Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Two-dimensional analysis of phospholipids by capillary liquid chromatography/electrospray ionization mass spectrometry.

A phospholipid mixture extracted from cultured cells was directly analyzed by capillary (Cap) liquid chromatography (LC)/electrospray ionization (ESI) mass spectrometry (MS). Using a quadrupole mass spectrometer, we analyzed positive molecular ions, negative molecular ions, positive fragment ions and negative fragment ions under four different functions. In the analysis of the elution patterns of the phospholipids, a two-dimensional map, in which the first dimension is elution time and the second dimension is mass, proved useful. Consequently, four different maps can be obtained by each of four different functions. Among them, from negative fragment ions at high cone voltage in the negative ion mode, ions that originated from acyl fatty acid and phosphorylcholine, phosphorylethanolamine and cyclic inositol phosphate can be detected at specific elution times. The map from positive fragment ions at high cone voltage in the positive ion mode indicated ions such as diradylglycerol and derivatives of 1-alkyl or 1-alkenyl cyclic phosphatidic acid from phosphatidylethanolamine (PE), and phosphorylcholine from choline-containing phospholipids. The map produced from positive molecular ions indicated choline-containing phospholipids such as phosphatidylcholine, sphingomyelin, lysophosphatidylcholine and PE. The map of negative molecular ions effectively indicated acidic phospholipids such as phosphatidylinositol. We were able to obtain more than 500 molecular species of phospholipids by this method within a few hours immediately after extraction from culture cells using a mixture of chloroform and methanol (2:1). In this context, we concluded that the combination of Cap-LC and ESIMS seems to be very effective in the analysis of phospholipid classes and their molecular species.
UK state pension deferral incentives and sustainability

ABSTRACT Pay-as-you-go state pension schemes such as that operated in the United Kingdom face growing pressures from the rising old-age dependency ratio and improvements to life expectancies. Alongside compulsory increases in the statutory retirement age, governments have used incentives to encourage workers to postpone voluntarily their exit from employment, deferring their Basic State Pension in exchange for the additional financial reward of an enhanced pension at a later point in time. The impact of pension deferral upon the sustainability of the state pension system is dependent on the interplay of short-term savings from payment delay and increased subsequent longer-term payments to pension recipients. This article presents a model that simulates the financial effect of deferral uptake on the National Insurance Fund over a 40-year projection under alternative scenarios, including current and revised post-2016 deferral incentives. The findings indicate that the recent change in enhancement rate from 10.4 per cent to 5.8 per cent will significantly impact on state pension sustainability while still providing an incentive to defer. We estimate that any reduction below 4 per cent would result in zero uptake of the deferral option, based on a rational financial choice.
Primary results of salvage liver transplantation in the patients with unresectable recurrent hepatocellular carcinoma after initial liver resection.

BACKGROUND/AIMS Salvage liver transplantation (SLT) is a treatment choice for recurrent HCC fulfilling the Milan criteria. However, there is no consensus on the value of SLT for recurrent HCC beyond the Milan criteria, especially for unresectable HCC. METHODOLOGY Eleven patients with recurrent HCC underwent SLT in Tongji Hospital between January 2003 and July 2010. All the 11 patients were considered unresectable because of deteriorated liver function, multiple bilobar tumors or vascular invasion. The outcomes and prognostic factors of these patients were analyzed. RESULTS At a median follow up of 30 months, six patients were alive. Four patients died from HCC recurrence, and one died from gastric cancer. The 1-, 2-, and 3- year recurrence and overall survival rates after SLT were 58.4%, 72.3% and 86.1%, respectively, and 90.9%, 40.6% and 40.6%, respectively. Vascular invasion, recurrent HCC beyond the Milan criteria and early recurrence within 18 months after initial resection were negative prognostic factors of SLT for recurrent HCC. CONCLUSIONS SLT can be recommended as an alternative treatment for recurrent HCC fulfilling the Milan criteria. For those beyond the Milan criteria or with vascular invasion, or early recurrence after initial resection, however, SLT is not beneficial and should not be recommended.
Modifications of the topical Japanese medaka (Oryzias latipes) embryo larval assay for assessing developmental toxicity of pentachlorophenol and p, p'-dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane.

One method currently available for investigating developmental toxicity in teleost species is the Japanese medaka embryo larval assay (MELA). In the present study, the MELA was modified to evaluate repeated topical exposures to pentachlorophenol (PCP) and p, p'-dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane (DDT) and to identify sensitive stages of embryonic development. A single topical exposure using embryos at 48 h postfertilization resulted in a statistically significant increase in embryo mortality at 688 and 1250 ng PCP/egg compared with controls. In contrast, the toxicity following exposure to 11, 36, 78, 120, 208, and 400 ng DDT/egg was expressed only in larvae after hatching. Results further demonstrate that the MELA can be optimized to accommodate repeated daily topical exposures starting at 48 h postfertilization and ending at 120 h postfertilization. In addition, the neurula stage (24 h postfertilization) represented the most sensitive embryonic stage following a single topical exposure of PCP. However, no differences were observed in the sensitivity of embryonic stages following DDT exposure. The modified MELA was also used to evaluate sediment extracts contaminated with DDT metabolites obtained from the Tensas River, Louisiana. Results indicate that there is a low potential for developmental toxicity using the present extraction and exposure scenario even though elevated levels of DDE and toxaphene currently exist in several adult fish species at this site. The MELA as a screen for evaluating the potential for developmental toxicity of contaminated sediments is discussed.
Detection of set in a memory array using C-element

Due to larger integration, technology scaling and lower power technologies, chances of the radiations hitting the design increases. In terms of sequential circuits especially memory array, it is hard to detect the SET (Single Event Transient) propagation due to ionizing radiation. This paper proposes a method to detect the transient currents produced due to SET propagation which improves the reliability of the design. The design is implemented in 45 nm technology in cadence tool.
Population dynamic theory of size–dependent cannibalism

Cannibalism is characterized by four aspects: killing victims, gaining energy from victims, size–dependent interactions and intraspecific competition. In this review of mathematical models of cannibalistic populations, we relate the predicted population dynamic consequences of cannibalism to its four defining aspects. We distinguish five classes of effects of cannibalism: (i) regulation of population size; (ii) destabilization resulting in population cycles or chaos; (iii) stabilization by damping population cycles caused by other interactions; (iv) bistability such that, depending on the initial conditions, the population converges to one of two possible stable states; and (v) modification of the population size structure. The same effects of cannibalism may be caused by different combinations of aspects of cannibalism. By contrast, the same combination of aspects may lead to different effects. For particular cannibalistic species, the consequences of cannibalism will depend on the presence and details of the four defining aspects. Empirical evidence for the emerged theory of cannibalism is discussed briefly. The implications of the described dynamic effects of cannibalism are discussed in the context of community structure, making a comparison with the community effects of intraguild predation.
GBV‐C/HGV coinfection in HIV‐1‐positive men: Frequent detection of viral RNA in blood plasma but absence from seminal fluid plasma

Sequential paired samples of blood and seminal fluid were obtained from a cohort of 54 HIV‐1‐infected homosexual males. The prevalence of GBV‐C/HGV RNA in the cell‐free fractions of some of these patients was determined using reverse‐transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT‐PCR). To assess the effects of HIV‐1 and HCV infection upon GBV‐C/HGV RNA status, blood CD4 cell counts, HCV RNA status, and HIV‐1 proviral DNA and viral RNA titres were also determined. GBV‐C/HGV RNA was detected in 8/30 (27%) of the blood plasma samples obtained at the start of the study, and was present at a frequency of 14/64 (22%) in all the blood plasma samples tested. By contrast, GBV‐C/HGV RNA was not detected in the 26 seminal fluid samples obtained at the start of the study, including 8 samples obtained from patients for which GBV‐C/HGV RNA was detected in the corresponding blood sample. Of the samples tested for the presence of both GBV‐C/HGV and HCV RNA, there was no evidence of coinfection. Although GBV‐C/HGV RNA detection rates were significantly higher in individuals with blood CD4 cell counts greater than 200 cells per microlitre, there were no significant differences in the median blood CD4 cell counts or HIV‐1 proviral DNA or viral RNA titres observed between the GBV‐C/HGV‐positive and ‐negative individuals. The failure to detect GBV‐C/HGV RNA in seminal fluid samples obtained from this cohort would suggest that further studies need to be carried out to determine the roles of sexual transmission and of seminal fluid in GBV‐C/HGV infection. J. Med. Virol. 56:321–326, 1998. © 1998 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Text Extraction in Document Images: Highlight on Using Corner Points

During past years, text extraction in document images has been widely studied in the general context of Document Image Analysis (DIA) and especially in the framework of layout analysis. Many existing techniques rely on complex processes based on preprocessing, image transforms or component/edges extraction and their analysis. At the same time, text extraction inside videos has received an increased interest and the use of corner or key points has been proven to be very effective. Because it is noteworthy to notice that very few studies were performed on the use of corner points for text extraction in document images, we propose in this paper to evaluate the possibilities associated with this kind of approach for DIA. To do that, we designed a very simple technique based on FAST key points. A first stage divide the image into blocks and the density of points inside each one is computed. The more dense ones are kept as text blocks. Then, connectivity of blocks is checked to group them and to obtain complete text blocks. This technique has been evaluated on different kind of images: different languages (Telugu, Arabic, French), handwritten as well as typewritten, skewed documents, images at different resolution and with different kind and amount of noises (deformations, ink dot, bleed through, acquisition (blur, resolution)), etc. Even with fixed parameters for all such kind of documents images, the precision and recall are close or higher to 90% which makes this basic method already effective. Consequently, even if the proposed approach does not propose a breakthrough from theoretical aspects, it highlights that accurate text extraction could be achieved without complex approach. Moreover, this approach could also be easily improved to be more precise, robust and useful for more complex layout analysis.
Al2O3-Dielectric In0.18Al0.82N/AlN/GaN/Si Metal-Oxide-Semiconductor Heterostructure Field-Effect Transistors With Backside Substrate Metal-Trench Structure

This paper investigates novel Al<sub>2</sub>O<sub>3</sub>-dielectric In<sub>0.18</sub>Al<sub>0.82</sub>N/AlN/GaN metal-oxide-semiconductor heterostructure field-effect transistors (MOS-HFETs) with backside metal-trench structure grown by using a non-vacuum ultrasonic spray pyrolysis deposition technique. 3-<inline-formula> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">$\mu \text{m}$ </tex-math></inline-formula> deep metal trenches coated with 150-nm thick Ni were formed on the backside of the Si substrate to improve the heat dissipation efficiency. The present In<sub>0.18</sub>Al<sub>0.82</sub>N/AlN/GaN MOS-HFET (Schottky-gate HFET) has demonstrated improved maximum drain–source current density (<inline-formula> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">$I_{\mathrm{ DS, \max }}$ </tex-math></inline-formula>) of 1.08 (0.86) A/mm at <inline-formula> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">$\textit{V}_{\mathrm{ DS}}=$ </tex-math></inline-formula> 8 V, gate-voltage swing of 4 (2) V, on/off-current ratio (<inline-formula> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">$I_{\mathrm{ on}} /I_{\mathrm{ off}} $ </tex-math></inline-formula>) of <inline-formula> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">$8.9\times 10^{8}$ </tex-math></inline-formula> (<inline-formula> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">$7.4 \times 10^{4} $ </tex-math></inline-formula>), subthreshold swing of 140 (244) mV/dec, two-terminal off-state gate-drain breakdown voltage (BV<sub>GD</sub>) of −191.1 (−173.8) V, turn-on voltage (<inline-formula> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">$V_{\mathrm{ on}} $ </tex-math></inline-formula>) of 4.2 (1.2) V, and three-terminal on-state drain-source breakdown voltage (BV<inline-formula> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">$_{DS}$ </tex-math></inline-formula>) of 155.9 (98.5) V. Enhanced power performances, including saturated output power (<inline-formula> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">$\textit{P}_{out}$ </tex-math></inline-formula>) of 27.9 (21.5) dBm, power gain (<inline-formula> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">$\textit{G}_{a}$ </tex-math></inline-formula>) of 20.3 (15.5) dB, and power-added efficiency (PAE) of 44.3% (34.8%), are achieved.
Changes in Liver Function Tests after Laparoscopic Cholecystectomy: Not So Rare, Not Always Ominous

The incidental findings of increased alanine aminotransferase (ALT) and aspartate amino transferase (AST) after uneventful laparoscopic cholecystectomy (LC) prompted us to investigate the incidence and the clinical significance of this phenomenon. Changes in liver function test after LC (n = 55) were compared with those after OC (n = 16). Liver function tests were obtained preoperatively and postoperatively on days 1, 2, and 7. All of the patients fulfilled the selection criteria: normal preoperative liver function test and no endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography, common bile duct exploration, or postoperative biliary complications (injury, infection, or obstruction). Converted cholecystectomies were also excluded. During LC, the intra-abdominal pressure was maintained within the conventional range of 14 to 15 mm Hg. ALT had doubled in the first 48 hours from the preoperative mean in 58.2 per cent in LC patients versus only 6.3 per cent in the OC group. AST doubled from the preoperative mean value in 38.2 per cent in the LC group versus only 6.3 per cent in the OC group. By the 7th postoperative day, the enzymes returned to the preoperative values in both the LC and the OC group. In many instances, a significant increase in ALT and AST blood levels occurred after uneventful LC. The phenomenon is transient as these enzymes returned to normal value within 7 days. These changes are clinically silent in patients with a normal liver function.
Dynamics of Spatial Inequality and Poverty: Evidence from Two Decades of Surveys in Vietnam, 1993-2014

This paper verifies the dynamics of spatial inequality and poverty, notably for the bottom 40 percent of the population in Vietnam, during the period of 1993-2014. According to Theil T and Blinder-Oaxaca decompositions, expenditure inequalities of urban-rural and between regions were diverging from 1993 to 2004 along with the urban concentration on economic growth, but they were converging from 2004 to 2014 partly backed by the substantial increase of domestic remittances. Meanwhile, inequalities within areas and regions were continuously diverging from 1993 to 2014, which are likely to reflect the difference in main covariates. The urban-rural expenditure gap is mainly explained by years of education, job sector, and ethnic minority status of the household head, and remittances over the duration. For the determinants of poverty of the bottom 40 percent of the population, years of education, service sector job and remittances, among others, largely and positively explained the dynamics based on the quantile regression estimation results. Ethnic minorities have been still left behind from the benefits of economic growth relative to the majority Kinhâ€“remaining space for policy intervention.
Making Sense of Facebook: A Mixed Methods Approach to Analysing Online Student Groups

The objective of this paper is to discuss a methodological design developed to analyse self-governed student Facebook groups as a part of a larger study of the use of ICT in Danish secondary schools (Mathiasen. Aaen, Dalsgaard, Degn & Thomsen, 2014). The paper will discuss how this methodological setup can help the researcher gain in-depth knowledge of the students’ use of Facebook groups, looking past the traditional dichotomy between online and offline as well as the distinction between school-related and non-school-related communication. The paper will address the potential shortcomings of the design as well as how the approach can be further developed, and suggests 1) broadening the scope of the study from the Facebook group as a singular medium to include other media used by the students and 2) extending the study to include the voice of students by engaging them as co-researchers.
Inclusion of time‐varying covariates in cure survival models with an application in fertility studies

Cure survival models are used when we desire to acknowledge explicitly that an unknown proportion of the population studied will never experience the event of interest. An extension of the promotion time cure model enabling the inclusion of time‐varying covariates as regressors when modelling (simultaneously) the probability and the timing of the monitored event is presented. Our proposal enables us to handle non‐monotone population hazard functions without a specific parametric assumption on the baseline hazard. This extension is motivated by and illustrated on data from the German Socio‐Economic Panel by studying the transition to second and third births in West Germany.
SHED: Stem cells from human exfoliated deciduous teeth

To isolate high-quality human postnatal stem cells from accessible resources is an important goal for stem-cell research. In this study we found that exfoliated human deciduous tooth contains multipotent stem cells [stem cells from human exfoliated deciduous teeth (SHED)]. SHED were identified to be a population of highly proliferative, clonogenic cells capable of differentiating into a variety of cell types including neural cells, adipocytes, and odontoblasts. After in vivo transplantation, SHED were found to be able to induce bone formation, generate dentin, and survive in mouse brain along with expression of neural markers. Here we show that a naturally exfoliated human organ contains a population of stem cells that are completely different from previously identified stem cells. SHED are not only derived from a very accessible tissue resource but are also capable of providing enough cells for potential clinical application. Thus, exfoliated teeth may be an unexpected unique resource for stem-cell therapies including autologous stem-cell transplantation and tissue engineering.
Induction of antigen‐specific CD4‐ and CD8‐mediated T‐cell responses by fusions of autologous dendritic cells and metastatic colorectal cancer cells

Human metastatic colorectal carcinomas (CRCAs) express carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA) and/or MUC1 tumor‐associated antigens as potential targets for the induction of active specific immunity. In the present study, freshly isolated metastatic CRCA cells were successfully fused with immature autologous human monocyte‐derived dendritic cells (DCs). The created heterokaryons (DC/CRCA) coexpress the CRCA‐derived CEA and MUC1 antigens and DC‐derived MHC class II and costimulatory molecules. The fusion cells were functional in stimulating the proliferation of autologous T cells. In addition, both CD4+ and CD8+ T cells were activated by fusion cells, as demonstrated by the production of high levels of IFN‐γ. More importantly, coculture of fusion cells with patient‐derived peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) resulted in the induction of antigen‐specific cytotoxic T lymphocytes (CTLs). CTLs were effective at lysis of not only autologous CRCA cells but also the CEA and/or MUC1‐positive and HLA partially matched target cells. Antigen‐specific CTL responses were confirmed by tetrameric analysis. Coculture of PBMCs with fusion cells resulted in increased frequency of CEA‐ and MUC1‐specific CTLs simultaneously. Taken together, these results indicate that freshly isolated human metastatic CRCA cells expressing the CEA and/or MUC1 may represent a potential partner for the creation of DC/tumor fusion cells targeting induction of antigen‐specific CTL responses. Our report demonstrates the simultaneous induction of CRCA‐specific CTL responses restricted by HLA‐A2 and ‐A24. © 2005 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Dependence of the Excitability of Pituitary Cells on Cyclic Nucleotides

Cyclic 3′,5′‐adenosine monophosphate and cyclic 3′,5′‐guanosine monophosphate are intracellular (second) messengers that are produced from the nucleotide triphosphates by a family of enzymes consisting of adenylyl and guanylyl cyclases. These enzymes are involved in a broad array of signal transduction pathways mediated by the cyclic nucleotide monophosphates and their kinases, which control multiple aspects of cell function through the phosphorylation of protein substrates. We review the findings and working hypotheses on the role of the cyclic nucleotides and their kinases in the control of electrical activity of the endocrine pituitary cells and the plasma membrane channels involved in this process.
Protein kinase C in yeast. Characteristics of the Saccharomyces cerevisiae PKC1 gene product.

The Saccharomyces cerevisiae PKC1 gene encodes a homolog of mammalian protein kinase C (Levin, D. E., Fields, F.O., Kunisawa, R., Bishop, J.M., and Thorner, J. (1990) Cell 62, 213-224). A protein of 150 kDa is recognized by a polyclonal antiserum raised against a trpE-Pkc1 fusion protein. In subcellular fractionations, Pkc1p associates with the 100,000 x g particulate fraction. This association is resistant to extraction with high salt concentrations, alkali buffer, or nonionic detergents, suggesting that Pkc1p may be associated with a large protein complex. Pkc1p modified at its COOH terminus with two repeats of the Staphylococcus aureus protein A IgG-binding fragment (ZZ sequence tag) was able to fully restore the growth defects of a pkc1ts strain at restrictive temperature. ZZ-tagged Pkc1p was partially purified by chromatography on DEAE-Sepharose, followed by IgG-Sepharose. In vitro, Pkc1p phosphorylates the pseudosubstrate peptide and myelin basic protein, but not histones. Replacing an isoleucine with an arginine 2 amino acids COOH-terminal of the acceptor serine in the substrate peptide resulted in a 10-fold decrease of Km. Pkc1p activity was independent of cofactors such as phospholipids, diacylglycerol, and Ca2+, known to activate several mammalian protein kinase C isoenzymes, making it a rather distantly related member of the protein kinase C superfamily.