Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Resolution of three cryptic agricultural pests (Ceratitis fasciventris, C. anonae, C. rosa, Diptera: Tephritidae) using cuticular hydrocarbon profiling

Abstract Discrimination of particular species within the species complexes of tephritid fruit flies is a very challenging task. In this fruit-fly family, several complexes of cryptic species have been reported, including the African cryptic species complex (FAR complex). Cuticular hydrocarbons (CHCs) appear to be an excellent tool for chemotaxonomical discrimination of these cryptic species. In the present study, CHC profiles have been used to discriminate among three important agricultural pests from the FAR complex, Ceratitis fasciventris, Ceratitis anonae and Ceratitis rosa. Hexane body surface extracts of mature males and females were analyzed by two-dimensional gas chromatography with mass spectrometric detection and differences in CHC profiles between species and sexes tested through multivariate statistics and compared with species identification by means of microsatellite markers. Quantitative as well as qualitative CHC profile differences between sexes and species are reported. The CHC profiles consisted of a mixture of linear, internally methyl-branched and mono-, di- and tri-unsaturated alkanes. Twelve compounds were pinpointed as potential chemotaxonomical markers. The present study shows that presence or absence of particular CHCs might be used in the chemical diagnosis of the FAR complex. Moreover, our results represent an important first step in the development of a useful chemotaxonomic tool for cryptic species identification of these important agricultural pests.
Absence of mutation in miR-34a gene in a Chinese longevity population.

DEAR EDITOR:Centenarians are a typical longevity model characterized by delayed onset of morbidity in age-related diseases such as cancer,cardiovascular disease,dementia,and stroke(Andersen et al,2012). Though there may be a number of underlying mechanisms behind this longevity,curiously it seems that the survival advantage persists in their offspring(Terry et al,2003),suggesting a potentially important role for genetic factors.Previous studies suggested that the heritability of human longevity may be~25%(Herskind et al,1996;Mcgue et al,1993),whicih is consistent with other studies on model
Fixed bed adsorption of methylene blue by using palm oil mill effluent waste activated sludge

The waste activated sludge (WAS) discharged during the aerobic treatment of palm oil mill effluent (POME) was used to produce a low cost adsorbent for the removal of methylene blue (MB) from aqueous solution. This study employed a continuous process in a fixed bed column packed with WAS as the adsorbent. The effect of the dye inlet flow rate, height of the packing and inlet dye concentration on adsorption were studied. The adsorption data obtained from these experiments were then fitted into three dynamic adsorption models, Adam’s-Bohart model, Thomas model and the Yoon-Nelson model, in which the Thomas and the Yoon-Nelson models gave better fit to the experimental data under various conditions. The highest uptake capacity, qe, was obtained when a 6 cm bed depth was used at an inlet concentration of 100 mg/L and a flow rate of 0.9 mL/min.
Ocean freshening, sea level rising, sea ice melting

Estimates of 20th Century sea level rise are typically 1.5 to 2 mm/y, with a steric contribution of (0.5 ± 0.2) mm/y. Estimates of the eustatic contribution vary widely between −1.1 and +1.3 mm/y. We attempt an independent estimate of eustatic sea level rise based on the measured freshening of the global ocean, and with attention to the contribution from melting of sea ice (which affects freshening but not sea level). Our estimate is based on a secular decrease in global average salinity estimated by Antonov et al. [2002] which, if assumed due entirely to run‐off, would produce a eustatic rise of (1.8 ± 0.7) mm/y, and would correspond to a run‐off volume of 650 cu km/y. Measurements with upward looking sonars mounted on submarines have suggested a historical thinning of the arctic ice sheet equivalent to 525 ± 105 cu km/y. Allowing for some growth in Antarctic sea ice, a reduced figure of (430 ± 130) cu km/y is obtained, allowing about 220 cu km/y of run‐off from land sources such as glaciers. This would produce a eustatic rise of only 0.6 mm/y, for a total of 1.1 mm/y, somewhat less than IPCC estimates. This also has implications for our understanding of glacial retreat for a total of 1.1 mm/y.
When and How Disgust Is and Is Not Implicated in the Behavioral Immune System

The intuitive psychology of disease avoidance manifests in 2 broad categories of human behavior: reactive avoidant responses to infection-connoting perceptual stimuli, and proactive strategies that manage the latent threat of infection even when no such stimuli are in evidence. Reactive avoidance typically coincides with the arousal of disgust, whereas many proactive behaviors are unaccompanied by disgust. Although this might appear to imply that disgust is typically an antecedent cause of reactive but not proactive behaviors, the opposite may be true. Disgust may often accompany reactive avoidance but not cause it. In contrast, because of its effects on memory, attitudes, and interpersonal communication, disgust may have long-term causal consequences for proactive behavioral strategies. This analysis may have implications for understanding the evolution of disgust and for its function within the context of the behavioral immune system.
TGF-β1 Induces the Dual Regulation of Hepatic Progenitor Cells with Both Anti- and Proliver Fibrosis

Transforming growth factor-beta 1 (TGF-β1) plays a central role in hepatic progenitor cells- (HPCs-) mediated liver repair and fibrosis. However, different effects of TGF-β1 on progenitor cells have not been described. In this study, both in vitro (HPCs cocultured with hepatic stellate cells (HSCs) in transwells) and in vivo (CCl4-injured liver fibrosis rat) systems were used to evaluate the impacts. We found that HPCs pretreated with TGF-β1 for 12 hours inhibited the activation of HSCs, while sensitization for 48 hours increased the activation of HSCs. Consistent with these in vitro results, the in vivo fibrosis rat model showed the same time-dependent dual effect of TGF-β1. Regression of liver fibrosis as well as normalization of serum aminotransferase and albumin levels was detected in the rats transplanted with HPCs pretreated with TGF-β1 for 12 hours. In contrast, severe liver fibrosis and elevated collagen-1 levels were detected in the rats transplanted with HPCs pretreated with TGF-β1 for 48 hours. Furthermore, the TGF-β1-pretreated HPCs were shown to deactivate HSCs via enhancing SERPINE1 expression. Inhibition of SERPINE1 reversed the deactivation response in a dose-dependent manner.
Sliding-Mode Disturbance Observer With Switching-Gain Adaptation and Its Application to Optical Disk Drives

This paper deals with the design of a sliding-mode disturbance observer (SDOB) with switching-gain adaptation for a class of nonlinear systems subject to exogenous signals. The proposed SDOB, referred to as IMP-SDOB, is based on the internal-model principle and thus achieves robust asymptotic disturbance estimation, whereas the conventional SDOB leads to nonzero estimation error to a time-varying disturbance. Moreover, while the conventional SDOB needs a switching gain greater than the magnitude of an unknown disturbance, the proposed IMP-SDOB design releases this constraint and requires only a small switching gain as compared with a conventional design, further alleviating the chattering problem. The stability of the combined controller-observer system is derived on the basis of a Lyapunov analysis. Moreover, in contrast with the previous switching-gain adaptation law that inevitably yields a nondecreasing switching gain and asymptotic convergence of the switching function, a novel adaptation law is proposed to reduce the switching gain whenever appropriate and to guarantee finite-time convergence of the switching function. The effectiveness of the proposed scheme is demonstrated through experimental studies on the track-following system of an optical disk drive suffering from significant disk runout.
Mutation of the ptsG Gene Results in Increased Production of Succinate in Fermentation of Glucose byEscherichia coli

ABSTRACT Escherichia coli NZN111 is blocked in the ability to grow fermentatively on glucose but gave rise spontaneously to a mutant that had this ability. The mutant carries out a balanced fermentation of glucose to give approximately 1 mol of succinate, 0.5 mol of acetate, and 0.5 mol of ethanol per mol of glucose. The causative mutation was mapped to the ptsG gene, which encodes the membrane-bound, glucose-specific permease of the phosphotransferase system, protein EIICBglc. Replacement of the chromosomalptsG gene with an insertionally inactivated form also restored growth on glucose and resulted in the same distribution of fermentation products. The physiological characteristics of the spontaneous and null mutants were consistent with loss of function of the ptsG gene product; the mutants possessed greatly reduced glucose phosphotransferase activity and lacked normal glucose repression. Introduction of the null mutant into strains not blocked in the ability to ferment glucose also increased succinate production in those strains. This phenomenon was widespread, occurring in different lineages of E. coli, including E. coli B.
Cortical anomalies associated with visuospatial processing deficits

Children born preterm provide a fruitful population for studying structure–function relationships because they often have specific functional deficits in the context of normal neurological status. We selected a group of preterm adolescents with deficits in judgment of line orientation. Despite their very low birth weight, all were neurologically normal with no consistent abnormalities on conventional magnetic resonance imaging. However, voxel‐based morphometric analysis of their magnetic resonance imaging scans showed areas of decreased gray matter and increased white matter most prominently in right ventral extrastriate cortex, close to an area previously implicated in the line orientation task. We suggest that these anomalies of cortical architecture relate to impaired performance on the line orientation task. Ann Neurol 2003;53:768–773
Comparison of 1,5-Anhydroglucitol, HbA1c, and Fructosamine for Detection of Diabetes Mellitus

To evaluate the use of serum 1,5-anhydroglucitol (AG) levels in screening for diabetes mellitus, we compared the sensitivity and specificity of HbA1c, fructosamine (FA), and AG in 1620 randomly selected subjects in 11 institutions throughout Japan. Most individuals were receiving diet and/or drug therapy for diabetes. Subjects were separated into four groups based on World Health Organization criteria: nondiabetic control subjects, subjects with impaired glucose tolerance (IGT), patients with diabetes, and patients with other disorders without IGT. The overlap of AG values between each group was less than that of HbA1c or FA values. AG levels were significantly correlated with fasting plasma glucose (r = −0.627), HbA1c (r = −0.629), and FA (r = −0.590) levels. If we took 14 μg/ml as the normal lower limit, AG level was highly specific (93.1%), and a decreased AG level indicated diabetes mellitus (84.2% sensitivity). According to the selectivity index (sensitivity value times specificity value), AG determinations were superior to both HbA1c and FA measurements for diabetes screening. When combinations of these tests were used, only AG and HbA1c together were slightly better than AG alone. Thus, together with other advantages of AG, e.g., its wide variance with relatively fair glycemic control and the negligible influence of the sampling conditions, AG level has more potential than HbA1c or FA level as a screening criterion for diabetes.
Immunological Study of Febrile Fever: Serum Sialic Acid, Immunoglobulin Levels (IgA, IgG and IgM), Complement Factors (C3 and C4) in Patients with Typhoid Fever and Brucellosis

INTRODUCTION: Sialic acid (called neuraminic acid) is the designation given to a family of over 40 naturally occurring ninecarbon keto sugars acids derived from the parent compound 2-keto3-deoxy-5-acetamido-D-glyceroD-galacto-nonulosonic acid ( Nacetylneuraminic acid [Neu5Ac]). The sialic acids and related nonulosonates are unique in nature by representing the only nine-carbon sugars found in prokaryotes.
Neural mechanisms underlying the impact of daylong cognitive work on economic decisions

Significance In evolved species, resisting the temptation of immediate rewards is a critical ability for the achievement of long-term goals. This self-control ability was found to rely on the lateral prefrontal cortex (LPFC), which also is involved in executive control processes such as working memory or task switching. Here we show that self-control capacity can be altered in healthy humans at the time scale of a workday, by performing difficult executive control tasks. This fatigue effect manifested in choice impulsivity was linked to reduced excitability of the LPFC following its intensive utilization over the day. Our findings might have implications for designing management strategies that would prevent daylong cognitive work from biasing economic decisions. The ability to exert self-control is key to social insertion and professional success. An influential literature in psychology has developed the theory that self-control relies on a limited common resource, so that fatigue effects might carry over from one task to the next. However, the biological nature of the putative limited resource and the existence of carry-over effects have been matters of considerable controversy. Here, we targeted the activity of the lateral prefrontal cortex (LPFC) as a common substrate for cognitive control, and we prolonged the time scale of fatigue induction by an order of magnitude. Participants performed executive control tasks known to recruit the LPFC (working memory and task-switching) over more than 6 h (an approximate workday). Fatigue effects were probed regularly by measuring impulsivity in intertemporal choices, i.e., the propensity to favor immediate rewards, which has been found to increase under LPFC inhibition. Behavioral data showed that choice impulsivity increased in a group of participants who performed hard versions of executive tasks but not in control groups who performed easy versions or enjoyed some leisure time. Functional MRI data acquired at the start, middle, and end of the day confirmed that enhancement of choice impulsivity was related to a specific decrease in the activity of an LPFC region (in the left middle frontal gyrus) that was recruited by both executive and choice tasks. Our findings demonstrate a concept of focused neural fatigue that might be naturally induced in real-life situations and have important repercussions on economic decisions.
ASPP2: A Gene that Controls Life and Death in Vivo

The fundamental role of apoptosis in tumor prevention and the important role of p53 in this process are now universally recognized. Recently, several families of p53-binding proteins have been shown to influence p53’s decision to direct the cells either in the apoptotic pathway or in cell cycle arrest. Among them, the ASPP family specifically regulate p53-dependent apoptosis. Its member ASPP2 was discovered more than 10 years ago as a binding partner of p53 and its role as a positive regulator of p53 mediated apoptosis has been clearly established in vitro. However, its physiological importance in vivo has just emerged through the generation and characterisation of the ASPP2-deficient mice. We now know that ASPP2 is a haploinsufficient tumor suppressor and an important activator of p53 during mouse development and tumor suppression in vivo. ASPP2 might be a novel target for future cancer therapy.
Activity of Enzymatic Antioxidants and Total Antioxidant Capacity in Seminal Plasma of Murrah Bulls during Cryopreservation

Semen samples with mass motility of 4+ or more and an initial progressive motility ≥ 80% collected from murrah buffalo bulls were utilized for study. Semen samples were evaluated for various seminal attributes, enzymatic antioxidants (superoxide dismutase, catalase and glutathione peroxidase) and total antioxidant capacity at fresh, pre-freeze and post-thaw stage. Seminal attributes (progressive motility, viability, acrosomal integrity and hypo-osmotic swelling response) were significantly (p<0.05) higher in bull II as compared to bulls (I & III) at pre-freeze and post-thaw stage. Superoxide dismutase was significantly higher in bulls (II & III) than bull I at fresh stage (p<0.05) and significantly (p<0.01) higher in bull II as compared to bulls (I & III) at pre-freeze and post-thaw stage. Catalase was significantly higher in bull II than bulls (I & III) at fresh (p<0.05) and pre-freeze (p<0.01) stage. Significantly, higher total antioxidant capacity was noticed at pre-freeze (p<0.05) and post-thaw (p<0.01) stage in bull II and bulls (II & III), than bulls (I & III) and bull I, respectively. On the basis of our findings, it could be concluded that seminal enzymatic antioxidants (superoxide dismutase & catalase) and total antioxidant capacity varied among bulls at various stages of cryopreservation. There was progressive reduction in activity of enzymatic antioxidants and total antioxidant capacity from fresh to post-thaw stage.
The Membrane-Proximal “Stem” Region Increases the Stability of the Flavivirus E Protein Postfusion Trimer and Modulates Its Structure

ABSTRACT The flavivirus fusion protein E contains a “stem” region which is hypothesized to be crucial for driving fusion. This sequence element connects the ectodomain to the membrane anchor, and its structure in the trimeric postfusion conformation is still poorly defined. Using E trimers of tick-borne encephalitis virus with stem truncations of different lengths, we show that the N-terminal part of the stem increases trimer stability and also modulates the trimer structure outside the stem interaction site.
Arterial Hypertension: A Cause of Cognitive Impairment and of Vascular Dementia

Arterial hypertension is a well‐documented modifiable risk factor for cerebrovascular disease and for both cerebral infarction and intracerebral hemorrhage. Recent studies indicate a relationship between high blood pressure in midlife and dementia in late life and suggest that arterial hypertension may represent a cause of vascular dementia (VaD). This paper has reviewed the main evidence of a link between arterial hypertension and vascular cognitive impairment or VaD. Brain lesions induced by hypertension, diagnostic procedures for early diagnosis of vascular cognitive impairment in at risk subjects and the need to include cognitive assessment in patient's general visits in hypertension units are discussed.
Further Investigation into Reference Bias in Monolingual Evaluation of Machine Translation

Monolingual evaluation of Machine Translation (MT) aims to simplify human assessment by requiring assessors to compare the meaning of the MT output with a reference translation, opening up the task to a much larger pool of genuinely qualified evaluators. Monolingual evaluation runs the risk, however, of bias in favour of MT systems that happen to produce translations superficially similar to the reference and, consistent with this intuition, previous investigations have concluded monolingual assessment to be strongly biased in this respect. On re-examination of past analyses, we identify a series of potential analytical errors that force some important questions to be raised about the reliability of past conclusions, however. We subsequently carry out further investigation into reference bias via direct human assessment of MT adequacy via quality controlled crowd-sourcing. Contrary to both intuition and past conclusions, results for show no significant evidence of reference bias in monolingual evaluation of MT.
Understanding mealtime changes for adults with cerebral palsy and the implications for support services

Abstract Background Changes in the swallowing capabilities of adults with cerebral palsy as they age may impact on their health, safety, and well-being. Method Thirty-two adults with cerebral palsy aged between 30 and 69 years participated in in-depth interviews about their experiences of changes in their swallowing and related management of their mealtimes within the last two years. A constant comparative qualitative analysis of the interviews elucidated the changes they experienced. Results Changes included increased coughing and choking, digestive or gastro-oesophageal symptoms, diet modification, loss of independence with psychosocial consequences. Participants reported unsatisfactory collaboration with service providers over mealtime management decisions and interventions. Conclusions Adults with cerebral palsy may experience gradual changes in their swallowing and mealtime capabilities from as early as 30 years of age. Regular collaborative assessment and involvement of all stakeholders in decisions are important to facilitate compliance with recommendations, ongoing safety, and optimal well-being.
Nutrient Interactions and Toxicity Dietary Oligofructose Lessens Hepatic Steatosis , but Does Not Prevent Hypertriglyceridemia in Obese Zucker Rats 1

We studied the influence of oligofructose (OFS), a nondigestible fructan, on lipid metabolism in obese fa/fa Zucker rats. The addition of 10 g/100 g OFS to the diet slowed the increase in body weight without modifying serum triglycerides or glucose concentrations after 7 wk of treatment. However, an oral load of 2 g glucose and 5 g corn oil/kg body weight increased triglyceridemia more in OFS-fed rats than in control rats. After 10 wk, OFS decreased the hepatic concentration of triglycerides 57% relative to controls. The less severe steatosis was confirmed by histologic analysis. Among the key enzymes involved in fatty acid synthesis and esterification, only malic enzyme activity was significantly lower in OFS-fed rats than in controls. The epididymal fat mass was significantly lower in OFS-fed rats. In conclusion, dietary enrichment with OFS can counteract both the fat mass development and the hepatic steatosis that occur in obese Zucker rats. Future studies will be designed to clarify in obese animals the influence of dietary OFS on postprandial triglyceridemia, which is an important variable associated with the development of atherosclerosis in humans, and to analyze the biochemical mechanism underlying the “hepatoprotective” effect of OFS. J. Nutr. 130: 1314–1319, 2000.
Self-perceived oral health status and influencing factors of the elderly residents of a peri-urban area of La Paz, Bolivia.

AIM To assess the self-perceived oral health status of the elderly in Bolivia and explore the relationship between the socio-demographic and subjective factors that influence such perception. DESIGN A cross sectional study. SETTING Pampahasi, peri-urban area of La Paz, Bolivia. PARTICIPANTS A 22.5% (300) sample was selected randomly from the total population (1,336) of 60 years and above. Of the participants, 293 agreed to participate in the survey. METHODS Information was collected by interviews at home. RESULTS The mean age was 70 years (SD = 7.7), with more females (57%) than males. Sixty per cent of subjects categorised their oral health as poor. Logistic regression analysis showed that poor self-perceived oral health was associated significantly with not going to school, no/ fair satisfaction with economic status, poor chewing ability, perception of need for dental treatment, and poor self-perceived general health status. CONCLUSIONS Socio-economic factors seem to contribute to poor oral health among the elderly in Bolivia. Considering that these factors are associated with bad oral health behaviour and few visits to dental clinics, there is a need to design dental education programmes and enhance accessibility to dental clinics for elderly people living in the peri-urban areas of La Paz, Bolivia.