Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Effects of chronic and acute consumption of fruit- and vegetable-puree-based drinks on vasodilation, risk factors for CVD and the response as a result of the eNOS G298T polymorphism

The average UK adult consumes less than three portions of fruit and vegetables daily, despite evidence to suggest that consuming five portions daily could help prevent chronic diseases. It is recommended that fruit juice should only count as one of these portions, as juicing removes fibre and releases sugars. However, fruit juices contain beneficial compounds such as vitamin C and flavonoids and could be a useful source of dietary phytochemicals. Two randomised controlled cross-over intervention studies investigating the effects of chronic and acute consumption of commercially-available fruit- and vegetable-puree-based drinks (FVPD) on bioavailability, antioxidant status and CVD risk factors are described. Blood and urine samples were collected during both studies and vascular tone was measured using laser Doppler imaging. In the chronic intervention study FVPD consumption was found to significantly increase dietary carotenoids (P=0·001) and vitamin C (P=0·003). Plasma carotenoids were increased (P=0·001), but the increase in plasma vitamin C was not significant. There were no significant effects on oxidative stress, antioxidant status and other CVD risk factors. In the acute intervention study FVPD were found to increase total plasma nitrate and nitrite (P=0·001) and plasma vitamin C (P=0·002). There was no effect on plasma lipids or uric acid, but there was a lower glucose and insulin peak concentration after consumption of the FVPD compared with the sugar-matched control. There was a trend towards increased vasodilation following both chronic and acute FVPD consumption. All volunteers were retrospectively genotyped for the eNOS G298T polymorphism and the effect of genotype on the measurements is discussed. Overall, there was a non-significant trend towards increased endothelium-dependent vasodilation following both acute and chronic FVPD consumption. However, there was a significant time×treatment effect (P<0·05) of acute FVPD consumption in individuals with the GG variant of the eNOS gene.
Olive Fertility as Affected by Cross-Pollination and Boron

Self-compatibility of local olive (Olea europaea L.) accessions and of the cultivars “Frantoio” and “Leccino” was investigated in Garda Lake area, northern Italy. Intercompatibility was determined for “Casaliva,” “Frantoio,” and “Leccino,” as well as the effects of foliar Boron applications (0, 262, 525, or 1050 mg·L−1) applied about one week before anthesis on fruit set, shotberry set, and on in vitro pollen germination. Following self-pollination, fruit set was significantly lower and the occurrence of shot berries significantly higher than those obtained by open pollination. No significant effect of controlled cross-pollination over self-pollination on fruit set and shotberry set was detectable. B treatments increased significantly fruit set in “Frantoio” and “Casaliva” but not in “Leccino. ” B sprays had no effect on shotberry set, suggesting that these parthenocarpic fruits did not strongly compete for resources allocation and did not take advantage of increased B tissue levels. Foliar B application enhanced in vitro pollen germination, and the optimal level was higher for pollen germination than for fruit set. Our results highlight the importance of olive cross pollination for obtaining satisfactory fruit set and the beneficial effect of B treatments immediately prior to anthesis, possibly by affecting positively the fertilisation process and subsequent plant source-sink relations linked to fruitlet retention.
HLA match likelihoods for hematopoietic stem-cell grafts in the U.S. registry.

BACKGROUND Hematopoietic stem-cell transplantation (HSCT) is a potentially lifesaving therapy for several blood cancers and other diseases. For patients without a suitable related HLA-matched donor, unrelated-donor registries of adult volunteers and banked umbilical cord-blood units, such as the Be the Match Registry operated by the National Marrow Donor Program (NMDP), provide potential sources of donors. Our goal in the present study was to measure the likelihood of finding a suitable donor in the U.S. registry. METHODS Using human HLA data from the NMDP donor and cord-blood-unit registry, we built population-based genetic models for 21 U.S. racial and ethnic groups to predict the likelihood of identifying a suitable donor (either an adult donor or a cord-blood unit) for patients in each group. The models incorporated the degree of HLA matching, adult-donor availability (i.e., ability to donate), and cord-blood-unit cell dose. RESULTS Our models indicated that most candidates for HSCT will have a suitable (HLA-matched or minimally mismatched) adult donor. However, many patients will not have an optimal adult donor--that is, a donor who is matched at high resolution at HLA-A, HLA-B, HLA-C, and HLA-DRB1. The likelihood of finding an optimal donor varies among racial and ethnic groups, with the highest probability among whites of European descent, at 75%, and the lowest probability among blacks of South or Central American descent, at 16%. Likelihoods for other groups are intermediate. Few patients will have an optimal cord-blood unit--that is, one matched at the antigen level at HLA-A and HLA-B and matched at high resolution at HLA-DRB1. However, cord-blood units mismatched at one or two HLA loci are available for almost all patients younger than 20 years of age and for more than 80% of patients 20 years of age or older, regardless of racial and ethnic background. CONCLUSIONS Most patients likely to benefit from HSCT will have a donor. Public investment in donor recruitment and cord-blood banks has expanded access to HSCT. (Funded by the Office of Naval Research, Department of the Navy, and the Health Resources and Services Administration, Department of Health and Human Services.).
Effects of topography, soil moisture, wind and grazing on Festuca seedlings in a Patagonian grassland

The effects of topography, soil moisture, wind and grazing on the emergence and survival of seedlings of Festuca spp. were examined in the steppe zone of Patagonia, Argen- tina. Ungrazed and grazed field treatment plots were estab- lished on a plain and a north-facing slope at the Media Luna Ranch (43" 36' S, 71" 25' W). On the leeward and windward sides of each of 15 Festuca plants, 0.1 m x 0.4 m quadrats were censused bimonthly for seedling emergence and survival over three growing seasons. Three categories were distin- guished: recently germinated and up to the first leaf, two to four leaves, and from five leaves up to one tiller. Soil moisture content, litter cover and frost heaving effects were also deter- mined for each treatment at each sampling date. Festuc,a spp. showed two emergence peaks, one in late fall and the other in early to mid-spring. Seedling emergence was significantly cor- related with soil moisture content in the 0-5 cm of the soil during the three growing seasons. Seedlings that emerged in the fall had higher survivorship than those that emerged in spring. Seedling emergence and survival was significantly (p < 0.01) lower on slopes, in the grazing treatment, and on windward sides of adult plants. In this grassland, an increase in the availability of safe sites for seedling emergence and survival might be achieved by protecting vegetation from grazing, particularly on north-facing slopes.
Central auditory deficits after temporal lobectomy.

Dichotic simultaneous and time-staggered speech perception data from four patients with temporal lobectomies are compared to results from over 100 normals. In these tests, two different nonsense syllables are given in competition, one to each ear. The syllables are presented simultaneously, then with time separations ranging from 15 to 500 msec. With simultaneous onset, normals showed right ear superiority; with time separations of 30 to 90 msec, normals showed a "lag effect," ie, better scores for the trailing stimulus. In sharp contrast, temporal lobectomy patients showed poorer contralateral ear function than ipsilateral ear function, and no lag effect. Comparing preoperative and postoperative scores, we see that postoperatively there is additional degradation of contralateral ear scores and enhanced ipsilateral ear function in dichotic listening. Patients with both left and right temporal lobectomies behaved similarly in this respect.
Periodontal wound healing/regeneration following implantation of recombinant human growth/differentiation factor-5 in a beta-tricalcium phosphate carrier into one-wall intrabony defects in dogs.

OBJECTIVE Recombinant human growth/differentiation factor-5 (rhGDF-5) is being evaluated as a candidate therapy in support of periodontal regeneration. The objective of this study was to evaluate periodontal wound healing/regeneration following the application of rhGDF-5 on a particulate beta-tricalcium phosphate (beta-TCP) carrier using an established defect model. MATERIALS AND METHODS Bilateral 4 x 5 mm (width x depth), one-wall, critical-size, intrabony periodontal defects were surgically created at the mandibular second and fourth pre-molar teeth in 15 Beagle dogs. Unilateral defects in five animals received rhGDF-5/beta-TCP (Scil Technology GmbH); five animals received beta-TCP solo; and five animals served as sham-surgery controls. Contralateral sites received treatments reported elsewhere. The animals were sacrificed following an 8-week healing interval for histological examination. RESULTS Clinical healing was generally uneventful. Sites implanted with rhGDF-5/beta-TCP exhibited greater enhanced cementum and bone formation compared with beta-TCP and sham-surgery controls; cementum regeneration averaged (+/- SD) 3.83 +/- 0.73 versus 1.65 +/- 0.82 and 2.48 +/- 1.28 mm for the controls (p<0.05). Corresponding values for bone regeneration height averaged 3.26 +/- 0.30 versus 1.70 +/- 0.66 and 1.68 +/- 0.49 mm (p<0.05), and bone area 10.45 +/- 2.26 versus 6.31 +/- 2.41 and 3.00 +/- 1.97 mm(2) (p<0.05). Cementum regeneration included cellular/acellular cementum with or without a functionally oriented periodontal ligament. A non-specific connective tissue attachment was evident in the sham-surgery control. Controls exhibited mostly woven bone with primary osteons, whereas rhGDF-5/beta-TCP sites showed a noticeable extent of lamellar bone. Sites receiving rhGDF-5/beta-TCP or beta-TCP showed some residual beta-TCP granules apparently undergoing biodegradation without obvious differences between the sites. Sites receiving beta-TCP alone commonly showed residual beta-TCP granules sequestered in the connective tissue or fibrovascular marrow. CONCLUSION rhGDF-5/beta-TCP has a greater potential to support the regeneration of the periodontal attachment. Long-term studies are necessary to confirm the uneventful maturation of the regenerated tissues.
Emission study on alcohol-biodiesel propelled compression ignition engine

This work investigates the impact of hexanol as an effective oxygenated additive on exhaust emission on biodiesel fuelled diesel engine. Transesterification process has followed to yield Mahua oil methyl ester (MOME) from raw Mahua oil using sodium hydroxide as a catalyst. Test fuels used are Diesel, Mahua oil methyl ester (BD100), 10%, 20% of Hexanol (BD90H10, BD80H20) incorporated MOME respectively. This work was carried out in a single cylinder four stroke diesel engine. Results showed that by the addition of hexanol with biodiesel shows considerable reduction NOX, carbon dioxide (CO), Hydrocarbon (HC), Smoke emission.
The Triangle China-africa-europe – Why Co-operate and How?

China is undergoing breathtaking changes and is emerging as a new superpower. These “tectonic power shifts” (Messner) at global scale come with many uncertainties, including for the raising power itself. China’s declared aim is a “harmonious development”. The country is poor compared to OECD standards – and will remain so –, but it is increasingly powerful: vast currency reserves and strong trade performance combine with the permanent seat in the UN Security Council. Nevertheless, China is searching for its role in a global governance architecture that is still largely shaped according to power structures of the mid20 century. Like it or not: China is growing into the role as a superpower, despite remaining a developing country in many aspects. It has to fill an unfamiliar and more uneasy global role, which is a unique challenge to this generation of Chinese, too.
A study of the existing problems of estimating the information transfer rate in online brain–computer interfaces

Objective. Today, the brain–computer interface (BCI) community lacks a standard method to evaluate an online BCI's performance. Even the most commonly used metric, the information transfer rate (ITR), is often reported differently, even incorrectly, in many papers, which is not conducive to BCI research. This paper aims to point out many of the existing problems and give some suggestions and methods to overcome these problems. Approach. First, the preconditions inherent in ITR calculation based on Wolpaw's definition are summarized and several incorrect ITR calculations, which go against the preconditions, are indicated. Then, the issues affecting ITR estimation during the test of online BCI systems are discussed in detail. Finally, a task-oriented online BCI test platform was proposed, which may help BCI evaluations in real-world applications. Main results. The guidelines for ITR calculation in online BCIs testing are proposed. The platform executed in the Beijing BCI Competition 2010 shows that it can be used as a common way to compare the online performances (including the ITR) of existing BCI paradigms. Significance: The proposed guidelines and task-oriented test platform may reduce the uncertainty and artifacts of online BCI performance evaluation; they provide a relatively objective way to compare different BCI's performances in real-world BCI applications, which is a forward step toward developing standards for BCI performance evaluation.
Reduced expression of frataxin extends the lifespan of Caenorhabditis elegans

Defects in the expression of the mitochondrial protein frataxin cause Friedreich's ataxia, an hereditary neurodegenerative syndrome characterized by progressive ataxia and associated with reduced life expectancy in humans. Homozygous inactivation of the frataxin gene results in embryonic lethality in mice, suggesting that frataxin is required for organismic survival. Intriguingly, the inactivation of many mitochondrial genes in the nematode Caenorhabditis elegans by RNAi extends lifespan. We therefore investigated whether inactivation of frataxin by RNAi‐mediated suppression of the frataxin homolog gene (frh‐1) would also prolong lifespan in the nematode. Frataxin‐deficient animals have a small body size, reduced fertility and altered responses to oxidative stress. Importantly, frataxin suppression by RNAi significantly extends lifespan in C. elegans.
Prevalence of Toxoplasma gondii antibodies in human beings and commensal rodents trapped from Lahore, Pakistan.

An endeavorwas made to assess the prevalence of Toxoplasmainfection in humans and in rodents captured from the corresponding area sofLahore using the Latex Agglutination Test (LAT). Sera samples ofRattusrattus(n=210), Mus muscular (n=90) and human beings (n=300) were screened for antibodies against T.gondii. Highest percentage of positive cases (58.57%) was recorded in R.rattusfollowed byM.muscularus(36.66%) and lowest in human beings (11.33%). Sera samples from human beings showed significant difference in relation to positive level of antibodies againstT. gondiiat different age groups. Highest percent prevalence of antibodies (28%) was observed in human sera samples collected from more than 51 years of age group followed by 41 -50 years age group (17.33%). Remaining two age groups(21-30 and 31-40 years) were negative for anti -T. gondii antibodies. Anti -T. gondii antibodies were detected in sera of rodents and human beings residential of same localities. So, rodents can play role in the transmission of T. gondiito human beings.
Level of Adherence to Prophylactic Osteoporosis Medication amongst Patients with Polymyalgia Rheumatica and Giant Cell Arteritis: A Cross-Sectional Study

Objective. To estimate level of adherence to oral calcium and vitamin D supplementation as well as bisphosphonate amongst patients with PMR and GCA treated with glucocorticoids. Method. A total of 138 patients with the diagnosis of PMR and/or GCA registered in our department in December 2013. In this cross-sectional study we interviewed all the patients to measure level of adherence to calcium and vitamin D, as well as bisphosphonates. Results. Out of the 118 included patients, 88.9% of them were adherent to their prescription. Only 2 patients (1.7%) did not take calcium and vitamin D at all and 10 patients (8.5%) took their medication infrequently, 9 and 1 out of 10 patients took the medication 50–100% of the time and less than 50% of the prescribed dose, respectively. Sixty-one patients received additional treatment with bisphosphonate and 96.6% were adherent to this therapy. The remaining 3.4% of the patients did not take the medication at all. Forgetfulness, adverse side effects, and lack of understanding of treatment benefits were the most significant causes for nonadherence to calcium and vitamin D. Conclusions. Contrary to what we expected this study found that adherence to osteoporosis preventive medication in patients with PMR and GCA was high.
Zidovudine absorption and small intestinal function in HIV seropositive patients.

Zidovudine absorption was evaluated in HIV seropositive patients with (n = 15) and without diarrhoea (n = 20) in a standardised prospective pharmacokinetic study using single oral 200 mg doses. Zidovudine was rapidly absorbed with large peak variation (Cmax: 1.10 +/- 0.43 mg/L). There were no significant associations between pharmacokinetic parameters and presence of diarrhoea, CD4 counts, red blood cell folate concentrations, stool cultures/leucocytes or the lactulose/mannitol absorption test. Mean diarrhoea AUC (mg/L.h) was 1.13 +/- 0.30 and 1.07 +/- 0.36 in non-diarrhoeal patients. Antidiarrhoeals increased AUC and Cmax values in a small, non statistically significant subset of diarrhoea patients. Although zidovudine absorption varies significantly, our data do not support dosage individualisation based on any of the above parameters.
Hepatitis C virus infection in a large cohort of homosexually active men: independent associations with HIV-1 infection and injecting drug use but not sexual behaviour.

OBJECTIVE: To determine the prevalence and risk factors for hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection in a cohort of homosexually active men, with particular reference to assessing sexual transmission. DESIGN: Prevalence based on cross-sectional testing for HCV (c100 protein) antibody in a cohort using sera stored between 1984 and 1989, and assessment of risk factors using a case-control analysis based on questionnaire data from HCV positive and negative subjects. SUBJECTS/SETTING: 1038 homosexually active men who were participating in a prospective study established to identify risk factors for AIDS. They had been recruited through private and public primary care and sexually transmissible disease (STD) services in central Sydney. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Prevalence of HCV antibody and its association with human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) infection and other STDs, number of sexual partners, sexual practices and recreational drug use. RESULTS: Overall, 7.6% of subjects tested were seropositive for HCV antibody. In univariate analysis, HCV infection was significantly associated with injecting drug use (IDU) (OR = 8.18, p < 0.0001) and HIV infection (OR = 3.14, p < 0.0001) and with self reported history of syphilis (OR = 1.88, p = 0.016), anogenital herpes (OR = 1.93, p = 0.017), gonorrhoea (OR = 2.43, p = 0.009) and hepatitis B (OR = 1.92, p = 0.010). In case control analysis, similar sexual behaviours (partner numbers and practices) were reported by HCV positive and HCV negative subjects except that HCV negative subjects more frequently reported engaging than HCV positive subject in unprotected receptive anal intercourse without ejaculation (OR = 0.61, p = 0.034), unprotected insertive (OR = 0.59, p = 0.039) and receptive (OR = 0.56, p = 0.016) oro-anal intercourse (rimming) and insertive fisting (OR = 0.48, p = 0.034). In multiple logistic regression analyses, only HIV-1 infection (OR = 3.18, p < 0.0001) and IDU in the previous six months (OR = 7.24, p < 0.0001) remained significantly associated with the presence of HCV antibody. CONCLUSIONS: IDU was the major behavioural risk factor for HCV infection. If sexual or another from of transmission did occur, it may have been facilitated by concurrent HIV-1 infection.
A statistical look at maps of the discrete logarithm (abstract only)

Several algorithms in cryptography are based on the apparent difficulty of solving the discrete logarithm. It, like integer factorization, is attractive in cryptography because the inverse (modular exponentiation) is much easier to compute. The paper “Mapping the Discrete Logarithm” by Daniel Coulter and Joshua Holden takes a look at the functional graphs that can be generated using the function x 7→ g (mod p) where p is a prime number. It turns out the structure of the graph is largely determined by the interaction between g and p − 1, and this interaction gives us an easy way to generate many binary functional graphs by choosing the correct values for g. In “Mapping the Discrete Logarithm” the authors extracted some statistics from graphs with p near 100,000. Their work showed evidence that binary functional graphs generated through modular exponentiation were very close to the theoretical values for random binary functional graphs. This second look tells a slightly different story though. Using many of the same techniques as in the previous paper, we were able to generate values for the theoretical variance in several of the statistics which were measured. While the variance in the number of components and the number of cyclic nodes is similar to the theoretical variance for binary functional graphs, the variance in the average cycle length and the average tail length are far from what was expected. T-tests were also performed to determine if the theoretical and observed means were statistically similar. The results show that in some cases this is true, but in others the test shows that seemingly small differences could actually be quite significant. We have also applied a t-test on the variance to determine the significance of the deviation from what we expected. Through some optimizations to the code used for the previous paper, as well as a conversion from C++ to C, we are now able to complete trials much more quickly. This has allowed us to test values of p near 200,000, and we have run tests on 33 primes between 100,00 and 200,00. The following is a tabulation of some of the statistics we have gathered, along with the variation, theoretical variation, and the P-value obtained after running a two-tailed t-test on the observed statistic comparing it to the theoretical value. The results here (unusual average cycle variation, average tail variation and maximum tail) are consistent with the rest of our results.