Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Forest fire effects on groundwater in a coastal aquifer (Ravenna, Italy)

We examined the fire‐induced changes in groundwater recharge rate. This aspect is particularly important in the case of large forested areas growing over a coastal aquifer affected by saltwater intrusion. In the Ravenna coastal area (Italy), pine forests grow on coastal dune belts, overlying a sandy unconfined aquifer, which is strongly affected by marine ingression. Three groundwater profiles across the forest and perpendicular to the coastline were monitored for groundwater level, physical, and chemical parameters. The aims were to define groundwater quality, recharge rate, freshwater volume, and highlight change, which occurred after a forest fire with reference to pre‐fire conditions. Analytical solutions based on Darcy Law and the Dupuit Equation were applied to calculate unconfined flow and compare recharge rates among the profiles. The estimated recharge rates increased in the partially and completely burnt areas (219 and 511 mm year−1, respectively) compared with the pristine pine forest area (73 mm year−1). Although pre‐fire conditions were similar in all monitored profiles, a post‐fire decrease in salinity was observed across the burnt forest, along with an increase in infiltration and freshwater lens thickness. This was attributed to decrease canopy interception and evapotranspiration caused by vegetation absence after the fire. This research provided an example of positive forest fire feedback on the quantity and quality of fresh groundwater resources in a lowland coastal aquifer affected by saltwater intrusion, with limited availability of freshwater resources. The fire provided an opportunity to evaluate a new forest management approach and consider the restoration and promotion of native dune herbaceous vegetation.
Two beginnings for a single purpose: the dual‐start holins in the regulation of phage lysis

For most large phages of both Gram‐positive and Gram‐negative bacteria, there appears to be a single pathway for achieving disruption of the host envelope, requiring at least two phage‐encoded lysis functions (a holin and an endolysin). The holin is a small membrane protein which causes a non‐specific lesion in the cytoplasmic membrane, which allows the endolysin to gain access to its substrate, the peptidoglycan. The scheduling of host lysis is effected by regulatory mechanisms which govern the synthesis and activity of the holin protein accumulating in the membrane. Accordingly, aspects of expression and function of holin genes are considered here, focusing mainly on the lambdoid S genes. This group of genes, of which lambda S is the prototype, are characterized by a dual‐start motif consisting of two Met start codons separated by one or two codons, at least one of which specifies Arg or Lys. Two protein products are elaborated, differing only by two or three N‐terminal residues but apparently possessing opposing functions: the shorter polypeptide is the active holin, or lysis‐effector, whereas the longer polypeptide apparently acts as an inhibitor of holin function. Models will be considered which may account for the ability of the holin to form a ‘hole’ in the cytoplasmic membrane at a programmed time, as well as for the inhibitory properties of the longer product. Finally, we discuss recent results suggesting that the dual‐start motif can be viewed as a level of regulation superimposed on a timing function intrinsic to the canonical holin structure.
Early Perfusion Computerized Tomography Imaging as a Radiographic Surrogate for Delayed Cerebral Ischemia and Functional Outcome After Subarachnoid Hemorrhage

Background and Purpose— To date, there is no immediate radiographic surrogate to quantify primary cerebral injury to identify patients at risk for delayed cerebral ischemia and poor clinical outcome after aneurysmal subarachnoid hemorrhage. Therefore, we investigated the relation of early cerebral perfusion–computerized tomography and clot volume with radiological events of delayed cerebral ischemia and clinical outcome in patients with aneurysmal subarachnoid hemorrhage. Methods— Data from 2 cohorts of patients (51 in main, 28 patients in control cohort) with aneurysmal subarachnoid hemorrhage, receiving computerized tomography and perfusion-computerized tomography scanning <12 hours after ictus, were included. A risk group model for functional outcome was developed on the basis of early mean transit time (MTT) and volumetric blood clot measurements. The relation of the risk group model with subsequent MTT, angiographic vasospasm, new cerebral infarction, and functional outcome was analyzed. Actual and predicted functional outcomes based on the risk group model were compared in the control cohort. Results— The risk group model correlated significantly with subsequent MTT measurements, cerebral infarction, and functional outcome. Odds for poor outcome were significantly higher in case of concomitant increase of early MTT and clot volumes, as opposed to exclusive early MTT or clot volume increase. For patients in the high- or low-risk groups, neurological outcome in the control cohort correlated significantly with predicted outcomes. Conclusions— Assessment of early cerebral perfusion and intracranial blood clot may serve as a radiographic surrogate for delayed cerebral ischemia and functional outcome in patients with aneurysmal subarachnoid hemorrhage using risk group modeling.
Conodonts from the Winnipeg Formation (Middle Ordovician) of the northern Black Hills, South Dakota

Conodonts from the Icebox Shale and Roughlock Siltstone members of the Winnipeg Formation at two localities in the northern Black Hills of South Dakota represent 19 species of 16 genera. Oulodus serratus (Stauffer), Phragmodus cognitus Stauffer, and Scyphiodus primus Stauffer are characteristic of the Icebox Shale and occur together elsewhere only in Middle Ordovician rocks of Rocklandian and early Kirkfieldian age. Plectodina aculeata (Stauffer) and P. tenuis (Branson and Mehl) occur together in the Roughlock Siltstone. Elsewhere in the North American Midcontinent Province their stratigraphic ranges overlap only in rocks of late Kirkfieldian and earliest Shermanian age. Plectodina dakota, n. sp. , and Staufferella divisa, n. sp. , are based on material from the Icebox Shale Member.
Altered expression of G1/S phase cell cycle regulators in placental mesenchymal stromal cells derived from preeclamptic pregnancies with fetal-placental compromise

ABSTRACT Herein, we evaluated whether Placental Mesenchymal Stromal Cells (PDMSCs) derived from normal and Preeclamptic (PE) placentae presented differences in the expression of G1/S-phase regulators p16INK4A, p18INK4C, CDK4 and CDK6. Finally, we investigated normal and PE-PDMSCs paracrine effects on JunB, Cyclin D1, p16INK4A, p18INK4C, CDK4 and CDK6 expressions in physiological term villous explants. PDMSCs were isolated from physiological (n = 20) and PE (n = 24) placentae. Passage three normal and PE-PDMSC and conditioned media (CM) were collected after 48h. Physiological villous explants (n = 60) were treated for 72h with normal or PE-PDMSCs CM. Explants viability was assessed by Lactate Dehydrogenase Cytotoxicity assay. Cyclin D1 localization was evaluated by Immuofluorescence (IF) while JunB, Cyclin-D1 p16INK4A, p18INK4C, CDK4 and CDK6 levels were assessed by Real Time PCR and Western Blot assay. We reported significantly increased p16INK4A and p18INK4C expression in PE- relative to normal PDMSCs while no differences in CDK4 and CDK6 levels were detected. Explants viability was not affected by normal or PE-PDMSCs CM. Normal PDMSCs CM increased JunB, p16INK4 and p18INK4C and decreased Cyclin-D1 in placental tissues. In contrast, PE-PDMSCs CM induced JunB downregulation and Cyclin D1 increase in placental explants. Cyclin D1 IF staining showed that CM treatment targeted mainly the syncytiotrophoblast. We showed Cyclin D1-p16INK4A/p18INK4C altered pathway in PE-PDMSCs demonstrating an aberrant G1/S phase transition in these pathological cells. The abnormal Cyclin D1-p16INK4A/p18INK4C expression in explants conditioned by PE-PDMSCs media suggest a key contribution of mesenchymal cells to the altered trophoblast cell cycle regulation typical of PE pregnancies with fetal-placental compromise.
Functional Connectivity fMRI of the Rodent Brain: Comparison of Functional Connectivity Networks in Rat and Mouse

At present, resting state functional MRI (rsfMRI) is increasingly used in human neuropathological research. The present study aims at implementing rsfMRI in mice, a species that holds the widest variety of neurological disease models. Moreover, by acquiring rsfMRI data with a comparable protocol for anesthesia, scanning and analysis, in both rats and mice we were able to compare findings obtained in both species. The outcome of rsfMRI is different for rats and mice and depends strongly on the applied number of components in the Independent Component Analysis (ICA). The most important difference was the appearance of unilateral cortical components for the mouse resting state data compared to bilateral rat cortical networks. Furthermore, a higher number of components was needed for the ICA analysis to separate different cortical regions in mice as compared to rats.
Understanding Tractable Decompositions for Constraint Satisfaction

Constraint satisfaction problems (CSPs) are NP-complete in general, therefore it is important to identify tractable subclasses. A possible way to find such subclasses is to associate a hypergraph to the problem and impose restrictions on its structure. In this thesis we follow this direction. Among such structural properties, particularly important is acyclicity: it is well known that CSPs whose associated hypergraph is acyclic can be solved efficiently. In the last decade, many structural decompositions have been proposed. These concepts can be seen as generalizations of hypergraph acyclicity. The interesting decomposition concepts are those which both enable the problems in the defined subclass to be solved in polynomial time and the associated hypergraphs to be recognized efficiently. Hypertree decompositions, introduced by Gottlob et al. in [43], fall in this category and additionally, for a long time, this class was the most general concept known to have both of these desirable properties. We study further generalizations of this concept. It was shown recently ([45]) that the recognition problem for the most straightforward generalization, for the so called generalized hypertree decompositions, is NP-hard. Understanding the deep reasons for this intractability result enabled us to define new decompositions with tractable recognition algorithms. We not only introduce a new decomposition concept, but also a methodology to define such decompositions using subedges of the hypergraph. In this way we get a very clear picture of tractable decompositions. As an application of our method, we construct a new decomposition concept, called component hypertree decomposition, which is tractable and strictly more general than all other known tractable methods, including the recently introduced spread cut decomposition. We also define an even more general concept, which also generalizes the spread cut decompositions, according to their new definitions. We analyze various properties of generalized hypertree decompositions and study the parallel complexity of the recognition algorithms for the known tractable decomposition methods. Understanding their similarities and their relation to generalized hypertree decomposition, we gave upper bounds for the parallel complexity of their recognition.
The challenge of feeding the patients with dementia

Tampereen ammattikorkeakoulu Tampere University of Applied Sciences Degree Programme in Nursing Option in Medical-Surgical Nursing FROMMANN, JOSELINDA & OFORI, WATCHEN The challenge of feeding the patients with dementia Literature review Bachelor's thesis 43 pages, 1 Appendix October 2013 Good nutrition is essential in promoting health, maintaining independence and enhancing the well-being of patients who have dementia. As dementia progresses, eating difficulties are more noticeable. Studies after studies, it has been noted that those patients who were malnourished are prone to morbidity and mortality compared to those who are overweight. The purpose of this literature review was to explore the factors that cause malnutrition among the patients with dementia in nursing home. The aim is to provide effective nursing interventions through an evidenced-based practice and to develop a right attitude needed by the nurse. There were many materials pertaining to the theme of dementia and malnutrition, but research articles that discussed malnutrition among the patient with dementia in nursing homes from the nursing point of view were scarce. In this literature review, the theoretical starting points focused on the concept of dementia and malnutrition and its significant association. The result showed that the factors affecting malnutrition in nursing home were multifaceted. The nutritional status of patients with dementia in nursing can be alleviated by taking effort on maintaining the patient’s ability to self-feed as long as tolerated. If selffeeding was not considerable at all, hand-feeding by the nurses was the next option. The positive attitude and willingness to help were the nurse’s best tools in providing quality care. The result also marked the importance of providing an educational training program that focused on feeding among the nurses who are taking care of the patients with dementia. The conclusion suggests that an individualized nursing care plan should tailor the patients’ eating and feeding behavior, mental, physical, and communication disabilities. Nurses should understand the degenerative process of dementia to fully understand the changes in patient’s capabilities. It is useful if there is a standardized measure that tests the knowledge and skills of nurses upon hiring.
Scapular rotation in swimmers with and without impingement syndrome: practice effects.

PURPOSE The purpose of this study was to examine the effects of a normal swim practice on the scapular kinematics of swimmers with impingement syndrome and healthy swimmers. METHODS Twenty swimmers with no known shoulder pathology and 20 swimmers with shoulder impingement syndrome participated in this study. Shoulder strength measurements were made with a hand-held dynamometer. Static scapular upward rotation was measured with an inclinometer with the arm at rest, and at 45, 90, and 135 degrees of humeral elevation. Measurements were made pre- and postswim training. RESULTS There were no differences in baseline measurements of kinematics between the two groups. After swimming, both groups experienced muscle fatigue as indicated by a significant reduction in force generation. Although swimming practice resulted in no significant differences in scapular kinematics for the healthy swimmers, there were significant decreases in scapular upward rotation in subjects with shoulder impingement. CONCLUSIONS Abnormal scapular kinematics in swimmers with impingement syndrome may only be observed after an intense swim practice. The examination of swimmers immediately after swimming may provide more information regarding impingement syndrome than a typical clinical exam.
Cdks, cyclins and CKIs: roles beyond cell cycle regulation

Cyclin-dependent kinases (Cdks) are serine/threonine kinases and their catalytic activities are modulated by interactions with cyclins and Cdk inhibitors (CKIs). Close cooperation between this trio is necessary for ensuring orderly progression through the cell cycle. In addition to their well-established function in cell cycle control, it is becoming increasingly apparent that mammalian Cdks, cyclins and CKIs play indispensable roles in processes such as transcription, epigenetic regulation, metabolism, stem cell self-renewal, neuronal functions and spermatogenesis. Even more remarkably, they can accomplish some of these tasks individually, without the need for Cdk/cyclin complex formation or kinase activity. In this Review, we discuss the latest revelations about Cdks, cyclins and CKIs with the goal of showcasing their functional diversity beyond cell cycle regulation and their impact on development and disease in mammals.
Garbage collection safety for region-based memory management

In this paper, we prove the safety of integrating region-based memory management and Cheney-style copying garbage collection. The safety property relies on a refinement of the region typing rules that forbids dangling pointers during evaluation.To accommodate the triggering of garbage collection at any step in the evaluation process, we base our type-safety result for the region-based system on a small-step contextual semantics and show that whenever a well-typed expression reduces to another expression, possibly by deallocating a region, then no dangling pointer is introduced. Because there are no dangling pointers in the initial heap, no dangling pointers appear during evaluation.Although in principle, the refinement of the region typing rules leads to less flexibility and can cause worse memory behavior than when dangling pointers are permitted, experiments show that, for a range of benchmark programs, the refinement has little effect on overall memory behavior.
Exploratory study to evaluate tolerability, safety, and activity of Ashwagandha (Withania somnifera) in healthy volunteers

Ashwagandha (Withania somnifera) (WS), a “rasayana” drug, is recommended for balavardhan and mamsavardhan. The study was intended to evaluate dose-related tolerability, safety, and activity of WS formulation in normal individuals. The design was prospective, open-labeled, variable doses in volunteers. Eighteen apparently healthy volunteers (12M:6F, age:18-30 years, and BMI: 19-30) were enrolled. After baseline investigations, they received WS capsules (Rx) (aqueous extract, 8:1) daily in two divided doses with increase in daily dosage every 10 days for 30 days (750 mg/day ×10 days, 1 000 mg/day × 10 days, 1 250 mg/day × 10 days). Volunteers were assessed for symptoms/signs, vital functions, hematological and biochemical organ function tests. Muscle activity was measured by hand grip strength, quadriceps strength, and back extensor force. Exercise tolerance was determined using cycle ergometry. Lean body weight and fat% were computed from skin fold thickness measurement. Adverse events were recorded, as volunteered by the subjects. Repeated measures ANOVA, McNemar's test, and paired t test were employed. All but one volunteer tolerated WS without any adverse event. One volunteer showed increased appetite, libido, and hallucinogenic effects with vertigo at the lowest dose and was withdrawn from study. In six subjects, improvement in quality of sleep was found. Organ function tests were in normal range before and after the intervention. Reduction in total- and LDL- cholesterol and increase of strength in muscle activity was significant. Total body fat percentage showed a reduction trend. WS, in escalated dose, was tolerated well. The formulation appeared safe and strengthened muscle activity. In view of its traditional Rasayana use, further studies are planned to evaluate potential of this drug in patients of sarcopenia.
Concomitant Targeting of Multiple Key Transcription Factors Effectively Disrupts Cancer Stem Cells Enriched in Side Population of Human Pancreatic Cancer Cells

Background A major challenge in the treatment of pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma is the failure of chemotherapy, which is likely due to the presence of the cancer stem cells (CSCs). Objective To identify side population (SP) cells and characterize s-like properties in human pancreatic cancer cell lines (h-PCCLs) and to exploit the efficacy of concomitant targeting of multiple key transcription factors governing the stemness of pancreatic CSCs in suppressing CSC-like phenotypes. Methods Flow cytometry and Hoechst 33342 DNA-binding dye efflux assay were used to sort SP and non-SP (NSP) cells from three h-PCCLs: PANC-1, SW1990, and BxPc-3. The self-renewal ability, invasiveness, migration and drug resistance of SP cells were evaluated. Expression of CSC marker genes was analyzed. Tumorigenicity was assessed using a xenograft model in nude mice. Effects of a complex decoy oligonucleotide (cdODN-SCO) designed to simultaneously targeting Sox2, Oct4 and c-Myc were assessed. Results CSCs were enriched in the side proportion (SP) cells contained in the h-PCCLs and they possessed aggressive growth, invasion, migration and drug-resistance properties, compared with NSP cells. SP cells overexpressed stem cell markers CD133 and ALDH1, pluripotency maintaining factors Nanog, Sox2 and Oct4, oncogenic transcription factor c-Myc, signaling molecule Notch1, and drug resistant gene ABCG2. Moreover, SP cells consistently demonstrated significantly greater tumorigenicity than NSP cells in xenograft model of nude mice. CdODN–SOC efficiently suppressed all CSC properties and phenotypes, and minimized the tumorigenic capability of the SP cells and the resistance to chemotherapy. By comparison, the negative control failed to do so. Conclusion The findings indicate that targeting the key genes conferring the stemness of CSCs can efficiently eliminate CSC-like phenotypes, and thus may be considered a new approach for cancer therapy. Specifically, the present study establishes the combination of Sox2/Oct4/c-Myc targeting as a potential anti-pancreatic cancer agent worthy of further studies in preclinical settings.
Robust control for a class of continuous-time dynamical systems with sample-data outputs

This paper addresses the problem of robust control for a class of nonlinear dynamical systems in the discrete-continuous time domain. We deal with nonlinear controllable models described by ordinary differential equations in the presence of bounded uncertainties. The full model of the control system under consideration is completed by linear samplingtype outputs. The linear feedback control design proposed in this manuscript is created by application of an extended version of the conventional invariant ellipsoid method. Moreover, we also apply some specific Lyapunov-based ”descriptor techniques” from the stability theory of delayed systems. The above combination of the modified invariant ellipsoid approach and descriptor method make it possible to obtain the robustness of the designed control and to establish some well known stability properties of dynamical systems under consideration. Finally, the applicability of the proposed method is illustrated by a computational example. A brief discussion on the main implementation issue is also included.
Reproducibility and validity of a 45 item food-frequency questionnaire for inuit in Greenland

ABSTRACT Since 1993, dietary assessment has been carried out in Greenland as part of recurrent population health surveys. In preparation for the next survey in 2024, 91 participants from the survey in 2018 were selected for a validation study of the Food Frequency Questionnaire (FFQ). The 91 participants were reinterviewed 38–50 months after the first FFQ and invited to complete a food diary. As part of the 2018 survey, blood was analysed for mercury. The food diary was completed by 65 participants. The agreement between the two FFQ interviews was very good for macronutrients and fatty acids (p > 0.20), whereas the calculated intake of mercury was 22% higher in the second FFQ (p = 0.04) due to a higher intake of whale meat and muktuk (whale skin). The agreement between the second FFQ and the food diary was good for local food, imported meat and cakes/sweets/snacks but fruit and vegetables, dairy products, beverages and added sugar were significantly underreported in the food diary. Food items not included in the FFQ were identified from the food diaries. The correlation between the intake of marine mammals and blood mercury was moderate (Spearman’s rho = 0.41–0.50; p < 0.0001). The results will inspire future dietary studies in the circumpolar North.