Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Quality Evaluation of Juniperus rigida Sieb. et Zucc. Based on Phenolic Profiles, Bioactivity, and HPLC Fingerprint Combined with Chemometrics

Juniperus rigida (J. rigida) which is endemic to East Asia, has traditionally been used as an ethnomedicinal plant in China. This study was undertaken to evaluate the quality of J. rigida samples derived from 11 primary regions in China. Ten phenolic compounds were simultaneously quantified using reversed-phase high-performance liquid chromatography (RP-HPLC), and chlorogenic acid, catechin, podophyllotoxin, and amentoflavone were found to be the main compounds in J. rigida needles, with the highest contents detected for catechin and podophyllotoxin. J. rigida from Jilin (S9, S10) and Liaoning (S11) exhibited the highest contents of phenolic profiles (total phenolics, total flavonoids and 10 phenolic compounds) and the strongest antioxidant and antibacterial activities, followed by Shaanxi (S2, S3). A similarity analysis (SA) demonstrated substantial similarities in fingerprint chromatograms, from which 14 common peaks were selected. The similarity values varied from 0.85 to 0.98. Chemometrics techniques, including hierarchical cluster analysis (HCA), principal component analysis (PCA), and discriminant analysis (DA), were further applied to facilitate accurate classification and quantification of the J. rigida samples derived from the 11 regions. The results supported HPLC data showing that all J. rigida samples exhibit considerable variations in phenolic profiles, and the samples were further clustered into three major groups coincident with their geographical regions of origin. In addition, two discriminant functions with a 100% discrimination ratio were constructed to further distinguish and classify samples with unknown membership on the basis of eigenvalues to allow optimal discrimination among the groups. Our comprehensive findings on matching phenolic profiles and bioactivities along with data from fingerprint chromatograms with chemometrics provide an effective tool for screening and quality evaluation of J. rigida and related medicinal preparations.
Eating money: Narratives of equality on customary land in the context of natural resource extraction in the Solomon Islands

Why do Solomon Islands' villagers continue to engage with large scale logging projects by foreign companies when they have decades of experience of the disadvantages of such deals? This paper explores village level narratives of equality surrounding a logging dispute in a village on Kolombangara Island in the Western Province of the Solomon Islands. Drawing on empirical evidence I seek to understand firstly, why villagers continue to engage with logging companies, and secondly, why seemingly viable and financially attractive alternative forestry projects may not be taken up. Additionally, I examine legal recognition of a local conservation Non-Government organisation as an environmental 'stakeholder', with an accepted interest in customary land as distinct from the categorisation of 'landowners'. I conclude that village communities may continue to engage with foreign logging companies, despite their clear knowledge of the disadvantages of such projects, partly as a means of maintaining some measure of social equality in the village.
REVIEW OF RESEARCH AT VIRGINIA TECH ON THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN SCHOOL BUILDING CONDITION AND STUDENT AND TEACHER PERFORMANCE AND ATTITUDES

The research study is a review of research at Virginia Tech on the relationship between school building condition and student and teacher performance and attitudes. There have been several reviews or synthesis studies of the research in the field of school facilities over the last 65 years. One institution, Virginia Tech has produced several research studies in this area of scholarly work over the past two decades. With this large corpus of research directly related to Cash’s theoretical model, first used in 1993, it becomes necessary to find out what the research has shown and also to find out what these researchers have advocated for further research. The study extracted 84 findings from the 20 studies reviewed with 67% being statistically significant. Only eight of the 20 relationships in the theoretical model had related findings. Building Condition and Faculty Attitude and Building Condition and Student Achievement had the highest number of related findings. The study states that a better Building Condition has a positive relationship on higher student achievement and attitudes. The synthesis of the findings also drew seven conclusions that should be factored into future research decisions. The study also extracted 74 recommendations for further research. The three relationships that had the greatest number of related recommendations for further research were Building Condition and Student Achievement, Building Condition and Student Attitudes, and Building Condition and Faculty Attitude. The relationships that were either not investigated or were investigated by one or two research studies are the areas that need more research.
Trends in Aminoglycoside Use and Gentamicin-Resistant Gram-Negative Clinical Isolates in US Academic Medical Centers: Implications for Antimicrobial Stewardship

Objective. To measure trends in aminoglycoside antibiotic use and gentamicin-resistant clinical isolates across a network of hospitals and compare network-level relationships with those of individual hospitals. Design. Longitudinal observational investigation. Setting. US academic medical centers. Participants. Adult inpatients. Methods. Adult aminoglycoside use was measured from 2002 or 2003 through 2009 in 29 hospitals. Hospital-wide antibiograms assessed gentamicin resistance by proportions and incidence rates for Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Acinetobacter baumannii, Klebsiella pneumoniae, and Escherichia coli. Mixed-effects analysis of variance was used to assess the significance of changes in aminoglycoside use and changes in resistance rates and proportions. Generalized estimating equations were used to assess the relationship between aminoglycoside use and resistance. Results. Mean aminoglycoside use declined by 41%, reflecting reduced gentamicin (P <.0001) and tobramycin (P = .005) use; amikacin use did not change. The rate and proportion of gentamicin-resistant P. aeruginosa decreased by 48% (P < .0001) and 31% (P < .0001), respectively. The rate and proportion of gentamicin-resistant E. coli increased by 166% and 124%, respectively (P < .0001), and they were related to increasing quinolone resistance in E. coli. Resistance among K. pneumoniae and A. baumannii did not change. Relationships between aminoglycoside use and resistance at the network level were highly variable at the individual hospital level. Conclusions. Mean aminoglycoside use declined in this network of US hospitals and was associated with significant and opposite changes in rates of resistance for some organisms and no change for others. At the individual hospital level, antibiograms appear to be an unreliable reflection of antibiotic use, at least for aminoglycosides.
Postinjury treatment with magnesium sulfate attenuates neuropathic pains following spinal cord injury in male rats

Spinal cord injury (SCI) has a number of severe and disabling consequences including chronic pain. Approximately 40% of patients experience neuropathic pain, which appears to be persistent. Previous studies have demonstrated the neuroprotective effects of magnesium sulfate (MgSO4). We aimed to investigate the effect of MgSO4 on neuropathic pains following SCI in male rats. Thirty-two adult male rats (weight 300–350 g) were used. After laminectomy, a complete SCI was induced by compression of the spinal cord for 1 min with an aneurysm clip. A single dose of 300 or 600 mg/kg MgSO4 was injected intraperitoneally. Tail-flick latency and acetone drop test scores were evaluated before surgery and once a week for 4 weeks after surgery. Rats in groups SCI+Mg300 and SCI+Mg600 showed significantly higher mean tail-flick latencies and lower mean scores in the acetone test compared with those in the SCI+veh group 4 weeks after surgery (P<0.05). These findings revealed that systemic single-dose administration of MgSO4 can attenuate thermal hyperalgesia and cold allodynia induced by SCI in rats.
Dysfunctional autogenous hemodialysis fistulas: outcomes after angioplasty--are there clinical predictors of patency?

PURPOSE To determine the primary and secondary patency rates for fistulas treated with angioplasty, as well as clinical predictors of fistula patency after angioplasty. MATERIALS AND METHODS The authors reviewed their institutional experience with autogenous fistulas from June 1997 to June 2002. A total of 104 men and 36 women were treated. Mean age +/- standard deviation of patient cohort was 62.4 years +/- 15.6. Patient age and sex, age of fistula at initial intervention, presence of diabetes, side and location of fistula, location of stenosis, and number of venous stenoses dilated were examined. Patency after angioplasty was estimated by using the Kaplan-Meier method, and predictors of patency were examined by using a Cox proportional hazards model. RESULTS One hundred fifty-one dysfunctional fistulas (94 radiocephalic and 57 brachiocephalic) were treated with angioplasty initially. Clinical success rate was 98.0% (297 of 303 interventions). At 3, 6, and 12 months, respectively, primary patency rates +/- standard errors of the estimate were 73% +/- 6, 51% +/- 7, and 39% +/- 7 for brachiocephalic fistulas and 85% +/- 4, 75% +/- 5, and 62% +/- 5 for radiocephalic fistulas; secondary patency rates were 96% +/- 2.4, 89% +/- 4, and 85% +/- 5 for brachiocephalic fistulas and 91% +/- 3, 88% +/- 3, and 86% +/- 4 for radiocephalic fistulas. For all time points, there was a significant difference in primary (P =.004) but not secondary (P =.45) patency between radiocephalic and brachiocephalic fistulas. Stenosis was most prevalent within 3 cm of the arteriovenous anastomosis in 74 (64%) of the 116 dysfunctional radiocephalic fistulas and at the cephalic arch in 22 (30%) of the 74 dysfunctional brachiocephalic fistulas. The clinical variables examined did not influence outcome. Complications occurred in seven (2.3%) of 303 interventions. CONCLUSION Patency after angioplasty in dysfunctional autogenous hemodialysis fistulas exceeds that observed in hemodialysis grafts. None of the clinical or anatomic variables examined affected patency outcome.
EXAMINING THE STRESS-CANNABIS LINK ACROSS THE STRESS SPECTRUM

by Alexander Spradlin, Ph.D. Washington State University May 2017 Chair: Carrie Cuttler Co-Chair: Rebecca Craft Previous research has established a link between stress and cannabis. The overall goal of my dissertation was to further elucidate the nature of this link. In Study 1, moderators and mediators of the relationship between stress and cannabis were tested. In a sample of 578 young adult cannabis users, both chronic stress and early life stress were significantly associated with increased cannabis problems. Early life stress was also significantly associated with increased frequency of cannabis use, but chronic stress was not. Moderation analyses revealed a significant role of sex such that chronic stress was only associated with increased cannabis problems in males, and early life stress was only associated with frequency of cannabis use in females. Mediation analyses revealed that chronic stress and early life stress may lead to increased use of cannabis to cope, which in turn may lead to increased problematic cannabis use. Further, results suggest that stress may also lead to negative affect, which in turn leads to problematic cannabis use. In Study 2, chronic cannabis users (n = 39) and non-users (n = 40) from the community underwent an acute stress manipulation. Chronic cannabis users showed reduced subjective and
In vitro toxicity of MTA compared with other primary teeth pulpotomy agents.

OBJECTIVE The main goal of this work is to compare the In vitro toxicity of MTA with other primary teeth pulpotomy agents. STUDY DESIGN The In vitro toxicity of MTA, calcium hydroxide, ferric sulphate solution, diluted formocresol and Buckley's formocresol were tested using MTT and Neutral Red Uptake cell viability assays. The results for MTA were compared to those obtained for the other substances using ANOVA and Tukey statistical tests (p < 0.05). RESULTS MTA had the lower in vitro toxicity and Buckley's formocresol, the higher, with statically significant difference. CONCLUSION Among the primary teeth pulpotomy agents tested, MTA showed the lower In vitro toxicity, standing as the most promising substitute to formocresol.
Epidemiological aspects of headache in a workplace setting and the impact on the economic loss

The objective of this study was to assess the epidemiological aspects of headache in a workplace setting and the economical impact. By sending a questionnaire to 1781 employees of a Dutch manufacturing company we tried to assess the prevalence of headache and headache subtype within this working place. Besides the personal view of each responder regarding his/her headache subtype, the International Headache Society (IHS) criteria were used to classify headaches on the basis of reported features. Moreover the missing labour days, as a result of headache, during the previous 4 weeks were measured, as well as the loss of productivity at the working place during an episode of headache; from this an estimate of the economic loss could be calculated. The response rate of the questionnaire was 60.8%. The lifetime prevalence of headache amongst the responders was 53.3%. Of these, 34.5% thought their headache was tension‐type headache, 10.6% thought it was migraine, 5.4% mentioned daily headache, and 18.2% mentioned another type of headache. According to the IHS criteria the differentiation was somewhat different: 26.2% of the headache could be classified as tension‐type headache and 15% as migraine. When the costs for lost labour days and loss of productivity as a result of all types of headache were accumulated, the economic loss was estimated at 18.933 US$ in 4 weeks (for the group of responders). In conclusion, headache is related to a substantial economic loss; migraine is probably underestimated in a workplace setting.
Barriers to recruitment of rural patients in cancer clinical trials

Purpose: The National Cancer Institute estimates that less than 5% of adult patients with cancer participate in clinical trials. This statistic has to improve in order for clinical trials to be more accurate and generalizable. Several studies have looked into the barriers to accrual among various patient subgroups. However, there are scant data regarding factors that act as barriers to accrual of rural patients. Our study aims to identify these barriers. Patients and Methods: Among patients seen at the Mary Babb Randolph 1,000 were randomly selected to receive a questionnaire by mail. Data obtained consisted of demographic and clinical information, as well as awareness about clinical trials, willingness to participate, and factors inﬂuencing participation. Patients had 6 weeks to respond. Results: Two hundred forty-one (24.1%) patients responded to the survey. Of these, 66.9% had heard about clinical trials, 19.6% reported that their health care team had discussed clinical trials, and 9.1% had participated in clinical trials. Respondents were more likely to be willing to participate in cancer prevention/ screening trials than therapeutic trials. Regarding the decision not to participate in a clinical trial, patients cited discouragement from their oncologist, monetary burden, discouragement from family physician, commute, and lack of information as strongly or extremely inﬂuential factors. Conclusion: Our ﬁndings specify the need for patient and physician education through community outreach programs. Oncologists should be trained to discuss clinical trials and to address concerns regarding their availability, utility, and accessibility. Financial counseling may play an important role in improving accrual rates as well.
Respiratory sensations, cardiovascular control, kinaesthesia and transcranial stimulation during paralysis in humans.

1. To determine whether discomfort associated with breathing (dyspnoea) is related to the chemical drive to breath, three subjects were totally paralysed while fully conscious. Subjective responses to a rising CO2 stimulus were obtained during rebreathing, rebreathing with CO2 added, and breath holding. Dyspnoea was measured with a 10‐point Borg scale. 2. Following nasotracheal intubation and ventilation (oxygen saturation, O2,Sat, 98‐100% and end‐tidal CO2, PET,CO2, 30‐40 mmHg), total neuromuscular blockade was induced by a rapid injection of atracurium (> 2.5 mg kg‐1) and complete paralysis was maintained with an infusion (5 mg (kg h)‐1). Paralysis was confirmed by abolition of the compound muscle action potentials of both the diaphragm and abductor hallucis evoked by supramaximal electrical stimulation of the relevant nerves. Communication via finger movement was preserved for the first 20‐30 min following paralysis by inflation of a sphygmomanometer cuff on one arm. 3. Before and during complete paralysis, dyspnoea increased progressively during hypercapnia produced by rebreathing (with or without CO2 added to the circuit at 250 ml min‐1). The mean PET,CO2 eliciting 'severe’ dyspnoea was 46 mmHg during rebreathing, 42 mmHg during ‘breath holding’, and 52 mmHg during rebreathing with added CO2. There were no significant differences between the values obtained during paralysis and in the control study immediately before paralysis. The duration of breath holding was not prolonged by paralysis and the PET,CO2 at the ‘break point’ was not altered by paralysis. 4. Thus, dyspnoea is preserved following total neuromuscular blockade. This suggests that chemoreceptor activity, via the central neuronal activity which it evokes, can lead to discomfort in the absence of any contraction of respiratory muscles. 5. During paralysis, attempted contraction of arm, leg and trunk muscles increased heart rate and blood pressure. For attempted handgrip contractions, the increases in heart rate (range, 7‐15 beats min‐1) and mean arterial pressure (range, 20‐32 mmHg) were similar to those recorded with actual contractions in trials immediately before paralysis. In one subject, graded increases in heart rate and blood pressure occurred for attempted contractions of 45 s duration over a range of intensities (0‐100% maximal effort). 6. During complete paralysis, transcranial electromagnetic stimulation of the motor cortex produced illusory twitch‐like movements of the wrist and digits. This also occurred in separate studies during complete ischaemic paralysis and anaesthesia of the forearm and hand. (ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 400 WORDS)
Survivin and Caspase-3 Expression in Breast Cancer: Correlation With Prognostic Parameters, Proliferation, Angiogenesis, and Outcome

BackgroundSurvivin is an inhibitor of apoptosis protein that is overexpressed in most human cancers, including breast, but is not expressed in normal tissue. Survivin is associated with more aggressive behavior and decreased survival in a variety of tumor types. It regulates the G2/M phase of the cell cycle by associating with mitotic spindle microtubules, and it directly inhibits caspase-3 and caspase-7 activity. We used a breast cancer tissue microarray to assess survivin and caspase-3 expression in breast cancer and to correlate both markers with proliferation (MIB-1), angiogenesis (CD31), and prognosis. DesignA breast cancer tissue microarray with a total of 190 1-mm tissue samples (2 from each specimen) were immunostained for survivin, caspase-3, MIB-1, and CD31. The microarray contains 91 cases of breast carcinoma diagnosed at Emory University Hospital between 1992 and 2000, and 4 normal breast tissue controls. Follow-up information was obtained from hospital records and the Winship Cancer Center database. ResultsEighty-four percent of breast carcinoma showed nuclear survivin expression. Normal breast tissue was immunonegative. Fifty-seven percent and 43% of breast cancer showed reduced and absent caspase-3 expression, respectively. Survivin (nuclear) and caspase (nuclear/cytoplasmic) expression showed significant correlation with histologic grade (P=0.008 and 0.041) and MIB-1 expression (P=0.033 and 0.012). Survivin nuclear expression also correlated significantly with tumor stage (P=0.012) and tended to correlate with estrogen receptor (P=0.050). There was no significant correlation between survivin and caspase expression. Furthermore, there was no correlation of both markers with other clinicopathologic parameters (age, tumor size, histologic type, progesterone receptor, Her-2 neu status, lymph node status), angiogenesis (CD31), or outcome (overall and disease-free survival). ConclusionsSurvivin and caspase-3 expression correlate with poor prognostic parameters (higher histologic grade and high proliferation), but not with outcome, in breast carcinoma patients.
Jun Kinases Are Rapidly Activated by Cholecystokinin in Rat Pancreas both in Vitro and in Vivo(*)

Stimulation of pancreatic acini from male Sprague-Dawley rats by both cholecystokinin (CCK)-8 and anisomycin caused an increase in p46 and p55 activities. Both forms of c-Jun amino-terminal kinase (JNK) were slightly activated at 5 min, reached a maximum at 30 min, and remained significantly increased at 60 min of CCK stimulation. By contrast, p42was activated fully by 5 min. In pancreatic acini stimulated with different concentrations of CCK for 30 min, the minimal and maximal JNK responses were observed at 30 pM and 100 nM CCK, respectively; p42 activation was, as previously reported, much more sensitive, with maximal activation by 1 nM CCK. Carbachol and bombesin also stimulated JNK activity, while vasoactive intestinal peptide did not. Neither activating protein kinase C nor increasing intracellular Ca significantly activated JNK. In in vivo experiments, rats were infused intravenously for 5 and 15 min with a secretory (0.1 μg/kg/h) or supramaximal (10 μg/kg/h) dose of the CCK analog caerulein (CER). Secretory doses of CER induced a 4-fold increase of both forms of JNK in pancreatic tissue at 5 and 15 min, while at the same time points, supramaximal stimulation with CER caused 4- and 27-fold increases, respectively, of these kinase activities. The secretory dose of CER slightly increased the activities of both forms of mitogen-activated protein kinase, while the supramaximal dose induced a 10-fold increase of p42 at 5 min. In conclusion, JNKs and mitogen-activated protein kinases are rapidly activated in rat pancreatic acini stimulated with CCK as well as in pancreatic tissue during in vivo stimulation with CER. The large response to supramaximal CER stimulation may be of importance in the early pathogenesis of acute pancreatitis.
On hierarchical self-organizing networks visualizing data classification processes

This paper proposes a self-organizing neural network with hierarchical structure. In the forward phase of learning, the training data is propagated from the top-level neuron to one of the bottom-level neurons, and a combination of a parent neuron and its children, which the training data reaches, is a target for updating their weights. In the backward phase, weights of at least two neurons in such a combination are averaged, and weights of the parent are changed for the averaged weights. The proposed network adequately realizes polysemous data clustering, which yields multiple results, while sustaining the capability of data visualization.