Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Does the Company of a Dog Influence Affective Response to Exercise? Using Ecological Momentary Assessment to Study Dog-Accompanied Physical Activity

Purpose: This study used ecological momentary assessment (EMA), a real-time self-report strategy, to examine (1) whether dog owners were more likely to be physically active when they were with their dogs and (2) whether being with a dog amplifies positive and dampens negative affective response during physical activity. Design: Electronic EMA surveys for 12 days. Setting: Free-living. Participants: Seventy-one adult dog owners. Measures: The EMA survey included 1 question about current activity, 3 questions about positive affect (Cronbach α = .837), 4 questions about negative affect (Cronbach α = .865), and 1 question about the presence of dog. Analysis: Multilevel modeling. Results: The company of a dog did not increase the likelihood of being active versus sedentary at any given EMA prompt. However, greater positive affect during physical activity was reported in the company of a dog. Negative affect did not differ between active and sedentary activity, regardless of being with a dog or not. Conclusion: This study demonstrates the utility of electronic EMA as a promising methodology to study dog-accompanied physical activity. Future studies may use EMA to collect further contextual information about dog-accompanied activity to inform the development of innovative physical activity interventions.
Isolation of Rat Hepatocyte Plasma Membrane Sheets and Plasma Membrane Domains

This unit describes a method for isolation of plasma membrane sheets from rat liver. It also includes protocols for preparation of plasma membrane domains isolated from plasma membrane sheets and indirect immunofluorescence localization of marker proteins associated with plasma membrane sheets. The unit has been updated with assays for the marker enzymes alkaline phosphodiesterase I, 5′ nucleotidase, and K+‐stimulated.
Making time for tobacco cessation counseling.

BACKGROUND The objective of this study was to examine the incidence, targeting, and time demands of tobacco cessation advice by community family physicians. METHODS Research nurses directly observed 2 days of outpatient visits to 138 family physicians in northeast Ohio. Smoking status was identified by patient questionnaire. Visit characteristics were determined from direct observation and billing data. Visits by smokers with and without smoking cessation advice were compared. RESULTS The incidence of tobacco cessation advice was highest during wellness visits (55% vs 22% for illness visits; P < .001). Smokers seen for a tobacco-related chronic illness were more likely to receive advice than those seen for a chronic problem not related to tobacco (32% vs 17%; P = .05). The average duration of advice was less than 1 1/2 minutes. There were no significant differences in the duration of advice across different types of visits. CONCLUSIONS Physicians are providing brief, targeted interventions for smoking cessation in family practices. The findings support the feasibility of implementing a brief intervention with all smokers seen during office visits.
The conceptual model of collaborative economy

Sharing economy is a phenomenon which it is currently paid too much attention, both in positive and negative point of view. This concept is a relatively young in the economics, but the historical context of sharing principles can be observed from the beginning of the human community. The definition of a sharing economy requires a multidisciplinary approach for the complexity of the concept. The aim of the article is to introduce a new conceptual model of a sharing economy, which can be used in regulating of a part of sharing economy, which by its nature, causes unfair competition in the business environment, since traditional business models for the provision of the same services must bear the additional costs associated with the certification of services, safety training, etc.
Virtual Digital Defogging Technology Improves Laparoscopic Imaging Quality

Background. The aim of this study was to evaluate the effects of a newly developed digital defogging (DD) system on imaging quality in laparoscopic surgery. Lens fogging instantly degrades image quality and interrupts the flow of surgical maneuvers during laparoscopic surgery. To address this problem, we developed a DD system based on the dark channel prior. Methods. Two hundred patients with gallstones or right colon cancer were enrolled in this study. Of the 100 patients who underwent laparoscopic cholecystectomy, 50 used a regular monitor (group A) while the other 50 used a DD monitor (group B). Of the 100 patients who underwent laparoscopic colectomy, the regular monitor was used for 50 (group C) and the DD monitor was used for the other 50 (group D). The clarity of images, the ratio of lens-cleaned time to operative time, and the subjective anxiety of the surgeons were evaluated for all cases. Results. There were significant differences (P < .05) in the clarity of images between groups C (2.68 ± 1.19) and D (1.98 ± 1.00) and the ratio of lens-cleaned time to operative time between groups C (5.22 ± 0.89) and D (4.14 ± 0.85). Moreover, the DD system significantly reduced the subjective anxiety of the surgeons (P < .001) in colectomy procedures, compared with the regular monitor. Conclusions. The DD system can export a dynamic stable image to the monitor during laparoscopic surgery, which can result in shorter operative time with less surgeon anxiety.
Determinants of inflation in CEMAC: the role of money

The aim of this study is to investigate the causes of inflation in CEMAC, with a particular attention to the monetary dimension. Using a Panel Vector Autoregressive (PVAR) approach on CEMAC countries and data from 1990 to 2014, we show that money supply and imported inflation are the two main sources of inflation in CEMAC countries. These factors seem to explain inflation better than oil prices, budget balance and output gap. Specifically, the results show that money supply causes about 24% of inflation’s variation while imported inflation explains about 6% of inflation’s fluctuations. However, an important inflation’s inertia is observed (64% in mean), enlightening some structural problems, in particular, the slowness of expectations adjustment of agents in CEMAC.
Impact of PEV behavior on peak demand reduction in a commercial microgrid

Plug-in electric vehicles (PEV) on a distribution network are an upcoming global challenge. With an increasing integration of PEVs into the grid, one of the main issues is adverse effect of EV charging on peak demand in which distribution networks and commercial structures see a shift in typical load profiles. Load profiles in commercial buildings could see a large increase in peak demand capacity on top of increased energy consumption. This paper investigates the impacts that PEVs would have on commercial load profiles and how to overcome the challenges by employing an Energy Management System (EMS). By implementing EMS to manage grid to vehicle (G2V) charging and vehicle to grid (V2G) discharging, a minimization of the impact of PEV on the peak demand can be obtained. The results of EMS on PEV owner behavior are analyzed and discussed in the paper. Different scenarios approve the effectiveness of EMS on managing PEVs impact on peak demand.
Managerial Ability, Financial Distress, and Audit Fees

SYNOPSIS: This study examines whether the relationship between managerial ability and audit fees is conditional on financial distress. We find that higher managerial ability increases audit fees in financially distressed firms and decreases audit fees in non-distressed firms. We also observe that financially distressed firms with higher-ability managers display lower accrual quality and a higher likelihood of restatement. Moreover, higher-ability managers in distressed firms engage more in opportunistic financial reporting to concurrently maximize equity-based compensation and cope with debt refinancing pressures, which increases audit risks and results in greater audit fees. We confirm our results using a battery of sensitivity and additional analyses.
African swine fever virus encodes a serine protein kinase which is packaged into virions

Nucleotide sequencing of the SalI j region of the virulent Malawi (LIL20/1) strain of African swine fever virus (ASFV) identified an open reading frame (ORF), designated j9L, with extensive similarity to the family of protein kinases. This ORF encodes a 35.1-kDa protein of 299 amino acids which shares 24.6% amino acid identity with the human pim-1 proto-oncogene and 21.0% identity with the vaccinia virus B1R-encoded protein kinase. The ASFV ORF contains the motifs characteristic of serine-threonine protein kinases, with the exception of the presumed ATP-binding site, which is poorly conserved. The ORF was expressed to high levels in Escherichia coli, and the recombinant enzyme phosphorylated a calf thymus histone protein on serine residues in vitro. An antibody raised to an amino-terminal peptide of the ASFV protein kinase was reactive with the recombinant protein in Western immunoblot analyses and was used to demonstrate the presence of the protein kinase in ASF virions.
Clinical Use of Patency Capsule: A Comprehensive Review of the Literature.

The patency capsule is a radiopaque, dissolvable diagnostic tool, similar in shape and size to small bowel capsule endoscopes. It was developed to offer a simple, safe, efficient, and accurate evaluation of small bowel functional patency. Although unable to provide direct visual information regarding the presence and location of strictures, masses, or luminal narrowing of the small bowel, a successful patency test minimizes the risk of retention and allows the safe administration of a capsule endoscope. However, its use entails a low risk of potentially harmful adverse events, which in their majority are indolent and resolve spontaneously. Abdominal pain and symptomatic retention are accountable for the majority of reported adverse events, whereas a limited number of reports describe life-threatening complications, namely intestinal obstruction, perforation, and intestinal ischemia. Computed tomography is the modality of choice for the identification of the exact position of an impacted patency capsule, whilst the use of plain abdominal radiographs should be avoided for the evaluation of the patency capsule position, as they provide false information. Hereby, we present a comprehensive review of the available literature regarding the characteristics, indications, clinical use, effectiveness, and adverse events of the patency capsule.10. 1093/ibd/izy152_video1izy152. video15777752348001.
Expression of Cyclooxygenases 1 and 2 and Prostaglandin E Synthase in Bovine Endometrial Tissue During the Estrous Cycle1

Abstract In ruminants, endometrial prostaglandin F2α (PGF2α) is responsible for luteolysis and prostaglandin E2 (PGE2) is thought to be involved in maternal recognition of pregnancy. In the present study, healthy uteri were collected from cows at the abattoir, and days of the estrous cycle were determined macroscopically. The uteri were classified into seven groups as Days 1–3, 4–6, 7–9, 10–12, 13–15, 16–18, and 19–21 of the estrous cycle. Endometrial scrapings were collected. The expression of cyclooxygenase (COX)-1 and COX-2 mRNAs and proteins and PGE synthase (PGES) mRNA was analyzed by Northern and Western blot. There was no expression of COX-1, either mRNA or protein, on any day of the estrous cycle. In contrast, COX-2 mRNA and protein were expressed at low and high levels on Days 1–12 and 13–21 of the estrous cycle, respectively. The level of expression of PGES was moderate, low, and high on Days 1–3, 4–12, and 13–21 of the estrous cycle, respectively. There were significant correlations between COX-2 mRNA and protein levels and between COX-2 and PGES mRNA levels. COX-1 mRNA and protein are not expressed on any day of the estrous cycle, whereas COX-2 mRNA and protein and PGES mRNA are differentially expressed and regulated in bovine endometrium during the estrous cycle. COX-2, rather than COX-1, is the primary isoenzyme involved in the endometrial production of prostaglandins, and the COX-2 and PGES pathway is responsible for the endometrial production of PGE2 in the bovine endometrium during the estrous cycle.
Small UWB Planar Monopole Antenna With Added GPS/GSM/WLAN Bands

A small-size microstrip-fed multi-band planar monopole antenna is presented. The base of the proposed antenna is a diamond-shaped-patch (DSP) that covers the ultrawideband (UWB) frequency range. To create a multi-band antenna, several narrow strips, acting as resonance paths, can be integrated with the DSP antenna. It is shown that by removing the centre part of the DSP antenna, without distorting the UWB behavior, quarter-wavelength strips can be added to the notched region. This will not affect the dimension of the base antenna. The designed quad-band antenna has a substrate size of 16 × 22 mm2 and covers the frequency bands 1.3, 1.8, 2.4 and 3.1-10.6 GHz which includes GPS, GSM, WLAN and UWB. Dual-, triple- and quad-band antennas are simulated and good results are obtained. The antennas have omnidirectional and stable radiation patterns across all the relevant bands. Moreover, relatively consistent group delays across the UWB frequencies are noticed for the base, dual- and triple-band antennas, and slightly distorted for the quad-band antenna. A prototype of the quad-band antenna is fabricated and measured results are compared with simulated results.
Genomics of lactation: role of nutrigenomics and nutrigenetics in the fatty acid composition of human milk

Abstract Human milk covers the infant’s nutrient requirements during the first 6 months of life. The composition of human milk progressively changes during lactation and it is influenced by maternal nutritional factors. Nowadays, it is well known that nutrients have the ability to interact with genes and modulate molecular mechanisms impacting physiological functions. This has led to a growing interest among researchers in exploring nutrition at a molecular level and to the development of two fields of study: nutrigenomics, which evaluates the influence of nutrients on gene expression, and nutrigenetics, which evaluates the heterogeneous individual response to nutrients due to genetic variation. Fatty acids are one of the nutrients most studied in relation to lactation given their biologically important roles during early postnatal life. Fatty acids modulate transcription factors involved in the regulation of lipid metabolism, which in turn causes a variation in the proportion of lipids in milk. This review focuses on understanding, on the one hand, the gene transcription mechanisms activated by maternal dietary fatty acids and, on the other hand, the interaction between dietary fatty acids and genetic variation in genes involved in lipid metabolism. Both of these mechanisms affect the fatty acid composition of human milk.
Perioperative Acute Ischemic Stroke in Noncardiac and Nonvascular Surgery: Incidence, Risk Factors, and Outcomes

Background:Perioperative acute ischemic stroke (AIS) is a recognized complication of noncardiac, nonvascular surgery, but few data are available regarding incidence and effect on outcome. This study examines the epidemiology of perioperative AIS in three common surgeries: hemicolectomy, total hip replacement, and lobectomy/segmental lung resection. Methods:Discharges for patients aged 18 yr or older who underwent any of the surgical procedures listed above were extracted from the Nationwide Inpatient Sample, an administrative database that contains 20% of all discharges from non-Federal hospitals each year, for years 2000 to 2004. Using appropriate International Classification of Diseases, 9th revision, Clinical Modification codes, patients with perioperative AIS were identified, as were comorbid conditions that may be risk factors for perioperative AIS. Multivariate logistic regression was performed to identify independent predictors of perioperative AIS and to ascertain the effect of AIS on outcome. Results:A total of 0.7% of 131,067 hemicolectomy patients, 0.2% of 201,235 total hip replacement patients, and 0.6% of 39,339 lobectomy/segmental lung resection patients developed perioperative AIS. For patients older than 65 yr, AIS rose to 1.0% for hemicolectomy, 0.3% for hip replacement, and 0.8% for pulmonary resection. Multivariate logistic regression analysis revealed renal disease (odds ratio, 3.0), atrial fibrillation (odds ratio, 2.0), history of stroke (odds ratio, 1.6), and cardiac valvular disease (odds ratio, 1.5) to be the most significant risk factors for perioperative AIS. Conclusions:Perioperative AIS is an important source of morbidity and mortality associated with noncardiac, nonvascular surgery, particularly in elderly patients and patients with atrial fibrillation, valvular disease, renal disease, or previous stroke.
Production of red pigment by submerged culture of Paecilomyces sinclairii

Aims: From a survey of submerged culture of edible mushrooms, a high pigment‐producing fungus Paecilomyces sinclairii was selected and its optimal culture conditions investigated. Methods and Results: The optimal culture conditions for pigment production were as follows: inoculum age, 3 d; temperature, 25 °C; initial pH, 6·0; carbon source, 1·5% (w/v) soluble starch; nitrogen source, 1·5% (w/v) meat peptone. Although addition of 10 mmol l−1 CaCl2 to the culture medium slightly increased pigment production, most of the bio‐elements examined had no notable or detrimental effect on pigment production. Conclusions: Under the optimal conditions obtained in the flask culture tested, a ninefold increase in pigment production (4·4 g l−1) was achieved using a 5‐l batch fermenter. Paecilomyces sinclairii secreted water‐soluble red pigment into the culture medium. The pigment colour was strongly dependent on the pH of the solution: red at pH 3–4, violet at pH 5–9 and pink at pH 10–12. Significance and Impact of the Study: The high concentration of pigment (4·4 g l−1) produced by P. sinclairii demonstrates the possibility of commercial production of pigment by this strain, considering its relatively high production yield and light stability.
Copper and Silver ion Implantation of Aluminium Oxide-Blasted Titanium Surfaces: Proliferative Response of Osteoblasts and Antibacterial Effects

Implant infection still represents a major clinical problem in orthopedic surgery. We therefore tested the in vitro biocompatibility and antibacterial effects of copper (Cu)- and silver (Ag)-ion implantation. Discs of a commonly used titanium alloy (Ti6AlV4) with an aluminium oxide-blasted surface were treated by Cu- or Ag-ion implantation with different dosage regimen (ranging from 1e15–17 ions cm−2 at energies of 2–20 keV). The samples were seeded with primary human osteoblasts and cell attachment and proliferation was analyzed by an MTT-assay. In comparison to the reference titanium alloy there was no difference in the number of attached viable cells after two days. After seven days the number of viable cells was increased for Cu with 1e17 ions cm−2 at 2 and 5 keV, and for Ag with 1e16 ions cm−2 at 5 keV while it was reduced for the highest amount of Ag deposition (1e17 ions cm−2 at 20 keV). Antibacterial effects on S.aureus and E.coli were marginal for the studied dosages of Cu but clearly present for Ag with 1e16 ions cm−2 at 2 and 5 keV and 1e17 ions cm−2 at 20 keV. These results indicate that Ag-ion implantation may be a promising methodological approach for antibacterial functionalization of titanium implants.
Ultradeep Pyrosequencing and Molecular Modeling Identify Key Structural Features of Hepatitis B Virus RNase H, a Putative Target for Antiviral Intervention

ABSTRACT Last-generation nucleoside/nucleotide analogues are potent against hepatitis B virus (HBV) and have a high barrier to resistance. However, delayed responses have been observed in patients previously exposed to other drugs of the same class, long-term resistance is possible, and cure of infection cannot be achieved with these therapies, emphasizing the need for alternative therapeutic approaches. The HBV RNase H represents an interesting target because its enzyme activity is essential to the HBV life cycle. The goal of our study was to characterize the structure of the HBV RNase H by computing a 3-dimensional molecular model derived from E. coli RNase H and analyzing 2,326 sequences of all HBV genotypes available in public databases and 958,000 sequences generated by means of ultradeep pyrosequencing of sequences from a homogenous population of 73 treatment-naive patients infected with HBV genotype D. Our data revealed that (i) the putative 4th catalytic residue displays unexpected variability that could be explained by the overlap of the HBx gene and has no apparent impact on HBV replicative capacity and that (ii) the C-helix-containing basic protrusion, which is required to guide the RNA/DNA heteroduplex into the catalytic site, is highly conserved and bears unique structural properties that can be used to target HBV-specific RNase H inhibitors without cross-species activity. The model shows substantial differences from other known RNases H and paves the way for functional and structural studies as a prerequisite to the development of new inhibitors of the HBV cell cycle specifically targeting RNase H activity.
Iterative solution of the normal-equations form of the electric-field integral equation

In this paper, we show that transforming the original equations into normal equations improves the convergence of EFIE significantly. We present the solutions of EFIE by employing the least-squares QR (LSQR) algorithm, which corresponds to a stable application of the conjugate gradient (CG) algorithm on the normal equations. Despite the squaring of the condition number due to such a transformation into the normal equations, LSQR improves the convergence rate of the iterative solutions of EFIE and performs better than many other iterative algorithms that are commonly used in the literature. In addition to LSQR, we present the accelerated convergence of the normal equations in the context of the generalized minimal residual (GMRES) algorithm, where the memory requirement is reduced significantly due to the the improved convergence characteristics.
Dorsal root ganglia neurite extension is inhibited by mechanical and chondroitin sulfate‐rich interfaces

Glial scar formation plays a critical role in the regenerative failure in the central nervous system of adult mammals through the formation of mechanical or biochemical barriers as a result of its molecular composition. In this study, we report an in vitro model to study growth‐cone behavior at controlled 3D interfaces using layered agarose hydrogels. The behavior of growth cones from embryonic day 9 (E9) chick dorsal root ganglia (DRGs) at interfaces that were mismatched in terms of their elasticity or chondroitin sulfate content was quantitatively determined. A mechanical barrier formed by the elasticity mismatch of layered agarose gels greatly influenced the ability of neurites from E9 DRGs to cross the 3D interface. To form chondroitin sulfate‐rich interfaces, chondroitin sulfate B was covalently coupled to agarose hydrogel. Compared with unmodified agarose gels, the presence of CS‐B‐modified agarose gels at the interface significantly inhibited E9 DRGs neurites. After treatment of CS‐B‐modified agarose gels with chondroitinase ABC, the inhibitory effects of CS‐B at the interface were significantly decreased. The effect of doping CS‐B gels with laminin 1 (LN‐1)‐coupled agarose gels was investigated as a potential strategy to overcome inhibitory interfaces. When CS‐B agarose gels were doped with LN‐1‐coupled agarose gels, DRG neurite's ability to cross 3D interfaces was significantly enhanced compared with that of non‐LN‐1‐containing interfaces presenting equivalent CS‐B. Our in vitro model may be used to study the influence of individual components of glial scar on inhibition as well as to design strategies to overcome this inhibition. J. Neurosci. Res. 66:303–310, 2001. © 2001 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.