Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
An Investigation of Factors Influencing Color Tolerances

Tolerance is the permissible difference between sample measurement and the aim and is used to determine the acceptability of a product. A well-known example is the color tolerance of printed solids in ISO 126472. The first edition of ISO 12647-2 was published in 1996. It has gone through two major revisions. In the 2004 revision, the magnitude of the color tolerance (∆E*ab) was changed. In the 2013 revision, a new color tolerance metric (∆E00) was included. No justification was found regarding the ISO 12647-2 revisions. In this research, %Pass is used to study the effect of color tolerance in a database. Recognizing that tolerance is a man-made decision, if the tolerance is too tight, the %Pass will be low; and vice versa. This research also examines the use of the equal %Pass to determine the tolerance equivalency between the old (∆E*ab) and the new (∆E00) parameter. The results show that there is no convergence between ∆E*ab and ∆E00 when using the boundary data approach. However, there is an equivalent tolerance between ∆E*ab and ∆E00 using the equal %Pass approach. The current ISO 12647-2 standard, using 3.5 ∆E00 for CMY and 5 ∆E00 for black, resulted in unequal %Pass. By using the equal %Pass approach, the black solid tolerance does not need to be different than cyan and magenta solids, but the yellow solid tolerance can be smaller than cyan and magenta solids.
HBx-related long non-coding RNA DBH-AS1 promotes cell proliferation and survival by activating MAPK signaling in hepatocellular carcinoma

Accumulating evidence supports an important role for the hepatitis B virus x protein (HBx) in the pathogenesis of hepatitis B virus (HBV)-induced hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), but the underlying mechanisms are not entirely clear. Here, we identified a novel long noncoding RNA (lncRNA) DBH-AS1 involved in the HBx-mediated hepatocarcinogenesis. The levels of DBH-AS1 were positively correlated with hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg) and tumor size in HCC tissues. Functionally, transgenic expression of DBH-AS1 significantly enhanced cell proliferation and tumorigenesis, whereas short hairpin RNA knockdown of DBH-AS1 caused an inhibition of cell proliferation. Mechanistically, overexpression of DBH-AS1 induced cell cycle progression by accelerating G1/S and G2/M transition concomitantly with upregulation of CDK6, CCND1, CCNE1 and downregulation of p16, p21 and p27. We also found that enhanced DBH-AS1 expression inhibited serum starvation-induced apoptosis of HCC cells. In contrast, suppressed DBH-AS1 expression had opposite effects. Furthermore, DBH-AS1 was shown to activate MAPK pathway. We also provide evidence that DBH-AS1 could be significantly induced by HBx protein and markedly down-regulated by p53. Thus, we concluded that DBH-AS1 can be induced by HBx and inactivated by p53, and consequently promote cell proliferation and cell survival through activation of MAPK signaling in HCC. Our study suggests that DBH-AS1 acts as an oncogene for HCC.
Adiposity, fat distribution, and cardiovascular risk.

STUDY OBJECTIVE To determine the relative importance of adiposity and fat distribution to cardiovascular risk profile. DESIGN A cross-sectional study. SETTING Clinical research center funded by the National Institutes of Health. PATIENTS Convenience sample of 33 healthy premenopausal women with a wide range of body weight who did not have diabetes mellitus, hirsutism and virilism, gynecologic disorder, cardiac disease, or hypertension. Women participating in exercise or dietary programs or taking medication were excluded. All subjects completed the study. INTERVENTIONS Total body fat mass was determined by hydrostatic weighting, and fat distribution was assessed by subscapular skinfold thickness, subscapular-to-triceps skinfold ratio, the waist-to-hip ratio, and computed tomography. Cardiovascular risk was assessed by the serum insulin response during oral glucose stimulation; levels of triglycerides and total cholesterol; high-density lipoprotein cholesterol to total cholesterol concentrations; and systolic and diastolic blood pressures. MEASUREMENTS AND MAIN RESULTS The anthropometric parameters chosen were significantly associated with the cardiovascular risk profile (P less than 0.001). Visceral fat distribution assessed by computed tomography accounted for a significantly greater degree of variance in the cardiovascular risk factors than the total body fat mass (P less than 0.05). The cumulative insulin response was the primary metabolic variable relating the anthropometric indices to cardiovascular risk. CONCLUSIONS Intra-abdominal fat deposition constitutes a greater cardiovascular risk than obesity alone. Hyperinsulinemia may constitute an important component of the increased cardiovascular risk of abdominal obesity.
Enhanced Sensitivity of α3β4 Nicotinic Receptors in Enteric Neurons after Long-Term Morphine: Implication for Opioid-Induced Constipation

Opioid-induced constipation is a major side effect that persists with long-term opioid use. Previous studies demonstrated that nicotine-induced contractions are enhanced after long-term morphine exposure in guinea pig ileum. In the present study, we examined whether the increased sensitivity to nicotine could be observed in single enteric neurons after long-term morphine exposure, determined the subunits in mouse enteric neurons, and examined the effect of nicotine in reversing opioid-induced constipation. Nicotine (0.03–1 mM) dose-dependently induced inward currents from a holding potential of −60 mV in isolated single enteric neurons from the mouse ileum. The amplitude of the currents, but not the potency to nicotine, was significantly increased in neurons receiving long-term (16–24 h) but not short-term (10 min) exposure to morphine. Quantitative mRNA analysis showed that nicotinic acetylcholine receptor (nAChR) subunit expression in the mouse ileum was α3 ≥ β2 > β4 > α5 > α4 > β3 > α6. Nicotine-induced currents were obtained in neurons from α7, β2, α5, and α6 knockout mice. The currents were, however, inhibited by mecamylamine (10 μM) and the α3β4 blocker α-conotoxin AuIB (3 μM), suggesting that nicotine-induced currents were mediated by the α3β4 subtype of nAChRs on enteric neurons. Conversely, NS3861, a partial agonist at α3β4 nAChR, enhanced fecal pellet expulsion in a dose-dependent manner in mice that received long-term, but not short-term, morphine treatment. Overall, our findings suggest that the efficacy of nAChR agonists on enteric neurons is enhanced after long-term morphine exposure, and activation of the α3β4 subtype of nAChR reverses chronic, but not acute, morphine-induced constipation.
Listeria monocytogenes-induced gamma interferon secretion by intestinal intraepithelial gamma/delta T lymphocytes

gamma/delta T cells represent a major proportion of intestinal intraepithelial lymphocytes (IEL), and it has been suggested that these IEL serve as a first immune barrier against microbial invasion and that they do so by destroying infected epithelial cells. In the present study, we confirm that both alpha/beta and gamma/delta IEL from naive mice express potent cytotoxicity and produce gamma interferon (IFN-gamma) after T-cell receptor (TCR) engagement by specific monoclonal antibodies (MAb). Intraperitoneal administration of the anti-gamma/delta TCR MAb GL3 caused downregulation of the gamma/delta TCR in IEL, and IEL from gamma/delta TCR-modulated mice failed to express cytotoxic activity and to secrete IFN-gamma after gamma/delta TCR engagement. In contrast, alpha/beta IEL from such mice were still cytolytic and secreted IFN-gamma. Mice were infected orally with virulent Listeria monocytogenes at doses which caused bacterial invasion through the intestinal epithelia. Although alpha/beta and gamma/delta IEL from these mice expressed high cytolytic activities in antibody-redirected killer assays, target cells pulsed with listerial antigens were not lysed. In contrast, IFN-gamma secretion by IEL from L. monocytogenes-infected mice was induced not only by anti-TCR MAb but also by target cells pulsed with listerial antigens, whereas irrelevant antigens, including heat shock protein 60, did not induce IFN-gamma secretion. Furthermore, the number of IFN-gamma-secreting IEL, as assessed by the enzyme-linked immunospot technique, was increased during listeriosis. gamma/delta TCR modulation by GL3 administration abrogated antigen-induced IFN-gamma secretion by IEL from infected mice. These findings suggest that L. monocytogenes induced IFN-gamma secretion by gamma/delta IEL from mice suffering from intestinal L. monocytogenes infection and invasion. Thus, the data provide evidence for a role of IFN-gamma-secreting IEL in local resistance against listeriosis and perhaps other food-borne diseases.
Dramatic Increase of the RNA Editing for Glutamate Receptor Subunits During Terminal Differentiation of Clonal Human Neurons

Abstract: RNA editing plays an important role in determining physiological characteristics of certain glutamate‐gated receptor (GluR) channels such as Ca2+ permeability and desensitization kinetics. In one case, the editing changes a gene‐encoded glutamine (Q) to an arginine (R) codon located in the channel‐forming domain of the α‐amino‐3‐hydroxy‐5‐methyl‐4‐isoxazolepropionate (AMPA) receptor subunit GluR‐B and also the kainate receptor subunits GluR5 and GluR6. Another case of RNA editing alters an arginine (R) to a glycine (G) codon at a position termed the “R/G” site of AMPA subunits GluR‐B, C, and D. Double‐stranded RNA‐specific adenosine deaminases (DRADA) have been implicated as agents involved in the editing. By using a human teratocarcinoma cell line, NT2, we investigated the change of the RNA editing of GluR subunits in conjunction with the expression of two DRADA members, DRADA1 and DRADA2 genes, during neuronal differentiation. Whereas Q/R and R/G site RNA editing both become progressively activated in differentiating NT2 cells, the expression of the two DRADA genes can already be detected even in the undifferentiated NT2 cells. Development of the editing machinery appears to require, in addition to DRADA enzymes, a currently unidentified mechanism(s) that may become activated during neuronal differentiation.
Modelling the effect of laminar axially directed blood flow on the dissolution of non-occlusive blood clots

Axially directed blood plasma flow can significantly accelerate thrombolysis of non-occlusive blood clots. Viscous forces caused by shearing of blood play an essential role in this process, in addition to biochemical fibrinolytic reactions. An analytical mathematical model based on the hypothesis that clot dissolution dynamics is proportional to the power of the flowing blood plasma dissipated along the clot is presented. The model assumes cylindrical non-occlusive blood clots with the flow channel in the centre, in which the flow is assumed to be laminar and flow rate constant at all times during dissolution. Effects of sudden constriction on the flow and its impact on the dissolution rate are also considered. The model was verified experimentally by dynamic magnetic resonance (MR) microscopy of artificial blood clots dissolving in an in vitro circulation system, containing plasma with a magnetic resonance imaging contrast agent and recombinant tissue-type plasminogen activator (rt-PA). Sequences of dynamically acquired 3D low resolution MR images of entire clots and 2D high resolution MR images of clots in the axial cross-section were used to evaluate the dissolution model by fitting it to the experimental data. The experimental data fitted well to the model and confirmed our hypothesis.
The Effects of Business Accelerators on Venture Performance: Evidence from Start-Up Chile

Do business accelerators affect new venture performance? We investigate this question in the context of Start-Up Chile, an ecosystem accelerator. We focus on two treatment conditions typically found in business accelerators: basic services of funding and coworking space, and additional entrepreneurship schooling. Using a regression discontinuity design, we show that schooling bundled with basic services can significantly increase new venture performance. In contrast, we find no evidence that basic services affect performance on their own. Our results are most relevant for ecosystem accelerators that attract young and early-stage businesses and suggest that entrepreneurial capital matters in new ventures.
Influence of mass transfer limitations on determination of the half saturation constant for hydrogen uptake in a mixed‐culture CH4‐producing enrichment

There is strong evidence in the literature supporting the existence of significant mass transfer limitations on the kinetics of exogenous H2 consumption by methanogens. The half saturation constant for H 2 uptake by a mixed‐culture, CH4 producing enrichment was measured using an experimental protocol that avoided internal mass transfer limitations. The value obtained was two orders of magnitude smaller than any other previously reported. A mathematical model for acetogenic syntrophic associations was developed to check the capacity of H2 as electron transporter between syntrophic partners. It was found that H2 diffusion could account for the rate of transport of electrons between the syntrophic microorganisms and that formate is not a necessary intermediate. The possibility that formate may be an intermediate in this system was not ruled out. A Monod‐type kinetic equation was modified to include the observed H2 threshold effect. This modified equation was used to predict the CH4‐production rate in a batch‐fed digester. The results show that the external and internal H2 pools are kinetically coupled. © 1992 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
Divergence in Convergence. Governance Patterns of Italian Former Public Enterprises through Social Network Analysis

The article analyses the boards of Italian listed companies and applies Social Network Analysis (SNA) to the members of board of directors of the former public enterprises in the Italian stock market. The description of these networks is a useful tool to envisage what relational resources public enterprises hold through their members, compare them within-country and cross-sector, assess individual resources, and describe the differences between companies owned by local and national governments. The overall aim is to provide a more complete picture of the patterns of state intervention in the economy and to develop measures and hypothesis for future studies.
The impact of a psychiatry clinical rotation on the attitude of Nigerian medical students to psychiatry.

OBJECTIVE Undergraduate medical students have ingrained and often negative attitudes towards psychiatry as a field and as a career. This in turn has affected recruitment of graduate medical students into the specialty. Little is known about the impact of psychiatry rotations during undergraduate medical training on students' attitudes about psychiatry and eventual specialty choice in developing countries. This study examined the impact of a psychiatry clinical rotation on medical students' attitudes to psychiatry and possible career choice. METHOD Eighty-one and one hundred and six fifth year medical students completed the ATP-30, socio-demographic and career choice questionnaires at the beginning and the end of a four week clinical rotation respectively. RESULTS The overall attitude of the students to psychiatry was favourable at the beginning of the rotation with significant improvement following the rotation (p = 0.003). Significant improvement in attitude was observed among female and younger students. Students who indicated preference for specialties other than psychiatry showed a greater improvement in their attitude to psychiatry following the rotation (p = 0.011). The rotation however did not enhance students' preference for psychiatry as a future career. CONCLUSION The four-week clinical rotation in psychiatry resulted in increased mean attitudinal score, but not in enhanced preference for psychiatry as a career.
The effects of increasing outdoor play time on physical activity in Latino preschool children.

OBJECTIVE A randomized controlled pilot study to test the hypothesis that increasing preschool children's outdoor free play time increases their daily physical activity levels. METHODS Physical activity was assessed by accelerometers for four consecutive school days in thirty-two Latino children (3.6+/-0.5 years) attending a preschool for low-income families. After two days of baseline physical activity assessment, participants were randomly assigned to an intervention (RECESS; n =17) or control (CON; n =15) group. The RECESS group received two additional 30-minute periods of outdoor free play time per day for two days. The CON group followed their normal classroom schedule. Between group differences in physical activity variables were tested with a Wilcoxon rank-sum test. RESULTS There were no statistically significant differences between groups in changes from baseline in average total daily (CON, 48.2+/-114.5; RECESS, 58.2+/-74.6) and during school day (CON, 64.6+/-181.9; RECESS, 59.7+/-79.1) counts per minute, or total daily (CON, 0.4+/-1.3; RECESS, 0.3+/-0.8) and during school day (CON, 0.6+/-2.1; RECESS, 0.5+/-0.8) percent of time spent in moderate to vigorous physical activity. CONCLUSIONS Substantially increasing preschoolers' outdoor free play time did not increase their physical activity levels.
Current Knowledge and Practice of Pediatric Providers in Umbilical Cord Blood Banking

More than 35 000 umbilical cord blood (UCB) transplants have been performed worldwide, prompting the development of private and public banks to collect and store UCB cells. We hypothesized that pediatricians, who are uniquely poised to discuss UCB banking (UCBB) during prenatal or sibling visits, rarely do so. Through distribution of a 26-question electronic survey to general and subspecialty pediatric providers, we assessed baseline knowledge and conversations about UCBB. A total of 473 providers completed the survey; only 22% of physicians ever discussed UCBB with expectant parents. The majority responded that autologous UCB transplants were indicated in malignant (73%) and nonmalignant (61%) conditions; however, these are rare indications. Providers practicing >10 years were more likely to address UCBB (P ≤ .001), whereas younger and female general pediatric providers were significantly less likely (P < .001). Overall, pediatric providers rarely speak to families about UCBB, and we believe that they can be better informed to its current clinical utility.
Major Burns During Pregnancy: Effects on Fetal Well‐Being

The authors reviewed the fetal outcomes for 30 pregnant patients who required hospitalization for burns that involved 11 to 97% of the total body area. A positive relationship was found between the percentage of maternal total body burn and maternal mortality, fetal mortality, and premature delivery. Premature delivery and/or fetal mortality occurred primarily within the first five days and followed maternal complications of hypovolemic shock, sepsis, or respiratory insufficiency. In the eight cases in which maternal injury became lethal (20 to 97% total body burn), all fetuses were born spontaneously before maternal death, but seven were stillborn. After overcoming the immediate postburn period, a healthy-appearing term-size infant was likely to be born while the mother continued to receive intensive therapy. The ideal treatment to protect the fetus has not yet been determined.
Prospects for new human papillomavirus vaccines

Purpose of review Prophylactic human papillomavirus (HPV) L1 virus like particle (VLP) vaccines have been shown, in large randomized controlled clinical trials, to be very immunogenic, well tolerated and highly efficacious against ano-genital disease caused by the vaccine HPV types. However, these vaccines, at the present, protect against only two of the 15 oncogenic genital HPV types, they are expensive, delivered by intramuscular injection and require a cold chain. Recent findings The challenges are to develop cheap, thermostable vaccines that can be delivered by noninjectable methods that provide long-term (decades) protection at mucosal surfaces to most, if not all, oncogenic HPV types that is as good as the current VLP vaccines. Polyvalent VLP vaccines covering several oncogenic types are in clinical trials. The most promising of the non-VLP second generation vaccines include L1 capsomers and L2 protein and peptides, suitably adjuvanted. Recent data on the mechanism of viral entry and the dynamics of the interaction of the viral capsid proteins L1 and L2 with the cell surface provide a rationale for the protection offered by these new approaches. Summary These second generation vaccines are immunogenic and can provide broad protection but are either at early stage in clinical trial or not in trials. The current VLP prophylactic vaccines are likely to be the only option for the coming decade.
Biomimetic interfaces based on S-layer proteins, lipid membranes and functional biomolecules

Designing and utilization of biomimetic membrane systems generated by bottom-up processes is a rapidly growing scientific and engineering field. Elucidation of the supramolecular construction principle of archaeal cell envelopes composed of S-layer stabilized lipid membranes led to new strategies for generating highly stable functional lipid membranes at meso- and macroscopic scale. In this review, we provide a state-of-the-art survey of how S-layer proteins, lipids and polymers may be used as basic building blocks for the assembly of S-layer-supported lipid membranes. These biomimetic membrane systems are distinguished by a nanopatterned fluidity, enhanced stability and longevity and, thus, provide a dedicated reconstitution matrix for membrane-active peptides and transmembrane proteins. Exciting areas in the (lab-on-a-) biochip technology are combining composite S-layer membrane systems involving specific membrane functions with the silicon world. Thus, it might become possible to create artificial noses or tongues, where many receptor proteins have to be exposed and read out simultaneously. Moreover, S-layer-coated liposomes and emulsomes copying virus envelopes constitute promising nanoformulations for the production of novel targeting, delivery, encapsulation and imaging systems.
Video Prompting Versus Other Instruction Strategies for Persons With Alzheimer’s Disease

Background/Aim: Two studies assessed the effectiveness of video prompting as a strategy to support persons with mild and moderate Alzheimer’s disease in performing daily activities. Methods: In study I, video prompting was compared to an existing strategy relying on verbal instructions. In study II, video prompting was compared to another existing strategy relying on static pictorial cues. Video prompting and the other strategies were counterbalanced across tasks and participants and compared within alternating treatments designs. Results: Video prompting was effective in all participants. Similarly effective were the other 2 strategies, and only occasional differences between the strategies were reported. Two social validation assessments showed that university psychology students and graduates rated the patients’ performance with video prompting more favorably than their performance with the other strategies. Conclusion: Video prompting may be considered a valuable alternative to the other strategies to support daily activities in persons with Alzheimer's disease.