Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
SELECTION FOR HIGHER THREE WEEK BODY WEIGHT IN JAPANESE QUAIL:1. EFFECT ON GROWTH PERFORMANCE

The present experiment was planned to study the effect of selection for higher three week body weight on overall growth performance in Japanese quail for three generations. Initially a total of 11000 quail chicks were procured from the hatchery of ART Centre and randomly divided into 22 groups with equal number of chicks in each. At the age of 21 days birds were weighed individually and the birds (male and female) with the highest body weight we re selected to be the parents of next generation. Out of these 22 groups, 20 groups w ere subjected to mass selection. In one group (group #21) selection was performed with full pedigree records. In group 22nd, birds were picked up randomly to be the parents of next generation without performing selection. The same procedure was repeated for all the three generations. The data on each flock in each generation were recorded regarding different parameters directly or indirectly linked with growth performance. The data were subjected to Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) in Completely Randomized Design (CRD) under factorial arrangements using GLM (General Linear Model) procedures with the help of SAS, 9.1. and the comparison of means using Duncan's Multiple Range (DMR) test depicted significant improvement in feed intake (g), body weight (g), body weight gain (g), FCR, Caloric and Protein intake / g body weight gain and decreased mortality in groups subjected to selection either mass or pedigree based while leg abnormality revealed non-significant differences in all the three groups.
Natural anticoagulant mechanisms.

The coagulation cascade is composed of a series of linked proteolytic reactions. At each stage of the mechanism, a parent zymogen is converted to a corresponding serine protease, which is responsible for a subsequent zymogen-serine protease transition. In most instances, protein cofactors are present that can be activated by serine proteases and then possess the ability to bind the above reactants to specific cell surfaces. This process usually leads to a dramatic acceleration as well as a partial localization of the reactions. The end result of these transformations is the generation ofthrombin, which is able to act upon fibrinogen and platelets to produce the hemostatic plug. Given the above information, there has been a tendency to consider the coagulation cascade as a multi-stage amplifying system in which the development ofan initial pathologic stimulus would lead to an explosive thrombotic outcome. During the past decade, considerable effort has been devoted to investigating several natural anticoagulant mechanisms that are able to exert a damping effect upon the coagulation cascade. These studies have significantly altered our understanding of the functioning of the hemostatic mechanism within the vascular tree. In this review, we shall discuss recent advances in our knowledge of the biochemistry and pathophysiology of three major anticoagulant mechanisms that are directed at regulating the three different types of protein transformations that are known to occur within the coagulation system. The latter events include generation of serine proteases, production of activated cofactors, and polymerization of fibrin. No attempt has been made to consider anticoagulant mechanisms that are able to modulate the behavior of platelets since this area of investigation is suf-
The Identification of a Novel Natural Activator of p300 Histone Acetyltranferase Provides New Insights into the Modulation Mechanism of this Enzyme

Many severe human pathologies are related to alterations of the fine balance between histone acetylation and deacetylation; because not all such diseases involve hypoacetylation, but also hyperacetylation, compounds able to enhance or repress the activities of histone acetyltransferases (HATs) could be promising therapeutic agents. We evaluated in vitro and in cell the ability of eleven natural polyisoprenylated benzophenone derivatives to modulate the HAT activity of p300/CBP, an enzyme that plays a pivotal role in a variety of cellular processes. Some of the tested compounds bound efficiently to the p300/CBP protein: in particular, guttiferone A, guttiferone E and clusianone inhibit its HAT activity, whereas nemorosone showed a surprising ability to activate the enzyme. The ability of nemorosone to penetrate cell membranes and modulate histone acetylation into the cell together with its high affinity for the p300/CBP enzyme made this compound a suitable lead for the design of optimized anticancer drugs. Besides, the studies performed at a cellular and molecular level on both the inhibitors and the activator provided new insights into the modulation mechanism of p300/CBP by small molecules.
Prospective Evaluation of New 22 Gauge Endoscopic Ultrasound Core Needle Using Capillary Sampling With Stylet Slow-Pull Technique for Intra-Abdominal Solid Masses

Goals: The aim of this study was to evaluate the adequacy and diagnostic yield of the histologic core obtained with a 22 G endoscopic ultrasound histology needle using capillary sampling with stylet slow-pull technique without on-site cytopathologist. Background: No standard technique for new EUS histology needle has been established. Study: A total of 125 consecutive patients with intra-abdominal solid masses were enrolled prospectively between October 2011 and March 2013. EUS-guided fine needle biopsy (EUS-FNB) with a 22 G histology needle using capillary sampling with stylet slow-pull technique was performed. Results: A total of 133 EUS-FNB procedures targeting the pancreas, lymph node, retroperitoneal mass, ampulla of Vater, gallbladder, common bile duct, duodenum, and liver were performed in 125 patients. EUS-FNB was technically feasible in all cases, and a visible core was obtained in 128 cases (96%). Histologic core specimens suitable for pathologic assessment were reported in 111 cases (83%). There were no procedure-related adverse events. According to the determinants of malignancy with EUS-FNB, the sensitivity, specificity, positive and negative predictive values, and accuracy were 85%, 98%, 99%, 77%, and 89%, respectively. In addition, histologic architecture with or without immunohistochemical staining of the core biopsy specimens was useful for pathologic confirmation in 101 cases (76%). Conclusions: A 22 G EUS-FNB using capillary sampling with stylet slow-pull technique showed a high diagnostic yield and histologic core acquisition for the histologic diagnosis of various intra-abdominal masses without an on-site cytopathologist. Furthermore, a histologic core with or without immunohistochemical staining was helpful for clinical decision making in 76% of the intra-abdominal solid masses.
Optimization of Multilayer Shields Made of Composite Nanostructured Materials

In this paper, we propose a multilayer nanostructured composite for broadband shielding applications. Layers disposal, electrical parameters, and thicknesses are optimized through a winning particle optimization algorithm to achieve the minimization of the transmitted waves. The structures are simulated by including the forward/backward scattering matrix formalism in the optimization code. The adopted algorithm is the recently introduced winning particle optimization. Manufacturing of the composites is grounded on the optimization procedure. Thanks to the macroscopic absorption features of such nanostructured layers, very thin and lightweight composites can be produced. Several weight percentages of multiwall carbon nanotubes are considered in composite base material manufacturing, also including 6wt% and 15wt% in order to enhance the electromagnetic shielding performance. Prototypes are tested in the microwave region, showing the reliability of the optimization procedure.
Central Pacific Seabirds and the El Ni�o Southern Oscillation: 1982 to 1983 Perspectives

The breeding chronology and reproductive attempts of the seabird community on Christmas Island in the central Pacific Ocean (2�N, 157�W) were interrupted by the 1982-1983 El Ni�o Southern Oscillation. The resultant reproductive failure and disappearance of the entire seabird community of this equatorial atoll represents the most dramatic interruption on record of a seabird community located distant from coastal upwelling. Our data indicate the effect that the abiotic and biotic aspects of a global atmospheric-oceanic anomaly have on marine birds. The 1982-1983 El Ni�o Southern Oscillation provides an example of selective pressures and a natural experiment in the study of vertebrate population dynamics.
A low-profile, wideband circularly polarized curl antenna backed by a polarization dependent reflector

The use of polarization dependent high impedance surface (PDHIS) as a reflector for a curl antenna, that can miniaturize the size and significantly enhance the axial ratio bandwidth of the curl antenna is presented. High impedance surfaces are able to exhibit interesting in-phase reflection and polarization-dependent (PD) characteristics. This paper describes a novel application of the PDHIS reflector built by microstrip technology as a ground plane for the curl antenna. As a consequence, for the curl antenna backed by a PD reflector, a 10% increases in 3-dB axial ratio bandwidth and about a quarter wavelength reduction in total size are achieved as compared to the curl antenna backed by a PEC reflector.
Enzyme-linked immunospot and tuberculin skin testing to detect latent tuberculosis infection.

RATIONALE Diagnosis of latent tuberculosis infection (LTBI) is currently based on the tuberculin skin test. The enzyme-linked immunospot assay (ELISPOT) is a new blood test to diagnose LTBI. OBJECTIVE To compare the ELISPOT and the tuberculin skin test for detecting LTBI in contacts of patients with tuberculosis. METHODS Prospective study of 413 contacts of patients with tuberculosis. MEASUREMENTS AND MAIN RESULTS Because there is no gold standard for LTBI, the sensitivity and specificity of the ELISPOT and tuberculin skin test cannot be directly measured. For each contact, we therefore estimated the likelihood of having LTBI by calculating a contact score that quantified exposure to and infectiousness of the index case. We analyzed the relationship of contact score to ELISPOT and tuberculin skin test results. The likelihood of a positive ELISPOT (p = 0.0005) and a tuberculin skin test (p = 0.01) increased significantly with rising contact scores. The contact score was more strongly related to the ELISPOT than to the tuberculin skin test results, although this difference was not statistically significant. Among U.S.-born persons and those who were not vaccinated with bacille Calmette-Guérin, approximately 30% had positive ELISPOT or tuberculin skin test results. Foreign-born, bacille Calmette-Guérin-vaccinated persons were significantly more likely to have a positive tuberculin skin test than a positive ELISPOT result (p < 0.0001). CONCLUSIONS Compared with the tuberculin skin test, the ELISPOT appears to be at least as sensitive for diagnosis of LTBI in contacts of patients with tuberculosis.
The vascular resistance of the foetal and newly ventilated lung of the lamb

Ventilation of the lungs of a foetal lamb causes an immediate large reduction in pulmonary vascular resistance, whether the lungs are ventilated with air, oxygen or nitrogen (Dawes, Mott, Widdicombe & Wyatt, 1953). Further experiments on isolated perfused lungs (Born, Dawes & Mott, 1955) and in vivo (Dawes & Mott, 1962; Cook, Drinker, Jacobson, Levison & Strang, 1963) showed that substitution of air for nitrogen as the ventilating gas often caused a further increase in pulmonary vasodilatation. Cook et al. (1963) also observed that addition of C02 to the ventilating gas mixture caused vasoconstriction, and that stepwise static inflations and deflations of the foetal lung with nitrogen did not cause a large reduction in pulmonary vascular resistance. The present experiments were undertaken to determine whether rhythmic inflation of the foetal lungs with a gas mixture, chosen so as to cause little change in arterial Pco, or Po2, would result in pulmonary vasodilatation; and to measure the relative magnitude of the vascular changes caused by ventilation with different gas mixtures.
Neurobehavioral Outcome in Persons With Violent or Nonviolent Traumatic Brain Injury

Objective:To broaden the investigation of those injured violently by examining neuropsychological and psychosocial outcomes in relation to circumstances of traumatic brain injury and preinjury factors. Design:A prospective, longitudinal study. Participants:A total of 752 adults with traumatic brain injury was grouped into those injured by violent or nonviolent circumstances and followed to 1-year post injury. Main outcome measures:Circumstance groups were compared on demographics, preexisting conditions, brain injury severity, and neuropsychological and psychosocial outcomes. Results:The results indicate significant differences between the groups on demographics, preexisting conditions, and head injury severity. Neuropsychological and psychosocial outcome did not differ between the circumstance groups when all other factors were taken into account. Conclusions:Injury severity and characteristics of the person that predate the injury were important to outcome rather than the circumstances of the injury itself.
Bayesian Estimation of the Prevalence of Suicide Risk in Institutionalized Older People

The assessment of suicide risk in institutionalized older people has received less attention in comparison with those not institutionalized. The studies carried out show contradictory data on the prevalence of risk in this population group. The current work estimates the prevalence of suicide risk through a Bayesian analysis and studies the risk factors of this behavior in a group of 110 institutionalized older people. A prevalence of 38.4% is obtained, and an association between suicide risk and the factors depression and perception of health. The results indicate to us the necessity for actions directed at decreasing the suicide rate in geriatric homes.
BISDESMOSIDIC SAPONINS FROM FRUITS OF GLEDITSIA CASPICA DESF

The isolation and characterization of three oleanane type triterpenoid saponins Gleditsia saponins C’ and E’, and Gleditsioside I from the methanol extract of fruits of Gleditsia caspica Desf. are described. Their structures were determined by 1D and 2D (H1-H1 COSY, HMQC, HMBC) NMR analysis and by acid and alkaline hydrolysis.
Activity of cephalosporins against methicillin-susceptible and methicillin-resistant, coagulase-negative staphylococci: minimal effect of beta-lactamase

Eight cephalosporins were tested for their activity against methicillin-susceptible and methicillin-resistant, coagulase-negative staphylococci and for their resistance to beta-lactamase from methicillin-resistant, coagulase-negative staphylococci. Susceptibility testing by the agar plate method was evaluated for the effect of inoculum size and duration of incubation. Methicillin-susceptible, coagulase-negative staphylococci were highly susceptible to the cephalosporins, with cephapirin and cepahlothin showing the greatest activity, followed by cefazolin and cefamandole. Methicillin-resistant, coagulase-negative staphylococci displayed nearly total cross-resistance to the cephalosporins. Resistance increased with increasing inoculum size. Beta-Lactamases produced by methicillin-resistant, coagulase-negative staphylococci had a minimal hydrolytic effect on cepahlothin, cephapirin, cefazolin, and cefamandole and no measurable effect on cefoxitin. There was no correlation between the anti-staphylococcal activity and resistance to beta-lactamases.
Influence of Dorsolateral Periaqueductal Grey (DLPAG) Lesions on Contextual Conditioning with Massed and Distributed Shock

Three experiments investigated the conditions under which electrolytic lesions of the dorsolateral periaqueductal grey (dlPAG) facilitate conditioned defensive freezing in the rat (Rattus norvegicus). Experiment 1 found that dlPAG lesions placed before context-shock pairings facilitated conditioned defensive freezing with massed but not distributed shock. No such effect was found in Experiment 2, when the lesions were placed after context-shock pairings. Experiment 3 found that dlPAG lesions facilitated subsequent conditioning with massed but not a single shock. In addition, no differences in sensitivity to thermal or shock pain were evident in lesioned and unlesioned rats. Taken together, these results are consistent with the suggestion that dlPAG activation interferes with the processing of contextual cues during association formation.
Cross-cultural adaptation, validation, and reliability testing of the Shoulder Pain and Disability Index in the Persian population with shoulder problems

We aimed to validate the translated and cross-culturally adapted Persian version of the Shoulder Pain and Disability Index (SPADI). The final Persian SPADI was administered to 190 patients, out of whom 83 patients returned for the retest. We administered the Persian version of the SF-36 quality-of-life inventory and the disabilities of the arm shoulder and hand (DASH) questionnaires at the first visit to assess the convergent validity. Cronbach’s &agr; was 0.94 for the total SPADI, which showed excellent internal consistency. The intraclass correlation coefficient was 0.84 for the total SPADI, which showed good reliability between the test and retest. Convergent validity was confirmed, as the Spearman correlation between total SPADI and DASH was 0.61. Moreover, there was significant correlation between the subscales of the SPADI and SF-36 scales. The Persian version of the SPADI proved to be a reliable and valid instrument to be implemented in the Persian population with shoulder disorders. Level of evidence: level II.
"Temperature training" during the last days of incubation: a new method to improve poultry performance.

Incubation climate can significantly influence hatchability, chick quality, and later performance in poultry. One of the most important factors is the incubation temperature (Decuypere and Michels, 1992). Changes of only 1°C from the optimum have a major impact, for instance, on hatching results in turkeys (French, 1994), but the strength of this influence depends on the time frame used and the duration of changes in incubation temperature during embryogenesis (French, 2000). Further, during ‘critical periods’ of early development incubation climate may cause life-long modifications in body functions (Tzschentke and Plagemann, 2006).
The tumor spectrum in FHIT-deficient mice

Mice carrying one inactivated Fhit allele (Fhit +/− mice) are highly susceptible to tumor induction by N-nitrosomethylbenzylamine, with 100% of Fhit +/− mice exhibiting tumors of the forestomach/squamocolumnar junction vs. 25% of Fhit +/+ controls. In the current study a single N-nitrosomethylbenzylamine dose was administered to Fhit +/+, +/−, and −/− mice to compare carcinogen susceptibility in +/- and −/− Fhit-deficient mice. At 29 weeks after treatment, 7.7% of wild-type mice had tumors. Of the Fhit −/− mice 89.5% exhibited tumors (average 3.3 tumors/mouse) of the forestomach and squamocolumnar junction; half of the −/− mice had medium (2 mm diameter) to large (>2 mm) tumors. Of the Fhit +/− mice 78% exhibited tumors (average 2.4 tumors/mouse) and 22% showed medium to large tumors. Untreated Fhit-deficient mice have been observed for up to 2 years for spontaneous tumors. Fhit +/− mice (average age 21 mo) exhibit an average of 0.94 tumors of different types; Fhit −/− mice (average age 16 mo) also showed an array of tumors (average 0.76 tumor/mouse). The similar spontaneous and induced tumor spectra observed in mice with one or both Fhit alleles inactivated suggests that Fhit may be a one-hit tumor suppressor gene in some tissues.
A general model for the African trypanosomiases

SUMMARY A general mathematical model of a vector-borne disease involving two vertebrate host species and one insect vector species is described. The model is easily extended to other situations involving more than two hosts and one vector species. The model, which was developed from the single-host model for malaria described by Aron & May (1982), is applied to the African trypanosomiases and allows for incubation and immune periods in the two host species and for variable efficiency of transmission of different trypanosome species from the vertebrates to the vectors and vice versa. Equations are derived for equilibrium disease prevalence in each of the species involved. Model predictions are examined by 3-dimensional phase-plane analysis, which is presented as a simple extension of the 2-dimensional phase-plane analysis of the malaria model. Parameter values appropriate for the African trypanosomiases are derived from the literature, and a typical West African village situation is considered, with 300 humans, 50 domestic animals and an average population of 5000 tsetse flies. The model predicts equilibrium prevalences of Trypanosoma vivax, T. congolense and T. brucei of 47·0, 45·8 and 28·7% respectively in the animal hosts, 24·2, 3·4 and 0·15% in the tsetse vectors, and a 7·0% infection of humans with human-infective T. brucei. The contribution to the basic rate of reproduction of the human-infective T. brucei is only 0·11 from the human hosts and 2·54 from the animal hosts, indicating that in the situation modelled human sleeping sickness cannot be maintained in the human hosts alone. The animal reservoir is therefore crucial in determining not only the continued occurrence of the disease in humans, but its prevalence in these hosts as well. The effect of changing average fly density on equilibrium disease prevalences is examined, together with the effect of seasonal changes in fly numbers on disease incidence. In a seasonal situation changes in fly mortality rates affect both future population size and infection rate. Peak disease incidence lags behind peak fly numbers, and that in the less favoured host lags behind that in the more favoured host. Near the threshold fly density for disease transmission disease incidence is more changeable than at higher fly densities and may even exceed equilibrium prevalence at the same average fly density (because most hosts are susceptible at the time that fly numbers begin their annual increase). The implications of the model for disease control are discussed. Identifying the precise role of the animal reservoir may suggest that treating such animals will achieve a greater reduction of human sleeping sickness than direct treatment of the humans alone. Statistically significant results of control campaigns may also be more easily shown by monitoring the non-human reservoirs. The model provides a means by which a correct perspective view can be obtained of the complex epidemiology and epizootiology of the African trypanosomiases.
Modeling Objects with Local Descriptors of Biologically Motivated Selective Attention

Recent work in visual retrieval shows that bag-of-features (BoF) has appeared promising for object recognition and categorization. Local descriptors such as SIFT have shown impressive results on objects. The main idea of BoF is to depict each image as an orderless collection of local keypoint features. However, not all the local keypoint features are important for retrieving objects and rather, the user is often interested in saliency regions of object classes. Therefore, we propose a new method for modeling attention objects with local descriptors. The proposed model in conjunction with a biologically motivated selective attention model can extract the salient regions of each image. In order to model attention objects, we propose a new attention-based SIFT algorithm using scale contract information and local keypoint features to reflect more exact saliency in object classes. Computer experimental results on both Caltech 101 object category datasets and TRECVID2007 datasets shows that the proposed model can generate competitive performance.