Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Identification of a novel multiprotein complex in cargo sorting that preserves metabolic pathways in the liver

Scaffold proteins are crucial regulators of a diverse array of biological processes. This thesis aims to better understand the function of the relatively new family of scaffold proteins called the COMMD proteins. COMMD1, the prototype of this family, has been associated with numerous diseases such as hepatic copper toxicity syndrome, hypercholesterolemia and cancer, but the biological role of the other nine members remains largely unknown. Our study show for the first time that in the liver COMMD6 and COMMD9 both an important role have to preserve cholesterol and copper homeostasis, similarly as we previously demonstrated for COMMD1. Interestingly, however, our data indicate that only myeloid COMMD1 prevents uncontrolled inflammation but not COMMD6 and COMMD9. We show that the COMMD proteins form together a stable multi-COMMD protein complex to regulate these cellular processes. The organization of this complex is likely cell type-specific, but the exact composition of these complexes remains unclear, and more research is wanted. Taken together our work revealed that the COMMD proteins likely act together to facilitate the endosomal trafficking of different transmembrane proteins such as LDLR and ATP7B to preserve cholesterol and copper homeostasis. We expect that better understanding of these pathways will advance therapeutic research to treat hypercholesterolemia and copper disorders.
The Impacts of Smartphone Addiction and Technostress on Customer Satisfaction and Loyalty

As most people use smartphones most of the time, smartphone addiction and technostress are likely to be easily induced. It can be expected that excessive smartphone addiction and technostress will have negative effects on customer satisfaction and loyalty. This study explores the effects of flow and social interaction anxiety on smartphone addiction, and investigates the relationships between addiction, technostress, customer satisfaction and loyalty. A total of 342 valid questionnaires were collected from university students who live in Gyeongnam province in South Korea. Eight hypotheses were examined using SmartPLS software. The findings indicated that flow and social interaction anxiety have positive impacts on smartphone addiction. Smartphone addiction has positive impacts on technostress and customer loyalty but does not affect customer satisfaction. Technostress has a negative effect on customer satisfaction but does not affect customer loyalty. Customer satisfaction is strongly associated with customer loyalty. The implications of these results are discussed and directions for future research are offered.
Antisense Inhibition of the Iron-Sulphur Subunit of Succinate Dehydrogenase Enhances Photosynthesis and Growth in Tomato via an Organic Acid–Mediated Effect on Stomatal Aperture[W][OA]

The antisense inhibition of the iron-sulphur subunit of succinate dehydrogenase in tomato increases photosynthesis and biomass via an organic acid–mediated effect on stomatal aperture. This finding reinforces earlier suggestions that malate plays a crucial role in stomatal opening and supports the hypothesis that stomatal function can be regulated remotely via mesophyll-generated cues. Transgenic tomato (Solanum lycopersicum) plants expressing a fragment of the Sl SDH2-2 gene encoding the iron sulfur subunit of the succinate dehydrogenase protein complex in the antisense orientation under the control of the 35S promoter exhibit an enhanced rate of photosynthesis. The rate of the tricarboxylic acid (TCA) cycle was reduced in these transformants, and there were changes in the levels of metabolites associated with the TCA cycle. Furthermore, in comparison to wild-type plants, carbon dioxide assimilation was enhanced by up to 25% in the transgenic plants under ambient conditions, and mature plants were characterized by an increased biomass. Analysis of additional photosynthetic parameters revealed that the rate of transpiration and stomatal conductance were markedly elevated in the transgenic plants. The transformants displayed a strongly enhanced assimilation rate under both ambient and suboptimal environmental conditions, as well as an elevated maximal stomatal aperture. By contrast, when the Sl SDH2-2 gene was repressed by antisense RNA in a guard cell–specific manner, changes in neither stomatal aperture nor photosynthesis were observed. The data obtained are discussed in the context of the role of TCA cycle intermediates both generally with respect to photosynthetic metabolism and specifically with respect to their role in the regulation of stomatal aperture.
Trust Fund disbursements to developing countries: who benefits and why?

Donors of foreign aid may use country-specific trust funds at the World Bank to target aid according to their priorities. We investigate which factors determine whether and how much trust fund aid a developing country receives. Using a sample of all World Bank trust fund disbursements in the 2002-2012 period, we find that poorer and large countries receive more trust fund aid and are more likely to receive any such aid. Moreover, there is some evidence that institutional capacity, measured by the World Bank's Country Policy and Institutional Assessment (CPIA) index, increases whether and how much trust fund aid a developing country receives. There is little evidence that IDA countries and no evidence that fragile countries are more likely to receive trust fund aid. Given that donor countries could also provide this aid bilaterally, we interpret these results as evidence for donors' recognition of an advantage in expertise for the World Bank.
Learning styles based on the different cultural background of KFL learners in online learning.

It is imperative to analyze learning styles based on learners’ cultural backgrounds when designing successful online learning courses. The present study investigated the learning styles preferences of learners who have diverse cultural backgrounds in an online language learning environment. For this purpose, the study employed the Felder and Silverman’s Learning Styles Model and examined sixty five international students who enrolled in a Korean language course at a university’s language education institute in Seoul, Korea. The participants were culturally diverse and represented numerous countries, which were categorized according to six cultural clusters: China, Japan, Middle East, other Asia, America, and Europe. The online language learning course was analyzed using the active/reflective, sensing/intuitive, sequential/global and visual/verbal dimensions of the model. The participants’ learning style preferences were investigated using a questionnaire. A one-way ANOVA was conducted to compare the effect of cultural backgrounds on learning style preferences of each section. In addition, MANOVA and post hoc multiple comparison of means tests (Scheffe test) were conducted. The results demonstrate significant cultural group differences in learning style preferences of learners of Korean language with diverse cultural backgrounds.
Superior short‐wavelength contrast sensitivity in asthenopics during reflexive readjustments of ocular accommodation

The purpose of this work was to characterize contrast sensitivity (CS) under short‐wavelength illumination in 20 symptom‐free subjects and eight asthenopics: all had normal unaided or corrected visual acuity and no sign of oculomotor disease. Threshold CS was assessed using the von Békésy tracking method from a viewing distance of 2.4 m (0.40 D). Three counterbalanced tasks required central fixation of black‐and‐white square‐wave gratings (1, 5, 10, 14 and 17 c/deg) presented through a low‐pass filter blue lens and (1) a +1.50 D lens; (2) a −1.50 D lens and (3) a 0 D lens, while attempting accommodation to minimize blur. Baseline increases in eye strain, which approached high levels at the end of the experiment, did not differentiate between the two groups of volunteers. All the subjects made evident appropriate accommodation during the low blur condition (0 D); the CS curve exhibited the expected characteristics. When the minus lens was placed before the eyes of the observers the distant square‐wave gratings were still seen clearly, the eyes presumably had accommodated by an amount equal to the power of the negative lens. Compared with symptom‐free subjects, asthenopics exhibited greater CS at the intermediate spatial frequencies both during the low blur and the minus blur conditions. Asthenopics may exhibit an individualized sensory tendency to react more strongly to shorter wavelengths of light and may therefore reflexively ‘drive’ their accommodative system harder than symptom‐free subjects. This would explain the presence of their asthenopia in the first place. Blue light may, in addition, induce more arousal and higher alertness in this category of participants. This would boost the oculomotor aspects of their performance. These findings add to the current understanding of individual variability in the level of oculomotor loads following strenuous near work.
Business Process Outsourcing Performance Evaluation: A Lean-Agile Framework and Its Empirical Validation

How do we know that a Business Process Outsourcing (BPO) company is performing well or not? The validation method of the hybrid constructs presented in this paper is fueled by the investigation on the empirical framework of such question. Cost and quality which are seen as key factors of measurement have received favorable attention from researchers in manufacturing and production industries. However, the business process outsourcing service industry faces challenges with the recent change in the supply chain management orientation to the business as a service across networks of corporations. Therefore, this paper provides a validation of the performance measurement framework for BPO service organizations. To our knowledge, this is the first of its kind to extensively explore both lean and agile literature and then conceptualize the literature into a hybrid framework. We evaluated the current/existing framework that measures performance effectiveness and efficiency under lean and agile methodologies, excavated 8 constructs and then conducted a reliability and validity test for validation.
Managing scientific data as public assets: Data sharing practices and policies among full‐time government employees

This paper examines how scientists working in government agencies in the U.S. are reacting to the “ethos of sharing” government‐generated data. For scientists to leverage the value of existing government data sets, critical data sets must be identified and made as widely available as possible. However, government data sets can only be leveraged when policy makers first assess the value of data, in much the same way they decide the value of grants for research outside government. We argue that legislators should also remove structural barriers to interoperability by funding technical infrastructure according to issue clusters rather than administrative programs. As developers attempt to make government data more accessible through portals, they should consider a range of other nontechnical constraints attached to the data. We find that agencies react to the large number of constraints by mostly posting their data on their own websites only rather than in data portals that can facilitate sharing. Despite the nontechnical constraints, we find that scientists working in government agencies exercise some autonomy in data decisions, such as data documentation, which determine whether or not the data can be widely shared. Fortunately, scientists indicate a willingness to share the data they collect or maintain. However, we argue further that a complete measure of access should also consider the normative decisions to collect (or not) particular data.
Occurrence of N-nitrosodimethylamine in South Korean and imported alcoholic beverages

Volatile N-nitrosamine (VNA) levels in South Korean and imported alcoholic beverages were determined between 1995 and 2002. A total of 147 alcoholic beverages, including lager beer, whisky, liqueurs and traditional Korean alcoholic beverages (Chungju, Takju and Soju), were analysed for their VNA content by GC-TEA. Of eight VNAs (N-nitrosodimethylamine (NDMA), N-nitrosodiethylamine (NDEA), N-nitrosopyrrolidine (NPYR), N-nitrosomorphorine (NMOR), N-nitrosodibuthylamine (NDBA), N-nitrosopiperidine (NPIP), N-nitrosodiprophylamine (NDPA) and N-nitrosodiphenylamine (NDPhA)) only NDMA was detected. In 1995, NDMA was detected in 79.3% of domestic beers; the average was 0.8 µg kg−1. Seven years later, the average NDMA level for 18 domestic beers was 0.3 µg kg−1 and it was positive in 55.6% samples. In whisky and liqueurs, NDMA levels averaged <0.1 µg kg−1 in both 1995 and 2002. Average NDMA levels of Chungju in 1995 were <0.1 µg kg−1, but NDMA was not detected in 2002. Takju had undetectable levels of NDMA both times. In 1995, NDMA was found in four of six Soju samples, but in 2002, NDMA could not be detected.
Evaluation of Flow and Average Entropy Based Detection Mechanism for DDoS Attacks using NS-2

Distributed Denial of Service (DDoS) attacks has started posing a serious threat to all sorts of businesses, which have used the power of internet to their credit. DDoS attacks have put a big question mark on the capabilities and reliability of the World Wide Web. The use of supreme techniques to combat the DDoS attacks has not been substantial enough to fight the distributed nature of attacks. Hackers have been successful in blocking the services and flooding traffic to servers, in spite of a tight check on the network. Thus, in the view of personal data being present on the web and the threat to global economy worth million dollars, it becomes really important to devise some new techniques that are self-capable enough to capture, trace and nullify the dangers posed by such attacks. This term paper talks about such solutions to combat DDoS attacks. Here, the flow entropy in combination with average entropy technique is used to detect an attack. It highlights how the loop holes of one technique are covered by the other, resulting in a considerable improvisation in the methods of how we deal with these attacks.
Identifying optimal parameters for quantification of changes in pelvic movement symmetry as a response to diagnostic analgesia in the hindlimbs of horses.

REASONS FOR PERFORMING STUDY Subjective evaluation of the response to diagnostic analgesia of hindlimb lameness is influenced by expectation bias. Quantification of pelvic movement with inertial measurement units is possible, but it is unclear which measure of movement symmetry best reflects the changes seen after diagnostic analgesia. OBJECTIVES To test our hypothesis that objective measures closely relating to those used for subjective visual lameness scoring (quantifying the difference between sacral upward or downward movement or between movement amplitudes of the left and right tubera coxae) would show the largest and most consistent response. STUDY DESIGN Retrospective analysis of subjective and objective clinical lameness data. METHODS Thirteen horses with hindlimb lameness underwent visual lameness scoring and independent gait assessment with inertial measurement units. Established objective measures were calculated and changes before/after diagnostic analgesia regressed against the change in lameness grade. Slopes of regression lines were calculated and confidence intervals assessed. RESULTS All objective parameters showed variation between horses and across lameness grades. The following 3 measures documented a consistent increase in symmetry for each grade of change in lameness score: difference between sacral displacement minima; upward movement difference; and range of motion difference between the tubera coxae. CONCLUSIONS Several pelvic parameters are suitable for objective quantification of changes after diagnostic analgesia in hindlimb-lame horses. A change of 9-13% per lameness grade can be expected. Upward movement of the tubera coxae is the most sensitive objective measure for quantifying a response to diagnostic analgesia. However, when assessed visually, this measure requires simultaneous focusing on pelvic and limb movements. Other parameters that show a similar response might be more easily perceived, requiring only assessment of tubera coxae range of motion or downward displacement of the sacrum without simultaneous focus on limb movement.
Modeling and Design of 3-DOF Magnetic Bearing for High-Speed Motor Including Eddy-Current Effects and Leakage Effects

The 3-degrees of freedom magnetic bearing (3-DOF MB) with permanent-magnet (PM) biased has been applied to high-speed motor progressively for their advantages of small thrust disk, low wind friction loss, and small volume. To predict performance and guide design of the 3-DOF MB, an accurate analytical model including eddy-current effects and leakage effects is proposed. Both the solid and the laminated cores are applied in the 3-DOF MB, and therefore the eddy-current effects in different core materials are modeled separately. The frequency response characteristics of axial and radial stiffnesses are calculated according to the proposed model. The analytical results show that the eddy currents induced due to the changing currents will result in considerable magnitude decrease and phase lag of stiffnesses. The influences of leakage effects on the static and dynamic stiffnesses are also discussed. Furthermore, the leakage coefficients are influenced by the eddy-current effects will further decrease the dynamic stiffnesses. The stiffnesses are also investigated by the static and transient finite-element methods (FEMs). Finally, a prototype is designed and fabricated. The FEM results and experimental results demonstrate the validity of the analysis.
Efficacy of oxacillin and ampicillin-sulbactam combination in experimental endocarditis caused by beta-lactamase-hyperproducing Staphylococcus aureus

Optimal therapy of infections caused by borderline oxacillin-susceptible, beta-lactamase-hyperproducing Staphylococcus aureus has not been established. We used a rat model of aortic valve endocarditis to examine efficacies of antibiotic regimens against a borderline oxacillin-susceptible strain as compared with a fully susceptible S. aureus strain. Animals were treated with oxacillin alone or in combination with sulbactam or with ampicillin-sulbactam combinations at two dose levels. Infections caused by the borderline susceptible and fully susceptible strains responded equally well to oxacillin alone, with residual bacterial titers in vegetations falling to 4.8 +/- 1.6 and 4.4 +/- 1.7 (mean +/- standard deviation) log10 CFU/g, respectively. Addition of sulbactam to oxacillin (1:2) did not enhance the efficacy of oxacillin against either strain in the animal model. A high-dose regimen of ampicillin-sulbactam (2:1) yielding mean (+/- standard deviation) levels in serum of 16.8 +/- 7.4 and 9.5 +/- 1.1 micrograms/ml, respectively, proved equally effective against both strains (bacterial titers, 6.6 log10 CFU/g). However, at lower doses (8.3 +/- 2.6 and 5.9 +/- 2.4 micrograms/ml, the combination showed greater efficacy against the fully susceptible strain, with residual titers of 7.1 +/- 2.0 versus 9.0 +/- 1.6 log10 CFU/g (P less than 0.05). In vitro studies revealed that the beta-lactamase inhibitor sulbactam was also a potent inducer of staphylococcal beta-lactamase at clinically relevant concentrations. Based on this short-term in vivo therapy study, oxacillin would be predicted to be clinically effective in the therapy of infections caused by borderline oxacillin-susceptible strains of S. aureus, while the combination of ampicillin with sulbactam appears to be inferior to oxacillin alone against such infections.
Frequent multiple hepatitis C virus infections among injection drug users in a prison setting

Recent data indicate that multiple hepatitis C virus (HCV) infections (mixed infection, superinfection, and reinfection) are common among injection drug users (IDUs). In this study, we identified and characterized multiple HCV infection episodes among HCV‐seronegative IDU prison inmates (n = 488) enrolled in the Hepatitis C Incidence and Transmission Study cohort. Incident HCV infection with detectable HCV RNA was identified in 87 subjects, 48 of whom completed additional follow‐up to screen for reinfection or superinfection. All HCV RNA–detectable samples were tested for multiple infection through a series of specifically designed nested reverse‐transcription polymerase chain reaction (nRT‐PCR) with sequencing and HCV RNA level measurement. Sequencing revealed that 22 of 87 (25.3%) subjects were infected by two or more viruses. Nine (10.3%) subjects were designated as prevalent cases of incident mixed infection, because two distinct HCV strains were detected at the first viremic time point. Fifteen further cases of multiple HCV infection (superinfection or reinfection) were identified, two of which also showed baseline incident mixed infections. The incidence of new HCV infection (superinfection and reinfection) during follow‐up was 40/100 person‐years (95% confidence interval, 33‐44/100 person‐years). Spontaneous clearance of viruses from one subtype and persistence of the other subtype after mixed infection was observed in eight subjects. In these subjects, the virus with higher HCV RNA levels superseded the other. Conclusion: This study comprehensively analyzed frequent multiple HCV infections in a high‐risk cohort and provides further insight into infection dynamics and immunity after exposure to variant viral strains. The data presented suggest that HCV RNA levels play an important role in viral competition. (HEPATOLOGY 2010;52:1564‐1572)
National estimates of predictors of outcomes for emergency general surgery

BACKGROUND Identifying predictors of mortality and surgical complications has led to outcome improvements for a variety of surgical conditions. However, similar work has yet to be done for factors affecting outcomes of emergency general surgery (EGS). The objective of this study was to determine the predictors of in-hospital complications and mortality among EGS patients. METHODS The Nationwide Inpatient Sample (2003–2011) was queried for patients with conditions encompassing EGS as determined by the American Association for Surgery of Trauma, categorizing them into predefined EGS groups using DRG International Classification of Diseases—9th Rev.—Clinical Modification codes. Primary outcomes considered included incidence of a major complication (pneumonia, pulmonary emboli, urinary tract infections, myocardial infarctions, sepsis, or septic shock) and in-hospital mortality. Separate multivariate logistic regression analyses for complications and mortality were performed to identify risk factors of either outcome from the following domains: patient demographics (age, sex, insurance type, race, and income quartile), comorbidities, and hospital characteristics (location, teaching status, and bed size). RESULTS This study included 6,712,151 discharge records, weighted to represent 32,910,446 visits for EGS conditions. Mean age was 58.50 (19.74) years; slightly more than half (54.66%) were female. Uninsured patients were more likely to die (odds ratio,1.25; 95% confidence interval, 1.20–1.30), whereas patients in the highest income quartile had the least likelihood of mortality (odds ratio, 0.86; 95% confidence interval, 0.84–0.87). Old age was an independent predictor of mortality for all EGS subdiagnoses. The overall mortality rate was 1.76%; the overall complication rate was 10.03%. Of the patients who died, 62% experienced at least one major complication. Patients requiring resuscitation had the highest likelihood of mortality followed by patients with vascular disease and hepatic disease. CONCLUSION Death patterns of EGS patients were discerned using an administrative data set. Understanding patterns of mortality and complications derived from studies such as this could improve hospital benchmarking for EGS, akin to trauma surgery’s previous success. LEVEL OF EVIDENCE Prognostic and epidemiologic study, level III.