Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Dietary intake and different types of physical activity: full-day energy expenditure, occupational and leisure-time

Abstract Objective To describe the relationship between dietary intake and different levels and types of physical activity (PA). Design Cross-sectional evaluation of the EPIPorto study. Energy expenditure (metabolic energy equivalent tasks) and dietary intake during the past year were assessed using a PA questionnaire and a semi-quantitative food-frequency questionnaire, respectively. Setting Representative sample of adults in Porto, Portugal. Subjects Data were analysed for 2404 Portuguese Caucasian adults, aged between 18 and 92 years. Results For total PA, males who were active had significantly higher mean intake of energy (10·76 (2570·7) vs. 9·78 (2336·9) MJ/d (kcal/d), P < 0·001) and lower level of protein consumption (16·9 vs. 17·6 % of energy, P < 0·001) compared with sedentary males. In males, the association between total PA and energy intake remained after adjustment for age, education and body mass index. Similar results were observed when occupational activity was analysed. Concerning the energy expended in leisure time, in both genders, after adjustment for the previously described variables, a significant positive association was found between PA and intake of vitamin C (g/d): β = 0·12, 99 % confidence interval (CI) 0·02, 0·21 for females and β = 0·13, 99 % CI 0·03, 0·22 for males. Leisure-time activity in females was also positively associated with intakes of fibre, vitamin E, folate, calcium and magnesium, and negatively associated with saturated fat. Conclusions Higher levels of PA in leisure time were associated with higher intakes of micronutrients and lower intakes of saturated fat, particularly in females. For total and occupational PA, similar nutrient intake was observed between active and sedentary individuals.
Word sense disambiguation using PolyWordNet

We developed a novel word sense disambiguation algorithm that uses the semantic relations of lexical database Poly-WordNet. The PolyWordNet is a lexical database that organizes multiple senses of a polysemy word in such a way that each sense of the polysemy word is linked with its related words by dividing these related words into verbs, nouns, adverbs and adjectives. Our algorithm does not count the overlap of words between the glosses of context and sense bags as in contextual overlap count knowledge-based word sense disambiguation algorithms. Instead, our algorithm searches the paths or links of context words with the senses of the target word. It keeps the track of each path or link that connects a context word and a sense of the target word. If the paths thus obtained connect only one sense of the target word, the algorithm output the linked sense as the correct sense of the target word for the given context. If there are paths that link more than one senses, then the algorithm counts the number of paths or links or connections for each linked sense. Then, the sense for which the number of connection paths is maximum is selected as a correct sense. The accuracy (96.11%)of our algorithm using PolyWordNet is found significantly higher than that of the accuracy (58.33%) of the other contextual overlap count Word Sense Disambiguation method that used the Princeton WordNet for sense disambiguation.
The effect of a mixture of herbal essential oils or α-tocopheryl acetate on performance parameters and oxidation of body lipid in broilers

Performance parameters and oxidation of body lipids of broiler chickens were investigated when their diet was supplemented with a commercial preparation of essential oils (Apacox) derived from selected herbs. One hundred and twenty day-old Cobb-500 female chicks were divided into four groups with three replicates each. One group received the basal diet, the control. The three experimental diets consisted of the basal diet to which either 200 mg α-tocopheryl acetate/kg (Toc200 group), Apacox at 0.5 g/kg (Apa0.5 group) or Apacox at 1.0 g/kg diet (Apa1.0 group) was added. At the end of the 42 day feeding period there were no differences in initial and final body weights, daily weight gains, daily feed intakes and feed conversion ratios between treatments, and no mortalities were recorded. It is concluded that the mixture of herbal essential oils exerted no growth-promoting effect when incorporated in the chicken diet. The progress of lipid oxidation was assessed in raw and heat treated breast and thigh muscle at 0, 3, 6 and 9 days of refrigerated storage at 4 o C. Results showed that Apacox retarded lipid oxidation in both raw and heat treated breast and thigh muscles at all time points, with the supplementation level of 1.0 g/kg diet being more effective in retarding lipid oxidation than the 0.5 g Apacox/kg treatment. The retardation offered by Apacox was, however, inferior to that exhibited by α-tocopheryl acetate supplementation. Raw and heat treated thigh muscle samples were more susceptible to oxidation compared to breast muscle, although the latter contained α-tocopherol at markedly lower concentrations.
Dual mode antimony electrode for simultaneous measurements of PO2 and pH

Background: In biomedical research and clinical medicine there is a demand for potent sensors to measure the components that make up blood gas analyses. Today, as when the electrochemical PO2, PCO2 and pH electrodes were first introduced, these measurements are usually made with the same type of sensor technology. The aims of the present study were, firstly, to find out whether the platinum cathode in the Clark electrode can be replaced by antimony for oxygen measurements (amperometry (A)); secondly, whether, during oxygen measurements, the inherent corrosion potential of the antimony metal can be used for measurement of pH in the same measurement area (potentiometry (P)).
Evaluation of a single preoperative dose of pregabalin for attenuation of postoperative pain after laparoscopic cholecystectomy.

BACKGROUND Postoperative pain is the dominating complaint and the primary reason for prolonged convalescence after laparoscopic cholecystectomy. We have evaluated the efficacy of a single preoperative dose of pregabalin for attenuating postoperative pain and fentanyl consumption after laparoscopic cholecystectomy. METHODS Sixty adults (16-60 yr), ASA physical status I and II, of either sex undergoing elective laparoscopic cholecystectomy were included in this prospective, randomized placebo controlled, double-blind study. Subjects were divided into two groups of 30 each to receive either a matching placebo or pregabalin 150 mg, administered orally 1 h before surgery. Postoperative pain (static and dynamic) was assessed by a 100 mm visual analogue scale, where 0, no pain; 100, worst imaginable pain. Subjects received patient-controlled i.v. fentanyl analgesia during the postoperative period. Results were analysed by Student's t-test, chi(2) test, Mann-Whitney U-test, and Fisher's exact test. RESULTS Postoperative pain (static and dynamic) and postoperative patient-controlled fentanyl consumption were reduced in the pregabalin group compared with the placebo group (P<0.05). Side-effects were similar in both groups. CONCLUSIONS A single preoperative oral dose of pregabalin 150 mg is an effective method for reducing postoperative pain and fentanyl consumption in patients undergoing laparoscopic cholecystectomy.
Cervical radiculopathy: open study on percutaneous periradicular foraminal steroid infiltration performed under CT control in 30 patients.

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE Cervical radiculopathy is a common entity that can become unremitting, seriously disrupting the patient's work and social activities. The purpose of our study was to evaluate the feasibility, tolerance, and efficacy of transforaminal periganglionic steroid infiltration under CT control. METHODS Thirty patients with cervical radiculopathy, despite at least 1 month of appropriate medical treatment, underwent percutaneous periradicular foraminal steroid infiltration under CT control. Sixteen patients had foraminal degenerative stenosis, and 14 patients had disk herniation. The intensity of radicular pain was scored on an analogic visual scale (AVS). Pain relief was classified as excellent when the pain had diminished by 75% or more; good, by 50%-74%; fair by 25%-49%; or poor, by less than 25%. The patients were followed up at 2 weeks and at 6 months. RESULTS No local complications occurred after the procedure. The mean AVS pain scores were 6.5 points before the procedure and 3.3 points 2 weeks after, with significant pain relief (P <.001). Pain relief was excellent in 11 patients (37%) and good in seven patients (23%). There was no rebound of pain at the 6-month follow-up. The duration of symptoms before infiltration and the intensity and cause of radiculalgia were not predictive of radicular pain relief. CONCLUSION Intraforaminal cervical infiltration produced substantial sustained pain relief, whatever the cause of the radiculalgia. The CT approach ensures the safety of vital structures and allows the precise injection of a steroid specifically targeted to the ganglia.
Evolution and genetic structure of the great tit (Parus major) complex

The great tit complex is divided into four groups, each containing several subspecies. Even though the groups are known to differ markedly on morphological, vocal and behavioural characters, some hybridization occurs in the regions where they meet. The great tit has often been referred to as an example of a ring species, although this has later been questioned. Here, we have studied the genetic structure and phylogenetic relationships of the subspecies groups to clarify the evolutionary history of the complex using control region sequences of the mitochondrial DNA. The subspecies groups were found to be monophyletic and clearly distinct in mitochondrial haplotypes, and therefore must have had long-independent evolutionary histories. This conflicts with the ring species assignment and supports the formation of secondary contact zones of previously temporarily isolated groups. According to the phylogenetic species concept, all the subspecies groups could be considered as separate species, but if the definition of the biological species concept is followed, none of the subspecies groups is a true species because hybridization still occurs.
Digraphs with large exponent

Primitive digraphs on n vertices with exponents at least b! n=2c + 2, where ! n = (n 1) + 1, are considered. For n 3, all such digraphs containing a Hamilton cycle are characterized; and for n 6, all such digraphs containing a cycle of length n 1 are characterized. Each eigenvalue of any stochastic matrix having a digraph in one of these two classes is proved to be geometrically simple.
Cortical Entropy, Mutual Information and Scale-Free Dynamics in Waking Mice

Some neural circuits operate with simple dynamics characterized by one or a few well-defined spatiotemporal scales (e.g. central pattern generators). In contrast, cortical neuronal networks often exhibit richer activity patterns in which all spatiotemporal scales are represented. Such "scale-free" cortical dynamics manifest as cascades of activity with cascade sizes that are distributed according to a power-law. Theory and in vitro experiments suggest that information transmission among cortical circuits is optimized by scale-free dynamics. In vivo tests of this hypothesis have been limited by experimental techniques with insufficient spatial coverage and resolution, i.e., restricted access to a wide range of scales. We overcame these limitations by using genetically encoded voltage imaging to track neural activity in layer 2/3 pyramidal cells across the cortex in mice. As mice recovered from anesthesia, we observed three changes: (a) cortical information capacity increased, (b) information transmission among cortical regions increased and (c) neural activity became scale-free. Our results demonstrate that both information capacity and information transmission are maximized in the awake state in cortical regions with scale-free network dynamics.
Marginal Farmland in European Russia

Two geographers specializing in Russian agriculture and rural development present an exploratory essay on the phenomenon of agricultural land abandonment in the countryside of European Russia. A particular focus is on investigating the relative importance of physical conditions (fertility) and proximity to regional population centers in explaining the prevalence of land abandonment. A map depicting the differences between actual and normative (natural/climatic) grain yields sets the stage for a comparison of the contributions of physical and locational factors to agricultural productivity and a critical assessment of the merits of "development in breadth" versus "development in depth. " Journal of Economic Literature, Classification Numbers: O18, Q10, Q15. 1 figure, 7 tables, 30 references.
Compositional Factors Associated with the Growth Responses of Young Cotton Plants to Gibberellic Acid.

In preliminary experiments (4) it was found that the growth of both normal and mutant cottons, like that of more than 80 other species (6), is influenced by gibberellic acid (GA3). It is the purpose of this paper to report the effects of serial amlounts of GA3 on the growth and major chemical constituents of young cotton plants. Plants for this experiment (var. Empire WR) were grown November 1 to December 6, 1956 in the greenhouse at 85° C in three-gallon jars of manured Houston black clay. When the plants were 15 days old (days after planting) and contained one true leaf, 0.01 ml of an aqueous solution of the sodium salt of GA3,2 containing 0.0, 0.1, 1.0, 10, or 100lg of GA3, was applied to the 1st true leaf of each plant. Each treatment comlprised 8 plants. The applicaitions to the apical leaf were repeated at two-day intervals for a total of 20 days. The last application was matde two days prior to plant harvest. At 35 days (preflowering stage) the tops from 7 plants in each treatment were separated into leaf blades and stems plus petioles and samples of the two tissues were analyzed for carbohydrates, lignin, nitrogen, and total ash constituents by methods previously reported (2, 3). Plants from the 0.1 jug series, for the reason stated in the following paragraph, were not analyzed. GROWTH RESPONSES: With exception of the 1.0 ,ug dose, whiiel was ineffective, there resuilte(d stepwise
Interactions between some aural aspergillus species and bacteria.

SUMMARY: Some interactions of Aspergillus species with Staphylococcus aureus and Pseudomonas aeruginosa, all of which are concerned in otitis externa, are described. The pigments pyocyanine, 1-hydroxyphenazine and the fluorescent green pigments produced by P. aeruginosa inhibited the germination of spores of Aspergillus terreus; the most toxic of these pigments was 1-hydroxyphenazine. P. aeruginosa did not produce fluorescent pigments in Czapek-Dox medium unless the ferrous sulphate was omitted and asparagine added. Following incubation of the Aspergillus species in this medium, however, P. aeruginosa grew and produced fluorescent pigment therein. S. aureus produced antifungal toxic material which was capable of diffusing through cellophan and causing distortion of A. terreus hyphae.
Systematic review of the recent evidence for the efficacy and safety of chlorambucil in the treatment of B-cell malignancies

Abstract Emergence of new agents has deeply modified treatment options and the role of chlorambucil (CLB) in B-cell malignancies. We conducted a systematic review of prospective, randomized, controlled trials (RCTs) investigating the benefits and harms of CLB used alone or in combination with other treatment in patients suffering from chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL), low-grade non-Hodgkin lymphoma (NHL) or Waldenström macroglobulinemia (WM). For CLL, review of the nine RCTs showed that the main advantage of CLB is its low toxicity in comparison with purine nucleoside analogs like fludarabine in either CLL or NHL. In CLL, the major disadvantage is the very low rate of complete response, except when combining an anti-CD20 antibody. For B-cell lymphoma and WM, six RCTs were summarized. Results according to the usual criteria are presented and the role of CLB, used mostly in combination with an anti-CD20 antibody, is discussed for each indication, in particular for unfit patients.
Development of a Scale to Measure Adherence to Self-Monitoring of Blood Glucose With Latent Variable Measurement

OBJECTIVE Adherence to self-monitoring of blood glucose (SMBG) is problematic for many people with diabetes. Self-reports of adherence have been found to be unreliable, and existing paper-and-pencil measures have limitations. This study developed a brief measure of SMBG adherence with good psychometric properties and a useful factor structure that can be used in research and in practice. RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS A total of 216 adults with diabetes responded to 30 items rated on a 9-point Likert scale that asked about blood monitoring habits. In part I of the study, items were evaluated and retained based on their psychometric properties. The sample was divided into exploratory and confirmatory halves. Using the exploratory half, items with acceptable psychometric properties were subjected to a principal components analysis. In part II of the study, structural equation modeling was used to confirm the component solution with the entire sample. Structural modeling was also used to test the relationship between these components. It was hypothesized that the scale would produce four correlated factors. RESULTS Principal components analysis suggested a two-component solution, and confirmatory factor analysis confirmed this solution. The first factor measures the degree to which patients rely on others to help them test and thus was named “social influence. ” The second component measures the degree to which patients use physical symptoms of blood glucose levels to help them test and thus was named “physical influence. ” Results of the structural model show that the components are correlated and make up the higher-order latent variable adherence. CONCLUSIONS The resulting 15-item scale provides a short, reliable way to assess patient adherence to SMBG. Despite the existence of several aspects of adherence, this study indicates that the construct consists of only two components. This scale is an improvement on previous measures of adherence because of its good psychometric properties, its interpretable factor structure, and its rigorous empirical development.
Sustained Conditioned Responses in Prelimbic Prefrontal Neurons Are Correlated with Fear Expression and Extinction Failure

During auditory fear conditioning, it is well established that lateral amygdala (LA) neurons potentiate their response to the tone conditioned stimulus, and that this potentiation is required for conditioned fear behavior. Conditioned tone responses in LA, however, last only a few hundred milliseconds and cannot be responsible for sustained fear responses to a tone lasting tens of seconds. Recent evidence from inactivation and stimulation studies suggests that the prelimbic (PL) prefrontal cortex is necessary for expression of learned fears, but the timing of PL tone responses and correlations with fear behavior have not been studied. Using multichannel unit recording techniques in behaving rats, we observed sustained conditioned tone responses in PL that were correlated with freezing behavior on a second-to-second basis during the presentation of a 30 s tone. PL tone responses were also correlated with conditioned freezing across different experimental phases (habituation, conditioning, extinction). Moreover, the persistence of PL responses after extinction training was associated with failure to express extinction memory. Together with previous inactivation findings, the present results suggest that PL transforms transient amygdala inputs to a sustained output that drives conditioned fear responses and gates the expression of extinction. Given the relatively long latency of conditioned responses we observed in PL (∼100 ms after tone onset), we propose that PL integrates inputs from the amygdala, hippocampus, and other cortical sources to regulate the expression of fear memories.
Detection of a Novel ATP-Dependent Cross-Linked Protein at the 5′ Splice Site-U1 Small Nuclear RNA Duplex by Methylene Blue-Mediated Photo-Cross-Linking

ABSTRACT Assembly of spliceosomes involves a number of sequential steps in which small nuclear ribonucleoprotein particles (snRNPs) and some non-snRNP proteins recognize the splice site sequences and undergo various conformational rearrangements. A number of important intermolecular RNA-RNA duplexes are formed transiently during the process of splice site recognition. Various steps in the assembly pathway are dependent upon ATP hydrolysis, either for protein phosphorylation or for the activity of helicases, which may modulate the RNA structures. Major efforts have been made to identify proteins that interact with specific regions of the pre-mRNA during the stages of spliceosome assembly and catalysis by site-specific UV cross-linking. However, UV cross-linking is often inefficient for the detection of proteins that interact with base-paired RNA. Here we have used the complementary approach of methylene blue-mediated photo-cross-linking to detect specifically proteins that interact with the duplexes formed between pre-mRNA and small nuclear RNA (snRNA). We have detected a novel cross-link between a 65-kDa protein (p65) and the 5′ splice site. A range of data suggest that p65 cross-links to the transient duplex formed by U1 snRNA and the 5′ splice site. Moreover, although p65 cross-linking requires only a 5′ splice site within the pre-mRNA, it also requires ATP hydrolysis, suggesting that its detection reflects a very early ATP-dependent event during splicing.
Draft Sequencing of the Heterozygous Diploid Genome of Satsuma (Citrus unshiu Marc.) Using a Hybrid Assembly Approach

Satsuma (Citrus unshiu Marc.) is one of the most abundantly produced mandarin varieties of citrus, known for its seedless fruit production and as a breeding parent of citrus. De novo assembly of the heterozygous diploid genome of Satsuma (“Miyagawa Wase”) was conducted by a hybrid assembly approach using short-read sequences, three mate-pair libraries, and a long-read sequence of PacBio by the PLATANUS assembler. The assembled sequence, with a total size of 359.7 Mb at the N50 length of 386,404 bp, consisted of 20,876 scaffolds. Pseudomolecules of Satsuma constructed by aligning the scaffolds to three genetic maps showed genome-wide synteny to the genomes of Clementine, pummelo, and sweet orange. Gene prediction by modeling with MAKER-P proposed 29,024 genes and 37,970 mRNA; additionally, gene prediction analysis found candidates for novel genes in several biosynthesis pathways for gibberellin and violaxanthin catabolism. BUSCO scores for the assembled scaffold and predicted transcripts, and another analysis by BAC end sequence mapping indicated the assembled genome consistency was close to those of the haploid Clementine, pummel, and sweet orange genomes. The number of repeat elements and long terminal repeat retrotransposon were comparable to those of the seven citrus genomes; this suggested no significant failure in the assembly at the repeat region. A resequencing application using the assembled sequence confirmed that both kunenbo-A and Satsuma are offsprings of Kishu, and Satsuma is a back-crossed offspring of Kishu. These results illustrated the performance of the hybrid assembly approach and its ability to construct an accurate heterozygous diploid genome.