Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
The genetic diversity and relatedness of rice ( Oryza sativa L . ) cultivars as revealed by AFLP and SSRs markers

A set of SSR and AFLP markers was applied to assess the levels of genetic diversity in eight rice genotypes. A total of 12 SSR and 3 AFLP markers combinations revealed 100% and 77.56% polymorphism, respectively. A total of 46 and 245 polymorphic bands were detected in both SSR and AFLP markers, respectively. The number of SSRs polymorphic bands per locus varied from 2 for RM133, RM 215 and RM433 to six for RM271, with a mean of 3.83. Whereas, the number of AFLPs polymorphic bands ranged from 19 for E37/M41 to 176 for E36/M41 with an average of 81.67. PIC value for SSR and AFLP was 0.825 and 0.967, respectively. A significant correlation coefficient between gene diversity and the number of polymorphic bands for SSR and AFLP was high, r =0.096 and r =0.742 (P < 0.01), respectively. Pair-wise genetic similarity ranged from 0.101 to 0.682 and from 0.393 to 0.783 and for SSR and AFLP, respectively. Cluster analysis was achieved based on SSRs and AFLP data and the relationship between the studied rice cultivars were addressed. [Haddad El Rabey, Khaled F. M. Salem and Magdy Z. Mattar. The genetic diversity and relatedness of rice (Oryza sativa L.) cultivars as revealed by AFLP and SSRs markers. Life Sci J 2013; 10(1):1471-1479] (ISSN:1097-8135). http://www.lifesciencesite. com. 218
Calcium-Dependent Interaction Occurs between Slow Skeletal Myosin Binding Protein C and Calmodulin

Myosin binding protein C (MyBP-C) is a multi-domain protein that participates in the regulation of muscle contraction through dynamic interactions with actin and myosin. Three primary isoforms of MyBP-C exist: cardiac (cMyBP-C), fast skeletal (fsMyBP-C), and slow skeletal (ssMyBP-C). The N-terminal region of cMyBP-C contains the M-motif, a three-helix bundle that binds Ca2+-loaded calmodulin (CaM), but less is known about N-terminal ssMyBP-C and fsMyBP-C. Here, we characterized the conformation of a recombinant N-terminal fragment of ssMyBP-C (ssC1C2) using differential scanning fluorimetry, nuclear magnetic resonance, and molecular modeling. Our studies revealed that ssC1C2 has altered thermal stability in the presence and absence of CaM. We observed that site-specific interaction between CaM and the M-motif of ssC1C2 occurs in a Ca2+-dependent manner. Molecular modeling supported that the M-motif of ssC1C2 likely adopts a three-helix bundle fold comparable to cMyBP-C. Our study provides evidence that ssMyBP-C has overlapping structural determinants, in common with the cardiac isoform, which are important in controlling protein–protein interactions. We shed light on the differential molecular regulation of contractility that exists between skeletal and cardiac muscle.
Pathogenesis of Eimeria praecox in chickens: virulence of field strains compared with laboratory strains of E. praecox and Eimeria acervulina

The pathogenesis in chickens of the apicomplexan Eimeria praecox was compared with that of Eimeria acervulina, using intestinal lesions, mucosal integrity, body weight gain (BWG) and the feed conversion ratio (FCR) as criteria. Characteristics of each species were described by combinations of polymerase chain reaction assays and classic parasitological signs. There were considerable overlaps in lengths, breadths, shape indices and volumes of the oocysts of each species. Both species caused statistically significant reductions in BWG at the lowest inocula tested (500,000 sporulated oocysts per bird of E. praecox and 250,000 of E. acervulina). E. praecox was observed for the first time to cause actual body weight loss and marked increases in FCR, as did E. acervulina. E. acervulina caused gross, white pathognomonic lesions, but E. praecox caused micro-lesions, visible in fresh tissue only with a dissecting microscope. Occasionally, lesions of the Houghton strain of E. acervulina were observed to be rounded, rather than typically “ladder-like”. Both species caused villous erosion and atrophy. No mortality occurred in birds receiving up to 1 million sporulated oocysts of either species. Using BWG and FCR as criteria, the virulence of recent field strains of E. praecox from Wales (Tynygongl) and the USA (Raleigh) was compared with English laboratory strains of E. praecox (Houghton) and E. acervulina (Houghton). E. praecox (Tynygongl) was markedly more virulent than E. acervulina (Houghton), which was more virulent than E. praecox (Raleigh) and E. praecox (Houghton).
A Comparison of the Accuracy of the Use of Last Menstrual Period and Symphysio-Fundal Height for Gestational Age Determination among Nigerian Women

Aims: The aim of the study was to evaluate the accuracy of the symphysio-fundal height (SFH) in comparison to the last menstrual period (LMP) for gestational age assessment. Study Design: Hospital-based prospective cross sectional study. Place and Duration of Study: Maternity unit of the Jos University Teaching Hospital, Jos, Nigeria, between December 2012 and April 2013. Original Research Article Ogbe et al.; IJTDH, 7(1): 32-39, 2015; Article no.IJTDH. 2015.055 33 Methodology: A total of 289 consecutive consenting women with singleton uncomplicated pregnancies at gestational ages of less than or equal to 20 weeks were recruited at the maternity unit of Jos University Teaching Hospital between December 2012 and April 2013. Ultrasound scan (USS) was used to confirm eligibility after which other information including the LMP were documented on a questionnaire. The women returned after 22 weeks’ gestation based on ultrasound recorded GA for SFH assessment and some weeks thereafter for a second SFH assessment. Results: Mean age of the women was 28.9±4.8 years with a range of 16-42 years. Most of them were of parity 1 – 4 (58.1%). The mean GA at booking was 15.3±3.1 weeks based on LMP and 14.9±3.1 from early ultrasound scan. The mean percentage accuracy for SFH method compared to USS dating was 95.8% while that of LMP was 91.0%. This difference was found to be statistically significant (P = .02). Conclusion: The study showed a significant difference between the LMP and early ultrasound scan dating but not between SFH and early ultrasound scan. Also, the mean percentage accuracy was statistically higher for SFH, suggesting that SFH was a more accurate tool for gestational age assessment among these women.
Identifying Cross-Depicted Historical Motifs

Cross-depiction is the problem of identifying the same object even when it is depicted in a variety of manners.This is a common problem in handwritten historical document image analysis, for instance when the same letter or motif is depicted in several different ways. It is a simple task for humans yet conventional computer vision methods struggle to cope with it. In this paper we address this problem using state-of-the-art deep learning techniques on a dataset of historical watermarks containing images created with different methods of reproduction, such as hand tracing, rubbing, and radiography.To study the robustness of deep learning based approaches to the cross-depiction problem, we measure their performance on two different tasks: classification and similarity rankings. For the former we achieve a classification accuracy of 96 % using deep convolutional neural networks. For the latter we have a false positive rate at 95% recall of 0.11. These results outperform state-of-the-art methods by a significant margin.
Molecular targets in arthritis and recent trends in nanotherapy

Due to its severity and increasing epidemiology, arthritis needs no description. There are various forms of arthritis most of which are disabling, very painful, and common. In spite of breakthroughs in the field of drug discovery, there is no cure for arthritis that can eliminate the disease permanently and ease the pain. The present review focuses on some of the most successful drugs in arthritis therapy and their side effects. Potential new targets in arthritis therapy such as interleukin-1β, interleukin-17A, tumor necrosis factor alpha, osteopontin, and several others have been discussed here, which can lead to refinement of current therapeutic modalities. Mechanisms for different forms of arthritis have been discussed along with the molecules that act as potential biomarkers for arthritis. Due to the difficulty in monitoring the disease progression to detect the advanced manifestations of the diseases, drug-induced cytotoxicity, and problems with drug delivery; nanoparticle therapy has gained the attention of the researchers. The unique properties of nanoparticles make them highly attractive for the design of novel therapeutics or diagnostic agents for arthritis. The review also focuses on the recent trends in nanoformulation development used for arthritis therapy. This review is, therefore, important because it describes the relevance and need for more arthritis research, it brings forth a critical discussion of successful drugs in arthritis and analyses the key molecular targets. The review also identifies several knowledge gaps in the published research so far along with the proposal of new ideas and future directions in arthritis therapy.
Man vs. Machine: Practical Adversarial Detection of Malicious Crowdsourcing Workers

Recent work in security and systems has embraced the use of machine learning (ML) techniques for identifying misbehavior, e.g. email spam and fake (Sybil) users in social networks. However, ML models are typically derived from fixed datasets, and must be periodically retrained. In adversarial environments, attackers can adapt by modifying their behavior or even sabotaging ML models by polluting training data. In this paper, we perform an empirical study of adversarial attacks against machine learning models in the context of detecting malicious crowdsourcing systems, where sites connect paying users with workers willing to carry out malicious campaigns. By using human workers, these systems can easily circumvent deployed security mechanisms, e.g. CAPTCHAs. We collect a dataset of malicious workers actively performing tasks on Weibo, China's Twitter, and use it to develop ML-based detectors. We show that traditional ML techniques are accurate (95%-99%) in detection but can be highly vulnerable to adversarial attacks, including simple evasion attacks (workers modify their behavior) and powerful poisoning attacks (where administrators tamper with the training set). We quantify the robustness of ML classifiers by evaluating them in a range of practical adversarial models using ground truth data. Our analysis provides a detailed look at practical adversarial attacks on ML models, and helps defenders make informed decisions in the design and configuration of ML detectors.
Tweeting From Left to Right

We estimated ideological preferences of 3.8 million Twitter users and, using a data set of nearly 150 million tweets concerning 12 political and nonpolitical issues, explored whether online communication resembles an “echo chamber” (as a result of selective exposure and ideological segregation) or a “national conversation. ” We observed that information was exchanged primarily among individuals with similar ideological preferences in the case of political issues (e.g., 2012 presidential election, 2013 government shutdown) but not many other current events (e.g., 2013 Boston Marathon bombing, 2014 Super Bowl). Discussion of the Newtown shootings in 2012 reflected a dynamic process, beginning as a national conversation before transforming into a polarized exchange. With respect to both political and nonpolitical issues, liberals were more likely than conservatives to engage in cross-ideological dissemination; this is an important asymmetry with respect to the structure of communication that is consistent with psychological theory and research bearing on ideological differences in epistemic, existential, and relational motivation. Overall, we conclude that previous work may have overestimated the degree of ideological segregation in social-media usage.
Lymphatic vessel mapping in the upper extremities of a healthy Korean population

Background Intraoperative indocyanine green (ICG) lymphography can effectively detect functioning lymph vessels in edematous limbs. However, it is sometimes difficult to clearly identify their course in later-stage edematous limbs. For this reason, many surgeons rely on experience when they decide where to make the skin incision to locate the lymphatic vessels. The purpose of this study was to elucidate lymphatic vessel flow patterns in healthy upper extremities in a Korean population and to use these findings as a reference for lymphedema treatment. Methods ICG fluorescence lymphography was performed by injecting 1 mL of ICG into the second web space of the hand. After 4 hours, fluorescence images of lymphatic vessels were obtained with a near-infrared camera, and the lymphatic vessels were marked. Three landmarks were designated: the radial styloid process, the mid-portion of the cubital fossa, and the lower border of the deltopectoral groove. A straight line connecting the points was drawn, and the distance between the connected lines and the marked lymphatic vessels was measured at 8 points. Results There were 30 healthy upper extremities (15 right and 15 left). The average course of the main lymph vessels passed 26.0±11.6 mm dorsal to the styloid process, 5.7±40.7 mm medial to the mid-cubital fossa, and 31.3±26.1 mm medial to the three-quarters point of the upper landmark line. Conclusions The main functioning lymphatic vessel follows the course of the cephalic vein at the forearm level, crosses the mid-cubital point, and travels medially toward the mid-axilla.
Galectin-1, -2, and -3 Exhibit Differential Recognition of Sialylated Glycans and Blood Group Antigens*

Human galectins have functionally divergent roles, although most of the members of the galectin family bind weakly to the simple disaccharide lactose (Galβ1-4Glc). To assess the specificity of galectin-glycan interactions in more detail, we explored the binding of several important galectins (Gal-1, Gal-2, and Gal-3) using a dose-response approach toward a glycan microarray containing hundreds of structurally diverse glycans, and we compared these results to binding determinants on cells. All three galectins exhibited differences in glycan binding characteristics. On both the microarray and on cells, Gal-2 and Gal-3 exhibited higher binding than Gal-1 to fucose-containing A and B blood group antigens. Gal-2 exhibited significantly reduced binding to all sialylated glycans, whereas Gal-1 bound α2-3- but not α2-6-sialylated glycans, and Gal-3 bound to some glycans terminating in either α2-3- or α2-6-sialic acid. The effects of sialylation on Gal-1, Gal-2, and Gal-3 binding to cells also reflected differences in cellular sensitivity to Gal-1-, Gal-2-, and Gal-3-induced phosphatidylserine exposure. Each galectin exhibited higher binding for glycans with poly-N-acetyllactosamine (poly(LacNAc)) sequences (Galβ1-4GlcNAc)n when compared with N-acetyllactosamine (LacNAc) glycans (Galβ1-4GlcNAc). However, only Gal-3 bound internal LacNAc within poly(LacNAc). These results demonstrate that each of these galectins mechanistically differ in their binding to glycans on the microarrays and that these differences are reflected in the determinants required for cell binding and signaling. The specific glycan recognition by each galectin underscores the basis for differences in their biological activities.
Characterization , Nucleotide Sequencing Of Tomato Yellow Leaf Curl Virus Egyptian Isolate

Received: 20 August, 2014 Accepted: 17 April, 2014 Published: 14 June, 2014 Tomato yellow leaf curl Virus (TYLCV) threatens the production of tomatoes both in Egypt and the world. A virus was isolated from naturally infected tomato and pepper plants, grown in different areas in Egypt. The investigated isolate was characterized using electron microscopy, serology, biological tests, and polymerase chain reaction (PCR) using degenerate primers were used to amplify partial sequences (~530 bp) of the begomovirus coat protein gene (Cp) from samples of diseased plants. DNA sequence analyses of Egyptian isolate revealed high nucleotide sequence identities to isolates of TYLCV (99%) in GenBank. TYLCVEG encodes to 176 amino acids residues with MW 19.651 KDa. Twenty amino acids were detected of TYLCV-EG starting with Alanine (A) and ending with Tyrosine (Y). Phylogenetic analysis of Cp gene sequence of TYLCV-EG suggesting that the sequence variations observed in this isolate and some of those identified and published on GenBank may be attributable to intra-specific recombination events involving some TYLCV isolates. The great variability of the TYLCV isolates worldwide should be considered when breeding programs for virus resistance are established. A tomato line tolerant/resistant to a particular TYLCV isolate may not be as effective against another distantly related virus isolate. © 2014 PSCI Publisher All rights reserved.
Evolution of a US County System for Acute Comprehensive Stroke Care

Background and Purpose— In Orange County, California, patients with suspected acute stroke are taken to stroke neurology receiving centers that are designated by County Emergency Medical Services authorities as either hubs or spokes based on endovascular treatment capability. We examined relationships between stroke details, reperfusion therapies, hospital transfers, and their change over time. Methods— All patients from January 1, 2013, to December 31, 2015, for whom 911 was called within 7 hours of onset in whom Emergency Medical Services personnel suspected acute stroke were evaluated. Results— Among 6132 patients, 3924 (64%) had confirmed diagnosis of stroke (74% ischemic/26% hemorrhagic), yielding diagnostic precision of 64% in the field. Of the 2892 patients with acute ischemic stroke, acute reperfusion therapy was given to 29.2% (21.7% intravenous tPA [tissue-type plasminogen activator] only and 7.5% endovascular treatment). Rates of endovascular treatment of patients with ischemic stroke increased over time, more than doubling from 5.6% in 2013 to 12.5% (odds ratio per 3-month quarter=1.09; 95% confidence interval, 1.04–1.14; P<0.0001). Only 3.4% of patients with acute ischemic stroke were transferred from a spoke to a hub hospital; transfer rates were inversely related to age (P<0.0001), and reperfusion therapy rates did not vary according to transfer status. Conclusions— Favorable features of this acute stroke care system include reperfusion therapy in 29.2% of patients with ischemic stroke and substantial increases in endovascular treatment rates over time. Continued efforts to optimize acute stroke systems of care can be directed toward improving access to best acute stroke therapies.
Valsartan 160 mg/Amlodipine 5 mg Combination Therapy versus Amlodipine 10 mg in Hypertensive Patients with Inadequate Response to Amlodipine 5 mg Monotherapy

Background and Objectives When monotherapy is inadequate for blood pressure control, the next step is either to continue monotherapy in increased doses or to add another antihypertensive agent. However, direct comparison of double-dose monotherapy versus combination therapy has rarely been done. The objective of this study is to compare 10 mg of amlodipine with an amlodipine/valsartan 5/160 mg combination in patients whose blood pressure control is inadequate with amlodipine 5 mg. Subjects and Methods This study was conducted as a multicenter, open-label, randomized controlled trial. Men and women aged 20-80 who were diagnosed as having hypertension, who had been on amlodipine 5 mg monotherapy for at least 4 weeks, and whose daytime mean systolic blood pressure (SBP) ≥135 mmHg or diastolic blood pressure (DBP) ≥85 mmHg on 24-hour ambulatory blood pressure monitoring (ABPM) were randomized to amlodipine (A) 10 mg or amlodipine/valsartan (AV) 5/160 mg group. Follow-up 24-hour ABPM was done at 8 weeks after randomization. Results Baseline clinical characteristics did not differ between the 2 groups. Ambulatory blood pressure reduction was significantly greater in the AV group compared with the A group (daytime mean SBP change: -14±11 vs. -9±9 mmHg, p<0.001, 24-hour mean SBP change: -13±10 vs. -8±8 mmHg, p<0.0001). Drug-related adverse events also did not differ significantly (A:AV, 6.5 vs. 4.5 %, p=0.56). Conclusion Amlodipine/valsartan 5/160 mg combination was more efficacious than amlodipine 10 mg in hypertensive patients in whom monotherapy of amlodipine 5 mg had failed.
Towards Analogy-Based Story Generation

Narrative is one of the oldest creative forms, capable of depicting a wide spectrum of human conditions. However, many existing stories generated by planning-based computational narrative systems are confined to the goal-driven, problem-solving aesthetics. This paper focuses on analogy-based story generation. Informed by narratology and computational analogy, we present an analytical framework to survey this area in order to identify trends and areas that have not received sufficient attention. Finally, we introduce the new developments of the Riu project as a case study for possible new narrative aesthetics supported
The association of serum Cancer antigen 125 and C-reactive protein level with the severity of preeclampsia

ackground: It has been assumed that the failure in trophoblastic invasion and the induction of an inflammatory process within placenta in patients with preeclampsia may trigger the expression of Cancer antigen 125. C-reactive protein is a marker of tissue damage and inflammation; increased C-reactive protein may reflect endothelial cell dysfunction in preeclampsia and may be a potential marker of preeclampsia. Objectives: To evaluate the association of serum Cancer antigen 125 and C-reactive protein level with the severity of preeclampsia. Patients & methods: A case control study was carried out in the department of gynecology and obstetrics at Al-Yarmouk teaching hospital (Baghdad\Iraq) for one year from April 2010 to March 2011. Hundred singleton pregnant women were divided into fifty patients with preeclampsia and fifty healthy pregnant women as control group. Blood samples were taken for measurement of serum cancer antigen-125 and C-reactive protein for both groups. Results :The mean level of cancer antigen-125 in mild, severe preeclampsia and eclampsia groups was 32.57±8.08(IU/ml), 38.04±9.44(IU/ml) and 47.60±12.09(IU/ml) respectively which was significantly higher in comparison to the control group (sampled at the same time) which was 13.70±8.44(IU/ml) the P value was (0.0001). The mean level of c-reactive protein in mild, severe preeclampsia & eclampsia was 15.80±6.69(mg/L), 30.64±15.66(mg/L) and 42.60±13.70(mg/L) which was significantly higher in comparison to the control group which was 7.92±4.05(mg/L) the P value was( 0.0001). Conclusion: Serum cancer antigen 125 and C reactive protein were significantly higher in preeclampsia groups in comparison to the control group and the increment was directly correlated with the severity of preeclampsia.
Comparing methods of classifying life courses: sequence analysis and latent class analysis

We compare life course typology solutions generated by sequence analysis (SA) and latent class analysis (LCA). First, we construct an analytic protocol to arrive at typology solutions for both methodologies and present methods to compare the empirical quality of alternative typologies. We apply this protocol to develop and compare SA- and LCA-derived family-life typologies for women born between 1960 and 1964 in 15 European countries, using data from the Family and Fertility Survey. This paper contributes to the use of these classification techniques in four different ways. First, we present guidelines on how to establish the number of classes or clusters to use. Second, we show how to evaluate the stability of these clusters. Third, we provide a way to evaluate the validity of these clusters and finally, we provide for a formal heuristic to relate the stochastically defined latent classes to the distance-based clusters found with SA.