Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Evaluation of the Toxicity of Eugenol at Anesthetic Doses in African Clawed Frogs (Xenopus laevis)

Eugenol has been shown to induce anesthesia in African clawed frogs (Xenopus laevis). The toxicity of eugenol, administered at anesthetic doses, was evaluated in Xenopus frogs with an average body weight of 28.2 ± 13.7 g. Frogs were immersed in 250 mL of an aqueous solution containing 350 µl/L of eugenol for ten minutes and received a single administration (group 1, twelve animals) or three consecutive daily administrations (group 2, twelve animals). In each group, six frogs were scheduled to be euthanized the following day (subgroup A) and the other six were scheduled to be euthanized after a one-week recovery period (subgroup B). Morphologic changes consistent with renal tubular apoptosis affecting distal tubules in the medulla were observed in all subgroup A animals, ranging from mild to moderate in group 1, and from mild to severe in group 2. In subgroup B, renal tubular regeneration was present in all but one animal examined. These findings suggest that eugenol toxicity in amphibians is first manifested by renal tubular apoptosis. Other eugenol-related lesions were massive hepatic necrosis in group 2 (n = 6), hyaline membranes in the lung (n = 5), and adipose tissue hemorrhages in group/subgroup 2B (n = 4).
Brand relationship and personality theory

Brand personality and brand relationship theory are important concepts within branding theory, with a body of research and theory having been developed in support of the concepts. However, the argument of this paper is that there are mutually incompatible foundations that underpin brand personality and brand relationship theory. One foundation is that consumers actually perceive brands as animate humanlike entities, and the other foundations are rooted in metaphor. The authors identify three key points which they believe are problematic in this regard: there is an absence of scholarly debate on the merits of each foundation; some authors combine the two foundations despite their fundamental incompatibility; and overall, there is a lack of clarity in much of the literature as to which foundation might be used as a basis for theory. The paper uses examples from literature to highlight confusion in the brand personality and brand relationship theory, before offering a framework for resolving the mutually incompatible foundations.
Active repression by RARγ signaling is required for vertebrate axial elongation

Retinoic acid receptor gamma 2 (RARγ2) is the major RAR isoform expressed throughout the caudal axial progenitor domain in vertebrates. During a microarray screen to identify RAR targets, we identified a subset of genes that pattern caudal structures or promote axial elongation and are upregulated by increased RAR-mediated repression. Previous studies have suggested that RAR is present in the caudal domain, but is quiescent until its activation in late stage embryos terminates axial elongation. By contrast, we show here that RARγ2 is engaged in all stages of axial elongation, not solely as a terminator of axial growth. In the absence of RA, RARγ2 represses transcriptional activity in vivo and maintains the pool of caudal progenitor cells and presomitic mesoderm. In the presence of RA, RARγ2 serves as an activator, facilitating somite differentiation. Treatment with an RARγ-selective inverse agonist (NRX205099) or overexpression of dominant-negative RARγ increases the expression of posterior Hox genes and that of marker genes for presomitic mesoderm and the chordoneural hinge. Conversely, when RAR-mediated repression is reduced by overexpressing a dominant-negative co-repressor (c-SMRT), a constitutively active RAR (VP16-RARγ2), or by treatment with an RARγ-selective agonist (NRX204647), expression of caudal genes is diminished and extension of the body axis is prematurely terminated. Hence, gene repression mediated by the unliganded RARγ2–co-repressor complex constitutes a novel mechanism to regulate and facilitate the correct expression levels and spatial restriction of key genes that maintain the caudal progenitor pool during axial elongation in Xenopus embryos.
Beyond the Ebonics Debate

This study of 261 Black and White participants determined how standard American English and Black English were perceived on 20 credibility measures. Results indicated that although standard American English was preferred by all participants on several key measures (including all measures of competence), speaker dialect did not alter perceived trustworthiness and likability. On measures of social distance, dialect played a secondary role to the race of the speaker, as White participants preferred White speakers and Black participants preferred Black speakers regardless of dialect.
Validity of Self-Reported Training Duration

Producing customised training programmes requires the quantification of athletes' training, which may involve athletes self-reporting their exercise The study aim was to determine the relationship between what athletes say they do in training and what they actually do. Physically active participants (n = 29; age = 30 ± 5 years) self reported their average weekly training duration for 3 weeks of ad libitum training. During the following 2 weeks training duration was recorded. There was a significant relationship (r = 0.87) between self-reported and recorded duration with 24% of athletes overestimating, 17% underestimating and 59% accurately estimating their training duration. Maximum heart rate was significantly higher in athletes that overestimated (198 ± 9 b.min−1, n = 7) compared to those that accurately estimated duration (187 ± 6 b.min−1, n = 17; p = 0.025) In conclusion, the margin of error in self-reported training duration may significantly affect the prescription of training.
Avian sarcoma virus UR2 encodes a transforming protein which is associated with a unique protein kinase activity

UR2 is a newly characterized avian sarcoma virus whose genome contains a unique sequence that is not related to the sequences of other avian sarcoma virus transforming genes thus far identified. This unique sequence, termed ros, is fused to part of the viral gag gene. The product of the fused gag-ros gene of UR2 is a protein of 68,000 daltons (P68) immunoprecipitable by antiserum against viral gag proteins. In vitro translation of viral RNA and in vivo pulse-chase experiments showed that P68 is not synthesized as a large precursor and that it is the only protein product encoded in the UR2 genome, suggesting that it is involved in cell transformation by UR2. In vivo, P68 was phosphorylated at both serine and tyrosine residues. Immunoprecipitates of P68 with anti-gag antisera had a cyclic nucleotide-independent protein kinase activity that phosphorylated P68, rabbit immunoglobulin G in the immune complex, and alpha-casein. The phosphorylation by P68 was specific to tyrosine of the substrate proteins. P68 was phosphorylated in vitro at only one tyrosine site, and the tryptic phosphopeptide of in vitro-labeled P68 was different from those of Fujinami sarcoma virus P140 and avian sarcoma virus Y73-P90. A comparison of the protein kinases encoded by UR2, Rous sarcoma virus, Fujinami sarcoma virus, and avian sarcoma virus Y73 revealed that UR2-P68 protein kinase is distinct from the protein kinases encoded by those viruses by several criteria. Our results suggest that several different protein kinases encoded by viral transforming genes have the same functional specificity and cause essentially the same cellular alterations.
User-Centered Evaluation of Information: A Research Challenge

Purpose - This paper sets out to present the concept of the value of information, review the descriptive, rational, social and behavioral approaches for assessing the value of information, and explain why user-centered rather than information-centered evaluations are the most relevant. Design/methodology/approach - The paper starts by highlighting the main facets and market characteristics which influence the value of information. Next, four approaches to assessing the value of information are explained, including a discussion of advantages and limitations of each approach. The approaches reviewed include descriptive, rational, social and behavioral research. Finally, an information value assessment recommendation is given and a theoretical framework is offered. Findings - The descriptive approach is useful in raising new angles for theory development. The rational approach assumes that the value is inherent in information and offers models that describe how information should be valued. The social perspective suggests that markets are enhanced by social activity. The behavioral aspect teaches that value perception changes by person and circumstance and is a key influence on information markets. Originality/value - This paper offers a concentrated multi-dimensional theoretical basis on a topic of central importance to anyone interested in Internet research, information consumption and production. Theory offered here constitutes a basis for a large number of potential empirical research endeavors.
What Are the Mechanisms of Change in the Common Factors

This reaction to Weinberger's article (this issue) about common factors in therapy focuses on two issues: (a) to be useful, the common factors need to be defined in more concrete terms, so they can be measured separately from other aspects of therapy process; and (b) rather than just measuring the common factors, we need to study the mechanisms of change, or how the common factors interact with other variables to result in change. Finally, I suggest that we consider the concept of equifinality, that is, that even though different factors have different mechanisms of change, they may all produce the same outcome.
Preliminary experiences in trachea scaffold tissue engineering with segmental organ decellularization

Ideal methods for reconstructing the tracheal structure and restoring tracheal function following damage to the trachea or removal of the trachea have not been developed. The purpose of this study is to evaluate the feasibility of using a whole segment decellularized tracheal scaffold to reconstruct the trachea.
Race, Ethnicity, and Gender Differences in the Relationship Between Substance Use and Adolescent Sexual Behavior

Abstract Previous researchers have noted that the positive correlation between substance use and sexual behavior is stronger for white adolescents than for their black and Hispanic counterparts. Using an instrumental variables approach to control for the possible endogeneity of substance use, and data from The National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health, we estimate the effects of alcohol and marijuana use on the probability of being sexually active by race, ethnicity, and gender. Our results suggest that there exist potentially important racial, ethnic and gender differences in the relationship between substance use and sexual behavior. This information may be valuable for policymakers interested in reducing sexual activity among teens.
Postmodern Perspectives and Action Research: reflecting on the possibilities

ABSTRACT This paper attempts to examine how action research, particularly the emancipatory goals of critical action research, might be reconfigured to take into account the discursive openness of postmodernism. This may require a loosening up of our sense of the purposes and practices of action research to incorporate a more critical gaze than is usually required of modernist projects. Attention is drawn to the possibility of opening up subject positions which allow the modern and postmodern to ‘speak’, so that heterogeneity and the recognition of difference might be better accommodated in the action research process.
Zinc enhances long‐term potentiation through P2X receptor modulation in the hippocampal CA1 region

Zn2+ is an essential ion that is stored in and co‐released from glutamatergic synapses and it modulates neurotransmitter receptors involved in long‐term potentiation (LTP). However, the mechanism(s) underlying Zn2+‐induced modulation of LTP remain(s) unclear. As the purinergic P2X receptors are relevant targets for Zn2+ action, we have studied their role in LTP modulation by Zn2+ in the CA1 region of rat hippocampal slices. Induction of LTP in the presence of Zn2+ revealed a biphasic effect – 5–50 μm enhanced LTP induction, whereas 100–300 μm Zn2+ inhibited LTP. The involvement of a purinergic mechanism is supported by the fact that application of the P2X receptor antagonists 2′,3′‐O‐(2,4,6‐trinitrophenyl) ATP (TNP‐ATP) and periodate‐oxidized ATP fully abolished the facilitatory effect of Zn2+. Notably, application of the P2X7 receptor‐specific antagonist Brilliant Blue G did not modify the Zn2+‐dependent facilitation of LTP. Exogenous ATP also produced a biphasic effect – 0.1–1 μm ATP facilitated LTP, whereas 5–10 μm inhibited LTP. The facilitatory effect of ATP was abolished by the application of TNP‐ATP and was modified in the presence of 5 μm Zn2+, suggesting that P2X receptors are involved in LTP induction and that Zn2+ leads to an increase in the affinity of P2X receptors for ATP. The latter confirms our previous results from heterologous expression systems. Collectively, our results indicate that Zn2+ at low concentrations enhances LTP by modulating P2X receptors. Although it is not yet clear which purinergic receptor subtype(s) is responsible for these effects on LTP, the data presented here suggest that P2X4 but not P2X7 is involved.
Values Education in New Zealand: Old Ideas in New Garb

In the new social studies curriculum in New Zealand, values exploration is one of the three prescribed ways to approach social studies teaching and learning. This paper provides background discussion of approaches to values education and sets the renewed interest in New Zealand into the historical, social and political context before outlining the particular approach selected by the New Zealand curriculum writers.
Reference point specification in hypervolume calculation for fair comparison and efficient search

Hypervolume has been frequently used as a performance indicator for comparing evolutionary multiobjective optimization (EMO) algorithms. Hypervolume has been also used in indicator-based algorithms. Whereas a reference point is needed for hypervolume calculation, its specification has not been discussed in detail from a viewpoint of fair comparison. This may be because a slightly worse reference point than the nadir point seems to work well. In this paper, we tackle this issue: How to specify a reference point for fair comparison. First we discuss an appropriate specification of a reference point for multiobjective problems. Our discussions are based on the well-known theoretical results about the optimal solution distribution for hypervolume maximization. Next we examine various specifications by computational experiments. Experimental results show that a slightly worse reference point than the nadir point works well only for test problems with triangular Pareto fronts. Then we explain why this specification is not always appropriate for test problems with inverted triangular Pareto fronts. We also report a number of solution sets obtained by SMS-EMOA with various specifications of a reference point.
A multiple-channel frontend system with current reuse for fetal monitoring applications

This paper proposes a multiple-channel frontend system with current reuse for fetal monitoring applications. The structure and specifications of the proposed frontend system are determined while taking into consideration the algorithms used for fetal electrocardiogram (fECG) detection. Two amplifier topologies based on a middle rail current source/sink (MCS) are proposed for fECG and electrohysterogram (EHG) recording. The proposed amplifiers explore power optimization in both current and voltage domain and thus achieve a better effective noise efficiency factor (NEF) while providing multiple-channels. The frontend system is designed in a 0. 18μm CMOS process. Simulation results show that the frontend system provides 3 fECG and 4 EHG recoding channels with a total power consumption of 3. 1μW. The IA for fECG monitoring achieves an equivalent NEF of 1.17/1.21 for low noise and low power settings respectively.
EPDM Based Double Slope Triangular Enclosure Solar Collector: A Novel Approach

Solar heating is one of the important utilities of solar energy both in domestic and industrial sectors. Evacuated tube heaters are a commonly used technology for domestic water heating. However, increasing cost of copper and nickel has resulted in huge initial cost for these types of heaters. Utilizing solar energy more economically for domestic use requires new concept which has low initial and operating costs together with ease of maintainability. As domestic heating requires only nominal heating temperature to the range of 60–90°C, therefore replacing nickel coated copper pipes with any cheap alternate can drastically reduce the cost of solar heater. We have proposed a new concept which utilizes double slope triangular chamber with EPDM based synthetic rubber pipes. This has reduced the initial and operating costs substantially. A detailed analytical study was carried out to design a novel solar heater. On the basis of analytical design, a prototype was manufactured. Results obtained from the experiments were found to be in good agreement with the analytical study. A maximum error of 10% was recorded at noon. However, results show that error is less than 5% in early and late hours.
Systematic analysis of molecular mechanisms for HCC metastasis via text mining approach

Objective To systematically explore the molecular mechanism for hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) metastasis and identify regulatory genes with text mining methods. Results Genes with highest frequencies and significant pathways related to HCC metastasis were listed. A handful of proteins such as EGFR, MDM2, TP53 and APP, were identified as hub nodes in PPI (protein-protein interaction) network. Compared with unique genes for HBV-HCCs, genes particular to HCV-HCCs were less, but may participate in more extensive signaling processes. VEGFA, PI3KCA, MAPK1, MMP9 and other genes may play important roles in multiple phenotypes of metastasis. Materials and methods Genes in abstracts of HCC-metastasis literatures were identified. Word frequency analysis, KEGG pathway and PPI network analysis were performed. Then co-occurrence analysis between genes and metastasis-related phenotypes were carried out. Conclusions Text mining is effective for revealing potential regulators or pathways, but the purpose of it should be specific, and the combination of various methods will be more useful.
On a Theory of Political Caricature

Two articles by Alba and Coupe on some relationships between political conflict and political caricatures permit students of caricature to again persuade themselves of the necessity for a theory of caricature. ' Much effort has been expended on specific studies of caricature. Indeed, the production of the empirical research is itself a world-historical phenomenon, as has been its subject matter for the last four hundred years. Less devotion, however, has been expended to rational as over against empirical considerations in research on caricature. The subject, after all, is great fun; and many students have been more willing to inform their readers than to order the data. But it is impossible to divorce empirical from rational needs in this or any other research. For it is, ultimately, theoretical and rational directives which tell us what hypotheses to entertain, what data to collect and, finally, how to interpret the evidence. The unavoidable necessity for Alba and Coupe to bring historiographical and sociological perspectives to bear on their data, in addition to a historical view, has created certain problems of analysis. Now, they have a difficult task. For the analyses require at least materials from the history of the fine arts, political history of the areas concerned and the sociology of public opinion and mass communications. But in varying degree the conceptual framework within which their specific materials appear is weakly stated, at points not adequately justified and often casually assumed. There are no specially stated generalizing propositions with reference to caricature which would lift it out of the flow of informative detail. Two results of this, at least to this writer, especially in the case of Alba, are that the precise relationships between changes in political conflict and change in caricatural imagery are not clearly articulated and are not demonstrated. This paper will adduce some points from both articles to the above criticisms, suggest a theory of caricature which could possibly take into account
Bayesian Kernel Methods for Natural Language Processing

Kernel methods are heavily used in Natural Language Processing (NLP). Frequentist approaches like Support Vector Machines are the state-of-the-art in many tasks. However, these approaches lack efficient procedures for model selection, which hinders the usage of more advanced kernels. In this work, we propose the use of a Bayesian approach for kernel methods, Gaussian Processes, which allow easy model fitting even for complex kernel combinations. Our goal is to employ this approach to improve results in a number of regression and classification tasks in NLP.
Association of dietary phosphate and serum phosphorus concentration by levels of kidney function.

BACKGROUND The health implications of dietary phosphorus intake and the role of kidney function in managing serum phosphorus homeostasis are well studied. However, examining the source of dietary phosphorus intake and its impact on serum phosphorus has not been characterized in population studies. OBJECTIVE This study aimed to distinguish the association of food sources of organic phosphorus and inorganic phosphate additives with serum phosphorus concentration. DESIGN A cross-sectional analysis of 24-h food recall data from 7895 adult participants in the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey 2003-2006 was performed. Phosphorus content of foods was categorized as organic or inorganic. Correlations of serum phosphorus to clinical and dietary intake variables were achieved by using multiple regression analysis. RESULTS After controlling for estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR), body mass index (BMI; in kg/m²), and albumin-to-creatinine ratio, a significant increase in serum phosphorus occurred with dairy foods with inorganic phosphates [parameter estimate (PE) ± SE: 0.07 ± 0.02 mg/dL, P < 0.01] or without inorganic phosphates (PE: 0.02 ± 0.01, P < 0.001) and cereals/grains with inorganic phosphates (PE: 0.005 ± 0.002, P < 0.01). Significantly higher serum phosphorus occurred when eGRF was <30 (PE: 0.24 ± 0.08, P < 0.0001), but eGFR 30-44 (PE: -0.11 ± 0.04, P < 0.01) and 45-60 (PE: -0.10 ± 0.04, P < 0.01) were associated with lower serum phosphorus; higher serum phosphorus was associated with BMI <18.5 (PE: 0.18 ± 0.05, P = 0.0009) but lower with BMI ≥35-39 (PE: -0.09 ± 0.03, P = 0.0013) or ≥40 (PE: -0.10 ± 0.03, P = 0.014). CONCLUSIONS This analysis shows that dairy products and cereals/grains having inorganic phosphate additives significantly increase serum phosphorus concentration, despite being consumed less frequently than foods without phosphate additives. It seems prudent for the Nutrient Facts Label to include phosphorus but also for food manufacturers to consider alternatives to phosphate additives.
Hybrid frequency reuse for cellular MIMO systems with multi-user diversity (無線通信システム)

Abstract—In the cellular MIMO systems, the system capacity can be increased with the presence of multi-user diversity (MUD). In this paper, a hybrid frequency reuse algorithm is proposed to realize efficient frequency reuse factor (FRF) allocation for cellular MIMO systems with MUD. As a result, the system capacity will be increased greatly. The system capacities by using the proposed algorithm are theoretically analyzed and the effectiveness of hybrid frequency reuse will be testified by numerical results.