Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Effect of a low crude protein diet supplemented with different levels of threonine on growth performance, carcass traits, blood parameters, and immune responses of growing broilers

&NA; A study was conducted to evaluate growth performance, carcass traits, blood serum parameters, and immune responses of Ross 308 male broilers fed diets containing 2 different crude protein (CP) levels (97.5 and 100%) and 4 threonine (Thr) levels (100, 110, 120, and 130% of Ross recommendations for starter and grower periods). A completely randomized block design was adopted and main effects (CP and Thr) were arranged in a 2 × 4 factorial approach. Optimum growth performance was achieved when broiler requirements for CP and Thr were 100% satisfied. The 110% Thr inclusion in 97.5% CP diet increased ADG, ADFI, energy intake, and protein intake (Thr, P < 0.01; quadratic, P = 0.01). The G:F (linear, P = 0.05) and energy efficiency (linear, P = 0.04) tended to decreased (Thr, P = 0.09) by increasing Thr supplementation level, whereas protein efficiency tended to increase (CP, P = 0.06) by reducing CP level. The 110% Thr inclusion in 97.5% CP diet increased eviscerated carcass weight (CP × Thr, P = 0.03) and carcass yield (Thr, P = 0.08; quadratic, P = 0.05). The reduction of CP content promoted fat abdominal deposition (CP, P = 0.05). Incremental Thr raised abdominal fat (Thr, P = 0.01; linear, P = 0.01). The 97.5% CP diets resulted in higher serum concentrations of uric acid (CP, P = 0.02), total and high‐ and low‐density lipoprotein‐linked cholesterol (CP, P≤ 0.01), and alanine aminotransferase (CP, P = 0.05) and lower (CP, P = 0.01) concentrations of triglycerides and very low density lipoproteins compared with the 100% CP diets. However, the Thr inclusion improved serum lipid profile. Irrespective of CP content, incremental Thr levels up to 120% increased (Thr, P = 0.01) broiler immune responses against Newcastle disease virus and sheep red blood cells. In order to reduce dietary CP content, strategies to increase synthetic amino acid availability, such as the use of encapsulated amino acids, should be taken into account.
Dual Targeting of the Androgen Receptor and Hypoxia-Inducible Factor 1α Pathways Synergistically Inhibits Castration-Resistant Prostate Cancer Cells

Enzalutamide is a potent second-generation androgen receptor (AR) antagonist with activity in metastatic castrate-resistant prostate cancer (CRPC). Although enzalutamide is initially effective, disease progression inevitably ensues with the emergence of resistance. Intratumoral hypoxia is also associated with CRPC progression and treatment resistance. Given that both AR and hypoxia inducible factor-1 α (HIF-1α) are key regulators of these processes, dual targeting of both signaling axes represents an attractive therapeutic approach. Crosstalk of the AR and HIF-1α signaling pathways were examined in prostate cancer cell lines (LNCaP, 22Rv1) with assays measuring the effect of androgen and hypoxia on AR-dependent and hypoxia-inducible gene transcription, protein expression, cell proliferation, and apoptosis. HIF-1α inhibition was achieved by siRNA silencing HIF-1α or via chetomin, a disruptor of HIF-1α-p300 interactions. In prostate cancer cells, the gene expression of AR targets (KLK3, FKBP5, TMPRSS2) was repressed by HIF-signaling; conversely, specific HIF-1α target expression was induced by dihydrotestosterone-mediated AR signaling. Treatment of CRPC cells with enzalutamide or HIF-1α inhibition attenuated AR-regulated and HIF-1α–mediated gene transcription. The combination of enzalutamide and HIF-1α inhibition was more effective than either treatment alone. Similarly, the combination also reduced vascular endothelial growth factor protein levels. HIF-1α siRNA synergistically enhanced the inhibitory effect of enzalutamide on cell growth in LNCaP and enzalutamide-resistant 22Rv1 cells via increased enzalutamide-induced apoptosis. In conclusion, the combination of enzalutamide with HIF-1α inhibition resulted in synergistic inhibition of AR-dependent and gene-specific HIF-dependent expression and prostate cancer cell growth.
Automated telephone answering systems and aging

Surveys about automated telephone answering systems, known as interactive voice response systems or IVRs, report high levels of dissatisfaction, especially among older users. To identify the problems IVR users experience, 22 community-dwelling senior women and 22 female university students were monitored while they performed the same six real IVR tasks. As expected, old age had a negative impact on performance, but seniors were polarized into very poor and very good performers. Seniors gave lower usability ratings than young people; only young users gave high ratings to the one voice-activated system. Users' problems were mostly caused by design flaws in the IVR systems, especially ambiguous choices or instructions, and too-rapid automated voices. Young and old participants had similar complaints, but most young users overcame all difficulties, while the majority of seniors failed because of age-related losses in capacities. The solution is not special products for the old, but universal design that will make IVRs and other technological products more usable for everyone.
Prediction of Mind-Wandering with Electroencephalogram and Non-linear Regression Modeling

Mind-wandering (MW), task-unrelated thought, has been examined by researchers in an increasing number of articles using models to predict whether subjects are in MW, using numerous physiological variables. However, these models are not applicable in general situations. Moreover, they output only binary classification. The current study suggests that the combination of electroencephalogram (EEG) variables and non-linear regression modeling can be a good indicator of MW intensity. We recorded EEGs of 50 subjects during the performance of a Sustained Attention to Response Task, including a thought sampling probe that inquired the focus of attention. We calculated the power and coherence value and prepared 35 patterns of variable combinations and applied Support Vector machine Regression (SVR) to them. Finally, we chose four SVR models: two of them non-linear models and the others linear models; two of the four models are composed of a limited number of electrodes to satisfy model usefulness. Examination using the held-out data indicated that all models had robust predictive precision and provided significantly better estimations than a linear regression model using single electrode EEG variables. Furthermore, in limited electrode condition, non-linear SVR model showed significantly better precision than linear SVR model. The method proposed in this study helps investigations into MW in various little-examined situations. Further, by measuring MW with a high temporal resolution EEG, unclear aspects of MW, such as time series variation, are expected to be revealed. Furthermore, our suggestion that a few electrodes can also predict MW contributes to the development of neuro-feedback studies.
An Analysis of Kikuchi Lines Observed with a RHEED Apparatus for a TiO2-Terminated SrTiO3 (001) Crystal

In this study, electron diffraction patterns observed under high vacuum conditions for an SrTiO3 surface were interpreted in detail while paying special attention to the features of inelastic effects. The surface of the SrTiO2 was carefully prepared to enforce its termination with single domains of TiO2 layers at the top. The inelastic patterns were interpreted using analytical models. Two types of Kikuchi lines are recognized in this paper: those which can be described with the Bragg law and those which appear due to surface wave resonance effects. However, we also discuss that there exists a formal connection between the two types of the Kikuchi lines observed.
Inflammation: A new candidate in modulating adult neurogenesis

Any pathological perturbation to the brain provokes a cascade of molecular and cellular events, which manifests in the form of microglial activation and release of various proinflammatory molecules. This eventually culminates in a profound neuroinflammatory reaction that characterizes the brain's response to stress, injury, or infection. The inflammatory cascade is an attempt by the system to eliminate the challenge imposed on the brain, clear the system of the dead and damaged neurons, and rescue the normal functioning of this vital organ. However, during the process of microglial activation, the proinflammatory mediators released exert certain detrimental effects, and neural stem cells and progenitor cells are likely to be affected. Here we review how the proliferation, maturation, and migration of the neural stem cells are modulated under such an inflammatory condition. The fate of the noncommitted neural stem cells and its differentiation potency are often under strict regulation, and these proinflammatory mediators seem to disrupt this critical balance and finely tune the neurogenesis pattern in the two niches of neurogenesis, the subventricular zone and the subgranular zone of the hippocampus. Moreover, the migration ability of these stem cells, which is important for localization to the proper site, is also affected in a major way by the chemokines released following inflammation. © 2007 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Incidence of Second Primary Cancer in Transplanted Patients

Background. Solid organ transplanted patients have a three- to fourfold higher lifetime risk of developing a cancer than the general population. However, the incidence of a second primary cancer in transplanted patients has never been studied, despite the fact that the presence of regular follow-ups and the increased survival of these patients make them a very attractive model. Methods. We investigated the incidence of a second primary cancer (SPC) in 7,636 patients who underwent a kidney, liver, lung or heart transplant between 1970 and 2004, and were followed-up for 51,819 person-years. Results. During the follow-up, 499 subjects developed a first cancer (annual incidence: 98.6×10,000 PY), and 22 of them developed a SPC (annual incidence: 3.9×10,000 PY). The annual incidence of a SPC in the transplanted patients who developed a first cancer was 107.8×10,000 PY, giving a standardized incidence ratio of 1.1 (95% CI: 0.83–1.41). Conclusions. This result shows that the incidence of the SPC was the same as the incidence of a first cancer. Our study does not indicate an increased risk of SPC in transplanted subjects who already suffered a first malignancy.
Testing for Asymmetric Information in Insurance Markets: A Multivariate Ordered Regression Approach

The positive correlation (PC) test is the standard procedure used in the empirical literature to detect the existence of asymmetric information in insurance markets. This article describes a new tool to implement an extension of the PC test based on a new family of regression models, the multivariate ordered logit, designed to study how the joint distribution of two or more ordered response variables depends on exogenous covariates. We present an application of our proposed extension of the PC test to the Medigap health insurance market in the United States. Results reveal that the risk–coverage association is not homogeneous across coverage and risk categories, and depends on individual socioeconomic and risk preference characteristics.
Angiotensin II‐based hypertension and the sympathetic nervous system: the role of dose and increased dietary salt in rabbits

There is accumulating evidence that angiotensin II may exert its hypertensive effect through increasing sympathetic drive. However, this action may be dependent on the dose of angiotensin II as well as salt intake. We determined the effect of different doses of angiotensin II and different levels of salt intake on neurogenic pressor activity. We also examined the effect of renal denervation. New Zealand White rabbits were instrumented to continuously measure arterial pressure. The depressor response to the ganglionic blocker pentolinium tartrate (5 mg kg−1) was used to assess pressor sympathetic drive on days 0, 7 and 21 of a 20 or 50 ng kg−1 min−1 continuous i.v. angiotensin II infusion. A 50 ng kg−1 min−1 infusion caused an immediate increase in pressure (23 ± 5 mmHg), whereas a 20 ng kg−1 min−1 infusion caused a slow increase in pressure, peaking by day 12 (17 ± 4 mmHg). The ganglionic blockade profiles indicated sympathoinhibition in the 50 ng kg−1 min−1 group by day 7 and sympathoinhibition in the 20 ng kg−1 min−1 group at day 21, corresponding to the development of hypertension. Animals receiving increased dietary salt (0.9% NaCl in drinking water), however, showed a similar slow increase in pressure with 20 ng kg−1 min−1 angiotensin II (16 ± 5 mmHg) but no sympathoinhibition at day 21. Bilateral renal denervation delayed the onset but not the extent of hypertension in this group. We conclude that different doses of angiotensin II produce distinct profiles of hypertension and associated changes in pressor sympathetic drive and that increased dietary salt intake disrupts the normal sympathoinhibitory response to angiotensin II‐based hypertension.
ACUTE DILATORY AND NEGATIVE INOTROPIC EFFECTS OF HOMOCYSTEINE ARE INHIBITED BY AN ADENOSINE BLOCKER

1 Previous studies have shown that homocysteine elicits acute negative inotropic and coronary vasodilatory effects in rat hearts. In addition, this earlier work suggested that the inotropic action is mediated via an endothelium‐derived agent that is neither nitric oxide (NO) nor a cyclooxygenase product, while the coronary actions were found to be antagonized by the NOS inhibitor l‐NNA. Current experiments, which utilized coronary‐perfused rat hearts, were designed to determine if muscarinic or adenosine receptors are involved in these acute actions of homocysteine. 2 Left ventricular developed pressure was used as a measure of systolic function in electrically paced, Langendorff‐perfused heart with coronary pressure being used to monitor coronary vascular tone. Acute effects of homocysteine (10–300 mmol/L) were examined in the presence and absence of 1 ¥ 10‐6 mol atropine or 7 ¥ 10‐5 mol 8‐(p‐sulfophenyl) theophylline (SPT), a non‐selective adenosine receptor antagonist. 3 Atropine had no effect on either the inotropic or vascular actions of homocysteine. In contrast, SPT partially antagonized both actions of the amino acid with the antagonism of the vasodilation being much greater than its inhibition of the negative inotropic effect. Experiments with adenosine demonstrated that the selected dose of SPT elicited marked rightward shifts in the dose–response curves for both the inotropic and vascular actions. 4 Current results suggest that adenosine plays a role in both the negative inotropic and vasodilatory actions of homocysteine. However, the relatively minor antagonistic action of SPT on the inotropic effect of homocysteine suggests that additional endothelium‐derived mediators underlie its effects on contractility.
Acetabular component position of the noncemented total hip endoprosthesis after previous Chiari pelvic osteotomy.

INTRODUCTION The aim of the study was to determine the validity of acetabular component position of the noncemented total hip endoprosthesis after Chiari pelvic osteotomy. MATERIAL AND METHODS The study involved 75 patients operated on at the Institute of Orthopedic Surgery "Banjica" in the period from 1990-2009. The first group consisted of 39 patients (46 hips) who underwent Chiari pelvic osteotomy and also later the implantation of a noncemented total hip endoprosthesis. A control group consisted of 36 patients (47 hips) who underwent total hip arthroplasty due to degenerative hip dysplasia. RESULTS In the previously operated patients the centre of rotation of the hip was on the average placed more proximally, while in the control group of patients the position of the acetabular component was closer to the anatomical one. In the group of patients after Chiari osteotomy the mean acetabular cup abduction angle rated 41.8°±9.8°, while in the control group this value was on the average higher (45.4°±8.6°). DISCUSSION There was a significant difference between the studied groups in relation to the distance between the acetabular component of endoprosthesis and the acetabular teardrop (t=-2.763; p=0.007). No statistically significant difference was determined in the mean value of the angle of acetabular abduction component of endoprosthesis between the studied groups of patients (t=1.878; p=0.064). CONCLUSIONS Acetabular component position of the total hip endoprosthesis was not compromised by anatomic changes of the acetabulum caused by Chiari pelvic osteotomy.
Effect of iodine supplementation in pregnancy on child development and other clinical outcomes: a systematic review of randomized controlled trials.

BACKGROUND Routine iodine supplementation during pregnancy is recommended by leading health authorities worldwide, even in countries where the iodine status of the population is sufficient. OBJECTIVES We evaluated the efficacy and safety of iodine supplementation during pregnancy or the periconceptional period on the development and growth of children. Secondary outcomes included pregnancy outcome and thyroid function. DESIGN A systematic review of randomized controlled trials (RCTs) was conducted. PUBMED, MEDLINE, EMBASE, CINAHL, PsycINFO, and Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials databases were searched to identify relevant RCTs. RESULTS Fourteen publications that involved 8 trials met the inclusion criteria. Only 2 included trials reported the growth and development of children and clinical outcomes. Iodine supplementation during pregnancy or the periconceptional period in regions of severe iodine deficiency reduced risk of cretinism, but there were no improvements in childhood intelligence, gross development, growth, or pregnancy outcomes, although there was an improvement in some motor functions. None of the remaining 6 RCTs conducted in regions of mild to moderate iodine deficiency reported childhood development or growth or pregnancy outcomes. Effects of iodine supplementation on the thyroid function of mothers and their children were inconsistent. CONCLUSIONS In this review, we highlight a lack of quality evidence of the effect of prenatal or periconceptional iodine supplementation on growth and cognitive function of children. Although contemporary RCTs of iodine supplementation with outcomes addressing childhood development are indicated, conduct of such RCTs may not be feasible in populations where iodine supplementation in pregnancy is widely practiced.
Discretionary Death: Conditions, Dilemmas, and Normative Regulation

ABSTRACT The author examines a major shift in the conceptualization and practices relating to death and dying in Western and other societies with advanced medicine. This shift is the result of socio-technical and cultural developments characterized by but not limited to the routine widespread application of life support technologies in the hospital together with notions of increased patient rights. It has resulted in a class of end-of-life situations, which the author defines as “discretionary death. ” The concept of discretionary death underscores the role of contextual and discretionary factors in end-of-life decision-making. The author identifies and discusses the necessary and complex process of norm formation that informs and regulates end-of-life medical practice and establishes societal consensus across society with respect to legitimizing “discretionary death. ”
Critical roles of neutrophils in host defense against experimental systemic infections of mice by Listeria monocytogenes, Salmonella typhimurium, and Yersinia enterocolitica

This study shows that neutrophils are critical for combating experimental systemic infections of mice by the bacterial pathogens Listeria monocytogenes, Salmonella typhimurium, and Yersinia enterocolitica. It shows that mice rendered neutropenic by treatment with the granulocyte-depleting monoclonal antibody RB6-8C5 are far more susceptible than immunocompetent mice to infection with each of these three pathogens. Compared to immunocompetent mice, neutropenic mice exhibit several defects in their antibacterial capabilities. Firstly, the immediate inactivation of Listeria, Salmonella, or Yersinia that initially implants in the livers and spleens that occurs in immunocompetent mice is abolished in these organs in neutropenic mice. Secondly, unlike immunocompetent mice, neutropenic mice neither control the subsequent proliferation of the inoculated bacteria in the livers and spleens nor prevent dissemination of infection to other organs. Thirdly, mice rendered neutropenic develop a generalized leukopenia in response to these three infections. Overall, this study indicates that neutrophils perform diverse antimicrobial functions that, combined, severely restrict the rate at which Listeria, Salmonella, and Yersinia multiply in the tissues during the preimmune phase of infection and thereby provide the host with the opportunity to develop and express more efficient specific protective immunity.
Observations on the Pathologic Diagnosis of Selected Unusual Lesions in Needle Core Biopsies of Breast

Abstract: Pathologic diagnoses rendered on needle core biopsies of mammary lesions are primary determinants of further intervention. Such biopsies are being performed for an ever‐widening range of diseases in an attempt to reliably and efficiently render a diagnosis. This review is intended to provide practical guidance to pathologists in dealing with selected unusual lesions encountered in these biopsies. Herein we offer advice on avoiding common diagnostic errors and on considering the relevant differential diagnosis of mucocele‐like lesions, spindle‐cell metaplastic carcinoma, adenomyoepithelioma, pseudoangiomatous stromal hyperplasia (PASH), collagenous spherulosis, myofibroblastoma, vascular lesions, and lymphoid infiltrates in the breast.
Vertical Integration and Firm Productivity

This paper uses three cross-industry datasets from China and other developing countries to study the effect of vertical integration on firm productivity. Our findings suggest that vertical integration has a negative impact on productivity, in contrast to recent studies based on U.S. firms. We argue that in settings with poor corporate governance, vertical integration reduces firm productivity because it enables inefficient rent-seeking by insiders.
The Timing of Option Returns

We document empirically that the returns from shorting out-of-the-money S&P 500 put options are concentrated in the few days preceding their expiration. Back-month options generate almost no returns, and front-month options do so only towards the end of the option cycle. The concentration of the option premium at the end of the cycle reflects changes in options’ risk characteristics. Specifically, options’ convexity risk increases sharply close to maturity, making them more sensitive to jumps in the underlying price. By contrast, volatility risk plays a smaller role close to maturity. Our results imply that speculators wishing to harvest the put option premium should short front-month options only during the last days of the cycle, while investors wishing to protect against downside risk should use back-month options to reduce hedging costs.