Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Protective effects of emodin against cisplatin‐induced oxidative stress in cultured human kidney (HEK 293) cells

Emodin (a rhubarb anthraquinone) has strong antioxidant and anticancer actions, and recent studies indicated that it reduces cellular oxidative stress induced by various insults and drugs. Cisplatin is an anticancer drug that is associated with nephrotoxicity and induces oxidative stress in cultured human kidney (HEK 293) cells. This study aimed to assess the in‐vitro antioxidant properties of the emodin against cisplatin‐induced oxidative stress in HEK 293 cells. Our study revealed that emodin acted as a potent free radical scavenger and provided nephroprotection against cisplatin‐induced oxidative stress. Emodin as low as 0.5 µm did not decrease cell viability and restored the cisplatin‐induced glutathione depletion and total antioxidant capacity in a dose‐dependent manner. Emodin augmented the cisplatin‐induced inhibition of antioxidant enzymes (catalase, glutathione peroxidase, glutathione S‐transferase, glutathione reductase and superoxide dismutase). These results suggest that emodin has the potential to be used as an adjunct therapeutic agent in patients receiving cisplatin treatment. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Attractiveness of an Aggregation Pheromone Lure and Chicken Droppings to Adults and Larvae of Alphitobius diaperinus (Coleoptera: Tenebrionidae)

ABSTRACT The chemical cues by which lesser mealworm, Alphitobius diaperinus (Panzer) (Coleoptera: Tenebrionidae) beetles find each other are still unknown. Laboratory two-choice pitfall bioassays were conducted to evaluate the attractiveness of synthetic aggregation pheromone lure to lesser mealworm adults and larvae. All components of this synthetic aggregation pheromone lure, including: (R)-(+)-limonene, (E)-&bgr;-ocimene, (S)-(+)-linalool, (R)-(+)-daucene, and 2-nonanone were also tested singly. Chicken dropping volatile compounds and fresh chicken droppings (CD) were evaluated singly or in combination with the pheromone lure. In Arkansas, trapping experiments were conducted in different poultry houses with low, moderate, and high lesser mealworm populations to evaluate the attraction of pheromone lure. Laboratory two-choice pitfall bioassay was found to be a useful and convenient tool for evaluating the attractants before testing them in the poultry house. Greater attraction of adults and larvae to a dose of 20–30 µg pheromone lure was identified in laboratory two-choice pitfall bioassays. Adults and larvae were highly attractive to a combination of fresh CD and pheromone lure, whereas, a combination of chicken dropping volatile and pheromone lure was not significantly attractive. The low attraction of limonene and linalool in the laboratory two-choice pitfall bioassays suggest that either they are nonattractive or attractive only at a narrow range of concentrations. Higher numbers of lesser mealworm adults and larvae were found in traps treated with pheromone lure as compared with untreated controls in field experiments. Results indicate a potential for combining the pheromone lure with the attractive CD compounds to enhance trap efficacy.
The Role of Collateral in Supporting Liquidity

Collateral plays an important role in supporting a vast range of transactions that help ensure the efficient functioning of the financial system. But collateral markets also have the potential to exacerbate risks to financial stability, not least given that during periods of market stress demand for high-quality collateral may increase, whilst collateral availability may fall. This paper offers a means to estimate how this potential imbalance between collateral supply and demand is likely to vary as a function of market stress. In doing so, it offers an estimate of the increase in market volatility sufficient to cause a dislocation in the market for collateral and a subsequent deterioration in market functioning. It suggests that — from the perspective of financial stability — the implications of an imbalance between the supply and demand of collateral are likely to be comparatively benign, but that the implications of a reduction in the willingness and/or ability of market participants to act as intermediaries in collateral markets are likely to have more serious consequences for market functioning. This work also provides a framework through which policymakers might be able to investigate how regulations might affect the proximity of these risks.
Can semantic labeling methods generalize to any city? the inria aerial image labeling benchmark

New challenges in remote sensing impose the necessity of designing pixel classification methods that, once trained on a certain dataset, generalize to other areas of the earth. This may include regions where the appearance of the same type of objects is significantly different. In the literature it is common to use a single image and split it into training and test sets to train a classifier and assess its performance, respectively. However, this does not prove the generalization capabilities to other inputs. In this paper, we propose an aerial image labeling dataset that covers a wide range of urban settlement appearances, from different geographic locations. Moreover, the cities included in the test set are different from those of the training set. We also experiment with convolutional neural networks on our dataset.
Regulation of the Procoagulant Response to Arterial Injury

Introduction Thrombosis is commonly associated with arterial injury. Clinically, this is seen with all interventional procedures designed to treat coronary artery stenosis, such as percutaneous transluminal coronary angioplasty (PTCA),1 directional coronary, 1 atherectomy (DCA)2 and coronary artery stenting.3 Acute thrombosis occasionally results in total occlusion of the vessel lumen. However, more typical is the deposition of smaller nonocclusive mural thrombi. Thrombosis is also a common feature of many animal models of arterial injury.4-8 These models have provided considerable information about the molecular events associated with injury-induced thrombus formation. Platelet adherence to the injured arterial wall occurs within minutes in all models of arterial injury. In some models, platelet deposition is followed by fibrin deposition, a consequence of activation of the coagulation cascade. The presence and extent of fibrin deposition varies with the degree of injury (superficial or deep), the type of vessel (carotid, femoral, aorta, or coronary), the state of the vessel prior to injury (normal, cholesterol fed, previously injured), and the species. In the pig carotid balloon injury model, endothelial denudation in the absence of medial injury is associated with platelet deposition but no fibrin generation. More severe injury, defined by the presence of a medial tear, results in marked platelet accumulation and fibrin generation, even in the presence of high doses of heparin.4,9 Unlike the porcine model, balloon injury to normal rodent arteries is associated with rapid platelet deposition but does not result in significant fibrin deposition, even in the presence of medial injury.5-8 In contrast to that found using normal arteries, fibrin deposition is seen when previously injured rabbit arteries, possessing a neointima, are subjected to a second injury.5,7,8,10 As determined by scanning and transmission electron microscopy, abundant fibrin formation is detected within 30 minutes of the reinjury. Platelet deposition is also more dense after the second injury and associated with fibrin-platelet microthrombi. We have recently found a similar difference between single and double injury in rat aorta and carotid arteries. These studies suggest that, in contrast to the deposition of platelets, which accompanies any injury to the arterial wall, the deposition of fibrin and the formation of large thrombi are more dependent on the type of injury produced and may be regulated by specific processes occurring in the arterial wall.
Market Orientation, Learning Orientation and Small Medium Enterprises Performance:The Mediating Role of Innovation

This study aims to empirically demonstrate the relationship of market orientation, learning orientation on innovation and business performance within the scope of the small and medium enterprises (SMEs). Besides, this research also explaines the importance of company’s innovation as a mediating relation to improve business performance. The samples of this study were 155 managers or owners of Meubeller SMEs in the Region of Karisidenan Surakarta. The sampling technique used in this research was purposive sampling. The basic consideration of this research was the experience of the SMEs Meubeller (either the manager or owner) in managing their businesses. The hypothesis testing results showed that market orientation gave positive effect on business performance and innovation of the company. Orientation learning gave positive effect on business performance and innovation of the company. Company’s innovation infl uenced business performance.
What Drives Organizational Ambidexterity? Examining Institutional, Organizational, and Entrepreneurial Factors

of a dissertation at the University of Miami. Dissertation supervised by Professor Yadong Luo. No. of pages in text. (138) This dissertation contributes to the area of organizational ambidexterity by examining new antecedents and expanding the concept beyond its traditional realm of balancing exploitation and exploration, in three essays. Adopting a broader view of ambidexterity as the ability to perform contradictory strategic acts simultaneously, Essay 1 and Essay 3 introduce two new ambidextrous strategies respectively – institutional ambidexterity, which is a strategy to manage institutional compliance and influence at the same time, and co-competence, which is a strategy to develop both transactional competence and relational competence. In Essay 2, the dissertation also examines a construct within the traditional realm – structural ambidexterity. Moving away from traditional inquiries of performance implications and echoing recent research on antecedents, the dissertation introduces three new drivers of organizational ambidexterity. Essay 1 examines the role of formal and informal national institutions in achieving institutional ambidexterity, as well as the subsequent link to firm performance. Essay 2 considers the role of managerial beliefs and presents a mediation model, where the relationship between ambivalent management philosophy and structural ambidexterity is mediated through organizational innovation, outcome-based managerial governance, and analyzer orientation. Essay 3 recognizes the importance of entrepreneurial orientation and offers another mediation model, where the relationship between entrepreneurial orientation and co-competence is mediated through absorptive capacity and external networks. In addition to the broader contribution to research on organizational ambidexterity, this dissertation also has implications for institutional theory, entrepreneurial orientation in small and medium enterprises, strategy in emerging markets, and the emerging theme “West meets East”
The Expansion of Technology in Small and Medium Hospitality Enterprises With a Focus on Net Technology

In several earlier studies it was revealed that small/independent hotels are being marginalized from the mainstream tourism industry due to their inability to participate in the transformation of best practices due to their reluctance to utilize information technologies. Wales is a good illustration of a peripheral region with predominately small independent hotels and as such is reflective of the profile of the independent hotel sector in Europe. This article is based on research undertaken in collaboration with the Wales Tourist Board (WTB) via postal surveys in 1994, 2000, and 2001 into the use of technology and, specifically the latter surveys, focused on the penetration of the Internet in hospitality organizations in Wales. The responses to the surveys were sufficient to reach some comparisons over a period of time about the growth of technology and the Internet in this sector, the factors that influence the use of technology, and additionally some insight into the opinions of hotel managers who are nonusers of technology and the Internet. This article concludes that penetration is high in 2001 and the WTB has acted neither as a facilitator nor an influence in its adoption by its members.
Training and Organizational Commitment among Nurses in New Zealand and United States Public Hospitals Experiencing Industry and Organizational Change.

This study examines the relationship between employee attitudes towards training and organizational commitment among a sample of nurses in New Zealand and the United States. Results show that perceived access to training, training frequency, motivation to learn from training, benefits of training, and supervisory support for training were positively related to the affective and normative components of commitment. Significant differences were found between training and organizational commitment variables between New Zealand and the US.
An Empirical Analysis of the Reincorporation

The literature suggests two competing explanations for reincorporations: efforts at man? agerial entrenchment and attempts to improve contractual efficiency. The empirical ev? idence to date is inconclusive. To seek further evidence, we examine a large sample of firms that changed their state of incorporation over the period 1980-1992. We find that shareholder wealth is decreased by reincorporations that erect takeover defenses, but is in? creased by reincorporations that establish limits on director liability. Firms that claim they reincorporate to limit the personal liability of their board members and thereby attract bet? ter qualified outside directors do, in fact, expand the outside representation on their boards, whereas firms citing other motives do not.
Brief report: shock and multiple-organ dysfunction after self-administration of Salmonella endotoxin.

Endotoxin, a lipopolysaccharide component of the outer membrane of gram-negative bacteria, is involved in the pathogenesis of septic shock, but it is unclear whether endotoxin alone is capable of causing all the manifestations of the septic shock syndrome. In animals, endotoxin causes many of the clinical features1 but produces a low-cardiac-output form of shock that is unlike the hyperdynamic cardiovascular profile of septic shock in humans2,3. In humans, the administration of endotoxin (4 ng per kilogram of body weight) triggers the release of cytokines,4 activates the coagulation and fibrinolytic systems,5,6 and causes a decrease in systemic vascular .
Evolutionary Effect on the Embodied Beauty of Landscape Architectures

According to the framework of evolutionary aesthetics, a sense of beauty is related to environmental adaptation and plasticity of human beings, which has adaptive value and biological foundations. Prior studies have demonstrated that organisms derive benefits from the landscape. In this study, we investigated whether the benefits of landscape might elicit a stronger sense of beauty and what the nature of this sense of beauty is. In two experiments, when viewing classical landscape and nonlandscape architectures photographs, participants rated the aesthetic scores (Experiment 1) and had a two-alternative forced choice aesthetic judgment by pressing the reaction button located near to (15 cm) or far from (45 cm) the presenting stimuli (Experiment 2). The results showed that reaction of aesthetic ratings for classical landscape architectures was faster than those of classical nonlandscape architectures. Furthermore, only the reaction of beautiful judgment of classical landscape architecture photograph was significantly faster when the reaction button was in the near position to the presenting photograph than those in the position of far away from the presenting photograph. This finding suggests a facilitated effect for the aesthetic perception of classical landscape architectures due to their corresponding components including water and green plants with strong evolutionary implications. Furthermore, this sense of beauty for classical landscape architectures might be the embodied approach to beauty based on the viewpoint of evolutionary aesthetics and embodied cognition.
Rapamycin‐Treated, Alloantigen‐Pulsed Host Dendritic Cells Induce Ag‐Specific T Cell Regulation and Prolong Graft Survival

Tolerogenic properties of dendritic cells (DC), particularly those in the immature state, and their therapeutic potential are increasingly being recognized. Among several distinct approaches to generate stably immature DC, pharmacologic manipulation stands out as a promising and clinically applicable option. We have shown recently that the immunophilin ligand rapamycin (Rapa) can inhibit DC maturation and their effector functions. Here, we examined the impact of Rapa exposure on subsequent alloantigen (Ag) presentation by myeloid DC via the indirect pathway. Rapa‐treated, allogeneic lysate‐pulsed host DC (Rapa‐DC) were inferior stimulators of syngeneic T cells, compared to lysate‐pulsed control DC. Rapa exposure did not block alloAg uptake by DC nor impair their in vivo homing to splenic T cell areas after adoptive transfer. T cells primed by Rapa‐treated, alloAg‐pulsed DC showed decreased capacity to produce IL‐2 and IFNγ, and were hyporesponsive to subsequent challenge via both the direct and indirect pathways, in an Ag‐specific manner. When infused 1 week before transplantation, these Rapa‐DC significantly prolonged alloAg‐specific heart graft survival. This effect was reversed by systemic IL‐2 administration but enhanced by either repeated infusion of the cells or a short post‐transplant course of FK506. These therapeutic effects, achieved by targeting both major pathways of allorecognition, provide the basis for a clinically applicable strategy to suppress graft rejection.
Consumers' Trust in Virtual Mall Shopping: The Role of Social Presence and Perceived Security

This study analyzes the impact of social presence on perceived security and intention in virtual shopping malls. Following the conceptual model of social presence proposed by Hassanein and Head (2007), this study discusses social presence in a virtual environment as a complex multidimensional construct characterized by directed relationships among a set of uni-dimensional constructs. Given the rising importance of security, this study investigates the influence of social presence on perceived security in virtual activities. A prototype of the virtual shopping mall is designed as an experimental medium for which the user interface consists of both 3D graphics and an avatar. Valid questionnaires were gathered from student samples, and hypotheses were then tested to measure this set of constructs and fit a series of structural equation models that test Hassanein and Head's (2007) theory. The proposed model is strongly supported, and it provides additional insight into the effect and consequences of social presence. The results of the model show that social presence is a key behavioral antecedent to using virtual malls and user perception of security is a focal feature of user attitude. The results further suggest that perceived social presence can be a key factor of the virtual shopping activities by enhancing user perception of security and behavioral attitude in virtual malls. This study provides a more intensive view of virtual reality users and is an important step toward a better understanding of user behaviors in virtual environments.
Gadoxetic acid-enhanced MRI versus triple-phase MDCT for the preoperative detection of hepatocellular carcinoma.

OBJECTIVE We compared the diagnostic performance of gadoxetic acid-enhanced MRI with that of triple-phase 16-, 40-, and 64-MDCT in the preoperative detection of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). SUBJECTS AND METHODS Sixty-two consecutively registered patients (54 men, eight women; age range, 31-67 years) with 83 HCCs underwent triple-phase (arterial, portal venous, equilibrium) CT at 16-, 40-, or 64-MDCT and gadoxetic acid-enhanced 3-T MRI. The diagnosis of HCC was established after surgical resection. Three observers independently and randomly reviewed the MR and CT images on a tumor-by-tumor basis. The diagnostic accuracy of these techniques in the detection of HCC was assessed with alternative free response receiver operating characteristic (ROC) analysis. Sensitivity, positive and negative predictive values, and sensitivity according to tumor size were evaluated. RESULTS For each observer, the areas under the ROC curve were 0.971, 0.959, and 0.967 for MRI and 0.947, 0.950, and 0.943 for CT. The differences were not statistically significant between the two techniques for each observer (p > 0.05). The differences in sensitivity and positive and negative predictive values between the two techniques for each observer were not statistically significant (p > 0.05). Among 10 HCCs 1 cm in diameter or smaller, each of the observers detected seven tumors with MRI. With CT, one observer detected five, one observer detected four, and one observer detected three HCCs with no statistically significant difference (p > 0.05). CONCLUSION Gadoxetic acid-enhanced MRI and triple-phase MDCT have similar diagnostic performance in the preoperative detection of HCC, but MRI may be better than MDCT in the detection of HCC 1 cm in diameter or smaller.
The Transmission Characteristics of Asymmetrical Multi-Teeth-Shaped Plasmonic Waveguide Structure

The transmission characteristics of asymmetrical multi-teeth-shaped plasmonic waveguide structure are investigated theoretically and numerically. The tunable dual flat bandgaps are achieved in our proposed structure. This feature can provide a promising application for plasmonic bandstop filter. In addition, according to the hybrid effects of the first order resonance and high order resonance of N identical asymmetrical teeth, a sharp transmission peak can be obtained. This peak, which is within two bandgaps, possesses a relative small full-width at half-maximum, about 11.5 nm. Moreover, the resonant wavelength of this sharp peak can be regulated by adjusting the relative depths of N asymmetrical teeth. These results that we acquire may have important application potential on high-density nanoplasmonic integration circuits.