Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
A Back-up Glycosylase in Nth1 Knock-out Mice Is a Functional Nei (Endonuclease VIII) Homologue*

Thymine glycol, a potentially lethal DNA lesion produced by reactive oxygen species, can be removed by DNA glycosylase, Escherichia coli Nth (endonuclease III), or its mammalian homologue NTH1. We have found previously that mice deleted in the Nth homologue still retain at least two residual glycosylase activities for thymine glycol. We report herein that in cell extracts from the mNth1 knock-out mouse there is a third thymine glycol glycosylase activity that is encoded by one of three mammalian proteins with sequence similarity to E. coli Fpg (MutM) and Nei (endonuclease VIII). Tissue expression of this mouse Nei-like (designated as Neil1) gene is ubiquitous but much lower than that of mNth1 except in heart, spleen, and skeletal muscle. Recombinant NEIL1 can remove thymine glycol and 5-hydroxyuracil in double- and single-stranded DNA much more efficiently than 8-oxoguanine and can nick the strand by an associated (β-δ) apurinic/apyrimidinic lyase activity. In addition, the mouse NEIL1 has a unique DNA glycosylase/lyase activity toward mismatched uracil and thymine, especially in U:C and T:C mismatches. These results suggest that NEIL1 is a back-up glycosylase for NTH1 with unique substrate specificity and tissue-specific expression.
Structural breaks, price and income elasticity and forecast of the monthly italian electricity demand

Insights about electricity demand dynamics is fundamental for investment capacity, optimal energy policies, and balanced electricity system. This paper presents an empirical analysis of the monthly Italian electricity demand since January 2001 to June 2012. In the first section we conduct a deep analysis of the structural breaks in the electricity demand finding that the series has two structural breaks in August 2002 and August 2004. In the second part of the paper we estimate the price elasticity of demand both for residential and industrial sector. As expected from the electricity economics literature, we find that the long run price and income elasticities are more price elastic than the short run both in the industrial and residential consumption. In the third and last section, we compare two different forecasting models: the Hidden Markov Models (HMM) and the Holt Winters (H-W) seasonal smoothing method. Considering the Mean Absolute Percentage Error (MAPE), the HMM approach seems to show a superiority in forecasting the monthly electricity demand compared to the H-W methodology in the horizon forecast.
Serial scans in healthy volunteers following intravenous administration of gadoteridol: time course of contrast enhancement in various cranial fluid spaces.

PURPOSE Heavily T2-weighted, 3-dimensional, fluid-attenuated inversion recovery (hT2W-3D-FLAIR) imaging has been reported to detect low concentrations of gadolinium-based contrast media (GBCM) in the anterior eye segment (AES), subarachnoid space (SAS), and labyrinthine perilymph as well as in the cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) of the internal auditory canal (IAC) 4 hours after intravenous administration of a single dose (IV-SD-GBCM) in patients with inner ear disorders. To elucidate the time course of contrast enhancement in healthy volunteers, we obtained hT2W-3D-FLAIR serially after IV-SD-GBCM. MATERIALS AND METHODS We obtained hT2W-3D-FLAIR before and 0.5, 1.5, 3, 4.5 and 6 hours after IV-SD-GBCM in 6 healthy volunteers and measured signal intensity of the AES, SAS surrounding the optic nerve (SAS-ON), SAS in Meckel's cave (SAS-MC), pontine parenchyma, CSF in the IAC (CSF-IAC), CSF in the ambient cistern (CSF-AC), CSF in the lateral ventricles (CSF-LV), perilymph (PL), and endolymph (EL) in the labyrinth. We then compared averaged values among all time points using analysis of variance (ANOVA). RESULTS After IV-SD-GBCM, we observed no change in signal intensity in the pontine parenchyma, CSF-LV, or EL and significant enhancement in all other structures. Maximum enhancement was most frequent at 4.5 hours after IV-SD-GBCM in the SAS-ON and PL, at 1.5 hours in the AES and SAS-MC, and at 3 hours in the CSF-IAC and CSF-AC. CONCLUSIONS Contrast enhancement can be detected by hT2W-3D-FLAIR in the AES, SAS-ON, SAS-MC, PL, CSF-IAC, and CSF-AC in healthy volunteers after IV-SD-GBCM. Timing of maximum enhancement differed among locations. These data might serve as basic knowledge for future clinical research.
Technological Competition and Redacted Disclosure

In recent decades, the United States has become predominantly a knowledge-based economy, where investments in research and development intensify competition among firms in the knowledge space as well as in the product market space. While the implications of product market competition on corporate policies have been widely studied in the literature, we focus on the under-explored implications of technological competition on corporate disclosure policies. We find that firms facing more intense technological competition are more likely to redact material information from their 10-K filings. In addition, their annual reports are less readable, have a more negative tone, and contain more uncertain words. Our results suggest that firms provide less transparent disclosures when they face greater technological competition, presumably due to greater proprietary cost concerns. We also show that the corporate information environment is worse as evidenced by larger absolute analyst forecast errors, higher analyst forecast dispersion, greater stock illiquidity, greater stock turnover, and greater bid-ask spread when firms face more intensive technological competition. These results are more pronounced for more profitable firms where proprietary costs of disclosure are likely higher. We obtain all the results after controlling for a variety of product market competition measures, suggesting that the implications of technological competition on corporate disclosures and information environment are distinct from and incremental to those of product market competition. Our results are robust to using two natural experiments and using an instrumental variable approach to address the endogeneity concern of technological competition.
Preliminary estimate for reinforcement steel quantity in residential buildings

Abstract The objective of this study was to develop prediction mathematical equations to compute reinforcement steel quantity in traditional residential buildings based on 158 sets of data collected in the West Bank in Palestine. The records related to the quantities were collected from consultancy firms that provide reinforced concrete design services. The data were collected for residential buildings up to four floors. Linear regression analysis was chosen to show the correlation between the included variables. The following variables were used in the regression models: quantity of reinforcement steel (dependent variable), structural element volume (independent variable) and floor area (independent variable). Fourteen models were developed; nine models were developed to compute the quantity of reinforcement steel in different structural elements: slabs, beams, columns and footings. The other five models were used to estimate the total steel quantity in a residential building. The coefficient of multiple determination (R2) of the developed models ranged from 0.70 to 0.82. This confirms a good correlation between the dependent and the independent variables. The accuracy of the developed models was tested using the mean absolute percentage error (MAPE) test. With MAPE values ranging from 21% to 36%, the results compare favourably with past research that indicated that accuracy between ±25% and ±50% at the early stages is acceptable. The results also show that the models built on structural element size have better accuracy than the models using floor area. Such types of equations are very useful, especially in their simplicity and ability to be handled by calculators or simple computer programmes.
Development and use of a new medium to detect yeasts of the genera Dekkera /

LOUREIRO. 2001. Aims: The objectives of this work were to develop a selective and/or differential medium able to ef®ciently recover Dekkera/Brettanomyces sp. from wine-related environments and to determine the relationship between these yeasts and the 4-ethylphenol content in a wide range of wines. Methods and Results: The selectivity of the developed medium was provided by the addition of ethanol, as single carbon source, and cycloheximide. The inclusion of bromocresol green evidenced acid-producing strains. The inclusion of p-coumaric acid, substrate for the production of 4-ethylphenol, enabled the differentiation by smell of Dekkera/Brettanomyces sp. from all other yeast species growing in the medium. The medium was used either by plating after membrane ®ltration or by the Most Probable Number (MPN) technique. In 29 white and 88 red randomly collected wines, these yeasts were found only in red wines at levels up to 2500 MPN ml, but constituted less than 1% of the total microbial ̄ora. In red wines, 84% showed detectable amounts of 4-ethylphenol up to 4430 lg l while 28% of the white wines showed detectable levels up to 403 lg l. Conclusions: The use of the medium proposed in this work evidenced the presence of low relative populations of Dekkera/Brettanomyces sp. even in wines contaminated by fast-growing yeasts and moulds. Signi®cance and Impact of the Study: Further ecological studies on Dekkera/Brettanomyces sp. should take into account the use of highly speci®c culture media in order to establish their true occurrence in nature.
Antioxidant Properties of Chinese Propolis in Ross Broilers Exposed to Heat Stress in Egypt

Detrimental effects of heat stress that causes great loss to poultry industry have grown the global attention for the importance of natural antioxidant in alleviating the oxidative stress symptoms in poultry. The antioxidant effect of Chinese ether extract propolis (EEP) on broilers (Ross 308) exposed to chronic heat stress has been evaluated. Eighty broilers (15 days old) were randomly allocated into five equal groups; each received a maintenance diet supplemented by vitamin C (250 mg/kg diet) or propolis (250, 500 and 750 mg/kg diet) or not supplemented (control) for 27 consecutive days. Blood samples were collected to analyze serum corticosteron, total antioxidant capacity (TAC) and lipid peroxidation activity (MDA) at the end of the experiment. Moreover, the active chemical components responsible for the biological activities of EEP have been determined using Gas Chromatography/Mass Spectrometry (GC/MS). Results revealed a significant decrease in corticosterone levels in broilers after vit C or EEP supplementation. This improvement is parallel to a significant increase in TAC and decrease in MDA in broilers after EEP supplementation, which may be due to its high flavonoid content. Results show that Chinese EEP has biologically active compounds responsible for excellent antioxidant activities that ameliorate the negative impacts of elevated temperature in summer season in Egypt.
Circumcision status and risk of HIV and sexually transmitted infections among men who have sex with men: a meta-analysis.

CONTEXT Randomized controlled trials and meta-analyses have demonstrated that male circumcision reduces men's risk of contracting human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection during heterosexual intercourse. Less is known about whether male circumcision provides protection against HIV infection among men who have sex with men (MSM). OBJECTIVES To quantitatively summarize the strength of the association between male circumcision and HIV infection and other sexually transmitted infections (STIs) across observational studies of MSM. DATA SOURCES Comprehensive search of databases, including MEDLINE, EMBASE, ERIC, Sociofile, PsycINFO, Web of Science, and Google Scholar, and correspondence with researchers, to find published articles, conference proceedings, and unpublished reports through February 2008. STUDY SELECTION Of 18 studies that quantitatively examined the association between male circumcision and HIV/STI among MSM, 15 (83%) met the selection criteria for the meta-analysis. DATA EXTRACTION Independent abstraction was conducted by pairs of reviewers using a standardized abstraction form. Study quality was assessed using the Newcastle-Ottawa Scale. DATA SYNTHESIS A total of 53,567 MSM participants (52% circumcised) were included in the meta-analysis. The odds of being HIV-positive were not significantly lower among MSM who were circumcised than uncircumcised (odds ratio, 0.95; 95% confidence interval, 0.81-1.11; number of independent effect sizes [k]=15) [corrected]. ). Higher study quality was associated with a reduced odds of HIV infection among circumcised MSM (beta, -0.415; P = .01). Among MSM who primarily engaged in insertive anal sex, the association between male circumcision and HIV was protective but not statistically significant (odds ratio, 0.71; 95% confidence interval, 0.22-2.28; k=4) [corrected]. Male circumcision had a protective association with HIV in studies of MSM conducted before the introduction of highly active antiretroviral therapy (odds ratio, 0.47; 95% confidence interval, 0.32-0.69; k = 3). Neither the association between male circumcision and other STIs (odds ratio, 1.06; 95% confidence interval, 0.97-1.15; k=8) nor its relationship with study quality was statistically significant (beta, 0.265; P=.47) [corrected]. CONCLUSIONS Pooled analyses of available observational studies of MSM revealed insufficient evidence that male circumcision protects against HIV infection or other STIs. However, the comparable protective effect of male circumcision in MSM studies conducted before the era of highly active antiretroviral therapy, as in the recent male circumcision trials of heterosexual African men, supports further investigation of male circumcision for HIV prevention among MSM.
Mortality and morbidity of planned relaparotomy versus relaparotomy on demand for secondary peritonitis

Planned relaparotomy (PR) and relaparotomy on demand (ROD) are both frequently used in the treatment of secondary peritonitis. The aim of this study was to evaluate the mortality, morbidity and long‐term outcome associated with PR compared with ROD in patients with secondary peritonitis admitted to a university hospital.
Big data analytics: transforming data to action

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to provide a conceptual model for the transformation of big data sets into actionable knowledge. The model introduces a framework for converting data to actionable knowledge and mitigating potential risk to the organization. A case utilizing a dashboard provides a practical application for analysis of big data. Design/methodology/approach The model can be used both by scholars and practitioners in business process management. This paper builds and extends theories in the discipline, specifically related to taking action using big data analytics with tools such as dashboards. Findings The authors’ model made use of industry experience and network resources to gain valuable insights into effective business process management related to big data analytics. Cases have been provided to highlight the use of dashboards as a visual tool within the conceptual framework. Practical implications The literature review cites articles that have used big data analytics in practice. The transitions required to reach the actionable knowledge state and dashboard visualization tools can all be deployed by practitioners. A specific case example from ESP International is provided to illustrate the applicability of the model. Social implications Information assurance, security, and the risk of large-scale data breaches are a contemporary problem in society today. These topics have been considered and addressed within the model framework. Originality/value The paper presents a unique and novel approach for parsing data into actionable knowledge items, identification of viruses, an application of visual dashboards for identification of problems, and a formal discussion of risk inherent with big data.
Fatality Related to a 30‐g Venlafaxine Overdose

A 30‐g venlafaxine overdose resulted in death for a 39‐year‐old woman whose 43‐day clinical course was highlighted by refractory hypotension and the resulting complications of bowel ischemia and perforation. Her venlafaxine and O‐desmethylvenlafaxine levels, analyzed by high‐performance liquid chromatography one day after ingestion, were 21.82 mg/L (therapeutic range 0.1–0.5 mg/L) and 3.33 mg/L (0.2–0.4 mg/L), respectively. These levels remained elevated for over 7 days. Postulated explanations for these extended elevated levels were saturation of drug metabolism, decreased drug metabolism, and existence of a genetic polymorphism. Our patient's venlafaxine overdose produced a wide variety of clinical challenges, to include seizures, tachycardia, decreased level of consciousness, refractory hypotension, and bowel dysmotility. In addition, this case augments the growing body of literature that suggests that venlafaxine may be fatal in overdose situations.
Review of Australia’s automotive industry: final report

The Australian Automotive Review is predicated on providing advice to the Federal Government on measures required to achieve an economically and environmentally sustainable Australian automotive industry. The Review’s recommendations include establishing a new Automotive Industry Innovation Council to provide advice and oversight in relation to the new transitional arrangements and including a reference group providing advice on automotive skills matters to Manufacturing Skills Australia (the Industry Skills Council having primary carriage for manufacturing industry skills development).
MANAGERIAL PERCEPTION TOWARD HALAL CERTIFICATION: STUDY OF INTERNATIONAL FOOD CHAINS IN PAKISTAN

Halal certification studies in hospitality industry are rarely explored and discussed. In particular, research on Halal certification in Pakistan is yet to be explored. Recently realizing the potential of Halal food market, the Ministry of Science and Technology has established Halal Authority. In this context, this study explores the managerial perception of International Food Chains (IFCs) towards halal certification in Pakistan. Further, the impact of halal certification on restaurant performance is explored. In this study six variables were positively hypothesized whereas two variables were negatively hypothesized in relation halal certification. For further extension, halal certification affect was measured on restaurant performance. Multiple regression analysis was used to estimate results, showing the acceptance of positively hypothesized relationships and rejection of negatively hypothesized relationships.
Age Disorientation in Chronic Schizophrenia is Associated with Global Intellectual Impairment

Summary From a population of long-stay patients with a diagnosis of schizophrenia according to the St Louis criteria, a group of 21 patients with ‘age disorientation’ was selected, and compared on a series of tests of intellect and learning capacity with a matched control group of 21 schizophrenic patients without this feature. The age-disorientated patients demonstrated substantial impairments on tests of orientation and general knowledge, associational learning, the ‘famous personality’ test, tests of vocabulary and aphasia, Raven's matrices, the digit–symbol substitution test and the mental test score. We conclude that profound ‘organic-type’ psychological deficits (global impairment of intellectual function associated with temporal disorientation) undoubtedly occur in chronic schizophrenia. The findings on the ‘famous personality’ test and the Peabody vocabulary test did not exclude the possibility that such impairment arises early in life, at a time preceding the onset of the illness which leads to hospital admission.
Dog ownership and health-related physical activity among Japanese adults.

BACKGROUND Dog ownership appears to have associated health benefits as a result of increased physical activity through dog walking. This study examined the association between dog ownership and health-related physical activity among Japanese adults. METHODS Male and female respondents to an Internet-based cross-sectional survey were divided into the following groups: dog owner (DOG), nondog pet owner (NDOG), and nonpet owner (NPOG). Moderate and vigorous physical activity amount (MVPA), walking amount (Walking), and sedentary behavior time (SB) were estimated from the International Physical Activity Questionnaire. Analyses of covariance and logistic regression analysis were used. RESULTS The differences in MVPA, Walking, and SB were statistically significant among the three groups. DOG had a significantly greater amount of MVPA than NDOG and NPOG. DOG also had a significantly greater amount of Walking and less SB time than NPOG, and DOG was 1.5 times more likely to meet the physical activity recommendation than NDOG and NPOG. CONCLUSIONS The dog owners had higher physical activity levels than owners of other kinds of pets and those without any pets, suggesting that dogs may play a major role in promoting physical activity. However, only 30% of the dog owners met the recommended criteria for physical activity.
Effect of early feed restriction on performance characteristics and serum thyroxin of broiler chickens.

An experiment was conducted to evaluate the effect of early feed restriction on performance characteristics and serum thyroxin of broiler chickens. The experiment was designed in a 2 x 2 factorial with 5 replicates of floor pens with 12 male or female chicks in each. 240 male and/or female day-old chicks were weighted and randomly allocated to two treatment groups of each sex. Two treatments involved, one control group and one restricted group, which were fed a mixture of 50:50 rice hulls and commercial starter diet with supplementation of trace minerals and vitamin premixes from 4 to 11 days of age. All groups were fed the same starter, grower and finisher diets from 11 to 56 days of age. Live body weight of restricted birds was compensated on day 42 of age and was numerically more than restricted group at 49 and 56 days of age. Daily feed intake up to 42, 49 and 56 days of age wasn't affected by treatments. Feed efficiency in the restricted birds was significantly (p 0.05) more than control group.
On the age of stratospheric air and inorganic chlorine and bromine release

We estimate the average transport time from the tropical tropopause to various regions of the northern hemisphere lower stratosphere (stratospheric age) using simultaneous mixing ratio measurements of CFC-115 and CO2 measured by the Whole Air Sampler (WAS) during Airborne Arctic Stratospheric Expedition II (AASE II). Our inferred ages are consistent with those presented in previous studies. We discuss sources of uncertainties that affect age estimates in general, as well as specific uncertainties arising from inferring ages using CO2 and CFC-115 abundances. We infer inorganic chlorine (Cly) and bromine (Bry) at various lower stratospheric locations using the WAS organic chlorine and bromine measurements in combination with modeled tropospheric halocarbon trends and with our estimated ages. Inferred Cly and Bry abundances generally increase with increasing latitude and altitude. For our analyzed locations inside the polar vortex, we estimate a maximum Cly abundance of about 2.7 parts per billion by volume (ppbv) and a maximum Bry abundance of about 13.7 parts per trillion by volume (pptv). The locations of these maxima correspond to an average N2O mixing ratio of about 100 ppbv, and to a fractional dissociation of organic chlorine and bromine of 0.85 and 0.90, respectively. Finally, we discuss the expected future limitations of using CFC-115 to estimate stratospheric age due to the production limitations prescribed by the amendments and adjustments to the Montreal Protocol.