Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Choline acetyltransferase: The structure, distribution and pathologic changes in the central nervous system

Choline acetyltransferase (ChAT), the enzyme responsible for the biosynthesis of acetylcholine, is presently the most specific indicator for monitoring the functional state of cholinergic neurones in the central and peripheral nervous systems. ChAT is a single‐strand globular protein. The enzyme is synthesized in the perikaryon of cholinergic neurones and transported to the nerve terminals probably by both slow and rapid axoplasmic flows. ChAT exists in at least two forms in cholinergic nerve terminals: (i) soluble; and (ii) non‐ionically membrane‐bound forms. Multiple mRNA species of ChAT (R‐, N‐and M‐types) are transcribed from different promoter regions and produced by different splicing in the mouse, rat, and human. All transcripts encode the same ChAT protein in rodents, while in human M‐type mRNA has the capability to generate both large and small forms of ChAT proteins and R‐and N‐types ChAT mRNA generate a small form, which corresponds to the rodent ChAT. The genomic structure of ChAT is unique compared with other enzymes for neurotransmitters. The first intron of the ChAT gene encompasses the open reading frame encoding another protein, vesicular acetylcholine transporter (VAChT), which is responsible for the transportation of acetylcholine from the cytoplasm into the synaptic vesicles. The expressions of ChAT and VAChT appear to be coordinately regulated by multiple regulatory elements in cholinergic neurones. Immunohistochemical and in situ hybridization studies have revealed the localization of cholinergic neurones in the central nervous system: the medial septal nucleus, the nucleus of the diagonal band of Broca, the basal nucleus of Meynert, the caudate nucleus, the putamen, the nucleus accumbens, the pedunculopontine tegmental nucleus, the laterodorsal tegmental nucleus, the medial habenular nucleus, the parabigeminal nucleus, some cranial nerve nuclei, and the anterior horn of the spinal cord. Focally distributed cholinergic neurones project fibers to many areas in the central nervous system and construct a complicated cholinergic network, playing an important role in neuropsychic activities, such as learning, memory, arousal, sleep and movement. Central cholinergic neurones are involved in several neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer’s disease and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, in which disturbance of the central cholinergic system does not appear to be closely related to the etiology, but rather to the development of clinical symptoms. In addition, abnormalities of ChAT in the brain have been recently demonstrated in schizophrenia and sudden infant death syndrome.
Mechanical Strength and Energy Losses Optimization of Somaloy 3P 700-Based Components

The effect of processing parameters on the properties of a soft magnetic composite prepared from Somaloy 3P 700 was investigated using a Box-Behnken design. The pressing pressure, heat treatment temperature, and soaking time were considered relevant factors to predict the transverse rupture strength (TRS) and total energy losses under the measurement conditions of maximum induction of 1 T and frequencies of 60, 500, and 1000 Hz. The highest forecasted TRS (82.7 ±13.5 MPa) was achieved with the combination of low pressing pressure (700 MPa) and high temperature of heat treatment (550 °C) for a long soaking time (15 min) under a long heat treatment cycle. On the other hand, the optimal parameters regarding the total losses presented a dependence of the operating frequency, especially concerning the heat treatment temperature due to the effect of this process parameter on the electrical resistivity.
The influence of organizational structure on physician satisfaction: findings from a national survey.

BACKGROUND The term managed care encompasses a variety of organizational arrangements between physicians and health plans. At one extreme, physicians are plan employees; at the other, physicians have contracts with multiple plans. How these arrangements affect physicians' satisfaction with managed care is not well known. OBJECTIVE To explore the effect of organizational structure on physician satisfaction. DESIGN Telephone survey of 751 practicing internists. The response rate for the 15-minute survey was 64%. SAMPLING STRATEGY: The random sample was taken from the membership of the American College of Physicians-American Society of Internal Medicine. Federal employees, retirees, physicians, and students who spent less than half of their time in patient care were excluded. RESULTS 689 Physicians indicated that they were affiliated with a managed care plan: 9% were salaried employees, 6% had an exclusive contract with one plan, and 85% had a variety of nonexclusive arrangements with multiple plans. Among plan employees, 32% reported they were very satisfied with the managed care organization in which they worked. The corresponding figure was 19% among physicians with an exclusive contract and 5% among those with multiple contracts. A similar pattern of responses was seen when physicians were asked about their perception of the commitment of managed care to quality. Although 64% of plan employees responded that there was a great deal of commitment, the corresponding figure was 35% among physicians with an exclusive contract and only 7% among those with multiple contracts. CONCLUSIONS Physicians who are salaried employees of a staff- or group-model HMO report the highest satisfaction with managed care.
Examining the Spatial Structural Determinants of Child Poverty in Nigeria

In spite of the global and national concerted efforts reflected in the goal four of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) to half the incidence of child mortality by 2015, Nigerian children are still greatly affected by the incidence of poverty vis-a-vis malnutrition. Government attempts at reducing child poverty and malnutrition through formulation and implementation of policies, and huge investments have yet to yield significant effects, as the country is still ranked among the top countries of the world plagued with child poverty and malnutrition. This can be attributed to the non-consideration of the heterogeneous nature of child poverty and spatial contiguity of geographical units in their designs. Using spatial error regression techniques to analyze data from Demographic Health Survey, we examined spatial differentiation in the relationships that generate child poverty and further explore their determining factors. Child poverty was found to be more prominent in the Northern region of the country. However, results from the analysis also established that there is a spillover of child poverty existed among the GPZs. While social and economic factors that influence probability of child poverty varied across different Geopolitical Zones (GPZs). Results also showed that local-area processes are at play with implications for more nuanced theoretical models and anti-child poverty policies that consider systematic differences in factors contributing to child poverty according to the social, infrastructural, agro ecological and economic contexts.
Impact of information overload for visual search on Web pages: An eye-tracking study

A large number of previous studies have demonstrated that visual search on Web pages is impacted by many factors, such as colors, fonts, information forms and information layout. However, there are few studies about the effect of information quantity for visual search on Web pages. To investigate this issue, we designed two experiments using eye-tracking. The information quantity of Web pages in Experiment 2 was the double of that in Experiment 1. Results show that the search time in Experiment 2 is significantly longer than that in Experiment 1. From the heat maps of Experiment 2, most of the fixations were on the upper area of Web pages, especially on the upper half. Further analysis indicates that in Experiment 2, both of the fixation duration and fixation count on the upper half of Web pages are significantly larger than that on the lower half. These results suggest that the increase of information quantity on Web pages reduces the users' visual search efficiency and this is the impact of information overload on Web pages. The reason for this effect is that the range of the users' vision is limited and they pay more attention to the upper area of Web page, especially the upper half.
What is the value of networking? An examination of trade show attendee outcomes

ABSTRACT Business events have become a key sector of growth in the events industry. However, there is a paucity of empirical studies that examine the outcomes that participants derive from these events. This study aims to address this by specifically focusing on one objective of business events—networking. A case study approach was used to explore how organizers design events for networking and the outcomes that participants gain from events. Findings revealed that objectives differed based on the type of attendee and attendees typically followed up with 20–30% of contacts after the event, indicating that the use of networking technologies could enable more valuable connections to be made.
Cancer of unknown primary: clinicopathologic correlations

Cancer of unknown primary origin (CUP) accounts for 5–10% of all malignant tumors at presentation and remains the death certificate diagnosis in 0.5–5% of patients. We investigated CUP patients whose primary site remained unknown throughout the entire clinical course. We reviewed 9,436 consecutive autopsies performed between 1984 and 1999 at the Mayo Clinic, matched with 177,167 cancer patients treated in the same time period. Sixty‐four patients who died of CUP underwent postmortem examination. Antemortem pathologic diagnoses were obtained in 57 patients, agreed with postmortem diagnoses in 98%, and included adenocarcinoma (n=44), undifferentiated carcinoma (n=7), squamous cell carcinoma (n=3), and others (n=3). Autopsy located the primary site in 35 patients (55%). Common primary sites were lung (n=8), the pancreaticobiliary (n=13) and GI tracts (n=9). Of 43 patients evaluated for tumor‐specific therapy, only six received no further oncologic treatment and untreated patients survived a median of 57 (range 10–280) days, compared with 225 (range 19–1,129) days for patients treated with chemotherapy and/or radiotherapy (n=37). Our findings show that ( 1 ) autopsy studies provide a valuable tool for quality control in the setting of CUP, and ( 2 ) treated patients have a small but significant survival benefit.
Suppression of arthritis and protection from bone destruction by treatment with TNP-470/AGM-1470 in a transgenic mouse model of rheumatoid arthritis.

OBJECTIVE We assessed the clinical and histologic features of angiogenesis inhibition in a transgenic mouse model of arthritis that closely resembles rheumatoid arthritis (RA) in humans. METHODS KRN/NOD mice, which spontaneously develop arthritis, were treated with TNP-470, an angiogenesis inhibitor. Disease was monitored by use of clinical indices and histologic examinations; circulating blood levels of vascular endothelial growth factor were determined by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. RESULTS In the preventive protocol, with TNP-470 administration at a dosage of 60 mg/kg of body weight, the onset of arthritis was delayed and its clinical intensity was rather mild; 100% of placebo-treated transgenic mice developed arthritis that led to severe articular destruction. At a dosage of 90 mg/kg of TNP-470, the appearance of clinical signs was delayed for a longer period of time and disease was almost abolished. The therapeutic regimen alleviated clinical signs only when given during the very early stage of disease. Reductions in cartilage and bone destruction by TNP-470 treatment were observed histologically, a feature that was still evident at 30 and 80 days after injections were withdrawn. CONCLUSION Our demonstration that in vivo administration of an angiogenesis inhibitor suppresses arthritis and protects from bone destruction provides new insight into the pathogenesis of the disease and opens new possibilities in the treatment of RA in humans.
Effect of reduced dietary protein and supplementation with a docosahexaenoic acid product on broiler performance and meat quality

Abstract 1. Chicken breast meat is a lean meat due to its low content of intramuscular fat (IMF) resulting in an overall lower acceptability by consumers due to a decrease in juiciness, flavour and increased chewiness. Recently, studies performed in pigs suggested the possibility of increasing IMF by decreasing dietary crude protein (CP) content, an effect possibly mediated through an increased lipogenesis. 2. Dietary supplementation with lipids rich in omega 3 long-chain polyunsaturated fatty acids (n-3 LC-PUFA) may modulate an increase in the content of these fatty acids in meat from monogastric animals and, thus, promote the daily intake of n-3 LC-PUFA by humans. 3. LC-PUFA are very susceptible to oxidation, resulting in off-flavours that affect meat quality and consumers’ acceptability. 4. This trial was conducted to assess the effect of reducing dietary CP, from 21% to 17%, on chicken’s meat IMF content and, simultaneously, to evaluate if a complementary supplementation with a proprietary n-3 LC-PUFA source (DHA Gold™) could improve meat quality. These effects were assessed by measuring productive performance and meat quality, oxidative stability, sensory traits and fatty acid profile. 5. A reduction in CP content of broiler diets, from 21% to 17%, balanced for lysine, improved performance while it was not sufficient to increase IMF content in chicken meat. In contrast, DHA Gold™ supplementation had a positive impact both in broiler productive parameters and in meat fatty acid profile. 6. In addition, incorporation of 7.4% of DHA Gold™ in the diet promoted carcass yield but negatively affected chicken meat acceptability by consumers, due to a decrease of meat oxidative stability. 7. Overall the data suggest that neither a dietary supplementation with DHA Gold™ nor a reduction in CP have a direct positive effect in the levels of IMF present in broiler meat.
Determination of active travel speed for minimum air pollution inhalation

ABSTRACT A higher active travel speed has offsetting impacts on air pollution inhalation dose through higher breathing rate but shorter exposure duration. The net effect of speed choice on inhalation dose for pedestrians and bicyclists has not been established. This paper derives equations for pedestrian and bicycle steady-state minimum-dose speed (MDS). Parameter distributions from the literature are applied to a synthetic population of travelers to calculate individual MDS. Results strongly support the existence of a definable MDS, which is near observed travel speeds for urban pedestrians and bicyclists. For a wide range of travelers, the MDS is 2–6 km/h while walking and 12–20 km/h while bicycling, decreasing with road grade at a rate similar to observed speeds. On level ground, pedestrian and bicycle MDS corresponds to a moderate-intensity physical activity level (3–6 MET). Small deviations from the MDS have little effect, but large deviations (by more than 10 km/h for bicycling) can more than double inhalation dose over a fixed distance. It appears that pedestrians and bicyclists choose travel speeds that approximately minimize pollution inhalation dose, although pollution is unlikely a primary motivation.
SNPs in the porcine PPARGC1a gene: Interbreed differences and their phenotypic effects

Due to its function, the peroxisome proliferative activated receptor-γ, coactivator-1α (PPARGC1A) gene is a candidate in the search for genes that may affect production traits in the pig. The purpose of this study was to screen for new SNPs in exon 8 of the porcine PPARGC1A gene and to test their possible association with production traits. Altogether 736 pigs representing five breeds Polish Landrace, n=242; Polish Large White, n=192; Hampshire, n=27; Duroc, 21; Pietrain, n=12) and synthetic line 990 (n=242) were scanned via SSCP assay. Four SNPs were found; two new ones: C/G (His338Gln) and G/A Thr359Thr), and two previously reported ones: C/A (Arg369Arg) and T/A Cys430Ser). The missense T/A and C/G SNPs demonstrated pronounced interbreed variability in terms of allele frequencies, including the exclusive presence of the C/G substitution in the Hampshire breed. The tested SNPs occurred in five putative haplotypes, and their frequency also differed substantially between breeds. The association of the SNPs with production traits was tested for G/A (Thr359Thr), C/A (Arg369Arg) and T/A (Cys430Ser) substitutions in Polish Large White, Polish Landrace and line 990. The analysis revealed only breed-specific associations. The T/A (Cys430Ser) SNP was related to the feed conversion ratio in the Polish Large White (P=0.02), and the silent G/A and C/A substitutions were respectively associated with abdominal fat in line 990 and backfat thickness in Polish Landrace (P=0.04). The combined effects of the substitutions were estimated as haplotype effects. Three significant contrasts between haplotypes were calculated, but the observed associations were again only breed-specific.
Earlier discharge of very low birthweight infants from an under-resourced African hospital: a randomised trial

Abstract Background: Very low birthweight (VLBW) infants contribute substantially to the workload and expenditure of any neonatal unit. Earlier discharge might offer advantages to the infant, the family and the health service. Aim: To establish the outcome of preterm, VLBW infants discharged at a weight of ≥1650 g compared with the unit's practise of discharging at a weight of ≥1800 g. Methods: A total of 120 infants (62 early discharges, 58 routine discharges) were followed up for 3 months after discharge from Chris Hani Baragwanath Hospital in Soweto, South Africa. The early-discharge group was discharged at ≥1650 g and the routine-discharge group at ≥1800 g. Growth, morbidity and mortality at 1 and 3 months after discharge were compared. Results: At 3 months, the rate of weight gain (mean 30 vs 33 g/kg/day, p=0.06) and head circumference growth (38.9 vs 39.5 cm, p=0.10) were similar in both groups. There were no differences between the early- and routine-discharge groups in the number of outpatient visits (24 vs 16, p=0.18), frequency of re-admission (9 vs 4, p=0.17) or mortality [1 (1.6%) vs 3 (5.2%), p=0.27] following discharge. Conclusion: If home circumstances are adequate, it is as safe to discharge well, singleton VLBW infants from hospital at a weight of ≥1650 g as at ≥1800 g.
Pregnancy outcomes and cardiac complications in women with mechanical, bioprosthetic and homograft valves

Objectives Firstly, to compare pregnancy outcomes and cardiac complications in women with: 1. either mechanical or bioprosthetic valves at the mitral site; 2. mechanical valves treated with warfarin or subcutaneous heparin. Secondly, to determine pregnancy and cardiac outcomes in women with aortic homograft valves.
Puppet Master: Possible Influence of the Parasite Toxoplasma Gondii on Managers and Employees

The article reviews recent literature on the effects of host manipulation by the parasite Toxoplasma gondii (prevalent in about a third of the world’s population) on perception, cognition, and behavior of humans, and on the changes in their physical appearance and personality characteristics. I argue that the mind-affecting parasite paradigm offers many research opportunities for management sciences, especially for organizational psychology and neuroscience. The article summarizes the parasite’s physiological mechanisms of affecting the host; highlights important behavioral effects of the infection in humans; and speculates on the possible impacts on skills and careers of employees and managers, organizational dynamics, intercultural management, and gender work roles. The conclusion shows limitations of the presented speculations and possible directions for future research on Toxoplasma’s effect on organizational dynamics.
Effective dose equivalent estimates in diagnostic radiology with single dosimetry.

In many external exposure situations dose estimates obtained from personal monitors significantly overestimate the Effective Dose Equivalent (EDE). This occurs particularly when the body is not uniformly exposed due to the irradiation conditions or due to protective shielding (i.e., lead apron) of portions of the body (NCRP 1995). Many numerical relationships between monitoring data and EDE have been proposed to perform more accurate dose estimates (Gill et al. 1980; Faulkner and Harrison 1988; Webster 1989; Niklason et al. 1994; Berger et al. 1995). Also, organizations such as the Conference of Radiation Control Program Directors (CRCPD), the National Council on Radiation Protection and Measurements (NCRP) and the Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI) have published recommendations on this subject (CRCPD 1995; NCRP 1995; EPRI 1998). Before implementing the use of any of the proposed relationships, they should be thoroughly reviewed so that proper practices are chosen and monitoring data are properly evaluated. It is also important for each facility to be aware of the regulatory requirements in their state such as if the methodology is approved for use, which method and for whom can the EDE be applied. The United States Nuclear Regulatory Agency (NRC) does not currently permit dose weighting for any of its licensees. The EPRI study performed in 1997 was initiated by the NRC to determine how viable dose weighting would be, and for which NRC licensee population. This paper discusses numerical relationships for external exposure in diagnostic radiology for estimating EDE in a single-monitor program.
Expenditure-Based segmentation: A case analysis of attendees to a Youth Festival in South Africa

This case analysis applies expenditure-based segmentation to the Samsung Rage Festival in South Africa, a major youth festival. Results reveal that that expenditure levels are associated with a number of socioeconomic as well as numerous travel characteristics. Overall, it is shown that knowledge of the spending behavior of youth travelers can assist festival administrators in developing programs that reflect the characteristics of the three expenditure segments studied. Directions for further examination in this research stream are provided.