Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Effects of Betaine Supplementation to Methionine Deficient Diet on Growth Performance and Carcass Characteristics of Broilers

Problem Statement: The efficacy of Methionine (Met) sparing effect of Betaine (BET) has been shown to be associated with dietary compositions, animal physiological stage and living conditions. This study was to determine the extent to which dietary Met could be replaced by BET in broiler chickens under the feeding conditions specific to Chinese poultry industry.Approach: A total of 900 day-old Arbor Acres broiler chicks were fed three corn-soybean meal-based starter rations (d 1-21) and grower rations (d 22-42) for a total of 42 days. Met levels in the diets were: Diet 1, Met content at the recommended level (Control); diet 2, Met level at 85% of the Control supplemented with BET at the level of 400 (starter) or 300 (grower) mg kg-1 DM; Diet 3, Met level at 75% of the Control supplemented with BET at the level of 600 (starter) or 500 (grower) mg khg-1 DM. The broilers were raised in a temperature controlled house with 3 pens (replicates) per dietary treatment. Results: In general, treatment had no effect on body weight, feed intake or feed efficiency. Concentrations of growth hormone and insulin-like growth factor-1 in the serum of broilers fed Diet 3 were higher (p<0.05) than that of broilers of other treatments. Supplementation of BET at the level of replacing 25% of total Met increased (p<0.05) breast meat yield and protein content of breast meat and liver, but decreased (p<0.05) abdominal fat yield and ether extract content of liver. Conclusions/Recommendations: Supplementation of BET to replace up to 25% of total dietary Met did not affect the growth performance but improved the carcass quality of the broilers. BET could be used to spare 25% of the total Met in broiler diet that was formulated based on the Feeding Standard of China.
Pharmacokinetic characterization of decursinol derived from Angelica gigas Nakai in rats

Decursinol is a major coumarin derived from the roots of Angelica gigas and has various pharmacological effects against inflammation, angiogenesis, nociceptive pain and Alzheimer’s disease. In vitro and in vivo studies were conducted to characterize the metabolism and pharmacokinetics of decursinol. Decursinol exhibited high stability to oxidative and glucuronic metabolism in human and rat liver microsomes. In Caco-2 cell monolayers, decursinol showed high permeability (>14 × 10−6 cm/s) at all tested concentrations in the absorptive direction, which saturated at 100 μM. Secretion increased in a concentration-dependent manner, with an efflux ratio of more than 2 at 50 μM, indicating the participation of an active efflux transporter such as P-glycoprotein, multidrug resistance protein 2 or breast cancer resistance protein. The fraction of decursinol not bound to plasma proteins was 25–26% in the rat and 9–18% in humans. In human plasma, but not rat plasma, the percentage of unbound decursinol was concentration dependent. Following intravenous administration in rats, non-linear elimination of decursinol was observed with Km and Vmax values of 2.1 μg/mL and 2.5 mg·h−1·kg−1, respectively. Following oral administration, decursinol exhibited high oral bioavailability (>45%) and rapid absorption (Tmax, 0.4–0.9 h) over the dose range studied. In addition, dose-dependent absorption and elimination were observed at 20 mg/kg.
Personality hardiness and burnout in female staff nurses.

This study examined the burnout-moderating effects of personality hardiness among female nurses. Hardiness is defined as personality disposition that functions as a moderator variable to mitigate the effects of stressful events. One hundred staff nurses completed the Kobasa and Maddi Hardiness Scale, the Jones Burnout Scale for Health Professionals (SBS-HP), and measures of selected demographic variables. The results showed that burnout and hardiness were inversely related (r =−.39, p < .001) and that 41 percent of the variation in burnout scores could be accounted for by the linear combination of low hardiness and younger age. A 2×2 analysis of variance demonstrated that effects of personality and age in burnout appear to be independent and additive rather than interactive. It was concluded that hardy nurses are more burnout resistant than are nonhardy nurses.
Differential Glucose Tolerance in Dipper and Nondipper Essential Hypertension: The implications of circadian blood pressure regulation on glucose tolerance in hypertension

OBJECTIVE The goals of this study were to compare glucose tolerance in dipper and nondipper hypertensive patients and to explore the cause of glucose intolerance in essential hypertension. RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS A total of 50 patients <45 years old who had essential hypertension were recruited and studied by 24-h blood pressure monitoring and an oral glucose tolerance test (OGTT). Autonomic function was assessed with spectral analysis of heart rate variability. RESULTS Dipper hypertensive patients (n = 25) had lower nocturnal blood pressure than nondipper (n = 25) patients. During OGTT, postprandial glucose levels were higher in the nondippers at 0,90, and 120 min (all P < 0.05). Nondippers had a higher fasting insulin/glucose ratio than was apparent in normal control subjects. Despite higher postprandial glucose levels, nondippers had lower postprandial insulin levels. These results suggest that nondippers were insulin resistant and that their pancreatic β-cell function was impaired. For all patients, nocturnal reduction of blood pressure was inversely related to total glucose levels under the OGTT curve and was positively related to postprandial insulin levels. Daytime heart rate did not differ between the dippers and nondippers, but nocturnal heart rate was higher in the nondippers, suggesting that nocturnal sympathetic activities were higher among the nondippers. Spectral analysis of heart rate variability suggests that the nondippers had lower parasympathetic activities and unbalanced sympathetic/parasympathetic outflow. CONCLUSIONS These findings indicate that nondipper hypertensive patients are more glucose intolerant than are dipper patients. The abnormalities of glucose metabolism in nondippers could be explained by insulin resistance and β-cell dysfunction. The results of spectral analysis suggest that abnormal autonomic outflow may represent a possible link between hypertension and associated metabolic dysfunction.
Galectin‐3 expression in papillary microcarcinoma of the thyroid

Aims : Galectin‐3 is a β‐galactoside binding protein, recently recognized as a promising molecular marker of thyroid malignancy. As reported in several studies, galectin‐3 is highly expressed in papillary thyroid carcinoma, but its expression has not been investigated in papillary microcarcinoma, which is a variant of papillary thyroid carcinoma.
A New Wavelet-Based Algorithm for Compression of Emg Signals

Despite the growing interest in the transmission and storage of electromyographic signals for long periods of time, only a few studies dealt with the compression of these signals. In this article we propose a novel algorithm for EMG signal compression using the wavelet transform. For EMG signals acquired during isometric contractions, the proposed algorithm provided compression factors ranging from 50 to 90%, with an average PRD ranging from 1.4 to 7.5%. The proposed method uses a new scheme for normalizing the wavelet coefficients. The wavelet coefficients are quantized using dynamic bit allocation, which is carried out by a Kohonen Neural Network. After the quantization, these coefficients are encoded using an arithmetic encoder. The compression results using the proposed algorithm were compared to other algorithms based on the wavelet transform. The proposed algorithm had a better performance in compression ratio and fidelity of the reconstructed signal.
Simulation-Based Traffic Assignment. Computing user equilibria in large street networks

An iterative algorithm to determine the dynamic user equilibrium with respect to link costs defined by a traffic simulation model is presented. Each driver's route choice is modeled by a discrete probability distribution which is used to select a route in the simulation. After each simulation run, the probability distribution is adapted to minimize the travel costs. Although the algorithm does not depend on the simulation model, a queuing model is used for performance reasons. The stability of the algorithm is analyzed for a simple example network. As an application example, a dynamic version of Braess's paradox is studied.
Gorlin syndrome and desmoplastic medulloblastoma: Report of 3 cases with unfavorable clinical course and novel mutations

We present three cases of genetically confirmed Gorlin syndrome with desmoplastic medulloblastoma (DMB) in whom tumor recurred despite standard therapy. One patient was found to have a novel germline missense PTCH1 mutation. Molecular analysis of recurrent tumor using fluorescent in situ hybridization (FISH) revealed PTEN and/ or PTCH1 loss in 2 patients. Whole exome sequencing (WES) of tumor in one patient revealed loss of heterozygosity of PTCH1 and a mutation of GNAS gene in its non‐coding 3′ ‐untranslated region (UTR) with corresponding decreased protein expression. While one patient died despite high‐dose chemotherapy (HDC) plus stem cell rescue (ASCR) and palliative radiotherapy, two patients are currently alive for 18+ and 120+ months respectively following retrieval therapy that did not include irradiation. Infants with DMB and GS should be treated aggressively with chemotherapy at diagnosis to prevent relapse but radiotherapy should be avoided. The use of molecular prognostic markers for DMB should be routinely used to identify the subset of tumors that might have an aggressive course. Pediatr Blood Cancer 2015;62:1855–1858. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
An Intelligent Data Mining Model Approach for Adverse Effects of Hormone Replacement Therapy

Summary Objectives: A number of controversial studies have been reported on the potential risk of breast cancer caused by hormone replacement therapy (HRT). Some studies showed a positive relationship between HRT and breast cancer onset, but other studies have not confirmed these results. To clarify the contradictory outcomes in the relationships between HRT and the onset of breast cancer, we have designed an intelligent data mining model (IDM), which is able to find proper prognostic factors for cancer onset and provides alternate measures in interpretation of outcome of clinical data through hierarchies of attributes. Methods: Based on the selection criteria, we selected 22 sets of random and case-control studies of the last 15 years, which identified any involvements of HRT with breast cancer. We analyzed the relationship between HRT and breast cancer using an IDM model consisting of data mining algorithms and public domain data mining tools. Prognostic factors which underline the major etiological dispositions of breast cancer were identified. Results: The variables which are closely associated with cancer onset to some degree are age 60-69, age at menopause 40-49, parity 0, age 40-49, and types of menopause oophorectomy. An implementation of IDM model on overall pooled data indicated that there is no significant relationship between breast cancer onset and HRT. It is suggested that HRT patients with specific physiological and pathological conditions related with the higher ranks of prognostic factors may have a greater chance to get breast cancer. Conclusion: The results of this study may guide biomedical research directed at establishing the causal relationships between various medications and their complications, allowing an accurate assessment of efficacy and side effects of new therapeutic treatment in clinical trials without reliance on a large control population.
Post-marketing surveillance of the safety and effectiveness of tacrolimus in 3,267 Japanese patients with rheumatoid arthritis

ObjectivesA post-marketing surveillance (PMS) program was implemented to assess the safety and effectiveness of tacrolimus (TAC) in Japanese rheumatoid arthritis (RA) patients and to identify risk factors related to adverse drug reactions (ADRs). MethodsPatients were registered centrally and monitored for all adverse events (AEs) for 24 weeks. Effectiveness was evaluated using the Disease Activity Score 28-CRP (DAS28-CRP). ResultsData from 3,172 patients (mean age 62.2 years) were evaluated in the safety analysis. Of the safety population, 78.5 %were female and 25.9 % were in Steinbrocker’s functional class 3 or 4. TAC was prescribed as monotherapy in 52.5 % and the most common concomitant disease modifying antirheumatic drug (DMARD) was methotrexate, used in 28.9 % of the patients. The incidence of AEs, serious AEs (SAEs), ADRs and serious ADRs were 41.2, 6.4, 36.0, and 4.9 %, respectively. The most frequent serious ADR category was infections and infestations. Age ≥65 years, concurrent renal dysfunction, and concurrent diabetes mellitus were identified as significant risk factors for ADR. Based on EULAR response criteria, 65.4 % of the patients showed moderate or good response.ConclusionsThe results demonstrate that TAC is well tolerated by Japanese patients with active RA, including those receiving concomitant methotrexate, in the real world.
Recognition of channel encoder parameters from intercepted bitstream

We study recovering the channel encoder parameters for an unknown code from intercepted bitstream received from Binary Symmetric Channel in this paper. An iterative column elimination algorithm is introduced which attempts to eliminate parity bits in codewords of noisy data. This algorithm is very practical due to low complexity and use of XOR operator. Since, the computational complexity is low, searching for the length of code and synchronization is possible. Furthermore, the Hamming weight of the parity check words are only used in threshold computation and unlike other algorithms, they have negligible effect in the proposed algorithm. Eventually, experimental results are presented and estimations for the maximum noise level allowed for recovering the words of the parity check matrix are investigated.
Bone Marrow Lesion: Image, Clinical Presentation, and Treatment

In this article, the cause, histology, imaging characteristics, clinical presentation, and treatment of these lesions are thoroughly discussed. Bone marrow edema is the generic term classically used to describe the high-signal-intensity alterations detected on magnetic resonance fluid-sensitive sequences. The significance of bone marrow edema for the patient’s clinical condition and the prognosis of the affected joint is being increasingly investigated and discussed, and situations characterized by subchondral insufficiency are receiving increasing attention. More recent studies found some important correlations between bone marrow lesions and patient’s pain and osteoarthritis progression. Conservative treatment is based on anti-inflammatory and analgesic uses according to the patient’s pain, combined with reduced load on the affected limb. Regarding surgical treatment, subchondroplasty is an option still in development, albeit with promising initial results.
Does a prophylactic dose of propofol reduce emergence agitation in children receiving anesthesia? A systematic review and meta‐analysis

Emergence agitation (EA) is common after sevoflurane anesthesia in children, and can lead to distressing inconsolability, agitation, crying, and injury. Use of a single dose of the short‐acting sedative‐hypnotic agent propofol at the end of a procedure has shown promise for preventing EA, but evidence evaluating the efficacy and safety of this approach has not been formally summarized.
Mechanism of activation and selectivity in a ligand-gated ion channel: structural and functional studies of GluR2 and quisqualate.

Glutamate is the major excitatory neurotransmitter in the mammalian brain. The (S)-2-amino-3-(3-hydroxy-5-methyl-4-isoxazole)propionic acid (AMPA)-subtype glutamate receptor, a ligand-gated ion channel, mediates most of the fast excitatory synaptic transmission in the mammalian central nervous system. Here we present electrophysiological, biochemical, and crystallographic data on the interactions between quisqualate and the GluR2 receptor ion channel and its corresponding ligand binding core. Quisqualate is a high-affinity, full agonist which like AMPA and glutamate elicits maximum peak current responses, and stabilizes the ligand binding core in a fully closed conformation, reinforcing the concept that full agonists produce similar conformational changes [Armstrong, N. , and Gouaux, E. (2000) Neuron 28, 165-181]. Nevertheless, the mechanism of quisqualate binding is different from that of AMPA but similar to that of glutamate, illustrating that quisqualate is a faithful glutamate analogue. A detailed comparison of the three agonist complexes reveals distinct binding mechanisms, particularly in the region of a hydrophobic pocket that is proximal to the anionic gamma-substituents, and demonstrates the importance of agonist-water-receptor interactions. The hydrophobic pocket, which is predicted to vary in chemical character between receptor subtypes, probably plays an important role in determining receptor subtype specificity.
Computation of Direct Tunneling gate leakage currents in nano-MOSFETs using ensemble Full Band Monte Carlo with quantum correction

We present the analysis of direct tunneling (DT) gate leakage current in a 25 nm channel length n-channel metal oxide semiconductor field effect transistor MOSFET using an ensemble full band Monte Carlo (FBMC) simulation which incorporates quantum effects using Schrodinger solver. The DT current is simulated and compared with quantum drift diffusion (DD) results using DESSIS. The FBMC simulations yield DT currents one order higher than DD currents. In addition a dual thickness gate oxide structure is simulated using FBMC and DD and found to be effective in reducing the DT current.
Medical Expenditures for the Treatment of Osteoporotic Fractures in the United States in 1995: Report from the National Osteoporosis Foundation

Osteoporotic fractures are a significant public health problem, resulting in substantial morbidity and mortality. Previous estimates of the economic burden of osteoporosis, however, have not fully accounted for the costs associated with treatment of nonhip fractures, minority populations, or men. Accordingly, the 1995 total direct medical expenditures for the treatment of osteoporotic fractures were estimated for all persons aged 45 years or older in the United States by age group, sex, race, type of fracture, and site of service (inpatient hospital, nursing home, and outpatient). Osteoporosis attribution probabilities were used to estimate the proportion of health service utilization and expenditures for fractures that resulted from osteoporosis. Health care expenditures attributable to osteoporotic fractures in 1995 were estimated at $13.8 billion, of which $10.3 billion (75.1%) was for the treatment of white women, $2.5 billion (18.4%) for white men, $0.7 billion (5.3%) for nonwhite women, and $0.2 billion (1.3%) for nonwhite men. Although the majority of U.S. health care expenditures for the treatment of osteoporotic fractures were for white women, one‐fourth of the total was borne by other population subgroups. By site‐of‐service, $8.6 billion (62.4%) was spent for inpatient care, $3.9 billion (28.2%) for nursing home care, and $1.3 billion (9.4%) for outpatient services. Importantly, fractures at skeletal sites other than the hip accounted for 36.9% of the total attributed health care expenditures nationally. The contribution of nonhip fractures to the substantial morbidity and expenditures associated with osteoporosis has been underestimated by previous researchers.
Enhanced Ultrafiltration using 7.5% Icodextrin / 1.36% Glucose Combination Dialysate: A Pilot Study

Objective A pilot study to compare the use of a combination dialysate (7.5% icodextrin / 1.36% glucose) versus icodextrin 7.5% alone for the long dwell in patients on peritoneal dialysis (PD). Design A 4-week, prospective, randomized crossover study. Setting A large regional renal unit providing treatment for a population of 1.7 million. Patients Five patients on continuous ambulatory PD (CAPD) and 3 patients on automated PD. Main Outcome Measurements Long-dwell and 24-hour ultrafiltration volumes, body weight, 24-hour ambulatory blood pressure, and antihypertensive / diuretic tablet count. Results The use of the combination dialysate resulted in an increase in the median (interquartile range) long-dwell ultrafiltration, from 750 (650 – 828) mL to 1000 (889 – 1100) mL (p < 0.001), and 24-hour ultrafiltration, from 739 (400 – 1623) mL to 956 (700 – 1750) mL (p < 0.001). Weight, blood pressure, and tablet count remained unchanged. Conclusions The use of the novel combination dialysate resulted in a 33% increase in long-dwell ultrafiltration and a 29% increase in 24-hour ultrafiltration.
Markedly perturbed hematopoiesis in acid ceramidase deficient mice

Acid ceramidase (ACDase) is ubiquitous and catalyzes the degradation of ceramide. ACDase and ceramides have been implicated in many disorders, including cancer, obesity, diabetes, inflammation, and neurodegenerative diseases. [1][1]–[3][2] Deficiencies in ACDase activity lead to Farber disease, but
Interaction of a two-level atom with a cavity mode in the bad-cavity limit.

The interaction of a two-level atom with a single mode of the radiation field is examined. The cavity mode is damped by coupling to a reservoir in a squeezed state, and the atom is also driven by and external laser field. A master equation for the atomic density operator in the bad-cavity limit is derived. The effect of the squeezing in the stationary population inversion and in the resonance spectrum of the light emitted by the atom into the background modes is studied
Tracking Performance of Distributed Recoverable Flight Control Systems Subject to High Intensity Radiated Fields

Theoretical tools are presented to analyze the relationship between the design choices for a class of NASA-inspired fault-tolerant, reconfigurable computer architectures and the tracking performance degradation of a digital flight control system implemented on such a platform while operating in a high-intensity radiated field (HIRF) environment. A HIRF experiment was conducted at the NASA Langley Research Center to validate the theory for a distributed Boeing 747 flight control system subject to HIRF upsets.
Loss of Inhibitor of Growth (ING‐4) is Implicated in the Pathogenesis and Progression of Human Astrocytomas

Inhibitor of growth 4 (ING‐4) is a tumor suppressor gene that interacts with nuclear factor‐kappaB (NF‐κB) and represses its transcriptional activity. Several lines of evidence suggest that the tumor suppressor gene ING‐4, the transcription factor NF‐κB and its target genes matrix metalloproteases MMP‐2, MMP‐9 and urokinase plasminogen activator (u‐PA) are critically involved in tumor invasion. The aim of the present study was to investigate immunohistochemically the expression pattern of ING‐4, NF‐κB and the NF‐κB downstream targets MMP‐2, MMP‐9 and u‐PA in human astrocytomas from 101 patients. We found that ING‐4 expression was significantly decreased in astrocytomas, and ING‐4 loss was associated with tumor grade progression. Expression of p65, a NF‐κB subunit, was significantly higher in grade IV than in grade III and grade I/II tumors, and a statistical significant negative correlation between expression of ING‐4 and expression of nuclear p65 was noticed. MMP‐9, MMP‐2 and u‐PA were overexpressed in human astrocytomas. Of note, astrocytomas of advanced histologic grades (grade III, IV) displayed significantly higher expression levels of these proteins compared to tumors of lower grades (grade I, II). Collectively, our data suggest an essential role for ING‐4 in human astrocytoma development and progression possibly through regulation of the NF‐κB‐dependent expression of genes involved in tumor invasion.