Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Use of trenbolone acetate and estradiol in intact and castrate male cattle: effects on growth, serum hormones, and carcass characteristics.

The effects of anabolic implant on growth, carcass characteristics, and serum hormones were examined in 30 young bulls and steers fed a growing diet then a finishing diet. In a 2 X 3 factorial arrangement, steers and bulls received an implant of trenbolone acetate (TBA), TBA and estradiol-17 beta (E2), or no implant. Blood samples were taken serially (every 20 min for 6 h) at intervals during the growing and finishing phases. Percentage of DM, fat, protein, and ash and Warner-Bratzler shear test were measured and taste panel evaluations of the 9-10-11 rib section were obtained. Treatment with TBA and E2 increased weight gain in steers but not in bulls. There were no differences in feed efficiency, serum growth hormone (GH), and cortisol concentrations between bulls and steers or between treated groups and controls in bulls or steers, although during the finishing phase mean GH concentrations in treated steers were twofold higher than in controls and were similar to those in the bull groups. Serum insulin-like growth factor-I (IGF-I) increased twofold during the growing phase, then remained at that level. Steers implanted with TBA and E2, which had the highest gains among the steer groups, had the highest serum GH and IGF-I. Longissimus steaks from bulls treated with TBA alone or TBA and E2 were comparable to steaks from steers in the shear test. Taste panelists found steaks from TBA- and E2-treated bulls to be similar in tenderness and connective tissue to steaks from steers. (ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)
Preoperative Body Mass Index, Blood Albumin and Triglycerides Predict Survival for Patients with Gastric Cancer

Background Gastric cancer (GC) is common and its prognosis is often poor due to difficulties in early diagnosis and optimal treatment strategies. TNM staging system is useful in predicting prognosis but only possible after surgery. Therefore, it is desirable to investigate prognostic factors/markers that may predict prognosis before surgery by which helps appropriate management decisions preoperatively. Methods A total of 320 GC patients were consecutively recruited from 2004 to 2013 and followed up for 127 months (10.6 years) after surgery. These patients’ were examined for body mass index (BMI) and blood levels of albumin, triglyceride, total cholesterol, low density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C), and high density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C). Kaplan-Meier method and log rank test were used to analyze long-term survival using the above potential risk markers. We first employed medians of these variables to reveal maximal potentials of the above prognostic predictors. Results Three major findings were obtained: (1) Preoperative BMI was positively correlated with albumin (r = 0.144, P<0.05) and triglyceride (r = 0.365, P<0.01), but negatively correlated with TNM staging (r = -0.265, P<0.05). Preoperative albumin levels were positively correlated with triglyceride (r = 0.173, P<0.05) but again, negatively correlated with TNM staging (r = -0.137, P<0.05); (2) Poor survival was observed in GC patients with lower levels of BMI (P = 0.028), albumin (P = 0.004), and triglyceride (P = 0.043), respectively. Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve analyses suggested BMI, albumin and triglyceride to have survival-predictor powers similar to TNM system; and (3) Cox multi-factorial analyses demonstrated that age (P = 0.049), BMI (P = 0.016), cell differentiation (P = 0.001), and TNM staging (P = 0.011) were independent overall survival-predictors for GC patients. Conclusions Preoperative BMI, albumin, and triglyceride levels are capable of predicting survival for GC patients superior to postoperative TNM system in terms of timing for management. As potential survival-predictors, preoperative tests of BMI, albumin and triglyceride, combined with clinical imaging, may help personalized management for GC patients including planning surgical strategy, optimal radio-chemotherapy and appropriate follow-up intervals after surgery.
Prototypic Features of Loneliness in a Stratified Sample of Adolescents

Dominant theoretical approaches in loneliness research emphasize the value of personality characteristics in explaining loneliness. The present study examines whether dysfunctional social strategies and attributions in lonely adolescents can be explained by personality characteristics. A questionnaire survey was conducted with 379 Danish Grade 8 students (M = 14.1 years, SD = 0.4) from 22 geographically stratified and randomly selected schools. Hierarchical linear regression analysis showed that network orientation, success expectation and avoidance in affiliative situations predicted loneliness independent of personality characteristics, demographics and social desirability. The study indicates that dysfunctional strategies and attributions in affiliative situations are directly related to loneliness in adolescence. These strategies and attributions may preclude lonely adolescents from guidance and intervention. Thus, professionals need to be knowledgeable about prototypic features of loneliness in addition to employing a pro-active approach when assisting adolescents who display prototypic features.
Moral Grammar and Intuitive Jurisprudence: A Formal Model of Unconscious Moral and Legal Knowledge

Could a computer be programmed to make moral judgments about cases of intentional harm and unreasonable risk that match those judgments people already make intuitively? If the human moral sense is an unconscious computational mechanism of some sort, as many cognitive scientists have suggested, then the answer should be yes. So too if the search for reflective equilibrium is a sound enterprise, since achieving this state of affairs requires demarcating a set of considered judgments, stating them as explanandum sentences, and formulating a set of algorithms from which they can be derived. The same is true for theories that emphasize the role of emotions or heuristics in moral cognition, since they ultimately depend on intuitive appraisals of the stimulus that accomplish essentially the same tasks. Drawing on deontic logic, action theory, moral philosophy, and the common law of crime and tort, particularly Terry's five-variable calculus of risk, I outline a formal model of moral grammar and intuitive jurisprudence along the foregoing lines, which defines the abstract properties of the relevant mapping and demonstrates their descriptive adequacy with respect to a range of common moral intuitions, which experimental studies have suggested may be universal or nearly so. Framing effects, protected values, and implications for the neuroscience of moral intuition are also discussed.
A mathematical study of CD8+ T cell responses calibrated with human data

Complete understanding of the mechanisms regulating the proliferation and differentiation that takes place during human immune CD8+ T cell responses is still lacking. Human clinical data is usually limited to blood cell counts, yet the initiation of these responses occurs in the draining lymph nodes; antigen-specific effector and memory CD8+ T cells generated in the lymph nodes migrate to those tissues where they are required. We use approximate Bayesian computation with deterministic mathematical models of CD8+ T cell populations (naive, central memory, effector memory and effector) and yellow fever virus vaccine data to infer the dynamics of these CD8+ T cell populations in three spatial compartments: draining lymph nodes, circulation and skin. We have made use of the literature to obtain rates of division and death for human CD8+ T cell population subsets and thymic export rates. Under the decreasing potential hypothesis for differentiation during an immune response, we find that, as the number of T cell clonotypes driven to an immune response increases, there is a reduction in the number of divisions required to differentiate from a naive to an effector CD8+ T cell, supporting the "division of labour" hypothesis observed in murine studies. We have also considered the reverse differentiation scenario, the increasing potential hypothesis. The decreasing potential model is better supported by the yellow fever virus vaccine data.
Stochastic testing simulator for integrated circuits and MEMS: Hierarchical and sparse techniques

Process variations are a major concern in today's chip design since they can significantly degrade chip performance. To predict such degradation, existing circuit and MEMS simulators rely on Monte Carlo algorithms, which are typically too slow. Therefore, novel fast stochastic simulators are highly desired. This paper first reviews our recently developed stochastic testing simulator that can achieve speedup factors of hundreds to thousands over Monte Carlo. Then, we develop a fast hierarchical stochastic spectral simulator to simulate a complex circuit or system consisting of several blocks. We further present a fast simulation approach based on anchored ANOVA (analysis of variance) for some design problems with many process variations. This approach can reduce the simulation cost and can identify which variation sources have strong impacts on the circuit's performance. The simulation results of some circuit and MEMS examples are reported to show the effectiveness of our simulator.
Resilience behaviors of woven acrylic carpets under short- and long-term static loading

Appearance stability of woven carpets has been a great problem in the carpet industry for years. In this research, analysis of the various components of the woven carpet structure was performed to identify the role each component plays in the phenomenon of thickness loss recovery. Short- and long-term static loadings were used to test various samples of pile height (9, 10, 12.5, and 14 mm) and pile density (1600 and 2400 piles/dm2). We found that acrylic-carpet structural parameters of pile height and pile density significantly affected the thickness-loss recovery. In short-term loading, the carpet samples exhibited remarkable recovery of thickness loss in the first 15 minutes. Acrylic carpets reached 80% to 93% and 74% to 89% of their initial thickness in 1 hour after the short-term loading and 24 hours after the long-term loading, respectively.
Role of NO and Prostaglandins in Acute Hypoxic Vasoconstriction in Sheep Pulmonary Veins

The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of hypoxia on and the role of nitric oxide (NO) and cyclooxgenase inhibition in hypoxia-induced vasoconstriction in sheep isolated pulmonary veins. We used the potent pulmonary vasoconstrictor U46619, a thromboxane analog, as a precontractile agent. Our results showed that hypoxia caused a vasoconstriction both under resting tone and in U46619 (10–6 mol/l) precontracted pulmonary veins. In the presence of the nonselective NO synthase inhibitior Nω-nitro-L-arginine methyl ester (L-NAME; 3 × 10–5 mol/l), the hypoxic pulmonary vasoconstriction (HPV) was significantly increased in veins under resting force. However, there was a decrease in HPV in pulmonary veins precontracted with U46619 in the presence of L-NAME. Moreover, L-NAME markedly augmented the U46619-induced pulmonary contractions under normoxic conditions. Cyclooxygenase inhibition with indomethacin (10–5 mol/l) significantly reduced the HPV both under resting tone and in precontracted veins. Indomethacin also significantly decreased the U46619-induced pulmonary contractions prior to the induction of hypoxia. Our findings suggest that NO and prostaglandins can act as a modulators of the hypoxic vasoconstriction in isolated pulmonary veins.
Executive Function in the Presence of Sleep Disordered Breathing

EXECUTIVE FUNCTION IN THE PRESENCE OF SLEEP-DISORDERED BREATHING by Amy M. Sutton The purpose of the study was to investigate whether sleep-disordered breathing (SDB) impairs executive functioning in children. Additionally, the study sought to identify the executive functions at risk in SDB and the contribution of daytime sleepiness. SDB represents a spectrum of upper airway conditions that can be mild, such as snoring, or severe, such as obstructive sleep apnea (OSA). Children with these problems may present with excessive sleepiness, failure to thrive, and a variety of cognitive and behavioral dysfunctions including impaired executive functioning. Beebe and Gozal (2002) developed a theoretical model to explain the impact of sleepiness and hypoxia on executive functioning. This model provided a framework to examine links between the medical disorder and the neuropsychological consequences. Twenty-seven children with suspected SDB were tested with polysomnography (PSG) and a neuropsychological battery. Parents completed subjective measures of cognitive function and sleep symptoms. The children were ages 8 to 18 and had no congenital or acquired brain damage. They were matched for age and gender with 21 healthy controls. The executive function protocol included subtests from the Delis-Kaplan Executive Function System (D-KEFS), the digit span subtest from the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children (WISC-IV), the Tower of London-II-Drexel University (TOL-II), the Behavioral Rating Inventory of Executive Functioning (BRIEF), and the Conners Continuous Performance Test (CPT-II). Statistical analysis was performed using 2 statistical software packages, SAS and NCSS. Regression analysis was used to evaluate all variables. Due to significant group differences in socio-economic status (SES), SES was included as a covariate, along with IQ. No group differences in IQ were found. Significantly less robust executive function in children with SDB was identified in the domains of cognitive flexibility and impulsivity. Additionally, poorer executive planning and overall inattentiveness was also associated with SDB. Level of significance was set at 0.05 and trends (0.05 < p < 0.10) were acknowledged. Other areas of executive function, including working memory, behavioral and emotional inhibition, and processing speed were not associated with SDB. Moreover, academic functioning was significantly lower in children with SDB, although the differences can be shared equally with SDB, SES and IQ. EXECUTIVE FUNCTIONING IN THE PRESENCE OF SLEEP DISORDERED BREATHING By Amy M. Sutton
Ethanol-induced hypothermia in the rat.

Ethanol (0.5-3.2g x kg-1 i.p.) caused a dose-dependent fall in body temperature in rats. A dose of 1.5g x kg-1 i.p. led to a fall of 1.6 +/- 0.20 degrees C over 60 min at an environmental temperature of 18 +/- 1 degrees C. There was no evidence of acute tolerance when the hypothermic response was elicited by the same dose of ethanol (0.7--20.0g x kg-1 i.p.) 24 h later; indeed the second response was consistently, although not significantly, greater than the first. Behavioral thermoregulatory studies indicated that the fall in temperature after ethanol is due, at least in part, to a downward setting in the thermoregulatory set point. These results suggest that the rat may be a suitable animal model for a study of accidental hypothermia following ethanol ingestion and exposure to low environmental temperatures.
Acinetobacter baumannii Utilizes a Type VI Secretion System for Bacterial Competition

Type VI secretion systems (T6SS) are a class of macromolecular secretion machines that are utilized by a number of bacteria for inter-bacterial competition or to elicit responses in eukaryotic cells. Acinetobacter baumannii is an opportunistic pathogen that causes severe infections in humans. These infections, including pneumonia and bacteremia, are important, as they are often associated with hospitals and medical-settings where they disproportionally affect critically ill patients like those residing in intensive care units. While it is known that A. baumannii genomes carry genes whose predicted products have homology with T6SS-associated gene products from other bacteria, and secretion of a major T6SS structural protein Hcp has been demonstrated, no additional work on an A. baumannii T6SS has been reported. Herein, we demonstrated that A. baumannii strain M2 secretes Hcp and this secretion was dependent upon TssB, an ortholog of a bacteriophage contractile sheath protein, confirming that strain M2 produces a functional T6SS. Additionally, we demonstrated that the ability of strain M2 to out-compete Escherichia coli was reliant upon the products of tssB and hcp. Collectively, our data have provided the first evidence demonstrating function in inter-bacterial competition, for a T6SS produced by A. baumannii.
Adolescents' Friendships, Academic Achievement, and Risk Behaviors: Same-Behavior and Cross-Behavior Selection and Influence Processes.

This study examined to what extent adolescents' and their friends' risk behaviors (i.e., delinquency and alcohol use) hinder or promote their academic achievement (grade point average [GPA]), and vice versa. Longitudinal data were used (N = 1,219 seventh- to ninth-grade adolescents; Mage = 13.69). Results showed that risk behaviors negatively affected adolescents' GPA, whereas GPA protected against engaging in risk behaviors. Moreover, adolescents tended to select friends who have similar behaviors and friends' behaviors became more similar over time (same-behavior selection and influence). Furthermore, although same-behavior effects seemed to dominate, evidence was found for some cross-behavior selection effects and a tendency in seventh grade for cross-behavior influence effects. Concluding, it is important to investigate the interplay between different behaviors with longitudinal social network analysis.
Hygroscopic properties of water-soluble matter and humic-like organics in atmospheric fine aerosol

Abstract. Ambient continental-rural fine aerosol (K-puszta, Hungary, PM1.5) was sampled on quartz fibre filters in winter and summer 2001. Water-soluble matter (WSM) was extracted in MilliQ-water, and, in a second step, solid phase extraction was used to isolate the less hydrophilic fraction (ISOM) of the water-soluble organic matter (WSOM) from remaining inorganic salts and "most" hydrophilic organic matter (MHOM). This approach allowed ISOM, which constitutes the major fraction of WSOM, to be isolated from ambient aerosols and investigated in pure form. Hygroscopic properties of both WSM and ISOM extracts as well as of aquatic reference fulvic and humic acids were investigated using a Hygroscopicity Tandem Differential Mobility Analyser (H-TDMA). ISOM deliquesced between 30% and 60% relative humidity (RH), and hygroscopic growth factors at 90% RH ranged from 1.08 to 1.17. The hygroscopicity of ISOM is comparable to secondary organic aerosols obtained in smog chamber experiments, but lower than the hygroscopicity of highly soluble organic acids. The hygroscopic behaviour of investigated fulvic and humic acids had similarities to ISOM, but hygroscopic growth factors were slightly smaller and deliquescence was observed at higher RH (75-85% and 85-95% RH for fulvic acid and humic acid, respectively). These differences probably originate from larger average molecular mass and lower solubility of fulvic and humic acids. Inorganic composition data, measured ISOM hygroscopicity, and a presumed value for the hygroscopicity of the small remaining MHOM fraction were used to predict hygroscopic growth of WSM extracts. Good agreement between model prediction and measured water uptake was observed with differences (by volume) ranging from +1% to -18%. While deliquescence properties of WSM extracts were mainly determined by the inorganic salts (42-53 wt % of WSM), the WSOM accounted for a significant fraction of particulate water. At 90% RH, according to model predictions and measurements, about 80-62% of particulate water in the samples are associated with inorganic salts and about 20-38% with WSOM. The relative contributions of both distinguished WSOM fractions, ISOM and MHOM, remains uncertain since MHOM was not available in isolated form, but the results suggest that the less abundant MHOM is also important due to its presumably larger hygroscopicity.
Posttransplant Diabetes Mellitus and Atherosclerotic Events in Renal Transplant Recipients: A Prospective Study

Background. Posttransplant diabetes mellitus (PTDM) is a frequent complication in renal-transplant recipients (RTRs). We conducted a prospective study to assess the potential role of PTDM in the development of atherosclerotic events (AE) in RTRs. Methods. Three hundred fifty-seven consecutive RTRs were enrolled in this study. The incidence of various AE were assessed with respect to the presence of PTDM and a number of cardiovascular (CV) risk factors. Results. The patients were followed for a mean duration of 60±14 months. Thirty-nine (11%) patients had PTDM. Fifty AE occurred in 48 (13.4%) patients. Although AE were more frequent in RTRs with PTDM compared with nondiabetic patients (33% vs. 8.8%; P=0.007), PTDM was only modestly associated with AE in the multivariate Cox regression analysis (relative risk [RR] 1.34; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.04–2.18), mostly caused by significant interactions between PTDM and three confounding variables that were independently associated with AE: age, serum C-reactive protein (CRP) level, and serum high-density lipoprotein cholesterol concentration. Patients with high levels of homocysteine showed a significantly increased risk of AE (RR 4.67; 95% CI 1.82–15.87), as did those with high serum levels of CRP (RR 2.57; 95% CI 1.57–6.23). Conclusions. Our study shows a significant association between PTDM and AE. Nevertheless, a large amount of the excess risk of posttransplant diabetic RTR is explained by the coexistence of other CV risk factors. Moreover, high serum levels of CRP and hyperhomocystinemia were found to be among the nontraditional factors contributing to AE in our patients.
Human Adenovirus Surveillance — United States, 2003–2016

Human adenoviruses (HAdVs) are nonenveloped, double-stranded DNA viruses in the family Adenoviridae; seven species (A-G) and >60 genotypes are known to cause human infection (1). Clinical manifestations associated with HAdV infection include fever, acute respiratory illness, gastroenteritis, and conjunctivitis. HAdV infection can be severe, particularly among immunocompromised patients, and can cause respiratory failure, disseminated infection, hemorrhagic cystitis, neurologic disease, and death (1,2). Illness tends to occur sporadically and without demonstrated seasonality. Outbreaks of HAdV have been reported globally in communities (3), and in closed or crowded settings, including dormitories, health care settings, and among military recruits, for whom a vaccine against HAdV type 4 (HAdV-4) and HAdV type 7 (HAdV-7) has been developed (4,5). CDC summarized HAdV detections voluntarily reported through the National Adenovirus Type Reporting System (NATRS) after initiation of surveillance in 2014 to describe trends in reported HAdVs circulating in the United States. Reporting laboratories were also encouraged to report available results for specimens collected before surveillance began. Overall, the number of reporting laboratories and HAdV type identifications reported to NATRS has increased substantially from the start of official reporting in 2014 through 2016; this report describes specimens collected during 2003-2016. The most commonly reported HAdV types were HAdV type 3 (HAdV-3) and HAdV type 2 (HAdV-2), although HAdV types reported fluctuated considerably from year to year. In the United States, information on recently circulating HAdV types is needed to inform diagnostic and surveillance activities by clinicians and public health practitioners. Routine reporting to NATRS by all U.S. laboratories with the capacity to type HAdVs could help strengthen this surveillance system.