Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
The effects of dietary L-carnitine supplementation on the performance, organ weights and circulating hormone and metabolite concentrations of broiler chickens reared under a normal or low temperature schedule

Abstract 1. The present study examined the effects of the addition of 100 mg/kg L-carnitine to the basal starter (containing 17.8 mg/kg L-carnitine) and finisher (containing 22.9 mg/kg L-carnitine) diets on performance, organ weights and plasma hormone and metabolite concentrations of male and female broiler chickens. The broiler chickens were reared either in a room with a normal temperature (NT) program or with a low temperature (LT) program (rapid decrease from 28°C to 20°C at 14 d of age). 2. Broiler chickens reared under the LT schedule consumed more food and attained a greater body weight at 42 d of age than their counterparts reared under NT schedule, without any difference in food efficiency or abdominal fat content. Dietary L-carnitine supplementation had no significant effects on any of these production parameters, except for a reduction in the abdominal fat content of female NT chickens. However, the LT schedule and dietary L-carnitine supplementation greatly increased absolute and proportional heart weights. The elevated heart weights were not due to right ventricle hypertrophy. 3. Both the LT program and L-carnitine supplementation increased circulating plasma triiodothyronine concentrations. There were also some transient effects of both experimental variables on plasma growth hormone, glucose and triglyceride concentrations. 4. L-carnitine did not improve broiler performance. However, this result does not mean that L-carnitine supplementation cannot have beneficial effects in other circumstances. In view of the elevated proportional heart weights, it can also be argued that L-carnitine is a potential agent for reducing the incidence of metabolic diseases in broiler chickens.
Can the Formation of X-Ray-obscuring Tori and Jets in Active Galaxies be Determined by One Parameter?

A torus of reduced differential rotation can form in the inner ≲10 pc core of active galactic nuclei (AGNs), incurring a density enhancement that can account for obscuration of X-rays in Seyfert galaxies when the initial inner core-to-black hole mass ratio is ≳50. The same density enhancement can also lead to dynamo growth of significant poloidal magnetic fields when accreted onto the central engine. Since radio jet models often employ poloidal fields as agents in extracting power for the jet luminosity, we suggest that jetted AGNs might require this poloidal field production. Although the poloidal field would originally be produced in the obscuring torus, jetted objects could exist without obscuring tori: The poloidal field would only aid in powering jet emission after it accretes with the torus matter to the central engine. Thus, only during the relatively short torus accretion timescale could there be both a jet and a torus.
Locus-specific view of flax domestication history

Crop domestication has been inferred genetically from neutral markers and increasingly from specific domestication-associated loci. However, some crops are utilized for multiple purposes that may or may not be reflected in a single domestication-associated locus. One such example is cultivated flax (Linum usitatissimum L.), the earliest oil and fiber crop, for which domestication history remains poorly understood. Oil composition of cultivated flax and pale flax (L. bienne Mill.) indicates that the sad2 locus is a candidate domestication locus associated with increased unsaturated fatty acid production in cultivated flax. A phylogenetic analysis of the sad2 locus in 43 pale and 70 cultivated flax accessions established a complex domestication history for flax that has not been observed previously. The analysis supports an early, independent domestication of a primitive flax lineage, in which the loss of seed dispersal through capsular indehiscence was not established, but increased oil content was likely occurred. A subsequent flax domestication process occurred that probably involved multiple domestications and includes lineages that contain oil, fiber, and winter varieties. In agreement with previous studies, oil rather than fiber varieties occupy basal phylogenetic positions. The data support multiple paths of flax domestication for oil-associated traits before selection of the other domestication-associated traits of seed dispersal loss and fiber production. The sad2 locus is less revealing about the origin of winter tolerance. In this case, a single domestication-associated locus is informative about the history of domesticated forms with the associated trait while partially informative on forms less associated with the trait.
Comet Assay in Evaluating DNA Damage Associated With Ischaemia-Reperfusion Injury in Patients Undergoing Coronary Surgery

Comet Assay in Evaluating DNA Damage Associated With Ischaemia-Reperfusion Injury in Patients Undergoing Coronary Surgery Ischaemia-reperfusion (I/R) injury is responsible for a number of conditions such as coronary bypass and myocardial infarction, and deaths. Oxygen-free radicals formed during I/R have been proposed as the leading causes of tissue injury, and they play an important role in I/R injury. I/R induces oxidative DNA damage (such as purinic and pyrimidinic base lesions). Comet assay is a suitable and sensitive method for early detection of low-level DNA damage. We used modified alkaline comet assay in peripheral blood lymphocytes and evaluated I/R-induced DNA damage in patients undergoing coronary artery bypass graft (CABG) operation (in vivo model for I/R). No statistically significant difference in DNA damage levels was found before surgery, after anaesthesia, ischemia, reperfusion, and surgery. However, blood lactate levels (assessed in parallel with the comet assay) increased after I/R and did not return to the baseline level. Our findings showed that I/R injury did not induce DNA damage, but increased the lactate levels. This finding suggests that there might be reversible and uncommon necrosis that did not reflect on overall DNA base damage. Further studies are needed using this approach. Primjena kometnog testa u procjeni oštećenja DNA nastalih zbog ishemijsko-reperfuzijskih ozljeda u bolesnika podvrgnutih kirurškim zahvatima na koronarnim žilama Ishemijsko-reperfuzijska (I/R) ozljeda čest je uzročnik pobola i smrtnosti u slučajevima kao što su ugradnja koronarnih premosnica, infarkt miokarda i sl. Slobodni kisikovi radikali koji nastaju tijekom procesa ishemije i reperfuzije smatraju se jednim od glavnih uzročnika oštećenja tkiva i imaju važnu ulogu u I/R ozljedama. I/R ozljede izazivaju oksidativna oštećenja u DNA (primjerice oštećenja purinskih i pirimidinskih baza). Kometni test osjetljiva je metoda koja omogućuje utvrđivanje niskih razina primarnih oštećenja u molekuli DNA. U ovom smo istraživanju primjenom kometnog testa na bijelim krvnim stanicama procjenjivali razine oštećenja u DNA nastale zbog I/R ozljeda u bolesnika podvrgnutih ugradnji premosnice koronarne arterije (in vivo model za I/R). Rezultati istraživanja upućuju na to da nema značajnih razlika u razinama oštećenja DNA izmjerenim u uzorcima krvi uzimanima prije kirurškog zahvata, nakon anestezije te tijekom ishemije, reperfuzije i zahvata. Međutim, uočeno je da su nakon I/R ozljede porasle razine laktata u serumu koje se više nisu vratile na početne vrijednosti. Takve vrijednosti laktata u serumu upućuju na to da tijekom I/R nastupa neobična i reverzibilna nekroza koja se, međutim, ne odražava na stupanj oštećenja DNA. Za objašnjenje ovih zapažanja potrebna su daljnja istraživanja.
A 2.4GHz ambient RF energy harvesting system with −20dBm minimum input power and NiMH battery storage

We describe a radio frequency (RF) energy harvester and power management circuit that trickle charges a battery from incident power levels as low as -20dBm. We designed the harvester for the 2.4 GHz RF band to leverage the ubiquity of energy that is produced by Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, and other devices. This paper reports on the design and current status of the harvester and compares our performance to other published results. In this incident power regime, rectified voltages are low, so power management circuit operation in the 100mV regime is critical. This paper describes a novel rectenna design, boost converter, and battery charger for RF energy harvesting specifically tuned to this low-power regime. At -20dBm RF input power, the harvesting system (rectenna, boost converter, and battery charger) sources 5. 8μJ into a rechargeable battery after 1 hour.
CYP2D6*4 Allele Polymorphism Increases the Risk of Parkinson’s Disease: Evidence from Meta-Analysis

Background Many epidemiological studies have been conducted to explore the association between a single CYP2D6 gene polymorphism and Parkinson’s disease (PD) susceptibility. However, the results remain controversial. Objectives To clarify the effects of a single CYP2D6 gene polymorphism on the risk of PD, a meta-analysis of all available studies relating to CYP2D6*4 polymorphism and the risk of PD was conducted. Methods A comprehensive literature search of PubMed, EMBASE, and the China National Knowledge Infrastructure (CNKI) up to September 1, 2013 was conducted. Data were extracted by two independent authors and pooled odds ratio (OR) with 95% confidence interval (CI) were calculated. Meta-regression, Galbraith plots, subgroup analysis, sensitivity analysis, and publication bias analysis were also performed. Results Twenty-two separate comparisons consisting of 2,629 patients and 3,601 controls were included in our meta-analysis. The pooled analyses showed a significant association between CYP2D6*4G/A polymorphism and PD risk in all of the comparisons (A vs. G allele: OR = 1.28, 95% CI = 1.14–1.43, P = 0.001; AA vs. GG: OR = 1.43, 95% CI = 1.06–1.93, P = 0.018; AG vs. GG: OR = 1.22, 95% CI = 1.06–1.40, P = 0.006; AG+AA vs. GG: OR = 1.26, 95% CI = 1.10–1.44, P = 0.001; AA vs. AG+GG: OR = 1.37, 95% CI = 1.02–1.83, P = 0.036). In subgroup analysis stratified by ethnicity, significant associations were also demonstrated in Caucasians but not in Asians. No significant association was found in subgroup analysis stratified by age of onset or disease form. Conclusions We concluded that the CYP2D6*4G/A polymorphism denotes an increased genetic susceptibility to PD in the overall population, especially in Caucasians. Further large and well-designed studies are needed to confirm this association.
Inflammatory joint manifestations are prevalent in psoriasis: prevalence study of joint and axial involvement in psoriatic patients, and evaluation of a psoriatic and arthritic questionnaire.

OBJECTIVE To examine the prevalence of inflammatory manifestations, such as peripheral arthritis, axial disease, undifferentiated spondyloarthropathy (uSpA) and enthesopathies in patients with psoriasis, and to evaluate a psoriatic and arthritic questionnaire (PAQ) to identify patients with arthritis. Methods. An evaluation of a questionnaire (PAQ) in a hospital- and community-based population of 276 psoriatic patients, and clinical, radiological, and laboratory examination of the 202 patients answering the questionnaire and willing to participate in the subsequent study. Results. Ninety-seven patients (48%) were identified as having, or having had, inflammatory manifestations (peripheral arthritis, axial disease, uSpA, and enthesopathies). Sixty-seven patients (33%) had peripheral arthritis and/or axial disease, 30 of whom had not previously been diagnosed. A total PAQ score of 4 out of 8 was the best cutoff value detecting arthritis with a sensitivity of 60% and a specificity of 62.2%. A positive answer to the question "Have you ever thought you might have arthritis? " in combination with morning stiffness in peripheral joints for at least 60 min, had a sensitivity of 30% and a specificity of 91.1% and was significantly associated with peripheral arthritis and/or axial disease in multiple logistic regression analysis. Conclusion. We found a high prevalence of inflammatory joint/axial disease in this group of psoriatic patients. Almost half the patients with peripheral arthritis and/or axial disease had not previously been diagnosed. The PAQ did not, either as a total score or by combining questions, discriminate for arthritis in this population with psoriasis.
Ticlopidine to prevent primary arteriovenous fistula failure in hemodialysis patients; a randomized controlled trial

Implication for health policy/practice/research/medical education:Primary arteriovenous fistula (AVF), failure remains a major problem for hemodialysis patients. Vascular access thrombosis prophylaxis needs to start early in the end-stage renal disease patient. Ticlopidine seems to be effective and safe for prevention of primary AVF failure in hemodialysis patients.
Supports and Barriers to Successful Progression in a DNP Program: Students’ and Graduates’ Perspectives

This study examined the supports, barriers, and strategies to successful progression in a DNP program using a nationwide online survey of DNP students and graduates. Subjects (n = 172) had a mean age of 46.2 years; 83% worked full time. Major barriers were competing demands of work, family, and school. Perseverance was a key element in overcoming barriers; most students reported being overwhelmed, and 37% considered quitting. Mechanisms for programs to consider in addressing this stress are discussed.
HTS Tapes Cooled by Liquid Nitrogen at Current Overloads

The behavior HTS materials and devices at overload currents is determined in a very high level by cooling, particularly, by the transient heat transfer from HTS device to liquid nitrogen. Recently we observed sharp peaks in the voltage during rectangular current pulse. In the present paper we explain these peaks by analysis of transient regimes in liquid nitrogen. The sharp peak in the voltage is occurring after temperature exceeds certain level before nucleate boiling starts. Basing on measurements of the voltage and temperature of HTS tapes during current overload and numerical analysis of the process we estimated overheat temperatures of nitrogen in transient regimes. Influence of covers of HTS tapes on overheat temperature of nitrogen is discussed. Experimental data and theoretical calculations' are compared.
An Intervention to Enhance Psychological Capital and Health Outcomes in Homeless Female Youths

Female homeless youths are vulnerable to risky sex and substance use behaviors, yet they have strengths known as psychological capital. A quasi-experimental pre-post research design with repeated measures was used to examine the feasibility and preliminary efficacy of a brief intervention to enhance psychological capital, reduce health-risk behaviors, and achieve short-term behavioral goals. Study participants were 80 ethnically diverse homeless women between the ages of 18 and 23 years. Intervention participants had significant improvements in psychological capital, hope, resilience, and self-efficacy to refuse alcohol, social connectedness, and substance use (p < .05). There was a significant group by time interaction for safe sex self-efficacy; intervention participants had greater self-confidence in negotiating safer sex practices than comparison participants. At the follow-up post-test, 82% of intervention participants who remained in the study had met or exceeded their short-term goals. This brief, street-based intervention was feasible and showed preliminary efficacy.
Mental Representation of Verb Meaning: Behavioral and Electrophysiological Evidence

Previous psycholinguistic research has debated the nature of the mental representation of verbs and the access of relevant verb information in sentence processing. In this study, we used behavioral and electrophysiological methods to examine the representation of verbs in and out of sentence contexts. In five experiments, word naming and event-related potential (ERP) components were used to measure the speed and the amplitude, respectively, associated with different verb-object combinations that result in different degrees of fit between the verb and its object. Both naming speed and ERP amplitudes (N400) are proven to be sensitive indices of the degree of fit, varying as a function of how well the object fits the verb in terms of selectional restrictions. The results suggest that the semantic features of the verb's arguments are an integral part of the mental representation of verbs, and such information of the verb is accessed and used on-line during sentence processing. Implications of these results are discussed in light of recent computational semantic models that view the lexicon through high-order lexical co-occurrences in language use.
SIGNALING MECHANISMS IN SEPSIS-INDUCED IMMUNE DYSFUNCTION

Sepsis and subsequent organ failure remain the major cause of mortality in intensive care units in spite of significant research efforts. The lung is the most vulnerable organ affected by early hyper-inflammatory immune response in septic patients. On the other hand, the septic insult induces immune dysfunction in later phases of sepsis which in turn increases susceptibility to infections. The aim of this thesis was to investigate early and late inflammatory mechanisms in abdominal sepsis induced by cecal ligation and puncture (CLP). We observed that inhibition of CD44 not only reduced CLP-induced pulmonary accumulation of neutrophils but also protected against edema formation and tissue destruction in septic lung injury. We found that inhibition of geranylgeranyl transferase decreased CLP-induced pulmonary recruitment of neutrophils via reduction of CXC chemokine production in lung macrophages and neutrophil activation in the circulation. It was noted that Rho-kinase inhibitor reduced sepsis-induced pulmonary recruitment of neutrophils and tissue injury via regulation of CXC chemokines formation in the lung. Moreover, inhibition of Rho-kinase signaling decreased sepsis-induced T-cell apoptosis as well as enhanced T-cell proliferation and cytokine formation. In addition, Rho-kinase inhibition reduced sepsis-induced expansion of regulatory T-cells. Finally, it was noted that Rho-kinase inhibitor abolished CLP-induced increase in the plasma levels of HMGB1 and IL-6. Thus, these data identify new signaling mechanisms regulating pathological inflammation in septic lung injury and immune dysfunction, which may provide a basis for the development of more specific and effective treatment to ameliorate respiratory failure and improve T-cell-mediated host defense reactions in polymicrobial sepsis.
A Generational Comparison of Social Networking Site Use: The Influence of Age and Social Identity

An online survey (N = 256) compared social networking site (SNS) use among younger (millennial: 18–29) and older (baby-boomer: 41–64) subscribers focusing on the influence of collective self-esteem and group identity on motives for SNS use. Younger participants reported higher positive collective self-esteem, social networking site use for peer communication, and social compensation. Regardless of age, participants reporting high collective self-esteem and group identity were more likely to use social networking sites for peer communication and social identity gratifications, while those reporting negative collective self-esteem were more likely to use social networking sites for social compensation. The theoretical implications of the strong relationship between social identity gratifications and social compensation are discussed.
Enteric defensins: antibiotic peptide components of intestinal host defense

Five intestinal defensins, termed cryptdins 1-5, have been purified from mouse small bowel, sequenced, and localized to the epithelium by immunohistochemistry. Although identified as members of the defensin peptide family by peptide sequencing, enteric defensins are novel in that four cryptdins have amino termini which are three to six residues longer than those of leukocyte-derived defensins. A fifth cryptdin is the first defensin to diverge from the previously invariant spacing of cysteines in the peptide structure. The most abundant enteric defensin, cryptdin-1, had antimicrobial activity against an attenuated phoP mutant of Salmonella typhimurium but was not active against the virulent wild-type parent. Immunohistochemical localization demonstrated that cryptdin-1, and probably cryptdins 2 and 3, occur exclusively in Paneth cells, where the peptides appear to be associated with cytoplasmic granules. Biochemical and immunologic analysis of the luminal contents of the small intestine suggest that cryptdin peptides are secreted into the lumen, similar to Paneth cell secretion of lysozyme. The presence of several enteric defensins in the intestinal epithelium, evidence of their presence in the lumen, and the antibacterial activity of cryptdin-1 suggest that these peptides contribute to the antimicrobial barrier function of the small bowel mucosa.
Attenuating Demographic Influences on Verbal Fluency and Animal Naming in a Psychiatric Sample

Measures of verbal fluency are common additions to neuropsychological evaluations. Due to the literature demonstrating the impact of demographic variables on these measures, corrective norms have recently been published. However, these norms have yet to be cross-validated. This study sought to cross-validate these norms in a racially diverse psychiatric sample. In addition, this study sought to evaluate the utility of Wide Range Achievement Test, 3rd Edition (WRAT3) Reading Recognition and Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale-Third Edition (WAIS-III) Vocabulary in attenuating the effect of demographic variables on these measures of verbal fluency. Results supported the utility of Gladsjo et al.'s (1999) norms. Further analysis revealed that both WRAT3 Reading Recognition and WAIS-III Vocabulary scores also attenuated the impact of demographic variables on these measures and accounted for more of the variance. Together, these results suggest that, although the demographically corrected norms adequately attenuate the impact of these variables, norms corrected for WRAT3 Reading Recognition or WAIS-III Vocabulary may account for more of the variance and therefore might be more appropriate and universally applicable.
Increased Risk of Tuberculosis in Patients With Type 1 Diabetes Mellitus: Results From a Population-Based Cohort Study in Taiwan

AbstractThe studies on the risk of tuberculosis (TB) in patients with type 1 diabetes mellitus (T1DM) alone are limited. We examined this relationship using a population-based retrospective cohort study. From claims data of the National Health Insurance system of Taiwan, we identified 5195 patients with T1DM newly diagnosed from 2002 to 2011 and 20,780 randomly selected controls without T1DM, frequency matched by age, sex, and year of diagnosis. Both cohorts were followed up until the end of 2011 to evaluate the risk of TB. The overall incidence of TB was 4.07-fold higher in the T1DM cohort than in the control cohort (1.18 vs 0.29 per 1000 person-years, P < 0.001). Compared with the controls, the Cox model estimated adjusted hazard ratios (HRs) of TB in patients with T1DM were greater in men than in women (4.62 vs 3.59) and in adults than in children (4.06 vs 3.37), but not significant. The adjusted HR was much greater for those with comorbidities than those without comorbidities (14.6 vs 1.62, P < 0.001). Compared with the controls, the patients with T1DM were also more likely to develop TB with multiple emergency room visits (adjusted HR: 116.1, 95% confidence interval [CI] = 43.8–307.4) or hospitalizations (adjusted HR: 86.5, 95% CI = 33.7–222.4). Patients with T1DM are at elevated risks of developing TB with much higher HRs for those with comorbidities, within the first year of diagnosis, and with frequent emergency cares or hospitalizations.