Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Vasodilation and Vascular Control in Contracting Muscle of the Aging Human

There is accumulating evidence in humans that the control of blood flow to dynamically contracting skeletal muscle is altered with normal aging. Despite some inconsistencies in the literature, most healthy older subject groups studied to date (∼55–75 years) exhibited attenuated leg blood flow responses to moderate intensity leg exercise in comparison to younger (∼20–30 years) controls. In most cases, older subjects also have higher arterial perfusion pressures at rest and at any submaximal workload than their younger counterparts, suggesting a heightened level of vasoconstriction in the legs that could result from structural and/or functional alterations within the arterial vasculature. The influence of age on vasodilator responsiveness in the contracting limbs of humans remains an open question, with reports of blunted, similar, and augmented increases in local vascular conductance during graded exercise in older vs. younger adults. Recent results from the authors' laboratory suggest that the ability of vascular smooth muscle in the legs to dilate in response to physiological and pharmacological stimuli is relatively well preserved with advancing age in men; however, a sex difference may exist in that older estrogen‐deficient women exhibit blunted leg vasodilator responses compared to younger women. Potential mechanisms underlying altered vascular control within the resistance vasculature of contracting muscles of older men and women remain to be determined, but could include ( 1 ) fewer, smaller, and/or stiffer vessels, ( 2 ) impaired endothelium‐dependent vasodilation, ( 3 ) augmented sympathetic vasoconstriction, ( 4 ) alterations in metabolic or myogenic control, and ( 5 ) reduced effectiveness of the skeletal muscle pump. Systematic research involving both humans and animal models will be necessary to fully elucidate the mechanisms underlying compromised muscle blood flow in old age.
Culture Matters: Values and Norms in view of Organizational Performance

Organizations must implementing sustainability initiatives in different communities with varied socio-cultural systems that used to foster building their effective performance by using the society as a basic driving force is the only best mechanism in Ethiopia. The main intent of the study is to view the national Values and Norm’s contributions for organizational Performance that initiates to fill socio-cultural and political factor related gaps that are observed in our nations. To realize such types of objectives and fill those gaps the study has used observation, review of literature, worldwide research and Medias. The study shown those national cultures impact the balanced organizational culture which, in turn, impacts performance. Organizational wide best performance have derived from societal culture by implementing: Be clear about what you want the culture to be, Assess the culture of your business, infuse the environment with your cultural values tips of procedures have recommended by the study.
cDNA Sequence, Expression, and Transcript Stability of a Cold Acclimation-Specific Gene, cas18, of Alfalfa (Medicago falcata) Cells

The nucleotide sequence of a full-length cDNA, the deduced amino acid sequence, and the regulation of expression of a cold acclimation-specific gene, cas18, in cell suspension cultures of a freezing-tolerant cultivar of alfalfa (Medicago falcata cv Anik) have been determined. The deduced polypeptide, CAS18, is relatively small (17.6 kD), is highly hydrophilic, is rich in glycine and threonine, and contains two distinctive repeat elements. It exhibits homology with members of the LEA/RAB/dehydrin family of proteins, which accumulate in response to abscisic acid (ABA) or water stress. It is intriguing that cas18 is induced by neither ABA nor water stress. The cas18 cDNA hybridizes to three transcripts of 1.6, 1.4, and 1.0 kb, and the cDNA characterized here corresponds to the 1.0-kb transcript. The expression of this gene is about 30-fold greater in cold-acclimated cells than in nonacclimated cells. Although the accumulation of transcripts during cold acclimation is relatively slow, their disappearance during deacclimation is dramatically rapid, becoming undetectable in less than 5 h. Studies of nuclear run-on transcription show that cold acclimation enhances the transcription of this gene nearly 9-fold. The stability of cas18-detectable transcripts during deacclimation is considerably increased if transcription is inhibited with cordycepin. It therefore appears that low temperature regulates the expression of cas18 at both the transcriptional and posttranscriptional levels.
Changes in alcohol-related problems after alcohol policy changes in Denmark, Finland, and Sweden.

OBJECTIVE European Union travelers' allowances for alcohol import to Denmark, Sweden, and Finland were abolished in 2004. In addition, excise taxes on alcohol were lowered in 2003 and 2005 in Denmark, and in 2004 in Finland. Using northern Sweden as a control site, this study examines whether levels of reported alcohol problems have changed in Denmark, Finland, and southern Sweden as a consequence of these policy changes. METHOD Annual cross-sectional surveys were conducted in Denmark, Finland, and Sweden from 2003 to 2006. Five dependency items and seven extrinsic alcohol-related problems were examined. Changes were analyzed within each country/region with logistic regressions and tested for short- and long-term changes. Differential change was also tested between each country and the control site, northern Sweden. RESULTS Prevalence of alcohol problems decreased over the study period. Only in selected subgroups did problems increase. This mainly occurred in the samples for northern Sweden and Finland, and mostly among older age groups and men. In relation to the control site, however, no increases in problem prevalence were found. CONCLUSIONS Our findings on a decline in reported alcohol problems largely agree with published reports on alcohol consumption over the same period in the study countries. They do not agree, however, with findings on changes in health and social statistics in Finland and Denmark, where some significant increases in alcohol-related harm have been found.
Access as the Means for Understanding Social-Ecological Resilience: Bridging Analytical Frameworks

Abstract Social-Ecological Systems (SES) resilience has become the mainstream analytical framework for understanding the interactions between the social and environmental dynamics of change. However, issues around the role of power and agency, which have been described as blind spots by critics, have raised concerns regarding its application to real-world empirical cases. We explore how Ribot and Peluso’s Theory of Access can be applied to address critical theoretical gaps in SES by examining how its structural and relational access mechanisms relate to diversity, feedbacks and connectivity which are central to the dynamics of SES. Testing this through two different case studies, on land use issues in Mexico and marine fisheries in the United Kingdom, we illustrate how an analysis focused on access deepens our understanding of resilience. We argue that the insights provided by the Theory of Access contribute to an improved theorization of the “social” in social-ecological resilience.
Aerobic Energy Cost and Sensation Responses During Submaximal Running Exercise - Positive Effects of Wearing Compression Tights

This study aimed to examine the effects of wearing compression compared to classic elastic tights and conventional shorts (control trial) on oxygen cost and sensation responses during submaximal running exercise. In part I, aerobic energy cost was evaluated in six trained runners at 10, 12, 14, and 16 km x h(-1). In part II, the increase in energy cost over time (i. e., slow component expressed as difference in VO2 values between min 2 and end-exercise) was determined in six trained runners at a constant running pace corresponding to 80% of maximal VO2 for 15 min duration. All tests were performed on a 200-m indoor track with equivalent thermal stress conditions. VO2 was determined with a portable metabolic system (Cosmed K4b2, Rome, Italy) during all testing sessions. Runners were asked their ratings of perceived exertion (RPE) and perceptions for clothing sweating, comfort, and whole thermal sensations following each trial. Results showed in part I a significant lower energy cost only at 12 km x h(-1) by wearing compression and elastic tights compared to conventional shorts. During part II, wearing compression tights decreased significantly VO2 slow component by 26 and 36% compared to elastic tights and conventional shorts, respectively. There were no differences in sweating and comfort sensations, RPE, and for whole thermal sensation between clothing conditions in parts I and II. Wearing compression tights during running exercise may enhance overall circulation and decrease muscle oscillation to promote a lower energy expenditure at a given prolonged submaximal speed.
Effects of time of insemination relative to ovulation, as determined by ultrasonography, on fertilization rate and accessory sperm count in sows.

The effects of the timing of insemination relative to ovulation on fertilization rate, accessory sperm count and early embryo development were studied in sows. Oestrus detection was performed at intervals of 8 h. Sows were artificially inseminated once with 3 x 10(9) spermatozoa. Transrectal ultrasonography was performed at intervals of 4 h to determine when ovulation occurred and sows were killed at 120 +/- 6 h after ovulation. For each insemination-ovulation interval of 8 h, fertilization rates were as follows: > 48 h, 35% (n = 1); 48-40 h, 51 +/- 36% (n = 6); 40-32 h, 54 +/- 36% (n = 14); 32-24 h, 79 +/- 32% (n = 19); 24-16 h, 94 +/- 11% (n = 24); 16-8 h, 92 +/- 21% (n = 24); 8-0 h, 95 +/- 22% (n = 21) and for the sows that were inseminated after ovulation: 0 to -8 h, 75 +/- 38% (n = 26); -8 to -16 h, 74 +/- 43% (n = 15) and < -16 h, 0% (n = 1). The median accessory sperm count differed among the groups from 1 (insemination 40-48 h before ovulation) to 126 (insemination 0-8 h after ovulation) (P = 0.0001). Within each 8 h time interval, the normal embryos from sows with less than 90% normal embryos were less developed and had a lower sperm count than did the normal embryos from sows with more than 90% normal embryos (P < 0.05). (ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)
Irritancy potential of 17 detergents used commonly by the Indian household.

BACKGROUND Detergents are used by almost every household in the developed and developing world. Soap and most detergents are anionic surfactants and attack the horny layer of the skin and increase its permeability with little or no inflammatory change and may result in hand eczema, which is very distressing and incapacitating. AIM To evaluate the irritant potential of common household detergents (laundry and dish wash) used by the Indian population using a 24-hour patch test and to convincingly educate the patients on the detergents less likely to cause irritation in the particular individual. METHODS Seventeen commonly used detergents found in Indian market were included in the study, of which, 12 were laundry detergents (powders--seven, bar soap--five) and five were dish wash detergents (powder--one, liquid--one, bar soap--three). The irritant potential of the 17 detergents were evaluated in 30 volunteers. Thirty microliters of each of the detergent bar solutions, distilled water (negative control), and 20% SDS (positive control) were applied to Finn chambers with a micropipette and occluded for 24 hours. Erythema, scaling, and edema were graded in comparison to the reaction at the negative control site (distilled water) for each volunteer separately. The scoring of erythema/dryness and wrinkling on a 0-4 point scale and edema on another 0-4 point scale was based on the Draize scale. The pH of each of the detergent solutions was determined using litmus papers (Indikrom papers from Qualigens fine chemicals). RESULTS The difference between detergents (F value) was significant for erythema/dryness and wrinkling (F = 3.374; p = 0.000), but not significant for edema (F = 1.297; p = 0.194). [Table 2] lists the means for erythema/dryness and wrinkling, and edema. The F value of the totals of the means for erythema/dryness and wrinkling and edema was significant (F = 2.495; p = 0.001). The pH of all the detergents was found to be alkaline except Pril utensil cleaner which tested acidic (pH 6). The positive control, 20% SDS also tested acidic (pH 6). CONCLUSION Similar to patch testing in allergic contact dermatitis, 24-hour patch testing with detergent solutions (8% w/v), will educate the patient on what detergent to avoid. This may bring down the total medication requirement and frequent hospital consultations for these patients.
Measuring injury severity: time for a change?

BACKGROUND The Injury Severity Score (ISS) does not take into account multiple injuries in the same body region, whereas a New ISS (NISS) may provide a more accurate measure of trauma severity by considering the patient's three greatest injuries regardless of body region. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the ISS and NISS in patients with blunt trauma. METHODS Consecutive individuals treated from January of 1992 to September of 1996 at one institution were included if they had sustained blunt trauma and satisfied triage standards (n = 2,328). For each patient, we computed the ISS and the NISS to determine how often the two scores were identical or discrepant. Discrepant cases were then further analyzed using receiver operating characteristic curves to determine which score better predicted short-term mortality. RESULTS The mean ISS was 25 +/- 13, and the mean NISS was 33 +/- 18. The two predictive scores were identical in 32% of patients and discrepant in 68% of patients. Patients with identical scores had a lower mortality rate than patients with discrepant scores (10% vs. 13%; p < 0.02). In patients with discrepant scores, the area under the receiver operating characteristic curves was greater for the NISS than the ISS (0.852 vs. 0.799; p < 0.001), and greater amounts of discrepancy were associated with increasing rates of mortality (p < 0.001). CONCLUSIONS The NISS often increases the apparent severity of injury and provides a more accurate prediction of short-term mortality. The benefit associated with using the NISS rather than the ISS must be weighed against the disadvantages of changing a scoring system and the potential for still greater improvements.
Evaluating Distance Measures for RNA Motif Search

This paper extends an earlier study which outlined a bioinformatic pipeline for exploratory search for RNA motifs incorporating both primary and secondary structure. The pipeline is applied to three data sets, one of which is a larger version of that used in the earlier study. Instead of a single method of estimating the distance between RNA folds four distance measures were tested. The data sets are: a set of random control sequences, a set of synthetic sequences with simple designed folds, and the iron response element data set for which actual biological RNA folds are available. The pipeline demonstrates the ability to produce clusters that contain known motifs in the biological data and those designed into the synthetic data. The results for the distance measures varies substantially and one of the measures, difference in energy, is found to be too simplistic to be useful for differentiating motifs. The other three distance measures all demonstrate some degree of merit. At the heart of the pipeline is a non-linear projection algorithm that uses evolutionary computation to display the intra-RNA-fold distances so that the various distance measures can be visually compared. While the performance of this algorithm is acceptable, suggestions for improving it are made.
Silencing of Escherichia coli bgl promoter by flanking sequence elements.

Silencing of a transcriptional unit by flanking sequence elements has so far only been described for eukaryotic systems. Here, a similar system is described in bacteria. The Escherichia coli bgl operon (beta‐glucoside utilization) is normally cryptic due to very low promoter activity. However, low activity is not attributable to the quality of the promoter itself but is caused by its chromosomal context. The bgl promoter is perfectly active when tested outside of its normal context of a stretch of a few hundred base pairs. In addition, other promoters become inactivated when placed into the bgl region. Both the deletion of an upstream sequence element and the replacement of sequences located downstream result in promoter de‐repression, demonstrating that silencing of promoters within this stretch of DNA in vivo is an active process brought about by the combined action of upstream and downstream chromosomal elements.
Are Cryptocurrencies a Good Investment?

This article identifies the many risk factors an investor should consider before adding cryptocurrencies to their investment portfolio. The returns yielded by these digital assets can in some cases be high, but an investor should seek to understand what risks exist as well. There are numerous factors to consider when investing in any asset. Traditional assets may prompt a fundamental analysis of an industry, company (business plan, financials, leadership) and other considerations. However, cryptocurrencies are not traditional assets. This investment/speculative environment contains: extremely volatile assets, a largely unregulated crowd funding mechanism, chronic theft and loss, money laundering, high transaction processing latency, potential market manipulation, and an overhanging ethical question. This article is not meant as investment advice, but points to many risk factors that are not generally present when investing in traditional assets/companies, and highlights the fact that the data needed to perform due diligence is often lacking.
Jugular venous and arterial concentrations of serum S-100B protein in patients with severe head injury: a pilot study

The objective of this study was to analyse the temporal course of the jugular venous-arterial gradient of S-100B protein after severe head injury and the correlation between the absolute concentrations of serum S-100B protein and outcome, CT findings, and clinical variables. Fifteen patients were included in this pilot study. All patients were treated according to a standard therapy protocol targeted to maintain cerebral perfusion pressure. The serum concentration of S-100 protein was measured daily for five consecutive days after injury by a monoclonal two site immunoluminometric assay. Nine patients showed favourable and six unfavourable outcome after 6 months with a mortality rate of 33% (five patients). The mean gradient between jugular venous and arterial blood was 8.2% (p<0.05). Patients showing an unfavourable outcome had significantly higher jugular venous or arterial S-100 values compared with those with a favourable outcome (jugular venous S-100B 2.78 μg/l v 1.22 μg/l, p<0.05; arterial S-100B 2.48 μg/l v 1.19 μg/l, p<0.05). All patients with an initial or secondary increase in S-100B value of >2 μg/l were found to have an unfavourable outcome. S-100B was found to be an independent predictor of outcome after severe head injury. The persisting increase of S-100B for three to five days even in patients with favourable outcome and no signs of secondary insults might reflect continuing damage to the blood-brain barrier or ongoing glial cell death.
Do Exchange‐Traded Fund Flows Increase the Volatility of the Underlying Index? Evidence from the Emerging Market in China

Studying 70 Chinese equity exchange‐traded funds (ETFs), we show that daily ETF flows significantly increase both the total volatility and the fundamental volatility of the underlying index on the next trading day. More specifically, it is the forward‐looking flow component which captures APs’ share creation/redemption activities beyond their role of market makers that can significantly predict the two types of volatility. Moreover, ETF arbitrage (ETF's information share) enhances the effect of forward‐looking flows on the total volatility (fundamental volatility) of the index. Furthermore, the relationships between forward‐looking flows and the two types of index volatility show a two‐way contagion.
Acute Phenol Poisoning

Cases of phenol (C6 H5 OH) poisoning were more frequent in the past than they are today. Approxi mately 50% of those reported have terminated fatally. An oral dose of 1 g. phenol may be lethal to man, although it has been recorded that patients have survived the ingestion of 65 g. (Kobert, 1906). The following cases have been reported :? Severe acute intoxication occurred in a 3-year-old child, whose scalp was treated accidentally with pure phenol instead of a dilute solution. The mistake was discovered four minutes after appli cation, when the child became unconscious (Brown, 1895). A nurse, whose thumb and index finger were contaminated with pure phenol, accidentally touched the groin of a 7-day-old infant, leaving two patches, one the size of a sixpence and the other of a half crown. Severe convulsions were observed within
Glucose variability and mortality in patients with sepsis*

Objective:Treatment and prevention of hyperglycemia has been advocated for subjects with sepsis. Glucose variability, rather than the glucose level, has also been shown to be an important factor associated with in-hospital mortality, in general, critically ill patients. Our objective was to determine the association between glucose variability and hospital mortality in septic patients and the expression of glucose variability that best reflects this risk. Design:Retrospective, single-center cohort study. Setting:Academic, tertiary care hospital. Patients:Adult subjects hospitalized for >1 day, with a diagnosis of sepsis were included. Interventions:None. Measurements:Glucose variability was calculated for all subjects as the average and standard deviation of glucose, the mean amplitude of glycemic excursions, and the glycemic lability index. Hospital mortality was the primary outcome variable. Logistic regression was used to determine the odds of hospital death in relation to measures of glucose variability after adjustment for important covariates. Main results:Of the methods used to measure glucose variability, the glycemic lability index had the best discrimination for mortality (area under the curve = 0.67, p < 0.001). After adjustment for confounders, including the number of organ failures and the occurrence of hypoglycemia, there was a significant interaction between glycemic lability index and average glucose level, and the odds of hospital mortality. Higher glycemic lability index was not independently associated with mortality among subjects with average glucose levels above the median for the cohort. However, subjects with increased glycemic lability index, but lower average glucose values had almost five-fold increased odds of hospital mortality (odds ratio = 4.73, 95% confidence interval = 2.6-8.7) compared with those with lower glycemic lability index. Conclusions:Glucose variability is independently associated with hospital mortality in septic patients. Strategies to reduce glucose variability should be studied to determine whether they improve the outcomes of septic patients.