Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Lipophilic Antioxidants in Human Sebum and Aging

Skin surface lipids (SSL), a very complex mixture of sebum mixed to small amounts of epidermal lipids, mantle the human epidermis, thus representing the outermost protection of the body against exogenous oxidative insults. The present work is a systematic and quantitative analysis of upper-chest SSL and their content in antioxidants in 100 healthy volunteers, divided into five age groups using TLC, HPLC, and GC-MS methods. Further, the effect of exposing SSL in vitro to increasing doses of UV irradiation was examined. Straight monounsaturated and diunsaturated as well as branched monounsaturated fatty acids of triglycerides and pooled fractions were found to be higher at maturity than in childhood and in advancing age. Diunsaturated fatty acids were below 3% of the total and constituted exclusively of C18:2 j 5,8 , C20:2 j 7,10 , C18:2 j 9,12 . Squalene, vitamin E (vit. E) and Coenzyme Q 10 (CoQ 10 ) were found to increase from childhood to maturity to decrease again significantly in old age. Vitamin E and CoQ 10 were the only known lipophilic antioxidants present in SSL. In spite of their low levels they were found to synergically inhibit the UV induced depletion of squalene, cholesterol and of unsaturated fatty acids of SSL. In fact, exposure of SSL to increasing amounts of UV irradiation led preferentially to lowering of the levels of vit. E and CoQ 10 . Four minimal erythema dose (MED) (5.6 J/cm 2 ) were able to deplete 84% vit. E and 70% ubiquinone, and only 13% squalene. Diunsaturated and monounsaturated fatty acids as well as cholesterol were unaffected even following 10 MED UV exposures, which produced a 26% loss of squalene. The same UV dose when applied in the absence of vit. E and CoQ 10 produced a 90% decrease of squalene.
A New High-Performance Reagent and Procedure for Latent Bloodstain Detection Based on Luminol Chemiluminescence

ABSTRACT A new occult blood revealing agent was designed such that DNA material would be preserved and a DNA profile could be obtained. Indeed, there were uncertainties about previous chemicals that might alter blood DNA content and have adverse effects on DNA typing. BlueStar® is a chemiluminescent bloodstain detecting agent resulting from our research. It combines ease-of-use with minimum health risks and does not have any harmful effects on DNA profile determination.
Magnetic resonance microscopy of the equine hoof wall: a study of resolution and potential.

REASONS FOR PERFORMING STUDY Obtaining magnetic resonance images of the inner hoof wall tissue at the microscopic level would enable early accurate diagnosis of laminitis and therefore more effective therapy. OBJECTIVES To optimise magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) parameters in order to obtain the highest possible resolution of the structures beneath the equine hoof wall. METHODS Magnetic resonance microscopy (MRM) was performed in front feet from 6 cadaver horses using T2-weighted fast spin echo (FSE-T2), and T1-weighted gradient echo (GRE-T1) sequences. RESULTS In T2 weighted FSE images most of the stratum medium showed no signal, however the coronary, terminal and sole papillae were visible. The stratum lamellatum was clearly visible and primary epidermal lamellae could be differentiated from dermal lamellae. CONCLUSION Most structures beneath the hoof wall were differentiated. Conventional scanners for diagnostic MRI in horses are low or high field. However this study used ultra-high field scanners currently not available for clinical use. Signal-to-noise ratio (S/N) increases as a function of field strength. An increase of spatial resolution of the image results in a decreased S/N. S/N can also be improved with better coils and the resolution of high field MRI scanners will increase as technology develops and surface array coils become more readily available. POTENTIAL RELEVANCE Although MR images with microscopic resolution were obtained ex vivo, this study demonstrates the potential for detection of lamellar pathology as it occurs. Early recognition of the development of laminitis to instigate effective therapy at an earlier stage and may improve the outcome for laminitic horses. Clinical MR is now readily available at 3 T, while 4 T, 7 T and 9 T systems are being used for human whole body applications.
Do Investors Understand 'Operational Engineering' before Management Buyouts?

During the year prior to management buyout (MBOs) announcements, some target firms exhibit abnormally high discretionary expenses in selling, general and administration, abnormally low discretionary accruals, and realize losses from asset sales. Higher discretionary expenses and losses from asset sales are associated with lower pre-MBO abnormal stock returns, especially for firms with higher insider ownership, less institutional monitoring and higher information asymmetry. They are also associated with better post-MBO operating performance. None of these activities affects the likelihood of MBO deal completion, announcement period abnormal returns, or offer premium. These target firms do not show such abnormal activities in other years before the MBOs or after the MBOs. Our results suggest that outside investors and the market do not fully understand the earnings-reducing activities before MBOs, and such ‘operational engineering’ allows managers to acquire the targets “on the cheap” and to show better post-MBO performance. JEL Classifications: G34, G14, M41.
Expression and role of 5-HT7 receptor in brain and intestine in rats with irritable bowel syndrome.

BACKGROUND The 5-hydroxytryptamine7 receptor (5-HT(7) receptor, 5-HT(7)R) plays an important role in the regulation of smooth muscle relaxation and visceral sensation and might be involved in the pathogenesis of the gastrointestinal dyskinesia, abdominal pain and visceral paresthesia in irritable bowel syndrome (IBS). The aim of this study was to investigate the role of the 5-HT(7) receptor in the pathogenesis of IBS. METHODS A rat model of irritable bowel syndrome with diarrhea (IBS-D) was established by colonic instillation of acetic acid and restraint stress. A rat model with irritable bowel syndrome with constipation (IBS-C) was established by stomach irrigated with 0 - 4 degrees C cool water daily for 14 days. The content and distribution of 5-HT in the brain and gut were examined by immunohistochemistry and the mRNA expression of the 5-HT(7) receptor was determined by fluorescent quantitative reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction. The accumulation of cyclic adenosine monophosphate (cAMP) in all the same tissues was measured by radioimmunity. RESULTS The models of IBS were reliable by identification. The immunohistochemistry results showed that there were significantly more 5-HT positive cells in the IBS-D group than in the control group in the hippocampus, hypothalamus, jejunum, ileum, proximate colon and distal colon (P < 0.05), as well as more than were found in the IBS-C group in jejunum and ileum (P < 0.05). There were more 5-HT positive cells in the IBS-C group than in the control hippocampus, hypothalamus, ileum, proximate colon, and distal colon (P < 0.05). Real time-PCR results showed that the expression level of the 5-HT(7) receptor in both the IBS-C and IBS-D groups were enhanced compared with the control group in the hippocampus and hypothalamus (P < 0.05). The expression level of 5-HT(7) receptors in the IBS-C group was notably greater when compared with the controls in the ileum and colon (P < 0.05). The cAMP accumulation in the hippocampus and hypothalamus in both the IBS-C and IBS-D groups was higher than that in the control group (P < 0.01 and P < 0.05). The cAMP accumulation in the IBS-C group was higher than that in the control group in the proximal and distal colon (P < 0.05). CONCLUSIONS The increased 5-HT content in the brain and intestine is related to the IBS pathogenesis. The up-regulated expression of the 5-HT(7) receptor in the brain and colon might play an important role in the pathogenesis of IBS-C.
Scurvy as a factor in the loss of the 1845 Franklin expedition to the Arctic: a reconsideration

In 1845, an expedition, commanded by Sir John Franklin, set out to discover the Northwest Passage. The ships entered the Canadian Arctic, and from September 1846 were beset in ice off King William Island. A note left by the expedition in May 1847 reported all was well, but by April 1848, 24 of the 129 men had died. The ice-locked ships were deserted in April 1848, but the 105 survivors were so weakened that all perished before they could reach safety. The causes of the morbidity and mortality aboard the ships have long been debated, and many commentators have argued that scurvy was an important factor. This study evaluates the historical evidence for the likely effectiveness of anti-scorbutic precautions taken on polar voyages at that time, and investigates whether the skeletal remains associated with the expedition provide evidence for scurvy. Skeletal remains available for study were carefully examined for pathological changes, and lesions potentially consistent with scurvy were subject to histological analysis. Where remains were no longer accessible, use was made of published osteological work. It is argued that the anti-scorbutic measures customarily taken on mid 19th century British naval polar voyages were such that there is no a priori reason to suppose that scurvy should have been a problem prior to the desertion of the ships. The analysis of the skeletal evidence provided little in the way of bony lesions consistent with the disease, and cannot therefore be used to support the presence of scurvy. Factors other than scurvy may been the main causes of morbidity and mortality in the 11 months prior to the desertion of the ships. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Mitochondrial dysfunction in obesity-associated nonalcoholic fatty liver disease: the protective effects of pomegranate with its active component punicalagin.

AIMS Punicalagin (PU) is one of the major ellagitannins found in the pomegranate (Punica granatum), which is a popular fruit with several health benefits. So far, no studies have evaluated the effects of PU on nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD). Our work aims at studying the effect of PU-enriched pomegranate extract (PE) on high fat diet (HFD)-induced NAFLD. RESULTS PE administration at a dosage of 150 mg/kg/day significantly inhibited HFD-induced hyperlipidemia and hepatic lipid deposition. As major contributors to NAFLD, increased expression of pro-inflammatory cytokines such as tumor necrosis factor-alpha, interleukins 1, 4, and 6 as well as augmented oxidative stress in hepatocytes followed by nuclear factor (erythroid-derived-2)-like 2 (Nrf2) activation were normalized through PE supplementation. In addition, PE treatment reduced uncoupling protein 2 (UCP2) expression, restored ATP content, suppressed mitochondrial protein oxidation, and improved mitochondrial complex activity in the liver. In contrast, mitochondrial content was not affected despite increased peroxisomal proliferator-activated receptor-gamma coactivator-1α (PGC-1α) and elevated expression of genes related to mitochondrial beta-oxidation after PE treatment. Finally, PU was identified as the predominant active component of PE with regard to the lowering of triglyceride and cholesterol content in HepG2 cells, and both PU- and PE-protected cells from palmitate induced mitochondrial dysfunction and insulin resistance. INNOVATION Our work presents the beneficial effects of PE on obesity-associated NAFLD and multiple risk factors. PU was proposed to be the major active component. CONCLUSIONS By promoting mitochondrial function, eliminating oxidative stress and inflammation, PU may be a useful nutrient for the treatment of NAFLD.
Discontinuity in Earnings Report and Managerial Incentives

This paper provides a rational explanation for earnings discontinuity in the context of the agency model. A company manager often possesses private information about the project’s expected return. This information is valuable to the firm because early warning that a project is unlikely to succeed allows the firm to fire the manager and to discontinue a project with an expected loss. When issuing a report, the manager can choose to engage in real earnings management and report higher-than-actual earnings for the current period, but as a result, the overall expected cash flow from the project will be undermined. The only way to extract the manager’s private information is to offer him a generous severance payment as compensation for disclosing bad news. It is shown that any optimal contract induces overinvestment and earnings management. Furthermore, discontinuity in earnings reports arises endogenously under most circumstances. For a linear cost of misreporting, the paper presents the closed-form solution for the optimal contract and shows that the existence of an area of discontinuity in the earnings report depends negatively on the firm size and positively on the cost of managerial effort. These results are in line with empirical studies on discontinuity in earnings and executive severance agreements. ∗Haas School of Business, UC Berkeley, CA 94720, 510-643-1411, or by email at fedyk@haas.berkeley. edu. I am indebted to Sunil Dutta for continuous encouragement and guidance. I am also grateful for helpful comments from Nicole Bastian-Johnson, Qintao Fan, Botond Koczegi, and John Morgan. Any remaining errors are my own.
Mouse embryonic fibroblasts exhibit extensive developmental and phenotypic diversity

Significance Embryonic fibroblasts have long been considered a relatively homogeneous cell type, and many studies have been conducted on fibroblasts of varying provenance. The results of the present study indicate that embryonic fibroblasts are highly heterogeneous and exhibit anatomic and developmental variation that has both practical consequences for the interpretation of experimental results and theoretical implications for the nature and organization of metazoan organisms. Studies using embryonic fibroblasts to explore the consequences of altered alleles should take into account the possibility that fibroblast composition may be altered by allele expression. Analysis of embryonic fibroblasts from GFP reporter mice indicates that the fibroblast cell type harbors a large collection of developmentally and phenotypically heterogeneous subtypes. Some of these cells exhibit multipotency, whereas others do not. Multiparameter flow cytometry analysis shows that a large number of distinct populations of fibroblast-like cells can be found in cultures initiated from different embryonic organs, and cells sorted according to their surface phenotype typically retain their characteristics on continued propagation in culture. Similarly, surface phenotypes of individual cloned fibroblast-like cells exhibit significant variation. The fibroblast cell class appears to contain a very large number of denumerable subtypes.
GBV‐C/hepatitis G virus infection and non‐Hodgkin lymphoma: a case control study

We investigated whether there was an association between GBV‐C viremia and the development of non‐Hodgkin lymphoma (NHL) in 553 NHL cases and 438 controls from British Columbia, Canada. Cases were aged 20–79, diagnosed between March 2000 and February 2004, and resident in Greater Vancouver or Victoria. Cases and controls were tested for GBV‐C RNA by RT‐PCR and positive samples were genotyped. Overall, GBV‐C RNA was detected in 4.5% of NHL cases vs. 1.8% of controls [adjusted odds ratio (OR) = 2.72, 95% confidence interval (CI) = 1.22–6.69]. The association between GBV‐C RNA detection and NHL remained even after individuals with a history of prior transfusion, injection drug use and hepatitis C virus sero‐positivity were excluded. GBV‐C viremia showed the strongest association with diffuse large B cell lymphoma (adjusted OR = 5.18, 95% CI = 2.06–13.71). Genotyping was performed on 29/33 GBV‐C RNA positive individuals; genotypes 2a (n = 22); 2b (n = 5) and 3 (n = 2) were identified, consistent with the distribution of genotypes found in North America. This is the largest case‐control study to date associating GBV‐C viremia and NHL risk. As GBV‐C is known to be transmitted through blood products this may have important implications for blood safety.
KDR Mutation, a Genetic Marker to Assess Events of Introgression Between the Molecular M and S Forms of Anopheles gambiae (Diptera: Culicidae) in the Tropical Savannah Area of West Africa

Abstract A sodium channel ‘kdr’-type mutation was identified in the M form of Anopheles gambiae from Burkina Faso in the tropical savannah area belt. The molecular M form of An. gambiae is found at high frequencies in the flooded rice cultivation area of Kou Valley, where the insecticide selection pressure is limited. The spread of the mutation in the M population is an ongoing process, as it increased from a frequency of 0.006 in 1999 to 0.02 in 2000. The S molecular form occurs in sympatry in our study village, with the M form at a relatively low frequency. The common ‘kdr’ mutation was previously detected in this area in the S form, and has probably invaded the M population through genetic introgression. This impacts on the question of actual levels of gene flow between the two molecular forms in tropical savannah areas. A hybrid M/S individual was identified during the course of this study, which was homozygous for the ‘kdr’ mutation. Pyrethroid resistant An. gambiae were caught in October and November, which is the time of year that the molecular S form migrates into this area as rain-fed breeding sites in the cotton fields dry out.
Molecular (Sub)Grouping of Endosymbiont Wolbachia Infection Among Mosquitoes of Taiwan

Abstract Wolbachia are maternally inherited bacteria that infect a wide range of arthropods as well as filarial worms. The infection usually results in reproductive distortions of the host, primarily cytoplasmic incompatibility, parthenogenesis, and feminization. This study showed that Wolbachia infection (15/29; 51.72%) was prevalent among field-caught mosquitoes in Taiwan. Three mosquito species were identified as having Wolbachia A infection, eight species as having Wolbachia B, and four other species were dually infected by both groups. Each Wolbachia isolate from different mosquitoes was further divided into a specific subgroup. However, there were still some isolates that did not belong to any known subgroup, suggesting that more subgroups remain to be identified. Investigation of tissue tropism in either Aedes albopictus (Skuse) or Armigeres subalbatus (Coquillett) revealed that Wolbachia were extensively distributed within the host, although the ovary was most susceptible to infection. This report provides preliminary features of molecular relationships among Wolbachia groups of mosquitoes from Taiwan.
The Association Between Articulator Movement and Formant Trajectories in Diphthongs

The Association Between Articulator Movement and Formant Trajectories in Diphthongs Katherine Morris McKell Department of Communication Disorders, BYU Master of Science The current study examined the association between formant trajectories and tongue and lip movements in the American English diphthongs /aɪ/, /aʊ/, and /ɔɪ/. Seventeen native speakers of American English had electromagnetic sensors placed on their tongues and lips to record movement data along with corresponding acoustic data during productions of the diphthongs in isolation. F1 and F2 trajectories were extracted from the middle 50% of the diphthongs and compared with time-aligned kinematic data from tongue and lip movements. The movement and formant tracks were converted to z-scores and plotted together on a common time scale. Absolute difference scores between kinematic variables and acoustic variables were summed along each track to reflect the association between the movement and acoustic records. Results show that tongue movement has the closest association with changes in F1 and F2 for the diphthong /aɪ/. Lip movement has the closest association with changes in F1 and F2 for the diphthong /aʊ/. Results for the diphthong /ɔɪ/ suggest tongue advancement has the closest association with changes in F2, while neither lip movement nor tongue movement have a clearly defined association with changes in F1. These results suggest that for diphthongs with the lip rounding feature, lip movement may have a greater influence on F1 and F2 than previously considered. Researchers who use formant data to make inferences about tongue movement and vowel space may benefit from considering the possible influence of lip movements on vocal tract resonance.
Contribution à une meilleure évaluation et prise en charge de l'anxiété chez des patientes présentant un cancer du sein

L’anxiete est tres frequente chez des patientes presentant un cancer du sein non-metastatique et peut avoir des repercussions importantes sur leur prise en charge medicale ainsi que sur leur bien-etre physique et psychologique. S’il existe une litterature abondante sur le sujet, de nombreuses questions subsistent concernant l’evaluation et la prise en charge de l’anxiete durant la radiotherapie et dans la phase de remission qui suit. Ce travail de these a investigue ces questions au travers de deux etudes empiriques repondant aux objectifs suivants: (a) l’evaluation de l’evolution et des predicteurs de l’anxiete durant le traitement de radiotherapie et (b) le developpement et l’evaluation de l’efficacite de deux interventions psychologiques de groupe sur la regulation de l’anxiete apres la radiotherapie. Les resultats de la premiere etude (a) montrent que les niveaux d’anxiete les plus eleves sont observes lors de la simulation et de la premiere seance de radiotherapie et diminuent, ensuite, rapidement jusqu’a la fin du traitement. Bien que les niveaux d’anxiete soient relativement faibles pour de nombreuses patientes et semblent etre de nature anticipatoire, certaines patientes presentent des niveaux cliniquement significatifs d’anxiete. De plus, un niveau cliniquement significatif d’anxiete a la premiere seance de radiotherapie est predit par des facteurs lies a la communication entre les patientes et l’equipe de radiotherapie. Les resultats de la seconde etude (b) indiquent qu’une intervention de groupe a composantes multiples qui combine le soutien, les techniques cognitivo-comportementales et l’hypnose est plus efficace qu’une intervention de groupe a composante unique basee sur le soutien pour aider les patientes a mieux reguler leur anxiete apres la radiotherapie. Les resultats de ce travail de these soulignent l’importance d’evaluer l’anxiete chez les patientes a des moments critiques de leurs parcours medical et d’identifier les patientes qui presentent des niveaux cliniquement significatifs d’anxiete pour leur offrir un soutien adapte. Ces resultats suggerent egalement d’ameliorer les prises en charge afin de reduire l’anxiete des patientes. Des prises en charge offertes par les equipes de radiotherapie necessitent une personnalisation de la communication etablie avec les patientes et l’utilisation de strategies proactives d’evaluation, d’information et de soutien. Des prises en charge psychologiques de groupe necessitent quant a elles de combiner les composantes therapeutiques les plus optimales. Enfin, ce travail de these souligne l’importance de continuer a developper et a ameliorer les methodes d’evaluation et d’intervention.
Disability caused by minor head injury.

The authors studied 538 patients who had sustained minor head trauma, which was defined as a history of unconsciousness of 20 minutes or less, a Glasgow Coma Scale score of 13 to 15, and hospitalization not exceeding 48 hours. Of these patients, 424 were evaluated 3 months after injury. The follow-u