Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Innovative Ingredients and Emerging Technologies for Controlling Ice Recrystallization, Texture, and Structure Stability in Frozen Dairy Desserts: A Review

Over the past decade, ice cream manufacturers have developed a strong understanding of the functionality of key ingredients and processing, developing effective explanations for the link between structure forming agents, stability mechanisms, and perceived quality. Increasing demand for products perceived as healthier/more natural with minimal processing has identified a number of new tools to improve quality and storage stability of frozen dairy desserts. Ingredients such as dietary fiber, polysaccharides, prebiotics, alternate sweeteners, fat sources rich in unsaturated fatty acids and ice strucsturing proteins (ISP) have been successfully applied as cryoprotective, texturizing, and structuring agents. Emerging minimal processing technologies including hydrostatic pressure processing, ultrasonic or high pressure assisted freezing, low temperature extrusion and enzymatically induced biopolymers crosslinking have been evaluated for their ability to improve colloidal stability, texture and sensory quality. It is therefore timely for a comprehensive review.
Barriers to European cross-border E-commerce

We analyse survey data to investigate the main barriers to European cross-border e-commerce. We investigate the determinants of selling online, as well as the frequency and determinants of cross-border e-commerce, and the role of barriers. Large firms, which are part of a group, are more likely to sell online. Firms generally make most of their online sales to their home country, although EU firms are more likely to engage in cross-border online trade with EU countries than non-EU countries. Firms report that they are facing a variety of barriers to e-commerce. Regulatory barriers are negatively associated with online sales. There is weak evidence that firms which use their own websites are more vulnerable to financial, market and information barriers. Firms that use a large platform experience fewer financial and market barriers. On the positive side, we find that small and young firms do not seem to be more vulnerable to barriers than large or more experienced firms.
Glucose-induced Oscillations in Cytoplasmic Free Ca2+Concentration Precede Oscillations in Mitochondrial Membrane Potential in the Pancreatic β-Cell*

Using dual excitation and fixed emission fluorescence microscopy, we were able to measure changes in cytoplasmic free Ca2+ concentration ([Ca2+] i ) and mitochondrial membrane potential simultaneously in the pancreatic β-cell. The β-cells were exposed to a combination of the Ca2+ indicator fura-2/AM and the indicator of mitochondrial membrane potential, rhodamine 123 (Rh123). Using simultaneous measurements of mitochondrial membrane potential and [Ca2+] i during glucose stimulation, it was possible to measure the time lag between the onset of mitochondrial hyperpolarization and changes in [Ca2+] i . Glucose-induced oscillations in [Ca2+] i were followed by transient depolarizations of mitochondrial membrane potential. These results are compatible with a model in which nadirs in [Ca2+] i oscillations are generated by a transient, Ca2+-induced inhibition of mitochondrial metabolism resulting in a temporary fall in the cytoplasmic ATP/ADP ratio, opening of plasma membrane KATP channels, repolarization of the plasma membrane, and thus transient closure of voltage-gated L-type Ca2+ channels.
Physician attitudes toward treatment of depression in older medical inpatients

Objectives: To better understand low treatment (<50%) and psychiatry referral rates (<10%) of depressed older medical patients, we examined medical physicians’ characteristics, attitudes and practices regarding treatment. Methods: Physicians caring for a consecutive series of 1000 depressed older patients during medical hospitalization and/or after discharge were asked about their general attitudes and behaviors related to the treatment of depression in older patients. Results: Of 422 physicians responding to questionnaires, less than half (48%) usually started more than two patients a month on antidepressants. Even fewer (14%) referred more than two patients a month for counseling; 37% usually referred none. Only 11% referred more than two patients a month to psychiatrists; nearly 40% usually referred none. Antidepressants, counseling, and psychiatric referral were seldom thought very effective. Physicians out of their training and those in primary care specialties (especially family practice) were more likely to treat patients. Common reasons for not treating these patients were perceived resistance to treatment (62.3%), lack of time (61.1%), uncertainty of depression diagnosis (56.2%), belief that patients couldn’t afford treatment (50.5%), and concern about medication/disease interactions (58.8%). One-third (33.5%) emphasized that they were unsure about treatment effectiveness and one-third (34.4%) that they were poorly prepared to treat depression in older patients. Non-white physicians were more likely to refer to psychiatrists. Conclusions: Many older depressed patients in medical settings are not treated or referred. Physician experience and specialty may affect the decision to treat, and physician race may affect the decision to seek consultation. Therapeutic nihilism may be influential.
The effect of the levonorgestrel-releasing intrauterine system on the resistance to activated protein C (APC)

Summary Exogenously administered estrogens and progestogens as during combined oral contraceptive use increase the risk of venous thrombosis. The thrombin generation-based APC resistance assay is a global coagulation test that enables quantification of the net prothrombotic effect of combined oral contraceptives and that predicts the risk of thrombosis. The thrombotic risk of the levonorgestrel-releasing intrauterine system is unknown. It was the objective of this study to evaluate the thrombotic risk by comparing the APC resistance before and after insertion of a levonorgestrel-releasing or a copper-containing intrauterine device. We measured normalized APC-sensitivity ratios (nAPCsr) before and three months after insertion of the levonorgestrelintrauterine system in 56 women and the copper-intrauterine device in 18 women. In women without hormonal contraceptive use or a pregnancy in the three months before collection of the baseline samples, nAPCsr were lower three months after insertion of the levonorgestrel-intrauterine system than at baseline (difference –0.29; 95% CI –0.04 to –0.53) and hardly changed after insertion of the copper-intrauterine device (difference -0.11; 95% CI –1.03 to 0.82). In women who switched from a combined oral contraceptive to the levonorgestrel-system the difference was more pronounced (-1.48; 95% CI –0.85 to –2.11). In this study we observed that the levonorgestrel-intrauterine system decreases the resistance to APC which indicates that the levonorgestrel-intrauterine system does not have a prothrombotic effect.
Error Bounds for Augmented Truncations of Discrete-Time Block-Monotone Markov Chains under Subgeometric Drift Conditions

This paper studies the last-column-block-augmented northwest-corner truncation (LC-block-augmented truncation, for short) of discrete-time block-monotone Markov chains under subgeometric drift conditions. The main result of this paper is to present an upper bound for the total variation distance between the stationary probability vectors of a block-monotone Markov chain and its LC-block-augmented truncation. The main result is extended to Markov chains that themselves may not be block monotone but are blockwise dominated by block-monotone Markov chains satisfying modified drift conditions. Finally, as an application of the obtained results, the GI/G/1-type Markov chain is considered.
Medicare's declining payments to physicians.

The promising efforts of the Bush administration and Congress to fix Medicare's troubled relationship with physicians have suffered a sharp setback. On the basis of a formula prescribed by law, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) implemented an across-the-board reduction in Medicare fee-for-service payments that averaged 4.9 percent and took effect January 1.1 The unwillingness of Congress and the Bush administration to provide a quick fix for the payment reduction was an early omen of the challenging days that lie ahead for Medicare and the 550,000 physicians who provide care to the program's 39 million disabled or elderly .
A comparison of nasal and tracheobronchial clearance.

Tracheobronchial clearance and nasal clearance were compared in 13 pairs of monozygotic twins and 11 nontwins. Tracheobronchial clearance was studied by having the subjects inhale, by mouth, a test aerosol of 6μmol particles tagged with technetium Tc 99m (99mTc) and making external measurements of the radioactivity. Nasal clearance was studied with two methods: (1) a 0.6-mm anion resin particle tagged with 99mTc was externally followed at five different points along the nasal passage and (2) a saccharine particle was placed on the mucociliary mucosa anteriorly in the nose and the time was registered until the subject noted a sweet taste. A weak positive association existed between tracheobronchial clearance and nasal clearance as studied with the saccharine particle method, but no association was found between tracheobronchial clearance and nasal clearance as tested by the tagged resin particle method.
Digital holography microscopy in 3D biologic samples analysis

In this work it is used a setup for Digital Holography Microscopy (MHD) for 3D biologic samples reconstruction. The phase contrast image reconstruction is done by using the Double propagation Method. The system was calibrated and tested by using a micrometric scale and pure phase object respectively. It was simulated the human red blood cell (erythrocyte) and beginning from the simulated hologram the digital 3D phase image for erythrocytes it was calculated. Also there was obtained experimental holograms of human erythrocytes and its corresponding 3D phase images, being evident the correspondence qualitative and quantitative between these characteristics in the simulated erythrocyte and in the experimentally calculated by DHM in both cases.
COPPER, ZINC, IRON AND MANGANESE CONTENT IN EDIBLE PARTS OF SOME FRESH VEGETABLES SOLD ON MARKETS IN POZNAÑ

Copper, zinc, iron and manganese contents were determined in edible parts of some fresh vegetables sold on markets in Poznan. The copper and zinc contents in vegetables obtained in the present study were compared to the ones reported from an analogous study carried out in the Department of Horticultural Plant Fertilization in Poznan fifteen years ago. Samples of vegetables were collected from six points distributed in the area of Poznan from March to July at monthly intervals. For the study, vegetables were divided into three groups according to edible parts: leaves (lettuce, cabbage, parsley, leek), roots (carrot, celeriac, parsley) and fruits (tomato, cucumber). The concentration of copper, zinc, iron and manganese was determined by the atomic flame absorption method using an AAS 3 Zeiss apparatus. The highest content of copper was found in roots of celeriac, while the smallest content was shown in cabbage leaves. The highest mean content of zinc was found in lettuce leaves and the lowest one in tomato fruit. The mean content of copper in all the vegetable species was lower in 2005 than in 1993. In 1993 more zinc was found in vegetables whose edible parts were fruits compared to the results of 2005. The vegetables whose leaves and roots are eaten were characterized by a higher zinc content in 2005. The highest content of iron was found in leaves of leek, while the lowest amounts were determined in tomato and cucumber fruits. The highest mean content of manganese was found in leaves of lettuce, while the smallest amount was in carrot roots. The iron content in the vegetables whose leaves and fruits are edible parts was lower in 2005 than in 1993, while the root vegetables were characterized by more iron in 2005. Higher content of manganese in all the vegetable species examined was found in 1993 than in 2005.
An empirical study of the impact of consumer emotional engagement and affective commitment in firm-hosted virtual communities

ABSTRACT Emergent perspectives in marketing highlight new opportunities for leveraging social media as a means to build customer–firm relationships through consumer engagement. Drawing from cognitive appraisal theory and aspects of the service dominant logic, this study delineates and empirically tests hypotheses regarding the effects of key components of consumer engagement (cognitive appraisal, affective states, participation) on consumers’ affective commitment, in the context of two service companies where the firms used social media to host virtual communities. The research examines how consumers’ cognitive appraisal of the engagement experience aligned with their online interaction propensity and participation in value-creating activities drive engagement outcomes. The results confirm the need to contextualise, personalise and respond to the consumer’s engagement experience to develop this engagement.
Speech biometric based attendance system

In this paper we present the development and implementation of a speech biometric based attendance system. The users access the system by making a call from few pre-decided mobile phones. An interactive voice response (IVR) system guides a new user in the enrollment and an enrolled user in the verification processes. The system uses text independent speaker verification with MFCC features and i-vector based speaker modeling for authenticating the user. Linear discriminant analysis and within class covariance normalization are used for normalizing the effects due to session/environment variations. A simple cosine distance scoring along with score normalization is used as the classifier and a fixed threshold is used for making the decision. The developed system has been used by a group of 110 students for about two months on a regular basis. The system performance in terms of recognition rate is found to be 94.2 % and the average response time of the system for a test data of duration 50 seconds is noted to be 26 seconds.
ATP-loaded immunoliposomes specific for cardiac myosin provide improved protection of the mechanical functions of myocardium from global ischemia in an isolated rat heart model

Earlier demonstrated cardio-protection by ATP-loaded liposomes (ATP-L) was further improved by attachment of cardiac myosin-specific monoclonal 2G4 antibody onto the surface of ATP-L. ATP-IL were infused for 1 min duration before starting the global ischemia for 25 min followed by reperfusion for 30 min in an isolated rat heart. The left ventricular developed pressure at the end of reperfusion in ATP-IL group significantly recovered to above 80% of the baseline compared to ca 25% in the Kreb's-Henseleit (KH) buffer, ca 60% in the IL, and ca 70% in the ATP-L treated groups. At the end of the reperfusion, left ventricular end diastolic pressure significantly reduced to 15 ± 2 mmHg in ATP-IL group compared to 59 ± 6 mmHg in the KH buffer, 31 ± 4 mmHg in the IL and 23 ± 3 mmHg in the ATP-L controls. The extent of preservation depended on the amount of the antibody present on the surface of the ATP-IL.
Initial Data on Recollections of Pathways to Inflated Responsibility Beliefs in Patients with Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder

Background: Despite literature establishing a relationship between maladaptive beliefs and symptoms of obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), there are few studies addressing how these beliefs develop. Salkovskis and colleagues (1999) proposed specific domains of childhood experiences leading to heightened beliefs regarding responsibility. Prior studies in students and individuals who just completed treatment for OCD have found support for this theory. However, we are not aware of published data from individuals with current OCD. Aims: This paper presents initial data from adults currently meeting criteria for OCD as well as both anxious and non-anxious controls. Method: Recollections of childhood experiences, current OCD-related beliefs, and OCD symptoms were assessed using self-report measures in 39 individuals seeking treatment for OCD, 36 anxious controls and 39 healthy controls. Results: Initial data suggested that in individuals with OCD, increased reports of childhood exposure to overprotection and experiences where one's actions caused or influenced misfortune were associated with stronger OCD-related beliefs. Further, compared to community controls, individuals with OCD reported more childhood experiences where one's actions caused or influenced misfortune, though they did not differ from anxious controls in childhood responsibility experiences. Conclusions: These initial findings provide minimal support for the proposed model of the development of inflated responsibility beliefs, and highlight the need for research examining the etiology of OCD related beliefs with updated models, larger samples, and ultimately using prospective methods.
Prolactin Release in Polycystic Ovary

Ten normoprolactinemic and 10 hyperprolactinemic patients, all with polycystic ovary syndrome (PCO), were subjected to prolactin (PRL) stimulatory tests with thyrotropin-releasing hormone (TRH), 200 μg intravenously, and haloperidol (a dopamine-blocking agent), 1 mg intramuscularly. The results were compared with those of 8 women with idiopathic hyperprolactinemia and 10 normal female volunteers. Distinctive features of PCO were elevated plasma concentrations of luteinizing hormone, estrone, and testosterone in the presence of normal estradiol, whereas in idiopathic hyperprolactinemia estradiol was reduced. Both groups of patients with PCO exhibited responses to TRH and haloperidol significantly higher than the controls (P < .001), whereas only the hyperprolactinemic PCO patients reacted with an excessive PRL discharge (P < .001). As expected, the response to both secretagogue agents was blunted in patients with idiopathic hyperprolactinemia. The present report discusses the possible implication of estrogen and the dopaminergic system in the mechanisms leading to hyperprolactinemia and enhanced PRL release in PCO.
THE EFFICIENT MARKET HYPOTHESIS: A CRITICAL REVIEW OF LITERATURE AND METHODOLOGY

The development of the capital markets is changing the relevance and empirical validity of theefficient market hypothesis. The dynamism of capital markets determines the need for efficiency research. The authors analyse the development and the current status of the efficient market hypothesis with an emphasis on the Baltic stock market. Investors often fail to earn an excess profit, but yet stock market anomalies are observed and market prices often deviate from their intrinsic value. The article presents an analysis of the concept of efficient market. Also, the market efficiency evolution is reviewed and its current status is analysed. This paper presents also an examination of stock market efficiency in the Baltic countries. Finally, the research methods are reviewed and the methodology of testing the weak-form efficiency in a developing market is suggested.
Impacts of transgenic plants and micro-organisms on soil biota.

Little is known about the impacts of transgenic plants and micro-organisms on soil biota and processes, despite the large number of field releases of transgenic crops. Recent work has shown that transgenic plants can cause changes in the soil biota (both invertebrates and micro-organisms) associated with these plants. Often the changes are transient but their impact on the soil ecosystem remains unknown. Horizontal gene transfer from genetically modified (GM) bacteria to indigenous soil bacteria has been demonstrated but movement of genes from transgenic plants, if it occurs at all, has not yet been detected in natural systems. Soil invertebrates appear to play an important role in horizontal gene transfer between bacteria in soil.
Identificación de biomarcadores urinarios para la mejora del diagnóstico del daño renal agudo inducido por gentamicina

[ES] La gentamicina antibiotico aminoglucosido ampliamente utilizado en la practica clinica para el tratamiento de infecciones por microorganismos Gram negativos. Sin embargo, su uso esta limitado por su nefrotoxicidad, que puede conducir a un fracaso renal agudo (FRA). El FRA es una condicion patologica grave, con importantes repercusiones humanas y socioeconomicas. Un aspecto clave para el manejo clinico del FRA es un diagnostico temprano, para lo que actualmente se esta desarrollando una nueva generacion de marcadores urinarios precoces, que incluyen la molecula de dano renal (KIM-1), la lipocalina asociada a la gelatinasa neutrofila (NGAL) y otros. Con este objetivo, hemos utilizado un modelo de dano renal en ratas inducido por gentamicina. Se recogieron muestras de orina de los animales control y gentamicina (50 y 150 mg/Kg) con el fin de investigar la presencia de nuevos marcadores asociados con el deterioro de la funcion renal tras la administracion de gentamicina. Con este fin, hemos aplicado la tecnica de proteomica combinado con la espectrometria de masas. Los nuevos marcadores identificados, han sido relacionados con eventos fisiopatologicos renales. Esto puede desarrollar nuevos marcadores potenciales de dano oculto que pueden aplicarse en la enfermedad renal aguda (subclinica). Hemos identificado la proteina activadora del gangliosido M2 (GM2AP) en la orina como marcador del aumento de la sensibilidad al FRA tras un tratamiento subnefrotoxico con gentamicina. Estos marcadores de sensibilidad adquirida pueden mejorar nuestra capacidad para monitorizar esta condicion de manera preventiva. Ademas se han identificado la proteina regenerativa derivada de los islotes IIIs (reg IIIs) y la gelsolina como potenciales marcadores diferenciales de la nefrotoxicidad de la gentamicina. Esto cobra especial importancia de manera personalizada, bajo aquellas circunstancias en las que convergen varios farmacos potencialmente nefrotoxicos.