Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Genetic parameters of test day measures for somatic cell count, milk yield, and protein percentage of milking ewes.

Records from monthly test days for milk yield, natural log-transformed SCC, and protein percentage of 10,171 records of 3832 Spanish Churra ewes in 24 herds were analyzed to estimate genetic parameters. Heritabilities and genetic and phenotypic correlations for test day records were estimated using multivariate REML with an animal model, accounting for the effects of litter size, test day within herd group, age at lambing, and month in milk. Heritabilities for test day records of milk, log SCC, and protein percentage were . 34, . 04, and . 13, respectively. Genetic correlations of test day measures of SCC with milk yield and protein percentage were -. 37 and . 37, respectively; phenotypic correlations were -. 05 and . 19. Considered as a random effect, test day within herd accounted for 28 and 17% of the total variance of test day milk yield and test day SCC, respectively. The correlation between milk yield and SCC because of the test day within herd, the covariation factor, was estimated to be -. 16. Results indicate a moderately high heritability for milk yield, a low heritability for SCC, and moderate, negative genetic relationships between measures of SCC in milk and milk yield.
Bone age is the best predictor of growth response to recombinant human growth hormone in Turner’s syndrome

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: Recombinant human growth hormone (rhGH) is approved for use in children with Turner’s syndrome (TS) in most industrialized countries and is recommended in the recently issued guidelines. We determined the growth responses of girls who are treated with rhGH for TS, with an aim to identify the predictors of growth response. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Fifty-six prepubertal girls with TS, documented by peripheral blood karyotype, were enrolled. All the patients received biosynthetic growth hormone therapy with a standard dose of 30 IU/m2/week. The calculated dose per week was divided for 6 days and given subcutaneously at night. RESULTS: This study showed that rhGH therapy provides satisfactory auxological results. Bone age delay is to be considered as a predictive factor which may negatively influence the effect of rhGH therapy on final height. The growth velocity in the preceding year is the most important predictor of rhGH therapy response. CONCLUSION: These observations help us to guide rhGH prescription, to reduce the risks and costs.
Leptin is a negative acute phase protein in chronic hemodialysis patients.

BACKGROUND Hypoalbuminemia strongly predicts death in hemodialysis patients and results from both inflammation and malnutrition. One potential link between malnutrition and inflammation is appetite suppression triggered by inflammation. Leptin is secreted by adipose tissue and suppresses appetite, and it is also a positive acute phase protein in the rat. Factored for body weight, leptin is known to be increased in hemodialysis patients, but its relationship to inflammation is unknown. METHODS We examined the relationship between spontaneously occurring activation of the acute phase response and leptin levels in 29 chronic hemodialysis patients. Serum samples were obtained three times weekly for six weeks and then monthly from 29 chronic hemodialysis patients, and the levels of the positive acute phase proteins [C-reactive protein (CRP), alpha1-acid glycoprotein (alpha1 AG), serum amyloid A, ceruloplasmin] and the negative acute phase proteins (albumin and transferrin) as well as leptin and interleukin-6 (IL-6) were measured. RESULTS Positive and negative acute phase proteins were evaluated at the maximum CRP (mean, 9.42 +/- 1.14 mg/dL) and minimum values (mean, 0.41 +/- 0.09 mg/dL). When CRP was elevated, leptin levels were significantly reduced, as were the negative acute phase proteins albumin and transferrin. Serum amyloid A, ceruloplasmin, alpha1 acid glycoprotein, and IL-6 were all significantly increased at the maximum CRP level, compatible with general activation of the acute phase response. The change in leptin correlated negatively with the change in CRP (R = 0.437, P = 0.018), as did changes in albumin (R = 0.620, P < 0.001). CONCLUSIONS Leptin is not increased as a consequence of inflammation in hemodialysis patients, but behaves as a negative rather than as a positive acute phase protein. Inflammation is unlikely to reduce appetite in dialysis patients through a leptin-mediated mechanism.
Bad Guys Don't Have Birthdays: Fantasy Play at Four

Bad guys are not allowed to have birthdays, pick blueberries, or disturb the baby. So say the four-year-olds who announce life's risks and dangers as they play out the school year in Vivian Paley's classroom. Their play is filled with warnings. They invent chaos in order to show that everything is under control. They portray fear to prove that it can be conquered. No theme is too large or too small for their intense scrutiny. Fantasy play is their ever dependable pathway to knowledge and certainty. " It . takes a special teacher to value the young child's communications sufficiently, enter into a meaningful dialogue with the youngster, and thereby stimulate more productivity without overwhelming the child with her own ideas. Vivian Paley is such a teacher. "--Maria W. Piers, in the American Journal of Education "[Mrs. Paley's books] should be required reading wherever children are growing. Mrs. Paley does not presume to understand preschool children, or to theorize. Her strength lies equally in knowing that she does not know and in trying to learn. When she cannot help children--because she can neither anticipate nor follow their thinking--she strives not to hinder them. She avoids the arrogance of adult to small child; of teacher to student; or writer to reader. "--Penelope Leach, author of Your Baby & Child in the New York Times Book Review
Sex Crime: Sex Offending and Society

Contents 1 Introduction 2 The sex offender 'problem' - and responses 3 Social responses to the sex offender: a historical perspective 4 Policing sex offenders 5 The search for justice - at court 6 The search for justice - punishment or treatment? 7 Protection in the home 8 Protection in 'care settings' 9 Protection in the community Conclusions References Index
Input Estimation for Output Tracking in Nonlinear Systems

A novel technique to achieve output tracking via input estimation applicable to nonminimum phase nonlinear systems is presented. The earlier approaches to stable inversion is directly applicable only to nonminimum phase systems with hyperbolic internal dynamics. Systems with nonhyperbolic dynamics required modification of the internal dynamics. The method presented in this paper overcomes this drawback
Report of the First International Consensus on Standardized Nomenclature of Antinuclear Antibody HEp-2 Cell Patterns 2014–2015

During the 12th International Workshop on Autoantibodies and Autoimmunity held in Sao Paulo, Brazil, on August 28, 2014, a full day session was devoted to establishing a consensus on the nomenclature of staining patterns observed in the antinuclear antibody (ANA) indirect immunofluorescence test on HEp-2 cells. The current report summarizes the collective agreements with input from the host Brazilian and international communities that represented research, clinical, and diagnostic service laboratories. Patterns are categorized in three major groups (nuclear, cytoplasmic, and mitotic patterns) and each pattern has been defined and described in detail. The consensus nomenclature and representative patterns are made available online at the international consensus on antinuclear antibody pattern (ICAP) website (www.ANApatterns.org). To facilitate continuous improvement and input, specific comments on ICAP are encouraged and these will be discussed in subsequent ICAP meetings. The ultimate goal with the establishment of the ICAP is to promote harmonization and understanding of autoantibody test nomenclature, as well as interpretation guidelines for ANA testing, thereby optimizing usage in patient care.
The non-constant slope of the C IV Baldwin effect in NGC 4151

Context. The relationship between the emission-line equivalent width and the continuum luminosity, called the Baldwin effect, is important for studies of the physics of the broad-line region of AGNs. Some recent studies have revealed the non-constant slope of the intrinsic Baldwin effect for several Seyfert 1 galaxies. Aims. Using the archived ultraviolet spectra obtained by IUE, HST, and HUT in 1978-2002, we investigated the intrinsic C iv Baldwin effect of the well-studied Seyfert 1 galaxy NGC 4151. Both its continuum flux and C iv emission-line flux varied about two orders of magnitude in more than two decades, making it one of the best targets for studying the slope variations of the Baldwin effect. Methods. We fitted the C iv line profile of the 490 archived UV spectra of NGC 4151 with a spectral model consisting of a few Gaussian components and derived the slope in the log-log plot for the total flux of C iv emission line against the UV continuum flux in different observation epochs. Results. We found that the slope is not constant for NGC 4151, as it varies from 0.58 in the highest flux epoch to 0.83 in the lowest flux epoch. The slope evidently decreases as the continuum flux increases, which reinforces the previous findings of the non-constant slope in the H β Baldwin effect of NGC 5548 and the C iv Baldwin effect of Fairall 9. Conclusions. Our result suggests that such a non-constant slope may not be unusual for AGNs. Its physical origin is probably related to the different non-linear responses of the emission line to the variable ionizing continuum caused by the different accretion modes at different luminosity levels. We briefly discuss the effects of various absorption components in the C iv line profile of NGC 4151 and argue that the slope variation is not driven mainly by the absorption effect. Intensive, long-term, and high-resolution spectral observations of strongly variable AGNs are needed in the future to confirm our result.
Neurobiological pathways to Alzheimer’s disease: Amyloid-beta, TAU protein or both?

Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is a neurodegenerative disease characterized by progressive cognitive decline, including memory loss, behavioral and psychological symptoms and personality changes. The neuropathological hallmarks of AD are the presence of neuritic (senile) plaques (NP) and neurofibrillary tangles (NFT), along with neuronal loss, dystrophic neurites, and gliosis. Neuritic plaques are extracellular lesions and their main constituent is the amyloid-β42 peptide (Aβ42). Neurofibrillary tangles are intracellular lesions that are mainly composed of hyperphosphorylated Tau protein. In this article, we review the major hypotheses concerning the physiopathology of AD, focusing on the β-amyloid cascade as primary events (supported by the “βaptists”) and cytoskeletal abnormalities secondary to the hyperphosphorylation of protein Tau (as advocated by the “Tauists”). We further provide an integrative view of the physiopathology of AD.
Apolipoprotein E polymorphisms and their protective effect on hepatitis E virus replication

We sincerely thank Marot and coworkers for their letter. We agree with them and their meta-analysis concluding that self-expanding metal stents provide an effective alternative to balloon tamponade in selected patients with acute variceal bleeding (AVB), in whom esophageal stent can be used as a bridge to rescue therapies (mainly transjugular intrahepatic portosystemic shunt). Our primary endpoint was to compare the efficacy and safety of the two devices in AVB from esophageal varices refractory to medical and endoscopic therapy, which is the only accepted setting for the use of balloon tamponade (massive AVB or AVB uncontrolled by standard treatment). Being an accepted treatment, for ethical reasons we could not omit the use of esophageal balloon tamponade as a comparator, just to have a perfect control with regard to efficacy. We differ from Marot et al. on their appreciation of the applicability of our results. In real life, we will also treat with stents patients with previous/malpositioned esophageal balloon tamponade (who were not allowed in the trial as this would have precluded obtaining conclusive results on adverse events). In fact, if we had included the 23 patients excluded due to previous balloon tamponade, our initially planned sample size would have been achieved and even exceeded. Moreover, patients with known hepatocellular carcinoma were not excluded from receiving esophageal stents in our current practice but were excluded in the randomized study because of its potential impact on mortality. However, the remaining exclusion criteria were unavoidable when using balloon tamponade. As our study confirms the data from observational studies suggesting that esophageal stents are effective and acceptably safe in refractory AVB, it may be proposed that these might be used in other settings in the context of clinical trials, for instance, in the initial therapy of AVB, where esophageal stents may be compared to standard accepted therapy (combination of vasoactive drugs and endoscopic therapy); however, this would be a completely different study. We do not think that retrospective observational studies from small series with different and heterogeneous entry criteria may provide valid data with regard to comparative efficacy and side effects of these two treatments in this setting either.
Estimated Risk for Altered Fetal Growth Resulting from Exposure to Fine Particles during Pregnancy: An Epidemiologic Prospective Cohort Study in Poland

The purpose of this study was to estimate exposure of pregnant women in Poland to fine particulate matter [≤2.5 μm in diameter (PM2.5)] and to assess its effect on the birth outcomes. The cohort consisted of 362 pregnant women who gave birth between 34 and 43 weeks of gestation. The enrollment included only nonsmoking women with singleton pregnancies, 18–35 years of age, who were free from chronic diseases such as diabetes and hypertension. PM2.5 was measured by personal air monitoring over 48 hr during the second trimester of pregnancy. All assessed birth effects were adjusted in multiple linear regression models for potential confounding factors such as the size of mother (maternal height, prepregnancy weight), parity, sex of child, gestational age, season of birth, and self-reported environmental tobacco smoke (ETS). The regression model explained 35% of the variability in birth weight (β = −200.8, p = 0.03), and both regression coefficients for PM2.5 and birth length (β = −1.44, p = 0.01) and head circumference (HC; β = −0.73, p = 0.02) were significant as well. In all regression models, the effect of ETS was insignificant. Predicted reduction in birth weight at an increase of exposure from 10 to 50 μg/m3 was 140.3 g. The corresponding predicted reduction of birth length would be 1.0 cm, and of HC, 0.5 cm. The study provides new and convincing epidemiologic evidence that high personal exposure to fine particles is associated with adverse effects on the developing fetus. These results indicate the need to reduce ambient fine particulate concentrations. However, further research should establish possible biologic mechanisms explaining the observed relationship.
Evolution of social parasitism in ants: size of sexuals, sex ratio and mechanisms of caste determination

Social parasitism, one of the most intriguing phenomena in ants, has evolved to various levels, the most extreme form being parasites that have lost the worker caste and rely completely on the host's worker force to raise their brood. A remarkable feature of workerless social parasites is the small size of sexuals. It has been suggested that reduced size evolved as a means to take advantage of the host's caste–determination system, so that parasite larvae develop into sexuals with less food than is required to produce host workers. An important consequence of size reduction is that it might restrict the host workers' ability to discriminate between the brood of the social parasite and their own brood and might protect parasite sexuals from elimination. We found that sexuals of the workerless inquiline ant Plagiolepis xene were significantly smaller than the sexuals of their host Plagiolepis pygmaea, but remarkably similar to the host workers. The size variance of parasite sexuals was much lower than that of their host; this result possibly suggests that there is very stabilizing selection acting on size of the parasite sexuals. Comparison of the primary (egg) and secondary (adult) sex ratios of the parasite and host showed that miniaturization of P. xene sexuals has been accompanied by their ability to develop into sexuals even when the host P. pygmaea actively prevents production of its own sexuals. These results suggest that the inquiline's size and caste threshold have been reduced such that all individuals in a parasite brood will develop into sexuals. We also found that the adult sex ratio of P. xene was heavily female–biased. This bias probably stems from local mate competition that arises from sexuals mating within the nest. There was no significant difference between the proportion of haploid eggs and adult males produced; this observation indicates that a female–biased sex ratio is achieved by queens producing a higher proportion of diploid eggs rather than by a higher mortality of haploid males.
Inhibition of byssal formation in Semimytilus algosus (Gould, 1850) by a film-forming bacterium isolated from biofouled substrata in northern Chile

Abstract Semimytilus algosus is a small mussel species that fouls artificial culture systems of the scallop Argopecten purpuratus (Lamarck, 1819) in the north of Chile. Since biofouling organisms are a serious problem in culture, competing with the scallops for food and oxygen, environmentally- friendly methods are required to mitigate the effects of this fouling in the culture systems. The present study reports the evaluation of the inhibitory effect of biofilms and extracellular products (EP) of the bacterium Alteromonas strain Ni1-LEM on the byssal formation of S. algosus juveniles. Laboratory bioassays were carried out to determine the reattachment, exploratory behaviour and/or byssal thread production of the mussel in plastic Petri dishes containing bacterial biofilms, different dilutions of EP, and EP incorporated in a test substratum. It was concluded from the results that culture supernatants of the Alteromonas tested had an inhibitory effect on reattachment by S. algosus.
Carpal development and morphology in archontan mammals

Carpal morphology and development in bats, colugos, tree shrews, murids, and sciurids were studied in order to homologize carpal elements. Prenatal coalescence of discrete cartilaginous templates with a loss of a center of ossification appears to be the most common method of reducing carpal elements in these mammals. Only bats and colugos showed postnatal ossification between discrete elements as a method of reducing carpal elements. Carpal morphology of tree shrews is more diverse than previously reported. Ptilocercus shows a highly derived carpal morphology that may be related to its relatively greater arboreality. Dendrogale exhibits what is most likely the ancestral tupaiid carpal morphology. Carpal morphologies of Tupaia, Urogale, and Anathana are identical to each other. Carpal morphology differs between megachiropterans and microchiropterans. These differences may be related to different aerodynamic constraints between the suborders. The carpal morphology of microchiropterans is diverse and may reflect different adaptive regimes between microchiropteran families. Carpal morphology of the colugos shows both megachiropteran and microchiropteran characters. The function of these characters in colugos and bats (stabilization of the carpus in dorsiflexion) is proposed to be similar, although the locomotor roles may be quite different between these taxa. J. Morphol. 235:135–155, 1998. © 1998 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Increased risk of depressive and anxiety disorders in relatives of patients with Parkinson disease.

CONTEXT Relatives of patients with Parkinson disease (PD) have an increased risk of PD and other neurologic disorders; however, their risk of psychiatric disorders remains uncertain. OBJECTIVE To study the risk of depressive disorders and anxiety disorders among first-degree relatives of patients with PD compared with first-degree relatives of controls. DESIGN, SETTING, AND PARTICIPANTS In a population-based, historical cohort study, we included 1000 first-degree relatives of 162 patients with PD and 850 first-degree relatives of 147 controls. Both patients with PD and controls were representative of the population of Olmsted County, Minnesota. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES Documentation of psychiatric disorders was obtained for each relative separately through a combination of telephone interviews with the relatives (or their proxies) and review of their medical records from a records-linkage system (family study method). Psychiatric disorders were defined using clinical criteria from the DSM-IV or routine diagnoses. RESULTS We found an increased risk of several psychiatric disorders in first-degree relatives of patients with PD compared with first-degree relatives of controls (hazard ratio [HR], 1.54; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.21-1.95; P <.001). In particular, we found an increased risk of depressive disorders (HR, 1.45; 95% CI, 1.11-1.89; P = .006) and anxiety disorders (HR, 1.55; 95% CI, 1.05-2.28; P = .03). The results were consistent in analyses that adjusted for type of interview, excluded relatives who developed parkinsonism, or excluded relatives who developed both a depressive disorder and an anxiety disorder. CONCLUSION These findings suggest that depressive disorders and anxiety disorders may share familial susceptibility factors with PD.
Retractions and Correction

The hepatitis C virus (HCV) is a positive strand RNA ﬂavivirus that is a major causative agent of serious liver disease, making new treatment modalities an urgent priority. Because HCV translation initiation occurs by a mechanism that is fundamentally distinct from that of host mRNAs, it is an attractive target for drug discovery. The translation of HCV mRNA is initiated from an internalribosomalentrysite(IRES),independentofcapandpoly(A) recognition and bypassing eIF4F complex formation. We used mRNA display selection technology combined with a simple and robust cyclization procedure to screen a peptide library of > 10 13 different sequences and isolate cyclic peptides that bind with high afﬁnity and speciﬁcity to HCV IRES RNA. The best peptide binds the IRES with subnanomolar afﬁnity, and a speciﬁcity of at least 100-fold relative to binding to several other RNAs of similar length. The peptide speciﬁcally inhibits HCV IRES-initiated translation in vitro with no detectable effect on normal cap-dependent translation initiation. An 8-aa cyclic peptide retains most of the activity of the full-length 27-aa bicyclic peptide. These peptides may be useful tools for the study of HCV translation and may have potential for further development as an anti-HCV drug.
An Architecture for Integrated Policy-Based Management of QoS and Multicast-enabled Networks

QoS and multicast are facilities that several modern applications require from networks. However, the management of such facilities is complex and not integrated, when based on traditional management architectures. In this paper we present a policy-based management architecture and system for the integrated management of QoS and multicast-enabled networks. The definition of policies for this architecture is also presented showing how a network administrator can use such policies in order to manage the QoS and multicast facilities. The proposed architecture is based on the IETF approach. However, we discuss how such approach had to be adapted in order to support not only QoS management, but also multicast management, in an integrated fashion. Finally, we also present the implementation of our proposal providing some management example scenarios.