Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Curcumin in Reduction Size of Myoma Uteri

Objective: The objectives of the study were to determine effects of curcumin in decreasing size of leiomyoma and to determine adverse effects of curcumin. Materials and Methods: The study was a prospective study conducted in reproductive women with leiomyoma in Bhumibol Adulyadej Hospital. 35 women with 81 leiomyoma lumps were recruited to participate by convenience sampling. Ultrasound measurement size of leiomyoma was done before treatment with curcumin. Patients were taken curcumin 1,200 milligrams orally per day for 6 months. Ultrasound measurement size of leiomyoma was repeated at 3 and 6 months after curcumin was started. Main outcomes measure was size of leiomyoma. Size of leiomyoma were compared between before and after taken curcumin for 6 months. Results: The mean diameter of leiomyoma was statistically different at before and after 3 (4.74 ± 2.78 centimeters VS 4.64 ± 2.75 centimeters) and 6 months (4.74 ± 2.78 centimeters VS 4.46 ± 2.61 centimeters) curcumin intake. And both mean volume of leiomyoma was statistically different at before and after 3 and 6 months curcumin intake. Adverse effect of curcumin was not found. Conclusions: Curcumin decreased size of myoma uteri after taken 6 months with statistically significant.
Bacterial and Fungal Communities Are Differentially Modified by Melatonin in Agricultural Soils Under Abiotic Stress

An extensive body of evidence from this last decade indicates that melatonin enhances plant resistance to several biotic and abiotic stressors. This has led to an interest in the use of melatonin in agriculture to reduce negative physiological effects from environmental stresses that affect yield and crop quality. However, there are no reports regarding the effects of melatonin on soil microbial communities under abiotic stress, despite the importance of microbes for plant root health and function. Three agricultural soils associated with different land usage histories (pasture, canola or wheat) were placed under abiotic stress by cadmium (100 or 280 mg/kg) or salt (4 or 7 g/kg) and treated with melatonin (0.2 and 4 mg/kg). Automated Ribosomal Intergenic Spacer Analysis (ARISA) was used to generate Operational Taxonomic Units (OTU) for microbial community analysis in each soil. Significant differences in richness (α diversity) and community structures (β diversity) were observed between bacterial and fungal assemblages across all three soils, demonstrating the effect of melatonin on soil microbial communities under abiotic stress. The analysis also indicated that the microbial response to melatonin is governed by the type of soil and history. The effects of melatonin on soil microbes needs to be regarded in potential future agricultural applications.
Material’s Volumetric-Flow Rate (MVR) as a Unification Parameter in Asphalt Rheology and Quality Control / Quality Assurance Tool for High Temperature Performance Grading

Abstract Rheological data of unmodified and polymer-modified asphalts are conventionally obtained from dynamic mechanical characterization and expressed in terms of sets of curves showing the variation of viscoelastic properties with frequency. Using the conventional melt flow indexer, the material’s volumetric-flow rate MVR (in cm3 / 10 minutes) through a predefined die under conditions of constant temperature and stress when obtained for the same asphalts, shows a direct relationship with the dynamic data. The MVR value helps in unifying the sets of dynamic data curves of |G*|, G” and |G* |/sin δ versus frequency in the case of unmodified asphalts, polymer-modified asphalts and asphalt mastics. The unification technique has a sound theoretical basis and the unified curves have far-reaching implications. Since MVR is so simple to determine quite accurately on a relatively inexpensive, easy-to-use flow measurement device (FMD), this parameter can be generated on paving sites or at refineries, if needed, rather than in research laboratories as is the case with the fundamental rheological parameters. The MVR can then be used as an excellent indicator of the fundamental rheological parameters through the use of the unified curves. The MVR can be utilized to accurately determine the currently used high temperature performance grade specification of paving asphalt. On account of the simplicity in obtaining this specification value from the MVR, it may be routinely used for quality control / quality assurance purposes. It can also be used as a rapid product development / formulation tool.
Adaptação do índice de alimentação saudável ao guia alimentar da população brasileira

Foi realizada avaliacao do consumo alimentar de 502 individuos, de ambos os sexos (54, desvio-padrao=10anos), na cidade de Botucatu (SP) ano de 2006. O metodo utilizado para estimar a ingestao foi o questionariorecordatorio de 24 horas e os alimentos relatados foram convertidos em porcoes, pelo valor energetico, deacordo com os grupos alimentares da Pirâmide Alimentar Adaptada. Alem disso, foram avaliados os nutrientes(colesterol, gordura total e saturada) e variedade da dieta. Foi realizada analise estatistica descritiva e os valoresintermediarios da pontuacao dos componentes foram calculados por razao e proporcao.
DURATION OF HOSPITAL STAY AND MORTALITY IN THE MEDICAL WARDS OF AHMADU BELLO UNIVERSITY TEACHING HOSPITAL, KADUNA

Background: Many factors affect mortality among hospitalized patients. These include: - age, sex, diagnosis, types and complexity of co-morbidities, social and economic conditions of the patient and duration of hospital stay. Duration of hospital stay as it affects mortality is studied on our medical wards. Methods: A two year review of admissions into our medical wards between June 1999 and June 2001 was carried out. Medical records of patients as well as the discharge/death register were used. The SPSS version 10 was used to analyse the data Results: A total of 179 patients with age range of 12-85 years, mean age of 44.46 years were studied. Twenty (11.2%) of them died. Sixty-five percent of all deaths had occurred by the fifth day of admission, only 15% of all deaths occurred after the 10th day of admission. The mean duration of hospital stay for those who died was significantly shorter (P Conclusion: The results suggest that duration of hospital stay is strongly linked with the likelihood of death among other factors. Death occurring mostly within the first few days of admission. Improved public health and education, raising the socio-economic status of people and improving the standards of our healthcare facilities and personnel would prevent a large proportion of deaths on our medical wards. Keywords: Hospital stay, mortality, medical ward Annals of African Medicine Vol.2(2) 2003: 68-71
Renin‐angiotensin system component gene polymorphisms in Japanese maintenance haemodialysis patients

Summary: The renin‐angiotension system (RAS) component gene polymorphisms was examined in 216 patients undergoing maintenance haemodialysis (HD) therapy and in 208 control subjects. the RAS polymorphisms selected for analysis were angiotensin I converting enzyme (ACE) I/D, angiotensinogen (Agt) T235/M235, angiotensin II type 1 receptor (AGT1R) A1166/C1166. the control allelic frequencies was ACE I/D (0.63/0.37), Agt T235/M235 (0.16/0.84), and AGT1R A1166/C1166 (0.94/0.06). Recently, relationships between ACE I/D and the progression of renal disease attract great attention in Japanese and Caucasian populations. ACE D allele was expected to be more frequent in HD population. However, no accumulation of ACE D allele or Agt T235 allele, AFT1R C1166 allele in Japanese end‐stage renal disease (ESRD) subjects was detected. to explain the paradoxical result of positive association of ACE D allele with progression of renal disease and no bias of ACE genotype in ESRD subjects, further investigation with systematic prospective study regarding the change of ACE genotype distribution around the period of entering dialysis therapy is required.
Comparative analyses of saprotrophy in Salisapilia sapeloensis and diverse plant pathogenic oomycetes reveal lifestyle-specific gene expression

Oomycetes include many well-studied, devastating plant pathogens. Across oomycete diversity, plant-infecting lineages are interspersed by non-pathogenic ones. Unfortunately, our understanding of the evolution of lifestyle switches is hampered by a scarcity of data on the molecular biology of saprotrophic oomycetes, ecologically important primary colonizers of dead tissue that can serve as informative reference points for understanding the evolution of pathogens. Here, we established Salisapilia sapeloensis growing on axenic litter as a tractable system for the study of saprotrophic oomycetes. We generated multiple transcriptomes from S. sapeloensis and compared them to (a) 22 oomycete genomes and (b) the transcriptomes of eight pathogenic oomycetes grown under 13 conditions (three pathogenic lifestyles, six hosts/substrates, and four tissues). From these analyses we obtained a global perspective on the gene expression signatures of oomycete lifestyles. Our data reveal that oomycete saprotrophs and pathogens use generally similar molecular mechanisms for colonization, but exhibit distinct expression patterns. We identify S. sapeloensis’ specific array and expression of carbohydrate-active enzymes and regulatory differences in pathogenicity-associated factors, including the virulence factor EpiC2B. Further, S. sapeloensis was found to express only a small repertoire of effector genes. In conclusion, our analyses reveal lifestyle-specific gene regulatory signatures and suggest that, in addition to variation in gene content, shifts in gene regulatory networks might underpin the evolution of oomycete lifestyles.
Vane Rheometry with a Large, Finite Gap

Abstract The vane geometry with a large gap is used to determine the Newtonian, non-Newtonian and viscoelastic properties of complex fluids. We show that when this geometry is carefully characterized, it can be used for precise rheometry. A novel effective cylinder approximation is used to obtain the shear rate and shear stress factors. The effective radius is found to be close to the height of the triangle formed by joining the tips of adjacent blades. This result differs significantly from that of previous work. Flow visualization has been used to confirm that the stream lines bend towards the centre between the blades. These factors can be used to determine the flow curves of non-Newtonian liquids, using Krieger’s power law expansion. The standard procedure for using the vane to determine the yield stress is also carefully investigated and alternative procedures are suggested.
GEOMETRİ DERSLERİNDE DRAMA YÖNTEMİNİN ETKİLİĞİNİN DEĞERLENDİRİLMESİ

Bu arastirmada geometri dersinde drama yontemi ile geleneksel yontemin bilissel alan basamaklarina gore ogrenci basarilarinin degerlendirilmesine calisilmistir. Yapilan arastirma kapsaminda Ilkogretim altinci sinif Matematik dersinin Olculer unitesi secilmistir. Secilen unite kontrol grubuna geleneksel ogretim yontemi, deney grubuna ise drama yontemi kullanilarak islenmistir. Ogrencilerin arastirma sonunda nasil bir farklilasma gosterdiklerini tespit etmek amaciyla unite basinda ve unite sonunda olmak uzere daha onceden Bilissel Alanin “Bilgi”, “Kavrama” ve “Uygulama” basamaklarina gore hazirlanan ogrenci basari testi uygulanmistir. Basari testleri vasitasiyla elde edilen veriler amaclara uygun olarak frekans (f), yuzde (%), aritmetik ortalama (), standart sapma (ss) ve t testi kullanilarak analiz edilmistir.
Brain age estimation is a sensitive marker of processing speed in the early course of multiple sclerosis

Background and objectives Cognitive deficits in MS are common, also early in the disease course. We aimed to identify if estimated brain age from MRI could serve as an imaging marker for early cognitive symptoms in a longitudinal MS study. Methods A group of 76 MS patients (mean age 34 years, 71% females, 96% relapsing-remitting) was examined 1, 2 and 5 years after diagnosis. A machine-learning model using Freesurfer-processed T1-weighted brain MRI data from 3208 healthy controls, was applied to develop a prediction model for brain age. The difference between estimated and chronological brain age was calculated (brain age gap). Tests of memory, attention and executive functions were performed. Associations between brain age gap and cognitive performance were assessed using linear mixed effects (LME) models and corrected for multiple testing. Results LME models revealed a significant association between the Color Naming condition of Color-Word Interference Test and brain age gap (t=2.84, p=0.005). Conclusions In this study, decreased information processing speed correlated with increased brain age gap. Our findings suggest that brain age estimation using MRI provides a useful semi-automated approach applying machine learning for individual level brain phenotyping and correlates with information processing speed in the early course of MS.
Existence and concentration properties of ground state solutions for elliptic systems

ABSTRACT This article is concerned with following Hamiltonian elliptic system with gradient term: where ϵ is a small positive parameter, b is a constant vector, , V is allowed to be sign-changing and . Using a much more direct approach, we study above system and prove first the existence of ground state solutions for each , is a constant which depends on N,V,Q and F. We consider further the exponential decay and concentration phenomena of ground states for the system. Particularly, we show that these ground states concentrate around a global minimum point of the linear potential V or a global maximum point of the nonlinear potential Q as .
Demography, Diagnosis and Complications of Spinal Cord Injury Patients in a Rehabilitation Center of Bangladesh

Background: Spinal cord injury and its health related complications pose a major impact on the overall morbidity and mortality as well as cause economic constrains. It was aimed at looking into the demographic distribution, diagnosis, as well as complications in patients with spinal cord injury. Methods: The study was conducted at Centre for the Rehabilitation of the Paralysed (CRP) between 2012 and 2013 from 201 respondents with the help of a structured preformed pretested questionnaire by face to face interview. Results: Out of 201 respondents 176 (87.6%) were male and 25 (12.4%) were female; majority of the patients were in their 3rd decade which consisted 28.6%, followed by 27.4% in between 21-30 years and 26.8% in between 41-50. Most of the respondents of this study had traumatic paraplegia (56.5%) and Buttock was found to be the predominant site for developing site pressure sore as evident form 67.5%. Conclusion: Productive males are more prone to spinal cord injury and the most common diagnosis is paraplegia with the most risky area is buttock for developing pressure sore. The findings may add in the way of developing awareness among stakeholders regarding demography, diagnosis and the pattern of the complications in a country like Bangladesh.
Oxidative Stress Produced by Hyperthyroidism Status Induces the Antioxidant Enzyme Transcription through the Activation of the Nrf-2 Factor in Lymphoid Tissues of Balb/c Mice

Hyperthyroidism is an endocrine disorder characterized by excessive secretion of thyroid hormones T3 and T4. Thyroid hormones exert pleiotropic actions on numerous tissues and induce an overall increase in metabolism, with an increase in energy demand and oxygen consumption. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of hyperthyroidism on the production of reactive oxygen species (ROS) in lymph node and spleen cells of euthyroid and hyperthyroid mice, analyzing antioxidant mechanisms involved in the restitution of the cellular redox state. For this, thirty female Balb/c (H-2d) mice were randomly divided into two groups: euthyroid (by treatment with placebo) and hyperthyroid (by treatment with 12 mg/l of T4 in drinking water for 30 days). We found a significant increase in ROS and an increase in the genomic and protein expression of the antioxidant enzymes catalase (CAT) and glutathione peroxidase-1 (GPx-1) in lymph node and spleen cells of hyperthyroid mice. In vitro treatment with H2O2 (250 μM) of the lymphoid cells of euthyroid mice increased the expression levels of CAT and GPx-1. The hyperthyroidism increased the phosphorylation levels of Nrf2 (nuclear factor erythroid 2-related factor) and the kinase activity of protein kinase C (PKC) and extracellular signal-regulated kinase (ERK). Additionally, we found an increase in the expression of the classic isoenzymes of PKCα, β and γ. In conclusion, these results indicated that the increase in ROS found in the hyperthyroid state induces the antioxidant enzyme transcription through the activation of the Nrf-2 factor in lymphoid tissues. This shows the influence of hyperthyroidism on the regulation of the cellular antioxidant system.
Revisiting the reduction of stochastic models of genetic feedback loops with fast promoter switching

Propensity functions of the Hill type are commonly used to model transcriptional regulation in stochastic models of gene expression. This leads to an effective reduced master equation for the mRNA and protein dynamics only. Based on deterministic considerations, it is often stated or tacitly assumed that such models are valid in the limit of rapid promoter switching. Here, starting from the chemical master equation describing promoter-protein interactions, mRNA transcription, protein translation, and decay, we prove that in the limit of fast promoter switching, the distribution of protein numbers is different than that given by standard stochastic models with Hill-type propensities. We show the differences are pronounced whenever the protein-DNA binding rate is much larger than the unbinding rate, a special case of fast promoter switching. Furthermore, we show using both theory and simulations that use of the standard stochastic models leads to drastically incorrect predictions for the switching properties of positive feedback loops and that these differences decrease with increasing mean protein burst size. Our results confirm that commonly used stochastic models of gene regulatory networks are only accurate in a subset of the parameter space consistent with rapid promoter switching. SIGNIFICANCE A large number of models of gene regulatory networks in the literature assume that because promoter switching is fast, then transcriptional regulation can be effectively modeled using Hill functions. Although this approach can be rigorously justified for deterministic models, it is presently unclear if it is also the case for stochastic models. In this article, we prove that this is not the case; i.e., stochastic models of gene regulatory systems, namely those with feedback loops, describing transcriptional regulation using Hill functions are only valid in a subset of parameter conditions consistent with fast promoter switching. We identify parameter regimes where these models are correct and where their predictions cannot be trusted.
Unconventional Cell Division Cycles from Marine-Derived Yeasts

Fungi have been found in every marine habitat that has been explored, however, the diversity and functions of fungi in the ocean are poorly understood. In this study, fungi were cultured from the marine environment in the vicinity of Woods Hole, MA, USA including from plankton, sponge and coral. Our sampling resulted in 36 unique species across 20 genera. We observed many isolates by time-lapse differential interference contrast (DIC) microscopy and analyzed modes of growth and division. Several black yeasts displayed highly unconventional cell division cycles compared to those of traditional model yeast systems. Black yeasts have been found in habitats inhospitable to other life and are known for halotolerance, virulence, and stress-resistance. We find that this group of yeasts also shows remarkable plasticity in terms of cell size control, modes of cell division, and cell polarity. Unexpected behaviors include division through a combination of fission and budding, production of multiple simultaneous buds, and cell division by sequential orthogonal septations. These marine-derived yeasts reveal alternative mechanisms for cell division cycles that seem likely to expand the repertoire of rules established from classic model system yeasts.
Contribution to the Physicochemical and Organoleptic Study of Two Olive Oils of Traditional and Industrial Extraction of the Wilaya of Tlemcen

Virgin olive oil is obtained from the fruit of the olive tree, and only using physical processes, without resorting to refining steps, the absence of the latter allows the olive oil to retain all its antioxidants. This work is a contribution to the characterization of the properties of olive oil in the region of Tlemcen. They relate more particularly to the comparison of the physicochemical properties of two oils, one from traditional extraction and the other from industrial extraction. To do this, the first objective of studies of the two chains of transformation (traditional and industrial) was made followed by a physicochemical and organoleptic comparison of these two oils of olives, to conclude on the advantages and disadvantages of each of the two processes.
Measurement of Serum EGF Levels, a Methodological Approach: Learning What Means Ã¢ÂÂLow-/High-Concentration of EGF In SerumÃ¢ÂÂ. Some Clinical Implications

Background: Although the contribution of platelets to the measured serum EGF levels was reported by Oka since 1983, the majority of reports in healthy donors or patients do not control clotting times during the collection of the sera. This results in a variation of the notified values, additionally to the one already caused by the functional EGF SNP of the gene, that modulates the expression of the molecule. Both issues -platelets and SNP- make the conventional stratification by absolute serum EGF levels not suitable. Within this study we evaluated serum EGF levels in a panel of 105 healthy Cuban donors, balanced by gender and age (from 18-78 years). As a result, a new stratification methodology for the comparison between individuals was proposed. Methods: The EGF was estimated in sera collected at two different clotting times: 1h and 4h. Comparisons between groups were carried out. The estimations, normalized through the calculation of ratios from the two measured levels (r=[EGF]1h/[EGF]4h), were used for the stratification. Results: Differences were found by age (4h, donors younger and older than 45 years, p=0.0083) and gender (1h, p=0.0167), and between 1h and 4h levels (p<0.0001, n=105). While 38 out of 105 individuals ranked different in 1h and 4h conventional stratifications, the methodology using ratios yielded a unique score for each individual. Conclusions: The proposed methodology of stratification by ratios, in contrast to the conventional approach, allows for a proper comparison between EGF levels and individuals. Thus, it should have an impact on diseases for which the association of EGF with the illness has been established, aiding to clarify the connection of the molecule with the disease. This work might be of value to clinicians, scientists, and the healthcare community in general, conducting research regarding the role of EGF as a biomarker.