Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Association of Bone Morphogenic Protein Receptor IA (BMPIA) Gene Polymorphism with Ossification of Posterior Longitudinal Ligament (OPLL) of the Cervical Spine in a Chinese Han Population

Study design: A case-control study using radiograph findings and the PCR assay with regard to the susceptibility and the severity of ossification of posterior longitudinal ligament of the spine (OPLL). Objective: To analyze whether the single nucleotide polymorphisms in the Bone Morphogenetic Protein Receptor IA (BMPIA) gene predisposed to increased the frequency and severity of OPLL. Methods: Analysis of 292 OPLL patients and 586 non-OPLL controls was performed. Radiographs of the cervical spine were analyzed to determine whether OPLL was present and to what degree. Genomic DNA was extracted from all participants. Polymorphisms of the BMPRIA gene were analyzed using the PCR assay. The association of the polymorphisms with the development and extent of OPLL were statistically evaluated. Results: Significant associations were found between two single nucleotide polymorphisms (rs34755052, rs11528010) and the existence of OPLL in BMPRIA genes. Both of rs34755052 (C/T) and rs11528010 (C/A) were more frequent in patients with OPLL. Regarding the rs11528010 (C/A), patient with A Allele had a significantly greater number of ossified cervical vertebrae compared with patients without the A allele, but rs34755052 didn’t show the similar tendency. Conclusion: The present results suggested that rs34755052(C/T) was associated with the occurrence of OPLL, but not associated with the severity of OPLL. rs11528010(C/A) was associated with more extensive OPLL and the frequency with which it occured.
The relation of stress coping strategies and self-handicapping strategies to the process of opiate addicts behavior changes

Background/Aim. During a progress of addictive behavior treatment, the strategies of coping with stress are engaged, but addicts may continue with self-handicapping behavior which is opposite to changing a problematic behavior. The aim of this study was to examine the stress coping (CS) strategies and self-handicapping (SH) strategies in relation to the process of addictive behavior change. Methods. In the descriptive clinical study, the sample of 200 consecutively recruited inpatient opiate addicts were explored. They underwent methadone therapy. The general information questionnaire, the Indicator of coping strategies (CSI), SHquestionnaire for assessing self-handicapping behavior (SH) and the University Rhode Island Change Assessment (URICA) questionnaire for the assessment of process of change were completed. The Student t-test, Pearson? s correlation coefficient and multiple regression analysis were applied. The SPSS for Windows was used and the p ? 0.05 defined as statistically significant. Results. Among the CS, there were significant correlations between avoiding problems strategy and all SH strategies (p ? 0.02). The social support was directly proportionate to the process of change (p = 0.03, ? = 0.35). However, the process of change inversely correlated to internal handicaps in interpersonal relationships strategy (IHI) (p = 0.02; ? = -0.54) and strategy of focusing to the problem (p = 0.00, ? = -0.44). Conclusion. The significant positive predictor for the process of addictive behavior change was a strategy of social support, but focusing on the problem and the strategy of internal handicaps in achievement situations were significant negative predictors. The evaluation of motivation process and stress coping strategies could be useful for creation of improved tailored treatment of opiate addiction.
Alpha-Synuclein Misfolding and Aggregation in Parkinson's Disease

Follow this and additional works at: http://publications.lakeforest. edu/eukaryon Part of the Molecular and Cellular Neuroscience Commons, Molecular Biology Commons, Molecular Genetics Commons, and the Nervous System Diseases Commons Disclaimer: Eukaryon is published by students at Lake Forest College, who are solely responsible for its content. The views expressed in Eukaryon do not necessarily reflect those of the College. Articles published within Eukaryon should not be cited in bibliographies. Material contained herein should be treated as personal communication and should be cited as such only with the consent of the author.
Bleeding of Common Carp (Cyprinus carpio) Improves Sensory Quality of Fillets and Slows Oxidative and Microbiological Changes During Refrigerated Aerobic Storage

SUMMARY Common carp (Cyprinus carpio) aquaculture is one of the most important and rapidly growing productions around the world. However, for consumers, carp is often not acceptable due to its distinctive colour and odour. In this study, we investigated the effects of bleeding of common carp on fillet quality. The obtained results show that carp bleeding by cutting the gill arches is an effective way of reducing the total haem content, which here decreased from (9.6±1.6) in unbled carp to (2.34±0.8) μmol/kg of haemoglobin in bled carp. Furthermore, fillets from bled carp showed reduced formation of primary and secondary lipid oxidation products and growth of microorganisms during 12 days of refrigerated aerobic storage. On the last day of storage, the amount of lipid hydroperoxides decreased from (88.9±4.2) in unbled to (62.1±2.9) μmol/kg of cumene hydroperoxide in bled carp, TBARS decreased from (4.2±0.5) in unbled to (2.6±0.4) μmol/kg of malondialdehyde in bled carp, mesophilic and psychrotrophic bacteria count decreased from (6.4±0.1) and (6.2±0.3) log CFU/g in unbled to (4.0±0.2) and (4.2±0.2) log CFU/g in bled carp, respectively. These raw bled fillets showed increased lightness L*, and reduced redness a* and yellowness b* compared to unbled fillets. Sensory analysis showed improved colour, odour and overall acceptability of bled raw fillets. Overall, bleeding improves the quality of carp fillets. Thus, inclusion of bleeding into processing of carp fillets has the potential to improve their acceptance by consumers and prolong their shelf-life.
An Analysis of the Effects of Stock Market Development on Economic Growth in Kenya

This paper presents an analysis of the stock market development effects on economic growth in Kenya, using the gross domestic product and the two key measures of stock market – capitalization and trade volume. Empirical results indicate that variables satisfied apriori expectations, are statistically significant, and positively correlated with feed-back effects. Capitalization, trade volume and economic growth are highly positively correlated in Kenya, with capitalization and trade volume jointly explaining 91% of the variations in the economic growth, over the period under study. Further, the study found that a 1% increase in both trade volume and capitalization causes 0.025% and 0.115% increase in gross domestic product respectively. Thus, empirical evidence shows that stock market development (measured by trade volume and/or capitalization) impacts positively on the economic growth in Kenya.
Effects of Fire Frequency and Intensity on Velvet Mesquite in an Arizona Grassland

Abstract Increases of velvet mesquite (Prosopis velutina Woot.) in southwestern grasslands might have been caused by livestock consumption of fuels that once burned with sufficient frequency and intensity to kill the trees. However, attempts to control mesquite with fire usually have failed. We measured fire damage and 5 years of postfire recovery for 225 mesquite trees > 1 m tall, following a 2002 wildfire that included grasslands differing in fire history, presence vs. 34-year livestock exclusion, and predominance of native vs. exotic grasses. The fire burned 100% of ground cover in ungrazed areas and 65% on grazed lands. Top-kill was 100% for trees in exotic ungrazed grasslands (the areas with highest fuel loads), 79% for trees in ungrazed native grasslands, and 28% for trees in grazed grasslands. Most top-killed trees produced ground sprouts, so that by 2006 the combined foliage volume from ground sprouts and surviving branches was 78% (± 3.2 SE) of preburn foliage volume in grazed areas, 66% (± 3.3) in ungrazed exotic grasslands, and 57% (± 4.0) in ungrazed native grasslands. Fire damage was greater among surviving trees in ungrazed areas that had burned twice (1987 and 2002) than among those that had burned only once since 1968 (in 2002), especially in native grasslands where postfire foliage recovery for twice-burned trees was only 47% (± 6.3) by 2006. Only 1 of 84 trees died in the area burned once, whereas 12 of 66 (18.2%) died in the area burned twice, including several individuals > 3 m tall. These results suggest that repeated fires likely could have prevented the historic spread of velvet mesquite into southwestern grasslands, but probably could be used to control mesquite today only in areas where abundant herbaceous growth provides sufficient fine fuels.
Errors in water retention curves determined with pressure plates and their effect on soil hydraulic properties

Pressure plates are commonly used to measure the soil water retention curve. Low plate and soil conductance, lack of plate-soil contact, and soil dispersion, however, make this method often unreliable at low water potentials. We investigated how errors in the determination of the water retention curve affect the soil hydraulic properties and the computation of plant-available water. We first determined soil water retention data for a silt loam soil using pressure plates only and a combination of pressure plates and a dew point meter. The two sets of soil water retention data were then analyzed using different models for describing the hydraulic properties. The soil water retention curves determined with the two methods deviated at potentials less than about -20 m H 2 O, with the pressure plate apparatus data yielding larger water contents than the dew point meter at the same water potentials. These results indicate that soil water retention curves determined from pressure plates may be in error at potentials less than -20 m H 2 O, which may lead to substantial errors in water flow calculations. These errors can be eliminated by using a combination of pressure plates and dew point measurements to determine the water retention curve.
The Role of Mediation of the Organizational Cynicism the Relationship between Leader-Member Exchange and Job Performance: An Examination on the Elementary Teachers of Public Personnel in Central Anatolia Region

Questionnaires were applied to the subjects via the face-to-face interview method. The universe of the research is composed of teachers working in Public Primary Schools affiliated to The Ministry of National Education operating in the Central Anatolia Region. 508 questionnaires were delivered to the teachers in this universe and 442 questionnaires were collected. The return rate of the questionnaire is 87%. 32 of the questionnaires were eliminated for various reasons and a total of 410 questionnaires were analyzed. After analyzing the significance and validity of the hypotheses, we have looked at the regression coefficients R which show the relationship between independent variables and dependent variables and R 2 which show the change between independent variables and dependent variables.For model 1, the R value is 0.372 and the R 2 value is 0.138, the R value for model 2 is 0.308 and the R 2 value is 0.095, the R value for model 3 is 0.224, and the R 2 value is 0.050. On the other hand, when the results of the research hypotheses are examined it was found a relationship between the variables in the hypotheses from the beta coefficients that indicate the level of relationship between independent variables and dependent variables in three hypotheses. As a result, the hypotheses H1, H2 and H3 are accepted. Previous regression analyzes have shown that the first three conditions have been provided. In order to see whether the fourth condition is also provided, a multiple regression analysis in which dependent variable was job performance, independent variables leader-member exchange and organizational cynicism was carried out. The regression coefficients (Beta values) between the independent variable (leader-member exchange) and the dependent variable (work performance) in H1 and H4 Hypotheses were examined for the effect of the instrument variable. According to this datas, the beta coefficient of H4 (313) was found to be lower than the beta coefficient of H1 (, 182). This suggests that organizational cynicism assumes the role of a partial mediating role between leader-member exchange and job performance.
The Supercharged IPO

A new innovation on the IPO landscape has emerged in the last two decades, allowing owner-founders to extract billions of dollars from newly-public companies. These IPOs — labeled supercharged IPOs — have been the subject of widespread debate and controversy: lawyers, financial experts, journalists, and Members of Congress have all weighed in on the topic. Some have argued that supercharged IPOs are a “brilliant, just brilliant,” while others have argued they are “underhanded” and “bizarre. ”In this article, we explore the supercharged IPO and explain how and why this new deal structure differs from the more traditional IPO. We then outline various theories of financial innovation and note that the extant literature provides useful explanations for why supercharged IPOs emerged and spread so quickly across industries and geographic areas. The literature also provides support for both legitimate and opportunistic uses of the supercharged IPO.With the help of a large-N quantitative study — the first of its kind — we investigate the adoption and diffusion of this new innovation. We find that the reason parties have begun to supercharge their IPO is not linked to a desire to steal from naive investors, but rather for tax planning purposes. Supercharged IPOs enable both owner-founders and public investors to save substantial amounts of money in federal and state taxes. With respect to the spread of the innovation, we find that elite lawyers, especially those located in New York City, are largely responsible for the changes that we observe on the IPO landscape. We conclude our study by demonstrating how our empirical findings can be used to 1) advance the literature on innovation, 2) assist firms going public in the future, and 3) shape legal reform down the road.
Immunohistochemical Detection of Porcine Reproductive and Respiratory Syndrome Virus Antigen in Formalin-Fixed, Paraffin-Embedded Tissues with Correlation to Clinicopathologic Data

Immunohistochemistry (IHC) was used in this study to detect the presence of porcine reproductive and respiratory virus (PRRSV) antigen using monoclonal antibody (Mab SDOW17) in formalin-fixed, paraffin embedded tissues of lung, lymph node, heart, spleen, and kidney of pre- weaning to less than 90 day old pigs. Out of the 25 tissue samples examined from swine cases of the Philippine Animal Health Center (PAHC), Bureau of Animal Industry and College of Veterinary Medicine (CVM) Histopathology Laboratory, University of the Philippines-Los Banos (UPLB), 14 or 56% (14/25) were IHC positive for PRRSV antigen. Among the selected tissue samples, the PRRS virus was detected the most in the lymph nodes (64%) and lungs (40%), respectively, compared to other organs such as spleen (33%), kidney (28%), and the heart (17%). Only 43% (6/14) of cases coincided with the pathogenesis and clinicopathologic lesions of PRRS which are proliferative interstitial pneumonia and lymphoid follicular hyperplasia and necrosis. PRRS positive cases in IHC were consistently found to have co-infections with viral and bacterial diseases. Since PRRSV has tropism for macrophages and destruction of these cells leads to immunosuppression, affected animals are vulnerable to secondary infections. Keywords: formalin-fixed; immunohistochemistry; paraffin embedded tissue; piglets; Porcine Reproductive and Respiratory Syndrome; PRRS virus antigen; Mab SDOW17
BREAKING THE RULES: THE FAILURE OF MORAL AND LEGAL PROHIBITIONS AGAINST CORPORATE CRIME

We combine prior research on ethical decision-making in organizations with a rational choice theory of corporate crime from criminology to develop a model of corporate offending that is tested with a sample of U.S. managers. Despite demands for increased sentencing of corporate offenders, we find that the threat of formal sanctions does not directly affect the likelihood of misconduct. Managers’ evaluations of the ethics of the act have a significant effect, as do outcome expectancies that result from being associated with the misconduct but not facing formal sanctions. The threat of formal sanctions appears to operate indirectly, influencing ethical evaluations and outcome expectancies. There is also support for the influence of obedience to authority, with managers more likely to engage in misconduct if ordered to do so by a supervisor.
An acoustic study of the Estonian Swedish lateral (ɬ)

This pilot study investigates the Estonian Swedish (ES) voiceless lateral [ɬ], which is rare among the Scandinavian dialects and is a development mainly of historic /sl/ clusters. Six elderly ES speakers were recorded, and the phonological and phonetic (duration, relative intensity) properties of [ɬ] studied and compared to other ES consonants and [ɬ] in Icelandic. The results suggest that ES [ɬ] is a single consonant rather than a consonant cluster. It behaves much like initial [s] in duration, although a tendency to anticipatory voicing in its latter part may point to its ‘approximant’ status. Furthermore, ES [ɬ] is similar in intensity to the Icelandic [ɬ]. It has a phonemic status and it can be both short and long. Laterals as well as other phonetic aspects of ES are in urgent need of further research.
First-principles study of the effects of polytype and size on energy gaps in SiC nanoclusters

We have studied the band-gap variation and stability energy in silicon carbide (SiC) nanoclusters of different polytypes using density functional theory (DFT) based on a gradient-corrected approximation. We have obtained a series of spherical SiC nanoclusters with dimensions up to 2 nm from bulk 2H, 3C, and 4H polytype crystals. All clusters with diameters smaller than 1 nm exhibit similar energy-gap-size variations, while energy gaps for clusters larger than 1 nm show a distinct size dependence with different polytypes and approach their bulk gaps with an increase in cluster size. In contrast to their bulk behavior, the binding energy difference between polytypes of clusters within the diameter range 0.5 nm−2 nm is found to be negligible, suggesting that the problems associated with the synthesis of polytypes of SiC in bulk may disappear for small clusters. The convergence of the energy gap and binding energy with different polytypes at small size clusters and the transition between the clusters to bulk .
THE RESPONSES OF YOUTH TO A CASH TRANSFER CONDITIONAL ON SCHOOLING: A QUASI‐EXPERIMENTAL STUDY

SUMMARY We estimate the effect of cash transfers given to youth conditional on high school attendance on the labor supply decisions and academic performance of youth. We exploit differences in the size of the total transfer received based on timing of birth to identify the causal effects of interest. Specifically, individuals born late in a quarter receive a larger total transfer than comparable individuals born early in the following quarter. We find that the transfer increases the labor market participation of youth and the number of months worked. The estimated effect is larger for individuals from low-income families. The results suggest that some youths are borrowing constrained. Since we find no evidence of corresponding effects on academic performance, alleviating the constraint appears only to affect consumption decisions and not human capital investment. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. The provision of cash transfers to parents, children and youth is an integral part of public policy in many Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) countries. However, it is an open question whether cash transfers given to families is an effective way of increasing equality of opportunity, as is the goal. In this paper, we investigate the relationship between adolescent outcomes and a publicly provided cash transfer to youth given conditional on high school attendance. Our contribution is twofold. First, we provide evidence on the effect of giving cash transfers to youth in a setting characterized by a high general transfer level and free access to education. Second, using large administrative datasets covering the entire Danish population combined with a quasi-experimental setup, we are able to identify the causal relation between cash transfers and adolescent behavior and outcomes.
SURVEY STUDY OF LIPID EFFECT ON NISIN NANOLIPOSOME FORMATION AND APPLICATION IN PASTEURIZED MILK AS A FOOD MODEL

Article Info The use of bacteriocins, mainly nisin, is one of the most significant preservation technologies in the food industry. Nisin encapsulation can improve stability and homogenous distribution in food matrices. In this study, liposomes of four various lipids (lipoid S 100, lipoid S PC-3, lipoid S PC, and lipoid PC (DPPC)) were prepared by dehydration-rehydration method, and compared for entrapment efficiency, and lipid with the highest entrapment efficiency (DPPC) was characterized. The inhibitory effects of encapsulated (DPPC nanoliposomes) and free nisin on the spoilage of pasteurized milk were also studied. All experiments were performed in triplicate. Entrapment efficiency ranged from 14% (lipoid S 100) to 49% (DPPC). DPPC nanoliposomes were large unilamellar vesicles (LUV), and had an asymmetric oval shape (elliptical) with a mean diameter of 136 nm. It was revealed that pasteurized milk spoilage was delayed by both free and encapsulated nisin, but free nisin (with 38 days) was significantly more efficient in comparison with encapsulated nisin (14 days).
Spring application of growth regulators affects fruit quality of `Blood Red' sweet orange

Spring applications of two plant growth regulators (GA3 and 2, 4-D) alone and in combination, were tested on ‘Blood Red’ sweet orange trees at full bloom. Ultimate effects of these growth regulators were studied on external and internal fruit quality. Fruit weight, diameter, peel thickness and peel quantity were significantly decreased by the growth regulator treatments compared with control while juice contents (%), pulp (%), reducing sugars, non-reducing sugars and total sugars, seeds quantity and quality were significantly improved by GA3 treatments compared with control. TSS (%), Vitamin C contents were increased by growth regulators treatments compared with non treated ones. In organoleptic tasting, taste, peel colour, pulp colour and appearance were also improved by growth regulator treatments compared with control. In conclusion mixture treatments performed best with regards to biochemical parameters compared with control.