Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Face Threatening Acts and Standing Orders: ‘Politeness’ or ‘politics' in the Question Time Discu ssions of the Kenyan Parliament

This paper examines politeness in the context of politics during question time discussions of the Kenyan Parliament; politeness is an attempt by the speaker to linguistically show he cares about the others feelings. Question time is a highly aggressive session full of FTAs but the parliamentarians are constrained to produce parliamentary language required by the standing orders of 2008, thus politeness strategies become the only linguistic device to the realization of fruitful political discussions. The live televised question time sessions within a period of two weeks in the month of April and May 2009 were recorded, transcribed and sampled for analysis. This was done using a theoretical framework encompassing positive, negative, and image repair politeness strategies. The findings show that certain strategies are used to mitigate FTAs thus enhancing effective communication; others are a ritual requirement by the standing orders whereas others are as a result of mere politics between the different political factions.
An Analysis for Credit Rating and Momentum Strategy

In recent years, investors are increasingly concerned about whether the credit risk will affect the return on investment. This paper discusses the credit rating and momentum investment strategy relationship. The research period is from January 2005 to December 2010, and the sample is the ordinary shares of companies listed on Taiwan Stock Exchange (TSE). By calculating the cumulative returns of the investment portfolio of the holding period, and grouping the research samples by credit rating, this paper tests the relationship between credit rating and momentum investment strategy in Taiwan? s stock market. Second, in the exploration of the factors affecting credit rating and stock returns, this paper uses variables including firm size, financial leverage, turnover rate, company age and industry to analyze the impact of factors including information asymmetry and industry on the investment strategy. Moreover, this paper probes into the impact of January Effect and business cycle on credit rating. The empirical results reveal that Taiwan? s stock market does not have the momentum effect, although there is reverse investment strategy. In other words, the returns of stocks of investment portfolio of better credit rating are higher than those of poorer credit rating; and the results are reverse if the reverse investment strategy is applied. The empirical results are not affected by adding variables such as firm size, financial leverage, turnover rate, company age and industry. Hence, momentum investment strategy of Taiwan? s stock market is not affected by credit rating.
Reconstruction of Large Cranial Defects in the Presence of Heavy Radiation Damage and Infection Utilizing Tissue Transferred by Microvascular Anastomoses

Six cases of large defects of the scalp, skull, and dura following tumor ablation and radiation are presented. Each was accompanied by chronic infection in the irradiated defect. Efforts to reconstruct the resulting defects with local flaps were not successful. One-state reconstruction was then accomplished in each case utilizing a latissimus dorsi musculocutaneous or myo-osteocutaneous free flap transferred by microvascular anastomoses. The versatility of the latissimus dorsi musculocutaneous and/ or osseous flap allows single-stage reconstruction of these complex defects.
Effect of Amino Acids on Acrylamide Formation and Elimination Kinetics

The effect of amino acids other than asparagine on acrylamide (AA) formation/elimination kinetics was studied in an asparagine‐glucose model system (0.01 M, pH 6) heated at temperatures between 140 and 200 °C. Addition of cysteine or lysine to the model significantly lowered the AA yield, whereas addition of glutamine had a strong promoting effect and of alanine a rather neutral effect on the AA formation. This was also reflected by AA formation/elimination kinetics, which for all model systems studied could be modeled by two consecutive first‐order reactions. The ratio of the elimination to the formation rate constant increased from the systems to which glutamine or alanine was added, over the control model system, to the model systems that contained lysine or cysteine.
The utilization of proteins and amino acids in diets based on cassava (Manihot utilissima), rice or sorghum (Sorghum sativa) by young Nigerian men of low income

1. The net protein utilization (npu, the percentage of dietary nitrogen retained in the body, allowance being made for endogenous urinary and faecal N) of diets composed of Nigerian foodstuffs, based on rice, sorghum (Sorghum sativa) or cassava (Manihot utilissima), was compared to that of a minimal protein diet used to determine endogenous N excretion, supplemented with whole egg. The addition of dl-methionine and l-tryptophan to the rice diet produced a small but non-significant increase in npu, whereas the addition of dl-methionine to the cassava diet produced a very significant increase in npu. The npu of a diet based on home-pounded, winnowed, sorghum flour was higher than that of a diet based on milled whole-meal sorghum due to the low digestibility of the latter diet. 2. The digestibility of the rice and cassava diets were the same, although the total crude fibre content of the rice diets was lower than that of the cassava diets. 3. Nigerian men used the proteins of the egg diet and of mixed diets based on rice, sorghum and cassava more efficiently than predicted by applying methods recommended by the FAO/WHO ad hoc Expert Committee on Energy and Protein Requirements (FAO/WHO, 1973). 4. The recommendations of that Committee (FAO/WHO, 1973) to reduce the amounts of sulphur amino acids and tryptophan, contained in the ‘provisional pattern of amino acids’ proposed by the FAO Committee on Protein Requirements (FAO, 1957), are supported, but the increases in lysine and threonine are not supported, by the present results.
Chondrogenic Potential of Human Adult Mesenchymal Stem Cells Is Independent of Age or Osteoarthritis Etiology

Osteoarthritis (OA) is a multifactorial disease strongly correlated with history of joint trauma, joint dysplasia, and advanced age. Mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) are promising cells for biological cartilage regeneration. Conflicting data have been published concerning the availability of MSCs from the iliac crest, depending on age and overall physical fitness. Here, we analyzed whether the availability and chondrogenic differentiation capacity of MSCs isolated from the femoral shaft as an alternative source is age‐ or OA etiology‐dependent. MSCs were isolated from the bone marrow (BM) of 98 patients, categorized into three OA‐etiology groups (age‐related, joint trauma, joint dysplasia) at the time of total hip replacement. All BM samples were characterized for cell yield, proliferation capacity, and phenotype. Chondrogenic differentiation was studied using micromass culture and analyzed by histology, immunohistochemistry, and quantitative reverse transcriptase‐polymerase chain reaction. Significant volumes of viable BM (up to 25 ml) could be harvested from the femoral shaft without observing donor‐site morbidity, typically containing >107 mononuclear cells per milliliter. No correlation of age or OA etiology with the number of mononuclear cells in BM, MSC yield, or cell size was found. Proliferative capacity and cellular spectrum of the harvested cells were independent of age and cause of OA. From all tested donors, MSCs could be differentiated into the chondrogenic lineage. We conclude that, irrespective of age and OA etiology, sufficient numbers of MSCs can be isolated and that these cells possess an adequate chondrogenic differentiation potential. Therefore, a therapeutic application of MSCs for cartilage regeneration of OA lesions seems feasible.
Volatile organic compound markers of psychological stress in skin: a pilot study

The forehead was studied as a possible sampling site for capturing changes in volatile organic compound (VOC) profiles associated with psychological-stress. Skin-VOCs were sampled with a polydimethylsilicone (PDMS)-coupon and the resulting VOCs were recovered and analysed with two-stage thermal desorption gas chromatography-mass spectrometry. Fifteen young adult volunteers (19 years–26 years) participated in two interventions run in a randomised crossover design. One intervention, termed ‘Neutral’, required the participants to listen to peaceful music, the other, termed a ‘paced audio serial addition task’, required the participants to undertake a series of rapid mental arithmetic calculations in a challenging environment that induced a stress response. Skin-VOC samples were taken during each intervention. The resultant data were processed with dynamic background compensation, deconvolved, and registered to a common retention index scale. The importance of freezing skin patch samplers to −80 °C was determined during the method development phase of this study. The cumulative distribution function of the GC-MS data indicates the possibility that PDMS-coupons are selective towards the lower volatility VOC components in skin. The frequency distribution of the GC-MS data was observed to be approximately log-normal, and on the basis of this study, a further two-orders of magnitude reduction in sensitivity may be required before the complete skin-VOC profile may be characterised. Multi-variate analysis involving Pareto-scaling prior to partial least squares discriminant analysis identified four VOCs with the highest probability of contributing to the variance between the two states, and the responses to these VOCs were modelled with principle components analysis (PCA). Two VOCs, benzoic acid and n-decanoic acid were upregulated (14 and 8 fold respectively) and appear to be PASAT sensitive, with areas under (AUC) their receiver operator characteristic (ROC) curves of 0.813 and 0.852 respectively. A xylene isomer and 3-carene were down regulated 75% and 97% respectively, and found to be predictive of the neutral intervention (ROC AUC values of 0.898 and 0.929 respectively). VOC profiles in skin appear to change with stress either due to increased elimination, elevated bacterial activity, or perhaps increased oxidative pathways.
Combined use of an immunomagnetic separation method and immunoblotting for the enumeration and isolation of Escherichia coli O157 in wastewaters

Aims: The detection of Escherichia coli O157:H7 in environmental samples is a human concern. The high persistence of this serotype in the environment suggests that contaminated animal wastewater could act as a potential reservoir. Nevertheless, the high levels of background microflora and cell damage because of environmental stress hamper the isolation of this pathogen without using enrichment methods. This study develops a method for the detection of E. coli and investigates its prevalence in animal and human wastewaters.
Risk factors of colorectal cancer in inflammatory bowel disease.

BACKGROUND It is unknown whether colorectal cancer (CRC) in patients with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) behaves differently from regular CRC in patients without IBD. A case-control study was conducted to compare CRC in patients with and without underlying IBD. METHODS The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) maintains a computerized file of all hospital discharges among U.S. military veterans since 1970. This file accrues the data of 1 million hospital discharges per year. All patients with IBD and all patients with CRC who had been discharged from a VA hospital between 1981 and 1993 were selected. The influence of various risk factors on the occurrence of CRC in IBD and its mortality in patients with and without IBD was tested by logistical regression analyses. RESULTS Of the 11,446 subjects with IBD, 371 had colon cancer. CRC was diagnosed in 52,243 subjects without IBD. CRC patients with IBD were 7 yr younger than those without IBD, but in patients with Crohn's disease, more cancers were located in the proximal colon (chi 2 = 18.10, df = 5, p = 0.003). The occurrence of CRC in IBD was influenced by the following risk factors: age [odds ratio (OR) = 1.45, 95% confidence interval (CI) = 1.35-1.57], sclerosing cholangitis (OR) = 3.41, CI = 2.03-5.73), and history of a disease associated with consumption of nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAID) (OR = 0.84, CI = 0.65-1.09). Sex, race, and type of IBD did not exert a significant influence on the development of cancer. Cancer-related mortality was influenced by the following risk factors: age (OR = 1.16, CI = 1.14-1.18), male gender (OR = 1.23, CI = 1.06-1.44), white race (OR) = 0.97, CI = 0.96-0.99), and history of NSAID consumption (OR = 0.68, CI = 0.65-0.72). Presence of IBD was not associated with a significant influence on CRC mortality (OR = 1.00, CI = 0.70-1.43). CONCLUSIONS CRC affects IBD patients at a younger age and is characterized by a more proximal localization when compared with CRC of non-IBD patients. NSAID exert a protective influence against CRC in patients with IBD similarly as in patients without IBD. Sclerosing cholangitis is associated with a strong risk of developing colon cancer in patients with IBD.
Foetal testosterone, social relationships, and restricted interests in children.

BACKGROUND Sex-differences exist in some areas of human social behaviour. In animals, foetal testosterone (fT) plays a central role in organising the brain and in later social behaviour. fT has also been implicated in language development, eye-contact, and spatial ability in humans. METHODS Fifty-eight children (35 male and 23 female), whose fT was analysed in amniotic fluid, were followed up at age 4. Their mothers completed the Children's Communication Checklist, a questionnaire assessing language, quality of social relationships and restricted interests. RESULTS fT was negatively correlated to quality of social relationships, taking sex-differences into account. fT was also positively correlated with restricted interests in boys. CONCLUSIONS These findings implicate fT in both social development and attentional focus. They may also have implications for understanding the sex ratio in autism.
Using Inverse Nonlinearities in Robust Output Feedback Guaranteed Cost Control of Nonlinear Systems

This paper extends the result of an earlier paper on constructive robust nonlinear output feedback controller design, which is based on the use of IQCs and minimax LQG control. In this paper, in addition to copies of the nonlinearities, we include copies of the inverses of the nonlinearities in the controller. Consequently more IQCs are exploited in the design procedure, which gives a smaller bound on the closed-loop cost function than the earlier result.
Effect of dilution rate on lipopolysaccharide and serum resistance of Neisseria gonorrhoeae grown in continuous culture

Growth of Neisseria gonorrhoeae strain FA171 in continuous culture under glucose-limiting conditions resulted in a growth-rate-dependent change in the lipopolysaccharide (LPS). The evidence for this change is an alteration in the mobility of purified alkali-treated LPS on sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gels and a quantitative difference in the amount of the LPS serotype antigen. The LPS from cells grown at a low dilution rate (0.12 h-1) contained ca. eightfold less serotype antigen than the LPS from cells grown at a high dilution rate (0.56 h-1). The decrease in LPS serotype antigen was associated with an increase in sensitivity to the bactericidal activity of normal human serum and an increase in cell surface hydrophobicity. An increase in the amount of serotype antigen was associated with a reduction in the accessibility of a monoclonal antibody to a core LPS determinant, an increase in resistance to normal human serum, and a decrease in cell surface hydrophobicity. The microheterogeneity of gonococcal LPS with respect to the content of serotype antigen may result from an alteration in the metabolism of glucose.
Etiologies of Chronic Anterior Uveitis at a Tertiary Referral Center over 35 Years

Purpose: To describe the epidemiology of chronic anterior uveitis (CAU) at a tertiary center over 35 years. Methods: Data regarding etiology of CAU was collected from medical records of patients evaluated between 1973-2007. Relative frequencies of each diagnosis of CAU were calculated. Linear regression analyses were performed on the common types of CAU. Results: 5970 patients were evaluated between 1973-2007; 31% carried a diagnosis of CAU. Idiopathic disease was diagnosed in 54% of patients (39 to 72% annually), ocular sarcoidosis in 14% of patients (2 to 20% annually), Fuchs heterochromic iridocyclitis (FHI) in 12% of patients (4 to 22% annually), and juvenile idiopathic arthritis (JIA) in 6% of patients (2 to 13% annually). The frequency of diagnosis of idiopathic CAU decreased over time, with no significant change for sarcoidosis, FHI or JIA. An increase in frequency of diagnosis was observed for HLA-B27-related disease and uveitis related to multiple sclerosis and inflammatory bowel disease. Conclusions: The relative frequency of idiopathic disease has decreased over the past 35 years at our center. This may be related to an increase in the diagnosis of CAU associated with HLA-B27 positivity, inflammatory bowel disease (including family history) and multiple sclerosis. Despite the advances over the last 35 years, idiopathic disease still comprises at least 39% of our patients with CAU each year.
Extracellular ATP causes loss of L‐selectin from human lymphocytes via occupancy of P2Z purinoceptors

Lymphocytes from normal subjects or patients with chronic lymphocytic leukemia are known to possess receptors for extracellular ATP termed P2Z purinoceptors whose physiological role is undefined. Addition of extracellular ATP (50–500 μM) to both normal and leukemic lymphocytes caused loss of binding of monoclonal antibodies to L‐selectin (CD62L) on the cell surface. UTP, ADP, and adenosine (all at 500 μM) had no effect on L‐selectin expression. Several features of the ATP‐induced loss of L selectin indicate that this effect is mediated by lymphocyte P2Z purinoceptors. First the loss was attenuated in isotonic NaCl medium compared to 150 mM KCl medium. Second the loss of L‐selectin was immediately halted by addition of Mg2+ ions in molar excess of ATP. The most potent nucleotide causing L‐selectin loss was benzoylbenzoic ATP (>10 μM) which is also the most potent agonist for the P2Z purinoceptor. Finally preincubation of lymphocytes with oxidized ATP, an irreversible inhibitor of P2Z purinoceptors, also inhibited ATP induced loss of L‐selectin. Extracellular ATP is known to open an ion channel associated with the P2Z purinoceptor on B‐lymphocytes which allows influx of Ca2+. However, ATP‐induced loss of L‐selectin did not require extracellular Ca2+. Moreover addition of the calcium ionophore, ionomycin, had minimal effect on L‐selectin expression. Staurosporine (500 nM), an inhibitor of protein kinase C, inhibited only 10% of ATP induced loss of L‐selectin but completely inhibited the loss of L‐selectin caused by 50 nM PMA. Thus extracellular ATP interacts with lymphocyte P2Z purinoceptors which leads to shedding of L‐selectin via a pathway which requires neither Ca2+ influx nor activation of protein kinase C. ATP may have a physiological role in the loss of L‐selectin which occurs during the interactions of lymphocytes with other cells. © 1996 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
A single residue contributes to the difference between Kir4.1 and Kir1.1 channels in pH sensitivity, rectification and single channel conductance

1 Kir1.1 and Kir4.1 channels may be involved in the maintenance of pH and K+ homeostasis in renal epithelial cells and CO2 chemoreception in brainstem neurons. To understand the molecular determinants for their characteristic differences, the structure‐function relationship was studied using site‐directed mutagenesis. 2 According to previous studies, Glu158 in Kir4.1 is likely to be the major rectification controller. This was confirmed in both Kir1.1 and Kir4.1. Mutation of Gly210, the second potential rectification controller, to glutamate did not show any additional effect on the inward rectification. 3 More interestingly, we found that Glu158 in Kir4.1 was also an important residue contributing to single channel conductance and pH sensitivity. The E158N Kir4.1 mutant had a unitary conductance of 35 pS and a midpoint pH for channel inhibition (pKa) value of 6.72, both of which were almost identical to those of the wild‐type (WT) Kir1.1. Flickering channel activity was clearly seen in the E158N mutant at positive membrane potentials, which is typical in the WT Kir1.1 but absent in the WT Kir4.1. 4 Reverse mutation in Kir1.1 (N171E) reduced the unitary conductance to 27 pS (23 pS in WT Kir4.1). However, the pH sensitivity of this mutant did not show a marked difference from the WT Kir1.1. Therefore, it is possible that a residue(s) in addition to Asn171 is also involved. Thus we studied several other residues in both M2 and H5 regions. We found that joint mutations of Val140 and Asn171 to residues seen in Kir4.1 greatly reduced the pH sensitivity (pKa 6.08). 5 The V140T mutation in Kir1.1 led to a unitary conductance of ∼70 pS, and the G210E mutation in Kir4.1 caused a decrease in pH sensitivity of 0.4 pH units. 6 These results indicate that the pore‐forming sequences are targets for modulations of multiple channel‐biophysical properties and demonstrate a site contributing to rectification, unitary conductance and proton sensitivity in these Kir channels.
Induction Therapy: A Modern Review of Kidney Transplantation Agents

Kidney transplantation remains the most effective modality for the treatment of end-stage renal disease. The development of induction therapy has significantly reduced the incidence of acute rejection within the first six months following kidney transplantation. As a result, induction therapy is typically administered in the majority of kidney transplants. Moreover, early graft function has also improved with the advent and routine administration of induction therapy. Effective induction therapy has also expanded the donor pool as it allows for more effective utilization of marginal donor kidneys including expanded criteria donors and donors after cardiac death. It may also benefit higher immunologic risk recipients such as highly sensitized, African American, and repeat transplant patients. Poly- and monoclonal antibody agents are available for use as induction agents, including rabbit Anti-thymocyte globulin, interleukin-2 receptor antagonists, and alemtuzumab each of which have proven efficacy but have discrete advantages and disadvantages. Tailoring induction therapy to individual patient profiles provides the best opportunity for both short and long-term outcomes of the patient and allograft. Moreover, we explore the role of induction therapy with long-term steroid avoidance immunosuppression regimens in modern kidney transplantation. Overall, we review the safety and efficacy of this important group of induction agents and discuss an approach to tailoring their use for specific patients undergoing kidney transplantation.