Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
[The diet rich in monounsaturated fat modifies in a beneficial way carbohydrate metabolism and arterial pressure].

OBJECTIVE Two dietary regimens recommended for the reduction of coronary risk, by way of their effects on lipid profile, are the diet low in saturated fat and a diet rich in monounsaturated fats (MUFA). However the effects of these diets on carbohydrate metabolism in healthy subjects are not well known. The objective of this study was to compare the effect of both diets on various parameters of carbohydrate metabolism. METHODS 41 healthy young males were submitted to 3 consecutive diets, each for a duration of 4 weeks. The first diet was rich in saturated fat (SAT) (38% fat, 20% saturated). The second was rich in carbohydrates following the recommendations of the NCEP-I (National Cholesterol Education Program type I) (28% fat, 47% carbohydrates). The last one was a diet rich in monounsaturated fatty acids (38% fat, 22% MUFA). At the end of each dietary period, blood pressure (BP) and blood levels of glucose, insulin and free fatty acids were determined. 29 subjects were also submitted to an oral glucose tolerance test (OGTT) at the end of each diet. RESULTS The SAT diet induced the highest levels of insulin after the OGTT. The consumption of the MUFA diet determined the lowest levels of fasting blood glucose (-0.60 mmol/l [13%], p < 0.0002), insulin (-9 microUl/ml [47%], p < 0.0002) and free fatty acids (-0.11 mmol/l [24%], p = 0.006), compared to the NCEP-I diet. Systolic and diastolic blood pressure were higher in the NCEP-I diet than during the other periods (SBP: +6 mmHg compare with SAT [5%], p = 0.0001; and +5 mmHg compare with MUFA [4%], p = 0.0001; DBP: +20 mmHg compare with MUFA [27%], p = 0.0001) and +6 mmHg compared with SAT [8%], p = 0.0001). CONCLUSION Of the diets most commonly used for the treatment and prevention of arteriosclerosis, a diet rich in monounsaturated fats is the most beneficial for the healthy population from the point of view of carbohydrate metabolism and blood pressure.
The effects of hypothermia and injury severity on blood loss during trauma laparotomy.

To assess the relationships between core temperature (T) and other factors relating to operating room (OR) blood loss and mortality following abdominal injury, the records of 122 patients undergoing laparotomy for trauma at Detroit Receiving Hospital over a 1-year period (1989) were reviewed. Most injuries were penetrating (86%) and the mortality rate was 8.2%. Overall, 57 of 122 (47%) had hypothermia (T < or = 35 degrees C) upon arrival in the OR. There was a significant correlation between admission blood pressure and lowest intraoperative temperature (r = 0.60; p < 0.001). Multiple regression analysis revealed that the patient's lowest temperature (p < 0.001) and Trauma Score (TS); p < 0.0015), but not Abdominal Injury Severity Score (AISS) (p = 0.25) correlated with OR blood loss. The 28 patients with high TS (15 or 16) and AISS > or = 9 had significantly less blood loss when the OR temperature was maintained above 35 degrees C versus 33 degrees-35 degrees C (540 +/- 580 mL vs. 1820 +/- 1160 mL; p < 0.003). This suggests that hypothermia may exacerbate OR blood loss independent of degree of physiologic or anatomic injury. Thus hypothermia is common in patients undergoing a laparotomy for trauma. Trauma scores and the presence of shock preoperatively correlate with the development of intraoperative hypothermia. Hypothermic patients with similar injury severity have greater blood loss. Prevention and rapid correction of hypothermia during resuscitation and surgery appear to be extremely important in reducing blood loss in this patient population.
Structure and Function of the Proteins of the Mammalian Zona pellucida

The zona pellucida (ZP) is the extracellular matrix that plays important roles in sperm-egg interaction. The ZP is composed of three major glycoproteins that exhibit heterogeneity due to extensive post-translational modifications including glycosylation and sulfation. Because of these modifications the nomenclature of ZP proteins from different species based on electrophoretic mobilities has been confusing. As the cDNAs and genes encoding the different ZP proteins have been isolated and sequenced, it is now possible to relate these ZP proteins according to gene families. Using the mouse ZP nomenclature, the ZP proteins from different mammalian species can be classified into three protein families: ZP1, ZP2, and ZP3. Although some of the structural domains of the ZP proteins of different species are conserved within each family, they exhibit distinct biological properties. In the mouse it has been established that ZP3 is the primary sperm receptor while ZP2 has secondary sperm receptor properties. In the pig, however, ZP1 has been shown to have sperm receptor activity similar to that observed in the rabbit and nonhuman primates. It is of interest that the human ZP2 and ZP3 gene families are 60–70% conserved with respect to the mouse ZP amino acid sequence, while the mouse ZP1 is only 39% conserved with respect to human ZP1. Such differences in protein structure and glysosylation may explain the marked species differences in the biochemical, physicochemical and immunochemical properties of the ZP. Studies have now shown that the proteins of the ZP are expressed in a stage specific manner and that there is increasing evidence that ZP proteins are expressed by both granulosa cells and the oocyte and may play a role in granulosa cell differentiation.
Asymmetric Effects of Monetary Policy in China

It uses VAR model to investigate the regulation effects of the tight monetary policy and the loose monetary policy around the 2008 financial crisis in China. The results demonstrate the existence of monetary policy asymmetric effect and show that tight monetary policy is more efficient. Combined with the specific situation in our country, it then analyzes the causes of the existence of asymmetry.
Effects of Essential Oils on Methane Production and Fermentation by, and Abundance and Diversity of, Rumen Microbial Populations

ABSTRACT Five essential oils (EOs), namely, clove oil (CLO), eucalyptus oil (EUO), garlic oil (GAO), origanum oil (ORO), and peppermint oil (PEO), were tested in vitro at 3 different doses (0.25, 0.50, and 1.0 g/liter) for their effect on methane production, fermentation, and select groups of ruminal microbes, including total bacteria, cellulolytic bacteria, archaea, and protozoa. All the EOs significantly reduced methane production with increasing doses, with reductions by 34.4%, 17.6%, 42.3%, 87%, and 25.7% for CLO, EUO, GAO, ORO, and PEO, respectively, at 1.0 g/liter compared with the control. However, apparent degradability of dry matter and neutral detergent fiber also decreased linearly with increasing doses by all EOs except GAO. The concentrations of total volatile fatty acids were not affected by GAO, EUO, or PEO but altered linearly and quadratically by CLO and ORO, respectively. All the EOs also differed in altering the molar proportions of acetate, propionate, and butyrate. As determined by quantitative real-time PCR, all the EOs decreased the abundance of archaea, protozoa, and major cellulolytic bacteria (i.e., Fibrobacter succinogenes, Ruminococcus flavefaciens, and R. albus) linearly with increasing EO doses. On the basis of denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis analysis, different EOs changed the composition of both archaeal and bacterial communities to different extents. The Shannon-Wiener diversity index (H′) was reduced for archaea by all EOs in a dose-dependent manner but increased for bacteria at low and medium doses (0.25 and 0.50 g/liter) for all EOs except ORO. Due to the adverse effects on feed digestion and fermentation at high doses, a single EO may not effectively and practically mitigate methane emission from ruminants unless used at low doses in combinations with other antimethanogenic compounds.
Reduced Three-Dimensional Motility in Dehydrated Airway Mucus Prevents Neutrophil Capture and Killing Bacteria on Airway Epithelial Surfaces1

Cystic fibrosis (CF) lung disease is characterized by persistent lung infection. Thickened (concentrated) mucus in the CF lung impairs airway mucus clearance, which initiates bacterial infection. However, airways have other mechanisms to prevent bacterial infection, including neutrophil-mediated killing. Therefore, we examined whether neutrophil motility and bacterial capture and killing functions are impaired in thickened mucus. Mucus of three concentrations, representative of the range of normal (1.5 and 2.5% dry weight) and CF-like thickened (6.5%) mucus, was obtained from well-differentiated human bronchial epithelial cultures and prepared for three-dimensional studies of neutrophil migration. Neutrophil chemotaxis in the direction of gravity was optimal in 1.5% mucus, whereas 2.5% mucus best supported neutrophil chemotaxis against gravity. Lateral chemokinetic movement was fastest on airway epithelial surfaces covered with 1.5% mucus. In contrast, neutrophils exhibited little motility in any direction in thickened (6.5%) mucus. In in vivo models of airway mucus plugs, neutrophil migration was inhibited by thickened mucus (CF model) but not by normal concentrations of mucus (“normal” model). Paralleling the decreased neutrophil motility in thickened mucus, bacterial capture and killing capacity were decreased in CF-like thickened mucus. Similar results with each mucus concentration were obtained with mucus from CF cultures, indicating that inhibition of neutrophil functions was mucus concentration dependent not CF source dependent. We conclude that concentrated (“thick”) mucus inhibits neutrophil migration and killing and is a key component in the failure of defense against chronic airways infection in CF.
Active power loss minimization with FACTS devices using SA/PSO techniques.

In this paper modified simulated annealing (MSA) and particle swarm optimization (PSO) techniques are proposed to minimize total losses in a network system with flexible AC transmission systems (FACTS) devices. The problem is decomposed in two sub-problems. The first sub-problem is optimal placement of FACTS devices using line loss sensitivity index and the second sub-problem is the load flow with FACTS parameters using modified SA/PSO techniques. The main objective of this paper is to find out the more efficient approach for loss reduction in system network. Simulations are performed on modified IEEE 14-bus system. Results are presented which demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed techniques.
Factors Influencing Web Customers’ Willingness to Engage in Online Shopping with an Internet Retailer

ABSTRACT This study is an effort to identify and analyze the factors that could potentially influence web customers’ willingness to engage in online shopping with an Internet retailer. Using the primary data collected from a large sample of a web-based consumer survey, researchers developed a structural Equation model that embodied those factors that potentially influenced web customers’ willingness to engage in online shopping with an Internet retailer. Seven constructs were considered to study the effects of those factors on the web customers’ willingness to engage in online shopping with an Internet retailer, including quality of service, inertia to change, economic value, stress reduction, enjoyment in doing business, comfort level with website, and aesthetic appeal. The proposed model is largely supported and validated by several statistical measures and tests.
Modulation of toll-like receptor 7 and LL-37 expression in colon and breast epithelial cells by human beta-defensin-2.

Breast-feeding decreases maternal breast cancer risk. Breast-fed infants have fewer infections and inflammatory-allergic diseases. We recently found inducible antimicrobial and immunomodulatory protein human beta3-defensin 2 (HBD-2) in significant amounts in human milk. We investigated if HBD-2 could contribute to benefits of breast-feeding for the mother and the child by immunomodulating effects on breast and gut epithelial cells. Human CaCo-2 colon and MCF-7 breast cell lines were cultured for 16-48 hours in RPMI 1640 5% fetal calf serum with and without HBD-2 at 0.1, 0.5, and 1.0 microg/mL. RNA was extracted and reverse-transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) and gel electrophoresis for toll-like receptor pathway members, antimicrobial peptides, and cytokines/receptors was performed. Primers were designed with www.ncbi. nlm.nih. gov and www.broad. mit.edu/cgibin/primer/primer3 www.cgi. Based on RT-PCR results, cells were stained by immunohistochemistry using anti-toll-like receptor (TLR)-7 and anti-LL37 antibodies and DAKO EnVision Plus kits. Supernatants were analyzed for interleukin (IL)-8 and liver and activation-regulated chemokine (LARC) using enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. In CaCo-2, messenger RNA (mRNA) for TLR-7, IL-1R-associated kinase, alpha-defensins (human neutrophil peptides 1-3), and IL-8 were down-regulated; cathelicidin/LL37 and NFkappaBp65 were up-regulated. LARC mRNA and protein were detected after 48 hours. TLR-7 protein, LARC, and IL-8 decreased with HBD-2; LL-37 protein greatly increased. In MCF-7, mRNA for LL37, inhibitor of kappaBalpha, NFkappaBp65, Tollip, MyD88, IL-1R-associated kinase, and TLR-7 were up-regulated. LARC mRNA was turned off. TLR-7 protein was induced. LARC was not detected. IL-8 was barely detectable with or without HBD-2. beta-Defensins 1 and 2; alpha-defensins 5 and 6; TLRs 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 8, 9, and 10; nucleotide binding oligomerization domain protein-2, and CCR6 mRNA were unaffected. HBD-2 profoundly alters the innate immune response of breast and intestinal epithelial cells.
What does it take for mobile networks to support ultra-reliable low-latency communication?

—The support of ultra-reliable low-latency communication (URLLC) is a key distinction between today’s and tomorrow’s mobile networks. The challenge lies in meeting the stringent reliability and latency requirements in stochastic wireless networks. In this paper, we study what is needed from the mobile network to support URLLC at the network scale. The type and magnitude of resources demanded to support URLLC significantly vary according to the URLLC requirement of interest and can even exceed today’s norm in mobile communication. Higher frequency bands, despite greater path loss, exhibit features that can facilitate URLLC. In addition, we also consider how network sharing can ease the provision of additional resources to meet URLLC goals.
Exploring the Design Space of Haptic Assistants: The Assistance Policy Module

Haptic assistants augment user commands to facilitate manipulation and to increase task performance. The strength of assistance, also referred to as assistance level, is one of the main design factors. While existing implementations mainly realize fixed assistance levels that are selected with respect to one design objective, we introduce an assistance policy module that dynamically changes assistance levels and can incorporate multiple performance measures. The design space of this assistance policy module is systematically analyzed and three design factors, 1) performance criteria, 2) performance reference, and 3) assistance policy, are identified. Different implementations of the assistance policy module are compared for a scenario involving guiding virtual fixtures. A single-user evaluation is used to illustrate the effect of the different implementations on the determined assistance levels, and a multi-user study allows for a statistical comparison of them. Results show that adaptive assistance policies can outperform constant assistance policies, switching assistance policies have advantages over continuously adapting policies, a multi-criteria performance measure should be favored if there is no single criterion that has an outstanding priority, and the selection of the performance reference is highly application dependent.
Main causes that lead strategies to decline at execution phase: an analysis of Brazilian companies

Purpose - The purpose of this paper is to identify what are the main causes that lead strategies to decline at execution phase. Design/methodology/approach - The paper adopted the strategy of survey with the 69 Brazilian businessmen. The questionnaire was developed from 16 causes pointed out in the literature and the results analyzed using Cronbach's alpha coefficient, Multidimensional Scaling, Exploratory Factor Analysis and Pearson Correlation Coefficient. Findings - The results of statistical analysis showed that the main causes are primarily associated to leaders defaults during execution strategies, lack of support and feedback of senior management, no involvement of the teams during the strategies formulation, failure of communication on the strategic objectives in all organizational levels, and others. Research limitations/implications - The 69 businessmen work in different sectors and there may be specific causes for each sector. The research presented by this paper did not have as objectives to analyze specific sectors of the economy. Practical implications - The results are extremely important and useful for managers during the implementation phase of the strategies and researchers in the field of business strategies. Originality/value - There are no research with the same focus and objective presented by this paper about Brazilian companies.
Plasmodium falciparum Merozoite Surface Protein 1 (MSP-1)-MSP-3 Chimeric Protein: Immunogenicity Determined with Human-Compatible Adjuvants and Induction of Protective Immune Response

ABSTRACT A chimeric gene, MSP-Fu24, was constructed by genetically coupling immunodominant, conserved regions of the two leading malaria vaccine candidates, Plasmodium falciparum merozoite surface protein 1 (C-terminal 19-kDa region [PfMSP-119]) and merozoite surface protein 3 (11-kDa conserved region [PfMSP-311]). The recombinant MSP-Fu24 protein was produced in Escherichia coli cells and purified to homogeneity by a two-step purification process with a yield of ∼30 mg/liter. Analyses of conformational properties of MSP-Fu24 using PfMSP-119-specific monoclonal antibody showed that the conformational epitopes of PfMSP-119 that may be critical for the generation of the antiparasitic immune response remained intact in the fusion protein. Recombinant MSP-Fu24 was highly immunogenic in mice and in rabbits when formulated with two different human-compatible adjuvants and induced an immune response against both PfMSP-119 and PfMSP-311. Purified anti-MSP-Fu24 antibodies showed invasion inhibition of P. falciparum 3D7 and FCR parasites, and this effect was found to be dependent on antibodies specific for the PfMSP-119 component. The protective potential of MSP-Fu24 was demonstrated by in vitro parasite growth inhibition using an antibody-dependent cell inhibition (ADCI) assay with anti-MSP-Fu24 antibodies. Overall, the antiparasitic activity was mediated by a combination of growth-inhibitory antibodies generated by both the PfMSP-119 and PfMSP-311 components of the MSP-Fu24 protein. The antiparasitic activities elicited by anti-MSP-Fu24 antibodies were comparable to those elicited by antibodies generated with immunization with a physical mixture of two component antigens, PfMSP-119 and PfMSP-311. The fusion protein induces a protective immune response with human-compatible adjuvants and may form a part of a multicomponent malaria vaccine.
Differential Role for p120-Catenin in Regulation of TLR4 Signaling in Macrophages

Activation of TLR signaling through recognition of pathogen-associated molecular patterns is essential for the innate immune response against bacterial and viral infections. We have shown that p120-catenin (p120) suppresses TLR4-mediated NF-кB signaling in LPS-challenged endothelial cells. In this article, we report that p120 differentially regulates LPS/TLR4 signaling in mouse bone marrow–derived macrophages. We observed that p120 inhibited MyD88-dependent NF-κB activation and release of TNF-α and IL-6, but enhanced TIR domain–containing adapter-inducing IFN-β–dependent IFN regulatory factor 3 activation and release of IFN-β upon LPS exposure. p120 silencing diminished LPS-induced TLR4 internalization, whereas genetic and pharmacological inhibition of RhoA GTPase rescued the decrease in endocytosis of TLR4 and TLR4-MyD88 signaling, and reversed the increase in TLR4–TIR domain–containing adapter-inducing IFN-β signaling induced by p120 depletion. Furthermore, we demonstrated that altered p120 expression in macrophages regulates the inflammatory phenotype of LPS-induced acute lung injury. These results indicate that p120 functions as a differential regulator of TLR4 signaling pathways by facilitating TLR4 endocytic trafficking in macrophages, and support a novel role for p120 in influencing the macrophages in the lung inflammatory response to endotoxin.
Subjective Cashflows and Discount Rates

What drives stock prices? Using survey forecasts for dividend growth and returns for the S&P 500 index, we find that changes in subjective dividend growth expectations are the main driver of movements in the price-dividend ratio. Subjective dividend growth expectations vary substantially over time and match future dividend growth remarkably well, while subjective return expectations are relatively flat and weakly negatively correlated with future returns. One-year subjective dividend growth expectations explain a large amount of the movements in the price-dividend ratio, accounting for 36% of the total variation. Using longer horizon subjective expectations, we estimate that subjective dividend growth expectations account for at least 73% of the variation in the price-dividend ratio, while subjective return expectations account for at most 27%. These findings highlight the importance of time-varying dividend growth expectations in determining aggregate stock prices.
Delayed Feedback Control and Bifurcation Analysis in a Chaotic Chemostat System

In this paper, the effect of delay on a nonlinear chaotic chemostat system with delayed feedback is investigated by regarding delay as a parameter. At first, the stability of the positive equilibrium and the existence of Hopf bifurcations are obtained. Then an explicit algorithm for determining the direction and the stability of the bifurcating periodic solutions is derived by using the normal form theory and center manifold argument. Finally, some numerical simulation examples are given, which indicate that the chaotic oscillation can be converted into a stable steady state or a stable periodic orbit when delay passes through certain critical values.