Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
The Mouse Model of Amebic Colitis Reveals Mouse Strain Susceptibility to Infection and Exacerbation of Disease by CD4+ T Cells1

Amebic colitis is an important worldwide parasitic disease for which there is not a well-established animal model. In this work we show that intracecal inoculation of Entamoeba histolytica trophozoites led to established infection in 60% of C3H mice, while C57BL/6 or BALB/c mice were resistant, including mice genetically deficient for IL-12, IFN-γ, or inducible NO synthase. Infection was a chronic and nonhealing cecitis that pathologically mirrored human disease. Characterization of the inflammation by gene chip analysis revealed abundant mast cell activity. Parasite-specific Ab and cellular proliferative responses were robust and marked by IL-4 and IL-13 production. Depletion of CD4+ cells significantly diminished both parasite burden and inflammation and correlated with decreased IL-4 and IL-13 production and loss of mast cell infiltration. This model reveals important immune factors that influence susceptibility to infection and demonstrates for the first time the pathologic contribution of the host immune response in amebiasis.
Big leap in China-Africa ties

Like other African leaders, Ethiopian Prime Minister Meles Zenawi returned home from a three-day summit in Beijing with enthusiastic praise for his hosts and an armful of new economic agreements. More Ethiopian agricultural products would be allowed into China duty-free, he revealed, and China had pledged some $500 mn for various development projects in Ethiopia. “China is an inspiration for all of us,” he added. “What China shows to Africa is that it is indeed possible to turn the corner on economic development. ”
Object level fusion and tracking strategies for modeling driving situations

Object detection and tracking is a crucial task as a basis for advanced driver assistance and automation systems. For this purpose a fusion system at object level is proposed, which allows high availability and reliability, since a high independence of the sensors can be reached. In order to deal with common challenges of object detection and tracking, such as maneuvering vehicles, data outliers, partial observability and split and merge effects, a series of novel strategies have been developed. These include the adaptive noise modeling, the definition of an object logical reference, the partial observability modeling, the multiple association of observations, and strategies to duplicate and unify object hypotheses. The proposed fusion system has been prototypically implemented based on a camera and a laser scanner. Furthermore, it has been tested with both simulated and real data. The test results show a win in data quality and robustness, with which an improvement of driver assistance and automation systems can be reached.
Rofecoxib is a potent inhibitor of cytochrome P450 1A2: studies with tizanidine and caffeine in healthy subjects.

AIMS Case reports suggest an interaction between rofecoxib and the CYP1A2 substrate tizanidine. Our objectives were to explore the extent and mechanism of this possible interaction and to determine the CYP1A2 inhibitory potency of rofecoxib. METHODS In a randomized, double-blind, two-phase cross-over study, nine healthy subjects took 25 mg rofecoxib or placebo daily for 4 days and, on day 4, each ingested 4 mg tizanidine. Plasma concentrations and the urinary excretion of tizanidine, its metabolites (M) and rofecoxib, and pharmacodynamic variables were measured up to 24 h. On day 3, a caffeine test was performed to estimate CYP1A2 activity. RESULTS Rofecoxib increased the area under the plasma concentration-time curve (AUC(0-infinity)) of tizanidine by 13.6-fold [95% confidence interval (CI) 8.0, 15.6; P < 0.001), peak plasma concentration (C(max)) by 6.1-fold (4.8, 7.3; P < 0.001) and elimination half-life (t(1/2)) from 1.6 to 3.0 h (P < 0.001). Consequently, rofecoxib markedly increased the blood pressure-lowering and sedative effects of tizanidine (P < 0.05). Rofecoxib increased several fold the tizanidine/M-3 and tizanidine/M-4 ratios in plasma and urine and the tizanidine/M-5, tizanidine/M-9 and tizanidine/M-10 ratios in urine (P < 0.05). In addition, it increased the plasma caffeine/paraxanthine ratio by 2.4-fold (95% CI 1.4, 3.4; P = 0.008) and this ratio correlated with the tizanidine/metabolite ratios. Finally, the AUC(0-25) of rofecoxib correlated with the placebo phase caffeine/paraxanthine ratio (r = 0.80, P = 0.01). CONCLUSIONS Rofecoxib is a potent inhibitor of CYP1A2 and it greatly increases the plasma concentrations and adverse effects of tizanidine. The findings suggest that rofecoxib itself is also metabolized by CYP1A2, raising concerns about interactions between rofecoxib and other CYP1A2 substrate and inhibitor drugs.
Analysis of the Effects of Fringing Electric Field on FinFET Device Performance and Structural Optimization Using 3-D Simulation

In this paper, the potential impact of parasitic capacitance resulting from fringing field on FinFET device performance is studied in detail using a 3-D simulator implemented with quantum-mechanical models. It was found that fringing field from gate to source contributes significantly to FinFET performance and speed. The strength of fringing field is closely related to device features such as gate-dielectric thickness, the spacer width, fin width and pitch, as well as the gate height. For undoped fin with underlapping (nonoverlapping source/drain) gate, a thinner spacer with higher kappa value enhances the gate control of short-channel effects (SCEs) and reduces the source-to-drain leakage current. Our results also suggest that reducing the high- gate-dielectric thickness is no longer an effective approach to improve performance in small FinFET devices due to the strong fringing effect. However, the introduction of thin metal gate in a multifin device was found beneficial to device speed without compromising on current drive and SCE.
Modeling and Analysis of the Power Line Communication Channel

Power line communications may be used as a data communication channel in public and indoor distribution networks so that it does not require the installing of new cables. Primarily, it is aimed at a realization of basic power line communication model for PLC communication. The different levels of mapping carrier frequencies in OFDM (QPSK, 16-QAM) were simulated on the proposed model.
Establishment of Institutional Policies to Support the Internationalization Process: The Case of Malaysian Research Universities

International student mobility is not a recent phenomenon as students have been studying in other countries since 600BC. This paper focuses on institutional policies that are in placed in the Malaysian higher learning institutions to support academic success of international students. Astin’s theory (1984, 1993, 1999) is adopted to link the idea of institutional policies and international student’s academic success. In practical terms, Malaysian research universities are chosen due to their elite status to illustrate the institutional policies that are embedded in these universities.
Timing the Market with a Combination of Moving Averages

A combination of simple moving average trading strategies with several window lengths delivers a greater average return and skewness as well as a lower variance and kurtosis compared with buying and holding the underlying asset using daily returns of value-weighted US decile portfolios sorted by market size, book-to-market, momentum, and standard deviation as well as more than 1000 individual US stocks. The combination moving average (CMA) strategy generates risk-adjusted returns of 2% to 16% per year before transaction costs. The performance of the CMA strategy is driven largely by the volatility of stock returns and resembles the payoffs of an at-the-money protective put on the underlying buy-and-hold return. Conditional factor models with macroeconomic variables, especially the market dividend yield, short-term interest rates, and market conditions, can explain some of the abnormal returns. Standard market timing tests reveal ample evidence regarding the timing ability of the CMA strategy.
Pressure sensors based on MEMS, operating in harsh environments (touch-mode)

In this paper, Poly-crystalline silicon carbide (poly-sic) Micro-electromechanical systems (MEMS) capacitive pressure sensor operating in harsh environment in touch mode is proposed, The principle of the paper is to design, obtain analytical solution and compare the results with the simulation for a circular diaphragm deflection before and after touch point. The sensor demonstrated a high temperature sensing capability up to 400°C, the device achieves a linear characteristic response and consists of a circular clamped-edges poly-sic diaphragm suspended over sealed cavity on a silicon carbide substrate. The sensor is operating in touch mode capacitive pressure sensor, The advantages of a touch mode are the robust structure that make the sensor to withstand harsh environment, near linear output, and large over-range protection, operating in wide range of pressure, higher sensitivity than the near linear operation in normal mode, The material is considered to be used for harsh environment is SiC (Silicon Carbide), Because of SiC owing excellent electrical stability, mechanical robustness, and chemical inertness properties and the application of pressure sensors in harsh environments are, such as automotive industries, aerospace, oil/logging equipments, nuclear station, and power station. We are simulating MEMS capacitive pressure sensor to optimize the design, improve the performance and reduce the time of fabricating process of the device. The proposed touch mode MEMS capacitive pressure sensor demonstrated diaphragm ranging from 150 μm to 360 μm in diameter, with the gap depth from 0.5 μm to 7.5 μm and the sensor exhibit a linear response with pressure from 0.05 Mpa to 10 Mpa.
Thin microelectrodes reduce GFAP expression in the implant site in rodent somatosensory cortex

The objective of this study was to test the hypothesis that neural implants with reduced cross-sectional areas will have less glial scarring associated with implantation injury in long-term experiments. In this study, we implanted nine adult rats with two different implants of 12 µm (n = 6), and 25 µm (n = 6) diameters (cross-sectional areas of 68 µm2, 232 µm2 respectively) and the expression of glial fibrilliary acidic protein (GFAP) was assessed after 2 weeks and 4 weeks of implantation. In order to facilitate implantation, the 12 µm diameter implants were coated with poly-glycolic acid (PGA), a biodegradable polymer that degraded within minutes of implantation. In n = 3 animals, 25 µm diameter implants also coated with PGA were implanted and assessed for GFAP expression at the end of 4 weeks of implantation. Statistical analysis of the GFAP expression around the different implants demonstrated that after 2 weeks of implantation there is no statistically significant difference in GFAP expression between the 12 µm and the 25 µm diameter implants. However, after 4 weeks of implantation the implant site of 12 µm diameter implants exhibited a statistically significant reduction in GFAP expression when compared to the implant sites of the 25 µm diameter implants (both with and without the PGA coating). We conclude that in neural implants that are tethered to the skull, implant cross-sectional areas of 68 µm2 and smaller could lead to a reduced glial scarring under chronic conditions. Future studies with longer implant durations can confirm if this observation remains consistent beyond 4 weeks.
The Diversity of Parasites

Parasitism is one of the most successful modes of life displayed by living organisms, as measured by how often it evolved and how many parasitic species are presently in existence. Studying the diversity of parasites is particularly relevant because sympatric diversification may be important in some parasite taxa, and because of the opportunity for independent tests of evolutionary hypotheses in the many separate lineages in which parasitism evolved. Our incomplete knowledge of existing parasite species-the result of a range of phenomena that includes inadequate sampling effort or the lumping of different cryptic species under one name-is not always a major obstacle for the study of parasite diversity. Patterns in the diversity of parasites may be associated with either host or parasite characteristics. The distribution of parasite diversity among host taxa does not simply reflect the species diversity of the host taxa themselves; life history and ecological traits of hosts appear to play important roles. These may determine the likelihood that hosts are colonized by parasite species over evolutionary time. It is not yet clear whether some host traits also favor intrahost speciation and diversification of parasites, and the formation of new parasite species. Certain features of parasites may also be associated with speciation and diversification. Only parasite body size has received much attention; the patterns observed are not greatly different from those of free-living species, with small-bodied parasite taxa being more speciose than related large-bodied taxa. Epidemiological parameters such as the basic reproductive rate of parasites, or R0, can also generate predictions regarding the distribution or evolution of parasite diversity. For instance, parasite taxa characterized by high R0 values may be more speciose than related taxa with lower values of R0; such predictions remain untested. Large-scale biogeographical patterns of diversity have only been well studied for metazoan parasites of marine fish; for these parasites, latitudinal patterns can be explained by effects of temperature on speciation rates and epidemiological variables, though other causes are possible. The emphasis for future research must shift from pattern description to the elucidation of the processes responsible for the structure and diversity of parasite faunas. A better integration of ecological and historical (or phylogenetic) approaches to the study of parasite diversity should make this objective possible.
Concern about security and privacy, and perceived control over collection and use of health information are related to withholding of health information from healthcare providers

INTRODUCTION This study assessed the perceptions and behaviors of US adults about the security of their protected health information (PHI). METHODS The first cycle of the fourth wave of the Health Information National Trends Survey was analyzed to assess respondents' concerns about PHI breaches. Multivariate logistic regression was used to assess the effect of such concerns on disclosure of sensitive medical information to a healthcare professional (p<0.05). RESULTS Most respondents expressed concerns about data breach when their PHI was being transferred between healthcare professionals by fax (67.0%; 95% CI 64.2% to 69.8%) or electronically (64.5%; 95% CI 61.7% to 67.3%). About 12.3% (95% CI 10.8% to 13.8%) of respondents had ever withheld information from a healthcare provider because of security concerns. The likelihood of information withholding was higher among respondents who perceived they had very little say about how their medical records were used (adjusted OR=1.42; 95% CI 1.03 to 1.96). CONCLUSIONS This study underscores the need for enhanced measures to secure patients' PHI to avoid undermining their trust.
Emotion processing in female youth: Testing the stability of the late positive potential.

The Emotional Interrupt Task (EIT) has been used to probe emotion processing in healthy and clinical samples; however, research exploring the stability and reliability of behavioral measures and ERPs elicited from this task is limited. Establishing the psychometric properties of the EIT is critical, particularly as phenotypes and biological indicators may represent traitlike characteristics that underlie psychiatric illness. To address this gap, test-retest stability and internal consistency of behavioral indices and ERPs resulting from the EIT in healthy, female youth (n = 28) were examined. At baseline, participants were administered the EIT while high-density 128-channel EEG data were recorded to probe the late positive potential (LPP). One month later, participants were readministered the EIT. Four principal findings emerged. First, there is evidence of an interference effect at baseline, as participants showed a slower reaction time for unpleasant and pleasant images relative to neutral images, and test-retest of behavioral measures was relatively stable over time. Second, participants showed a potentiated LPP to unpleasant and pleasant images compared to neutral images, and these effects were stable over time. Moreover, in a test of the difference waves (unpleasant-neutral vs. pleasant-neutral), there was sustained positivity for unpleasant images. Third, behavioral measures and LPP demonstrated excellent internal consistency (odd/even correlations) across conditions. Fourth, highlighting important age-related differences in LPP activity, younger age was associated with larger LPP amplitudes across conditions. Overall, these findings suggest that the LPP following emotional images is a stable and reliable marker of emotion processing in healthy youth.
Socio-Economic Impacts of Tourism in India: An Empirical Analysis

The importance of tourism as an instrument for economic growth and employment generation, particularly in remote and backward areas, has been well recognized world over. It is the largest service industry globally in terms of gross revenue as well as foreign exchange earnings. Tourism plays an effective role in achieving growth with equity objectives which we have set for ourselves. The extant tourism literature suggests that the expansion on tourism sector can contribute to long-run macroeconomic performance of developing countries. India ving high potential for the expansion of tourism industry can be a catalyst for the long-run socio-economic growth. Thus, we have investigated the impact of tourism on India’s economic growth over a period from 1990 to 2015. The results predict the possibility of long-run equilibrium relationship between tourism and economic growth. This justifies for the identification of the indicators which should be emphasized while formulating plans and policies for tourism sector expansion. The estimation of long-run regression model suggests that the indicators such as foreign exchange earnings, international tourists spending, domestic expenditure on tourism and capital investment by all industries related to travel and tourism are critical in making tourism industry an engine of economic growth.
Regulation of ΔNp63α by NFκΒ

ΔNp63α, the dominant negative isoform of the p63 family is an essential survival factor in head and neck squamous cell carcinoma. This isoform has been shown to be down regulated in response to several DNA damaging agents, thereby enabling an effective cellular response to genotoxic agents. Here, we identify a key molecular mechanism underlying the regulation of ΔNp63α expression in response to extrinsic stimuli, such as chemotherapeutic agents. We show that ΔNp63α interacts with NF-κΒ in presence of cisplatin. We find that NF-κΒ promotes ubiquitin-mediated proteasomal degradation of ΔNp63α. Chemotherapy-induced stimulation of NF-κΒ leads to degradation of ΔNp63α and augments trans-activation of p53 family-induced genes involved in the cellular response to DNA damage. Conversely, inhibition of NF-κΒ with siRNA-mediated silencing NF-κΒ expression attenuates chemotherapy induced degradation of ΔNp63α . These data demonstrate that NF-κΒ plays an essential role in regulating ΔNp63α in response to extrinsic stimuli. Our findings suggest that the activation of NF-κΒ may be a mechanism by which levels of ΔNp63α are reduced, thereby rendering the cells susceptible to cell death in the face of cellular stress or DNA damage.
Plants with double genomes might have had a better chance to survive the Cretaceous–Tertiary extinction event

Most flowering plants have been shown to be ancient polyploids that have undergone one or more whole genome duplications early in their evolution. Furthermore, many different plant lineages seem to have experienced an additional, more recent genome duplication. Starting from paralogous genes lying in duplicated segments or identified in large expressed sequence tag collections, we dated these youngest duplication events through penalized likelihood phylogenetic tree inference. We show that a majority of these independent genome duplications are clustered in time and seem to coincide with the Cretaceous–Tertiary (KT) boundary. The KT extinction event is the most recent mass extinction caused by one or more catastrophic events such as a massive asteroid impact and/or increased volcanic activity. These events are believed to have generated global wildfires and dust clouds that cut off sunlight during long periods of time resulting in the extinction of ≈60% of plant species, as well as a majority of animals, including dinosaurs. Recent studies suggest that polyploid species can have a higher adaptability and increased tolerance to different environmental conditions. We propose that polyploidization may have contributed to the survival and propagation of several plant lineages during or following the KT extinction event. Due to advantages such as altered gene expression leading to hybrid vigor and an increased set of genes and alleles available for selection, polyploid plants might have been better able to adapt to the drastically changed environment 65 million years ago.
A multi‐centre study of lapsed contact lens wearers

Purpose: Discontinuation from contact lens wear has been identified as a contributing factor in the lack of growth of contact lens use in Europe. The purpose of this study was to determine the proportion of lapsed contact lens wearers that can be refitted successfully with contact lenses and to evaluate the reasons for discontinuation from contact lens wear.
Explaining the puzzling stagnation of apprenticeships in Germany’s security services: A case of insufficient institutional work?

In this paper, we study the puzzling case of apprenticeship training in Germany’s security services industry: there is a growing consensus across stakeholder groups that apprenticeship as a formal training model, targeted to create a vocation or Beruf rather than a profession, can help the industry to overcome skill deficiencies and reputational issues; however, the number of apprentices in this field has remained low and stagnant over the past decade or so. How can we explain this limited institutionalization despite significant attempts toward institutional work for the purpose of creating an apprenticeship program? Based on rich qualitative case material, we argue that limited institutionalization can be explained by insufficient institutional work: while the actors have engaged with the cognitive and normative dimension of institutions of workforce training, they have failed to establish sufficient regulative support, such as (re-)creating the strong link between formal training and occupational status, including pay and benefits. Our study contributes to the literature by arguing that institutional work needs to target all three ‘pillars’ in conjunction, and that it needs to be aligned with the particular coordination logic in a given institutional configuration, such as Germany as a Coordinated Market Economy (CME)—failure to do so results in incomplete and inconsistent institutional work. We add to research on institutional work, not least in the realm of occupations and professions, by theorizing the stagnation of an institutional work project as the result of both incomplete and inconsistent, hence insufficient, institutional work.