Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Effect of monogastric and ruminant gastrointestinal conditions on in vitro aflatoxin B1 adsorption ability by a montmorillonite

The main objective of this study was to evaluate the interference of environment components on the in vitro evaluation of aflatoxin B1 adsorption capacity of sodium bentonite under simulated gastrointestinal conditions of monogastric and ruminant animals. Sodium bentonite showed a high aflatoxin B1 affinity with all of the assays. Langmuir or sigmoid isotherms were found in different assays. Both the affinities and the surface excesses at monolayer saturation were affected by the buffer components. The specific influence of ions in each buffer solution was investigated. A significant decrease in the surface excess at monolayer saturation was observed under ionic strength control. A change in the isotherm shape from sigmoidal to Langmuir was observed with the increase in the sodium chloride concentration. This was attributed to the decrease in the importance of lateral interaction between adsorbed toxin molecules compared with surface-molecules interactions under a high salt coverage. The presence of rumen fluid components in the adsorption environment decreased the aflatoxin B1 maximum adsorption capacity of sodium bentonite. Despite the high affinity of this adsorbent to capture aflatoxin B1, different substances present in the environment could affect the adsorption capacity, at least at low toxin concentrations that mimic chronic exposure. The environment of the gastrointestinal tract, in either monogastric or ruminant animals, affect in vivo aflatoxin B1 adsorption by sodium bentonite and should be taken into account when an in vitro performance evaluation is done.
Prefrontal Control of the Amygdala

Accumulating evidence indicates that phobic and posttraumatic anxiety disorders likely result from a failure to extinguish fear memories. Extinction normally depends on a new learning that competes with the original fear memory and is driven by medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC) projections to the amygdala. Although mPFC stimulation was reported to inhibit the central medial (CEm) amygdala neurons that mediate fear responses via their brainstem and hypothalamic projections, it is unclear how this inhibition is generated. Because the mPFC has very sparse projections to CEm output neurons, the mPFC-evoked inhibition of the CEm is likely indirect. Thus, this study tested whether it resulted from a feedforward inhibition of basolateral amygdala (BLA) neurons that normally relay sensory inputs to the CEm. However, our results indicate that mPFC inputs excite rather than inhibit BLA neurons, implying that the inhibition of CEm cells is mediated by an active gating mechanism downstream of the BLA.
Effect of pre-milking teat dipping on clinical mastitis on dairy farms in England

Summary Two trials were conducted to investigate the effect of pre-milking teat dipping (PMTD) on mastitis caused by environmentally associated pathogens. The first trial showed considerable variation in effect between herds, so a second, larger trial was conducted. In this second trial a comparison of the rate of clinical mastitis was made between nine matched pairs of dairy herds over 24 weeks of the winter housed period. All herds were near the national average incidence of mastitis before the trial. One member of each pair used their normal method of udder preparation throughout the trial and disinfected all teats after milking with an iodophor disinfectant. In the other nine herds the preparation of all teats, at all milkings, included dipping in a 0·25% available iodine disinfectant, which was left on the teat for 30 s. Every teat was then wiped with a paper towel before cluster attachment. There was no difference in the overall rate of mastitis or the incidence of mastitis caused by any particular type or group of pathogens between the trial groups of herds. Both groups showed a reduction in mastitis compared with the previous winter. Although there were apparent benefits in some pairs of herds there was no overall benefit. In comparison with the previous winter the control herds reported a greater reduction in mastitis than the PMTD herds. The effect of trial supervision on normal practice gave a benefit which overwhelmed any effect of PMTD. There appeared to be no effect of PMTD on the total bacterial count, cell count or iodine content of bulk tank milk. There appears to be no justification for wholesale use of PMTD although most farms and risk groups could benefit from better attention to conventional mastitis control.
A New Topology of Cascaded Multilevel Converters With Reduced Number of Components for High-Voltage Applications

In this paper, a new topology of a cascaded multilevel converter is proposed. The proposed topology is based on a cascaded connection of single-phase submultilevel converter units and full-bridge converters. Compared to the conventional multilevel converter, the number of dc voltage sources, switches, installation area, and converter cost is significantly reduced as the number of voltage steps increases. In order to calculate the magnitudes of the required dc voltage sources, three methods are proposed. Then, the structure of the proposed topology is optimized in order to utilize a minimum number of switches and dc voltage sources, and produce a high number of output voltage steps. The operation and performance of the proposed multilevel converter is verified by simulation results and compared with experimental results of a single-phase 49-level converter, too.
THE IMPACT OF LOW INTENSITY SPECIFIC AND NONSPECIFIC STRENGTH-ENDURANCE TRAINING ON SUBMAXIMAL WORK CAPACITY IN TRAINED MALE ROWERS

The aim of the current study was to compare the effects of general strength endurance and specific strength endurance training cycle to rowing performance in highly trained male rowers. Twelve international and national level male rowers (21.25±1.76 years; height 188.3±4.92 cm; body mass 84.07±5.61 kg; training experience 7.38±2.70 years) took part in this investigation. The first group (n=6) performed low intensity strength endurance trainings using rowing ergometer for specific exercises (Specific group; S), and the second group (n=6) trained for strength endurance without rowing ergometer (Gymgroup; G). The experimental period lasted for four weeks. Stepwise incremental test was performed on the Concept II rowing ergometer (Morrisville, USA) before the first training week. After incremental ergometer test, subjects performed a constant 95% of Pa max test until exhaustion. This test was done 24 hours after incremental test and was performed before Week 1 and after Week 4. The stroke rates of the 95% Pa max test were not significantly different (p>0.05) between the two groups during both testing sessions. Despite the fact that both groups improved their 95% Pa max test results, no significant differences between the groups were found (p>0.05). However, test result was significantly improved only in G group (from 362±108 to 416.5±133 s), while no significant changes were observed in 95% Pa max test result in S group (from 372.8±132.3 to 442.3±153.1 s). No other significant differences were observed either between the two groups or between the two testing sessions (p>0.05). In conclusion, a 4 week non-specific strength endurance training program has an advantage over the specific strength endurance training on rowing ergometer in developing aerobic capacity in male rowers.
Behavioral Trait of Morningness-Eveningness in Association with Articular and Spinal Diseases in a Population

Earlier studies have revealed that the more the preference to schedule daily activities towards the evening hours is, the higher the odds for a range of health hazards are. Therefore, we wanted to analyze, whether the behavioral trait of morningness-eveningness is associated with articular and spinal diseases or those with musculoskeletal disorders. Participants (n = 6089), as part of the National FINRISK 2007 Study, were derived from the general population, aged 25 to 74 years, living in Finland. Chronotype was assessed based on six items from the original Horne-Östberg Morningness-Eveningness Questionnaire. Information about risk factors and the diagnoses of articular and spinal diseases were based on the self-reported information. Our results suggest that Evening-types have higher odds for articular and spinal diseases as compared with Morning-types, and this risk is heightened especially regarding spinal disease and backache (odds ratios of 1.8 to 2.1, and 1.6 to 1.8, respectively) and remains significant after controlling for the sex, age, education, civil status, physical activity, alcohol use, and smoking, and additionally for the body-mass index, insufficient sleep, or depressive symptoms.
Micronutrient supplementation in the AIDS diarrhoea-wasting syndrome in Zambia: a randomized controlled trial.

OBJECTIVE As HIV has spread through sub-Saharan Africa, persistent diarrhoea has emerged as a major problem in hospitals and in the community in severely affected areas. We have previously demonstrated that antiprotozoal therapy with albendazole reduces diarrhoea in AIDS patients in urban Zambia. This trial was designed to test the hypothesis that the clinical response to albendazole might be improved by oral micronutrient supplementation. DESIGN Randomized, placebo-controlled trial. SETTING Home care service of Ndola Central Hospital, Zambia. PATIENTS HIV-seropositive patients with persistent diarrhoea. INTERVENTION Patients were randomized to albendazole plus vitamins A, C and E, selenium and zinc orally or albendazole plus placebo, for 2 weeks. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES Time with diarrhoea following completion of treatment; mortality; adverse events. RESULTS Serum vitamin A and E concentrations before treatment were powerful predictors of early mortality, but supplementation did not reduce time with diarrhoea or mortality during the first month, even after taking into account initial vitamin A or E concentrations, CD4 cell count or clinical markers of illness severity. Serum concentrations of vitamins A and E did not increase significantly in supplemented patients compared with those given placebo, and there were no changes in CD4 cell count or haematological parameters. No adverse events were detected except those attributable to underlying disease. CONCLUSIONS Although micronutrient deficiency is predictive of early death in Zambian patients with the diarrhoea-wasting syndrome, short-term oral supplementation does not overcome it nor influence morbidity or mortality.
Use of HbA1c in Screening for Diabetes

We conclude that renal damage is common in African-Americans with diabetes, even in recently diagnosed patients without hypertension. Our criteria for albuminuria are standard, but even a cutoff of 50 mg/g would identify an 11% prevalence of microalbuminuria among normotensive patients with duration of diabetes < 1 year. The presence of renal damage in our analysis is comparable to that in a European population with type 2 diabetes (3). However, the basis for the discrepancy between these results and those of Chaiken et al. remains unclear. Harris et al. (4) estimate that diabetes may begin 9-12 years before diagnosis; the observations by Chaiken et al. could reflect earlier diagnosis in New York than in Atlanta or Denmark. The discrepancy could also reflect genetic differences in susceptibility to diabetic nephropathy. Clearly, aggressive screening is needed to permit early detection and appropriate treatment.
Non-linear compensation techniques for coherent fibre transmission

Thanks to coherent detection and digital signal processing (DSP), linear distortions such as chromatic dispersion (CD) and polarisation mode dispersion (PMD) can in principle be completely compensated for in high-speed optical transmission. And indeed, effective algorithms have been devised and extensively investigated that allow CD- and PMD-resilient transmission of high-speed signals over long distances, leaving optical noise accumulation and non-linear impairments as the factors ultimately limiting reach. Considerable research has been dedicated in the last couple of years to devise methods to increase the non-linear tolerance of optical signals by means of digital signal processing. In this review paper, we present an overview of the most promising techniques, show some examples of their application and outline the status of research on this important topic.
The Leaky Mode Resonance Condition Ensures 100% Diffraction Efficiency of Mirror-Based Resonant Gratings

The resonance condition of a leaky mode propagating in a dielectric multilayer, which is supported by a mirror and excited by a free-space wave from the cover medium, is simply derived from the phase of the reflection at the mirror and cover interfaces. The leaky mode resonance is used to obtain 100% first-order diffraction efficiency in a reflection resonant grating by destructive interference in the direction of Fresnel reflection. A number of examples support the validity of this condition for high efficiency and illustrate the usefulness of this intelligible representation of the diffraction phenomena for the synthesis of novel diffractive elements.
Nebulized opioids use in COPD.

OBJECTIVE To evaluate the role of nebulized opioids in COPD. METHODS A MEDLINE search was completed to obtain pertinent clinical literature. Key search terms included the following: nebulizer, opioids, COPD, dyspnea, morphine, and hydromorphone. RESULTS Currently, the evidence in the literature is lacking regarding placebo-controlled studies to support nebulized morphine for the relief of dyspnea in patients with COPD. The studies reviewed varied considerably in the dose, opioid used, administration schedule, and methodology. One study found improved exercise capacity in 11 patients not reproducible in a larger sample, and another study found benefit in 54 terminal patients. All other studies found no benefit. CONCLUSIONS The recently published Global Initiative for Lung Disease guidelines have specifically stated that opioids are contraindicated in COPD management due to the potential respiratory depression and worsening hypercapnia. Nebulized opioids should be discouraged, as current data do not support their use.
Visual Comparison of Random-Dot Patterns: Evidence concerning a Fixed Visual Association between Features and Feature-Relations

Subjects made Same—Different judgements on pairs of briefly presented random-dot patterns: they had to judge in separate experiments either whether the members of each pair were identical in shape or whether the number of dots in each pattern was the same. When one pattern was the rotated version of the other, the proportion of Same responses varied with the angle of rotation in the same way for the two types of judgement. From these and other data obtained with pattern pairs in which members differed in shape and in dot-number, the following inferences are made. First, in making both kinds of Same judgements, a fixed visual association is established between local features (dot-clusters within the pattern) and certain spatial relations between these local features. Thus when spatial-relation information is in principle irrelevant to the pattern-comparison task, as in judgements of dot-number, this information is not separated from the relevant local-feature information in the pattern representation. Second, in both tasks, a common description of the patterns in terms of local features and feature-relations is used in making a Same judgement. Third, some shape discrimination independent of orientation and some dot-number discrimination independent of shape are each the result of the process mediating Different decisions.
Synovial joint lubrication — does nature teach more effective engineering lubrication strategies?

Abstract Nature shows numerous examples of systems which show energy efficiency, elegance in their design and optimum use of materials. Biomimetics is an emerging field of research in engineering and successes have been documented in the diverse fields of robotics, mechanics, materials engineering, and many more. To date little biomimetics research has been directed towards tribology in terms of transferring technologies from biological systems into engineering applications. The potential for biomimicry has been recognized in terms of replicating natural lubricants but this system reviews the potential for mimicking the synovial joint as an efficient and durable tribological system for potential engineering systems. The use of materials and the integration of materials technology and fluid/surface interactions are central to the discussion.
Recommendations for Effective Newborn Screening Communication: Results of Focus Groups With Parents, Providers, and Experts

OBJECTIVES. The aims of this study were to determine parent and provider knowledge and awareness of newborn screening; to gather opinions from parents, providers, and newborn screening professionals about the content and timing of newborn screening education; and to use consensus data to formulate recommendations and to develop educational materials for parents and providers. METHODS. We conducted 22 focus groups and 3 individual interviews between October 2003 and May 2004, with English- and Spanish-speaking parents of infants <1 year of age who had experience with initial testing, retesting, or false-positive screenings; health professionals who provide prenatal care or health care for newborns; and state newborn screening program health professionals. RESULTS. Parents and providers had limited knowledge and awareness about newborn screening practices. Parents wanted brief to-the-point information on newborn screening and its benefits, including the possible need for retesting and the importance of returning promptly for retesting if initial results are abnormal. Parents wanted the information orally from the primary care provider. Parents, providers, and newborn screening professionals all thought that an accompanying concise, easy-to-read brochure with contact information would be helpful. All focus group participants thought that parents should receive this information before the birth of the infant, preferably in the third trimester of pregnancy. Providers wanted a brief checklist of information and resources to prepare them to educate parents effectively. CONCLUSIONS. We recommend prenatal and primary care providers be more involved in educating parents about newborn screening. Professional societies and state health officials should work together to encourage parent and provider education. User-friendly patient and provider education materials, such as those we developed, could form the basis for this educational approach.
Codfish allergy in adults Identification and diagnosis

Ten adult patients with a medical history of immediate allergic reactions following ingestion of minute amounts of codfish were examined together with 27 control subjects (8 nonatopics, 7 pollen allergies, and 12 suffering from atopic dermatitis) all regularly ingesting codfish without experiencing reactions. All 37 subjects were evaluated by skin prick test, RAST, and histamine release test in order to determine the value of these commonly used diagnostic tests. The results were compared to titrated, oral, double‐blind, placebo‐controlled food challenges (DBPCFCs) with fresh codfish undertaken in the 10 patients, whereas all control subjects were classified as challenge‐negative according to their questionnaires. Totally, 7 of 10 medical histories were confirmed by DBPCFC, and in these most of the reported symptoms proved reproducible. Oropharyngeal itching and swelling occurred as the first symptom, always preceding the onset of any accompanying symptom. For identification of DBPCFC‐positive subjects, skin prick test and RAST proved to be the most sensitive tests (7/7), and all tests showed specificities of 90–97%. The skin prick test still seems reliable but does not, however, exclude the need for DBPCFC.
Comparison of the incidence of influenza in relation to climate factors during 2000–2007 in five countries

Relatively few international comparisons of the incidence of influenza related to climate parameters have been performed, particularly in the Eastern hemisphere. In this study, the incidence of influenza and climate data such as temperature, relative humidity, and rainfall, from cities at different latitudes with contrasting climates: Singapore, Hong Kong (China), Ulaanbaatar (Mongolia), Vancouver (Canada), and three Australian cities (Brisbane, Melbourne and Sydney) were examined to determine whether there was any overall relationship between the incidence of influenza and climate. Applying time‐series analyses to the more comprehensive datasets, it was found that relative humidity was associated with the incidence of influenza A in Singapore, Hong Kong, Brisbane, and Vancouver. In the case of influenza B, the mean temperature was the key climate variable associated with the incidence of influenza in Hong Kong, Brisbane, Melbourne, and Vancouver. Rainfall was not significantly correlated with the incidence of influenza A or B in any of these cities. J. Med. Virol. 82:1958–1965, 2010. © 2010 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Contact resistance of thin metal film contacts

To be able to reduce the size of products having electronic devices, it becomes more and more important to miniaturize the electromechanical parts of the system. The use of micromechanical connectors and contact structures implies the need of methods for estimating the properties of such devices. This work will, by use of finite element modeling, treat the influence of a thin film constituting at least one of the contacting members of an electrical contact. The error introduced by using the traditional Maxwell/Holm contact constriction resistance theory will be investigated. Numerical methods are used to present a way to approximate the total resistance for the thin metal film contact
Infection with Borrelia recurrentis: pathogenesis of fever and petechiae.

Patients infected with the spirochete Borrelia recurrentis were studied to determine the cause of fever and mechanism of petechia formation. The limulus test for endotoxin was applied to plasma. Spirochetes were concentrated from the blood by differential centrifugation and tested for endotoxin activity. Endotoxemia was detected in only seven of 28 patients tested and was associated with other bacterial infections and marked liver dysfunction. Concentrated spirochetes prepared from the blood of three patients produced fever in rabbits, and this material remained pyrogenic after heating to 100 C for 15 min. Endotoxin-tolerant rabbits did not develop febrile responses to spirochetes, but the spirochetes neither produced positive limulus tests nor prepared rabbits for local Shwartzman reactions. After sonication and centrifugation of spirochete suspensions, pyrogenicity was found only in the sediment. Petechiae, which were observed in 37 (41% 0) of 90 patients, were biopsied, and their presence was correlated with clinical and laboratory data. Skin biopsies revealed red cells and spirochetes within the dermis without vasculitis or thrombosis. The mean platelet count of 37 patients with petechiae, 34 x 109/liter, was significantly lower than that of 48 x 109/liter in 53 patients without petechiae (P < 0.05). These findings suggested that fever in B. recurrentis infection is caused by a heat-stable, nonendotoxic, particulate pyrogen of the spirochete and that petechiae are the result of thrombocytopenia.