Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Implantable Glucose Sensors: Comparison between in Vitro and in Vivo Kinetics

This study was aimed at validating the in vitro estimated response characteristics of implanted glucose oxidase/H2O2 electrodes with respect to their in vivo function. Mono-exponential non-linear regression analysis of sensor current vs. time curves in response to square alterations in glucose concentration gave response times T95 of between 1 and 5 min. Non-primed glucose infusions were applied to dogs with these electrodes implanted subcutaneously. The simultaneously monitored in vivo data were subjected to non-linear regression analysis. The time constants T of increases or decreases after starting or ending the glucose load were (mean ± SEM) 53 ± 10 and 26 ± 4 min (significant difference, p < 0.05) in sensor current, 28 ± 8 and 15 ± 2 min (NS) in whole blood, and 26 ± 5 and 18 ± 2 min (NS) in plasma. The in vivo kinetic patterns of sensors were not related to their in vitro response times. Non-linear regression analysis of in vitro responses of glucose sensors under clearly defined conditions is recommended as a basis for further studies. The physiological delay in the subcutaneous glucose system needs more attention in this field of research.
Developing a theoretical framework for understanding (staged) authentic retail settings in relation to the current experience economy

In the current experience economy, some retailers and retail designers aim at triggering customer experiences by associating the retail store‟s design with „authenticity‟. The notion of authenticity, however, is complex and layered and has been studied in several scientific disciplines. But within retail design, only limited research on authenticity is available. This paper aims to clarify the complex concept of authenticity in relation to retail design. Retail design as part of interior architecture is an emerging discipline. By establishing its theoretical basis, authors mostly rely on the knowledge of background disciplines; as in this paper, where we look at theories developed in marketing and philosophy to investigate how (staged) authentic retail settings be can situated in relation to the current experience economy. The paper contains three large sections. The opening section presents a review of literature on retail design and the experience economy in relation to authenticity. The second section explores authenticity as defined through the theory on simulacrum by Plato, Baudrillard en Deleuze. In the third section, these theoretical insights are translated to the actual retail environment by surveying (staged) „authentic‟ retail stores in three shopping cities in Flanders (Belgium). Based on this survey, seven different groups of authentic stores are defined, moving from „real‟ to „hyperreal‟. This grouping should not be seen as a classification system but rather as a mental scheme to investigate and report on different approaches towards authenticity in retail store environments. The scheme can be applied in the field of consumer research as well as in retail (design) practice.
Suicide by Cop: Clinical Risks and Subtypes

This study examines whether clinical classification schemes from general suicide research are applicable for cases of suicide by cop (SbC) and whether there are indicators as to why the police might be engaged in the suicide. Using archival law enforcement data, 13 clinical risks were examined among 68 cases of SbC using exploratory factor analysis and k–means cluster analysis. Three subtypes of SbC cases emerged: Mental Illness, Criminality, and Not Otherwise Specified. The subtypes varied significantly on their levels of mental illness, substance use, and criminal activity. Findings suggest that reducing fragmentation between law enforcement and mental health service providers might be a crucial goal for suicide intervention and prevention, at least among cases of SbC.
Determination and comparative analysis of major iridoids in different parts and cultivation sources of Morinda citrifolia.

INTRODUCTION Noni is a medicinal plant with a long history of use as a folk remedy in many tropical areas, and is attracting more attention worldwide. A comprehensive study on the major phytochemicals in different plant parts (fruit, leaf, seed, root and flower) and sources is of great value for fully understanding their diverse medicinal benefits. OBJECTIVE To quantitatively determine the major iridoid components in different parts of noni plants, and compare iridoids in noni fruits collected from different tropical areas worldwide. METHODOLOGY The optimal chromatographic conditions were achieved on a C(18) column with gradient elution using 0.1% formic acid aqueous formic acid and acetonitrile at 235 nm. The selective HPLC method was validated for precision, linearity, limit of detection, limit of quantitation and accuracy. RESULTS Deacetylasperulosidic acid (DAA) was found to be the major iridoid in noni fruit. In order of predominance, DAA concentrations in different parts of the noni plant were dried noni fruit > fruit juice > seed > flower > leaf > root. The order of predominance for asperulosidic acid (AA) concentration was dried noni fruit > leaf > flower > root > fruit juice > seed. DAA and AA contents of methanolic extracts of noni fruits collected from different tropical regions were 13.8-42.9 and 0.7-8.9 mg/g, respectively, with French Polynesia containing the highest total iridoids and the Dominican Republic containing the lowest. CONCLUSION Iridoids DAA and AA are found to be present in leaf, root, seed and flower of noni plants, and were identified as the major components in noni fruit. Given the great variation of iridoid contents in noni fruit grown in different tropical areas worldwide, geographical factors appear to have significant effects on fruit composition. The iridoids in noni fruit were stable at the temperatures used during pasteurisation and, therefore, may be useful marker compounds for identity and quality testing of commercial noni products.
Insulin and Insulin‐like Growth Factor System Components Gene Expression in the Chicken Retina From Early Neurogenesis Until Late Development and Their Effect on Neuroepithelial Cells

To better understand the role of insulin‐related growth factors in neural development, we have characterized by in situ hybridization in chicken embryonic retina the patterns of gene expression for insulin, insulin‐like growth factor I (IGF‐I), their respective receptors and the IGF binding protein 5 (IGFBP5) from early stages (E6) until late stages (E18)‐an analysis not performed yet in any species. In addition, we studied the effect of insulin and IGF‐I on cultured neuroepithelial cells. Insulin receptor mRNA and IGF‐I receptor mRNA were both present and showed a similar, widespread pattern throughout retina development. Insulin mRNA could be detected only by reverse transcription coupled to polymerase chain reaction. IGF‐I mRNA was concentrated in the ciliary processes and extraocular muscles early in development (embryonic day 6; E6) and in maturing retinal ganglion cells subsequently (E9–15). IGFBP5 mRNA was preferentially localized in the more differentiated central retinal zone and was maximally concentrated in the inner nuclear and ganglion cell layers at E9. These findings suggest a near constitutive expression of insulin receptor and IGF‐I receptor genes, while IGF‐I and IGFBP5 showed a highly focal spatiotemporal regulation of gene expression. Insulin and IGF‐I, already at 10−8 M, increased the proportion of PM1‐positive neuroepithelial cells found in E5 retinal cultures without affecting significantly the total number of proliferating cells. Together, these data support the finding that, during early neurogenesis in chicken retina, insulin and IGF‐I have a specific paracrine/autocrine action. This action, as well as possible effects elicited subsequently, may be dictated by restricted local synthesis of the ligands and limited access to the factors contained in the vitreous humour. In the case of IGF's role, local IGFBPs expression can contribute to the fine modulation.
Irritable Bowel Syndrome: A Co-Twin Control Analysis

OBJECTIVES:Among individuals who satisfy diagnostic criteria for both major depressive disorder (MDD) and irritable bowel syndrome (IBS), little is known about the role of familial tendency and environmental influences in disease susceptibility. Therefore, we aimed to examine if there is a genetic component to the co-occurrence of MDD and IBS in participants from the population-based Swedish Twin Registry.METHODS:We implemented a nested case-control analysis and a co-twin control analysis. IBS cases were ascertained using an adapted version of the Rome II criteria and MDD cases were assessed using a shortened version of the Computerized International Diagnostic Interview. The case-control analysis included individuals with complete covariate information (N = 29,616), and adjusted for twin pair, 3-yr age band, and sex. The co-twin control analysis considered 288 twin pairs discordant for IBS. Odds ratios (OR) and 95% confidence intervals (CI) were estimated using generalized estimating equations for the case-control analysis and conditional logistic regression for the co-twin control analysis.RESULTS:In all analyses, comorbid disorders of chronic widespread pain, chronic fatigue-like illness, and MDD were more common in IBS cases than controls. In the case-control analysis, individuals with IBS had an increased odds of MDD (OR 2.7, 95% CI 2.3–3.2). In the co-twin analysis, the association was similar (OR 2.2, 95% CI 1.5–3.3) when both MZ and DZ twins were used, and larger among only MZ twins (OR 3.2, 95% CI 1.7–6.1). CONCLUSIONS:From this analysis, we found no evidence that genetic and family environmental factors explain the association between MDD and IBS. Rather, one of these disorders appears to be part of the disease-causing sequence of events, or biologic disease pathway, for the other disorder. However, it was not possible to evaluate the timing of onset between MDD and IBS in this study.
Loss of 5-hydroxymethylcytosine and TET2 in oral squamous cell carcinoma.

AIM Epigenetic modifications, such as DNA methylation, are considered important in the regulation of target genes in cancer development. 5-Hydroxymethylcytosine (5hmC) was recently discovered to be related to the process of malignant transformation. The influence of DNA methylation in oral squamous cell carcinomas (OSCC) is not fully-understood. Therefore, the aim of the present study was to investigate the DNA methylation pattern in OSCC compared to healthy oral epithelium. MATERIALS AND METHODS Oral mucosal samples from patients with OSCC (n=15) and healthy mucosa (n=12) were analyzed using immunohistochemistry with antibodies against 5hmC, 5mC and ten-eleven-translocation-2 (TET2). RESULTS A significant decrease in 5hmC and TET2 expression was found in OSCC compared to healthy oral epithelium. In contrast, there was a significant increase in 5mC expression in OSCC compared to healthy epithelium. CONCLUSION Our results indicate that loss of 5hmC is an epigenetic event of OSCC.
The difference in the intraday return-volume relationships of spot and futures: a quantile regression approach

Abstract This study illuminates the difference in the intraday return-volume relationships of spot and index futures. The quantile regression analyses show that the widening effect of the spot trading volume on the distribution of spot returns disappears within a short period of time, whereas that of the futures trading volume on the distribution of spot returns remains over the relatively long term. The short-term effect of the spot volume and the long-term effect of the futures volume are consistent for trading volume shocks. The findings suggest that the spot volume is primarily induced by the demand for hedging or differences of opinion, whereas the futures volume contains information about price movements.
Does Engagement of Employees affect to Organizational Commitment? Evidence from Non-Academics in Sri Lankan State Universities

Area of the Study This study is aimed to discuss the impact of employee engagement on the organizational commitment of the Sri Lankan non-academics in the state universities. Problem of the Study As an interesting research area, there are different finds of the impact of employee engagement on the organizational commitment. However, it is difficult to find the empirical findings of these two phenomenons among the non-academics in the state universities. Therefore the problem of the study is: Does employee engagement of non-academics in the state universities affect their organizational commitment? Method of the study 317 non-academics in the Sri Lankan state universities were selected randomly as the sample of the study and structured questionnaire was used to measure the employee engagement and organizational commitment of the sample respondents. Bivariate and multivariate analyses were basically used statistical analysis of the study. Findings of the Study The major finding of the study is that there is a positive and significant relationship and impact of employee engagement and organizational commitment of the non-academics in the state universities. However, there is weak and no relationship was found between the employee engagement (both job engagement and organizational engagement) with the continuance commitment. Conclusion of the Study The administrations of the state universities have to consider the employee engagement as an important human behavior and they have to pay their attention to enrich the employee engagement. Keywords: Employee Engagement, Organizational Commitment, Non-academics, State Universities
Intracellular survival of wild-type Salmonella typhimurium and macrophage-sensitive mutants in diverse populations of macrophages

Salmonella typhimurium survives within macrophages and causes a fatal infection in susceptible strains of mice. A number of S. typhimurium mutants that contain Tn10 insertions in genes which are necessary for survival within the macrophage have been isolated. To demonstrate the importance of each gene in intracellular survival, the mutations were transduced into a smooth-strain background and the ability to survive intracellularly was assayed in five different populations of macrophages. The majority of the original macrophage-sensitive mutants retained the macrophage-sensitive phenotype in the smooth-strain background. The ability to survive or grow within macrophages varied with both the source of macrophages and the individual mutants. S. typhimurium grew best in the macrophage-like cell line J774, survived at moderate levels in splenic and bone marrow-derived macrophages, and was killed most efficiently in peritoneal macrophages. Macrophage-sensitive mutants transduced into a smooth background were also less virulent than the parent, with a 50% lethal dose of 2 to 5 logs greater than that of the parental strain. These experiments demonstrate that survival of S. typhimurium within macrophages varies with the source of cells, with a distinct ability to survive in macrophages from mouse spleens, where S. typhimurium grows rapidly. These experiments also demonstrate the heterogeneity in intracellular survival among the various macrophage-sensitive mutants, which may reflect the relative importance of the individual mutated genes in survival within macrophages.
The Effect of Inflation on Financial Development Indicators in Iran (2000–2015)

Abstract Inflation and financial development are among the factors that influence economic growth and the interaction between them is a major issue in developing countries. The aim of this paper is to investigate the effect of inflation on financial development indicators in Iran using seasonal data over 2000-2015. To achieve the research objectives, time series data were collected from World Bank and seasonal inflation rate, with 5 financial development indicators were used to measure the research variables. Then I applied Johansen Co-integration Test and Vector Error Correction Model to estimate the proposed model. The results show that inflation has a negatively significant effect on financial depth and also positively significant effect on the ratio of total deposits in banking system to nominal GDP in Iran during the observation period. Also the existence of an equilibrium relationship between inflation and other 3 indicators of Iran`s financial development used in this study was rejected.
Postglacial expansion of the southern red‐backed vole (Clethrionomys gapperi) in North America

Dynamic climatic oscillations of the Pleistocene dramatically changed the distributions of high latitude species. Molecular investigations of a variety of organisms show that processes of postglacial colonization of boreal regions were more complex than initially thought. Phylogeographical and coalescent analyses were conducted on partial sequences of the cytochrome b gene (600 bp) from 64 individuals of Clethrionomys gapperi from North Carolina, Pennsylvania, Minnesota, Idaho, Washington, British Columbia, Northwest Territories, and Alaska to test hypotheses relating to Pleistocene refugia and postglacial colonization routes. Three divergent clades (east, west, central) were identified with highest net divergence (dA = 5.2%) between the eastern and western clades. Populations from the recently deglaciated higher latitudes of Canada and Alaska are closely related to lower latitude populations of the central clade (dA = 1.2%) suggesting recent expansion from this midwestern region. No representatives from the east or west clade were found at latitudes higher than 50°N, indicating that postglacial colonization occurred through a midcontinental route. The high latitude population from the Northwest Territories exhibited demographic patterns and genetic diversity consistent with a stable noncolonizing population. This population is found near the Mackenzie range, where the two continental ice sheets were believed to have coalesced. Molecular variation observed in this population may be the result of leading edge population diversifying in the continental corridor or may reflect the signal of a high latitude refugial population.
Increased Vitreous Chemerin Levels Are Associated with Proliferative Diabetic Retinopathy

Purpose: To investigate chemerin in the vitreous bodies of patients with proliferative diabetic retinopathy (PDR) and determine the correlation between the levels of vitreous chemerin and vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF). Methods: This study included 17 patients suffering from PDR and vitreous hemorrhage (VH) (group A), 21 patients with PDR and tractional retinal detachment (TRD) (group B) and 25 patients with idiopathic macular holes or preretinal membranes (control group). All vitreous samples were obtained through pars plana vitrectomy. Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay and Western blot analysis were performed to evaluate the levels of vitreous chemerin and VEGF. Results: Vitreous concentrations of chemerin were significantly higher in PDR patients with VH and TRD than those in the controls [4.82 ng/ml (3.91-6.13) vs. 5.03 ng/ml (4.01-6.15) vs. 2.53 ng/ml (1.53-5.66), p = 0.025]. The ratio of vitreous chemerin to plasma chemerin concentration significantly differed between groups A and B and the control group [4.93% (4.69-5.34) vs. 4.98% (4.63-5.19) vs. 2.58% (1.78-4.58), p < 0.001]. Western blot results indicated that the levels of vitreous chemerin protein in PDR patients significantly increased compared with those in the controls. Spearman correlation analysis further showed that vitreous chemerin levels in patients with PDR were positively correlated with vitreous VEGF levels (r = -0.542, p < 0.001). Conclusions: Increased vitreous chemerin levels are associated with the development of PDR.
North Pacific carbon cycle response to climate variability on seasonal to decadal timescales

Climate variability drives significant changes in the physical state of the North Pacific, and there may be important impacts of this variability on the upper ocean carbon balance across the basin. We address this issue by considering the response of seven biogeochemical ocean models to climate variability in the North Pacific. The models' upper ocean pCO2 and air-sea CO2 flux respond similarly to climate variability on seasonal to decadal timescales. Modeled seasonal cycles of pCO2 and its temperature- and non-temperature-driven components at three contrasting oceanographic sites capture the basic features found in observations (Takahashi et al., 2002, 2006; Keeling et al., 2004; Brix et al., 2004). However, particularly in the Western Subarctic Gyre, the models have difficulty representing the temporal structure of the total pCO2 seasonal cycle because it results from the difference of these two large and opposing components. In all but one model, the air-sea CO2 flux interannual variability (1σ) in the North Pacific is smaller (ranges across models from 0.03 to 0.11 PgC/yr) than in the Tropical Pacific (ranges across models from 0.08 to 0.19 PgC/yr), and the time series of the first or second EOF of the air-sea CO2 flux has a significant correlation with the Pacific Decadal Oscillation (PDO). Though air-sea CO2 flux anomalies are correlated with the PDO, their magnitudes are small (up to ±0.025 PgC/yr (1σ)). Flux anomalies are damped because anomalies in the key drivers of pCO2 (temperature, dissolved inorganic carbon (DIC), and alkalinity) are all of similar magnitude and have strongly opposing effects that damp total pCO2 anomalies.
Consumer motivations for sustainable consumption : the interaction of gain, normative and hedonic motivations on electric vehicle adoption

Recent conceptual studies identify gain, normative and hedonic factors as three categories of motivations of consumer proenvironmental behavior. However, empirical understanding of how these motivations interact and affect proenvironmental behavior is limited. This study is based on a survey of car owners in Sweden (N = 573) and uses structural equation modeling to analyze the data. The empirical findings point to the importance of all three motivations (gain, normative and hedonic) in consumer electric vehicle adoption intentions. Furthermore, for consumers who perceive high social norms regarding sustainable consumption, the direct effect of hedonic motivations on behavioral intention is stronger, and the direct effect of gain motivations is insignificant. The business strategy implications indicate that targeting consumers who perceive high social norms in relation to proenvironmental behavior and communicating the hedonic and normative aspects of proenvironmental behaviors to this group might be more effective than general mass communication.