Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Methylenetetrahydrofolate Reductase 677 C →T Mutation and Coronary Heart Disease Risk in UK Indian Asians

Plasma homocysteine concentrations are elevated in UK Indian Asians and may contribute to twice as many coronary heart disease (CHD) deaths in this group compared with European whites. The mechanisms underlying elevated homocysteine concentrations among Indian Asians are not well understood. In this study, we have investigated the extent to which the methylenetetrahydrofolate reductase (MTHFR) 677 C →T mutation accounts for elevated plasma homocysteine and increased CHD risk in Indian Asians compared with European whites. We investigated 454 male cases (with myocardial infarction or angiographically proven CHD: 224 Indian Asians, 230 European whites) and 805 healthy male controls (381 Indian Asians, 424 European whites). Fasting homocysteine concentrations, MTHFR 677 C →T genotype, and conventional CHD risk factors were measured. The prevalence of homozygous MTHFR 677 T in Indian Asian controls was less than one third that in European white controls (3.1% versus 9.7%, P <0.001). In Indian Asians, the TT MTHFR genotype was not associated with homocysteine concentrations and was not present in any of the Asian controls with hyperhomocysteinemia (>15 &mgr;mol/L). In contrast, among European whites, the TT MTHFR genotype was strongly related to elevated plasma homocysteine concentrations and was found in 27% of the European controls with hyperhomocysteinemia. Elevated homocysteine in Indian Asian compared with European white controls was accounted for by their reduced levels of B vitamins but not by the MTHFR 677 T genotype. However, neither the TT MTHFR genotype nor B vitamin levels explained the elevated homocysteine concentrations in CHD cases compared with controls. TT MTHFR was not a risk factor for early-onset CHD in Indian Asians (odds ratio, 0.5; 95% confidence interval, 0.1 to 2.4;P =0.39), unlike in European whites (odds ratio, 2.1; 95% confidence interval, 1.1 to 4.1;P =0.02). We conclude that the MTHFR 677 T mutation does not contribute to elevated plasma homocysteine concentrations or increased CHD risk in Indian Asians compared with European whites. Our results suggest that novel genetic defects and/or environmental factors influence homocysteine metabolism in Indian Asians residing in the United Kingdom.
Cyclooxygenase‐independent inhibition of dendritic cell maturation by aspirin

When immature human myeloid dendritic cells were differentiated in vitro in the presence of aspirin, they were unable to stimulate T‐cell proliferation. Aspirin and its major metabolite salicylate changed the surface marker phenotype of dendritic cells. The drugs particularly suppressed the levels of CD83 and the secreted p40 unit of interleukin‐12 (IL‐12), both markers of mature dendritic cells; 50% inhibitory concentration (IC50) values were 2·5 m m, a concentration more than 100 times greater than the concentration at mid‐point inhibition (ID50) value for inhibition of prostaglandin synthesis. Concomitantly, the levels of CD14, a marker of monocytes/macrophages, increased above the levels found in immature dendritic cells. Cyclooxygenase inhibitors ketoprofen, indomethacin and NS‐398 had no effect at concentrations more than a thousand‐fold higher than their IC50 values. The effects were independent of the presence of prostaglandin E2 in the medium. Salicylates suppressed activation of the nuclear transcription factor κB, which regulates dendritic cell differentiation, but their effects on mature dendritic cells were negligible. Hence, aspirin inhibits dendritic cell function by inhibiting their terminal differentiation at concentrations achieved in the blood of patients chronically treated with high‐dose aspirin.
Continuous monitoring of circadian variations in intraocular pressure by telemetry system throughout a 12-week treatment with timolol maleate in rabbits.

AIM The aim of this study was to examine the effect of a 12-week treatment with two formulations of timolol maleate on the amplitude of the circadian fluctuation in intraocular pressure (IOP). METHODS Conscious Japanese White rabbits housed under a controlled 12-hour light-dark cycle were used. IOP was measured by a telemetry system. Each animal was treated topically for 12 weeks with 0.5% timolol solution (TM) twice-daily, 0.5% timolol gel-forming solution (TM-gel) once-daily, or saline twice-daily, and the circadian variation in IOP was measured every week. RESULTS Administration of TM or TM-gel did not change IOP in the light phase, but significantly reduced it in the dark phase in each of the 12 weeks. The IOP reductions at 2 h after administration in the TM and TM-gel groups over the 12 weeks were, respectively, 3.6 +/- 0.3 mmHg and 3.4 +/- 0.2 mmHg versus the Saline group. The amplitudes of the circadian fluctuations in IOP in the TM group in weeks 3, 6, and 12 were 15%, 15%, and 18% smaller than those in the Saline group, while the corresponding values for the TM-gel group were 18%, 16%, and 19%, respectively. CONCLUSIONS TM-gel administered once-daily was as effective at lowering IOP as TM administrated twice-daily over the 12-week experimental period. This study reveals that, in rabbits, both formulations of the timolol maleate induced significant IOP reductions in the dark phase and decreased the amplitudes of the circadian fluctuations in IOP for 12 successive weeks.
Adsorption in Porous Materials at High Pressure: Theory and Experiment

We consider the thermodynamics of adsorption of gases in porous solids from both the perspective of absolute properties which appear naturally in theoretical studies and that of excess properties which are measured in experiments. Our thermodynamic description starts by treating the gas (or gas mixture) plus porous solid system as a mixture to which we can apply solution thermodynamics. We show that equations for the absolute thermodynamic properties for adsorption in rigid porous materials do not require an explicit reference to the pressure of the fluid confined in the porous material. We discuss how to relate absolute properties to excess properties by using an estimate of the helium void volume. We illustrate the thermodynamic formalism with calculations for a simple thermodynamic model in which the Langmuir equation is used to describe the absolute adsorption isotherm and the ideal gas equation of state is used for the bulk properties. The simplified model explains the apparently anomalous behavior o.
Determinants of Automation Risk in the EU Labour Market: A Skills-Needs Approach

This paper focuses on identifying determinants of 'automatability risk', namely the propensity of EU employees being in jobs with high risk of substitutability by machines, robots or other algorithmic processes, and uncovers its impact on labour market outcomes. Using relevant data on tasks and skill needs in jobs, collected by the European skills and jobs survey (ESJS), jobs are bundled according to their estimated risk of automation. The paper builds on the methodology of previous studies that estimate the latent relationship between 'true' automatability and job tasks (Frey and Osborne, 2013, 2017; Arntz et al., 2016; Nedelkoska and Quintini, 2018) but utilises highly disaggregated job descriptions provided by a subsample of the ESJS, as well as information on jobs' skill requirements. About 14% of EU adult workers are found to face a very high risk of automation. The distribution of high automatability across industries and occupations is also found to be skewed towards routine jobs with low demand for transversal and social skills. The risk of job displacement by machines is higher among males and lower-skilled workers, with little evidence of polarisation. It is prevalent in private sector jobs that fail to provide remedial training to employees, accentuating the vulnerability of at-risk-workers and highlighting the need for stronger lifelong learning policies at EU level.
The Dynamics of Information Production and Diffusion: Evidence from Buy-Side Participation in Earnings Conference Calls

We study information production and diffusion resulting from dynamic interactions between different types of informed investors in financial markets. Using a theoretical framework that exploits the setting of the Q&A section of earnings conference calls, we predict that information production from buy-side participation is more likely to trigger high price jumps and abnormal trading volume, as well as a subsequent price drift, relative to sell-side participation. Using high-frequency trading data during earnings conference calls we find evidence consistent with our prediction. The impact of buy-side participation on asset prices and trading activities is particularly strong when buy-side participants are affiliated with hedge funds. Our theoretical and empirical analyses shed light on how information complementarities affect financial market outcomes and provide an explanation to the "Einhorn Effect'" that intrigues practitioners and policy makers.
Retrospective study of fever in dogs: laboratory testing, diagnoses and influence of prior treatment.

OBJECTIVES To analyse the demographic information of dogs referred for investigation of fever, to determine the usefulness of various diagnostic investigations and to assess the effect of treatment before referral on the presence of fever at referral, the duration of the investigation and the ability to reach a final diagnosis. METHODS The clinical records of 66 dogs, in which fever was part of the clinical signs documented by the referring veterinary surgeon, were reviewed. The effects of treatment 24 hours before referral on temperature at initial consultation and on time to diagnosis were evaluated. The effect of body temperature at initial consultation on cost and on time to diagnosis was also determined. The effect of insurance on costs incurred was assessed. The utility of different diagnostic investigations was recorded, and cases were classified according to the final diagnosis. RESULTS Only 34.8 per cent of dogs were diagnosed with immune-mediated disease, with most frequent diagnoses being steroid-responsive meningitis and polyarthritis. Treatment 24 hours before referral significantly increased the time to diagnosis (P = 0.004) and affected the presence of fever at referral (P = 0.006). Insurance status did not significantly affect cost incurred by the owner. CLINICAL SIGNIFICANCE This study documents a high incidence of immune-mediated disease in dogs referred for investigation of fever. It also documents a higher incidence of inflammatory central nervous system disease in febrile dogs than that reported previously. Of the diagnostic modalities employed in the majority of cases, radiography, cytology and bacteriological and fungal cultures (fluids/tissues) were the most useful. It is suggested that treatment is withdrawn or withheld before commencing diagnostic investigation of fever.
Surgical training, duty-hour restrictions, and implications for meeting the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education core competencies: views of surgical interns compared with program directors.

OBJECTIVE To describe the perspectives of surgical interns regarding the implications of the new Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME) duty-hour regulations for their training. DESIGN We compared responses of interns and surgery program directors on a survey about the proposed ACGME mandates. SETTING Eleven general surgery residency programs. PARTICIPANTS Two hundred fifteen interns who were administered the survey during the summer of 2011 and a previously surveyed national sample of 134 surgery program directors. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES Perceptions of the implications of the new duty-hour restrictions on various aspects of surgical training, including the 6 ACGME core competencies of graduate medical education, measured using 3-point scales (increase, no change, or decrease). RESULTS Of 215 eligible surgical interns, 179 (83.3%) completed the survey. Most interns believed that the new duty-hour regulations will decrease continuity with patients (80.3%), time spent operating (67.4%), and coordination of patient care (57.6%), while approximately half believed that the changes will decrease their acquisition of medical knowledge (48.0%), development of surgical skills (52.8%), and overall educational experience (51.1%). Most believed that the changes will improve or will not alter other aspects of training, and 61.5% believed that the new standards will decrease resident fatigue. Surgical interns were significantly less pessimistic than surgery program directors regarding the implications of the new duty-hour restrictions on all aspects of surgical training (P < .05 for all comparisons). CONCLUSIONS Although less pessimistic than program directors, interns beginning their training under the new paradigm of duty-hour restrictions have significant concerns about the effect of these regulations on the quality of their training.
A report on sound event detection with different binaural features

In this paper, we compare the performance of using binaural audio features in place of single-channel features for sound event detection. Three different binaural features are studied and evaluated on the publicly available TUT Sound Events 2017 dataset of length 70 minutes. Sound event detection is performed separately with single-channel and binaural features using stacked convolutional and recurrent neural network and the evaluation is reported using standard metrics of error rate and F-score. The studied binaural features are seen to consistently perform equal to or better than the single-channel features with respect to error rate metric.
Behavioural determinants of using fluoride removal filters in rural Ethiopia

The occurrence of high fluoride concentration in ground - and surface water of the Ethiopian Rift Valley leads to the risk of developing dental and skeletal fluorosis. Bone char filtration is a simple, efficient and low cost technology to remove fluoride out of drinking water. In six project areas in the Ethiopian Rift Valley, fluoride removal household filters on the basis of bone char material have been implemented. This study examines possible predictors of consuming filtered water derived from various behavior change theories. In a complete survey, all filter beneficiaries were interviewed through structured face-to-face interviews. Logistic regressions were carried out to reveal factors predicting the filter use. The results show that the consumption of only filtered water is mainly related to normative beliefs concerning guests and perceived behavioral control in terms of filter capacity. Based on the results, possible intervention practices are discussed.
An association of melanophores appearing at metamorphosis as vehicles of asymmetric skin color formation with pigment anomalies developed under hatchery conditions in the Japanese flounder, Paralichthys olivaceus.

The mechanisms for asymmetric skin color formation in the Japanese flounder are studied with particular concerns to causes for pigment disorder (hypomelanosis) occurring under hatchery conditions. For an analysis of normal pigmentation, fish were raised with wild zooplanktons in an indoor hatchery, whilst for hypomelanosis, they were raised with Brazilian Artemia nauplii, a diet used in the hatcheries. Morphological observations, counting of melanophores, histochemical assay of DOPA-positive immature cells (melanoblasts), and radiometric estimation of tyrosinase activities in skins of developing larvae and juveniles indicate that 1) the structural plan for pigmentation in this species is bilaterally symmetric until metamorphosis, utilizing large-sized melanophores (hence larval melanophores) as main vehicles, and 2) an asymmetric coloration characteristic to metamorphosed juveniles is formed by an intensive development of smaller-sized melanophores (hence adult-type melanophores) appearing selectively in the ocular side at the later stages of metamorphosis and by an absence of it in the blind. These findings apparently indicate that 1) two types of melanophores occur in this species which differ with respect to morphological properties and developmental fate, and 2) selective differentiation of adult type melanophores in the ocular side of the body at or after metamorphosis is primarily responsible for an asymmetric coloration of its adult form. The similar assays on the fish fed with Artemia nauplii indicate that defective development of adult-type melanophores results in hypomelanosis in their ocular-sided skins, yielding a pigmentary pattern seen in the blind side of the metamorphosed juveniles with normal pigmentation. (ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)
Is FinTech a Disruption or a New Eco-system? An Exploratory Investigation of Banks' Response to Fintech in Australia

The emergence of FinTech companies has drawn much speculation about their potential to disrupt incumbent financial institutions and take as much as 20% of their earnings by 2020. While time will tell about these predications, one emerging reality is that FinTech is creating a new ecosystem where the structure has incumbents, start-ups and tech firms forming alliances, partnerships, and investments. This paper investigates how traditional financial institutions are responding to the FinTech? We draw from the concepts of sensing and responding to analyse more than 3000 news articles, webpages, reports, and press releases covering the period 2008-2017 related to four Australian Banks. Within the limitations of the method, our findings indicate that Australian Banks are actively embracing FinTech by creating mechanisms for inbound FinTech knowledge flows, monitoring and facilitating FinTech activities of start-ups, crowd-sourcing FinTech ideas, seeting up innovation hubs to encourage internal FinTech innovations, modernizing their platforms with the adoption of technologies commonly associated with startups, partnering, and investing in FinTech start-ups. These findings indicate banks' continuous adaptive behaviour and open avenue for future research.
Selection of patients for liver transplantation and allocation of donated livers in the UK

Background: The increasing shortfall between the number of patients who would benefit from liver transplantation and the availability of donor livers means that rationing has to occur. The processes of selection of patients for transplantation and for allocation of donor livers should be done according to ethical and, where possible, evidence-based criteria so that there is clarity and that the competing requirements of equity, justice, utility and benefit can be balanced. Methods: To achieve these goals for patients in the United Kingdom in need of transplantation, we have developed guidelines for the selection of patients to the national waiting list based on the risk of death without a transplant and the ability of the procedure to improve the recipient’s quality of life. Guidelines have been developed for both those with acute liver failure and chronic liver disease. Allocation will depend on matching of the donor liver to the recipient. Results: The proposed system, to be introduced into the UK compares with some other systems, where different models for selection and allocation have been introduced.
PENGARUH PENERAPAN GOOD CORPORATE GOVERNANCE TERHADAP KINERJA PENGADAAN BARANG DAN JASA SECARA ELEKTRONIK (E-PROCUREMENT) PADA BUMN DI PT SEMEN BATURAJA (PERSERO) TBK PALEMBANG

The purpose of this study is to determine the effect of GCG implementation to the procurement of goods and services performance electronically. The data of this research were collected by using interview and survey method. The total of this questionnaire is 34 sheets that spread to all staff in the procurement of goods and services department in Semen Baturaja Inc including User (the GCG secretary). The data of this research analyzed by multiple linear regression analysis using Windows SPSS version 20.0. The result of this research indicated that GCG implementation did not have a positive and significant effect to the procurement of goods and services performance electronically (E-Procurement), whereas GCG implementation has positive and significant effect to the procurement of goods and services performance electronically (E-Procurement) simultaneously.
Islet Xenotransplantation Using Gal‐Deficient Neonatal Donors Improves Engraftment and Function

Significant deficiencies in understanding of xenospecific immunity have impeded the success of preclinical trials in xenoislet transplantation. Although galactose‐α1,3‐galactose, the gal epitope, has emerged as the principal target of rejection in pig‐to‐primate models of solid organ transplant, the importance of gal‐specific immunity in islet xenotransplant models has yet to be clearly demonstrated. Here, we directly compare the immunogenicity, survival and function of neonatal porcine islets (NPIs) from gal‐expressing wild‐type (WT) or gal‐deficient galactosyl transferase knockout (GTKO) donors. Paired diabetic rhesus macaques were transplanted with either WT (n = 5) or GTKO (n = 5) NPIs. Recipient blood glucose, transaminase and serum xenoantibody levels were used to monitor response to transplant. Four of five GTKO versus one of five WT recipients achieved insulin‐independent normoglycemia; transplantation of WT islets resulted in significantly greater transaminitis. The WT NPIs were more susceptible to antibody and complement binding and destruction in vitro. Our results confirm that gal is an important variable in xenoislet transplantation. The GTKO NPI recipients have improved rates of normoglycemia, likely due to decreased susceptibility of xenografts to innate immunity mediated by complement and preformed xenoantibody. Therefore, the use of GTKO donors is an important step toward improved consistency and interpretability of results in future xenoislet studies.
Effect of purified oat β-glucan on fermentation of set-style yogurt mix.

UNLABELLED Effect of oat β-glucan on the fermentation of set-style yogurt was investigated by incorporating 0%, 0.1%, 0.2%, 0.3%, 0.4%, and 0.5% of purified oat β-glucan into the yogurt mix. It was found that levels up to 0.3% resulted in yogurts with quality characteristics similar to the control yogurt. Higher levels of β-glucan however retarded the fermentation process with noticeable difference in the characteristics of the yogurt. Examination of the morphologies of yogurt with and without β-glucan revealed that β-glucan formed aggregates with casein micelle and did not form phase-separated domains. This research demonstrated that β-glucan could be added to yogurt up to 0.3%, which meets the nutrient guidelines, to have added nutritional benefits. PRACTICAL APPLICATION Yogurt is known for its beneficial effects on human health and nutrition. Yogurt production and consumption is increasing in the United States every year. However, it is lacking in β-glucans, which are recognized for their nutritional importance as functional bioactive ingredients. The main objective was to develop and characterize low-fat yogurts with added β-glucan. This research demonstrated that β-glucan could be added to yogurt up to 0.3%, which meets the nutrient guidelines for added nutritional benefits, without affecting the characteristics of yogurt significantly. This study will benefit the dairy industry by generating new products offering healthy alternatives.