Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Location as a determinant of myocardial infarction in rabbits.

Determinants of infarct size in the rabbit heart include risk zone size, regional myocardial blood flow (RMBF), temperature and duration of ischemia. However, other factors might contribute, such as the location of the risk zone (apex to base), independent of known factors. Occlusion of a large marginal branch of the circumflex artery in the rabbit produces a risk region that typically comprises the entire apex of the left ventricle with decreasing area involvement from apex to base. In a retrospective study of 65 rabbit hearts (subjected to 30 min of coronary artery occlusion) which had been sliced into six to eight cross-sectional slices, average area at risk (AR) comprised 86+/-3% of the apical level, 68+/-2% of the middle level and 39+/-2% near the site of occlusion at the base of the heart. If necrosis were dependent on AR alone, then infarct size (area of necrosis/area at risk, AN/AR) would not vary by site. However, AN/AR in the apex was 54+/-3% while AN/AR near the base was 27+/-2%, P<0.0001. To test if this salvage of tissue at risk near the base was due to differences in regional myocardial blood flow, we measured RMBF during occlusion in additional rabbits (n=4). Average RMBF in the risk zone was 0.025 ml/min/g in the apex and 0.010 in the base, P=N.S. Nor was the salvage due to differences in temperature. During occlusion, temperature in the risk zone (n=5) was 38.1 degrees C+/-0.3 in the apex and 38.4+/-0.2 in the base (P=N.S.). When we examined this phenomenon in hearts that received a non-pharmacological intervention that decreases overall infarct size (ischemic preconditioning) and in hearts that received a pharmacological intervention that decreases overall infarct size, a similar pattern of decreasing infarct size as a percentage of the area at risk from apex to base was observed. In conclusion, infarct size as a percentage of the AR depends on whether the AR is at the apex or base of the heart. A larger part of the AR undergoes necrosis toward the apex of the heart. This phenomenon is independent of collateral flow or temperature, and suggests that other as yet unknown factors contribute to infarct size.
The rhetoric of the `good worker' versus the realities of employers' use and the experiences of migrant workers

The article examines the attitudes and strategies of a UK based employer as they developed their use of migrant labour in the latest manifestation of a strategy that targeted groups of vulnerable workers with lower labour market power. Management's celebration of the `good worker', based on the stereotyping of the perceived attributes of immigrant employees, resonated with the `business case' and `resource based view' debates within the human resource management literature.Yet terms and conditions of employment remained wedded to the bottom of the labour market. The article integrates analysis of the attitudes of employers with the views, experiences and aspirations of migrant workers. Micro level processes are also located in a wider analytical framework, incorporating the broader socio-economic context and key moments of regulatory intervention.
Face reconstruction with a morphable face model

Proposes a method for reconstructing partially occluded faces based on a 2D morphable model. Faces are modeled by linear combinations of prototypes of shape and texture. With the shape and texture information only from an unoccluded region, we can estimate optimal coefficients for linear combinations of prototypes of shape and texture. In such an over-determined condition, where the number of points in the unoccluded region is greater than the number of prototypes, we find an optimal solution using a simple least square minimization method. Our experimental results show that reconstructed faces are very natural and plausible like real photos.
Differences in the perceptions of parents and healthcare professionals on pediatric intensive care practices

Objective: To explore similarities and differences in perceptions on pediatric intensive care practices between parents and staff by using data from two studies. Design: A two-round Delphi method among nurses and physicians followed by an empiric survey among parents. Settings: Pediatric intensive care units at eight university medical centers. Subjects: Parents whose child has been admitted to a pediatric intensive care unit, nurses, and physicians. Interventions: None. Measurements and Main Results: Outcome measures were 74 satisfaction-with-care items divided into five domains: 1) information; 2) care and cure; 3) organization; 4) parental participation; and 5) professional attitude. The Delphi study was completed by 218 nurses and 46 physicians and the survey by 559 of 1042 (54%) parents. Parents rated 31 items more important than the professionals based on the standardized mean difference (Cohen's d, 0.21–1.18, p < .003). Ten of these were related to information provision. Information on the effects of medication had the largest effect size (Cohen's d 1.18, p = .001). Correct medication administration by professionals was also rated significantly more important by parents (Cohen's d 0.64, p = .001). The professionals rated 12 items more important than the parents (Cohen's d −0.23 to −0.73, p < .005), including three about multicultural care. Significant differences remained on two of the three multicultural care items when the Dutch (n = 483) and non-Dutch parents (n = 76) were separately compared with professionals. On the domain level, parents rated the domains information and parental participation more important than the professionals (Cohen's d 0.36 and 0.26, p = .001). Conclusions: Compared with the parents' perceptions, nurses and physicians undervalued a substantial number of pediatric intensive care unit care items. This finding may reflect a gap in the understanding of parental experiences as well as incongruity in recognizing the needs of parents.
Audiological and vestibular findings in the Kabuki syndrome

Since the first description of Kabuki syndrome (KS) in 1981, over 350 cases from a variety of countries have been reported. Even though otolaryngological manifestations are common in KS, only a limited number of the reports provide audiological and vestibular data. The aim of the present study was to investigate the vestibular function and describe the audiological findings in KS. The present study reports no audiological and vestibular features in a group of 10 KS patients (7 males, 3 females), with chronological age ranging from 10 to 25 years (mean age = 14.5): a complete otoneurological and audiological work‐up was performed for each patient and included where possible, the measurement of vestibular evoked potentials, caloric tests and static posturography. Hearing loss was found in 65% showing a mix or a conductive impairment; moreover the vestibular function was normal in 95% of the examined ears. In conclusion, audiological and vestibular examination should be considered when evaluating KS subjects. © 2009 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Predicting the Profit per Share Using Financial Ratios

The objective of this research is to test the effect of financial ratios on the accomplished profit per share. The results of this research have showed that the predictability of accomplished profit per share was reached using the financial ratio, economical ratio and commercial ratio. The use of working capital and peremptory cash ratio and rapid cash were not useful to predict the accomplished profit per share.
The European Union Emissions Trading Scheme: Origins, Allocation, and Early Results

The European Union Emissions Trading Scheme (EU ETS) is the world's first large experiment with an emissions trading system for carbon dioxide (CO2) and it is likely to be copied by others if there is to be a global regime for limiting greenhouse gas emissions. After providing a brief discussion of the origins of the EU ETS, its relation to the Kyoto Protocol, and its precedents in Europe and the U.S., this paper focuses on allowance allocation—the process of deciding who will receive the newly limited rights to emit CO2. We describe how allowances were allocated in the EU ETS, with particular emphasis on the issues and problems encountered, including the lack of readily available installation-level data, the participants in the process, the use of projections, the choices of Member States with respect to auctioning, benchmarking, and new entrant provisions, and the difficult issue of deciding to whom the expected shortage was to be allocated. Finally, we discuss the recently available data on 2005 emissions and what they indicate concerning over-allocation, trading patterns, and abatement. We conclude with some observations about the broader implications of the EU ETS, what seems to be unique about CO2, and the fact that non-economic considerations inform the allocation of allowances.
Glucocorticoids interfere with mycophenolate mofetil bioavailability in kidney transplantation.

BACKGROUND Steroids have been shown to induce the hepatic glucuronyltransferase (GT) expression enhancing the activity of uridine diphosphate-GT, the enzyme responsible for mycophenolic acid (MPA) metabolism. The impact of steroids on MPA pharmacokinetics, however, has not been investigated to date. METHODS As a part of a steroid-sparing clinical trial, we studied the effect of steroids on MPA bioavailability in 26 kidney transplant recipients. RESULTS Despite that the MMF dose did not change significantly with time, dose-normalized MPA AUC0-12h was lower during the first month (triple therapy, high doses of steroids) than at month 6 post-surgery (triple therapy, low maintenance dose of steroids (32.94 +/- 10.98 vs. 50.87 +/- 22.37 microg/mL. h; P < 0.01). During the steroid tapering and withdrawal phase (from month 6 to 21 post-Tx), plasma MPA trough and peak concentration as well as AUC0-12h progressively increased, while plasma MPA clearance and MPAG (the major MPA metabolite) trough levels declined. Renal function was stable throughout. Since cyclosporine A (CsA) may interfere with MPA pharmacokinetics, MPA and CsA also were measured in an additional control group of 12 kidney transplant patients at month 21 post-Tx who were still on triple therapy (MMF, CsA and steroids). Despite a similar CsA exposure, the control group had a significantly lower MPA AUC0-12h and higher MPAG trough concentration than patients on dual therapy at month 21 post-Tx. CONCLUSION These findings indicate that steroids interfere with MPA bioavailability, and that discontinuation of the drug results in higher MPA exposure, which may compensate at least in part for the lower immunosuppressive level achieved with the remaining dual therapy with CsA and MMF.
Relationship between Structures and Biological Activities of Mycoplasmal Diacylated Lipopeptides and Their Recognition by Toll-Like Receptors 2 and 6

ABSTRACT The lipopeptide FSL-1 [S-(2,3-bispalmitoyloxypropyl)-Cys-Gly-Asp-Pro-Lys-His-Pro-Lys-Ser-Phe, Pam2CGDPKHPKSF] synthesized on the basis of the N-terminal structure of a Mycoplasma salivarium lipoprotein capable of activating normal human gingival fibroblasts to induce the cell surface expression of ICAM-1 revealed an activity to induce production of monocyte chemoattractant protein 1, interleukin-6 (IL-6), and IL-8. FSL-1 also activated macrophages to produce tumor necrosis factor alpha as the Mycoplasma fermentans-derived lipopeptide MALP-2 (Pam2CGNNDESNISFKEK), a potent macrophage-activating lipopeptide, did. The level of the activity of FSL-1 was higher than that of MALP-2. This result suggests that the difference in the amino acid sequence of the peptide portion affects the activity because the framework structure other than the amino acid sequence of the former is the same as that of the latter. To determine minimal structural requirements for the activity of FSL-1, the diacylglyceryl Cys and the peptide portions were examined for this activity. Both portions did not reveal the activity. A single amino acid substitution from Phe to Arg and a fatty acid substitution from palmitic acid to stearic acid drastically reduced the activity. Similar results were obtained in measuring the NF-κB reporter activity of FSL-1 to human embryonic kidney 293 cells transfected with Toll-like receptor 2 and 6, together with a NF-κB-dependent luciferase reporter plasmid. These results suggest that both the diacylglyceryl and the peptide portions of FSL-1 are indispensable for the expression of biological activities and for the recognition by Toll-like receptors 2 and 6 and that the recognition of FSL-1 by Toll-like receptors 2 and 6 appears to be hydrophobic.
Bridging the TQ/CI Gap: The Case of Lucas Car Diesel Systems, Sudbury

This paper will focus on the link between organisational and individual learning in the Continuous Improvement (CI) process. It argues that the relationship between Total Quality management programmes and CI is best understood through a close examination of the management processes that capture individual and, hence, Organisation learning in order to ensure that small scale innovations can be sustained on a constant and company-wide basis. Through a longitudinal case study of Lucas Car Diesel Systems, and supported by research carried out by the CIRCA project at the University of Brighton1, it looks at CI in three stages: before a decision is made to change the organisational structure, the “shock” stage that induces organisational change and the subsequent CI phase. It argues that a long term strategic goal of achieving CI is critical to engendering the necessary cultural changes that, in turn, are essential to creating an improvement based and innovative culture. The Lucas case study demonstrates that creating a pervasive CI ethos is fundamentally a question of managing small scale, sometimes non-pecuniary, innovations. But, as the case shows, it can be done through the effective management of communications and employee involvement.
Naturally Occurring Orthopoxviruses: Potential for Recombination with Vaccine Vectors

ABSTRACT Orthopoxviruses are being increasingly used as live recombinant vectors for vaccination against numerous infectious diseases in humans, domestic animals, and wildlife. For risk assessments and surveillance, information about the occurrence, distribution and ecology of orthopoxviruses in western Europe is important but has mainly been based on serological investigations. We have examined kidneys, lungs, spleens, and livers of Norwegian small rodents and common shrews (Sorex araneus) for the presence of orthopoxvirus DNA sequences by PCR with primers complementary to the viral thymidine kinase (TK) gene. PCR amplicons were verified as orthopoxvirus specific by hybridization with a vaccinia virus TK-specific probe. A total of 347 animals (1,388 organs) from eight locations in different parts of Norway, collected at different times of the year during 1993 to 1995, were examined. Fifty-two animals (15%) from five locations, up to 1,600 km apart, carried orthopoxvirus DNA in one or more of their organs, most frequently in the lungs. These included 9 of 68 (13%) bank voles (Clethrionomys glareolus), 4 of 13 (31%) gray-sided voles (Clethrionomys rufocanus), 3 of 11 (27%) northern red-backed voles (Clethrionomys rutilus), 16 of 76 (21%) wood mice (Apodemus sylvaticus), and 20 of 157 (13%) common shrews. The previous isolation of cowpox virus from two clinical cases of infection (human and feline) at two of the locations investigated suggests that the viruses detected are cowpox and that some of the virus-carrying small mammalian species should be included among the cowpox virus natural reservoir hosts in Scandinavia and western Europe.
Culinary Tourism Packages and Regional Brands in Czechia

Abstract The paper discusses the ‘Regional Brand’ initiative as the regional quality certification with potential to build links with viable rural tourism products. This branding system is explained in the context of a multi-functional paradigm in the development of viable rural economies. A questionnaire survey of certified producers conducted for the first part of the research within this paper revealed mainly a strong awareness of the regional branding system, however, with underused further potential. In the second phase of the research, a qualitative study was conducted in the model region of Vysočina, Czechia, and the results of semi-structured interviews with entrepreneurs in culinary tourism about their involvement in the creation of tourist packages and their cooperation with regional brands were analyzed. The conclusion stresses the need for a significantly more effective interconnecting body at the regional level with the capability of creating fertile links between rural tourism and regional products.
Decreased dopamine transporter binding in Machado-Joseph disease.

UNLABELLED The aim of this study was to use 99mTc-TRODAT-1 brain SPECT for investigation of the binding of dopamine transporter (DAT) in the nigrostriatal dopaminergic pathway of symptomatic Machado-Joseph disease (MJD) and to compare the results with the abnormal cytidylate, adenylate, and guanylate (CAG) expansion in the MJD1 gene and other clinical factors. METHODS Ten symptomatic MJD patients (8 women, 2 men; age range, 20-71 y; mean age +/- SD, 36.4 +/- 10.6 y; mean duration of illness, 9.8 +/- 5.4 y) and 21 healthy volunteers (age range, 24-71 y; mean age, 47.6 +/- 20.1 y) were examined. Brain SPECT images were acquired 4 h after injection. The ratio of specific to nonspecific nigrostriatal 99mTc-TRODAT-1 binding was measured and compared with the clinical symptoms, duration of illness, and size of abnormal expanded CAG repeats. RESULTS All nigrostriatal 99mTc-TRODAT-1 ratios were significantly lower in MJD patients than in healthy volunteers (P < 0.05). Discriminant function analysis of all MJD patients showed that the decreased binding of 99mTc-TRODAT-1 in the putamen was not significantly different from that in the caudate nucleus. Eight of 10 MJD patients had significantly decreased 99mTc-TRODAT-1 uptake. Of these 8, 2 had extrapyramidal signs and 6 had no obvious extrapyramidal signs. The other 2 patients, who had normal 99mTc-TRODAT-1 uptake, had no obvious extrapyramidal signs. CONCLUSION Our findings indicate that 99mTc-TRODAT-1 brain SPECT is an appropriate method for evaluating damage to the nigrostriatal DAT in symptomatic MJD patients with and without extrapyramidal signs. The decreased binding of 99mTc-TRODAT-1 in the nigrostriatal dopaminergic pathway in symptomatic MJD patients correlates with the phenotype of extrapyramidal signs but not with the abnormal CAG repeat length, age at disease onset, or disease duration.
Role of voltage‐gated calcium channels in the regulation of aldosterone production from zona glomerulosa cells of the adrenal cortex

Zona glomerulosa cells (ZG) of the adrenal gland constantly integrate fluctuating ionic, hormonal and paracrine signals to control the synthesis and secretion of aldosterone. These signals modulate Ca2+ levels, which provide the critical second messenger to drive steroid hormone production. Angiotensin II is a hormone known to modulate the activity of voltage‐dependent L‐ and T‐type Ca2+ channels that are expressed on the plasma membrane of ZG cells in many species. Because the ZG cell maintains a resting membrane voltage of approximately −85 mV and has been considered electrically silent, low voltage‐activated T‐type Ca2+ channels are assumed to provide the primary Ca2+ signal that drives aldosterone production. However, this view has recently been challenged by human genetic studies identifying somatic gain‐of‐function mutations in L‐type CaV1.3 channels in aldosterone‐producing adenomas of patients with primary hyperaldosteronism. We provide a review of these assumptions and challenges, and update our understanding of the state of the ZG cell in a layer in which native cellular associations are preserved. This updated view of Ca2+ signalling in ZG cells provides a unifying mechanism that explains how transiently activating CaV3.2 channels can generate a significant and recurring Ca2+ signal, and how CaV1.3 channels may contribute to the Ca2+ signal that drives aldosterone production.
Background and recent developments in fair value measurement: from FASB's 1996 four decisions to the recent financial crisis

The use of fair value measurement in accounting has been recently called into question due to the advent of a major international fi nancial crisis. In this paper, we review the background and recent developments in fair value measurement for fi nancial instruments, which can be traced back to four decisions made by the FASB in 1996. We discuss the advantages and shortcomings of the mixed accounting model currently adopted by the two leading international accounting standard setting bodies (FASB and IASB), as well as those of a full fair value model. We argue that full applica- tion of fair value measurement to all fi nancial instruments, although not exempt of diffi culties, would signifi cantly reduce existing complexity and limit discretion in the recognition and measurement of these instruments.
Challenges For Community‐Based Adaptation: Discovering The Potential For Transformation

This paper considers community-based adaptation (CBA) to climate change and its relationship to the theory and practice of participatory development. It is argued that CBA needs to recognise the considered experience of participatory development to date, particularly in relation to local involvement in project planning and implementation, as well as acknowledging the specific challenges raised by climate change. Without attention to risks and uncertainty, political structures and institutions, the necessarily multi-level nature of adaptation policy and programming, and the links between mitigation and adaptation politics and practice, outcomes of CBA interventions are unlikely to support pro-poor development. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
A mathematical model of glioma growth: the effect of chemotherapy on spatio‐temporal growth

During the past two decades computerized tomography (CT) and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) have permitted the detection of tumours at much earlier stages in their development than was previously possible. In spite of this earlier diagnosis the effects of earlier and more extensive treatments have been difficult to document. This failure has led to an increasing awareness of the importance of infiltration of glioma cells into surrounding grossly normal brain tissue such that recurrence still occurs. In this paper a simple mathematical model for the proliferation and infiltration of such tumours is introduced, based in part on quantitative image analysis of histological sections of a human brain glioma and especially on cross‐sectional area/volume measurements of serial CT images while the patient was undergoing chemotherapy. The model parameters were estimated using optimization techniques to give the best fit of the simulated tumour area to the CT scan data. Numerical solution of the model on a two‐dimensional domain, which took into account the geometry of the brain and its natural barriers to diffusion, was used to determine the effect of chemotherapy on the spatiotemporal growth of the tumour.
When (and How) Do the Commission's Preferences Matter?

Regulatory innovations found in the EC’s Integrated Mediterranean Programmes can best be explained by a model informed by the study of public policy and historical institutionalism. In such an approach, preferences of the Member States are potentially endogenous. They can be altered by reasoned arguments presented by Commission experts. Similarly, the Commission’s formal agenda-setting power is found to depend more on the short time horizon of Chiefs of Government than on imperfect or asymmetric information. Both of these findings suggest limits to the general applicability of rational choice inspired principal-agent models of the European Community.