Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Assessment of neutrophil leukocyte secretory response to fMLP in whole blood in vitro

A simple, precise method has been developed for assessing neutrophil secretory responses (release of vitamin B12 binding protein from specific granules) to challenge of aliquots of whole blood with the bacterial chemotactic peptide N‐formylmethionyl‐leucyl‐phenylalanine (fMLP). Dose‐response studies performed on blood from normal healthy volunteers showed higher maximal secretory responses in males than females (33.3 ± SEM 2.2 vs. 27.4 ± 2.5, P<.005) a left shift in dose‐response curves after feeding compared to fasting (P<.005), spontaneous up‐regulation of responses in blood incubated at 37° for 1 h, and marked up‐regulation in response to preincubation with endotoxin. This whole blood challenge method may be used to study neutrophil responses in groups of individuals or patients without the confounding effects of changes in cell responses resulting from cell isolation procedures. The method may also be used as a bioassay for neutrophil‐activating factors.
Universal True Lossless Combinatorial Data Compression

Contemporary approaches to data compression vary in time delay or impact on application performance as well as in the amount of compression and loss of data. The very best modern lossless data compression algorithms use standard approaches and are unable to match spacetime high end requirements for mission critical application, with full information conservation (a few pixels may vary by com/decom processing). Advanced instrumentation, dealing with nanoscale technology at the current edge of human scientific enquiry, like X-Ray CT, generates an enormous quantity of data from single experiment. In previous papers, we have already shown that traditional Q Arithmetic can be regarded as a highly sophisticated open logic, powerful and flexible bidirectional formal language of languages, according to “Computational Information Conservation Theory” (CICT). This new awareness can offer competitive approach to guide more convenient, spatiotemporal lossless compression algorithm development and application. To test practical implementation performance and effectiveness on biomedical imaging, this new technique has been benchmarked by normalized spatiotemporal key performance index, and compared to well-known, standard lossless compression techniques.
Usage of the NF‐κB inhibitor sulfasalazine as sensitizing agent in combined chemotherapy of pancreatic cancer

Sulfasalazine is commonly used as an anti inflammatory agent and is known as a potent inhibitor of NF‐κB. Some pancreatic carcinomas are characterized by a constitutively elevated NF‐κB activity accounting for chemoresistance. To elucidate whether blockade of NF‐κB activity with sulfasalazine is suitable for overcoming this chemoresistance in vivo, we employed a mouse model with subcutaneously xenotransplanted human Capan‐1 pancreatic carcinoma cells. Fourteen days upon tumor inoculation, animals were randomized in 6 groups, receiving no treatment, treatment with gemcitabine or with etoposide, either alone or in combination with sulfasalazine, or with sulfasalazine alone. Two therapy regimens were given with a 7‐day interval in between. Upon treatment with etoposide or gemcitabine alone, tumor sizes were moderately reduced to 65–68% and 50–65%, respectively, as compared to untreated tumors. Sulfasalazine alone only decreased temporarily the tumor sizes. Sulfasalazine in combination with gemcitabine showed only partially higher reduction in tumor sizes than gemcitabine alone, whereas the combination with etoposide reduced significantly the tumor sizes in all experiments (down to 20%). TUNEL‐staining showed higher numbers of apoptotic cells in tumors from the combination groups, in particular with etoposide, and proliferation as indicated by Ki67 staining was strongly reduced. Furthermore, combined treatment of sulfasalazine with the cytostatic drugs led to a decreased blood vessel density. Immunohistochemical staining of the activated p65 subunit showed that sulfasalazine treatment abolished the basal NF‐κB activity in tumor xenografts. These data imply that the well established anti‐inflammatory drug sulfasalazine sensitizes pancreatic carcinoma cells to anti cancer drugs, in particular to etoposide in vivo by inhibition of NF‐κB. This combined chemotherapy offers great potential for improved anti‐tumor responses in pancreatic carcinomas. © 2003 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Unwanted effects and interaction of intrajejunal levodopa/carbidopa administration

Introduction: Levodopa is the most effective treatment for Parkinson's disease. After a number of years on treatment, fluctuations and dyskinesias may develop. Hence, invasive treatment measures are often needed (escalation therapy). Areas covered: Twenty years ago, a levodopa/carbidopa intestinal gel (LCIG) that can be infused directly into the jejunum was developed. This provides for continuous dopaminergic stimulation. For the past 10 years, LCIG has been licensed in some countries and its marketing approval is pending in the USA. It is endowed with very good efficacy, and in studies, it has proven to be superior to oral drug treatment. Continuous dopaminergic stimulation is also assured, and fluctuations and dyskinesias are significantly reduced. However, this technique involves an invasive procedure with percutaneous endoscopic gastrostomy and attendant surgical and postsurgical complications. Besides, there are problems related to the pump and tube. Vitamin deficiency and polyneuropathies are other drawbacks. Expert opinion: LCIG is a beneficial and very useful treatment option as escalation therapy for Parkinson's disease. While the side effects are not insignificant, they are justifiable in view of the severity of the disease. Attention must be paid, in particular, to malabsorption, with monitoring at baseline and in the course of treatment.
Negotiations within Firm-Idea

In a Firm-Idea company, a specific institutional model of organisation and performance, and all kinds of processes, including negotiations, are conducted differently than in a traditional company. Therefore, the objective of the paper is to characterise negotiation processes pursued in Firm-Idea companies through a comparative analysis of the literature and the author's original ideas. Specific features of idea-negotiations are distinguished based on typical, general concepts of negotiations. Their three substantial dimensions are described, i.e. values, relations and cooperation. In effect, the paper offers a comprehensive description of negotiations viewed as an efficient tool useful in different types of processes in Firm-Idea companies. (original abstract)
The OxyS regulatory RNA represses rpoS translation and binds the Hfq (HF‐I) protein

The OxyS regulatory RNA integrates the adaptive response to hydrogen peroxide with other cellular stress responses and protects against DNA damage. Among the OxyS targets is the rpoS‐encoded σs subunit of RNA polymerase. σs is a central regulator of genes induced by osmotic stress, starvation and entry into stationary phase. We examined the mechanism whereby OxyS represses rpoS expression and found that the OxyS RNA inhibits translation of the rpoS message. This repression is dependent on the hfq‐encoded RNA‐binding protein (also denoted host factor I, HF‐I). Co‐immunoprecipitation and gel mobility shift experiments revealed that the OxyS RNA binds Hfq, suggesting that OxyS represses rpoS translation by altering Hfq activity.
Transient gene silencing of galectin‐3 suppresses pancreatic cancer cell migration and invasion through degradation of β‐catenin

Pancreatic cancer is a leading cause of cancer‐related mortality and often has a poor prognosis because of its late diagnosis, aggressive local invasion, early metastasis and poor response to chemotherapy. The chemotherapeutic agent gemcitabine is effective for treating advanced pancreatic cancer, but its efficacy remains less than satisfactory. It is expected that further investigation of pancreatic cancer cell invasion and development of strategies to block this process should improve the disease prognosis. In this study, we tested our hypothesis that galectin‐3 (gal‐3), a multifunctional member of the β‐galactoside‐binding protein family, may regulate pancreatic cancer cell motility and silencing of it inhibit cell motility. Previous studies demonstrated that this protein is associated with tumor cell adhesion, proliferation, differentiation, angiogenesis, apoptosis and metastasis. Here, we used gal‐3 small interfering RNA (siRNA) to silence its expression in various pancreatic cancer cell lines to determine whether gal‐3 regulates cell proliferation, migration and invasion in vitro. We found that silencing gal‐3 reduced cellular migration and invasion, but failed to affect proliferation. In gal‐3 siRNA‐transfected cells, we detected a decrease in β‐catenin expression, an important signal for cancer cell invasion, which was caused by downregulation of phosphorylated Akt and GSK‐3β. We also found that matrix metalloproteinase (MMP)‐2 expression was reduced by gal‐3 silencing. These results indicate that gal‐3‐mediated invasion via MMP‐2 regulated by β‐catenin degradation is initiated by Akt phosphorylation in pancreatic cancer cells. Our results suggest that gal‐3 can be a novel therapeutic target in pancreatic cancer.
The Impact of Social Responsibility Disclosure on Corporate Financial Health: Evidences from Some Italian Public Companies

Companies are today often seen as one actor in a complex system linking all the actors with several, different ties, and binding them by a social contract asking each of them to meet the expectations of the other social actors in the same context, in order to get the legitimacy they need. Corporations can adopt social disclosure to increase their legitimacy towards all stakeholders, influencing their behavior and leading to the creation of a positive Corporate Association (Brown and Dacin, 1997). In this paper we investigate the relationship between Social Responsibility Disclosure practices and Corporate Performance. We develop a framework to study this topic through several perspectives: External evaluation (Ethical Ratings), utilization of specific behaviors (Ethical Labels), Principle (Code of Ethics) and Behaviors (Social Reports) disclosure. In order to get a first understanding of these relationships we have selected a sample of Italian Companies listed on the italian stock exchange.
Auditor Quality and Ownership Structure of Syndicated Loan Deals

This study investigates a hitherto unexplored question of whether banks and other private lenders take into account the quality of external auditors appointed by borrowers when structuring the ownership of syndicated loans. Our empirical analyses, using a sample of U.S. loan data from 1992 to 2007, show several interesting findings. First, the percentage of a syndicated loan retained by lead arrangers is smaller for the loan to borrowers with Big 4 auditors than for the loan to borrowers with non-Big 4 auditors. Second, the effect of auditor quality (Big 4 versus non-Big 4) on loan ownership structure is more pronounced when the borrower has a high default risk. Finally, our change analyses show that the change in auditor quality is associated with the change in the ownership structure of syndicated loans: upgrading auditor from a non-Big 4 auditor to a Big 4 auditor leads to a significant decrease in the ownership retention by the lead arrangers. Overall, our results suggest that auditor quality plays an important role in loan syndication by alleviating information asymmetries between lead arrangers and non-lead participating lenders of the syndicated loan.
Innovation in European chemical industry: A focus on large chemical companies

The European chemical industry supplies to virtually all sectors of the economy and accounts for 17.8 % of the total chemical sales in the world. This paper gives an overview of the European chemical industries and focusses on the top fifteen chemical companies of this region. It gives an idea about the current problems this industry is facing in Europe and shows how the region and the top companies are investing in R&D to bring innovation to overcome the current challenges. The study shows that the R&D spending in absolute term has remained similar over the years and it is still globally the largest investor for the R&D activities. BASF has been making the largest R&D spending followed by Bayer and Syngenta while the R&D intensity is highest for Syngenta and Bayer. BASF and Bayer top the list in patent application and number of granted patent.
Measuring critical heart data in the critical care setting.

Critical care physicians are frequently confronted with cardiovascular deterioration from a combination of pump failure, abnormal systemic venous and arterial loading, altered neural regulation, and other factors. Navigating appropriate therapy often requires pressure-flow monitoring by right heart thermodilution catheter. However, several important features of cardiac function, namely cardiac end-diastolic and end-systolic volumes, are only indirectly indexed by this approach. Pulmonary capillary occlusion pressure is used as a surrogate for cardiac volume; however, discrepancies between filling pressure and volume because of intrinsic chamber stiffening or external forces from the right heart and pericardium can alter this relationship. End-systolic volume is useful as a measure of systolic function, particularly if considered relative to arterial resistive load and net chamber filling. The utility of relating these volumes to left ventricular pressures for characterizing heart function has been well established over the past 30 yrs (1, 2). Indeed, if one could be provided easily with left ventricular pressure-volume loops and relationships at the bedside, cardiovascular management would be greatly enhanced.
Finite-State Phonology Predicts a Typological Gap in Cyclic Stress Assignment

IN CYCLIC STRESS ASSIGNMENT Bronwyn Bjorkman Queen’s University Ewan Dunbar Laboratoire de Sciences Cognitives et Psycholinguistique, EHESS/ CNRS/Ecole Normale Supérieure–PSL Research University In this squib, we start from the empirical generalization that phonological grammars are all within the computational power of finite-state devices, a position nearly universally accepted in computational phonology. We show that this rules out certain patterns of morphologically sensitive stress assignment that are predicted by the phonological cycle hypothesis. Given that morphological structure is hierarchical in complex words, the phonological cycle proposes that the phonological grammar reapplies successively to each morphological subconstituent, starting with the smallest (Chomsky, Halle, and Lukoff 1956, Chomsky and Halle 1968). Variants on this basic idea have been widely influential in phonological theory, including versions with a Strict Cycle Condition (Kean 1974, Mascaró 1976), versions that group constituents into strata (Kiparsky 2000, Bermúdez-Otero 2011), and versions that make reference to phases (Marvin 2002, Newell and Piggott 2014). We claim that, while phonology is sensitive to some aspects of morphological structure, true constituency is not used, as would be predicted by the phonological cycle: the structure seen by phonology is nonisomorphic to the full morphological structure in the sense of Scheer 2010. Cyclic phonological theories predict that interactions at a distance between prefixes and suffixes can be sensitive to their relative height, as in (1). Squibs and Discussion
Memory Based Floating Point FFT Processor Using Vedic Multiplication for Pulse Doppler RADAR

A radix -2 based 32 bit memory based floating point FFT processor using Vedic multiplication for pulse Doppler RADAR is presented in this paper. In proposed architecture twiddle factor is stored in memory. This architecture uses Urdhvtiryakabhyam sutra for multiplication process. Due to this computational complexity of FPGA gets reduce because it provides an external multiplication module to the FPGA tool and area required also gets reduces. This is a performance enhancement strategy because it reduces propagation delay of circuit and also reduces transmitted power and area required. Propagation delay of the proposed architecture at 40MHz frequency is 200ns. Hence latency of circuit gets increases. Hardware Simulation is done on Xilinx ISE simulator 14.2 and test bench results are received on Xilinx isim simulator.
La marche : un moyen standardisable de l'évaluation des capacités au cours des maladies cardiovasculaires ?

Les maladies cardio et cerebro-vasculaires representent la premiere cause de mortalite et de handicap dans le monde. Du fait des progres therapeutiques dans la prise en charge de ces pathologies a la phase aigue, le nombre de patients porteurs de formes chroniques de ces affections limitant leurs capacites d’effort est en augmentation constante. La problematique de ce travail de these s’articule autour de l’utilisation des tests de marche standardises dans l’evaluation des capacites d’effort des patients porteurs de pathologies coronariennes. Nous avons dans un premier temps rappele les notions de handicap et de qualite de vie appliques aux maladies chroniques, et la necessite d’evaluations fonctionnelles specifiques pour en apprecier le retentissement et l’evolution. Puis nous avons fait le point sur les modalites actuelles de la readaptation cardiaque, en developpant plus particulierement la place de l’activite physique. Nous avons entrepris ensuite l’etude des sollicitations physiologiques induites par un test de marche rapide de 200 metres (TMR200) chez des sujets âges sains, puis sur une population de patients coronariens. Ce test s’est avere bien tolere, et correspond a une intensite d’exercice intermediaire entre le premier seuil ventilatoire et les capacites maximales d’exercice. Il apparait ainsi particulierement interessant pour apprecier les capacites a effectuer des efforts frequents de la vie quotidienne, plus intenses que ceux correspondant a la marche a vitesse spontanement adoptee au cours du classique tes de marche de 6 minutes (correspondant a un effort essentiellement aerobie). Par la suite nous avons cherche a definir la difference minimale cliniquement pertinente du test de marche (MCID) de 6 minutes (TM6) et du TMR200, afin de mieux interpreter les progres fonctionnels des patients integres dans les programmes de readaptation cardiaque apres un syndrome coronarien aigu. Cette derniere a ete estimee a 25 metres pour le TM6. Enfin, nous avons etudie l’interet de ces tests de marche dans l’aide a l’individualisation de la prescription de l’intensite du reentrainement chez les patients coronariens. Ces modalites permettent aux patients d’etre plus souvent proches des intensites d’entrainement conventionnellement preconisees, en aboutissant a des resultats comparables, sans la necessite de pratiquer un test d’effort maximal mobilisant des moyens significatifs en personnel et en materiel. Au total, ce travail apporte des arguments pour l’utilisation en pratique clinique courante de ces tests de marche standardises. Ils apparaissent complementaires dans le cadre de l’evaluation objective des capacites fonctionnelles et de la qualite de vie percue des patients âges et coronariens. Ces resultats ouvrent des perspectives pour poursuivre l’etude de leurs proprietes metrologiques et de leurs applications cliniques au cours des affections chroniques incapacitantes.
Structure and Function of Mammalian DNA Methyltransferases

DNA methylation plays an important role in epigenetic signalling, having an impact on gene regulation, chromatin structure, development and disease. Here, we review the structures and functions of the mammalian DNA methyltransferases Dnmt1, Dnmt3a and Dnmt3b, including their domain structures, catalytic mechanisms, localisation, regulation, post‐translational modifications and interaction with chromatin and other proteins, summarising data obtained in genetic, cell biology and enzymatic studies. We focus on the question of how the molecular and enzymatic properties of these enzymes are connected to the dynamics of DNA methylation patterns and to the roles the enzymes play in the processes of de novo and maintenance DNA methylation. Recent enzymatic and genome‐wide methylome data have led to a new model of genomic DNA methylation patterns based on the preservation of average levels of DNA methylation in certain regions, rather than the methylation states of individual CG sites.
USL255 extended-release topiramate for the treatment of epilepsy

USL255 is a once-daily, extended-release formulation of the well-established antiepileptic drug topiramate that was recently approved by the US FDA. As a capsule formulation, USL255 can be swallowed intact or opened and sprinkled onto soft food for patients with swallowing difficulties, including children (≥2 years old) and older patients. USL255 has been evaluated in seven key Phase I and III studies. Compared with immediate-release topiramate taken twice daily, once-daily USL255 provides equivalent topiramate exposure with a 26% reduction in plasma fluctuations. A multinational, Phase III, randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled clinical trial in patients with refractory partial-onset seizures (PREVAIL) demonstrated that USL255 (200 mg/day) significantly improved seizure control and clinical outcomes versus placebo. USL255 is generally safe and well-tolerated, with a low incidence of neuropsychiatric and neurocognitive adverse events. These data suggest that USL255 may provide a useful treatment option for seizure control with convenient once-daily dosing.
Recent Developments in 2G HTS Coil Technology

Recent developments in 2G HTS coil technology are presented highlighting the ability of 2G HTS wire to function under difficult operating conditions without degradation. The challenges of use in various coil constructions and applications are discussed. Several applications where the conductor is subjected to high stress levels include high field insert coils and rotating machinery. While these applications present different challenges, the ability of the conductor to operate under high stress levels has been demonstrated in both direct sample measurement and test coils. The high winding current density that is available with SuperPower's thin 2G HTS wire was utilized in a high field insert coil demonstration generating central fields in excess of 26.8 T . The ability of the wire to be tailored (stabilization, insulation, ac losses) to fit various operating parameters will also be discussed.