Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
[In vivo studies on metabolic network compatibility of herba houttuyniae injection and sodium neohouttuynin injection in rats].

OBJECTIVE To study metabolic rule in rats for heartleaf houttuynia herb injection and Sodium New Houttuyfonate injection. METHODS The GC-MS was used to determine metabolites in plasma and urine of rats after intravenous and oral administration of heartleaf houttuynia herb injection as multi-component and Sodium New Houttuyfonate injection as single component. RESULTS For rats 8 common metabolites were determined in plasma after intravenous administration of heartleaf houttuynia herb injection and Sodium New Houttuyfonate injection, meanwhile 39 in urine. The 16 common metabolites were determined in plasma after oral administration, and 12 in urine. The 9 and 11 of same metabolites were determined in plasma and urine respectively after intravenous and oral administration of heartleaf houttuynia herb injection, 8 and 17 common metabolites for Sodium New Houttuyfonate injection. CONCLUSION The metabolites of heartleaf houttuynia herb and Sodium New Houttuyfonate injection in rats are the same or similar after intravenous and oral administration, and there are the same structure types between metabolites and original constituents of preparations. The metabolic pathways of the two preparations in rats are the same. There is metabolic Network Compatibility in organism between multi-components, single components and different administration forms for traditional Chinese medicine.
Development of a force-sensing cane instrumented within a treadmill-based virtual reality locomotor system

We have developed a novel cane device to be used in conjunction with a treadmill-based virtual reality (VR) locomotor system. The instrumentation of such a cane device is described and results examining its use and feasibility as a proof of principle are provided in this preliminary study involving five persons with stroke and 5 healthy participants. Average walking speeds with and without the cane are compared between the overground physical environment (PE) and the treadmill-based virtual environment (VE). Gait variability quantified as the % coefficient of variation (CV) for stride duration with and without the cane in the VE is also examined. Furthermore, the vertical loading forces exerted on the cane during level walking in the VE are reported and discussed. Results reveal that walking with the treadmill cane is feasible for use in both healthy and stroke populations. It is evident that people who normally rely on a walking cane benefit more from the instrumented cane than those people who normally walk unaided. This work represents the first instrumented cane for use with a treadmill-based locomotor system.
Net mineralization of N at deeper soil depths as a potential mechanism for sustained forest production under elevated [CO2]

Elevated atmospheric carbon dioxide concentrations [CO2] is projected to increase forest production, which could increase ecosystem carbon (C) storage. This study contributes to our broad goal of understanding the causes and consequences of increased fine‐root production and mortality under elevated [CO2] by examining potential gross nitrogen (N) cycling rates throughout the soil profile. Our study was conducted in a CO2‐enriched sweetgum (Liquidambar styraciflua L.) plantation in Oak Ridge, TN, USA. We used 15N isotope pool dilution methodology to measure potential gross N cycling rates in laboratory incubations of soil from four depth increments to 60 cm. Our objectives were twofold: (1) to determine whether N is available for root acquisition in deeper soil and (2) to determine whether elevated [CO2], which has increased inputs of labile C resulting from greater fine‐root mortality at depth, has altered N cycling rates. Although gross N fluxes declined with soil depth, we found that N is potentially available for roots to access, especially below 15 cm depth where rates of microbial consumption of mineral N were reduced relative to production. Overall, up to 60% of potential gross N mineralization and 100% of potential net N mineralization occurred below 15 cm depth at this site. This finding was supported by in situ measurements from ion‐exchange resins, where total inorganic N availability at 55 cm depth was equal to or greater than N availability at 15 cm depth. While it is likely that trees grown under elevated [CO2] are accessing a larger pool of inorganic N by mining deeper soil, we found no effect of elevated [CO2] on potential gross or net N cycling rates. Thus, increased root exploration of the soil volume under elevated [CO2] may be more important than changes in potential gross N cycling rates in sustaining forest responses to rising atmospheric CO2.
Serum concentrations of psychotropic drugs in neonates as a PROgnOstic Factor for admission to the neonatology ward and withdrawal symptoms: PROOF-1

The aim is to determine whether serum drug concentrations obtained from the neonate’s umbilical cord can be used as a prognostic factor for admission to the neonatology ward and the occurrence of withdrawal symptoms. A retrospective observational monocenter cohort study was carried out among pregnant women using psychotropic drugs and their baby. Binary logistic regression was used for the multivariate analysis. Of the 186 neonates included, 22.6% (n=42) were admitted to the neonatology ward, 6.5% (n=12) because of withdrawal. Among women with therapeutic concentrations of psychotropic medication, 22.0% (n=5) of the neonates had withdrawal symptoms. When comparing neonates with therapeutic versus undetectable drug concentrations, an odds ratio of 3.1 (95% confidence interval: 1.1–8.6) was found for admission to the neonatology ward and an odds ratio of 20.5 (95% confidence interval: 2.2–186.1) for the occurrence of withdrawal symptoms. Therapeutic concentrations of psychotropic drugs in neonates’ umbilical cord blood correspond with higher odds for admission to the neonatology ward and the occurrence of withdrawal symptoms compared with neonates with undetectable drug concentrations. The measurement of drug concentrations in the neonate may contribute toward the general clinical assessment of the physician to predict the necessity of admission to the neonatology ward and the risk of withdrawal symptoms.
Oral candidal carriage in asymptomatic patients.

BACKGROUND Interest in the association between oral cancer risk and Candida-associated promotion of mucosal dysplasia continues. However, little is known of the presence and amount of oral yeast in the mouths of healthy patients without mucosal lesions. The purpose of this prospective cross-sectional clinical study was to ascertain the prevalence and degree of carriage of Candida in the oral cavities of a non-cancer population, with reference to a range of parameters affecting the oral environment. METHODS Oral rinse samples were collected from a sample of 203 patients attending the Royal Dental Hospital of Melbourne and analysed for the presence and degree of colonization of yeast species that were phenotypically identified as albicans and non-albicans species. RESULTS Oral yeast carriage was found in 98/203 patients (48.3%), and of these, 83 (84.7%) patients carried C. albicans. There was no statistical difference in carriage when comparing gender, age, or presence of a removable prosthesis. CONCLUSIONS Both smoking and the presence of active carious lesions were found to be positively correlated with the carriage of oral Candida. Individuals who are current smokers are nearly seven times more likely to have oral Candida, and participants with high candidal colonization are more likely to be current smokers. Participants with active carious lesions were also more likely to carry oral Candida.
The effect of sildenafil on lower esophageal sphincter and body motility in normal male adults

OBJECTIVE:Sildenafil relaxes smooth muscle by blocking type 5 phosphodiesterase, which destroys nitric oxide-stimulated cyclic guanosine monophosphate. The aim of this study is to investigate the change of lower esophageal sphincter (LES) and body motility with the lapse of time after sildenafil infusion in normal male adults.METHODS:After basal esophageal manometry in eight healthy male adult volunteers, we infused a 50-mg tablet of sildenafil dissolved in water in the stomach through the manometry catheter and observed the changes of LES and body motility with the lapse of time. We randomized the study population into two groups, and esophageal manometry was repeated in LES and body sequence in four volunteers and in body and LES sequence in the other four volunteers immediately after sildenafil infusion.RESULTS:LES resting pressure significantly decreased after sildenafil infusion. The body peristaltic amplitude gradually decreased and eventually disappeared, and the latency increased significantly after sildenafil infusion in both the proximal and distal esophagus.CONCLUSIONS:These data support that nitric oxide mediates LES relaxation and the timing of esophageal peristalsis. In the future, sildenafil can be tried in some esophageal motor disorders, which have defects in nitric oxide neuromuscular communication.
Head Start Family Financial Capability: 2013-2014 Annual Report of the ASSET Project

Many U.S. families with young children are at risk of poor health and educational outcomes because they live below the poverty line. However, research suggests that asset-building efforts with financial education and socialwelfare supports provide positive benefits for child and family well-being. This report highlights a mixed-methods approach used to explore the impact of a financial-education intervention provided to Head Start families in the St. Louis area. The intervention combined 10 hours of financial education on debt management, banking, saving, budgeting, and credit scores with a savings incentive and one-on-one coaching to encourage the use of new financial knowledge and skills after class completion. Results from analysis of Year-1 quantitative data suggest that participants’ understanding of core financial concepts increased. Qualitative data show that participating parents gained valuable insights on available subsidies, making financial goals, and achieving such goals. Head Start staff facilitating parental enrollment also indicated improved understanding of available subsidies and banking products helpful for savings.
Comparative analysis of the Monochamus alternatus immune system

The pine sawyer beetle, Monochamus alternatus, is regarded as a notorious forest pest in Asia, vectoring an invasive pathogenic nematode, Bursaphelenchus xylophilus, which is known to cause pine wilt disease. However, little sequence information is available for this vector beetle. This hampered the research on its immune system. Based on the transcriptome of M. alternatus, we have identified and characterized 194 immunity‐related genes in M. alternatus, and compared them with homologues molecules from other species known to exhibit immune responses against invading microbes. The lower number of putative immunity‐related genes in M. alternatus were attributed to fewer C‐type lectin, serine protease (SP) and anti‐microbial peptide (AMP) genes. Phylogenetic analysis revealed that M. alternatus had a unique recognition gene, galectin3, orthologues of which were not identified in Tribolium castaneum, Drosophila melanogastor, Anopheles gambiae and Apis mellifera. This suggested a lineage‐specific gene evolution for coleopteran insects. Our study provides the comprehensive sequence resources of the immunity‐related genes of M. alternatus, presenting valuable information for better understanding of the molecular mechanism of innate immunity processes in M. alternatus against B. xylophilus.
Social-Class Differences in Consumer Choices

The present research shows that, when making choices, working-class Americans are more affected by others’ opinions than middle-class Americans due to differences in independent versus interdependent self-construal. Experiment 1 revealed that when working-class Americans made decisions to buy products, they were more influenced by the choices of others than middle-class Americans. In contrast, middle-class Americans were more likely to misremember others’ choices to be consistent with their own choices. In other words, working-class Americans adjusted their choices to the preference of others, whereas middle-class Americans distorted others’ preferences to fit their choices. Supporting our prediction that this social-class effect is closely linked to the independent versus interdependent self-construal, we showed that the differences in self-construal across cultures qualified the social-class effects on choices (Experiment 2). Moreover, when we experimentally manipulated self-construal in Experiment 3, we found that it mediated the corresponding changes in choices regardless of social class.
A Complete Algorithm for Fixture Loading

A fixture is a device for locating and holding parts. Since the initial position and orientation of a part may be uncertain, the act of loading the part into the fixture must compensate for this uncertainty. Machinists often refer to the 3-2-1 rule: place the part onto 3-point contact with a horizontal support plane, slide the part along this plane into 2-point contact with the fixture, then translate along this edge until a 1-point contact uniquely locates the part. Finally, apply clamps (Mani and Wilson 1988; Chou, Chandru, and Barash 1989). This rule of thumb implicitly assumes both sensing and compliance: applied forces change as contacts are detected. In this paper, we geometrically formalize robotic fixture loading as a sensor-based compliant assembly problem and give a complete planning algorithm. We consider the class of modular fixtures that use three locators and one clamp (Brost and Goldberg 1996), and discuss a class of robot commands that cause the part to slide and rotate in the support plane. Sensing is achieved with binary contact sensors on each lo cator ; compliance is achieved with a passive spring-loaded mechanism at the robot end effector. We extend the theory of sensor-based compliant motion planning (Lozano-Perez, Ma son, and Taylor 1984; Erdmann 1986) to generalized polyg onal C-spaces, and give a complete planning algorithm: it is guaranteed to find a loading plan when one exists and to return a negative report otherwise. We report on experiments using the resulting plans. Finally, we use this formalization to prove a sufficient condition for the 3-2-1 rule.
Corporate Twitter Use and Cost of Capital

This paper investigates whether firms that disclose information on social media achieve a lower cost of equity capital. Using a hand-collected dataset comprising the full universe of all firms listed on the NYSE, AMEX and NASDAQ, I show that firms that use Twitter have a lower cost of equity capital. Furthermore, firms that face the greatest information asymmetries; namely, smaller companies, companies with few analyst followings, and companies with the least institutional holdings, benefit particularly from tweeting financial information about their firm.
PDZ Domain Interaction Controls the Endocytic Recycling of the Cystic Fibrosis Transmembrane Conductance Regulator*

The C terminus of CFTR contains a PDZ interacting domain that is required for the polarized expression of cystic fibrosis transmembrane conductance regulator (CFTR) in the apical plasma membrane of polarized epithelial cells. To elucidate the mechanism whereby the PDZ interacting domain mediates the polarized expression of CFTR, Madin-Darby canine kidney cells were stably transfected with wild type (wt-CFTR) or C-terminally truncated human CFTR (CFTR-ΔTRL). We tested the hypothesis that the PDZ interacting domain regulates sorting of CFTR from the Golgi to the apical plasma membrane. Pulse-chase studies in combination with domain-selective cell surface biotinylation revealed that newly synthesized wt-CFTR and CFTR-ΔTRL were targeted equally to the apical and basolateral membranes in a nonpolarized fashion. Thus, the PDZ interacting domain is not an apical sorting motif. Deletion of the PDZ interacting domain reduced the half-life of CFTR in the apical membrane from ∼24 to ∼13 h but had no effect on the half-life of CFTR in the basolateral membrane. Thus, the PDZ interacting domain is an apical membrane retention motif. Next, we examined the hypothesis that the PDZ interacting domain affects the apical membrane half-life of CFTR by altering its endocytosis and/or endocytic recycling. Endocytosis of wt-CFTR and CFTR-ΔTRL did not differ. However, endocytic recycling of CFTR-ΔTRL was decreased when compared with wt-CFTR. Thus, deletion of the PDZ interacting domain reduced the half-life of CFTR in the apical membrane by decreasing CFTR endocytic recycling. Our results identify a new role for PDZ proteins in regulating the endocytic recycling of CFTR in polarized epithelial cells.
Business Cycles and Expected Returns

We study the role of sentiment variables as predictors for US recessions. We combine sentiment variables with either classical recession predictors or common factors based on a large panel of macroeconomic and financial variables. Sentiment variables hold vast predictive power for US recessions in excess of both the classical recession predictors and the common factors. The strong importance of the sentiment variables is documented both in-sample and out-of-sample.
Overselling Winners and Losers: How Mutual Funds Trading Affects Asset Prices

We link a seemingly biased trading behavior to equilibrium asset prices. Mutual fund managers tend to sell both their big winners and big losers. This selling pressure pushes down current prices and leads to higher future returns; aggregating across funds, we find that securities for which investors have large unrealized gains and losses outperform in the subsequent month. Funds with larger turnover, shorter holding period, and higher expense ratios, are significantly more likely to manifest this trading pattern, and unrealized profits from such funds have stronger return predictability. This return predictability is difficult to reconcile with alternative explanations.
The Value of Risk Transfer in Mergers: Role of Country Legal Institutions and Large Shareholders

In a global sample of 1184 mergers & acquisitions (M&As) covering 40 target countries, we investigate whether high risk taking firms choose to acquire low risk taking firms by paying higher premiums, and how does governance environment embedded in country legal institutions and ownership structures affect perceived valuation effect of such acquisitions. Consistent with the existing literature we find that greater risk transfer (RT) from acquirers to targets is associated with higher perceived valuation effect, however, such effect is entirely transferred to target firms. The target premiums and target announcement abnormal returns are increasing in the level of risk transfer. Further, we examine if risk transfer (RT) is capturing ownership quality transfer and investor protection transfer. We find that the valuation impact of RT is greater when bidders feature stronger ownership structures than that of targets, and the acquirer country strongly protects investors’ rights relative to the target country. These results are stronger for vertical and cross-border M&As, and when the acquirer obtains full control of the target after the M&A deal.
Effects of prolonged CO2 inhalation on shivering thermogenesis during cold-water immersion.

We investigated the effect of prolonged hypercapnia on human thermoregulation during immersion of seven male subjects in a 15 degrees C water bath until their esophageal temperature dropped to 35 degrees C or until 1 h had elapsed. In the control trial, subjects inspired room air, whereas in the other trial the inhaled gas mixture was a 4% CO2:20% O2:76% N2 gas mixture. Oxygen uptake (VO2, liter.min-1), inspired minute ventilation (VI, liter.min-1), esophageal temperature (Tes, degree C), mean unweighted skin temperature (Tsk, degree C), mean heat flux (Q, W.m-2), and electromyographic (EMG, mV) activity of the trapezius muscle were recorded. VO2 and integrated EMG (IEMG) activity were used as the primary indicators of shivering thermogenesis. There was a tendency for elevated VO2, albeit not significant, in the CO2 trial compared to the air trial. We observed no significant differences in the IEMG between the air and CO2 trials. These results suggest that prolonged inhalation of a gas mixture containing 4% CO2 does not have a significant inhibitory effect on shivering thermogenesis and does not enhance the cooling rate of the body core. The absence of any shivering attenuation is most likely due to the small blood PCO2 increase incurred by inhalation of 4% CO2, compensation of hypercapnic-induced respiratory acidosis, and a strong thermal drive from core and peripheral regions. It is unlikely that elevated PICO2 levels contribute significantly to the etiology of hypothermia in divers.
Maternal exposure to folic acid antagonists and placenta-mediated adverse pregnancy outcomes

Background: In previous studies, maternal exposure to folic acid antagonists was associated with increased risks of neural tube defects, cardiovascular defects, oral clefts and urinary tract defects. The objective of the current study was to assess the possible effects of using folic acid antagonists in pregnancy on placenta-mediated adverse outcomes of pregnancy. Methods: We used data from an administrative database to retrospectively compare the occurrence of placenta-mediated adverse pregnancy outcomes between pregnant women exposed to folic acid antagonists and women without exposure to these agents. Results: We included in the analysis a total of 14 982 women who had been exposed to folic acid antagonists and 59 825 women who had not been exposed. Sulfamethoxazole–trimethoprim was the most frequently prescribed dihydrofolate reductase inhibitor (a total of 12 546 exposures during the preconception period and all 3 trimesters), and phenobarbital was the most frequently prescribed among the other folic acid antagonists (a total of 1565 exposures). The risks of preeclampsia (adjusted odds ratio [OR] 1.52, 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.39–1.66), severe preeclampsia (OR 1.77, 95% CI 1.38–2.28), placental abruption (OR 1.32, 95% CI 1.12–1.57), fetal growth restriction defined as less than the 10th percentile (OR 1.07, 95% CI 1.01–1.13), fetal growth restriction defined as less than the 3rd percentile (OR 1.22, 95% CI 1.11–1.34) and fetal death (OR 1.35, 95% CI 1.07–1.70) were greater among mothers with exposure to folic acid antagonists. In general, the risks associated with exposure to other folic acid antagonists were higher than those associated with exposure to dihydrofolate reductase inhibitors. Supplementary analyses involving tight matching with propensity score, restriction of the analysis to women with exposure during the first and second trimesters and restriction of the analysis to specific categories of folic acid antagonists yielded similar results. Interpretation: Maternal exposure to folic acid antagonists appears to increase the risk of placenta-mediated adverse outcomes of pregnancy.