Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
The role of organic matter in soil acidification

The pH and buffer capacity of two soils increased or remained constant after incubation with different amounts of plant material (lucerne cham at field capacity and when air dry. For both soils, the pH changes were greater at field capacity, whereas the buffer capacities were independent of the water treatments. The pH changes observed could be explained in terms of the organic anion concentration of the plant material. The results indicate that the initial soil pH and the anion concentration (i.e. the per cent dissociation of soluble organic acids when released into the soil) determine the acidifying effect of organic matter.
Differentiation of rabbit bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells into corneal epithelial cells in vivo and ex vivo

Purpose To examine whether bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) could be differentiated into corneal epithelial cells in vivo and ex vivo. Methods In vivo, BrdU labeled rabbit MSCs (Rb-MSCs) were suspended in the fibrin gels and transplanted onto the surface of the damaged rabbit corneas. Histology and molecular phenotype were studied on postoperative day 28. In vitro, labeled Rb-MSCs were cultured for three days in two different systems: (1) Group A: Rb-MSCs were co-cultured with rabbit limbal stem cells (Rb-LSCs) by the Transwell culture system. A suspension of Rb-LSCs was added to the upper membrane surface, and the inserts were positioned in the culture wells, which were incubated with Rb-MSCs; (2) Group B: Supernatant medium that had first been used to culture Rb-LSCs and then filtered with a 0.45 μm filter was used to culture Rb-MSCs. For both groups, immunofluorescence and flow cytometric analysis were used to examine the expression of cytokeratin 3 (CK3) in differentiated Rb-MSCs. Results In vivo, the data showed that following transplantation of Rb-MSCs, the rabbit’s damaged corneal surface was successfully reconstructed and that some Rb-MSCs participated in the healing of the injured corneal epithelium and expressed CK3. In vitro, the data showed that Rb-MSCs rapidly differentiated into cells with a morphological and molecular phenotype of corneal epithelial-like cells. For both groups, the differentiated Rb-MSCs were positive for corneal epithelial-specific marker CK3. In Group A, flow cytometry analysis showed that at day one, only 3.46±1.9% of cells expressed CK3. This increased to 7.24±3.80% at day two and decreased slightly (5.50±3.33%) at day three. The proportion of CK3 in Group B was 4.09±1.84% at day one, rising to 9.31±5.92% after 24 h, but falling (4.37±2.61%) at day three. The mean differences are significant between each group and the negative control, but was not significant between Group A and Group B. Conclusions MSCs could differentiate into corneal epithelial-like cells in vivo and ex vivo.
Heterogeneity and performance in innovation idea networks

This paper addresses the influence of heterogeneity on the creativityperformance of formal and informal groups when generating innovation ideas.Data on all innovation ideas generated at a company during three years havebeen gathered and analyzed. The empirical results showed that heterogeneityin formal groups has a positive influence on the quality of the ideas generated.However, after a certain amount of heterogeneity the performance drasticallydecreased, showing that there is an optimum for when heterogeneityinfluences the performance of the formal groups positively. The informalgroups did not show the same results.Managerial implications of the findings are that both the strategic input toideation and its organizing need to be considered.
Relation between burnout syndrome and job satisfaction among mental health workers.

AIM To identify predictors of burnout syndrome, such as job satisfaction and manifestations of occupational stress, in mental health workers. METHOD The study included a snowball sample of 174 mental health workers in Croatia. The following measurement instruments were used: Maslach Burnout Inventory, Manifestations of Occupational Stress Survey, and Job Satisfaction Survey. We correlated dimensions of burnout syndrome with job satisfaction and manifestations of occupational stress dimensions. We also performed multiple regression analysis using three dimensions of burnout syndrome--emotional exhaustion, depersonalization, and personal accomplishment. RESULTS Stepwise multiple regression analysis showed that pay and rewards satisfaction (beta=-0.37), work climate (beta=-0.18), advancement opportunities (beta=0.17), the degree of psychological (beta=0.41), and physical manifestations of occupational stress (beta=0.29) were significant predictors of emotional exhaustion (R=0.76; F=30.02; P<0.001). The frequency of negative emotional and behavioral reactions toward patients and colleagues (beta=0.48), psychological (beta=0.27) and physical manifestations of occupational stress (beta=0.24), and pay and rewards satisfaction (beta=0.22) were significant predictors of depersonalization (R=0.57; F=13,01; P<0.001). Satisfaction with the work climate (beta=-0.20) was a significant predictor of lower levels of personal accomplishment (R=0.20; F=5.06; P<0.005). CONCLUSION Mental health workers exhibited a moderate degree of burnout syndrome, but there were no significant differences regarding their occupation. Generally, both dimensions of job satisfaction and manifestations of occupational stress proved to be relevant predictors of burnout syndrome.
Characterization of dihydroflavonol 4-reductases for recombinant plant pigment biosynthesis applications

Anthocyanins are colorful plant pigments with promising applications as pharmaceuticals and colorants. In order to engineer efficient pigment biosynthesis in Escherichia coli, the activities of various dihydroflavonol 4-reductases (DFRs) were characterized for the three primary dihydroflavonol substrates. The biochemical assays demonstrated variable DFR activities for dihydroflavonol with one B-ring hydroxyl group, the precursor of pelargonidin derivatives. In contrast, dihydroflavonols with two and three B-ring hydroxylation were metabolized with comparable efficiency. Furthermore, the catalysis of DFR for the secondary substrates, flavanones, also depended on the number of B-ring hydroxyl groups. Engineering the expression of the DFR clones together with plant-specific 4-coumaroyl:CoA ligase, chalcone synthase, chalcone isomerase, and flavanone 3-hydroxylase in E. coli resulted in the synthesis of pelargonidin at various levels, from p-coumaric acids. The identification of a robust DFR from this study can also be used for engineering recombinant synthesis of other bioactive flavonoids, such as flavan-3-ols.
Ideal Cardiovascular Health Metrics and the Risks of Ischemic and Intracerebral Hemorrhagic Stroke

Background and Purpose— Previous studies showed an inverse association between ideal cardiovascular health (CVH) metrics and the total risk of cardiovascular diseases and stroke. This study aimed to investigate the relationship between ideal CVH metrics and the risks of ischemic and hemorrhagic stroke, respectively. Methods— We collected information on the 7 ideal CVH metrics (including smoking status, body mass index, dietary intake, physical activity, blood pressure, total cholesterol, and fasting blood glucose) among 91 698 participants from the Kailuan study, China (72 826 men and 18 872 women between the ages of 18 and 98 years), free of myocardial infarction and stroke at baseline (2006–2007). Cox proportional hazards models were used to estimate stroke risk. Results— During the 4-year follow-up, we identified 1486 incident stroke events (1057 ischemic, 386 intracerebral hemorrhagic, and 43 subarachnoid hemorrhagic). The hazard ratios (95% confidence interval) for total stroke with adherence to 0 (reference), 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, and 6/7 ideal CVH metrics were: 1, 0.92 (0.69–1.23), 0.69 (0.52–0.92), 0.52 (0.39–0.68), 0.38 (0.28–0.51), 0.27 (0.18–0.40), and 0.24 (0.11–0.54), respectively (P trend <0.01), after adjusting for age, sex, education, income, and hospital. Similar inverse associations were observed for both ischemic and intracerebral hemorrhagic stroke (both P trend <0.01). Conclusions— We observed a clear inverse gradient relationship between the number of ideal CVH metrics and the risk of stroke in a Chinese population, supporting the importance of ideal health behaviors and factors in stroke prevention.
Beta-S globin haplotypes in patients with sickle cell anemia: one approach to understand the diversity in Brazil

Sickle cell anemia (SCA) is defined as a monogenic disease that characterizes thehomozygous state of hemoglobin S (Hb S). Hemoglobin S polymerizes under adverse conditionssuch as deoxygenation, acidosis or dehydration. Its polymers deform erythrocytes and leadto a diverse and complex pathophysiology(1,2). Beta-S globin haplotypes (βS haplotypes) areimportant in the comprehension of the clinical diversity of SCA patients. Five haplotypes havebeen associated with different ethnic groups. They are identified at specific restriction sites andnamed according to their region of origin and prevalence: Bantu, Benin, Senegal, Arabic-Indian(Saudi) and Cameroon(3). This study aimed to assess the frequencies of βS haplotypes in patientswith SCA from Rio de Janeiro State, Brazil. We analyzed DNA samples from 790 patients withsickle cell disease (SCD) and classified them according to their haplotypes through an analysisof six polymorphic sites reported by Sutton et al.(4). According to these authors, haplotypes thatdo not exhibit known digestion patterns should be classified as atypical. The polymorphic sites were evaluated by polymerase chain reaction (PCR) followed by restriction fragment lengthpolymorphism (RFLP)(4,5). Of the 790 patients, 527 had SCA with the following frequencies of genotyped βS haplotypes: 295 (56.0%) Bantu/Bantu; 128 (24.3%) Bantu/Benin; 44 (8.3%)Bantu/Atypical; 36 (6.84%) Benin/Benin; 10 (1.9%) Benin/Atypical; three (0.57%) Bantu/Cameroon; three (0.57%) Benin/Cameroon; three (0.57%) Atypical/Atypical; two (0.38%)Bantu/Saudi; two (0.38%) Bantu/Senegal and one (0.19%) Benin/Saudi. From the totalnumber of 1054 chromosomes analyzed, 769 (72.96%) were identified with the Bantu allele according to the allelic frequency evaluation; 214 (20.3%) Benin; 60 (5.7%) Atypical; six(0.57%) Cameroon; three (0.28%) Saudi and two (0.19%) Senegal. Data from genotype and allele frequencies are shown in Table 1. The high frequencies of Bantu and Benin haplotypesdemonstrate the influence of Western and South-Central African on the evolution of the Brazilian population(6). We identified atypical haplotypes which may have originated due togenetic mechanisms such as gene conversions and the intense miscegenation between ethnicgroups that inhabit Rio de Janeiro State and Brazil. We emphasize the need of identifying and characterizing these genetic variations in order to better understand the clinical aspects and phenotypic diversity found in Brazilian SCD patients. Table 1 Allelic and genotypic frequency of beta-S globin haplotypes
Early readmission in patients hospitalized for ulcerative colitis: incidence and risk factors

Abstract Objective. Early readmission rates are becoming an integral measure of the quality of care for hospitalized patients with chronic diseases. The incidence and predictors of early readmission in patients with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) are uncertain. Risk factors for readmission over the first few weeks may differ from those that influence re-hospitalization at later time points. We examined the incidence and predictors of both 30-day and 90-day readmissions among ulcerative colitis (UC) patients. Materials and methods. A retrospective, cohort study was performed including all severe UC patients admitted to a tertiary-care hospital between January 2007 and December 2011. All-cause readmissions to the medical or surgical service within 30 and 90 days were recorded to allow the calculation of early readmission rates. We used multiple logistic regression to analyze demographic, hospital-related, general medical and IBD-specific factors as potential risk factors for readmission. Results. There were a total of 229 patients discharged following hospitalization for severe UC. The 30- and 90-day readmission rates were 11.7% and 20.5%, respectively. Forty-seven percent of early readmissions were for colectomy. In the 30-day analysis, only the presence of extensive colitis (odds ratio 3.59; 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.41–9.13) compared with left-sided disease was independently associated with readmission. Extensive colitis (3.09, 95% CI 1.33–7.08), albumin on admission (0.56, 0.31–0.99) and being admitted to a housestaff service (2.87, 95% CI 1.14–6.54), were independent predictors of readmission at 90 days. Conclusions. Early readmission is common in IBD. Independent risk factors for early readmission included extensive colitis, admission albumin, and being admitted to a housestaff service.
Detection and Typing of Human Papilloma Viruses by Nested Multiplex Polymerase Chain Reaction Assay in Cervical Cancer

Background: Cervical cancer is the leading cause of death from cancer in under-developed countries. Human papilloma virus (HPV) 16 and 18 are the most prevalent types associated with carcinogenesis in the cervix. Conventional Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR), type-specific and consensus primer-based PCR followed by sequencing, Restriction Fragment Length Polymorphism (RFLP) or hybridization by specific probes are common methods for HPV detection and typing. In addition, some researchers have developed a multiplex PCR for simultaneous detection and typing of different HPVs. Objectives: The aim of the present study was to investigate the prevalence of HPV infection and its types in cervical Squamous Cell Carcinoma (SCC) using the Nested Multiplex PCR (NMPCR) assay. Patients and Methods: Sixty-six samples with histologically confirmed SCC were evaluated. Total DNA was isolated by phenol–chloroform extraction and ethanol precipitation. Nested multiplex PCR was performed with first-round PCR by GP-E6/E7 consensus primers for amplification of the genomic DNA of all known mucosal HPV genotypes and second-round PCR by type-specific multiplex PCR primer cocktails. Results: Human papilloma virus infection was detected in 78.8% of samples, with the highest prevalence of HPV 16 (60.6%) while concurrent infections with two types was detected in 10.6%. Conclusions: The NMPCR assay is more convenient and easy for analysis of results, which is important for fast diagnosis and patient management, in a type-specific manner.
Chest Compression Quality Over Time in Pediatric Resuscitations

BACKGROUND: Chest compression (CC) quality deteriorates with time in adults, possibly because of rescuer fatigue. Little data exist on compression quality in children or on work done to perform compressions in general. We hypothesized that compression quality, work, and rescuer fatigue would differ in child versus adult manikin models. METHODS: This was a prospective randomized crossover study of 45 in-hospital rescuers performing 10 minutes of single-rescuer continuous compressions on each manikin. An accelerometer recorded compression quality measures over 30-second epochs. Work and power were calculated from recorded force data. A modified visual analogue scale measured fatigue. Data were analyzed by using linear mixed-effects models and Cox regression analysis. RESULTS: A total of 88 484 compression cycles were analyzed. Percent adequate CCs/epoch (rate ≥ 100/minute, depth ≥ 38 mm) fell over 10 minutes (child: from 85.1% to 24.6%, adult: from 86.3% to 35.3%; P = .15) and were <70% in both by 2 minutes. Peak work per compression cycle was 13.1 J in the child and 14.3 J in the adult (P = .06; difference, 1.2 J; 95% confidence interval, −0.05 to 2.5). Peak power output was 144.1 W in the child and 166.5 W in the adult (P < .001; difference, 22.4 W, 95% confidence interval, 9.8–35.0). CONCLUSIONS: CC quality deteriorates similarly in child and adult manikin models. Peak work per compression cycle is comparable in both. Peak power output is analogous to that generated during intense exercise such as running. CC providers should switch every 2 minutes as recommended by current guidelines.
A modified lookdown construction for the Xi-Fleming-Viot process with mutation and populations with recurrent bottlenecks

Letbe a finite measure on the unit interval. A �-Fleming-Viot process is a probability measure valued Markov process which is dual to a coalescent with multiple collisions (�-coalescent) in analogy to the duality known for the classical Fleming-Viot process and Kingman's coalescent, whereis the Dirac measure in 0. We explicitly construct a dual process of the coalescent with simultaneous multi- ple collisions (�-coalescent) with mutation, the �-Fleming-Viot process with muta- tion, and provide a representation based on the empirical measure of an exchange- able particle system along the lines of Donnelly and Kurtz (1999). We establish pathwise convergence of the approximating systems to the limiting �-Fleming-Viot process with mutation. An alternative construction of the semigroup based on the
Solving Transition-Independent Multi-Agent MDPs with Sparse Interactions

In cooperative multi-agent sequential decision making under uncertainty, agents must coordinate to find an optimal joint policy that maximises joint value. Typical algorithms exploit additive structure in the value function, but in the fully-observable multi-agent MDP (MMDP) setting such structure is not present. We propose a new optimal solver for transition-independent MMDPs, in which agents can only affect their own state but their reward depends on joint transitions. We represent these dependencies compactly in conditional return graphs (CRGs). Using CRGs the value of a joint policy and the bounds on partially specified joint policies can be efficiently computed. We propose CoRe, a novel branch-and-bound policy search algorithm building on CRGs. CoRe typically requires less runtime than available alternatives and finds solutions to previously unsolvable problems.
Clinical studies on event-related potentials (ERPs) N400 and the related factors in patients with poststroke depression (PSD).

OBJECTIVE To evaluate event-related potentials (ERPs), N400, and the related factors in patients with poststroke depression (PSD). METHODS Eighty-five stroke patients with depression, conforming to the diagnoses standard of Chinese Classification of Mental Diseases (3rd edition) (CCMD-3), were treated with fluoxetine hydrochloride for 3 months and another 85 stroke patients without depression were selected as the control group. The traits about N400 and blood platelet 5-HT concentrations of all patients were measured. RESULTS There were significant differences between the incubation periods and average amplitudes of N400 in patients with PSD and those in patients without PSD (p < 0.01), while the blood platelet 5-HT concentrations of PSD patients were much lower than those of the patients without PSD (p < 0.01). For PSD patients, the N400 incubation periods were significantly shortened, averaged amplitudes were significantly increased (p < 0.01), and the blood platelet 5-HT concentrations were significantly raised after 3 months' treatment. CONCLUSIONS For ERPs N400 in PSD patients, the incubation period is significantly prolonged and the average amplitude is reduced. Blood platelet 5-HT concentration may influence ERPs N400 in PSD patients. SIGNIFICANCE N400 detections are helpful to the early diagnostic of PSD, and provide objective electrophysiology indexes for follow-up visits.
[The effect of musical practice on speech recognition in quiet and noisy situations].

BACKGROUND Auditory training improves the perception of complex acoustic signals as well as the perception of speech. AIM To verify if auditory training, through the practice of music, has an influence on the ability to recognize speech in quiet and noisy situations. METHOD Participants of this study were 55 individuals, with no musical experience (non-musicians) and 45 professional musicians who had been playing at military bands for at least 5 years (musicians). All of the participants were male right-handed military volunteers, with normal hearing thresholds and with ages varying between 25 and 40 years. Using the Portuguese Sentence Lists (LSP) test, sentence recognition threshold was investigated in quiet (SRTQ) and in noise (SRTN). Based on the obtained data, the signal/noise ratio (S/N) was calculated. The sentences and noise (fixed to 65 dB HL) had a monoaural presentation using headphones. RESULTS When comparing the performances of both groups, the statistical analysis pointed no significant difference between the mean values obtained for the SRTQ. However, a statistically significant difference was verified between the mean values obtained for the S/N ratio. CONCLUSION In a quiet situation, musicians and non-musicians had similar performances. However, in the noise situation, musicians presented better performances, indicating that musical practice is an activity that improves the ability of speech recognition when in a noisy environment.
Developmental effect of light deprivation on synaptic plasticity of rats’ hippocampus: implications for melatonin

Objective(s): There are few reports have demonstrated the effect of a change-in-light experience on the structure and function of hippocampus. A change-in-light experience also affects the circadian pattern of melatonin secretion. This study aimed to investigate developmental effect of exogenous melatonin on synaptic plasticity of hippocampus of light deprived rats. Materials and Methods: The effects of intracerebroventricular (ICV) injection of 2μg/5μl melatonin was evaluated on the basic and tetanized field excitatory post-synaptic potentials (fEPSPs) recorded in the hippocampal CA3-CA1 pathway of normal light-reared (LR) and dark-reared (DR) rats at 2, 4, and 6 weeks of age. Using RT-PCR and western blotting, developmental changes in the expression of melatonin receptors, MT1 and MT2, in the hippocampus were also evaluated. Results: The amplitude of basic responses decreased across age in the LR rats. While light deprivation increased the amplitude of baseline fEPSPs, it decreased the degree of potentiation in post-tetanus responses. Melatonin injection also increased the amplitude of fEPSPs and suppressed the induction of long-term potentiation in both LR and DR rats. The expression of melatonin receptors increased in the hippocampus during brain development, and dark rearing reversed the expression patterns of both receptors. Conclusion: Although melatonin changed basic and tetanized responses of CA1 neurons across age during critical period of brain development, the pattern of its effects did not match the expression pattern of melatonin receptors in the hippocampus. Thus, the effects of melatonin on hippocampal neuronal responses may be exerted through other ways, like intercellular molecules and nuclear hormone receptors.
Functional food science and substrate metabolism

Abstract The present review addresses the role of food constituents in the aetiology of metabolic conditions and chronic diseases, mostly related to energy metabolism and substrate regulation, such as obesity and non-insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus. Second, attention is paid to malnutrition, a major cause of mortality and morbidity in developing countries, which may be a cause of concern in Europe because of the increasing number of elderly people in the population. Finally, the role of diet during exercise, a condition of enormous substrate demands, is evaluated. Based on a critical evaluation of the existing knowledge in the literature, implications for future research in relation to functional foods are discussed.