Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Late‐life rapamycin treatment reverses age‐related heart dysfunction

Rapamycin has been shown to extend lifespan in numerous model organisms including mice, with the most dramatic longevity effects reported in females. However, little is known about the functional ramifications of this longevity‐enhancing paradigm in mammalian tissues. We treated 24‐month‐old female C57BL/6J mice with rapamycin for 3 months and determined health outcomes via a variety of noninvasive measures of cardiovascular, skeletal, and metabolic health for individual mice. We determined that while rapamycin has mild transient metabolic effects, there are significant benefits to late‐life cardiovascular function with a reversal or attenuation of age‐related changes in the heart. RNA‐seq analysis of cardiac tissue after treatment indicated inflammatory, metabolic, and antihypertrophic expression changes in cardiac tissue as potential mechanisms mediating the functional improvement. Rapamycin treatment also resulted in beneficial behavioral, skeletal, and motor changes in these mice compared with those fed a control diet. From these findings, we propose that late‐life rapamycin therapy not only extends the lifespan of mammals, but also confers functional benefits to a number of tissues and mechanistically implicates an improvement in contractile function and antihypertrophic signaling in the aged heart with a reduction in age‐related inflammation.
A Study of Gender Differences in Preferences of Tourism Facebook Fanpage Posts

In the tourism industry, many travel agencies have started to use social media to promote their products and reach target customers, and Facebook is one of the most popular social media platforms. However, these agencies are still seeking the most suitable marketing strategies on the Facebook fanpages, and there are also some doubt regarding the effectiveness of such tools. Therefore, this research starts from the gender perspective to study what types of advertising posts in Facebook fanpages are suitable given the target tourism products. We collaborated with one leading travel agency in Taiwan to conduct this research. The results of this research show that male prefer fanpage posts that contain rational advertisement appeals while female prefer the posts that contain emotional advertisement appeals. Moreover, male prefer the posts of tourism products that focus on sensation-seeking attractions while female prefer those that focus on sensation-avoiding attractions. We further find that the posts that have better fit between advertisement appeals and tourism products based on gender preferences can have better performance in terms of greater numbers of comments, likes, and shares.
TRPV 4 calcium entry and surface expression attenuated by inhibition of myosin light chain kinase in rat pulmonary microvascular endothelial cells

In previous studies, blockade or gene deletion of either myosin light chain kinase (MLCK) or the mechanogated transient receptor potential vanilloid 4 (TRPV4) channel attenuated mechanical lung injury. To determine their effects on calcium entry, rat pulmonary microvascular endothelial cells (RPMVEC) were labeled with fluo-4 and calcium entry initiated with the TRPV4 agonist, 4a-phorbol 12, 13-didecanoate (4aPDD). Mean calcium transients peaked at ~25 sec and persisted ~500 sec. The 4aPDD response was essentially abolished in calcium-free media, or after pretreatment with the MLCK inhibitor, ML-7. ML-7 also attenuated the 4aPDD-induced inward calcium current measured directly using whole-cell patch clamp. Pretreatment with dynasore, an inhibitor of dynamin produced an initial calcium transient followed by a 4aPDD transient of unchanged peak intensity. Automated averaging of areas under the curve (AUC) of calcium transients in individual cells indicated total calcium activity with a relationship between treatment groups of ML-7 + 4aPDD < 4aPDD only < dynasore + 4aPDD. Measurement of biotinylated surface TRPV4 protein indicated a significant reduction after ML-7 pretreatment, but no significant change with dynasore treatment. RPMVEC monolayer electrical resistances were decreased by only 3% with 10 lmol/L 4aPDD and the response was dose-related. Dynasore alone produced a 29% decrease in resistance, but neither ML-7 nor dynasore affected the subsequent 4aPDD resistance response. These studies suggest that MLCK may inhibit mechanogated calcium responses through reduced surface expression of stretch activated TRPV4 channels in the plasma membrane.
On non-zero secrecy capacity and outage probability of cognitive radio networks

In this paper, we consider a spectrum sharing cognitive radio network (CRN) in the presence of an eavesdropper (EAV) who illegally listens to the primary user (PU) communication. Under the PU outage and the secondary user (SU) peak transmit power constraints, the adaptive transmit power policy of the SU transmitter (SU-Tx) is obtained. Then, expressions for the probability of existence of a non-zero secrecy capacity of the primary network and the outage probability of the secondary network are derived. Numerical results are provided to investigate the impact of the SU-Tx peak transmit power, PU average transmit power and channel mean powers among users on the outage probability and probability of existence of a non-zero secrecy capacity. Our results illustrate that the probability of existence of a non-zero secrecy capacity strongly depends on the channel conditions among users and SU-Tx adaptive transmit power policy.
Birefringence measurements of liquid crystals.

A convenient and accurate technique for measuring the birefringence of liquid crystals at discrete wavelengths or as a continuous function of wavelength in the ultraviolet, visible, or infrared spectral regions is described. The method is based on determination of the phase differences which occur when monochromatic polarized light propagates through a medium with an anisotropic refractive index. Birefringence measurements at 0.6328 μm for two liquid crystal materials, BDH-E7 and ZLI-1132, and a continuous birefringence spectrum of ZLI-1132 from 2 to 16 μm are reported. Additionally, a liquid crystal based phase retardation plate which can be voltage tuned and calibrated to provide any degree of phase shift from 0 to 2π over a wide wavelength range (0.4–16 μm) is discussed.
Human antibody to dengue soluble complement-fixing (SCF) antigens.

Soluble complement-fixing (SCF) antigens were prepared to dengue viruses, types 1 to 4, from infected suckling mouse brain. While these non-structural proteins previously had been shown to have group- and type-specific antigenic determinants and to circulate in infected mice, their participation in human dengue infection was never established. Human acute and convalescent sera from primary and secondary dengue infections were tested for antibody to SCF antigens. At two antigen units, one of nine primary convalescent samples had antibody to a single type of dengue SCF, none of 11 secondary acute-phase sera had SCF antibody while all of 22 convalescent-phase samples had relatively high titers to two or more SCF antigens. With higher antigen concentrations, none of eight primary convalescent samples and only one of nine secondary acute-phase sera had antibody to dengue 2 SCF antigen. Sucrose gradient ultracentrifugation showed the antibody activity in the secondary convalescent-phase sera to be of the IgG class, suggesting prior antigenic exposure in these hosts. The inability to detect anti-SCF in the primary convalescent and secondary acute samples was not due to IgM interference as demonstrated with ethanethiol reduction experiments. This study has demonstrated that SCF antibody is produced in humans allowing for the possibility, as postulated, that these antigens participate in dengue immunopathogenesis. The inability to detect antibody during the acute phase of secondary dengue infections and in the convalescent sera from primarily infected humans requires further study.
Dietary carbohydrates and fat influence milk composition and fatty acid profile of Mare's milk.

Department of Animal Science, The University of Connecticut, Storrs, CT 06269–4040; *Department of Animal and Poultry Sciences and **Department of Dairy Science, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, Blacksburg, VA 24061–0306; **Department of Large Animal Clinical Sciences, Virginia-Maryland Regional College of Veterinary Medicine, Blacksburg, VA 24061–0442; and Waltham Centre for Equine Nutrition and Care, Melton Mowbray, UK
Ketamine and pharmacological imaging: use of functional magnetic resonance imaging to evaluate mechanisms of action

Ketamine has been used as a pharmacological model for schizophrenia as subanesthetic infusions have been shown to produce temporary schizophrenia-like symptoms in healthy humans. More recently, ketamine has emerged as a potential treatment for multiple psychiatric disorders, including treatment-resistant depression and suicidal ideation. However, the mechanisms underlying both the psychotomimetic and the therapeutic effects of ketamine remain poorly understood. This review provides an overview of what is known of the neural mechanisms underlying the effects of ketamine and details what functional MRI studies have yielded at a systems level focused on brain circuitry. Multiple analytic approaches show that ketamine exerts robust and consistent effects at the whole-brain level. These effects are highly conserved across human and nonhuman primates, validating the use of nonhuman primate models for further investigations with ketamine. Regional analysis of brain functional connectivity suggests that the therapeutic potential of ketamine may be derived from a strengthening of executive control circuitry, making it an intriguing candidate for the treatment of drug abuse. There are still important questions about the mechanism of action and the therapeutic potential of ketamine that can be addressed using appropriate functional neuroimaging techniques.
Attenuation of DNA replication by HIV-1 reverse transcriptase near the central termination sequence.

Previous pre-steady-state kinetic studies of equine infectious anemia virus-1 (EIAV) reverse transcriptase (RT) showed two effects of DNA substrates containing the central termination sequence (CTS) on the polymerization reaction: reduction of burst amplitude in single nucleotide addition experiments and accumulation of termination products during processive DNA synthesis [Berdis, A. J., Stetor, S. R. , Le Grice, S. F. J., and Barkley, M. D. (2001) Biochemistry 40, 12140-12149]. The present study of HIV RT uses pre-steady-state kinetic techniques to evaluate the molecular mechanisms of the lower burst amplitudes using both random sequence and CTS-containing DNA substrates. The effects of various factors, including primer/template length, binding orientation, and protein concentration, on the burst amplitude were determined using random sequence DNA substrates. The percent active RT increases with total RT concentration, indicating that reversible dissociation of RT dimer is responsible for substoichiometric burst amplitudes with normal substrates. This finding was confirmed by gel mobility shift assays. Like EIAV RT, HIV RT showed lower burst amplitudes on CTS-containing DNA substrates compared to random sequences. The dissociation kinetics of RT-DNA complexes were monitored by enzyme activity and fluorescence. Biphasic kinetics were observed for both random sequence and CTS-containing DNA complexes, revealing two forms of the RT-DNA complex. A mechanism is proposed to account for reduction in burst amplitude of CTS-containing DNA that is consistent with the results of both single nucleotide addition and dissociation experiments. The two forms of the RT-DNA complex may represent partitioning of primer/template between the P- and N-sites on RT for the nucleic acid substrate.
The effects of EU-funded guarantee instruments of the performance of small and medium enterprises: Evidence from France

This paper provides a policy-oriented summary of the econometric study commissioned by the European Court of Auditors, in the context of its audit of EU-funded loan guarantee instruments.2 The study assesses the real performance effects of EU-guaranteed loans to SMEs disbursed in France during the years 2002 to 2016. The study estimates the average treatment effect of guaranteed loans over a 10-year period around disbursement, using a combination of difference-in-difference estimation, coarsened exact matching and propensity score analysis. On average, French SMEs benefitting from EU-guaranteed loans experienced additional 9% asset growth, 7% sales growth, and 8% employment growth compared to the control group. The economic significance of the effect is typically stronger for smaller and younger firms. Beneficiary SMEs also experienced 5% lower default rates. The study also estimates the effects of guaranteed loans on SME productivity. Consistent with earlier works, the analysis finds a short-run dip in productivity, accompanied by a medium-run recovery and a long-run positive effect, signalling the presence of adjustment costs in the production function following loan-induced investments. The study concludes by discussing potential implications for policy makers and further research.
Construction d'ontologies a partir de textes techniques - application aux systemes documentaires

Notre these traite de la construction d'ontologies regionales, c'est a dire relatives a un domaine donne, a partir de textes techniques. Nous proposons un modele de l'ontologie regionale documentee : il s'agit d'un reseau conceptuel decrivant un domaine bien determine, dans lequel les concepts sont relies a des expressions linguistiques et au corpus a partir duquel ils ont ete construits. Nous avons concu une methodologie et des outils pour la construction d'une ontologie regionale a partir d'une documentation technique, en adoptant des principes issus de la semantique differentielle de f. Rastier. Notre methodologie, baptisee analyse conceptuelle interactive (aci), donne une place centrale a la documentation technique et s'appuie sur les resultats d'outils informatiques d'analyse de textes. L'aci comporte deux phases : une phase d'amorcage, l'analyse macroscopique, et une phase iterative de raffinement, l'analyse microscopique. L'aci integre efficacement la dimension humaine representee par le binome cogniticien - expert. Notre methodologie est entierement fondee sur le corpus, dans le sens ou elle ne fait pas appel a des ressources conceptuelles externes. Nous avons developpe des outils de support pour l'aci : (1) lexiclass, outil de classification automatique d'expressions linguistiques en fonction de leurs relations syntaxiques ; (2) les outils d'induction de structures conceptuelles qui s'appuient a la fois sur les resultats d'une analyse morpho-syntaxique et sur la version courante de l'ontologie pour proposer de nouvelles structures conceptuelles susceptibles d'enrichir cette ontologie. La these s'est deroulee a la direction des etudes et recherches d'edf dans le cadre des travaux sur les systemes de consultation de documentation technique (scdt). Un scdt se presente sous la forme d'un hypertexte offrant differents modes d'acces a la documentation technique relative a un domaine donne, dont deux index, l'un representant les concepts du domaine et l'autre les taches de l'utilisateur. La construction de ces index necessite, au prealable, une phase d'ingenierie des connaissances. Notre methodologie et nos outils ont ete mis en uvre dans le cadre d'un projet de construction d'un scdt dans le domaine de la planification des reseaux electriques.
Urinary oligosaccharides in pregnant or lactating women: pitfall in screening.

Vol. 39 p. 2347: In the letter by Thaddeus W. Kurczynski, Kevin S. Kendzierski, and Adrian C. Sewell entitled "Urinary oligosaccharides in pregnant or lactating women: pitfall in screening," 1993;39:2346-7, the name of the first author was misspelled.
Corporate social responsibility expenditure on the financial performance of financial institutions with the special reference of Rural Development Bank (RDB)

CSR activities and expenditure have gone up significantly in last few years. Part of this increase attributed to certain directions of the Sri Lankan financial sector. Besides providing goods and services in order to achieve profitability, they also serve as a source of livelihood for many, pay taxes that enable governments to operate, and have an impact on the physical and social environment. However, the practice of social responsibility poses a challenge to many financial institutions in Sri Lanka including the RDB. The socially responsible acts of financial have been assumed to have negative effect on the expenditure and profitability of some financial institutions thereby affecting their profit margins in the short-term. This research therefore focused on determining the extent of the effects of corporate social responsibility (CSR) expenditures on the financial performance of financial institutions. A survey and interviews of some selected department heads at the RDB and reviews of the annual CSR reports revealed that the immediate effect of socially responsible activities on the financial performance of financial institutions tends to be negative. In the long term, such efforts have the potential to accrue positive impacts for financial institutions that engage in socially responsible behaviors as part of their core functions. It is therefore recommended that financial institutions need to undertake socially responsible activities that are part of their core functions so as to overcome the initial shocks that are associated with such programs.
Infants' Consumption of a New Food Enhances Acceptance of Similar Foods

The number of feedings needed to increase intake of a novel target food was investigated, and whether exposure effects generalized to other foods in a sample of 4 to 7-month-old infants (N=39). Other foods varied in their similarity to the target food, including the same food prepared by another manufacturer, similar foods (other fruits for infants receiving a target fruit) and a different food (e. g. vegetables for infants receiving a target fruit). Infants were fed the target food once a day for 10 days. Intake was used to indicate acceptance. Results revealed that exposure dramatically increased infants' intake of the target food, from an average of 35-72 g. Intake of the different food was unchanged. Same and similar food intake increased with target food exposure. Intake of the target, same and similar foods nearly doubled to 60 g after one exposure to the target food. These rapid increases in intake contrast the slower changes seen in young children. Results for the other foods suggest that infants may have difficulty discriminating among many foods.
Unregulated Expression of the Imprinted Genes H19 andIgf2r in Mouse Uniparental Fetuses*

The present study shows that the H19and Igf2r genes, which are imprinted and expressed solely from maternal alleles, are expressed in an unregulatable manner in mouse uniparental, androgenetic, and parthenogenetic fetuses at day 9.5 of gestation. In the androgenetic fetuses, theH19 and Igf2r genes were respectively expressed at 12 and 40% of the levels in biparental fetuses. In addition, the expression of both genes was excessive (1259 and 482%, respectively) in the parthenotes. These expressions of the imprinted genes were not regulated by methylation in the regulatory regions. Moreover, the expression of the antisense Igf2r RNA (Air) was also excessive and was not correlated withIgf2r gene expression in the uniparental fetuses. Taken together, these results indicate that the parental specific expression of imprinted genes is not maintained in particular genes in uniparental embryos, which in turn suggests that both parental genomes are required to establish maternal specific expression of theH19 and Igf2r genes by trans-acting mechanisms.
Gene flow and inbreeding depression inferred from fine‐scale genetic structure in an endangered heterostylous perennial, Primula sieboldii

We estimated the gene dispersal distance and the magnitude of inbreeding depression from the fine‐scale genetic structure in the endangered heterostylous perennial Primula sieboldii. We indirectly estimated the neighbourhood size (Nb) and the standard deviation of gene dispersal distance (σg) from the detected genetic structure by using 10 microsatellite markers. We also estimated the fitness reduction in mating among neighbouring individuals caused by biparental inbreeding according to the genetic structure. We found clear fine‐scale genetic structure (a significantly positive kinship coefficient within 42.3 m), and the indirect estimates of σg and Nb were 15.7 m and 50.9, respectively. These indirect estimates were similar to the direct estimates (18.4 m and 44.0). The slightly larger indirect estimate of Nb may reflect that inbreeding depression and genetic structure or rare long‐distance dispersal that were overlooked in the direct estimate have elongated the long‐term average of gene dispersal distance. P. sieboldii is also likely to suffer about 19% fitness reduction in progenies from mating among individuals 5 m apart. Our results suggest that biparental inbreeding and genetic structure can affect the range of gene dispersal and seed reproductive success in P. sieboldii.
INFLUENCE OF CASH FLOW TRENDS ON SHAREHOLDERS RETURNS AMONG MANUFACTURING AND ALLIED COMPANIES LISTED IN THE NAIROBI SECURITIES EXCHANGE

The study investigated the effect of cash flow trends on shareholders returns among listed manufacturing and allied companies in Kenya. Over the recent times most of these firms have been showing serious cash flow difficulties. The specific objective of the study was to examine the influence of cash from financing activities on shareholders’ returns. The free cash flow theory guided the study. The study adopted a descriptive research design. The target population comprised of accounts and finance staff working with the aforementioned entities. The study population constituted 227 such staff. A sample of 54 respondents was obtained using stratified random sampling technique. The data collected were processed and analyzed using Statistical Package for Social Science Version 24 software. The results of the analysis were presented using tables. The study found that cash flows from financing activities significantly influenced shareholders’ returns (t=6.821; p < 0.05). The study concluded that cash flows from financing activities were highly important. The study recommended that manufacturing and allied firms should increase the payment of dividends
A new multi-objective/product green supply chain considering quality level reprocessing cost

Green supply chain is among the hottest recent research subjects in supply chain management which not only optimises the costs and service levels during a time period all over the chain, but also considers effect of emission of CO2 greenhouse gas on the overall value of supply chain for sustainable development. Therefore, in this paper, a bi-objective, multi-stage, multi-product quadratic optimisation model is proposed by taking into account the quality level of the purchased materials plus their reprocessing extra costs to a system in stochastic mode and the environmental costs of CO2 emission. Here we also consider both straight and step by step transportation in supply chain network design. Since the problem is NP-hard, a priority-based genetic algorithm model is proposed. In this paper, three methods including BOM, LP-metric and elastic BOM are applied to solve small data, whereas, elastic BOM offers larger solution space and more justified solutions. Hence, for solving large data, three priority-based genetic algorithms corresponding to MODM techniques are utilised. Then, by using TOPSIS for small and ANOVA for medium and large problems, the optimum procedure for balancing the existing costs and CO2 emission in the chain is selected.