Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Spatial dispersion and binomial sequential sampling for the potato psyllid (Hemiptera: Triozidae) on potato.

BACKGROUND The potato psyllid is a serious pest of potatoes. Sampling plans on potatoes for the potato psyllid have yet to be developed, thus the authors' objectives were (1) to determine the most efficient within-plant sampling unit, (2) to determine the spatial dispersion of potato psyllids in potato fields and (3) to develop a binomial sequential sampling plan for this pest. RESULTS Significantly more potato plants were infested with potato psyllids on the edges of the field, and significantly more plants were infested with psyllids on the 'top' and 'middle' of the potato plant. Significantly more psyllids were also found on the undersides of leaves. The potato psyllid has an aggregated distribution in potato fields. Binomial sequential sampling plans were developed for three action thresholds representing 0.5, 1 and 5 psyllids per plant. The average sample numbers for these action thresholds were between 12 and 16 samples, depending on the action thresholds. However, based on the shape of the operating characteristic curve, the 0.5 and 1 sampling plans were more reliable than the 5 psyllids per plant plan. CONCLUSION The binomial sequential sampling plans are useful for detecting potato psyllids at low levels of infestation, which will be useful for pest management purposes.
Effect of Transversus Abdominis Plane Block With and Without Clonidine on Post–Cesarean Delivery Wound Hyperalgesia and Pain

Background and Objectives The transversus abdominis plane (TAP) block is an established technique to manage post–cesarean delivery pain. Transversus abdominis plane blocks with a local anesthetic only offer no analgesic benefits compared with intrathecal morphine. Adjuvants to extend TAP block duration and possibly reduce wound hyperalgesia, known to be a risk factor for chronic pain, have not been studied. We hypothesized that a TAP block with clonidine will affect postsurgical wound hyperalgesia and improve pain outcomes. Methods Ninety women were randomly assigned to receive 1 of 3 TAP blocks after cesarean delivery: saline (placebo), bupivacaine (BupTAP), or bupivacaine + clonidine (CloTAP). The primary outcome was wound hyperalgesia index at 48 hours. Secondary outcomes included pain scores, analgesic consumption, and pain descriptors up to 12 months. Results Wound hyperalgesia index at 48 hours (median [25th–75th percentiles]) was 1.07 (0.48–3.26) in the placebo group, 1.27 (0.59–2.95) in the BupTAP group, and 0.74 (0.09–2.25) in the CloTAP group (P = 0.48). Morphine request in the postanesthesia care unit was significantly higher in the placebo group compared with the other TAP groups (P = 0.01). Postoperative pain scores and requests for breakthrough medication at 48 hours (30% in the placebo group, 24% in the BupTAP group, and 12% in the CloTAP group, P = 0.25) or chronic pain descriptors reported up to 12 months did not differ significantly among groups. Conclusions Adding clonidine to a TAP block with bupivacaine did not affect wound hyperalgesia index and it did not improve short-term or long-term pain scores in women undergoing elective cesarean delivery. Further studies are warranted to determine the benefits of antihyperalgesic adjuvants in TAP solutions for specific individuals at risk for chronic pain.
Expression of Human Endogenous Retrovirus env Genes in the Blood of Breast Cancer Patients

Human endogenous retroviruses (HERV) env proteins have been recently reported to be significantly up-regulated in certain cancers. Specifically, mRNA and protein levels of HERV-K (HML-2) are up-regulated in the blood plasma or serum of breast cancer patients. Here, we collected blood samples of 49 breast cancer patients and analyzed mRNA expressions of various HERVs env genes including HERV-R, HERV-H, HERV-K, and HERV-P by real-time PCR. The expression of env genes were significantly increased in the blood of primary breast cancer patients but were decreased in patients undergoing chemotherapy to a similar level with benign patients. When we compared the group currently undergoing chemotherapy and those patients undergoing chemotherapy simultaneously with radiotherapy, HERVs env genes were reduced more in the chemotherapy only group, suggesting that chemotherapy is more effective in reducing HERV env gene expression than is radiotherapy. Among chemotherapy groups, HERV env gene expression was the lowest in the taxotere- or taxol-treated group, suggesting that taxotere and taxol can reduce HERVs env expression. These data suggest the potential to use HERVs env genes as a diagnosis marker for primary breast cancer, and further studies are needed to identify the mechanism and physiological significance of the reduction of HERV env gene expression during chemotherapy.
Role of fine needle aspiration cytology in the differential diagnosis of vascular anomalies from other lesions in the head and neck region

Objective To summarise the role of fine needle aspiration cytology in the differential diagnosis of vascular anomalies from other lesions in the head and neck region by presenting five interesting cases reported from our hospital data. Method Five patients ranging in age from 3 months to 25 years old were diagnosed with vascular anomalies based on their histories, clinical examinations, imaging examinations and ultrasonic testing. The previous diagnosis of these patients were corrected by fine needle aspiration cytology in our hospital and the proper treatment was administered. Result Two cases were wrongly treated in a local hospital. All five of the patients underwent operations after excluding vascular anomalies by fine needle aspiration cytology. Conclusion Fine needle aspiration cytology should be used in the following situations to prevent misdiagnoses and the mistreatment as vascular anomalies: when imaging examination and ultrasonic testing lead to a diagnosis of vascular malformation, but the history or clinical examination does not confirm this diagnosis; when lesions are treated as “vascular malformations” by sclerotherapy, and the hydatid fluid is not like blood or lymph fluid; and when propranolol is used to treat the proliferation stage of “haemangiomas” with without any effect.
Role and Function of A2A and A3 Adenosine Receptors in Patients with Ankylosing Spondylitis, Psoriatic Arthritis and Rheumatoid Arthritis

Rheumatoid arthritis (RA), ankylosing spondylitis (AS) and psoriatic arthritis (PsA) are chronic inflammatory rheumatic diseases that affect joints, causing debilitating pain and disability. Adenosine receptors (ARs) play a key role in the mechanism of inflammation, and the activation of A2A and A3AR subtypes is often associated with a reduction of the inflammatory status. The aim of this study was to investigate the involvement of ARs in patients suffering from early-RA (ERA), RA, AS and PsA. Messenger RNA (mRNA) analysis and saturation binding experiments indicated an upregulation of A2A and A3ARs in lymphocytes obtained from patients when compared with healthy subjects. A2A and A3AR agonists inhibited nuclear factor κ-light-chain-enhancer of activated B cells (NF-κB) activation and reduced inflammatory cytokines release, such as tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α), interleukin (IL)-1β and IL-6. Moreover, A2A and A3AR activation mediated a reduction of metalloproteinases (MMP)-1 and MMP-3. The effect of the agonists was abrogated by selective antagonists demonstrating the direct involvement of these receptor subtypes. Taken together, these data confirmed the involvement of ARs in chronic autoimmune rheumatic diseases highlighting the possibility to exploit A2A and A3ARs as therapeutic targets, with the aim to limit the inflammatory responses usually associated with RA, AS and PsA.
Implementation of Ultraviolet Radiation Safety Measures for Outdoor Workers

Ultraviolet radiation (UVR) poses a major risk for outdoor workers, putting them at greater risk for skin cancer. In the general population, the incidence of both melanoma and nonmelanoma skin cancers is increasing. It is estimated that 90% of skin cancers in Canada are directly attributable to UVR exposure, making this cancer largely preventable with the appropriate precautions. A scoping review was conducted on the barriers and facilitators to UVR safety in outdoor workers to elucidate why these precautions are not in use currently. We discuss these results according to the Hierarchy of Controls as a means to outline effective and feasible prevention strategies for outdoor workers. In doing so, this review may be used to inform the design of future workplace interventions for UVR safety in outdoor workers to decrease the risk of skin cancer in this vulnerable population.
Preeclampsia Risk and Angiotensinogen Polymorphisms M235T and AGT -217 in African American and Caucasian Women

Introduction: Genetic variants of the angiotensinogen gene have been linked to both hypertension and preeclampsia. The M235T polymorphism is more common in hypertension and preeclampsia in some populations. A polymorphism in the angiotensinogen basal promoter region of AGT -217 is more common in African Americans with hypertension. The authors investigated the frequency of M235T and AGT -217 in Caucasian and African American women with and without preeclampsia. Methods: The study was a nested case—control study of primiparous women with singleton pregnancies. Genomic DNA from preeclamptic and control subjects underwent polymerase chain reaction amplification and restriction digestion. Results: The M235T and AGT -217 polymorphisms were both more common in African American women; however, the variants were not more common in preeclampsia. Conclusion: The frequency of angiotensinogen polymorphisms M235T and AGT -217 is different by race; however, these polymorphisms are not associated with an incre ased risk of preeclampsia.
On the environment of Polymorphus minutus (Acanthocephala) in ducks

Crompton & Harrison (1965) complied from the literature a list of 84 species of bird which have been reported to be final hosts of Polymorphus minutus and since then, the parasite has been found in the American White-winged Scoter (Melanitta deglandi) and the Chestnut Teal (Anas castanea) by Schmidt (1965) and Avery (1966) respectively. Unless detailed investigations are undertaken, there is no way of knowing how many of these birds from true hosts in which P. minutus can reproduce successfully. P. minutus has also been reported from the muskrats (Ondata zibethica) which Golvan (1961) considered to be an accidental host and I have recovered seven living specimens of P. minutus 48 h after forcibly feeding 20 cystacanths of the parasite contained in Gammarus pulex to a female Wistar rat. The seven worms were firmly attached to the rat's intestinal wall and all were located in the posterior half of the intestine.
The Amazon Frontier of Land-Use Change: Croplands and Consequences for Greenhouse Gas Emissions

Abstract The Brazilian Amazon is one of the most rapidly developing agricultural frontiers in the world. The authors assess changes in cropland area and the intensification of cropping in the Brazilian agricultural frontier state of Mato Grosso using remote sensing and develop a greenhouse gas emissions budget. The most common type of intensification in this region is a shift from single- to double-cropping patterns and associated changes in management, including increased fertilization. Using the enhanced vegetation index (EVI) from the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) sensor, the authors created a green-leaf phenology for 2001–06 that was temporally smoothed with a wavelet filter. The wavelet-smoothed green-leaf phenology was analyzed to detect cropland areas and their cropping patterns. The authors document cropland extensification and double-cropping intensification validated with field data with 85% accuracy for detecting croplands and 64% and 89% accuracy for detecting single- a.
q-Counting Descent Pairs with Prescribed Tops and Bottoms

Given sets $X$ and $Y$ of positive integers and a permutation $\sigma = \sigma_1 \sigma_2 \cdots \sigma_n \in S_n$, an $(X,Y)$- descent of $\sigma$ is a descent pair $\sigma_i > \sigma_{i+1}$ whose "top" $\sigma_i$ is in $X$ and whose "bottom" $\sigma_{i+1}$ is in $Y$. Recently Hall and Remmel proved two formulas for the number $P_{n,s}^{X,Y}$ of $\sigma \in S_n$ with $s$ $(X,Y)$-descents, which generalized Liese's results in [1]. We define a new statistic ${\rm stat}_{X,Y}(\sigma)$ on permutations $\sigma$ and define $P_{n,s}^{X,Y}(q)$ to be the sum of $q^{{\rm stat}_{X,Y}(\sigma)}$ over all $\sigma \in S_n$ with $s$ $(X,Y)$-descents. We then show that there are natural $q$-analogues of the Hall-Remmel formulas for $P_{n,s}^{X,Y}(q)$.
PAK Paradox: Paramecium Appears To Have More K+-Channel Genes than Humans

ABSTRACT K+-selective ion channels (K+ channels) have been found in bacteria, archaea, eucarya, and viruses. In Paramecium and other ciliates, K+ currents play an essential role in cilia-based motility. We have retrieved and sequenced seven closely related Paramecium K+-channel gene (PAK) sequences by using previously reported fragments. An additional eight unique K+-channel sequences were retrieved from an indexed library recently used in a pilot genome sequencing project. Alignments of these protein translations indicate that while these 15 genes have diverged at different times, they all maintain many characteristics associated with just one subclass of metazoan K+ channels (CNG/ERG type). Our results indicate that most of the genes are expressed, because all predicted frameshifts and several gaps in the homolog alignments contain Paramecium intron sequences deleted from reverse transcription-PCR products. Some of the variations in the 15 genomic nucleotide sequences involve an absence of introns, even between very closely related sequences, suggesting a potential occurrence of reverse transcription in the past. Extrapolation from the available genome sequence indicates that Paramecium harbors as many as several hundred of this one type of K+-channel gene. This quantity is far more numerous than those of K+-channel genes of all types known in any metazoan (e.g., ∼80 in humans, ∼30 in flies, and ∼15 in Arabidopsis). In an effort to understand this plurality, we discuss several possible reasons for their maintenance, including variations in expression levels in response to changes in the freshwater environment, like that seen with other major plasma membrane proteins in Paramecium.
Machine Learning for Entity Coreference Resolution: A Retrospective Look at Two Decades of Research

Though extensively investigated since the 1960s, entity coreference resolution, a core task in natural language understanding, is far from being solved. Nevertheless, significant progress has been made on learning-based coreference research since its inception two decades ago. This paper provides an overview of the major milestones made in learning-based coreference research and discusses a hard entity coreference task, the Winograd Schema Challenge, which has recently received a lot of attention in the AI community.
Self calibration iso-pathlength point in cylindrical tissue geometry: solution of steady-state photon diffusion based on the extrapolated zero-boundary

Near-infrared optical techniques permit tissue diagnosis by surface measurement. However, the geometrical shape of this interface profiles the intensity of the surface measurement, which is found to have an iso-pathlength (IPL) point allowing for absorption identification independent of tissue scattering. The IPL point was projected in Monte Carlo (MC) simulation, validated experimentally in cylindrical tissues, but remains under-appreciated through analytical approaches. In this work, we present an analytical solution of an IPL point for steady-state diffusion based on the extrapolated zero-boundary condition. The same IPL points were found when comparing this solution to 3-D MC simulations for a tissue radius range of 5-8mm.
Abelian pattern matching in strings

Abelian pattern matching is a new class of pattern matching problems. In abelian patterns, the order of the characters in the substrings does not matter, e.g. the strings abbc and babc represent the same abelian pattern a+2b+c. Therefore, unlike classical pattern matching, we do not look for an exact (ordered) occurrence of a substring, rather the aim here is to find any permutation of a given combination of characters that represents the given abelian pattern. In this thesis, we study the problem of abelian pattern matching in strings in a systematic manner, and present several algorithms for exact as well as approximate abelian pattern matching. We also present different strategies for indexing the input text to make the abelian pattern matching more efficient.
Insulin resistance and exendin-4 treatment for multiple system atrophy

See Stayte and Vissel (doi:10.1093/awx064) for a scientific commentary on this article. Multiple system atrophy is a fatal sporadic adult-onset neurodegenerative disorder with no symptomatic or disease-modifying treatment available. The cytopathological hallmark of multiple system atrophy is the accumulation of α-synuclein aggregates in oligodendrocytes, forming glial cytoplasmic inclusions. Impaired insulin/insulin-like growth factor-1 signalling (IGF-1) and insulin resistance (i.e. decreased insulin/IGF-1) have been reported in other neurodegenerative disorders such as Alzheimer's disease. Increasing evidence also suggests impaired insulin/IGF-1 signalling in multiple system atrophy, as corroborated by increased insulin and IGF-1 plasma concentrations in multiple system atrophy patients and reduced IGF-1 brain levels in a transgenic mouse model of multiple system atrophy. We here tested the hypothesis that multiple system atrophy is associated with brain insulin resistance and showed increased expression of the key downstream messenger insulin receptor substrate-1 phosphorylated at serine residue 312 in neurons and oligodendrocytes in the putamen of patients with multiple system atrophy. Furthermore, the expression of insulin receptor substrate 1 (IRS-1) phosphorylated at serine residue 312 was more apparent in inclusion bearing oligodendrocytes in the putamen. By contrast, it was not different between both groups in the temporal cortex, a less vulnerable structure compared to the putamen. These findings suggest that insulin resistance may occur in multiple system atrophy in regions where the neurodegenerative process is most severe and point to a possible relation between α-synuclein aggregates and insulin resistance. We also observed insulin resistance in the striatum of transgenic multiple system atrophy mice and further demonstrate that the glucagon-like peptide-1 analogue exendin-4, a well-tolerated and Federal Drug Agency-approved antidiabetic drug, has positive effects on insulin resistance and monomeric α-synuclein load in the striatum, as well as survival of nigral dopamine neurons. Additionally, plasma levels of exosomal neural-derived IRS-1 phosphorylated at serine residue 307 (corresponding to serine residue 312 in humans) negatively correlated with survival of nigral dopamine neurons in multiple system atrophy mice treated with exendin-4. This finding suggests the potential for developing this peripheral biomarker candidate as an objective outcome measure of target engagement for clinical trials with glucagon-like peptide-1 analogues in multiple system atrophy. In conclusion, our observation of brain insulin resistance in multiple system atrophy patients and transgenic mice together with the beneficial effects of the glucagon-like peptide-1 agonist exendin-4 in transgenic mice paves the way for translating this innovative treatment into a clinical trial.
Role of the premotor cortex in recovery from middle cerebral artery infarction.

OBJECTIVE To study the mechanisms underlying recovery from middle cerebral artery infarction in 7 patients with an average age of 53 years who showed marked recovery of hand function after acute severe hemiparesis caused by their first-ever stroke. INTERVENTIONS Assessment of motor functions, transcranial magnetic stimulation, somatosensory evoked potentials, magnetic resonance imaging, and positron emission tomographic measurements of regional cerebral blood flow during finger movement activity. RESULTS The infarctions involved the cerebral convexity along the central sulcus from the Sylvian fissure up to the hand area but spared the caudate nucleus, thalamus, middle and posterior portions of the internal capsule, and the dorsal part of the precentral gyrus in each patient. After recovery (and increase in motor function score of 57%, P<.001), the motor evoked potentials in the hand and leg muscles contralateral to the infarctions were normal, whereas the somatosensory evoked potentials from the contralateral median nerve were reduced. During fractionated finger movements of the recovered hand, regional cerebral blood flow increases occurred bilaterally in the dorsolateral and medial premotor areas but not in the sensorimotor cortex of either hemisphere. CONCLUSIONS Motor recovery after cortical infarction in the middle cerebral artery territory appears to rely on activation of premotor cortical areas of both cerebral hemispheres. Thereby, short-term output from motor cortex is likely to be initiated.
Nitric oxide in patients with schizophrenia: the relationship with the severity of illness and the antipsychotic treatment

Objectives: Past studies regarding the relationship between nitric oxide and schizophrenia have reported controversial results. Consequently, the aims of this study are i) to analyze the differences in nitric oxide concentration between patients with schizophrenia and healthy controls, ii) to investigate the influence of antipsychotic treatment on nitric oxide, iii) to correlate nitric oxide concentration with severity of illness, and iv) to investigate the relationship between nitric oxide and any personality disorder. Research design and methods: We recruited 24 patients and 24 controls; the sample was divided into three groups of 8 patients, each according to the pharmacological treatment (haloperidol, olanzapine, or risperidone). The severity of illness was assessed by PANSS and personality traits were evaluated by SCID II. A blood sample was taken to assess the plasma concentration of nitrites and nitrates. Results: Patients presented higher nitrate levels than controls (p < 0.05); subjects under olanzapine reported lower nitrate levels than those treated with risperidone (p < 0.05) or haloperidol (p < 0.001). Nitrate levels were correlated with PANSS total score (rho = 0.748; p < 0.001), but not with SCID II scores. Conclusions: Despite the fact that this study found a correlation between PANSS score and nitrate levels, it is unclear whether nitric oxide is related to the severity of schizophrenia, because nitrate levels are also affected by antipsychotic treatment.