Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Comparison of milk production traits by Istrian pramenka between conventional and organic systems in Slovenia.

Summary Th e aim of the present study was to determine diff erences of amount and composition of milk between conventional and organic systems in Istrian pramenka breed of sheep. Sum of the data included 838 conventional and 9238 organic samples of ewesmilk. Each farm is classifi ed as organic from the date of entering in organic production. Before that date farms didnt show characteristics of organic production, therefore they were classifi ed as conventional. Th e results of the present study included higher amount of morning (353.10 g) and evening milk (361.39 g) in conventional compared to morning (342.76 g) and evening milk (345.69) in organic system, signifi cantly infl uenced by number of lactation (P<0.001), breeding system and breeder interaction (P<0.001). Higher content of fat in conventional system was signifi cantly infl uenced by breeding system (P<0.05), breeding system and breeder interaction (P<0.001), number of lactation (P<0.01) and lactation length (P<0.001). Lower protein content in conventional system was infl uenced signifi cantly by breeding system and breeder interaction (P<0.001), litter size (P<0.05) and lactation length (P<0.001). Content of lactose was higher in organic system (3.93%) compared to conventional system (3.84%) signifi cantly infl uenced by breeding system (P<0.01) and number of lactation (P<0.001). According to results, diff erences between conventional and organic systems are the mostly infl uenced by breeder in Slovenia.
An introduction to quadrupole-time-of-flight mass spectrometry.

A brief introduction is presented to the basic principles and application of a quadrupole-time-of-flight (TOF) tandem mass spectrometer. The main features of reflecting TOF instruments with orthogonal injection of ions are discussed. Their operation and performance are compared with those of triple quadrupoles with electrospray ionization and matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization (MALDI) TOF mass spectrometers. Examples and recommendations are provided for all major operational modes: mass spectrometry (MS) and tandem MS (MS/MS), precursor ion scans and studies of non-covalent complexes. Basic algorithms for liquid chromatography/MS/MS automation are discussed and illustrated by two applications.
Effect of omeprazole 20 mg twice daily on duodenogastric and gastro-oesophageal bile reflux in Barrett’s oesophagus

Background—Both acid and duodenal contents are thought to be responsible for the mucosal damage in Barrett’s oesophagus, a condition often treated medically. However, little is known about the effect of omeprazole on duodenogastric reflux (DGR) and duodenogastro-oesophageal reflux (DGOR). Aims—To study the effect of omeprazole 20 mg twice daily on DGR and DGOR, using the technique of ambulatory bilirubin monitoring. Methods—Twenty three patients with Barrett’s oesophagus underwent manometry followed by 24 hour oesophageal and gastric pH monitoring. In conjunction with pH monitoring, 11 patients (group 1) underwent oesophageal bilirubin monitoring and 12 patients (group 2) underwent gastric bilirubin monitoring, both before and during treatment with omeprazole 20 mg twice daily. Results—In both groups there was a significant reduction in oesophageal acid (pH<4) reflux (p<0.005) and a significant increase in the time gastric pH was above 4 (p<0.005). In group 1, median total oesophageal bilirubin exposure was significantly reduced from 28.9% to 2.4% (p<0.005). In group 2, median total gastric bilirubin exposure was significantly reduced from 24.9% to 7.2% (p<0.005). Conclusions—Treatment of Barrett’s oesophagus with omeprazole 20 mg twice daily results in a notable reduction in the exposure of the oesophagus to both acid and duodenal contents. In addition, delivery of duodenal contents to the upper gastric body is reduced.
Oxidation of proteins: is it a programmed process?

Abstract Proteins represent extremely susceptible targets for oxidants. Oxidative modifications of proteins may bring about violation of their structure and functionality. It implies that the structures of proteins are not infallible in terms of their antioxidant defence. The protection mechanisms in preventing oxidative damages for proteins within cells are mainly related to a large variety of antioxidant enzymatic systems. In contrast, plasma proteins are scarcely protected by these systems, so the mechanism that provides their functioning in the conditions of generating reactive oxygen species (ROS) seems to be much more complicated. Oxidation of many proteins was long considered as a random process. However, the highly site-specific oxidation processes was convincingly demonstrated for some proteins, indicating that protein structure could be adapted to oxidation. According to our hypothesis, some of the structural elements present in proteins are capable of scavenging ROS to protect other protein structures against ROS toxicity. Various antioxidant elements (distinct subdomains, domains, regions, and polypeptide chains) may act as ROS interceptors, thus mitigating the ROS action on functionally crucial amino acid residues of proteins. In the review, the oxidative modifications of certain plasma proteins, such as α2-macroglobulin, serum human albumin, fibrinogen, and fibrin-stabilising factor, which differ drastically in their spatial structures and functions, are analysed. The arguments that demonstrate the possibility of existing hypothetical antioxidant structures are presented. For the first time, the emphasis is being placed on the programmed mechanism of protein oxidation.
A Method for Building Personalized Ontology Summaries

In the context of ontology engineering, the ontology understanding is the basis for its further development and reuse. One intuitive eective approach to support ontology understanding is the process of ontology summarization which highlights the most important concepts of an ontology. Ontology summarization identi es an excerpt from an ontology that contains the most relevant concepts and produces an abridged ontology. In this article, we present a method for summarizing ontologies that represent a data source schema or describe a knowledge domain. We propose an algorithm to produce a personalized ontology summary based on user-de ned parameters, e.g. summary size. The relevance of a concept is determined through user indication or centrality measures, commonly used to determine the relative importance of a vertex within a graph. The algorithm searches for the best ontology summary, i.e., the one containing the most relevant ontology concepts respecting all the original relationships between concepts and the parameters set by the user. Experiments were done comparing our generated ontology summaries against golden standard summaries as well as summaries produced by methods available in related work. We achieved in average more than 62.5% of similarity with golden standard summaries.
A review of fault-tolerant techniques for the enhancement of integrated circuit yield

This paper examines the ways in which the yield of integrated circuit production can be improved through the use of circuit design techniques. The bulk of the paper is concerned with fault-tolerant approaches but aspects of circuit layout are also considered briefly. The paper reviews the fault-tolerant techniques which are currently in use in memory chips and discusses those which have been proposed for other architectures and large-area chips up to whole wafers. It surveys the crucial topics of yield prediction and of repair technology and outlines the options available for the future.
Pseudotriangulations from Surfaces and a Novel Type of Edge Flip

We prove that planar pseudotriangulations have realizations as polyhedral surfaces in three-space. Two main implications are presented. The spatial embedding leads to a novel flip operation that allows for a drastic reduction of flip distances, especially between (full) triangulations. Moreover, several key results for triangulations, like flipping to optimality, (constrained) Delaunayhood, and a convex polytope representation, are extended to pseudotriangulations in a natural way.
Effects of fish oil and conjugated linoleic acids on carnitine homeostasis in laying hens

1. The effects of n−3 polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA) and conjugated linoleic acids (CLA) on genes involved in carnitine homeostasis were compared in laying hens. Three groups of laying hens were fed on a control diet or a diet with either 3% of fish oil or CLA for 4 weeks. 2. Feed intake and egg production rate did not differ between the three groups. Diets with fish oil or CLA had only a weak effect on mRNA levels of PPARα target genes (ACO, CPT-I) in the liver and did not influence mRNA concentrations of the most important carnitine transporter OCTN2, enzymes of involved in carnitine synthesis (TMLD, TMABA-DH, BBD) or concentrations of carnitine in plasma, liver and total egg contents. 3. Hens fed the CLA diet had lower concentrations of free and total carnitine in egg yolk but higher concentrations of carnitine in albumen than control hens (P < 0·05), whereas the amount of free and total carnitine in whole egg did not differ. 4. In conclusion, the study showed that feeding fish oil or CLA causes only a weak activation of PPARα in tissues of laying hens that probably explained the lack of effect on carnitine homeostasis. The results contrast with those in humans and mice that show a significant effect of synthetic PPARα agonists on carnitine homeostasis in humans and mice.
Born digital: understanding the first generation of digital natives

The first generation of Digital Nativeschildren who were born into and raised in the digital worldare coming of age, and soon our world will be reshaped in their image. Our economy, our politics, our culture, and even the shape of our family life will be forever transformed. But who are these Digital Natives? And what is the world theyre creating going to look like? In Born Digital, leading Internet and technology experts John Palfrey and Urs Gasser offer a sociological portrait of these young people, who can seem, even to those merely a generation older, both extraordinarily sophisticated and strangely narrow. Exploring a broad range of issues, from the highly philosophical to the purely practical, Born Digital will be essential reading for parents, teachers, and the myriad of confused adults who want to understand the digital presentand shape the digital future.
Collision-induced friction in the motion of a single particle on a bumpy inclined line.

By means of molecular-dynamics simulations, we investigate the elementary process of avalanches and size segregation by surface flow in two dimensions: a single ball confined to moving along an inclined line consisting of balls. The global characteristics of the motion depend strongly on the size of the moving ball relative to the size of the balls on the line, as well as the distribution of the balls on the line. We find that in the steady state the friction force acting on the ball is independent of material properties such as the Coulomb friction coefficient and the coefficient of restitution. Contrary to previous notions about the details of the motion, we find that it is very regular and consists of many small bounces on each ball on the line. As a result of this regularity, introducing a random spacing between the balls on the line has mainly the same influence as a regular spacing of adequate length. The insensitivity of the steady-state velocity to material properties and to the detailed arrangement of the balls on the line allows for an analytical estimation of the mean velocity that fits the simulation results very well. We find that results from the two-dimensional case can probably not be transferred to the three-dimensional case of a ball moving on a rough inclined plane as easily as has been suggested previously.
Distinct Role for CD8 T Cells toward Cutaneous Tumors and Visceral Metastases1

The growth of immunogenic tumors in immunocompetent individuals is one of the oldest conundrums in tumor immunology. Although the ability of mouse CD8+ T cells to control transplanted tumors is well documented, little is known about their impact on autochthonous tumors. To gain insight into the role of CD8+ T cells during the course of cancer development, we produced a novel model of spontaneous melanoma. The metallothionein (MT)-ret/AAD mouse is transgenic for the RET oncogene and the chimeric MHC molecule AAD (α1-α2 domains of HLA-A2 linked to α3 domain of H2-Dd). This model recapitulates the natural history of human melanoma, and expression of the AAD molecule makes it suitable for analyzing CD8+ T cell responses directed against peptide Ags that have been previously identified in HLA-A2+ melanoma patients. We found that, as tumors grow, mice develop a broad melanoma-specific CD8+ T cell response. Occurrence of cutaneous nodules is not affected by CD8+ T cell depletion, showing that although CD8+ T cells are functional, they have no effect on established cutaneous tumors. However, depleted mice die from visceral disease much earlier than controls, showing that CD8+ T cells control metastasis spreading and disease progression. Antigenic modulation is observed in visceral metastases, suggesting that visceral nodules may be subject to immunoediting. Our data demonstrate that growth of melanoma in the MT-ret/AAD model involves several tolerance mechanisms sequentially. They also reveal a different role for CD8+ T cells toward early stage of cutaneous tumors and late visceral metastatic stage of the disease.
Social and Contextual Influences on Mental Health Following an Episode of Mass Violence

Few studies explore how the recovery context following an episode of mass violence affects posttragedy mental health (MH), despite clear implications for developing posttrauma supports. Following a mass murder, this prospective, longitudinal study examined how reactions to media coverage, family reactions, and disappointment in social support influenced posttragedy MH (posttraumatic stress, depression, anxiety), above and beyond the influence of pretragedy MH, pretragedy victimization, and objective exposure. University students who participated in a study of college adjustment prior to the mass murder (n = 593) were recontacted and provided information on their posttragedy life (n = 142). Students (n = 84) also responded to open-ended questions about what was the most stressful part of the tragedy and psychological effects of the mass murder. After accounting for pretragedy victimization and MH, and objective exposure to events, hierarchical regression analyses indicated that distress related to media coverage and stronger family reactions contributed to higher levels of posttraumatic stress symptoms and anxiety, but not depression. Disappointment with social support was not significantly related to posttragedy MH. Common themes in student comments include grief, feeling vulnerable/unsafe, concern for the impact on others, stress related to media coverage, proximity to the events, changes in psychosocial adjustment, and returning to daily life. Results suggest that negative reactions to media coverage and family reactions that are overprotective or distressing negatively affect survivors’ MH, beyond their objective exposure to the violence, pretragedy MH, and pretragedy victimization.
Multiple sclerosis characteristics in A frican A merican patients in the New York State Multiple Sclerosis C onsortium

The objective of this study was to determine the clinical characteristics of multiple sclerosis (MS) in A frican A merican (A A) patients in the New York State Multiple Sclerosis C onsortium (NYSMSC) patient registry. The NYSMSC is a group of 18 MS centers throughout New York State organized to prospectively assess clinical characteristics of MS patients. AA s comprise 6% (329) of the total NYSMSC registrants (5602). Demographics, disease course, therapy, and socioeconomic status were compared in A A registrants versus nonA frican A mericans (NA A). There was an increased female preponderance and a significantly younger age at diagnosis in the AA group. A A patients were more likely to have greater disability with increased disease duration. No differences were seen in types of MS and use of disease modifying therapies. O ur findings suggest a racial influence in MS. Further genetic studies that consider race differences are warranted to elucidate mechanisms of disease susceptibility.
Vaginal Pressure-Pain Thresholds: Initial Validation and Reliability Assessment in Healthy Women

Objectives Pelvic muscle pain syndromes are poorly understood and lack reliable diagnostic criteria. Furthermore, animal models suggest that somatic pain can influence the development of pelvic visceral pain dysfunction. To develop psychophysical measures to facilitate diagnosis of pelvic floor myofascial pain syndromes, this pilot was designed to preliminarily test the feasibility, reliability, and validity of pressure-pain thresholds (PPTs) to identify and quantify pelvic floor pain sensitivity. Methods We conducted a cross-sectional study of pelvic floor PPTs using 19 healthy women. Using a prototype vaginal pressure algometer, we measured PPTs and calculated intraclass correlations for short-term and intermediate-term reliability. Validity was assessed by correlating numerical rating scores for pain (0 to 100) at standard pressure levels applied to the right iliococcygeus muscle. Results The mean PPT of all pelvic floor sites was 1.52 kg/cm2 (SD=0.62), whereas thresholds of nonmuscle vaginal sites (anterior and posterior wall) were 1.65 kg/cm2 (SD=0.64). Pain numerical rating scores were positively correlated with stimulus intensity at the right iliococcygeus (Pearson r=0.61). Intraclass correlation demonstrated good short-term reliability at this same site for the first versus second, and second versus third measurements (0.75, 0.64); 1-week repeat reliability was also good for the right pubococcygeus, iliococcygeus, and obturator (0.69, 0.84, and 0.61, respectively), and both nonmuscle vaginal sites. Discussion These data suggest that PPTs may prove to be valid and reliable measures of pelvic floor somatic pain sensitivity in healthy women. Broader studies including a pelvic pain cohort should be conducted to corroborate these results and determine the technique's external validity and clinical relevance.
I Bask in Dreams of Suicide: Mental Illness, Poetry, and Women

A consistent research finding in creativity research has been the tendency of poets—especially female poets—to suffer from mental illness. We explore (a) Why poets? and (b) Why female poets? We posit that poetry may attract those with a predisposition toward illness, the domain of poetry may particularly reward those who exhibit illness, and unusual aspects of the domain of poetry writing may increase the likelihood of poets succumbing to illness. These domain-specific aspects of writing poetry affect men and women alike. In addition, the greater difficulty that women tend to experience in ignoring extrinsic motivational constraints may cause successful female poets to have an even higher incidence of psychological stress, and of mental illness, than male poets.
Naturally Occurring Organic Sulfur Compounds: An Example of a Multitasking Class of Phytochemicals in Anti-Cancer Research

Allium plants, especially garlic (Allium sativum), have been cultivated since thousands of years all over the world not only as spicy food but also as medicinal plant. According to Block, the garlic plant was for the first time referred to in an Egyptian medical papyrus 1550 BC. In this Codex Ebers, 22 formulas of garlic were specified for the treatment of various disorders including heart problems, headache, bites, parasites and even tumors (Block, 1985). Today, the therapeutic value of garlic and other Allium vegetables is confirmed by multiple epidemiological and experimental studies. Especially prevention of cardiovascular diseases has been attributed to regular garlic consumption (Galeone et al., 2009; KrisEtherton et al., 2002; Rahman & Lowe, 2006). Moreover, cholesterol lowering, hypoglycemic, immune-stimulatory, anti-microbial and even anti-cancer properties have been reported for garlic compounds (Agarwal, 1996; Amagase et al., 2001; Balkwill & Mantovani, 2001; Borrelli et al., 2007; Goncagul & Ayaz, 2010; Kalra et al., 2006). Epidemiological studies clearly show the correlation between moderate garlic intake and a low cancer incidence (Galeone et al., 2006; Kim, J.Y. & Kwon, 2009; Salem et al., 2011). A case-control study conducted in the 1980s in Italy revealed for example that people living in high-risk areas for gastric cancer consumed less garlic compared to people in low-risk regions where stomach and colon cancers were three times less frequent (Buiatti et al., 1989). The health beneficial effects of garlic and other Allium species make this plant family an extremely interesting research topic.
Role of Health Locus of Control Between Uncertainty and Uncertainty Appraisal Among Patients With Atrial Fibrillation

The purpose of this study was to determine the role of health locus of control in the model of uncertainty in illness among patients with atrial fibrillation. This study employed a descriptive, correlational survey. A total of 81 patients with atrial fibrillation were recruited from two large medical centers in the United States. Only the interaction term of uncertainty and internal health locus of control had a significant moderating effect on appraisal of danger. Greater internal health locus of control was associated with greater appraisal of danger at the given degree of uncertainty. Therefore, the internal health locus of control played a significant role in magnifying the relationship of uncertainty on appraisal of danger. However, health locus of control did not moderate the relationship between uncertainty and appraisal of opportunity. Finally, this study concluded that internal health locus of control had a moderating effect on the relationship between uncertainty and appraisal of danger.
Thrombosis in inflammatory bowel disease: clinical setting, procoagulant profile and factor V Leiden.

Patients with inflammatory bowel disease have an increased frequency of thromboembolism, and microvascular thrombosis has been proposed as a contributory pathogenic factor. The mechanism of enhanced procoagulant activity is not understood. We examined the clinical setting of thromboembolic events in 52 patients with Crohn's disease or ulcerative colitis, and assessed the procoagulant laboratory profile, including Factor V Leiden, in a subset of 20 patients to identify procoagulant risk factors. Patients who developed thrombosis tended to be young; 60% of thrombotic events occurred in patients under 50 years. Multiple thromboembolic episodes occurred in 13% and unusual sites of thrombosis (e.g. intracardiac, cerebral, inominate veins) in 11%. No risk factor was identifiable in 52% of cases and two-thirds of thromboses occurred in an out-patient setting. The mortality rate was 8%. Evidence for inflammatory disease activity was found in only 45% of patients with ulcerative colitis at the time of the thromboembolic event, in contrast to 89% of those with Crohn's disease. Assays for specific coagulation defects were negative in all cases tested (protein S, C were normal in 17/17; anti-thrombin III, anti-phospholipid antibodies and activated protein C resistance were negative in 20/20, and only 1/20 patients was found to be heterozygous for Factor V leiden. Thrombosis in inflammatory bowel disease is important because it occurs in a young population, often in unusual sites, and has a high mortality. The development of thrombosis is related to active inflammatory disease in most patients with Crohn's disease but apparently not in those with ulcerative colitis. Since approximately half of the patients had no other identifiable risk factor, there remains a substantial group of patients with IBD who develop thrombosis for unknown reasons.