Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
The Dietary Flavonoid Rhamnetin Inhibits Both Inflammation and Excitotoxicity During Ethanol Withdrawal in Rat Organotypic Hippocampal Slice Cultures.

BACKGROUND Ethanol (EtOH) causes neurotoxicity via several mechanisms including neuroinflammation (during EtOH exposure), and excitotoxicity (during EtOH withdrawal [EWD]). Alpha7 nicotinic acetylcholine receptor (nAChR) selective agonists have the potential to reduce both. The aim of this study was to evaluate the anti-inflammatory and neuroprotective potential of rhamnetin, a dietary flavonoid with alpha7 nAChR selective activity, in an in vitro model of EtOH-induced neurotoxicity. METHODS The anti-inflammatory and neuroprotective properties of rhamnetin were assessed in neonatal organotypic hippocampal slice cultures undergoing EWD (or not) and challenged with N-methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA) and/or lipopolysaccharide (LPS). Neurotoxicity was determined using propidium iodide uptake, and the inflammatory response was evaluated by measuring the release of tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-alpha (NO; quantified by ELISA) and nitric oxide (quantified by the Griess reaction) into culture media. RESULTS As predicted, rhamnetin reduced LPS-induced release of TNF-alpha and NO both under control conditions and during EWD. Additionally, rhamnetin had no effect on NMDA-induced neurotoxicity under control conditions, but significantly reduced NMDA toxicity during EWD. In contrast, rhamnetin had no effect on neurotoxicity induced by NMDA and LPS combined despite reducing TNF-alpha and NO levels under these conditions. CONCLUSIONS Rhamnetin is anti-inflammatory and neuroprotective during EWD and therefore has potential value in treating neurotoxicity caused by EtOH.
Fault coverage analysis of selection circuit based BIST for RF CP-PLL

Analog and mixed-signal testing is becoming an important issue that affects both the time-to-market and the product cost of many SoCs. In order to provide an efficient testing method for 865-870 MHz Charge pump phase-locked loop (CP-PLL) which constitutes a mixed-signal circuit a novel BIST method is developed. This BIST can be easily implemented with a test stimulus generator circuit, all existing blocks in CP-PLL and fault evaluation circuit. In order to reduce the chip area overheard, this technique use a selection circuit and one delay cell. The simulation results of the novel technique show high fault coverage 100% like that of our previous testing methods. Thus, it provides an efficient structural test suitable for a production test in terms of an area overhead, a test accessibility, and test time.
Inactivation of Escherichia coli O157:H7, Salmonella enterica serotype enteritidis, and Listeria monocytogenes on lettuce by hydrogen peroxide and lactic acid and by hydrogen peroxide with mild heat.

Iceberg lettuce is a major component in vegetable salad and has been associated with many outbreaks of foodborne illnesses. In this study, several combinations of lactic acid and hydrogen peroxide were tested to obtain effective antibacterial activity without adverse effects on sensory characteristics. A five-strain mixture of Escherichia coli O157:H7, Salmonella enterica serotype Enteritidis, and Listeria monocytogenes was inoculated separately onto fresh-cut lettuce leaves, which were later treated with 1.5% lactic acid plus 1.5% hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) at 40 degrees C for 15 min, 1.5% lactic acid plus 2% H2O2 at 22 degrees C for 5 min, and 2% H2O2 at 50 degrees C for 60 or 90 s. Control lettuce leaves were treated with deionized water under the same conditions. A 4-log reduction was obtained for lettuce treated with the combinations of lactic acid and H2O2 for E. coli O157:H7 and Salmonella Enteritidis, and a 3-log reduction was obtained for L. monocytogenes. However, the sensory characteristics of lettuce were compromised by these treatments. The treatment of lettuce leaves with 2% H2O2 at 50 degrees C was effective not only in reducing pathogenic bacteria but also in maintaining good sensory quality for up to 15 days. A < or = 4-log reduction of E. coli O157:H7 and Salmonella Enteritidis was achieved with the 2% H2O2 treatment, whereas a 3-log reduction of L. monocytogenes was obtained. There was no significant difference (P > 0.05) between pathogen population reductions obtained with 2% H2O2 with 60- and 90-s exposure times. Hydrogen peroxide residue was undetectable (the minimum level of sensitivity was 2 ppm) on lettuce surfaces after the treated lettuce was rinsed with cold water and centrifuged with a salad spinner. Hence, the treatment of lettuce with 2% H2O2 at 50 degrees C for 60 s is effective in initially reducing substantial populations of foodborne pathogens and maintaining high product quality.
A Microbial Observatory of Caterpillars: Isolation and Molecular Characterization of Protists Associated with the Saturniid Moth Caterpillar Rothschildia lebeau 1,2

LINDA A. AMARAL ZETTLER, ABBY D. LAATSCH, ERIK ZETTLER, THOMAS A. NERAD, JEFFREY COLE, FELIPE CHAVARRIA DIAZ, JOEL DIAZ, DANIEL H. JANZEN, ANA SITTENFELD, OLIVIA MASON and ANNA-LOUISE REYSENBACH The Josephine Bay Paul Center for Comparative Molecular Biology and Evolution, Marine Biological Laboratory, 7 MBL Street, Woods Hole, Massachusetts 02543, USA, and Sea Education Association, P.O. Box 6, Woods Hole, Massachusetts 02543, USA, and Centro de Biologı́a Molecular, UAM-CSIC, Cantoblanco, Madrid, Spain, and George Mason University, Manassas, Virginia 20110, USA, and American Type Culture Collection, 10801 University Boulevard, Manassas, Virginia 20110, USA, and Area de Conservacı́on Guanacaste, Apdo. 169, Liberia 5000, Costa Rica, and Department of Biology, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 19104, USA, and Centro de Investigacı́on en Biologı́a Celular y Molecular (CIBCM) and Faculty of Microbiology, Universidad de Costa Rica, San José, Costa Rica, and College of Oceanic and Atmospheric Sciences, Oregon State University, Corvallis, Oregon 97331, USA, and Department of Biology, Portland State University, Portland, Oregon 97201, USA
Aripiprazole: efficacy and tolerability profile of a novel-acting atypical antipsychotic.

Aripiprazole, the latest atypical antipsychotic to come to clinical practice, has a proposed mechanism of action different to other agents, most notably in its partial agonist action at dopamine (D2) receptors and at serotonin (5HT1A) receptors. Placebo-controlled comparative trials of aripiprazole confirm efficacy for positive, negative and general psychopathology. Treatment-emergent adverse effects appear low. Aripiprazole is associated with low propensity for extrapyramidal side effects, an absence hyperprolactinemia and a low propensity for weight gain. Aripiprazole's clinical role will be determined by clinical experience, additional phase IV studies, and comparative information for this agent with respect to the efficacy and tolerability profiles of other atypical antipsychotic medications.
Analisis Contract Farming Usaha Ayam Broiler

English Small farmers’ participation in the high-value product market aims to improve quality and income. They are involved in the contract farming for supply improvement, increased production, risk reduction, and profit enhancement. Contract farming types are various as well as the motives of the actors. This study aims to analyze contract farming in broiler farms in Malang Regency, East Java Province. The methods of analyses are logit function, technical efficiency, and performance index. Implementation of contract farming benefits the broiler farms. The farms are technically efficient. Incomes of the farmers are higher due to relatively lower production costs. Contract farming program is still the best option for farmers in order to increase income. Indonesian Partisipasi peternak kecil pada pasar produk bernilai tinggi, dengan tujuan meningkatkan standar kualitas, meningkatkan dan menstabilkan pendapatan adalah alasan rasional untuk memperluas contract farming karena kualitas persediaan, kuantitas produksi meningkat, transfer risiko dari petani ke perusahaan dan tujuan keuntungan meningkat. Contract farming dapat berfungsi sebagai sebuah alat manajemen risiko oleh karena terjadi sharing antara pelaku yakni perusahaan (inti) dan peternak. Partisipasi perusahaan dan peternak dalam program contract farming akan memberikan implementasi kontrak yang bervariasi, sebagai akibat adanya motif pemenuhan kontrak sehingga hal ini merupakan hal yang sangat penting untuk analisis. Penelitian bertujuan untuk menganalisis pelaksanaan contract farming usaha ternak ayam broiler di Kabupaten Malang Jawa Timur. Metode analisis digunakan fungsi logit, efisiensi teknis dan indeks kinerja. Temuan mengungkapkan bahwa penerapan contract farming memberikan manfaat pada peternak ayam broiler serta pelaksanaan usaha ternaknya efisien secara teknis. Pendapatan peternak kontrak lebih tinggi dengan biaya produksi yang lebih rendah, sehingga program contract farming masih merupakan pilihan terbaik bagi peternak dalam rangka peningkatan pendapatan.
Extending the generalizability and pragmatic contributions to solve privacy paradox

Privacy issue has increasingly become an integral part of organizations and businesses that operate within the digital era. However, heretofore, there is a lack of a systematic literature review to help scholars to integrate what has been done in previous studies when privacy issues were addressed especially the privacy paradox that still perplexes both academia and practitioners alike. Furthermore, with the inconsistency of findings regarding the privacy paradox, there is also a need to support researchers in recognizing the substantial constructs to improve the results of their empirical papers. Therefore, this paper aims to serve as an integrated review to congregate constructs that can help scholars to improve the generalizability and pragmatic contributions when addressing privacy paradox issue. Besides the conclusion that there is a lack of empirical papers on privacy paradox published in the business, management and marketing journal publications, we also synthesize constructs such as the population of the study, methodology, cross-cultural aspect and context of the study to improve the extent of the generalizability and practical contributions of empirical paper related to the privacy paradox. The limitations and implications of this study are also discussed at the end of this paper.
Evaluation of a risk factor scoring model in screening for undiagnosed diabetes in China population

ObjectiveTo develop a risk scoring model for screening for undiagnosed type 2 diabetes in Chinese population.MethodsA total of 5348 subjects from two districts of Jinan City, Shandong Province, China were enrolled. Group A (2985) included individuals from east of the city and Group B (2363) from west of the city. Screening questionnaires and a standard oral glucose tolerance test (OGTT) were completed by all subjects. Based on the stepwise logistic regression analysis of Group A, variables were selected to establish the risk scoring model. The validity and effectiveness of this model were evaluated in Group B.ResultsBased on stepwise logistic regression analysis performed with data of Group A, variables including age, body mass index (BMI), waist-to-hip ratio (WHR), systolic pressure, diastolic pressure, heart rate, family history of diabetes, and history of high glucose were accepted into the risk scoring model. The risk for having diabetes increased along with aggregate scores. When Youden index was closest to 1, the optimal cutoff value was set up at 51. At this point, the diabetes risk scoring model could identify diabetes patients with a sensitivity of 83.3% and a specificity of 66.5%, making the positive predictive value 12.83% and negative predictive value 98.53%. We compared our model with the Finnish and Danish model and concluded that our model has superior validity in Chinese population.ConclusionsOur diabetes risk scoring model has satisfactory sensitivity and specificity for identifying undiagnosed diabetes in our population, which might be a simple and practical tool suitable for massive diabetes screening.
Pricing and Hedging GDP-Linked Bonds in Incomplete Markets

Abstract We model the super-replication of payoffs linked to a country’s GDP as a stochastic linear program on a discrete time and state-space scenario tree to price GDP-linked bonds. As a byproduct of the model we obtain a hedging portfolio. Using linear programming duality we compute also the risk premium. The model applies to coupon-indexed and principal-indexed bonds, and allows the analysis of bonds with different design parameters (coupon, target GDP growth rate, and maturity). We calibrate for UK and US instruments, and carry out sensitivity analysis of prices and risk premia to the risk factors and bond design parameters. We also compare coupon-indexed and principal-indexed bonds. Further results with calibrated instruments for Germany, Italy and South Africa shed light on a policy question, whether the risk premia of these bonds make them beneficial for sovereigns. Our findings affirm that designs are possible for both coupon-indexed and principal-indexed bonds that can benefit a sovereign, with an advantage for coupon-indexed bonds. This finding is robust, but a nuanced reading is needed due to the many inter-related risk factors and design parameters that affect prices and premia.
Regulation of dendritic spine stability

Dendritic spines undergo several types of transformations, ranging from growth to collapse, and from elongation to shortening, and they experience dynamic morphological activity on a rapid time scale. Changes in spine number and morphology occur under pathological conditions like excitotoxicity, but also during normal central nervous system development, during hormonal fluctuations, and in response to neural activity under physiological circumstances. We briefly review evidence for various types of alterations in spines, and discuss the possible molecular basis for changes in spine stability. Filamentous actin appears to be the most important cytoskeletal component of spines, and a growing list of actin‐associated and actin‐regulatory proteins has been reported to reside within spines. We conclude that spines contain two distinct pools of actin filaments (one stable, the other unstable) that provide the spine with both a stable core structure and a dynamic, complex shape. Finally, we review the current state of knowledge of actin filament regulation, based on studies in nonneuronal cells. Hippocampus 2000;10:542–554. © 2000 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Metabolism of bisphenol S in mice after oral administration.

RATIONAL As an important substitute of bisphenol A (BPA), bisphenol S (BPS) shows comparable estrogenic effects. BPS is now widely used in consumer products with widespread human exposures. In order to evaluate the health risk of BPS, it is essential to develop a rapid method for the determination of BPS and its metabolites as well as its biotransformation capacity in vivo. METHODS Two major BPS phase II metabolites, BPS glucuronide (BPS-G) and BPS sulfate (BPS-S), were synthesized and used as standards for the development of UPLC-ESI-MS/MS method. Phase II metabolism of BPS in imprinting control region (ICR) female mice after the oral administration with different dosages (10, 100, 1000 μg/kg body weight) was investigated. RESULTS Urinary elimination was the main excretion route for BPS, with the total recovery ranging from 52.8% to 78.1%. In urine, BPS-G was identified as the predominant metabolite, and the maximum concentrations of BPS-G and BPS-S were obtained at 6 h after the oral administration upon the adjustment by creatinine. BPS was the major compound existed in feces. Only trace amounts of BPS and its metabolites were detected in digestive and excretory related tissues (<1%). CONCLUSIONS The distribution and metabolic pathway of BPS in mice were assessed. More than 50% of BPS was excreted through phase II metabolism. Due to the biological inactivity of BPS-G and BPS-S, rapid metabolism of BPS to BPS-G and BPS-S may result in reduced toxicity of BPS in vivo.
Immunomodulation with Methotrexate: Underused and Undervalued?

Therapeutic options for the treatment of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) are multiple. There are excellent clinical trials showing in patients with IBD that immunomodulatory therapy is highly efficacious in the disease control in moderate active to severe forms. Most clinical experience was gained over the last years with the purine analogues azathioprine (AZA)/6-mercaptopurine (6-MP). These drugs are now considered as gold standard in the treatment of severe Crohn’s disease (CD). However, for patients who fail to respond or who do not tolerate AZA/6-MP therapy, methotrexate is an interesting alternative drug. Two initial clinical trials validated the use of MTX in adult CD cohorts. There are now two retrospective analyses in pediatric cohorts available which nicely demonstrate the efficacy of MTX to maintain long-term remission in CD patients with active and severe disease progression. The remission rates are close to 50% in long-term follow-up, an efficacy comparable to purine analogues. Overall tolerance of MTX was good, with about 10% of adverse events in either study. Taken together, there are first data indicating that MTX might play a role comparable to AZA in the treatment of CD; however, to date it seems to be underused in the routine care of IBD patients.
Clinical features and prognosis of hepatocellular carcinoma with respect to pre‐S deletion and basal core promoter mutations of hepatitis B virus Genotype C2

Few studies have reported on the clinical characteristics of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) at the time of diagnosis with regard to pre‐S and basal core promoter (BCP) mutations. In this study, the clinical features and prognosis of 126 Korean HCC patients were examined with respect to pre‐S deletion and BCP mutations of hepatitis B virus. The proportion of HCC patients according to tumor‐node‐metastasis stage are as follows: 8.7% in stage I, 31% in stage II, 30.2% in stage III, 21.4% in stage IV‐A, and 8.7% in stage IV‐B. Overall, 40.5% of HCC patients were treated by surgery or ablation, 59.5% by other methods. Patients were divided according to pre‐S deletion and BCP mutations (103 without pre‐S deletion, 23 with pre‐S deletion; 44 without BCP mutation, 82 with BCP mutation). The tumor characteristics and prognosis were evaluated between the groups, including size, number, type, vessel invasion, portal vein thrombosis, and metastasis. No significant difference in tumor characteristics between the HCC patients with pre‐S deletion was observed, compared with the HCC patients without pre‐S deletion. In contrast, the survival rate was lower in those with pre‐S deletion than in those without it (P = 0.024). No difference in tumor characteristics was found in non‐BCP and BCP mutation patients. Unlike the pre‐S deletion group, no difference was observed in survival rate between the non‐BCP and BCP patients. In conclusion, pre‐S deletion and BCP mutations did not affect the initial tumor features. However, pre‐S deletion was an independent risk factor affecting HCC survival. J. Med. Virol. 83:2088–2095, 2011. © 2011 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
Na+/Ca2+ exchange inhibitor, KB-R7943, attenuates contrast-induced acute  kidney injury.

BACKGROUND Intracellular Ca2+ overload is considered to be a key factor in contrast-induced acute kidney injury (CI-AKI). The Na+/Ca2+ exchanger (NCX) system is one of the main pathways of intracellular Ca2+ overload. We investigated the effects of KB-R7943, an inhibitor of the reverse mode of NCX, on CI-AKI in a rat model. METHOD Rats were divided into control group, CI-AKI group and pretreatment groups (with KB-R7943 dose of 5 or 10 mg/kg). CI-AKI was induced by diatrizoate administration in rats with cholesterol-supplemented diet for 8 weeks. Renal function and renal hemodynamics were determined 1 day following contrast medium administration. Renal histopathology was observed by light microscope. Renal tubular apoptosis was examined by TUNEL. Renal endothelin-1 (ET-1) was measured by radioimmunoassay. Renal malondialdehyde (MDA) and catalase (CAT) were measured as oxidative markers. RESULTS Levels of serum creatinine (Scr), renal ET-1, MDA and CAT, and resistance index (RI) of renal blood vessels increased significantly in CI-AKI rats. The increases in Scr and RI of renal blood vessels induced by diatrizoate were suppressed significantly and dose-dependently by pretreatment with KB-R7943. Histopathological and TUNEL results showed that the contrast medium-induced severe renal tubular necrosis and apoptosis were significantly and dose-dependently attenuated by KB-R7943. KB-R7943 significantly suppressed the increment of renal ET-1 content and MDA and CAT level induced by contrast medium administration. CONCLUSION Activation of the reverse mode of NCX, followed by ET-1 overproduction and increased oxidative stress, seems to play an important role in the pathogenesis of CI-AKI. The inhibitor of the reverse mode of NCX, KB-R7943, has renoprotective effects on CI-AKI.
The rehydration behavior of microwave‐dried amaranth (Amaranthus dubius) leaves

Abstract The effect of temperature (35, 50, and 60°C) on the rehydration behavior of microwave‐dried amaranth (Amaranthus dubius) leaves was investigated. Leaves were dried at 700 W power level before rehydrating in water. The higher the rehydration temperature, the higher the equilibrium moisture content of the leaves, although the effect was not statistically significant. The increase in rehydration ratio was significant only as temperature increased from 50 to 60°C. The process was adequately described by the Peleg sorption model, with the Peleg rate constant (K 1) and the Peleg capacity constant (K 2), both decreasing as rehydration temperature increased. While the color difference (ΔE) between fresh leaves and leaves rehydrated at 35°C was significantly higher than for the leaves rehydrated at 50 and 60°C, this difference was not visible. Cooking of leaves occurred beyond 120 min at the higher rehydration temperatures . Based on the results, rehydration of microwave‐dried leaves was successfully carried out at 35°C, however, rehydrated leaves were darker than the fresh leaves. Increasing the temperature to 50°C improved the rehydration capacity and the color of the leaves, however, cooking of leaves occurred by the second hour of the process.
A Cortical Mechanism for Binding in Visual Working Memory

Luck and Vogel (1997) showed that the storage capacity of visual working memory is about four objects and that this capacity does not depend on the number of features making up the objects. Thus, visual working memory seems to process integrated objects rather than individual features, just as verbal working memory handles higher-order chunks instead of individual features or letters. In this article, we present a model based on synchronization and desynchronization of reverberatory neural assemblies, which can parsimoniously account for both the limited capacity of visual working memory, and for the temporary binding of multiple assemblies into a single pattern. A critical capacity of about three to four independent patterns showed up in our simulations, consistent with the results of Luck and Vogel. The same desynchronizing mechanism optimizing phase segregation between assemblies coding for separate features or multifeature objects poses a limit to the number of oscillatory reverberations. We show how retention of multiple features as visual chunks (feature conjunctions or objects) in terms of synchronized reverberatory assemblies may be achieved with and without long-term memory guidance.