Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Iris Color Distribution and Its Relation with Refractive Errors, Amblyopia, and Strabismus in Children

Background: Despite the presence of various reports regarding the association between iris color and some ocular diseases in adults, there is little evidence of such relation in children. Objectives: Determine the distribution of iris color in seven-year-old children in Iran and its relation with refractive errors, amblyopia, and strabismus. Methods: In this cross-sectional study, 3414 seven-year-old school children were selected from six cities through multistage random sampling. The iris color in this study was classified into dark brown, medium brown, light brown, yellow, green, gray, and blue. All subjects were examined for visual acuity, refraction, and binocular vision assessment. Results: Of the 3414 selected samples, 3030 children participated in the study (89 response rate). The prevalence and 95 confidence intervals (CI) of myopia, hyperopia, and astigmatism was 3.03 (2.30 - 3.99), 6.20 (4.40 - 8.65), and 17.42 (13.30 - 22.48), respectively. Amblyopia was detected in 1.85 (1.10 - 3.12) and the prevalence of strabismus was 2.50 (1.86 - 3.35). Dark brown was the most common iris color at 52.50 (50.06 - 54.93) in boys, 46.07 (43.49 - 48.68) in girls, and 49.50 (47.72 - 51.28) in the total sample population. According to logistic regression results, the odds ratio (95 CI) of hyperopia was 0.3 (0.15 - 0.6) in those with medium brown iris color and 0.23 (0.1 - 0.47) in those with dark brown eyes compared to the group with yellow or green iris colors. Conclusions: Approximately 90 of the studied subjects had dark or medium brown eyes. Given that people with yellow or green eyes are at a higher risk of hyperopia, it is recommended that these individuals be given attention in this regard during screening, and the presence of hyperopia be taken into consideration during refraction examinations for these children. © 2019, Journal of Comprehensive Pediatrics.
LEGHORN VE NEW HAMPSHİRE HOROZLARINDA ANORMAL SPERMATOZOON TİPLERİ

Bu calismada, Leghorn ve New Hampshire horozlari ejakulatlarinda anormal spermatozoon tipleri, yuzdeleri ve bunlarin yuzde paylarinin saptanmasina calisilmistir. Arastirma materyali olarak 5 Leghorn ve 5 New Hampshire horozlarinin herbirinden 10 ar olmak uzere gun asiri alinan toplam 100 ejakulat kullanilmistir. Leghorn horoz grubu ejakulatlarindan ortalama anormal spermatozoon yuzdesi 5.44 olmus; bunun yuzde 6.8'i akrozoma, 60.2'si basa, 26.98'i orta kisma ve 6.01'i de kuyruga bagli olarak bulmustur. New Hampshire horoz ejakulatlarinda bu veriler ise sirasiyla 6.76, 5.0, 67.71, 24.12 ve 3.17 bulunmustur.
Visual pigment evolution in Characiformes: the dynamic interplay of teleost whole-genome duplication, surviving opsins and spectral tuning

Vision represents an excellent model for studying adaptation, given the genotype-to-phenotype-map that has been characterized in a number of taxa. Fish possess a diverse range of visual sensitivities and adaptations to underwater light making them an excellent group to study visual system evolution. In particular, some speciose but understudied lineages can provide a unique opportunity to better understand aspects of visual system evolution such as opsin gene duplication and neofunctionalization. In this study, we characterized the visual system of Neotropical Characiformes, which is the result of several spectral tuning mechanisms acting in concert including gene duplications and losses, gene conversion, opsin amino acid sequence and expression variation, and A1/A2-chromophore shifts. The Characiforms we studied utilize three cone opsin classes (SWS2, RH2, LWS) and a rod opsin (RH1). However, the characiform’s entire opsin gene repertoire is a product of dynamic evolution by opsin gene loss (SWS1, RH2) and duplication (LWS, RH1). The LWS- and RH1-duplicates originated from a teleost specific whole-genome duplication as well as characiform-specific duplication events. Both LWS-opsins exhibit gene conversion and, through substitutions in key tuning sites, one of the LWS-paralogs has acquired spectral sensitivity to green light. These sequence changes suggest reversion and parallel evolution of key tuning sites. In addition, characiforms exhibited species-specific differences in opsin expression. Finally, we found interspecific and intraspecific variation in the use of A1/A2-chromophores correlating with the light environment. These multiple mechanisms may be a result of the highly diverse visual environments where Characiformes have evolved.
3. In praise of the cafeteria principle: Language mixing in Hawai'i Creole

Bickerton (1981) argues against the influence of substrate languages in creoles, using the term “cafeteria principle” to ridicule the idea that a language could select features from various sources like items chosen for lunch at a cafeteria. However, this chapter demonstrates that several aspects of the morphosyntax of Hawai‘i Creole have been modeled on features of different substrate languages, and therefore that a certain degree of mixing has occurred. On the other hand, the cafeteria principle that is demonstrated is not without certain principles and constraints. Two mechanisms are described that account for the features of one language ending up in another: language transfer in second language use and substrate reinforcement of diffused features. The chapter concludes with a discussion of the availability constraints and reinforcement principles that go some way in explaining why some substrate features end up in a creole while others do not.
Modelling and implementation of a microscopic traffic simulation system

Die Dissertation erscheint parallel im Logos-Verlag, Berlin, ISBN 978-3-8325-4133-0 This thesis presents the foundations, the initial state, and the progress made in modelling and implementing a real-world and real-time online microscopic traffic simulation system for highway traffic. To successfully model and implement such a simulation system, this thesis recommends the use of a number of formal methods applied at the right places. As part of the recommendation, this thesis proposes a microscopic traffic simulation system. To explore the feasibility and the potential of the recommended methods, it observes and examines the proposed system from multiple views and under various different aspects. As part of the examination, this thesis provides a (semi-)formal specification, a model implementation, an implementation of a productive system, and the benefits that result from validating such a system. The results and any proper application of them have the potential to increase the reliability and the trustworthiness for any future implementation of the proposed simulation system. The presented results additionally motivate to apply the proposed approach to similar simulation systems. The thesis concludes the presentation of the results with some considerations for future implementations.
Dose dependent effects of Spirulina Platensis on liver health in rats

Spirulina platensis which is an important microalgae is interested in both human and animal nutrition for health balance. This study’s aimed to evaluate the dose dependent effects of S.platensis on body weight, height, waist circumference (WC), body mass index (BMI), waist/height ratio (WHtR), abdominal fat weight, liver weight, serum liver enzymes and liver histopathology. 30 male Wistar albino rats’re used in groups; Control, SP-1(500mg/kgbw) and SP-2(1000mg/kgbw). S.platensis was administered by oral gavage daily. The body weight, height, WC, BMI, WHtR and abdominal lipid weight were calculated. Also, serum cholesterol, ALT and AST were measured. End of the study, liver tissue samples were taken and scaled and histopathologic changes were recorded. There were no differences in body conditions, but positively significant correlations were found among parameters. As the doses were considered, in groupSP-1, significant positively correlations were determined among abdominal fat, growth, height, BMI and WC statistically. Nevertheless, there were no significant changes in liver weight, serum and histopathologic analyzes. S.platensis with its high concentration of functional nutrients is called as an important alternative therapeutic food and it can be used safely.
Efficacy of Crude Extract from Candle Brush (Senna didymobotrya) Leaves against Aspergillus niger in Reduction of Post-harvest Losses in Tomatoes

Background: Senna didymobotrya grows naturally in East Africa and is commonly used to treat microbial infections by African communities due to the presence of various phytochemicals such as alkaloids, terpenoid, anthraquinones, tannins, saponins, phenols and flavonoids. Objective: This study was conducted to evaluate the effectiveness of the crude extract of candle brush (Senna didymobotrya) leaves against Aspergillus niger in the reduction of post-harvest losses in tomatoes. Methods: A completely randomised design with two treatments, each replicated six times was used. In this study. Dried leaves were ground into a fine powder and extracted using the Soxhlet apparatus with 100% methanol. The minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) and minimum fungicidal concentration (MFC) of the extract were determined against Aspergillus niger. The shelf life of tomatoes was determined by spraying the extract reconstituted in water at 0.4 g/ml and further analysed the total viable counts at three-day intervals and checking for the growth of mould, colour changes and odours as indicators of spoilage. Results: After extraction 22 g of the crude extract was obtained from the dried leaves The MIC and MFC of the methanol crude extract against Aspergillus niger were 0.04 g/ml. The shelf life of the treated tomatoes was 14 days while for the untreated was 9 days. T-test results at (P0.05) showed a significant difference between the treated and untreated samples based on the total viable counts. Conclusion: The crude extract of the candle brush inhibited the growth of Aspergillus niger in fresh tomatoes and also prolonged the shelf life of tomatoes for 14 days. Further studies should be done to evaluate the market acceptability of the tomatoes.
Fluridone and acetochlor cause unacceptable injury to pumpkin*

Abstract Residual herbicides are routinely applied to control troublesome weeds in pumpkin production. Fluridone and acetochlor, Groups 12 and 15 herbicides, respectively, provide broad-spectrum PRE weed control. Field research was conducted in Virginia and New Jersey to evaluate pumpkin tolerance and weed control to PRE herbicides. Treatments consisted of fomesafen at two rates, ethalfluralin, clomazone, halosulfuron, fluridone, S-metolachlor, acetochlor emulsifiable concentrate (EC), acetochlor microencapsulated (ME), and no herbicide. At one site, fluridone, acetochlor EC, acetochlor ME, and halosulfuron injured pumpkin 81%, 39%, 34%, and 35%, respectively, at 14 d after planting (DAP); crop injury at the second site was 40%, 8%, 19%, and 33%, respectively. Differences in injury between the two sites may have been due to the amount and timing of rainfall after herbicides were applied. Fluridone provided 91% control of ivyleaf morningglory and 100% control of common ragweed at 28 DAP. Acetochlor EC controlled redroot pigweed 100%. Pumpkin treated with S-metolachlor produced the most yield (10,764 fruits ha–1) despite broadcasting over the planted row; labeling requires a directed application to row-middles. A separate study specifically evaluated fluridone applied PRE at 42, 84, 126, 168, 252, 336, and 672 g ai ha–1. Fluridone resulted in pumpkin injury ≥95% when applied at rates of ≥168 g ai ha–1; significant yield loss was noted when the herbicide was applied at rates >42 g ai ha–1. We concluded that fluridone and acetochlor formulations are unacceptable candidates for pumpkin production. Nomenclature: Acetochlor; clomazone; ethalfluralin; fomesafen; fluridone; halosulfuron; Smetolachlor; common ragweed; Ambrosia artemisiifolia L. ; ivyleaf morningglory, Ipomoea hederacea Jacq. ; redroot pigweed, Amaranthus retroflexus L. ; pumpkin, Cucurbita pepo L.
Effects of transportation induced stress in electrocardiography data and blood parameters in Kangal Akkaraman sheep breed

Bu calismanin amaci Kangal Akkaraman irki koyunlarda transport stresinin kan parametreleri ve elektrokardiyografik veriler uzerine etkisinin arastirilmasidir. Calismada klinik olarak saglikli 36 adet Kangal Akkaraman irki koyun kullanilmistir. Calismada koyunlardan elektrokardiyografi verileri dinlenme sirasinda, 30 dakikalik transport sirasinda ve 120 dakikalik transport sirasinda holter cihazi ile elde edilmistir. Ayrica kan parametreleri dinlenme sirasinda, 30 dakikalik transport sonrasinda ve 120 dakikalik transport sonrasinda koyunlardan alinan kan serumundan belirlenmistir. Istatistiksel verilerin degerlendirilmesinde Paired Samples t-Testi kullanilmistir. PR, QT araliginin suresi, P dalgasinin suresi, P dalgasinin amplitudu ve dakika kalp atimi verileri ile kan serum glucose seviyesinde gruplarin herbiri arasinda istatistiksel olarak onemli farkliliklar bulunmustur. QRS kompleksi suresi, T dalgasinin suresi verilerinde; dinlenim ile 30 dakikalik transport grubu arasinda ve 30 dakikalik transport ile 120 dakikalik transport gruplari arasinda istatiksel olarak onemli farklilik bulunmustur. Serum total protein, albumine ve creatinin seviyelerinde; dinlenim ile 120 dakikalik transport sonrasi grubu ve 30 dakikalik transport sonrasi ile 120 dakikalik transport sonrasi gruplari arasinda istatistiksel olarak onemli farklilik bulunmustur. Serum kan ure azotu degeri acisindan gruplar arasinda istatistiksel olarak farklilik bulunamamistir. Bu calisma, literaturde Kangal Akkaraman irki koyunlarda transport stresinin elektrokardiyografi degerleri ve kan parametreleri uzerine etkisini inceleyen ilk calisma ozelligini tasimaktadir.
The major gene for rapid postweaning growth in mice: a review.

Evidence for a major gene in mice, inherited as an autosomal recessive, which increases postweaning growth rate and mature size by as much as 50% has recently been presented. The gene is expressed in both growth neutral and growth selected backgrounds without dramatically altering the chemical composition of growth. The gene also acts to decrease the maintenance energy requirements at the same time it increases the energetic efficiency of growth. Current data on skeletal growth suggest that growth hormone is not the principal initiator of these observations. In general, the fertility of both males and females homozygous for the major allele is lower, yet more variable, than that of controls without the major gene.
Altered Metabolism of Phospholipases, Diacylglycerols, Endocannabinoids, and N-Acylethanolamines in Patients with Mastocytosis

Background Mastocytosis is a condition characterized by the expansion and accumulation of mast cells (MCs) in various organs. The symptoms are related to the increased release of MC-derived mediators that exert local and distant effects. MCs are a source and target of phospholipase enzymes (PLs), which catalyze the cleavage of membrane phospholipids releasing lipid mediators (e.g., diacylglycerols (DAGs) and the endocannabinoid (EC) 2-arachidonoylglycerol (2-AG)). To date, there are no data on the role of these lipid mediators in mastocytosis. Here, we analyzed plasma levels of PLA2, PLC, DAG, ECs, and EC-related N-acylethanolamines in patients with mastocytosis. Methods In 23 patients with mastocytosis and 23 healthy individuals, we measured plasma PLA2 and PLC activities, DAG, 2-AG, anandamide (AEA), palmitoylethanolamide (PEA), and oleoylethanolamide (OEA). Results Plasma PLA2 and PLC activities were increased in mastocytosis patients compared to controls. Concentrations of DAG (18:1 20:4 and 18:0 20:4), two second messengers produced by PLC, were higher in mastocytosis compared to controls, whereas the concentrations of their metabolite, 2-AG, were not altered. AEA was decreased in mastocytosis patients compared to controls; by contrast, AEA congener, PEA, was increased. PLA2 and PLC activities were increased only in patients with mediator-related symptoms. Moreover, PLC activity was positively correlated with disease severity and tryptase concentrations. By contrast, AEA was negatively correlated with tryptase concentrations. Conclusions PLs and some lipid mediators are altered in patients with mastocytosis. Our results may pave the way for investigating the functions of these mediators in the pathophysiology of mastocytosis and provide new potential biomarkers and therapeutic targets.
Using Measures of Agreement to Evaluate a Chronic Problem of Congestion in the Empty Container Depots

Container-based transportation through a combination of truck, rail and ocean shipping services has become an important part of supporting local and international cargo flows. However, congestion or bottlenecks of empty container-trucks may hinder the supply chain and logistics performance of the country in hinterland transport. The factors causing the bottlenecks of empty container-trucks at the depots around Port Klang, Malaysia, were first derived from interviews conducted with 30 participants working in different logistics companies. This paper intends to describe the application of Fleiss kappa to evaluate or validate the congestion factors and involves six experienced evaluators from the field of empty container logistics. Therefore, key steps and procedures are presented by extracting the qualitative data from a previous study that addressed this phenomenon. A resulting Fleiss generalised kappa value of 0.8203, which can be assumed as satisfactory and reflecting the strength of the congestion factors, as well as it would convince the real situation that occurs in bottlenecks at the empty depot. Truly, Fleiss kappa has proved to be an efficient and useful approach to measure the agreements for many purposes, including validating the chronic congestion factors.
Nanobody and aptamer as targeting moiety against bacterial toxins: therapeutic and diagnostic applications

Infectious diseases are common life-threatening problems mediated by pathogen micro-organisms that cause morbidity and mortality worldwide. Currently, there is an increasing rate of the bacterial infections and emergence of the new antibiotic resistance in human societies. On the other hand, early detection of the bacterial infection present in biological samples suffers from extended time, high cost, and laborious methods. Therefore, there is a permanent need for robust diagnostic and therapeutic tools against bacterial agents. Recently, speciﬁc targeting bio-molecules, such as aptamer and nanobody have been appeared as speciﬁc and effective tools for biomedical application. They have excellent physicochemical parameters that make them superior to diagnosis and treatment of infectious agents achievable from diverse large libraries through systematic evolution of ligands by exponential enrichment (SELEX) or phage display process, respectively. The present study provides an overview of nanobody and aptamer and their method description. Main contexts of article focus on the application of nanobody and aptamer as an inhibiting moiety for some bacterial toxins.
Clusterin accumulates in synapses in Alzheimer’s disease and is increased in apolipoprotein E4 carriers

Jackson and colleagues observe that clusterin accumulates in synapses in human Alzheimer’s disease brain tissue, and that this accumulation is increased in people carrying the Alzheimer’s disease risk gene apolipoprotein E4. These data use high-resolution imaging to link two genetic risk factors with amyloid-mediated synapse degeneration in Alzheimer’s disease.
Study of variability and heritability in coriander (Coriandrumsativum L.) genotypes under normal and limited moisture stress condition

Drought is very common adverse environmental factor limiting crop production in most of the tropical and subtropical regions of India, thus limiting up productivity. Limited moisture stress is the major constraint in productivity. To generate information on the effect of moisture stress on various traits which contribute for yield would be helpful in developing tolerant coriander genotypes. The result revealed that plant height; umbels per plant and biological yield per ten plants are most important yield component character in limited moisture condition.
Metabolic Disturbances Identified in Plasma Samples from ST-Segment Elevation Myocardial Infarction Patients

ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI) is the most severe form of myocardial infarction (MI) and the main contributor to morbidity and mortality caused by MI worldwide. Frequently, STEMI is caused by complete and persistent occlusion of a coronary artery by a blood clot, which promotes heart damage. STEMI impairment triggers changes in gene transcription, protein expression, and metabolite concentrations, which grants a biosignature to the heart dysfunction. There is a major interest in identifying novel biomarkers that could improve the diagnosis of STEMI. In this study, the phenotypic characterization of STEMI patients (n = 15) and healthy individuals (n = 19) was performed, using a target metabolomics approach. Plasma samples were analyzed by UPLC-MS/MS (ultra-high-performance liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry) and FIA-MS (MS-based flow injection analysis). The goal was to identify novel plasma biomarkers and metabolic signatures underlying STEMI. Concentrations of phosphatidylcholines, lysophosphatidylcholines, sphingomyelins, and biogenic amines were altered in STEMI patients in relation to healthy subjects. Also, after multivariate analysis, it was possible to identify alterations in the glycerophospholipids, alpha-linolenic acid, and sphingolipid metabolisms in STEMI patients.
Impacts of supplementing broiler diets with a powder mixture of black cumin, Moringa and chicory seeds

The present study aimed at evaluating the effect of a phytogenic mixture in the diet on broiler production. A total of 400 day-old unsexed Cobb broiler chicks were randomly allotted to four treatment groups of 10 replications in a randomised design experiment. The phytogenic feed mixture (BMC) contained equal ratios of black cumin, Moringa oleifera and chicory seeds. The treatment groups were as follows: T1 was fed the basal diet, while T2, T3 and T4 were fed the basal diet supplemented with 0.2%, 0.4% or 0.6% of three BMC mixture, respectively. Results showed that increasing the dietary BMC level could be associated with a gradual but significant increase in body weight and improvement in the feed conversion ratio when compared with the control group. Broiler diets enriched with 0.4% to 0.6% of the BMC mixture reduced gut microbial count of coliforms, E. coli and C. perfringens as well as gut pH, compared to the control group. Increasing the dietary BMC mixture level was associated with gradual but significant decrease in serum total cholesterol, low density lipoprotein concentrations and liver enzymes concentrations. However, there was an increase in the high density lipoprotein concentration, and glutathione peroxidase and superoxide dismutase activity in serum. In conclusion, the BMC mixture could be deemed an effective growth promoter, but further research is needed to evaluate it as a viable alternative to antibiotics. Keywords: blood, broiler, carcass, microbiota, oxidative status, performance, phytogenic