Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Effect of non-protected sunflower oil supplementation on milk fatty acid profile and oxidative status in Simmental cows

Milk production, milk composition, milk fatty acid profiles, and antioxidant status of Simmental cows supplemented with non-protected sunflower oil were studied. Ten Simmental cows in mid-lactation were appointed for change over feeding trial with one of the diet applied: the control (WSO) diet consisted of 26 % corn silage, 33 % perennial ryegrass haylage, and 41 % concentrate in dry matter (DM), and the experimental diet (SO) consisted of control diet supplemented with 2 % of unrefined sunflower oil per cow and day. The cows were kept in indoor housing system with feeding and milking system two times daily and ad libitum water supply. The milk production and standard milk components remained unchanged during the study. The partial modification of fatty acid composition was remarked with the significantly higher linoleic and conjugated linoleic acid (CLA) (cis-9, trans-11 C 18:2) concentration and significantly lower palmitic acid during the SO treatment. The blood gluthathion peroxidase (GPx) activity significantly increased and the thiobarbituric acid reactive substances (TBARS) concentration decreased significantly in the SO treatment. The non-protected sunflower has a perceptible effect on the milk fatty acid composition in Simmental cows of our research. The lower index of lipid peroxidation and higher GPx activity in blood of cows during the SO treatment could be a consequence of the antioxidant components that are normally present in the unrefined vegetable oils. The enzyme activity reflects appropriate functioning of the antioxidant defence of cows that emphasise importance of well balanced diet during the unsaturated fatty acid supplementation.
A Randomized Open Comparison of Long-Acting Injectable Risperidone and Treatment as Usual for Prevention of Relapse, Rehospitalization, and Urgent Care Referral in Community-Treated Patients With Rapid Cycling Bipolar Disorder

Objective To compare adjunctive long-acting injectable risperidone plus treatment as usual (RLAI+TAU) versus TAU alone for relapse, rehospitalization, and urgent care events in patients with bipolar disorder in routine care settings. Methods This was a 12-month randomized open comparison of RLAI+TAU (n = 20) and TAU alone (n = 25) in adults with rapid cycling, Mini International Neuropsychiatric Interview–confirmed bipolar I/II disorder and 4 or more illness relapses in the preceding 12 months. Clinical outcome was assessed every 2 weeks using the Longitudinal Interval Follow-up Evaluation instrument. Psychopathology and quality of life were assessed monthly using the Young Mania Rating Scale, Montgomery-Asberg Depression Rating Scale, Quick Inventory of Depressive Symptoms-Self Report 16 and Quality of Life, Enjoyment, and Satisfaction Questionnaire. Relapse was defined using symptom severity, necessary clinical adjustment of medications, and urgent care referrals. Relapse rates and duration were calculated per person per year of follow-up. All treatments were provided by community-based clinicians. Results There were no significant between-groups differences in the total number or duration of relapse events (any cause) or in the number of manic or depressive relapses. Thirteen of 14 urgent care events (hospitalization, emergency department visit, intensive outpatient, or respite care referral) occurred with TAU alone (92.3%). Urgent care referral (P < 0.04) and necessary medication change rates (P = 0.01) were significantly lower in the RLAI+TAU group. There were no significant between-groups differences in the duration of follow-up, hospitalization rates, or psychopathology over time. Conclusions Rates of any-cause relapse may not differ significantly between RLAI+TAU and TAU alone; however, RLAI may reduce the need for urgent care referrals or the frequency of medication adjustments to prevent relapse in community-treated patients with rapid cycling bipolar disorder. Additional investigation is warranted.
The Atypical Guanine-Nucleotide Exchange Factor, Dock7, Negatively Regulates Schwann Cell Differentiation and Myelination

In development of the peripheral nervous system, Schwann cells proliferate, migrate, and ultimately differentiate to form myelin sheath. In all of the myelination stages, Schwann cells continuously undergo morphological changes; however, little is known about their underlying molecular mechanisms. We previously cloned the dock7 gene encoding the atypical Rho family guanine-nucleotide exchange factor (GEF) and reported the positive role of Dock7, the target Rho GTPases Rac/Cdc42, and the downstream c-Jun N-terminal kinase in Schwann cell migration (Yamauchi et al., 2008). We investigated the role of Dock7 in Schwann cell differentiation and myelination. Knockdown of Dock7 by the specific small interfering (si)RNA in primary Schwann cells promotes dibutyryl cAMP-induced morphological differentiation, indicating the negative role of Dock7 in Schwann cell differentiation. It also results in a shorter duration of activation of Rac/Cdc42 and JNK, which is the negative regulator of myelination, and the earlier activation of Rho and Rho-kinase, which is the positive regulator of myelination. To obtain the in vivo evidence, we generated Dock7 short hairpin (sh)RNA transgenic mice. They exhibited a decreased expression of Dock7 in the sciatic nerves and enhanced myelin thickness, consistent with in vitro observation. The effects of the in vivo knockdown on the signals to Rho GTPases are similar to those of the in vitro knockdown. Collectively, the signaling through Dock7 negatively regulates Schwann cell differentiation and the onset of myelination, demonstrating the unexpected role of Dock7 in the interplay between Schwann cell migration and myelination.
Defining the roles of human CEACAMs during neutrophil responses to Neisseria 1 gonorrhoeae 2 3

Defining the roles of human CEACAMs during neutrophil responses to Neisseria 1 gonorrhoeae 2 3 Helen Sarantis and Scott D. Gray-Owen* 4 5 Department of Molecular Genetics, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada 6 7 Running Title: Dissecting roles of neutrophil CEA family members 8 9 *Address for Correspondence: 10 Dr. Scott D. Gray-Owen 11 University of Toronto 12 Department of Molecular Genetics 13 Toronto, Ontario 14 M5S 1A8 15 Canada 16 Tel. 416-946-5307 17 Fax. 416-978-6885 18 Email: scott.gray. owen@utoronto.ca 19 20 21 22 Copyright © 2011, American Society for Microbiology and/or the Listed Authors/Institutions. All Rights Reserved. Infect. Immun. doi:10.1128/IAI.05702-11 IAI Accepts, published online ahead of print on 7 November 2011
Dopamine Dynamics during Continuous Intracranial Self-Stimulation: Effect of Waveform on Fast-Scan Cyclic Voltammetry Data

The neurotransmitter dopamine is heavily implicated in intracranial self-stimulation (ICSS). Many drugs of abuse that affect ICSS behavior target the dopaminergic system, and optogenetic activation of dopamine neurons is sufficient to support self-stimulation. However, the patterns of phasic dopamine release during ICSS remain unclear. Early ICSS studies using fast-scan cyclic voltammetry (FSCV) rarely observed phasic dopamine release, which led to the surprising conclusion that it is dissociated from ICSS. However, several advances in the sensitivity (i.e., the use of waveforms with extended anodic limits) and analysis (i.e., principal component regression) of FSCV measurements have made it possible to detect smaller, yet physiologically relevant, dopamine release events. Therefore, this study revisits phasic dopamine release during ICSS using these tools. It was found that the anodic limit of the voltammetric waveform has a substantial effect on the patterns of dopamine release observed during continuous ICSS. While data collected with low anodic limits (i.e., +1.0 V) support the disappearance of phasic dopamine release observed in previous investigation, the use of high anodic limits (+1.3 V, +1.4 V) allows for continual detection of dopamine release throughout ICSS. However, the +1.4 V waveform lacks the ability to resolve narrowly spaced events, with the best balance of temporal resolution and sensitivity provided by the +1.3 V waveform. Ultimately, it is revealed that the amplitude of phasic dopamine release decays but does not fully disappear during continuous ICSS.
Multinational enterprises and global value chains: the OECD analytical AMNE database

In order to better understand the interdependencies between trade and investment in global value chains (GVCs), the OECD has developed a new dataset on the Activities of Multinational Enterprises (AMNE). This dataset starts from official AMNE statistics and combines the information with Inter-Country Input-Output (ICIO) tables to provide new insights on the trade-investment nexus in GVCs. This dataset allows the contribution of domestic firms, multinational enterprises (MNEs) and their foreign affiliates to global trade and production to be assessed. This paper details the methodology that was used to create the data, as well as the main assumptions and challenges in the work.
Acute desensitization of nociceptin/orphanin FQ inhibition of voltage‐gated calcium channels in freshly dissociated hippocampal neurons

Nociceptin/orphanin FQ (N/OFQ), an endogenous ligand for opioid receptor‐like receptor, has been shown to inhibit high‐voltage‐gated calcium channels (VGCCs) in acutely dissociated rat hippocampal pyramidal cells [Knoflach, F. , Reinscheid, R.K. , Civelli, O. & Kemp, J.A. (1996), J. Neurosci. , 16, 6657]. In this study, it was further demonstrated that N/OFQ inhibition of calcium channel current was blocked by its specific antagonist PGN, [Phe1‐ψ(CH2‐NH)‐Gly2]nociceptin (1‐13)‐NH2, and the EC50 of the N/OFQ inhibition was ∼ 10 nm, indicating that this effect was really mediated via the opioid receptor‐like receptor. The N/OFQ inhibition of the calcium channel current was significantly reduced, as the maximal inhibition decreased from 36 to 23%, by 1‐min pretreatment of freshly dissociated hippocampal neurons with the same peptide. The inhibition completely recovered from this acute desensitization in less than 20 min. The N/OFQ inhibition was also greatly attenuated by pretreatment of the neurons with the GABAB (γ‐aminobutyric acid) agonist baclofen while the baclofen inhibition of the calcium channel current was significantly reduced by N/OFQ pretreatment, revealing the agonist‐induced desensitization was heterologous in nature. This desensitization was blocked by pretreating the neurons with the sodium channel blocker, tetrodotoxin (TTX), or by removing the extracellular calcium, which indicates the necessity of membrane depolarization and extracellular calcium influx in the process. Furthermore, pretreatment of the neurons with the protein kinase C (PKC) activator, phorbol 12‐myristate 13‐acetate (PMA), attenuated the N/OFQ inhibition of the calcium channel current whereas the cAMP‐dependent kinase A activator, forskolin, showed no effect, suggesting the probable involvement of PKC in the N/OFQ‐induced desensitization.
Cost Accounting Techniques Adopted by Manufacturing and Service Industry within the Last Decade

The purpose of this study is to review the literature on cost accounting techniques being practiced by manufacturing and service industry within the last decade. Virtually all techniques that are appropriate for manufacturing companies are also appropriate for service companies. However, the most common techniques in manufacturing companies include Just in Time (JIT), Activity Based Costing (ABC), Target Costing, Life Cycle Costing, Throughput Accounting and Kaizen costing while Activity Based Costing is the most commonly used technique in Service sector. However, Activity Based Costing, Budgetary, Control, Cost Volume profit analysis, and standard costing are common to both manufacturing and service sectors. In contrast to the postulations of many academic authors that the traditional techniques have lost relevance and should be discontinued, this review shows that traditional techniques including the heavily criticized Standard Costing, Absorption Costing and Marginal Costing were still used frequently by many companies within the last decade. The modern costing techniques used frequently within last decades include; Just in Time principle, Activity Based Costing, Target Costing, Life Cycle Costing , Kaizen Costing and Throughput Accounting. The usage of the techniques depends on the situation on the ground, that is, the level of technological advancement, the size of the company, organizational culture and stage of the product.
GRAS Proteins Form a DNA Binding Complex to Induce Gene Expression during Nodulation Signaling in Medicago truncatula[W]

The symbiotic association of legumes with rhizobia involves bacterially derived Nod factor, which is sufficient to activate the formation of nodules on the roots of the host plant. Perception of Nod factor by root hair cells induces calcium oscillations that are a component of the Nod factor signal transduction pathway. Perception of the calcium oscillations is a function of a calcium- and calmodulin-dependent protein kinase, and this activates nodulation gene expression via two GRAS domain transcriptional regulators, Nodulation Signaling Pathway1 (NSP1) and NSP2, and an ERF transcription factor required for nodulation. Here, we show that NSP1 and NSP2 form a complex that is associated with the promoters of early nodulin genes. We show that NSP1 binds directly to ENOD promoters through the novel cis-element AATTT. While NSP1 shows direct binding to the ENOD11 promoter in vitro, this association in vivo requires NSP2. The NSP1-NSP2 association with the ENOD11 promoter is enhanced following Nod factor elicitation. Mutations in the domain of NSP2 responsible for its interaction with NSP1 highlight the significance of the NSP1-NSP2 heteropolymer for nodulation signaling. Our work reveals direct binding of a GRAS protein complex to DNA and highlights the importance of the NSP1-NSP2 complex for efficient nodulation in the model legume Medicago truncatula.
Rewritable Switching of One Diode–One Resistor Nonvolatile Organic Memory Devices

[*] Prof. T. Lee, B. Cho, T. -W. Kim, S. Song, Y. Ji, M. Jo, Prof. H. Hwang, Prof. G. -Y. Jung Department of Materials Science and Engineering Gwangju Institute of Science and Technology 1 Oryong-Dong, Buk-Gu Gwangju 500-712 (Korea) E-mail: tlee@gist.ac. kr Prof. T. Lee, Prof. H. Hwang Department of Nanobio Materials and Electronics Gwangju Institute of Science and Technology 1 Oryong-Dong, Buk-Gu Gwangju 500-712 (Korea)
A 14 b 100 Msample/s CMOS DAC designed for spectral performance

At 60 MSample/s, DAC SFDR is 80 dB for 5.1 MHz input signals and is down only to 75 dB for 25.5 MHz input signals. Previous DACs specified for operation at this speed and resolution have exhibited similar SFDR only at lower clock and/or signal frequencies. The DAC is implemented in a 0.8 /spl mu/m CMOS process (minimum gate length is 0.65 /spl mu/m), consumes 750 mW at 100 MSample/s speed, and utilizes a special output stage circuit to obtain dynamic performance.
Nouvelles approches pour la compression de vidéos haute définition : application au codage par descriptions multiples

La problematique principale de cette these est la compression de masses de donnees video haute resolution. Nous proposons un schema de compression video par transformee en ondelettes compensee en mouvement. Plus precisement, dans le but de reduire le cout des vecteurs mouvement parfois trop eleve dans ce type de schema, nous avons developpe une approche de quantification avec pertes de ces vecteurs, permettant d'adapter leur precision tout en respectant le compromis debit / distorsion. Cette approche permet d'ameliorer considerablement les performances du codeur, specialement a bas debit. Pour modeliser l'influence de l'introduction de perte sur l'information de mouvement, nous avons etabli un modele theorique de distorsion de l'erreur de codage, et, enfin, nous avons realise une allocation de debit optimale basee modele entre les vecteurs mouvement et les coefficients d'ondelettes. Cette methode de quantification des vecteurs mouvement a par ailleurs ete appliquee au codeur H. 264, la norme actuelle de compression video pour la Haute Definition. Pour eviter certains artefacts dus a une mauvaise estimation du mouvement, nous avons ensuite ameliore le schema lifting utilise pour la transformee en ondelettes par une approche novatrice : les coefficients du schema lifting sont adaptes a la norme des vecteurs mouvement. Enfin, nous avons travaille sur le Codage par Descriptions Multiples, une approche de codage conjoint source / canal pour la compression robuste de videos utilisee dans la transmission sur des canaux de communication bruites. Nous avons developpe un codeur video robuste, par des approches de Codage par Descriptions Multiples dans le domaine transforme. Une allocation de debit est realisee au codeur pour repartir le debit des coefficients d'ondelettes entre les differentes descriptions, en fonction des parametres du canal. Plus particulierement, pour reconstruire au mieux la video en sortie du canal, nous avons realise des approches de decodage optimal, basees sur la connaissance des densites de probabilites des sous-bandes des differentes descriptions, sur un modele de canal et sur des probabilites a posteriori. En parallele, le codage de source video distribue a egalement ete explore.
The Effect of Relationship Quality between Senior Customers and Service Providers on Word-of-Mouth in the Service Industry

As the number of older people increases, many companies no longer see older people as socially disempowered, but instead as new target customers. This senior market is expected to be attractive and provide new opportunities to companies. Senior consumers sometimes consider the relationship with the salesperson as more important than the quality of the product. Thus, this study aims to explore the process of how senior consumers have a relationship with service providers and how this relationship affects the output of the store. To find this relationship, this study used relationship quality with satisfaction, trust, and commitment. The commitment aspect is further classified into a difference between affective and calculative commitment in this study. Relationships between satisfaction and trust, satisfaction and the two dimensions of commitment (affective and calculative), and between trust and affective and calculative commitment are all examined. Data were collected from 303 senior people who had experienced visiting a store and getting help from service providers. Respondents were randomly intercepted and recruited to participate in the survey. After conducting a survey, these hypotheses were supported through structural equation analysis using PLS. As a result, theoretical and practical implications for the invigoration of the senior market were derived.
Natural Competence in Thermoanaerobacter and Thermoanaerobacterium Species

ABSTRACT Low-G+C thermophilic obligate anaerobes in the class Clostridia are considered among the bacteria most resistant to genetic engineering due to the difficulty of introducing foreign DNA, thus limiting the ability to study and exploit their native hydrolytic and fermentative capabilities. Here, we report evidence of natural genetic competence in 13 Thermoanaerobacter and Thermoanaerobacterium strains previously believed to be difficult to transform or genetically recalcitrant. In Thermoanaerobacterium saccharolyticum JW/SL-YS485, natural competence-mediated DNA incorporation occurs during the exponential growth phase with both replicating plasmid and homologous recombination-based integration, and circular or linear DNA. In T. saccharolyticum, disruptions of genes similar to comEA, comEC, and a type IV pilus (T4P) gene operon result in strains unable to incorporate further DNA, suggesting that natural competence occurs via a conserved Gram-positive mechanism. The relative ease of employing natural competence for gene transfer should foster genetic engineering in these industrially relevant organisms, and understanding the mechanisms underlying natural competence may be useful in increasing the applicability of genetic tools to difficult-to-transform organisms.
Regulation of ambulance response times in California.

OBJECTIVES To identify regulatory programs for ambulance response times used by California counties, to inventory their foci and application, and to identify differences around the state. By studying the variety of programs used in one state, this study establishes a framework for evaluation of state and local regulatory programs elsewhere. METHODS This study surveyed all California local EMS agencies (LEMSAs), California's equivalent of regional EMS organizations. The survey achieved a 100% response rate and all data involve population parameters obviating the need for inferential statistics. RESULTS Fifty-seven percent of California counties regulate response times. Large-population counties and those that operate their own LEMSAs are more likely to use response time regulations than are small counties and those that participate in multicounty EMS agencies. Most of the counties with response time standards measure from dispatch to arrival at the scene and most use a fractile measurement to determine compliance. Many of the ambulance enforcement programs in California have enforcement mechanisms that are unlikely to promote compliance. CONCLUSIONS Response time regulations are intended to improve the effectiveness of prehospital care. Few counties use standards that comply with recommended state standards. A large number of counties are unable to determine how well ambulance services actually comply with the standards and are not in a position to enforce them. The use of these regulatory programs is questionable based on their application.
An investigation of the effects of home country institutional profile on the adoption of ISO 14001 standard by MNC subsidiaries in Hong Kong

The purpose of this research is to gain a better understanding about the imprinting effects of institutional dimensions on the adoption of Environmental Management System (EMS) by MNC subsidiaries in a host location, in this case, Hong Kong. The increasing importance of environment management by MNC firms because of globalisation has been the motivating factor to undertake this research. The study employs a cross-sectional quantitative research strategy and carries out a secondary data analysis technique to examine the imprinting effects of the home country’s formal institutions on the adoption of ISO 14001 standard. The study contributes to the International Management discipline in environmental management, highlighting the role of the home country in environmental standards adoption at the subsidiary level. It provides an explanation about the imprinting effect of different dimensions of the home country formal institution on the adoption of ISO 14001 standard byMNC subsidiaries. It also makes a methodological contribution by accounting for the variable effects of institutional conditions of different home countries. The findings of the study partially validate proposed hypotheses suggesting that the home country’s institutions do influence MNC subsidiaries to adopt environmental management standards, i.e. ISO 14001 standard, due to the imprinting effect. Further, these effects are observed to increase in the case of high polluting industry and home countries with high level of Greenhouse Gas Emission.