Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Assessment of Major Reproductive Disorders of Dairy Cattle in Urban and Per Urban Area of Hosanna, Southern Ethiopia

The study which employed both questionnaire and observational survey was conducted in urban and per urban area of Hossana with the objectives of determining the prevalence of major reproductive health problems of dairy cattle and the possible risk factors in the selected dairy farms from November 2013 to April 2014. A total of 390 dairy cattle (349 cross and 41 local breed) which were kept under different management system (256 intensively, 60 semi intensively and 74 were extensive) were included, out of which 43.07 % (n=168) were found to be affected either with one or more of reproductive problems. Repeat breeder, anoestrus, Retained Fetal membrane (RFM), and dystocia were found to be the major reproductive health problems containing 13.08%, 12.06%, 7.18% and 5.9% prevalence rate respectively and other reproductive health problems observed with lower prevalence include vaginal prolapsed, abortion, mixed and uterine prolapsed having 3.44%, 2.56%, 1.03%, and 0.76% respectively in the study farms of the area. The overall prevalence of reproductive problems showed significant difference (p 0.05) on the occurrence of reproductive problems in the area. Therefore, it is recommended that awareness creation to farm owners, attendants and improved management such as, proper feeding, accurate heat detection, considering the size of sire and dam while using AI, and health management should be improved to minimize the occurrence of these problems and associated economic losses in the dairy farms of the area.
Berberine potently attenuates intestinal polyps growth in ApcMin mice and familial adenomatous polyposis patients through inhibition of Wnt signalling

As a traditional anti‐inflammatory Chinese herbal medicine, Alkaloid berberine has been recently reported to exhibit anti‐tumour effects against a wide spectrum of cancer. However, the mechanism was largely unknown. Gene chip array reveals that with berberine treatment, c‐Myc, the target gene of Wnt pathway, was down‐regulated 5.3‐folds, indicating that berberine might inhibit Wnt signalling. TOPflash analysis revealed that Wnt activity was significantly reduced after berberine treatment, and the mechanism of which might be that berberine disrupted β‐catenin transfer to nucleus through up‐regulating the expression of adenomatous polyposis coli (APC) gene and stabilized APC‐β‐catenin complex. Berberine administration in ApcMin/+ mice exhibited fewer and smaller polyps in intestine, along with reduction in cyclin D1 and c‐Myc expression. In clinical practice, oral administration of berberine also significantly reduced the familial adenomatous polyposis patients' polyp size along with the inhibition of cyclin D1 expression in polyp samples. These observations indicate that berberine inhibits colon tumour formation through inhibition of Wnt/β‐catenin signalling and berberine might be a promising drug for the prevention of colon cancer.
Effect of VIVO(dipic-Cl)(H2O)2 on Lipid Metabolism Disorders in the Liver of STZ-Induced Diabetic Rats

Vanadium complexes are potent antidiabetic agents for therapeutical treatment of diabetes. In the present study, we investigated the hypolipidemic effect of VIVO(dipic-Cl)(H2O)2 (V4dipic-Cl) in liver of streptozotocin- (STZ-)-induced diabetic rats. We found that diabetic animals exhibited hepatic inflammatory infiltration and impaired liver function along with triglyceride (TG) accumulation in the liver. V4dipic-Cl treatment not only ameliorated liver pathological state but also reduced hepatic TG level. Moreover, the upregulation of fatty acid translocase (FAT/CD36) mRNA (4.0-fold) and protein (8.2-fold) levels in the liver of diabetic rats were significantly reversed after V4dipic-Cl treatment. However, no significant effects of V4dipic-Cl on the mRNA expression of fatty acid metabolism-related fatty acid bounding protein 1 (FABP1) and fatty acid transporter 5 (FATP5) were observed. These results suggest that the modification of lipid metabolism-related FAT/CD36 in the liver of diabetic rats is likely involved in the hypolipidemic effects of V4dipic-Cl.
[The relation between thyroid function and depression: a review].

OBJECTIVE The role of the thyroid gland in primary depressive disorder is unclear. Although there is evidence that patients with subtle underlying defects in thyroid function may be more prone to developing depressive disease, the specific abnormality in thyroid function associated with depressive disorders remains poorly understood. In this review, we outline the major findings concerning depression and thyroid function, with particular attention on the relationship between thyroid function and cerebral monoamines. METHODS Literature searches were performed by Medline, with secondary-source follow-up. RESULTS The documented hypothalamus-pituitary-thyroid (HPT) axis abnormalities in some depressed patients are: elevated T4 concentrations, abnormal TSH responses to TRH; presence of antithyroid antibodies and elevated CSF - TRH concentrations. The relation of these abnormalities of HPT function, the main monoamines and the diagnostic subtypes of patients with depression is complex and does not directly support a linear relationship. CONCLUSIONS After many years of research, the precise relationship between the HPT axis and depressive disorders remains obscure, and the mechanism underlying the thyroid abnormalities in depressive patients remains indeterminate. Thus, considerable further investigation will be necessary to understand the role of the HPT axis in the pathogenesis and treatment of depressive disorders.
Secondary Saliency Tracking-Based Sensorless Control for Concentrated Winding SPMSM

Sensorless ac drives have been widely adopted in many industry applications. However, the characteristic of strong multiple saliencies is still a main drawback impeding applying sensorless control over several types of machine, e.g., surface-mounted permanent magnet synchronous machine with concentrated windings (cwSPMSM). This work proposes a novel secondary saliency tracking (SST) algorithm to implement the sensorless control exclusively for such machines at low speed range. The saliency signals of a typical cwSPMSM under consideration are experimentally investigated. The stator background and physical mechanism of its strong multiple saliencies are explained in detail. Instead of processing the primary saliency signal, secondary saliency signal that has a better signal to noise ratio and more precise resolution is processed by a specially designed bandpass filter, and an adaptive notch filter for speed and rotor position estimation. Finally, the effectiveness and accuracy of the newly proposed SST method are verified by experimental results.
Clinical and angiographic outcome of directional atherectomy followed by stent implantation in de novo lesions located at the ostium of the left anterior descending coronary artery

Background: Lesions located at the ostium of the left anterior descending coronary artery (LAD) are considered an ideal target for directional atherectomy (DCA), but few data are available about the value of using this strategy before stenting in comparison with stenting alone. Objectives: To investigate the immediate and mid term clinical and angiographic results of DCA followed by stent implantation for ostial LAD lesions. Design: Retrospective comparison of the immediate and mid term angiographic and clinical results of a series of 117 consecutive patients with de novo lesions located at the ostium of the LAD. Of these, 46 underwent DCA before stenting and 71 were treated with stenting alone. Results: Technical success in the two groups was similar at around 98%. DCA plus stenting provided a larger minimum lumen diameter at the end of the procedure than stenting alone (3.57 (0.59) mm v 3.33 (0.49) mm, p = 0.022). There were no differences for in-hospital major adverse events (MACE) (7.5% for atherectomy plus stenting, and 5.3% for stenting alone; p = 0.41). All patients had clinical follow up at a mean of 7.9 (2.7) months. Angiographic follow up was done in 89 patients (76%) at a mean of 5.9 (2.2) months. The atherectomy plus stenting group had a larger minimum lumen diameter than the stenting group (2.79 (0.64) mm v 2.26 (0.85) mm, p = 0.004) and a lower binary restenosis rate (13.8% v 33.3%, p = 0.031). Six month MACE were reduced in the atherectomy plus stenting group (8.7% v 23.9%, p = 0.048). Conclusions: Debulking before stenting in de novo lesions located at the ostium of the LAD is safe and is associated with a high rate of technical success. Follow up data show that DCA plus stenting results in a significantly larger minimum lumen diameter and a lower incidence of restenosis than stenting alone.
Study of the Relationships between the Spatial Extent of Surface Urban Heat Islands and Urban Characteristic Factors Based on Landsat ETM+ Data

Ten cities with different population and urban sizes located in the Pearl River Delta, Guangdong Province, P.R. China were selected to study the relationships between the spatial extent of surface urban heat islands (SUHI) and five urban characteristic factors such as urban size, development area, water proportion, mean NDVI (Normalized Vegetation Index) and population density, etc. The spatial extent of SUHI was quantified by using the hot island area (HIA). All the cities are almost at the same latitude, showing similar climate and solar radiation, the influence of which could thus be eliminated during our computation and comparative study. The land surface temperatures (LST) were retrieved from the data of Landsat 7 Enhanced Thematic Mapper Plus (ETM+) band 6 using a mono-window algorithm. A variance-segmenting method was proposed to compute HIA for each city from the retrieved LST. Factors like urban size, development area and water proportion were extracted directly from the classification images of the same ETM+ data and the population density factor is from the official census. Correlation and regression analyses were performed to study the relationships between the HIA and the related factors, and the results show that HIA is highly correlated to urban size (r=0.95), population density (r=0.97) and development area (r=0.83) in this area. It was also proved that a weak negative correlation existed between HIA and both mean NDVI and water proportion for each city. Linear functions between HIA and its related factors were established, respectively. The HIA can reflect the spatial extent and magnitude of the surface urban heat island effect, and can be used as reference in the urban planning.
SEROLOGIC EVIDENCE FOR ANTIGENS CONTROLLED BY THE Ir REGION IN MICE

Antibodies produced in B10.D2 mice against soluble lymphocyte membrane antigens of B10.A (H-2a) mice reacted only with lymphocytes of the strains carrying the Irk region, i.e., B10.A(2R), B10.K, B10.BR, B10.HTT, AQR, A.TE, C3H, and CBA; they did not react with cells of strains carrying different Ir regions, i.e., B10.A(4R), B10, B10.M, A.SW, DBA/1. It is therefore concluded that the antigen detected with these antibodies is apparently controlled by the Ir region of the H-2 complex. The antigen is present on some T lymphocytes and absent on B lymphocytes. Its presence or absence seems to correlate with MLC and GVH reactivity.
An inventory of personal constructs for information systems project risk researchers

This paper explores the application of personal construct elicitation techniques to the identification of the situational factors that managers of bespoke information system development projects take into account when planning new projects for new customers. It is shown that the personal constructs elicited reflect most of the contingency variables and risk-drivers mentioned in the information systems development literature, but also include some situational characteristics not addressed in this literature. It is concluded that personal construct elicitation techniques have a valuable role to play in information systems development research.
Prospective longitudinal evaluation of the effect of deployment-acquired traumatic brain injury on posttraumatic stress and related disorders: results from the Army Study to Assess Risk and Resilience in Servicemembers (Army STARRS).

OBJECTIVE Traumatic brain injury (TBI) is increasingly recognized as a risk factor for deleterious mental health and functional outcomes. The purpose of this study was to examine the strength and specificity of the association between deployment-acquired TBI and subsequent posttraumatic stress and related disorders among U.S. Army personnel. METHOD A prospective, longitudinal survey of soldiers in three Brigade Combat Teams was conducted 1-2 months prior to an average 10-month deployment to Afghanistan (T0), upon redeployment to the United States (T1), approximately 3 months later (T2), and approximately 9 months later (T3). Outcomes of interest were 30-day prevalence postdeployment of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), major depressive episode, generalized anxiety disorder, and suicidality, as well as presence and severity of postdeployment PTSD symptoms. RESULTS Complete information was available for 4,645 soldiers. Approximately one in five soldiers reported exposure to mild (18.0%) or more-than-mild (1.2%) TBI(s) during the index deployment. Even after adjusting for other risk factors (e.g., predeployment mental health status, severity of deployment stress, prior TBI history), deployment-acquired TBI was associated with elevated adjusted odds of PTSD and generalized anxiety disorder at T2 and T3 and of major depressive episode at T2. Suicidality risk at T2 appeared similarly elevated, but this association did not reach statistical significance. CONCLUSIONS The findings highlight the importance of surveillance efforts to identify soldiers who have sustained TBIs and are therefore at risk for an array of postdeployment adverse mental health outcomes, including but not limited to PTSD. The mechanism(s) accounting for these associations need to be elucidated to inform development of effective preventive and early intervention programs.
Iterative Network and Channel Decoding on a Tanner Graph

We propose a joint network-channel coding scheme for the multiple-access relay channel. In this scenario, two users use a common relay which performs network coding. We show how a distributed Low-Density Parity-Check (LDPC) code can be applied as a joint network-channel code. The network-channel code is described by one single regular Tanner graph and is decoded with the iterative messagepassing algorithm. A numerical comparison with reference systems for block fading channels confirms the diversity and code length gain which is provided by iterative network and channel decoding.
Rethinking the Quest for School Improvement: Some Findings from the DESSI Study

Definitive formulas-seen in craft and science terms-for achieving school improvement have often proved elusive. Elusive because the normative nature of the term makes it slippery; one persons’s version of improvement is another’s version of wastefulness, or even of worsening. Elusive also because researchers have ridden off in all directions, armed with different conceptual and methodological trappings, and have returned with formulas that often appeared incompatible or incommensurate. Elusive, finally, because of implementation problems: even though we may know what successful school-based innovation looks like, delivering it is another question. Too many of the key variables seem unmanipulable, and too many success stories look more providential than intentional. It is dangerously easy for school people and researchers to conclude that the quest is hopeless, and turn to other matters. The risk, of course, is that of abandoning “school improvement” to the opportunists and zealots, making it into little more than an ideological banner, thus paving the way for rhetoric-laden “programs” with little real benefit for schools. Yet we believe the quest is not at all hopeless, on two counts. First, it is increasingly clear that we know a good deal more about implementing changes that improve school-based practice than we let on. If one compares recent studies, whether they define improvement as increased achievement scores, as classroom mastery, as use of new instructional modules, or as improved academic self-concept, the findings across studies’ are far from inconsistent. The same macro-variables crop up, from “adaptation” to “assistance” to “involvement,” “ problem solving” and “institutionalization. ” Often, the configurations of these variables are constant across studies and settings, and one begins to get a glimpse of which families of predictors will influence which families of mediators and of outcomes, in which families of settings. In short, we are getting a progressively better fix on school-improvement processes and outcomes, though it is a far more differentiated and
Low Density Lipoprotein Receptor Related Proteins as Regulators of Neural Stem and Progenitor Cell Function

The central nervous system (CNS) is a highly organised structure. Many signalling systems work in concert to ensure that neural stem cells are appropriately directed to generate progenitor cells, which in turn mature into functional cell types including projection neurons, interneurons, astrocytes, and oligodendrocytes. Herein we explore the role of the low density lipoprotein (LDL) receptor family, in particular family members LRP1 and LRP2, in regulating the behaviour of neural stem and progenitor cells during development and adulthood. The ability of LRP1 and LRP2 to bind a diverse and extensive range of ligands, regulate ligand endocytosis, recruit nonreceptor tyrosine kinases for direct signal transduction and signal in conjunction with other receptors, enables them to modulate many crucial neural cell functions.
Wheat Grain Development Is Characterized by Remarkable Trehalose 6-Phosphate Accumulation Pregrain Filling: Tissue Distribution and Relationship to SNF1-Related Protein Kinase1 Activity1[W][OA]

Trehalose 6-phosphate (T6P) is a sugar signal that regulates metabolism, growth, and development and inhibits the central regulatory SNF1-related protein kinase1 (SnRK1; AKIN10/AKIN11). To better understand the mechanism in wheat (Triticum aestivum) grain, we analyze T6P content and SnRK1 activities. T6P levels changed 178-fold 1 to 45 d after anthesis (DAA), correlating with sucrose content. T6P ranged from 78 nmol g−1 fresh weight (FW) pregrain filling, around 100-fold higher than previously reported in plants, to 0.4 nmol g−1 FW during the desiccation stage. In contrast, maximum SnRK1 activity changed only 3-fold but was inhibited strongly by T6P in vitro. To assess SnRK1 activity in vivo, homologs of SnRK1 marker genes in the wheat transcriptome were identified using Wheat Estimated Transcript Server. SnRK1-induced and -repressed marker genes were expressed differently pregrain filling compared to grain filling consistent with changes in T6P. To investigate this further maternal and filial tissues were compared pre- (7 DAA) and during grain filling (17 DAA). Strikingly, in vitro SnRK1 activity was similar in all tissues in contrast to large changes in tissue distribution of T6P. At 7 DAA T6P was 49 to 119 nmol g−1 FW in filial and maternal tissues sufficient to inhibit SnRK1; at 17 DAA T6P accumulation was almost exclusively endospermal (43 nmol g−1 FW) with 0.6 to 0.8 nmol T6P g−1 FW in embryo and pericarp. The data show a correlation between T6P and sucrose overall that belies a marked effect of tissue type and developmental stage on T6P content, consistent with tissue-specific regulation of SnRK1 by T6P in wheat grain.
Interventions to improve adherence to antiretroviral therapy: a rapid systematic review

Introduction:Access to antiretroviral treatment (ART) has substantially improved over the past decade. In this new era of HIV as a chronic disease, the continued success of ART will depend critically on sustained high ART adherence. The objective of this review was to systematically review interventions that can improve adherence to ART, including individual-level interventions and changes to the structure of ART delivery, to inform the evidence base for the 2013 WHO consolidated antiretroviral guidelines. Design:A rapid systematic review. Methods:We conducted a rapid systematic review of the global evidence on interventions to improve adherence to ART, utilizing pre-existing systematic reviews to identify relevant research evidence complemented by screening of databases for articles published over the past 2 years on evidence from randomized controlled trials (RCTs). We searched five databases for both systematic reviews and primary RCT studies (Cochrane Library, EMBASE, MEDLINE, Web of Science, and WHO Global Health Library); we additionally searched ClinicalTrials.gov for RCT studies. We examined intervention effectiveness by different study characteristics, in particular, the specific populations who received the intervention. Results:A total of 124 studies met our selection criteria. Eighty-six studies were RCTs. More than 20 studies have tested the effectiveness of each of the following interventions, either singly or in combination with other interventions: cognitive-behavioural interventions, education, treatment supporters, directly observed therapy, and active adherence reminder devices (such as mobile phone text messages). Although there is strong evidence that all five of these interventions can significantly increase ART adherence in some settings, each intervention has also been found not to produce significant effects in several studies. Almost half (55) of the 124 studies investigated the effectiveness of combination interventions. Combination interventions tended to have effects that were similar to those of single interventions. The evidence base on interventions in key populations was weak, with the exception of interventions for people who inject drugs. Conclusion:Tested and effective adherence-enhancing interventions should be increasingly moved into implementation in routine programme and care settings, accompanied by rigorous evaluation of implementation impact and performance. Major evidence gaps on adherence-enhancing interventions remain, in particular, on the cost-effectiveness of interventions in different settings, long-term effectiveness, and effectiveness of interventions in specific populations, such as pregnant and breastfeeding women.
Marked Atrophic Changes of the Brain in a Patient with Subacute Sclerosing Panencephalitis

Subacute Sclerosing Panencephalitis (SSPE) is a debilitating disorder associated with the measles infection in childhood. It is a very rare manifestation in children. It usually presents with measles before the age of two. We report a similar case of SSPE in a 14-year-old girl who developed this life-threatening condition in spite of receiving the measles vaccination. Despite the vaccination, the patient had suffered from measles before the age of two. This highlights the dilemma of ineffective vaccinations in developing countries. We also describe the radiologic features of SSPE in this patient, with marked atrophy seen in the occipital region following hyperintensities noticed at a relatively earlier stage.