Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Acute and Subacute Toxicological Evaluation of the Aerial Extract of Monsonia angustifolia E. Mey. ex. A. Rich in Wistar Rats

The acute and subacute toxicity profile of the aerial extract of Monsonia angustifolia in Wistar rats was evaluated. The Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) 420 guideline was adopted in the acute toxicity testing with a single oral dose of 5000 mg/kg (b.w.). For the 28-day daily oral dosing, the extract was administered at 75, 150, and 300 mg/kg b.w. ; 1% ethanol in sterile distilled water was used as control. Clinical toxicity signs were subsequently evaluated. At a single dose of 5000 mg/kg b.w. the extract elicited no treatment-related signs of toxicity in the animals during the 14 days of experimental period. In the subacute toxicity, there was no significant difference in hematological, renal, and liver function indices. However, dose-dependent significant increases were observed on the plasma concentrations of white blood cell and platelet counts of the treated animals compared to the control group. While cage observations revealed no treatment-facilitated signs of toxicity, histopathological examinations of the kidneys and liver also showed no obvious lesions and morphological changes. These results suggest that the extract may be labelled and classified as safe and practically nontoxic within the doses and period of investigation in this study.
Immune therapy of a persistent and disseminated viral infection

The mechanism of viral clearance was studied by using the mouse model of chronic infection with lymphocytic choriomeningitis virus. Distinct patterns of viral clearance and histopathology were observed in different organs after adoptive immune therapy of persistently infected (carrier) mice. Clearance from the liver occurred within 30 days and was accompanied by extensive mononuclear cell infiltrates and necrosis of hepatocytes. Infectious virus and viral antigen were eliminated concurrently. This pattern of viral clearance was also seen in most other tissues (i.e., lung, spleen, lymph nodes, pancreas, etc.). In contrast, a different pattern of clearance was observed in the brain. Infectious virus was eliminated within 30 days, but viral antigen persisted in the central nervous systems of treated carrier mice for up to 90 days. The urinary system was the most resistant to immune therapy. Elimination of infectious virus and viral antigen from the kidney took greater than 200 days and even then was not complete; trace levels of infectious virus were still present in the kidneys of some treated carrier mice. After immune therapy, viral antigen in the kidney was located within renal tubules that costained for intracellular mouse immunoglobulin G. This unusual staining pattern, coupled with the observation of large numbers of plasma cells within the kidney, suggests that virus-immunoglobulin G complexes found in the tubules may represent in situ immune complex formation as opposed to deposition of circulating immune complexes. In conclusion, these results suggest that the site (organ) of viral persistence is an important consideration in developing treatment strategies for controlling chronic viral infections.
Prediction of Water Table Elevation Fluctuation through Fuzzy Logic & Artificial Neural Networks

Soft Computing tools are becoming very popular in solving hydrological problems. These tools have immense strength to deal with such complex problems. Water Table elevation estimation is an important aspect to understand the mechanism of ground water resources. The present study aims at the application of Artificial Neural Networks (ANN) & Fuzzy logic for simulation of water table elevation. This paper also investigates the best model to forecast water table elevation. Ten ANN models are developed in this study. These developed models are trained, tested and validated on the available data of Budaun District. Comparing observed data and the estimated data through developed ANN models and Fuzzy models, it has been observed that the developed Fuzzy models predict better results for four models and for model-5 ANN bore better results.
The effect of language factors for robust speaker recognition

From the results of the NIST speaker recognition evaluation in resent years, speaker recognition systems which are mainly developed based on English training data suffer the language gap problem, namely, the performance of non-English trails is much worse than that of English trails. This problem is addressed in this paper. Based on the conventional joint factor analysis model, we enrolled in the language factors which are mean to capture the language character of each testing and training speech utterance, and compensation was carried out by removing the language factors in order to shrink the difference between languages. Experiments on 2006 NIST SRE data show that, the language factor compensation alone can reduce the gap between the performance of English and non-English trails, and the score level combination with eigenchannels can further improve the performance of non-English trails, e.g., for female part, we observed about 19% relatively reduction in EER, when compared with eigenchannels session variability compensation alone.
Prometheum rechingeri, a new report from Iran

In the course of the study of collected specimens from West Azerbaijan province (NW Iran), Prometheum rechingeri (Crassulaceae) is reported for the first time from Iran. Based on recent phylogenetic and morphological studies in Crassulaceae family, genus Prometheum was considered as independent genus. So far, two species viz. P. pilosum (under Sedum pilosum), and P. sempervivoides (under S. sempervivoides) has been reported from Iran. These two species and the new report are specific to mountains regions and they mostly occur at elevation above 2000 m.s.l. in the northwest of Iran (West and East Azerbaijan provinces). A short discussion on the taxonomic history of the genus Prometheum and the relative species, description, distribution, illustration, ecology and a key for existing three Iranian species is provided.
Compact strange stars with a medium dependence in gluons at finite temperature

Aims. The possible existence of strange stars in the universe will help in the understanding of various properties of quantum chromodynamics, like asymptotic freedom and chiral symmetry restoration, which is otherwise very difficult to prove in laboratory experiments. Methods. Strange star properties were calculated using large color approximation with built-in chiral symmetry restoration. A relativistic Hartree Fock calculation was performed using the Richardson potential as an interquark interaction. This potential has the asymptotic freedom and a confinement-deconfinement mechanism built into it and the present calculation employs an application of this potential with modified two scale parameters Λ and $\Lambda^{\prime}$, to find a new set of equations of state for strange quark matter. The linear confinement string tension from lattice calculations is 350 MeV and the Coulomb -like part has the parameter 100 MeV from deep inelastic scattering experiments. We also consider the effect of temperature, on gluon mass in a simple way, in addition to the usual density dependence, Results. We obtained a set of new equation of states for strange quark matter and also found that the transition temperature from hadronic matter to strange matter is at 80 MeV, close to the 100 MeV estimated in literature. Conclusions. Formation of strange stars may be the only signal for formation of quark-gluon plasma with asymptotic freedom and chiral symmetry restoration and this may be observable through many processes – such as for example through delayed γ ray afterglow.
Financial Stress and Economic Dynamics: The Transmission of Crises

The recent financial crisis and the associated decline in economic activity have raised some important questions about economic activity and its links to the financial sector. This paper introduces an index of financial stress - an index that was used in real time by the staff of the Federal Reserve Board to monitor the crisis - and shows how stress interacts with real activity, inflation and monetary policy. We define what we call a stress event - a period affected by stress in both shock variances and model coefficients - and describe how financial stress affects macroeconomic dynamics. We also examine what constitutes a useful and credible measure of stress and the role of monetary policy. We address these questions using a richly parameterized Markov-switching VAR model, estimated using Bayesian methods. Our results show that allowing for time variation is important: the constant-parameter, constant-shock-variance model is a poor characterization of the data. We find that periods of high stress coefficients in general, and stress events in particular, line up well with financial events in recent U.S. history. We find that a shift to a stress event is highly detrimental to the outlook for the real economy, and that conventional monetary policy is relatively weak during such periods. Finally, we argue that our findings have implications for DSGE modeling of financial events insofar as researchers wish to capture phenomena more consequential than garden-variety business cycle fluctuations, pointing away from linearized DSGE models toward either MS-DSGE models or fully nonlinear models solved with global methods.
Characterization of Variability in Toxicokinetics and Toxicodynamics of Tetrachloroethylene Using the Collaborative Cross Mouse Population

Background: Evaluation of interindividual variability is a challenging step in risk assessment. For most environmental pollutants, including perchloroethylene (PERC), experimental data are lacking, resulting in default assumptions being used to account for variability in toxicokinetics and toxicodynamics. Objective: We quantitatively examined the relationship between PERC toxicokinetics and toxicodynamics at the population level to test whether individuals with increased oxidative metabolism are be more sensitive to hepatotoxicity following PERC exposure. Methods: Male mice from 45 strains of the Collaborative Cross (CC) were orally administered a single dose of PERC (1,000mg/kg) or vehicle (Alkamuls-EL620) and euthanized at various time points (n=1/strain/time). Concentration–time profiles were generated for PERC and its primary oxidative metabolite trichloroacetate (TCA) in multiple tissues. Toxicodynamic phenotyping was also performed. Results: Significant variability among strains was observed in toxicokinetics of PERC and TCA in every tissue examined. Based on area under the curve (AUC), the range of liver TCA levels spanned nearly an order of magnitude (∼8-fold). Expression of liver cytochrome P4502E1 did not correlate with TCA levels. Toxicodynamic phenotyping revealed an effect of PERC on bodyweight loss, induction of peroxisome proliferator activated receptor-alpha (PPARα)-regulated genes, and dysregulation of hepatic lipid homeostasis. Clustering was observed among a) liver levels of PERC, TCA, and triglycerides; b) TCA levels in liver and kidney; and c) TCA levels in serum, brain, fat, and lung. Conclusions: Using the CC mouse population model, we have demonstrated a complex and highly variable relationship between PERC and TCA toxicokinetics and toxicodynamics at the population level. https://doi.org/10.1289/EHP788
Trend and Structure of Populations of Balanites aegyptiaca in Parkland Agroforestsin Western Niger

Current and future trends of the parklands and the population of Balanites aegyptiaca in western Niger were investigated through the analysis of the diversity, the regeneration status and the size class distributions of the woody plants. A total of 21 plots, measuring 2500 m2 (50 m x 50 m) each were randomly selected to represent the parklands of B. aegyptiaca in the study area. Across all plots 1180 individual plants were recorded, representing 13 species, 10 genera and 7 families. The most diverse family is Fabaceae and the most dominant family is Balanitaceae represented by only Original Research Article Idrissa et al.; ARRB, 22(4): 1-12, 2018; Article no.ARRB. 38650 2 one species B. aegyptiaca. The density of the regeneration was 71.16 and 33.31 plants ha for the entire parkland and the population of Balanites aegyptiaca, respectively, while the diversity and the evenness indices of B. Aegyptiaca were 2.52 and 0.24, respectively. B. aegyptica, Faidherbia albida, Hyphaene thebeica and Acacia nilotica populations had the highest values for the importance value index (IVI). Results from the analysis of the size class distribution indicate that the parklands and the population of B. aegyptiaca appear to be healthy and stable with high regeneration rates. However, low recruitment of juveniles to adults was observed due to seedling and sapling mortality, and high disturbance regimes, which in the long term can affect the population turnover. Acacia tortilis, A. senegal, Azadirachta indica and Prosopis juliflora populations had the lowest IVI values and may be the most sensitive to the disturbance regimes in the study area. Therefore, we suggest designing and implementing a conservation programme in the study area, which will protect and facilitate the growth of the juveniles of both overexploited and underexploited populations.
On-line discovery of temporal-difference networks

We present an algorithm for on-line, incremental discovery of temporal-difference (TD) networks. The key contribution is the establishment of three criteria to expand a node in TD network: a node is expanded when the node is well-known, independent, and has a prediction error that requires further explanation. Since none of these criteria requires centralized calculation operations, they are easily computed in a parallel and distributed manner, and scalable for bigger problems compared to other discovery methods of predictive state representations. Through computer experiments, we demonstrate the empirical effectiveness of our algorithm.
Therapeutic Potential of Heme Oxygenase-1/Carbon Monoxide in Lung Disease

Heme oxygenase (HO), a catabolic enzyme, provides the rate-limiting step in the oxidative breakdown of heme, to generate carbon monoxide (CO), iron, and biliverdin-IXα. Induction of the inducible form, HO-1, in tissues is generally regarded as a protective mechanism. Over the last decade, considerable progress has been made in defining the therapeutic potential of HO-1 in a number of preclinical models of lung tissue injury and disease. Likewise, tissue-protective effects of CO, when applied at low concentration, have been observed in many of these models. Recent studies have expanded this concept to include chemical CO-releasing molecules (CORMs). Collectively, salutary effects of the HO-1/CO system have been demonstrated in lung inflammation/acute lung injury, lung and vascular transplantation, sepsis, and pulmonary hypertension models. The beneficial effects of HO-1/CO are conveyed in part through the inhibition or modulation of inflammatory, apoptotic, and proliferative processes. Recent advances, however, suggest that the regulation of autophagy and the preservation of mitochondrial homeostasis may serve as additional candidate mechanisms. Further preclinical and clinical trials are needed to ascertain the therapeutic potential of HO-1/CO in human clinical disease.
Patterns and trends in horizontal inequality in the Democratic Republic of the Congo

We analyse horizontal inequality in wealth and in years of education in the Democratic Republic of the Congo over the period 2001–13. We find that the trend in horizontal inequality is similar to the trend in vertical inequality over the period of analysis. In addition, horizontal inequality in years of formal education is higher among geographical, gender and linguistic groups, and lower among religious and ethnic groups. More specifically, horizontal inequality between genders is higher among individuals aged 25 years and over compared with the full sample of individuals aged 15 years and over. Based on a regression analysis, we find that household size, economic status and rural residence have a significant effect on gender-based inequality in years of education. We also find that gender-based horizontal inequality in years of education is higher in conflict-affected zones.
Local equilibrium hypothesis and Taylor’s dissipation law

To qualitatively investigate the validity of Kolmogorov local equilibrium hypothesis and the Taylor dissipation law, we conduct direct numerical simulations of the three-dimensional turbulent Kolmogorov flow. Since strong scale-by-scale (i.e. Richardson-type) energy cascade events occur quasi-periodically, the kinetic energy of the turbulence and its dissipation rate evolve quasi-periodically too. In this unsteady turbulence driven by a steady force, instantaneous values of the dissipation rate obey the scaling recently discovered in wind tunnel experiments (Vassilicos 2015 Ann. Rev. Fluid Mech. 47 95–114) instead of the Taylor dissipation law. The Taylor dissipation law does not hold because the local equilibrium hypothesis does not hold in a relatively low wave-number range. The breakdown of this hypothesis is caused by the finite time needed for the energy at such large scales to reach the dissipative scale by the scale-by-scale energy cascade.
Phonons of the anomalous element cerium

Many physical and chemical properties of the light rare-earths and actinides are governed by the active role of f electrons, and despite intensive efforts the details of the mechanisms of phase stability and transformation are not fully understood. A prominent example which has attracted a lot of interest, both experimentally and theoretically over the years is the isostructural γ - α transition in cerium. We have determined by inelastic X-ray scattering, the complete phonon dispersion scheme of elemental cerium across the γ → α transition, and compared it with theoretical results using ab initio lattice dynamics. Several phonon branches show strong changes in the dispersion shape, indicating large modifications in the interactions between phonons and conduction electrons. This is reflected as well by the lattice Grüneisen parameters, particularly around the X point. We derive a vibrational entropy change , illustrating the importance of the lattice contribution to the transition. Additionally, we compare first principles calculations with the experiments to shed light on the mechanism underlying the isostructural volume collapse in cerium under pressure.
Spectral Theory of Unsigned and Signed Graphs. Applications to Graph Clustering: a Survey

This is a survey of the method of graph cuts and its applications to graph clustering of weighted unsigned and signed graphs. I provide a fairly thorough treatment of the method of normalized graph cuts, a deeply original method due to Shi and Malik, including complete proofs. The main thrust of this paper is the method of normalized cuts. I give a detailed account for K = 2 clusters, and also for K > 2 clusters, based on the work of Yu and Shi. I also show how both graph drawing and normalized cut K-clustering can be easily generalized to handle signed graphs, which are weighted graphs in which the weight matrix W may have negative coefficients. Intuitively, negative coefficients indicate distance or dissimilarity. The solution is to replace the degree matrix by the matrix in which absolute values of the weights are used, and to replace the Laplacian by the Laplacian with the new degree matrix of absolute values. As far as I know, the generalization of K-way normalized clustering to signed graphs is new. Finally, I show how the method of ratio cuts, in which a cut is normalized by the size of the cluster rather than its volume, is just a special case of normalized cuts.
Functional remediation in bipolar disorder: 1-year follow-up of neurocognitive and functional outcome

Background Few randomised clinical trials have examined the efficacy of an intervention aimed at improving psychosocial functioning in bipolar disorder. Aims To examine changes in psychosocial functioning in a group that has been enrolled in a functional remediation programme 1 year after baseline. Method This was a multicentre, randomised, rater-masked clinical trial comparing three patient groups: functional remediation, psychoeducation and treatment as usual over 1-year follow-up. The primary outcome was change in psychosocial functioning measured by means of the Functioning Assessment Short Test (FAST). Group×time effects for overall psychosocial functioning were examined using repeated-measures ANOVA (trial registration NCT01370668). Results There was a significant group×time interaction for overall psychosocial functioning, favouring patients in the functional remediation group (F = 3.071, d.f. = 2, P = 0.049). Conclusions Improvement in psychosocial functioning is maintained after 1-year follow-up in patients with bipolar disorder receiving functional remediation.
Imaging T-cell receptor activation reveals accumulation of tyrosine-phosphorylated CD3ζ in the endosomal compartment

Phosphorylation of the T-cell receptor complex (TcR/CD3) mediates the survival and antigen-induced activation of T cells. TcR/CD3 phosphorylation is usually monitored using phospho-specific antibodies, which precludes dynamic measurements. Here, we have developed genetically encoded, live-cell reporters that enable simultaneous monitoring of the phosphorylation state and intracellular trafficking of CD3ζ, the major signal-transducing subunit of the TcR/CD3. We show that these reporters provide accurate readouts of TcR/CD3 phosphorylation and are sensitive to the local balance of kinase and phosphatase activities acting upon TcR/CD3. Using these reporters, we demonstrate that, in addition to the expected activation-dependent phosphorylation at the plasma membrane, tyrosine-phosphorylated CD3ζ accumulates on endosomal vesicles distinct from lysosomes. These results suggest that an intracellular pool of phosphorylated CD3ζ may help to sustain TcR/CD3 signaling after the receptor internalization.
Differential susceptibility of human CNS-derived cell populations to TNF-dependent and independent immune-mediated injury

We examined whether oligodendrocytes, neurons, and astroglia derived from the human central nervous system differ in susceptibility to injury mediated by tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-alpha and by activated CD4+ T cells acting via a TNF-independent mechanism. Injury was assessed either as cell membrane-directed (lysis), measured by 51chromium (Cr) or lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) release, or nucleus- directed (apoptosis), measured by morphologic features based on propidium iodide (PI) staining and by DNA fragmentation measured by a terminal transferase (TdT)-mediated dUTP biotin nick end labeling technique (TUNEL). TNF did not induce 51Cr or LDH release in any cell targets, but did induce nuclear (66 +/- 2% of cells) and DNA (68 +/- 2% of cells) fragmentation selectively in the oligodendrocytes over 96 hr. At this time, there was no significant loss of oligodendrocyte cell number. Nuclear injury could be induced in neurons by serum deprivation and in malignant astrocytes by the combination of TNF and low serum. CD4+ T cells activated with phytohemagglutin (pha) or anti-CD3 plus interleukin-2 induced significant 51Cr and LDH release in all target cells tested; only pha-activated CD4+ T-cell cocultures showed reduced target cell numbers. Significant nuclear fragmentation was observed only for glioma cells (22 +/- 1% of cells). Differences in susceptibility to different immune effector mechanisms and in the nature of the injury response to the same effector mediator among human CNS-derived neural cells will need to be considered in design of therapeutic strategies aimed at protecting or limiting target cell injury consequent to disease or trauma.