Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Molecular, morphological and acoustic assessment of the genus Ophryophryne (Anura, Megophryidae) from Langbian Plateau, southern Vietnam, with description of a new species

Abstract Asian Mountain Toads (Ophryophryne) are a poorly known genus of mostly small-sized anurans from southeastern China and Indochina. To shed light on the systematics within this group, the most comprehensive mitochondrial DNA phylogeny for the genus to date is presented, and the taxonomy and biogeography of this group is discussed. Complimented with extensive morphological data (including associated statistical analyses), molecular data indicates that the Langbian Plateau, in the southern Annamite Mountains, Vietnam, is one of the diversity centres of this genus where three often sympatric species of Ophryophryne are found, O. gerti, O. synoria and an undescribed species. To help resolve outstanding taxonomic confusion evident in literature (reviewed herein), an expanded redescription of O. gerti is provided based on the examination of type material, and the distributions of both O. gerti and O. synoria are considerably revised based on new locality records. We provide the first descriptions of male mating calls for all three species, permitting a detailed bioacoustics comparison of the species. We describe the new species from highlands of the northern and eastern Langbian Plateau, and distinguish it from its congeners by a combination of morphological, molecular and acoustic characters. The new species represents one of the smallest known members of the genus Ophryophryne. At present, the new species is known from montane evergreen forest between 700–2200 m a.s. l. We suggest the species should be considered Data Deficient following IUCN’s Red List categories.
Feasibility and clinical effects of laparoscopic abdominal cerclage: an observational study

Objective. To evaluate the effect of laparoscopic abdominal cerclage performed as an interval procedure in non‐pregnant women at high risk of second trimester spontaneous abortion and early preterm birth. Design. Observational study. Sample. Fifty‐two consecutive patients at high risk of preterm birth. Setting. Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Aarhus University Hospital. Methods. Patients were registered prospectively. Indications for surgery included classical cervical insufficiency, preterm premature rupture of membranes (PPROM) or two conizations/cervical amputation. Outcome of subsequent pregnancies was registered. Main outcome measures. Gestational age in subsequent pregnancies. Results. No operative or postoperative complications were observed. A total of 45 pregnancies were registered during the observation period. Among 36 pregnancies lasting beyond the 16th week of gestation, 30 women (83.3%) gave birth by cesarean section after 36 weeks of gestation and the overall mean gestational age was 37.4 weeks compared with a mean gestational age of 25.2 weeks of the pregnancies prior to the cerclage. The cesarean sections were uncomplicated in all but one patient, where a re‐laparotomy was needed six hours later due to atonic postpartum hemorrhage without evident bleeding through the cervix. Conclusion. Laparoscopic abdominal cerclage is a feasible and safe procedure. Obstetrical outcomes are encouraging but prospective studies are needed to define the effectiveness of the laparoscopic cerclage compared with the traditional transvaginal approach.
Autonomy of Cortisol Secretion in Clinically Silent Adrenal Incidentaloma

Recent progress in non-invasive imaging techniques have resulted in an increasing frequency of adrenal incidentaloma discovery. In addition, even clinically silent adrenal tumor has been suggested to possess a subtle production of adrenal hormones. The aim of the study was to ascertain the autonomy of cortisol production in clinically silent adrenocortical incidentaloma. We investigated the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis in 38 patients with adrenal incidentaloma. Basal plasma cortisol level was reproducibly within normal range in all the patients with adrenal incidentaloma, but was also normal in half of the Cushing's syndrome cases studied. Eighteen of 38 patients showed plasma cortisol above 3 microg/dl after 1 mg dexamethasone (Dex) and above 1 microg/dl after 8 mg Dex, respectively, and were defined as preclinical Cushing's syndrome. These patients were subjected to further evaluation of the autonomy of cortisol production. The incidence of positive findings indicating autonomy of cortisol secretion was as follows: suppressed basal plasma ACTH level in 44%, loss of normal diurnal rhythm in 79%, lack of ACTH response to CRF in 35%, decreased plasma DHEA-S level in 28%, significant laterality of 131I-adosterol uptake in 75%, atrophy of the contralateral side of the adrenal on CT scan in 6%, and histological atrophy of the adjacent adrenal cortex in 56%, respectively. The endocrine feature relevant to the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis varied from patient to patient, ranging from the non-functioning adrenal adenoma to Cushing's syndrome. In addition, the results of each test did not coincide with others in each patient. These results clearly demonstrated that the incidence of autonomy of cortisol production in the clinically silent adrenal incidentaloma is not infrequent, showing significant diversity. Systemic evaluation of the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis before adrenal surgery is warranted for an appropriate glucocorticoid replacement after adrenal surgery.
HIV incidence among post-partum women in Zimbabwe: risk factors and the effect of vitamin A supplementation

Objective:To test whether post-partum vitamin A supplementation can reduce incident HIV among post-partum women and identify risk factors for HIV incidence. Design:Randomized, placebo-controlled trial Methods:Between November 1997 and January 2001, 14 110 women were randomly administered 400 000 IU vitamin A or placebo within 96 h post-partum. HIV incidence was monitored among 9562 HIV-negative women. Results:Cumulative incidence was 3.4% [95% confidence interval (CI), 3.0–3.8] and 6.5% (95% CI, 5.7–7.4) over 12 and 24 months post-partum, respectively. Vitamin A supplementation had no impact on incidence [hazard ratio (HR), 1.08; 95% CI, 0.85–1.38]. However, among 398 women for whom baseline serum retinol was measured, those with levels indicative of deficiency (< 0.7 μmol/l, 9.2% of those measured) were 10.4 (95% CI, 3.0–36.3) times more likely to seroconvert than women with higher concentrations. Furthermore, among women with low serum retinol, vitamin A supplementation tended to be protective against incidence (HR, 0.29; 95% CI, 0.03–2.60; P = 0.26), although not significantly so, perhaps due to limited statistical power. Severe anaemia (haemoglobin < 70 g/l) was associated with a 2.7-fold (95%CI, 1.2–6.1) greater incidence. Younger women were at higher risk of HIV infection: incidence declined by 5.7% (2.8–8.6) with each additional year of age. Conclusion:Among post-partum women, a single large-dose vitamin A supplementation had no effect on incidence, although low serum retinol was a risk factor for seroconversion. Further investigation is required to determine whether vitamin A supplementation of vitamin-A-deficient women or treatment of anaemic women can reduce HIV incidence.
The antiangiogenic agent neovastat (AE-941) inhibits vascular endothelial growth factor-mediated biological effects.

PURPOSE Vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) is a potent regulator of angiogenesis, which exerts direct effects on vascular endothelial cells, including endothelial cell proliferation and survival, tubulogenesis, and vascular permeability. In this study, we examined whether Neovastat, a naturally occurring multifunctional antiangiogenic drug, could inhibit the endothelial cell response to VEGF stimulation. RESULTS We demonstrated that Neovastat was able to block the VEGF-dependent microvessel sprouting from Matrigel-embedded rat aortic rings, and it also blocked the VEGF-induced endothelial cell tubulogenesis in vitro. In vivo studies showed that Neovastat was able to specifically inhibit VEGF-induced plasma extravasation in numerous tissues, including pancreas and skin. The mechanism of action of Neovastat on VEGF-mediated effects was also evaluated at the molecular level. Neovastat was shown to compete against the binding of VEGF to its receptor in endothelial cells and significantly inhibited the VEGF-dependent tyrosine phosphorylation of VEGF receptor-2, whereas it had no significant effect on VEGF receptor-1 activity. Moreover, the inhibition of receptor phosphorylation was correlated with a marked decrease in the ability of VEGF to induce pERK activation. Neovastat does not compete against the binding of basic fibroblast growth factor, indicating a preferential inhibitory effect on the VEGF receptor. CONCLUSIONS Because Neovastat was shown previously to inhibit metalloproteinase activities, these results suggest that Neovastat is able to target multiple steps in tumor neovascularization, further emphasizing its use as a pleiotropic, multifunctional antiangiogenic drug.
Cell content of goat milk: California mastitis test, Coulter counter , and fossomatic for predicting half infection.

The mean cell count of goat milk collected in early and midlactation from udder halves free of infection was 1404 X 10(3) cells/ml and 614 X 10(3) cells/ml estimated by Coulter Counter and Fossomatic. Arithmetic means of cell count by Fossomatic method for samples within California Mastitis Test scores were similar to results from cow milk. Results by the three methods were closely correlated . 7. Means of cell counts were 2858 X 10(3) cells/ml and 1293 X 10(3) cells/ml by Coulter Counter and Fossomatic methods for udder halves harboring coagulase-negative staphylococci and 8946 X 10(3) cells/ml and 4804 X 10(3) cells/ml for halves infected by major pathogens. Of the thresholds examined, 1000 X 10(3) cells/ml was most satisfactory for both Coulter Counter and Fossomatic methods, because it detected about 80% of major infections and gave an acceptable proportion of errors.
Growth performance and immune response of two commercial broiler strains fed diets containing Lactobacillus cultures and oxytetracycline under heat stress conditions

1. Hubbard × Hubbard (HH) and Shaver × Shaver (SS) chicks given a dietary supplement of either 50 mg/kg oxytetracycline (OTC) or 1 g/kg Lactobacillus culture (LC) were exposed to 36 ± 1°C for 3 h daily from day (d) 21 to 42. 2. Prior to heat treatment, body weight (d 21) and weight gain (d 1 to d 21) of OTC and LC birds were greater than those fed the control diet. Chicks given LC had the best food efficiency followed by OTC and control birds during d 1 to d 21. Body weight (d 1 and d 21) and weight gain (d 1 to d 21) were greater for HH than SS chicks. 3. After 3 weeks of heat exposure, birds receiving the LC diet had greater body weight and weight gain, higher food intake and lower food efficiency than OTC and control chicks. 4. Antibody production against Newcastle disease vaccine on d 21 was not affected by strain or diet. On d 42, while diet had negligible effect on this variable among the SS broilers, HH birds fed LC had higher antibody production than those on the control diet. 5. Neither strain nor diet had a significant effect on mortality.
Hematopoietic Mixed Chimerism Derived from Allogeneic Embryonic Stem Cells Prevents Autoimmune Diabetes Mellitus in NOD Mice

Embryonic stem cell (ESC)‐derived hematopoietic stem cells (HSC), unlike HSC harvested from the blood or marrow, are not contaminated by lymphocytes. We therefore evaluated whether ESC‐derived HSC could produce islet cell tolerance, a phenomenon termed graft versus autoimmunity (GVA), without causing the usual allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplant complication, graft‐versus‐host disease (GVHD). Herein, we demonstrate that ESC‐derived HSC may be used to prevent autoimmune diabetes mellitus in NOD mice without GVHD or other adverse side effects. ESC were cultured in vitro to induce differentiation toward HSC, selected for c‐kit expression, and injected either i.v. or intra‐bone marrow (IBM) into sublethally irradiated NOD/LtJ mice. Nine of 10 mice from the IBM group and 5 of 8 from the i.v. group did not become hyperglycemic, in contrast to the control group, in which 8 of 9 mice developed end‐stage diabetes. All mice with >5% donor chimerism remained free of diabetes and insulitis, which was confirmed by histology. Splenocytes from transplanted mice were unresponsive to glutamic acid decarboxylase isoform 65, a diabetic‐specific autoantigen, but responded normally to third‐party antigens. ESC‐derived HSC can induce an islet cell tolerizing GVA effect without GVHD. This study represents the first instance, to our knowledge, of ESC‐derived HSC cells treating disease in an animal model.
Deep Learning Approaches to Detect Atrial Fibrillation Using Photoplethysmographic Signals: Algorithms Development Study

Background Wearable devices have evolved as screening tools for atrial fibrillation (AF). A photoplethysmographic (PPG) AF detection algorithm was developed and applied to a convenient smartphone-based device with good accuracy. However, patients with paroxysmal AF frequently exhibit premature atrial complexes (PACs), which result in poor unmanned AF detection, mainly because of rule-based or handcrafted machine learning techniques that are limited in terms of diagnostic accuracy and reliability. Objective This study aimed to develop deep learning (DL) classifiers using PPG data to detect AF from the sinus rhythm (SR) in the presence of PACs after successful cardioversion. Methods We examined 75 patients with AF who underwent successful elective direct-current cardioversion (DCC). Electrocardiogram and pulse oximetry data over a 15-min period were obtained before and after DCC and labeled as AF or SR. A 1-dimensional convolutional neural network (1D-CNN) and recurrent neural network (RNN) were chosen as the 2 DL architectures. The PAC indicator estimated the burden of PACs on the PPG dataset. We defined a metric called the confidence level (CL) of AF or SR diagnosis and compared the CLs of true and false diagnoses. We also compared the diagnostic performance of 1D-CNN and RNN with previously developed AF detectors (support vector machine with root-mean-square of successive difference of RR intervals and Shannon entropy, autocorrelation, and ensemble by combining 2 previous methods) using 10 5-fold cross-validation processes. Results Among the 14,298 training samples containing PPG data, 7157 samples were obtained during the post-DCC period. The PAC indicator estimated 29.79% (2132/7157) of post-DCC samples had PACs. The diagnostic accuracy of AF versus SR was 99.32% (70,925/71,410) versus 95.85% (68,602/71,570) in 1D-CNN and 98.27% (70,176/71,410) versus 96.04% (68,736/71,570) in RNN methods. The area under receiver operating characteristic curves of the 2 DL classifiers was 0.998 (95% CI 0.995-1.000) for 1D-CNN and 0.996 (95% CI 0.993-0.998) for RNN, which were significantly higher than other AF detectors (P<.001). If we assumed that the dataset could emulate a sufficient number of patients in training, both DL classifiers improved their diagnostic performances even further especially for the samples with a high burden of PACs. The average CLs for true versus false classification were 98.56% versus 78.75% for 1D-CNN and 98.37% versus 82.57% for RNN (P<.001 for all cases). Conclusions New DL classifiers could detect AF using PPG monitoring signals with high diagnostic accuracy even with frequent PACs and could outperform previously developed AF detectors. Although diagnostic performance decreased as the burden of PACs increased, performance improved when samples from more patients were trained. Moreover, the reliability of the diagnosis could be indicated by the CL. Wearable devices sensing PPG signals with DL classifiers should be validated as tools to screen for AF.
Characterization and pathological characteristics of spontaneous osteonecrosis of the knee.

OBJECTIVE Spontaneous osteonecrosis of the knee affects patients typically over the age of fifty-five years. Evidence exists that this process may not be true necrosis. The purpose of this study was to characterize the demographic, radiographic, and pathologic features of this condition. MATERIALS AND METHODS Twenty-one patients (twenty-two knees) consecutively treated for spontaneous osteonecrosis of the knee were studied. RESULTS Only one of twenty-two specimens demonstrated evidence of bone necrosis. No specimens showed fat necrosis, marrow necrosis, fibrous change or appositional bone repair. Fourteen of twenty-two specimens (64%) showed significant osteopenia and fifteen of twenty-two specimens (68%) showed evidence of osteoarthritis. CONCLUSIONS This study demonstrated that spontaneous osteonecrosis of the knee is not an osteonecrotic condition and has been misnamed. Osteopenia and osteoarthritis may play a role in the pathogenesis of this disease.
Political Instability and Large-Scale Violence in the Economic North and South: Comparing Causes

This paper builds on existing scholarship in the areas of political instability, state failure, and mass violence (e.g., Harf 2003; Valentino, Huth & Balch-Lindsay 2004). It introduces two innovations which add to understanding of the processes leading to serious political instability in states, and those leading from instability to large-scale violence. First, it distinguishes between North and South in economic terms by examining the processes separately based on higher and lower per capita gross domestic product. Second, it employs 2-stage selection models to correct for potential selection bias (Heckman 1979; Sartori 2003). Thus, the quantitative analysis will answer the questions of whether the processes leading to the most serious instances of internal violence are different for richer and poorer states, and whether current understanding of this process in the quantitative literature is biased by failure to consider selection effects explicitly.
In vitro production of tumour necrosis factor and prostaglandin E2 by peripheral blood mononuclear cells from tuberculosis patients

We investigated the production of tumour necrosis factor‐alpha (TNF‐α) and prostaglandin E2 (PGE2) by peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC) from tuberculosis patients and healthy controls. PBMC from tuberculosis patients generated constitutively more TNF‐α than did control PBMC. This production was significantly higher for patients with high‐grade fever and cachexia. The increase of TNF‐α production by PBMC from tuberculosis patients was associated with a comparatively weaker elevation of PGE2 synthesis which did not parallel fever or weight loss. In vitro treatment of control PBMC with the tuberculin purified protein derivative (PPD) promoted an increased TNF‐α production which was similar to that of untreated PBMC from tuberculosis patients. Thus, the increased TNF‐α production in tuberculosis could be explained by the in vivo exposure of PBMC to mycobacterial antigens. In contrast, the concentration of PGE; was weaker in the medium of untreated PBMC from tuberculosis patients than in the medium of PPD‐treated control PBMC, suggesting that PGE, synthesis by PBMC was limited in tuberculosis by unidentified factors.
The Response of Left Temporal Cortex to Sentences

The meaning of a sentence differs from the sum of the meanings of its constituents. Left anterior temporal cortex responds to sentences more strongly than to unconnected words. We hypothesized that the anterior temporal response to sentences is due to this difference in meaning (compositional semantics). Using positron emission tomography (PET), we studied four experimental conditions (2 2 factorial design): In one condition, subjects read normal sentences. In a second condition, they read grammatically correct sentences containing numerous semantic violations (semantically random sentences). In a third condition, we scrambled the word order within the normal sentences, and, in a fourth condition, the word order was scrambled within the semantically random sentences. The left anterior temporal pole responded strongly to sentences compared to scrambled versions of sentences. A similar although weaker response occurred in the left anterior superior temporal sulcus and the left posterior middle temporal gyrus. A subset of voxels within the left anterior temporal pole responded more to semantically random sentences and their scrambled versions than to normal sentences and the corresponding scrambled versions (main effect of semantic randomness). Finally, the grammatical and the semantic factor interacted in a subset of voxels within the anterior temporal pole: Activity was higher when subjects read normal sentences compared to their scrambled versions but not for semantically random sentences compared to their corresponding scrambled versions. The effects of grammar and meaning and, most importantly, the interaction between grammatical and semantic factors are compatible with the hypothesis that the left anterior temporal pole contributes to the composition of sentence meaning.
Monetary Policy Rules: What Are We Learning?

Abstract: The paper shows that the “monetary policy rules and inflation targeting” literature and the” endogenous money” literature share a reaction function approach to central banking policy. Monetary aggregates are the outcome of the price-maker and quantity-taker behavior of central banks in the reserve market, and of banks in the loans market. However, the paper argues that any process of convergence between those two approaches has to confront the following four critical areas: (a) the meaning of endogenous money, (b) the theory of inflation, (c) the theory of interest rates, and (d) the long-run role of money.
Lactose, oligosaccharide and monosaccharide content of milk from mothers delivering preterm newborns over the first month of lactation.

BACKGROUND Monosaccharide, lactose and oligosaccharide content of milk from mothers delivering prematurely (PT milk) was studied to evaluate whether changes occur during lactation, as observed in milk from mothers delivering at term (T milk). METHODS To study a homogeneous population, women having the most common phenotype (secretory both Lewis and A, B, or H phenotype) were selected. Milk samples from 26 mothers who delivered between the 27th and 35th week of gestation were collected at the 4th, 10th, and 30th post-partum days. Monosaccharides, lactose and oligosaccharides were measured by high-pressure liquid chromatography. RESULTS Lactose concentration increased significantly (p < 0.05) from 52.81 +/- 8.2 g/L on day 4 to 69.24 +/- 9.36 g/L on day 30. During the same period of time oligosaccharide content decreased significantly (p < 0.05) from 25.61 +/- 5.19 g/L to 15.83 +/- 6.05 g/L. Monosaccharides did not show statistically significant variations. CONCLUSIONS Our results indicate that PT milk contains in addition to lactose, a substantial amount of oligosaccharides and a lower percentage of monosaccharides. Compared to T milk, in the colostral phase PT milk presents significantly lower lactose concentration (p < 0.0001); on the contrary its oligosaccharide content is significantly higher (p < 0.0001). The physiological role of human milk carbohydrates in view of the peculiar needs of the preterm newborn is also discussed.