Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Degree of in vivo inhibition of human gastric and pancreatic lipases by Orlistat (Tetrahydrolipstatin, THL) in the stomach and small intestine.

BACKGROUND AND AIMS Orlistat, a lipase inhibitor, strongly inhibits the activities of all gastric/pancreatic lipases except pancreatic phospholipase A(2)in vitro. In clinical use, for obesity treatment, it induces a variable degree of weight loss and steatorrhoéa. The aim of this study was to examine the degree of in vivo inhibition of individual gastric/pancreatic lipases by Orlistat in man, when given as a capsule or mixed into a test meal in the form of an optimal substrate for the lipases. METHODS Twelve male volunteers were intubated twice with a triple lumen nasal-gastric-duodenal tube and were given a balanced test meal with or without 60 mg Orlistat. Three conditions were compared: (a) Orlistat given as a capsule with the meal, (b) Orlistat mixed into the test meal before ingestion, and (c) test meal without Orlistat. Samples were collected at six 30 min intervals, from stomach, mid-duodenum, and ligament of TreitY. Activities and immune-reactive masses of gastric lipase, pancreatic lipase, carboxyl ester lipase, colipase, and mass of non-polar lipid classes were determined. RESULTS In vivo effects on the enzyme activities were more pronounced when Orlistat was mixed with the meal than when given as a capsule (7%, 10%, 1% vs 49%, 54%, 34% of normal activity), respectively. Despite efficient inhibition of the lipases, an extensive hydrolysis of the emulsified lipids of the test meal occurred. Orlistat did not affect the immune-reactive amounts of lipases. CONCLUSIONS Orlistat causes a pronounced in vivo inhibition of gastric and pancreatic lipases in humans. The mixing with the substrate and the fact that little residual lipase activity is necessary to hydrolyse optimally emulsified lipids are likely to be limiting factors for the effect of the drug in clinical practice.
PALLIATIVE GASTRECTOMY IN ADVANCED GASTRIC CANCER: IS IT WORTHWHILE?

Background: Gastric cancer remains one of the leading causes of cancer‐related deaths. Many patients present late, and therefore, resections are often palliative in nature. The aim of this study was to assess the feasibility of resectional operation and the survival advantage of surgical resection in advanced gastric cancer. The effectiveness of palliation and the quality of life following operation for gastric cancer were assessed.
99.9% -Really?

The aim of the Internal Ratings Based Approach (IRBA) of Basel II was that capital suffices for unexpected losses with at least a 99.9% probability. However, because only a fraction of the required regulatory capital (a quarter to a half) had to be loss absorbing capital, the actual solvency probabilities may have been much lower, as the global financial crisis illustrates. Our estimates suggest that under Basel II IRBA the loss-absorbing capital of an average-quality portfolio bank suffices for unexpected losses with a 95%-99% probability. This translates into an expected bank failure rate as high as once in twenty years. Even if the bank's interest income is incorporated into our model, the expected failure rate is still substantial. We show that the expected failure rate increases with loan portfolio riskiness. Our calculations may be viewed as a measure of regulatory "self-delusion" included in Basel II capital requirements.
Development of the Bipolar Inventory of Symptoms Scale

Objective: Most rating scales for bipolar disorders (BDs) do not encompass the spectrum of symptomatology now established as characterizing the illness. We report the rationale, format, reliability and initial validity studies of the Bipolar Inventory of Symptoms Scale (BISS), a 44‐item scale designed to encompass the spectrum of behavioral disturbances in BDs.
Bioavailability of threonine in soybean meal for young pigs.

The bioavailability of threonine in solvent-extracted soybean meal for 10- to 20-kg pigs was determined using the slope-ratio method. In Exp. 1, the assay range was determined by feeding six diets to 144 pigs. The basal diet (.40% threonine) contained corn, soybean meal, and corn gluten meal. Five additional diets were formulated by supplementing the basal diet with . 05 to . 25% crystalline L-threonine in . 05% increments. Weight gain, gain/feed, and plasma concentrations of threonine and urea responded quadratically (P < .05) to increasing dietary threonine. Breakpoints ranged from . 51 to . 54% dietary threonine. Experiment 2 consisted of seven trials in which a total of 239 pigs were used in a randomized complete block design. Pigs were penned individually and had ad libitum access to feed and water during the 21-d experiment. The same basal diet that was used in Exp. 1 was supplemented with . 018, . 053, or . 070% threonine from either L-threonine or soybean meal. The weight gains of the pigs were partitioned to yield the response due to the supplemental threonine ingested. Multiple regression was performed on partitioned weight gain vs supplemental threonine intake, and the assay was tested for validity. The regression lines for L-threonine and soybean meal were linear (P < .05) and the intercepts were not significantly different (P > .10). The slope ratio for soybean meal:L-threonine was . 80. Although the difference between the soybean meal and L-threonine slopes was not significant (P > .23), the best estimate of the bioavailability of threonine in soybean meal relative to that of L-threonine was 80%.
Repeated questioning in choice experiments: are we improving statistical efficiency or getting respondents confused?

This paper investigates options to obtain additional information about individual preferences in conjoint choice experiments when the number of respondents and the number of choice cards per respondent are fixed. We examine best/worst (or best/second best) repeated elicitation and forced-choice questions. Using simulations, we find that best/worst (or best/second best) produce the best efficiency gains over one-shot elicitation. Forced-choice questions also improve the statistical efficiency of the key estimates. We also use data from two empirical studies deploying best/worst (or best/second best) and forced-choice questions and find that the one with best/worst may yield undesirable response effects. The empirical study that uses forced choice results in stable, well-behaved estimates of the key coefficients, with little evidence of heteroskedasticity.
Single-Inductor Bipolar-Outputs Converter for the Supply of Audio Amplifiers in Mobile Platforms

Listening music with a headset is now a classical feature of mobile phones. A linear amplifier is still employed to drive the headset as the audio quality must challenge dedicated audio players with somewhat 100 dB of signal-to-noise ratio. This feature must also have the lowest impact on the platform autonomy, size, and cost. A symmetrical power supply is required by such audio amplifiers due to the standard jack connector of headsets. Using an inductive switch mode power supply (SMPS) is the most energy efficient solution to supply audio amplifiers from a battery. Classically, two dc/dc converters are employed to generate the required two symmetrical supply rails from a standard Lithium-Ion battery. It is at the cost of numerous bulky and expensive external components. A solution to reduce the number of external passive components is to consider a single-inductor, bipolar-outputs, (SIBO) dc/dc converter. An early prototype of such a converter has been realized on a 130-nm silicon process and offers primary results, nonoptimal but promising. The feedback control structure is studied based on a small signal model that serves to define the pairing of the loops for designing a decentralized controller. A set of controllers is designed by a pole placement technique and transient performances are demonstrated on audio patterns thanks to a piecewise linear model of the converter. Eighty percent peak efficiency is measured with the primary demonstrator but latter simulation results yield an expected improvement to 90%. The audio specifications appear very constraintful and the proposed SMPS does not meet entirely the latter figures. Limitations are detailed. However, many other applications can benefit from the proposed SIBO dc/dc converter.
Cytokine and chemokine networks influencing stem cell proliferation, differentiation, and marrow homing

The hematopoietic stem cell (HSC) is an attractive target for gene therapy of genetic diseases of the immune and hematopoietic system, and for drug‐resistance strategies in which genes conferring resistance to a variety of chemotherapeutic agents can be transduced. Stem cells are relatively easy to obtain; e.g., by marrow aspiration or G‐CSF mobilization into the peripheral blood, and can be enriched e.g., by the use of anti‐CD34 + monoclonal antibody. For conventional retroviral transduction, normally quiescent HSC must be activated into the cell cycle by priming with appropriate cytokines, and it has been critical to identify cytokine combinations that preserve the self‐renewal capacity of long‐term repopulating HSC. It has become apparent that strategies designed to optimize HSC cycling and proviral integration can compromise the capacity of transduced HSC to compete in vivo against endogenous HSC or HSC that have not been activated into cell cycle. Lentiviral vectors can integrate genes into non‐cycling cells but there is an increased efficiency of transduction if Go HSC are activated into G1‐phase of the cell cycle. This reduced efficiency of long‐term engraftment of ex vivo cultured HSC may be due to impaired self‐renewal capacity or reduced marrow homing efficiency. The latter may be attributed to down modulation of chemokine receptors necessary for chemotactic homing to the marrow. Alternatively, or in addition, there may be down modulation of (1) HSC adhesion molecules necessary for endothelial adhesion and egress from the circulation: (2) metalloproteinases secreted by HSC that facilitate their migration through extracellular matrix and promote release of critical soluble regulatory factors in the marrow microenvironment. A more controversial view is that cell death pathways, for example those involving FasR (CD95) may be activated in cycling HSC, resulting in their selective destruction upon transplantation and localization to sites rich in Fas ligand such as the liver. J. Cell. Biochem. Suppl. 38: 29–38, 2002. © 2002 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Monetary policy and the asymmetric job creation and destruction behaviour

This article explores whether monetary policy can account for the asymmetric job creation and job destruction behaviour in the Taiwanese manufacturing and service sectors during the period 1987 to 2003. This article finds evidence for positive steepness in the job destruction rate in the manufacturing sector and negative steepness in the job creation rate in the service sector. This article also finds that the monetary policy (discount rate) can help to explain the asymmetric job creation and job destruction behaviour. Importantly, this article finds that monetary policy stimulated job flow behaviour to a better regime. This evidence suggests that monetary policy may be an efficient instrument in stimulating the labour market in Taiwan.
Discovery and application of inter-class patterns in database

Presents an inter-class pattern discovery method for real-world databases. While the data in a conventional database has a tuple structure, the data in pattern discovery has set-values or sequences. The structural differences between them may cause useless resulting patterns, and may result in an inefficient pattern discovery method. To resolve those issues, we propose an inter-class pattern discovery methodology. The first step is to convert a conventional database into a set of objects. During the conversion process, a tuple in the original database is converted into a conceptual object and, as another result, object generalization hierarchies are generated. From the object generalization hierarchies, interesting patterns of the conceptual objects can be extracted by applying multi-level pattern discovery algorithms. The resulting patterns are inter-class patterns of the original conventional database. We also show a pattern discovery query for our methodology and its application to intelligent query processing.
Occurrence, genotypic characterization, and patterns of shedding of human polyomavirus JCPyV and BKPyV in urine samples of healthy individuals in São Paulo, Brazil

The objective of this study was to evaluate the prevalence, genotypic characterization, and determination of the patterns of shedding of human polyomavirus JC (JCPyV) and BK (BKPyV) in consecutive urine samples collected from healthy adults. Urine samples collected monthly over a 6 month period were screened by polymerase chain reaction (PCR) with two sets of primers complementary to the VP1 protein region specific for the JCPyV or BKPyV genome. The viral load of JCPyV and BKPyV in positive samples was determined by quantitative real time PCR. Seventy‐one healthy individuals (ages between 18 and 65) were included in the study. Polyomavirus DNA urinary shedding was identified in 44 (62%) of the 71 individuals evaluated: BKPyV only in 16 (22.5%); JCPyV only in 19 (26.7%); and both in 9 (12.7%). Among the 28 individuals shedding JCPyV, the shedding was nearly continuous in 13 (46.4%) and sporadic in 15 (53.6%), whereas all BKPyV shedding was sporadic. A total of 45 (19 BKPyV and 26 JCPyV) strains were identified. Of the BKPyV strains, individuals were observed that excreted all genotypes except genotype 3 and the JCPyV strains, excretion of 5 different genotypes. Evaluating the age of individuals who excrete JCPyV and BKPyV, mostly are young adults, with a slight increase with increasing age and observing the viral load can not draw any parallel between the increase or decrease of age or excreted genotype as there was a wide variation both in the excretion of BKPyV and JCPyV. The high occurrence of isolated or simultaneous urinary shedding of JCPyV and BKPyV in healthy individuals merits further study. J. Med. Virol. 88:153–158, 2016. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
Traction forces exerted through N‐cadherin contacts

Background information. Mechanical forces play an important role in the organization, growth and function of living tissues. The ability of cells to transduce mechanical signals is governed by two types of microscale structures: focal adhesions, which link cells to the extracellular matrix, and adherens junctions, which link adjacent cells through cadherins. Although many studies have examined forces induced by focal adhesions, there is little known about the role of adherens junctions in force‐regulation processes. The present study focuses on the determination of force transduction through cadherins at a single cell level.
Familial adenomatous polyposis patients have high levels of arachidonic acid and docosahexaenoic acid and low levels of linoleic acid and α‐linolenic acid in serum phospholipids

Familial adenomatous polyposis (FAP) provides a model of APC inactivation as an early genetic event for the ∼85% of colorectal cancers that develop from polyps. Abnormal fatty acid composition of tissues and serum phospholipids has been linked to cancer risk. Our aim was to describe the composition of fatty acids in serum phospholipids in 38 colectomized FAP patients as compared to 160 healthy subjects. Mean fatty acid intakes were similar between the groups. Colectomy was done on average 16 years prior to inclusion, and 18% were diagnosed with colorectal cancer at colectomy. The levels (weight %) of linoleic and α‐linolenic acid were higher among the reference subjects (difference: 3.96, 95% confidence interval (CI) = 2.87, 5.04, and difference: 0.06, 95% CI = 0.04, 0.08, respectively), and the levels of arachidonic and docosahexaenoic acid were lower (difference: −3.70, 95% CI = −4.35, −3.06, and difference: −5.26, 95% CI = −6.25, −4.28, respectively) as compared to the FAP patients (all p ≤ 0.0001). The abnormal fatty acid composition was not related to time since colectomy, intestinal reconstruction or history of colorectal cancer for any of the fatty acids assessed. Compositional differences in the fatty acid profile of serum phospholipids have not been described before in FAP patients. Further studies are needed to confirm these findings and assess clinical significances of a possible distorted fatty acid metabolism, including a potentially different dietary need of essential fatty acids. The relevance of these findings for APC induced cancers remains unclear. © 2006 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Quality dimensions in external audit services- an external user perspective

A particular characteristic of auditing is that it is aimed at a heterogeneous group of stakeholders with occasionally diverging interests. This makes it even more relevant, though complicated, to determine exactly what users regard as quality. Based on empirical research, this paper investigates how two external user groups (shareholders and financial journalists) perceive audit quality, and analyses whether managing directors (preparers) and public accountants (auditors) evaluate the salient quality attributes differently. The overall results are as follows. (1) External users tend to perceive audit quality attributes as attributes that also inspire confidence in the auditor. (2) A number of different quality attributes can be summarized under six main quality dimensions. These dimensions mainly concern moral and ethical aspects. (3) The four groups of respondents (shareholders, financial journalists, managing directors and public accountants) assign significantly different values to these quality dimen.
Heterogeneity in Destination Choice

This study analyzes the Portuguese tourist choice process in relation to an emerging destination—Africa. The empirical study was conducted among Portuguese tourists by means of a mixed logit model. The model underlines the importance of a multistage process of decision since the probability of a Portuguese tourist taking a vacation in an African country depends on a mix of motivations concerning destination attributes, travel arrangements, information gathered, previous experience, and individual socioeconomic characteristics. Policy implications are derived for improving the understanding and management of the destination choices of heterogeneous tourists.
Nonfragile Exponential Synchronization of Delayed Complex Dynamical Networks With Memory Sampled-Data Control

This paper considers nonfragile exponential synchronization for complex dynamical networks (CDNs) with time-varying coupling delay. The sampled-data feedback control, which is assumed to allow norm-bounded uncertainty and involves a constant signal transmission delay, is constructed for the first time in this paper. By constructing a suitable augmented Lyapunov function, and with the help of introduced integral inequalities and employing the convex combination technique, a sufficient condition is developed, such that the nonfragile exponential stability of the error system is guaranteed. As a result, for the case of sampled-data control free of norm-bound uncertainties, some sufficient conditions of sampled-data synchronization criteria for the CDNs with time-varying coupling delay are presented. As the formulations are in the framework of linear matrix inequality, these conditions can be easily solved and implemented. Two illustrative examples are presented to demonstrate the effectiveness and merits of the proposed feedback control.
Place to Space: Migrating to eBusiness Models

Place to Space is an attempt to provide an explanatory theory for how eBusiness is changing the way companies operate and earn income. In the theory, the authors define several "Atomic eBusiness Models", and then discuss how these can be combined to create [more complex] "eBusiness Models" and the accompanying strategies for a company. This unique approach has several advantages: (1) it provides a starting point for discussion of eBusiness models, (2) combining together the different "atoms" should lead to much flexibility, (3) even if parts of the theory do not work, it provides a powerful framework for stimulating discussion on strategy and tactics. In my view, this might be the author's largest contribution.
The contribution of MvfR to Pseudomonas aeruginosa pathogenesis and quorum sensing circuitry regulation: multiple quorum sensing‐regulated genes are modulated without affecting lasRI, rhlRI or the production of N‐acyl‐ l‐homoserine lactones

The transcriptional regulator MvfR is required for full Pseudomonas aeruginosa virulence, the function of multiple quorum sensing (QS)‐regulated virulence factors and the synthesis of 4‐hydroxy‐2‐alkylquinolines (HAQs), including the Pseudomonas quinolone signal (PQS). Here we investigate the role of MvfR in the QS circuitry and P. aeruginosa pathogenesis. We demonstrate using a combination of biochemical and molecular approaches, including transcription profiling, that MvfR is involved in the regulation of multiple P. aeruginosa QS‐controlled genes without altering the expression of lasRI/rhlRI or the production of N‐acyl‐ l‐homoserine lactone (AHL) signals. Dissection of how mvfR is interwoven into the P. aeruginosa QS circuitry reveals that the MvfR system, through the essential contribution of PqsE, positively regulates a subset of genes dependant on both LasR and RhlR. Animal studies show that MvfR contributes to P. aeruginosa virulence by controlling the transcription of genes not under RhlR regulation, and that reduced virulence of a mvfR mutant is caused by the loss of pqsE expression and not only a deficiency in HAQs/PQS production. This study provides novel insights into the unique role of the MvfR system in AHL‐mediated QS and further supports its importance in P. aeruginosa pathogenesis.
Partial Element Equivalent Circuit Models of Three-Dimensional Geometries Including Anisotropic Dielectrics

During recent years anisotropic materials have received an increasing interest and found important applications in the field of shielding and antennas. The anisotropy may be due to intrinsic properties, or as a consequence of mixing. Intentionally or not, the anisotropy impacts the electromagnetic (EM) behavior of a system. Therefore, it is desirable to be able to incorporate the anisotropic effects in an EM model, to allow design tasks and analysis. In this paper, the partial element equivalent circuit (PEEC) formulation is extended to handle nondispersive linear anisotropic dielectrics. The anisotropic dielectric PEEC cell is derived and the resulting PEEC equations are developed into a descriptor system form, which is well suited for implementation in SPICE-like solvers, and for reduction by model-order reduction techniques. A verification of the model is given by a numerical example of a patch antenna situated on an anisotropic substrate and the results are in good agreement with a finite-difference time-domain implementation. The proposed PEEC model is of interest for further work, i.e., in the modeling of setups involving mixtures of materials, with an orientational alignment, and engineered materials, encountered in different EM compatibility applications.
Asymmetric hedging of the corporate terms of trade

Risk management techniques such as value at risk and conditional value at risk focus attention on protecting the downside exposures without penalizing the upside exposures. The implied welfare functions are equivalent to an otherwise risk neutral agent with a put option exposure on the downside. The correspondence can be exploited to design smoother loss measures and numerically based solutions for optimal hedge ratios. A statistically well‐adapted hedge object for the firm is the corporate terms of trade, which balances up output and expense prices as a single index related to the net profit margin. The methods are applied to the NZ dairy industry to derive optimal foreign exchange forwards based hedges. It is not always optimal to rely solely on forward discounts or premiums. © 2006 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Jrl Fut Mark 26:1059–1088, 2006