Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Integrated health research program for the Thai elderly: prevalence of genital prolapse and effectiveness of pelvic floor exercise to prevent worsening of genital prolapse in elderly women.

BACKGROUND Genital prolapse is a common health problem in elderly women. It is prevalent among elderly females and affects their quality of life. Those with a severe degree of genital prolapse may need operative treatment which may be risky due to co-morbid conditions such as hypertension, respiratory disease, cardiovascular disease and diabetes mellitus. The aim of this study was to determine the prevalence of genital prolapse and the effectiveness of pelvic floor exercise to prevent worsening of genital prolapse in elderly females. METHOD The authors conducted a cross sectional study to determine the prevalence of genital prolapse in 682 elderly women (aged > or = 60 years) who lived within a 10-kilometer radius of Siriraj Hospital. 654 subjects were eligible for the controlled trial to determine the effectiveness of pelvic floor exercise to prevent worsening of genital prolapse. There were 324 subjects in the control group and 330 subjects in the experimental group. The experimental group received training in pelvic floor exercise and were asked to perform the exercise 30 times after one meal, every day for 24 months. The subjects were followed-up every 6 months for 24 months to assess worsening of genital prolapse. RESULTS The prevalence of genital prolapse was 70 per cent. There were 324 subjects in the control group and 330 subjects in the experimental group. After 24 months of pelvic floor exercise, the rate of worsening of genital prolapse was 72.2 per cent in the control group and 27.3 per cent in the experimental group (p = 0.005). The rate of worsening of genital prolapse was not significantly different between the control group and the study group in those who had a mild degree of genital prolapse. CONCLUSION The prevalence of genital prolapse in elderly Thai women was 70 per cent. A 24 months pelvic floor exercise program was effective to prevent worsening of genital prolapse in the women who had severe genital prolapse.
Hyperbaric pressure and increased susceptibility to glutamate toxicity in retinal ganglion cells in vitro

Purpose To investigate the effect of hyperbaric pressure on purified retinal ganglion cells (RGCs) and the additive effect of hyperbaric pressure on glutamate-induced RGC death. Methods An RGC primary culture from 8-day-old Wistar rats was prepared and cultured in a hyperbaric chamber. The RGC survival rate under various pressure conditions and with 5 or 25 µM of glutamate stimulation was determined and compared with that of RGCs under isobaric conditions. First, RGCs were cultured at atmospheric pressure (0 mmHg) and under hyperbaric pressure (+30 and +90 mmHg, with pressure fluctuations varying from 0 to +30 or +60 mmHg). Next, RGCs were cultured at +15, +30, and +90 mmHg with the addition of 5 or 25 µM of glutamate. The effects of N-Methyl-D-aspartic acid (NMDA) and 2-amino-3-(5-methyl-3-oxo-1,2- oxazol-4-yl)propanoic acid (AMPA)/kainate receptor antagonists, MK-801, and 6,7-dinitroquinoxaline-2,3-dione (DNQX), on cell survival were assessed. Additionally, types of cell death and the induction of Bcl-2-associated X protein (BAX) leading to apoptosis were studied under hyperbaric pressure conditions and/or with 5 µM of glutamate. Results RGC death was not induced under increasing or fluctuating pressure conditions. RGC death was induced by 25 µM of glutamate and increased as pressure increased. RGC death was not induced by 5 µM of glutamate but was induced by and increased with increasing pressure. MK-801 and DNQX significantly reduced glutamate-induced RGC death, and DNQX was more effective than MK-801. Under hyperbaric pressure conditions, the addition of 5 µM of glutamate resulted in the induction of apoptosis and BAX, which did not occur under hyperbaric pressure conditions or with the addition of glutamate alone. Conclusion In a rat RGC culture, hyperbaric pressure alone did not induce RGC death but increased RGC susceptibility to glutamate toxicity, which may be of relevance to ocular diseases with pressure-induced RGC death.
Honokiol Arrests Cell Cycle, Induces Apoptosis, and Potentiates the Cytotoxic Effect of Gemcitabine in Human Pancreatic Cancer Cells

Survival rates for patients with pancreatic cancer are extremely poor due to its asymptomatic progression to advanced and metastatic stage for which current therapies remain largely ineffective. Therefore, novel therapeutic agents and treatment approaches are desired to improve the clinical outcome. In this study, we determined the effects of honokiol, a biologically active constituent of oriental medicinal herb Magnolia officinalis/grandiflora, on two pancreatic cancer cell lines, MiaPaCa and Panc1, alone and in combination with the standard chemotherapeutic drug, gemcitabine. Honokiol exerted growth inhibitory effects on both the pancreatic cancer cell lines by causing cell cycle arrest at G1 phase and induction of apoptosis. At the molecular level, honokiol markedly decreased the expression of cyclins (D1 and E) and cyclin-dependent kinases (Cdk2 and Cdk4), and caused an increase in Cdk inhibitors, p21 and p27. Furthermore, honokiol treatment led to augmentation of Bax/Bcl-2 and Bax/Bcl-xL ratios to favor apoptosis in pancreatic cancer cells. These changes were accompanied by enhanced cytoplasmic accumulation of NF-κB with a concomitant decrease in nuclear fraction and reduced transcriptional activity of NF-κB responsive promoter. This was associated with decreased phosphorylation of inhibitor of kappa B alpha (IκB-α) causing its stabilization and thus increased cellular levels. Importantly, honokiol also potentiated the cytotoxic effects of gemcitabine, in part, by restricting the gemcitabine-induced nuclear accumulation of NF-κB in the treated pancreatic cancer cell lines. Altogether, these findings demonstrate, for the first time, the growth inhibitory effects of honokiol in pancreatic cancer and indicate its potential usefulness as a novel natural agent in prevention and therapy.
SEM Observation of the Wing Membrane of Beipiaopterus chenianus (Pterosauria)

Abstract The cross‐section and surface structures of wing membranes from the ctenochasmatid pterosaur Beipiaopterus chenianus were observed through a scanning electron microscope (SEM). The results show that the wing membrane contains a high density of blood vessels, implying strong thermoregulatory function, similar to that of a bat wing membrane. This is the first comparison of the microstructures of pterosaur wing membranes with those of the modern bat. It is inferred that a bat‐like physiology exists, at least in relatively small pterosaurs suggesting that these pterosaurs were warm‐blooded, active fliers.
Synthesis and characterization of cellulose acetate from TCF oil palm empty fruit bunch pulp.

Cellulose acetate (CA) was successfully synthesized by the acetylation of TCF cellulose pulp from oil palm empty fruit bunches (OPEFB) at room temperature, using acetic anhydride as the acetylating agent and acetic acid as the solvent in the presence of sulfuric acid/sodium bisulfate as catalysts. Degree of substitution (DS) was controlled by the variables of acetylation time and acetic anhydride to cellulose ratio, under the heterogeneous state. The product (CA) obtained was characterized through Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy (NMR), differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), X-ray diffraction (XRD), and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The results indicate that the CA obtained has characteristics similar to commercial CA, and DS is significantly dependent on acetylation time and the acetic anhydride-to-cellulose ratio.
Ecological Survey of Avifaunal Resources in University of Port Harcourt, Nigeria

A survey of the avifaunal resources was conducted in the three campuses (Choba, Abuja, and Delta) of the University of Port Harcourt, Nigeria to ascertain their bird species composition, abundance, diversity, and affinity for different tree species. Bird census was carried out on twelve focal trees in each of the three campuses for a period of six months. Shannon-Wiener (H) and Simpson (1 – D) diversity indices were used to measure the diversity of bird species in each of the campuses, while similarity in bird species between campuses was ascertained using Sorensen’s similarity index (SI). Paleontological Statistics (PAST) software was used to obtain a hierarchical classification of the tree species in each campus based on the similarity of bird species sighted on them. A total of 5277 birds belonging to 8 species were encountered in Choba Campus; 3937 belonging to 7 species in Abuja Campus; and 3034 belonging to 8 species in Delta Campus. Choba Campus had the highest bird diversity (H = 0.6623; Simpson 1 – D = 0.3370), followed by Abuja Campus (H = 0.4415; Simpson 1 – D = 0.2217), and Delta Campus (H = 0.1656; Simpson 1 – D = 0.05804). Similarity in bird species composition was highest between Abuja Campus and Delta Campus (SI = 93%) and least between Choba Campus and Delta Campus (SI = 63%). Ploceus cucullatus was the most abundant bird species in the three campuses. In Abuja Campus, Cocus nucifera, Polyalthia longifolia and Terminalia catappa were ecologically the most distant tree species with respect to bird species composition; in Delta Campus, Cocus nucifera, Pinus caribaea, and Polyalthia longifolia, were the most ecologically distant; while Hura crepitans and Polyalthia longifolia were the most ecologically distant in Choba Park. Further investigation is required to ascertain why bird species in the various campuses showed no affinity for Cocus nucifera and Polyalthia longifolia. Key words: University of Port Harcourt, avifauna, abundance, diversity, tree-bird interaction
A MODEL FOR ORGANIC FOSSILIZATION OF THE EARLY CRETACEOUS JEHOL LAGERSTÄTTE BASED ON THE TAPHONOMY OF “EPHEMEROPSIS TRISETALIS”

ABSTRACT The taphonomic pathways of “Ephemeropsis trisetalis” nymphs (mayfly larvae) were systematically investigated based on fossils of different preservational types, collected during three high–stratigraphic-resolution (mm to cm) excavations in the Lower Cretaceous Yixian Formation in the Sihetun area of western Liaoning, China. All fossils studied are fully articulated either in three or two dimensions, which indicates that decay was terminated at a stage before the exoskeleton became disarticulated. We conclude that the Jehol organic skeletons represent at least two general types of preservation produced by pyritization and collapse/compression, respectively. The two-dimensional compressions show no evidence for authigenic minerals, but the three-dimensionally preserved fossils are wholly or partially pyritized. Our study also indicates that aluminosilicate clay and pyrite mineralization are closely associated with fossil “Ephemeropsis trisetalis” nymphs, suggesting that both clay and pyrite played important roles in lacustrine fossil preservations, as in some marine fossil Lagerstätten. We propose a general model for organic tissue fossilization in the Jehol Lagerstätte based on study of taphonomy of “Ephemeropsis trisetalis” nymphs.
Evaluation of User Interface and Workflow Design of a Bedside Nursing Clinical Decision Support System

Background Clinical decision support systems (CDSS) are important tools to improve health care outcomes and reduce preventable medical adverse events. However, the effectiveness and success of CDSS depend on their implementation context and usability in complex health care settings. As a result, usability design and validation, especially in real world clinical settings, are crucial aspects of successful CDSS implementations. Objective Our objective was to develop a novel CDSS to help frontline nurses better manage critical symptom changes in hospitalized patients, hence reducing preventable failure to rescue cases. A robust user interface and implementation strategy that fit into existing workflows was key for the success of the CDSS. Methods Guided by a formal usability evaluation framework, UFuRT (user, function, representation, and task analysis), we developed a high-level specification of the product that captures key usability requirements and is flexible to implement. We interviewed users of the proposed CDSS to identify requirements, listed functions, and operations the system must perform. We then designed visual and workflow representations of the product to perform the operations. The user interface and workflow design were evaluated via heuristic and end user performance evaluation. The heuristic evaluation was done after the first prototype, and its results were incorporated into the product before the end user evaluation was conducted. First, we recruited 4 evaluators with strong domain expertise to study the initial prototype. Heuristic violations were coded and rated for severity. Second, after development of the system, we assembled a panel of nurses, consisting of 3 licensed vocational nurses and 7 registered nurses, to evaluate the user interface and workflow via simulated use cases. We recorded whether each session was successfully completed and its completion time. Each nurse was asked to use the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) Task Load Index to self-evaluate the amount of cognitive and physical burden associated with using the device. Results A total of 83 heuristic violations were identified in the studies. The distribution of the heuristic violations and their average severity are reported. The nurse evaluators successfully completed all 30 sessions of the performance evaluations. All nurses were able to use the device after a single training session. On average, the nurses took 111 seconds (SD 30 seconds) to complete the simulated task. The NASA Task Load Index results indicated that the work overhead on the nurses was low. In fact, most of the burden measures were consistent with zero. The only potentially significant burden was temporal demand, which was consistent with the primary use case of the tool. Conclusions The evaluation has shown that our design was functional and met the requirements demanded by the nurses’ tight schedules and heavy workloads. The user interface embedded in the tool provided compelling utility to the nurse with minimal distraction.
Preliminary study of high mobility group box chromosomal protein 1(HMGB1) in ankylosing spondylitis patients.

OBJECTIVES To compare the serum levels of high mobility group box chromosomal protein 1 (HMGB1) between patients with AS and healthy controls, and evaluate its association with disease activities and functional abilities; to investigate the cell surface receptors related to HMGB1 in AS patients. METHODS The HMGB1 serum levels from71 previously untreated AS patients and 40 healthy controls were detected by ELISA method. Bath Ankylosing Spondylitis Disease Activity Index (BASDAI), Ankylosing Spondylitis Disease Activity Score (ASDAS), Bath Ankylosing Spondylitis Functional Index (BASFI), erythrocytesedimentationrate (ESR), and C-reactive protein (CRP) levels were assessed on these participants. The mRNA expression of HMGB1 and its relevant cell surface receptors RAGE, TLR2, TLR4, and IL-1Racp complex were analysed by RT-PCR. RESULTS The HMGB1 serum levels from AS patients were significantly higher than those from healthy controls and remarkably positive correlated with BASDAI, ASDAS, BASFI, CRP, and ESR. ASDAS showed more correlated to HMGB1 serum levels than BASDAI. Besides, the expression of TLR2, TLR4, and IL-1Racp from PBMCs revealed significant correlations with the expression of HMGB1. CONCLUSIONS HMGB1 might be a good laboratory index for the evaluation of disease activities and disease severity in AS patients. Further, extracellular HMGB1 play its inflammatory role mainly via the expression of cell surface receptors TLR2, TLR4 and IL-1RAcP complex.
An Evaluation of Current MPEG-1 Ciphers and their Applicability to Streaming Video

Copyright protection is one of the many aspects of implementing a commercially successful video streaming service and encryption of content is one means through which Copyright can be protected. MPEG-1 is one of the many video compression techniques used in streaming video and a number of MPEG-1 ciphers have been proposed in the past. These ciphers were primarily designed with the idea of public storage of MPEG-1 content. This paper considers the suitability of these ciphers in a streaming video context, concluding that no existing cipher is suitable for use in streaming MPEG-1 video and that a new cipher is required for this purpose.
Development and Application of a Model Interface to couple Land Surface Models with Regional Climate Models for Climate Change Risk Assessment in the Upper Danube Watershed

In the last decades regional climate models (RCMs) have proven their ability to provide valuable information about potential future changes in the earth’s climate system. Research projects like GLOWA-Danube (Global Change of the Water Cycle) are given the possibility to utilize RCM simulations as meteorological drivers for land surface model components. To adequately describe all sorts of water fluxes in the research area of the Upper Danube watershed the different components of the interdisciplinary DANUBIA model require data in high spatial and temporal resolution. While the latter can be satisfactorily provided by most RCMs, the spatial resolution at which atmospheric processes can be resolved is computationally limited to at best 10 x 10 km at present. A clear need has been identified to develop appropriate methods to bridge the gap between RCMs and high resolution land surface models. The application of such downscaling techniques is in particularly necessary in highly complex terrain, where the limited spatial resolution of RCM simulations does not fully capture the natural climatic variability. In the present work a model interface has been developed that provides adequate scaling techniques to overcome the mismatch between the model scales permitting the investigation of climate change impacts at regional to local scales. Besides the downscaling of meteorological simulations, the coupler scales up fluxes calculated at the land surface and provides the aggregated fluxes as inputs for the RCMs. As the latter allows to consider the nonlinearity and complexity of the interactions between the atmosphere and the land surface as well as the mutual dependency of the respective processes at the investigated scale the approach can be expected to contribute to a better understanding of the complex land-atmosphere-system. A comprehensive description of the implemented algorithms is given. Further first results of one-way coupled model runs using the regional climate model REMO to simulate the atmosphere and the hydrological model PROMET to describe all hydrological relevant processes at the land surface are presented. By comparing the results achieved for a potential future climate to those achieved for past climate conditions the climate change impact on the water resources is analyzed. The model interface SCALMET has been developed in the framework of the GLOWA-Danube Project at the Ludwig-Maximilians-University in Munich. The financial funding of GLOWA-Danube by the German Ministry of Education and Research (BMB+F) is gratefully acknowledged.
Personal video collection management behavior

Video content typically consumes more storage space and bandwidth than other document types although users structure their content with the same organisational tools they use for smaller and simpler items. We analyze the `native' video management behavior as expressed in 35 self-interviews and diary studies produced by New Zealand students, to create a `rich picture' of personal video collections. We see that personal collections can have diffuse boundaries and many different intended uses - and that these information management needs are difficult to fulfill with their homegrown video collection management strategies.
Transient suppression of progenitor cell proliferation through NMDA receptors in hippocampal dentate gyrus of mice with traumatic stress experience

Post‐traumatic stress disorder is a long‐lasting psychiatric disease after the traumatic experience of severe fatal stress with the consequence of hippocampal atrophy. Freezing behaviors were more than quintupled on the fear‐conditioning test in mice previously subjected to water immersion restrain stress (WIRS) with metronome tones when determined 1–28 days after WIRS, while these mice exhibited the increased immobility time on the forced swimming test with the increased spontaneous locomotion. Prior experience of WIRS led to a transient decrease in subsequent 5‐bromo‐2′‐deoxyuridine (BrdU) incorporation into proliferating cells in the hippocampal dentate gyrus. These behavioral and neurochemical alterations were significantly prevented by the daily injection of the tricyclic antidepressant imipramine and the selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor fluvoxamine, respectively. Moreover, WIRS significantly decreased the number of cells holding BrdU without affecting the differentiation ratio to astroglial and neuronal lineages 28 days later. Prior administration of an NMDA receptor antagonist significantly prevented the aforementioned changes by WIRS. These results suggest that NMDA receptors may play a role in mechanisms underlying the crisis of a variety of psychiatric symptoms relevant to post‐traumatic stress disorder through transient suppression of neural progenitor cell proliferation in the murine hippocampal dentate gyrus.
Design and analysis of long absorption-length traveling-wave photodetectors

Long-absorption-length traveling-wave-photodetectors (TWPDs) are requisite for high-power and high-speed applications. In the long absorption length regime, some previously negligible bandwidth limitation factors, such as microwave loss and boundary reflection, become critical. In this paper, we calculate each limiting factor for long-absorption-length TWPDs using a photo-distributed-current model, which can be easily modified to include different effects comparing with the previous model. The simulated device structures are low-temperature-grown GaAs (LTG-GaAs)-based metal-semiconductor-metal (MSM) and n-i-n TWPDs for telecommunication wavelength applications. Our simulation results indicate that the carrier trapping time is not the dominant bandwidth limitation factor as in the short device length regime. The device bandwidth is, on the other hand, strongly affected by velocity mismatch, frequency-dependent microwave loss, and boundary reflection. By properly choosing the geometric size of the transmission line in the MSM TWPD structure, the effect of impedance mismatch can be eliminated. Also due to the enhanced microwave velocity and a lower microwave loss, a better bandwidth performance can be found in the MSM TWPD structure. With a longer carrier trapping time and a higher electrical wave velocity, high bandwidth-efficiency product can be expected for LTG-GaAs-based long-absorption length photodetectors.
Caracterização estatística de oito séries de precipitação pluvial máxima diária da secretaria de agricultura e abastecimento do Estado de São Paulo

The aim of the work was to characterize the series of maximum daily rainfall value, observed during each year (Preabs) on the State of Sao Paulo, Brazil. The characterization was carried out by using different probabilities density functions. The Kolmogorov-Smirnov test, the percentiles-percentiles graphics and, the quantil-quantil graphics, indicate that the observed data converges to the general extreme value distribution (GEV) in the locations of Campinas-SP, Cordeiropolis-SP, Mococa-SP, Monte Alegre do Sul-SP, Ribeirao Preto-SP and Ubatuba-SP. Increasing trends were detected only for the Pindorama-SP series. The Fourier and the wavelets analysis indicate no significant periodicities in all analyzed series.