Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Lipid-Induced Peroxidation in the Intestine Is Involved in Glucose Homeostasis Imbalance in Mice

Background Daily variations in lipid concentrations in both gut lumen and blood are detected by specific sensors located in the gastrointestinal tract and in specialized central areas. Deregulation of the lipid sensors could be partly involved in the dysfunction of glucose homeostasis. The study aimed at comparing the effect of Medialipid (ML) overload on insulin secretion and sensitivity when administered either through the intestine or the carotid artery in mice. Methodology/Principal Findings An indwelling intragastric or intracarotid catheter was installed in mice and ML or an isocaloric solution was infused over 24 hours. Glucose and insulin tolerance and vagus nerve activity were assessed. Some mice were treated daily for one week with the anti-lipid peroxidation agent aminoguanidine prior to the infusions and tests. The intestinal but not the intracarotid infusion of ML led to glucose and insulin intolerance when compared with controls. The intestinal ML overload induced lipid accumulation and increased lipid peroxidation as assessed by increased malondialdehyde production within both jejunum and duodenum. These effects were associated with the concomitant deregulation of vagus nerve. Administration of aminoguanidine protected against the effects of lipid overload and normalized glucose homeostasis and vagus nerve activity. Conclusions/Significance Lipid overload within the intestine led to deregulation of gastrointestinal lipid sensing that in turn impaired glucose homeostasis through changes in autonomic nervous system activity.
Assessment of long-term quality of life using the FACT-BL questionnaire in patients with an ileal conduit, continent reservoir, or orthotopic neobladder.

OBJECTIVE To assess and compare quality of life (QOL) of patients followed for a long time who underwent an ileal conduit (IC), continent reservoir (CR) or ileal neobladder (NB) using FACT-BL, a bladder-cancer-specific questionnaire. METHODS One hundred and forty-seven patients underwent radical cystectomy and urinary diversion for bladder cancer from 1987 to 2002 at our institution. Of them, 79 (54%) patients were asked to participate in this study. Forty-nine patients (20 IC, 14 CR and 15 NB) returned the answered questionnaire for a survey response rate of 62%. Mean follow-up was 83.0 months. RESULTS Four categories (physical, social/familial, emotional and functional well-being) in FACT-G were equally favorable in these groups. Patients with IC had less trouble controlling urine but had a worse image on altered body appearance compared with NB patients. Interest in sex was extremely low in all patients and capability of maintaining an erection was also low in 39 male patients. The mean total value of FACT-BL in IC, CR and NB patients was 106.3+/-16.4, 104.0+/-14.2, and 110.9+/-18.0, respectively, showing no significant difference. Ten (77%) of 13 IC, seven (78%) of nine CR and six (86%) of seven NB patients answered that they would choose the same type of diversion if they had the choice again. CONCLUSIONS The type of urinary diversion does not appear to be associated with a different QOL by general cancer-related assessment. Urinary function and body image are affected and related to the method used to reconstruct the urinary system.
Quantifying cancer progression with conjunctive Bayesian networks

Motivation: Cancer is an evolutionary process characterized by accumulating mutations. However, the precise timing and the order of genetic alterations that drive tumor progression remain enigmatic. Results: We present a specific probabilistic graphical model for the accumulation of mutations and their interdependencies. The Bayesian network models cancer progression by an explicit unobservable accumulation process in time that is separated from the observable but error-prone detection of mutations. Model parameters are estimated by an Expectation-Maximization algorithm and the underlying interaction graph is obtained by a simulated annealing procedure. Applying this method to cytogenetic data for different cancer types, we find multiple complex oncogenetic pathways deviating substantially from simplified models, such as linear pathways or trees. We further demonstrate how the inferred progression dynamics can be used to improve genetics-based survival predictions which could support diagnostics and prognosis. Availability: The software package ct-cbn is available under a GPL license on the web site cbg.ethz. ch/software/ct-cbn Contact: moritz.gerstung@bsse.ethz. ch
Increased virulence of Zygomycetes organisms following exposure to voriconazole: a study involving fly and murine models of zygomycosis.

BACKGROUND Breakthrough zygomycosis is increasingly observed among patients at high risk for fungal infection who are receiving voriconazole, reflecting either selective pressure or voriconazole-associated alterations in Zygomycetes virulence. We tested the latter hypothesis, using 2 phylogenetically disparate zygomycosis models. METHODS Three Zygomycetes strains were exposed to voriconazole by serial passages on voriconazole-containing medium. The virulence of voriconazole-exposed Zygomycetes strains was compared with that of voriconazole-nonexposed strains in Drosophila and murine models of zygomycosis by assessment of survival curves, pulmonary fungal burdens, and expression of inflammation-associated genes. RESULTS Among Toll-deficient (Tl(-/-)) and wild-type fruit flies, infection with Zygomycetes isolates that had been exposed to voriconazole yielded significantly lower survival rates than infection with Zygomycetes strains grown in drug-free media. In contrast, exposure of Rhizopus oryzae to itraconazole, amphotericin B, or caspofungin and exposure of Aspergillus fumigatus to voriconazole did not alter the virulence of these isolates in fruit flies. In the murine model, infection with a R. oryzae strain preexposed to voriconazole was associated with decreased survival rates and increased pulmonary fungal burdens, compared with infection with a voriconazole-nonexposed R. oryzae strain. In addition, enhanced angioinvasion, inflammation, and expression of genes involved in stress response and tissue repair were found in mouse lungs infected with voriconazole-exposed R. oryzae. CONCLUSIONS Exposure of Zygomycetes organisms to voriconazole selectively enhanced their virulence. The mechanisms underlying these phenotypic changes should be studied further.
Effects of strain and feed restriction at starter phase on performance of broiler chickens in the humid tropics

The objective of the present study was to determine the effect of quantitative feed restriction on the growth performance and livability of broiler strains. It also aimed at estimating the economics of production of the different treatments applied in order to suggest the cheapest and profitable means of growing broiler chickens. A total number of 90 day-old broilers of Anak Titan and Arbor Acres were randomly allocated to three treatments: ad libitum (T1), 85% ad libitum (T2) and 75% ad libitum (T3)from 11 th -18 days of age. Thereafter, the birds were given full feed until the age of 49 days. Treatments were replicated three times with five birds per replicate. Data on body weights and feed consumed were recorded on weekly basis to the seventh week. It was evident from this study that feed restriction during second week post-hatch has no detrimental effects on the livability, final body weight and weight gain of the two strains of broilers. Feed cost which was a major component contributed 46% to the total cost of production. With regard to feed restriction regimen, control and 85% ad libitum birds were at par in body weight and weight gain, but superior to 75% ad libitum birds. In addition, birds fed 85% ad libitum had the least feed conversion ratio and recorded highest net profit per bird when compared with control and 75% ad libitum. Average net profit per bird for birds fed 85% ad libitum was $2.598, while control and 75% ad libitum were $2.584 and $1.906, respectively. It is suggested that for maximization of feed utilization and profitable broiler meat production in the humid tropics, Arbor Acre and 85% ad libitum for short-term during starter phase could be considered.
Injury in First Nations communities in Ontario.

BACKGROUND High and variable rates of injury have been reported in Aboriginal communities in Canada. This has not been well studied for specific injury types. We sought to compare the rate and categories of injuries leading to hospital admission among those in First Nations communities relative to those living in small northern and southern communities in Ontario. METHODS Administrative data were used to define the study populations. The incidence of all-cause injury and specific injury categories for residents living in Ontario's Aboriginal communities (N = 28,816) was determined for 2004 using hospital discharge data. Comparisons were made with residents of small communities in northern (N = 211,834) and southern Ontario (N = 650,002). Age- and sex-adjusted rates were calculated. RESULTS All-cause-injury age- and sex-adjusted rates were 2.5 times higher for those living in First Nations communities compared to those living in northern communities. Relative risks (RR) for specific injury types in First Nations compared with northern communities were: assault (RR = 5.5 in females and 4.8 in males), intentional self-harm (RR = 5.9 in females and 5.2 in males) and accidental poisoning (RR = 4.9 in females and 3.7 in males). Differences were also seen between northern and southern communities: assault (RR = 2.8 in females and 3.5 in males), intentional self-harm (RR = 2.1 in females and 1.4 in males) and accidental poisoning (RR = 2.2 in females and 1.7 in males). DISCUSSION Injuries severe enough to require a hospital admission were higher in First Nations communities in northern Ontario relative to those in northern and southern Ontario communities. Higher rates of certain injuries were also noted in northern compared with southern communities. This underscores the importance of using a geographic comparison group.
Motherhood as Armenianness: Expressions of Femininity in the Making of Armenian National Identity

This article explores the discourses on gender roles and the place of Armenian women in the Armenian nation-building process, especially focusing on the changes since the 1988 national movement formation. This study is based on extensive interviews conducted in Armenia and Karabakh in 2011. Although Armenian women were praised for their role during the nationalist movement of 1988 and the Karabakh war, they went back into their ‘traditional’ role in the aftermath. Motherhood is a strong concept in Armenian women's (self-)identification with their nation, constructing it as a unique Armenian trait that distinguishes Armenian women from ‘others’. The self-expression of women highlights the authenticity of Armenian constructions of femininity as motherhood, embedded in the national and ethnic self-identification of Armenian women. The concept of Armenian motherhood is therefore a particular expression filtered through a distinct history of national struggle and genocide, and upheld by Armenian women through that perception.
Anatomy of Bank Distress: The Information Content of Accounting Fundamentals within and Across Countries

This paper studies the information content of bank accounting fundamental data in the prediction of bank distress using an international sample of banks from 15 Western European countries and the U.S. during the financial crisis of 2007-12. We assemble an exhaustive and unique set of bank distress events, and model bank distress as a function of accounting-based fundamentals, while controlling for country-year fixed effects, and the type of resolution in the distressed entity. The analysis of our bank distress models reveals a substantial cross-country variation in the ability of accounting fundamentals to discriminate between distressed and non-distressed banks within countries. We examine the extent to which the variation in informativeness and accuracy of accounting fundamentals is explained by proxies of country-specific bank disclosure requirements and the enforcement thereof. We show that the association between accounting fundamentals and bank distress is attenuated in jurisdictions with relatively lax bank disclosure laws and their implementation. Accounting ratios, whose information value is the most sensitive to the quality of regulatory disclosure include regulatory capital ratios, loan loss provisions, and unreserved loan losses. The evidence in this paper supports the oft-voiced concern that excessive flexibility in financial reporting undermines the ability of accounting signals to accurately capture the underlying financial health of banks. Obliqueness of the distressed bank’s accounting signals makes such information less useful for investors and regulators, and thus has negative regulatory implications.
Saving Behavior of Rural Households in Kwara State, Nigeria

Savings are very imperative for supporting and developing rural enterprises. The inability of households to save over time can significantly influence the rate and sustainability of capital accumulation and economic growth in developing countries This research therefore assessed the level of savings and its correlates in rural areas of Kwara state, Nigeria. Data were obtained using multi-stage sampling techniques and analyzed using descriptive statistics the tobit regression model. The result showed that rural enterpreneurs (81.0 percent) were mostly male-headed and the household heads (73.5 percent) that combine farming with other non-farm activities had higher income and savings compare to household heads with only one source of livelihood. Also, most household heads spent their income on food and majority (88.7 percent) saves for investment purposes but their average monthly savings was less than five thousand naira. The result further showed age squared (p
Augmentation of Primary Influenza A Virus-Specific CD8+ T Cell Responses in Aged Mice through Blockade of an Immunoinhibitory Pathway

Immune responses diminish with age resulting in an increased susceptibility of the elderly to infectious agents and an inability to mount protective immune responses to vaccines. Immunosenescence affects multiple aspects of the immune system, including CD8+ T cells, which control viral infections and are assumed to prevent the development of cancers. In this study, we tested if CD8+ T cell responses in aged mice could be enhanced through a vaccine that concomitantly expresses Ag and a molecule that blocks an immunoinhibitory pathway. Specifically, we tested a vaccine based on a replication-defective chimpanzee-derived adenovirus vector expressing the nucleoprotein (NP) of influenza A virus as a fusion protein with the HSV type 1 glycoprotein D, which through binding to the herpes virus entry mediator, blocks the immunoinhibitory herpes virus entry mediator B and T lymphocyte attenuator/CD160 pathways. Our results show that the vaccine expressing a fusion protein of NP and glycoprotein D induces significantly higher NP-specific CD8+ T cell responses in young and aged mice compared with the vaccine expressing NP only.
Bioleaching of Uranium-bearing material from Abu Thor area , West Central Sinai , Egypt for recovering uranium

A uranium-bearing material was recorded within the Intra-Carboniferous Paleokarst Profile of Um-Bogma Formation at Abu Thor area, West Central Sinai, Egypt. The present paper is concerned with the bioleaching of U and Cu using Aspergillus Niger (A. Niger) followed their proper recovery. The working Abu Thor representative sample assays 0.22% U as the element of interest as well as up to 25% CuO beside the other rock constituents SiO2 (33%), Al2O3 (10.4%) and CaO(8.5%). The effective bioleaching of U and Cu from Abu Thor ore sample using A.Niger was performed at the following optimum conditions: an incubitation time of 6 days, sample/ liquid (S/L) ratio of 1/10, pH value of 1 and a temperature of 60C. The prepared bioleach liquor assays 0.19 g/l of U and 15 . 8 g/l of Cu with leaching efficiencies of 97% and 79%, respectively. Uranium was recovered using 25% TBP in kerosene at O/A ratio of 1/1 and contact time of 5 min with achieved extraction efficiency of 96%. However the stripping of U was conducted by using 8% Na2CO3 at A/O ratio of 1/1 and contact time of 5 min with stripping efficiency reached 99%. On the other hand, Cu was directly precipitated as CuS using the freshly released H2S gas with the addition of solid Na2S. The optimum precipitation conditions were S/L ratio of 1/100, pH1.5 and room temperature where the precipitation efficiency of Cu achieved 99%.
Direct Measures of Path Delays on Commercial FPGA Chips

We present a general technique for measuring the propagation delay on the internal wires of FPGA chips. The measure is based on the comparison between the operating frequencies of two ring oscillators that differ only for the structure under test, that is included (or not) in the loop. Experimental results are presented for a device of the Xilinx XC4000 family.
"This is produced by a brain-process!": Wittgenstein, transparency and psychology today : Wittgenstein, transparency and psychology today

This paper examines sections of Wittgenstein’s Philosophical Investigations with a view to exposing trail-effects of psychology in educational and social practice today. These are seen in understandings of the relations between mind and body, and language and thought, and their influence is identified in such contemporary preoccupations as accounting transparency and the new science of happiness. A Wittgensteinian critique is offered, with attention paid to the idea that “nothing is hidden”. Finally a question is raised as to how far the nature of some of these practices are understood in the light of their imperviousness to criticism.
Adult Attachment Patterns in a Treatment Context: Relationship and narrative

Part I: Adult Attachment Patterns and Treatment Relationships. Adult Attachment Patterns. Attachment and Treatment Relationships. Part II: Relational and Narrative Characteristics of Attachment Patterns. Secure Attachment. Avoidant Attachment. Ambivalent Attachment. Disorganized Attachment. Part III: Attachment Patterns and Treatment Practice. Assessment of Client Attachment Patterns. Adapting Treatment 'Style'. Attachment Patterns as the Focus of Treatment. Final Considerations. Appendix: The Patient Attachment Classification System.
Distribution of lumbar dorsal root fibers in the lower thoracic and lumbosacral spinal cord of the rat studied with choleragenoid horseradish peroxidase conjugate

Spinal cord projections from lumbar dorsal root ganglia (DRGs) were investigated in adult rats following injections of choleragenoid horseradish peroxidase (B‐HRP) into each of the six lumbar DRGs. This method is known to label primarily thick fibers. Labeling was found in all laminae except in the outer part of lamina II. Labeled fibers and terminal‐like structures were found 8–13 segments rostral and 1–5 segments caudal to the injected DRGs.
Barriers to improved dyslipidemia control: Delphi survey of a multidisciplinary panel.

OBJECTIVE To assess the barriers that make it difficult for the health care professionals (physicians, nurses and health care managers) to achieve a better control for dyslipidemia in Spain. METHODS The study has an observational design and was performed using the modified Delphi technique. One hundred and forty-nine panel members from medicine, nursing and health care management fields and from different Spanish regions were selected randomly and were invited to participate. Individual and anonymous opinions were asked by answering a 42-items questionnaire via e-mail (two rounds were done). Level of agreement was assessed using measures of central tendency and dispersion. We analysed commonalities/differences between the three groups (Kappa index and McNemar chi-square). RESULTS Response rate: 81%. The agreement index was 33.3 (95% CI: 18.9-47.7). Regarding the non-compliance with therapy, it improves with patient education degree in dyslipidemia, patient motivation, the agreement on decisions with the patient and with the use of cardiovascular risk measure and it gets worse with lack of information on the objectives to achieve. Clinical inertia improves with professional's motivation, cardiovascular risk calculation, training on objectives and the use of indicators and it gets worse with lack of treatment goals. CONCLUSION Different perceptions and attitudes between medicine, nursing and health care management were found. An agreement in interventions in non-compliance and clinical inertia to improve dyslipidemia control was reached.
A parallel algorithmic version of the local lemma

The Lovasz local lemma (1975) is a tool that enables one to show that certain events hold with positive, though very small probability. It often yields existence proofs of results without supplying any efficient way of solving the corresponding algorithmic problems. J. Beck has recently found a method for converting some of these existence proofs into efficient algorithmic procedures, at the cost of losing a little in the estimates, but his method does not seem to be parallelizable. His technique is modified to achieve an algorithmic version that can be parallelized, thus providing deterministic NC/sup 1/ algorithms for various interesting algorithmic search problems. <<ETX>>
Cell-based assays to identify inhibitors of viral disease

Background: Antagonizing the production of infectious viruses inside cells requires drugs that can cross the cell membrane without harming the host cells. Objective: It is therefore advantageous to establish the intracellular potency of antiviral drug candidates early in the drug discovery pipeline. Methods: To this end, cell-based assays are being developed and used in high-throughput drug screening, ranging from assays that monitor replication of intact viruses to those that monitor activity of specific viral proteins. Although numerous cell-based assays have been developed and investigated, rapid counter screens are also needed to define the specific viral targets of identified inhibitors and to eliminate non-specific screening hits. Results/conclusions: Here, we describe the types of cell-based assays being used in antiviral drug screens and evaluate the equally important counter screens that are being used to reach the full potential of cell-based high-throughput screening.
Selective Male Mortality in the Red Imported Fire Ant, Solenopsis invicta

Males in polygyne populations of Solenopsis invicta are primarily sterile diploids and thought to not express the Gp-9 gene coding for a pheromone-binding protein affecting complex social behavior. We examined an aspect of the breeding system hitherto not considered—male Gp-9 genotypes in relation to sperm stored in queens. Four sites with varying frequencies of sympatric monogyne and polygyne colonies were sampled, including sexuals, workers, and broods from four colonies. Most queens were heterozygotes storing B sperm. Although predicted to be common, only 14 of 504 males were B or BB genotypes, suggesting strong selection. Increased frequency of polygyne colonies at each site paralleled increases in queens with b sperm (1.9–32.8%) and of noninseminated queens. The presence of both B and b sperm in 1.9–18.9% of queens, genotype profiles of colonies, and genotypes of offspring from individual queens suggest some frequency of multiple mating. The bb genotype, rather than an obligate, developmental lethal, was present in some queens and common in alates, workers, and brood. Selective mortality of sexuals may affect multiple aspects of the breeding system, including female-mediated dispersal, mating success, and gene flow.