Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Dependence of flux-creep activation energy upon current density in grain-aligned YBa2Cu3O7-x.

We have investigated magnetic relaxation on a grain-aligned sample of YBa{sub 2}Cu{sub 3}O{sub 7{minus}{ital x}} powder embedded in epoxy with the magnetic field along the {ital c} axis. Through a thermal-cycling procedure and through variations in the measuring temperature over the range 10--30 K, we manage to commence magnetic relaxation from a range of values of the magnetization, {ital M}, or current density {ital J}. Analysis of relaxation measurements at a magnetic field of 1.0 T over the temperature range 10--30 K reveals a nonlinear dependence of the effective activation energy {ital U}{sub {ital e}} on {ital M} or {ital J} that is consistent with the logarithmic dependence obtained by Zeldov {ital et} {ital al}. from transport measurements. This demonstration of a nonlinear dependence of {ital U}{sub {ital e}}({ital M}) is capable of resolving anomalies in the magnitudes and temperature dependence of flux-creep activation energies obtained from magnetic-relaxation studies.
CAN UNIFORM SELECTION RETARD RANDOM GENETIC DIVERGENCE BETWEEN ISOLATED CONSPECIFIC POPULATIONS?

It has long been understood that different species cannot evolve in exactly identical ways, even in response to identical selection pressures (Simpson, 1950). Each species will respond by changes made possible by its own unique store of genetic variation (Simpson, 1967 p. 165). Thus, parallel evolution among different species has not been construed as an allele-for-allele identity of genetic change, but rather as a similarity in trends of phenotypic change. However, it has not been so widely accepted that even conspecific populations will diverge genetically when subjected to similar selection regimes. It has been argued, for example, that random genetic divergence between conspecific populations is not prevented so much by gene flow as by uniformity of selection pressures acting on isolated populations (Ehrlich and Raven, 1969; Levin, 1979). Implicit in this argument is the assumption that conspecific populations will respond to uniform selection in genetically identical manners. But conspecific populations of many species of animals and plants have diverged under similar selection pressures for a great variety of physiological, biochemical, and morphological characters (Table 1). For instance, different populations of the spider mite Tetranychus urticae have responded to selection for organophosphate (OP) resistance by alternative mechanisms: a New York population has responded by detoxifying the poison, while a European population has altered its neural sensitivity to OP's (Matsumura and Voss, 1964). A model is presented here which suggests that weak, uniform selection im-
Consumers of organic food and sustainable development in Brazil

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to investigate the reasons why the Brazilian consumer of organic foods chooses this type of food in the retail sector, considering sustainable development. Design/methodology/approach – This was a descriptive study including an exploratory phase. Regarding the methods of research, two focus groups (FGs) were developed in the qualitative phase, and then structural equation modelling was used by means of a cross-sectional survey in a quantitative design. The sample was non-probabilistic, intentionally non-random, for convenience and accessibility (n=560). Organic food consumers were addressed in different types of food retail: supermarkets, restaurants and specialised retailers. Findings – Only one of 12 hypotheses was not confirmed. The FGs provided important information for the development of the questionnaire used in the survey. The endogenous construct, intent to purchase, showed a correlation coefficient of 41 per cent (R2=41 per cent), indicating that 41 per cent.
Exploratory Tests of Crude Bacteriocins from Autochthonous Lactic Acid Bacteria against Food-Borne Pathogens and Spoilage Bacteria

— The aim of the present work was to test in vitro inhibition of food pathogens and spoilage bacteria by crude bacteriocins from autochthonous lactic acid bacteria. Thirty autochthonous lactic acid bacteria isolated previously, belonging to have an test and a diffusion assay against Gram-positive 6538, Pseudomonas aeruginosa under conditions means to reduce lactic acid and hydrogen peroxide effect to select bacteria with high bacteriocinogenic potential. Furthermore, crude bacteriocinssemiquantification and heat sensitivity to different temperatures (80, 95, 110°C, and 121°C) were performed. Another exploratory test concerning the response of St.aureus ATCC 6538 to the presence of crude bacteriocins was realized. It has been observed by the agar spot test that fifteen candidates were active toward Gram-positive targets strains. The secondary screening demonstrated an antagonistic activity oriented only against St. aureus ATCC 6538, leading to the selection of five isolates: L m14 , L m21 , L m23 , L m24 , and L m25 with a larger inhibition zone compared to the others. The ANOVA statistical analysis reveals a small variation of repeatability: L m21 0.56%, L m23 : 0%, L m25 : 1.67%, L m14 : 1.88%, L m24 : 2.14%. Conversely, slight variation was reported in terms of inhibition diameters: 9.58± 0.40, 9.83± 0.46 and 10.16± 0.24 8.5 ± 0.40 10 mm for, L m21 , L m23 , L m25 , L m14 and L m24 , indicating that the observed potential showed a heterogeneous distribution (BMS = 0.383, WMS = 0.117). The repeatability coefficient calculated displayed 7.35%. As for the bacteriocinssemiquantification, the five samples exhibited production amounts about 4.16 for L m21 , L m23 , L m25 and 2.08 AU/ml for L m14 , L m24 . Concerning the sensitivity the crude bacteriocins were fully insensitive to heat inactivation, until 121°C, they preserved the same inhibition diameter. As to, kinetic of growth , the µmax showed reductions in pathogens load for L m21 , L m23 , L m25 , L m14 , L m24 of about 42.92%, 84.12%, 88.55%, 54.95%, 29.97% in the second trails. Inversely, this pathogen growth after five hours displayed differences of 79.45%, 12.64%, 11.82%, 87.88%, 85.66% in the second trails, compared to the control. This study showed potential inhibition to the growth of this food pathogen, suggesting the possibility to improve the hygienic food quality.
Does nuchal translucency have a role in fetal cardiac screening?

Increased nuchal translucency is the strongest single marker for chromosomal abnormality. Consequently, it is currently becoming established as the foundation of most early screening programmes for Down syndrome. In the absence of chromosomal abnormality, increased nuchal translucency has been shown to be associated with other congenital anomalies including cardiac defects. Several datasets have now reported this association and here these are reviewed to assess the effectiveness of nuchal translucency measurement as a screening tool for the prenatal detection of congenital heart disease. Copyright © 2004 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Exploring the complexity of balancing trust and formal controls in IS outsourcing selationships

ion and generalisation: theories or concepts used based on which research is abstracted and generalised. The studied phenomenon (balance) was examined through relational contract theory (Macneil 1985) as a meta theory about the complementary nature of trust and formal controls. Further, the conceptual nature of the trust-controls nexus was supported with Möllering’s work (2005), whereas the rationale of finding the appropriate balance was supported with Sabherwal’s work (1999). Also, the conceptual study about three types of the balance had been adapted from the work of Long and Sitkin (2006). This was sufficient in providing the theoretical apparatus to abstract from the empirical data. Dialogical reasoning: requires sensitivity to the contradictions that emerge between the theoretical preconceptions guiding the research design and the empirical findings with further cycles of iteration. Dialogical reasoning was evident through the continuous debate in the thesis about the nature of the balance. In fact, the study started with a general discussion about achieving the balance within the outsourcing context and further moved to a discussion about achieving a particular type of balance. The empirical part revealed the evolution of balance in time and prevailing trends (synergistic balance) in the IS outsourcing arrangement. Multiple interpretations: different views and alternative perspectives should be taken into consideration and supported by the actual quotes from the participants. In the study, different views and alternative (sometimes conflicting) perspectives were present which were able to be resolved with the conceptual framework. For example, in the fifth case study, client and vendor stakeholders gave opposing accounts about the quality of the outsourcing relationship, where the client highlighted the low quality of the delivered service and the vendor stressed the high quality of the provided service. This was ruled out with a discussion of existing formal controls that were found to be lacking in the project (e.g. explicitly formulated service level agreement) and as a result, both sides were faced with the poorly defined scope and mismatch of project expectations. Also, multiple interpretations were evident through perceptions collected at multiple levels.
Pharmacogenetic and ethnicity influence on oxaliplatin therapy for colorectal cancer: a meta-analysis.

AIMS Oxaliplatin-based chemotherapy for colorectal cancer demonstrates interindividual variability in response, and polymorphisms of ERCC1, ERCC2, XRCC1, GSTP1 and GSTM1 genes may be contributing factors. Additionally, the effect of these genotypes may differ between ethnic groups. Material & Methods: A meta-analysis of the association between these genotypes and response, progression-free survival and overall survival (OS) for patients with colorectal cancer treated with oxaliplatin-based therapy is reported. Results: ERCC1 C118T (TT vs CC OS [hazard ratio (HR): 2.59; p = 0.001]), ERCC2 A2251C (CC or AC vs AA OS [HR: 1.53; p = 0.04]) and GSTP1 A313G (GG vs AA OS, [HR: 0.47; p < 0.001]) polymorphisms were associated with survival. The effect size may be larger for ERCC1 C118T and XRCC1 G1196A in Asian compared with Caucasian populations. No association was apparent for the GSTM1 genotype. CONCLUSION ERCC1 C118T, ERCC2 A2251C and GSTP1 A313G polymorphisms were associated with clinical outcomes.
National versus store brand effects on consumer evaluation of a garment

Purpose – The study reported in this article aims to examine the effects of national versus store brands on consumer evaluation of a garment, taking into account the intended product usage situation (for everyday use versus for a special occasion) as well as price (regular versus discount), type of store (department versus boutique), and store image (lower‐class versus upper‐class). Design/methodology/approach – An experiment was conducted with 127 Canadian adult consumers where the above variables were manipulated by means of short vignettes presenting a to‐be‐evaluated branded shirt.Findings – The results of the experimental study showed that consumer evaluations of store brands and national brands were influenced by the joint effects of store image and intended usage situation.Practical implications – Retailers in upper‐class retail clothing stores willing to promote their store brands should emphasize in their communication programs buying contexts in which an item is needed for some special event (e.g.
Differential mortality association of loop diuretic dosage according to blood urea nitrogen and carbohydrate antigen 125 following a hospitalization for acute heart failure

Recent observations in chronic stable heart failure suggest that high‐dose loop diuretics (HDLDs) have detrimental prognostic effects in patients with high blood urea nitrogen (BUN), but recent findings have also indicated that diuretics may improve renal function. Carbohydrate antigen 125 (CA125) has been shown to be a surrogate of systemic congestion. We sought to explore whether BUN and CA125 modulate the mortality risk associated with HDLDs following a hospitalization for acute heart failure (AHF).
The devil you know

Q uestion: What's worse than buggy software? Answer: Patches and upgrades that make things even worse. This is a dilemma critical to many applications. How should we cope with the untold millions of computers that are constantly subjected to penetrations, viruses, worms, and other nasties that exploit a steady stream of security weaknesses and flaws? Is finessing, coercing, or even forcing users to install updates a solution, or just an invitation to further aggravation and potential disasters? The underlying problem is obvious. Much commercial software is a mess on the inside. Get past the flashy graphics and the fancy user interfaces, and you frequently descend into a nightmarish realm of twisted spaghetti-like code that might better belong in a Sal-vador Dali painting. One recurring type of software security bug, buffer overflows, dates back to the dawn of computing, but only recently are we seeing some serious attempts to limit this vulnerability systemically. Meanwhile, Microsoft sends forth a stream of patches intending to correct what it designates as " critical'' security flaws in its systems, applications, and even its own previous patches. Microsoft certainly isn't alone when it comes to software flaws, but as the massively dominant desktop system vendor, its software and support decisions tend to have much more influence on most consumers, businesses, and other organizations than those of other firms. Microsoft has expressed continuing concerns about user behavior, seeming to say, in essence, " If we could just find some way to get users to install each and every patch forever, the bugs in our software wouldn't really matter so much. '' This seems somewhat akin to a vam-pire, after having bitten your throat and transformed you into one of the living dead, pointing out that vam-pirism really isn't so bad as long as you get plenty of blood every night and stay out of the sun. Many computer users pay little if any attention to the issues of security bugs. They take the unfortunate but understandable view that if something seems to be working adequately, don't try to fix it. In the security realm, this can indeed be a very dangerous attitude. On the other hand, many expert computer users (particularly those using Microsoft products) don't ignore patches—they're simply terrified of them. Too often, installing seemingly innocuous " fixes'' into working systems results in instability, crashes, or even total unusability. Interactions between patches and other software , particularly …
A technique for enhancing learning about the professional practice of food microbiology and its preliminary evaluation

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to develop and preliminarily evaluate an exercise to enhance student learning and engagement about the professional practice of food microbiology.Design/methodology/approach – An exercise in the form of group problem‐based investigations framed from the perspective of different stakeholders, namely food producers, regulator, consumer or mass media, was developed. Problems were designed to include some anomalies and errors that could be exploited by the students. Students presented their findings, which were peer reviewed and contributed to the summative assessment of the course. A preliminary investigation into the effectiveness of the exercise in engaging students and achieving learning outcomes was conducted using a questionnaire and responses to an examination question on the subject.Findings – Results from the preliminary evaluation questionnaire indicated that students were engaged by the exercise but some issues with group interactions were apparent. Students f.
Age-Related Hearing Loss, Methylmalonic Acid, and Vitamin B12 Status in Older Adults

Abstract Hearing loss has been associated with poor vitamin B12 status in some, but not all studies. This study examined a possible relationship between age-related hearing loss and poor B12 status in 93 older adults using different indices of B status. Hearing loss was defined as pure-tone average threshold > 25 decibel hearing level. Participants with methylmalonic acid (MMA) > 271 nmol/L at baseline received 1,000 μg/d, and those with MMA <271 nmol/L were randomly assigned to receive 0,25, or 100 Ltg/d of B12. In a series of logistic regression analyses, compared with participants with normal hearing, those with impaired hearing had a significantly higher serum mean MMA concentrations in the best and the worst ears and a higher prevalence of elevated MMA (> 271 nmol/L) in the worst ear only. Thus, elevated MMA concentration may be associated with hearing loss in older adults. However, short-term B12 supplementation was unrelated to improvements in hearing status in B12-deficient individuals.
Exploring Stigma Experiences Using Group Therapy Amongst People Living with Schizophrenia in a Psychiatric Day Care Center

Aim To explore the lived experiences of stigma among people with schizophrenia in a psychiatric day care center. Background Stigmatization can create negative feelings in people with schizophrenia and exacerbate the symptoms of their illness. People in society of Taiwan try to understand the disease of schizophrenia; however, the past perspectives (e.g. crazy, violence, etc.) to people with schizophrenia still exist in people’s mind. The management of stigma among people with schizophrenia is an important issue worldwide. Design A descriptive qualitative approach was used to study the stigma experiences among patients with schizophrenia using group therapy and two pre-post personal face-to-face interviews at a psychiatric day care center in Taiwan. Methods Nine focus groups with six patients were facilitated by a psychiatric nurse practitioner and psychologist. Each group meeting lasted approximately 90 minutes. The research data were collected through participant notes, observation, and twelve informal conversational interviews. The collected data were analyzed using content analysis. Results Three core themes were derived from the analysis of the data: 1) stigma due to illness; 2) antistigma coping methods, and 3) strategies for fighting stigma. Conclusion According to the findings, we understood the feelings and experiences of stigma among people with schizophrenia through the nine focus groups and pre-post interviews. The findings could be utilized by mental health nursing staff when caring for patients with schizophrenia in a clinical setting, and by health educators when teaching nursing students, in order to assist with changing perspectives about people with schizophrenia.
Paclitaxel inhibits arterial smooth muscle cell proliferation and migration in vitro and in vivo using local drug delivery.

BACKGROUND The antineoplastic compound paclitaxel (Taxol) causes an increased assembly of extraordinarily stable microtubules. The present study was designed to characterize the effects of paclitaxel on proliferation and migration of human arterial smooth muscle cells (haSMCs) in vitro and on neointima formation in an in vivo experimental rabbit model. METHODS AND RESULTS Both monocultures of haSMCs and cocultures with human arterial endothelial cells (haECs) were used. Cell growth after 4, 8, and 14 days was determined in the absence or presence of platelet-derived growth factor-AB (PDGF-AB), basic fibroblast growth factor (bFGF), or thrombin. Nonstop paclitaxel exposure, as well as single-dose applications of paclitaxel for 24 hours or even 20 minutes (0.1 to 10.0 micromol/L), caused a complete and prolonged inhibition of haSMC growth up to day 14, with an IC50 of 2.0 nmol/L. Mitogens or cocultures with stimulating haECs did not significantly attenuate paclitaxel-induced effects. Immunohistochemistry showed characteristic cytoskeletal changes predominantly in the microtubule network. Additionally, in 20 male New Zealand White rabbits, intimal plaques were produced by electrical stimulation. In 10 animals, paclitaxel was locally applied by use of microporous balloons. Histologically, the intima wall area, wall thickness, and degree of stenosis were reduced significantly in paclitaxel-treated animals compared with controls. CONCLUSIONS Our data show that paclitaxel inhibits haSMC proliferation and migration in a dose-dependent manner in monocultures and cocultures even in the presence of mitogens. Furthermore, paclitaxel prevents neointima formation in rabbits after balloon angioplasty. The long-lasting effect after just several minutes' exposure time makes this lipophilic substance a promising candidate for local antiproliferative therapy of restenosis.
Ownership structure and market power as determinants of corporate dividend policy in Saudi Arabia

This study investigates the relationship between ownership structure, market power, and dividend policy for listed companies on Saudi stock exchange over the period 2009 to 2013. The study examines the roles of managerial ownership, individual ownership, concentrated ownership, and foreign ownership and firm's market power in influencing dividend payout. Data of this study has been analyzed using Ordinary Least Square (OLS) regression. F-value revealed that all these five independent variables namely, managerial, individual, foreign, concentrated ownership, and market power, collectively explains the dependent variable by 40.91 percent. This study finds that concentrated ownership has significant and positive relationship with the dividend payout while the relationship between market power and dividend payout is significant but negative. On the other hand, managerial, individual, and foreign ownership has insignificant relationship with dividend payout
YaeL proteolysis of RseA is controlled by the PDZ domain of YaeL and a Gln‐rich region of RseA

σE is an alternative sigma factor involved in a pathway of extracytoplasmic stress responses in Escherichia coli. Under normal growth conditions, σE activity is down‐regulated by the membrane‐bound anti‐σE protein, RseA. Extracytoplasmic stress signals induce degradation of RseA by two successive proteolytic events: DegS‐catalyzed first cleavage at a periplasmic site followed by YaeL‐mediated second proteolysis at an intramembrane region. Normally, the second reaction (site‐2 proteolysis) only occurs after the first cleavage (site‐1 cleavage). Here, we show that YaeL variants with the periplasmic PDZ domain deleted or mutated allows unregulated cleavage of RseA and consequent σE activation. It was also found that a glutamine‐rich region in the periplasmic domain of RseA was required for the avoidance of the YaeL‐mediated proteolysis in the absence of site‐1 cleavage. These results indicate that multiple negative elements both in the enzyme (PDZ domain) and in the substrate (glutamine‐rich region) determine the strict dependence of the site‐2 proteolysis on the site‐1 cleavage.
CD4+CD25+‐Regulatory T Cells from Mouse to Man

Immunological tolerance is one of the fundamental concepts of the immune system. During the past decade, CD4+CD25+‐regulatory T cells have emerged as key players in the development of tolerance to autoantigens as well as to foreign antigens. Still many questions remain illusive regarding the basic properties of CD4+CD25+‐regulatory T cells. This review aims to recapitulate some of the current understandings about the phenotype, function and clinical relevance of murine and human CD4+CD25+‐regulatory T cells.