Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN THE METABOLISM OF RIBAVIRIN AND ITS PROPOSED MECHANISM OF ACTION

The synthetic nucleoside ribavirins has been shown to have broad spectrum antiviral activity both in vitro and in vivo. and recent clinical studies indicate that it is also efficacious in man.I-l2 Streeter et al.I3 have shown that the 5’-phosphate of ribavirin is a potent inhibitor of IMP-dehydrogenase, and have suggested that its antiviral effect may be mediated in part by the inhibition of this crucial biosynthetic enzyme. Streeter et aI. ,l3 have also shown that ribavirin-5’-phosphate is found in the liver of rats after oral dosing, and that the enzyme most probably responsible for the phosphorylation of ribavirin is deoxyadenosine kinase. Further investigations, which are reported here, were directed towards determining if ribavirin-5’-phosphate could be further phosphorylated to the corresponding diand tri-phosphates, and towards finding out if any additional metabolites of ribavirin are produced in the whole animal. The primary purpose for studying the metabolism of ribavirin is to gain further understanding of the mechanism of action of the drug. Metabolites of ribavirin other than the 5’-phosphate may be acting at sites in the cell other than IMP-dehydrogenase. Knowledge of what metabolites are formed may give some insight into what those other sites may be.
Process of Conducting a 5-a-Day Intervention with High School Students: Gimme 5 (Louisiana)

Gimme 5: A Fresh Nutrition Concept for Students (Gimme 5) was a 4-year intervention targeting increased fruit and vegetable consumption by high school students. Twelve schools were randomized to intervention or control conditions. The cohort (2,213 students; 56% female, 84% Euro-American) were followed from 9th to 12th grade. Interventions were composed of a school-based media campaign, classroom workshops, school meal modification, and parental involvement. For each of the four Gimme 5 intervention components, process evaluation measures were developed to assess program dose, penetration, and utilization, as well as external competing factors. Process evaluation results are presented to illustrate the various functions of process evaluation data. These include, but are not limited to, describing program implementation, quality control and monitoring, and explaining study outcomes. The implementation of process evaluation systems to complement the outcome measures in a high school–based intervention provides useful strategies for a more comprehensive approach to program evaluation.
Glucagon, Insulin, Cortisol, and Growth Hormone Levels Following Major Surgery: Their Relationship to Glucose and Free Fatty Acid Elevations

Circulating hormone and substrate levels were measured in 7 patients at regular intervals before, during and after pulmonary surgery. During surgery, cortisol and growth hormone were significantly elevated, pancreatic glucagon was unchanged and insulin was depressed. One and two days after surgery, growth hormone had almost returned to preoperative fasting values, but cortisol, insulin and glucagon levels were significantly increased. The mean insulin:glucagon molar ratio declined from a preoperative fasting value of 3.2 +/- 0.5 (+/- SEM) to 1.7 +/- 0.4 during operation but was within normal limits 1 and 2 days after surgery due to a parallel rise and fall in plasma insulin and glucagon. Plasma glucose was elevated both during operation and for several days thereafter, whereas free fatty acid levels were increased only during operation. Thus, there was no consistent relation between insulin:glucagon ratio or any of the hormone levels and the observed elevations in plasma glucose and free fatty acids. It is concluded that neither any of the hormones assayed nor the insulin:glucagon ratio was the primary determinant of plasma glucose and free fatty acid responses to surgery. Rather, fuel homeostasis appeared to result from the combined effects of glucagon, insulin, growth hormone, cortisol and adrenergic activity.
Controlled-release antimicrobials for preventing biofilm formation in food and medical applications

OF THE THESIS CONTROLLED-RELEASE ANTIMICROBIALS FOR PREVENTING BIOFILM FORMATION IN FOOD AND MEDICAL APPLICATIONS By LINDA E. ROSENBERG Thesis Director: Dr. Michael Chikindas Bacterial biofilms generally are more resistant to stresses as compared to free planktonic cells. Therefore, the discovery of antimicrobial stress factors that have strong inhibitory effects on bacterial biofilm formation would have great impact on the food, personal care, and medical industries. Biofilm formation can be prevented through controlled release of nature-derived antimicrobials formulated into polymer systems, especially those featuring multiple stresses as hurdles for the bacteria to overcome to prevent the development of resistance. Salicylate-based poly(anhydride-esters) have previously been shown to inhibit biofilm formation. Our research evaluated the effect of salicylate-based poly(anhydrideesters) on biofilm forming Salmonella enterica serovar Typhimurium. The results indicate that the salicylic acid-based polymers do interfere with biofilm formation through a combination of pH effects and a thus-far-unknown mechanism. Systems combining pH stress with the controlled release of natural antimicrobials have great potential to prevent biofilm development in many environments to prevent adverse outcomes, especially implant contamination and foodborne illness.
Customers' Initial Trust in E-Businesses: How to Measure Customers' Initial Trust

Trust has been one of the main items of focus in e-commerce and many previous studies have provided useful contributions (e.g., Gefen 2000; McKnight et al. 2000, 2002, etc.). This study extends the line of studies of ecommerce trust and provides a framework and an instrument to measure customers’ initial trust in ebusinesses.
A Study of Vitiligo in Type 2 Diabetic Patients

Context: Diabetes mellitus is associated with many skin manifestations including vitiligo. Vitiligo occurs more commonly in Type 1 diabetes mellitus. A few recent studies have shown its increased occurrence in Type 2 diabetes mellitus. Aims: This study aims to study the prevalence of vitiligo in Type 2 diabetic patients and to compare the prevalence of vitiligo in age- and sex-matched group of nondiabetic population. Settings and Design: The present study was a hospital-based cross-sectional study conducted in the Department of Dermatology in a tertiary care hospital. Subjects and Methods: Six hundred consecutive consenting patients of Type 2 diabetes were included in the study group and age- and sex-matched controls were healthy nondiabetic adult volunteers attending the Department of Dermatology. Fasting and postprandial blood sugar levels were done. A complete history, physical examination, and wood's lamp examination to detect vitiligo were conducted. In all those with vitiligo, the type of vitiligo was noted. Statistical Analysis Used: Data were analyzed using SPSS software version 20.0. Comparison between the presence of vitiligo in cases and controls was done using Chi-square test with P = 0.05 for significance. Results: Vitiligo was seen in 12% of cases and 6% of control group which was statistically significant (P < 0.01). There was no significant difference between cases and controls with respect to type of vitiligo. Conclusions: Vitiligo can occur in Type 2 diabetics as seen in our study and few other recent studies. The exact pathogenesis is not very clear and needs further consideration.
Model-free predictive current control of a voltage source inverter

This work presents a model-free predictive current control (MFPCC) that is suitable for a voltage source inverter with a decoupled three-phase load. With this method, the load currents and the load current differences are available to predict the future load currents associated with eight possible switching states, generated by the inverter. Unlike model-based predictive current control (MBPCC), the proposed method is not based on any discrete model of the system. Clearly, it is only based on detecting the load currents and the current differences. In other words, it does not require any parameter of the system, such as resistance, inductance, or back-EMF. In addition, the proposed MFPCC only needs twice current measurements in each sampling interval. Similar to the MBPCC that the optimum switching state is chosen by minimizing a cost function, the MFPCC also undertakes this optimization process. The proposed MFPCC ensures that the load currents tracks the reference ones with high accuracy reducing the transient and steady-state errors. Using MATLAB® software, comparative simulations of the above two methods can be obtained to show and validate the feasibility and correctness of the proposed strategy.
Effect of Supplemental Oregano Essential Oils in Diets on Production Performance and Relatively Intestinal Parameters of Laying Hens

This study was designed to investigate the effects of dietary oregano essential oils on 150 30-week-old Hy-Line Layers’ productive performance, egg quality characteristics, cecal microbiota, digestive enzyme activities, mucosa structure of the duodenum and jejunum and glucose and small peptides transporters expression in the duodenum and jejunum. All hens were allocated into one of five different groups: negative control (NC; basal diet only), antibiotics control (CS; basal diet plus 100 mg/kg of 10% colistin sulfate) and treatments I, II, and III (basal diet supplemented with 50, 100 and 150 mg/kg oregano essential oils, respectively). The results showed that the laying rate, average egg weight, feed conversion ratio and the activities of amylase and trypsin were significantly improved by a diet supplemented with 100 mg/kg oregano essential oils (P 0.05), significantly increased duodenum villus-height-to-crypt-depth ratios (P 0.05).
A Bayesian Synthesis Approach to Data Fusion Using Data-Dependent Priors

The process of combining data is one in which information from disjoint data sets sharing at least a few common variables is merged. This process is commonly referred to as data fusion, with the main objective of creating a new data set permitting more flexible analyses than the separate analysis of each individual data set. Many data fusion methods have been proposed in the literature, although most utilize the frequentist framework. I investigate an approach called Bayesian synthesis in which information obtained from one data set acts as priors for the next analysis. This process continues sequentially until a single fused posterior distribution is created using all available data. These informative data-dependent priors provide an extra source of information that may aid in the accuracy of estimation. To evaluate its performance, Bayesian synthesis results of data simulated under several conditions with known population values modeled after Marcoulides and Grimm (2016) were examined. For all conditions, six different data sets were generated, each with sample sizes N = 50, N = 250, and N = 1,000, respectively. The intercept and slope means were fixed at −2 and 0.2, respectively, and the residual variance was fixed at 0.10 to reflect small residuals. The intercept and slope variances and the covariance for conditions (A) to (D) were set as A = [ 0.20 0 0 0.10 ] , B = [ 0.20 0.10 0.10 0.10 ] , C = [ 0.40 0.30 0.30 0.30 ] , and D = [ 0.60 0.50 0.50 0.50 ] . Estimation accuracy was assessed using the average relative bias, with values below 5% reflecting ignorable bias, between 5% and 10% moderate bias, and above 10% substantial bias (Muthén & Muthén, 2002). For N = 50, the relative bias was substantial for the intercept variance under all examined conditions. The relative bias for the slope variance was substantial for the conditions (A) and (B), was moderate for (C), and was ignorable for (D). The relative bias for the covariance was moderate for conditions (B) and (C) and ignorable for
STATISTICAL ANALYSIS OF WIND ENERGY POTENTIAL IN IBADAN, NIGERIA BASED ON WEIBULL DISTRIBUTION FUNCTION

Modeling of wind speed variation is an essential requirement in the estimation of the wind energy potential for a typical site. In this paper, the wind energy potential in Ibadan (Lat. 7.43N; Long. 3.9E; Alt. 227.2m) is statistically analyzed using daily wind speed data for 10 years (1995-2004) obtained from the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA), Ibadan, Nigeria. The daily, monthly, seasonal, and yearly wind speed probability density distributions are modeled using Weibull Distribution Function. The measured annual mean wind speed in Ibadan is 2.75 ms, while mean wind speed and the power density predicted by the Weibull probability density function are 2.947 m/s and 15.484 Wm, respectively. Ibadan can be classified as a low wind energy region. The coefficient of determination (R) between the actual wind speeds and the Weibull predicted values ranged between 0.475 0.792. The Weibull distribution function can be used with acceptable accuracy for prediction of wind energy output required for preliminary design and assessment of wind power plants. (
Doxapram and aminophylline on bispectral index under sevoflurane anaesthesia: a comparative study

Background and objective: To evaluate and compare the effect of two clinically available central nervous system stimulants, namely doxapram and aminophylline on arousal from sevoflurane anaesthesia and bispectral index. Methods: This randomized, double‐blind, placebo‐controlled, prospective study was conducted in 90 adult females, ASA I–II, scheduled for elective lower abdominal surgeries at Taipei Medical University Hospital. At 5 min before the completion of surgery, under sevoflurane anaesthesia, patients were divided into three groups to receive doxapram 1 mg kg−1, aminophylline 2 mg kg−1 or saline placebo intravenous. Standard vital signs, end‐tidal CO2, end‐expiratory sevoflurane concentration, bispectral index and neuromuscular blockade were measured plus clinical parameters of recovery from general anaesthesia. Results: Compared with the control group, patients receiving doxapram or aminophylline showed a similarly faster recovery from sevoflurane anaesthesia correlated with increase in bispectral index. Conclusion: Intravenous administration of doxapram 1 mg kg−1 or aminophylline 2 mg kg−1 hastened the early recovery from sevoflurane anaesthesia. The arousal effect of aminophylline and doxapram appears to be similar.
Parvalbumin and calbindin D‐28 k immunoreactivity in dorsal root ganglia in acquired immunodeficiency syndrome

Various degrees of neuronal degeneration have been found in lumbosacral dorsal root ganglia of patients with acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS). To characterize the subpopulations of primary sensory neurons affected in AIDS. we immunostained dorsal root ganglion tissues from 11 AIDS patients and six controls using antibodies to the calcium binding proteins, parvalbumin and calbindin D‐28 k. In controls, the proportion of neurons containing parvalbumin and calbindin was 18.0% and 22.4%, respectively. The majority of parvalbumin‐positive neurons, which are thought to be proprioceptive neurons, were of medium to large size, while calbindin was found in both large‐ and small‐sized neurons. The density of parvalbumin‐immunoreactive neurons was reduced by 7.3% in AIDS patients, but the density of calbindin‐immunoreactive neurons was preserved. Furthermore, in AIDS cases, the number of parvalbumin‐positive neurons was reduced more in dorsal root ganglia in which human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) antigen was detected than in HIV‐negative ganglia. These results suggest that specific subpopulations of sensory neurons positive for parvalbumin may be differentially affected over the course of AIDS, and that this could be related to peripheral neuropathy which frequently occurs in the late stages of AIDS.
Heartwood, sapwood and bark content, and wood dry density of young and mature teak (Tectona grandis) trees grown in Costa Rica

The aim of this study was to evaluate the heartwood, sapwood and bark content, and wood dry density in young and mature teak (Tectona grandis) trees. For this, 17 plantations were selected from 11 sites representing different climatic conditions and plantation densities (156 to 1600 trees ha–1, and line planting). From these plantations, a total of 87 trees with ages between 5 and 47 years were felled for stem analysis. The highest heartwood proportion of stem volume (over bark) was 61% and the lowest 0.4%. The sapwood proportion ranged between 24 and 72%, while bark represented from 14 to 37% of the total volume. Heartwood proportion was signifi cantly different (P < 0.05) among climatic zones: ‘wet’ sites producing less heartwood than ‘dry’ sites. Stem diameter (under bark) and heartwood diameter at different stem heights differed among sample trees, even when plotted in relative values to avoid dependency with stem size. Dry density was statistically different between 8-year-old trees or younger and 47-yearold trees, and between line planting trees and 13-year-old trees or younger, but did not differ statistically between line planting trees and mature trees. No signifi cant differences were found between climatic zones or between different stand densities. Dry density values for T. grandis plantations in Costa Rica are similar to those reported elsewhere.
A modified comb-line antenna radiating a circularly polarized wave

The purpose of this paper is to propose a novel modified comb-line antenna of circular polarization. The antenna is composed of the comb line and loop radiation elements. It should be noted that the comb line acts as a feed line for the loop elements. The antenna is designed for CP radiation on the basis of the current distribution determined by using the method of moments.
Common Ownership in the Loan Market

Firms and banks increasingly have institutional investors as shareholders in common. These shareholders receive profits from the interest rates set by the bank, and they also benefit from the firm’s profits. In this paper, I first illustrate through a simple model the implications of firm and bank common ownership on loans. I then provide new evidence on the rise and extent of common ownership between firms and banks. I show that when a firm and a bank have common ownership, the firm obtains larger loans from the bank at a lower interest rate. I use the growth of index funds as a source of exogenous variation to estimate a plausibly causal link between common ownership and loan terms not confounded by unobserved factors such as strategic investments by active institutional investors. I find that a one standard deviation increase in common ownership leads to a five basis point interest rate decrease and a three percent loan size increase. I show that these loan terms do not go to underperforming firms but to firms that are less likely to receive a credit rating downgrade. I also find that this improvement in loan terms is more pronounced for smaller and unrated firms. This suggests that the benefits of common ownership may result from decreased information frictions and decreased monitoring frictions for the lender if the lender’s shareholders also have access to firm returns and firm information. ∗Department of Economics, UC Berkeley, Evans Hall, Berkeley CA 94720 (email: tekampa@berkeley.edu). I thank my dissertation committee chair Ulrike Malmendier for her guidance on this project, and my committee members, David Sraer, Christopher Palmer and Paul Gertler, who provided invaluable advice throughout the research process. This work has benefited particularly from the comments of Natalie Cox, Anne Karing, Sheisha Kulkarni, Jen Kwok, Julien Lafortune, Jon Schellenberg, Leslie Shen, Avner Shlain and seminar participants at UC Berkeley.
Secondary traumatization among former prisoners of wars' adult children: the mediating role of parental bonding

Background and Objectives: The aversive impact of combat and parents' combat-induced posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) on young children has been examined in a few studies. However, the long-term toll of war captivity on secondary traumatization (ST) and the parental bonding of adult children remain unknown. This study examined ST symptoms and parental bonding among adult children of former prisoners of war (ex-POWs' children) that were compared to adult children of comparable veterans (controls' children). Furthermore, we examined the mediating role of parental bonding and exposure to stress in the association between group and ST symptoms. Design: A correlative, cross-sectional study. Methods: Participants were Israeli ex-POWs' children (N = 98) and controls' children (N = 90), whose fathers fought in the 1973 Yom Kippur War. All participants completed a battery of self-reported questionnaires. Results: Ex-POWs' children reported a higher number of ST symptoms and lower levels of fathers' care, as compared to controls' children. Importantly, exposure to stress stemming from fathers' behaviors and fathers' care was found to mediate the association between research group and ST. Conclusions: Forty years after the war ended, the experience of living with ex-POWs is associated with ex-POWs' children psychological outcome.
Transient receptor potential channels in essential hypertension

Objective The role of nonselective cation channels of the transient receptor potential channel (TRPC) family in essential hypertension has not yet been investigated. Methods We studied TRPCs in 51 patients with essential hypertension and 51 age-matched and sex-matched normotensive control subjects. Calcium and gadolinium influx into human monocytes was determined using the fluorescent dye technique. TRPC expression was measured using reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction and in-cell western assay. Gene silencing by small interfering RNA for specific TRPC knockdown was also performed. Results We observed an increased gadolinium/calcium-influx ratio through TRPC in essential hypertensive patients compared with normotensive control subjects [cation influx ratio (mean ± SEM), 125 ± 14 versus 80 ± 7%; each n = 51; P < 0.01], due to an increase of gadolinium influx in hypertensive patients compared with normotensive control subjects (48 ± 4 versus 36 ± 3%; each n = 51; P < 0.05). We observed a significant increase of TRPC3 and TRPC5 protein expression in essential hypertensive patients compared with normotensive control subjects (normalized TRPC3 expression, 3.21 ± 0.59 versus 1.36 ± 0.07; each n = 20; P < 0.01; normalized TRPC5 expression, 2.10 ± 0.28 versus 1.40 ± 0.52; each n = 12; P < 0.05). We used small interfering RNA for knockdown of TRPC5. The thereby reduced channel expression caused a significant attenuation of calcium and gadolinium influx. Conclusion This study points to an important role of TRPCs in essential hypertension.
Relationship Between Student Characteristics and Academic Achievement in Distance Education and Application on Students of Anadolu University

This study emphasizes on relationship between academic achievements and student characteristics like demographic properties (age, gender, employed/unemployed), self-efficacy beliefs of distance education, self-regulation, and achievement goals for distance education. Sampling of the study comprised of 124 freshmen year distance education students. Data are presented regarding the relationships between self-efficacy of distance education and academic achievement. Self-regulation and achievement goals of students were not correlated with academic achievement, significantly. Boy and girl students were differing significantly with respect to self-regulation. A significant relationship was seen with respect to self-efficacy of distance education, self-regulation and achievement goals.