Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Ethnobotany of Dacryodes edulis (G.Don) H.J. Lam in Southern Nigeria 2: Practices and applications among Igbo-speaking people

Research Abstract The Igbos of Southeast Nigeria believe ube (Dacryodes edulis (G.Don) H.J. Lam) originated in the region. The plant is heavily cultivated around homes, homesteads, and village centers as a preferred reception/meeting point. It constitutes a key auxiliary income source for farm- ers, women, and vendors alike. The whole plant and/or its parts are associated with several practices and appli- cations amongst the Igbo tribal people. It is preferable to soften the fruit with hot ashes and eat it with maize. The people utilize the plant's medicinal properties for manag- ing a vast number of health conditions. In some areas, the plant is venerated as "pure" or "sacred" because of histori- cal mysterious events linked to it. The idioms and prov- erbs relating to the plant show the importance of ube in the Igbos cultural system. These connections cut across worship, marriage, birth, chieftaincy/coronation, dispute, recreation, construction, and craftworks. Ardent efforts are required to preserve this rich ethnobotanical knowl- edge as well as a section of the plant's (small-sized fruit) germplasm, which is threatened by the prevailing trade and domestication trends that favor large-sized fruit types within and beyond the tribal confines.
Prevalence and characteristics of asymptomatic norovirus infection in the community in England

SUMMARY Norovirus is a major cause of infectious intestinal disease, and a substantial prevalence of asymptomatic infection has been reported. We describe the prevalence, seasonality and characteristics of asymptomatic norovirus infection in England. Healthy individuals were recruited at random from the general population during the Study of Infectious Intestinal Disease (1993–1996). Norovirus was identified using real-time RT–PCR. The age-adjusted prevalence of asymptomatic norovirus infection was 12%; prevalence was highest in children aged <5 years and showed wintertime seasonality. More work is needed to understand whether asymptomatic infections are important for norovirus transmission leading to sporadic illness and outbreaks.
Diagnostic properties of the methacholine and mannitol bronchial challenge tests: A comparison study

Airway hyperresponsiveness is a common feature of asthma. Methacholine and mannitol are two representative agonists for bronchial challenge. They have theoretically different mechanisms of action, and may have different diagnostic properties. However, their difference has not been directly evaluated among Korean adults. In this study, we compare the diagnostic properties of methacholine and mannitol bronchial provocation tests.
Achievable Transmission Capacity of Secondary System in Cognitive Radio Networks

This paper evaluates the achievable transmission capacity of the secondary system in cognitive radio networks, defined by the spatial density of successful transmissions while guaranteeing the target outage probabilities of the secondary and the primary systems. By using stochastic geometry, the effects of the spatial densities and the transmission powers on the achievable transmission capacity is presented. Subsequently, the optimal spatial density of the secondary system and the optimal transmission power ratio of the primary system to the secondary system are derived. Furthermore, the maximum achievable transmission capacity is defined using the derived optimal values. From the theoretical results, it is shown that the optimal transmission power ratio is affected by not the density of the primary system, but the system parameters including the target outage probability. In addition, the achievable transmission capacity of the secondary system decreases as the spatial density of the primary system increases at the decreasing rate determined by the system parameters of the primary system.
Running head : GENDER DISCRIMINATION AND AUTISM The development of facial gender discrimination in typically developing individuals and individuals with autism

The current study examined the effect of exemplar typicality and the presence of hair cues on reaction time and accuracy to discriminate facial gender. High-functioning children (ages 5-7 and 8-12), adolescents (age 13-16), and adults with autism (age 17-48) and matched controls were tested with naturalistic videos on their ability to discriminate gender. Both groups showed improved abilities to discriminate gender with development. However, while typically developing children reached a level of expertise similar to the adults by 8 to 12 years of age, individuals with autism never reached this level of expertise, even as adults. The results are discussed in terms of potential differences in the type of processing that may be required for discriminating typical and atypical exemplars of gender. Parallels are also drawn to the results of previous studies of categorization of objects in individuals with autism.
An evaluation of the potential use of satellite rainfall data for input to water resource estimation models in southern Africa

Global or near global satellite rainfall data are becoming readily available and have the potential to provide the rainfall data inputs required for water resource availability modelling in the face of shrinking ground-based networks. However, the difficulties of using both sets of rainfall data in models with existing calibrations based on raingauge data are not well understood. An assessment using three basins in southern Africa yielded mixed results. There is clearly a need for some corrections to be applied to the satellite data to achieve consistency with the gauged rainfall information, but it is not usually clear what form these corrections should take. It is important to note that in some areas there are very few gauges currently available and the satellite data represent a viable substitute.
Diversity Covering AMA1-MSP119 Fusion Proteins as Malaria Vaccines

ABSTRACT To overcome polymorphism in the malaria vaccine candidate Plasmodium falciparum apical membrane antigen 1 (PfAMA1), fusion protein chimeras comprised of three diversity-covering (DiCo) PfAMA1 molecules (D1, D2, and D3) and two allelic variants of the C-terminal 19-kDa region of merozoite surface protein 1 (MSP119) (variants M1 and M2) were generated. A mixture of fusion proteins (D1M1/D2M2D3) and the D1M1D2M2D3 fusion were compared to a single-unit mixture (D1/D2/D3/M1) in an immunological study in groups of rabbits. Following immunization, titers of antibodies (Abs) against four naturally occurring PfAMA1 alleles were high for all groups, as were growth inhibition assay (GIA) levels against two antigenically distinct laboratory parasite strains. Fusion of AMA1 to MSP119 did not suppress levels of antibodies against the AMA1 component. In addition, the breadth of antibody responses was unaffected. Anti-AMA1 antibodies were largely responsible for parasite growth inhibition, as shown in reversal-of-inhibition experiments by adding competing AMA1 antigen. For all groups, titration of the MSP119 antigen into the GIA led to only a small decrease in parasite inhibition, although titers of antibodies against MSP119 were increased 15-fold for the groups immunized with fusion proteins. GIA with affinity-purified anti-MSP119 antibodies showed that the 50% inhibitory concentrations of the anti-MSP119 antibody preparations were in the same order of magnitude for all animals tested, leading to the conclusion that fusing MSP119 to PfAMA1 leads to a small but significant increase in functional antibody levels. This study shows that combination of multiple vaccine candidates in fusion proteins may lead to improved characteristics of the vaccine.
Type I collagen is a genetic modifier of matrix metalloproteinase 2 in murine skeletal development

Recessive inactivating mutations in human matrix metalloproteinase 2 (MMP2, gelatinase A) are associated with syndromes that include abnormal facial appearance, short stature, and severe bone loss. Mmp2−/− mice have only mild aspects of these abnormalities, suggesting that MMP2 function is redundant during skeletal development in the mouse. Here, we report that Mmp2−/− mice with additional mutations that render type I collagen resistant to collagenase‐mediated cleavage to TCA and TCB fragments (Col1a1r/r mice) have severe developmental defects resembling those observed in MMP2‐null humans. Composite Mmp2−/−;Col1a1r/r mice were born in expected Mendelian ratios but were half the size of wild‐type, Mmp2−/−, and Col1a1r/r mice and failed to thrive. Furthermore, composite Mmp2−/−;Col1a1r/r animals had very abnormal craniofacial features with shorter snouts, bulging skulls, incompletely developed calvarial bones and unclosed cranial sutures. In addition, trabecular bone mass was reduced concomitant with increased numbers of bone‐resorbing osteoclasts and osteopenia. In vitro, MMP2 had a unique ability among the collagenolytic MMPs to degrade mutant collagen, offering a possible explanation for the genetic interaction between Mmp2 and Col1a1r. Thus, because mutations in the type I collagen gene alter the phenotype of mice with null mutations in Mmp2, we conclude that type I collagen is an important modifier gene for Mmp2. Developmental Dynamics 236:1683–1693, 2007. © 2007 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
CULT: A unified framework for tracing and logging C-based designs

This paper presents a novel framework for tracing and logging C-based designs of embedded hardware/software systems. The development of this C-based Unified Logging and Tracing (CULT) framework was driven by the necessity of a common development support environment between different design disciplines and at different early design phases in which development takes place using C-based languages (C/C++/SystemC). The elaborated framework is highly configurable and scalable. It requires only minimal code changes in order to be used and it implements enhanced features as a dynamic configurable history and backtracking of signals and values. Further, we demonstrate the interconnection with assertion-based verification (ABV) in order to support design testing and validation in early design phases. The framework will be released as open-source project for establishing a vital community and for building up a tooling landscape around the basic capabilities.
A New Transformerless Buck–Boost Converter With Positive Output Voltage

A new transformerless buck-boost converter with simple structure is proposed in this study. Compared with the traditional buck-boost converter, the proposed buck-boost converter's voltage gain is squared times of the former's and its output voltage polarity is positive. These advantages enable it to work in a wider range of positive output. The two power switches of the proposed buck-boost converter operate synchronously. In the continuous conduction mode (CCM), two inductors are magnetized and two capacitors are discharged during the switch-on period, while two inductors are demagnetized and two capacitors are charged during the switch-off period. The operating principles, the steady-state analyses, and the small-signal model for the proposed buck-boost converter operating in CCM are presented in detail. The power electronics simulator (PSIM) and the circuit experiments are provided to validate the effectiveness of the proposed buck-boost converter.
Hyperoxia prevents exercise‐induced intrapulmonary arteriovenous shunt in healthy humans

The 100% oxygen (O2) technique has been used to detect and quantify right‐to‐left shunt for more than 50 years. The goal of this study was to determine if breathing 100% O2 affected intrapulmonary arteriovenous pathways during exercise. Seven healthy subjects (3 females) performed two exercise protocols. In Protocol I subjects performed an incremental cycle ergometer test (60 W + 30 W/2 min; breathing room air, ) and arteriovenous shunting was evaluated using saline contrast echocardiography at each stage. Once significant arteriovenous shunting was documented (bubble score = 2), workload was held constant for the remainder of the protocol and was alternated between 1.0 (hyperoxia) and 0.209 (normoxia) as follows: hyperoxia for 180 s, normoxia for 120 s, hyperoxia for 120 s, normoxia for 120 s, hyperoxia for 60 s and normoxia for 120 s. For Protocol II, subjects performed an incremental cycle ergometer test until volitional exhaustion while continuously breathing 100% O2. In Protocol I, shunting was seen in all subjects at 120–300 W. Breathing oxygen for 1 min reduced shunting, and breathing oxygen for 2 min eliminated shunting in all subjects. Shunting promptly resumed upon breathing room air. Similarly, in Protocol II, breathing 100% O2 substantially decreased or eliminated exercise‐induced arteriovenous shunting in all subjects at submaximal and in 4/7 subjects at maximal exercise intensities. Our results suggest that alveolar hyperoxia prevents or reduces blood flow through arteriovenous shunt pathways.
Growth of Children Before Onset of Diabetes

OBJECTIVE To examine the growth of children before the onset of diabetes. RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS Heights before diagnosis, expressed as SDS, of each diabetic child identified from the diabetes register and of two age- and sex-matched control subjects were obtained from records of routine examinations performed at 3.5, 6, 11, and 13 yr. The heights of their siblings, with control subjects, also were obtained. RESULTS Diabetic children were considerably taller than control subjects before diagnosis (0–1 yr before diagnosis SDS 0.82 ± 0.26 vs. 0.16 ± 0.14, P < 0.05, n = 24; 1–2 yr before diagnosis SDS 1.02 ± 0.17 vs. 0.16 ± 0.14, P < 0.001, n = 30; 2–3 yr before diagnosis SDS 0.97 ± 0.23 vs. 0.04 ± 0.20, P < 0.005, n = 16). At more than 3 yr before diagnosis, the diabetic children were not significantly taller than control subjects (SDS 0.8 ± 0.2 vs. 0.27 ± 0.13, respectively; n = 33). The siblings of the diabetic children were no taller than control subjects. CONCLUSIONS Diabetic children, but not their siblings, were taller than control subjects before diagnosis, suggesting growth-inducing metabolic changes may precede the onset of clinical diabetes by at least 3 yr.
The pre‐autophagosomal structure organized by concerted functions of APG genes is essential for autophagosome formation

Macroautophagy is a bulk degradation process induced by starvation in eukaryotic cells. In yeast, 15 Apg proteins coordinate the formation of autophagosomes. Several key reactions performed by these proteins have been described, but a comprehensive understanding of the overall network is still lacking. Based on Apg protein localization, we have identified a novel structure that functions in autophagosome formation. This pre‐autophagosomal structure, containing at least five Apg proteins, i.e. Apg1p, Apg2p, Apg5p, Aut7p/Apg8p and Apg16p, is localized in the vicinity of the vacuole. Analysis of apg mutants revealed that the formation of both a phosphatidylethanolamine‐conjugated Aut7p and an Apg12p–Apg5p conjugate is essential for the localization of Aut7p to the pre‐autophagosomal structure. Vps30p/Apg6p and Apg14p, components of an autophagy‐ specific phosphatidylinositol 3‐kinase complex, Apg9p and Apg16p are all required for the localization of Apg5p and Aut7p to the structure. The Apg1p protein kinase complex functions in the late stage of autophagosome formation. Here, we present the classification of Apg proteins into three groups that reflect each step of autophagosome formation.
Dual-Energy X-Ray Absorptiometry

Assessment of bone mineral density (BMD) by dual-energy x-ray absorptiometry (DXA) plays a vital role in the diagnosis of osteoporosis and in monitoring a patient's response to drug therapy. This commentary will discuss controversies surrounding the use of DXA for screening and monitoring of BMD in women.
Polarization anisotropy in lidar multiple scattering from atmospheric clouds.

The use of polarization information in lidar measurements of the atmosphere, has proven to be a very useful technique, particularly for cloud diagnostics.1 The backscattering of liquid water droplets has very different polarization characteristics from the backscattering of ice crystals, and in many situations it is possible to use the polarization signatures to discriminate between ice and water in atmospheric clouds. Also of considerable importance is the utilization of lidar polarization information for separating the contributions of single and multiple scattering in water droplet clouds. When such clouds of perfectly spherical scatterers are illuminated by linearly polarized radiation, the single scattering in the backward direction, retains the linear polarization of the incident beam, while the multiple scattering introduces a cross-polarized component. (We designate the parallel and cross-polarized components as I‖ and I⊥ respectively). Because the I⊥ component can only arise from the multiple scattering process, observation of the polization components provides a direct measure of the multiple scattering taking place in the cloud. Since most lidar analyses assume that only single scattering is occurring, the ability to quantitatively detect the presence of multiple scattering is extremely valuable in most cloud lidar investigations. As a result lidar systems have been designed to permit such measurements. In the lidar systems, the polarization measurement is performed on the backscattered laser radiation which falls within the field of view of the lidar receiver. Implicit in the polarization measurement is the assumption that the polarization state is uniform within the field of view and that the measured properties reflect the polarization state of the entire scattering volume viewed by the receiver.
Electronic Collections and Wired Faculty

This article explores the relevance between electronic resources and faculty in their teaching and research. The role these resources play in faculty planning for their own research and their planning for their students' research, individual learning, and classroom activities are all explored. Additionally, issues pertaining to geographically dispersed students and faculty, copyright, and computer skills are included. The discussion uses The Pennsylvania State University as a model, and a spectrum of Penn State faculty were interviewed and provided information about their work and the impact of electronic resources.
Positive Feedback by Estrogen and Progesterone on LH Release in Old and Young Rats 1

Summary Young cycling rats 60 to 70 days of age, and old irregular-cycling or con-stant-estrous rats 10 to 11 months of age were ovariectomized. At 25 or 52 days after ovariectomy, they were each given a single injection of 8 μg of estradiol benzoate/100 g of body weight, followed 72 hr later by a single injection of 0.8 mg of progesterone/ 100 g of body weight. Radioimmunoassay of serum LH from blood samples removed 4,6,8, and 10 hr after progesterone administration showed that LH rose significantly more in the young than in the old, former constant-estrous rats 25 days after ovariec-tomy, and more than in either group of old rats at 55 days after ovariectomy. These results indicate that the positive feedback of estrogen and progesterone on LH release is reduced in old as compared to young cycling female rats, and is believed to account at least in part for the irregular cycling, and failure of ovulation in the old constant-estrous rats.
Critical evaluation of a multi-element scheme using plasma emission and hydride evolution atomic-absorption spectrometry for the analysis of plant and animal tissues.

An analytical scheme that uses inductively coupled argon plasma emission spectroscopy (ICAP) and hydride evolution atomic-absorption spectrometry (HEAA) for the determination of trace elements in plant and animal tissues has been evaluated. The scheme incorporates the ion-exchange procedure of Kingston et al., which uses Chelex 100 resin to concentrate trace elements and remove potentially interfering alkali and alkaline earth metals. The separation procedure is included in a scheme designed to maximise the number of analyte metals that can be determined from a single digestion of a biological matrix. Acid-digested samples are divided into two fractions. One fraction (5% of the total) is measured directly by ICAP for alkali and alkaline earth metals and phosphorus and for transition metals such as iron and manganese, which are not well behaved on the resin. The other fraction (95% of the total) is subjected to the separation procedure whereby a number of biologically important trace elements, including cadmium, copper, molybdenum, nickel, vanadium and zinc, are initially sequestered by the resin, and then stripped into a small volume of dilute nitric acid for ICAP measurement of the “matrix-free” analytes. Arsenic, selenium and antimony, which are not retained by the resin, are collected with the initial column effluent, acidified and determined by HEAA. The reliability of the scheme is influenced by the nature of the acid digestion procedure used to oxidise the organic matrix. The scheme was tested by analysis of ten National Bureau of Standards biological reference materials.
Antifungal Resistance to Fluconazole and Echinocandins Is Not Emerging in Yeast Isolates Causing Fungemia in a Spanish Tertiary Care Center

ABSTRACT Accurate knowledge of fungemia epidemiology requires identification of strains to the molecular level. Various studies have shown that the rate of resistance to fluconazole ranges from 2.5% to 9% in Candida spp. isolated from blood samples. However, trends in antifungal resistance have received little attention and have been studied only using CLSI M27-A3 methodology. We assessed the fungemia epidemiology in a large tertiary care institution in Madrid, Spain, by identifying isolates to the molecular level and performing antifungal susceptibility testing according to the updated breakpoints of European Committee for Antimicrobial Susceptibility Testing (EUCAST) definitive document (EDef) 7.2. We studied 613 isolates causing 598 episodes of fungemia in 544 patients admitted to our hospital (January 2007 to December 2013). Strains were identified after amplification and sequencing of the ITS1-5.8S-ITS2 region and further tested for in vitro susceptibility to amphotericin B, fluconazole, posaconazole, voriconazole, micafungin, and anidulafungin. Resistance was defined using EUCAST species-specific breakpoints, and epidemiological cutoff values (ECOFFs) were applied as tentative breakpoints. Most episodes were caused by Candida albicans (46%), Candida parapsilosis (28.7%), Candida glabrata (9.8%), and Candida tropicalis (8%). Molecular identification enabled us to better detect cryptic species of Candida guilliermondii and C. parapsilosis complexes and episodes of polyfungal fungemia. The overall percentage of fluconazole-resistant isolates was 5%, although it was higher in C. glabrata (8.6%) and non-Candida yeast isolates (47.4%). The rate of resistance to echinocandins was 4.4% and was mainly due to the presence of intrinsically resistant non-Candida species. Resistance mainly affected non-Candida yeasts. The rate of resistance to fluconazole and echinocandins did not change considerably during the study period.