Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Allelopathic Effects of Lantana ( Lantana camara L.) Leaf Extracts on Germination and Early Growth of three Agricultural Crops in Ethiopia

Allelopathic potential of aqueous extracts of lantana ( Lantana camara L. ) leaf on germination and growth of three agricultural crops: Maize, Finger millet and Tef, commonly cultivated in Ethiopia were studied under laboratory condition. The aqueous extracts were assayed at 5, 10, 25, 50 and 75% and their allelopathic effects were compared with distilled water (control). All the aqueous extracts did not significantly influence germination of the agricultural crops except 75% extract which significantly reduced germination of tef. All the leaf extracts stimulated root growth of maize and finger millet plants with the effect being declined with rise of concentration. In contrast, tef plants had reduced root growth in various leaf extracts with the highest reduction occurring at higher concentrations (25, 50 and 75%). The shoots of maize plants were also stimulated by all extract concentrations; whereas shoot growth of both tef and finger millet were not significantly affected by the leaf extracts. The results generally showed that lantana leaf extracts had stimulatory effects on early growth of maize and finger millet and inhibitory effects on tef growth. Keywords : Finger millet, Maize, Root growth, Shoot growth, Tef.
Regulation of cyclooxygenase‐2 expression in human bladder epithelial cells infected with type I fimbriated uropathogenic E. coli

The type 1 fimbriae of uropathogenic Escherichia coli (UPEC) have been described as important for the establishment of bladder infections and urinary tract infections (UTI). Urinary prostaglandin (PG) levels and cyclooxygenase (COX)‐2 expression in urine particulates may increase with infectious and inflammatory processes, including UTIs. We investigated the mechanisms underlying the modulation of COX‐2 expression through the invasion of type 1 fimbriated UPEC strain J96 (J96‐1) in human bladder 5637 cells. Bladder 5637 cells infected with J96‐1 induced increases in the expression of COX‐2 and secretion of PGE2. By using specific inhibitors and short hairpin RNA (shRNA), we have demonstrated that the activation of extracellular signal‐related kinase (ERK), c‐Jun‐NH2‐terminal kinase (JNK) and p38 MAPK pathways is critical for J96‐1‐induced COX‐2 expression. Luciferase reporters and chromatin immunoprecipitation assays suggest that J96‐1 invasion increases NF‐κB‐ and AP‐1‐DNA‐binding activities in 5637 cells. Inhibition of NF‐κB and AP‐1 activations blocked the J96‐1‐induced COX‐2 promoter activity and expression. The effect of J96‐1 on 5637 cell signalling and COX‐2 expression is mediated by Toll‐like receptor (TLR)‐4. In summary, our findings provide the molecular pathways underlying type 1 fimbriated J96‐dependent COX‐2 expression in 5637 cells, providing insight into the function of UPEC invasion in bladder epithelial cells.
Treatment of anal intraepithelial neoplasia

The natural history and malignant potential of anal intraepithelial neoplasia (AIN) remain uncertain, making management decisions about such lesions difficult. The management of 70 patients with AIN is described. The majority of lesions encountered were low grade (AIN I and II; 43 of 70) and required no treatment, but eight invasive anal cancers associated with high‐grade AIN occurred over the 4‐year study period. Three were a result of apparent progression of high‐grade lesions; three more invasive lesions were found in areas of AIN III on histological examination. Surgical excision was used to treat 27 patients with AIN III. Treatment of extensive lesions involving the perianal and anal canal epithelium circumferentially in six patients involved excision of the whole of this epithelium and application of split skin grafts.
High grain quality accessions within a maize drought tolerant core collection

Maize (Zea mays L.) landraces are an important source of genes for improving commercial germplasm. Today, drought tolerance and grain quality are major challenges in maize cultivation due to climatic changes and population growth. The Maize Research Institute genebank has a drought tolerant collection, which includes 13 landraces (from the former Yugoslavia) and 12 introduced populations (from different countries). These accessions were analyzed for protein, oil, starch and tryptophan contents, in order to identify drought tolerant accessions with high grain quality. Also, simple sequence repeat (SSR) analysis with specific primers for opaque2 recessive allele (o2) was carried out. All analyzed accessions showed high levels of protein. Oil content ranged from 3.75 % to 5.40 % and starch content from 67.5 % to 71.30 %. Average protein content was not different (p < 0.01) between landraces and introduced populations. Starch and oil contents were higher in introduced populations at 0.84 % and 0.39 %, respectively (p < 0.01). Twenty-three accessions had high levels of tryptophan content. A high percentage of kernel type 1 and 2 indicated the presence of endosperm hardness modifier genes. Recessive o2 allele was found in most of the accessions. Absence of o2 in some high tryptophan accessions indicated action of another mutation. In two high tryptophan accessions an unknown band was detected. Absence of negative correlations between proteins, tryptophan and oil makes certain accessions suitable for use in the simultaneous improvement of target genotypes for these traits. Identified drought tolerant, high quality accessions can be used in breeding programs aimed at nutritional improvement of maize grown under drought conditions.
Social and Emotional Outcomes of Child Sexual Abuse

Childhood sexual abuse is a traumatic life event that may cause psychiatric disorders such as posttraumatic stress disorder and depression. During 2003-2004, 20 sexually abused children were referred to the Child and Adolescent Psychiatry Clinic of Ege University in Izmir, Turkey. Two years later, the psychological adjustment of these children (M age = 9.4 years, SD = 3.63 years, range = 5 to 16 years) is evaluated. Semistructured interviews, a form for the sociodemographic characteristics, are used for evaluations by a child psychiatrist who is blind to the first evaluation. It is determined that sexually abused children have more psychiatric disorders within the first year than 2 years later. However, some behavior problems occur at both short-term and long-term follow-ups.
Combined effect of polymorphic GST genes on individual susceptibility to lung cancer

Glutathione S‐transferases (GSTs) are known to take part in detoxification of many potentially carcinogenic compounds. Therefore, polymorphisms of the GST genes have been considered as potentially important modifiers of individual risk of environmentally induced cancers. The association between lack of glutathione S‐transferase M1 gene (GSTM1 null genotype) and susceptibility to smoking‐related lung cancer has been actively studied, with contradictory results. In contrast, little is known about the more recently found polymorphisms in GSTM3, GSTP1 and GSTT1 genes with respect to individual responses to environmental exposures. In this study, we determined the genotype distribution of all these genes, and their combinations, among 208 Finnish lung cancer patients and 294 population controls. None of the genotypes studied had a statistically significant effect on lung cancer risk, when studied separately. However, a significant association was observed for concurrent lack of the GSTM1 and GSTT1 genes and susceptibility to squamous cell carcinoma. For that cell type, the risk was more than 2‐fold when compared with that of individuals having other genotype combinations (OR = 2.3; 95% CI = 1.0–5.3; p = 0.05). Moreover, the risk was mostly attributable to patients with smoking history of 40 pack‐years or less (OR = 2.9; 95% CI = 1.1–7.7; p = 0.03). In contrast, this genotype combination did not affect the risk for other histological types of lung cancer, and the other genotype combinations had no effects on individual susceptibility to this malignancy. The overall role of GST polymorphisms in modifying the lung cancer risk may therefore be more limited than has been so far anticipated. Int. J. Cancer<0R> 77:516–521, 1998. © 1998 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Analysis of N1‐acetyl‐N2‐formyl‐5‐methoxykynuramine/N1‐acetyl‐5‐methoxy‐kynuramine formation from melatonin in mice

Abstract: The interactions of melatonin, a potent endogenous antioxidant, with reactive oxygen species generate several products that include N1‐acetyl‐N2‐formyl‐5‐methoxykynuramine (AFMK) and N1‐acetyl‐5‐methoxy‐kynuramine (AMK). The physiological or pathological significance of AFMK/AMK formation during the process of melatonin metabolism in mammals has not been clarified. Using a metabolomic approach in the current study, the AFMK/AMK pathway was thoroughly investigated both in mice and humans. Unexpectedly, AFMK and AMK were not identified in the urine of humans nor in the urine, feces or tissues (including liver, brain, and eyes) in mice under the current experimental conditions. Metabolomic analysis did identify novel metabolites of AMK, i.e. hydroxy‐AMK and glucuronide‐conjugated hydroxy‐AMK. These two newly identified metabolites were, however, not found in the urine of humans. In addition, oxidative stress induced by acetaminophen in the mouse model did not boost AFMK/AMK formation. These data suggest that AFMK/AMK formation is not a significant pathway of melatonin disposition in mice, even under conditions of oxidative stress.
Distinctive pattern of organisation in the retinofugal pathway of a marsupial: I. Retina and optic nerve

The nasotemporal division in the retina and the pattern of crossed and uncrossed axons in the optic nerve were determined in an Australian marsupial, a wallaby, Setonix brachyurus (the quokka), following unilateral horseradish peroxidase injections into primary visual centres. The gross morphology of the nerve was also examined. Ipsilaterally projecting ganglion cells were restricted to the temporal retina, whereas those that project contralaterally were located in all retinal regions. The morphological study of the nerve showed that fasciculation patterns, evident along much of the length of the nerve, became indistinct centrally and were replaced in the prechiasmatic region by dorsoventrally oriented fissures. In this prechiasmatic region, axons were oriented in two directions. Whereas the majority were aligned centroperipherally with the long axis of the nerve, a proportion were aligned dorsoventrally in the fissures. Labelling with HRP revealed that uncrossed axons were restricted to the lateral region of the optic nerve and possibly to discrete fascicles, whereas those destined to cross at the chiasm occupied all regions of the nerve but were less dense on the lateral side. This spatial distribution of crossed and uncrossed projections did not change along the length of the nerve. These results demonstrate that fibre organisation in the marsupial optic nerve is different than that found in eutherian mammals. © 1992 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
cis Elements of the Villin Gene Control Expression in Restricted Domains of the Vertical (Crypt) and Horizontal (Duodenum, Cecum) Axes of the Intestine*

Villin, an actin bundling protein found in the apical brush border of absorptive tissues, is one of the first structural genes to be transcriptionally activated in the embryonic intestinal endoderm. In the adult, villin is broadly expressed in every cell of the intestinal epithelium on both the vertical axis (crypt to villus tip) and the horizontal axis (duodenum through colon) of the intestine. Here, we document that a 12.4-kilobase region of the mouse villin gene drives high level expression of two different reporter genes (LacZ and Cre recombinase) within the entire intestinal epithelium of transgenic mice. Deletion of a portion of this transgene results in reduction of β-galactosidase activity in restricted domains of the small intestine (duodenum) and large intestine (cecum). In addition, expression is reduced in the crypt compartment throughout the intestine. Thus, the global expression pattern of villin in the intestine is apparently the consequence of an amalgam of distinct and individual domain-specific control processes. That is, expression of villin in the duodenum and cecum requires different regulatory sequences than the rest of the intestine, and the expression of villin in crypts is regulated by different circuitry than expression of villin on villus tips.
Genitalia in children's drawings: an association with sexual abuse.

Many sexual abuse victims have been observed to draw genitalia on human figures. To test the hypothesis that sexually abused children draw genitalia on human figures more often than do nonabused children, drawings from 57 children, 3 through 7 years of age, who were referred to child protective services as alleged sexual abuse victims, were compared with drawings from an age-, sex-, race-, and socioeconomically matched group of 55 nonabused children receiving well-child care in medical settings. A standardized procedure to obtain drawings was followed by a structured interview to collect demographic, past medical, and developmental information. Five evaluators unaware of the children's backgrounds independently examined drawings for the presence or absence of five body parts; there was 94% agreement for all body parts and 93% agreement for genitalia. Eight children were excluded from the analysis because they only scribbled (n = 5) or because evaluators could not agree on whether genitalia were present in their drawings (n = 3). Ten percent (5/52) of the alleged sexual abuse victims and 2% (1/52) of the comparison children drew genitalia (P = .10, one-tailed Fisher exact test). The estimated relative risk was 5.4; that is, alleged sexual abuse victims were 5.4 times more likely to draw genitalia than were comparison children. Children known to have been sexually abused were 6.8 times more likely to draw genitalia than were comparison children (P = .07, one-tailed Fisher exact test). (ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)
CaEDTA vs CaEDTA Plus BAL to Treat Children with Elevated Blood Lead Levels

The effectiveness of CaEDTA alone vs CaEDTA plus BAL was compared retrospectively in a group of 72 children with lead levels between 2.41 μmol/L (50 μg/dL) and 2.90 μmol/L (60 μg/dL). The children who received both drugs had higher median zinc protoporphyrin (ZnP) concentrations at the initiation of therapy than children who received CaEDTA alone (160 μg/dL vs 96 μg/dL, p <.01). There was a significantly increased incidence of vomiting and abnormal liver-function test results in the children who received both drugs. The children who received CaEDTA alone had a greater percent mean fall in lead level at one to three weeks postchelation (30.5 % vs 18.1 %, p <.05). Children who received both CaEDTA and BAL had a greater percent decrease in ZnP at four to eight months postchelation, but there was no difference in percent decrease in lead levels. Children who received both drugs also had a greater number of repeat courses of chelation by six months. The addition of BAL to CaEDTA for treatment of children with lead levels of 2.41 μmol/L (50 μg/dL) to 2.90 μmol/L (60 μg/dL) produced greater toxicity and does not seem to prevent repeat chelations within six months.
Study of Relation of Thyroid Profile with Abnormal Uterine Bleeding

Abnormal uterine bleeding is a frequently encountered condition in gynaecology. Although rarely lifethreatening, they can cause major social, psychological and occupational upset. Thyroid abnormalities have been suggested as a probable cause of abnormal uterine bleeding. Menstrual disturbances may accompany and even may precede thyroid dysfunction and may accompany clinical alterations. The present study was carried out to find out the different patterns of menstrual abnormalities associated with thyroid disorders and to determine the type of AUB pattern in relation to the different thyroid disorders. A hospital-based prospective observational study was carried out in the department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, Gauhati Medical College and Hospital, Guwahati, during the period from 1st June 2014 to 31st May 2015. 100 females who presented with AUB and were found to have thyroid dysfunction were recruited in this study. Exclusion criteria were given, e.g. pregnancy, IUCD, cervical or uterine malignancy, fibromyoma, polyp, etc. It was found that maximum number of patients was in the age group of 31-40 years (37%). Menorrhagia (42%) was found to be the commonest presenting abnormal uterine bleeding pattern. Majority (71%) were hypothyroids. 53.5% cases of hypothyroids had menorrhagia and 58.6% cases of hyperthyroids had oligomenorrhoea, making menorrhagia and oligomenorrhoea to be the commonest bleeding pattern in hypothyroidism and hyperthyroidism respectively. Thus the study concludes that biochemical evaluation of thyroid function should be made mandatory in all cases of AUB.
Dosage adjustment and pharmacokinetic profile of irinotecan in cancer patients with hepatic dysfunction.

PURPOSE To determine the recommended dose (RD) and the pharmacokinetic profile of irinotecan and its metabolites in cancer patients with hyperbilirubinemia. PATIENTS AND METHODS Patients were assigned to four treatment groups according to their baseline total bilirubin level. Patients in group I (bilirubin within normal range) and group II (bilirubin 1.0 to 1.5 times upper limit of normal [ULN]) received a dose of 350 mg/m(2) every 3 weeks. Patients in groups III (bilirubin 1.51 to 3.0 times ULN) and IV (bilirubin > 3.1 times ULN) received starting doses of 175 and 100 mg/m(2), respectively. RDs were defined according to the dose-limiting toxicity (DLT) experienced at cycle 1. RESULTS Thirty-three patients including 21 gastrointestinal cancers were included. Grade 4 febrile neutropenia and diarrhea were common DLTs in patients with hyperbilirubinemia. At a dose of irinotecan 350 mg/m(2), DLTs were observed in two of seven and one of five patients in groups I and II, respectively. In group III, escalated doses of irinotecan 175, 200, and 240 mg/m(2) were associated with DLTs in one of seven, one of five, and three of six patients, respectively. No DLT was observed in group IV. High bilirubin and alkaline phosphatase levels were associated with an exponential decrease in the clearance of irinotecan. Pharmacokinetic analysis showed that the relative increase in exposure was likely caused by reduced biliary excretion. CONCLUSION We showed that baseline total bilirubin level could be used to determine the appropriate dose of irinotecan in cancer patients with hepatic dysfunction. Doses of 350 mg/m(2) and 200 mg/m(2) were considered RDs in patients with bilirubin values <or= 1.5 times ULN and 1.51 to 3.0 times ULN, respectively.
Tocopherol efficacy and safety for preventing retinopathy of prematurity: a randomized, controlled, double-masked trial.

To test the efficacy and safety of vitamin E in preventing retinopathy of prematurity, 287 infants with birth weights of less than 1.5 kg or gestational ages of less than 33 weeks were enrolled within 24 hours of birth in a randomized, double-masked trial of IV, followed by oral, placebo v tocopherol (adjusted to plasma levels of 3 to 3.5 mg/dL). In the 196 infants completing ophthalmic follow-up, tocopherol did not prevent retinopathy of prematurity of any stage (28% placebo treated v 26% tocopherol treated) or moderately severe retinopathy of prematurity (8% placebo treated v 11% tocopherol treated). Cicatricial sequelae were not significantly different (1/97 placebo treated v 3/99 tocopherol treated), with one placebo-treated infant and one tocopherol-treated infant having retinal detachments. Among all 232 infants examined, those treated with tocopherol had more retinal hemorrhage than placebo-treated infants (8/121 placebo treated v 16/111 tocopherol treated), and retinal hemorrhage correlated positively (P less than .01) with plasma levels of tocopherol after the first 2 weeks of age. Prospective monitoring of morbidity including late-onset sepsis, necrotizing enterocolitis, etc revealed no differences between groups except that grades 3 and 4 intraventricular hemorrhage occurred more frequently in infants weighing less than 1 kg at birth who had received tocopherol (14/42, 33%) v those who had received placebo (4/43, 9%) (P less than .02). Our data do not support the use of tocopherol for prophylaxis against retinopathy of prematurity in premature infants and suggest that IV tocopherol treatment starting on day 1 may increase the incidence of hemorrhagic complications of prematurity, particularly in infants with birth weights of less than 1 kg.
Delayed triggering of microearthquakes by multiple surface waves circling the Earth

It is well known that direct surface waves of large earthquakes are capable of triggering shallow earthquakes and deep tremor at long‐range distances. However, it is not clear whether multiple surface waves circling the Earth could also trigger/modulate seismic activities. Here we conduct a systematic search of remotely triggered microearthquakes near the Coso Geothermal Field in central California following the 2010 Mw 8.8 Chile earthquake. We find a statistically significant increase of microearthquakes in the first few hours after the Chile mainshock. These observations of apparently delayed earthquake triggering do not follow the Omori‐law decay with time since the largest ML 3.5 event occurred during the large‐amplitude Love waves. Instead, they are better correlated with the first three groups of multiple surface waves (G1 − R1, G2 − R2, and G3). Our observation provides an alternative explanation of delayed triggering of microearthquakes at long‐range distances, at least in the first few hours after large earthquakes.
Robust permanence and impermanence for stochastic replicator dynamics

Garay and Hofbauer (SIAM J. Math. Anal. 34 (2003)) proposed sufficient conditions for robust permanence and impermanence of the deterministic replicator dynamics. We reconsider these conditions in the context of the stochastic replicator dynamics, which is obtained from its deterministic analogue by introducing Brownian perturbations of payoffs. When the deterministic replicator dynamics is permanent and the noise level small, the stochastic dynamics admits a unique ergodic distribution whose mass is concentrated near the maximal interior attractor of the unperturbed system; thus, permanence is robust against small unbounded stochastic perturbations. When the deterministic dynamics is impermanent and the noise level small or large, the stochastic dynamics converges to the boundary of the state space at an exponential rate.
A Novel Method for Single and Simultaneous Fault Location in Distribution Networks

This paper introduces a novel method for single and simultaneous fault location in distribution networks by means of a sparse representation (SR) vector, Fuzzy-clustering, and machine-learning. The method requires few smart meters along the primary feeders to measure the pre- and during-fault voltages. The voltage sag values for the measured buses produce a vector whose dimension is less than the number of buses in the system. By concatenating the corresponding rows of the bus impedance matrix, an underdetermined set of equation is formed and is used to recover the fault current vector. Since the current vector ideally contains few nonzero values corresponding to fault currents at the faulted points, it is a sparse vector which can be determined by l1-norm minimization. Because the number of nonzero values in the estimated current vector often exceeds the number of fault points, we analyze the nonzero values by Fuzzy-c mean to estimate four possible faults. Furthermore, the nonzero values are processed by a new machine learning method based on the k-nearest neighborhood technique to estimate a single fault location. The performance of our algorithms is validated by their implementation on a real distribution network with noisy and noise-free measurement.