Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Effect of energy source and escape protein on receiving and finishing performance and health of calves.

Two receiving and two finishing trials evaluated energy source and escape protein supplementation for calves. In receiving Trial 1, 398 calves (257 +/- 24 kg BW) were used in a 2 x 2 factorial arrangement of treatments. Energy sources were dry-rolled corn (DRC) and wet corn gluten feed (WCGF); each was fed without or with supplemental escape protein (EP). Calves fed WCGF gained slower (P < .05) and consumed less DM (P < .01) than calves fed DRC. Feed efficiency improved (P < .10) with EP supplementation. In finishing Trial 1, 240 calves (305 +/- 21 kg BW) were used. The arrangement of treatments was the same as in receiving Trial 1. Calves fed DRC/WCGF tended (P = .15) to be more efficient and consumed less DM (P < .05) than calves fed DRC. In receiving Trial 2, 315 calves (252 +/- 23 kg BW) were fed diets similar to those fed in receiving Trial 1. Calves fed WCGF consumed less DM (P < .01), gained similarly (P > .15), and were more efficient (P < .10) than calves fed DRC. In finishing Trial 2, 320 calves (298 +/- 23 kg BW) were fed diets containing DRC, DRC/WCGF, high-moisture corn (HMC), HMC/WCGF, and DRC/HMC; each was fed without or with supplemental EP. An energy source x protein supplement interaction was detected for gain (P < .05) and efficiency (P < .01). Results suggest that WCGF has a NEg greater than DRC in receiving diets and a NEg similar to that of DRC but lower than that of HMC in finishing diets.
Secondary Sulcus-Fixed Foldable IOL Implantation with 25-G Infusion in Patients with Previous PPV after Open-Globe Injury

Purpose To evaluate the safety and efficacy of secondary sulcus-fixed foldable intraocular lens (IOL) implantation through a clear corneal incision with 25-G infusion in patients with previous pars plana vitrectomy (PPV) after open-globe injury, and to analyze postoperative outcomes and prognostic factors of treatment. Methods Clinical data of 89 eyes of 89 patients with open-globe injury who underwent secondary sulcus-fixed foldable IOL implantation through a clear corneal incision with 25-G infusion after vitrectomy in our hospital between January 2008 and June 2015 were retrospectively analyzed. The examinations before IOL implantation mainly included visual acuity, slit-lamp examination, direct and indirect ophthalmoscope, visual electrophysiology, corneal endothelium, B scan, ultrasound biomicroscope, and intraocular pressure. Five eyes underwent suturing of peripheral iris and 7 eyes underwent suturing of iris laceration simultaneously. The mean follow-up was 18 months with a range from 6 months to 8 years. Results The mean interval between secondary sulcus-fixed foldable IOL implantation and vitrectomy was 2.8 months with a range from 2 to 6 months. The uncorrected visual acuity improved in all patients with a well-centered IOL ranging from 0.1 to 0.8 with the best-corrected visual acuity from 0.1 to 1.0 after secondary IOL implantation. The postoperative complications mainly included mild anterior chamber exudates in 10 eyes (11%), temporary IOP elevation in 12 eyes (13%), and recurrent retinal detachment in 5 eyes (6%), which were subsequently managed by surgery. Conclusions The interval of 2.8 months between vitrectomy and secondary IOL implantation is an appropriate and safe option to correct aphakia in patients receiving vitrectomy for open-globe injury.
Enhancement of butyrate production in the rat caecocolonic tract by long-term ingestion of resistant potato starch

Some data suggest that the colonic microflora may adapt to produce more butyrate if given time and the proper substrate. To test this hypothesis, we investigated the effect of prolonged feeding of resistant potato starch on butyrate production. Rats were fed on either a low-fibre diet (basal) or the same diet supplemented with 90 g resistant potato starch/kg (PoS) for 0·5, 2 and 6 months. Short-chain fatty acid (SCFA) concentrations were determined in caecal and colonic contents at the end of each ingestion period. Total SCFA concentration increased over time throughout the caecocolonic tract with PoS, but was not modified with the basal diet. While propionate concentration was unchanged, butyrate concentration was highly increased by PoS at each time period in both the caecum and colon. Moreover, the butyrogenic effect of PoS increased over time, and the amount of butyrate was increased 6-fold in the caecum and proximal colon and 3-fold in the distal colon after 6 months compared with 0·5 months. Accordingly, the ratio butyrate: - total SCFA increased over time throughout the caecocolonic tract (12·6 (SE 2·8) v. 28 (SE 1·8) % in the caecum, 10·5 (SE 1·4) v. 26·8 (SE 0·9) % in the proximal colon, and 7·3 (SE 2·4) v. 23·9 (SE 2·7) % in the distal colon at 0·5 v. 6 months respectively), while the proportion of acetate decreased. Neither the proportion nor the concentration of butyrate was modified over time with the basal diet. Butyrate production was thus promoted by long-term ingestion of PoS, from the caecum towards the distal colon, which suggests that a slow adaptive process occurs within the digestive tract in response to a chronic load of indigestible carbohydrates.
Cyber-bullying among Secondary and Vocational Students in Bangkok

The objective of this research is to study the relationship between individual characteristics, the family context and cyber-bullying. We examine the nature, frequency, degree of violence and prevalence of cyber-bullying using data from a survey of 1,200 secondary and vocational students in Bangkok. The data were analyzed by using descriptive statistics. The results showed a considerable degree of cyberbullying among Thai youth. More than half had ever seen or heard of cyber-bullying occurring to their friends. About 11.0% of students had seen or heard online fights using electronic messages with angry and vulgar language more than 6 times per month. The potential relationship between cyber-bullying and duration of using the internet, family relationships, experience of violence in the family and family income is also examined.
Decreased brain GABA(A)-benzodiazepine receptor binding in panic disorder: preliminary results from a quantitative PET study.

BACKGROUND Positron emission tomography (PET) allows the measurement of benzodiazepine-gamma-aminobutyric acidA (GABA(A)) receptor kinetics. We employed flumazenil radiolabeled with carbon 11, a radioligand that labels the benzodiazepine site on the GABA(A) receptor, and fully quantitative, high-sensitivity PET to test the hypothesis that central benzodiazepine site binding is decreased in medication-free patients with panic disorder. METHODS We compared 7 patients with panic disorder who had been off medication for at least 6 months and who had never abused alcohol with 8 healthy controls. The resulting parametric voxel-by-voxel maps were analyzed by voxel-based and region of interest-based methods using both parametric and nonparametric statistics. RESULTS The major finding was that there is a global reduction in benzodiazepine site binding throughout the brain in patients with panic disorder compared with controls. There were sex differences in the 2 samples, but a separate analysis excluding women led to the same conclusions. In addition, the loci with the largest regional decrease in binding (right orbitofrontal cortex and right insula) were areas thought to be essential in the central mediation of anxiety. CONCLUSION These results must be considered preliminary but are congruous with previous clinical psychopharmacologic evidence of involvement of the benzodiazepine-GABA(A) receptor and demonstrate that decreased flumazenil binding at this site may underlie panic disorder.
Consensus and Cooperation in Networked Multi-Agent Systems

This paper provides a theoretical framework for analysis of consensus algorithms for multi-agent networked systems with an emphasis on the role of directed information flow, robustness to changes in network topology due to link/node failures, time-delays, and performance guarantees. An overview of basic concepts of information consensus in networks and methods of convergence and performance analysis for the algorithms are provided. Our analysis framework is based on tools from matrix theory, algebraic graph theory, and control theory. We discuss the connections between consensus problems in networked dynamic systems and diverse applications including synchronization of coupled oscillators, flocking, formation control, fast consensus in small-world networks, Markov processes and gossip-based algorithms, load balancing in networks, rendezvous in space, distributed sensor fusion in sensor networks, and belief propagation. We establish direct connections between spectral and structural properties of complex networks and the speed of information diffusion of consensus algorithms. A brief introduction is provided on networked systems with nonlocal information flow that are considerably faster than distributed systems with lattice-type nearest neighbor interactions. Simulation results are presented that demonstrate the role of small-world effects on the speed of consensus algorithms and cooperative control of multivehicle formations
Host adaptations reduce the reproductive success of Varroa destructor in two distinct European honey bee populations

Honey bee societies (Apis mellifera), the ectoparasitic mite Varroa destructor, and honey bee viruses that are vectored by the mite, form a complex system of host–parasite interactions. Coevolution by natural selection in this system has been hindered for European honey bee hosts since apicultural practices remove the mite and consequently the selective pressures required for such a process. An increasing mite population means increasing transmission opportunities for viruses that can quickly develop into severe infections, killing a bee colony. Remarkably, a few subpopulations in Europe have survived mite infestation for extended periods of over 10 years without management by beekeepers and offer the possibility to study their natural host–parasite coevolution. Our study shows that two of these “natural” honey bee populations, in Avignon, France and Gotland, Sweden, have in fact evolved resistant traits that reduce the fitness of the mite (measured as the reproductive success), thereby reducing the parasitic load within the colony to evade the development of overt viral infections. Mite reproductive success was reduced by about 30% in both populations. Detailed examinations of mite reproductive parameters suggest these geographically and genetically distinct populations favor different mechanisms of resistance, even though they have experienced similar selection pressures of mite infestation. Compared to unrelated control colonies in the same location, mites in the Avignon population had high levels of infertility while in Gotland there was a higher proportions of mites that delayed initiation of egg-laying. Possible explanations for the observed rapid coevolution are discussed.
The Effect of Keyword and Word List Methods on Immediate Vocabulary Retention of EFL Learners

The present study was an attempt to compare the effect of keyword and word list methods on immediate retention of English vocabulary in a natural classroom setting. Two intact classes from a junior high school in Astara, Iran were randomly assigned to one of the two learning conditions: keyword and word list. A meaning recall test was administered immediately at the end of the second session of the treatment. Results showed that the keyword method produced better recall compared to the word list method, suggesting a promising educational value for its utility.
Joint supply, demand, and energy storage management towards microgrid cost minimization

The problem of real-time power balancing in a grid-connected microgrid is studied. We consider a microgrid powered by a conventional generator (CG) and multiple renewable generators (RGs) each co-located with one distributed storage (DS) unit. An aggregator operates the microgrid and aims to minimize the long-term system cost, including all RGs' cost, the CG's cost, and the cost for exploiting external energy markets. We jointly manage the supply side, demand side, and DS units, taking into account the randomness of the system, and incorporating the ramping constraint of the CG. A real-time algorithm is proposed, which does not require any statistics of the system. We analytically characterize the gap between the system cost under our algorithm and the minimum cost, demonstrating that our algorithm is asymptotically optimal as the DS energy capacity increases and the CG ramping constraint loosens. In simulation, we compare the proposed algorithm with a greedy algorithm as well as a lower bound on the optimum. Simulation shows that our algorithm outperforms the greedy one and its performance can be close to the optimum even with small DS units.
A Social Influence Analysis of Perceived Organizational Support

This dissertation examined the effects of social influence on employees' perceptions of organizational support (POS). An important characteristic of POS is that it reflects an employee's subjective evaluation of the treatment he or she receives from the organization. Employees' interactions with their coworkers, then, may have an important influence on their POS. As a result, the development of POS may be a social process rather than solely an intrapsychic one. However, the majority of POS research has focused on how an individual employee's personal experiences with an organization affect his/her POS and largely ignored social factors. To address this gap in the literature, I argue that advice ties between employees will be related to similarity in POS because they serve as a source of social information. Friendship ties, on the other hand, will result in similarity in POS because they are utilized for social comparison. Finally, role model ties will result in similarity in POS because employees learn from the perceptions, attitudes, and behaviors of others they respect and admire. In addition, I explored the differential effects of strong and weak ties and muliplex versus simplex ties on similarity in POS. My expectation was that strong ties and multiplex ties would be more influential than weak ties and simplex ties. Finally, I explored the effects reciprocated and non-reciprocated ties with the expectation that reciprocated ties would be more highly associated with POS because they are characterized by information sharing. Social network methods were utilized to test hypotheses among 93 admissions department employees at a university in the eastern United States. Results indicated that when reciprocated ties were considered, employees tended to have POS that are similar to those of their strong role model ties, strong advice-role model ties, and strong friend-advice-role model ties. However, when reciprocity was not a requirement for strong ties between employees, only strong friend-advice-role model ties were related to similarity in POS. This pattern of results suggests that strong, multiplex ties in which two-way information sharing occured were more likely to lead to similarity in POS. Implications were drawn from these findings, and suggestions for future research were made.
The Association Between Inquiry About Emotional Distress and Women's Satisfaction with Their Family Physician: Findings from a National Survey

ABSTRACT Background: Women appear to be more vulnerable than men to emotional distress (ED). However, ED often goes unrecognized by family physicians. Purpose: To (1) assess the rate of inquiry about ED by family physicians and (2) explore the association between physician's inquiry about ED and women's satisfaction with care. Methods: Telephone interviews were conducted in 2003 using a structured questionnaire in a representative sample of 991 Israeli women aged 22 years or older, with a response rate of 84%. Results: 33% of women reported ED during the past year but only15% of women reported having discussed ED with their family physician in the last year. Higher rates of discussion of ED with the physician were found among women who had experienced ED (22.5%), those who had a chronic illness (20.1%) had low income (22.7%), and were Arabic (29.5%) or Russian speakers (26.3%). Multivariate analysis indicated that women who had discussed ED with their physician expressed higher satisfaction with the physician's professional level (OR = 6.85), attitude (OR = 2.45), spending enough time (OR = 2.90), and listening to the patient (OR = 3.19), compared with women who had not discussed ED with their physician. Conclusions: Given the current low rates of inquiry about ED. it appears that developing sensitivity to women's emotional concerns and encouraging physicians to inquire about ED should be given higher priority in medical education at all levels. Furthermore, since inquiry about ED not only improves the appropriateness of care but is also associated with higher satisfaction with the physician, organizations in a competitive health care enviroment may have a particular interest in promoting this practice.
Business Groups and Risk Sharing Around the World

We examine the hypothesis that business groups facilitate mutual insurance among affiliated firms and find substantial evidence of risk sharing by Japanese, Korean, and Thai groups but little evidence of it elsewhere. We also find no correlation between measures of capital market development and the nature of the legal system, on the one hand, and the extent of risk sharing provided by business groups, on the other. The popular view that risk sharing in business groups is important is not validated by our analysis; other reasons are more likely to explain the ubiquity of business groups around the world.
The effect of the cardiac membrane potential on the rapid availability of the sodium‐carrying system

There is evidence suggesting that the onset of electrical activity in nerve and muscle depends on a specific permeability increase of the surface membrane which allows sodium ions to enter the fibre at a high rate (for references, see Hodgkin, 1951). Furthermore, it has been shown for the giant axon of the squid (Hodgkin & Huxley, 1952 a) that the amount by which the sodium permeability increases during activity (or depolarization) depends on the value of the potential difference which had been acting on the surface membrane before the depolarization. The present experiments were undertaken in order to look for a similar effect in mammalian Purkinje fibres. By means of a feedback circuit the 'resting' potential could be chosen at will; its effect was observed on certain features of the action potential which are thought to be indicative ofthe sodium permeability, namely the upstroke velocity and the size of the 'overshoot'.
Population Genetic Structure and Potential Incursion Pathways of the Bluetongue Virus Vector Culicoides brevitarsis (Diptera: Ceratopogonidae) in Australia

Culicoides brevitarsis is a vector of the bluetongue virus (BTV), which infects sheep and cattle. It is an invasive species in Australia with an assumed Asian/South East Asian origin. Using one mitochondrial marker (i.e., part of the cytochrome oxidase subunit I gene) and six nuclear markers, we inferred population genetic structure and possible incursion pathways for Australian C. brevitarsis. Nine mitochondrial haplotypes, with low nucleotide sequence diversity (0.0–0.7%) among these, were identified in a sample of 70 individuals from seven sites. Both sets of markers revealed a homogeneous population structure, albeit with evidence of isolation by distance and two genetically distinct clusters distributed along a north-to-south cline. No evidence of a cryptic species complex was found. The geographical distribution of the mitochondrial haplotypes is consistent with at least two incursion pathways into Australia since the arrival of suitable livestock hosts. By contrast, 15 mitochondrial haplotypes, with up to four times greater nucleotide sequence diversity (0.0–2.9%) among these, were identified in a sample of 16 individuals of the endemic C. marksi (sampled from a site in South Australia and another in New South Wales). A phylogenetic tree inferred using the mitochondrial marker revealed that the Australian and Japanese samples of C. brevitarsis are as evolutionarily different from one another as some of the other Australian species (e.g., C. marksi, C. henryi, C. pallidothorax) are. The phylogenetic tree placed four of the species endemic to Australia (C. pallidothorax, C. bundyensis, C. marksi, C. henryi) in a clade, with a fifth such species (C. bunrooensis) sharing a common ancestor with that clade and a clade comprising two Japanese species (C. verbosus, C. kibunensis).
On Positive Radial Solutions for a Class of Elliptic Equations

A class of elliptic boundary value problem in an exterior domain is considered under some conditions concerning the first eigenvalue of the relevant linear operator, where the variables of nonlinear term f(s, u) need not to be separated. Several new theorems on the existence and multiplicity of positive radial solutions are obtained by means of fixed point index theory. Our conclusions are essential improvements of the results in Lan and Webb (1998), Lee (1997), Mao and Xue (2002), Stańczy (2000), and Han and Wang (2006).
Molecular regionalization of the neocortex is disrupted in Fgf8 hypomorphic mutants

The neocortex is divided into multiple areas with specific architecture, molecular identity and pattern of connectivity with the dorsal thalamus. Gradients of transcription factor expression in the cortical primordium regulate molecular regionalization and potentially the patterning of thalamic projections. We show that reduction of Fgf8 levels in hypomorphic mouse mutants shifts early gradients of gene expression rostrally, thereby modifying the molecular identity of rostral cortical progenitors. This shift correlates with a reduction in the size of a molecularly defined rostral neocortical domain and a corresponding rostral expansion of more caudal regions. Despite these molecular changes, the topography of projections between the dorsal thalamus and rostral neocortex in mutant neonates appears the same as the topography of wild-type littermates. Overall, our study demonstrates the role of endogenous Fgf8 in regulating early gradients of transcription factors in cortical progenitor cells and in molecular regionalization of the cortical plate
Overexpression of Interleukin-18 Aggravates Cardiac Fibrosis and Diastolic Dysfunction in Fructose-Fed Rats

Inflammation plays an Important role In the pathophysiology of the metabolic syndrome (MS). We determined whether the overexpression of interleukin (IL)-18 could aggravate left ventricular (LV) remodeling and diastolic dysfunction in fructose-fed rats (FFRs). To create an animal model for MS, male Wistar rats received 10% fructose in water for 8 months. We used an adenovirus encoding rat IL-18 to overexpress IL-18 in FFRs by intravenous administration. IL-18 overexpression led to increases in collagen volume fraction and collagen deposition. LV systolic function was unaltered. But the LV end-diastolic pressure and the time constant of isovolumic relaxation (tau) were increased. Peak negative value of time derivative of LV pressure (−dp/dt) was decreased. Isovolumic relaxation time and myocardial index, as assessed by echocardiography, were increased. Overexpression of IL-18 leads to aggravated LV remodeling and dysfunction in FFRs. Attenuation of the inflammatory process may provide a novel therapeutic strategy in treating metabolic cardiomyopathy.