Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Blockade of Chronic High Glucose–Induced Endothelial Apoptosis by Sasa borealis Bamboo Extract

Hyperglycemia is a causal factor in the development of diabetic vascular complications including impaired vascular smooth muscle contractility and increased cell proliferation. The present study was designed to investigate the effects of Sasa borealis water-extract (SBwE) on chronic hyperglycemia-induced oxidative stress and apoptosis in human umbilical endothelial cells (HUVEC). HUVEC were cultured in 5.5 mM low glucose, 5.5 mM glucose plus 27.5 mM mannitol as an osmotic control, or 33 mM high glucose for 5 days in the absence and presence of 1–30 μg/ ml SBwE. Caspase-3 activation and Annexin V staining revealed chronic high glucose–induced endothelial apoptotic toxicity with a generation of oxidants detected by DCF-fluorescence, and these effects were reversed by SBwE at ≥1 μg/ml in a dose-dependent manner. Cytoprotective SBwE substantially reduced the sustained high glucose–induced expression of endothelial nitric oxide synthase and attenuated the formation of peroxynitrite radicals. The suppressive effects of SBwE were most likely mediated through blunting activation of PKCβ2 and NADPH oxidase promoted by high glucose. In addition, this bamboo extract modulated the high glucose–triggered mitogen-activated protein kinase–dependent upregulation of heat-shock proteins. Our results suggest that SBwE suppressed these detrimental effects caused by PKC-dependent peroxynitrite formation via activation of NADPH oxidase and induction of nitric oxide synthase and heat-shock protein family that may be essential mechanisms responsible for increased apoptotic oxidative stress in diabetic vascular complications. Moreover, the blockade of high glucose–elicited heat-shock protein induction appeared to be responsible for SBwE-alleviated endothelial apoptosis. Therefore, SBwE may be a therapeutic agent for the prevention and treatment of diabetic endothelial dysfunction and related complications.
An Exploratory Study on the CHRNA3-CHRNA5-CHRNB4 Cluster, Smoking, and Parkinson’s Disease

Background: Smokers have a lower risk of Parkinson’s disease (PD). Recent genome-wide association studies (GWAS) have consistently linked several single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in the CHRNA3-CHRNA5-CHRNB4 cluster on chromosome 15.q25 to smoking behaviors and nicotine dependence. Investigations into these SNPs may help explain the nature and mechanisms of the smoking-PD relationship. Objective: To examine whether the genetic variations that were consistently associated with smoking or nicotine dependence in recent GWAS also predict the risk of PD. Methods: This is a population-based case-control study of 788 physician-diagnosed PD patients and 911 controls, all non-Hispanic Whites. Seven SNPs were selected based on findings from recent GWAS on smoking and nicotine dependence, all from the nicotinic acetylcholine receptor subunits (CHRN) A3-A5-B4. Odds ratios (ORs) and 95% confidence intervals were derived from logistic regression models under the assumption of logit-additive allelic effects. Results: Four SNPs in linkage disequilibrium from the CHRNA3-CHRNA5-CHRNB4 cluster were associated with smoking duration (OR >1.3, p < 0.05). However, none of the SNPs from this cluster was associated with PD risk in the overall analysis or after stratifying on smoking status. Conclusion: This preliminary analysis does not support a relationship between these smoking-related GWAS SNPs and PD.
The Marine Carbonate System: Ionic Interactions and Biogeochemical Processes

The absorption of atmospheric carbon dioxide (CO2) by seawater and subsequent equilibrium reactions within this ionic medium give rise to a complex chemical system often referred to as the marine carbonate system. This system is influenced by physical and biogeochemical processes in the ocean. The marine carbonate system is a major component of the global carbon cycle and is, by virtue of its interaction with atmospheric CO2, of fundamental importance to the Earth’s climate. Accurate knowledge of the properties of the marine carbonate system is a prerequisite for understanding the chemical forcing and consequences of key biogeochemical processes such as biological production, organic matter respiration, or uptake of anthropogenic carbon. The assessment of the marine carbonate system builds on precise measurements by state-of-the-art analytical methods as well as an understanding of the underlying fundamental chemistry in terms of ionic interactions and equilibrium thermodynamics. This thesis focuses on different aspects of the marine carbonate system with emphasis on biogeochemical processes and thermodynamic modelling of the seawater ionic medium. A quantitative understanding of the equilibrium solution chemistry of seawater ultimately relies on accurate estimations of activity coefficients of all the various components that make up the solution. Activity coefficients of the carbonate system in sodium chloride solution of varying ionic strength were estimated by Monte Carlo simulations at different temperatures, as well as activity coefficients of chloride and sulfate salts of a simplified seawater electrolyte, suggesting that a complete Monte Carlo description of seawater activity coefficients may be achievable using the hard sphere approach with a very limited number of fitted parameters. Chemical speciation modelling showed that the measured excess alkalinity of Baltic seawater is consistent with an organic alkalinity derived from humic substances of terrestrial origin. In deep waters of the Baltic Sea, oxygen and sulfate was found to be the major electron acceptors to the remineralization of organic matter under different redox conditions. It was further suggested that this organic matter predominantly had a terrestrial origin. The subsurface waters of the central Arctic Ocean were found to be a sink of anthropogenic CO2, attributed to uptake by source waters of Atlantic origin. The sea-ice covered central Arctic Ocean was also shown to harbor low, but significant biological productivity. Late summer net community production was estimated using multiple approaches based on both discrete and underway measurements and results showed large spatial variability between the deep basins with extremes at the marginal ice zone.
Brand Image as a Function of Self-Image and Self-Brand Connection

This study investigates how brand image relates to self-image and how brand consumption contributes to the construction of self. Most of the research on brand image refers to brand attitudes. Day (1970) considers attitudes "a central integrating feature” in marketing theory and advertising evaluation. Gardner (1985, p.197) studied differences in brand attitudes as they relate to advertisements, finding attitude toward an advertisement affects attitude toward the advertised brand as much under a brand evaluation set as under a nonbrand evaluation set. The present study goes beyond Gardner's research to show why such attitudes exist as they relate to brand consumption and self-image. Erickson and Johansson (1985) also investigated product evaluations, with an analysis of surveyed beliefs, attitudes, and intentions regarding fashion brands. They concluded that price is not a significant determinant of overall attitude. This study inquires whether brand attitudes and beliefs correlate with purchase behavior in the form of self-brand connection.
Evaluation of Abatement Technologies for Pig Houses by Dynamic Olfactometry and On-site Mass Spectrometry

The aim of the present study was to evaluate the effect of abatement technologies for pig houses on odour based on 1) on-site measurements of dynamic olfactometry and chemical odorants and 2) dynamic olfactometry with storage of air samples in sampling bags. The study was conducted at two facilities with growing-finishing pigs with either biological air cleaning or slurry acidification. Five measurements days were carried out at the facility with biological air cleaning and six days at the facility with slurry acidification. A mobile laboratory containing proton-transfer-reaction mass spectrometry (PTR-MS) and an olfactometer was applied for the on-site measurements. The mobile laboratory was connected to the odour sources by insulated and heated Teflon tubes that were flushed continuously with sample air. The sampling bags for dynamic olfactometry were collected simultaneously with the on-site measurements and were analysed after ca. 24 h. At each measurement day three repetition were performed before and after the biological air cleaner and in the pig house with slurry acidification and in an identical control pig house. Odour threshold values for the individual chemical odorants were used to estimate the odour activity value for each sample. The results demonstrated that evaluation of the abatement technologies based on the on-site measurements of dynamic olfactometry and the odour activity value based on chemical odorants were in agreement and showed the same trend in data. However, if the effect of the abatement technologies was evaluated based on dynamic olfactometry with storage in sampling bags the effect of the biological air cleaner was in general underestimated and the effect of the slurry acidification system was overestimated. In conclusion, the storage in sampling bags seems to bias the measurements of odour and this may influence the estimated effect of abatement technologies. More research is needed to limit the bias of sampling bags used for dynamic olfactometry.
What Causes Drivers to Involve In a Traffic Altercation ?

Although many of the previous research examined aggressive driving, driving anger, and road rage, drivers’ involvement in traffic altercations has received little attention. It is very likely that drivers may involve in a traffic altercation with other drivers even for meaningless reasons. To date, there has been no study or government report on the frequencies of traffic altercations on the roads and factors related to traffic altercations were reported in Turkey. However, there has been intense media coverage when traffic altercations lead to severe injuries or death of a man. Research conducted in Turkey focused on aggressive driving behaviors and driving anger which may provide clues for understanding factors related to traffic altercations. The result of those research indicated drivers expressed their anger mostly verbally followed by the use of vehicle and physical aggressive expression. The research did not include whether those aggressive behaviors responded by the other side and subsequently lead to an argument or not. Thus, the aim of this study to examine the factors leading drivers to involve in traffic altercations. Three hundred and forty nine drivers working in various public department participated in the study. Fourteen percent of the participants indicated they had a traffic altercation in 2013. Since our dependent variable was dichotomous measure, we used logistic regression analyses to examine our hypothesis. It was hypothesized that participants’ risky driving behaviors, sense of time pressure, driving anger, sensation seeking, and risk perception were related to traffic altercation. The findings partly confirm the hypothesis that risky driving behavior and sensation seeking were related to traffic altercation. Further, it was found that drivers are less likely to involve in traffic altercation as they become older. However, the result indicated that daily driving distances, driving anger, time pressure, and perceived risk in the traffic are not related to participants’ involvement in traffic altercation.
Corporate governance reform and earnings management

This paper explores whether the Sarbanes-Oxley Act (the SOX Act) of 2002 is associated with the incidence of earnings management in the US. The results reveal significant reductions in abnormal accruals after the implementation of the SOX Act. Furthermore, following the implementation of the SOX Act, the authors find an association between firms with high pre-managed earnings and fewer incidences of income-reducing earnings management behavior. In contrast, there is no evidence to suggest that the SOX Act has succeeded in restraining income-increasing manipulation by firms with poor pre-management earnings. Our findings suggest that the SOX Act has contributed significantly to the integrity of financial statements; however, for those firms with high incentives to achieve earnings benchmarks, the effect is limited.
Application of next-generation sequencing to identify mitochondrial mutations: Study on m.7511T>C in patients with hearing loss

Interruptions in the activity of mitochondria induced by mutations in the mitochondrial genome (mtDNA) can be the source of numerous diseases including hearing loss (HL). One of the mitochondrial variants responsible for HL is the m.7511T>C mutation located in the mitochondrially encoded tRNA serine 1 (UCN) gene. Next-generation sequencing was used to search for the HL mutations in the whole mtDNA of 2 patients with maternal inheritance and real time-polymerase chain reaction was applied for population screening of the m.7511T>C mutation in a group of 1,644 patients with HL. Sequencing of the whole mtDNA in 2 probands revealed a homoplasmic m.7511T>C mutation. Inheritance of the m.7511T>C mutation has been confirmed in examined matrilineal relatives in both families. The mean age of HL onset was 14.1 years old with the mean degree of HL equaling 74.8 dB. A large-scale search for the m.7511T>C mutation among the patients with HL established the frequency of the m.7511T>C mutation at 0.12% among Polish patients with HL. In conclusion, this first report on central European patients harboring the m.7511T>C mutation reveals that the m.7511T>C may be important when diagnosing patients with maternally inherited HL.
Set Up of a Robotized System for Interior Wall Painting

Although the use of spraying robotized systems for interior painting was already shown to be feasible and convenient, a lot of experiments must be carried out in the future to deliver a highly autonomous robot for interior painting. A new approach is proposed: two laboratories are set, the former being a full-scale and the latter a 1:4 scaled-down one, which is equipped with one robotized spraying machine (called "Pollock #1"). Thanks to its reduced size, less amount of raw materials, power supply, maintenance effort and wall surfaces for testing are required and experimental tests go quickly. This paper describes the experimental set-up constituting the scaled laboratory and analyzes proper trajectories for the robot's spraying end-tool. In addition, the problem of re-scaling back the obtained results to full size buildings is addressed. Finally, the first experimental results obtained in the foregoing scaled laboratory are discussed, showing the very good performances of Pollock #1.
Cross talk between serine/threonine and tyrosine kinases regulates ADP-induced thromboxane generation in platelets

Summary ADP-induced thromboxane generation depends on Src family kinases (SFKs) and is enhanced with pan-protein kinase C (PKC) inhibitors, but it is not clear how these two events are linked. The aim of the current study is to investigate the role of Y311 phosphorylated PKCδ in regulating ADP-induced platelet activation. In the current study, we employed various inhibitors and murine platelets from mice deficient in specific molecules to evaluate the role of PKCδ in ADP-induced platelet responses. We show that, upon stimulation of platelets with 2MeSADP, Y311 on PKCδ is phosphorylated in a P2Y1/Gq and Lyn-dependent manner. By using PKCδ and Lyn knockout murine platelets, we also show that tyrosine phosphorylated PKCδ plays a functional role in mediating 2MeSADP-induced thromboxane generation. 2MeSADP-induced PKCδ Y311 phosphorylation and thromboxane generation were potentiated in human platelets pre-treated with either a pan-PKC inhibitor, GF109203X or a PKC α/β inhibitor and in PKC α or β knockout murine platelets compared to controls. Furthermore, we show that PKC α/β inhibition potentiates the activity of SFK, which further hyper-phosphorylates PKCδ and potentiates thromboxane generation. These results show for the first time that tyrosine phosphorylated PKCδ regulates ADP-induced thromboxane generation independent of its catalytic activity and that classical PKC isoforms α/β regulate the tyrosine phosphorylation on PKCδ and subsequent thromboxane generation through tyrosine kinase, Lyn, in platelets.
Hedge Disclosures , Future Prices , and Production Distortions

In this paper, we identify social benefits to hedge accounting disclosures that have not previously been examined. We show that from the perspective of price efficiency in the futures market the key information that is provided by hedge accounting is information about firms' underlying risk exposures. Without this information, the futures price confounds information regarding firms' hedge-motivated trades with their speculative trades, making the futures price inefficient. Our model shows that an inefficient futures price causes significant externalities by distorting the production choices of an entire industry. In the presence of hedge disclosures, the futures price appropriately informs production decisions in the whole industry. In addition to distortion in production choices, we also investigate the effect of an inefficient futures price on the risk-sharing role of the futures market. We find that Arijit Mukherji passed away in October 2000. He was our colleague, mentor, advisor, and friend. We dedicate this paper to his memory and his contributions to the field of accounting. He will be missed. *University of Minnesota; tUniversity of Minnesota and Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis; +University of Chicago. We thank workshop participants at the 1998 Accounting Mini Conference at Minnesota, the 2000 Journal of Accounting Research Conference, Berkeley, Columbia, Chicago, the LSE Financial Markets Group, Northwestern, Ohio State, Penn State, Stanford, UCLA, and the European and American Accounting Association Annual Meetings. In particular, we have benefited from the comments of Regina Anctil, Stan Baiman, Mary Barth, Margaret Bray, Robert Bushman, Ron Dye, Frank Gigler, Dan Gode, Charles Goodhart, Rachel Hayes, Thomas Hemmer, Jack Hughes, Jim Jordan, Bjorn Jorgensen, Young Kwon, Richard Leftwich, Nobu Kiyotaki, Rick Lambert, Maureen McNichols, Nahum Melumad, John O'Brien, Jim Patell, Jim Peck, Madhav Rajan, Abbie Smith, Phil Stocken, Brett Trueman, Igor Vaysman, Robert Verrecchia, Amir Ziv, and an anonymous referee. The views expressed herein are those of the authors and not necessarily those of the Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis or the Federal Reserve System.
Title Delivery of Complex Organic Compounds from Evolved Stars tothe Solar System

Stars in the late stages of evolution are able to synthesize complex organic compounds with aromatic and aliphatic structures over very short time scales. These compounds are ejected into the interstellar medium and distributed throughout the Galaxy. The structures of these compounds are similar to the insoluble organic matter found in meteorites. In this paper, we discuss to what extent stellar organics has enriched the primordial Solar System and possibly the early Earth.
Optimal solution in producing 32-nm CMOS technology transistor with desired leakage current

The objective of this paper is to optimize the process parameters of 32-nm CMOS process to get minimum leakage current. Four process parameters were chosen, namely: (i) source-drain implantation, (ii) source-drain compensation implantation, (iii) halo implantation time, and (iv) silicide annealing time. The Taguchi method technique was used to design the experiment. Two noise factors were used that consist of four measurements for each row of experiment in the L9 array, thus leading to a set of experiments consisting of 36 runs. The simulator of ATHENA and ATLAS were used for MOSFET fabrication process and electrical characterization, respectively. The results clearly show that the compensation implantation (46%) has the most dominant impact on the resulting leakage current in NMOS device, whereas source-drain (S/D) implantation was the second ranking factor (35%). The percent effects on signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) of silicide annealing temperature and halo implantation are much lower being 12% and 7%, respectively. For the PMOS device, halo implantation was defined as an adjustment factor because of its minimal effect on SNR and highest on the means (43%). Halo implantation doping as the optimum solution for fabricating the 32-nm NMOS transistor is 2.38×10 atom/cm. As conclusion, this experiment proves that the Taguchi analysis can be effectively used in finding the optimum solution in producing 32-nm CMOS transistor with acceptable leakage current, well within International Technology Roadmap for Semiconductor (ITRS) prediction.
Aggressive Behavior of Phayre’s Leaf Monkeys Towards Domestic Dogs in Cachar District of Assam, India

DEB MITRAJIT, ADHIKARY PINAKI, SLAMA PETR, HAVLICEK ZDENĚK, ŘEZAC PETR, BHATTACHARJEE PARIMAL C, ROYCHOUDHURY SHUBHADEEP. 2015. Aggressive Behavior of Phayre’s Leaf Monkeys Towards Domestic Dogs in Cachar District of Assam, India. Acta Universitatis Agriculturae et Silviculturae Mendelianae Brunensis, 63(4): 1105–1109. Phayre’s leaf-monkeys (Trachipithecus phayrei) or Phayre’s langurs are old world monkeys that inhabit South-East Asian tropical forests. The species is under a severe threat due to large scale habitat destruction and disturbances by people living near the habitat of langurs. The present study recorded the aggressive behavior of male langurs towards domestic dogs in the Cachar district of Assam. Response of each member in the troop was observed. The sophisticated behavior of males in safeguarding the weaker members was observed. In conclusion, the harassment by domestic dogs may result in the expulsion of Phayre’s langurs from their native habitat.
Precision Position Control of the DelFly II Flapping-wing Micro Air Vehicle in a Wind-tunnel

Flapping-wing MAVs represent an attractive alternative to conventional designs with rotary wings, since they promise a much higher efficiency in forward flight. However, further insight into the flapping-wing aerodynamics is still needed to get closer to the flight performance observed in natural fliers. Here we present the first step necessary to perform a flow visualization study of the air around the flapping wings of a DelFly II MAV in-flight: a precision position control of flight in a wind-tunnel. We propose a hierarchical control scheme implemented in the open-source Paparazzi UAV autopilot software. Using a decoupling, combined feed-forward and feed-back control approach as a core, we were able to achieve a precision of 2:5 cm for several seconds, which is much beyond the requirements for a time resolved stereo PIV technique.
Does Certificate Transparency Break the Web? Measuring Adoption and Error Rate

Certificate Transparency (CT) is an emerging system for enabling the rapid discovery of malicious or misissued certificates. Initially standardized in 2013, CT is now finally beginning to see widespread support. Although CT provides desirable security benefits, web browsers cannot begin requiring all websites to support CT at once, due to the risk of breaking large numbers of websites. We discuss challenges for deployment, analyze the adoption of CT on the web, and measure the error rates experienced by users of the Google Chrome web browser. We find that CT has so far been widely adopted with minimal breakage and warnings. Security researchers often struggle with the tradeoff between security and user frustration: rolling out new security requirements often causes breakage. We view CT as a case study for deploying ecosystem-wide change while trying to minimize end user impact. We discuss the design properties of CT that made its success possible, as well as draw lessons from its risks and pitfalls that could be avoided in future large-scale security deployments.