Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Effect of protein level in diets of grower-finisher pigs on growth performance, nitrogen excretion and carcass value

Possibility of reduction of protein level in feed mixtures of similar content of amino acids digestible in the small intestine and its influence on fattener’s performance and nitrogen retention were determined. Thirty pigs (35 kg) were divided into 3 groups. The control animals were fed with diets with crude protein level suggested by polish pig feeding standards (Normy żywienia. 1993) – 17% in grower and 15% in finisher diet. In the experimental groups (I and II) the protein level was reduced about 10 or 20% respectively. No significant effect on feed intake, weight gains and feed utilization was found. The animals from the both experimental group utilized less crude protein (P=0.001) than in Control group. The significant (P=0.001) reduction in nitrogen excreted in urine and total N-excretion in both group with reduced protein level in feed mixtures, were observed. Nitrogen retention in g/day was higher for group I compared to other groups and N-retention : N intake were significantly higher (P<0.05) in both experimental groups. The reduction of crude protein level in the experimental diets did not affect slaughter performance but in group II the tendency to increase (P=0.064) in back fat thickness and decrease meat content in carcass, were observed. The results suggest that lowering the protein level in diets for high-meat crossbred pigs (Polish Large White × Polish Landrace) × (Hampshire × Pietrain) from 170 and 150 g kg to 136 g and 115 g kg in grower and finisher diets, respectively, but supplemented with synthetic amino acids, did not impact negatively production results of fatteners, but decreased nitrogen emission to the environment and cost of feed. Address: Małgorzata Kasprowicz-Potocka, Poznań University of Life Sciences, ul. Wołyńska 33, 60-637 Poznań, Poland, phone: + 48 (61) 848 72 26, e-mail: malgokas@poczta.onet. pl WPŁYW POZIOMU BIAŁKA W MIESZANKACH DLA ŚWIŃ W OKRESIE GROWER-FINISZER NA WYNIKI PRODUKCYJNE, WYDALANIE AZOTU I JAKOŚĆ TUSZY Małgorzata Kasprowicz-Potocka, Andrzej Frankiewicz Katedra Żywienia Zwierząt i Gospodarki Paszowej Uniwersytet Przyrodniczy w Poznaniu S ł o w a k l u c z o w e: poziom białka w diecie, tuczniki, wydajność, jakość tuszy, retencja azotu.
ZD6474, a dual tyrosine kinase inhibitor of EGFR and VEGFR-2, inhibits MAPK/ERK and AKT/PI3-K and induces apoptosis in breast cancer cells

Abnormalities in gene expression and signaling pathways downstream of the epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) and vascular endothelial growth factor receptor (VEGFR) contribute to the progression, invasion, and maintenance of the malignant phenotype in human cancers, including breast. Consequently, the dual kinase inhibitor of EGFR and VEGFR ZD6474 represents a promising biologically-based treatment that is currently undergoing clinical trials for non-small cell lung cancer. Patients suffering from breast cancers have a poor prognosis because of the lack of effective agents and treatment strategies. We hypothesized that inhibition of phosphorylation of the EGFR and VEGFR by ZD6474 would inhibit breast cancer cell proliferation and induce apoptosis. This hypothesis was tested using human breast cancer cell lines. ZD6474 inhibited cell proliferation in a dose-dependent manner, by blocking cell progression at the G0-G1 stage, through down-regulation of expression of cyclin D1 and cyclin E. In vitro, ZD6474 inhibited growth factor-induced phosphorylation of EGFR, VEGFR-2, MAPK, and Akt. ZD6474 also down regulated anti-apoptotic markers including Bcl-2, up-regulated pro-apoptotic signaling events involving expression of bax, activation of caspase-3, and induction of poly (ADP-ribose) polymerase during apoptosis. ZD6474 inhibited anchorage independent colony formation using soft agar assays, and invasion of breast cancer cells in vitro using Boyden chamber assays. In a xenograft model using human MDA-MB-231 breast cancer cells, ZD6474 inhibited tumor growth and induced cancer-specific apoptosis. Collectively, these data imply that ZD6474 a dual kinase inhibitor has potential for the targeted therapy of breast cancer.
The role of Na(+)‐Ca2+ exchange in activation of excitation‐contraction coupling in rat ventricular myocytes.

1. The purpose of this study was to determine whether mechanisms other than Ca2+ influx via L‐type Ca2+ current (ICa) might contribute to activation of contraction in rat ventricular myocytes. The whole‐cell voltage‐clamp technique was used with normal transmembrane K+ and Na+ gradients at 34 degrees C. The sarcoplasmic reticulum (SR) was conditioned with one to three prepulses to +100 mV for 100 ms. 2. Cell shortening (delta L) increased with test voltage up to a plateau level at about +20 mV, beyond which cell shortening remained fairly constant, thus describing a sigmoidal voltage dependence. This relationship was obtained when holding potential (Vh) was either ‐40 or ‐70 mV; however, greater shortening was obtained at the more negative Vh. 3. The sigmoidal V‐delta L relationship was converted to a bell shape following the magnitude of ICa when internal Cs+ was substituted for K+ and when the temperature was reduced to 22 degrees C. 4. At 34 degrees C, block of ICa with nifedipine (10 microM) decreased shortening by about 50% but did not alter the voltage dependence of delta L when Vh was either ‐40 or ‐70 mV. Addition of Ni2+ (4‐5 mM) blocked all remaining contractions. 5. When cell shortening was triggered by an action potential voltage clamp, there was again about 50% of the contraction that was insensitive to nifedipine but was blocked by Ni2+. 6. Our results demonstrate that there is a significant contribution of a nifedipine‐insensitive mechanism to the activation of contraction. This mechanism is likely to be reverse mode Na(+)‐Ca2+ exchange since it appears to be sensitive to both voltage and Ni2+. We conclude that a contribution of reverse Na(+)‐Ca2+ exchange to activation of excitation‐contraction coupling occurs in rat heart at near‐physiological conditions which include warm temperatures, normal transmembrane Na+ and K+ gradients and activation in response to an action potential.
Clinical relevance of human cancer xenografts as a tool for preclinical assessment: example of in-vivo evaluation of topotecan-based chemotherapy in a panel of human small-cell lung cancer xenografts

Prediction of human tumor response based on preclinical data could reduce the failure rates of subsequent new anticancer drugs clinical development. Human small-cell lung carcinomas (SCLC) are characterized by high initial sensitivity to chemotherapy but a low median survival time because of drug resistance. The aim of this study was to evaluate the therapeutic relevance of a panel of human SCLC xenografts established in our laboratory using one compromising drug in SCLC, topotecan (TPT). Six SCLC xenografts derived from six patients were used: three were sensitive to a combination of etoposide (VP16), cisplatin (CDDP), and ifosfamide (IFO), and three were resistant, as published earlier. Growth inhibition was greater than 84% for five xenografts at doses of 1–2 mg/kg/day. TPT was combined with IFO, etoposide (VP16), and CDDP. IFO improved the efficacy of TPT in three of the five xenografts and complete responses were obtained even with the less TPT-sensitive xenograft. VP16 increased the efficacy of two of four xenografts and complete responses were obtained. The combination of TPT and CDDP did not improve TPT responses for any of the xenografts tested. Semiquantitative reverse transcriptase-PCR of genes involved in drug response, such as topoisomerase I, topoisomerase II&agr;, multidrug resistance 1 (MDR1), multidrug resistance-associated protein (MRP), lung resistance-related protein (LRP), and glutathione S-transferase π (GSTπ), did not explain the variability in drug sensitivity between SCLC xenografts. In conclusion, these preclinical data mirror those from published clinical studies suggesting that our panel of SCLC xenografts represents a useful tool for preclinical assessment of new treatments.
Return to Sport-Specific Performance After Primary Anterior Cruciate Ligament Reconstruction: A Systematic Review

Background: Physicians counseling athletes on the prognosis of sport-specific performance outcomes after anterior cruciate ligament reconstruction (ACLR) depend on the published literature. However, critical appraisal of the validity and biases in these studies is required to understand how ACLR affects an athlete’s ability to return to sport, the athlete’s sport-specific performance, and his or her ability to achieve preinjury levels of performance. Purpose: This review identifies the published prognostic studies evaluating sport-specific performance outcomes after ACLR. A risk of bias assessment and summaries of return to sport and career longevity results are provided for each included study. Study Design: Systematic review. Methods: Electronic databases (Ovid MEDLINE, EMBASE, Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews, Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials, and PUBMED) were searched via a defined search strategy with no limits, to identify relevant studies for inclusion in the review. A priori defined eligibility criteria included studies measuring sport-specific performance within an athlete’s sport, before and after primary ACLR. Reference lists of eligible studies were hand-searched for additional relevant studies. Data extraction was performed by use of a standardized spreadsheet. Each included study was assessed by use of 6 bias domains of the Quality in Prognosis Studies tool to critically appraise study participation, study attrition, prognostic factors, outcome measurement, confounders, and statistical analysis and reporting. Two authors independently performed each stage of the review and reached consensus through discussion. Results: Fifteen pertinent prognostic studies evaluated sport-specific performance outcomes and/or return to play after ACLR for athletes participating in competitive soccer, football, ice hockey, basketball, Alpine ski, X-Games ski and snowboarding, and baseball. Twelve of these studies were considered to have a high level of bias. Conclusion: This review demonstrated that most high-performance or professional athletes returned to their preinjury level of sport after ACLR. The bulk of evidence suggests there was a measurable decrease in performance statistics, although this is highly sport-specific. A paucity of literature is available that addresses sport-specific performance in athletes after ACLR. This review has determined that the available literature is highly biased and must be read with caution. Clinical Relevance: By better understanding the validity and biases in the published literature, physicians can provide more informed prognoses about return to sport-specific performance after ACLR while considering risk factors relevant to their patients. Registration: CRD42016046709 (International Prospective Register of Systematic Reviews, https://www.crd.york.ac.uk/prospero/)
Economic Benefit of Tonsillectomy in Adults with Chronic Tonsillitis

To determine the economic impact of adult chronic tonsillitis and the economic improvement from adult tonsillectomy, we studied patients who underwent adult tonsillectomy for chronic tonsillitis with the Glasgow Benefit Inventory and a questionnaire for disease severity parameters before and after tonsillectomy. The economic impact of chronic tonsillitis and adult tonsillectomy were computed with a break-even time analysis model. Eighty-three adult patients (average age, 27.3 years) completed the study with an average duration of follow-up of 37.7 months. The patients exhibited a mean improvement in quality of life of +27.54 ± 4.63 after tonsillectomy according to the Glasgow Benefit Inventory. In the 12 months following the procedure, tonsillectomy resulted in yearly mean decreases in number of weeks on antibiotics by 5.9 weeks, number of workdays missed because of tonsillitis by 8.7 days, and physician visits for tonsillitis by 5.3 visits. In considering the medical costs of tonsillectomy only, the break-even point was found to be 12.7 years, whereas considering the overall economic impact of tonsillectomy resulted in a break-even point of 2.3 years after the procedure. We conclude that tonsillectomy results in significant improvement in quality of life, decreases health-care utilization, and diminishes the economic burden of chronic tonsillitis in the adult patient population.
PRODUCTION OF GLUCOAMYLASE BY ASPERGILLUS NIGER UNDER SOLID STATE FERMENTATION (RESEARCH NOTE)

In this study, Glucoamylase production by Aspergillus niger was investigated under solid state fermentation using low cost by-products of agricultural processes as substrate. Highest enzyme production was observed when a combination of wheat bran (WB) and corn flour (CF) was used as compared to WB+ rice bran, WB+ rice flour and WB alone. Several compositions of corn flours were experimented. The best combination of WB in addition of 10% corn flour resulted maximum enzyme activities. Study of the fermentations in flasks revealed 373.3 IU/gds and 41.4 g/l for the enzyme activity and protein concentration respectively under conditions of 30 1C, pH 4.7 and time 96 h. Optimum conditions provided by flask experiments were applied to produce the enzyme in a fermenter. A tray type sterilized fermenter was designed (7-lit volume, 2 trays of 450x230x35 mm, and 2 l/min aeration). The fermentations were performed under aseptic conditions and resulted in enzyme activity and protein concentration of 400 IU/gds, 33.3 mg/gds respectively (under 30 2C, pH=4.5 ~ 4.7, aeration 2 l/min, 90% relative humidity and time 72 h). The adequate amounts of enzyme activity, protein concentration and CO2 evolution revealed the efficiency of the bioreactor in comparison with flasks.
Strategies Resident-Physicians Use to Manage Sleep Loss and Fatigue

Abstract Our purpose is to examine strategies or countermeasures resident-physicians used in dealing with the effects of sleep loss and fatigue during residency training. A total of 149 residents across five sites and six specialty areas were recruited for the study. Focus groups consisted of an average of 7 individuals in the same year of training and residency program, and included 60 interns and 89 senior residents. Trained moderators conducted focus groups using a semi-structured discussion guide. Transcripts were analyzed using the grounded theory tradition. The range of strategies adopted was: Chemical, Dietary, Sleep Management, Behavioral, and Cognitive. Residents exhibited a trial-and-error approach to identifying management strategies. None mentioned searching the scientific literature or consulting local sleep medicine experts. Residents relied on putative countermeasures even when they were aware of their negative effects. Our results document the need to educate resident physicians on self-care strategies during residency training.
Induction of apoptosis in rheumatoid synovial fibroblasts by celecoxib, but not by other selective cyclooxygenase 2 inhibitors.

OBJECTIVE Selective cyclooxygenase 2 (COX-2) inhibitors are now being used as antiinflammatory agents that cause fewer gastrointestinal complications, compared with other antiinflammatory drugs, in patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA). This study was undertaken to investigate whether selective COX-2 inhibitors could induce apoptosis of RA synovial fibroblasts (RASFs). METHODS RASFs were exposed to selective COX-2 inhibitors, i.e., celecoxib, etodolac, meloxicam, nimesulide, N-[2-(cyclohexyloxyl)-4-nitrophenyl]-methanesulfonamide, and rofecoxib, under various conditions. Cell proliferation and cell viability were assessed by incorporation of 5-bromo-2'-deoxyuridine and by the 2-(4-iodophenyl)-3-(4-nitrophenyl)-5-(2,4-disulfophenyl)-2H-tetrazolium monosodium salt assay, respectively. Apoptosis was detected by identifying DNA fragmentation. Activation of peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor gamma (PPARgamma) was measured by the luciferase reporter gene assay with a PPAR response element-driven luciferase reporter plasmid and a PPARgamma expression plasmid. RESULTS Celecoxib strongly inhibited the proliferation of RASFs, whereas other selective COX-2 inhibitors had little or no effect. In addition, celecoxib reduced the viability of RASFs by induction of apoptosis, in a concentration-dependent manner. This action was abolished by addition of caspase inhibitors. Interleukin-1beta had a weak enhancing effect on celecoxib-induced apoptosis in RASFs. In contrast, other selective COX-2 inhibitors at concentrations up to 100 microM did not induce apoptosis of RASFs. Indomethacin, a nonselective COX inhibitor, activated PPARgamma transcription, while celecoxib did not. CONCLUSION Celecoxib suppressed the proliferation of RASFs by COX-2-independent and PPARgamma-independent induction of apoptosis. Although the mechanism involved remains unclear, celecoxib may have not only antiinflammatory activity, but also a disease-modifying effect on rheumatoid synovial proliferation.
Simulation results on the reactive power compensation process on electric arc furnace using PSCAD-EMTDC

It is very well known that electric arc furnace as a three-phase charge ? one of the most important generators of harmonic currents, reactive power and unbalanced conditions in electrical power systems. To study the effect of the reactive power compensation installation, it is necessary to know the values of the electrical parameters of the arc furnace electrical installation as well as how the arc can be modelled. To simulate the electrical installation function it is necessary to use highly performing models of the electric arc. There are many models of the electric arc presented in the literature but from results using these models the authors consider that the three-phase electric arc is a balanced charge. This paper presents the reactive power values obtained by simulation for different steps of the reactive power compensation installation under the hypothesis that harmonics filters are connected. The simulations are performed using Power System Computer Aided Design (PSCAD)/Electro-Magnetic Transients in DC (EMTDC) program.
Data Sharing Mechanisms for Parallel Graph Algorithms on the Intel SCC

On many-core processors that do not provide hard-ware cache coherence, using shared memory in parallel computations is challenging. Reverting to pure message passing would avoid consistency issues, but replicating large shared datasets by messages is less efficient than accessing them directly through shared memory. The TACO-MESH framework provides lightweight remote method calls and shared objects with software-managed consistency. This paper presents experience from porting a graph partitioning algorithm to the framework. A performance evaluation on the experimental Intel SCC processor, which has no hardware cache coherence, shows that parallelization can be efficient despite the overhead of software-level consistency management.
Rabeprazole: the role of proton pump inhibitors in Helicobacter pylori eradication

Proton pump inhibitors have become one of the cornerstones in the treatment of Helicobacter pylori infection. Rabeprazole (Pariet®) is a substituted benzimidazole proton pump inhibitor with potent gastric acid suppression properties. Its high acid–base dissociation constant allows activation over a broader pH range, resulting in quick, irreversible binding to the H+/K+-ATPase pump, and a more rapid onset of action compared with omeprazole, lansoprazole and pantoprazole. Unlike other proton pump inhibitors, the metabolism of rabeprazole is primarily via a nonenzymatic reduction to the thioether derivative, and the cytochrome P450 isoenzyme 2C19 is only partly involved in its metabolism. The effect of genetic polymorphism in cytochrome P450 isoenzyme 2C19 on the pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamics of rabeprazole is therefore limited. In humans, once-daily dosing of 5–40 mg of rabeprazole inhibits gastric acid secretion in a dose-dependent manner. In vitro studies have shown that rabeprazole possesses more potent antibacterial properties against the growth of H. pylori than other proton pump inhibitors. Furthermore, its thioether derivative has more potent inhibitory in vitro activity against the growth and motility of clarithromycin-resistant H. pylori than other proton pump inhibitors or commonly used antimicrobials. Despite these inherent favorable characteristics of rabeprazole, randomized controlled trials have largely shown equivalence amongst proton pump inhibitors when used with two antibiotics in the eradication of H. pylori, with cure rates of 75–89% on an intent-to-treat basis. However, rabeprazole appears to consistently achieve such comparable eradication rates even when used at reduced doses (10 mg twice daily) as part of clarithromycin-based triple therapy.
Automated cardiac sarcomere analysis from second harmonic generation images

Abstract. Automatic quantification of cardiac muscle properties in tissue sections might provide important information related to different types of diseases. Second harmonic generation (SHG) imaging provides a stain-free microscopy approach to image cardiac fibers that, combined with our methodology of the automated measurement of the ultrastructure of muscle fibers, computes a reliable set of quantitative image features (sarcomere length, A-band length, thick–thin interaction length, and fiber orientation). We evaluated the performance of our methodology in computer-generated muscle fibers modeling some artifacts that are present during the image acquisition. Then, we also evaluated it by comparing it to manual measurements in SHG images from cardiac tissue of fetal and adult rabbits. The results showed a good performance of our methodology at high signal-to-noise ratio of 20 dB. We conclude that our automated measurements enable reliable characterization of cardiac fiber tissues to systematically study cardiac tissue in a wide range of conditions.
The effect of high-fat diet on the composition of the gut microbiota in cloned and non-cloned pigs of lean and obese phenotype

The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of high-far-high-energy diet on cloned and non-cloned domestic pigs of both lean and obese phenotype and to evaluate if the lean cloned pigs had a lower inter-individual variation as compared with non-cloned pigs. The microbiota of colon and terminal ileum was investigated in cloned and non-cloned pigs that received a high-far-high-energy diet with either restricted or ad libitum access to feed, resulting in lean and obese phenotypes, respectively. The fecal microbiota of lean pigs was investigated by terminal restriction fragment length polymorphism (T-RFLP). The intestinal microbiota of lean and obese cloned and non-cloned pigs was analyzed by quantitative real time PCR and a novel high-throughput qPCR platform (Fluidigm). Principal component analysis (PCA) of the T-RFLP profiles revealed that lean cloned and non-cloned pigs had a different overall composition of their gut microbiota. The colon of lean cloned pigs contained relatively more bacteria belonging to the phylum Firmicutes and less from the phylum Bacteroidetes than obese cloned pigs as estimated by qPCR. Fluidigm qPCR results revealed differences in specific bacterial groups in the gut microbiota of both lean and obese pigs. Our results suggest that high-far-high-energy diet is associated with changes in the gut microbiota even in the absence of obesity. Overall, the cloned pigs had a different gut microbiota from that of non-cloned pigs. To our knowledge this is the first study to investigate the gut microbiota of cloned domestic pigs of lean and obese phenotype.