Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Estimation of lipoperoxidative damage and antioxidant status in diabetic children: Relationship with individual antioxidants

Increased oxidative stress has emerged as a potential mechanism implicated in the pathogenesis, progression and cell dysfunction associated with many diseases including diabetes. In routine clinical practice, the estimation of the degree of oxidative damage and antioxidant status, even in paediatric patients, by appropriate techniques appears to be of interest. The aim of this study was to reliably identify patients with increased oxidant stress and/or reduced antioxidant defence mechanisms with a small blood sample and verify the applicability to the study of diabetic children (DC) at clinical onset of the disease. In 1-ml blood samples from 30 DC and 34 controls, techniques for accurately measuring malondialdehyde (MDA) concentrations in plasma and erythrocytes (using HPLC analysis with fluorometric detection), total radical antioxidant potential (TRAP) and blood plasma oxidizability were adapted and validated. Plasma α-tocopherol (HPLC), uric acid and sulfhydryl (SH) groups were also determined. At clinical onset of diabetes a significant reduction in plasma TRAP values (P<0.01) was observed in DC compared with controls. Similarly, a significant fall in individual antioxidant levels (α-tocopherol/total lipids, uric acid and protein SH) was noted in plasma of DC. Highly significant increases were found in both plasma and erythrocyte MDA levels in DC (p-MDA:1.7±0.2 μM; er-MDA: 7.2±0.7 nmol/g Hb) compared with controls (p-MDA:0.86±0.09 μM; P<0.0003; er-MDA:3.8±0.2 nmol/g Hb, P<0.0001). Plasma MDA and triglyceride levels correlated directly only in DC (P<0.001). Whole plasma oxidizability was significantly higher in DC than in controls (P<0.0001) and this parameter correlated significantly with plasma cholesterol and triglyceride concentrations (P<0.0001). The micromethods adapted and applied to the simultaneous detection of lipid peroxidation products and antioxidant status permit accurate and reliable assessment of the oxidative stress process in small plasma samples. Our results clearly show systemic peroxidative damage associated with insufficient defence mechanisms against ROS to be already present at clinical onset of type 1 diabetes mellitus in children and adolescents.
How a common variant in the growth factor receptor gene, NTRK1, affects white matter

Growth factors and their receptors are important for cellular migration as well as axonal guidance and myelination in the brain. They also play a key role in programmed cell death, and are implicated in a number of mental illnesses. Recently, we reported that healthy young adults who carry the T allele variant in the growth factor gene, NTRK1 (at location rs6336), had lower white matter integrity than non-carriers on diffusion images of the brain. Diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) revealed how this single nucleotide polymorphism affects white matter microstructure in human populations; DTI is also used to identify characteristic features of brain connectivity in typically developing children and in patients. Newly discovered links between neuroimaging measures and growth factors whose molecular neuroscience is well known offer an important step in understanding mechanisms that contribute to brain connectivity. Altered fiber connectivity may mediate the relationship between some genetic risk factors and a variety of mental illnesses.
Changes in Ukraine’s foreign trade as a reflection of its progress in integration with the European Union

The study aims to assess changes in the ability of Ukrainian goods to compete in the EU market. It reflects Ukraine’s progress towards EU integration in the run-up to Russia’s attack on Ukraine. Using foreign trade measures, including international specialisation, we show the specifics of Ukraine’s integration into the EU. By estimating the level and changes in the market shares of Ukraine’s commodity groups in the EU market, we show its progress in penetrating this market compared to non-EU countries. On the one hand, the geographical structure of Ukraine’s foreign trade changed radically between 2010 and 2021. On the other hand, more minor changes in the commodity structure of exports and Ukraine’s international specialisation were accompanied byan increased market share of Ukraine’s exports in the EU market. It reflected an improvement in the ability of Ukrainian goods to compete, thus fulfilling one of Ukraine’s accession criteria. Calculated on the basis of market shares, the increase in the ability of Ukrainian goods to compete is confirmed by estimates of export competitiveness indicators: the Balassa index of revealedcomparative advantages and the Lafay index. Levels and changes in the three indicators varied between commodity groups. The increase in the market shares of three commodity groups (raw materials, so-called “other manufactured goods” (medium and low technology) and food products) was accompanied by significant and increasing levels of export competitiveness indicators. The decline in the market shares of other commodity groups was accompanied by low and declining levels of export specialisation indicators. Thus, Ukraine’s integration into the EU has so far been based on the expansion of competitive and competitive-enhancing goods, in the production of which Ukraine specialises.
Malondialdehyde and Antioxidant Enzymes in Maternal and Cord Blood, and their Correlation in Normotensive and Preeclamptic Women

Background An increased oxidative level and decreased antioxidant activities in the blood of preeclamptic women have been reported by us and other workers. The present study was aimed to evaluate oxidative stress in infants born to preeclamptic mothers, and to examine whether cord blood with oxygen radical disease had different total enzymatic antioxidant status than those without preeclampsia. Methods The present study consisted of 23 normotensive (served as control) and 23 preeclamptic mothers. We compared their oxidative and anti-oxidative system in maternal and cord blood of pair-matched mother and neonate. Their blood malondialdehyde (MDA), antioxidant enzymes were determined and compared to evaluate if pro-oxidative status of preeclampsia differs from the status in cord blood of pair-matched neonate. Results The MDA content in preeclamptic maternal plasma was significantly high (p < 0.001) compared to that of control. Interestingly, its content in preeclamptic cord blood was significantly low (p < 0.001) compared to their pair-matched maternal blood. Superoxide dismutase (SOD) activity was 8.7% higher in cord as compared to pair-matched normotensive maternal blood which was significant (p = 0.01) whereas in preeclamptic cord the level decreased significantly (p = 0.011) in comparison to pair-matched preeclamptic maternal. Glutathione peroxidase (GPx) was 16.4% higher in normotensive cord compared to maternal blood, and 7% low in preeclamptic cord compared to pair-matched maternal blood. The increase was significant (P = 0.011) in normotensive cord whereas in preeclamptic cord the decrease was insignificant (p = 0.06). Contrary to earlier reports on catalase activity, our results showed 20.97% elevation in normotensive and 16.12% increase in the preeclamptic cord blood compared to their pair-matched maternal blood. This change was significant with p = 0.01 and p = 0.017 in control and preeclamptic group respectively. Conclusions Our results showed the significantly low MDA contents in the pair-matched cord blood and the activities of SOD, GPx and Catalase mentioned above, we conclude that the oxidative stress status is low in the blood of neonates born to preeclamptic mothers. Further studies are needed to explore strategies so that the normal levels of antioxidant vitamins are maintained to combat preeclampsia in women at high risk. Keywords Maternal; Cord blood; Malondialdehyde; Antioxidant enzymes; Glutathione peroxidase; Glutathione reductase; Superoxide dismutase; Catalase
Elevated plasma glucose-dependent insulinotropic polypeptide associates with hyperinsulinemia in impaired glucose tolerance.

OBJECTIVE The role of gut-derived incretin, glucose-dependent insulinotropic polypeptide (also known as gastric inhibitory peptide [GIP]), in compensatory beta-cell hypersecretion during insulin-resistant states and in transition to beta-cell failure in type 2 diabetes is unknown. RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS We carried out oral glucose tolerance testing followed by blood sampling 10 times for 2 h on 68 age- and BMI-matched participants of the Baltimore Longitudinal Study on Aging (BLSA) with normal glucose tolerance (34 subjects), impaired glucose tolerance (IGT) (18 subjects with both impaired fasting and 2-h plasma glucose levels), and type 2 diabetes (16 subjects with both diabetic fasting and 2-h plasma glucose levels). We assayed plasma glucose, insulin, C-peptide, glucagon, and intact and total GIP levels and quantitated glucose and hormone responses to the oral glucose tolerance test. We also compared GIP and insulin release and sensitivity indexes between groups. RESULTS After glucose ingestion, subjects with IGT had both hyperinsulinemia and hyperemia, while subjects with type 2 diabetes had both beta- and GIP-cell deficiency. In the former group, there was also a significant positive correlation between the augmented plasma intact and total GIP levels and both fasting and post-oral glucose load plasma insulin levels. CONCLUSIONS Elevated plasma GIP levels are correlated with hyperinsulinemia in the impaired glucose-tolerant state, whereas type 2 diabetes is associated with a failure to secrete adequate amounts of both GIP and insulin, indicating a common pathway of resistance to and eventually failure of glucose responsiveness in beta- and GIP-cells.
Addressing shared resource contention in multicore processors via scheduling

Contention for shared resources on multicore processors remains an unsolved problem in existing systems despite significant research efforts dedicated to this problem in the past. Previous solutions focused primarily on hardware techniques and software page coloring to mitigate this problem. Our goal is to investigate how and to what extent contention for shared resource can be mitigated via thread scheduling. Scheduling is an attractive tool, because it does not require extra hardware and is relatively easy to integrate into the system. Our study is the first to provide a comprehensive analysis of contention-mitigating techniques that use only scheduling. The most difficult part of the problem is to find a classification scheme for threads, which would determine how they affect each other when competing for shared resources. We provide a comprehensive analysis of such classification schemes using a newly proposed methodology that enables to evaluate these schemes separately from the scheduling algorithm itself and to compare them to the optimal. As a result of this analysis we discovered a classification scheme that addresses not only contention for cache space, but contention for other shared resources, such as the memory controller, memory bus and prefetching hardware. To show the applicability of our analysis we design a new scheduling algorithm, which we prototype at user level, and demonstrate that it performs within 2\% of the optimal. We also conclude that the highest impact of contention-aware scheduling techniques is not in improving performance of a workload as a whole but in improving quality of service or performance isolation for individual applications.
Potential Quantitative Magnetic Resonance Imaging Biomarkers of Coronary Remodeling in Older Hypertensive Patients

Objective—To detect differences in potential magnetic resonance imaging biomarkers of coronary remodeling between older hypertensive patients and healthy controls. Methods and Results—Two-dimensional black-blood coronary wall magnetic resonance imaging and 3-dimensional whole-heart coronary magnetic resonance angiography were performed on 130 participants (65–84 years), including 65 hypertensive patients and 65 healthy controls. Coronary segments derived from hypertensive participants had a higher mean coronary wall thickness, a smaller vessel area, a smaller coronary wall area, a smaller lumen area, a lower coronary distensibility index, and a higher percent of the coronary wall occupying the vessel area (PWOV) than those from healthy controls. When the average PWOV was set as an ad hoc cutoff point, coronary segments with a high PWOV had a significantly higher mean wall thickness, a higher maximum wall thickness, a smaller vessel area, a smaller lumen area, a lower coronary distensibility index, and a higher coronary plaque index compared with coronary segments with a low PWOV. Conclusion—Magnetic resonance techniques are able to noninvasively detect significant differences in potential imaging biomarkers of coronary remodeling between older hypertensive patients and healthy controls. The PWOV is a promising remodeling feature for quantitatively evaluating the progression of coronary atherosclerosis.
Regulation of Radial Glial Motility by Visual Experience

Radial glia in the developing optic tectum express the key guidance molecules responsible for topographic targeting of retinal axons. However, the extent to which the radial glia are themselves influenced by retinal inputs and visual experience remains unknown. Using multiphoton live imaging of radial glia in the optic tectum of intact Xenopus laevis tadpoles in conjunction with manipulations of neural activity and sensory stimuli, radial glia were observed to exhibit spontaneous calcium transients that were modulated by visual stimulation. Structurally, radial glia extended and retracted many filopodial processes within the tectal neuropil over minutes. These processes interacted with retinotectal synapses and their motility was modulated by nitric oxide (NO) signaling downstream of neuronal NMDA receptor (NMDAR) activation and visual stimulation. These findings provide the first in vivo demonstration that radial glia actively respond both structurally and functionally to neural activity, via NMDAR-dependent NO release during the period of retinal axon ingrowth.
Determinants of dog owner-charged rabies vaccination in Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of Congo

Rabies is a preventable fatal disease that causes about 61,000 human deaths annually around the world, mostly in developing countries. In Africa, several studies have shown that vaccination of pets is effective in controlling the disease. An annual vaccination coverage of 70% is recommended by the World Health Organization as a control threshold. The effective control of rabies requires vaccination coverage of owned dogs. Identification of the factors determining dog owners’ choice to vaccinate is necessary for evidence-based policy-making. However, for the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), the limited data on rabies vaccination coverage makes it difficult for its control and formulation of appropriate policies. A cross-sectional study was conducted in Kinshasa (Lemba commune) with dog-owning households and owned dogs as study populations. The association between dog vaccination and independent factors (household socio-demographics characteristics, dog characteristics, knowledge of rabies and location of veterinary offices/clinics) was performed with Epi-info 7. The Odds Ratio (OR) and p-value < 0.05 were used to determine levels of significance. A total of 166 households owning dogs and 218 owned dogs were investigated. 47% of the dogs had been vaccinated within one year preceding the survey which is higher than the critical coverage (25 to 40%) necessary to interrupt rabies transmission but below the 70% threshold recommended by WHO for control. The determinants of vaccination included socio-economic level of the household (OR = 2.9, p<0.05), formal education level of the dog owner (OR = 4, p<0.05), type of residence (OR = 4.6, p<0.05), knowledge of rabies disease (OR = 8.0, p<0.05), knowledge of location of veterinary offices/clinics (OR = 3.4, p<0.05), dog gender (OR = 1.6, p<0.05) and dog breed (OR = 2.1, p<0.05). This study shows that the vaccination coverage in this area can easily reach the WHO threshold if supplemented by mass vaccination campaigns.
Lack of Spatial Subdivision for the Snapper Lutjanus purpureus (Lutjanidae – Perciformes) from Southwest Atlantic Based on Multi-Locus Analyses

The Caribbean snapper Lutjanus purpureus is a marine species fish commonly found associated with rocky seabeds and is widely distributed along of Western Atlantic. Data on stock delineation and stock recognition are essential for establishing conservation measures for commercially fished species. However, few studies have investigated the population genetic structure of this economically valuable species, and previous studies (based on only a portion of the mitochondrial DNA) provide an incomplete picture. The present study used a multi-locus approach (12 segments of mitochondrial and nuclear DNA) to elucidate the levels of genetic diversity and genetic connectivity of L. purpureus populations and their demographic history. L. purpureus has high levels of genetic diversity, which probably implies in high effective population sizes values for the species. The data show that this species is genetically homogeneous throughout the geographic region analyzed, most likely as a result of dispersal during larval phase. Regarding demographic history, a historical population growth event occurred, likely due to sea level changes during the Pleistocene.
Customer Satisfaction with Community Pharmacy Services and Its Determinant in Indonesia: A Cross-sectional Survey

Background: Assessing customer satisfaction and its determinants are important for evaluating the quality of pharmaceutical services and identifying areas for improvement.Objectives: This study aims to evaluate the level of customer satisfaction and identify key factors associated with it.Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted in 10 pharmacies located in Yogyakarta, Surakarta, and Magelang cities, involving a total of 1,200 customers. Data was collected using a validated patient satisfaction questionnaire from previous study and analyzed using SPSS 20 software. It was interviewed questionnaire that consists of three domains: sociodemographic characteristics, patient satisfaction, and opinions on service improvement in the community pharmacies. The inclusion criteria were customer who received services at community pharmacies between July and August 2021. Customers who were sick and unable to participate in an interview were eliminated from the study. Results: The average overall satisfaction score obtained was 3.46 (SD ±0.34). The average customer satisfaction scores were as follows: facilities (3.92 ± 0.45), waiting time (3.76 ± 0.59), medicine stocks (3.54 ± 0.61), staff availability (3.25 ± 0.53), and counseling hours (3.18 ± 0.54). Conclusion: Overall, customers are quite satisfied with the community pharmacy services. There is a relationship between age, residence, education level, type of medicine, payment method, and experience in using pharmacy with customer satisfaction level. Community pharmacists should prioritize improving service quality by focusing on enhancing customer counseling and pharmacists’ skills in communication.
Evidence for Spatial Modules Mediated by Temporal Synchronization of Carbachol-Induced Gamma Rhythm in Medial Entorhinal Cortex

Fast (γ) oscillations in the cortex underlie the rapid temporal coordination of large-scale neuronal assemblies in the processing of sensory stimuli. Cortical γ rhythm is modulated in vivo by cholinergic innervation from the basal forebrain and can be generated in vitro after exogenous cholinergic stimulation. Using the isolated guinea pig brain, an in vitro preparation that allows for the study of an intact cerebrum, we studied the spatial features of γ activity evoked by the cholinomimetic carbachol (CCh) in the medial entorhinal cortex (mEC). γ activity induced by either arterial perfusion or intraparenchymal application of CCh showed a phase reversal across mEC layer II and was reduced or abolished in a spatially localized region by focal infusions of atropine, bicuculline, and CNQX. In addition, a spatially restricted zone of γ activity could be induced by passive diffusion of CCh from a recording pipette. Finally, γ oscillations recorded at multiple sites across the surface of the mEC using array electrodes during arterial perfusion of CCh demonstrated a decline in synchronization (coherence) as the interelectrode distance increased. This effect was independent of the signal amplitude and was specific for γ as opposed to theta-like activity induced by CCh in the same experiments. These results suggest that CCh-induced γ oscillations in the mEC are mediated through direct muscarinic excitation of a highly localized reciprocal inhibitory–excitatory network located in superficial layers. We propose that functional cortical modules of highly synchronous γ oscillations may organize incoming (cortical) and outgoing (hippocampal) information in the mEC.
The impact of diabetic foot ulcer pain on patient quality of life

Aims: This cross-sectional, exploratory study investigated the presence and characteristics of diabetic foot ulcer (DFU) pain and its impact on quality of life (QoL). Methods: A two-phase approach was adopted using audit to determine the extent of the problem within one specialist clinic population, followed by a qualitative design using semi-structured interviews to explore the effect on QoL from the patients’ perspective. Results: Twenty-eight patients were included in the audit. Pain was assessed using a modified Short-Form McGill Pain Questionnaire. 86% of patients (n=24) reported some degree of DFU pain. Aching was the most common sensory pain (n=14). Tiring/exhausting was the most common affective descriptor (n=10). Three patients were recruited into the interview phase. Content analysis identified four themes: experience of pain; physical effects of pain; coping, support and social impact; psychological impact Conclusions: DFU pain can occur frequently and intensely despite peripheral neuropathy, and is not necessarily limited to the presence of DFU-related complications. It can affect patients physically and psychologically. Further qualitative work into the patient’s perspective on DFU pain would help clinicians to understand the relevance to diabetic foot care, and aid in the provision of holistic care. Conflict of interest: None.
Population Dynamics of Salmonella enterica Serotypes in Commercial Egg and Poultry Production

ABSTRACT Fresh and processed poultry have been frequently implicated in cases of human salmonellosis. Furthermore, increased consumption of meat and poultry has increased the potential for exposure to Salmonella enterica. While advances have been made in reducing the prevalence and frequency of Salmonella contamination in processed poultry, there is mounting pressure on commercial growers to prevent and/or eliminate these human pathogens in preharvest production facilities. Several factors contribute to Salmonella colonization in commercial poultry, including the serovar and the infectious dose. In the early 1900s, Salmonella enterica serovars Pullorum and Gallinarum caused widespread diseases in poultry, but vaccination and other voluntary programs helped eradicate pullorum disease and fowl typhoid from commercial flocks. However, the niche created by the eradication of these serovars was likely filled by S. Enteritidis, which proliferated in the bird populations. While this pathogen remains a significant problem in commercial egg and poultry production, its prevalence among poultry has been declining since the 1990s. Coinciding with the decrease of S. Enteritidis, S. Heidelberg and S. Kentucky have emerged as the predominant serovars in commercial broilers. In this review, we have highlighted bacterial genetic and host-related factors that may contribute to such shifts in Salmonella populations in commercial poultry and intervention strategies that could limit their colonization.