Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
STUDY ON THE BIOACCUMULATION OF POLONIUM-210 AND LEAD-210 IN THE ABIOTIC AND BIOTIC COMPONENTS OF PALK STRAIT , SOUTH EAST COAST OF INDIA

A systematic study on the bioaccumulation of natural radionuclides such as Po-210 and Pb-210 in abiotic and biotic components of Palk Strait ecosystem was undertaken in order to generate base line data and to understand the radiation profile of Palk Strait coast. In water Po-210 recorded a mean value of 1.54 mBq/l and Pb-210, 3.15 mBq/l and in sediment Po-210 level was 3.8 Bq/kg and Pb-210, 3.2 Bq/kg. Analysis of Po-210 activity in different grain size in Mandapam sediment showed that the smaller particles (50-μm) recorded highest activity of 164 Bq/kg as compared to larger grains. The depth wise analysis of Po-210 activity showed a maximum of 6 Bq/kg in the upper layer (0-5 cm). The mean Po-210 concentration recorded in plankton samples was 47.1 Bq/kg while Pb-210 registered 12.7 Bq/kg. Among the seaweeds analyzed Sargassum wightii showed highest activity of Po-210 accumulation (20 Bq/kg). Among the molluscs, bivalve Meretrix casta registered a maximum activity of Po-210 and hence could be considered as a sentinel organism for biomonitoring of radionuclides. Higher activity of Po-210 among fishes analysed was found in the detrivore bottom feeder Liza vaigiensis. The results of the present study show that levels of these radionuclides are lesser compared to those of the adjacent Kalpakkam and Gulf of Mannar coasts.
Usability evaluation with tasks characterized by the information search process: The China National Knowledge Infrastructure

The purpose of this study is to present an approach to evaluating the usability of digital libraries in terms of knowledge states within the information search process (ISP) by investigating the connections among components with which users interact, perceived usability and task stages. The China National Knowledge Infrastructure (CNKI), the most popular digital library in China, was chosen to be studied. ,With the research framework, measurements were generated for perceived usability in task stages for efficiency, effectiveness and satisfaction. Two usability experiments and usability tests were administered to 22 subjects in two groups. Three information retrieval tasks were designed according to the characteristics of knowledge states within the ISP for each experiment. The transaction logs were captured and the experimental results were recorded. The users completed a pre-search questionnaire and post-search questionnaire, and interviews were conducted. ,The study showed that both interactions on components of the digital library and usability scores differed with sequential tasks characterized by knowledge states within the ISP; new usability problems relating to the CNKI were found based on the empirical results. ,Many studies on the usability evaluation of digital libraries focused on the outcome rather than on the ISP. This study proposed an effective approach to usability evaluation based on users’ knowledge states within the ISP.
Managing hyperkalemia caused by inhibitors of the renin-angiotensin-aldosterone system.

Hyperkalemia can develop as a result of treatment with angiotensin-converting–enzyme inhibitors or angiotensin-receptor blockers. This side effect is most common in patients with risk factors such as diabetes mellitus, heart failure, chronic kidney disease, or advanced age. This review explains the pathophysiology and offers clinical guidance for management.
RATC: A robust topology control algorithm for heterogeneous wireless sensor networks

In this paper a robust distributed and localized algorithm is presented that sensors incrementally adjusts their transmission range by collaborating with other neighbors. Normally, WSNs are set up in adverse environmental conditions, so robustness is one of the most important objectives of the WSN algorithms. This paper addresses the problem of power control in a heterogeneous wireless network which containing nodes with different transmission ranges. Our algorithm results an asymmetric network topology which not only increases network life time by reducing transmission power, and preserves the reachability, and reduces traffic interference by having low average node degrees but also is more tolerable on packet losses comparison with similar algorithms. In scenarios with high packet loss, algorithm will operate correctly but not with maximum efficiency. Finally, the algorithm will evaluate and compare with similar works using simulation.
Diagnostic Usefulness of Intraoperative Ultrasonography in Avoiding Unnecessary Para-Aortic Lymphadenectomy in Women With Endometrial Carcinoma

Objective: To evaluate the usefulness of intraoperative ultrasonography (IU) in reducing the number of unnecessary para-aortic lymphadenectomy in women with endometrial carcinoma. Methods: Computed tomography (CT) and IU were used to assess whether para-aortic lymph nodes were enlarged in 91 women with endometrial carcinoma. All women underwent hysterectomy and systematic pelvic and para-aortic lymphadenectomy. On the basis of the intrauterine pathological findings (IPF) of the removed uterus, the women were classified into low- and high-risk groups. It was assumed that para-aortic lymphadenectomy would be performed only when enlarged nodes were detected by CT or IU or only when women were classified into the high-risk group. The numbers of women who would have had missed metastases and who could have avoided para-aortic lymphadenectomy were calculated. Results: Eighteen women had pathological para-aortic node metastases. Theoretically, the number of women who would have had missed metastases on the basis of CT, IU, and IPF were 11, 2, and 2, respectively; more metastases were missed with CT than with the other 2 methods. The number of women who could have avoided para-aortic lymphadenectomy on the basis of CT, IU, and IPF were 84, 59, and 29, respectively; compared to IPF, IU helped avoid para-aortic lymphadenectomy in more women. Conclusions: Intraoperative ultrasonography is the most efficient method for avoiding both unnecessary para-aortic lymphadenectomy and missed para-aortic node metastases in women with endometrial carcinoma.
Is open-angle glaucoma associated with early menopause? The Rotterdam Study.

The authors examined the association between age at menopause and open-angle glaucoma among women aged > or = 55 years in the population-based Rotterdam Study (1990--1993). Information on age and type of menopause was obtained by interview. Subjects (n = 3,078) were stratified into three categories according to age at menopause: <45 years, 45--49 years, and > or = 50 years, with the last group serving as the reference group. Diagnosis of open-angle glaucoma was based on the presence of a glaucomatous visual field defect and glaucomatous optic neuropathy. Open-angle glaucoma was diagnosed in 78 women with a natural menopause and 15 women with an artificial menopause. In the category of natural menopause, women who went through menopause before reaching the age of 45 years had a higher risk of open-angle glaucoma than the reference group (odds ratio = 2.6; 95% confidence interval: 1.5, 4.8), after adjustment for age and use of hormone replacement therapy. Among women who went through menopause between the ages of 45 and 49 years, the odds ratio was 1.1 (95% confidence interval: 0.7, 2.0). These findings suggest that early menopause is associated with a higher risk of open-angle glaucoma.
Accuracy assessment of MODIS daily snow albedo product based on scaling transformation

MOD10A1 product provides daily shortwave albedo in the regions covered by ice and snow, validation work is needed to access the usefulness for the cryospheric science applications. In this study, ground measurements on three typical glaciers in western China are used to calibrate the albedo products derived from TM images, which are then aggregated to MODIS resolution for determining the accuracy of MOD10A1 daily albedo product. The validation results show that: the product on continental type glaciers is reasonably accurate, with the average error of less than 0.026, and the RMSE less than 0.068, so it can be applied to cryospheric science research; the product on maritime type glaciers replies a relative poor accuracy, with the average error of −0.073 and the RMSE 0.112. The difference in accuracy of MOD10A1 daily albedo product over different glaciers may be caused by the diverse surface characters of different type glaciers.
Induction of Long-Term Memory CD8+ T Cells for Recall of Viral Clearing Responses against Influenza Virus

ABSTRACT Induction of cytotoxic T-cell-mediated virus-clearing responses by influenza virus T cell determinant-containing peptide immunogens was examined. The most potent synthetic immunogens for eliciting pulmonary viral-clearing responses contained peptides representing determinants for CD4 and CD8 T cells (TH and CTL peptides, respectively) together with two or four palmitic acid (Pal) groups. Inoculated in adjuvant, these Pal2- or Pal4-CTL-TH lipopeptides and the nonlipidated CTL peptide induced equivalent levels of cytolytic activity in the primary effector phase of the response. The ability to recall lytic responses, however, diminished much more rapidly in CTL peptide-primed than in lipopeptide-primed mice. By 15 months postpriming, the recalled lytic activity in lipopeptide-inoculated mice remained potent, but the response induced by the CTL peptide was weak. Enumeration of specific gamma interferon-secreting CD8 T cells revealed that a greater number of these T cells had entered or remained in the memory pool in lipopeptide-primed mice, arguing for a quantitative rather than qualitative enhancement of the response on recall. Addition of either the lipid or the TH peptide to the CTL peptide was not sufficient to provide these long-lived antiviral responses, but inclusion of both components augmented the response. CD4 T cells elicited by the lipopeptides did not influence the rate of viral clearance upon challenge and most likely had a role in induction or maintenance of the memory response. It therefore appears that the lipopeptide immunogens, although not significantly superior at inducing primary effector CD8 T cells, elicit a much more effective memory population, the recall of which may account for their superiority in inducing pulmonary protection after viral challenge.
Abortive Infection of Sporulating Bacillus subtilis 168 by φ2 Bacteriophage

Bacteriophage φ2 is unable to replicate in Bacillus subtilis 168. Although some phage deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) synthesis can occur, the DNA made is not biologically active and sedimentation analysis reveals that it is smaller in size than that of mature DNA or DNA isolated from φ2-infected permissive hosts. Messenger ribonucleic acid hybridizable with φ2 DNA is also synthesized in φ2-infected cells of 168. Mutants of 168 which are permissive hosts for φ2 have been isolated. These mutants are defective in sporulation and possess the phenotype of “early sporulation mutants. ” The majority map in two locations, one near the lys locus opposite the trp locus (spoA locus) and the other tightly linked to a phe locus.
Why is Hubel and Wiesel ' s description of the classical receptive field inadequate for an understanding of visual perception ?

Receptive field is an area of the visual field that, when illuminated, alters the discharge rate of a visual neuron. According to Hubel and Wiesel (1979), receptive field is a hierarchy of cells in the visual cortex, cells divided into two major classes: simple and complex cells. Simple cells are cells for which the optimal stimuli are lines of specific orientation rather than the circular spots of light. More numerous than simple cells are complex cells, for which the optimal stimuli are lines of specific orientation moving in a particular direction. The implicit assumption of this structural description is that visual perception can be reduced to activity of single, increasingly complex neurons. The essay aims at examining why Hubel and Wiesel's description of the receptive field is inadequate. To fulfil that goal, Hubel and Wiesel's work is compared and contrasted with later findings on visual neurons and the organisation of the visual cortex. The essay concludes that, despite some correlational evidence for Hubel and Wiesel's concept (Logothetis, Pauls, and Poggio, 1995), their description of the classical receptive field is indeed inadequate. One-to-one mapping between a complex visual stimulus and a neuron is statistically unlikely. Single neurons can be affected by context and attention which is accounted for by the description of the classical receptive field at all. At the higher level of the visual cortex organisation, cortical streams (cortical areas, not single neurons) were shown to influence behaviours of neuropsychological patients. Overall, this evidence demonstrates that Hubel and Wiesel's description of the classical receptive field is inadequate because it is oversimplified.
[The effect of knockdown of transcription factor SCL/TAL-1 gene on the erythroid differentiation in EPO-induced K562 cell line].

OBJECTIVE To investigate the role of transcript factor SCL/TAL-1 gene in the erythroid differentiation through the knockdown of SCL/TAL-1 mRNA by RNA interference. METHODS The plasmid of pTRIP-dU3-RNAiTALh-EF1a-GFP with SCL/TAL1 shRNA was transfected into EPO-induced K562 cell line with erythroid differentiation via lentiviral vector system and the expression of SCL/TAL-1 mRNA decreased. The plasmid pTRIP-dU3- RNAiluc-EF1-GFP expressing EGFP gene was as control. The mRNA levels of SCL/TAL-1 and erythroid related RhD, GPA, CD47 in the cell lines were detected by RT-PCR, and erythroid antigen CD71, CD235a were examined by flow cytometry. RESULTS (1) After 48 h of transfect, more than 95% of K562 cells were GFP positive, indicating the infection rate of the plasmids in the K562 cells more than 95%. (2) The results of RT-PCR showed SCL/TAL-1 mRNA expression in the K562 cell line of knockdown of SCL/TAL-1 was significantly lower than that in the control (P < 0.05). The mRNA levels of CD47 and RhD were also significantly lower, however, GPA decreased slightly in comparison with the control. (3) The expressions of CD71 and CD235a markedly reduced in the K562 cell line of knockdown of SCL/TAL-1 with positive rates as 10.4% and 76.5%, while the positive rates in the control as 94.3% and 83.6%. CONCLUSION Our findings suggested that transcription factor SCL/TAL-1 might play an positive role in erythroid differentiation.
Late non-neoplastic events in patients with aggressive non-Hodgkin's lymphoma in four randomized European Organisation for Research and Treatment of Cancer trials.

BACKGROUND A significant proportion of patients with aggressive non-Hodgkin's lymphoma (NHL) become long-term survivors. A European Organisation for Research and Treatment of Cancer database of patients with aggressive NHL, consistently treated with doxorubicin-based chemotherapy since 1980, afforded the possibility to explore late complications in this patient group. PATIENTS AND METHODS Of 951 randomized patients, complete data on late complications could be collected in 757 patients who were alive > or = 2 years after the start of therapy and were seen at yearly follow-ups (median follow-up, 9.4 years; range, 2.1-20.4 years). We computed cumulative incidences of late events in a competing risk model by Gray (death being the competing event) to avoid bias caused by the high percentage of NHL-related deaths. Risk factors were estimated in a Cox proportional-hazards model and also evaluated with the Gray test. RESULTS Late non-neoplastic events were found in 46% of the 757 patients. At 15 years, the cumulative incidences of cardiac disease and infertility were 20% and 29%, respectively. Renal insufficiency (11%), acquired hypertension (8%), and disabling neuropathy (13%) were also frequent. Salvage treatment was a risk factor in most cases. Smoking, age > 50 years during treatment, and preexistent hypertension were the main risk factors for cardiovascular disease. In-field radiation therapy (RT) was related to hypothyroidism, lung fibrosis, hypertension, gastrointestinal toxicity, and renal insufficiency but not to cardiovascular events. Autologous stem cell transplantation and cisplatin- and MOPP (mechlorethamine/vincristine/procarbazine/prednisone)-containing therapies were associated with infertility and renal insufficiency. CONCLUSION Altogether, almost half the patients with aggressive NHL experienced events addressed as late non-neoplastic complications. Salvage therapy, smoking, age > 50 years, and in-field RT are important risk factors.
A feasible detection technique for chipless RFID systems based on likelihood

This paper investigates a scalable likelihood detection techniques for chipless RFID tag reading. Detection error rate (DER) of a 4-bit multi-resonator chipless tag reading is performed using proposed detection algorithm. The computation complexity of the proposed detection method is significantly less compared to the other reported maximum likelihood (ML) detection techniques hence it is a feasible reading technique especially under larger number of tag bits. Validity of the proposed detection technique was verified using Computer Simulation Technology (CST) and MATLAB simulations.
Lessons to be Learned from the Experience of Electricity Reforms in India

The electricity sectors in India have been undergoing significant reforms since nineties. The initial status of the electricity sector when reform of the industry was initiated was very similar across all states in India. The state electricity boards prior to reform were vertically integrated public utilities, the distribution companies had significant technical and commercial losses and the state utilities were in poor financial health. Most states in India shared similar stories; however, when these states reformed their electricity sector in the nineties, we see differences in the current market structure despite all states having started with similar industry organization. In this paper, we carry out case studies of electricity sector reforms in Orissa, Delhi and Karnataka. These three cases have been selected for their diversity in approaches to electricity reform. What motivated these states to reform? What types of market designs are currently in place and why market designs differed in these states? We analyse these cases and aim to explain the differences in sector performances and extract some lessons in the context of Nepal’s electricity sector. DOI: http://dx.doi. org/10.3126/hn.v11i0. 7158 Hydro Nepal Vol.11 2011 pp.29-36
An accurate parametric electrical model for slow-wave CPW

In this paper, a parametric predictive electrical model of the slow-wave coplanar waveguide structure (S-CPW) is presented. The model was developed under the assumption of Quasi-TEM propagation mode. Within this context, analytical formulas, parameterized by S-CPW geometric dimensions, were implied for each electric parameter in the model. The model was validated with 3D electromagnetic simulations and measurement results on the BiCMOS 130 nm technology. An excellent agreement was achieved over a wide frequency band, from DC up to 110 GHz, with a maximum error of 10 %. Consequently, the model provides a fast and powerful tool for designing and optimizing circuits based on S-CPWs.
Quality Improvement Process in a Large Intensive Care Unit

Quality improvement in the health care setting is a complex process, and even more so in the critical care environment. The development of intensive care unit process measures and quality improvement strategies are associated with improved outcomes, but should be individualized to each medical center as structure and culture can differ from institution to institution. The purpose of this report is to describe the structure of quality improvement processes within a large medical intensive care unit while using examples of the study institution’s successes and challenges in the areas of stat antibiotic administration, reduction in blood product waste, central line–associated bloodstream infections, and medication errors.
Differential Treatment of Osteoporosis with Medicaments

In the past, the term osteoporosis was used for manifest osteoporosis present­ ing with low bone mass and fractures. After consensus-conferences in the years 1991 and 1993 [1] osteoporosis is also the status of low bone mineral density with an increased risk for fractures – thus, the definition of osteoporosis of today is that of a systemic skeletal­ disease, characterised by diminished bone mass and impairment of the mi­ cro-architecture of the skeletal tissue leading to increased fragility, e.g. an increased risk of fractures. Now the definition of osteoporosis without frac­ tures is less precise. It depends on arbi­ trary limits of osteodensitometrical val­ ues. It is consensus to name the situation of BMD-values lower –2.5 standard­ deviations below the mean of young healthy adults (30 years) “osteoporo­ sis”, this is the so called T-value. The dilemma of this definition is evident for people of 80 years of age: about 80 % of them are “osteoporotic” without any proof that they all need treatment. Therefore, especially in the aged popu­ lation it is justified to relate the indi­ vidual BMD-value to the mean value of the age-group (Z-value). This could help to avoid blind over-treatment. This chapter deals with the drug treatment of manifest osteoporosis (pre­ senting with fractures), a condition with an absolute indication for treat­ ment. Depending on the individual risk­ situation these recommendations can be transferred to situations of lower bone mass (osteopenia), e.g. the range between –1 and –2.5 standard-devia­ tions (T-value), and to osteoporosis (–2.5 SD T-value) without fractures. The origin of osteoporosis can be primary or idiopathic – in those cases no leading risk factor or causal factor is evident. As a rule, postmenopausal osteoporosis in women also is defined as “idiopathic”, although the typical bone loss after the menopause contrib­ utes. The reason for the term idiopathic is the fact that all women pass the menopause, but only part of them (20%? more? ) develop osteoporosis. Secondary osteoporoses (table 1) present with a leading risk or cause, for example hypogonadism in men, hy­ pogonadism before the age-period of the menopause in women (when estrogens normally are still produced), endocrinopathies like hypercortisolism, hyperparathyroidism and others.