Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Histochemical Characteristics of Muscle Fiber Types in the Posterior Cricoarytenoid Muscle

The muscle fiber type composition of the human posterior cricoarytenoid muscle (PCA) was examined using a large battery of histochemical techniques. Staining for myosin ATPase (pH 9.9) indicated that the muscles were composed of 52% ± 11.8 SD type 1 (slowly contracting) fibers and 48% ± 11.9 SD type 2 (rapidly contracting) fibers. In order to obtain information concerning the probable fatigue resistance of the type 2 fibers, serial sections were processed to determine the relative extent of ATPase inactivation at various pH levels in the acid range and to obtain data concerning the relative activities of oxidative and glycolytic enzymes and their substrates. The great majority of the type 2 fibers were of the 2A (fatigue resistant) fiber type. This indication of a capacity for prolonged activity was substantiated by the presence of high activities of succinic dehydrogenase, a mitochondrial enzyme which is involved in oxidative metabolism. Type 2C fibers (generally considered to be an undifferentiated fiber type) were also present but relatively rare. The overall enzyme profiles of many of the muscle fibers in the human PCA differed from those typical of fibers having the same alkaline ATPase and acid ATPase characteristics in most other mammalian muscles. Since muscle fiber biochemistry reflects the activity pattern of the motor unit, these unusual enzyme profiles may be the result of activity patterns that are associated with the inspiratory cycle and/or patterns of activity that are relatively specific to the PCA. Four of the ten muscles examined had unequivocal evidence of muscle fiber type grouping, a manifestation of partial denervation followed by reinnervation. This is interesting since most of the cases were in the fifth decade. Muscle fiber type grouping has been shown to occur selectively in certain other human muscles and to increase with age, eventually resulting in muscle atrophy. This suggests the possibility that the human PCA is for some reason selectively vulnerable to partial denervation and indicates the need for more extensive data concerning the relationship of muscle fiber type grouping in the PCA and other laryngeal muscles to age.
Behavioral Phenomenology in Alzheimer's Disease, Frontotemporal Dementia, and Late-Life Depression: A Retrospective Analysis

Often patients in the early stages of Alzheimer's disease (AD), frontotemporal dementia (FTD), and late-life depression can be difficult to differentiate clinically. Although subtle cognitive distinctions exist between these disorders, noncognitive behavioral phenomenology may provide additional discriminating power. In 19 subjects with AD, 19 with FTD, 16 with late-life psychotic depression (LLPD), and 19 with late-life nonpsychotic depression (LLNPD), noncognitive behavioral symptoms were quantified retrospectively using the Schedules for Clinical Assessment in Neuropsychiatry (SCAN) and compared using both a one-way ANOVA and a multivariate stepwise discriminant analysis, which utilized a jackknife procedure. The FTD group showed the highest mean total SCAN score, while the AD group showed the lowest. ANOVA showed significant differences in the mean total SCAN scores between the four diagnostic groups (P < .0001). With the discriminant analysis, the four disorders demonstrated different clusters of behavioral abnormalities and were differentiated by these symptoms (P < .0001). A subset of 14 SCAN item group symptoms was identified that collectively classified correctly the following percentages of subjects in each diagnostic category: AD 94.7%, FTD 100%, LLPD 87.5%, and LLNPD 100%. These results indicate that AD, FTD, LLPD, and LLNPD were distinguished retrospectively by the SCAN without using cognitive data. Better definition of the longitudinal course of noncognitive behavioral symptoms in different dementias and psychiatric disorders will be valuable both for diagnosis and to help define behavioral syndromes that are associated with selective neuroanatomic and neurochemical brain pathology.
Metabolic Network for the Biosynthesis of Intra- and Extracellular α-Glucans Required for Virulence of Mycobacterium tuberculosis

Mycobacterium tuberculosis synthesizes intra- and extracellular α-glucans that were believed to originate from separate pathways. The extracellular glucose polymer is the main constituent of the mycobacterial capsule that is thought to be involved in immune evasion and virulence. However, the role of the α-glucan capsule in pathogenesis has remained enigmatic due to an incomplete understanding of α-glucan biosynthetic pathways preventing the generation of capsule-deficient mutants. Three separate and potentially redundant pathways had been implicated in α-glucan biosynthesis in mycobacteria: the GlgC-GlgA, the Rv3032 and the TreS-Pep2-GlgE pathways. We now show that α-glucan in mycobacteria is exclusively assembled intracellularly utilizing the building block α-maltose-1-phosphate as the substrate for the maltosyltransferase GlgE, with subsequent branching of the polymer by the branching enzyme GlgB. Some α-glucan is exported to form the α-glucan capsule. There is an unexpected convergence of the TreS-Pep2 and GlgC-GlgA pathways that both generate α-maltose-1-phosphate. While the TreS-Pep2 route from trehalose was already known, we have now established that GlgA forms this phosphosugar from ADP-glucose and glucose 1-phosphate 1000-fold more efficiently than its hitherto described glycogen synthase activity. The two routes are connected by the common precursor ADP-glucose, allowing compensatory flux from one route to the other. Having elucidated this unexpected configuration of the metabolic pathways underlying α-glucan biosynthesis in mycobacteria, an M. tuberculosis double mutant devoid of α-glucan could be constructed, showing a direct link between the GlgE pathway, α-glucan biosynthesis and virulence in a mouse infection model.
The presence of thin glomerular basement membranes in various glomerulopathies

ABSTRACT Results of 61 cases of various glomerulopathies with thin glomerular basement membranes are presented. The largest group of 31 cases consisted of mesangial glomerulonephritis. The second largest group consisted of 19 patients with small glomerular lesions described as non-specific. This group stood out in both clinical presentations and in the higher diversity of lesions within the lamina densa of the basement membrane. The results of measurements of the lamina densa in various glomerulopathies were compared to those obtained in control groups consisting of thin basement membrane syndrome and submicroscopic glomerulonephritis.
Consumer Search and Retailer Strategies in the Presence of Online Music Sharing

Advances in online technologies and bandwidth availability have opened new vistas for online distribution of digital goods, but potential benefits for consumers are juxtaposed against challenges for retailers. Here, we investigate one type of digital experience good—music—whose market environment includes the very real presence of online piracy. Although arguments abound for and against online distribution of such digital goods, little research exists in this area. We develop a model of consumer search for such an experience good, and study different emerging market environments for retailers, where consumers can pirate music online. Retailer cost to publishers is modeled using a variety of licensing schemas. Survey results, together with data from online sharing networks, are utilized to validate a key assumption. Finally, computational analysis is used to develop insights that cannot be obtained analytically. Our results indicate that decreasing piracy is not necessarily equivalent to increasing profit, and online selling strategies can provide additional profits for a traditional retailer even in the presence of piracy. We show that leading strategies for business in such goods should include pricing options, provision of efficient search tools, and new licensing structures.
Development of electronic commerce user-consumer satisfaction index (ECUSI) for Internet shopping

Customers in an Internet shopping environment actually play dual roles. One is the role as a customer in a shopping place, and the other is the role as a user of information technology. In both cases, the level of satisfaction is of great concern. In this vein, a way of measuring the satisfaction level that takes both roles into account is needed. However, in past research indexes for consumer satisfaction and indexes for user information satisfaction have been developed separately in the fields of marketing and management information systems. Because of this lack of interaction between the two streams of research, an index for electronic commerce consumers that has its base in the dual roles has not been developed and tested. In this research, an instrument for measuring electronic commerce consumer satisfaction was proposed and validated using a sample of over 400 customers. The relationship between the index and consumers’ purchasing intention was also examined.
Prostaglandin E2 differentially modulates human fetal and adult dermal fibroblast migration and contraction: implication for wound healing

Cyclooxygenase‐2 is up‐regulated shortly after dermal injury and it has been shown to have important activity during the repair process. Its main product in the skin, prostaglandin E2 (PGE2), modulates both inflammatory and fibrotic processes during wound healing and partially dictates the overall outcome of wound healing. PGE2 signaling has been shown to be altered during fetal wound healing. This study was designed to examine the mechanism(s) by which PGE2 regulates fibroblast migration and contraction and to determine whether these mechanisms are conserved in fetal‐derived dermal fibroblasts. Fetal and adult dermal fibroblasts express all four PGE2 receptors. PGE2 inhibits fetal and adult fibroblast migration in a dose‐dependent manner through the EP2/EP4–cAMP–protein kinase A pathway. However, fetal fibroblasts appear to be refractory to this effect, requiring a 10‐fold higher concentration of PGE2 to achieve a similar degree of inhibition as adult fibroblasts. Inhibition of adult fibroblast migration correlated with disruption of the actin cytoskeleton. In contrast, PGE2 or a cAMP analog did not disrupt the actin cytoskeleton of fetal dermal fibroblasts. These findings were extended using a modified free‐floating, fibroblast‐populated collagen lattice (FPCL) contraction assay designed to measure fibroblast contraction. PGE2‐inhibited FPCL contraction by adult fibroblasts, but fetal fibroblasts exhibited higher rates of FPCL contraction and a blunted response to exogenous modulation by PGE2 or a cyclase activator (forskolin). These findings indicate that fetal dermal fibroblasts are partially refractory to the effects of PGE2, a major inflammatory mediator associated with dermal wound healing. This effect may have significant and specific relevance to the scarless fetal wound‐healing phenotype.
Rational Financial Management: Evidence from Seasoned Equity Offerings

Current theories of capital structure have difficulty explaining the aspects of financing behavior we document. In contrast to the tradeoff theory, seasoned equity offers frequently move firms away from their target leverage ratios. At odds with the pecking-order theory, SEO firms typically are financially healthy companies with low leverage, unused debt capacity and substantial cash balances. Inconsistent with the market-timing theory, SEOs appear to be driven by capital requirements associated with large investment projects rather than by market-timing considerations. Moreover, firms issue debt following SEOs, not only to finance investment, but to increase leverage toward its target level. Each of these theories assumes some degree of myopia among financial managers. We propose that CFOs manage their capital structures rationally rather than myopically. They consider the firm’s current and target leverage, investment opportunities and long-term capital requirements, as well as the costs and benefits of alternative sequences of financing transactions. This framework, which we term rational financial management, better explains the financing and leverage behavior of SEO firms.
Pricing Internet Traffic: Exclusion, Signalling and Screening

We consider a network that intermediates traffic between free content providers and consumers. While consumers do not know the traffic cost when deciding on consumption, a content provider knows his cost but may not control the consumption. We study how pricing consumers' and content providers' sides allows both profit extraction from the network and efficient information transmission. In the case of uniform tariff, we argue that a positive price-cap on the charge to content is optimal (with no constrain on the consumer side). Proposing menus helps signaling useful information to consumers and therefore adjusting consumption to traffic cost. In the case of menus, we show that optimal mechanisms consist in letting the content producers choose between different categories associated with different prices for content and consumers. Our results are robust to competition between ISPs and to competition between contents. We also show that when (competitive) content providers choose at small cost between a pay and a free business model, a price-cap at cost on the price for content improves efficiency.
Effect of Nitrogen, Boron, Potassium and Zinc Sprays on Yield and Fruit Quality of Date Palm

2 Abstract: The present research was accomplished on Phoenix dactylifera L. cv. Shahany to investigate the effect of macro and micronutrients on fruit quality and quantity. Treatments were urea (0.5, 1%), boric acid (1500, 2500 ppm), potassium sulfate (1, 2%) and zinc sulfate (300, 600 ppm). Higher and lower yield were obtained from H BO (1500 ppm) and control, respectively. The greater part of pulp weight, pulp/seed ratio, fruit length and 33 diameter were resulted from H BO (1500 ppm). Total soluble solids were the most in control; however, there 33 were significant differences among treatments. The results of this study showed that mineral nutrients especially boron, increased yield and quality of fruits in 'Shahany' date palm.
Impact of Demographic Factors on Consumer Response to Sales Promotions: An Empirical Study

Sales promotion has grown enormously in recent years in India. Vast amount of money is being spent on sales promotion. It consists of a wide variety of short term tactical promotional tools aimed at generating a desired response from consumers. In this study, attempt is made to study the impact of demographic factors on consumer responses to sales promotions. Five demographic factors were considered to have impact on consumer responses to sales promotion. These demographic factors were gender, age, income, education and household size. 518 active mall shoppers are surveyed with the help of structured questionnaire in shopping malls located in the four cities of Gujarat. T-test and ANOVA were applied to test the null hypothesis. This study may provide refined insights in and understanding of the influence of sales promotions on consumer purchase behavior. The results of this study may help the marketing managers of retail stores to identify their target consumers and in turn, to develop appropriate sales promotional programs to persuade those consumers to purchase readymade garment.
INFLUENCE OF SALINITY ON GERMINATION , SEEDLING GROWTH , ION CONTENT AND ACID PHOSPHATASE ACTIVITIES OF Linum usitatissimum

The aim of this work was to investigate the effect of different concentrations of NaCl (0 mM, 100 mM, 200 mM and 300 mM) on germination, seedling growth and acid phosphatase activity of Linum usitatissimum seeds. Flax seeds were germinated under control and saline (100, 200 and 300 mM NaCl) conditions and the effect of salt stress on germination and enzyme activity was determined. Final germination percentage was reduced at higher concentrations than 100 mM and was annulated at the highest salt concentration (300 mM NaCl). However, seedling growth was inhibited by all salt concentrations. The Na content of seeds after imbibitions significantly increased with increasing salinity but K+ content decreased. The effect of saline treatment on hydrolytic enzymes activities varied, depending on the concentration of NaCl and the organ of seedlings. However, radicle acid phosphatase activity exhibited a decrease in flax seedlings after 48h and 96h of germination under 100 and 200 mM NaCl. In hypocotyl and cotyledons, this activity showed no difference compared with the control under salt stress after 48h and 96h of growth.
Hepatitis C Virus Infection Increases c-Jun N-Terminal Kinase (JNK) Phosphorylation and Accentuates Hepatocyte Lipoapoptosis

Background Hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection and metabolic diseases including nonalcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH) exhibit a complex interplay. Although free fatty acid-mediated apoptosis is a prominent feature of NASH, the impact of HCV infection on hepatocyte lipotoxicity has remained largely unexplored. The study aimed at identifying whether infection by HCV affected the apoptotic pathway in hepatocytes during fatty acid assault. Material/Methods OR6 cells, which are derived from human hepatocellular carcinoma Huh-7 cells and harbor a full-length HCV RNA genome replication system, were treated with palmitate. Apoptosis was examined by 4′,6-diamidino-2-phenylindole staining. Activation and expression of JNK, Bim, cIAP-1, and Mcl-1 were examined by immunoblotting. mRNA expression of CHOP, a major player in endoplasmic reticulum stress-mediated apoptosis, was assessed by real-time PCR. Results Palmitate-induced hepatocyte apoptosis was significantly enhanced in OR6 cells compared to cured cells, in which the HCV genome had been eradicated by treatment with interferon-α. Although basal expression of CHOP mRNA was enhanced in OR6 cells compared to cured cells, it was similarly upregulated in both cell lines following palmitate treatment. Notably, palmitate-induced JNK phosphorylation was accentuated in OR6 cells compared to cured cells. Inhibition of JNK with SP600125 attenuated palmitate-induced apoptosis. Palmitate-mediated upregulation of BH3-only protein Bim, which acts downstream of JNK, was also enhanced in OR6 cells compared to cured cells. In contrast, Mcl-1 and cIAP-1 were equally reduced in OR6 cells and cured cells following palmitate treatment. Conclusions These findings suggest that during lipoapoptosis, HCV infection may enhance hepatocyte toxicity by increasing JNK phosphorylation.
Selective Attention Determines Emotional Responses to Novel Visual Stimuli

Distinct complex brain systems support selective attention and emotion, but connections between them suggest that human behavior should reflect reciprocal interactions of these systems. Although there is ample evidence that emotional stimuli modulate attentional processes, it is not known whether attention influences emotional behavior. Here we show that evaluation of the emotional tone (cheery/dreary) of complex but meaningless visual patterns can be modulated by the prior attentional state (attending vs. ignoring) used to process each pattern in a visual selection task. Previously ignored patterns were evaluated more negatively than either previously attended or novel patterns. Furthermore, this emotional devaluation of distracting stimuli was robust across different emotional contexts and response scales. Finding that negative affective responses are specifically generated for ignored stimuli points to a new functional role for attention and elaborates the link between attention and emotion. This finding also casts doubt on the conventional marketing wisdom that any exposure is good exposure.
Exploring the Effects of Managerial Ownership on the Decision to Go Private: A Behavioral Agency Model Approach

This paper utilizes the behavioral agency model to investigate why many formerly public companies have been converted to privately held corporations. Using a matched pairs sample and categorical binary regression, and controlling for effects found in previous studies, we explore how the equity ownership of those entrusted to manage firms, the firms’ executives, might affect their perceptions of the risks of going private and might therefore affect the decision to take a company private. This study complements prior research examining the predictors of public to private transactions and illustrates how behavioral agency theory can provide insight into a major decision regarding the firm’s corporate structure. It also extends the behavioral agency model to decisions involving organizational form.
Fluid Overload in Infants Following Congenital Heart Surgery

Objective: To describe postoperative fluid overload patterns and correlate degree of fluid overload with intensive care morbidity and mortality in infants undergoing congenital heart surgery. Design: Prospective, observational study. Fluid overload (%) was calculated by two methods: 1) (Total fluid in – Total fluid out)/(Preoperative weight) × 100; and 2) (Current weight – Preoperative weight)/(Preoperative weight) × 100. Composite poor outcome included: need for renal replacement therapy, upper quartile time to extubation or intensive care length of stay (> 6.5 and 9.9 days, respectively), or death ⩽ 30 days after surgery. Setting: University hospital pediatric cardiac ICU. Patients: Forty-nine infants < 6 months of age undergoing congenital heart surgery with cardiopulmonary bypass during the period of July 2009 to July 2010. Interventions: None. Measurements and Main Results: Patients had a median age of 53 days (21 neonates) and mean weight of 4.5±1.3kg. Forty-two patients (86%) developed acute kidney injury by meeting at least Acute Kidney Injury Network and Kidney Disease Improving Global Outcomes stage 1 criteria (serum creatinine rise of 50% or ≥ 0.3mg/dL). The patients with adverse outcomes (n = 17, 35%) were younger (7 [5 – 10] vs. 98 [33 – 150] days, p = 0.001), had lower preoperative weight (3.7±0.7 vs. 4.9±1.4kg, p = 0.0002), higher postoperative mean peak serum creatinine (SCr) (0.9±0.3 vs. 0.6±0.3mg/dL, p = 0.005), and higher mean maximum fluid overload by both method 1 (12% ± 10% vs. 6% ± 4%, p = 0.03) and method 2 (24% ± 15% vs. 14% ± 8%, p = 0.02). Predictors of a poor outcome from multivariate analyses were cardiopulmonary bypass time, use of circulatory arrest, and increased vasoactive medication requirements postoperatively. Conclusions: Early postoperative fluid overload is associated with suboptimal outcomes in infants following cardiac surgery. Because the majority of patients developed kidney injury without needing renal replacement therapy, fluid overload may be an important risk factor for adverse outcomes with all degrees of acute kidney injury.
Forecasting Credit Portfolio Risk

The main challenge of forecasting credit default risk in loan portfolios is forecasting the default probabilities and the default correlations. We derive a Merton-style threshold-value model for the default probability which treats the asset value of a firm as unknown and uses a factor model instead. In addition, we demonstrate how default correlations can be easily modeled. The empirical analysis is based on a large data set of German firms provided by Deutsche Bundesbank. We find that the inclusion of variables which are correlated with the business cycle improves the forecasts of default probabilities. Asset and default correlations depend on the factors used to model default probabilities. The better the point-in-time calibration of the estimated default probabilities, the smaller the estimated correlations. Thus, correlations and default probabilities should always be estimated simultaneously.