Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
IUGR Does Not Predispose to Necrotizing Enterocolitis or Compromise Postnatal Intestinal Adaptation in Preterm Pigs

IUGR and preterm birth are leading causes of neonatal morbidity. We tested the hypothesis that IUGR predisposes to gut maladaption and necrotizing enterocolitis (NEC) using preterm pigs as models for preterm infants. First, full-term normal birth weight (NW) and IUGR (∼65% of NW) pigs were compared. IUGR reduced intestinal weight per length, proportion mucosa, villous area, and sucrase activity at 2 d after birth (p < 0.05) but did not change relative organ weights. Next, groups of preterm pigs were fed formula or colostrum, starting at birth or after 2–3 d of total parenteral nutrition (TPN). Neonatal mortality (not related to NEC) was increased in IUGR versus NW preterm pigs (28 vs 10%, p < 0.01). NEC incidence was similar between IUGR and NW but higher after formula than colostrum feeding (46 vs 12%, p < 0.01) and higher after TPN than without TPN (61 vs 34% for formula pigs, p < 0.01). After feeding, relative intestinal mass and length were higher in IUGR versus NW pigs (+25–80%, p < 0.05) while brush border enzyme activities were similar. An enhanced gut trophic response to enteral feeding may help to improve postnatal intestinal adaptation and NEC resistance in preterm IUGR newborns.
Assessment of a rapid clearance blood pool MR contrast medium (P792) for assays of microvascular characteristics in experimental breast tumors with correlations to histopathology

The diagnostic potential of a new rapid clearance blood pool contrast medium (P792; MW = 6.47 kDa) for the MR assessment of microvessel characteristics was assessed in 42 chemically‐induced breast tumors, with comparisons to albumin‐(Gd‐DTPA). Microvessel characteristics, including the transendothelial permeability (KPS) and the fractional blood volume (fPV), were estimated by using dynamic MR data fit to a bidirectional two‐compartment model. The MR‐derived estimates for KPS and fPV using each contrast agent were compared, and assays using each contrast agent were correlated to the histologic tumor grade (SBR score) and the microvascular density (MVD) counts. Using P792‐enhanced data, neither KPS nor fPV showed a statistically significant correlation with the tumor grade or the MVD (P > .05). Conversely, using albumin‐(GdDTPA)30, KPS values correlated significantly with the histologic tumor grade (r = .55; P < .0005) and the MVD (r = .34, P < .05), whereas no correlation was established for fPV. In conclusion, based on P792 data no correlation between tumor microvascular characteristics and histologic markers (SBR score or MVD) was found in this breast tumor model. Our analysis suggests that contrast media of relatively large (on the order of 90 kDa) molecular size, such as albumin‐(GdDTPA)30, are more accurate for the characterization of tumor microvessels. Magn Reson Med 45:880–886, 2001. © 2001 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
The Spanish conquest and settlement of America

THE SPANISH CONQUEST AND SETTLEMENT OF AMERICA Charles Julian Bishko, ‘The Iberian background of Latin American history: Recent progress and continuing problems’, HAHR , 36 (1956), 50–80, is an admirable introduction to the essential bibliographical tools and identifies the areas in which more research is needed, as well as those in which valuable work has been done. The Indice histerico espanol (Barcelona, 1953–), which may be regarded as a sequel to Benito Sanchez Alonso’s indispensable Fuentes de la historia espanola e hispanoamericana , 3 vols. , 3rd ed. (Madrid, 1952), with the additional advantage of including brief comments on the books and articles which it lists, has unfortunately shown signs of flagging in recent years. There is now a good selection of general books on the Iberian peninsula in the later Middle Ages and the Early Modern period, although Spain is much better served in this respect than Portugal. The classic work of Roger B. Merriman, The Rise of the Spanish Empire in the Old World and the New , 4 vols. (New York, 1918–34, reprinted 1962) is still useful, particularly for political and institutional history, but has at many points been superseded by more recent work. It is weakest in the areas of economic and social history, where it should be supplemented by Jaime Vicens Vives, An Economic History of Spain (Princeton, N.J., 1969), and vols. 2 and 3 of Historia social y economica de Espanay America (Barcelona, 1957), a collaborative enterprise edited by Vicens Vives. A more recent work is V. Vazquez de Prada, Historia economica y social de Espana, vol. 3 (Los siglos XVI y XVII) (Madrid, 1978).
Association Between Diagnosed Diabetes and Self-Reported Cancer Among U.S. Adults

OBJECTIVE To assess the association between diagnosed diabetes and self-reported cancer among U.S. adults. RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS We analyzed data for 397,783 adults who participated in the 2009 Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System and had valid data on diabetes and cancer. RESULTS After adjustment for potential confounders, diabetic men had higher adjusted prevalence ratios for cancers of the prostate (1.1 [95% CI 1.0–1.3]), colon (1.3 [1.0–1.7]), pancreas (4.6 [1.8–11.7]), rectum (2.2 [1.0–4.7]), urinary bladder (1.7 [1.2–2.2]), and kidney (1.9 [1.2–3.0]) than nondiabetic men (all P < 0.05). Diabetic women had higher adjusted prevalence ratios for cancers of the breast (1.1 [1.0–1.3]) and endometrium (1.6 [1.2–2.0]), and leukemia (2.3 [1.3–4.2]) than nondiabetic women (all P < 0.05). CONCLUSIONS Our results suggest that diabetic adults have higher prevalences of certain cancers than nondiabetic adults.
Ethnohistorical relationships on the Iberian Peninsula

Population variability and ethnohistorical relationships in the Iberian Peninsula are examined using 17 craniometric variables derived from 11 human groups. Similarity and dissimilarity of size and size-related shape variance and distances are expressed by canonical variables analysis and un-weighted pair-group averages. The potentially confounding influence of size is tested empirically and population relationships are discussed in terms of shape or size-related shape variance. Results of the UPGMA clustering reveal several discernable clusters that reflect previously documented cranio-facial similarities of Greeks and Macedonians, and Bosnian and Croatians. Unique to these analyses and supported by the complex ethnohistory of the Iberian Peninsula is the relationship between Spanish populations to Norse, Egyptian and Hungarian groups, which is most likely reflective of multiple migrations and settlements.
Improving the scalability of the CORBA event service with a multi‐agent load balancing algorithm

The event service of the Common Object Request Broker Architecture (CORBA) is useful in supporting decoupled and asynchronous communication between distributed object components. However, the specification of the event service standard does not require implementation to provide facilities to guarantee efficient event/data delivery. Consequently, applications in which a large number of objects need to communicate via an event service channel may suffer from poor performance. In this paper, a generic CORBA‐based framework is proposed to tackle this scalability problem. Two techniques are applied; namely, event channel federation and load balancing. The solution is transparent in the sense that it exports the same IDL interface as the original event service. We explore three critical dimensions underlying the design of the load‐balancing algorithm and conduct experiments to evaluate their impact on the overall performance of the framework. The results provide some useful insights into the improvement of the scalability of the event service. Copyright © 2002 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Does Prostaglandin Confer Significant Advantage Over Oxytocin Infusion for Nulliparas With Pre-Labor Rupture of Membranes at Term?

Ninety-four nulliparous women with a poor cervical score (less than 6) who had premature rupture of membranes at term were randomized by sealed envelope into two groups. One group received immediate stimulation of labor with oxytocin infusion. The second group received two prostaglandin E 2(PGE2) 3-mg pessaries 4 hours apart, followed by oxytocin infusion, if necessary. The interval between initiation of therapy to onset of labor was significantly longer in the PG group, but the length of labor was similar in both groups. The maximum dose of oxytocin needed was significantly higher in the oxytocin group. The cesarean delivery rate in the oxytocin group was 14.9%, compared with 19.1% in the PG group (not significantly different). All seven cesareans in the oxytocin group and seven of nine in the PG group were for failed stimulation of labor. Neonatal Apgar scores at 1 and 5 minutes and admission to the neonatal intensive care unit were similar in the two groups. The incidence of maternal and neonatal infection was small and was not different in the two groups. The use of PGE2 3-mg pessaries 4 hours apart, followed by oxytocin infusion if necessary, did not confer any benefit over the use of intravenous oxytocin in obstetric or neonatal outcome when both agents were started a few hours after admission.
Induction of myelin basic protein‐specific experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis in C57BL/6 mice: Mapping of T cell epitopes and T cell receptor Vβ gene segment usage

Early studies of murine experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis (EAE) induced with myelin basic protein (MBP) divide various mouse strains into either “susceptible” or “resistant” phenotypes. Resistance is defined as lack of encephalitogenic responses after active immunization or adoptive transfer. It is now becoming clear that this unresponsiveness is not due to the inability of T cells to recognize MBP in the context of major histocompatibility complex (MHC) gene products. Using various manipulations, many laboratories are able to induce severe EAE in these strains. We previously reported that a combination of adoptive transfer and subsequent challenge of the recipients with MBP could overcome the resistance in many mouse strains (Shaw et al.: J Neuroimmunol 39:139–150, 1992). This approach now enables us to identify the encephalitogenic epitope and T cell receptor Vβ usage in a prototype strain, C57BL/6 (B6). Pepsin‐digested MBP fragments first located a major T cell epitope in a polypeptide containing residues 44–88. Overlapping synthetic peptides narrowed this epitope to p60–80. Truncated peptides from the carboxyl‐ or amino‐terminus further mapped a minimal peptide to p67–76. This encephalitogenic epitope appears to be unique to B6 mice. Independent encephalitogenic T cell clones specific for this epitope were also generated. Of six such clones analyzed, five different TCR Vβ's were found. Whether unbiased usage of encephalitogenic TCR Vβ gene segments in B6 mice is related to its EAE resistant phenotype is not clear at this point. © 1996 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Androgen regulation by the long terminal repeat of mouse mammary tumor virus

Mouse mammary tumor virus (MMTV) has long been implicated in mouse mammary carcinogenesis, and it is now well established that the long terminal repeat (LTR) contains regulatory sequences responsible for glucocorticoid-mediated induction of viral RNA. However, we have demonstrated previously that androgens as well as glucocorticoids can regulate MMTV RNA in the S115 mouse mammary tumor cell line. To determine if androgens act directly on the LTR in these cells, plasmids were constructed with the MMTV LTR joined to the coding sequences of genes not normally expressed in the cells. Following transfection of these chimeric genes into S115 cells, we show that the expression of the genes is regulated by both androgens and glucocorticoids. Furthermore, hormonal regulation is also conferred by the LTR on the neighboring guanine phosphoribosyltransferase (gpt) gene. Thus, androgens can act on the LTR of MMTV when the appropriate receptors are present in the cells, and this interaction can influence the expression of additional adjacent genes.
The Influence of Maternal Child-Rearing Attitudes and Teaching Behaviors on Preschoolers' Delay of Gratification

Abstract This study was an exploratory examination of the influence of mothers' teaching behaviors, strategies, and child-rearing attitudes on their children's ability to delay gratification. In an externally imposed delay of gratification situation, 30 mothers from a rural university community taught their children strategies that could help them refrain from touching a brightly wrapped present when the mothers left the room. Results showed that mothers of children who did not delay gratification exhibited teaching behaviors and child-rearing attitudes consistent with a permissive parenting style, whereas mothers of children who did delay gratification exhibited teaching behaviors and child-rearing attitudes consistent with an authoritative parenting style. The results of this study are discussed with respect to the development of children's self-control and self-regulatory abilities.
Experimental study of new integrated DC/DC converter for hydrogen-based energy storage

This paper presents a new integrated (multiport) DC/DC converter for hydrogen-based energy storages. In comparison with traditional solutions based on individual converters for interfacing of an electrolyser and a fuel cell the proposed topology features reduced energy conversion stages. The paper analyzes and discusses the operating principle of the new converter. Several guidelines are presented for the new converter design. Finally, theoretical background was experimentally verified.
Associations between Leptin Gene Polymorphisms and Somatic Cell Count in Milk of Jersey Cows

A total of 181 Jersey cows were used to investigate how leptin gene polymorphisms affect somatic cell count (SCC) in milk. Three single nucleotide polymorphisms were genotyped, namely the R4C polymorphism in exon 2, the Sau3AI polymorphism in intron 2 and the A59V polymorphism in exon 3. The genotype and allele frequencies for each polymorphism and the haplotype frequencies for all polymorphisms were estimated in the herd under study. Statistical analysis revealed that the R4C and Sau3AI polymorphisms significantly affected SCC (P ≤ 0.01) with C and T as a desirable allele, respectively. No associations were found between the A59V polymorphism and SCC in this study. However, all the genotype combinations (haplotypes) significantly affected this trait. The results indicate that selection for the R4C CC and Sau3AI TT animals might contribute to a reduction of SCC in Jersey cattle. Leptin, polymorphism, haplotype, somatic cell count, dairy cows, candidate gene, selection Leptin is a 16-kDa polypeptide hormone with a tertiary structure resembling that of some cytokines such as IL-6, IL-11, IL-12 and IL-15. It is produced primarily by fat cells but the presence of leptin was also demonstrated in the mammary gland tissue and in milk of different mammalian species (Zhang et al. 1994; Houseknecht et al. 1997; Estienne et al. 2000; Bonnet et al. 2002; McFadin et al. 2002). Leptin receptors are expressed in a variety of cells and tissues, including the immune cells. Leptin is mainly involved in maintaining the energy balance by controlling food intake and energy expenditure and it regulates the endocrine and immune functions (Houseknecht et al. 1998). It has been established that leptin plays a major role in both innate and adaptive immune responses. Leptin mediates proliferative and antiapoptotic activities in the monocytes and T lymphocytes and delays apoptosis of neutrophils (Bruno et al. 2005). Leptin was found to promote T helper responses (Matarese et al. 2005) and also to regulate phagocytic function in macrophages/monocytes and secretion of proinflammatory cytokines (TNF-α, IL-6, IL-12). Bernotiene et al. (2006) reported elevated circulating leptin level during infectious and inflammatory processes. Mastitis – inflammation of the mammary gland – is a major cause of economic losses to the dairy cattle industry as it reduces milk yield, alters milk composition and elevates treatment costs. Mastitis is accompanied by an increased somatic cell count (SCC) in milk and estimated genetic correlation between mastitis and SCC ranges between 0.53 and 0.77
Time-locked brain activity associated with emotion: A pilot MEG study

Objective: To examine the time course of brain activation in response to emotionally evocative pictures. Methods and procedures: Regions of the brain involved in the processing of affective stimuli in response to picture sets rated unpleasant, pleasant and affectively neutral, as well as the order of activation of each region, were investigated using magnetoencephalography in 10 normal adult volunteers. Results: Spatiotemporal maps were found consisting of two basic components. The first involving activation in the occipital and basal aspects of the temporal cortex- lasted, on average, 270 ms post-stimulus. The second component involving activation in the mesial temporal lobes (MTL) extended from 270 to 850 ms post-stimulus. After (serial) activating the mesial temporal lobe structures or simultaneous (parallel) to it, activation is also observed in the frontal structures. Conclusions: The temporal organization in the brain of an emotional stimulus requires the serial and alternating engagement of frontal and posterior cortices. It is suggested that lesions to the brain may disrupt this temporal course, altering the emotional response commonly observed in patients with brain injury.
Methods Used to Evaluate Pain Behaviors in Rodents

Rodents are commonly used to study the pathophysiological mechanisms of pain as studies in humans may be difficult to perform and ethically limited. As pain cannot be directly measured in rodents, many methods that quantify “pain-like” behaviors or nociception have been developed. These behavioral methods can be divided into stimulus-evoked or non-stimulus evoked (spontaneous) nociception, based on whether or not application of an external stimulus is used to elicit a withdrawal response. Stimulus-evoked methods, which include manual and electronic von Frey, Randall-Selitto and the Hargreaves test, were the first to be developed and continue to be in widespread use. However, concerns over the clinical translatability of stimulus-evoked nociception in recent years has led to the development and increasing implementation of non-stimulus evoked methods, such as grimace scales, burrowing, weight bearing and gait analysis. This review article provides an overview, as well as discussion of the advantages and disadvantages of the most commonly used behavioral methods of stimulus-evoked and non-stimulus-evoked nociception used in rodents.
Effect of housing system on the calcium requirement of laying hens and on eggshell quality

P < 0.01) in the cage systems (14.2 and 14.0 g/hen/week) than in FS (12.6 g/hen/week). Despite of the same calcium intake of the hens housed in EN and FS the eggshell thickness (0.39 and 0.38 mm, respectively) and eggshell strength (38.04 and 36.43 N respect.) were higher ( P < 0.01 and P < 0.001 respectively) in EN. The tibia breaking strength was higher ( < 0.05) in FS (156.6 N) in comparison with UN (92.7 N). The rate of calcium intake deposited in the eggshells was higher in the cage systems than in FS, namely by 1.7 to 8.9% depending on the age of laying hens. When determining the correct calcium requirements in the diets of laying hens, the housing system should be taken into account.
Computational aerodynamic performance of mixed-flow turbine blade design

The performance of two mixed flow turbocharger turbine rotors is numerically investigated. Significantly, the two rotors differ mainly in their inlet angle geometry, one has a constant blade angle (rotor A) and the other has a nominal constant incidence angle (rotor B). Since experimental data alone are not sufficient for understanding the detailed flow field within the turbocharger turbine stage, a complete 3-D Computational Fluid Dynamics model is developed using commercial software Ansys CFX. The model is validated against experimental data for all steady conditions. This study presents a numerical performance prediction of two mixed flow turbine rotors for a wide range of rotational speeds and pressure ratios. The influence of inlet blade angle on the turbine performances is also investigated.
Trapezius Muscle Motor Unit Activity in Symptomatic Participants During Finger Tapping Using Properly and Improperly Adjusted Desks

Work-related musculoskeletal disorders in the neck-shoulder area and upper extremities are common among computer users, especially women. We comparedtemporal changes of motor unit (MU) activation in the trapezius muscle during finger tapping using both appropriate and inappropriate ergonomic desk adjustments. Sixteen intensive and nonintensive computer users with either moderate or severe musculoskeletal disorders participated in the study. Six-channel intramuscular electromyographic (EMG) signals and 2-channel surface EMG were recorded from 2 positions of the trapezius muscle. A statistically significant increase in activity was observed with a desk adjusted 5 cm higher than appropriate and was attributable mainly to increased duration of MU activity. Participants with severe symptoms activated more MUs, and these were also active longer. In women, on average, MUs were active nearly twice as long as in men during the same tapping task. This study demonstrates that it is possible to evaluate ergonomic topics on the MU level and that incorrectly adjusted office equipment, in addition to motor demands imposed by the work task, results in prolonged activity of MUs. A potential application of this research is an increased awareness that certain individuals who work with incorrectly adjusted office equipment may be at greater risk of developing work-related musculoskeletal disorders.
Food and Social Security at the Margins: The Parhaiyas of Jharkhand

A recent survey of all Particularly Vulnerable Tribal Group (PVTG) households in two blocks of Jharkhand reveals that their existence remains precarious due to disrupted livelihoods, limited access to education and other public services, and continued exploitation. The public distribution system has become an important source of support for them: most PVTG households have ration cards and receive the bulk of their monthly food rations. Social security pensions also help, but exclusion rates are higher and pension payments have recently been disrupted by Aadhaar-related problems, as have a range of other schemes. In spite of these useful social security measures, food insecurity remains common among PVTGs: more than 40 per cent of households reported that some members had slept hungry ‘a few times’ or ‘many times’ during the three months preceding the survey.