Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Effects of poly-N-acetyl glucosamine (pGlcNAc) patch on wound healing in db/db mouse.

BACKGROUND Poly-N-acetyl glucosamine (pGlcNAc) nanofiber-based materials, produced by a marine microalga, have been characterized as effective hemostatic agents. In this study, we hypothesized that a pGlcNAc fiber patch may enhance wound healing in the db/db mouse. METHODS pGlcNAc patches were applied on 1-cm, full-thickness, skin wounds in the db/db mouse model. Wounds (n = 15 per group) were dressed with a pGlcNAc nanofiber patch for 1 hour, 24 hours, or left untreated. After the application time, patches were removed and wounds were allowed to heal spontaneously. The rate of wound closure was evaluated by digital analysis of unclosed wound area as a function of time. At day 10, wounds (n = 7 per group) were harvested and quantified with immunohistochemical markers of proliferation (Ki-67) and vascularization (platelet endothelial cell adhesion molecule). RESULTS Wounds dressed with pGlcNAc patches for 1 hour closed faster than control wounds, reaching 90% closure in 16.6 days, 9 days faster than untreated wounds. Granulation tissue showed higher levels of proliferation and vascularization after 1-hour treatment than the 24-hour and left-untreated groups. Foreign body reaction to the material was not noted in applications up to 24 hours. DISCUSSION In addition to its hemostatic properties, the pGlcNAc material also appears to accelerate wound closure in healing-impaired genetically diabetic mice. This material, with its combination of hemostatic and wound healing properties, has the potential to be effective agent for the treatment of complicated wounds.
The Long-Term Multicenter Observational Study of Dabigatran Treatment in Patients With Atrial Fibrillation (RELY-ABLE) Study

Background— During follow-up of between 1 and 3 years in the Randomized Evaluation of Long-term Anticoagulation Therapy (RE-LY) trial, 2 doses of dabigatran etexilate were shown to be effective and safe for the prevention of stroke or systemic embolism in patients with atrial fibrillation. There is a need for longer-term follow-up of patients on dabigatran and for further data comparing the 2 dabigatran doses. Methods and Results— Patients randomly assigned to dabigatran in RE-LY were eligible for the Long-term Multicenter Extension of Dabigatran Treatment in Patients with Atrial Fibrillation (RELY-ABLE) trial if they had not permanently discontinued study medication at the time of their final RE-LY study visit. Enrolled patients continued to receive the double-blind dabigatran dose received in RE-LY, for up to 28 months of follow up after RE-LY (median follow-up, 2.3 years). There were 5851 patients enrolled, representing 48% of patients originally randomly assigned to receive dabigatran in RE-LY and 86% of RELY-ABLE–eligible patients. Rates of stroke or systemic embolism were 1.46% and 1.60%/y on dabigatran 150 and 110 mg twice daily, respectively (hazard ratio, 0.91; 95% confidence interval, 0.69–1.20). Rates of major hemorrhage were 3.74% and 2.99%/y on dabigatran 150 and 110 mg (hazard ratio, 1.26; 95% confidence interval, 1.04–1.53). Rates of death were 3.02% and 3.10%/y (hazard ratio, 0.97; 95% confidence interval, 0.80–1.19). Rates of hemorrhagic stroke were 0.13% and 0.14%/y. Conclusions— During 2.3 years of continued treatment with dabigatran after RE-LY, there was a higher rate of major bleeding with dabigatran 150 mg twice daily in comparison with 110 mg, and similar rates of stroke and death. Clinical Trial Registration— URL: http://www.clinicaltrials. gov. Unique identifier: NCT00808067.
Triangle of Linkages among Modernising Markets, Sprayer–traders, and Mango-farming Intensification in Indonesia

The domestic mango value chain in Indonesia is transforming rapidly. This article examines the triangle of linkages among farmers’ participation in modernising markets, the emerging use of outsourced services by sprayer–traders (STs), and farm technology intensification. The key findings are as follows. First, small farmers—not just larger farmers—participate in modernising markets. However, the participation is by the upper tier of small farmers, defined in non-land asset terms. Second, although both small and larger farmers use STs, the strongest determinant of use of an ST is the interaction between having non-farm employment (thus, demand for substitution for own labour on the farm) and having a medium-sized commercial farm (thus, demand for skilled agronomic services). Farmers in mango cluster areas also tend to use STs. Finally, use of STs and participation in modernising markets spur farming intensification through the use of modern inputs.
Approximate Time to Steady-state Resting Energy Expenditure Using Indirect Calorimetry in Young, Healthy Adults

Indirect calorimetry (IC) measurements to estimate resting energy expenditure (REE) necessitate a stable measurement period or steady state (SS). There is limited evidence when assessing the time to reach SS in young, healthy adults. The aims of this prospective study are to determine the approximate time to necessary reach SS using open-circuit IC and to establish the appropriate duration of SS needed to estimate REE. One hundred young, healthy participants (54 males and 46 females; age = 20.6 ± 2.1 years; body weight = 73.6 ± 16.3 kg; height 172.5 ± 9.3 cm; BMI = 24.5 ± 3.8 kg/m2) completed IC measurement for approximately 30 min while the volume of oxygen (VO2) and volume of carbon dioxide (VCO2) were collected. SS was defined by variations in the VO2 and VCO2 of ≤10% coefficient of variation (%CV) over a period of five consecutive minutes. The 30-min IC measurement was divided into six 5-min segments, such as S1, S2, S3, S4, S5, and S6. The results show that SS was achieved during S2 (%CV = 6.81 ± 3.2%), and the %CV continued to met the SS criteria for the duration of the IC measurement (S3 = 8.07 ± 4.4%, S4 = 7.93 ± 3.7%, S5 = 7.75 ± 4.1%, and S6 = 8.60 ± 4.6%). The current study found that in a population of young, healthy adults the duration of the IC measurement period could be a minimum of 10 min. The first 5-min segment was discarded, while SS occurred by the second 5-min segment.
Acylphloroglucinol Biosynthesis in Strawberry Fruit1

The synthesis of pharmaceutically active acylphloroglucinols during strawberry fruit ripening is catalyzed by dual-function chalcone synthases/valerophenone synthases. Phenolics have health-promoting properties and are a major group of metabolites in fruit crops. Through reverse genetic analysis of the functions of four ripening-related genes in the octoploid strawberry (Fragaria × ananassa), we discovered four acylphloroglucinol (APG)-glucosides as native Fragaria spp. fruit metabolites whose levels were differently regulated in the transgenic fruits. The biosynthesis of the APG aglycones was investigated by examination of the enzymatic properties of three recombinant Fragaria vesca chalcone synthase (FvCHS) proteins. CHS is involved in anthocyanin biosynthesis during ripening. The F. vesca enzymes readily catalyzed the condensation of two intermediates in branched-chain amino acid metabolism, isovaleryl-Coenzyme A (CoA) and isobutyryl-CoA, with three molecules of malonyl-CoA to form phlorisovalerophenone and phlorisobutyrophenone, respectively, and formed naringenin chalcone when 4-coumaroyl-CoA was used as starter molecule. Isovaleryl-CoA was the preferred starter substrate of FvCHS2-1. Suppression of CHS activity in both transient and stable CHS-silenced fruit resulted in a substantial decrease of APG glucosides and anthocyanins and enhanced levels of volatiles derived from branched-chain amino acids. The proposed APG pathway was confirmed by feeding isotopically labeled amino acids. Thus, Fragaria spp. plants have the capacity to synthesize pharmaceutically important APGs using dual functional CHS/(phloriso)valerophenone synthases that are expressed during fruit ripening. Duplication and adaptive evolution of CHS is the most probable scenario and might be generally applicable to other plants. The results highlight that important promiscuous gene function may be missed when annotation relies solely on in silico analysis.
Business Cycle Accounting of Trade Barriers in a Small Open Economy

Abstract To what extent can a short-term decline in the output of a small open economy be explained by trade barriers? To answer this, we extend the Business Cycle Accounting method of Chari et al. (2007) to a small open economy model. We include an additional time-varying wedge to model financial trade frictions caused by barriers on imports. International sanctions on Iran provide an empirical opportunity to apply this method to data on Iran’s recession in 2012-13. The results indicate that efficiency and investment wedges account for most of the fluctuations in aggregate variables during the sanctions, and trade barriers had little contemporaneous explanatory power. The effect of oil boycotts remains unknown.
Improving Olympic Health Services: What are the Common Health Care Planning Issues?

Abstract Introduction Due to their scale, the Olympic and Paralympic Games have the potential to place significant strain on local health services. The Sydney 2000, Athens 2004, Beijing 2008, Vancouver 2010, and London 2012 Olympic host cities shared their experiences by publishing reports describing health care arrangements. Hypothesis Olympic planning reports were compared to highlight best practices, to understand whether and which lessons are transferable, and to identify recurring health care planning issues for future hosts. Methods A structured, critical, qualitative analysis of all available Olympic health care reports was conducted. Recommendations and issues with implications for future Olympic host cities were extracted from each report. Results The six identified themes were: (1) the importance of early planning and relationship building: clarifying roles early to agree on responsibility and expectations, and engaging external and internal groups in the planning process from the start; (2) the development of appropriate medical provision: most health care needs are addressed inside Olympic venues rather than by hospitals which do not experience significant increases in attendance during the Games; (3) preparing for risks: gastrointestinal and food-borne illnesses are the most common communicable diseases experienced during the Games, but the incidence is still very low; (4) addressing the security risk: security arrangements are one of the most resource-demanding tasks; (5) managing administration and logistical issues: arranging staff permission to work at Games venues (“accreditation”) is the most complex administrative task that is likely to encounter delays and errors; and (6) planning and assessing health legacy programs: no previous Games were able to demonstrate that their health legacy initiatives were effective. Although each report identified similar health care planning issues, subsequent Olympic host cities did not appear to have drawn on the transferable experiences of previous host cities. Conclusion Repeated recommendations and lessons from host cities show that similar health care planning issues occur despite different health systems. To improve health care planning and delivery, host cities should pay heed to the specific planning issues that have been highlighted. It is also advisable to establish good communication with organizers from previous Games to learn first-hand about planning from previous hosts. KononovasK, BlackG, TaylorJ, RaineR. Improving Olympic health services: what are the common health care planning issues? Prehosp Disaster Med. 2014;29(6):1-6 .
How many cervical cancer cases can potentially be prevented using a more sensitive screening test at young age?

The human papilloma virus (HPV) DNA test has higher sensitivity than cytology for cervical cancer screening. Therefore, cervical cancer cases that are missed by cytology could potentially be identified if we use primary HPV testing. Studies showed that HPV screening is the preferred primary test at age 35 and over. Given the high prevalence of harmless HPV infections, the use of HPV testing at younger age is less obvious. The number of cancers in young age is often mentioned to indicate the possible benefits of a more sensitive test. We actually estimated the proportion of those cases that is potentially preventable in The Netherlands by the use of a more sensitive screen‐test at the first screening age 30, given that the more sensitive test is used at age 35 and over. We analysed the screening history of women diagnosed with cervical cancer in the period 2004 to March 2009, using data from the Dutch National Pathology Registry. Only 15–30% (two to four cases per 100,000 women) of the cases was preceded by negative cytology under age 35 and therefore could have been prevented by a more sensitive test at age 30. The lower the screening coverage and the shorter the screening interval in those screened at young age, the smaller the gain of a more sensitive test. So, as long as the current screening pattern is not changed, the majority of the cervical cancer cases at young age would still occur even when applying a more sensitive test at the younger ages.
Bleeding Risk Assessment in Patients With Atrial Fibrillation Who Are Taking Oral Anticoagulants

Abstract Prevention of thromboembolism is the key priority in the management of patients with atrial fibrillation (AF). Clinical decisions on antithrombotic management should be based on the balance between an individual's thromboembolic and hemorrhagic risk. The ETAS-BLED score is a simple and user-friendly tool for the assessment of bleeding risk. It is recommended for bleeding risk assessment by the 2010 European Society of Cardiology guidelines for the management of AF, and the latest guidelines of the Canadian Cardiovascular Society for the prevention of stroke and systemic thromboembolism in patients with AF and atrial flutter. A HAS-BLED score ≥ 3 indicates high risk for hemorrhage and suggests that modifiable risk factors affecting bleeding (eg, blood pressure, hepatic/renal function, international normalized ratio, antiplatelet agents, and nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs) be reviewed and corrected. Patients at high risk for stroke (CHA2DS2-VASc score ≥ 2) and hemorrhage (HAS-BLED score ≥ 3) seem to gain significant benefit from oral anticoagulants. As a general rule, oral anticoagulants should be considered for all patients with AF, except those at very low risk for stroke (CHA2DS2-VASc score of 0) and those at extremely high risk for bleeding. The newer oral anticoagulants (eg, dabigatran, rivaroxaban, and apixaban) are promising alternatives to vitamin K antagonists for the prevention of stroke in patients with nonvalvular AF.
Charge accumulation, conduction mechanisms and degradation in high fields on PEN

The insulating polymers, used in a great number of applications in electrical engineering, are studied to learn about their behavior as they are conditioned under high electric fields. In that case, charge injection and electric conduction may cause a possible degradation of the material, electrical aging mechanisms, electroluminescence, and eventually an electronic and/or thermal breakdown. In order to study the origin of this behavior, we studied a 25 /spl mu/m thick semicrystalline PEN (Polyethylene -2,6-Naphthalene Dicarboxylate) sample, close to pre-breakdown fields, i.e., 290 kVmm/sup -1/. Several experiments were carried out, that allow us to improve a comparative study between the evolution of space charge profiles and isochronal characteristics J(F). The FLIMM method (Focused Laser Intensity Modulation Method) was used to get space charge profiles. This is a technique allowing the in-depth localization of charges and/or polarization within an insulator. Resulting from the superposition of the transient charging and discharging currents, the dipolar currents are identified and considered to play the main role among all phenomena involved in the field range up to 144 kVmm/sup -1/. On the other hand, the induced space charge accumulation seems to give a really important indication of the triggering of the charge injection. They are dominant above a J(F) threshold field, and reveal a similar behavior to the classical J(F) characteristics.
Familial Benign Chronic Intrahepatic Cholestasis

Three of four adult siblings in a family which was studied for three generations had clinical and/ or laboratory signs of slowly progressive intrahepatic cholestasis. Slight hyper pigmentation, facial hypertrichosis, and hypothyroidism were seen in affected individuals who also had prolonged increase in serum transaminase, γ‐glutamyltranspeptidase, and alkaline phosphatase activities. Asymptomatic intervals were characterized by abnormal bromosulfophthalein retention, reduced N‐demethylation capacity, elevated fasting total serum bile acid levels, and normal light microscopic findings. A high serum α‐lipoprotein level was found in individuals affected with this hitherto unknown entity which appears to have an autosomal recessive mode of inheritance.
Interactive learning of consensus sequences in genetic programming for evolution of snake-like robot

We discuss an approach of incorporating interactively learned consensus sequences (ILCS) in genetic programming (GP) for efficient evolution of simulated Snakebot situated in a challenging environment. ILCS introduce a biased mutation in GP via probabilistic context sensitive grammar, in which the probabilities of applying the production rules with multiple right-hand side alternatives depend on the grammatical context. The distribution of these probabilities is learned interactively from the syntax of the snakebots, exhibiting behavioral traits that according to the human observer are relevant for the emergence of ability to overcome obstacles. Because at the earlier stages of evolution these behavioral traits are not necessarily pertinent to the best performing (i.e. fastest) snakebots, the user feedback provides the evolution with an additional insight about the promising areas in the fitness landscape. Empirical results verify that employing ILCS improves the efficiency of GP in that the evolved snakebots are faster than those obtained via canonical GP.
A New Geranylgeranyl Diphosphate Synthase Gene from Ginkgo biloba, which Intermediates the Biosynthesis of the Key Precursor for Ginkgolides

Geranylgeranyl diphosphate synthase (GGPPS, EC: 2.5.1.29) catalyzes the biosynthesis of geranylgeranyl diphosphate (GGPP), which is a key precursor for ginkgolide biosynthesis. Here we reported for the first time the cloning of a new full-length cDNA encoding GGPPS from the living fossil plant Ginkgo biloba. The full-length cDNA encoding G. biloba GGPPS (designated as GbGGPPS) was 1657 bp long and contained a 1176 bp open reading frame encoding a 391 amino acid protein. Comparative analysis showed that GbGGPPS possessed a 79 amino acid transit peptide at its N-terminal, which directed GbGGPPS to target to the plastids. Bioinformatic analysis revealed that GbGGPPS was a member of polyprenyltransferases with two highly conserved aspartate-rich motifs like other plant GGPPSs. Phylogenetic tree analysis indicated that plant GGPPSs could be classified into two groups, angiosperm and gymnosperm GGPPSs, while GbGGPPS had closer relationship with gymnosperm plant GGPPSs.
Phosphatidylinositol Hydrolysis by Trypanosoma brucei Glycosylphosphatidylinositol Phospholipase C*

Detergent-solubilized glycosylphosphatidylinositol (GPI)-anchored structures can be cleaved by C-type phospholipases isolated from peanuts and bloodstream cells of the African trypanosome, Trypanosoma brucei. The two enzymes differ in their reported ability to hydrolyze phosphatidylinositol (PI); while the peanut enzyme readily hydrolyzes PI in vitro, the T. brucei enzyme was reported to be virtually inactive against PI and consequently named GPI-specific phospholipase C (GPI-PLC). In this paper, we describe experiments in which we reinvestigated the substrate specificity of T. brucei GPI-PLC by incubating the purified enzyme with Triton X-100/PI-mixed micelles and by studying PI hydrolysis. We found that PI hydrolysis occurred in a detergent-dependent fashion over the range of concentrations tested (5 μM to 1 mM PI). At 5 μM PI, hydrolysis was maximal at 0.005% Triton X-100, whereas at 1 mM PI, maximal hydrolysis required 0.05% Triton X-100. Hydrolysis of both PI and GPI was strongly affected by the presence of phospholipids. Endogenous PI was hydrolyzed during osmotic and detergent lysis of trypanosomes under conditions used to obtain quantitative hydrolysis of the GPI-anchored trypanosome variant surface glycoprotein. PI hydrolysis in the lysates was inhibited by sodium p-chloromercuriphenylsulfonate but unaffected by EGTA, consistent with the proposal that hydrolysis is due to GPI-PLC. These results suggest that the function of T. brucei GPI-PLC may be to regulate PI as well as (or instead of) GPI levels.
Market segmentation for a leverage revitalization of China’s inbound tourism: the case of US leisure tourists

China’s inbound tourism currently faces a tough choice between a niche strategy and a wide-range tourist attraction. The derivative concept of ‘leverageable market’ provides a reasonable method to solve the problem. This study, thus, attempts to conduct market segmentation for identifying a core crowd in the leisure tourism market of US near-venturers that leverages revitalization. A mixed segmentation method was adopted that combined ‘a posterior approach’ with ‘a priori approach’ in an overall multi-stage framework. ‘Venturesomeness’ in Plog’s psychographic model was the first principle segmentation variable used, which is intrinsically pertinent to the connotation of a leverageable market. ‘Activity participation’ was added to further partition the near-venturers identified, yielding refined management strategies. The data first indicated an obvious shift of China’s psychographic destination position from ‘near-venturer’ to ‘mid-centric’. Cluster analysis further identified four activity-based near-venturer segments: outdoor stimulus experiencers, recreation and amusement seekers, culture searchers, and extensive interest holders. Significant socio-demographic and trip-related features were found among the clusters. The corresponding managerial and theoretical implications, limitations, and agendas for further related research were finally discussed.