act as case study illustrations of wider internationally relevant concerns. From the outset the journal has been an international forum and contributions have come from North and South America, Australasia, Central and SouthEast Asia, Western Europe, Scandinavia, Central and Eastern Europe, the Middle East and Gulf States, Africa and the Asian sub-continent. Naturally, many articles give a perspective from the authors’ own countries but they are selected on the basis of their generalisability.
Structural basis for specific lipid recognition by CERT responsible for nonvesicular trafficking of ceramide

In mammalian cells, ceramide is synthesized in the endoplasmic reticulum and transferred to the Golgi apparatus for conversion to sphingomyelin. Ceramide transport occurs in a nonvesicular manner and is mediated by CERT, a cytosolic 68-kDa protein with a C-terminal steroidogenic acute regulatory protein-related lipid transfer (START) domain. The CERT START domain efficiently transfers natural d-erythro-C16-ceramide, but not lipids with longer (C20) amide-acyl chains. The molecular mechanisms of ceramide specificity, both stereo-specific recognition and length limit, are not well understood. Here we report the crystal structures of the CERT START domain in its apo-form and in complex with ceramides having different acyl chain lengths. In these complex structures, one ceramide molecule is buried in a long amphiphilic cavity. At the far end of the cavity, the amide and hydroxyl groups of ceramide form a hydrogen bond network with specific amino acid residues that play key roles in stereo-specific ceramide recognition. At the head of the ceramide molecule, there is no extra space to accommodate additional bulky groups. The two aliphatic chains of ceramide are surrounded by the hydrophobic wall of the cavity, whose size and shape dictate the length limit for cognate ceramides. Furthermore, local high-crystallographic B-factors suggest that the α-3 and the Ω1 loop might work as a gate to incorporate the ceramide into the cavity. Thus, the structures demonstrate the structural basis for the mechanism by which CERT can distinguish ceramide from other lipid types yet still recognize multiple species of ceramides.
Large particle breakdown by cattle eating ryegrass and alfalfa.

The proportion of large particles (LP) broken down to small, insoluble particles by primary mastication (eating), rumination, digestion and detrition (rubbing) was determined for separated leaf and stem fractions of perennial ryegrass (Lolium perenne) and alfalfa (Medicago sativa) fed to cattle cannulated at the esophagus. Large particles were defined as those particles retained during wet sieving on a screen with an aperture of 1.18 mm. Reduction in weight of particles caused by solubilizing or digestion was not considered to be particle breakdown per se, and particles were corrected for this loss in weight. The proportion of LP in the forage broken down by primary mastication was 25 +/- 1.9% (means +/- SE). Breakdown of LP by rumination was calculated from the weight of total particles regurgitated and the proportion of LP in the regurgitated and swallowed remasticated material. The weight of LP regurgitated was corrected for the dry matter lost by digestion using lignin ratio in the LP entering the rumen and of the regurgitated digesta. Rumination accounted for 50 +/- 1.5% of LP breakdown. Fecal loss accounted for 8 +/- . 8% of the LP in forage. Breakdown of LP by digestion and detrition was calculated as 17 +/- 1.3% from the difference between the LP eaten and those broken down by primary mastication, rumination and passing out in the feces. The significance of these results for predicting voluntary intake from laboratory analysis is considered.
Demonstration of 1 Million  $Q$ -Factor on Microglassblown Wineglass Resonators With Out-of-Plane Electrostatic Transduction

In this paper, we report Q-factor over 1 million on both n = 2 wineglass modes, and high-frequency symmetry (Af/f ) of 132 ppm on wafer-level microglassblown 3-D fused silica wineglass resonators at a compact size of 7-mm diameter and center frequency of 105 kHz. In addition, we demonstrate for the first time, out-of-plane capacitive transduction on microelectromechanical systems wineglass resonators. High Q-factor is enabled by a high aspect ratio, self-aligned glassblown stem structure, careful surface treatment of the perimeter area, and low internal loss fused silica material. Electrostatic transduction is enabled by detecting the spatial deformation of the 3-D wineglass structure using a new out-of-plane electrode architecture. Out-of-plane electrode architecture enables the use of sacrificial layers to define the capacitive gaps and 10 μm capacitive gaps have been demonstrated on a 7-mm shell, resulting in over 9 pF of active capacitance within the device. Microglassblowing may enable batch-fabrication of high-performance fused silica wineglass gyroscopes at a significantly lower cost than their precision-machined macroscale counterparts.
Dissociation of SERPINE1 mRNA from the translational repressor proteins Ago2 and TIA-1 upon platelet activation

Summary Platelets play an important role in haemostasis, as well as in thrombosis and coagulation processes. They harbour a wide variety of messenger RNAs (mRNAs), that can template de novo protein synthesis, and an abundant array of microRNAs, which are known to mediate mRNA translational repression through proteins of the Argonaute (Ago) family. The relationship between platelet microRNAs and proteins capable of mediating translational repression, however, remains unclear. Here, we report that half of platelet microRNAs is associated to mRNA-regulatory Ago2 protein complexes, in various proportions. Associated to these Ago2 complexes are platelet mRNAs known to support de novo protein synthesis. Reporter gene activity assays confirmed the capacity of the platelet microRNAs, found to be associated to Ago2 complexes, to regulate translation of these platelet mRNAs through their 3’UTR. Neither the microRNA repertoire nor the microRNA composition of Ago2 complexes of human platelets changed upon activation with thrombin. However, under conditions favoring de novo synthesis of Plasminogen Activator Inhibitor-1 (PAI-1) protein, we documented a rapid dissociation of the encoding platelet SERPINE1 mRNA from Ago2 protein complexes as well as from the translational repressor protein T-cell-restricted intracellular antigen-1 (TIA-1). These findings are consistent with a scenario by which lifting of the repressive effects of Ago2 and TIA-1 protein complexes, involving a rearrangement of protein•mRNA complexes rather than disassembly of Ago2•microRNA complexes, would allow translation of SERPINE1 mRNA into PAI-1 in response to platelet activation.
Abetimus sodium: a medication for the prevention of lupus nephritis flares

Background: Lupus nephritis, one of the most severe and therapeutically challenging manifestations of systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE), has been the target of drug development by La Jolla Pharmaceutical Company. Abetimus sodium, an example of the La Jolla Pharmaceutical Company's Tolerance Technology® is an intravenously administered tetrameric oligonucleotide conjugate that safely reduces antidouble-stranded DNA (anti-dsDNA) antibodies. Given the importance of anti-dsDNA antibodies in the pathogenesis of lupus nephritis, the Phase II and III trials were designed to evaluate whether treatment with abetimus sodium could prolong the time to renal flare in cohorts of patients at high risk of nephritic flares. Objective and methods: The available data regarding abetimus were reviewed and the current status of the drug's development program is reported. Conclusions: Animal studies have demonstrated the ability of abetimus to reduce the titers of anti-dsDNA antibodies as well as of antidsDNA antibody-secreting cells. Administration of abetimus to patients with SLE has uniformly been associated with reductions in circulating anti-dsDNA antibodies. However, two pivotal trials with large numbers of lupus nephritis patients failed to demonstrate statistically signi ficant prolongations in time to renal flare. An event-driven randomized placebo-controlled trial was abruptly terminated in February 2009 after an interim data safety monitoring board determined that achievement of a successful study outcome was futile.
Longer genotypically-estimated leukocyte telomere length is associated with increased adult glioma risk

Telomere maintenance has emerged as an important molecular feature with impacts on adult glioma susceptibility and prognosis. Whether longer or shorter leukocyte telomere length (LTL) is associated with glioma risk remains elusive and is often confounded by the effects of age and patient treatment. We sought to determine if genotypically-estimated LTL is associated with glioma risk and if inherited single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) that are associated with LTL are glioma risk factors. Using a Mendelian randomization approach, we assessed differences in genotypically-estimated relative LTL in two independent glioma case-control datasets from the UCSF Adult Glioma Study (652 patients and 3735 controls) and The Cancer Genome Atlas (478 non-overlapping patients and 2559 controls). LTL estimates were based on a weighted linear combination of subject genotype at eight SNPs, previously associated with LTL in the ENGAGE Consortium Telomere Project. Mean estimated LTL was 31bp (5.7%) longer in glioma patients than controls in discovery analyses (P = 7.82×10-8) and 27bp (5.0%) longer in glioma patients than controls in replication analyses (1.48×10-3). Glioma risk increased monotonically with each increasing septile of LTL (O.R.=1.12; P = 3.83×10-12). Four LTL-associated SNPs were significantly associated with glioma risk in pooled analyses, including those in the telomerase component genes TERC (O.R.=1.14; 95% C.I.=1.03-1.28) and TERT (O.R.=1.39; 95% C.I.=1.27-1.52), and those in the CST complex genes OBFC1 (O.R.=1.18; 95% C.I.=1.05-1.33) and CTC1 (O.R.=1.14; 95% C.I.=1.02-1.28). Future work is needed to characterize the role of the CST complex in gliomagenesis and further elucidate the complex balance between ageing, telomere length, and molecular carcinogenesis.
Limitations of biopsy Gleason grade: implications for counseling patients with biopsy Gleason score 6 prostate cancer.

PURPOSE We examined the implications of underestimating Gleason score by prostate biopsy in patients with biopsy Gleason 6 prostate cancer with respect to adverse pathological findings and biochemical recurrence after radical prostatectomy. MATERIALS AND METHODS We retrospectively reviewed clinical and pathological data on a cohort of 531 patients with Gleason score 6 on prostate biopsy who underwent radical retropubic prostatectomy between June 1992 and January 2002. Patients were excluded if they received neoadjuvant androgen deprivation. Concordance between biopsy and radical prostatectomy Gleason score was examined. A comparison was made with respect to final radical prostatectomy specimen pathology and the risk of biochemical recurrence between cases that remained Gleason 6 and those with a final grade of 7 or greater. RESULTS A total of 451 patients were included in the analysis. Mean followup was 55.1 months (range 12 to 123.4). Of the patients 184 (41%) had a Gleason score of 7 or greater after a review of the entire prostate, while 37 (8%) had a score of less than 6 and 230 remained with Gleason 6. Patients who were under graded were more likely to have extraprostatic extension (22% vs 4%, p <0.01), seminal vesicle invasion (9% vs 2%, p <0.01) and biochemical recurrence (10% vs 3%, p <0.01) compared to those who remained with Gleason score 6. CONCLUSIONS Gleason grade on needle biopsy is an inexact predictor of the final grade following radical prostatectomy. Patients with biopsy Gleason score 6 who are under graded are at significantly higher risk for adverse pathological features and biochemical recurrence than patients who remain with Gleason score 6 or less on final pathology findings.
Adverse impact of international NGOs during and after the Bam earthquake: health system's consumers' points of view.

BACKGROUND On December 26, 2003, an earthquake occurred in the city of Bam in Iran which completely destroyed the city. National and international responses to the calamity were quick and considerable and nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) from all over the world conducted extensive emergency assistance, fulfilling a crucial role during the emergency. The present study discusses some difficulties and problems which originated from the activities of international NGOs during their response to the Bam earthquake. METHODS A qualitative study using semistructured interview technique was conducted with nineteen public health and therapeutic affairs managers who were directly responsible for response and recovery in Bam. Analysis of the data was carried out by the framework analysis technique and supported by qualitative research software, the Atlas.ti. RESULTS The study found that although international NGOs did their best to help people in the region, they also had some adverse impacts on the community in the disaster affected areas. The problems originated from lack of knowledge of cultural issues, inefficient timing for the delivery of funds and services, uneven goods delivery, and poor communication with local people and authorities. CONCLUSIONS The study's findings could have implications for the international aid organizations including the United Nations (UN). Some activities such as roles and responsibilities of the NGOs; networking; and coordination and education of the NGOs could serve as the cornerstone for improvement of their efforts during disasters.
Efficacy of varenicline, an alpha4beta2 nicotinic acetylcholine receptor partial agonist, vs placebo or sustained-release bupropion for smoking cessation: a randomized controlled trial.

CONTEXT Varenicline, a partial agonist at the alpha4beta2 nicotinic acetylcholine receptor, has the potential to aid smoking cessation by relieving nicotine withdrawal symptoms and reducing the rewarding properties of nicotine. OBJECTIVE To determine the efficacy and safety of varenicline for smoking cessation compared with placebo or sustained-release bupropion (bupropion SR). DESIGN, SETTING, AND PARTICIPANTS A randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial conducted between June 2003 and March 2005 at 14 research centers with a 12-week treatment period and follow-up of smoking status to week 52. Of 1413 adult smokers who volunteered for the study, 1027 were enrolled; 65% of randomized participants completed the study. INTERVENTION Varenicline titrated to 1 mg twice daily (n = 344) or bupropion SR titrated to 150 mg twice daily (n = 342) or placebo (n = 341) for 12 weeks, plus weekly brief smoking cessation counseling. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES Continuous abstinence from smoking during the last 4 weeks of treatment (weeks 9-12; primary end point) and through the follow-up period (weeks 9-24 and 9-52). RESULTS During the last 4 weeks of treatment (weeks 9-12), 43.9% of participants in the varenicline group were continuously abstinent from smoking compared with 17.6% in the placebo group (odds ratio [OR], 3.85; 95% confidence interval [CI], 2.69-5.50; P<.001) and 29.8% in the bupropion SR group (OR, 1.90; 95% CI, 1.38-2.62; P<.001). For weeks 9 through 24, 29.7% of participants in the varenicline group were continuously abstinent compared with 13.2% in the placebo group (OR, 2.83; 95% CI, 1.91-4.19; P<.001) and 20.2% in the bupropion group (OR, 1.69; 95% CI, 1.19-2.42; P = .003). For weeks 9 through 52, 23% of participants in the varenicline group were continuously abstinent compared with 10.3% in the placebo group (OR, 2.66; 95% CI, 1.72-4.11; P<.001) and 14.6% in the bupropion SR group (OR, 1.77; 95% CI, 1.19-2.63; P = .004). Treatment was discontinued due to adverse events by 10.5% of participants in the varenicline group, 12.6% in the bupropion SR group, and 7.3% in the placebo group. The most common adverse event with varenicline was nausea, which occurred in 101 participants (29.4%). CONCLUSIONS Varenicline is an efficacious, safe, and well-tolerated smoking cessation pharmacotherapy. Varenicline's short-term and long-term efficacy exceeded that of both placebo and bupropion SR. TRIAL REGISTRATION clinicaltrials.gov Identifier: NCT00143364.
Studies on diarrhoeal diseases in seven countries by the WHO diarrhoeal diseases advisory team.

Over a period of five years the WHO Diarrhoeal Diseases Advisory Team carried out surveys, mainly on preschool children, in seven countries-namely, Ceylon, East Pakistan, Iran, Mauritius, Sudan, the United Arab Republic and Venezuela.a In each country the cross-sectional survey took place during the hottest part of the year. Comparison of the data collected in the different countries posed a difficult problem, for, even when geographical and climatic conditions were similar, other factors made a valid quantitative comparison impossible. The work was not always carried out by the same staff; nor were the programmes in the various countries exactly the same, since some factors were easily studied in one country but not in another. Furthermore, the various studies did not cover the countries as a whole but, at best, only a part of each country. For these reasons comparison had to be restricted to a number of factors, e.g., the availability of water,that affected the incidence of diarrhoea. In general, work was concentrated on the preschool child, but in one instance health authorities found it useful to include all children up to 10 years of age. During its existence the team gradually expanded so that, in turn, more information was collected. Thus, whereas in the first two countries visited (Mauritius and Sudan), laboratory work was limited to examining bacterial enteropathogens, in the other countries a full parasitological examination was also carried out. A paediatrician always shared in the team's work and, except in Sudan and Venezuela, was a full-time participant in the project; a sanitary
Evolvability and reconfigurability

Great achievements in the area of evolvable hardware have been reported in the last decade. Evolvable hardware comprises an evolutionary algorithm, such as a genetic algorithm, and a reconfigurable hardware, such as field programmable analog arrays and field programmable gate arrays. In these devices, internal circuits' connections can be programmed for specific applications. In this paper, configurability and evolvability issues are addressed in the domain of synthesis of analog circuits on an analog reconfigurable platform. First, implementation aspects and characteristics are presented: then some circuits' syntheses are discussed. Finally the authors present their view on how the techniques and approaches studied in the domain of the synthesis of analog circuits could be extended and applied in other domains, such as molecular electronics.