Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Effects of nicorandil on vascular and renal dysfunctions in adenine-induced nephropathy: possible underlying mechanisms.

Vascular dysfunctions in chronic kidney disease (CKD) include endothelial dysfunctions and vascular calcification (VC). In the present study, we examined the possible protective effect of nicorandil (potassium channel opener) on renal and vascular dysfunctions in a rat model of adenine-induced nephropathy and its underlying mechanisms. Thirty-four male Sprague-Dawley rats were randomly allocated into 3 groups: Normal group, Adenine group (animals received high-adenine diet for 4 weeks), and Nicorandil group (animals received adenine for 4 weeks and nicorandil 1 mg/kg per oral for 4 weeks). The results showed significant reduction in the body weight, heart rate (HR), hemoglobin contents, serum Ca2+ and reduction in the expression of mRNA of endothelial nitric oxide synthase (eNOS) and nuclear factor erythroid related factor 2 (nrf2) genes in aortic tissues with significant increase in arterial blood pressure (ABP), serum creatinine, BUN, plasma renin activity (PRA), K+ and phosphate (PO43-), urinary albumin excretion (UAE) and aortic VC in adenine group compared to normal group (p < 0.05). On the other hand, coadminsitration of nicorandil caused significant improvement in the studied parameters compared to adenine group (p < 0.05). We concluded that nicorandil has a potential protective effect against the vascular and renal impairment induced by adenine, which might be due to attenuation of vascular calcifications, activation of Nrf2 and eNOS genes in aortic tissues.
Evaluation of a New, Rapid, Fully Automated Assay for the Measurement of ADAMTS13 Activity

Abstract Thrombotic thrombocytopenic purpura (TTP) is a rare thrombotic microangiopathy (TMA) characterized by the severe deficiency of a disintegrin and metalloproteinase with a thrombospondin type 1 motif, member 13 (ADAMTS13) activity (< 10%). Rapid ADAMTS13 testing is crucial for an early diagnosis and optimal management of acute TTP. We evaluated the performance of the HemosIL AcuStar ADAMTS13 activity assay (Instrumentation Laboratory, Bedford, Massachusetts, United States), a fully automated chemiluminescent immunoassay with an analytical time of 33 minutes. A method comparison study was performed on 176 samples from 49 healthy donors and 127 TMA patients (109 TTP, 7 atypical hemolytic uremic syndrome, 11 other TMAs), comparing this new assay with an in-house FRETS-VWF73 assay and a commercial enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) (TECHNOZYM ADAMTS-13 Activity, Technoclone GmbH, Vienna, Austria). Agreement between methods was assessed with focus on ADAMTS13 activity less than 10%, the medical decision level relevant for TTP diagnosis. The HemosIL AcuStar ADAMTS13 Activity showed good correlation with both the FRETS-VWF73 (r = 0.96) and ELISA (r = 0.96) methods. Slope of the Passing–Bablok regression was 1.05 for FRETS-VWF73 and 1.02 for ELISA, and absolute bias at the medical decision level was +0.1 and +0.3%, respectively. The study also revealed high agreement with FRETS-VWF73 (kappa 0.97) and ELISA (kappa 0.98) methods in classifying TTP patients with a severe deficiency of ADAMTS13 activity. Because of its short turnaround time and full automation, the HemosIL AcuStar ADAMTS13 activity assay might become the assay of choice to rapidly test ADAMTS13 activity in plasma and thus establish the diagnosis of acute TTP in emergency settings.
Priming of microcystin degradation in carbon-amended membrane biofilm communities is promoted by oxygen-limited conditions

ABSTRACT Microbial biofilms are an important element of gravity-driven membrane (GDM) filtration systems for decentralized drinking water production. Mature biofilms fed with biomass from the toxic cyanobacterium Microcystis aeruginosa efficiently remove the cyanotoxin microcystin (MC). MC degradation can be ‘primed’ by prior addition of biomass from a non-toxic M. aeruginosa strain. Increased proportions of bacteria with an anaerobic metabolism in M. aeruginosa-fed biofilms suggest that this ‘priming’ could be due to higher productivity and the resulting changes in habitat conditions. We, therefore, investigated GDM systems amended with the biomass of toxic (WT) or non-toxic (MUT) M. aeruginosa strains, of diatoms (DT), or with starch solution (ST). After 25 days, these treatments were changed to receiving toxic cyanobacterial biomass. MC degradation established significantly more rapidly in MUT and ST than in DT. Oxygen measurements suggested that this was due to oxygen-limited conditions in MUT and ST already prevailing before addition of MC-containing biomass. Moreover, the microbial communities in the initial ST biofilms featured high proportions of facultative anaerobic taxa, whereas aerobes dominated in DT biofilms. Thus, the ‘priming’ of MC degradation in mature GDM biofilms seems to be related to the prior establishment of oxygen-limited conditions mediated by higher productivity.
Altered ignition catchments threaten a hyperdiverse fire‐dependent ecosystem

Human activities affect fire in many ways, often unintentionally or with considerable time‐lags before they manifest themselves. Anticipating these changes is critical, so that insidious impacts on ecosystems, their biodiversity and associated goods and services can be avoided, mitigated or managed. Here we explore the impact of anthropogenic land cover change on fire and biodiversity in adjacent ecosystems on the hyperdiverse Cape Peninsula, South Africa. We develop a conceptual framework based on the notion of an ignition catchment, or the spatial extent and temporal range where an ignition is likely to result in a site burning. We apply this concept using fire models to estimate spatial changes in burn probability between historical and current land cover. This change layer was used to predict the observed record of fires and forest encroachment into fire‐dependent Fynbos ecosystems in Table Mountain National Park. Urban expansion has created anthropogenic fire shadows that are modifying fire return intervals, facilitating a state shift to low‐diversity, non‐flammable forest at the expense of hyperdiverse, flammable Fynbos ecosystems. Despite occurring in a conservation area, these ecosystems are undergoing a hidden collapse and desperately require management intervention. Anthropogenic fire shadows can be caused by many human activities and are likely to be a universal phenomenon, not only contributing to the observed global decline in fire activity but also causing extreme fires in ecosystems where there is no shift to a less flammable state and flammable fuels accumulate. The ignition catchment framework is highly flexible and allows detection or prediction of changes in the fire regime, the threat this poses for ecosystems or fire risk and areas where management interventions and/or monitoring are required. Identifying anthropogenic impacts on ignition catchments is key for both understanding global impacts of humans on fire and guiding management of human‐altered landscapes for desirable outcomes.
Aerosol Gas-Phase Components from Cannabis E-Cigarettes and Dabbing: Mechanistic Insight and Quantitative Risk Analysis

Consumption of cannabis by nontraditional methods has surged since the advent of legalization in North America and worldwide. Inhaling cannabis extracts using vaporizers and via dabbing has risen in popularity, while concerns over product safety have not hindered their proliferation. The work herein is the first step toward assessing the safety of vaporizing and dabbing concentrated cannabis extracts as a function of gas-phase reaction products. The gas-phase thermal degradants of Δ9-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) have not been previously investigated. It was found that users may be exposed to concerning degradants such as methacrolein, benzene, and methyl vinyl ketone when using cartridge vaporizers and dabbing. It was shown that THC alone and mixed with terpenes generated similar degradation products and, most notably, elevated levels of isoprene. Importantly, it was shown that added terpenes led to higher levels of gas-phase products compared to THC alone. To estimate cancer and noncancer risks associated with exposure to these and other degradants, quantitative risk assessment was applied to experimentally determined values for dabbing and vaping and literature-sourced levels of hazardous components in cannabis smoke. Overall, gas-phase aerosol products had significantly lower values in dabbing and vaporizing compared to cannabis smoking, although these results should be interpreted in light of potential variations in degradant levels due to disparate usage patterns and the dangers of the higher aerosol concentration of THC.
Quantitative Analysis of Microvasculature in Macular and Peripapillary Regions in Early Primary Open-Angle Glaucoma

ABSTRACT Purpose: To evaluate macular and radial peripapillary capillary vessel densities (RPC VD) across normal, pre-perimetric (PPG), and early perimetric primary open-angle glaucoma (EG) using optical coherence tomography angiography (OCTA). Materials and Methods: Forty-four PPG eyes, 42 EG eyes, and 41 normal eyes were consecutively enrolled. All subjects underwent visual field, OCT, and OCTA examinations. Macular vessel densities were measured in the superficial layer. RPC VD was measured within a 750-μm-wide elliptical annulus extending outward from disc boundary. Diagnostic ability was evaluated with area under the receiver operating curve. Results: Parafoveal vessel densities (ParaVDs) in the PPG group were comparable to the normal group (p > .05), except for temporal quadrant (p = .044), while perifoveal vessel densities (PeriVD) were lower in the PPG group (p < .05). ParaVD and PeriVD were lower in the EG group compared with the normal group (p < .001). Superior-temporal and inferior-temporal retinal nerve fiber layers (RNFLs) were significantly decreased in the EG group compared with the PPG group (p < .05), while only inferior-temporal RPC VD was lower in the EG group (p < .05). RPC VD was comparable to RNFL and ganglion cell complex (GCC) in the diagnosis of PPG (p > .05). Macular whole image vessel density and PeriVD were comparable to RPC VD, RNFL, and GCC in diagnosing EG (p > .05). Conclusions: In early primary open-angle glaucoma, significant microvascular damage was present in both macular and peripapillary areas. The damage of macular microvasculature was more prominent in the peripheral area. Vessel density parameters showed promising diagnostic ability in early glaucoma. Abbreviations: POAG = primary open-angle glaucoma; RGC = retinal ganglion cell; OCTA = optical coherence tomography angiography; RNFL = retinal nerve fiber layer; PPG = pre-perimetric primary open-angle glaucoma; EG = early perimetric primary open-angle glaucoma; IOP = intraocular pressure; PSD = pattern standard deviation; MD = mean deviation; GCC = ganglion cell complex; SBP = systolic blood pressure; DBP = diastolic blood pressure; MAP = mean arterial pressure; MOPP = mean ocular perfusion pressure; wiVD = whole image vessel density; ParaVD = parafoveal vessel density; PeriVD = perifoveal vessel density; RPC VD = radial peripapillary capillary vessel density; AUC = area under the receiver operating curve
Cervico-ocular reflex upregulation in dizzy patients with asymmetric neck pathology.

OBJECTIVES The aim of this study was to investigate whether the restriction in neck rotation and increased neck muscle tension could be causally related to vertigo and dizziness. MATERIAL AND METHODS Seventy-one patients reporting vertigo and/or imbalance were divided into 2 groups: 45 subjects with unilateral restriction (R+) and 26 without restriction (R-) of cervical rotation and muscle tension in the clinical flexion-rotation test. The normal caloric test was the inclusion criterion. The control group comprised 36 healthy volunteers with no history of vertigo. The vestibulo-ocular reflex (VOR) and the cervico-occular reflex (COR) were measured through the videonystagmography (VNG) sinusoidal pendular kinetic test in the conditions of not inactivated head and immobilized head, respectively. The VNG-head torsion test (VNG-HTT) nystagmus was recorded. RESULTS Among the reported complaints, neck stiffness, headaches and blurred vision were more frequent in the R+ group than in both the R- group and the control group. VNG revealed an increased COR gain and the presence of VNG-HTT nystagmus in the R+ group only. Similarly, only in the R+ group a positive relationship between COR and VOR was observed. CONCLUSIONS Patients with asymmetric restriction in neck rotation and increased neck muscle tension reveal the tendency to have an increased response of the vestibular system, along with co-existing COR upregulation. Further research is needed to investigate the relationships between the activation of cervical mechanoreceptors and dizziness pathomechanisms.
Blockage of immune checkpoint molecules increases T‐cell priming potential of dendritic cell vaccine

Dendritic cell (DC) ‐based cancer immunotherapy is one of the most important anti‐cancer immunotherapies, and has been associated with variable efficiencies in different cancer types. It is well‐known that tumor microenvironment plays a key role in the efficacy of various immunotherapies such as DC vaccine. Accordingly, the expression of programmed death ligand 1 (PD‐L1) on DCs, which interacts with PD‐1 on T cells, leads to inhibition of anti‐tumor responses following presentation of tumor antigens by DCs to T cells. Therefore, we hypothesized that down‐regulation of PD‐L1 in DCs in association with silencing of PD‐1 on T cells may lead to the enhancement of T‐cell priming by DCs to have efficient anti‐tumor T‐cell responses. In this study, we silenced the expression of PD‐L1 in DCs and programmed cell death protein 1 (PD‐1) in T cells by small interfering RNA (siRNA) ‐loaded chitosan–dextran sulfate nanoparticles (NPs) and evaluated the DC phenotypic and functional characteristics and T‐cell functions following tumor antigen recognition on DCs, ex vivo. Our results showed that synthesized NPs had good physicochemical characteristics (size 77·5 nm and zeta potential of 14·3) that were associated with efficient cellular uptake and target gene silencing. Moreover, PD‐L1 silencing was associated with stimulatory characteristics of DCs. On the other hand, presentation of tumor antigens by PD‐L1‐negative DCs to PD‐1‐silenced T cells led to induction of potent T‐cell responses. Our findings imply that PD‐L1‐silenced DCs can be considered as a potent immunotherapeutic approach in combination with PD‐1‐siRNA loaded NPs, however; further in vivo investigation is required in animal models.
Examining the influence of picture format on children’s naming responses

Digital photography has facilitated the use of more ecological stimuli than line drawings as experimental stimuli. However, there is lack of evidence regarding the effect of the picture format on children’s naming agreement. The present work investigated whether the format of presentation of the pictures (line drawing or photograph) affects naming task performance in children. Two naming task experiments are reported using 106 concepts depicted both as a photograph and as a matched drawing delineated directly from the photograph. Thirty-eight and thirty-four Spanish-speaking children from 8 to 10 years old participated in Experiment 1 and Experiment 2, respectively. We examined name agreement measures (H index, percentage of modal name, and alternative responses) and subjective scales (familiarity and visual complexity). The results revealed a significant main effect of format in all of the variables except for familiarity, indicating better name agreement indices and higher visual complexity values for the photograph format than for the line drawing format. Additionally, line drawings were more likely to produce alternative incorrect names. The implications of these findings for psychoeducational research and practice are discussed.
In Vitro and in Silico Human Monoamine Oxidase Inhibitory Potential of Anthraquinones, Naphthopyrones, and Naphthalenic Lactones from Cassia obtusifolia Linn Seeds

In recent years, Cassia seed extract has been reported as a neuroprotective agent in various models of neurodegeneration, mainly via an antioxidant mechanism. However, no one has previously reported the effects of Cassia seed extract and its phytochemicals on human monoamine oxidase (hMAO) enzyme activity. The seed methanol extract, the solvent-soluble fractions, and almost all isolated compounds displayed selective inhibition of hMAO-A isozyme activity. Interestingly, compounds obtusin (3), alaternin (8), aloe-emodin (9), questin (12), rubrofusarin (13), cassiaside (15), toralactone 9-O-β-gentiobioside (26), and (3S)-9,10-dihydroxy-7-methoxy-3-methyl-1-oxo-3,4-dihydro-1H-benzo[g]isochromene-3-carboxylic acid 9-O-β-d-glucopyranoside (38) showed the most promising inhibition of the hMAO-A isozyme with IC50 values of 0.17–11 μM. The kinetic study characterized their mode of inhibition and molecular docking simulation predicted interactions with Ile-335 and Tyr-326 in support of the substrate/inhibitor selectivity in respective isozymes. These results demonstrate that Cassia seed extract and its constituents inhibit hMAO-A enzyme activity with high selectivity and suggest that they could play a preventive role in neurodegenerative diseases, especially anxiety and depression.
Innovation Through IT and Business Process Outsourcing - Literature Review

Innovation is increasingly expected in today’s ongoing outsourcing relationships. While prior studies made considerable strides to examine innovation through outsourcing, the research landscape remains highly fragmented. In this review, we bring together and analyse prior research examining this emerging phenomenon in the contexts of IT outsourcing (ITO) and business process outsourcing (BPO). We focus on articles published between 1997 and 2018 in the top outlets across information systems (IS), management, and related disciplines. Our contribution is threefold: First, we present an overview of the key literature on this topic. Second, we identify and document three different scopes of achievable innovation through outsourcing, associated firm-specific intentions and capabilities, and relationship governance structures conducive to such value creating activities. Third, we put forward propositions for future research on innovation through outsourcing.
Determinants of Corporate Dividend Policy in Polish Companies Listed on WSE

Abstract The purpose of this paper is to identify the factors influencing the level of dividend payments in the companies listed on the Warsaw Stock Exchange in 1998-2017 as well as to provide empirical evidence for their significance, using a panel data approach. The object of research comprised the companies listed on WSE, as of February 01, 2019. The subject of the analysis are the dividends paid by the companies and the factors potentially influencing the decisions regarding profit distribution. The models estimated for the panel data, based on the theory, allowed selection of the best model, which is the random-effects model. Moreover, these models allowed identification of the factors determining the changes in the level of dividend per share. The best model was the random-effects model. This model allowed identification of the factors impacting the changes in the level of dividend per share, that is, the value of the company’s total assets and the history of the company’s operation on the stock exchange market. All structural parameters (except the intercept) were positive. It means that growth of each of these variables causes an increase in the dividend per share.
Comprehensive performance measurement system, procedural fairness and managerial performance

The aim of this study is to investigate the role of comprehensive performance measurement systems (CPMS) on managerial performance (MP), which is mediated by procedural fairnes. In order to generate the goal of the study, the researchers conduct a survey study at manufaturing firms. We test our 84 usable data from middle and functional managers of the firms using Sstructural Equation Modelling analysis, in particularly Warp PLS 4.0. The results indicate that CPMS has a significant effect on managerial performance (MP) both directly and indirectly through procedural fairness (PF). This study demonstrates the importance of procedural justice implementation in companies with respect to the application of CPMS. Corresponding author: Yusnaini Yusnaini Email addresses for corresponding author: yusnaini_msi@yahoo.com First submission received: 18th September 2017 Revised submission received: 9th January 2018 Accepted: 29th January 2018
Cross-linguistic influence in bilingual productions of the English past tense in Arabic heritage speakers of Australian English

Abstract This paper examines cross-linguistic influence in morphology among adult monolingual and heritage speakers (Arabic-English and Chinese-English). Participants performed a task requiring them to form past tenses for English nonce words. Arabic-English bilinguals produced significantly more vowel change past tenses than either English monolinguals or Chinese-English bilinguals. We attribute the preponderance of vowel change past tenses to cross-linguistic influence of Arabic, as vowel change is a dominant morphological property in Arabic but not in English or Chinese. These results support dynamic models of bilingualism with constantly active and interacting languages and contribute to the phenomenology of crosslinguistic interference.