Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Development and application of probabilistic criteria in value-based transmission system adequacy assessment

In the past, electric utilities were continuously adding more facilities to their systems in order to satisfy the growing customer energy requirements based on a set of deterministic criteria that guide transmission planning. The traditional planning guidelines were based on planner's experience and intuition without a formal and consistent framework for their development. In most cases, using the deterministic criteria, the systems were either over or under built. In the deregulated market, any investment decision related to transmission reliability required to be addressed on a rational and quantitative basis within a cost-benefit framework explicitly using data on the value of changes in service reliability to customers. The ultimate determination of poor or adequate transmission reliability performance in the cost-benefit planning framework is based on customer's preferences and customer mix that are unique to each transmission system. In the current competitive energy market environment, such an approach makes perfect sense. This paper presents an approach to rank the deterministic contingencies using a relative likelihood approach to the most frequent contingency of a generator outage and assign required system steady state performance requirements against high, medium and low probability contingencies. The paper then illustrates the applications of the probability based criteria in value-based transmission system reliability enhancement planning using a practical transmission system.
Similar skeletal muscle angiogenic and mitochondrial signalling following 8 weeks of endurance exercise in mice: discontinuous versus continuous training

• What is the central question of this study? Little is known about skeletal muscle adaptation to discontinuous endurance training. Despite little research, it has been suggested that accumulating 30 min of endurance exercise daily may result in similar adaptations in the working muscle to a 30 min exercise bout. • What is the main finding and its importance? The unique finding of the present investigation was that 10 min of continuous endurance training performed three times daily results in similar adaptations of the angiogenic and mitochondrial signalling pathways to 30 min of continuous exercise. Taken together, these adaptations in the working muscle improved exercise tolerance.
Interim analysis of toxicity and response in phase 1 trial of systemic targeted alpha therapy for metastatic melanoma

Purpose. The aim is to assess toxicity and response of systemic alpha therapy for metastatic melanoma. Experimental design. This is an open-labelled Phase 1 dose escalation study to establish the effective dose of the alpha-immunoconjugate 213Bi-cDTPA-9.2. 27 mAb (AIC). Tools used to investigate the effects were physical examination; imaging of tumours; pathology; GFR; CT and changes in tumour marker. Responses were assessed using RECIST criteria. Results and Discussion. 22 patients with stage IV melanoma/ in-transit metastasis were treated with activities of 55-947 MBq. Using RECIST criteria 50% showed stable disease and 14% showed partial response. One patient (6%) showed near complete response and was retreated because of an excellent response to the initial treatment. Another patient showed response in his tumour on mandible and reduction in lung lesions. Overall 30% showed progressive disease. The tumour marker melanoma inhibitory activity protein (MIA) showed reductions over 8 weeks in most of the patients. The disparity of dose with responders is discussed. No toxicity was observed over the range of administered activities. Conclusion. Observation of responses without any toxicity indicates that targeted alpha therapy has the potential to be a safe and effective therapeutic approach for metastatic melanoma.
Advanced preformulation investigations for the development of a lead intravaginal bioadhesive polymeric device

Context and Objective: To screen various polymers through extensive preformulation investigations to ultimately obtain a lead polymer combination for designing a desirable Intravaginal Bioadhesive Polymeric Device (IBPD). Materials and methods: Hydrophilic and hydrophobic polymers (18) at different combinations were blended and compressed into 62 caplet-shaped devices at 5 tons, one of the hydrophilic polymers being a modified synthetic product of polyamide 6,10 (mPA 6,10). Two sets of crosslinked PAA-based caplets comprising either allyl-sucrose (AS-PAA) or allyl-penta-erythritol (APE-PAA) were explored. The devices were subjected to in-process validation tests and thereafter to preformulation investigational screening {equilibrium swelling ratio (ESR) being a screening parameter}, using a One Variable at a Time (OVAT) approach. Molecular mechanics force field simulations in both vacuum and solvated systems were conducted to investigate the influence of addition and subsequent replacement of a polymer(s) on the spatial disposition and energetic profile of the sterically constrained and geometrically optimized multi-polymeric complex, IBPD. Results and discussion: The developed devices were sufficiently strong (longitudinal crushing force:286 ± 0.01 N; mean weight:600 ± 0.48 mg; mean friability:0.31 ± 0.04%). Through OVAT approach, 15 lead formulations with minimal swelling tendencies (ESRs ranging from 0.011 to 0.084) were obtained out of 62 formulations. F62 {i.e. mPA 6,10, (150 mg), PLGA (400 mg), EC (200 mg), PVA (25 mg) and PAA (25 mg)} displayed minimal swelling tendency and therefore the highest stability. The highly stabilized conformation of the final in silico IBPD polymeric assembly PLGA-mPA6,10-PVA-PAA-EC corroborated the experimental results in terms of preformulation investigational screening using the OVAT approach. Conclusion: The results obtained suggest that mPA 6,10, PLGA, EC, PVA and PAA at an appropriate weight ratio may be suitable for development of an IBPD.
The Inclusion of Highly Skilled Immigrants

It is estimated that over 32% of immigrants in the U.S have a bachelor’s degree or higher; yet over 2 million are underemployed (Migration Policy Institute, 2008). Many are represented by popular stories of doctors driving taxis and attorneys washing dishes; unfortunately, this is not a myth. This results in a brain drain/waste phenomenon when college graduates cannot fully utilize their skills and education in the workplace despite their high professional qualifications; costing billions in forgone income and taxes. Difficulties with foreign degree credential evaluation and accreditation; lack of English language skills; and lack of social capital have been identified as major barriers contributing to the unemployment and underemployment of highly skilled immigrants. Furthermore, a Boston based report identified the importance of access to those three things to ensure the successful integration of highly skilled immigrants; success defined by working in an occupation that draws on their professional skill and education with a comparable salary. Using this project and framework, I attempt to document the need of highly skilled immigrants in the North Shore to bring awareness to this issue and support a call to action with the startup The Welcome Immigrant Network and its International Professional Network. SKILLED IMMIGRANTS 5 Executive Summary This report seeks to bring awareness to the brain waste phenomenon due to the unemployment and underemployment faced by highly skilled immigrants in the United States. This project looked at national and state data and reports on highly skilled immigrants, the barriers, and impact of the unemployment and underemployment of skilled workers. Additionally, the project looked to what contributes to professional immigrant success and national initiatives to support professional integration. This information was utilized to support the gathering of local data at the community level to validate and support a new local initiative. The project validated a presence and need of support of highly skilled immigrants in the local community in the North Shore region of MA. Through survey, all participants reported to be either unemployed or underemployed; and the majority expressed the desire of professional mentorship and support. This support a new initiative under the Welcome Immigrant Network to support the professional integration of highly skilled immigrants; which will result in economic independence and improved quality of life, while improving the overall economic health of the whole community. SKILLED IMMIGRANTS 6 Table of
The research of indoor positioning based on visible light communication

The key techniques in indoor positioning based on visible light communication and the state of the art of this research were surveyed. First, the significance of indoor positioning based on visible light communication from two aspects of the limitations of current indoor positioning technology and the advantages of visible light communication was discussed; And then, the main four technology of indoor positioning based on visible light communication were summarized and the triangulation of RSS method and the principle of image positioning were introduced in detail; Next, the performance characteristics of various typical algorithms were compared and analyzed; In the end, several suggestions on future research of indoor positioning based on visible light communication were given.
Basal ganglia volumes and white matter hyperintensities in patients with bipolar disorder.

OBJECTIVE Accumulating evidence suggests an association between abnormalities of the basal ganglia and affective disorders. The authors hypothesized that patients with bipolar disorder would demonstrate smaller basal ganglia volumes and a greater number of hyperintensities on magnetic resonance imaging than comparison subjects who were matched on age, race, sex, and education. METHOD Volumes of the caudate, putamen, and globus pallidus were measured in 30 patients with bipolar disorder and 30 matched normal comparison subjects. The presence, number, and location of hyperintensities were also assessed. RESULTS Male patients with bipolar disorder demonstrated larger caudate volumes than male comparison subjects. Older, but not younger, patients with bipolar disorder demonstrated more hyperintensities than comparison subjects, primarily in frontal lobe white matter. CONCLUSIONS These results are not consistent with those of previous studies showing reduced basal ganglia volume in subjects with affective disorders, but they are consistent with previous findings of increased white matter hyperintensities, especially in older patients with bipolar disorder. Considered together with results from other studies, the findings suggest that the nature of basal ganglia/subcortical white matter involvement may differ according to the type of depression (unipolar versus bipolar) and the age and sex of the patient.
Household Bargaining Power, Preferences for Children and Household Consumption

We structurally estimate the parameters of a collective model of household consumption that includes preferences for children using the Mexican Family Life Survey. The estimation sheds lights on parents' relative bargaining power, their different preferences for children's consumption, and the consumption of children of different gender. We use the model to assess how parent's relative bargaining power, altruism, and gender preferences affect the distributional and welfare implications of targeting conditional cash transfers to women.
Un modelo estructuralista-keynesiano de determinación del tipo cambio real “óptimo” para el desarrollo económico brasileño: 1999-2015

El tipo de cambio real “optimo” a largo plazo es aquel que, al redirigir eficientemente los recursos productivos hacia los sectores generadores y difusores de incrementos de productividad para la economia en general, tiende a acelerar y sostener el desarrollo economico. A diferencia de los modelos convencionales, se utiliza un modelo estructuralista-keynesiano para demostrar, teorica y empiricamente, que los factores que influyen en la trayectoria del tipo de cambio real a largo plazo y el distanciamiento del tipo de cambio real observado con respecto al tipo de cambio real “optimo” para el desarrollo economico se explican, simultaneamente, por variables estructurales y variables influenciadas por la politica macroeconomica a corto plazo. Las estimaciones econometricas relativas al periodo 1999-2015 muestran que, tras una prolongada tendencia de considerable apreciacion real desde fines de 2005, el tipo de cambio real en el Brasil alcanzo su nivel “optimo” a mediados de enero de 2016.
The structure of reduced tryparedoxin peroxidase reveals a decamer and insight into reactivity of 2Cys-peroxiredoxins.

Tryparedoxin peroxidase (TryP) is a recently discovered 2Cys-peroxiredoxin involved in defence against oxidative stress in parasitic trypanosomatids. The crystal structure of recombinant Crithidia fasciculata TryP, in the reduced state, has been determined using multi-wavelength anomalous dispersion methods applied to a selenomethionyl derivative. The model comprises a decamer with 52 symmetry, ten chloride ions with 23 water molecules and has been refined, using data to 3.2 A resolution (1 A=0.1 nm), to an R-factor and R(free) of 27.3 and 28.6 %, respectively. Secondary structure topology places TryP along with tryparedoxin and glutathione peroxidase in a distinct subgroup of the thioredoxin super-family. The molecular details at the active site support ideas about the enzyme mechanism and comparisons with an oxidised 2Cys-peroxiredoxin reveal structural alterations induced by the change in oxidation state. These include a difference in quaternary structure from dimer (oxidised form) to decamer (reduced form). The 2Cys-peroxiredoxin assembly may prevent indiscriminate oligomerisation, localise ten peroxidase active sites and contribute to both the specificity of reduction by the redox partner tryparedoxin and attraction of peroxides into the active site.
A Retrospective Cohort Mortality Study of Italian Commercial Airline Cockpit Crew and Cabin Attendants, 1965–96

Abstract A retrospective cohort mortality study was conducted among Italian commercial flight personnel for the period 1965-1996. The cohort was composed of 3,022 male cockpit crew members and 3,418 male and 3,428 female cabin attendants. Cause-specific standardized mortality ratios (SMRs) and exact 95% confidence intervals. (CIs) were calculated as estimates of the relative risk. Mortality from all cancers was less than expected forall categories (SMRs of 0.58 for male cockpit crew, 0.67 for male cabin attendants, and 0.90 for female cabin attendants). Among male flight persopnel, the SMR for leukemia was somewhat elevated (SMR 1.73; 95% CI: 0.75–3.41) based on eight deaths, with a positive trend by length of employment (p = 0.046). Additionally, an excess of death by suicide was seen among female cabin attendants (SMR 3.38; 95% CI: 1.24–7.35). Other Italian studies of flight personnel are under way, including a detailed assessment of cosmic radiation exposure and investigations of non-radiation occupational risk factors and prevalence of nonfatal outcomes.
The way out: what we know and do not know about herpesvirus nuclear egress

Herpesvirus capsids are assembled in the nucleus of infected cells whereas final maturation occurs in the cytosol. To access the final maturation compartment, intranuclear capsids have to cross the nuclear envelope which represents a formidable barrier. They do so by budding at the inner nuclear membrane, thereby forming a primary enveloped particle residing in the perinuclear cleft. Formation of primary envelopes is driven by a heterodimeric complex of two conserved herpesviral proteins, designated in the herpes simplex virus nomenclature as pUL34, a tail‐anchored transmembrane protein located in the nuclear envelope, and pUL31. This nuclear egress complex recruits viral and cellular kinases to soften the nuclear lamina and allowing access of capsids to the inner nuclear membrane. How capsids are recruited to the budding site and into the primary virus particle is still not completely understood, nor is the composition of the primary enveloped virion in the perinuclear cleft. Fusion of the primary envelope with the outer nuclear membrane then results in translocation of the capsid to the cytosol. This fusion event is clearly different from fusion during infectious entry of free virions into target cells in that it does not require the conserved essential core herpesvirus fusion machinery. Nuclear egress can thus be viewed as a vesicle (primary envelope)‐mediated transport of cargo (capsids) through thenuclear envelope, a process which had been unique in cell biology. Only recently has a similar process been identified in Drosophila for nuclear egress of large ribonucleoprotein complexes. Thus, herpesviruses appear to subvert a hitherto cryptic cellular pathway for translocation of capsids from the nucleus to the cytosol.
Overview of Class Actions: Italian Consumer Law and Cross-Border Litigation

Consumers and users are daily involved in commercial practices and transactions that can end up not pacifically. We buy items and services, we travel, we use public services and vehicles and we enter into contracts with banks, insurance and financial services companies. The disputes arising from these everyday life events need collective remedies which may facilitates access to justice by those whose rights have been violated by one and the same professional. A class action allows a number of consumers to bring a case together before the Court to obtain compensation for a damage caused by the same professional. It is a lawsuit brought by a group of claimants, which allows them to enforce their rights collectively where they would not have done on an individual basis because of the cost, the risks and the time that legal proceedings entail. This paper analyzes the peculiarities of this kind of litigation, both in general and on a European perspective; then it tackles: the archetype of U.S., Italian class actions rules and cross-border litigations issues.
Decentralized cooperation of multiple UAS for multi-target surveillance under uncertainties

An interesting applications of Unmanned Aerial Systems is surveillance. Surveillance typically involves the tracking of one or several targets in an area. A key issue for this application is the autonomous decision-making to allocate UAS to targets and determine the actions to be performed by the UAS of the fleet. Since this optimal decision-making needs to deal with uncertainties, Partially Observable Markov Decision Processes (POMDPs) are proposed as models for the surveillance mission. The paper proposes a role-assignment method to alleviate the computational complexity of the application of POMDPs to multi-UAS surveillance. The method is evaluated by simulation and compared with other similar approaches. Furthermore, the system has been implemented in a testbed with real quadcopters to show some preliminary experiments of two UAS tracking two different targets.
Cytokeratins as Serum Markers in Egyptian Bladder Cancer. A Comparison of CYFRA 21–1, TPA and TPS

Cytokeratins (CKs) have been shown to be overexpressed in bladder cancer and to be valuable as tumor markers. The present study was designed to evaluate the single and combined use of three cytokeratin fragments, CYFRA 21–1, TPA, and TPS, in serum of Egyptian bladder cancer patients. The study subjects comprised 40 healthy controls, 30 patients with benign bladder diseases, and 60 patients with histologically confirmed primary bladder cancer. The cutoff was set at 95% specificity versus benign bladder diseases, resulting in cutoff values of 2.93 ng/mL for CYFRA 21–1, 158 U/L for TPA and 143.7 ng/mL for TPS. With 41% true positive results CYFRA 21-1 had a higher sensitivity than TPA (32%) and TPS (27%). Evaluation by histological findings revealed a highest sensitivity of CYFRA 21-1 (46%) in transitional cell carcinoma (TCC) followed by TPA (27%) and TPS (21%). Also in adenocarcinoma CYFRA 21-1 showed the highest sensitivity (38%) followed by TPA (32%) and TPS (28%). A high percentage (41.6%) of Egyptian bladder cancers is represented by squamous cell carcinoma (SCC). In this population TPS showed the highest sensitivity (69%), followed by CYFRA 21-1 (54%) and TPA (41%). The sensitivity of each of the three markers increased with advancing tumor stage and increasing tumor grade. Combined use of two of the three markers did not raise the sensitivities obtained by single determination of CYFRA 21-1. The present study suggests that serum CYFRA 21-1 could be a marker of choice in bladder cancer.
HP1 Binds Specifically to Lys26-methylated Histone H1.4, whereas Simultaneous Ser27 Phosphorylation Blocks HP1 Binding*

Histone lysine methylation can have positive or negative effects on transcription, depending on the precise methylation site. According to the “histone code” hypothesis these methylation marks can be read by proteins that bind them specifically and then regulate downstream events. Hetero-chromatin protein 1 (HP1), an essential component of heterochromatin, binds specifically to methylated Lys9 of histone H3 (K9/H3). The linker histone H1.4 is methylated on Lys26 (K26/H1.4), but the role of this methylation in downstream events remains unknown. Here we identify HP1 as a protein specifically recognizing and binding to methylated K26/H1.4. We demonstrate that the Chromo domain of HP1 is mediating this binding and that phosphorylation of Ser27 on H1.4 (S27/H1.4) prevents HP1 from binding. We suggest that methylation of K26/H1.4 could have a role in tethering HP1 to chromatin and that this could also explain how HP1 is targeted to those regions of chromatin where it does not colocalize with methylated K9/H3. Our results provide the first experimental evidence for a “phospho switch” model in which neighboring phosphorylation reverts the effect of histone lysine methylation.
The catalytic subunit of herpes simplex virus type 1 DNA polymerase contains a nuclear localization signal in the UL42-binding region.

The herpes simplex virus type 1 DNA polymerase consists of a catalytic subunit (POL or UL30) and a processivity factor (UL42). The POL/UL42 interaction, which occurs through the extreme C-terminus of POL, is essential for HSV-1 replication and thus represents a valid target for drug inhibition. We recently showed (A. Loregian et al. (1999) Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 96, 5221-5226) that an oligopeptide corresponding to the 27 C-terminal amino acids of POL, when delivered into herpes simplex virus type 1-infected cells by a protein carrier, was able to localize into the nucleus and to inhibit viral replication by disruption of the POL/UL42 interaction. In this report, to further characterize the 27 mer (Pol peptide), we investigated whether its nuclear localization was due to the presence of a nuclear localization signal. By testing the ability of the Pol peptide to localize the beta-galactosidase, a normally cytoplasmic protein, to the nucleus, we confirmed that the Pol peptide contained a functional nuclear localization signal, corresponding to the RRMLHR motif. This sequence proved not only necessary but also sufficient for nuclear localization, because its substitution with a six-alanine stretch prevented nuclear translocation of the beta-galactosidase-Pol peptide fusion. Site-directed mutagenesis experiments on this revealed that both the three basic arginines and the two hydrophobic residues Met and Leu were crucial for nuclear targeting. Finally, functionally equivalent sequences were also found in the C-terminus of the catalytic subunits of human cytomegalovirus (RRLHL) and of equine herpesvirus-1 DNA polymerase (RRILH).