Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
International Journal of Copd Dovepress Association between Lung Function and Exacerbation Frequency in Patients with Copd

Purpose: To quantify the relationship between severity of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) as expressed by Global Initiative for Chronic Obstructive Lung Disease (GOLD) stage and the annual exacerbation frequency in patients with COPD. Methods: We performed a systematic literature review to identify randomized controlled trials and cohort studies reporting the exacerbation frequency in COPD patients receiving usual care or placebo. Annual frequencies were determined for total exacerbations defined by an increased use of health care (event-based), total exacerbations defined by an increase of symptoms, and severe exacerbations defined by a hospitalization. The association between the mean forced expiratory volume in one second (FEV 1)% predicted of study populations and the exacerbation frequencies was estimated using weighted log linear regression with random effects. The regression equations were applied to the mean FEV 1 % predicted for each GOLD stage to estimate the frequency per stage. Results: Thirty-seven relevant studies were found, with 43 reports of total exacerbation frequency (event-based, n = 19; symptom-based, n = 24) and 14 reports of frequency of severe exacerbations. Annual event-based exacerbation frequencies per GOLD stage were estimated at 0. respectively. Study duration or type of study (cohort versus trial) did not significantly affect the outcomes. Conclusion: This study provides an estimate of the exacerbation frequency per GOLD stage, which can be used for health economic and modeling purposes.
Post Eclosion Age Predicts the Prevalence of Midgut Trypanosome Infections in Glossina

The teneral phenomenon, as observed in Glossina sp. , refers to the increased susceptibility of the fly to trypanosome infection when the first bloodmeal taken is trypanosome-infected. In recent years, the term teneral has gradually become synonymous with unfed, and thus fails to consider the age of the newly emerged fly at the time the first bloodmeal is taken. Furthermore, conflicting evidence exists of the effect of the age of the teneral fly post eclosion when it is given the infected first bloodmeal in determining the infection prevalence. This study demonstrates that it is not the feeding history of the fly but rather the age (hours after eclosion of the fly from the puparium) of the fly when it takes the first (infective) bloodmeal that determines the level of fly susceptibility to trypanosome infection. We examine this phenomenon in male and female flies from two distinct tsetse clades (Glossina morsitans morsitans and Glossina palpalis palpalis) infected with two salivarian trypanosome species, Trypanosoma (Trypanozoon) brucei brucei and Trypanosoma (Nannomonas) congolense using Fisher's exact test to examine differences in infection rates. Teneral tsetse aged less than 24 hours post-eclosion (h.p.e.) are twice as susceptible to trypanosome infection as flies aged 48 h.p.e. This trend is conserved across sex, vector clade and parasite species. The life cycle stage of the parasite fed to the fly (mammalian versus insect form trypanosomes) does not alter this age-related bias in infection. Reducing the numbers of parasites fed to 48 h.p.e. , but not to 24 h.p.e. flies, increases teneral refractoriness. The importance of this phenomenon in disease biology in the field as well as the necessity of employing flies of consistent age in laboratory-based infection studies is discussed.
Generation of Simulated Geospatial Images from Global Elevation Model and SPOT Ortho-Image

With precise sensor position, attitude element, and imaging resolution, a simulated geospatial image can be generated. In this study, a satellite image is simulated using SPOT ortho-image and global elevation data, and the geometric similarity between original and simulated images is analyzed. Using a SPOT panchromatic image and high-density elevation data from a 1/5K digital topographic map data an ortho-image with 10-meter resolution was produced. The simulated image was then generated by exterior orientation parameters and global elevation data (SRTM1, GDEM2). Experimental results showed that (1) the agreement of the image simulation between pixel location from the SRTM1/GDEM2 and high-resolution elevation data is above 99% within one pixel; (2) SRTM1 is closer than GDEM2 to high-resolution elevation data; (3) the location of error occurrence is caused by the elevation difference of topographical objects between high-density elevation data generated from the Digital Terrain Model (DTM) and Digital Surface Model (DSM)-based global elevation data. Error occurrences were typically found at river boundaries, in urban areas, and in forests. In conclusion, this study showed that global elevation data are of practical use in generating simulated images with 10-meter resolution.
Measuring Nitrogen Losses from Lowland Rice Using Bulk Aerodynamic and Nitrogen‐15 Balance Methods

Management practices, designed to reduce ammonia (NH₃) volatilization and total N loss from flooded rice fields, after application of urea, were assessed in the dry season at Mabitac, Philippines. The assessment was made in replicated 4.8-m × 5.2-m plots by determining NH₃ and total fertilizer N losses with bulk aerodynamic and ¹⁵N balance methods, respectively. The bulk aerodynamic method was first evaluated by comparison of ammoniacal-N concentrations, pH values, and equilibrium NH₃ concentrations for a 50-m diam, circular area and small plots receiving the same fertilizer treatment. Good agreement was obtained so the bulk aerodynamic method was used to determine NH₃ loss from the small plots receiving the different management treatments. Ammonia loss was high when urea was broadcast into floodwater 10 d after transplanting—48 and 56% of the applied N was volatilized as NH₃ during the first 8 d after application of 53 and 80 kg N ha⁻¹, respectively. Total N losses were 60 and 59%, respectively. Ammonia loss was reduced slightly (to a mean of 43% of the applied N for the two application rates) by broadcasting the fertilizer into 0.05-m-deep floodwater and incorporating it into the soil by harrowing before transplanting. Removal of the floodwater before applying urea onto saturated soil and incorporation by harrowing reduced NH₃ loss to a mean of 9% and total fertilizer N loss to a mean of 33%. Fertilizer N recovery by rice plants was significantly increased by incorporation without surface water. Contribution from IRRI and CSIRO.
The South American rainfall dipole: A complex network analysis of extreme events

Intraseasonal rainfall variability of the South American monsoon system is characterized by a pronounced dipole between southeastern South America and southeastern Brazil. Here we analyze the dynamical properties of extreme rainfall events associated with this dipole by combining a nonlinear synchronization measure with complex networks. We make the following main observations: (i) Our approach reveals the dominant synchronization pathways of extreme events for the two dipole phases, (ii) while extreme rainfall synchronization in the tropics is directly driven by the trade winds and their deflection by the Andes mountains, extreme rainfall propagation in the subtropics is mainly dictated by frontal systems, and (iii) the well‐known rainfall dipole is, in fact, only the most prominent mode of an oscillatory pattern that extends over the entire continent. This provides further evidence that the influence of Rossby waves, which cause frontal systems over South America and impact large‐scale circulation patterns, extends beyond the equator.
Description of a New Plesiosaur from the Weald Clay of Berwick (Sussex)

The Plesiosaurian remains which form the subject of the present paper were contained in a large septarian nodule from the Upper Weald Clay of Berwick (Sussex). This nodule was found in the excavations made by the Cuckmere Brick Company; it was broken into many fragments which were, so far as possible, collected by Mr. S. Tooth, M.Inst. C.E. , and by him presented to the British Museum (Natural History). The pieces, many of which clearly contained portions of bones, were reunited, and the gaps resulting from the loss of fragments filled in with plaster of Paris, so that the original form of the nodule was restored. The extremely hard matrix was then slowly and with great skill chiselled away by Mr. L. Parsons, who found that it enclosed a mass of bones for the greater part thrown together in the utmost confusion, with the result that their removal was a matter of extreme difficulty. Despite these drawbacks, however, he succeeded in getting out the hinder part of the skull and a nearly complete shoulder-girdle, all the elements of which seem to be quite undistorted by pressure, a most unusual circumstance. The humeri were also found, but the rest of the paddles, which probably projected beyond the limits of the concretion, was lost. Numerous cervical and dorsal vertebræ, ribs, and ventral ribs were found; but of the pelvis and hinder limb nothing remained, and only one or two imperfect caudal vertebræ were preserved. The skull (PL XIV, figs. 1 & 2). —This is unfortunately
On the relationships between forest fires and weather conditions in Greece from long-term national observations (1894–2010)

Historical fire records and meteorological observations, spanning more than 1 century (1894–2010), were gathered and assembled in a database, to provide long-term fire–weather associations. We investigated the relationships between forest fire activity and meteorological parameters and sought to find temporal patterns and trends in these historical records and to identify any linkages between meteorological parameters and fire occurrence in the eastern Mediterranean region. Trend analysis of the time series revealed a statistically significant increase in the number of fires and air temperature, particularly after the mid-1970s. Fire occurrence, expressed as the annual number of fires and total burnt area, was strongly correlated with the mean maximum and the absolute maximum air temperature which, in turn, was related to the occurrence of summer heat waves. Total burnt area was also strongly negatively correlated with fire-season precipitation, and positively correlated with 2-year-lagged annual and summer precipitation, underlying the effect of precipitation in controlling fuel production and moisture. These findings support the argument that although annually lagged precipitation totals may have a marginal effect on fire risk by influencing biomass production and accumulation, the lag0 weather parameters are the main drivers of fire spread by directly controlling fuel moisture.
TaWRKY68 responses to biotic stresses are revealed by the orthologous genes from major cereals

WRKY transcription factors have been extensively characterized in the past 20 years, but in wheat, studies on WRKY genes and their function are lagging behind many other species. To explore the function of wheat WRKY genes, we identified a TaWRKY68 gene from a common wheat cultivar. It encodes a protein comprising 313 amino acids which harbors 19 conserved motifs or active sites. Gene expression patterns were determined by analyzing microarray data of TaWRKY68 in wheat and of orthologous genes from maize, rice and barley using Genevestigator. TaWRKY68 orthologs were identified and clustered using DELTA-BLAST and COBALT programs available at NCBI. The results showed that these genes, which are expressed in all tissues tested, had relatively higher levels in the roots and were up-regulated in response to biotic stresses. Bioinformatics results were confirmed by RT-PCR experiments using wheat plants infected by Agrobacterium tumefaciens and Blumeria graminis, or treated with Deoxynivalenol, a Fusarium graminearum-induced mycotoxin in wheat or barley. In summary, TaWRKY68 functions differ during plant developmental stages and might be representing a hub gene function in wheat responses to various biotic stresses. It was also found that including data from major cereal genes in the bioinformatics analysis gave more accurate and comprehensive predictions of wheat gene functions.
Detecting photosynthetic algal pigments in natural populations using a high-spectral-resolution spectroradiometer

Reflectance data from a high spectral resolution spectroradiometer were obtained onboard a ship in Plymouth coastal waters. These data were analysed to detect algal photosynthetic accessory pigments for comparison with absorption spectra as measured in the laboratory by a spectrophotometer. The overall spectral characteristics of Plymouth waters allowed identification as to population composition. Derivative analysis of the spectra was used to resolve characteristic peaks of specific pigments. It was determined that chlorophyll pigments, a specific carotenoid and sea water absorption bands were detectable in the reflectance data. Absorption bands of photosynthetic and accessory pigments were assessed through chromatographic pigment analysis.
Frictional heating on faults: Stable sliding versus stick slip

Laboratory experiments were performed where heat generation was measured during both stable sliding and stick-slip friction. For a given average slip velocity, stick-slip sliding produces heat at a considerably lower rate than stable sliding without appealing to high pore pressure or lubrication. These experiments show that faults can be apparently both “strong” when slip initiates and “weak” during rapid sliding, suggesting that different mechanisms operate under the two sliding conditions. If these results apply to the Earth, then all seismogenic faults should produce less heat than creeping fault zones. Possible explanations are that during rapid sliding, in the slip portion of a stick-slip cycle, either the friction coefficient or the normal stress is reduced by a factor up to about 7. Comparison with other experimental results suggests the reduction of normal stress by interface separation waves is the most likely explanation.
Effect of Methylphenidate and Folic Acid on ADHD Symptoms and Quality of Life and Aggression: A Randomized Double Blind Placebo Controlled Clinical Trial

Objective This clinical trial examines the effect of augmentation of methylphenidate (MPH) with folic acid to improve quality of life, and to treat aggression and ADHD symptoms. Method Participants of this eight week randomized double blind placebo controlled clinical trial were 49 children with ADHD. They were randomly assigned into one of the two groups: the first group receiving methylphenidate (10 to 20mg/day) plus folic (5mg/day), and the second group receiving methylphenidate plus placebo. Parent-reported ADHD symptoms and Overt Aggression Scale score were the outcome measures. Quality of life was assessed as well. Assessments were performed at pre-intervention, and at one month and two months after starting the interventions using repeated measure analysis. Results The mean age of children was 9.6(2.7) years. Age and gender were not associated with the groups. ADHD symptoms significantly decreased in both groups during the trial. However, no difference was observed between the groups. Moreover, aggression non-significantly decreased in both groups. Meanwhile, there was no difference between the two groups in efficacy for treating different types of aggressive behaviors including: verbal aggression, physical aggression against people, physical aggression against properties or objects, and aggression against self (self-injurious behavior). While methylphenidate improved quality of life of children with ADHD, folic acid did not improve it more than placebo. Both medications were well tolerated. Conclusion considering the marked limitations of this trial, this primarily report suggests that methylphenidate may improve ADHD symptoms and the quality of life of children with ADHD. Current evidence does not support that folic acid as an adjuvant is effective for treating ADHD symptoms or aggression, or the improving quality of life of children with ADHD.
Leprosy as a model to understand cancer immunosurveillance and T cell anergy

Leprosy is a disease caused by Mycobacterium leprae that presents on a spectrum of both clinical manifestations and T cell response. On one end of this spectrum, tuberculoid leprosy is a well‐controlled disease, characterized by a cell‐mediated immunity and immunosurveillance. On the opposite end of the spectrum, lepromatous leprosy is characterized by M. leprae proliferation and T cell anergy. Similar to progressive tumor cells, M. leprae escapes immunosurveillance in more severe forms of leprosy. The mechanisms by which M. leprae is able to evade the host immune response involve many, including the alterations of lipid droplets, microRNA, and Schwann cells, and involve the regulation of immune regulators, such as the negative checkpoint regulators CTLA‐4, programmed death 1, and V‐domain Ig suppressor of T cell activation—important targets in today's cancer immunotherapies. The means by which tumor cells become able to escape immunosurveillance through negative checkpoint regulators are evidenced by the successes of treatments, such as nivolumab and ipilimumab. Many parallels can be drawn between the immune responses seen in leprosy and cancer. Therefore, the understanding of how M. leprae encourages immune escape during proliferative disease states has potential to add to our understanding of cancer immunotherapy.
Understanding disparities among diagnostic technologies in glaucoma.

OBJECTIVE To investigate causes of disagreement among 3 glaucoma diagnostic techniques: standard automated achromatic perimetry (SAP), the multifocal visual evoked potential technique (mfVEP), and optical coherence tomography (OCT). METHODS In a prospective cross-sectional study, 138 eyes of 69 patients with glaucomatous optic neuropathy were tested using SAP, the mfVEP, and OCT. Eyes with the worse and better mean deviations (MDs) were analyzed separately. If the results of 2 tests were consistent for the presence of an abnormality in the same topographic site, that abnormality was considered a true glaucoma defect. If a third test missed that abnormality (false-negative result), the reasons for disparity were investigated. RESULTS Eyes with worse MD (mean [SD], -6.8 [8.0] dB) had better agreements among tests than did eyes with better MD (-2.5 [3.5] dB, P<.01). For the 94 of 138 hemifields with abnormalities of the more advanced eyes, the 3 tests were consistent in showing the same hemifield abnormality in 50 hemifields (53%), and at least 2 tests were abnormal in 65 of the 94 hemifields (69%). The potential explanations for the false-negative results fell into 2 general categories: inherent limitations of each technique to detect distinct features of glaucoma and individual variability and the distribution of normative values used to define statistically significant abnormalities. CONCLUSIONS All the cases of disparity could be explained by known limitations of each technique and interindividual variability, suggesting that the agreement among diagnostic tests may be better than summary statistics suggest and that disagreements between tests do not indicate discordance in the structure-function relationship.
Cardiopreventive effects of camel milk against carbon tetrachloride induced oxidative stress, biochemical and histological alterations in mice

Abstract The present study was designed to examine the preventive effects of camel milk (CM) against the toxic effects of acute exposure to carbon tetrachloride (CCl4) on the heart tissue of mice. Administration of a single dose of CCl4 caused cardio toxicity as monitored by an increase in lipid peroxidation (thiobarbituric acid reactive substances), protein carbonyl level and antioxidant markers (superoxide dismutase, catalase, glutathione peroxidase, glutathione and vitamin C) in the heart tissue. Moreover, CCl4 caused a distinguished rise of plasma aspartate aminotransferase, lactate dehydrogenase, troponin I, and creatine kinase activities. Furthermore, CM ameliorated biochemical and histological parameters as compared to CCl4-treated group. Overall, this study indicates that CM is efficient in inhibiting oxidative stress induced by CCl4 and suggests that the administration of this milk may be helpful in the prevention of cardio-toxicity complications.
Diagnostic Ability and Repeatability of a New Supra-Threshold Glaucoma Screening Program in Standard Automated Perimetry

Purpose We assess the diagnostic ability and repeatability of a new suprathreshold glaucoma screening test (GST) comprising 28 test points and a 1-of-3 sampling strategy at 95% of the normal limit for standard automated perimetry (SAP) in early to advanced glaucoma. Methods This prospective cross-sectional study included 96 eyes of patients with early, moderate, or advanced glaucoma and 37 eyes of normal controls. Participants were evaluated by the G-Dynamic threshold test once and the GST twice, in random order, using the Octopus 600 perimeter. The diagnostic ability of GST was assessed by comparison with the G-Dynamic threshold obtained by receiver operating characteristic analysis. Repeatability was assessed by κ statistics for agreement on glaucoma diagnosis and each test point. Results Although the G-Dynamic test exhibited significantly higher areas under the curve (AUC) than the GST1st (P = 0.009) in early glaucoma, there were no significant differences in any other AUCs between the two methods. The κ values for repeatability of glaucoma diagnosis and each test point were 0.747 to 1.0 and 0.537 to 1.0, respectively. The duration of the GST in the control and early glaucoma groups was less than a minute, while that in the moderate and advanced glaucoma groups was within 1.5 minutes. Conclusion The diagnostic ability of the new suprathreshold GST for early to advanced glaucoma was high, with moderate to strong repeatability and short test duration. Translational Relevance There currently are no prominent suprathreshold screening strategies using SAP. The GST would be an effective clinical method for glaucoma screening.
A Reexamination of the polar Halocline Catastrophe and Implications for Coupled Ocean-Atmosphere Modeling

Abstract In this paper, the physical mechanism of the polar halocline catastrophe (PHC) is reexamined with emphasis on the role played by the surface heat flux. It is argued that, in a coupled ocean–atmosphere system, thermal changes in the atmospheric state in response to changes in heat flux from the ocean weaken the feedback responsible for the PHC. So far, the PHC has been observed in models that use mixed boundary conditions; that is, the freshwater flux is specified, but the surface temperature is relaxed to a specified value. Previous explanations of the PHC have focused on the role of the freshwater flux in establishing a freshwater cap and shutting off the deep convection. However, the establishment of a freshwater cap reduces the depth of the water column that is cooled by surface heat loss. As a consequence, the surface temperature is reduced. Since the difference between this and atmospheric restoring temperature is now less, there is a corresponding reduction in the surface heat loss to the a.