Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Antioxidant and α-Glucosidase Inhibitory Properties and Chemical Profiles of Moroccan Propolis

The chemical profiles of propolis hydroalcoholic extracts from different regions of Morocco were studied by gas chromatography coupled to mass spectrometry after silylation. Samples from Khamissat and Imouzzer belong to the poplar type, as typical poplar flavonoids predominated. Propolis from Rabat also contained high percentage of flavonoids, but had significantly lower amount of phenolic acid esters and contained no pinobanksin-3-O-acetate. Propolis from Bhalil demonstrated a profile rich in diterpenes (74.3%), and is a typical Mediterranean propolis sample. All samples had the capacity for inhibiting glucosidase and amylase enzymes, as well as the capacity for scavenging free radicals and preventing lipid peroxidation. Both activities were significantly higher in the flavonoids-rich samples.
Effectiveness of Periapical Radiography Versus Cone Beam Computed Tomography with Different Kilovoltage Settings in the Detection of Chemically Created Peri-implant Bone Defects: An In Vitro Study.

PURPOSE To determine the effectiveness of cone beam computed tomography (CBCT) images obtained with different kilovoltage settings compared with intraoral periapical photostimulable storage phosphor (PSP) plate images in the detection of chemically created peri-implant defects utilizing a bovine rib bone model in vitro. MATERIALS AND METHODS After placing 80 implants in bovine ribs, peri-implant circumferential bone defects of different sizes were created with 70% perchloric acid. CBCT images (3D Accuitomo 170) were acquired at 90 and 75 kVp, and intraoral periapical images were acquired using a PSP system (Carestream KODAK, CS 7600). Using a 5-point Likert scale, two oral and maxillofacial radiologists (OMR) and two oral and maxillofacial surgeons (OMS) evaluated the likelihood of a bone defect being absent or present. The kappa statistic was used to compare observer agreement, and area under the curve values were compared using analysis of variance and the post hoc Tukey test. Significance was set at P ≤ . 05. RESULTS PSP reliability ranged from discordance to slight for small defects and fair to moderate for larger defects. For CBCT, OMRs had good agreement for defects using 90 kVp, and slight to fair using 75 kVp. Agreement for OMS observations was fair for 75 kVp, and varied from slight to good for 90 kVp. Small lesions were detected more effectively by CBCT than by PSP, and larger lesions were detected more effectively by CBCT at 90 kVp than by CBCT at 75 kVp or by PSP. CONCLUSION CBCT imaging at 90 kVp was associated with a significantly higher rate of detection of both small and large chemically simulated bone defects than PSP or CBCT at 75 kVp. CBCT imaging at 75 kVp proved better than PSP for the detection of small defects.
Investigating the factors influencing the adoption of m-banking: A cross cultural study

Purpose Little is known about the adoption of mobile banking technologies in emerging Asian economies. This paper aims to empirically examine the motivators that influence a consumer’s intentions to use mobile banking. Design/methodology/approach A web-based survey was employed to collect data from 348 respondents, split across Thailand and Australia. Data were analyzed by employing exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses, path and invariance analyses. Findings The findings indicate that for Australian consumers, perceived ease of use, perceived usefulness and perceived risk were the primary determinants of mobile banking adoption. For Thai consumers, the main factors were perceived usefulness, perceived risk and social influence. National culture was found to impact key antecedents that lead to adoption of m-banking. Research limitations/implications The actual variance explained by our study’s model was higher in Australia (59.3%) than for Thailand (23.8%), suggesting future research of m-banking adoption in emerging Asian cultures. Practical implications We identify the important factors consumers consider when adopting m-banking. The findings of this research give banking organisations a foundational model that can be used to support m-banking implementation. Originality/value Our study is perhaps the first to examine and compare the intention to adopt m-banking across Thai and Australian consumers, and responds to calls for additional research that generalises m-banking and m-services acceptance across cultures. This study has proposed and validated additional constructs that are not present in the original SST Intention to Use model.
STPCR offers integrable alternatives of DRO

This paper describes the STPCR (Stubs-Tuned Planar Coupled Resonators) based VCO that offers cost-effective and integrable alternative for DRO (Dielectric Resonator Oscillators) circuits. The measured phase noise is typically −122 dBc/Hz at 100 kHz offset from a 12 GHz with 400 MHz tuning, and 13.8 % DC-to-RF conversion efficiency.
A large outbreak of food poisoning of unknown aetiology associated with Stilton cheese

SUMMARY Between November 1988 and January 1989, a total of 155 people in 36 reported outbreaks suffered gastrointestinal symptoms associated with eating Stilton cheese, produced from unpasteurized cow's milk in the English midlands. Symptoms were suggestive of a staphylococcal illness but extensive laboratory testing of cheeses implicated in several of the outbreaks failed to detect any pathogen, toxin or chemical. Control measures were implemented, and included a voluntary withdrawal of the implicated Stilton cheese from sale on 23 January 1989 and a subsequent decision to use pasteurized milk in production of the cheese.
Loss of Doc2-Dependent Spontaneous Neurotransmission Augments Glutamatergic Synaptic Strength

Action potential-evoked vesicle fusion comprises the majority of neurotransmission within chemical synapses, but action potential-independent spontaneous neurotransmission also contributes to the collection of signals sent to the postsynaptic cell. Previous work has implicated spontaneous neurotransmission in homeostatic synaptic scaling, but few studies have selectively manipulated spontaneous neurotransmission without substantial changes in evoked neurotransmission to study this function in detail. Here we used a quadruple knockdown strategy to reduce levels of proteins within the soluble calcium-binding double C2 domain (Doc2)-like protein family to selectively reduce spontaneous neurotransmission in cultured mouse and rat neurons. Activity-evoked responses appear normal while both excitatory and inhibitory spontaneous events exhibit reduced frequency. Excitatory miniature postsynaptic currents (mEPSCs), but not miniature inhibitory postsynaptic currents (mIPSCs), increase in amplitude after quadruple knockdown. This increase in synaptic efficacy correlates with reduced phosphorylation levels of eukaryotic elongation factor 2 and also requires the presence of elongation factor 2 kinase. Together, these data suggest that spontaneous neurotransmission independently contributes to the regulation of synaptic efficacy, and action potential-evoked and spontaneous neurotransmission can be segregated at least partially on a molecular level. SIGNIFICANCE STATEMENT Action potential-evoked and spontaneous neurotransmission have been observed in nervous system circuits as long as methods have existed to measure them. Despite being well studied, controversy still remains about whether these forms of neurotransmission are regulated independently on a molecular level or whether they are simply a continuum of neurotransmission modes. In this study, members of the Doc2 family of presynaptic proteins were eliminated, which caused a reduction in spontaneous neurotransmission, whereas action potential-evoked neurotransmission remained relatively normal. This protein loss also caused an increase in synaptic strength, suggesting that spontaneous neurotransmission is able to communicate independently with the postsynaptic neuron and trigger downstream signaling cascades that regulate the synaptic state.
A new oral direct thrombin inhibitor, dabigatran etexilate, compared with enoxaparin for prevention of thromboembolic events following total hip or knee replacement: the BISTRO II randomized trial

Summary. Background: Dabigatran etexilate is an oral direct thrombin inhibitor undergoing evaluation for the prevention of venous thromboembolism (VTE) following orthopedic surgery. Methods: In a multicenter, parallel‐group, double‐blind study, 1973 patients undergoing total hip or knee replacement were randomized to 6–10 days of oral dabigatran etexilate (50, 150 mg twice daily, 300 mg once daily, 225 mg twice daily), starting 1–4 h after surgery, or subcutaneous enoxaparin (40 mg once daily) starting 12 h prior to surgery. The primary efficacy outcome was the incidence of VTE (detected by bilateral venography or symptomatic events) during treatment. Results: Of the 1949 treated patients, 1464 (75%) patients were evaluable for the efficacy analysis. VTE occurred in 28.5%, 17.4%, 16.6%, 13.1% and 24% of patients assigned to dabigatran etexilate 50, 150 mg twice daily, 300 mg once daily, 225 mg twice daily and enoxaparin, respectively. A significant dose‐dependent decrease in VTE occurred with increasing doses of dabigatran etexilate (P < 0.0001). Compared with enoxaparin, VTE was significantly lower in patients receiving 150 mg twice daily [odds ratio (OR) 0.65, P = 0.04], 300 mg once daily (OR 0.61, P = 0.02) and 225 mg twice daily (OR 0.47, P = 0.0007). Compared with enoxaparin, major bleeding was significantly lower with 50 mg twice daily (0.3% vs. 2.0%, P = 0.047) but elevated with higher doses, nearly reaching statistical significance with the 300 mg once‐daily dose (4.7%, P = 0.051). Conclusions: Oral administration of dabigatran etexilate, commenced early in the postoperative period, was effective and safe across a range of doses. Further optimization of the efficacy/safety balance will be addressed in future studies.
Balance of carbohydrate and lipid utilization during exercise: the "crossover" concept.

The "crossover" concept represents a theoretical means by which one can understand the effects of exercise intensity and prior endurance training on the balance of carbohydrate (CHO) and lipid metabolism during sustained exercise. According to the crossover concept, endurance training results in muscular biochemical adaptations that enhance lipid oxidation as well as decrease the sympathetic nervous system responses to given submaximal exercise stresses. These adaptations promote lipid oxidation during mild- to moderate-intensity exercise. In contrast, increases in exercise intensity are conceived to increase contraction-induced muscle glycogenolysis, alter the pattern of fiber type recruitment, and increase sympathetic nervous system activity. Therefore the pattern of substrate utilization in an individual at any point in time depends on the interaction between exercise intensity-induced responses (which increase CHO utilization) and endurance training-induced responses (which promote lipid oxidation). The crossover point is the power output at which energy from CHO-derived fuels predominates over energy from lipids, with further increases in power eliciting a relative increment in CHO utilization and a decrement in lipid oxidation. The contemporary literature contains data indicating that, after endurance training, exercise at low intensities (< or = 45% maximal O2 uptake) is accomplished with lipid as the main substrate. In contrast, the literature also contains reports that are interpreted to indicate that during hard-intensity exercise (approximately 75% maximal O2 uptake) CHO is the predominant substrate. Seen within the context of the crossover concept these apparently divergent results are, in fact, consistent. (ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)
Evidence for the involvement of cannabinoid receptors' polymorphisms in the pathophysiology of human diseases

Introduction: Considerable progress has been made, over the last years, in understanding the role of the endocannabinoid system (ES) in regard to its role in a variety of physiological processes including nociception (pain-sensation), appetite, lipid metabolism, gastrointestinal motility, cardiovascular modulation, motor activity, and memory. Furthermore, ES is strongly associated with human behavior and the skeletal ES is of major importance. ES is comprised of cannabinoid receptors (CB1 and CB2), their endogenous ligands (endocannabinoids) and proteins responsible for their metabolism. Areas covered: To summarize and present all the existing literature that associate CB receptors' polymorphisms with behavior and disease in different populations, as well as its possible therapeutic perspectives. A literature review presenting the most recent data in terms of ES and the latest knowledge regarding the involvement of genetic polymorphisms of cannabinoid receptors in a variety of human diseases and psychiatric and neurological disorders. Expert opinion: The ES is an emerging target for drug discovery, because it is involved in the regulation of many cellular and physiological functions. The modulation of the ES by selective agonists or antagonists may hold tremendous therapeutic potential in various conditions mentioned in this review. However, further information is still required before the ES is completely comprehended.
Midwives' experiences of encountering women seeking an abortion

In order to gain knowledge about midwives' clinical and emotional experiences of working with termination of pregnancy (TOP) and their perception of women's motives for having an abortion questionnaires were mailed to a representative sample of Swedish midwives (n = 258), and 84% responded. Responses to 17 statements were studied and interpreted. It was found that every third midwife had not at all worked with TOP, and every fifth had not done so in the preceding two years. Among those who had experienced this work, few midwives had considered changing their job or had had misgivings or feelings of inadequacy caused by encountering women seeking an abortion. Both working currently with TOP and for a longer period of time were found to evoke positive experiences in every other midwife. Midwives' perception of motives for abortion corresponded very well to motives provided by women themselves. Half the midwives had had misgivings concerning late abortions and somewhat fewer regarding surgical abortions. In general, religious belief did not influence midwives' views of TOP. Those midwives who had themselves had an abortion reported fewer misgivings about late abortions than those without personal experience of TOP.
A study of microRNAs in silico and in vivo: bioinformatics approaches to microRNA discovery and target identification

The discovery that microRNAs (miRNAs) are synthesized as hairpin‐containing precursors and share many features has stimulated the development of several computational approaches for identifying new miRNA genes in various animal species. Many of these approaches rely heavily on conservation of sequence within and between species, whereas others emphasize machine‐learning methods to screen hairpin candidates for structural features shared with known miRNA precursors. The identification of animal miRNA targets is a particularly difficult problem because an exact match to the target sequence is not required. We discuss the most recently devised algorithms for miRNA and target discovery. We do not discuss plant miRNAs because their varying sizes and structural characteristics pose different problems of identification and target selection.
Portfolio Balance Effects of the SNB's Bond Purchase Program

This paper carries out an empirical investigation of the impact on bond spreads of the announcement, purchases and exit from the SNB’s bond purchase program in 2009-2010. We find evidence in favor of a narrowing yield spread of covered bonds as a result of the program. The effect materialized in the days following the announcement of the SNB’s intention to buy bonds issued by private sector borrowers, as markets learned that the SNB was buying covered bonds. The specification of the bond spreads used allows us to identify this effect as a discounted portfolio balance effect of the expected purchases, as distinct from policy signalling. In contrast, we find no evidence of a further effect of the actual purchases and subsequent sales on bond spreads.
Does Geographical Proximity Affect Corporate Social Responsibility? Evidence from U.S. Market

Corporate Social Responsibility is considered as a key corporate agenda in recent years. This study examines the relation between geographical proximity to metropolitan areas and corporate social responsibility. Methodologically, sample firms are classified by their distance to top-metropolitan area of Census 2010. Corporate social responsibility follows scoring system, which has been developed by the notable KLD Research & Analytics. Based on the samples from U.S. listed firms, the results support the main hypothesis that firm locating further from metropolitan areas tends to commit greater degree of social responsibility than those locating nearby top-metropolitan areas. Social responsible activities are exploited as a mean to alleviate information asymmetry and agency conflict rose from a distance. Besides, further investigation shows that the results above are potentially explained by some attributes of corporate social responsibility. These results are important to academic field because they show that the extent of any non-financial corporate activity, i.e. corporate social responsibility, can be explained by its geographical background.
Higher Order Noise-Shaping Filters for High-Performance Micromachined Accelerometers

Micromachined inertial sensors that have been incorporated in sigma-delta force-feedback loops have been proven to improve linearity, dynamic range, and bandwidth, and also provide a direct digital output. Previous work mainly focused on using the sensing element only to form a second-order single-loop sigma-delta modulator (SigmaDeltaM); however, the advantages of higher order single-loop electromechanical SigmaDeltaM have not been fully explored. High-performance inertial sensors require higher signal-to-quantization noise ratio (SQNR). This paper presents topologies for higher order single-loop electromechanical SigmaDeltaM with optimal stable coefficients that lead to a better SQNR. The topologies have good immunity to fabrication tolerances, which was verified by Monte Carlo analysis. The topologies are applicable not only to accelerometers but also to other inertial sensors such as gyroscopes.
Determinants of Profitability: An Analysis of Large Australian Firms

This paper identifies the determinants of firm profitability and quantifies their relative importance. Using a panel of large Australian firms for the period 1995 to 2005, the analysis estimates a dynamic profit model that, unlike most existing research, directly includes measures of productivity and productivity persistence. Descriptive statistics illustrate that the sample is characterized by a large amount of profit heterogeneity, and that substantial differences exist between industries and across firms. Estimation results indicate that firm profitability is predominantly determined by firm-level characteristics, and that sector effects are relevant, but to a much smaller extent. The analysis also reveals that, among firm effects, productivity and productivity persistence enhance profitability.
Ultrasound Irradiation Promoted Enzymatic Transesterification of (R/S)-1-Chloro-3-(1-naphthyloxy)-2-propanol

(R)-1-Chloro-3-(1-naphthyloxy)-2-propanol (3), which is the key intermediate of (S)-propranolol, was successfully prepared via enantioselective transesterification catalyzed by lipase under ultrasound irradiation. Compared with conventional shaking, the enzyme activity and enantioselectivity were dramatically increased under ultrasound exposure. Effects of various reaction conditions on the synthetic activity of enzyme as well as enantioselectivity, including the type of enzyme, ultrasound power, solvent, acyl donor, temperature and substrate molar ratio, were investigated. Pseudomonas sp. lipase (PSL) showed an excellent catalytic performance under optimum conditions (enzyme activity: 78.3 ± 3.2 μmol·g−1·min−1, E value: 98 ± 6).
Reporting Timeliness, Private Information and Stock Price Synchronicity Morck et al. (2000) Revisited

Morck et al. (2000) argue that lack of private property protection discourages informed traders from capitalizing on firm private information which incorporates more market risk in stock returns. This paper extends Morck et al. (2000) investigations and suggests alternatively that firm corporate transparency namely frequent reporting motivates private information flow into stock prices. It also suggests that private property protection is associated with less market risk noise and not more firm-specific information. These results are consistent with Jin and Myers (2006) who suggest that insiders in opaque firms are reluctant to release firm information during normal and momentum earnings leading to more systematic risk in share prices. The findings suggest that firm timely reporting convey relevant expected cash flow information that motivates risk arbitrageurs to trade on firm private information and incorporate more firm-specific information into stock returns.
The adjuvant effect of a non‐toxic mutant of heat‐labile enterotoxin of Escherichia coli for the induction of measles virus‐specific CTL responses after intranasal co‐immunization with a synthetic peptide

The intranasal route has been shown to be effective for immunization. However, immunization via this route may require the use of potent and safe adjuvant. The construction of non‐toxic mutants of heat labile enterotoxin of Escherichia coli (LT), which is a potent mucosal adjuvant, is a major breakthrough for the development of mucosal vaccines. In this study we have assessed the ability of an LT mutant (LTK63) to act as an adjuvant following intranasal co‐immunization with a peptide corresponding to a measles virus cytotoxic T lymphocyte (CTL) epitope. LTK63 was more effective at potentiating the in vivo induction of peptide‐specific and measles virus‐specific CTL responses than was administration of the peptide in saline. A concentration of 10 μg/dose of LTK63 was found to be the most effective in potentiating the in vivo priming of peptide‐specific and measles virus‐specific CTL responses. These findings highlight the potential of the non‐toxic mutant of LT as a safe mucosal adjuvant for use in humans.
Analysis of Benefits and Costs of Lane Departure Warning Systems for the Trucking Industry

The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration’s (FMCSA’s) safety goal is to reduce the number and severity of commercial motor vehicle fatalities and crashes. During the last several years, FMCSA has collaborated with the trucking industry to test, evaluate, and facilitate the deployment of several onboard safety systems for commercial motor vehicles to increase the safety of all roadway users. The purpose of this report is to evaluate costs and benefits for industry associated with lane departure warning systems that can reduce large-truck lane departure crashes. The analysis described herein indicates that combination and single-unit vehicles with lane departure warning systems will help to prevent lane-departure crashes. Motor carriers purchasing this technology will likely see net positive returns on investments within a five-year product lifecycle for the crash types and operating scenarios described in this report.