Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Cannibalism of Juvenile Catfish (Clarias Gariepinus Burchell)

The study was conducted to examine the phenomenon of cannibalism among juveniles of the African catfish (Clarias gariepinus Burchell) of the same year class. At the start of the 21 day experiment, each catfish fingerling weighed approximately 4.1g. The fingerlings were stocked in a plastic tank at a stocking density of 100 fingerlings in the tank. There was unequal weight gain among all the fingerlings in the tanks, resulting in the significant difference of two fingerlings weighing 27.2g and 42.4g respectively. These two fingerlings accounted for over 68% mortality of the original stock. The two large fingerlings were isolated in two tanks of 0.23m 3 size and fingerlings weighing approximately 7.6g were introduced daily starting with two and increased in a geometric progression of four and eight for 13 days. In combination the catfishes A and B consumed a total of 42% of the juveniles in 9 days. In separate chambers Catfishes A consumed a total of 11 juveniles in 13 days accounting for 10.6% of entire number of juveniles introduced. Partial cannibalism which consisted of juveniles killed but not swallowed wholly was higher accounting for 19.2% of the total introduced. This is in contrast to Catfish B which consumed a total of 52 juveniles accounting for 50% of number introduced with only a 1.9% partial cannibalism. This accounts for the significant differences in the weight values with Catfish A gaining a total of 8.5g in contrast to 184.5g gained by Catfish B. It is evident from the study that cannibalism among juvenile catfishes within the same year class can be identified and with proper management of size variationimprove the survival rate of the population of each year class.
Tailored Navigation in Colorectal Cancer Screening

Background:Colorectal cancer (CRC) screening is underutilized. Effective methods to increase screening use are needed. This study sought to determine the impact of tailored navigation on CRC screening in primary care. Methods:The study included 154 primary care practice patients who were 50 or more years of age, were eligible for CRC screening, and had an office visit within 2 years before study initiation. Baseline telephone survey data were collected on participant sociodemographic characteristics, psychosocial factors, and screening test [fecal occult blood test (FOBT) or colonoscopy] decision stage. By comparing decision stage data, we identified that test with the highest decision stage (ie, preferred screening test). Participants who preferred FOBT were sent an FOBT kit and a reminder. Those preferring colonoscopy were sent colonoscopy instructions. After this mailing, a study patient navigator made a telephone call to guide participants towards screening. Six-month end point survey and medical records data were obtained. Univariable and multivariable analyses were performed to identify predictors of screening and of change in preferred screening test decision stage. Results:At end point, 63 (41%) study participants had screened. From baseline to end point, overall screening preference increased for 75 (63%) participants. Age and perceived salience and coherence (ie, screening is important and sensible) were positive, significant predictors of screening use (P = 0.02 and P = 0.05, respectively); while only age predicted change in overall screening preference (P = 0.03). Conclusions:Study participant screening use and preference increased. Age and attitudes predicted outcomes. Randomized trials are needed to determine intervention impact at the population level.
Inhibition of platelet activation prevents the P‐selectin and integrin‐dependent accumulation of cancer cell microparticles and reduces tumor growth and metastasis in vivo

Venous thromboembolism constitutes one of the main causes of death during the progression of a cancer. We previously demonstrated that tissue factor (TF)‐bearing cancer cell‐derived microparticles accumulate at the site of injury in mice developing a pancreatic cancer. The presence of these microparticles at the site of thrombosis correlates with the size of the platelet‐rich thrombus. The objective of this study was to determine the involvement of TF expressed by cancer cell‐derived microparticles on thrombosis associated with cancer. We observed that pancreatic cancer cell derived microparticles expressed TF, its inhibitor tissue factor pathway inhibitor (TFPI) as well as the integrins αvβ1 and αvβ3. In mice bearing a tumor under‐expressing TF, a significant decrease in circulating TF activity associated with an increase bleeding time and a 100‐fold diminished fibrin generation and platelet accumulation at the site of injury were observed. This was mainly due to the interaction of circulating cancer cell‐derived microparticles expressing TFPI with activated platelets and fibrinogen. In an ectopic model of cancer, treatment of mice with Clopidogrel, an anti‐platelet drug, decreased the size of the tumors and restored hemostasis by preventing the accumulation of cancer cell‐derived microparticles at the site of thrombosis. In a syngeneic orthotopic model of pancreatic cancer Clopidogrel also significantly inhibited the development of metastases. Together, these results indicate that an anti‐platelet strategy may efficiently treat thrombosis associated with cancer and reduce the progression of pancreatic cancer in mice.
Staphylococcus epidermidis Bacteremia Induces Brain Injury in Neonatal Mice via Toll-like Receptor 2-Dependent and -Independent Pathways.

BACKGROUND Staphylococcus epidermidis causes late-onset sepsis in preterm infants. Staphylococcus epidermidis activates host responses in part via Toll-like receptor 2 (TLR2). Epidemiologic studies link bacteremia and neonatal brain injury, but direct evidence is lacking. METHODS Wild-type and TLR2-deficient (TLR2-/-) mice were injected intravenously with S. epidermidis at postnatal day 1 prior to measuring plasma and brain cytokine and chemokine levels, bacterial clearance, brain caspase-3 activation, white/gray matter volume, and innate transcriptome. RESULTS Staphylococcus epidermidis bacteremia spontaneously resolved over 24 hours without detectable bacteria in the cerebrospinal fluid (CSF). TLR2-/- mice demonstrated delayed S. epidermidis clearance from blood, spleen, and liver. Staphylococcus epidermidis increased the white blood cell count in the CSF, increased interleukin 6, interleukin 12p40, CCL2, and CXCL1 concentrations in plasma; increased the CCL2 concentration in the brain; and caused rapid (within 6 hours) TLR2-dependent brain activation of caspase-3 and TLR2-independent white matter injury. CONCLUSIONS Staphylococcus epidermidis bacteremia, in the absence of bacterial entry into the CSF, impairs neonatal brain development. Staphylococcus epidermidis bacteremia induced both TLR2-dependent and -independent brain injury, with the latter occurring in the absence of TLR2, a condition associated with an increased bacterial burden. Our study indicates that the consequences of transient bacteremia in early life may be more severe than commonly appreciated, and our findings may inform novel approaches to reduce bacteremia-associated brain injury.
Heterapoderopsis bicallosicollis (Coleoptera: Attelabidae) : A Potential Biological Control Agent for Triadica sebifera

ABSTRACT Native to China, Chinese tallow, Triadica sebifera L. Small (Euphorbiaceae), is an invasive plant in the southeastern United States. The leaf-rolling weevil, Heterapoderopsis bicallosicollis Voss, is a common herbivore attacking this plant in China. To evaluate its potential as a biological control agent of T. sebifera, biology and host specificity of this weevil were studied in China. H. bicallosicollis occurs over a wide, native, geographic range and its immatures successfully develop at 15–35°C, indicating its physiological potential to establish and persist throughout the range of climatic conditions where the target plant grows in the United States. Adults make feeding holes on leaves. Before oviposition, the female makes a sealed leaf roll called a nidus and then lays one to two eggs inside. Eggs, larvae, and pupae develop within nidi, and larvae survive only when they develop inside the nidi. This requirement makes the weevil highly host specific to T. sebifera, In laboratory no-choice tests of 54 species from eight families, adults fed on only 3 plant species, T. sebifera, Sapium chihsinianum S. K. Lee, and Phyllanthus urinaria L. and only oviposited on T. sebifera. These results were confirmed where, in multiple-choice tests, adults only oviposited on T. sebifera. Given that T. sebifera is the only species in the genus Triadica in the United States, the results of this study suggest that H. bicallosicollis is a potential biological control agent of T. sebifera and should be considered to be imported into quarantine in the United States for further tests on native North American species.
Investigation of long short-term memory networks to temperature prediction for permanent magnet synchronous motors

Monitoring critical temperatures in permanent magnet synchronous motors (PMSMs) is crucial to ensure safe operation and maximum device utilization as well. In this work, the application of recurrent neural networks featuring memory blocks (LSTMs/GRUs) are investigated upon their suitability to accurate temperature time series prediction inside PMSMs or similar motor types, which is the first time in literature to the author's best knowledge. Considered motor components are stator yoke, teeth and winding as well as the rotor's permanent magnets of a highly-utilized PMSM for electric vehicle applications. Having benchmark data available, numerous neural networks are trained and optimized with the aid of the Chainer framework and particle swarm optimization is conducted for finding suitable model hyper-parameters (e.g. number of hidden neurons or layers) on a computing cluster. It is found, that the Euclidean norm performance (in the range of 1–3 K) is similar but the worst-case predication errors (in the range of 9–14 K) are significantly higher compared to established modeling techniques like lumped-parameter thermal networks (LPTNs). This initial investigation motivates future research to increase ANN-based estimation accuracy by taken other ANN topologies, training methods or hyper-parameter optimization approaches into account.
Yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae has two cis‐prenyltransferases with different properties and localizations. Implication for their distinct physiological roles in dolichol synthesis

Background Dolichol is a family of long‐chain polyprenols, which is utilized as a sugar carrier in protein glycosylation in the endoplasmic reticulum (ER). We have identified a key enzyme of the dolichol synthesis, cis‐prenyltransferase, as Rer2p from Saccharomyces cerevisiae. We have also isolated a multicopy suppressor of an rer2 mutant and named it SRT1. It encodes a protein similar to Rer2p but its function has not been established.
Identification of print-related contaminants in food packaging

ABSTRACT Since the UV ink photoinitiator (PI) isopropylthioxanthone (ITX) was discovered in packaged milk, studies of print contamination have focused primarily on PIs but have also included amine synergists. Many other substances are used or formed during the print process, yet their identity and set-off properties have yet to be catalogued in food packaging. Three different techniques: direct analysis in real-time high-resolution mass spectrometry (DART-HRMS), gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) and ultra-high-pressure liquid chromatography electrospray ionisation/HRMS (UHPLC/ESI-HRMS) were used to detect and identify print-related molecules from the food-contact and print surfaces of three different packages with under-cured prints. This approach tentatively identified or confirmed 110 compounds, including 35 print-related molecules. The majority of compounds identified on food-contact surfaces were packaging monomers/byproducts, solvents/plasticisers, antioxidants/degradants or slip agents/lubricants. Of these, 28 showed evidence of set-off. The identities of 16 PIs, seven known scission products and five probable PI degradants were confirmed, most showing signs of set-off. Of the print-related molecules, at least five are novel print contaminants such as 4-morpholin-4-yl-benzaldehyde or 3-phenyl-2-benzofuran-1(3H)-one.
Thyrotropin-releasing hormone in the hypothalamus of the rat.

The hypothalamic content of thyrotropin-releasing hormone (TRH) has been determined in normal and thyroxine-treated, thyroidectomized and hypophysectomized rats. Preliminary studies showed that hypothalamic and stalk median eminence homogenates destroyed TRH immunoreactivity, though neither was as effective as cerebral cortex in this regard. Consequently, TRH was extracted from hypothalamic homogenates with methanol. Recovery of TRH added to hypothalamic tissue ranged from 83.0 to 103.8%. The immunoreactivity of hypothalamic extracts was destroyed by incubation in human serum and eluted from Sephadex G-25 in the same fractions as synthetic TRH. In normal adult male rats of increasing size, the mean hypothalamic TRH contents ranged from 7.1 to 8.4 ng, not differing significantly in four groups of animals whose mean weights varied from 152 to 359 g. Hypothalamic TRH was 4.7 ± 0.2 ng/100 g body wt in the smallest and fell progressively to 2.2 ± 0.1 ng/100 g body wt in the largest animals. Serum T4 and TSH le.
Controllable microfluidic synthesis of multiphase drug‐carrying lipospheres for site‐targeted therapy

We report the production of micrometer‐sized gas‐filled lipospheres using digital (droplet‐based) microfluidics technology for chemotherapeutic drug delivery. Advantages of on‐chip synthesis include a monodisperse size distribution (polydispersity index (σ) values of <5%) with consistent stability and uniform drug loading. Photolithography techniques are applied to fabricate novel PDMS‐based microfluidic devices that feature a combined dual hydrodynamic flow‐focusing region and expanding nozzle geometry with a narrow orifice. Spherical vehicles are formed through flow‐focusing by the self‐assembly of phospholipids to a lipid layer around the gas core, followed by a shear‐induced break off at the orifice. The encapsulation of an extra oil layer between the outer lipid shell and inner bubble gaseous core allows the transport of highly hydrophobic and toxic drugs at high concentrations. Doxorubicin (Dox) entrapment is estimated at 15 mg mL−1 of particles packed in a single ordered layer. In addition, the attachment of targeting ligands to the lipid shell allows for direct vehicle binding to cancer cells. Preliminary acoustic studies of these monodisperse gas lipospheres reveal a highly uniform echo correlation of greater than 95%. The potential exists for localized drug concentration and release with ultrasound energy. © 2009 American Institute of Chemical Engineers Biotechnol. Prog. , 2009
Nutrition intervention trials in Linxian, China: supplementation with specific vitamin/mineral combinations, cancer incidence, and disease-specific mortality in the general population.

BACKGROUND Epidemiologic evidence indicates that diets high in fruits and vegetables are associated with a reduced risk of several cancers, including cancers of the esophagus and stomach. Vitamins and minerals in these foods may contribute to the reduced cancer risk. The people of Linxian County, China, have one of the world's highest rates of esophageal/gastric cardia cancer and a persistently low intake of several micronutrients. PURPOSE We sought to determine if dietary supplementation with specific vitamins and minerals can lower mortality from or incidence of cancer as well as mortality from other diseases in Linxian. METHODS Individuals of ages 40-69 were recruited in 1985 from four Linxian communes. Mortality and cancer incidence during March 1986-May 1991 were ascertained for 29,584 adults who received daily vitamin and mineral supplementation throughout this period. The subjects were randomly assigned to intervention groups according to a one-half replicate of a 2(4) factorial experimental design. This design enabled testing for the effects of four combinations of nutrients: (A) retinol and zinc; (B) riboflavin and niacin; (C) vitamin C and molybdenum; and (D) beta carotene, vitamin E, and selenium. Doses ranged from one to two times U.S. Recommended Daily Allowances. RESULTS A total of 2127 deaths occurred among trial participants during the intervention period. Cancer was the leading cause of death, with 32% of all deaths due to esophageal or stomach cancer, followed by cerebrovascular disease (25%). Significantly (P = .03) lower total mortality (relative risk [RR] = 0.91; 95% confidence interval [CI] = 0.84-0.99) occurred among those receiving supplementation with beta carotene, vitamin E, and selenium. The reduction was mainly due to lower cancer rates (RR = 0.87; 95% CI = 0.75-1.00), especially stomach cancer (RR = 0.79; 95% CI = 0.64-0.99), with the reduced risk beginning to arise about 1-2 years after the start of supplementation with these vitamins and minerals. No significant effects on mortality rates from all causes were found for supplementation with retinol and zinc, riboflavin and niacin, or vitamin C and molybdenum. Patterns of cancer incidence, on the basis of 1298 cases, generally resembled those for cancer mortality. CONCLUSIONS The findings indicate that vitamin and mineral supplementation of the diet of Linxian adults, particularly with the combination of beta carotene, vitamin E, and selenium, may effect a reduction in cancer risk in this population. IMPLICATIONS The results on their own are not definitive, but the promising findings should stimulate further research to clarify the potential benefits of micronutrient supplements.
Avian influenza viruses inhibit the major cellular signalling integrator c‐Abl

The non‐structural protein 1 (NS1) of influenza A viruses (IAV) encodes several src homology (SH) binding motifs (bm) (one SH2bm, up to two SH3bm), which mediate interactions with host cell proteins. In contrast to NS1 of human IAV, NS1 of avian strains possess the second SH3bm (SH3(II)bm) consensus sequence. Since our former studies demonstrated an NS1–CRK interaction, mediated by this motif, here, we addressed the regulatory properties of this SH3bm for cellular signalling. Initially, we observed a reduced basal CRK phosphorylation upon infection with avian IAV harbouring an NS1 with an SH3(II)bm in contrast to human IAV. Reduced activity of the tyrosine kinase c‐Abl was identified to be responsible for reduced CRK phosphorylation. Further, binding of NS1 to c‐Abl was determined, and mutational manipulation of the SH3(II)bm illustrated the necessity of this motif for c‐Abl inhibition. Interestingly, Abl kinase inhibition resulted in impaired avian IAV propagation and pathogenicity and mutational analysis linked the pronounced inhibition of c‐Abl to cytopathogenic cell alterations upon avian IAV infections. Taken together, NS1 proteins of avian IAV interfere with the kinase activity of c‐Abl, a major cellular signalling integrator that controls multiple signalling processes and cell fate regulations apparently including IAV infections.
Studies Evaluating the Utility of N-Methyl-N-Nitrosourea as a Positive Control in Carcinogenicity Studies in the p53+ /– Mouse

Studies conducted under the auspices of International Life Sciences Institute (ILSI) have suggested that an alternative mouse carcinogenicity study may be substituted for the traditional 2-year mouse bioassay typically conducted to support the development of drug candidates. The purpose of this study was to characterize the carcinogenic potential of N-methyl-N-nitrosourea (MNU), a DNA alkylating agent, in p53+ /– knockout mice to determine its suitability as a positive control agent in an alternative carcinogenicity model. p53+ /– knockout mice were administered a single oral dose of 90 mg/kg and maintained for up to 13 weeks prior to evaluation of neoplasms. Treatment was generally well tolerated; however, 4 of 30 mice died between the days of 75 and 92 due to neoplasms. MNU-related macroscopic observations included enlargement of the thymus, spleen, mandibular and mesenteric lymph nodes; and pale liver, heart, kidney, and bone marrow, which correlated with the diagnosis of lymphoma of the hematopoietic system, noted in the thymus of all affected animals and in the spleen, liver, lungs, and kidneys of some animals. Other treatment-related single neoplasms included a squamous-cell carcinoma in the nonglandular stomach and leiomyosarcoma in the glandular stomach. Non-neoplastic proliferative lesions included acanthosis and hyperkeratosis in the nonglandular stomach, focal papillary hyperplasia of the nonglandular stomach, glandular hyperplasia of the stomach, and adenomatous hyperplasia of the duodenum or ileum. The increased incidence of neoplastic and proliferative changes in MNU-treated mice suggests MNU could serve as a positive control in alternative carcinogenicity studies conducted in p53+ /– knockout mice.
The importance of dysmorphology in the identification of new human teratogens

The vast majority of information regarding the teratogenicity of new drugs as well as others for which adequate information is not available comes from postmarketing studies. Evaluation by a dysmorphologist of babies prenatally exposed to a particular agent has played an incredibly important role in these studies. Most of the known human teratogens have been identified by the astute clinician approach which involves the observation, documentation, and delineation of individual cases who display a novel phenotype after a particularly rare prenatal exposure. Prospective cohort studies focused on the evaluation of prenatally exposed children who have been ascertained prospectively prior to the known outcome of pregnancy and evaluated by a dysmorphologist for patterns of minor and major malformations have been equally effective. Although most human teratogens have been identified using one of these two methods, both have limitations. The purpose of this study is to set forth the extent to which a careful physical examination performed by a dysmorphologist trained in the identification of minor structural defects in development has added to our knowledge of human teratology and has been instrumental in the identification of new human teratogens. Although dysmorphologists have had a profound impact on our understanding of human teratogens. It is important to recognize that the two approaches outlined in this study must be complemented by other methodologies, such as case–control studies, that more appropriately address risks for major malformations in order to gain the full picture necessary to effectively counsel women about safety of drugs during pregnancy. © 2011 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.