Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Growth and Haematological Properties of Rats Fed with Clarias gariepinus Cultivated in Contaminated Water

This study examines the potential threats posed by contaminated African catfish (Clarias gariepinus) by evaluating the biochemical and physiological changes in various tissues, especially the blood, of consumers. African Catfish (Clarias gariepinus) were cultured in water contaminated with phthalate, benzene, and cyclohexane (10μg/ml) respectively over a period of 65 days. They were thereafter used as protein source to formulate feed for albino rats. The body weight, haematological properties, and serum lipid profile of the experimental rats were determined. It was observed that body weight gain of rats fed C. gariepinus cultivated in contaminated water was significantly higher than that of controls (p < 0.05). Abnormal haematological properties (Hb, PCV, RBC, WBC, etc.) were observed among rats fed C. gariepinus cultivated in contaminated water relative to controls. The concentrations of Hb, PCV, and RBC (6.40 ± 0.50, 34.00 ± 3.00, and 4.22 ± 0.52 in that order) of the benzene group of rats in particular, were found to be significantly lower than those of controls (13.70 ± 0.90, 45.00 ± 3.00, and 8.78 ± 1.22) (p < 0.05). Generally, concentrations of total cholesterol, triglycerides, and low density lipoprotein (LDL) in the serum of test rats were found to be significantly higher than those of controls (p < 0.05), while serum high density lipoprotein (HDL) was found to be significantly lower than that of controls (p < 0.05). It follows from this study that consumption of C. gariepinus cultivated in contaminated water may have adverse effects, as presented by data on haematology, and there could be a tendency towards increase in risk of cardiovascular diseases.
Placenta/birthweight ratio and perinatal outcome: a retrospective cohort analysis

Please cite this paper as: Shehata F, Levin I, Shrim A, Ata B, Weisz B, Gamzu R, Almog B. Placenta/birthweight ratio and perinatal outcome: a retrospective cohort analysis. BJOG 2011;118:741–747.
The Roles and Molecular Mechanisms of Nestin Expression in Cancer with a Focus on Pancreatic Cancer

Nestin is a class VI intermediate filament protein that is expressed in a variety of stem and progenitor cells, including primitive neuroepithelial cells and pancreatic exocrine progenitor cells. Nestin expression is closely associated with rapidly proliferating progenitor cells during development and repair processes, and higher nestin expression levels correlate with poor prognosis in some cancers. Nestin regulates many molecules during cell processes in both normal and neoplastic tissues, and its transcription is regulated by enhancer regions in the second intron of the nestin gene that bind to SOX, Class III POU, and N-Myc. Nestin forms heterodimers with other intermediate filaments, with the class III intermediate filament protein vimentin being its main partner. Nestin/ vimentin copolymers provide an anchor for glucocorticoid receptors, regulate insulin-degrading enzyme, and promote the phosphorylation-dependent disassembly of vimentin during mitosis. Nestin regulates cell proliferation, the cell cycle, cell survival, and apoptosis by regulating cyclin-dependent kinase-5 (Cdk5), phosphoinositide 3-kinase, and AKT. We reported previously that nestin regulates cell motility, invasiveness, and cell morphology in a pancreatic cancer cell line via regulation of F-actin and E-cadherin. This review focuses on the roles of nestin in cancer stem cells and in tumor-initiating cells in the pancreas. In the pancreas, nestin plays important roles in the proliferation, differentiation, and survival of both progenitor cells and cancer cells.
The community health foundation of Cleveland.

UTNTIL I959 Ohio statutes that govern prepaid health plans were restrictive and, among their many limitations, was the condition that at least 5 I per cent of all the physicians in any area had to approve a new health plan before it could be established. This was like asking one department store if it wanted another one to move next door, and it is not surprising that no community health foundation type of program emerged. In i959 a law was enacted which allowed any consumer group to establish a prepaid health program and to negotiate with providers on any terms mutually acceptable to both parties. Among those involved in the passage of permissive legislation for prepaid group practice was a group who wanted such a program for northeastern Ohio. This group had the foresight and understanding to secure expert technical consultation, and the health plan which emerged was a community program in which none of the sponsoring groups retained a proprietary interest. The Community Health Foundation of Cleveland is a direct-service, prepaid, group-practice health plan. Direct-service prepayment means that each family pays a single monthly premium which entitles all the members of that family to receive medical care. There are no fees for individual services. The services are provided by an organized group of physicians but cash payments are not made for individual services. Group practice, like prepayment, is necessary because of the increased cost and the improved technology of modern medicine. Medical care is provided by many different specialists. No single physician is able to provide all of the medical services which have been developed. Teamwork among physicians, either within the same specialty or in more than
Beta Human Papillomavirus 8E6 Attenuates Non-Homologous End Joining by Hindering DNA-PKcs Activity

Cutaneous viral infections occur in a background of near continual exposure to environmental genotoxins, like UV radiation in sunlight. Failure to repair damaged DNA is an established driver of tumorigenesis and substantial cellular resources are devoted to repairing DNA lesions. Beta-human papillomaviruses (β-HPVs) attenuate DNA repair signaling. However, their role in human disease is unclear. Some have proposed that β-HPV promotes tumorigenesis, while others suggest that β-HPV protects against skin cancer. Most of the molecular evidence that β-HPV impairs DNA repair has been gained via characterization of the E6 protein from β-HPV 8 (β-HPV 8E6). Moreover, β-HPV 8E6 hinders DNA repair by binding and destabilizing p300, a transcription factor for multiple DNA repair genes. By reducing p300 availability, β-HPV 8E6 attenuates a major double strand DNA break (DSB) repair pathway, homologous recombination. Here, β-HPV 8E6 impairs another DSB repair pathway, non-homologous end joining (NHEJ). Specifically, β-HPV 8E6 acts by attenuating DNA-dependent protein kinase (DNA-PK) activity, a critical NHEJ kinase. This includes DNA-PK activation and the downstream of steps in the pathway associated with DNA-PK activity. Notably, β-HPV 8E6 inhibits NHEJ through p300 dependent and independent means. Together, these data expand the known genome destabilizing capabilities of β-HPV 8E6.
Impact of gate-to-contact spacing on ESD performance of salicided deep submicron NMOS transistors

Electrostatic discharge (ESD) failure threshold of NMOS transistors is known to degrade with the use of silicided diffusions owing to insufficient ballast resistance, making them susceptible to current localization, which leads to early ESD failure. In general, the gate-to-contact spacing of salicided devices is known to have little impact on their ESD strength. However, experimental results presented in this paper show that the ESD strength depends on the gate-to-contact spacing independent of the silicided process. Subsequently, a detailed investigation of the influence of gate-to-source and gate-to-drain contact spacings is carried out for a salicided 0.13-/spl mu/m technology which provides new insight into the behavior of deep submicron ESD protection devices. It is shown that the reduction in current localization and increase in the power dissipating volume with increase in the gate-to-contact spacings are the primary causes of this improvement, which implies that even for silicided processes, the gate-to-contact spacing should be carefully engineered for efficient and robust ESD protection designs.
Micromachined 300-GHz SU-8-Based Slotted Waveguide Antenna

A micromachined 300-GHz slotted waveguide antenna is demonstrated using a simple fabrication technique based on metal-coated SU-8 thick resist. The antenna is designed to be built from a four-layer structure of equal layer thickness. It is fully characterized, and the measured radiation patterns show excellent agreement with the simulation. An H-plane matched right-angle bend is integrated in the antenna in order to achieve reliable and accurate connection with standard waveguide flange. The micromachined antenna is directional and low-profile and may find applications in low-cost sensors and radars.
Deaf Hearing Partnerships: Ethical and Communication Considerations

With few exceptions, a hearing perspective controls the direction of deaf education nationally and internationally. People who are hearing have a powerful influence over decisions that affect legislation, policies, professional organizations, research agendas, and curricular decisions related to deaf education. Although this situation is changing in some arenas, people who are deaf often have relatively less influence than their hearing counterparts in shaping the educational agenda. The authors, one deaf and one hearing, relate their views on the challenge of changing this imbalance of power and discuss their personal experiences as friends and professional collaborators as they offer strategies for creating and nurturing partnerships between people who are deaf and people who are hearing.
Chimpanzees are right‐handed when recording bouts of hand use

Whether nonhuman primates exhibit population‐level handedness remains a topic of considerable debate. Previous research has shown that chimpanzees are right‐handed when frequencies of hand use are recorded but some have questioned the validity of this approach. In this study, we evaluated handedness in 180 captive chimpanzees for a task measuring bimanual actions. Bouts rather than frequency of hand use were recorded in each subject. Population‐level right‐handedness was found using both continuous and nominal scales of measurement. Neither sex nor rearing history had a significant effect on hand use. These results indicate that chimpanzees are right‐handed, even when using a more conservative measure of handedness. Limitations in the use of bouts in handedness assessment are also discussed.
Simulating contestability in freight transportation – The Canadian grain handling and transportation system

Modern supply chains are characterized by multiple interactions among individuals and evolving temporal patterns of interaction. The grain handling and transportation system (GHTS) in Canada is a good example of a large modern supply chain. In this paper, we develop an agent-based simulation model of this regional supply chain and use the simulation output to assess the viability of an open rail access policy designed to mitigate railway market power in the system. We find that if open rail access in the Canadian GHTS were to be implemented, at best profitable entry opportunities would be very limited. Date of this version: May, 2016
An automatic multi-atlas MRI prostate segmentation strategy using a multiscale representation and a label fusion strategy

The pelvic magnetic Resonance images (MRI) are used in Prostate cancer radiotherapy (RT), a process which is part of the radiation planning. Modern protocols require a manual delineation, a tedious and variable activity that may take about 20 minutes per patient, even for trained experts. That considerable time is an important workflow burden in most radiological services. Automatic or semi-automatic methods might improve the efficiency by decreasing the measure times while conserving the required accuracy. This work presents a fully automatic atlas-based segmentation strategy that selects the more similar templates for a new MRI using a robust multi-scale SURF analysis. Then a new segmentation is achieved by a linear combination of the selected templates, which are previously non-rigidly registered towards the new image. The proposed method shows reliable segmentations, obtaining an average DICE Coefficient of 80%, when comparing with the expert manual segmentation, under a leave-one-out scheme with the training database.
Vital signs of identity [biometrics]

Biometrics is emerging as the most foolproof method of automated personal identification in demand in an ever more automated world. Biometric systems are automated methods of verifying or recognizing the identity of a living person on the basis of some physiological characteristic, like a fingerprint or iris pattern, or some aspect of behavior, like handwriting or keystroke patterns. This paper describes the range of biometric systems in development or on the market including: handwriting; fingerprints; iris patterns; human faces; and speech. <<ETX>>
Design of high-temperature SRAM for reliable operation beyond 250°C

In this paper, we analyze the 6T SRAM cell failures caused by temperature and supply voltage variations, and we explore the design of robust SRAM cells for high temperature operation. This integral SRAM reliability study is performed using 180nm SOI CMOS process transistor models. Three different operation regions are identified based on the temperature and supply voltage impact on failure rates. We show that in the super-threshold operation region failure rates increase with elevated temperatures while the opposite is true in the sub-threshold operation regions. We also provide physical interpretation of particularly interesting near-threshold operation region that demonstrated extremely high reliability and low failure rates. Further, we present reliability improvements of the 6T SRAM cell which lead to the fully-digital Latch based design. Silicon measurements demonstrate reliable, state-of-the-art, SRAM operation at 275°C (fMAX = 10MHz, PTOT = 400mW), that is by far the highest reported operating temperature for digital on-chip SRAM module.
The impact of adult mortality on household dissolution and migration in rural South Africa

Objective: To investigate the effect of adult death on household dissolution and migration. Design: Demographic surveillance of the population in a rural area of northern KwaZulu Natal, South Africa. Methods: Data on households resident in the surveillance area on 1 January 2000 were used to examine the effect of adult mortality and household risk factors on household dissolution and mobility between January 2000 and October 2002. Cox regression models were used to assess the risk of household dissolution and migration, controlling for multiple risk factors including causes of death, household composition and household assets. Results: By October 2002, 238 households (2%) had dissolved and 874 (8%) migrated out of the area; 21% (2179) of all households had at least one adult death (18 years and older). Households where one or more adult members died during the follow-up period were four times more likely to dissolve, after controlling for household and community level risk factors [4.3; 95% confidence interval, (CI), 3.3–5.7]. The risk of dissolution was significantly higher in households with multiple deaths (2.3; 95% CI, 1.3–4.3). There were no significant differential risks associated with cause of death, age or sex of the deceased. Adult mortality in the household was not associated with migration. Conclusions: Poorer households, as measured by asset ownership, and households trying to cope with adult deaths are vulnerable to dissolution. The dramatic increase in adult mortality attributable to AIDS will increase the number of households that do not survive as a functional and cohesive social group.
Asymptotic Solution of the Theory of Shells Boundary Value Problem

This paper provides a state-of-the-art review of asymptotic methods in the theory of plates and shells. Asymptotic methods of solving problems related to theory of plates and shells have been developed by many authors. The main features of our paper are: (i) it is devoted to the fundamental principles of asymptotic approaches, and (ii) it deals with both traditional approaches, and less widely used, new approaches. The authors have paid special attention to examples and discussion of results rather than to burying the ideas in formalism, notation, and technical details.
Advantage of support vector machine for neural spike train decoding under spike sorting errors

Decoding of kinematic variables from neuronal spike trains is important for neuroprosthetic devices. The spike trains from single units must be extracted from extracellular neural signals and thus spike detection and sorting procedure is essential. Since the spike detection and sorting procedure may yield considerable errors, decoding algorithm should be robust against spike train errors. Here we showed that the spike train decoding algorithms employing a nonlinear mapping, especially support vector machine (SVM), may be more advantageous contrary to conventional belief that linear filter is sufficient. The advantage became more conspicuous with erroneous spike trains. Using the SVM, satisfactory performance could be obtained much more easily, compared to the case of using multilayer perceptron, which was employed for previous studies. The results suggests the possibility of neuroprosthetic device with a low-quality spike sorting preprocessor
The First Identification of Lysine Malonylation Substrates and Its Regulatory Enzyme*

Protein post-translational modifications (PTMs) at the lysine residue, such as lysine methylation, acetylation, and ubiquitination, are diverse, abundant, and dynamic. They play a key role in the regulation of diverse cellular physiology. Here we report discovery of a new type of lysine PTM, lysine malonylation (Kmal). Kmal was initially detected by mass spectrometry and protein sequence-database searching. The modification was comprehensively validated by Western blot, tandem MS, and high-performance liquid chromatography of synthetic peptides, isotopic labeling, and identification of multiple Kmal substrate proteins. Kmal is a dynamic and evolutionarily conserved PTM observed in mammalian cells and bacterial cells. In addition, we demonstrate that Sirt5, a member of the class III lysine deacetylases, can catalyze lysine demalonylation and lysine desuccinylation reactions both in vitro and in vivo. This result suggests the possibility of nondeacetylation activity of other class III lysine deacetylases, especially those without obvious acetylation protein substrates. Our results therefore reveal a new type of PTM pathway and identify the first enzyme that can regulate lysine malonylation and lysine succinylation status.
Network-wide bike availability clustering using the college admission algorithm: A case study of San Francisco Bay area

The significant increase in the use of bike sharing systems (BSSs) causes imbalances in the distribution of bikes, creating logistical challenges and discouraging bike riders who find it difficult to pick up or drop off a bike at their desired location. We investigated this issue by finding the network-wide availability patterns and how these patterns evolve temporally using a novel supervised clustering algorithm based on the College Admission and the K-median algorithms. The proposed approach models the clustering problem as a matching problem between two disjoint sets of agents: centroids and data points. This new view of the clustering problem makes our algorithm a multi-objective algorithm where the impurity and distance in each cluster are minimized simultaneously. The proposed algorithm showed promising performance when applied to BSS data for the San Francisco Bay area. The resultant network-wide availability patterns were used to identify imbalances in the BSS. Using a spatial analysis of these imbalances, we propose potential solutions for decision makers and agencies to improve BSS operations and make it more stable.
Reliability of force per unit cross-sectional area measurements of the first dorsal interosseus muscle

Abstract The purpose of this study was to determine the reliability of maximum voluntary isometric force (MVIF), cross-sectional area (CSA) and force per unit CSA measures, of the first dorsal interosseus (FDI) muscle, using a custom-built dynamometer and ultrasonography. Twenty-seven participants completed MVIF and CSA measurements on two separate occasions under the same conditions. Reliability was determined using paired samples t-tests, systematic bias ratio and ratio limits of agreement (RLoA), intra-class correlation (ICC) and coefficient of variation (CV). MVIF of the FDI muscle (mean ± s; 31.8 ± 7.6 N and 31.6 ± 7.3 N) was not different between trials (P = 0.63); RLoA between trials were 1.00 ×/÷ 1.09, ICC = 0.990 and CV = 3.22%. CSA of the FDI muscle (22.6 ± 6.9 and 22.9 ± 6.9 mm2) was also not different between trials (P = 0.31); RLoA between trials were 0.98 ×/÷ 1.19, ICC = 0.979 and CV = 6.61%. Force per unit CSA was not different between trials (1.49 ± 0.43 and 1.46 ± 0.44 N·mm2; P = 0.18), RLoA were 1.02 ×/÷ 1.17, ICC = 0.985 and CV = 5.76%. The techniques used to determine MVIF and CSA of the FDI muscle were reliable and can be combined to calculate force per unit CSA.
Relation between folate status, a common mutation in methylenetetrahydrofolate reductase, and plasma homocysteine concentrations.

BACKGROUND Methylenetetrahydrofolate reductase (MTHFR) synthesizes 5-methyltetrahydrofolate, the major carbon donor in remethylation of homocysteine to methionine. A common MTHFR mutation, an alanine-to-valine substitution, renders the enzyme thermolabile and may cause elevated plasma levels of the amino acid homocysteine. METHODS AND RESULTS To assess the potential interaction between this mutation and vitamin coenzymes in homocysteine metabolism, we screened 365 individuals from the NHLBI Family Heart Study. Among individuals with lower plasma folate concentrations ( < 15.4 nmol/L), those with the homozygous mutant genotype had total fasting homocysteine levels that were 24% greater (P<.05) than individuals with the normal genotype. A difference between genotypes was not seen among individuals with folate levels > or = 15.4 nmol/L. CONCLUSIONS Individuals with thermolabile MTHFR may have a higher folate requirement for regulation of plasma homocysteine concentrations; folate supplementation may be necessary to prevent fasting hyperhomocysteinemia in such persons.
Attribute based diversity model for privacy preservation

Privacy is a sensitive issue in our society nowadays in which individuals are trying to achieve by keeping their sensitive data secured. However, the demand of sharing sensitive data has been increased lately due to various tremendous benefits that can be achieved. Anatomy model based on k-anonymity and l-diversity models was presented for privacy preservation in data publishing. However, it cannot prevent the background knowledge attack that can occur based on the link between sensitive and non sensitive attribute values like gender or age. This paper evaluates the disclosure risk based on gender and age for Anatomy and proposes S-Cluster Approach to avoid such kind of disclosure. Experiments show that S-Cluster avoids background knowledge attack that is based on gender or age and produces better data quality comparing to Anatomy.
Optimization of shield structures in analog integrated circuits

The effect of shield structures for local wirings of analog integrated circuits on crosstalk is determined by electromagnetic simulation. The crosstalk of parallel wirings is reduced to -70 dB by the shield above and between the wirings. The optimal shield structure and terminal-impedance dependence are determined by numerical analysis taking terminal impedance as well as wiring length and width into consideration.