Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Antagonism by methysergide of vascular effects of 5-hydroxytryptamine in man.

The vascular responses in the upper limbs of normal human subjects to intra-arterially administered 5-hydroxytryptamine (5HT) were described by Roddie, Shepherd & Whelan (1955) and by Bock, Dengler, Khun & Matthes (1957). Glover, Marshall & Whelan (1957) found the lysergic acid derivative 2-bromo-(-+)-lysergic acid diethylamide bitartrate (BOL 148) to be a specific antagonist of the constrictor response of forearm and hand blood vessels to intra-arterial infusions of 5-HT. methysergide the management The present study was undertaken to determine the effects of methysergide on the responses of limb blood vessels to infused 5-HT and other vasoactive substances in normal subjects and also to investigate the specificity of 5-HT receptors in blood vessels. mm bore polyethylene tubing to a mechanically-driven syringe. Saline (0.9>' W/V) was infused continuously at a rate of 2 ml. /min throughout the experiment and was used as a vehicle for the drugs. Observations were made on both limbs simultaneously, three or four flow records being taken each minute. Following a control period of flow measurements of 3 to 5 min an infusion of a drug was administered to one side through the intra-arterial needle and flow measured on both sides until 3 to 5 min after the end of the drug infusion. Calculation of % age change in blcod flow during intra-arterial infusion of 5-HT was made by obtaining the average of blood flow measurements taken during the 2 min immediately before the infusion and comparing it with the average flow during the last 2 min of the infusion. Where appropriate, correction for spontaneous changes in the blood flow was made by reference to the control side (Duff, 1952). The drugs used were as of salts. Ascorbic acid (1 :50,000) was added to and noradrenaline solutions.
Soil detritivore functioning in heterogeneously contaminated soils

Bodemverontreiniging kan een belemmerende factor zijn bij de grootschalige herinrichting van uiterwaarden in het kader van het project ‘Ruimte voor de Rivier’, waarbij nieuwe kansen voor natuurontwikkeling worden gecreeerd. Onderzoek van Diane Heemsbergen aan de Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam en Alterra Wageningen UR toont aan dat regenwormen een positieve invloed op het bodemsysteem uitoefenen
Modeling mixed‐layer photochemistry of H2O2: Optical and chemical modeling of production

We have developed a vertical-flux model of undersea irradiance (300–500 nm) using measured absorption, scattering, midday spectral irradiance, and midday vertical attenuation (Kd) for stations in the eastern Caribbean in 1988. The model varies the pathlength and geometry of undersea light with solar zenith angle according to scattering in the water column, and according to the ratio of direct sunlight to diffuse skylight. Modeled UV and visible Kd have diel variations up to 67%, which are greatest above 400 nm. Using an experimentally determined photoproduction quantum yield (normalized to total dissolved organic matter absorption) which decreases exponentially as wavelength increases, modeled H2O2 photoproduction is primarily due to 320–360 nm irradiance. A significant fraction of total production occurs above 400 nm, especially at depth and at smaller zenith angles. The diel distribution of H2O2 photoproduction is notably deeper at midday than would be predicted by UV excitation in a simple nonscattering model.
The GimA Locus of Extraintestinal Pathogenic E. coli: Does Reductive Evolution Correlate with Habitat and Pathotype?

IbeA (invasion of brain endothelium), which is located on a genomic island termed GimA, is involved in the pathogenesis of several extraintestinal pathogenic E. coli (ExPEC) pathotypes, including newborn meningitic E. coli (NMEC) and avian pathogenic E. coli (APEC). To unravel the phylogeny of GimA and to investigate its island character, the putative insertion locus of GimA was determined via Long Range PCR and DNA-DNA hybridization in 410 E. coli isolates, including APEC, NMEC, uropathogenic (UPEC), septicemia-associated E. coli (SEPEC), and human and animal fecal isolates as well as in 72 strains of the E. coli reference (ECOR) collection. In addition to a complete GimA (∼20.3 kb) and a locus lacking GimA we found a third pattern containing a 342 bp remnant of GimA in this strain collection. The presence of GimA was almost exclusively detected in strains belonging to phylogenetic group B2. In addition, the complete GimA was significantly more frequent in APEC and NMEC strains while the GimA remnant showed a higher association with UPEC strains. A detailed analysis of the ibeA sequences revealed the phylogeny of this gene to be consistent with that obtained by Multi Locus Sequence Typing of the strains. Although common criteria for genomic islands are partially fulfilled, GimA rather seems to be an ancestral part of phylogenetic group B2, and it would therefore be more appropriate to term this genomic region GimA locus instead of genomic island. The existence of two other patterns reflects a genomic rearrangement in a reductive evolution-like manner.
Influence of C-Reactive Protein and Urinary Protein Excretion on Prediction of Graft Failure and Mortality by Serum Albumin in Renal Transplant Recipients

Background. Hypoalbuminemia is an established predictor of poor outcome in renal transplant recipients (RTR). It is considered to reflect inflammation, poor nutritional status, or proteinuria. We explored the roles of high-sensitivity C-reactive protein (hsCRP) and urinary protein excretion in prediction of graft failure and mortality by serum albumin in RTR. Methods. We included 605 RTR at a median (interquartile range) time of 6.0 years (2.5–11.5 years) after transplantation for baseline measurements. Results. At baseline, urinary protein excretion (&bgr;=−0.242, P<0.0001), hsCRP concentration (&bgr;=−0.207, P<0.0001), recipient age (&bgr;=−0.115, P=0.004), living kidney donor (&bgr;=0.100, P=0.01), and a history of myocardial infarction (&bgr;=−0.084, P=0.03) were independently related to serum albumin. Prospectively, 94 RTR died and 42 had graft failure during 5.3 years (4.7–5.7 years) of follow-up. After adjustment for potential confounders, including hsCRP and urinary protein excretion in Cox-regression analyses, low serum albumin was significantly associated with graft failure (hazard ratio=0.34 [95% confidence interval=0.15–0.76] per g/dL, P=0.008) and mortality (hazard ratio=0.43 [95% confidence interval=0.24–0.78] per g/dL, P=0.005), with significant modification of the effect of serum albumin on graft failure by urinary protein excretion (P=0.003). Conclusion. Low serum albumin concentrations predict graft failure and mortality in RTR independent of hsCRP and urinary protein excretion. The effect of serum albumin on graft failure is strongly modified by urinary protein excretion. These results suggest that chronic low-grade inflammation is not an important mechanism underlying inverse associations of serum albumin with graft failure and mortality. They also suggest that proteinuria is involved in the association of low serum albumin with graft failure.
Negative affect promotes encoding of and memory for details at the expense of the gist: Affect, encoding, and false memories

I investigated whether negative affective states enhance encoding of and memory for item-specific information reducing false memories. Positive, negative, and neutral moods were induced, and participants then completed a Deese–Roediger–McDermott (DRM) false-memory task. List items were presented in unique spatial locations or unique fonts to serve as measures for item-specific encoding. The negative mood conditions had more accurate memories for item-specific information, and they also had fewer false memories. The final experiment used a manipulation that drew attention to distinctive information, which aided learning for DRM words, but also promoted item-specific encoding. For the condition that promoted item-specific encoding, false memories were reduced for positive and neutral mood conditions to a rate similar to that of the negative mood condition. These experiments demonstrated that negative affective cues promote item-specific processing reducing false memories. People in positive and negative moods encode events differently creating different memories for the same event.
Sunk Cost Fallacy in Driving the World’s Costliest Cars

We develop a behavioral model of durable good usage with mental accounting for sunk costs. It predicts higher-than-rational usage that attenuates at a rate that increases with sunk costs. Singapore government policy varied the sunk cost of buying a new car. Using Singapore data, we estimate the elasticity of driving with respect to sunk costs to be 0.048, which implies that government policy between 2009 and 2013 was associated with 86 kilometers per month, or 5.6%, more driving. The results are robust to specifying sunk costs as relative to buyer income and estimation with Hong Kong data. We believe this to be the first field evidence of the sunk cost fallacy in usage of a major durable good. The online appendix is available at https://doi.org/10.1287/mnsc.2016. 2651. This paper was accepted by John List, behavioral economics.
Neonatal DNA methylation profile in human twins is specified by a complex interplay between intrauterine environmental and genetic factors, subject to tissue-specific influence

Comparison between groups of monozygotic (MZ) and dizygotic (DZ) twins enables an estimation of the relative contribution of genetic and shared and nonshared environmental factors to phenotypic variability. Using DNA methylation profiling of ∼20,000 CpG sites as a phenotype, we have examined discordance levels in three neonatal tissues from 22 MZ and 12 DZ twin pairs. MZ twins exhibit a wide range of within-pair differences at birth, but show discordance levels generally lower than DZ pairs. Within-pair methylation discordance was lowest in CpG islands in all twins and increased as a function of distance from islands. Variance component decomposition analysis of DNA methylation in MZ and DZ pairs revealed a low mean heritability across all tissues, although a wide range of heritabilities was detected for specific genomic CpG sites. The largest component of variation was attributed to the combined effects of nonshared intrauterine environment and stochastic factors. Regression analysis of methylation on birth weight revealed a general association between methylation of genes involved in metabolism and biosynthesis, providing further support for epigenetic change in the previously described link between low birth weight and increasing risk for cardiovascular, metabolic, and other complex diseases. Finally, comparison of our data with that of several older twins revealed little evidence for genome-wide epigenetic drift with increasing age. This is the first study to analyze DNA methylation on a genome scale in twins at birth, further highlighting the importance of the intrauterine environment on shaping the neonatal epigenome.
Ray-Tracing Simulations of the 60 GHz Incabin Radio Channel

In this paper, we present first results of ray-tracing simulations of the 60 GHz in-vehicular radio channel. The simulations have been performed with respect to the passenger cabin of a wide-bodied aircraft. A very detailed 3D model of the cabin has been drawn up. Parameters of common materials were taken from literature. Unknown values have been determined by means of free space measurements. For composite materials we made the approach of defining an effective dielectric constant and an effective thickness. The simulation results have been analyzed regarding small-scale fading behavior, path loss and delay spread.
Agricultural Rivers at Risk: Dredging Results in a Loss of Macroinvertebrates. Preliminary Observations from the Narew Catchment, Poland

Ecosystem deterioration in small lowland agricultural rivers that results from river dredging entails a significant threat to the appropriate ecohydrological conditions of these water bodies, expressed as homogenization of habitats and loss of biodiversity. Our study was aimed at a comparison of abundance and taxonomic structure of bottom-dwelling macroinvertebrates in dredged and non-dredged stretches of small lowland rivers and tributaries of the middle Narew River, namely: Czaplinianka, Turośnianka, Dąb, and Ślina. The experimental setup was (1) to collect samples of the bottom material from the river stretches that either persisted in a non-modified state (dredging was not done there in the last few years) or had been subjected to river dredging in the year of sampling; and (2) to analyze the abundance and taxonomic structure of macroinvertebrates in the collected samples. The study revealed that at the high level of statistical significance (from p = 0.025 to p = 0.001), the total abundance of riverbed macroinvertebrates in the dredged stretches of the rivers analyzed was approximately 70% lower than in non-dredged areas. We state that the dredging of small rivers in agricultural landscapes seriously affects their ecological status by negatively influencing the concentrations and species richness of benthic macroinvertebrates.
An investigation of the relationships between dispersion, power, and mechanical energy using the end-over-end shaking and ultrasonic methods of aggregate stability assessment

The dispersion and energies applied by the end-over-end shaking and ultrasonic methods of assessing aggregate stability were compared. The simple calculation of the kinetic energy of the falling water within the shaking cylinder (0·72 W) was found to underestimate the total energy associated with dispersion, which was estimated as the equivalent energy during the initial period of shaking, as 1·92±0·18 W. A range of mechanical energies up to 24·95 W was applied to suspensions of 2 Vertisols with contrasting stability using the ultrasonic and the end-over-end shaking techniques. Both power and total energy applied was found to affect significantly (P < 0·05) the dispersion of material sized <20 and <2 µm. The results confirmed the presence of aggregate hierarchy, with the end-over-end shaking treatment being unable to disperse completely the <2 µm material for either soil. An increase in the power applied by the ultrasonic probe increased the rate of aggregate breakdown for the stable soil but produced no effect on rate of breakdown in the unstable soil.
Ultrasound for Early Detection of Joint Disease in Patients with Hemophilic Arthropathy

Joint bleeding represents the most commonly reported type of hemorrhage in patients affected by hemophilia. Although the widespread use of prophylaxis has been able to significantly reduce the onset of arthropathy, it has been shown that a non-negligible percentage of patients develop degenerative changes in their joints despite this type of treatment. Thus, periodic monitoring of the joint status in hemophilia patients has been recommended to identify early arthropathic changes and prevent the development or progression of hemophilic arthropathy. Ultrasound (US) has proven able to detect and quantify the most relevant biomarkers of disease activity (i.e., joint effusion and synovial hypertrophy) and degenerative damages (i.e., osteo-chondral changes) by means of scoring scales of increasing disease severity. In the present review, we have detailed major literature evidence about the use of US to assess joint status in hemophilia patients, focusing on signs of disease activity and degenerative damages. In particular, we have discussed recent evidence about “point-of-care” use patients with hemophilia.
Using Bayesian networks to predict software defects and reliability

This paper reviews the use of Bayesian networks (BNs) in predicting software defects and software reliability. The approach allows analysts to incorporate causal process factors as well as combine qualitative and quantitative measures, hence overcoming some of the well-known limitations of traditional software metrics methods. The approach has been used and reported on by organizations such as Motorola, Siemens, and Philips. However, one of the impediments to more widespread use of BNs for this type of application was that, traditionally, BN tools and algorithms suffered from an obvious ‘Achilles’ heel’ – they were not able to handle continuous nodes properly, if at all. This forced modellers to have to predefine discretization intervals in advance and resulted in inaccurate predictions where the range, for example, of defect counts was large. Fortunately, recent advances in BN algorithms now make it possible to perform inference in BNs with continuous nodes, without the need to prespecify discretization levels. Using such ‘dynamic discretization’ algorithms results in significantly improved accuracy for defects and reliability prediction type models.
Tissue distribution & elimination of capsaicin, piperine & curcumin following oral intake in rats.

BACKGROUND & OBJECTIVES Curcumin, capsaicin and piperine--the bioactive compounds present in spices--turmeric (Curcuma longa), red pepper (Capsicum annuum) and black pepper (Piper nigrum) respectively, have a considerable portion of structural homology. Tissue distribution and elimination of these three structurally similar bioactive compounds was examined following their oral intake in rats. METHODS Separate sets of animals (150-160 g) were orally administered the three spice principles at dosages of 30 mg (capsaicin), 170 mg (piperine) and 500 mg (curcumin) / kg body weight. The tissue concentrations of administered spice compounds were determined by HPLC. RESULTS Maximum distribution of 24.4 per cent of administered capsaicin was seen at 1 h, while no intact capsaicin was detectable after 4 days. Absorption of capsaicin was about 94 per cent and very rapid relative to other two compounds. A maximum of 10.8 per cent of administered piperine was seen in tissues at 6 h. Absorption of the administered piperine was about 96 per cent. Curcumin concentration was maximum in the intestine at 1 h; maximum in blood at 6 h and remained at significantly higher level even at 24 h. About 63.5 per cent of the curcumin dose was absorbed. Only a small portion of the administered dose of capsaicin (< 0.1%) and curcumin (0.173 %) was excreted in urine, whereas piperine was not detectable in urine. Enhanced bioavailability of curcumin was evidenced when the same was orally administered concomitant with piperine. Intestinal absorption of curcumin was relatively higher when administered concomitantly with piperine, and it stayed significantly longer in the body tissues. Intact curcumin was detected in brain at 24, 48 and 96 h with a maximum at 48 h. CONCLUSIONS Considerable difference exists in the bioavailability of the three test compounds. Curcumin could be traced in the brain following its administration. Bioavailability of curcumin can be improved by co-administration with piperine.
Indirect Velocity Measurement from Standing Waves in Rockbed Rivers

Direct measurement of velocities and discharge in turbulent rockbed rivers is dangerous and often impracticable. Float measurements of surface velocity in sediment-free rockbed reaches of rivers are used to test the equation—due to Kennedy—that the mean velocity of a critical wave train is given by v= 1.2495√λ, where λ is the wavelength of the standing waves. Field data collected for wavelengths between 0.5 m and 7 m estimates surface velocity as about 2% significantly higher than the predicted mean velocity. It is concluded that the Kennedy equation successfully represents the mean velocity in rockbed rivers, which are essentially free from sediment, and that measuring the wavelengths of standing wave trains is an accurate and economical method of measuring mean velocity in the field. From estimated wave train width and computed critical depth, minimum discharge can be estimated for the section.
Prediction for the neutrino mass in the KATRIN experiment from lensing by the galaxy cluster A1689

The KATRIN experiment in Karlsruhe Germany will monitor the decay of tritium, which produces an electron-antineutrino. While the present upper bound for its mass is 2 eV/c2, KATRIN will search down to 0.2 eV=c2. If the dark matter of the galaxy cluster Abell 1689 is modeled as degenerate isothermal fermions, the strong and weak lensing data may be explained by degenerate neutrinos with mass of 1.5 eV=c2. Strong lensing data beyond 275 kpc put tension on the standard cold dark matter interpretation. In the most natural scenario, the electron antineutrino will have a mass of 1.5 eV/c2, a value that will be tested in KATRIN.
A Hydroclimatological Assessment of Regional Drought Vulnerability: A Case Study of Indiana Droughts

AbstractCharacterizing and developing drought climatology continues to be a challenging problem. As decision makers seek guidance on water management strategies, there is a need for assessing the performance of drought indices. This requires the adaptation of appropriate drought indices that aid in monitoring droughts and hydrological vulnerability on a regional scale. This study aims to assist the process of developing a statewide water shortage and assessment plan (WSP) for the state of Indiana by conducting a focused hydroclimatological assessment of drought variability. Drought climatology was assessed using in situ observations and regional reanalysis data. A summary of precipitation and evaporation trends, estimated drought variability, worst-case drought scenarios, drought return period, and frequency and duration was undertaken, using multiple drought indices and streamflow analysis. Results indicated a regional and local variability in drought susceptibility. The worst-case (200-yr return period).
Depositional Environment and Organic Geochemistry of the Upper Permian Ravnefjeld Formation Source Rock in East Greenland

The Upper Permian Ravnefjeld Formation in East Greenland is composed of shales that laterally pass into carbonate buildups and platforms of the Wegener Halvo Formation. The Ravnefjeld Formation is subdivided into five units that can be traced throughout the Upper Permian depositional basin. Two of the units are laminated and organic rich, and were deposited under anoxic conditions. They are considered good to excellent source rocks for liquid hydrocarbons with initial average TOC (total organic carbon) values between 4 and 5% and HI (hydrogen index) between 300 and 400. The cumulative source rock thickness is between 15 and 20 m. The source rocks are separated and enclosed by three units of bioturbated siltstone with a TOC of less than 0.5% and an HI of less than 100. The e siltstones were deposited under relatively oxic conditions. The organic geochemistry of the source rocks is typical for marine source rocks with some features normally associated with carbonate/evaporite environments [low Pr/Ph (pristane/phytane), low CPI (carbon preference index), distribution of tricyclic and pentacyclic terpanes]. The establishment of anoxic conditions and subsequent source rock deposition was controlled by eustatic sea level changes. The subenvironment (paleogeographic setting, influx of carbonate material, water depth, salinity) has some influence on a number of bulk parameters [TOC-HI relations, TOC-TS (total sulfur) relations] and, in particular, biomarker parameters such as Pr/Ph and terpane ratios. All the basal shales or shales in the vicinity of carbonate buildups or platforms are characterized by low Pr/Ph, high C23 tricyclic terpanes, and high C35 and C33 hopanes.