Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Effects of mushroom and herb polysaccharides, as alternatives for an antibiotic, on growth performance of broilers

1. This in vivo trial was conducted to study the effects of polysaccharide extracts of two mushrooms, Lentinus edodes (LenE) and Tremella fuciformis (TreE), and a herb, Astragalus membranaceus (AstE) on growth performance, and the weights of organs and the gastrointestinal tract (GIT) of broiler chickens. 2. Three extracts (LenE, TreE and AstE) were supplemented at inclusion rates of 0·5, 1, 2, 3 and 4 g/kg from 7 to 14 d of age and compared with an antibiotic treatment group (20 mg/kg, virginiamycin (VRG) as well as a group of non-supplemented birds. 3. Body weight (BW) gain, feed intake and feed conversion ratio (FCR) of the extract-supplemented groups were not significantly different from those of the antibiotic group. Significant effects of type of extract and concentration on growth performance were found from 7 to 28 d of age. Generally, birds fed with LenE showed higher BW gain and lower FCR from 7 to 28 d of age than those fed with TreE and AstE and 2 g/kg LenE was considered the optimal inclusion rate for enhanced broiler growth. However, the extracts had no significant effect on the relative weights of organs and GIT compared with the antibiotic group. 4. The birds fed the extracts showed better growth performance than the non-supplemented birds, but were not significantly different from those fed VRG. Of the three extracts, LenE appeared to be a potential growth promoter. Future studies are needed to investigate whether the extracts can be used as alternatives for antibiotic growth promoters in challenged birds, and to elucidate the mechanisms for potentially enhanced growth performance in poultry.
"Don't Try to Cover the Sky with Your Hands": Parents' Experiences with Prognosis Communication About Their Children with Advanced Cancer.

BACKGROUND Physicians worry that disclosure of prognostic information can be distressing and deprive families of hope. Retrospective studies have shown that prognostic disclosure does not abrogate hope, but prospective data are lacking. OBJECTIVE The study objective was to prospectively evaluate responses to prognosis communication among parents of children with advanced cancer. DESIGN For this qualitative study we audiotaped conversations between clinicians and parents of children with newly relapsed or refractory cancer, and then interviewed parents about experiences with prognosis communication. Parents were asked to reflect on physician statements about prognosis. SETTING/SUBJECTS Subjects were 32 pairs of parents and clinicians of children with relapsed or refractory cancer treated at Dana-Farber/Boston Children's Center for Cancer and Blood Disorders, Boston, Massachusetts. RESULTS Prognosis was discussed in 28/32 conversations (88%). Although most parents (N = 22, 69%) found prognostic information upsetting, most also valued honest communication about prognosis (N = 22, 69%.) Parents noted that frank disclosure fostered hope by relieving uncertainty and allowing them to make the best possible decisions for their children. Excessive optimism or a lack of information, in contrast, was sometimes experienced as a threat to hope and the parent-clinician relationship. A minority of parents were upset by clinician communication about prognosis (N = 4, 12%), but most did not consider the clinician responsible for their distress. Rather, parents attributed distress to the difficult situation. CONCLUSIONS Many parents consider prognosis communication to be both difficult and necessary. While upsetting, prognostic information engenders hope by helping parents feel prepared to do their best for their children in the difficult days to come.
Diffusion-reaction model for Drosophila embryo development

During the early stages of gastrulation in Drosophila embryo, the epithelial cells composing the single tissue layer of the egg undergo large strains and displacements. These movements have been usually modelled by decomposing the total deformation gradient in an (imposed or strain/stress dependent) active part and a passive response. Although the influence of the chemical and genetic activity in the mechanical response of the cell has been experimentally observed, the effects of the mechanical deformation on the latter have been far less studied, and much less modelled. Here, we propose a model that couples morphogen transport and the cell mechanics during embryogenesis. A diffusion-reaction equation is introduced as an additional mechanical regulator of morphogenesis. Consequently, the active deformations are not directly imposed in the analytical formulation, but they rather depend on the morphogen concentration, which is introduced as a new variable. In this study, we show that strain patterns similar to those observed during biological experiments can be reproduced by properly combining the two phenomena. In addition, we use a novel technique to parameterise the embryo geometry by solving two Laplace problems with specific boundary conditions. We apply the method to two morphogenetic movements: ventral furrow invagination and germ band extension. The matching between our results and the observed experimental deformations confirms that diffusion-reaction of morphogens can actually be controlling large morphogenetic movements.
Cyclooxygenase-2 Expression in Cultured Cortical Thick Ascending Limb of Henle Increases in Response to Decreased Extracellular Ionic Content by Both Transcriptional and Post-transcriptional Mechanisms

We showed previously that decreased extracellular salt or chloride up-regulates the cortical thick ascending limb of Henle (cTALH) COX-2 expression via a p38-dependent pathway. The present studies determined that low salt medium increased COX-2 mRNA expression 3.9-fold control by 6 h in cultured cTALH, which was blocked by actinomycin D pretreatment, suggesting transcriptional regulation. Luciferase activity (normalized to β-galactosidase activity) of the full-length (−3400) COX-2 promoter in cTALH increased from 1.8 ± 0.3 in control media to 5.8 ± 0.7 in low salt (n = 9;p < 0.01). Low chloride medium had similar effects as low salt has on COX-2 promoter activity. Deletion constructs −815, −512, and −410 were similarly stimulated, but −385 could not be stimulated significantly by low salt (1.8 ± 0.3versus 2.4 ± 0.5, n = 10). This suggested involvement of an NF-κB cis-element located in this region, which was confirmed by utilizing a construct with a point mutation of this NF-κB-binding site that was not stimulated by low salt medium. Co-incubation of the specific p38 inhibitor, SB203580 or PD169316, inhibited a low salt-induced increase in luciferase activity of the intact COX-2 promoter (5.8 ± 0.7versus 1.1 ± 0.2, n = 8 and 1.4 ± 0.4, n = 4 respectively, p < 0.01). Mobility shift assays indicated that the low salt medium stimulated NF-κB binding activity, and this stimulation was inhibited by p38 inhibitors. To test whether p38 also increased COX-2 expression by increasing mRNA stability, cTALH were incubated in low salt for 2 h, and actinomycin was then added with or without SB203580. p38 inhibition led to a decreased half-life of COX-2 mRNA (from 68 to 18 min, n = 4–7, p < 0.05). Therefore, these studies indicate that p38 stimulates COX-2 expression in cTALH and macula densa by transcriptional regulation predominantly via a NF-κB-dependent pathway and by post-transcriptional increases in mRNA stability.
A replicated empirical study to evaluate software testing methods

Many empirical studies have been performed to evaluate software testing methods in past decades. However, we are still not able to generalize the results as most studies are not complete and differ significantly from one another. To contribute to the existing knowledge base of software testing methods, we performed an empirical study to evaluate 3 testing methods: (1) code reading by stepwise abstraction, (2) functional testing using equivalence partitioning and boundary value analysis, and (3) structural testing using 100% branch, multiple‐condition, loop, and relational‐operator coverage using a well‐defined and standard schema. A controlled experiment is performed with 18 subjects who applied the 3 defect detection techniques to 3 C programs in a fractional factorial experimental design to observe failures and isolate faults. The experimental results show that (1) the techniques are equally effective in terms of observing failures and finding faults, (2) the effectiveness of the techniques depends on the nature of the program, (3) all the testing techniques are equally efficient in case of failure observation, (4) the techniques are different in their efficiency in terms of fault isolation where code reading performed better than that of structural and functional testing, and (5) with respect to the fault types, all the techniques were equally effective in observing failures and isolating faults except in case of cosmetic faults where functional testing performed better than the other 2 techniques The effectiveness and efficiency of testing techniques were significantly influenced by the type of program. The results presented in this paper contribute to an empirical knowledge base of testing methods and may be helpful for the software engineers to decide the appropriate techniques in improving the software testing process.
Energy efficiency in the industry: A study of the methods, potentials and interactions with the energy system

The industry sector has an important role in decarbonising the energy system, as recognised by the European Commission in their 2050 roadmap to a low carbon economy. It has a high share in the final energy use of the European Union, which in 2016 relied heavily on fossil fuels. A shift to a more sustainable energy use is thus needed, requiring both an increased share of renewable energy and a reduction in energy use. In this thesis the manufacturing industry was analysed to show its potential to improve energy use on an energy system and process level. For this purpose the inefficiencies of the industry sector of Denmark were taken as an example and quantified using energy and exergy methods. The developed models were used to quantify the amount of industrial excess heat. Based on these mappings, the potential for recovering and exploiting excess heat was analysed, which required the development of new methods to locate potentials. The methods included spatial, temporal and economic elements to have a realistic assessment of national potentials. This was complemented with multiple case studies, for which the model input uncertainties were taken into account. The second part of the thesis considered specific production processes and methods for assessing them. For the case study of a milk powder production system, different engineering and advanced thermodynamic methods were used for the analysis. The different methods, which include pinch and exergy analyses, located and quantified different optimisation potentials, which were compared against each other. At last, specific optimisation opportunities were identified and evaluated. These consisted of a retrofit heat exchanger network and the integration of heat pumps and solar thermal energy. The results show that the energy efficiency of the Danish manufacturing industry was 80 % and only 72 % when taking the utility system into account. The losses are often in the form of recoverable excess heat. It was found that 1.5 TWh of excess heat could be cost-effectively used for district heating. The tool developed for the case studies enables to overcome some of the barriers for the utilisation of excess heat. It assesses heat sources and possible uses considering the uncertainties and determining important model parameters. The analysis of the dairy factory resulted in potentials for improvement and highlighted merits and drawbacks of the applied methods. The advanced methods allowed for a thorough analysis of components and interactions amongst each other, the engineering approach is quick to indicate possible improvement but requires experience. The specific improvement suggestions show that it is technically and economically possible to reduce energy use by means of heat integration and to partly replace the hot and cold utilities with more sustainable ones.
SC-49518 enhances gastric emptying of solid and liquid meals and stimulates gastrointestinal motility in dogs by a 5-hydroxytryptamine4 receptor mechanism.

SC-49518 (N-[exo-(hexahydro-1H-pyrrolizine-1-yl)methyl]-2-methoxy-4- amino-5-chlorobenzamide HCl), a new benzamide gastrointestinal prokinetic compound, was investigated to determine its ability to stimulate gastrointestinal motility in vivo and whether these actions could be mediated by agonist activity at the putative 5-hydroxytryptamine (5-HT)4 receptor. In conscious fasted dogs with strain gauge transducers and myoelectrodes, SC-49518 disrupted gastric and small intestinal migrating motility complex cycling for more than 3.5 hr. It stimulated gastric antral contractile and intestinal myoelectric spike burst activities during the normally quiescent Phase I of the migrating motility complex at doses as low as 0.01 and 0.03 mg/kg i.v. , respectively. In a canine model of gastroparesis, SC-49518 reversed completely alpha-2 adrenergically delayed gastric emptying of a solid meal with an ED50 value of 0.1 mg/kg intragastrically and partially reversed delayed emptying of a liquid meal. SC-49518, like 5-HT, cisapride and renzapride, acted as an agonist (EC50 = 6.6 +/- 1.1 x 10(-8) M) at the putative 5-HT4 receptor in rat esophageal tunica muscularis mucosae by relaxing carbachol-induced contractions. SC-49518 was a partial agonist at 5-HT4 receptors, but also blocked high affinity (5-HT4-mediated) responses to 5-HT (10(-9) M to 3 x 10(-7) M) in guinea pig ileum with a pA2 value of 8.39. (ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)
Analysis of acute‐phase proteins, AHSG, C3, CLI, HP and SAA, reveals distinctive expression patterns associated with breast, colorectal and lung cancer

Early detection, clinical management and disease recurrence monitoring are critical areas in cancer treatment in which specific biomarker panels are likely to be very important in each of these key areas. We have previously demonstrated that levels of alpha‐2‐heremans‐schmid‐glycoprotein (AHSG), complement component C3 (C3), clusterin (CLI), haptoglobin (HP) and serum amyloid A (SAA) are significantly altered in serum from patients with squamous cell carcinoma of the lung. Here, we report the abundance levels for these proteins in serum samples from patients with advanced breast cancer, colorectal cancer (CRC) and lung cancer compared to healthy controls (age and gender matched) using commercially available enzyme‐linked immunosorbent assay kits. Logistic regression (LR) models were fitted to the resulting data, and the classification ability of the proteins was evaluated using receiver‐operating characteristic curve and leave‐one‐out cross‐validation (LOOCV). The most accurate individual candidate biomarkers were C3 for breast cancer [area under the curve (AUC) = 0.89, LOOCV = 73%], CLI for CRC (AUC = 0.98, LOOCV = 90%), HP for small cell lung carcinoma (AUC = 0.97, LOOCV = 88%), C3 for lung adenocarcinoma (AUC = 0.94, LOOCV = 89%) and HP for squamous cell carcinoma of the lung (AUC = 0.94, LOOCV = 87%). The best dual combination of biomarkers using LR analysis were found to be AHSG + C3 (AUC = 0.91, LOOCV = 83%) for breast cancer, CLI + HP (AUC = 0.98, LOOCV = 92%) for CRC, C3 + SAA (AUC = 0.97, LOOCV = 91%) for small cell lung carcinoma and HP + SAA for both adenocarcinoma (AUC = 0.98, LOOCV = 96%) and squamous cell carcinoma of the lung (AUC = 0.98, LOOCV = 84%). The high AUC values reported here indicated that these candidate biomarkers have the potential to discriminate accurately between control and cancer groups both individually and in combination with other proteins.
Prevalence of celiac disease in Down syndrome in the United States.

BACKGROUND Numerous studies in Europe have documented a high prevalence of celiac disease in Down syndrome. This study was undertaken to estimate the prevalence of celiac disease in Down syndrome in the southeastern United States. METHODS Seventy-five patients with Down syndrome were screened using immunoglobulin (Ig)A-anti antiendomysium antibodies, IgA-antigliadin antibodies, and total IgA level. When either antiendomysium or antigliadin antibodies produced positive findings, patients were referred to a pediatric gastroenterologist for consideration of a duodenal biopsy. RESULTS Thirteen percent (10/75) were positive for antiendomysium antibodies. Half of these patients were also positive for antigliadin antibodies. Six of 10 patients positive for antiendomysium antibodies underwent intestinal biopsy. Changes consistent with celiac disease were documented in five. Histologic findings ranged from focal to total villous atrophy. None had IgA deficiency. CONCLUSIONS There was a high prevalence of positivity to antiendomysium antibody in Down syndrome. Antiendomysium antibody was a more sensitive screening test than antigliadin antibody. The prevalence of celiac disease in Down syndrome in the southeastern United States was 1 in 14 cases. Screening with antiendomysium antibody and IgA for all children with Down syndrome is recommended, even if there are no gastrointestinal symptoms.
Alteration of Neuroma Formation by Manipulation of Its Microenvironment

In a primate model a histologic assessment of neuroma formation is reported. Three experimental groups were defined. Transected sensory nerves left adjacent to the incisional wound in an area of movement (wrist) were considered the control group. In the “proximally cut” group the same sensory nerves were positioned well proximal to the incisional wound. In the “muscle-implantation” group these nerves were placed in adjacent muscles. At 6 months a histologic assessment of the neuroma formation in the three experimental groups was carried out. Implantation of the sensory nerve into muscle significantly altered the regenerative potential of that nerve. The muscle completely surrounded the sensory nerve. The minimal neuroma that formed had significantly less scar tissue and contained nerve fibers that were of a smaller diameter and decreased density than either the control or the proximally cut group. There were no histologic differences between these latter two groups. However, regeneration into the overlying skin that was noted in the control neuromas was not seen in those nerves which had been proximally cut.
PENGARUH KEPEMILIKAN MANAJERIAL, KEPEMILIKAN INSTITUSIONAL, DAN UKURAN PERUSAHAAN TERHADAP KEPUTUSAN PENDANAAN DAN NILAI PERUSAHAAN (Studi Kasus Pada Perusahaan Manufaktur yang Terdaftar di Bursa Efek Indonesia Priode 2009-2012)

Abstrak Penelitian ini bertujuan untuk menganalisis pengaruh kepemilikan manajerial (MNJ), kepemilikan institusional (INS), dan ukuran perusahaan (SIZE) terhadap keputusan pendanaan (DER) dan nilai perusahaan (PBV) pada perusahaan manufaktur yang terdaftar di Bursa Efek Indonesia periode 2009-2012. Dengan metode purposive sampling, diperoleh sampel penelitian sebanyak 36 perusahaan dari 121 perusahaan manufaktur yang terdaftar di Bursa Efek Indonesia periode 2009-2012. Teknik analisis data menggunakan analisis regresi berganda, sedangkan untuk melihat adanya pengaruh mediasi dideteksi menggunakan uji sobel. Hasil analisis menunjukkan bahwa kepemilikan manajerial berpengaruh negatif signifikan terhadap debt to equity ratio, ukuran perusahaan berpengaruh positif signifikan terhadap debt to equity ratio, kepemilikan manajerial dan kepemilikan institusional berpengaruh negatif signifikan terhadap price to book value, kepemilikan institusional berpengaruh negatif signifikan terhadap price to book value, dan ukuran perusahaan berpengaruh positif signifikan terhadap price to book value, debt to equity ratio memediasi kepemilikan manajerial dan ukuran perusahaan terhadap price to book value.
Adding Temporary Memory to ZCS

In a recent article, Wilson (1994) described a "zeroth-level" classifier system (ZCS). ZCS employs a reinforcement learning technique comparable to Q-learning (Watkins, 1989). This article presents results from the first reconstruction of ZCS. Having replicated Wilson's results, we extend ZCS in a manner suggested by Wilson: The original formulation of ZCS has no memory mechanisms, but Wilson (1994b) suggested how internal "temporary memory" registers could be added. We show results from adding one-bit and two-bit memory registers to ZCS. Our results demonstrate that ZCS can exploit memory facilities efficiently in non-Markov environments. We also show that the memoryless ZCS can converge on near-optimal stochastic solutions in non-Markov environments. We then present results from trials using ZCS in Markov environments that require increasingly long chains of actions before reward is received. Our results indicate that inaccurate overgeneral classifiers can interact with the classifier-generation mechanisms to cause catastrophic breakdowns in overall system performance. Basing classifier fitness on accuracy may alleviate this problem. We conclude that the memory mechanism in its current form is unlikely to scale well for situations requiring large amounts of temporary memory. Nevertheless, the ability to find stochastic solutions when there is insufficient memory might offset this problem somewhat.
Religion in Nigerian Political Space: Implication for Sustainable National Development

Nigerian politics has been replete with lots of anomalies and upheavals because the country leaders past and present have dragged religion and ethnicity into politics in their quests for leadership in the country. It’s a known fact that since independence, more than 2/3rd of the country’s independence has been spent by military junta. It is heartwarming to also note that within these periods of military and civilian rule, most of the military heads of states are from the north and most of them are Muslims. But it is disheartening to also know that since the return of Nigeria to democratic rule in 1999, power has shifted from the southern bloc to the north and back to the south, but the recent activities of politician by employing religious violence into politics thereby causing all sorts of mayhem and violence to satisfy their selfish sinterests leave much to be desired. It has been discovered that the recent Boko Haram insurgence in the country that has claimed more than 20,000 lives of innocent citizens and the state agencies are politically motivated, if this is true then, how can these religious intolerance perpetrated and transposed into politics lead to a sustainable national development in Nigeria? This research adopted literature review and found out that both Christianity and Islam have a stint in Nigeria politics and so many people have dragged religion into politics and are also using religion as a tool for achieving political powers by using it to cause violence and destruction of properties in the country. The paper therefore recommends that religious leaders and politicians should be encouraged to preach peaceful coexistence and piety amongst their adherents, while Nigerian government should do everything within the country’ powers and revenue profile to combat corruptions and provide employments for her teaming populace especially the youths. This will go a long way to reduce criminal tendencies amongst the youths who are recruited by these corrupt politicians causing bigotry to achieve their selfish aim.