Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Efficacy of Surinamese plants in the therapy of diabetes mellitus - analysis of the literature

Diabetes mellitus is highly prevalent in Suriname, where it claims more than 170 deaths per year. Plantderived preparations are extensively used in the treatment of this disorder, but often without scientific proof of therapeutic efficacy. In this study, we searched in on-line libraries such as PubMed and Hinari for evidence of potential therapeutic efficacy of Surinamese plants that are commonly used for treating diabetes. The fifteen most frequently mentioned plants were Azadirachta indica (neem), Catharanthus roseus (kotomisi), Desmodium canum (toriman), Mangifera indica (manya), Momordica charantia (busi sopropo), Morinda citrifolia (didibri apra), Orthosiphon stamineus (kattesnor), Phyllanthus niruri (finibita), Physalis angulata (batotobita), Quassia amara (kwasibita), Ruellia tuberosa (watrakanu), Spondias dulcis (pomme citere), Stachytarpheta jamaicensis (isriwiwiri), Syzygium cumini (dyamun), and Wulffia baccata (sukrutanta). Preparations from A. indica and P. niruri may lower elevated blood sugar levels, but this assumption is only based on a few clinical studies. Those from M. charantia were positive in some clinical studies but negative in others, while those from S. cumini turned out negative in all clinical tests. Preparations from C. roseus , M. indica , M. citrifolia , and O. stamineus have only undergone preclinical evaluation. And those from D. canum , P. angulata , Q. amara , R. tuberosa , S. dulcis , S. jamaicensis , and W. baccata have never been tested. Thus, the scientific evidence to support the clinical use of the above-mentioned plants in the treatment of diabetes is scant. Patients treat their disease with substances that may be ineffective and/or may cause unforeseen adverse effects. The plants should be evaluated in well-designed preclinical and clinical studies to define their roles in the treatment of diabetes.
A review of mycoplasma diagnostics in cattle

Mycoplasma species have a global distribution causing serious diseases in cattle worldwide including mastitis, arthritis, pneumonia, otitis media and reproductive disorders. Mycoplasma species are typically highly contagious, are capable of causing severe disease, and are difficult infections to resolve requiring rapid and accurate diagnosis to prevent and control disease outbreaks. This review discusses the development and use of different diagnostic methods to identify Mycoplasma species relevant to cattle, with a particular focus on Mycoplasma bovis. Traditionally, the identification and diagnosis of mycoplasma has been performed via microbial culture. More recently, the use of polymerase chain reaction to detect Mycoplasma species from various bovine samples has increased. Polymerase chain reaction has a higher efficiency, specificity, and sensitivity for laboratory diagnosis when compared with conventional culture‐based methods. Several tools are now available for typing Mycoplasma spp. isolates, allowing for genetic characterization in disease outbreak investigations. Serological diagnosis through the use of indirect ELISA allows the detection of antimycoplasma antibodies in sera and milk, with their use demonstrated on individual animal samples as well as BTM samples. While each testing method has strengths and limitations, their combined use provides complementary information, which when interpreted in conjunction with clinical signs and herd history, facilitates pathogen detection, and characterization of the disease status of cattle populations.
Survival and mortality following TBI

ABSTRACT Objectives. Evaluation of life expectancy (LE) post traumatic brain injury (TBI) is important for planning services for patients and for dealing with medico-legal aspects. We hypothesized that LE for patients who survived 2 years post injury is equal to that of the general population (GP). Methods. A cohort of 279 patients was assembled during a 5-year period and was followed for 22–27 years. During follow-up, 32 patients (11.5%) died, creating a huge censored data (88.5%). Analyses included standard mortality ratio (SMR), Kaplan–Meier method (KM), Cox proportional hazards regression analysis (PH) and calculations of life expectancy. Results. About 77% of the patients were under 35 years of age at injury. This age cut-off point yielded differences for survival longevity by χ2 tests (p < 0.0001), by KM analysis (p < 0.0001) and by Cox PH regression analysis (p < 0.0001, HR = 13.95). SMR for the entire cohort was 1.86. Shortening of LE in comparison with the GP is 3.58 years. Estimated shortening of LE by severity for mild, moderate and severe injury were −0.51, 4.11 and 13.77 years, respectively. Conclusions. Patients with mild TBI have a LE similar to the GP, and a reduction in LE was closely related to moderate and severe brain injury.
Efficient kernel management on GPUs

As the complexity of applications continues to grow, each new generation of GPUs has been equipped with advanced architectural features and more resources to sustain its performance acceleration capability. Recent GPUs have been featured with concurrent kernel execution, which is designed to improve the resource utilization by executing multiple kernels simultaneously. However, prior systems only achieve limited performance improvement as they do not optimize the thread-level parallelism (TLP) and model the resource contention for the concurrently executing kernels. In this paper, we design a framework that optimizes the performance and energy-efficiency for multiple kernel execution on GPUs. It employs two key techniques. First, we develop an algorithm to adjust the TLP for the concurrently executing kernels. Second, we employ cache bypassing to mitigate the cache contention. Experiments indicate that our framework can improve performance by 1.42X on average (energy-efficiency by 1.33X on average), compared with the default concurrent kernel execution framework.
Menstrual status and long-term cardiovascular effects of intense exercise in top elite athlete women

Although physical exercise is generally beneficial for health, female athletes run an elevated risk of developing chronic energy deficiency, with ensuing severe consequences such as reproductive dysfunction, bone demineralization, more frequent injuries, impaired performance, and adverse cardiovascular effects. However, at present little is known about these issues with respect to sportswomen competing at the Olympic level, or about the long-term cardiovascular consequences of intense training for women. Our aims were to characterize patterns of weight control in female and male Olympic athletes, as well as to assess the menstrual status, body composition, biomarkers of energy availability and circulating levels of sex hormones in Olympic sportswomen. In addition, cardiovascular function and the associated serum lipid levels and body composition of postmenopausal former elite athletes were compared to these same parameters in control subjects. Among the 223 Swedish athletes who competed in the 2002 and 2004 Olympic Games, those participating in sports that emphasize leanness demonstrated less desirable strategies for weight and more frequent illness than competitors in other disciplines, particularly in the case of the male athletes. Among 90 of these sportswomen, and especially among the endurance athletes, menstrual dysfunction (MD) was frequent. The most common cause of MD was polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS), rather than hypothalamic inhibition. Furthermore, no signs of chronic energy deficiency, as evaluated on the basis of body fat content and biomarkers of energy availability, were observed. Bone mineral density (BMD) was generally high and none of these athletes exhibited osteopenia or osteoporosis. Furthermore, among 20 postmenopausal former elite athletes we observed enhanced endothelial function in those not utilizing hormone replacement therapy, whereas the use of such therapy was associated with endothelial function similar to that of sedentary control subjects. Serum levels of cholesterol and low-density lipoprotein, body fat content and the frequency of ST-depressions in exercising electrocardiograms were lower in the former athletes; whereas the exercise capacity, dimensions of the left and right cardiac ventricles, and left atrial and stroke volumes were all significantly greater than in control subjects. We conclude that the weight control practices employed by Olympic athletes participating in disciplines that emphasize leanness appear to be suboptimal, although female athletes may have adopted healthier nutritional practices than the men. Furthermore, our findings challenge the contemporary concept that reproductive dysfunction in sportswomen is typically a consequence of chronic energy deficiency. Here, the single most frequent underlying cause of menstrual disturbances in Olympic athletes was the hyperandrogenic disorder PCOS. Long-term strenuous exercise is associated with minor changes in cardiac structure, but overall beneficial effects on exercise capacity, vascular function and cardiovascular risk factors.
Title Cross-Language Differential Item Functioning of the Job Content Questionnaire Among European Countries : The JACE Study Permalink

Background Little is known about cross-language measurement equivalence of the job content questionnaire (JCQ) Purpose The purposes of this study were to assess the extent of cross-language differential item functioning (DIF) of the 27 JCQ items in six languages (French, Dutch, Belgian-French, Belgian-Dutch (Flemish), Italian, and Swedish) from six European research centers and to test whether its effects on the scale-level mean comparisons among the centers were substantial or not. Method A partial gamma coefficient method was used for statistical DIF analyses where the Flemish JCQ was the reference for other language versions. Additionally, equivalence between the Flemish and Dutch translations was subjected to a judgmental review. Results On average, 36% to 39% of the total tested items appeared to be cross-language DIF items in the statistical analyses. The judgmental review indicated that half of the DIF items may be associated with translation difference. The impacts of the DIF items on the mean comparisons of the JCQ scales between the centers were non-trivial: underestimated skill discretion (Milan), underestimated decision authority (Leiden), underestimated psychological demands (Milan women), and incomparable coworker support (Gothenburg 95). Conclusion Cross-language DIF of the JCQ among European countries should be considered in international Int. J. Behav. Med. (2009) 16:136–147 DOI 10.1007/s12529-009-9048-2 B. Choi (*) Center for Occupational and Environmental Health, University of California Irvine, 5201 California Avenue, Suite 100, Irvine, CA 92617, USA e-mail: b.choi@uci.edu J. B. Bjorner National Research Centre for the Working Environment, Copenhagen, Denmark P.-O. Ostergren Division of Social Medicine and Global Health, Department of Clinical Sciences, Lund University, Malmo University Hospital, Malmo, Sweden E. Clays :D. De Bacquer :M. Bilau Department of Public Health, Ghent University, Ghent, Belgium I. Houtman TNO Work & Employment, AS Hoofddorp, Hoofddorp, The Netherlands L. Punnett :R. Karasek Department of Work Environment, University of Massachusetts Lowell, Lowell, USA A. Rosengren Department of Medicine, Sahlgrenska University Hospital/Ostra, Gothenburg, Sweden M. Ferrario Work and Preventive Medicine, Department of Clinical and Biological Sciences, University of Insubria at Varese, Varese, Italy R. Karasek Department of Psychology, Copenhagen University, Copenhagen, Denmark comparative studies on psychosocial job hazards using JCQ scales.
Modelling Development of Reptile Embryos under Fluctuating Temperature Regimes

An increase in temperature, within bounds, will accelerate development of reptile embryos, and morphogenesis can be normal over a range of temperatures despite those varying rates of development. Less well understood is the form of the relationship that best describes variation in developmental rate with temperature. In this article, we apply a linear degree.hour model, an empirical curvilinear model, a biophysical model, and a polynomial model to data on rates of embryonic development and temperature in the pig‐nosed turtle Carettochelys insculpta from northern Australia. The curvilinear models, which have been applied with success to development of insects, describe the embryonic development of turtles well. When fluctuating temperatures extend beyond the constant temperatures that support successful incubation, the curvilinear models continue to perform well, whereas the linear model predictions fail. Sensitivity analysis indicates that under some circumstances, incubation duration may be increased by diel temperature fluctuations, independent of an influence of mean temperature. In other circumstances, incubation duration may be decreased, and in still other circumstances, diel temperature fluctuations will have no impact on incubation duration. This adds an additional dimension to our understanding of how thermal regimes can be selected or manipulated by reptiles to optimise incubation duration and the timing of offspring emergence.
MiR‐490‐3p inhibits autophagy via targeting ATG7 in hepatocellular carcinoma

The miR‐490‐3p was transfected into HepG2 cells to explore the correlation between miR‐490‐3p and hepatocellular carcinoma cell proliferation, apoptosis, and autophagy and its downstream target gene ATG7. Then we could possibly provide a mechanism for the treatment of hepatocellular carcinoma. MiR‐490‐3p was screened out by fold change > 4 and P < 0.01 using gene microarray data. The expression level of miR‐490‐3p was tested by qRT‐PCR and the prognosis analysis was achieved by using TCGA data. The cell proliferation was tested via colony formation assay and CCK‐8 after the miR‐490‐3p mimics were transfected into HepG2 cells; the variations of cell cycle and apoptosis was examined by flow cytometry assay; the number of autophagosome was observed by electron microscopy and the changes of autophagy‐relative protein LC‐II and LC‐I as well as their ratio was tested by western blot. MiR‐490‐3p is low expressed in hepatocellular carcinoma cell lines and tissues. The results of TCGA showed that miR‐490‐3p high expression indicated better prognosis. After HepG2 cells were transfected with miR‐490‐3p mimics, cell viability was increased, cell proliferation was enhanced, cell cycle was blocked in G0/G1 phase, cell apoptosis rate was increased, the number of autophagosomes was reduced, autophagy‐associated protein LC‐II was decreased, and LC‐I was increased and their ratio was decreased. After 3‐MA was added, cell proliferation was declined, cell apoptosis rate was increased. Besides, the autophagy was inhibited by knocking down the ATG7, which promoted the cell apoptosis. MiR‐490‐3p could suppress cell proliferation, retard cell cycle and upgrade cell apoptosis by inhibiting autophagy in HCC cells via targeting ATG7. © 2018 IUBMB Life, 70(6):468–478, 2018
Postoperative course of Crohn disease according to timing of bowel resection

Abstract Previous studies have demonstrated that early surgery in Crohn disease (CD) can result in a better clinical course than late surgery. The aim of this study was to compare the clinical course of CD following bowel resection performed at the time of diagnosis (early surgery) and during the course of the disease (late surgery). We reviewed medical records from a hospital-based cohort database that includes Korean CD patients diagnosed before 2009. Patients who underwent bowel resection were included. Age, sex, disease phenotype, time of surgery, medication history including use of corticosteroids, immunomodulators, and biologics, and further surgical history were assessed. In all, 243 CD patients who had undergone bowel resection were included, and 120 patients underwent surgery at the time of diagnosis, while 123 underwent surgery after diagnosis (median 105 months, range 2–277). The use of biologics was significantly higher in the late surgery group than in the early surgery group (P = .020). The use of immunomodulators and reoperation rates did not differ between the groups. Early surgery was associated with less use of biologics (Kaplan–Meier curve analysis P = .015). Multivariate analysis indicated that early surgery and old age at surgery were independent variables associated with less use of biologics. CD patients who underwent bowel resection at the time of diagnosis have a more favorable disease course, represented by less use of biologics. Early surgery might be a treatment option in a subset of CD patients.
Cell wall properties in Oryza sativa influence mesophyll CO2 conductance.

Diffusion of CO2 from the leaf intercellular air space to the site of carboxylation (gm ) is a potential trait for increasing net rates of CO2 assimilation (Anet ), photosynthetic efficiency, and crop productivity. Leaf anatomy plays a key role in this process; however, there are few investigations into how cell wall properties impact gm and Anet . Online carbon isotope discrimination was used to determine gm and Anet in Oryza sativa wild-type (WT) plants and mutants with disruptions in cell wall mixed-linkage glucan (MLG) production (CslF6 knockouts) under high- and low-light growth conditions. Cell wall thickness (Tcw ), surface area of chloroplast exposed to intercellular air spaces (Sc ), leaf dry mass per area (LMA), effective porosity, and other leaf anatomical traits were also analyzed. The gm of CslF6 mutants decreased by 83% relative to the WT, with c. 28% of the reduction in gm explained by Sc . Although Anet /LMA and Anet /Chl partially explained differences in Anet between genotypes, the change in cell wall properties influenced the diffusivity and availability of CO2 . The data presented here indicate that the loss of MLG in CslF6 plants had an impact on gm and demonstrate the importance of cell wall effective porosity and liquid path length on gm .
Ecological host fitting of Trypanosoma cruzi TcI in Bolivia: mosaic population structure, hybridization and a role for humans in Andean parasite dispersal

An improved understanding of how a parasite species exploits its genetic repertoire to colonize novel hosts and environmental niches is crucial to establish the epidemiological risk associated with emergent pathogenic genotypes. Trypanosoma cruzi, a genetically heterogeneous, multi‐host zoonosis, provides an ideal system to examine the sylvatic diversification of parasitic protozoa. In Bolivia, T. cruzi I, the oldest and most widespread genetic lineage, is pervasive across a range of ecological clines. High‐resolution nuclear (26 loci) and mitochondrial (10 loci) genotyping of 199 contemporaneous sylvatic TcI clones was undertaken to provide insights into the biogeographical basis of T. cruzi evolution. Three distinct sylvatic parasite transmission cycles were identified: one highland population among terrestrial rodent and triatomine species, composed of genetically homogenous strains (Ar = 2.95; PA/L = 0.61; DAS = 0.151), and two highly diverse, parasite assemblages circulating among predominantly arboreal mammals and vectors in the lowlands (Ar = 3.40 and 3.93; PA/L = 1.12 and 0.60; DAS = 0.425 and 0.311, respectively). Very limited gene flow between neighbouring terrestrial highland and arboreal lowland areas (distance ~220 km; FST = 0.42 and 0.35) but strong connectivity between ecologically similar but geographically disparate terrestrial highland ecotopes (distance >465 km; FST = 0.016–0.084) strongly supports ecological host fitting as the predominant mechanism of parasite diversification. Dissimilar heterozygosity estimates (excess in highlands, deficit in lowlands) and mitochondrial introgression among lowland strains may indicate fundamental differences in mating strategies between populations. Finally, accelerated parasite dissemination between densely populated, highland areas, compared to uninhabited lowland foci, likely reflects passive, long‐range anthroponotic dispersal. The impact of humans on the risk of epizootic Chagas disease transmission in Bolivia is discussed.
Characterization of congenital myopathies at a Korean neuromuscular center

Introduction: Congenital myopathies are muscle diseases characterized by specific histopathologic features, generalized hypotonia from birth, and perinatal complications, although some cases develop during childhood or, rarely, in adulthood. We undertook this study to characterize congenital myopathies among patients registered at our institution. Methods: Clinical, histopathologic, and genetic features were evaluated in 34 patients recruited for this study. Results: The majority of patients experienced a childhood onset, and no disease‐related mortality was recorded during follow‐up. Functional outcomes were no better for those with late‐onset disease, indicating later disease progression can be significant. Nemaline myopathy was the most frequent pathology, followed by central core disease and centronuclear myopathy. Among the 18 (54.5%) genetically confirmed patients, NEB and RYR1 mutations were the most common, followed by DNM2 mutations. Discussion: This study shows features not previously reported and suggests that congenital myopathy should be considered an important issue among adult patients. Muscle Nerve 58: 235–244, 2018
Australian Consumers’ Awareness and Acceptance of Insects as Food

Insects have long been consumed as part of the diets of many Asian, African, and South American cultures. However, despite international agencies such as the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations advocating the nutritional, environmental, and economic benefits of entomophagy, attitudinal barriers persist in Western societies. In Australia, the indigenous ‘bush tucker’ diet comprising witchetty grubs, honey ants, and Bogong moths is quite well known; however, in most Australian locales, the consumption of insects tends to occur only as a novelty. Therefore, this study aimed to investigate the awareness and acceptance of insects as food. An online survey of 820 consumers found that 68% of participants had heard of entomophagy, but only 21% had previously eaten insects; witchetty grubs, ants, grasshoppers, and crickets were the most commonly tasted insects. Taste, appearance, safety, and quality were identified as the factors that were most likely to influence consumer willingness to try eating insects, but consumer attitudes towards entomophagy were underpinned by both food neophobia (i.e., reluctance to eat new or novel foods) and prior consumption of insects. Neophobic consumers were far less accepting of entomophagy than neophilic consumers, while consumers who had previously eaten insects were most accepting of insects as food. Incorporating insects into familiar products (e.g., biscuits) or cooked meals also improved their appeal. Collectively, these findings can be used by the food industry to devise production and/or marketing strategies that overcome barriers to insect consumption in Australia.