Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Plasma alkylresorcinol metabolites as potential biomarkers of whole-grain wheat and rye cereal fibre intakes in women

It has been demonstrated that intact plasma alkylresorcinols (AR) and urinary AR metabolites could be used as biomarkers of whole-grain intake. Thereafter, we developed the method for the plasma AR metabolites, which is more convenient and requires less sample pretreatment than the analysis of intact plasma AR. The aim of the present study is to evaluate whether AR metabolites measured in plasma, in the same population, could also be considered as useful biomarkers of cereal fibre. Fifty-six women were recruited in a cross-sectional and observational study. Dietary intake (5-d record) and plasma AR metabolites (3,5-dihydroxybenzoic acid, DHBA; 3-(3,5-dihydroxyphenyl)-1-propanoic acid, DHPPA) were measured. The relationship between plasma AR metabolites and cereal fibre intake was examined using partial correlation and stepwise regression. Cereal fibre intake correlated significantly with plasma DHBA (r 0·411; P = 0·002) and DHPPA (r 0·463; P = 0·000) even after adjustment for BMI and age. Thus, plasma AR metabolites correlate with cereal fibre intake as noted with plasma intact AR and urinary AR metabolites. We observed that plasma DHPPA was the independent predictor of cereal fibre intake, explaining 18 % of the variance (adjusted r2 0·176; P = 0·002). In epidemiological screening, it might be easier to obtain and to collect plasma than urine samples. In addition, the plasma AR metabolites half-life seems longer than those of intact plasma AR, and their measurements are more convenient, and faster. Thus, sum of plasma AR metabolites and more specifically plasma DHPPA seems to be good and specific biomarkers of cereal fibre intake.
Evaluation of haemodialysis membrane biocompatibility by parallel assessment in an ex vivo model in healthy volunteers.

BACKGROUND Precise evaluation of the haemocompatibility of prototype membranes, flow configurations and anticoagulant regimens is an essential step in the development of dialysis systems minimizing blood activation. An ex vivo model in humans currently employed in our laboratory has recently been adapted to allow the parallel evaluation of two minimodule dialysers with blood from a single donor, thus eliminating differences due to donor variability in the comparison of test and control dialysis modules. METHODS The ex vivo flow system is designed to reproduce the haemodynamic conditions of clinical dialysis on a 1/50 scale. A blood line from the forearm vein of the volunteer donor is divided at a Y-shaped junction, two roller pumps assure equivalent blood flow (5 ml/min) in the branches leading to two minimodule dialysers and heparin (0.1 IU/ml final concentration) is injected into each branch immediately after the Y junction. Samples for analysis of blood activation markers are collected at the exits of the two minimodules over a test period of 27 min. In the present series of tests, a new polyacrylonitrile membrane (PAN) was evaluated relative to standard commercial polysulphone (PS), acrylonitrile copolymer (AN 69) and cuprophan (CUP) membranes. RESULTS A steady minimal level of anticoagulation corresponding to a slightly less than two-fold prolongation of APTT (activated partial thromboplastin time) was maintained throughout testing in both branches of the ex vivo flow system. Time curves for the accumulation of activation markers (thrombin-antithrombin III complexes, prothrombin fragment 1 + 2, platelet beta-thromboglobulin, and complement fragment C3a) showed all four types of minimodule dialyser to induce comparable low levels of activation of coagulation parameters and platelets, together with similar mild activation of complement for AN 69, PAN, and PS dialysers as compared to stronger activation for CUP modules. Overall results thus confirmed the acceptable haemocompatibility of the prototype polyacrylonitrile (PAN) membrane. CONCLUSIONS Among current methods for evaluation of the biocompatibility of haemodialysis systems, ex vivo flow models in humans avoid problems arising from species differences and may be designed to closely reproduce the conditions of clinical dialysis. A parallel configuration eliminates artefacts due to individual variations in donor response. This not only facilitates the direct comparison of test and control membranes under close to identical experimental conditions, but also provides a model particularly well adapted to studies of the effects of different anticoagulation regimens, flow configurations, and dialysates, or alternative methods of sterilization, rinsing, and priming of the dialysers.
One-year disability, death and recurrence after first-ever stroke in a Black Afro-Caribbean population

Background Few data on stroke outcomes and no data on stroke recurrence are available in Black mono-racial population with high socio-economic status. Aims We investigated outcomes and stroke recurrence at one year in the Black Afro-Caribbean population of Martinique and examined potential predictors of poor prognosis and recurrence. Methods Patients from ERMANCIA II (Etude Réalisée en MArtinique et Centrée sur l’Incidence des Accidents vasculaires cérébraux), a Black population-based and prospective observational study, were followed up at 28-days, three months and one year post stroke. Stroke characteristics, survival, disability (modified Rankin Scale > 2), and stroke recurrence were assessed. A survival-based approach was used for time-to-event analysis, and multivariable regression analysis assessed the predictors of death, disability and stroke recurrence. Results Of 544 first-ever stroke patients, cumulative risks of death increased from 17.6% (95% confidence interval, 14.5–20.4) at 28 days to 22.8% (18.6–25.0) at three months and to 31.3% (27.4–34.6) at one year. Disability rates in survivors decreased from 43.7% (39.5–47.2) at 28 days to 35% (30.9–38.4) at three months and to 28.8% (24.9–32.1) at one year. Cumulative risks of recurrent stroke were estimated to 2.1% (0.9–2.9) at 28 days, 4.5% (2.7–6.1) at three months and 9.3% (6.1–11.6) at one year. Age (odds ratio (OR), 1.08 (1.05–1.10)), admission NIHSS (OR, 1.22 (1.17–1.29)), metabolic syndrome (OR, 2.07 (1.22–3.52)) and recurrence (OR, 5.06 (1.87–13.7)) were independent predictors of death or disability at one year. Conclusion Stroke Outcomes in Black Afro-Caribbean population with a high socio-economic status appear globally similar to outcomes reported in Caucasian population. After a first-ever stroke, the implementation of early programs of recurrence prevention seems crucial to reduce the risk of poor prognosis at one year.
Mandatory CSR Disclosure and Information Asymmetry: Evidence from a Quasi-natural Experiment in China

Using a quasi-natural experiment that mandates a subset of listed firms to issue corporate social responsibility (CSR) reports, this paper examines the effect of mandatory CSR disclosure on market information asymmetry in China, where we estimate information asymmetry using highfrequency trade and quote data. We find that contrary to the criticism that mandatory CSR disclosure lacks credibility and relevance in emerging markets, mandatory CSR reporting firms experience a decrease in information asymmetry subsequent to the mandate. In addition, the decrease in information asymmetry is more pronounced among firms with greater political/social risks, poorer information environments, and better CSR reporting quality. Additional analyses suggest that relative to mandatory CSR disclosure, voluntary CSR disclosure is part of a firm’s political/social strategy and has higher CSR reporting quality. However, the effect of voluntary CSR disclosure on information asymmetry is limited unless CSR reporting is widespread.
A simulation Approach for Analyzing the in-fluence of Information Quality on the de-Ployment of a Green supply Chain

This research aims at investigating the influence of information quality on supply chain performance, from both an economic and environmental point of view, through the use of an agent-based simulation based on a real case study. We investigate the supply chain of a large European retailer that initiated the deployment of a green supply chain with its small suppliers. Such a green supply chain’s success depends on suppliers’ decision of going to the new green supply chain configuration in which both physical flows and information exchanges evolve. Consequently, volume and frequency of deliveries and quality of information exchanges are influencing their decision. The simulation also shows that green supply chain success is influenced by assimilation of the information system supporting complementary information sharing.
Sumatriptan: treatment across the full spectrum of migraine

Introduction: Triptans are the first-line treatment for moderate-to-severe migraine headaches. Sumatriptan, the first triptan, is available in different formulations, including subcutaneous (SQ), intranasal, transdermal, oral, and suppository options. Areas covered: Sumatriptan formulations have different pharmacokinetic, efficacy, and adverse event profiles. The fastest and most complete migraine relief occurs with SQ dosing; a needle-free option is available for patients fearful of injections. Oral administration is generally preferred by patients, although variability with absorption limits efficacy, especially for more severe attacks. Intranasal, transdermal, and suppository formulations are options for patients with nausea who do not require or prefer to avoid SQ administration. Transdermal treatment may be limited in some cases by skin irritation. Expert opinion: Patients should use an attack-based treatment approach for their migraine attacks to balance the speed of relief, efficacy, and tolerability. Different sumatriptan formulations allow its use as both first-line and rescue therapies, with additional treatment if needed. This article develops a treatment algorithm that offers suggested roles for different formulations of sumatriptan based on attack severity and response to initial sumatriptan therapy.
Stochastic and deterministic absorption in neutron-interference experiments.

Experiments with absorbing foils, beam choppers, or an absorbing lattice in one path of a neutron interferometer to expose the difference between stochastic and deterministic absorption in quantum mechanics are reported. The different amplitudes of the interference patterns in stochastic and deterministic absorption when the absorption probability is the same were observed in agreement with prediction. Also the possibility of a gradual transition from deterministic to stochastic absorption was experimentally investigated.
Plant Leaf Recognition

Research on automatic leaf classification has been active since 2000. Lots of hand-crafted features have been proposed, ranging from shape based, to statistical texture and margin related [2] [3] [1]. Also generic computer vision object recognition features, such SIFT[32] and HOG[33], are studied for this problem. Most of such manually engineered features achieve excellent accuracy on clean images taken in controlled conditions, which consist of one single well aligned leave on contrasting background, such as those images in data set [15]. Recently, with the huge success of deep ConvNets, particularly from the winners of ILSVRC [11] [23], [24] and [22], researchers start to apply deep ConvNets to this problem. In [36], Sharif, et al. suggested that generic features can be extracted from large ConvNet and yield very good results on fine-grained classification problems even without fine-tuning the pre-trained model. [34] compares traditional approaches with ConvNet based approach, and discuss impacts on various conditions, including translation, rotation, scale and occlusion. However it only give results on Flavia[16] dataset which is relatively less challengingIII. [35] proposes a VGG[23] based architecture, and use multiple organ features. It produces above 70% mean average precision on ImageCLEF dataset[17]. III. DATASET
Activity of levofloxacin in a murine model of tuberculosis

The activity of levofloxacin (LEV) was evaluated in a murine model of tuberculosis. Approximately 10(7) viable Mycobacterium tuberculosis ATCC 35801 were given intravenously to 4-week-old female outbred mice. In a dose-response study, treatment with LEV at 100, 200, and 400 mg/kg of body weight was started 1 day after infection and was given daily for 28 days. Viable cell counts were determined from homogenates of spleens and lungs. A dose-related reduction in organism cell counts in organs was noted for LEV. The activities of LEV at 100, 200, and 300 mg/kg were compared with those of first-line antituberculosis agents. Both isoniazid and rifampin were more active than LEV. There was no difference in activity between LEV and either ethambutol or pyrazinamide against splenic organisms. The activities of ethambutol and LEV at the two higher doses were comparable against lung organisms. LEV at 300 mg/kg was more active than pyrazinamide against lung organisms. The activity of LEV was compared with those of two other quinolones, ofloxacin and sparfloxacin. LEV at 200 mg/kg had more than twofold greater activity than ofloxacin at the same dose. Sparfloxacin at 100 mg/kg was more active than LEV at 200 mg/kg; however, the activities of sparfloxacin at 50 mg/kg and LEV at 200 mg/kg were comparable. The promising activity of LEV in M. tuberculosis-infected mice suggests that it is a good candidate for clinical development as a new antituberculosis agent.
Defective barrier function accompanied by structural changes of psoriatic stratum corneum

Although barrier function of psoriatic skin is shown to be decreased by measuring transepidermal water loss (TEWL), few reports exist examining other physical skin properties and components including stratum corneum hydration, natural moisturizing factor (NMF), free fatty acids (FFA), β‐sheet and α‐helix ratio of structural protein(s), and sebum content. We compared the skin properties and components of normal, involved and uninvolved skin of psoriasis. Using a corneometer and attenuated total reflection‐infrared spectrometer, we measured TEWL, stratum corneum hydration, NMF, FFA, β/α ratio and sebum in psoriasis vulgaris patients and healthy controls. TEWL and β/α ratio of involved psoriatic skin were significantly increased compared with uninvolved skin and normal control skin. In contrast, stratum corneum hydration, NMF and FFA, but not sebum, are significantly decreased in the involved skin compared with uninvolved skin and normal skin. TEWL and stratum corneum hydration returned to the normal levels following clinical improvement of the lesion. Barrier function and hydration of psoriatic skin are defective and secondary structure in stratum corneum protein is altered in the involved psoriatic skin.
Anterior Frontal Cortex and the Effect of Proactive Interference in Paired Associate Learning: A DC Potential Study

This contribution focuses on neurophysiological correlates of the cerebral processes subserving the control of proactive interference. Event-related negative shifts of the scalp-recorded cortical steady potential (negative DC shifts) were measured in 17 right-handed normals during two tasks of paired associate learning. The control condition was a standard word pair learning task in which unrelated word pairs were presented. In the experimental condition, proactive interference was maximized by presenting very similar words and by requiring negative transfer, i.e., by having them reappear, but in different pairings. Proactive interference leads to increased anterior frontal negative DC shifts. Furthermore, centrotemporal negative DC shifts predicted subsequent cued recall performance. In spite of elaborative strategies, an effect of subsequent mnestic performance on the P300 was observed.
Mutant Glu781-->Ala of the rat kidney Na+,K(+)-ATPase displays low cation affinity and catalyzes ATP hydrolysis at a high rate in the absence of potassium ions.

Site-specific mutagenesis was used to replace Glu329, Glu781, Asp806, Thr809, and Asp810 in the transmembrane domain of the ouabain-insensitive alpha 1-isoform of rat kidney Na+,K(+)-ATPase. cDNAs encoding any of the mutants Glu329-->Ala, Glu781-->Ala, Asp806-->Asn, Thr809-->Ala, and Asp810-->Asn were transfected into COS cells, and transfectants were grown in the presence of ouabain to inhibit the endogenous COS cell Na+,K(+)-ATPase. Mutants Glu781-->Ala and Thr809-->Ala were functional as evidenced by their ability to confer ouabain resistance to the cells, whereas mutants Glu329-->Ala, Asp806-->Asn, and Asp810-->Asn were inactive. The apparent Na+ affinities determined by titrations of Na+,K(+)-ATPase activity, Na(+)-ATPase activity, and phosphorylation from ATP in mutants Glu781-->Ala and Thr809-->Ala were strongly reduced relative to the affinity of the wild type (6-8-fold increase in K0.5 for Na+ in the phosphorylation assay for both mutants). The Glu781-->Ala mutant displayed a 3-4-fold reduction in the apparent affinity for K+ and was able to hydrolyze ATP at a high rate in the absence of K+ (Vmax for Na(+)-ATPase activity 5-fold higher than that of the wild-type enzyme). The steady-state phosphoenzyme level formed by the Glu781-->Ala mutant was increased 3-fold by addition of oligomycin, whereas only a slight effect of oligomycin was observed for mutant Thr809-->Ala and the wild type. (ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)
Attachment Style Dimensions Can Affect Prolonged Grief Risk in Caregivers of Terminally Ill Patients With Cancer

Objective: The aim of the present study was to evaluate the predictive role of attachment dimensions on the risk of prolonged grief. Sixty caregivers of 51 terminally ill patients with cancer who had been admitted in a hospice were selected. Methods: Caregivers were interviewed using Attachment Scale Questionnaire, Hamilton Depression Rating Scale, Hamilton Anxiety Rating Scale, and Prolonged Grief Disorder 12 (PG-12). Results: The consort caregivers showed higher PG-12 level compared to the sibling caregivers. Anxiety, depression, need for approval, and preoccupation with relationships levels were significantly correlated with PG-12 scores. Conclusion: Female gender, high levels of depression, and preoccupation with relationships significantly predicted higher levels of prolonged grief risk.
Current research trends and directions for future research in trust maintenance for virtual environments

Trust is widely acknowledged as being important for the efficient and effective operation of business in virtual environments. This is because trust functions like a glue that holds and links virtual agents together as they relate and collaborate remotely. In virtual environments, trust needs to be established swiftly as there is little time to build it gradually in the absence of face-to-face meetings. However, the manner in which trust develops and is maintained is a critical factor in relationships, both physically and virtually. In virtual environments, trust needs to be managed including network connection as well as social aspects of interaction. Maintaining trust in virtual environments is defined as an effort to maximize the benefits of such virtual relationship and to prevent the level of trust from decreasing. In this paper, we undertake a general survey of the current situation of trust maintenance in virtual environments. We review several researches from the perspective of terminology, strategies presented, and types of strategies. We describe the benefits and shortcomings of each strategy, conduct an integrative review of these strategic approaches, and make suggestions for future research.
Magnetic tunnel junctions using reactively sputtered Al/sub 2/O/sub 3/ barriers

Magnetic tunnel junction (MTJ) films were deposited using reactively sputtered AlOx barriers. In contrast to earlier attempts we show that sizable tunnel magnetoresistance (TMR) can be achieved at moderate resistance area (RA) products using this method. For instance, 45% at 580 /spl Omega//spl mu/m/sup 2/ is obtained using Co/sub 70/Fe/sub 30/ electrodes. The barrier formation can be understood by monitoring the oxidation state of the target in the presence of oxygen flow. Target oxidation plays a very important role in determining the final thickness and stoichiometry of the barrier, and is easily monitored by target voltage measurements. In addition to complete MTJ films, isolated barriers were also deposited. X-ray fluorescence (XRF) was used to determine their thickness and oxygen content.
A New Method of Physiological Investigation of Recent Memory in Animals

According to the vast evidence accumulated in recent years we can distinguish two different kinds of lasting effects produced in the central nervous system by stimuli impinging upon it, effects which are usually referred to as memory traces. One of these kinds has a very longlasting, and probably even permanent character and is referred to as stable memory. The other kind lasting only for a number of seconds, minutes, or hours is called, in contrast to the first, transient or recent memory. We have some evidence that these two forms of memory differ not only in their phenomenological aspects, but also in their physiological mechanisms. The first form is probably due to some stable micromorphological changes in the interneuronal connections (outgrowth and multiplication of axonal endings [3]), whereas the second form is, at present, generally attributed to the reverberating chains of neurons, activation of which may persist for a relatively long time after the actual stimulation of the given group of neurons [1]. According to this hypothesis the first form of memory may be called static, and the second dynamic. It is a striking fact that the physiology of higher nervous activity (or physiological psychology, as it is called in America) has so far been concerned almost exclusively with static and not dynamic memory. Whether we have to do with classical or with instrumental conditioned responses of various sorts, we are chiefly concerned with establishing excitatory or inhibitory conditioned reflexes and with studying their properties under various experimental conditions. The only method in which the phenomena of recent memory were explicitly studied has been so far the method of delayed responses, introduced in behaviouristic psychology by Hunter [2]. In this method the experimental setting is such that one of two or more sources of food is baited in front of the animal and then, after a number of seconds or minutes, the animal is released and must remember where the food was hidden. As shown in many experimental studies the