Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Endoplasmic reticulum stress in retinal vascular degeneration: protective role of resveratrol.

PURPOSE Endoplasmic reticulum (ER) stress has been demonstrated to contribute to neurodegeneration in multiple ocular diseases. However, whether ER stress can induce vascular degeneration in the retina remains unknown. We investigated the possible role of ER stress in retinal vascular degeneration in vivo, and the effects of resveratrol on tunicamycin and ischemia and reperfusion (I/R)-induced retinal vascular degeneration. METHODS Different dosages of tunicamycin, an ER stress inducer, were injected into the vitreous of mouse eyes. Retinal I/R injury was induced by elevating the intraocular pressure for 60 minutes followed by reperfusion in mice. Two dosages of resveratrol (5 and 25 mg/kg body weight per day) were administrated 2 days before retinal I/R injury, while 100 μM resveratrol were injected into the vitreous together with tunicamycin. Formation of acellular capillaries was assessed 7 days after I/R injury and tunicamycin injection, while cell bodies in ganglion cell layer and brain-specific homeobox/POU domain protein 3A (Brn3a) staining on retinal flat-mounts were analyzed 4 days after I/R injury. ER stress markers, including eukaryotic initiation factor 2α (eIF2α), CCAAT enhancer-binding protein homologous protein (CHOP), immunoglobulin binding protein (Bip), inositol requiring enzyme 1α (IRE1α), C-jun N-terminal kinase (JNK)1/2 and Xbp1 splicing, were examined by RT-PCR, or Western blots or immunostaining from retinas 1 or 2 days after tunicamycin injection and I/R injury. RESULTS Tunicamycin caused ER stress and capillary degeneration in vivo, both of which were inhibited by resveratrol. Pretreatment of high dosage of resveratrol also significantly inhibited retinal I/R injury-induced capillary degeneration; however, neither of the dosages prevented the injury-induced neurodegeneration. Levels of CHOP, phosphorylated eIF2α, IRE1α, phosphorylated JNK1/2, Xbp1 splicing and Bip were elevated after I/R injury. High dosage of resveratrol pretreatment inhibited the injury-induced up-regulation of eIF2α-CHOP and IRE1α-XBP1 pathways. CONCLUSIONS ER stress is an important contributor to vascular degeneration in retina. Resveratrol suppresses I/R injury and tunicamycin-induced vascular degeneration by inhibiting ER stress.
Surface Control of the Frequency of Stratospheric Sudden Warming Events

The frequency of stratospheric sudden warming events (SSWs) is an important characteristic of the coupled stratosphere–troposphere system. However, many modern climate models are unable to reproduce the observed SSW frequency. A previous study suggested that one of the reasons could be the momentum damping at the surface. The goal of the present study is to understand what determines the climatological SSW frequency and how the surface damping comes into play. To this end, we conduct a parameter sweep with an idealized model, using a wide range of values for the surface damping. It is found that the SSW frequency is a strong and nonlinear function of the surface damping. Various tropospheric and stratospheric factors are identified to link the surface damping to the SSW frequency. The factors include the magnitude of the surface winds, the meridional and vertical wind shear, the synoptic eddy activity in the troposphere, the transient wave activity flux at the lower stratosphere, and the strength of the stratospheric polar vortex. Mathematical–statistical modeling, informed by the parameter sweep, is used to quantify how the different factors relate to each other. This successfully reproduces the complex variations of the SSW frequency with the surface damping seen in the parameter sweep. The results may help in explaining some of the difficulties that climate models have in simulating the observed SSW frequency.
Salmonid Olfactory System‐Specific Protein (N24) Exhibits Glutathione S‐Transferase Class Pi‐Like Structure

Abstract: A salmonid olfactory system‐specific protein (N24) that has been identified in lacustrine sockeye salmon (Oncorhynchus nerka) was characterized by biochemical and molecular biological techniques. N24 is a homodimer, and the intact molecular mass is estimated as ∼43.3 kDa by gel filtration. Furthermore, N24 was located only in the cytosolic fraction of the olfactory tissues as determined by subcellular fractionation. cDNA encoding the lacustrine sockeye salmon N24 was isolated and sequenced. This cDNA contained a coding region encoding 216 amino acid residues and the molecular mass of this protein is calculated to be 242,224.77. The protein and nucleotide sequencing demonstrates the existence of a remarkable homology between N24 and glutathione S‐transferase (GST; EC 2.5.1.18) class pi enzymes. Northern analysis showed that N24 mRNA with a length of 950 bases is expressed in lacustrine sockeye salmon olfactory epithelium. Olfactory receptor cells showed strong hybridization signals for N24 mRNA in the olfactory epithelium. N24 demonstrated glutathione binding activity in affinity‐purified GST column experiments. The present study describes for the first time cDNA cloning of GST in fish olfactory epithelium.
A New Semiautomated Detection Mapping of Flood Extent From TerraSAR-X Satellite Image Using Rule-Based Classification and Taguchi Optimization Techniques

Floods are among the most destructive natural disasters worldwide. In flood disaster management programs, flood mapping is an initial step. This research proposes an efficient methodology to recognize and map flooded areas by using TerraSAR-X imagery. First, a TerraSAR-X satellite image was captured during a flood event in Kuala Terengganu, Malaysia, to map the inundated areas. Multispectral Landsat imagery was then used to detect water bodies prior to the flooding. In synthetic aperture radar (SAR) imagery, the water bodies and flood locations appear in black; thus, both objects were classified as one. To overcome this drawback, the class of the water bodies was extracted from the Landsat image and then subtracted from that extracted from the TerraSAR-X image. The remaining water bodies represented the flooded locations. Object-oriented classification and Taguchi method were implemented for both images. The Landsat images were categorized into three classes, namely, urban, vegetation, and water bodies. By contrast, only water bodies were extracted from the TerraSAR-X image. The classification results were then evaluated using a confusion matrix. To examine the efficiency of the proposed method, iterative self-organizing data analysis technique (ISODATA) classification method was applied on TerraSAR-X after employing the segmentation process during object-oriented-rule-based method, and the results were compared. The overall accuracy values of the classified maps derived from TerraSAR-X using the rule-based method and Landsat imagery were 86.18 and 93.04, respectively. Consequently, the flooded locations were recognized and mapped by subtracting the two classes of water bodies from these images. The acquired overall accuracy for TerraSAR-X using ISODATA was considerably low at only 57.98. The current research combined the methods and the optimization technique used as an innovative flood detection application. The successful production of a reliable and accurate flood inventory map confirmed the efficiency of the methodology. Therefore, the proposed method can assist researchers and planners in implementing and expediting flood inventory mapping.
A randomised study of intranasal dexmedetomidine and oral ketamine for premedication in children

We studied the effects of intranasal dexmedetomidine combined with oral ketamine for premedication in children. One hundred and sixty children aged between 2 and 6 years were randomly allocated to one of four groups: 1 μg. kg−1 intranasal dexmedetomidine with 3 mg.kg−1 oral ketamine (Group 1); 1 μg. kg−1 intranasal dexmedetomidine with 5 mg.kg−1 oral ketamine (Group 2); 2 μg. kg−1 intranasal dexmedetomidine with 3 mg.kg−1 oral ketamine (Group 3); and 2 μg. kg−1 intranasal dexmedetomidine with 5 mg.kg−1 oral ketamine (Group 4). Sedation levels 10, 20 and 30 min after premedication were evaluated using a 5‐point sedation scale. A 4‐point emotional state score was used to evaluate patients when they were separated from their parents and their response to intravenous cannulation or facemask application. Approximately 90% of patients readily accepted premedication and onset times of acceptable sedation were similar in all four groups. Patients in Group 4 were significantly more sedated than those in Group 1 after 30 min (p = 0.036). A significantly higher proportion of patients in Group 3 (84%) and Group 4 (87%) accepted intravenous cannulation compared with those in Group 1 (40%) and Group 2 (54%) (p = 0.001). We conclude that the administration of 2 μg. kg−1 intranasal dexmedetomidine and 3 mg.kg−1 oral ketamine was the optimal combination, with children being easily separated from their parent, accepting intravenous cannulation and without causing excessive side‐effects or postoperative complications.
Population density and habitat use of the paca (Cuniculus paca) in the north of the Amboró-Carrasco conservation complex

El tamano poblacional de las especies cinegeticas ha sido poco estudiado en los bosques de Bolivia. Este trabajo evaluo la densidad poblacional y uso de habitat del jochi pintado (Cuniculus paca) mediante transectos lineales realizados durante el 2005 y 2006. La densidad estimada por observaciones directas, 6.9 ind/km2, fue similar a la unica otra estimacion de Bolivia y menor en comparacion con estudios fuera del pais. A pesar de que no se encontro una diferencia significativa en la densidad entre habitats se encontro una correlacion positiva entre la densidad del jochi con el tamano de arboles. La presion de caza para fines de subsistencia y el avance de areas agricolas y pecuarias hacia los bosques naturales afecta los sitios muestreados, pero la densidad poblacional humana no muestra una correlacion significativa con la abundancia.
Survival potential of Phytophthora infestans sporangia in relation to environmental factors and late blight occurrence.

Potato is an important crop globally and late blight (Phytophthora infestans) often results in severe crop loss. The cost for late blight control can be in excess of $210 million in the United States. We utilised a non-parametric density distribution analysis of local temperature (T) and relative humidity (RH), from 2005 to 2009, to assess and validate sporangia survival potential using survival model and late blight risks during the potato cropping season at Presque Isle, in the northern part of the state of Maine, USA. Modelbased analyses showed that ambient temperatures of 3−30°C and RH values of 45−100% were conducive for sporangia survival. Disease outbreaks and risk periods coincided with a high sporangia survival probability (15−35%). Due to the omission of solar radiation (SR) in the computation of survival potential in previous research, we applied a Cox proportional model to estimate the probability of sporangia survival [i.e. hazard at a specific time H(t)] as a function of baseline hazard (H0) and the influencing parameters. The model is: H(t) = H0(t) × exp(0.067ET + 0.138T + 0.083RH + 0.001SR) where ET is exposure time. The survival model indicated that RH (β = 0.083) and T (β = 0.138) were significant (p < 0.05) factors in sporangia survival in comparison to SR (β = 0.001). The hazard ratio, indicative of sporangia survival risk, varied with the predictors. For the unit increase of T, sporangia survival hazard increased by 1.148 times. The Cox model and sporangia hazard probabilities can be used for short-term disease forecasts based on the risk period most conducive for pathogen survival and targeted fungicide applications for optimum late blight management.
Romantic Acts and Depression

The aim of the present study was to provide an examination of the relationship between the importance individuals attach to romantic acts and depressive symptoms. Among 140 male and 160 female English undergraduate students, the importance individuals attach to romantic acts is significantly negatively correlated with higher scores on the Beck Depression Inventory and the Depression symptoms subscale of the General Health Questionnaire among the men only.
Integrated Logistics Network for the Supply Chain of Locally Produced Food, Part I: Location and Route Optimization Analyses

Due to a growing interest in locally produced food (LPF), there is a tendency of promoting local food systems. The ob-jective of this study was to investigate the existing flow of LPF from producers to consumers and develop a coordinated and efficient distribution system for producers in Halland region, Sweden. An integrated logistics network (ILN) em-bracing producers, retailers, a collection centre (CC) and a distribution centre (DC) was proposed. Data collection, location analysis and route optimisation analysis were conducted. Geographic information system (GIS) and Route LogiX software were utilised for the analyses. Four scenarios of food distribution were identified and analyzed. When compared to the existing system, the best scenario improved transport distance, time and number of routes up to 93%, 92% and 87% respectively. The distribution of LPF was integrated into large scale food distribution channel (LSFDC) and this could increase the sustainability of local food system.
Lymphoepithelioma-Like Carcinoma of the Uterine Cervix

We describe two rare cervical tumors having morphologic features closely resembling those of the nasopharyngeal lymphoepithelioma. This entity has historically been classified as a subtype of squamous cell carcinoma, but after reviewing the literature and the two cases presented here, we propose that this tumor is a distinct carcinoma of the cervix that differs from squamous cell carcinoma in that it carries a more favorable prognosis, typically affects a younger population of women, is more prevalent in noncaucasian populations (especially those of Asian descent), and lacks a clearly defined association with infection due to human papilloma virus (HPV).
Microalbuminuria is a predictor of chronic renal insufficiency in patients without diabetes and with hypertension: the MAGIC study.

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES Increased urinary albumin excretion is a known risk factor for cardiovascular events and clinical nephropathy in patients with diabetes. Whether microalbuminuria predicts long-term development of chronic renal insufficiency (CRI) in patients without diabetes and with primary hypertension remains to be documented. DESIGN, SETTING, PARTICIPANTS, & MEASUREMENTS We conducted an 11.8-year follow-up of 917 patients who did not have diabetes and had hypertension and were enrolled in the Microalbuminuria: A Genoa Investigation on Complications (MAGIC) cohort between 1993 and 1997. Urinary albumin-to-creatinine ratio (ACR) was assessed at baseline in untreated patients in a core laboratory. Microalbuminuria was defined as ACR > or =22 mg/g in men and ACR > or =31 mg/g in women. RESULTS A total of 10,268 person-years of follow-up revealed that baseline microalbuminuria was associated with an increased risk for developing CRI (relative risk [RR] 7.61; 95% confidence interval [CI] 3.19 to 8.16; P < 0.0001), cardiovascular events (composite of fatal and nonfatal cardiac and cerebrovascular events; RR 2.11; 95% CI 1.08 to 4.13; P < 0.028), and cardiorenal events (composite of former end points; RR 3.21; 95% CI 1.86 to 5.53; P < 0.0001). Microalbuminuria remained significantly related to CRI (RR 12.75; 95% CI 3.62 to 44.92; P < 0.0001) and cardiorenal events (RR 2.58; 95% CI 1.32 to 5.05; P = 0.0056) even after adjustment for several baseline covariates. CONCLUSIONS Microalbuminuria is an independent predictor of renal and cardiovascular complications in patients without diabetes and with primary hypertension.
Temporal Separation and Self-Rating of Alertness as Indicators of Driver Fatigue in Commercial Motor Vehicle Operators

This on-road field investigation employed, for the first time, a completely automated trigger-based data collection system capable of evaluating driver performance in an extended-duration real-world commercial motor vehicle environment. The study examined the use of self-assessment of fatigue (Karolinska Sleepiness Scale) and temporal separation (minimum time to collision, minimum headway, and mean headway) as indicators of driver fatigue. Without exception, the correlation analyses for both the self-rating of alertness and temporal separation yielded models low in associative ability; neither metric was found to be a valid indicator of driver fatigue. In addition, based upon the data collected for this research, preliminary evidence suggests that driver fatigue onset within a real-world driving environment does not appear to follow the standard progression of events associated with the onset of fatigue within a simulated driving environment. Application of this research includes the development of an on-board driver performance/fatigue monitoring system that could potentially assist drivers in identifying the onset of fatigue.
Conditional persistence and tolerance characterize endoparasite–colonial host interactions

SUMMARY Colonial hosts offer unique opportunities for exploitation by endoparasites resulting from extensive clonal propagation, but these interactions are poorly understood. The freshwater bryozoan, Fredericella sultana, and the myxozoan, Tetracapsuloides bryosalmonae, present an appropriate model system for examining such interactions. F. sultana propagates mainly asexually, through colony fragmentation and dormant propagules (statoblasts). Our study examines how T. bryosalmonae exploits the multiple transmission routes offered by the propagation of F. sultana, evaluates the effects of such transmission on its bryozoan host, and tests the hypothesis that poor host condition provokes T. bryosalmonae to bail out of a resource that may soon be unsustainable, demonstrating terminal investment. We show that infections are present in substantial proportions of colony fragments and statoblasts over space and time and that moderate infection levels promote statoblast hatching and hence effective fecundity. We also found evidence for terminal investment, with host starvation inducing the development of transmission stages. Our results contribute to a growing picture that interactions of T. bryosalmonae and F. sultana are generally characterized by parasite persistence, facilitated by multiple transmission pathways and host condition-dependent developmental cycling, and host tolerance, promoted by effective fecundity effects and an inherent capacity for renewed growth and clonal replication.
Family decision-making for educational expenditure: new evidence from survey data for Nigeria

ABSTRACT This study examines the determinants of educational expenditures by households in Nigeria. Data from the Nigerian General Household Survey, Panel 2012/2013, Wave 2 was used and a double-hurdle model was employed for the analysis. The results suggest household income, the age, education, gender of the household heads and urban versus rural residence have a significant impact on the decision to spend on education. Such expenditures are income elastic overall, but are very different in magnitude for low income compared to higher income families. It is found that the income elasticity of education expenditures are approximately four times greater for households in the bottom two-thirds of the income distribution than for those on the top one-third of the income distribution.
Demagnetizing factors for rectangular prisms

For rectangular prisms of dimensions 2a/spl times/2b/spl times/2c with constant material susceptibility /spl chi/, we have calculated and tabulated the fluxmetric and magnetometric demagnetizing factors N/sub f/ and N/sub m/, defined along the 2c dimension as functions of c/(ab)/sup 1/2/(=1/spl sim/500), a/b(=1/spl sim/256), and /spl chi/(=0/spl sim/10/sup 9/). We introduce an interpolation technique for obtaining N/sub f,m/ with arbitrary values of c/(ab)/sup 1/2/, a/b, and /spl chi/.
Effects of the rate of muscle post mortem pH fall on the technological quality of turkey meat

1. This experiment evaluated the influence of the rate of post mortem pH fall on the processing ability of turkey meat. 2. Four hundred and twenty male turkeys from a selected pure line (grand-parental female line, BUT Ltd) were slaughtered at 16 weeks of age in a commercial plant and pH was measured in the Pectoralis superficialis (PS) and Ilio tibialis (IT) muscles, at 20 min post mortem . Three groups of PS muscle differing in pH 20 and two groups of IT muscle differing in pH 20 were constituted and processed as cured-cooked white meat and turkey ham, respectively. 3. The technological yield was lower in the groups showing the lowest pH 20 (97.4% at pH 20 5.90 vs 98.6 and 98.3% at pH 20 6.24 and 6.55, respectively, for white meat and 97.2% (pH 20 6.28) vs 98.3% (pH 20 6.56) for turkey hams). The groups showing the lowest pH 20 also showed higher drip loss in commercially packed products. 4. Acceptability tests of processed products were carried out in the commercial plant. Texture and taste of white meat were better in the highest pH group but the overall impression was similar in the lowest and the highest pH groups (mean scores of 4.2 and 4.1, respectively), due to better colour in the former (mean scores of 4.4 for the lowest pH 20 group vs 4.0 and 3.9 for the medium and highest pH 20 groups, respectively). 5. For turkey hams, the meat processed from the highest pH group got the best score for all items.
Methylation analysis of the NOTCH4 -25 C/T polymorphism in schizophrenia

Background The major histocompatability complex on chromosome 6p has often been identified as containing potential risk factors for schizophrenia. The NOTCH4 gene is located within this region (6p21.3) and sequence variants have previously shown association to the disease. It is further implicated from a functional standpoint as it plays a critical role during the neurodevelopmental process. Methods This research examined the methylation status of a region surrounding the NOTCH4 -25 C/T site in leukocyte genomic DNA and human brain regions. It also examined the polymorphism status of NOTCH4 -25 C/T. The sample included 40 individuals (16 affected, 24 controls) and 31 regions of an adult human brain (from a single individual). Results This study established that the -25 C was the only cytosine which showed methylation in any of the blood or brain samples analyzed. Furthermore, -25 C (i) was always fully or partially methylated in blood (ii) was methylated in a similar pattern between the affected and controls in the blood (iii) was variably methylated in the brain, including completely methylated, partially methylated, subtly methylated or not methylated. It also established that the -25 C/T polymorphism was not associated to schizophrenia. Conclusion The polymorphism and methylation analysis of NOTCH4 established that (i) the -25 C/T polymorphism and methylation status is not associated to schizophrenia in blood (ii) the -25 C is variably methylated in a region specific manner in the brain (iii) there is more variability observed within the brain of a single individual than in the blood among the individuals.