Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Antioxidant, Antimicrobial Activities and Fatty Acid Components of Flower, Leaf, Stem and Seed of Hypericum scabrum

The hexane extracts of flower, leaf, stem, and seed of Hypericum scabrum, which were collected from northwestern Iran, were obtained by extraction in a Soxhlet apparatus. The fatty acids were converted to methyl esters and determined by gas chromatography/flame ionization detector (GC/FID) and gas chromatography/mass spectrometry (GC/MS) systems. The hexane extract from the flower, leaf, stem, and seed contained 39.1%, 43.2%, 29.0%, and 37.6% of omega-3 fatty acids, respectively. The other main components of the flower extract were tetracosane (12.2%) and palmitic acid (9.3%), and that of the leaf extract was palmitic acid (7.4%). The stem and seed extracts contained bis(2-ethylhexyl)phthalate (18.7% and 35.7%), nonacosane (11.7% and 3.9%) and linoleic acid (6.5% and 6.9%) as major components. The hexane extracts of different parts from H. scabrum represent an important source of omega-3 fatty acids in several Hypericum species. The antioxidant activity of all hexane extracts was evaluated by the 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) radical scavenging method. The results indicate that hexane extracts from different parts of H. scabrum possess considerable antioxidant activity. The highest radical scavenging activity was detected in seed, which had an IC50 = 165 μg/mL. The antimicrobial activity of the extracts of those samples were determined against seven Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria (Bacillus subtilis, Enterococcus faecalis, Staphylococcus aureus, S. epidermidis, Escherichia coli, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, and Klebsiella pneumoniae), as well as three fungi (Candida albicans, Saccharomyces cerevisiae, and Aspergillus niger). The bioassay showed that the oil exhibited moderate antimicrobial activity. This study reveals that the all parts of this plant are attractive sources of fatty acid components, especially the essential ones, as well as of effective natural antioxidants.
Significance of hormone receptor status in comparison of 18F -FDG-PET/CT and 99mTc-MDP bone scintigraphy for evaluating bone metastases in patients with breast cancer: single center experience.

BACKGROUND Fluorine-18 deoxyglucose positron emission tomography computed tomography (18F-FDG-PET/ CT) and bone scintigraphy (BS) are widely used for the detection of bone involvement. The optimal imaging modality for the detection of bone metastases in hormone receptor positive (+) and negative (-) groups of breast cancer remains ambiguous. MATERIALS AND METHODS Sixty-two patients with breast cancer, who had undergone both 18F-FDG-PET/CT and BS, being eventually diagnosed as having bone metastases, were enrolled in this study. RESULTS 18F-FDG-PET/CT had higher sensitivity and specificity than BS. Our data showed that 18F-FDG- PET/CT had a sensitivity of 93.4% and a specificity of 99.4%, whiel for BS they were 84.5%, and 89.6% in the diagnosis of bone metastases. κ statistics were calculated for 18F-FDGPET/CT and BS. The κ-value was 0.65 between 18F-FDG-PET/CT and BS in all patients. On the other hand, the κ-values were 0.70 in the hormone receptor (+) group, and 0.51 in hormone receptor (-) group. The κ-values suggested excellent agreement between all patient and hormone receptor (+) groups, while the κ-values suggested good agreement in the hormone receptor (-) group. CONCLUSIONS The sensitivity and specificity for 18F-FDG-PET/CT were higher than BS in the screening of metastatic bone lesions in all patients. Similarly 18F-FDG-PET/CT had higher sensitivity and specificity in hormone receptor (+) and (-) groups.
Address Generation Techniques for Conflict Free Parallel Memory Accessing in FFT Architectures

Speeding up FFT computations is critical for today's real time systems targeting signal processing and telecommunication applications. Aiming at the performance improvement and the efficiency of FFT architectures this paper presents an address generation technique which enables a b-radix processing stage to access in parallel b memory banks without conflicts and leads to increasing the speedup of the algorithm by a factor of b. The address generation can be realized in each b-radix stage by the use of look up tables of size O(b2) bits. The proposed technique is cost efficient and leads to the design of FFT architectures of high speed and high sustained throughput.
Sorafenib induced alteration of protein glycosylation in hepatocellular carcinoma cells

Sorafenib is a multikinase inhibitor and is effective in treating hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). However, it remains unknown whether sorafenib induces the alteration of protein glycosylation. The present study treated HCC MHCC97L and MHCC97H cells with a 50% inhibitory concentration of sorafenib. Following this treatment, alteration of protein glycosylation was detected using a lectin microarray. Compared with the controls, the binding capacity of glycoproteins extracted from sorafenib-treated HCC cells to the lectins Bauhinia purpurea lectin, Dolichos biflorus agglutinin, Euonymus europaeus lectin, Helix aspersa lectin, Helix pomatia lectin, Jacalin, Maclura pomifera lectin and Vicia villosa lectin were enhanced; while, the binding capacities to the lectins Caragana arborescens lectin, Lycopersicon esculentum lectin, Limulus polyphemus lectin, Maackia amurensis lecin I, Phaseolus vulgaris leucoagglutinin, Ricinus communis agglutinin 60, Sambucus nigra lectin and Solanum tuberosum lectin were reduced (spot intensity median/background intensity median ≥2, P<0.05). This difference in glycoprotein binding capacity indicates that cells treated with sorafenib could increase α-1,3GalNAc/Gal, β-1,3 Gal, GalNAcα-Ser/Thr(Tn) and α-GalNAc structures and decrease GlcNAc, sialic acid, tetra-antennary complex-type N-glycan and β-1,4Gal structures. These results were additionally confirmed by lectin blotting. Expression levels of signaling molecules including erythroblastosis 26–1 (Ets-1), extracellular signal-related kinases (ERK) and phosphorylated-ERK were measured by western blotting. There was a reduction in the expression of Ets-1 and ERK phosphorylation in sorafenib or 1,4-Diamino-2,3-dicyano-1,4-bis (2-aminophenylthio) butadiene treated cells suggesting that sorafenib may reduce the expression levels of Ets-1 by blocking the Ras/Raf/mitogen activated protein kinase signaling pathway. In the present study, it was clear that sorafenib could inhibit the proliferation of HCC cells and alter protein glycosylation. The findings of this study may lead to providing a novel way of designing new anti-HCC drugs.
Analyzing the Impact of Globalization on Economic Development in Developing Economies: An Application of Error Correction Modelling (ECM) To Nigeria

The paper examined the effect of globalization of economic growth in Nigeria. The period of analysis was between 1986 and 2003 while the analytical method employed was econometric techniques of Error Correction Modelling (ECM). The result indicated that both measures of economic integration (trade openness and financial integration) and all other orthodox determinants of economic growth such as private investment, public investment and debt series were non stationary. They were indeed I(1) series. The paper also confirmed that trade openness had significant positive effect on economic growth in Nigeria. The impact of financial integration on the economy is, however, negative but insignificant at 10 per cent level of significance. The paper concluded that Nigeria could benefit more from globalization if its economy would fully integrate with the rest of the world. The paper therefore suggested the removal of all barriers to trade and movement of capital.
College Women’s Assignment of Blame Versus Responsibility for Sexual Assault Experiences

The present study investigated in a sample of college women (N = 154) (a) assignment of self-blame, perpetrator blame, personal responsibility, and perpetrator responsibility for sexual assault; (b) differences in how women assigned blame versus responsibility toward themselves and the perpetrator; (c) significant correlations between blame and responsibility of self and the perpetrator and positive and negative post-assault outcomes; and (d) the underlying factors that explained different forms of blame and responsibility. The present study suggests a need for future sexual assault research to delineate and further examine the constructs of blame and responsibility. Implications for practice are also discussed.
Effect of induced erythrocythemia on aerobic work capacity.

The aerobic work capacity of 11 highly trained runners was studied employing a double-blind design 1) before phlebotomy (C1), 2) following restoration of normocythemia (C2), 3) after a sham reinfusion of 50 ml of saline (sham), 4) following autologous reinfusion of approximately 900 ml of freeze-preserved blood (reinfusion), and 5) upon reestablishment of control hematologic levels after erythrocythemia (C3). There were no hematologic differences among C1, C2, sham, and C3, but following reinfusion, hemoglobin was significantly elevated (15.7-16.7 g . 100 ml-1). Maximum O2 consumption (VO2max) and running time to exhaustion were significantly increased 24 h postreinfusion (5.11-5.37 l . min-1 and 7.20-9.65 min, respectively) and 7 days postreinfusion. When sham preceded reinfusion, VO2 max and time to exhaustion were the same as control. However, 16 wk postreinfusion, despite the return to normal hematologic values, VO2max remained significantly above control levels at sham and C3. These findings indicate that there is a distinct increase in VO2max following induced erythrocythemia and suggest that oxygen transport limits maximal aerobic capacity.
Failure of automated telephone outreach with speech recognition to improve colorectal cancer screening: a randomized controlled trial.

BACKGROUND Automated telephone outreach with speech recognition (ATO-SR) is used extensively by health plans. Whether ATO-SR can increase rates of colorectal cancer (CRC) screening is unknown. METHODS We randomly allocated 40 000 health plan members to ATO-SR and 40 000 to usual care, of whom 10 432 and 10 506 in the intervention and usual care groups, respectively, had not been previously screened and were therefore eligible for analysis. The intervention was a single interactive outreach call using speech recognition to engage participants in conversation about the importance of CRC screening and options for and barriers to screening. The intervention directed participants to contact their primary care provider to schedule screening. The primary end point was any CRC screening in the year following intervention. Colonoscopy in the year following intervention was a secondary outcome. RESULTS The incidence of any CRC screening was 30.6% in the intervention group and 30.4% in the usual care group (P = .76). After adjustment for available covariates, there remained no intervention effect (adjusted odds ratio [OR], 1.01; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.94-1.07). A total of 21.4% of members in the intervention group and 20.3% in the usual care group underwent colonoscopy (P = .04). In multivariate analysis, there was a small intervention effect on colonoscopy (OR, 1.08; 95% CI, 1.00-1.16). CONCLUSIONS This study showed that ATO-SR failed to improve rates of CRC screening. Future studies should examine approaches that combine efforts to target patients and their health care providers to overcome the barriers to CRC screening. Trial Registration clinicaltrials.gov Identifier: NCT00792285.
THE INFLUENCE OF CERTAIN SALTS, AMINO ACIDS, SUGARS, AND PROTEINS ON THE STABILITY OF RICKETTSIAE

It is well recognized that most of the species of pathogenic rickettsiae rapidly lose viability in the usual bacteriological media at room temperature, or even at O C. For several reasons it was desirable to find a simple medium that would be as favorable as possible for the survival of rickettsiae. Such a medium was required not only for use as a diluent in animal assays but also for the preparation of purified rickettsiae of undiminished viability. Furthermore, it seemed an essential first step in any attempt to grow these organisms in vitro. It was known from the work of Anderson (1944) that two media were favorable for rickettsiae, namely, skim milk and a 20 per cent suspension in nutrient broth of yolk sac membrane from normal chick embryos. Both of these media are obviously unsuitable for use in purification. Therefore a study of the stability of rickettsiae in solutions of varying composition was undertaken and has led to the development of media that, under certain conditions, appear to be at least as effective as milk in preserving the viability of rickettsiae. However, even in the most favorable media, the rickettsiae cannot be kept longer than 24 hours at 0 C or above without significant decreases in titer (with the possible exception of Q fever rickettsiae). For any metabolic studies with purified rickettsiae it was necessary to have preparations that would be stable for at least a week, and preferably for much longer. This is readily accomplished with suspensions of crude infected yolk sac material, which can be rapidly shellfrozen and stored at -72 C without loss in viability of the rickettsiae. When purified rickettsiae are similarly frozen and stored, however, the losses are so great that the suspensions are entirely unsuitable for metabolic studies. Therefore media have also been developed that make possible the freezing and storage of purified rickettsiae with very slight loss in viability.
Flower Image Retrieval Based on Saliency Map

Most of general content-based image retrieval (CBIR) algorithms cannot meet the demand for fine retrieval of flower images. Combing with features of flower images, this paper proposed a flower image retrieval algorithm based on saliency map. Firstly, to obtain the saliency map, the improved Itti's visual attention model was utilized, and then the color and LBP texture feature were extracted using the saliency map, so as to the image segmentation was avoided. Finally, the retrieval experiments on flower image data sets of the VGG group were finished. Comparative results show that the proposed algorithm is more effective than the other two algorithms, i.e. color histogram combined with LBP texture histogram based on the original image (CT), and color and LBP texture histogram based on the saliency map extracted by Itti model (ICT).
Preload responsiveness is associated with increased interleukin-6 and lower organ yield from brain-dead donors*

Objective:Brain death induces dramatic changes in hemodynamics. Ischemic injury and inflammation resulting from inadequate resuscitation might influence organ yield for transplantation. Using functional hemodynamic monitoring in brain-dead organ donors, we test the hypothesis that donor preload (fluid) responsiveness is associated with increased inflammatory response and lower organ yield for transplantation. Design:Prospective, observational, pilot study. Setting:A large intensive care unit of a university hospital in the United States. Patients:Twenty-one brain-dead organ donors between July 2006 and April 2007. Interventions:None. Measurements and Main Results:Following declaration of brain death, we collected data on donor demographics, mechanism of brain death, and number of organs procured and transplanted. Functional hemodynamics were monitored using pulse contour analysis technique. Plasma tumor necrosis factor, interleukin-6, and interleukin-10 concentrations were measured at study enrollment, after 4 hrs, and immediately before organ procurement for transplantation. Preload responsiveness (pulse pressure variation >13%) was observed in 48% of donors (mean ± sd pulse pressure variation, 19.2% ± 4.8%). Plasma interleukin-6 and tumor necrosis factor concentrations at study enrollment were greater in preload responsive donors: mean concentrations of interleukin-6 in preload responsive vs. unresponsive donors were 5420 ± 9102 vs. 378 ± 631 pg/mL (p = .009), and mean concentrations of tumor necrosis factor were 60.5 ± 103.6 vs. 15.7 ± 10.1 pg/mL (p = .048). Preload responsive compared with unresponsive donors had significantly increased interleukin-6 (p = .013) and tumor necrosis factor (p = .044) concentrations over time. Fewer organs were transplanted from preload responsive donors: mean organs transplanted from preload responsive vs. unresponsive donors were 1.8 ± 0.9 vs. 3.7 ± 2.5 (p = .034). In multivariable regression, older donor age (p = .028) and increased plasma interleukin-6 concentration (p = .035) were significantly associated with lower number of organs transplanted. Conclusions:Preload responsiveness is common in brain-dead organ donors and is associated with higher inflammatory response and lower organ yield. A controlled trial of preload optimization is warranted in brain-dead donors.
New human coronavirus, HCoV‐NL63, associated with severe lower respiratory tract disease in Australia

A new human coronavirus, HCoV‐NL63, was associated recently with bronchiolitis. The current study aimed to examine retrospectively stored specimens for the presence of HCoV‐NL63 using nested RT‐PCR assays targeting the 1a and 1b genes. The study population was composed of patients with acute respiratory disease warranting presentation to Queensland hospitals. HCoV‐NL63 was detected in the nasopharyngeal aspirates (NPA) of 16 of 840 specimens representing 766 patients (2%). HCoV‐NL63 positive individuals were diagnosed most commonly with lower respiratory tract (LRT) disease (81%). The clinical diagnosis was commonly supported by an abnormal chest X‐ray (56%) together with respiratory distress (50%), wheeze (44%), and râles (25%) on first presentation with HCoV‐NL63 infection. All patients positive for HCoV‐NL63 required admission to hospital. Among 38% of HCoV‐NL63 positive specimens a second pathogen was detected. Sequencing of amplicon from gene 1b revealed more than 99% nucleotide homology with the viral type strains while sequencing amplicon from gene 1a permitted the grouping of viral strains. It was shown that HCoV‐NL63 is associated with severe LRT disease in an Australian hospital setting during the cooler months of the year. We propose that HCoV‐NL63 is a global and seasonal pathogen of both children and adults associated with severe LRT illness. J. Med. Virol. 75:455–462, 2005. © 2005 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Catecholamine exocytosis during low frequency stimulation in mouse adrenal chromaffin cells is primarily asynchronous and controlled by the novel mechanism of Ca2+ syntilla suppression

Although the importance of asynchronous exocytosis is becoming clearer, not enough is known about its roles and mechanisms. Here we describe the nature of exocytosis in mouse adrenal chromaffin cells during low frequency physiological stimulation, i.e. 0.5 Hz, providing new views. We report that less than 10% of all catecholaminergic exocytosis during low frequency stimulation is synchronized to a simulated action potential (sAP), i.e. the dominant phase is asynchronous. This asynchronous phase of exocytosis does not require Ca2+ influx, requires the ryanodine receptor, RyR2, and comprises exocytic events with characteristics similar to those of spontaneous events. We propose a novel mechanism of disinhibition wherein APs inhibit Ca2+ syntillas, relieving their inhibition of spontaneous exocytosis, which leads to an increase in the asynchronous phase of elicited exocytosis. The work has the specific physiological implication that basal sympathetic tone associated with the ‘rest and digest’ state is set in part by Ca2+ syntillas. Furthermore, there is evidence that this regulation of exocytosis by Ca2+ syntillas may be a general mechanism that extends to neurons.
Teachers' experiences of the role and function of the mini clinical evaluation exercise in post- graduate training

Objectives: To investigate teachers’ experiences and views regarding the mini clinical evaluation exercise as an assessment tool and to evaluate its feasibility as well as its influence on teachers’ pass/fail decisions and feedback delivery. Methods: Seventeen teachers who had all used the mini clinical evaluation exercise in assessing residents at least twice during the study period were interviewed. Transcripts of the interviews were analyzed qualitatively using a phenomenographic approach. Results: All teachers considered the mini clinical evaluation exercise as a useful assessment tool that promotes direct observation and constructive feedback. The format was considered feasible because of its easy adaptability to daily practice. Uncertainty as to what should specifically be observed during encounters, interpersonal relationships, and preconceived notions of resident performance were given as reasons for teachers’ difficulties in defining a pass or fail score. Teachers generally tended to be averse to failing residents. Conclusions: This study shows that teachers perceive the mini clinical evaluation exercise as a feasible and useful formative assessment tool. Contextual factors such as interpersonal relationships, preconceived performance notions, and lack of specific guidelines and performance standards appear to explain why teachers tend to be reluctant to fail poorly performing residents.
The LV dataset: A realistic surveillance video dataset for abnormal event detection

In recent years, designing and testing video anomaly detection methods have focused on synthetic or unrealistic sequences. This has mainly four drawbacks: 1) events are controlled and predictable because they are usually performed by actors; 2) environmental conditions, e.g. camera motion and illumination, are usually ideal thus realistic conditions are not well reflected; 3) events are usually short and repetitive; and 4) the material is captured from scenarios that do not necessarily match the testing scenarios. This leads us to propose a new rich collection of realistic videos captured by surveillance cameras in challenging environmental conditions, the Live Videos (LV) dataset. We explore the performance of a number of state-of-the-art video anomaly detection methods on the LV dataset. Our results confirm the need to design methods that are capable of handling realistic videos captured by surveillance cameras with acceptable processing times. The proposed LV dataset, thus, will facilitate the design and testing of such new methods.
Disagreement and aggression in the operating theatre.

AIM This paper is a report of a study to determine the national spread of incidents of disagreement within and between professional groups in operating departments and the frequency of perceived aggressive behaviour demonstrated by operating department personnel. BACKGROUND There is both anecdotal and empirical evidence supporting the idea of the operating team as the ultimate example of teamworking in health care. At the same time, international concern is expressed over the level of interprofessional conflict and aggression reported in operating departments. Such reports do not sit well with notions of excellence in teamwork as conceptualized by theorists. METHOD A questionnaire survey was designed, and sent to a random sample of National Health Service operating departments in England (n = 62) in 2002. Usable survey questionnaires were returned from 37 departments (response rate 59.6) and yielded 391 individual responses. Respondents included nurses (58%, n = 227), surgeons (9.7%, n = 38), anaesthetists (14.32%, n = 56) and operating department practitioners (17.9%, n = 70) of all grades. FINDINGS Half of the respondents reported experiencing aggressive behaviour from consultant surgeons (53.4%, n = 209). Daily disagreements between nurses and consultants about list management were reported. Perceptions of lack of understanding of roles and shared goals for patient care between the professional groups were also reported. Similar reports were received from all geographical locations in the sample. CONCLUSION Further research is needed to conceptualize the complex nature of interprofessional working in operating theatres before steps can be taken to develop a less stressful and more efficient working environment.