Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Morphological characterization of different human cervical mucus types using light and scanning electron microscopy.

BACKGROUND This study was conducted on human cervical mucus using light microscopy (LM) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The objective was the morphological characterization of the different mucus types, with samples taken from the lumen of the cervix and from the different secretory zones of the cervical mucosa. METHODS A total of 230 samples from 195 women were spread out on slides and air dried. The phenomenon of 'ferning' was observed and assessed in these samples using both LM and SEM. Further samples from the lumen of the cervix and the different secretory crypts were spread out on cover slips and fixed with glutaraldehyde (2.5%) to be studied by SEM. RESULTS The results show the presence of four different morphological mucus types, namely L, S, P and G, in both types of sample using dried and fixed techniques. CONCLUSIONS Mucus from the lumen of the cervix appears to be a morphologically heterogeneous entity. It contains different types of secretions, the proportions of which vary throughout the menstrual cycle. The different mucosal types show different types of crystallization, different patterns of ultrastructure (probably related to the arrangement of the glycoprotein network) and are produced in different secretory zones of the crypts in the cervix.
Neonicotinoid Insecticides Alter Induced Defenses and Increase Susceptibility to Spider Mites in Distantly Related Crop Plants

Background Chemical suppression of arthropod herbivores is the most common approach to plant protection. Insecticides, however, can cause unintended, adverse consequences for non-target organisms. Previous studies focused on the effects of pesticides on target and non-target pests, predatory arthropods, and concomitant ecological disruptions. Little research, however, has focused on the direct effects of insecticides on plants. Here we demonstrate that applications of neonicotinoid insecticides, one of the most important insecticide classes worldwide, suppress expression of important plant defense genes, alter levels of phytohormones involved in plant defense, and decrease plant resistance to unsusceptible herbivores, spider mites Tetranychus urticae (Acari: Tetranychidae), in multiple, distantly related crop plants. Methodology/Principal Findings Using cotton (Gossypium hirsutum), corn (Zea mays) and tomato (Solanum lycopersicum) plants, we show that transcription of phenylalanine amonia lyase, coenzyme A ligase, trypsin protease inhibitor and chitinase are suppressed and concentrations of the phytohormone OPDA and salicylic acid were altered by neonicotinoid insecticides. Consequently, the population growth of spider mites increased from 30% to over 100% on neonicotinoid-treated plants in the greenhouse and by nearly 200% in the field experiment. Conclusions/Significance Our findings are important because applications of neonicotinoid insecticides have been associated with outbreaks of spider mites in several unrelated plant species. More importantly, this is the first study to document insecticide-mediated disruption of plant defenses and link it to increased population growth of a non-target herbivore. This study adds to growing evidence that bioactive agrochemicals can have unanticipated ecological effects and suggests that the direct effects of insecticides on plant defenses should be considered when the ecological costs of insecticides are evaluated.
Mutation of the Enterohemorrhagic Escherichia coli Core LPS Biosynthesis Enzyme RfaD Confers Hypersusceptibility to Host Intestinal Innate Immunity In vivo

Enterohemorrhagic Escherichia coli (EHEC) O157:H7 is an important foodborne pathogen causing severe diseases in humans worldwide. Currently, there is no specific treatment available for EHEC infection and the use of conventional antibiotics is contraindicated. Therefore, identification of potential therapeutic targets and development of effective measures to control and treat EHEC infection are needed. Lipopolysaccharides (LPS) are surface glycolipids found on the outer membrane of gram-negative bacteria, including EHEC, and LPS biosynthesis has long been considered as potential anti-bacterial target. Here, we demonstrated that the EHEC rfaD gene that functions in the biosynthesis of the LPS inner core is required for the intestinal colonization and pathogenesis of EHEC in vivo. Disruption of the EHEC rfaD confers attenuated toxicity in Caenorhabditis elegans and less bacterial colonization in the intestine of C. elegans and mouse. Moreover, rfaD is also involved in the control of susceptibility of EHEC to antimicrobial peptides and host intestinal immunity. It is worth noting that rfaD mutation did not interfere with the growth kinetics when compared to the wild-type EHEC cells. Taken together, we demonstrated that mutations of the EHEC rfaD confer hypersusceptibility to host intestinal innate immunity in vivo, and suggested that targeting the RfaD or the core LPS synthesis pathway may provide alternative therapeutic regimens for EHEC infection.
Journal of Occupational Medicine and Toxicology Reference Values and Physiological Characterization of a Specific Isolated Pig Kidney Perfusion Model

Background: Models of isolated and perfused kidneys are used to study the effects of drugs, hazardous or toxic substances on renal functions. Since physiological and morphological parameters of small laboratory animal kidneys are difficult to compare to human renal parameters, porcine kidney perfusion models have been developed to simulate closer conditions to the human situation, but exact values of renal parameters for different collection and perfusion conditions have not been reported so far. If the organs could be used out of regular slaughtering processes animal experiments may be avoided.
RADIATION HEAT MEASUREMENT ON THERMALLY-ISOLATED DOUBLE-PIPE FOR DC SUPERCONDUCTING POWER TRANSMISSION

Multilayer insulator (MLI) is a strong tool for use as a radiation heat shield, though the use of MLI has disadvantages in construction and evacuation for a long superconducting power cable. We have proposed the “MLI-free” radiation heat shielding for DC superconducting power cable and have measured the radiation heat transfer for thermally-isolated double-pipes with different surfaces. Here, Zn coating, MLI, and Al-foil sheet were tested. Consequently, from the radiation heat of 9.7 W/m for bare stainless-steel pipe, Zn-coated stainless-steel surface reduced to 2.6 W/m, whereas the use of MLI reduced to 0.2 W/m. It is expected that the simultaneous use of Zn coating and MLI can reduce the number of total MLI sheets to reduce the evacuation time.
Maximal Sparsity with Deep Networks?

The iterations of many sparse estimation algorithms are comprised of a fixed linear filter cascaded with a thresholding nonlinearity, which collectively resemble a typical neural network layer. Consequently, a lengthy sequence of algorithm iterations can be viewed as a deep network with shared, hand-crafted layer weights. It is therefore quite natural to examine the degree to which a learned network model might act as a viable surrogate for traditional sparse estimation in domains where ample training data is available. While the possibility of a reduced computational budget is readily apparent when a ceiling is imposed on the number of layers, our work primarily focuses on estimation accuracy. In particular, it is well-known that when a signal dictionary has coherent columns, as quantified by a large RIP constant, then most tractable iterative algorithms are unable to find maximally sparse representations. In contrast, we demonstrate both theoretically and empirically the potential for a trained deep network to recover minimal $\ell_0$-norm representations in regimes where existing methods fail. The resulting system is deployed on a practical photometric stereo estimation problem, where the goal is to remove sparse outliers that can disrupt the estimation of surface normals from a 3D scene.
The Fast Gauss Transform

Many problems in applied mathematics require the evaluation of the sum of N Gaussians at M points in space. The work required for direct evaluation grows like $NM$ as N and M increase; this makes it very expensive to carry out such calculations on a large scale. In this paper, an algorithm is presented which evaluates the sum of N Gaussians at M arbitrarily distributed points in $C \cdot (N + M)$ work, where C depends only on the precision required. When $N = M = 100,000$, the algorithm presented here is several thousand times faster than direct evaluation. It is based on a divide-and-conquer strategy, combined with the manipulation of Hermite expansions and Taylor series.
Gossypol induced apoptosis of polymorphonuclear leukocytes and monocytes: Involvement of mitochondrial pathway and reactive oxygen species

Abstract The aim of this study was to determine how gossypol affects the viability and activity of polymorphonuclear leukocytes and monocytes in blood obtained from healthy donors. Loss of mitochondrial membrane potential (δψm) and apoptosis was maximized in human polymorphonuclear leukocytes and monocytes after incubation with gossypol. Pretreatment with a caspase-9 inhibitor or antioxidants (superoxide dismutase or Trolox) inhibited gossypol-induced loss of the δψm and apoptosis. Likewise, we observed participation of caspase -3, -7, and -10 in gossypol-induced apoptosis. Expression of the proapoptotic genes bax, bak, bad and p53/Tp53 increased in polymorphonuclear leukocytes exposed to gossypol. The expression of the anti-apoptotic genes bcl-XL and mcl-1 was reduced when polymorphonuclear leukocytes and monocytes were treated with gossypol. Gossypol treatment also inhibited yeast phagocytosis by these cells. We concluded that gossypol induces apoptosis in phagocytic cells and that this effect was dose-dependent. The findings in this report may be important to consider in light of possible gossypol use in clinical strategies for cancer treatment.
Atherosclerosis in Hemodialysis Patients—the Role of Microinflammation

Introduction. Cardiovascular diseases (CVDs) are the most frequent cause of morbidity and mortality in patients with end-stage renal disease, and the risk for coronary heart disease is higher among the hemodialysis (HD) patients than in the general population. This excess risk for coronary heart disease is not entirely explained by traditional risk factors for CVDs. The aim of the study was to determine possible correlations between asymptomatic atherosclerosis and inflammatory markers (high sensitivity CRP [hsCRP], interleukin 6 [IL-6], tumor necrosis factor-alpha [TNF-α], interleukin 2 receptor [IL-2R], and selective adhesion molecules ICAM-1 and VCAM-1) in HD patients. Patients and methods. In our study, 95 HD patients, 56 (59%) male and 39 (41%) female, were included. The mean age was 60 ± 13 years, ranging from 22–81 years. Using B-mode ultrasonography (US), we measured intima-media thickness (IMT) and plaque occurrence (markers of asymptomatic atherosclerosis) in carotid arteries in these patients. In the 1–4 weeks after US examination, we took blood samples from patients to determine serum concentrations of inflammatory markers. Results. The mean IMT value was 0.83 ± 0.21 mm, ranging from 0.5 to 2 mm. The plaques were found in 63 (84%) of HD patients. Correlations between IMT values and serum concentrations of IL-2R (r = 0.269; p < 0.022) and VCAM-1 (r = 0.290; p < 0.014) were found. Multiple linear regression analysis showed relationship between IMT values and IL-2R (p = 0.049). No relationship between inflammatory markers and plaques was found. Conclusion. The results indicate that atherosclerosis in HD patients correlates with some nontraditional risk factors—the markers of inflammation.
The progress of telestroke in China

Stroke remains the leading cause of death in China. The disparity of distribution in specialists and hospitals affects access to timely stroke care. Telestroke, the use of telemedicine for stroke, may be the solution to access to stroke care. Telestroke can improve the rate of successful intravenous thrombolysis and shorten the time to treatment. Here we review the progress of telestroke in China.
Ketamine depresses myocardial contractility as evaluated by the preload recruitable stroke work relationship in chronically instrumented dogs with autonomic nervous system blockade.

Previous investigations examining the direct actions of ketamine on myocardial contractility in vivo suggest that ketamine may produce depression of contractile function under certain circumstances. Such studies have had significant limitations in that reliable, easily quantified, load-independent indices of contractility were not used, and ketamine produces dramatic sympathomimetic pressor effects mediated via an intact autonomic nervous system. In the present investigation, eight experiments were performed using dogs chronically instrumented for measurement of aortic and left ventricular pressure; rate of increase of left ventricular pressure (dP/dt), subendocardial segment length, and cardiac output. Contractility was evaluated using the linear relationship between preload recruitable stroke work and end-diastolic segment length. The slope (Mw) and length intercept of this relationship, and two derived variables, preload recruitable work area (PRWA) and stroke work at constant end-diastolic length (SWEDL), were used as indices of contractility. Pharmacologic blockade of the autonomic nervous system was instituted in all experiments since a portion of the systemic hemodynamic actions of ketamine are secondary to stimulation of the autonomic nervous system. Systemic hemodynamics and indices of contractile function were recorded and evaluated in the conscious state and after a 20-min equilibration at 25-, 50-, and 100-mg.kg-1.h-1 infusions of ketamine. A significant (P less than 0.05) and dose-dependent decrease in Mw (68 +/- 7 during control to 41 +/- 2 mmHg at 100 mg.kg-1.h-1) was observed, demonstrating depression of myocardial contractility. (ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)
From rational billiards to dynamics on moduli spaces

This short expository note gives an elementary introduction to the study of dynamics on certain moduli spaces, and in particular the recent breakthrough result of Eskin, Mirzakhani, and Mohammadi. We also discuss the context and applications of this result, and connections to other areas of mathematics such as algebraic geometry, Teichmuller theory, and ergodic theory on homogeneous spaces.
Mining e-commerce data: the good, the bad, and the ugly

Organizations conducting Electronic Commerce (e-commerce) can greatly benefit from the insight that data mining of transactional and clickstream data provides. Such insight helps not only to improve the electronic channel (e.g., a web site), but it is also a learning vehicle for the bigger organization conducting business at brick-and-mortar stores. The e-commerce site serves as an early alert system for emerging patterns and a laboratory for experimentation. For successful data mining, several ingredients are needed and e-commerce provides all the right ones (the Good). Web server logs, which are commonly used as the source of data for mining e-commerce data, were designed to debug web servers, and the data they provide is insufficient, requiring the use of heuristics to reconstruct events. Moreover, many events are never logged in web server logs, limiting the source of data for mining (the Bad). Many of the problems of dealing with web server log data can be resolved by properly architecting the e-commerce sites to generate data needed for mining. Even with a good architecture, however, there are challenging problems that remain hard to solve (the Ugly). Lessons and metrics based on mining real e-commerce data are presented.
Delegated Asset Management, Investment Mandates, and Capital Immobility

This paper develops a model to explain the widely used investment mandates in the institutional asset management industry based on two insights: first, giving a manager more investment flexibility weakens the link between fund performance and his effort in the designated market, and thus increases agency cost. Second, the presence of outside assets with negatively skewed returns can further increase the agency cost if the manager is incentivized to pursue outside opportunities. These effects motivate narrow mandates and tight tracking error constraints to most fund managers except those with exceptional talents. Our model sheds light on capital immobility and market segmentation that are widely observed in financial markets, and highlights important effects of negatively skewed risk on institutional incentive structures.
Malaria Prevalence in Endemic Districts of Bangladesh

Background Following the 1971 ban of DDT in Bangladesh, malaria cases have increased steadily. Malaria persists as a major health problem in the thirteen south-eastern and north-eastern districts of Bangladesh. At present the national malaria control program, largely supported by the Global Fund for AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria (GFATM), provides interventions including advocacy at community level, Insecticide Treated Net (ITN) distribution, introduction of Rapid Diagnostic Tests (RDT) and combination therapy with Coartem. It is imperative, therefore, that baseline data on malaria prevalence and other malaria indicators are collected to assess the effectiveness of the interventions and rationalize the prevention and control efforts. The objective of this study was to obtain this baseline on the prevalence of malaria and bed net use in the thirteen malaria endemic districts of Bangladesh. Methods and Principal Findings In 2007, BRAC and ICDDR,B carried out a malaria prevalence survey in thirteen malaria endemic districts of Bangladesh. A multi-stage cluster sampling technique was used and 9750 blood samples were collected. Rapid Diagnostic Tests (RDT) were used for the diagnosis of malaria. The weighted average malaria prevalence in the thirteen endemic districts was 3.97%. In five south-eastern districts weighted average malaria prevalence rate was 6.00% and in the eight north-eastern districts weighted average malaria prevalence rate was (0.40%). The highest malaria prevalence was observed in Khagrachari district. The majority of the cases (90.18%) were P. falciparum infections. Malaria morbidity rates in five south-eastern districts was 2.94%. In eight north-eastern districts, morbidity was 0.07%. Conclusion and Significance Bangladesh has hypoendemic malaria with P. falciparum the dominant parasite species. The malaria situation in the five north-eastern districts of Bangladesh in particular warrants urgent attention. Detailed maps of the baseline malaria prevalence and summaries of the data collected are provided along with the survey results in full, in a supplemental information
The effects of clay dispersion on the mechanical, physical, and flame-retarding properties of wood fiber/polyethylene/clay nanocomposites

In this study, nanosized clay particles were introduced into wood fiber/plastic composites (WPCs) to improve their mechanical properties and flame retardancy, which are especially important in various automotive and construction applications. A high degree of exfoliation for nanoclay in the wood fiber/high density polyethylene (HDPE) composites was successfully achieved with the aid of maleated HDPE (PE-g-MAn), through a melt blending masterbatch process. The structures and morphologies of the composites were determined using X-ray diffraction (XRD) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM), respectively. This article presents the effects of clay content and degree of clay dispersion on the mechanical and physical properties and flame retardancy of wood fiber/HDPE composites that contained a small amount of clay, in the range of 3–5 wt %. We concluded that achieving a higher degree of dispersion for the nanosized clay particles is critical to enhance the mechanical properties and the flame retardancy of WPCs when small amounts of clay are used. © 2010 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci, 2010
Effects of yoga training in patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease: a systematic review and meta-analysis.

INTRODUCTION Currently, several studies have assessed the effect of yoga training on the management of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), but these studies involved a wide variation of sample and convey inconclusive results. Hence, the present study was performed a systematic review and meta-analysis to investigate the efficacy of yoga training in COPD patients. METHODS PubMed, EMBASE, the Cochrane Library, Google Scholar, and ClinicalTrials.gov databases were searched for relevant studies. The primary outcomes were forced expiratory volume in one second (FEV1), FEV1% predicted (% pred). Secondary outcomes included 6-min walking distance (6 MWD), arterial oxygen tension (PaO2), and arterial carbon dioxide tension (PaCO2). Weighted mean differences (WMDs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) were calculated, and heterogeneity was assessed with the I(2) test. RESULTS Five randomized controlled trials (RCTs) involving 233 patients fulfilled the inclusion criteria. Yoga training significantly improved FEV1 (WMD: 123.57 mL, 95% CI: 4.12-243, P=0.04), FEV1% pred (WMD: 3.90%, 95% CI: 2.27-5.54, P<0.00001), and 6 MWD (WMD: 38.84 m, 95% CI: 15.52-62.16, P=0.001). However, yoga training had no significant effects on PaO2 (WMD: 1.29 mmHg, 95% CI: -1.21-3.78, P=0.31) and PaCO2 (WMD: -0.76 mmHg, 95% CI: -2.06-0.53, P=0.25). CONCLUSIONS The current limited evidence suggested that yoga training has a positive effect on improving lung function and exercise capacity and could be used as an adjunct pulmonary rehabilitation program in COPD patients. However, further studies are needed to substantiate our preliminary findings and to investigate the long-term effects of yoga training.
The Chemical Profile of Senna velutina Leaves and Their Antioxidant and Cytotoxic Effects

Natural products can be a source of biomolecules with antioxidant activity which are able to prevent oxidative stress-induced diseases and show antitumor activity, making them important sources of new anticancer drug prototypes. In this context, this study aimed to analyze the chemical composition of an ethanol extract of Senna velutina leaves and to assess its antioxidant and cytotoxic activities in leukemic cells. The antioxidant properties were evaluated using a DPPH free radical scavenging assay and by examining the extract's inhibition of AAPH-induced lipid peroxidation in human erythrocytes. Its cytotoxicity and possible mechanisms of action were assessed in Jurkat and K562 leukemic cell lines. The ethanol extract contained flavonoids, such as epigallocatechin, epicatechin, kaempferol heteroside, rutin, and dimeric and trimeric proanthocyanidin derivatives. The extract exhibited antioxidant activity by scavenging free radicals and antihemolytic action, and it decreased malondialdehyde content in human erythrocytes. Furthermore, the extract also induced leukemic cell death by activating intracellular calcium and caspase-3, decreasing mitochondrial membrane potential, and arresting the cell cycle in S and G2 phases. Hence, S. velutina leaf extract contains antioxidant and antileukemic biomolecules with potential applications in diseases associated with oxidative stress and in the inhibition of tumor cell proliferation.