Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Qualitative and quantitative determination of caffeine by comparing its amount in variety of black and green tea leaves marketed in Quetta city

Six varieties of tea produced by various industries, consumed mostly, were investigated for the quality and quantity of caffeine by Ultra Violet-Spectrophotometer (UV-S). The objective of study was to know that whether the caffeine in boozed tea of green and black leaves are low or high. Further they were correlated for their quantitative analysis. Extraction provided colorless needles of caffeine characterized by IR Spectroscopy. The obtained results of UV-S provided the samples named as A, B, C and a, b, c caffeine concentrations indicated the secure range set by food and drug administration (FDA) except for the black sample C which carried greater level of caffeine.
Spatial Requirements of Free-Ranging Huon Tree Kangaroos, Dendrolagus matschiei (Macropodidae), in Upper Montane Forest

Tree kangaroos (Macropodidae, Dendrolagus) are some of Australasia's least known mammals. However, there is sufficient evidence of population decline and local extinctions that all New Guinea tree kangaroos are considered threatened. Understanding spatial requirements is important in conservation and management. Expectations from studies of Australian tree kangaroos and other rainforest macropodids suggest that tree kangaroos should have small discrete home ranges with the potential for high population densities, but there are no published estimates of spatial requirements of any New Guinea tree kangaroo species. Home ranges of 15 Huon tree kangaroos, Dendrolagus matschiei, were measured in upper montane forest on the Huon Peninsula, Papua New Guinea. The home range area was an average of 139.6±26.5 ha (100% MCP; n = 15) or 81.8±28.3 ha (90% harmonic mean; n = 15), and did not differ between males and females. Home ranges of D. matschiei were 40–100 times larger than those of Australian tree kangaroos or other rainforest macropods, possibly due to the impact of hunting reducing density, or low productivity of their high altitude habitat. Huon tree kangaroos had cores of activity within their range at 45% (20.9±4.1 ha) and 70% (36.6±7.5 ha) harmonic mean isopleths, with little overlap (4.8±2.9%; n = 15 pairs) between neighbouring females at the 45% isopleth, but, unlike the Australian species, extensive overlap between females (20.8±5.5%; n = 15 pairs) at the complete range (90% harmonic mean). Males overlapped each other and females to a greater extent than did pairs of females. From core areas and overlap, the density of female D. matschiei was one per 19.4 ha. Understanding the cause of this low density is crucial in gaining greater understanding of variations in density of tree kangaroos across the landscape. We consider the potential role of habitat fragmentation, productivity and hunting pressure in limiting tree kangaroo density in New Guinea rainforests.
Research on nursing unit layouts: an integrative review

Purpose – This paper aims to present an integrative review of the research studies on nursing unit layouts. Design/methodology/approach – Studies selected for review were published between 1956 and 2014. For the purpose of this review, a framework for integrative review was developed using research orientations. The three primary dimensions – technical, psychological and social – of the designed environment and various combinations of these dimensions were used to define the research orientations of these studies. Findings – Of all the publications reviewed for the paper, 21 presented technical orientations, 16 psychological orientations, 3 social orientations, 20 psychotechnical orientations, 10 sociotechnical orientations, 2 psychosocial orientations and 13 presented psychosociotechnical orientations. With only a few exceptions, several issues related to nursing unit layouts were investigated no more than one time in any one category of research orientations. Several other seemingly important issues inc.
Total Phenolic, Flavonoids, Tannin Content and Antioxidant Power of Some Iranian Pomegranate Flower Cultivars (Punica granatum L.)

Recently, pomegranate (Punica granatum L.) was demonstrated to be high in antioxidant activity and strong in phenolic, flavonoid and tannin contents in its fruit, flower and also aerial part. In this paper six cultivars of Iranian pomegranate flower including Ghojagh, Rabbab, Malas, Shishegap, Danesiah and Golnar have been investigated. The maximum amount of total phenolic was detected in Ghojagh (25.94 mg·GAEg-1) and flavonoid showed the highest content in Danesiah (23.06 mg·CEg-1). The lowest content of these two groups was observed in Golnar (15.19 mg·GAEg-1 and 11.46 mg·CEg-1). Measurement of tannin compounds showed that Rabbab by 2.03% and Golnar by 1.06% have the highest and lowest amount respectively. According to the FRAP method, Ghojagh and Golnar have the highest and lowest antioxidant values respectively (452.53 mmol·g-1 and 123.39 mmol·g-1). As a result of HPLC-DPPH method, Malas and Danesiah have the highest and lowest antioxidant value (116.38 and 97.64 mgVEEg-1).
Biochemical bases of growth variation during development: a study of protein turnover in pedigreed families of bivalve larvae (Crassostrea gigas)

ABSTRACT Animal size is a highly variable trait regulated by complex interactions between biological and environmental processes. Despite the importance of understanding the mechanistic bases of growth, predicting size variation in early stages of development remains challenging. Pedigreed lines of the Pacific oyster (Crassostrea gigas) were crossed to produce contrasting growth phenotypes to analyze the metabolic bases of growth variation in larval stages. Under controlled environmental conditions, substantial growth variation of up to 430% in shell length occurred among 12 larval families. Protein was the major biochemical constituent in larvae, with an average protein-to-lipid content ratio of 2.8. On average, 86% of protein synthesized was turned over (i.e. only 14% retained as protein accreted), with a regulatory shift in depositional efficiency resulting in increased protein accretion during later larval growth. Variation in protein depositional efficiency among families did not explain the range in larval growth rates. Instead, changes in protein synthesis rates predicted 72% of growth variation. High rates of protein synthesis to support faster growth, in turn, necessitated greater allocation of the total ATP pool to protein synthesis. An ATP allocation model is presented for larvae of C. gigas that includes the major components (82%) of energy demand: protein synthesis (45%), ion pump activity (20%), shell formation (14%) and protein degradation (3%). The metabolic trade-offs between faster growth and the need for higher ATP allocation to protein synthesis could be a major determinant of fitness for larvae of different genotypes responding to the stress of environmental change. Editors' Choice: Biochemical mechanisms of body size variation studied using crosses of pedigreed lines reveal the energy trade-offs between faster larval growth and the need for ATP allocation to protein synthesis.
An analysis on driver drowsiness based on reaction time and EEG band power

Falling asleep during driving is a serious problem that has resulted in fatal accidents worldwide. Thus, there is a need to detect driver drowsiness to counter it. This study analyzes the changes in the electroencephalography (EEG) collected from 4 subjects driving under monotonous road conditions using a driving simulator. The drowsiness level of the subjects is inferred from the time taken to react to events. The results from the analysis of the reaction time shows that drowsiness occurs in cycles, which correspond to short sleep cycles known as `microsleeps'. The results from a time-frequency analysis of the four frequency bands' power reveals differences between trials with fast and slow reaction times; greater beta band power is present in all subjects, greater alpha power in 2 subjects, greater theta power in 2 subjects, and greater delta power in 3 subjects, for fast reaction trials. Overall, this study shows that reaction time can be used to infer the drowsiness, and subject-specific changes in the EEG band power may be used to infer drowsiness. Thus the study shows a promising prospect of developing Brain-Computer Interface to detect driver drowsiness.
Monoclonal antibody targeting the β-barrel assembly machine of Escherichia coli is bactericidal

Significance The outer membrane of Gram-negative bacteria presents a formidable barrier to the discovery of new antibiotics needed to combat infections by multidrug-resistant bacteria. Targeting essential proteins or processes directly exposed to the environment could bypass this obstacle. Here, we describe a monoclonal antibody that selectively and potently antagonizes BamA, which folds and inserts integral outer membrane β-barrel proteins, by binding to a surface-exposed BamA epitope and, as a result, inhibits bacterial cell growth. Mechanisms of resistance to the antibody reveal that membrane fluidity affects BamA activity. This antibody validates the potential therapeutic strategy of targeting essential, exposed functions and provides a powerful tool for dissecting the fundamental process of folding integral membrane β-barrel proteins in vivo. The folding and insertion of integral β-barrel membrane proteins into the outer membrane of Gram-negative bacteria is required for viability and bacterial pathogenesis. Unfortunately, the lack of selective and potent modulators to dissect β-barrel folding in vivo has hampered our understanding of this fundamental biological process. Here, we characterize a monoclonal antibody that selectively inhibits an essential component of the Escherichia coli β-barrel assembly machine, BamA. In the absence of complement or other immune factors, the unmodified antibody MAB1 demonstrates bactericidal activity against an E. coli strain with truncated LPS. Direct binding of MAB1 to an extracellular BamA epitope inhibits its β-barrel folding activity, induces periplasmic stress, disrupts outer membrane integrity, and kills bacteria. Notably, resistance to MAB1-mediated killing reveals a link between outer membrane fluidity and protein folding by BamA in vivo, underscoring the utility of this antibody for studying β-barrel membrane protein folding within a living cell. Identification of this BamA antagonist highlights the potential for new mechanisms of antibiotics to inhibit Gram-negative bacterial growth by targeting extracellular epitopes.
Sensing of cell stress by human γδ TCR-dependent recognition of annexin A2

Significance Human γδ T lymphocytes have innate-like and adaptive-like functions and can circulate in blood or reside in tissues. They are activated by specific antigens recognized by their T-cell receptor and recognize infected and transformed cells, suggesting that cellular stress is involved in specific antigen expression. However, molecular characterization of stress-induced antigens remains elusive, hampering our understanding of the role of γδ T cells in cancer and infections. In the present study we identify annexin A2 as such stress-induced antigen known as a phospholipid-binding protein involved in tumorigenesis, redox potential regulation, and wound healing. Stress-mediated membrane exposure of annexin A2 could thus constitute a danger signal for γδ T cells to recognize various cell dysregulations and protect the host against cancer and infections. Human γδ T cells comprise a first line of defense through T-cell receptor (TCR) recognition of stressed cells. However, the molecular determinants and stress pathways involved in this recognition are largely unknown. Here we show that exposure of tumor cells to various stress situations led to tumor cell recognition by a Vγ8Vδ3 TCR. Using a strategy that we previously developed to identify antigenic ligands of γδ TCRs, annexin A2 was identified as the direct ligand of Vγ8Vδ3 TCR, and was found to be expressed on tumor cells upon the stress situations tested in a reactive oxygen species-dependent manner. Moreover, purified annexin A2 was able to stimulate the proliferation of a Vδ2neg γδ T-cell subset within peripheral blood mononuclear cells and other annexin A2-specific Vδ2neg γδ T-cell clones could be derived from peripheral blood mononuclear cells. We thus propose membrane exposure of annexin A2 as an oxidative stress signal for some Vδ2neg γδ T cells that could be involved in an adaptive stress surveillance.
Clinical Outcomes of Cervical Spinal Surgery for Cervical Myelopathic Patients With Coexisting Lumbar Spinal Canal Stenosis (Tandem Spinal Stenosis): A Retrospective Analysis of 297 Cases

Study Design. A retrospective observational study. Objective. We evaluated the prevalence and clinical characteristics of tandem spinal stenosis (TSS) in patients with cervical myelopathy including ossification of the posterior longitudinal ligament of the cervical spine (C-OPLL). Summary of Background Data. Concurrent cervical and lumbar spinal canal stenosis is generally reported as TSS. Most previous studies have used magnetic resonance imaging to evaluate spinal stenosis in the cervical and lumbar spine. Methods. The authors performed a retrospective analysis of the outcomes of 297 myelography and cervical surgeries performed in myelopathic patients. We compared the non-TSS group (n = 125) with the TSS group (n = 172) in terms of multiple clinical parameters. In each group, we compared the cervical non-OPLL cases with the cervical OPLL cases. Moreover, we investigated the ratio and clinical outcomes of additional lumbar surgeries performed for TSS patients. Results. One hundred seventy-two cases (57.9%) were considered TSS. Forty-one patients (13.8%) underwent a lumbar operation during the follow-up period. The TSS group included a greater number of OPLL patients, elderly patients, diabetes mellitus, hypertension, and non-smokers than the non-TSS group. The postoperative C-JOA score and the C-JOA recovery rate in the TSS group were significantly lower than the non-TSS group. In the TSS group, the non-C-OPLL patients were significantly older than the C-OPLL patients. The C-OPLL patients had higher postoperative C-JOA scores than the non-C-OPLL patients in both the TSS and non-TSS groups. The additional lumbar surgery effectively improved both the C-JOA and L-JOA scores in TSS patients. Conclusion. The prognosis for TSS patients with myelopathy was worse than that for patients with isolated cervical lesions. Younger C-OPLL patients, even those with TSS, showed higher recovery rates than non-C-OPLL patients. Aging and coexistent lumbar lesions may influence the recovery process following surgery for cervical myelopathy. Level of Evidence: 4
Considering the Inclusion of Metabolic and Cardiovascular Markers in the Panel Study of Income Dynamics

The inclusion of biomarkers in social surveys such as the Panel Study of Income Dynamics (PSID) has the potential to answer many elusive questions in social science and public health, including the much-studied relationship between socioeconomic status and health. This article reviews the potential inclusion of biomarkers of cardiovascular and metabolic risk in the PSID. We first discuss the considerable analytical benefits of adding these biomarkers to the PSID, including the exploration of life course hypotheses and the potential to test causal relationships between the social environment and biological systems. Next, we review evidence on the reliability of self-reports of cardiovascular and metabolic risk factors, concluding that the potential bias from relying on self-reports may be substantial. Based on evidence of biological importance as well as practical considerations of ease of in-home collection, our first tier of recommended biomarkers includes measured height, weight, waist and hip circumference, diastolic and systolic blood pressure, resting heart rate, total and high-density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol, glycosylated hemoglobin (HbA1c), C-reactive protein (CRP), and cystatin C. Additional markers of secondary priority are also discussed.
Increased Productivity of a Cover Crop Mixture Is Not Associated with Enhanced Agroecosystem Services

Cover crops provide a variety of important agroecological services within cropping systems. Typically these crops are grown as monocultures or simple graminoid-legume bicultures; however, ecological theory and empirical evidence suggest that agroecosystem services could be enhanced by growing cover crops in species-rich mixtures. We examined cover crop productivity, weed suppression, stability, and carryover effects to a subsequent cash crop in an experiment involving a five-species annual cover crop mixture and the component species grown as monocultures in SE New Hampshire, USA in 2011 and 2012. The mean land equivalent ratio (LER) for the mixture exceeded 1.0 in both years, indicating that the mixture over-yielded relative to the monocultures. Despite the apparent over-yielding in the mixture, we observed no enhancement in weed suppression, biomass stability, or productivity of a subsequent oat (Avena sativa L.) cash crop when compared to the best monoculture component crop. These data are some of the first to include application of the LER to an analysis of a cover crop mixture and contribute to the growing literature on the agroecological effects of cover crop diversity in cropping systems.
Synthesis of New Fluoro-Benzimidazole Derivatives as an Approach towards the Discovery of Novel Intestinal Antiseptic Drug Candidates

In the present study, nineteen new fluoro-benzimidazole derivatives, including nifuroxazide analogs, were synthesized by microwave-supported reactions and tested against a panel of pathogenic microorganisms consisting of resistant strains. The synthesized compounds were characterized and identified by FT-IR, 1H- and 13C-NMR, mass spectroscopy, and elemental analyses, respectively. In vitro antimicrobial and cytotoxic effects of the synthesized compounds were determined by microdilution and by [3-(4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide] (MTT) assay. The compound 4-[5(6)-fluoro-1H-benzimidazol-2-yl)-N'-(2-methylbenzylidene)]benzohydrazide (18) showed particularly high inhibitory activity against the gastro-intestinal pathogens, such as Escherichia coli O157:H7, Escherichiacoli ATCC 8739, Escherichia coli ATCC 35218 and Salmonella typhimurium ATCC 13311 standard strains, with minimum inhibitory concentrations (MIC90) ranging from 0.49–0.98 µg/mL. The microbial panel contained a total of ten pathogens including Klebsiella sp. , Mycobacterium sp. , MRSA, etc., for which the level of inhibitory activity measured was higher than that exhibited by the tested concentrations (MIC > 1000 µg/mL). In vitro cytotoxicity results revealed that the inhibitory concentration (IC50) value (210.23 µg/mL) of compound 18 against CCD 841 CoN cells (human intestinal epithelial cell line) is about 430 times higher than its MIC90 value against the tested Escherichia coli strains. Furthermore, the docking study of compound 18 suggested that its structure is very compatible with the active site pocket of the phosphofructokinase-2 enzyme.
Genetic Relationships Between Male and Female Reproductive Traits in Beef Cattle

Reproductive traits were measured for 234 bulls and 1184 heifers from matings of three dam breeds (Angus, Hereford, and MARC III) with six sire breeds (Angus, Hereford, Brahman, Boran, Tuli, and Belgian Blue) from the Germ Plasm Evaluation (GPE) Program at Roman L. Hruska US Meat Animal Research Center. Male traits were yearling scrotal circumference (YSC), height (YH), and yearling BW; age at puberty (AP1; production of 50 million sperm with ≥10% progressive motility); age, scrotal circumference, average testis length, and testicular volume when 500 million sperm were produced with ≥50% progressive motility (AP3, SC3, L3 and V3, respectively); and 15-mo BW (15W) and height (15H). Traits of females were age at puberty (AP, first estrus) and pregnancy rate (PR) at 18 mo. The objective was to determine whether indirect selection on male traits would be effective for improving female fertility traits. Selection of males on AP1, AP3, SC3, L3, V3, YH, 15W, and 15H may be useful for 1Published as paper no. 14841, Journal Series, Nebraska Agric. Res. Div. , Univ. of Nebraska, Lincoln 68583-0908. 2Current address: University of Nebraska, Lincoln 68583-0908. 3To whom correspondence should be addressed: lvanvleck@unlnotes.unl. edu improving PR because of genetic correlations and low heritability for PR. Although no male trait was found to be effective for improving AP in females through indirect selection, YSC and SC3 were the most favorable. If heritability were as large as estimated in this study for AP (0.52), direct rather than indirect selection would seem to be more effective for AP in heifers, although the difficulty of measuring AP in heifers also would need to be considered. Male reproductive traits, such as scrotal circumference and also YH and 15H, however, are easier and less expensive to measure than female reproductive traits, and greater selection intensity can be applied to these male traits. (
The Use of a Polyphenoloxidase Biosensor Obtained from the Fruit of Jurubeba (Solanum paniculatum L.) in the Determination of Paracetamol and Other Phenolic Drugs

The vegetable kingdom is a wide source of a diverse variety of enzymes with broad biotechnological applications. Among the main classes of plant enzymes, the polyphenol oxidases, which convert phenolic compounds to the related quinones, have been successfully used for biosensor development. The oxidation products from such enzymes can be electrochemically reduced, and the sensing is easily achieved by amperometric transducers. In this work, the polyphenoloxidases were extracted from jurubeba (Solanum paniculatum L.) fruits, and the extract was used to construct a carbon paste-based biosensor for pharmaceutical analysis and applications. The assay optimization was performed using a 0.1 mM catechol probe, taking into account the amount of enzymatic extract (50 or 200 μL) and the optimum pH (3.0 to 9.0) as well as some electrochemical differential pulse voltammetric (DPV) parameters (e.g., pulse amplitude, pulse range, pulse width, scan rate). Under optimized conditions, the biosensor was evaluated for the quantitative determination of acetaminophen, acetylsalicylic acid, methyldopa, and ascorbic acid. The best performance was obtained for acetaminophen, which responded linearly in the range between 5 and 245 μM (R = 0.9994), presenting a limit of detection of 3 μM and suitable repeatability ranging between 1.52% and 1.74% relative standard deviation (RSD).
The Sub-Annual Breeding Cycle of a Tropical Seabird

Breeding periodicity allows organisms to synchronise breeding attempts with the most favourable ecological conditions under which to raise offspring. For most animal species, ecological conditions vary seasonally and usually impose an annual breeding schedule on their populations; sub-annual breeding schedules will be rare. We use a 16-year dataset of breeding attempts by a tropical seabird, the sooty tern (Onychoprion fuscatus), on Ascension Island to provide new insights about this classical example of a population of sub-annually breeding birds that was first documented in studies 60 years previously on the same island. We confirm that the breeding interval of this population has remained consistently sub-annual. By ringing >17000 birds and re-capturing a large sample of them at equivalent breeding stages in subsequent seasons, we reveal for the first time that many individual birds also consistently breed sub-annually (i.e. that sub-annual breeding is an individual as well as a population breeding strategy). Ascension Island sooty terns appear to reduce their courtship phase markedly compared with conspecifics breeding elsewhere. Our results provide rare insights into the ecological and physiological drivers of breeding periodicity, indicating that reduction of the annual cycle to just two life-history stages, breeding and moult, is a viable life-history strategy and that moult may determine the minimum time between breeding attempts.