Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Sapwood capacitance is greater in evergreen sclerophyll species growing in high compared to low-rainfall environments

Summary The capacitative release of water from sapwood allows photosynthesis to continue for longer into dry periods, both diurnally and seasonally. However, costs of high capacitance include increased vulnerability to xylem cavitation. The degree of reliance on stored water is predicted to differ among environments as a result of this trade-off. Xylem water potential and sapwood capacitance were measured on 32 evergreen sclerophyll shrub and tree species in eastern Australia, sampled from four sites contrasting in soil nutrients and rainfall. Capacitance calculated over species' typical shoot water potential operating range was threefold higher for species from high compared to low-rainfall sites, and 1·5-fold higher for species from high compared to low-nutrient sites. To determine whether these site differences were related to extrinsic (e.g. water availability) or intrinsic (e.g. species anatomical construction) factors, we calculated capacitance at two common operating ranges; that is, the mean range in water potential observed for low-rainfall species (ΔΨlow rain) and the mean range for high-rainfall species (ΔΨhigh rain). While no difference was seen between low- and high-rainfall species in release of stored water across ΔΨhigh rain, across ΔΨlow rain, the high-rainfall species released 38% more stored water than low-rainfall species. Presumably these differences reflect underlying differences in anatomy, such as wood density, which was lower in high-rainfall species. These results accord with predictions that (i) species from wetter sites exhibit less negative stem water potentials and high sapwood capacitance, enabling them to maintain function under variable conditions characterized by many short, dry periods, while (ii) species from low-rainfall sites have wood anatomies conferring tolerance to very low water potentials, with low sapwood capacitance, enabling them to survive longer through unpredictable and extended periods of low rainfall. The finding that the degree to which species rely on stem-stored water varies with site rainfall suggests that changes in drought regimes (e.g. incidence, duration and severity) under future climates could differentially affect species according to the capacitance properties of their woody tissues.
Fetal Proinsulin and Birth Weight

In both diabetic and non‐diabetic pregnancies fetal insulin is an important anabolic hormone. Fetal hyperinsulinaemia is associated with accelerated fetal growth and increased birth weight. Insulin and C‐peptide concentrations in both umbilical cord and amniotic fluid reflect fetal β‐cell secretion and are correlated with birth weight. In the present study umbilical venous proinsulin and insulin concentrations were measured in 54 term infants born to women with and without mild disturbances of glucose tolerance. Umbilical venous cord proinsulin, assayed using a highly specific immunoradiometric assay, was independently correlated with infant birth weight (Rho = 0.53, p ± 0.0001) and birth percentile (Rho = 0.65, p ± 0.0001). The correlation between birth weight and birth percentile weight with umbilical venous insulin, measured using a non‐specific insulin assay, was lost following correction for the influence of proinsulin. Umbilical venous cord proinsulin appears to be a good indicator of fetal β‐cell activity, and in this study, a superior marker to insulin assayed using a non‐specific insulin radioimmunoassay. The longer half‐life of proinsulin compared with insulin may contribute to proinsulin being a more robust marker of overall fetal β‐cell activity than insulin.
Database modularization design for the construction of flexible information systems

Medium-sized and large private companies and public institutions usually have several operational units that enjoy increasing scope to define their own rules for the development of their activities, procedures and modus operandi. From the point of view of the development of specific software to support the activities of these organizations, this freedom means that systems must be sufficiently flexible not only to allow them to be configured to fulfil each unit's needs and specific modes of operation but also to meet the needs of interaction among them through information exchange. In the case of an application consisting of several subsystems, the existence of a data repository common to all these subsystems means that, although parts of the database are accessed by only one subsystem, the data are stored in a monolithic form, translating into a loss of autonomy of the subsystems involved. The objective of this work is to propose guidelines for the modularization of databases, for both corporate data center schemas and specific schemas for independent units. This modularization not only supports the solutions to the interoperability but also enables information systems based on the data models to be really flexible.
Effect of low-dose aspirin in combination with stable fish oil on whole blood production of eicosanoids.

The effect of a combination of aspirin and fish oil on eicosanoids was studied. Four subjects were given 37.5 mg aspirin orally, and 6 weeks later they received a natural, stable fish oil daily for 1 week before taking the same single dose of aspirin. Blood samples for determination of whole blood production of eicosanoids were taken before and after each experimental period. Serum thromboxane A(2)was decreased by 40% (P<0.05) after aspirin alone, but by 62% (P<0.01) after fish oil + aspirin. Serum prostacyclin (measured as 6-keto PGF(1a)) was decreased by aspirin in both cases. The sum of 6-keto PGF(1a)and its equipotent fish oil-derived analogue Delta(17)-6-keto PGF(1a)was reduced after aspirin intake (55%, NS), but after fish oil + aspirin the reduction was smaller (33%, NS). Leukotriene B(4)was increased by 19% (P<0.05) after aspirin, and decreased by 69% (P<0.05) after fish oil + aspirin. A combination of stable fish oil and aspirin thus improves the eicosanoid pattern more than aspirin alone.
Risk factors for hallucinations in Parkinson's disease: Results from a large prospective cohort study

The aim of this study was to identify risk factors for the development of hallucinations in patients with Parkinson's disease (PD). A broad range of motor and nonmotor features was assessed at baseline and during the following 5 years in 386 PD patients. Cross‐sectional analyses of baseline data and longitudinal analyses of follow‐up data were performed to identify risk factors for hallucinations in PD. Twenty‐one percent of the patients had hallucinations at baseline, whereas 46% of the patients without hallucinations at baseline developed this feature during follow‐up. Univariate survival analysis showed that older age, female sex, less education, higher age at onset, and more severe motor and cognitive impairment, depression, daytimes sleepiness, autonomic dysfunction, and motor fluctuations and dyskinesias, as well as higher daily levodopa dose, were associated with the risk of developing hallucinations. This largely corresponds with the features that were associated with the presence of hallucinations at baseline. In a stepwise regression model, older age at onset, female sex, excessive daytime sleepiness, autonomic dysfunction, and dyskinesias emerged as independent risk factors for developing hallucinations. Female sex, autonomic dysfunction, motor fluctuations, and dyskinesias have not been reported as risk factors in previous studies. These findings lend support to the notion that hallucinations in PD are caused by a combination of risk factors that are associated with (the interaction between) older age and more advanced disease. The identification of female sex as a risk factor for developing of hallucinations in PD is a new finding and should be verified in future studies. © 2013 Movement Disorder Society
On the complexity of categoricity in computable structures

We investigate the computational complexity the class of Γ‐categorical computable structures. We show that hyperarithmetic categoricity is Π11‐complete, while computable categoricity is Π04‐hard. (© 2003 WILEY‐VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)
Electrophoretic mobilities of the complexes between sodium dodecyl sulfate and various peptides or proteins determined by free solution electrophoresis using coated capillaries

Electrophoretic mobilities of various proteins or peptides complexed with sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS) were determined by free solution capillary electrophoresis. The complexes formed between SDS and protein polypeptide showed electrophoretic mobilities virtually insensitive to the protein molecular weight. On the other hand, scattered and larger negative electrophoretic mobilities were observed for peptides of molecular weights less than 10000. Mobility differences as small as 0.3–3% among the three differently modified derivatives of bovine serum albumin could also be successfully determined due to the high resolving power of capillary electrophoresis.
A model of fertility motivation, desires, and expectations early in women's reproductive careers.

We propose a general model of the relationships connecting fertility motivations, desires, and expectations in which motivations are antecedent to desires, which in turn are antecedent to expectations. We describe differences in the model as it applies to women early in their reproductive careers, specifically, after marriage but before their 1st birth and after their 1st birth but before their 2nd. We test the model with data from 311 just-married and 318 just-mothered US women enrolled in a prospective psychology of reproduction study, using LISREL (analysis of linear structural relationships by the method of maximum likelihood) software to estimate structural equations for both groups. The general model fits the data well. There are 3 primary differences in the model with respect to the 2 groups of married women. How soon a woman expects her next child affects how many children she expects only among the just-married woman. The number of children expected by the woman is the only antecedent to how soon she expects her next child among the just-mothered women. Both positive and negative maternal motivation has effects among the just-married women, but only negative maternal motivation has effects among the just-mothered women. These and other differences are discussed in terms of psychological and situational developments occurring early in women's reproductive careers.
National hospital volume in acute pancreatitis: analysis of the Nationwide Inpatient Sample 1998-2006.

BACKGROUND The optimal management of acute pancreatitis remains controversial and current treatment protocols vary in degrees of medical and surgical management. Our group has previously shown in population-based studies that high-volume (HV) hospitals have lower rates of in-hospital mortality after pancreatectomy. We sought to examine if a similar mortality benefit exists for patients admitted with acute pancreatitis. METHODS Using the Nationwide Inpatient Sample (NIS), we examined discharge records for all adult admissions during 1998-2006 with a primary diagnosis of acute pancreatitis of any aetiology. Unique hospital identifiers were used to divide hospital volumes into equal thirds based on the number of admissions for acute pancreatitis per year (lowest tertile [low volume, LV] < or = 64 admissions/year; medium tertile [medium volume, MV] 65-117 admissions/year; highest tertile [high volume, HV] > or = 118 admissions/year). Covariates included patient demographics, hospital characteristics and patient co-morbidities using the Elixhauser index. Adjusted mortality represented the primary outcome measure and adjusted length of stay (LOS) and total charges were considered secondary measures. RESULTS There were 416,489 primary admissions for acute pancreatitis during the study period. In-hospital mortality for the cohort amounted to 1.6% (n = 6446). Hospital admissions for acute pancreatitis increased over the study period (P < 0.0001). High-volume hospitals tended to be large (82%), urban (99%) teaching (59%) centres (P < 0.0001), which cared for patients with more co-morbidities (35.9% of patients at HV hospitals vs. 29.1% at LV hospitals had at least three co-morbidities; P < 0.0001). Low-volume centres appeared more likely to perform pancreatic procedures than HV hospitals (odds ratio [OR] 1.50, 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.32-1.70). Patients at HV hospitals had a lower likelihood of a prolonged adjusted LOS compared with those at LV (OR 0.75, 95% CI 0.71-0.79) or MV (OR 0.82, 95% CI 0.79-0.85) hospitals. After adjusting for patient and hospital factors, there was an in-hospital mortality benefit associated with being treated at an HV centre (OR 0.70, 95% CI 0.63-0.77). The decision to operate on a given patient did not alter the mortality benefit of the HV hospital. CONCLUSIONS Rates of admissions for acute pancreatitis in the USA are increasing. High annual hospital volume of acute pancreatitis cases confers a shorter LOS, lower adjusted mortality and a lower likelihood of pancreatic procedure for patients admitted with acute pancreatitis. Although HV hospitals were less likely than MV or LV centres to perform pancreatic procedures, the role of surgery remains unclear. Further studies should examine other possible reasons for this mortality benefit, such as the availability of specialists, the quality of critical care facilities and the timing of operative intervention.
Multi-mode operations of DC-excited memory motors under flux regulation

The concept of memory is due to the fact that the magnetization level of permanent magnets (PMs) in the motor can be easily regulated by a current pulse, and then be memorized automatically. By incorporating this memory concept into the hybrid-field doubly-salient PM (DSPM) motor, the DC-excited memory motor can offer effective and efficient flux control. The purpose of this paper is to newly propose and implement multi-mode operations of the DC-excited memory motor. Namely, by regulating the magnetization level of the PMs, the DC-excited memory motor can operate at various modes, including the normal DSPM mode and the normal switch reluctance mode. Both simulation and experimental results are given to verify the validity of the proposed multi-mode operations of the motor.
Turbulent bubbly flow in pipe under gravity and microgravity conditions

Abstract Experiments on vertical turbulent flow with millimetric bubbles, under three gravity conditions, upward, downward and microgravity flows ( $1g$ , $\ensuremath{-} 1g$ and $0g$ ), have been performed to understand the influence of gravity upon the flow structure and the phase distribution. The mean and fluctuating phase velocities, shear stress, turbulence production, gas fraction and bubble size have been measured or determined. The results for $0g$ flow obtained during parabolic flights are taken as reference for buoyant $1g$ and $\ensuremath{-} 1g$ flows. Three buoyancy numbers are introduced to understand and quantify the effects of gravity with respect to friction. We show that the kinematic structure of the liquid is similar to single-phase flow for $0g$ flow whereas it deviates in $1g$ and $\ensuremath{-} 1g$ buoyant flows. The present results confirm the existence of a two-layer structure for buoyant flows with a nearly homogeneous core and a wall layer similar to the single-phase inertial layer whose thickness seems to result from a friction–gravity balance. The distributions of phase velocity, shear stress and turbulence are discussed in the light of various existing physical models. This leads to a dimensionless correlation that quantifies the wall shear stress increase due to buoyancy. The turbulent dispersion, the lift and the nonlinear effects of added mass are taken into account in a simplified model for the phase distribution. Its analytical solution gives a qualitative description of the gas fraction distribution in the wall layer.
Testis Cancer Paternity and Testicular Function Among Testicular Cancer Survivors Treated With Two to Four Cycles of Cisplatin-Based Chemotherapy

a Department of Oncology, Haukeland University Hospital, Bergen, Norway b Section of Oncology, Institute of Medicine, University of Bergen, Bergen, Norway c Oslo University Hospital, Radiumhospitalet, Oslo, Norway d Medical Faculty, Faculty Division Radium Hospital, University of Oslo, Oslo, Norway e Department of Oncology, St. Olavs University Hospital, Trondheim, Norway f Department of Oncology, Institute of Clinical Medicine, University of Tromsø, Tromsø, Norway g Department of Oncology, University Hospital of Northern Norway, Tromsø, Norway h Oslo University Hospital, Ullevål, Oslo, Norway i Medical Faculty, Faculty Division Ullevål, University of Oslo, Oslo, Norway j Centre for Clinical Research, Haukeland University Hospital, Bergen, Norway avai lable at www.sciencedirect . com journal homepage: www.europeanurology. com
Dihydrotestosterone as a selective cellular/nuclear localization vector for anti-gene peptide nucleic acid in prostatic carcinoma cells.

Peptide nucleic acids (PNAs) are synthetic structural analogues of DNA and RNA that, if allowed to enter the cell, bind to the complementary polynucleotide sequence and inhibit DNA transcription and mRNA translation. Although PNAs have a very limited ability in penetrating nuclei of living cells, there are indications that covalent linkage of the PNA to appropriate vectors, e.g., a nuclear localization signal, permits access to the genome. Here we test the ability of dihydrotestosterone (T) covalently linked to PNA to act as a vector for targeting c-myc DNA to prostatic cancer cell nuclei. LNCaP cells, which express the androgen receptor gene, and DU145 cells, in which the androgen receptor gene is silent, offer a model to test this biologically active hormone as a cell-specific vector. T vector was covalently linked to the NH2-terminal position of a PNA complementary to a unique sequence of c-myc oncogene (PNAmyc-T). To localize PNAmyc-T and vector-free PNA within the cells, a rhodamine (R) group was attached at the COOH-terminal position (PNAmyc-R, PNAmyc-TR); cellular uptake was monitored by confocal fluorescence microscopy. PNAmyc-R was detected only in the cytoplasm of both prostatic cell lines, whereas PNAmyc-TR was localized in nuclei as well as in cytoplasm of LNCaP cells. In contrast, PNAmyc-TR uptake in DU145 cells was minimal and exclusively cytoplasmic. In LNCaP cells, MYC protein remained unchanged by exposure to vector-free PNAmyc, whereas a significant and persistent decrease was induced by PNAmyc-T. In DU145 cells, MYC expression was unaltered by PNAmyc with or without the T vector. Our data show that the T vector facilitates cell-selective nuclear localization of PNA and its consequent inhibition of c-myc expression. These findings suggest a strategy for targeting of cell-specific anti-gene therapy in prostatic carcinoma.
Risk of acute gastroenteritis associated with human bocavirus infection in children: A systematic review and meta-analysis

Human bocaviruses (HBoVs), which were first identified in 2005 and are composed of genotypes 1–4, have been increasingly detected worldwide in pediatric patients with acute gastroenteritis. To investigate if HBoV infection is a risk factor of acute gastroenteritis in children younger than 5 years old, we searched PubMed, Embase (via Ovid), the Chinese Biomedical Literature Database (CBM), and the Cochrane Library for studies assessing the prevalence of HBoVs in individuals from Oct 25, 2005 to Oct 31, 2016. We included studies using PCR-based diagnostics for HBoVs from stool specimens of patients with or without acute gastroenteritis that carried out research for over 1 year on pediatric patients aged younger than 5 years old. The primary outcome was the HBoV prevalence among all cases with acute gastroenteritis. Pooled estimates of the HBoV prevalence were then generated by fitting linear mixed effect meta-regression models. Of the 36 studies included, the pooled HBoV prevalence in 20,591 patients with acute gastroenteritis was 6.90% (95% confidence interval (95% CI): 5.80–8.10%). In the ten studies with a control group, HBoVs were detected in 12.40% of the 3,620 cases with acute gastroenteritis and in 12.22% of the 2,030 control children (odds ratio (OR): 1.44; 95% CI: 0.95–2.19, p = 0.09 between case and control groups). HBoV1 and HBoV2 were detected in 3.49% and 8.59% of acute gastroenteritis cases, respectively, and in 2.22% and 5.09% of control children, respectively (OR: 1.40; 95% CI: 0.61–3.25; p = 0.43 and OR: 1.68; 95% CI: 1.21–2.32; p = 0.002, respectively). Current evidence suggests that the overall HBoV prevalence in children younger than 5 years old is not significantly different between groups with or without acute gastroenteritis. However, when HBoV1 was excluded, the HBoV2 prevalence was significantly different between these two groups, which may imply that HBoV2 is a risk factor of acute gastroenteritis in children younger than 5 years old.
Optimal Voting Rules

We study dominant strategy incentive compatible (DIC) and deterministic mechanisms in a social choice setting with several alternatives. The agents are privately informed about their preferences, and have single-crossing utility functions. Monetary transfers are not feasible. We use an equivalence between deterministic, DIC mechanisms and generalized median voter schemes to construct the constrained-efficient, optimal mechanism for an utilitarian planner. Optimal schemes for other welfare criteria such as, say, a Rawlsian maximin can be analogously obtained.
Use of Susceptibility-Weighted Imaging (SWI) in the Detection of Brain Hemorrhagic Metastases from Breast Cancer and Melanoma

Purpose Susceptibility-weighted imaging (SWI) has significantly increased our sensitivity in detecting hemorrhagic brain lesions. We sought to explore the prevalence of intratumoral hemorrhage as detected by SWI in brain metastases from melanoma and breast cancer. Methods Lesions with a size of 0.1 cm3 were categorized as micrometastases, whereas larger lesions were categorized as macrometastases. Susceptibility-weighted imaging findings on locations corresponding to enhancing lesions were categorized as either positive or negative based on presence/absence of signal dropout. The percentage of SWI positivity was then estimated as a function of lesion size. Two-tailed Fisher exact test was performed to examine differences in the contingency tables. Results Magnetic resonance imaging studies from 73 patients with 1173 brain metastases, which enhanced on postcontrast T1-weighted imaging (T1WI) were selected for analysis. Of these lesions, 952 had SWI data available, and 342 of 952 were micrometastases. Only 10 of the 342 micrometastases and 410 (67.2%) of the 610 macrometastases were SWI positive (P < 0.0001). When examined by tumor type, 76.9% (melanoma) versus 55.6% (breast cancer) were SWI positive (P < 0.0001), regardless of tumor size. All melanoma lesions (8/8) and only 1 of 15 breast cancer lesions larger than 1.5 cm3 were SWI positive. Conclusion With the use of combined SWI and contrast-enhanced high-resolution T1 imaging, we found that presence of intratumoral brain hemorrhage is uncommon in micrometastases but common in metastases greater than 0.1 cm3 from breast cancer or melanoma. Large metastases commonly harbored hemorrhage, and this occurred more frequently in patients with melanoma than with breast cancer.