Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Genetic Analysis of Growth Traits in Polled Nellore Cattle Raised on Pasture in Tropical Region Using Bayesian Approaches

Components of (co)variance and genetic parameters were estimated for adjusted weights at ages 120 (W120), 240 (W240), 365 (W365) and 450 (W450) days of Polled Nellore cattle raised on pasture and born between 1987 and 2010. Analyses were performed using an animal model, considering fixed effects: herd-year-season of birth and calf sex as contemporary groups and the age of cow as a covariate. Gibbs Samplers were used to estimate (co)variance components, genetic parameters and additive genetic effects, which accounted for great proportion of total variation in these traits. High direct heritability estimates for the growth traits were revealed and presented mean 0.43, 0.61, 0.72 and 0.67 for W120, W240, W365 and W450, respectively. Maternal heritabilities were 0.07 and 0.08 for W120 and W240, respectively. Direct additive genetic correlations between the weight at 120, 240, 365 and 450 days old were strong and positive. These estimates ranged from 0.68 to 0.98. Direct-maternal genetic correlations were negative for W120 and W240. The estimates ranged from −0.31 to −0.54. Estimates of maternal heritability ranged from 0.056 to 0.092 for W120 and from 0.064 to 0.096 for W240. This study showed that genetic progress is possible for the growth traits we studied, which is a novel and favorable indicator for an upcoming and promising Polled Zebu breed in Tropical regions. Maternal effects influenced the performance of weight at 120 and 240 days old. These effects should be taken into account in genetic analyses of growth traits by fitting them as a genetic or a permanent environmental effect, or even both. In general, due to a medium-high estimate of environmental (co)variance components, management and feeding conditions for Polled Nellore raised at pasture in tropical regions of Brazil needs improvement and growth performance can be enhanced.
The Global Upward Trend in the Profit Share

The profit share—the share of factor income going to capital—has trended upwards since about the mid 1980s in most developed economies. Not all of the possible explanations for this are consistent with the timing or the cross-country pattern of the data. Our preferred explanation is that technological progress has increased the rate of obsolescence of capital goods. This induces faster churn in both capital and jobs, which endogenously puts firms in a stronger bargaining position. The effect is larger where there is stronger labour and product market regulation.
Ontologies of Time: Review and Trends

Time, as a phenomenon, has been in the focus of scientific thought from ancient times. It continues to be an important subject of research in many disciplines due to its importance as a basic aspect for understanding and formally representing change. The goal of this analytical review is to find out if the formal representations of time developed to date suffice to the needs of the basic and applied research in Computer Science, and in particular within the Artificial Intelligence and Semantic Web communities. To analyze if the existing basic theories, models, and implemented ontologies of time cower these needs well, the set of the features of time has been extracted and appropriately structured using the paper collection of the TIME Symposia series as the document corpus. This feature set further helped to structure the comparative review and analysis of the most prominent temporal theories. As a result, the selection of the subset of the features of time (the requirements for a Synthetic Theory) has been made reflecting the TIME community sentiment. Further, the temporal logics, representation languages, and ontologies available to date, have been reviewed regarding their usability aspects and the coverage of the selected temporal features. The results reveal that the reviewed ontologies of time taken together do not satisfactorily cover some important features: (i) density; (ii) relaxed linearity; (iii) scale factors; (iv) proper and periodic subintervals; (v) temporal measures and clocks. It has been concluded that a cross-disciplinary effort is required to address the features not covered by the existing ontologies of time, and also harmonize the representations addressed differently.
Understanding Loneliness among Students with Learning Disabilities

The aim of this study was to investigate the feelings of loneliness among students with learning disabilities (LD) and to identify subgroups according to their loneliness characteristics. The sample consisted of 76 students from seven self-contained classes for LD students within regular schools in all parts of Israel. The instruments included self-reported loneliness and social skills scales, teacher ratings of behaviour disorders, and peer ratings of social acceptance. The following factors predicted the students' feelings of loneliness: peer acceptance, social skills, and computer activities, explaining 32% of the variance. Using cluster analysis for the loneliness and behaviour disorder factors, four subgroups of students were identified. They differed along their levels of loneliness, presence of disruptive behaviour (internal validation) and social skills (external validation). The results emphasised the need to consider loneliness levels and manifestations of disruptive behaviour in attempts to conceptualise these students' difficulties and to plan individualised intervention programs. Further research, focusing on the impact of the intervention on the subjective experience of loneliness, may advance our understanding of the students' needs.
Augmented Reality Assisted Upper Limb Rehabilitation Following Stroke

Stroke is a rapidly developing loss of brain function(s) resulting from lack of blood flow caused by either a blockage, or a hemorrhage (Sims & Muyderman, 2009). Common motor impairments after stroke include muscle weakness, reduced reaction time, loss of joint range of motion and disordered movement organization: hemiparesis or weakness on one side of the body is common. It is widely regarded as a leading cause of disability in the developed world (Adamson et al., 2004). For survivors of stroke, these impairments can severely limit daily activities and participation in social and family environments (Merians et al., 2002; Werner & Kessler, 1996). The upper limb (UL) in particular remains problematic post stroke. Whereas up to 83% of stroke survivors learn to walk again (Skilbeck et al., 1983), it is estimated that only 5 to 20% of stroke survivors attain complete functional recovery of their affected UL (Kwakkel et al., 2003). This may be in part because the high costs of standard therapy mean that treatment frequently ceases once patients are released from acute care and long term outcomes are often poor (Feys et al., 1998; Carter et al., 2006). Another possibility is that it is possible for the patient to learn to use their unaffected arm almost exclusively for most activities of daily living, whereas the patient has no choice but to use both legs for walking (Feys et al., 1998; Kwakkel et al., 1999). Additionally, significant loss of hand function may cause some people to abandon any residual function in that hand through learned non-use (Sterr et al., 2002).
Uncovering the Protocatechuate 2,3-Cleavage Pathway Genes

ABSTRACT Paenibacillus sp. (formerly Bacillus macerans) strain JJ-1b is able to grow on 4-hydroxybenzoate (4HB) as a sole source of carbon and energy and is known to degrade 4HB via the protocatechuate (PCA) 2,3-cleavage pathway. However, none of the genes involved in this pathway have been identified. In this study, we identified and characterized the JJ-1b genes for the 4HB catabolic pathway via the PCA 2,3-cleavage pathway, which consisted of praR and praABEGFDCHI. Based on the enzyme activities of cell extracts of Escherichia coli carrying praI, praA, praH, praB, praC, and praD, these genes were found to code for 4HB 3-hydroxylase, PCA 2,3-dioxygenase, 5-carboxy-2-hydroxymuconate-6-semialdehyde decarboxylase, 2-hydroxymuconate-6-semialdehyde dehydrogenase, 4-oxalocrotonate (OCA) tautomerase, and OCA decarboxylase, respectively, which are involved in the conversion of 4HB into 2-hydroxypenta-2,4-dienoate (HPD). The praE, praF, and praG gene products exhibited 45 to 61% amino acid sequence identity to the corresponding enzymes responsible for the catabolism of HPD to pyruvate and acetyl coenzyme A. The deduced amino acid sequence of praR showed similarity with those of IclR-type transcriptional regulators. Reverse transcription-PCR analysis revealed that praABEGFDCHI constitute an operon, and these genes were expressed during the growth of JJ-1b on 4HB and PCA. praR-praABEGFDCHI conferred the ability to grow on 4HB to E. coli, suggesting that praEGF were functional for the conversion of HPD to pyruvate and acetyl coenzyme A. A promoter analysis suggested that praR encodes a repressor of the pra operon.
KAIST interactive bicycle simulator

This paper presents key technologies and system integration issues of the KAIST interactive bicycle simulator. The rider on the bicycle feels the motion and has the visual experience as if he/she is riding in the campus of the Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology. The simulator consists of a bicycle, a Stewart platform, a magnetorheological handle, a pedal resistance system to generate motion feelings, a real-time visual simulator and projection system, sub-controllers and an integrating control network.
Mechanism of Fibroblast‐Like Synoviocyte Apoptosis Induced by Recombinant Human Endostatin in Rats with Adjuvant Arthritis

Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is a chronic inflammatory disease characterized by pronounced synovial hyperplasia, in which there may be an imbalance between the growth and death of fibroblast‐like synoviocytes (FLS). The present study was undertaken to examine the effect of recombinant human endostatin (rhEndostatin) on FLS apoptosis in experimental RA. Adjuvant arthritis (AA) was induced in male Sprague Dawley (SD) rats. Using cultured AA FLS obtained from these rats, the apoptosis process was measured by terminal deoxyribonucleotidyl transferase‐mediated dUTP nick‐end labeling (TUNEL) as well as Annexin V‐fluorescein isothiocyanate (FITC) and propidium iodide (PI) labeling methods. In addition, the expression levels of the Fas, c‐jun, NFκB, and caspase‐3 gene products in synovial tissues were quantified by quantitative real‐time polymerase chain reaction (qPCR) and/or Western blotting assays. Our data revealed that rhEndostatin induced apoptosis in AA FLS. The number and signal density of TUNEL‐positive cells were significantly increased in rats treated with rhEndostatin (2.5 mg/kg). The percentage of Annexin V‐FITC‐positive cells was 6.67% after treatment with rhEndostatin at 25 μg/mL for 48 hr, compared with only 3.32% among untreated control cells. There were significant increases in Fas mRNA, c‐jun mRNA, c‐Jun protein, and caspase‐3 (p20) protein in AA synovial tissues treated with rhEndostatin (2.5 mg/kg), whereas no significant difference in NFκB expression was detected between treated and untreated tissues. These findings indicate that rhEndostatin has a therapeutic effect on RA by inducing FLS apoptosis, which is strongly associated with increased expression of Fas, c‐jun, and caspase‐3, but not NFκB. Anat Rec, 291:1029–1037, 2008. © 2008 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Drama is not a dirty word: past achievements, present concerns, alternative futures

This paper begins by raising a question about the purposes of research in drama in education and reflects on aspects of discourse in the past concerning how and why writers about drama in education choose to describe its aesthetic processes. Whilst it recognises the debate about drama in education's place within the umbrella of applied theatre, it goes on to raise particular concern about a current tendency within some quarters of drama in education to explain itself in terms drawn from beyond the discipline, arguing that this is a damaging trend. Finally, the paper urges the field to continue to develop its own explicative vocabulary.
Calorie Restriction Decreases Murine and Human Pancreatic Tumor Cell Growth, Nuclear Factor-κB Activation, and Inflammation-Related Gene Expression in an Insulin-like Growth Factor-1−Dependent Manner

Calorie restriction (CR) prevents obesity and has potent anticancer effects that may be mediated through its ability to reduce serum growth and inflammatory factors, particularly insulin-like growth factor (IGF)-1 and protumorigenic cytokines. IGF-1 is a nutrient-responsive growth factor that activates the inflammatory regulator nuclear factor (NF)-κB, which is linked to many types of cancers, including pancreatic cancer. We hypothesized that CR would inhibit pancreatic tumor growth through modulation of IGF-1-stimulated NF-κB activation and protumorigenic gene expression. To test this, 30 male C57BL/6 mice were randomized to either a control diet consumed ad libitum or a 30% CR diet administered in daily aliquots for 21 weeks, then were subcutaneously injected with syngeneic mouse pancreatic cancer cells (Panc02) and tumor growth was monitored for 5 weeks. Relative to controls, CR mice weighed less and had decreased serum IGF-1 levels and smaller tumors. Also, CR tumors demonstrated a 70% decrease in the expression of genes encoding the pro-inflammatory factors S100a9 and F4/80, and a 56% decrease in the macrophage chemoattractant, Ccl2. Similar CR effects on tumor growth and NF-κB-related gene expression were observed in a separate study of transplanted MiaPaCa-2 human pancreatic tumor cell growth in nude mice. In vitro analyses in Panc02 cells showed that IGF-1 treatment promoted NF-κB nuclear localization, increased DNA-binding of p65 and transcriptional activation, and increased expression of NF-κB downstream genes. Finally, the IGF-1-induced increase in expression of genes downstream of NF-κB (Ccdn1, Vegf, Birc5, and Ptgs2) was decreased significantly in the context of silenced p65. These findings suggest that the inhibitory effects of CR on Panc02 pancreatic tumor growth are associated with reduced IGF-1-dependent NF-κB activation.
Quercetin liposomes protect against radiation-induced pulmonary injury in a murine model

In the present study, the hypothesis that quercetin liposomes are able to effectively protect against radiation-induced pulmonary injury in a murine model was tested. C57BL/6J mice receiving whole-thorax radiotherapy (16 Gy) were randomly divided into three groups: control, radiation therapy plus saline (RT+NS) and RT plus quercetin (RT+QU). At 1, 4, 8 and 24 weeks post-irradiation, lung injury was assessed by measuring oxidative damage and the extent of acute pneumonitis and late fibrosis. In the lung tissues from the RT+NS group, the malondialdehyde (MDA) levels were significantly elevated and superoxide dismutase (SOD) and glutathione peroxidase (GSH-PX) activities were significantly reduced; the total cell counts and inflammatory cell proportions in the bronchoalveolar lavage fluid (BALF), plasma tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-α and transforming growth factor (TGF)-β1 concentrations and the hydroxyproline (HP) content were significantly increased. Quercetin liposome administration significantly reduced the MDA content and increased SOD and GSH-PX activities in the lung tissues, and reduced the total cell counts and inflammatory cell proportions in the BALF, plasma TNF-α and TGF-β1 concentrations and the HP content in the lung tissues. A histological examination revealed suppression of the inflammatory response and reduced TGF-β1 expression and fibrosis scores. Radiation-induced oxidative damage ranged from pneumonitis to lung fibrosis. Quercetin liposomes were shown to protect against radiation-induced acute pneumonitis and late fibrosis, potentially by reducing oxidative damage.
High prevalence of extended-spectrum beta-lactamase-producing Klebsiella pneumoniae in a tertiary care hospital in Tehran, Iran.

BACKGROUND Extended-spectrum beta (beta)-lactamase (ESBL)-producing enterobacteria are major emerging pathogens in nosocomial infections. METHODOLOGY The combination disk synergy test was used to evaluate 202 consecutive non-repeated Klebsiella pneumoniae (K. pneumonia) strains for ESBL production. The strains were isolated from various clinical specimens of hospitalized patients over the period from July 2005 to March 2007. Their antibiotic susceptibility pattern was also determined by the disk diffusion method. Demographic and medical data of the patients were recorded using a questionnaire. RESULTS One hundred and fifty-seven (77.7%) of the isolates were confirmed as ESBL-producers. By univariate analysis, young age, stay in intensive care unit (ICU)/medical wards, recent stay in ICU, and number of days of ICU stay were found to be risk factors for acquisition of resistant bacteria (chi(2) and Mann-Whitney U tests, P < 0.05). However, binary logistic multivariate regression analysis confirmed that stay in ICU [Odds ratio (OR) 6.09, 95% confidence interval (CI) 2.36-15.72; P < 0.001] or medical wards [OR 3.72, 95% CI 1.42-9.75; P = 0.007] were significantly associated with ESBL production. Imipenem, ofloxacin, cefoxitin and norfloxacin (against urinary isolates) were found to be highly active against ESBL-producing isolates in vitro (100%, 75.2%, 69.4% and 66.7% susceptibility, respectively). In addition to most beta-lactams, they showed co-resistance with other antibiotics such as ciprofloxacin, aminoglycosides, trimethoprim/sulfamethoxazole and tetracycline. CONCLUSION Our results showed a high prevalence of ESBL-producing K. pneumoniae in our hospital setting. As the available treatment options are limited, antibiotic control policies together with the implementation of infection control measures remain of high importance.
Ethnic Differences in Self-reported Lack of Access to a Regular Doctor: A Population-based Study

Objective: The aim of this study was to investigate ethnic differences in self-reported lack of access to a regular doctor in Malmö, Sweden. Design: The public health survey in Malmö 1994 was a cross sectional population study. Data were collected from 5600 people aged 20-80 years using a postal questionnaire. The participation rate was 71%. The population was categorised according to country of birth: born in Sweden, other Nordic countries, other Western countries, Yugoslavia, Eastern Europe, Arabic speaking countries and other countries. Multivariate logistic regression analysis was performed in order to investigate the importance of possible confounders on the differences by country of origin in lack of access to a regular doctor. Results: A 56.3% proportion of all men and 48.8% of all women lacked access to a regular doctor. The odds ratios of lacking access were significantly higher among men born in Nordic countries, Arabic countries and other countries compared to men born in Sweden but disappeared after adjustment for age. The same patterns were observed for women born in Eastern Europe, Arabic countries and other countries compared to women born in Sweden, and remained after adjustment for age. In the multivariate analysis including age, education, ability to pay bills every month and self-reported health, no significant differences in lack of access to a regular doctor remained among men, while the odds ratios were significantly lower among women born in other Western countries, but still significantly higher among women born in Arabic speaking countries and all other countries. Conclusion: Self-reported lack of access to a regular doctor was significantly higher among men born in Nordic countries, Arabic countries and other countries compared to men born in Sweden, but all these differences disappeared after adjument for age and in the multivariate analysis. Women born in Arabic speaking countries and other countries lacked access to a regular doctor to a significantly higher extent compared with women born in Sweden, and these differences remained in the multivariate analysis.
Application of Broad-Spectrum, Sequence-Based Pathogen Identification in an Urban Population

A broad spectrum detection platform that provides sequence level resolution of target regions would have a significant impact in public health, case management, and means of expanding our understanding of the etiology of diseases. A previously developed respiratory pathogen microarray (RPM v.1) demonstrated the capability of this platform for this purpose. This newly developed RPM v.1 was used to analyze 424 well-characterized nasal wash specimens from patients presenting with febrile respiratory illness in the Washington, D. C. metropolitan region. For each specimen, the RPM v.1 results were compared against composite reference assay (viral and bacterial culture and, where appropriate, RT-PCR/PCR) results. Across this panel, the RPM assay showed ≥98% overall agreement for all the organisms detected compared with reference methods. Additionally, the RPM v.1 results provide sequence information which allowed phylogenetic classification of circulating influenza A viruses in ∼250 clinical specimens, and allowed monitoring the genetic variation as well as antigenic variability prediction. Multiple pathogens (2–4) were detected in 58 specimens (13.7%) with notably increased abundances of respiratory colonizers (esp. S. pneumoniae) during viral infection. This first-ever comparison of a broad-spectrum viral and bacterial identification technology of this type against a large battery of conventional “gold standard” assays confirms the utility of the approach for both medical surveillance and investigations of complex etiologies of illness caused by respiratory co-infections.
Physiological regulation of glucose transporter (GLUT4) protein content in brown trout (Salmo trutta) skeletal muscle

SUMMARY In brown trout, red and white skeletal muscle express the insulin-regulatable glucose transporter 4 (btGLUT4). We have previously shown that the mRNA expression of btGLUT4 in red muscle, but not white muscle, is altered under experimental conditions designed to cause changes in the plasma levels of insulin, such as fasting, insulin and arginine administration. In order to determine whether changes of btGLUT4 expression at the mRNA level are correlated with changes at the protein level, we performed in vivo experiments to alter blood insulin concentrations and determined the abundance of btGLUT4 protein in trout red and white skeletal muscle by immunoblotting using an antibody to salmon GLUT4. In the present study we show that btGLUT4 protein content in red muscle decreases after fasting and increases after insulin administration. By contrast, btGLUT4 protein content in white muscle decreases after fasting but is not affected by insulin treatment. Our results show a good correlation between the changes observed in btGLUT4 protein and the previously reported changes in mRNA levels in response to alterations in circulating insulin, indicating that the regulation of btGLUT4 in brown trout takes place predominantly in the red skeletal muscle.