Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Copper oxide needles administered during early pregnancy improve the copper status of ewes and their lambs

Abstract AIM: To determine the effect of copper oxide (CVO) needles administered orally to ewes in early pregnancy on the copper (Cu) status of ewes throughout gestation and lactation, and of their lambs from birth to weaning. METHODS: In mid-April, after mating, 12 twin-bearing ewes were given an oral capsule containing 5 g CuO needles while 12 others served as untreated controls. Changes in Cu status were monitored by determining serum and liver Cu concentrations on Days 1, 62, 117, 153, 185 and 216 in the ewes, and at 1, 36, 68 and 99 days of age for lambs. Pasture herbage samples were collected at about 60-day intervals for Cu, molybdenum (Mo), iron (Fe) and sulphur (S) determinations. RESULTS: Copper status of the ewe flock was adequate, as initial mean serum and liver Cu concentrations were 15 μmol/L and 1,060 μmol/kg fresh tissue, respectively. The CuO needles did not affect serum Cu concentrations of the ewes or their lambs. Mean serum Cu concentration of all lambs at birth was about half that of ewes (8 vs 17 μmol/L), regardless of Cu supplementation, and not until at least 68 days of age was it similar to the dams'. Liver Cu concentrations of lambs at birth were also lower than that of the ewes (380 vs 640 μmol/kg fresh tissue among the controls), but changed little over time. CuO treatment increased liver Cu concentration in ewes for at least 185 days and in lambs for 36 days (p<0.05). Among untreated ewes, there was a seasonal decline in mean liver Cu concentrations, which were highest in autumn and lowest in early spring (1,060 vs 370 μmol/kg fresh tissue). The mean pasture mineral concentrations were Cu 5.7, Mo 0.48, Fe 194 and S 2,900 mg/kg dry matter (DM). CONCLUSIONS: CuO needles administered to ewes in early pregnancy increased their Cu status through gestation and early lactation, and the Cu status of their lambs for 36 days from birth. Serum Cu concentration was not affected by treatment but a marked rise was observed in all lambs between birth and 10 weeks of age. CLINICAL RELEVANCE: Copper deficiency in young lambs may be conveniently and effectively prevented by treating ewes with CuO needles during early pregnancy. The serum Cu concentration in lambs <8 weeks old may not reflect the Cu status of the flock.
Biodegradation of polyether‐polyol‐based polyurethane elastomeric films: influence of partial replacement of polyether polyol by biopolymers of renewable origin

In this work we investigated the degradation process of polyether‐polyol‐based polyurethane (PUR) elastomeric films in the presence of a mixed thermophilic culture as a model of a natural bacterial consortium. The presence of PUR material in cultivation medium resulted in delayed but intensive growth of the bacterial culture. The unusually long lag phase was caused by the release of unreacted polyether polyol and tin catalyst from the material. The lag phase was significantly shortened and the biodegradability of PUR materials was enhanced by partial replacement (10%) of polyether polyol with biopolymers (carboxymethyl cellulose, hydroxyethyl cellulose, acetyl cellulose and actylated starch). The process of material degradation consisted of two steps. First, the materials were mechanically disrupted and, second, the bacterial culture was able to utilize abiotic degradation products, which resulted in supported bacterial growth. Direct utilization of PUR by the bacterial culture was observed as well, but the bacterial culture contributed only slightly to the total mass losses. The only exception was PUR material modified by acetyl cellulose. In this case, direct biodegradation represented the major mechanism of material decomposition. Moreover, PUR material modified by acetyl cellulose did not tend to undergo abiotic degradation. In conclusion, the modification of PUR by proper biopolymers is a promising strategy for reducing potential negative effects of waste PUR materials on the environment and enhancing their biodegradability.
Utilization of Bone Morphogenetic Protein Receptors During Chondrocyte Maturation

Cartilage from the upper, cephalic portion of embryonic chick sternums undergoes hypertrophy, while the lower, caudal portion of the sternum remains as cartilage. Bone morphogenetic proteins (BMPs) induce type X collagen (colX) in cultured upper but not lower sternal chondrocytes (LSCs). We have examined the utilization of BMP receptors (BMPRs) by upper sternal chondrocytes (USCs) and LSCs both by analyzing receptor expression and by overexpressing mutant BMPRs. Reverse‐transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT‐PCR) analyses indicate that both upper and lower chondrocytes produce messenger RNA (mRNA) for all three receptors: BMPR type IA (BMPR‐IA), BMPR type IB (BMPR‐IB), and BMPR type II (BMPR‐II). Infection of USC with retroviral vectors expressing constitutively active (CA) BMPRs showed that CA‐BMPR‐IB, like exogenous BMP‐4, induced both colX mRNA and elevated alkaline phosphatase (AP), while CA‐BMPR‐IA was markedly less potent. However, expression of activated receptors in LSC cultures resulted in only minimal induction of hypertrophic markers. Consistent with the results seen for CA receptors, dominant negative (DN) BMPR‐IB blocked BMP‐induced hypertrophy in USCs more effectively than DN‐BMPR‐IA. These results imply that the major BMPR required for BMP induction of chondrocyte hypertrophy is BMPR‐IB, and that difference between permanent and prehypertrophic chondrocytes is not caused by absence of receptors required for BMP signaling.
Alternative splicing in spinal muscular atrophy underscores the role of an intron definition model

Humans have two nearly identical copies of the Survival Motor Neuron (SMN) gene: SMN1 and SMN2. The two SMN genes code for identical proteins; however, SMN2 predominantly generates a shorter transcript due to skipping of exon 7, the last coding exon. Skipping of SMN2 exon 7 leads to production of a truncated SMN protein that is highly unstable. The inability of SMN2 to compensate for the loss of SMN1 results in spinal muscular atrophy (SMA), the second most prevalent genetic cause of infant mortality. Since SMN2 is almost universally present in SMA patients, correction of SMN2 exon 7 splicing holds the promise for cure. Consistently, SMN2 exon 7 splicing has emerged as one of the best studied splicing systems in humans. The vast amount of recent literature provides a clue that SMN2 exon 7 splicing is regulated by an intron definition mechanism, which does not require cross-exon communication as prerequisite for exon inclusion. Our conclusion is based on the prominent role of intronic cis-elements, some of them have emerged as the frontrunners among potential therapeutic targets of SMA. Further, the widely expressed T-cell-restricted intracellular antigen-1 (TIA1), a member of the Q-rich domain containing RNA-binding proteins, has recently been found to regulate SMN exon 7 splicing by binding to intron 7 sequences away from the 5′ ss. These findings make a strong argument for an "intron definition model", according to which regulatory sequences within a downstream intron are capable of enforcing exon inclusion even in the absence of a defined upstream 3′ ss of an alternatively spliced exon.
Market-Consistent Valuation of Natural Catastrophe Risk

Natural catastrophe risk is increasingly covered through alternative capital instead of classical reinsurance. Due to the absence of a secondary market for many of the associated instruments, their ongoing valuation poses a challenge to investors. We suggest extracting pricing information contained in regularly observed catastrophe bond quotes by means of a reduced form model. The resulting implied Poisson intensities are shown to materially depend on the time to maturity and modeled probability of first loss. Along these two dimensions, we estimate smooth hazard rate surfaces for peak and non-peak perils that allow us to mark any catastrophe risk contract to market.
Prevalence of Personality Disorders among Clients in Treatment for Addiction

This study determined the prevalence of personality disorders among clients in treatment for addiction; this prevalence was compared with those found in similar studies and in clinical samples of individuals suffering from other Axis I disorders. Our sample comprised 255 subjects. The first edition of the Millon Clinical Multiaxial Inventory (MCMI) was used. Only 11.8% of the subjects did not score over 84 on any of the 11 Axis II scales. Over one-half had a score of 84 or higher on the passive-aggressive and dependent-personality scales. The mean number of scales in the 84+ category was 2.68. Comparisons show that this sample was more severe in most cases.
Absence of p350 subunit of DNA-activated protein kinase from a radiosensitive human cell line

The radiosensitive rodent mutant cell line xrs-5 is defective in DNA double-strand break repair and lacks the Ku component of the DNA-activated protein kinase, DNA-PK. Here radiosensitive human cell lines were analyzed for DNA-PK activity and for the presence of related proteins. The radiosensitive human malignant glioma M059J cell line was found to be defective in DNA double-strand break repair, but fails to express the p350 subunit of DNA-PK. These results suggest that DNA-PK kinase activity is involved in DNA double-strand break repair.
MATERNAL EXERCISE AS A SCREENING TEST FOR UTEROPLACENTAL INSUFFICIENCY (UPI)

The majority of distressed fetuses and infants discovered during labor and delivery occur in seemingly normal pregnancies. Identification of these infants prior to labor was attempted by screening mothers for UPI with an exercise test at 35-37 weeks gestation. In addition, the relationship between maternal physical fitness (PF) and UPI was evaluated. Fetal heart rate was measured prior to and following maternal exercise. A change in the fetal heart rate of more than 16 beats per minute was considered to be a “positive” test. Five fetuses of 54 women tested had positive tests, 4 of whom subsequently developed fetal distress during labor and delivery. Seven additional infants developed fetal distress during labor and delivery; 6 of these, however, had compromised umbilical circulations. PF was unrelated to UPI in the subjects tested. It is suggested that women with “positive” exercise tests be monitored carefully during labor and delivery and perhaps advised to avoid strenuous activity in the interim.
A STUDY OF NEONATAL JAUNDICE IN A TERTIARY CARE CENTRE IN EASTERN BIHAR.

Neonatal hyperbilirubinemia is the most common reason for admission in the neonatal period (first month of life) worldwide.The skin of the newborn baby becomes jaundiced, which is caused by a high level of bilirubin in the blood. In some neonates the level of bilirubin increases to a level that can cause braindamage or even death. Hyperbilirubinemia is a common problem during the neonatal period occurring in up to 60% of term and 80% of preterm babies in the first week of life. Some of the most common causes of neonatal jaundice include physiological jaundice, breast feeding or non feeding jaundice, breast milk jaundice, prematurity and ABO incompatibility. Aims and objectives of study: To study the incidence, various risk factors in newborns with clinical jaundice progressing to jaundice needing treatment and to assess no. of neonates requiring phototherapy & exchange transfusion in JawaharLal Nehru Medical College and Hospital, Bhagalpur, Bihar, during June 2016 to July 2017. Method: The present study was a prospective hospital based study involving all neonates who were born at JawaharLal Nehru Medical College and Hospital, Bhagalpur, Bihar. Observation: Out of 280 newborns, 136 (48.57%) newborns developed clinical jaundice. Out of 136 newborns with clinical jaundice, 83 (61%) newborns developed physiological jaundice and 53 (39%) newborns developed non physiological jaundice requiring therapeutic intervention in the form of phototherapy or exchange transfusion. Conclusion: Present study concludes that the leading cause of pathological jaundice is breastfeeding jaundice, ABO incompatibility and prematurity.
Critical Factors Influencing E-Banking Service Adoption in Jordanian Commercial Banks: A Proposed Model

The primary purpose of this current research is to conduct an investigation into the factors affecting the acceptance of E-Banking by clients who have access to the internet and elicit the opinion of non-internet users about E-Banking. To develop a theoretical framework model for the current study, a literature review relating to the technology acceptance model (TAM) and its various adaptations is being undertaken. The E-Banking has been chosen as an innovative service, whose possible adoption by customers will be investigated. It is believed that the successful adoption of E-Banking will be cost and convenience beneficial for all stakeholders in the financial sector. The current research model purposes an extension to the technology acceptance/ adoption models that account essential factor influence E-Banking services adoption in the Jordanian commercial banks.
Neuropsychological consequences of posteroventral pallidotomy for the treatment of Parkinson's disease

Objective: Neuropsychological changes were assessed in patients who had idiopathic PD after unilateral posteroventral pallidotomy. Methods: Posteroventral stereotactic pallidotomies were performed on 42 PD patients(24 right and 18 left hemisphere). All patients were evaluated in the "on state" before the procedure (n = 42) and at intervals of 3 (n = 26), 6 (n = 27), and 12+ (n = 24) months after surgery. Results: Modest improvement in sustained attention and decline in working memory was observed by 6 months after surgery. Left hemisphere lesions led to a loss of verbal learning (-2.2 SD) and verbal fluency (-1.6 SD) in 60% of patients at their first evaluation at 3 or 6 months. No patients returned to baseline on the verbal fluency task and most (71%) did not recover verbal-learning ability by 12 months after surgery. Right hemisphere lesions led to a loss of visuospatial constructional abilities (-3.5 SD), which fully resolved by 12 months for all but one patient. Evidence of further decline of frontal-executive functioning was noted within other tasks but not on a"direct" test (i.e., Conditional Associative Learning). Lastly, behavioral changes of a "frontal nature" were reported in 25% to 30% of patients. These cognitive and emotional costs increased dependence in these domains and negatively affected some patients' relations with caregivers and restricted their ability to function properly at work or in social settings. Caregivers, particularly, and patients who were aware of their resulting changes had difficulty adjusting after surgery. Conclusions: Although patients and caregivers were generally pleased with the clinical neurologic outcome of the procedure, the neurologic benefits of unilateral pallidotomy must be weighed against modest cognitive and behavioral risks.
THE CONTRIBUTION OF COUPLE'S ATTACHMENT STYLE TO THE ADJUSTMENT TO INFERTILITY

As a major life crisis, infertility is a very stressful and distressing experience leading to psychological maladjustments and disorders. To examine the contribution of attachment style to the adjustment to infertility, 46 married couples (N=92) undergoing infertility evaluation and treatment were included in this study. All 92 subjects completed the Aduit Attachment Inventory, the Mental Health Inventory and the Dyadic Adjustment Scale. Secure attachment style was shown to be significantly related to psychological adjustment to infertility. Secure persons reported more psychological well-being, less psychological distress and more dyadic adjustment than insecure persons. Partners of secure persons also reported higher levels of well-being and dyadic adjustment and lower levels of disterss than partners of insecure persons. Results and implications are discussed in terms of attachment theory.
STUDY OF GENETIC VARIABILITY IN S 1 MAIZE ( ZEA MAYS L.) INBRED LINES UNDER STRESS CONDITION

Two hundred S 1 generation selfed seeds of maize ( Zea mays L.) along with their parents (nine) and few checks (sixteen) were raised in ear-to-row progenies during post rainy season 2012 with two replications, were evaluated under stress condition by using lattice square design (15x15). The analysis of variance indicated highly significant differences for eighteen characters except relative water content at 60 days and relative water content at 90 days. Close resemblance between Genotypic correlation coefficient (GCV) and Phenotypic correlation coefficient (PCV) was observed for all traits indicating that selection for these characters would be effective. Heritability estimates in general were high for ten characters studied viz., 50 per cent anthesis, 50 per cent silking, bulk cob weight, grain yield per plot, number of cobs, plant height, ear height, anthesis to silking interval, number of kernels per row and cob length. Highest heritability couple with high genetic advance as per cent of mean was observed for bulk cob weight, grain yield per plot, number of cobs, anthesis to silking interval and number of kernels per row. Thus, these traits could be used as selection criteria for yield in maize.
Secretory responses of human neutrophils: exocytosis of specific (secondary) granules by human neutrophils during adherence in vitro and during exudation in vivo.

Human neutrophils have been shown to release lysozyme spontaneously when incubated in vitro in the presence of physiologic concentrations of calcium. This spontaneous release of lysozyme, stored in both the azurophil and specific granules of neutrophils, reflects a selective mobilization and exocytosis of the specific granules, for it occurs without release of granule products located strictly in the azurophil granules (i.e., β-glucuronidase). Calcium-dependent lysozyme release without β-glucuronidase release by human neutrophils is significantly enhanced when the cells are exposed to surfaces to which they avidly adhere (nylon fibers and glass). Release of lysozyme, without a comparable release of β-glucuronidase, also occurs when human neutrophils migrate across cellulose nitrate micropore filters in vitro in response to a chemotactic stimulus. These phenomena in vitro appear to mimic events that occur in vivo when human neutrophils leave the circulation to become exudate cells. Specific granule products (lysozyme and B12-binding protein) but not azurophil granule products appear in the extracellular fluid of experimental inflammatory lesions in vivo coincident with the influx of exudate neutrophils. Also, analysis of the granule content of exudate neutrophils, by granule separation techniques and by cytochemistry and electronmicroscopy, demonstrates a loss of specific granules but not azurophil granules from exudate cells when compared with peripheral blood neutrophils studied concurrently. Results of these studies support the concept that neutrophil-specific granules function in part like the storage granules of secretory cells and that mobilization and exocytosis of these granules by neutrophils are intrinsic to normal inflammatory responses. The release of specific granule products may contribute to extracellular killing or inhibition of microorganisms, but may also provide mechanisms by which neutrophils influence other inflammatory blood and tissue cells.
A model of safe levels for electrical stimulation

A model that represents a large body of data on safety and damage levels of electrical stimulation is presented. The predictions of the model are consistent with known principals of current flow and known mechanisms of damage around stimulating electrodes. It is proposed that limits on levels of electrical stimulation take into account the location of the electrode relative to the stimulated tissue; these limits can be computed algorithmically from the model. <<ETX>>
Cytokine, chemokine and growth factor gene profiling of cultured human astrocytes after exposure to proinflammatory stimuli

Astrocytes play key roles in CNS development, inflammation, and repair by producing a wide variety of cytokines, chemokines, and growth factors. Understanding the regulation of this network is important for a full understanding of astrocyte functioning. In this study, expression levels of 268 genes encoding cytokines, chemokines, growth factors, and their receptors were established in cultured human adult astrocytes using cDNA arrays. Also, changes in this gene profile were determined following stimulation with TNFα, IL‐1β, and IFNγ. The data obtained reveal a highly reproducible pattern of gene expression not only between different astrocyte cultures from a single source, but also between astrocytes from different donors. They also identify several gene products not previously described for human astrocytes, including a.o. IL‐17, CD70, CD147, and BIGH3. When stimulated with TNFα astrocytes respond with increased expression of several genes, notably including those encoding the chemokines CCL2 (MCP‐1), CCL5 (RANTES), and CXCL8 (IL‐8), growth factors including BMP‐2A, BMP‐3, neuromodulin (GAP43), BDNF, and G‐CSF, and receptors such as the CRF receptor, the calcitonin receptor (CTR), and TKT. The response to IL‐1β involves largely the same range of genes, but responses were blunted in comparison to the TNFα response. Treatment with IFNγ had no or only marginal effects on expression of any of the 268 genes analyzed. Astrocytes treated with a mixture of all three stimuli together displayed responses that are largely similar to those found in response to TNFα or IL‐1β alone, with only few additional synergistic effects. The Supplementary Material referred to in this article can be found at the GLIA website (http://www.interscience.wiley.com/jpages/0894‐1491/suppmat/2003/v43.html) © 2003 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Evolutionary particle filter design for misalignment estimation in presence of flexure effect

Navigation information of airborne vehicles ejected from some moving platform need proper initialization and the process is termed as transfer alignment. The misalignment between the ejected vehicle and the moving platform is computationally estimated and corrected to provide accurate navigation. The estimator has to filter the noisy measurement provided by the navigational sensors mounted in the vehicle to arrive at the mismatch due to misalignment. Due to nonlinear system model, particle filter is designed for the estimation. However, presence of flexure effects in the daughter vehicle gets captured by the sensors and this further complicates the misalignment estimation. By using additional system states for flexure in the system model of the particle filter, the flexure can be estimated and corrected, but this increases the computational complexity. In this work, it is shown both analytically and through simulation that an evolutionary particle filter which evolves through multiple system models can provide at par performance in the steady state with lower computational complexity and better transient response.