Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Hemolymph coagulation and phenoloxidase activity in Uca tangeri induced by Escherichia coli endotoxin

Abstract Uca tangeri is a marine fiddler crab found commonly in the West African coast and is often exposed to Gram-negative pathogens upon injury. The aim of this study was to document the patterns of endotoxin-induced protein coagulation and phenoloxidase (PO) activity in hemolymph fractions of Uca tangeri. Hemolymph from live crabs was obtained by carapace puncture, pooled. and then separated into plasma, hemocyte Lysate (HL), hemocyte lysate supernatant (HLS) and hemocyte lysate debris (HLD). The effect of Escherichia coli (O1111:B4) endotoxin and calcium ion (Ca2+) on protein coagulation in the presence/absence of endotoxin and the endotoxin dose-dependence of coagulation and PO activity were each studied in the plasma, HL, HLS and HLD. The results showed Ca2+ was required to induce coagulation, and was endotoxin concentration-dependent in the plasma. PO activity was highest in the HLS but PO specific activity was highest in HLD. PO activity remained relatively constant with increased LPS concentration in the range studied 0–10 EU/ml. From the data we conclude that endotoxin-induced protein coagulation occurs in the plasma alone and might be mediated by trans-glutaminases, while PO activity is localized inside hemocytes and cell membranes in Uca tangeri.
Energetic influence on gull flight strategy selection

SUMMARY During non-migratory flight, gulls (Larids) use a wide variety of flight strategies. We investigate the extent to which the energy balance of a bird explains flight strategy selection. We develop a model based on optimal foraging and aerodynamic theories, to calculate the ground speeds and airspeeds at which a gull is expected to flap or soar during foraging flight. The model results are compared with observed flight speeds, directions, and flight strategies of two species of gulls, the black-headed gull Larus ridibundus and the lesser black-backed gull Larus fuscus. The observations were made using a tracking radar over land in The Netherlands. The model suggests that, especially at combinations of low ground speed (∼5-10 m s-1), high air speed (∼20-25 m s-1) and low ground and air speed, gulls should favor soaring flight. At intermediate ground and air speeds the predicted net energy gain is similar for soaring and flapping. Hence the ratio of flapping to soaring may be higher than for other air and ground speed combinations. This range of speeds is broadest for black-headed gulls. The model results are supported by the observations. For example, flapping is more prevalent at speeds where the predicted net energy gain is similar for both strategies. Interestingly, combinations of air speed and flight speed that, according to the model, would result in a loss of net energy gain, were not observed. Additional factors that may influence flight strategy selection are also briefly discussed.
Stakeholder Capitalism, Corporate Governance and Firm Value

In countries such as Germany, the legal system is such that firms are necessarily stakeholder oriented. In others like Japan social convention achieves a similar effect. We analyze the advantages and disadvantages of stakeholder-oriented firms that are concerned with employees and suppliers compared to pure shareholder-oriented firms. We show that in a context of imperfect competition stakeholder firms have higher prices and lower output than shareholder-oriented firms. Surprisingly, we also find that firms can be more valuable in a stakeholder society than in a shareholder society. With globalization stakeholder firms and shareholder firms often compete. We identify the circumstances where stakeholder firms are more valuable than shareholder firms, and compare these asymmetric equilibria with symmetric equilibria with stakeholder and shareholder firms. Finally, we show that, in some circumstances, firms may voluntarily choose to be stakeholder-oriented because this increases their value.
Putting Things in Context: Community-specific Embedding Projections for Sentiment Analysis

Variation in language is ubiquitous, and is particularly evident in newer forms of writing such as social media. Fortunately, variation is not random, but is usually linked to social factors. By exploiting linguistic homophily --- the tendency of socially linked individuals to use language similarly --- it is possible to build models that are more robust to variation. In this paper, we focus on social network communities, which make it possible to generalize sociolinguistic properties from authors in the training set to authors in the test sets, without requiring demographic author metadata. We detect communities via standard graph clustering algorithms, and then exploit these communities by learning community-specific projections of word embeddings. These projections capture shifts in word meaning in different social groups; by modeling them, we are able to improve the overall accuracy of Twitter sentiment analysis by a significant margin over competitive prior work.
Hemodynamics and early recovery characteristics of desflurane versus sevoflurane in bariatric surgery

Context: Morbidly obese patients are prone for intraoperative hemodynamic disturbances and postoperative airway complications. Aim: Comparison of intraoperative hemodynamics and postoperative recovery characteristics of desflurane versus sevoflurane in morbidly obese patients undergoing laparoscopic bariatric surgery. Settings and Design: Randomized controlled trial Materials and Methods: After institutional ethics committee approval and written informed consent, 40 morbidly obese patients (BMI > 35 kg/m2) were randomized to receive desflurane or sevoflurane as part of a standardized general anesthesia technique. Volatile anesthetic concentration was titrated to maintain electroencephalographic bispectral index score (BIS) in the range of 40-60. Mean arterial pressure (MAP) and heart rate (HR) were recorded preoperatively, at induction and intubation, then at regular intervals. After extubation, early recovery was recorded by time to emergence and orientation to time and place. In post anesthesia care unit, intermediate recovery was assessed by modified Aldrete Score and Digit Symbol Substitution Test (DSST). Results: Intraoperative MAP and HR did not differ between the two groups (P > 0.05). The time to response to painful stimuli, obeying verbal commands and spontaneous eye opening was shorter (P = 0.001) and modified Aldrete Score was higher after desflurane anesthesia than after sevoflurane anesthesia (P = 0.049). DSST also returned towards normal faster after desflurane (28.50 ± 6.30 min vs. 35.0 ± 5.62 min, P = 0.03). Conclusions: Both desflurane and sevoflurane produce similar hemodynamic changes but the immediate and intermediate recovery was significantly faster after desflurane thus contributing to fast tracking and early discharge of patients.
How do older adults experience and perceive socially assistive robots in aged care: a systematic review of qualitative evidence

ABSTRACT Objectives: The aim of this review was to gain a better understanding of how older adults experience, perceive, think, and feel about the use of socially assistive robots (SARs) in aged care settings. Method: We conducted a literature search for studies that used a qualitative or a mixed-method approach having a significant qualitative element. Pubmed, Cinahl, Embase, Scopus, and Web of Science electronic databases were queried. Candidate articles published in journals and conference proceedings were considered for review. Two independent reviewers assessed the included studies for methodological quality using the Critical Appraisal Skills Program, after which data on subjects’ self-reported opinions and perceptions were extracted and synthesized using thematic analyses. Results: Seventeen studies producing 23 publications were included. Based on the opinions of older adults, four themes emerged in relation to the use of SARS: (1) roles of a SAR; (2) interaction between the older adult and the SAR, which could be further subdivided into (a) the technical aspect of the interaction and (b) the human aspect of the interaction; (3) appearance of the SAR; and (4) normative/ethical issues regarding the use of SARs in aged care. Conclusions: Older adults have clear positive and negative opinions about different aspects of SARs in aged care. Nonetheless, some opinions can be ambiguous and need more attention if SARs are to be considered for use in aged care. Understanding older adults’ lived experiences with SARs creates the possibility of using an approach that embeds technological innovation into the care practice itself.
Abusive head injury as a cause of apparent life-threatening events in infancy.

BACKGROUND An apparent life-threatening event (ALTE) refers to the sudden occurrence of a breathing abnormality, color change, or alteration in muscle tone or mental status in an infant. Several patients with ALTEs admitted to our institution were found to have sustained abusive head injuries. OBJECTIVE To systematically examine the possible causes of ALTEs and their relative frequencies. STUDY DESIGN Prospective consecutive case series of 243 infants younger than 12 months admitted to a tertiary care academic medical center for evaluation of an ALTE during a 32-month interval. RESULTS Thirty-five different causes of ALTEs were identified. Six subjects (2.5%) were diagnosed as having abusive head injuries, or 1 admission every 5 months. Three patients died in the hospital, 2 of whom were diagnosed as having abusive head injuries. CONCLUSIONS A wide spectrum of diseases and disorders can precipitate an ALTE. Among them, abusive head injury, a recently recognized cause, occurs frequently enough to obligate its inclusion in the differential diagnosis. An ophthalmologic evaluation with dilated fundus examination and cranial imaging should therefore be considered early in the investigation unless another cause becomes apparent soon after admission.
Blood as the carrier of ischemic tolerance in rat brain

This study provides clear evidence that the factor inducing tolerance to ischemia is transmitted via the circulating blood. By using the remote ischemia and the cross‐circulation model, the tolerance to ischemia was transmitted from donor to recipient. For this study, the following experimental groups were designed: I, sham control group; II, group of tolerant hindlimb tourniquet‐treated rats; III, positive control group; IV, control for cross‐circulation influence; preconditioned animals: V, tolerant animals subjected to middle cerebral artery occlusion (MCAO); VI, tolerant animals cross‐circulated with SHC, followed by MCAO; VII, SHC animals cross‐circulated with tolerant animals and subsequently subjected to MCAO; VIII, tolerant animals cross‐circulated with ischemic rats, followed by MCAO; IX, SHC animals cross‐circulated with ischemic animals and subjected to MCAO; postconditioned animals: X, ischemic animals treated with a remote limb tourniquet; XI, ischemic animals cross‐circulated with SHC control rats; and XII, ischemic animals cross‐circulated with tolerant rats. Results confirmed that remote ischemia induced reduction of infarct volume in the preconditioned (V, 60%) as well as in the postconditioned group (X, 52%). Significant diminution was also observed in group XII (56.6%). In the preconditioned group, decreased infarct volume was detected in groups VI and VII (about 65%) and in group IX (about 50%). The greatest infarct reduction (84%) was induced by the presence of ischemic blood in a tolerant rat before ischemia induction. In summary, the factor inducing tolerance to ischemia is generated by remote ischemia and by ischemia itself; from the site of origin to the rest of the body, it is transported by the systemic blood circulation and can be transferred from animal to animal. The effect of conditioning with two different ischemic events (brain and hindlimb ischemia) led to a cumulative, stronger tolerance response. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
Charged wormholes with non-minimally coupled scalar fields. Existence and stability

Static, spherically symmetric, traversable wormhole solutions with electric or magnetic charges are shown to exist in general relativity in the presence of scalar fields nonminimally coupled to gravity. These wormholes, however, turn out to be unstable under spherically symmetric perturbations. The instability is related to blowing-up of the effective gravitational constant on a certain sphere.
OSC: solving the multidimensional multi-choice knapsack problem with tight strategic Oscillation using Surrogate Constraints

The multidimensional multi-choice knapsack problem (MMKP) is one of the most complex members of the Knapsack Problem (KP) family. It has been used to model large problems such as telecommunications, quality of service (QoS), management problem in computer networks and admission control problem in the adaptive multimedia systems. In this paper, we propose a new approach based on strategic oscillation using surrogate constraint information. We introduce new rules to control oscillation process to solve the MMKP. The main idea is to explore both sides of the feasibility border that consists in alternating both constructive and destructive phases in a strategic oscillating manner. In order to strengthen the surrogate constraint information, we enhance the method with constraints normalization. This may improve the computational results. Numerical results show that the performance of this approach is competitive with previously published results. Performance analysis of the method shows the merits of its using in this problem class.
Inhibition of hepatocellular carcinoma development in hepatitis B virus transfected mice by low dietary casein

In a comprehensive human ecological study, primary liver cancer has been shown to be highly significantly associated with 1) the prevalence of persistent infection with hepatitis B virus (HBV) and 2) plasma cholesterol concentrations that are, in turn, associated with the consumption of animal based foods. In rat studies, aflatoxin‐induced hepatocellular carcinoma is substantially prevented by decreasing the intake of animal based protein (casein), a hypercholesterolemic nutrient. Thus the development of primary liver cancer associated with persistent HBV infection or with aflatoxin exposure may be controlled by reduced intake of animal‐based proteins. Transgenic mice transfected with an HBV gene fragment containing the viral transactivator of hepatis B virus, HBx, which induces the formation of hepatocellular carcinoma, were used to examine the ability of dietary casein to modify tumor formation. Reducing the concentration of dietary casein to 6% from the traditional level of 22% markedly inhibited (by 75%) hepatic tumor formation in these transgenic mice. Tumor development also was substantially altered by interchanging dietary casein concentration well after tumor development had begun (at 8 months), increasing by 173% from the expected yield when casein intake was increased and decreasing by 99% when casein was reduced. These findings suggest that the development of liver tumor formation among individuals persistently infected with HBV may be controlled by minimizing or eliminating the intake of animal protein‐based foods.
AIS Electronic Library (AISeL)

The role and impact of organizational issues on information systems and their management remains a topic of interest in scientific enquiry. This paper presents a description of a research project of which the main aim was to study the relationship between organizational culture and information systems management as well as change readiness and information systems management. Data for this study was collected through the use of a questionnaire distributed to customer relationship management practitioners in the Netherlands. The questionnaire was based on theory and models found in research literature. Building on previous research it was hypothesized that positive correlations exist between certain elements of organizational culture and elements of information systems management. The findings confirm that there is a relationship between certain organizational culture elements and information systems management elements. More specifically this research confirms the findings of earlier work and reveals the same pattern of correlations between the variables. In addition the findings suggest that there is also a relationship between change readiness and information systems management.
Effect of potassium-induced depolarization on somatostatin gene expression in cultured fetal rat cerebrocortical cells

The stimulatory effect of potassium depolarization upon somatostatin (SS) mRNA levels in primary cultures of fetal cerebrocortical cells was analyzed. Depolarizing stimuli, such as 56 mM K+ exposure for 30 min, elicited an increase in immunoreactive somatostatin (IR-SS) release to the media and decreased SS mRNA levels. These were increased when exposure to depolarization stimuli was prolonged up to 3 or more hr. At this time, potassium (30 and 56 mM) acted as a secretagogue, stimulating SS secretion, but was also effective in stimulating SS mRNA levels, suggesting that SS secretion can be coupled to SS mRNA accumulation. These changes were inhibited by the Ca2+ channel antagonist verapamil. In contrast, Na+ channel blockade by TTX did not modify the 24 hr potassium-induced increase in SS mRNA, although it partially abolished potassium-induced SS secretion. Examination of the rate of disappearance of SS mRNA levels after inhibition of mRNA transcription by actinomycin-D revealed that K+ stimulation of cerebrocortical cells stabilized the SS mRNA. These results suggest that the induction of SS mRNA expression by K+ is dose dependent, and involves the modulation of ion channels. The time-course study confirmed that the K(+)-induced SS mRNA accumulation is time dependent, chronic activation of the Ca2+ channels being necessary to stimulate SS gene expression. K+ stimulation may also increase the level of SS mRNA in cerebrocortical cells by reducing its rate of degradation.
Human chondrosarcoma secretes vascular endothelial growth factor to induce tumor angiogenesis and stores basic fibroblast growth factor for regulation of its own growth

Vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) and basic fibroblast growth factor (bFGF) are well‐known factors that induce neovascularization in many tumors. The molecular mechanisms that regulate tumor angiogenesis in human chondrosarcoma are not clear. We assessed in this work the angiogenic activities of a human chondrosarcoma cell line (OUMS‐27) in vivo and determined the efficacies of angiogenic factors derived from OUMS‐27 cells on human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVECs) in vitro. Tumor xenografts induced an increase in the formation of neovessels, but the distributions of Ki‐67 antigen, VEGF and bFGF were unaffected. We also demonstrated that OUMS‐27 cells secreted VEGF165 into the culture medium and that it was the maximal angiogenic factor to stimulate endothelial proliferation and migration in chondrosarcoma. Anti‐VEGF antibodies induced an approximately 70% inhibition of these responses of HUVECs, but did not have any effect on OUMS‐27 cells. Anti‐bFGF antibodies suppressed not only the activities of HUVECs but also the growth of tumor cells in vitro. We indicate that angiogenesis is principally elicited by VEGF165 and that tumorigenesis is mainly regulated by bFGF stored in the extracellular matrix of OUMS‐27 cells. The present study may offer the availability of combination therapies for inhibition of VEGF and bFGF action on vascular endothelial cells and chondrosarcoma cells, respectively. © 2001 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Clear-cell basal cell carcinoma: differentiation from other clear-cell tumors.

We report the case of an 81-year-old man with a 2-year history of a lesion on this left lower eyelid. A biopsy revealed a focally eroded, dome-shaped nodule. Large lobules of clear cells extended from the epidermis. The cells had round to oval hyperchromatic nuclei, some of which were scalloped. The cytoplasm was clear and focally foamy. Along the perimeter of the nodule were sparse islands of basaloid cells with a peripheral palisade and retraction artifact typical of common nodular basal cell carcinoma (BCC; Fig. 1A, B). The clear cells and basaloid cells were diffusely positive for BerEP4 (Fig. 2) and negative for epithelial membrane antigen (EMA), carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA), S100, and periodic acidSchiff (PAS) with and without diastase. Colloidal iron and Alcian blue highlighted the mucinous peritumoral stroma. Barr and Williamson were the first to describe the clearcell variant of BCC in 1984. Since that time, there have been approximately 30 cases reported in the literature with a prevalence for the head and neck of middle-aged adults, similar to other BCCs. Tumors may reveal clear-cell areas due to glycogen, lipid, and degenerative change. Frozen tissue of a clear-cell BCC was available in one case and fat stains failed to reveal evidence of lipid. PAS with and without diastase for glycogen has been inconsistent. Some reports describe positive granules within the clear cell cytoplasm, whereas others revealed sparse or no PAS positivity, as in the current case. Mucin stains have been negative within the clear cells but mucin has occasionally been reported in the stroma. Electron microscopy has suggested that the clear-cell change may begin as lysosomes, similar to the granular cell variant of BCC, but eventually coalesce and degenerate, resulting in a predominance of clear vacuoles. This suggests that the granular cell and clear cell variants of BCC exist on a spectrum. Although typically sparse and focal, areas of nodular BCC are seen in association with the clear-cell areas in the majority of reported cases. For small biopsies, deeper sections through the tissue block may be required to identify these areas. If these areas are not readily identified, other clear cell neoplasms must be considered. Trichilemmomas usually have a thick basement membrane and diffuse, uniform PASpositive, diastase labile glycogen. Sebaceous neoplasms typically reveal CEA and EMA positivity and, if fresh tissue is available, lipid stains may also be of value. Acrospiroma is CEA positive and reveals a hyalinized stroma. The absence of S100 militates against balloon cell melanoma. Metastatic renal cell carcinoma typically lacks an epidermal connection and has a characteristic abundant vasculature. Clear-cell squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) lacks peripheral palisade, may focally reveal foci of typical SCC, and lacks BerEP4 reactivity. FIGURE 1. Large lobules of clear cells extending from the epidermis with sparse islands of basaloid cells. Magnification: 23 (A) and 43 (B).