Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Loneliness and the Life Cycle

Loneliness is a prevailing experience which every person has experienced. This subjective experience is influenced by one's personality and situational variables. In the present study, the influence of age and sex on the experience of loneliness were examined. 711 participants volunteered to answer an 82-item yes/no questionnaire on their loneliness experience and its meaning. Four age groups were compared: 106 youths (13–18 years old), 255 young adults (19–30 years old), 314 adults (31–58 years old), and 36 seniors (60–80 years old). Within and between sex comparisons indicated that loneliness is indeed affected by one's age and sex.
Post operative pain therapy: a survey of prescribing patterns and adequacy of analgesia in Ibadan, Nigeria.

OBJECTIVE To establish prescribing patterns for post operative pain therapy, it's adequacy, as well as patients' satisfaction with the prescriptions. DESIGN A survey of doctors' prescriptions for post operative pain therapy over a six month period. SETTING The University College Hospital Ibadan, Nigeria, the oldest teaching hospital in the country. SUBJECTS All consecutive adult elective general surgical patients operated on over a six month period, who were on admission for at least 72 hours after surgery. Patients with prolonged post operative unconsciousness or those unwilling to answer the questionnaire were excluded. INTERVENTION The anaesthetic charts, recovery room and treatment sheet were reviewed to complete a structured, pretested and precoded questionnaire. Two other questionnaires were administered to patients at 24 and 48 hours post operatively to review the effect of the analgesic prescribed. RESULTS 149 patients met the inclusion criteria. Moderate to unbearable pain was reported in 68.7% of the patients at 24 hours and 51.7% of patients by 48 hours. Post operative analgesics were to be given via only the intramuscular route in all cases. There was a limited range of drugs to choose from; pethidine, pentazocine and dipyrone were the only drugs available. Pethidine was prescribed four hourly in 2.7%, six hourly in 46.9% and eight hourly in 25.9%, of the cases. Eighty five percent of the patients who were given dipyrone complained of moderate to unbearable pain post operatively. Inadequate doses of analgesics were generally given. Despite the high incidence of pain, 63.9% of patients still reported that they were very satisfied with their pain relief. CONCLUSION Prescription patterns for post operative pain relief have not changed to include many of the new methods presently available. Only one route of administration is still used for a limited range of opioid and non-opioid drugs. Patients still experience a high incidence of moderate to unbearable pain in the post operative period. This can be improved by prescribing drugs at shorter intervals to reflect their pharmacokinetics and using newer techniques of drug administration.
Increased Risk of Colorectal Cancer Development Among Patients With Serrated Polyps.

BACKGROUND & AIMS Sessile serrated adenomas/polyps (SSA/Ps) and traditional serrated adenomas (TSAs) are now distinguished from hyperplastic polyps and recognized as precursors to colorectal cancer (CRC). We studied CRC risks associated with serrated polyps. METHODS By using Danish databases (1977-2009), we conducted a nationwide population-based, case-control study nested within individuals who had received colonoscopies (n = 272,342), and identified 2045 CRC cases and 8105 CRC-free individuals (controls). For each case and control, we identified the first colorectal polyp(s) that underwent a biopsy or were excised during or after the initial colonoscopy, and obtained tissue blocks for hyperplastic lesions. Four expert pathologists reviewed these lesions using current terminology for serrated polyps. We used logistic regression to compute odds ratios (ORs) to associate the risk of CRC with polyp type and estimated the absolute risks by multiplying the risk in patients with no polyps by these ORs. RESULTS Seventy-nine cases and 142 controls had SSA/Ps (OR, 3.07; 95% confidence interval [CI], 2.30-4.10). SSA/Ps with cytology markers of dysplasia were associated with a particularly high OR (4.76; 95% CI, 2.59-8.73). Women with SSA/P had a higher risk for CRC than men with SSA/P (OR for women, 5.05; 95% CI, 3.05-8.37 vs OR for men, 2.18; 95% CI, 1.24-3.82); patients with SSA/P proximal to the splenic flexure had the highest risk for CRC (OR, 12.42; 95% CI, 4.88-31.58). The OR for CRC was 4.84 in the 14 cases vs 17 controls with TSAs (95% CI, 2.36-9.93), 2.51 in the 757 cases vs 1698 controls with conventional adenomas (95% CI, 2.25-2.80), and 1.30 in the 55 cases vs 235 controls with hyperplastic polyps (95% CI, 0.96-1.77). The 10-year risk for CRC was 4.4% for patients with SSA/P with dysplasia, 4.5% for patients with TSAs, and 2.3% for patients with conventional adenomas. CONCLUSION Patients with SSA/P or TSA are at increased risk for CRC; their level of risk is similar to or higher than that of patients with conventional adenomas.
Alternative Splicing of the First Intracellular Loop of Plasma Membrane Ca2+-ATPase Isoform 2 Alters Its Membrane Targeting*

Plasma membrane Ca2+-ATPases (PMCAs) are involved in local Ca2+ signaling and in the spatial control of Ca2+ extrusion, but how different PMCA isoforms are targeted to specific membrane domains is unknown. In polarized MDCK epithelial cells, a green fluorescent protein-tagged PMCA4b construct was targeted to the basolateral membrane, whereas a green fluorescent protein-tagged PMCA2b construct was localized to both the apical and basolateral domain. The PDZ protein-binding COOH-terminal tail of PMCA2b was not responsible for its apical membrane localization, as a chimeric pump made of an NH2-terminal portion from PMCA4 and a COOH-terminal tail from PMCA2b was targeted to the basolateral domain. Deletion of the last six residues of the COOH terminus of either PMCA2b or PMCA4b did not alter their membrane targeting, suggesting that PDZ protein interactions are not essential for proper membrane localization of the pumps. Instead, we found that alternative splicing affecting the first cytosolic loop determined apical membrane targeting of PMCA2. Only the “w” form, which contains a 45-amino acid residue insertion, showed prominent apical membrane localization. By contrast, the x and z splice variants containing insertions of 14 and 0 residues, respectively, localized to the basolateral membrane. The w splice insert was the crucial determinant of apical PMCA2 localization, and this was independent of the splice configuration at the COOH-terminal end of the pump; both PMCA2w/b and PMCA2w/a showed prominent apical targeting, whereas PMCA2x/b, PMCA2z/b, and PMCA2z/a were confined to the basolateral membrane. These data report the first differential effect of alternative splicing within the first cytosolic loop of PMCA2 and help explain the selective enrichment of specific PMCA2 isoforms in specialized membrane compartments such as stereocilia of auditory hair cells.
Evaluation of Interspecific-Interploid Hybrids (F1) and Back Crosses (BC1) in Hylocereus Species (Cactaceae)

Vine cacti are night-blooming epiphytes plants, endemic to the Americas, and belong to Cactaceae, subfamily Cactoideae, tribe Hylocereeae (Br. and R.) Buxbaum (Barthlott & Hunt, 1993). According to the New Cactus Lexicon (Hunt, 2006), the genera Hylocereus (Berger) Br. and R. , comprises 14 species, and they are widely distributed in tropical and subtropical regions of the Americas from Mexico to North Argentina (Mizrahi & Nerd, 1999; Merten, 2003). They inhabit a wide range of ecosystems, including coastal areas, high mountains and tropical rainforests (Ortiz, 1999). These species, known as pitahaya or Dragon fruit, are currently being marketed worldwide and have a high economic potential as exotic fruit crops in arid regions where water is scarce, since they use a Crassulacean acid metabolism (CAM) pathway and are exceptionally drought-tolerant (Raveh et al., 1998; Mizrahi & Nerd, 1999; Nobel & de la Barrera, 2004).
RF energy harvesting with multiple sources and co-channel interference assisted

Article history: Received 7 July 2017 Received in revised form 15 July 2017 Accepted 15 August 2017 Available online 25 August 2017 Wireless Energy Harvesting (EH) from the ambient Radio Frequency (RF) has emerged a solution in recent technology which can prolong the consumption of conventional battery in any constraint nodes. In this paper, a 3-node decode-and-forward (DF) model is proposed where the relay node is subject to an energy constraint. Multiple sources and co-channel interference (CCI) are added in the system model known as Multiple-Source and Single-Relay (MSSR). A mathematical model is derived in Time Switching Relaying (TSR) scheme to obtain an average system throughput at a destination. Several numerical simulations with respect to the average throughput and system parameters were performed and compared with both ideal receiver and SingleSource and Single-Relay (SSSR) schemes. By applying multiple sources and CCI as an energy enhancement at the constraint node, the optimal value of EH ratio for TSR can be reduced significantly by 10% as compared to the ideal receiver and SSSR.
A THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK FOR COMBINING TECHNIQUES THAT PROBE THE LINK BETWEEN GALAXIES AND DARK MATTER

We develop a theoretical framework that combines measurements of galaxy–galaxy lensing, galaxy clustering, and the galaxy stellar mass function in a self-consistent manner. While considerable effort has been invested in exploring each of these probes individually, attempts to combine them are still in their infancy. These combinations have the potential to elucidate the galaxy–dark matter connection and the galaxy formation physics responsible for it, as well as to constrain cosmological parameters and to test the nature of gravity. In this paper, we focus on a theoretical model that describes the galaxy–dark matter connection based on standard halo occupation distribution techniques. Several key modifications enable us to extract additional parameters that determine the stellar-to-halo mass relation and to simultaneously fit data from multiple probes while allowing for independent binning schemes for each probe. We construct mock catalogs from numerical simulations to investigate the effects of sample variance and covariance for each probe. Finally, we analyze how trends in each of the three observables impact the derived parameters of the model. In particular, we investigate various features of the observed galaxy stellar mass function (low-mass slope, “plateau,” knee, and high-mass cutoff) and show how each feature is related to the underlying relationship between stellar and halo mass. We demonstrate that the observed “plateau” feature in the stellar mass function at M* ∼ 2 × 1010 M☉ is due to the transition that occurs in the stellar-to-halo mass relation at Mh ∼ 1012 M☉ from a low-mass power-law regime to a sub-exponential function at higher stellar mass.
Immunogenicity of an aphthovirus chimera of the glycoprotein of vesicular stomatitis virus

An oligodeoxynucleotide coding for amino acids 139 through 149 of antigenic site A (ASA) of the VP1 capsid protein of the foot-and-mouth disease virus C3 serotype (FMDV C3) was inserted into three different in-frame sites of the vesicular stomatitis virus New Jersey serotype (VSV-NJ) glycoprotein (G) gene cDNA present in plasmid pKG97 under control of the bacteriophage T7 polymerase promoter. Transfection of these plasmids into CV1 cells coinfected with the T7 polymerase-expressing vaccinia virus recombinant vTF1-6,2 resulted in expression of chimeric proteins efficiently reactive with both anti-FMDV and anti-VSV G antibodies. However, in vitro translation of transcripts of these VSV-G/FMDV-ASA chimeric plasmids resulted in proteins that were recognized by anti-G serum but not by anti-FMDV serum, indicating a requirement for in vivo conformation to expose the ASA antigenic determinant. Insertion of DNA coding for a dimer of the ASA unidecapeptide between the VSV-NJ G gene region coding for amino acids 160 and 161 gave rise to a chimeric ASA-dimer protein designated GF2d, which reacted twice as strongly with anti-FMDV antibody as did chimeric proteins in which the ASA monomer was inserted in the same position or two other G-gene positions. For even greater expression of chimeric VSV-G/FMDV-ASA proteins, plasmid pGF2d and a deletion mutant p(delta)GF2d (G protein deleted of 324 C-terminal amino acids) were inserted into baculovirus vectors expressing chimeric proteins GF2d-bac and deltaGF2d-bac produced in Sf9 insect cells. Mice vaccinated with three booster injections of 30 microg each of partially purified GF2d-bac protein responded by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay with FMDV antibody titers of 1,000 units, and those injected with equivalent amounts of deltaGF2d-bac protein showed serum titers of up to 10,000 units. Particularly impressive were FMDV neutralizing antibody titers in serum of mice vaccinated with deltaGF2d-bac protein, which approached those in the sera of mice vaccinated with three 1-microg doses of native FMDV virions. Despite excellent reactivity with native FMDV, the anti-deltaGF2d-bac antibody present in vaccinated mouse serum showed no capacity to bind to sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS)-denatured FMDV virions and only minimal reactivity with VP1 protein by Western blotting (immunoblotting) after SDS-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis. It was also shown in a competitive binding assay that a synthetic ASA unidecapeptide, up to concentrations of 200 microg/ml, was quite limited in its ability to inhibit binding of anti-deltaGF2-bac antibody to native FMDV virions. These results suggest that the chimeric VSV-G/FMDV-ASA proteins mimic the capacity of FMDV to raise and react with neutralizing antibodies to a restricted number of ASA conformations present on the surface of native FMDV particles.
Promotion of Aflatoxin BI Carcinogenesis by the Natural Tumor Modulator Indole-3-carbinol : Influence of Dose , Duration , and Intermittent Exposure on Indole-3-carbinol Promotional Potency 1

Indole-3-carbinol (I3C), a secondary metabolite from cruciferous veg etables, inhibits aflatoxin li, (AM! ,) hepatocarcinogenesis in trout (Bailey et al., J. Nati. Cancer Inst., 78: 931-934, 1987) and rats (Selivonchick a a/., unpublished results) when given prior to and with carcinogen but promotes carcinogenesis in both species when given continuously follow ing AFBi initiation. Since human I3C intake may not be continuous, and the promotional stimulation may be reversible, we have assessed I3C promotion using delayed and discontinuous exposure protocols. Following initiation with AFBi, I3C was fed to trout for varying periods of time, with varying lengths of delay after initiation and continuous or intermit tent patterns of I3C treatment. Promotional enhancement of tumor inci dence by I3C was found to be significant when I3C treatment was delayed for several weeks or months after the initial AI H, challenge. Promotion also was found to increase with length of exposure to I3C treatment and to be decreased but still evident when I3C was given in alternating months or weeks, or twice per week only. These results do not support the idea that promotional stimulation in hepatocarcinogenesis is a reversible phenomenon. To quantify I3C promotional potency in terms of its dietary concentra tion, a series of \ 1H, tumor dose-response curves was established, each with a different level of I3C fed continuously following Al H, initiation. The resultant tumor dose-response curves, plotted as logit percentage of incidence versus log \l H, dose, were displaced parallel toward lower AFBi 50% tumor take (II ). -,>) values with increasing I3C concentration. The level of I3C that halves the AFBi dose for 50% tumor incidence was calculated to be approximately 1000 ppm I3C, fed continuously, with no substantial threshold for promotion. By comparison, I3C, when fed before and with AFBi, shows a 50% inhibitory value (I3C concentration that doubles the dose of AFBi for 50% tumor incidence) in trout of 1400 ppm I3C IDashwood el at. , Carcinogenesis (Lond.), 10:175-181, 1989|. Thus the potential for I3C as a dietary additive to promote prior hepatic initiation events when fed continuously is approximately as great as its potential to inhibit concurrent AFBi initiation.
A Theoretical Analysis of Diving Performance in the Weddell Seal (Leptonychotes weddelli)*

Marine mammals are constrained in their foraging behaviour because, as obligate air breathers, they must undertake regular trips to the water surface to satisfy the need for respiratory gas exchange. Maximum underwater endurance time is determined by O2 supply and demand, but this does not necessarily imply that O2 is the main factor regulating individual dive and surface times. This study presents a theoretical analysis of diving performance that emphasizes a key role for CO2 in the proximate control of diving behaviour. Computer simulations, based on a mathematical model of the mammalian cardiorespiratory control system, are used to investigate the influence of swimming to depth and other energetic stresses (feeding, thermogenesis, sleep) on predicted diving behaviour in an average adult Weddell seal. The plausibility of the proposed model is supported by the study, which replicated published observations of natural diving behaviour in this species. It is suggested that diving behaviour is tuned to oscillations in respiratory drive and that behavioural and physiological factors can alter the dynamic characteristics of the system to achieve a highly adaptable reciprocal interaction that blurs the boundary between physiology and behaviour.
A process‐based model of conifer forest structure and function with special emphasis on leaf lifespan

We describe the University of Sheffield Conifer Model (USCM), a process‐based approach for simulating conifer forest carbon, nitrogen, and water fluxes by up‐scaling widely applicable relationships between leaf lifespan and function. The USCM is designed to predict and analyze the biogeochemistry and biophysics of conifer forests that dominated the ice‐free high‐latitude regions under the high pCO2 “greenhouse” world 290–50 Myr ago. It will be of use in future research investigating controls on the contrasting distribution of ancient evergreen and deciduous forests between hemispheres, and their differential feedbacks on polar climate through the exchange of energy and materials with the atmosphere. Emphasis is placed on leaf lifespan because this trait can be determined from the anatomical characteristics of fossil conifer woods and influences a range of ecosystem processes. Extensive testing of simulated net primary production and partitioning, leaf area index, evapotranspiration, nitrogen uptake, and land surface energy partitioning showed close agreement with observations from sites across a wide climatic gradient. This indicates the generic utility of our model, and adequate representation of the key processes involved in forest function using only information on leaf lifespan, climate, and soils.
Evidence for altered ion transport in Saccharomyces cerevisiae overexpressing human MDR 1 protein.

Recently [Hoffman, M. M. , and Roepe, P. D. (1997) Biochemistry 36, 11153-11168] we presented evidence for a novel Na+- and Cl--dependent H+ transport process in LR73/hu MDR 1 CHO transfectants that likely explains pHi, volume, and membrane potential changes in eukaryotic cells overexpressing the hu MDR 1 protein. To further explore this process, we have overexpressed human MDR 1 protein in yeast strain 9.3 following a combination of approaches used previously [Kuchler, K. , and Thorner, J. (1992) Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A. 89, 2302-2306; Ruetz, S. , et al. (1993) Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A. 90, 11588-11592]. Thus, a truncated hu MDR 1 cDNA was cloned behind a tandem array of sterile 6 (Ste6) and alchohol dehydrogenase (Adh) promoters to create the yeast expression vector pFF1. Valinomycin resistance of intact cells and Western blot analysis with purified yeast plasma membranes confirmed the overexpression of full length, functional, and properly localized hu MDR 1 protein in independently isolated 9.3/pFF1 colonies. Interestingly, relative valinomycin resistance and growth of the 9.3/hu MDR 1 strains are found to strongly depend on the ionic composition of the growth medium. Atomic absorption reveals significant differences in intracellular K+ for 9.3/hu MDR 1 versus control yeast. Transport assays using [3H]tetraphenylphosphonium ([3H]TPP+) reveal perturbations in membrane potential for 9.3/hu MDR 1 yeast that are stimulated by KCl and alkaline pHex. ATPase activity of purified plasma membrane fractions from yeast strains and LR73/hu MDR 1 CHO transfectants constructed previously [Hoffman, M. M. , et al. (1996) J. Gen. Physiol. 108, 295-313] was compared. MDR 1 ATPase activity exhibits a higher pH optimum and different salt dependencies, relative to yeast H+ ATPase. Inside-out plasma membrane vesicles (ISOV) fabricated from 9.3/hu MDR 1 and control strains were analyzed for formation of H+ gradients +/- verapamil. Similar pharmacologic profiles are found for verapamil stimulation of MDR 1 ATPase activity and H+ pumping in 9.3/hu MDR 1 ISOV. In sum, these experiments strongly support the notion that hu MDR 1 catalyzes H+ transport in some fashion and lowers membrane potential in yeast when K+ contributes strongly to that potential. In the accompanying paper [Santai, C. T. , Fritz, F. , and Roepe, P. D. (1999) Biochemistry 38, XXXX-XXXX] the effects of ion gradients on H+ transport by hu MDR 1 are examined.
Optimal Banking Sector Recapitalization

Government-financed bank restructuring programs, occasionally costing up to 50% of GDP, are commonly used to resolve banking crises. We analyze the Ramsey-optimal paths of bank recapitalization programs that weigh recapitalization benefits and costs under different financing options. In our model bank credit is essential, due to a working capital constraint on firms, and banks are financial intermediaries that borrow from households and lend to firms. A banking crisis produces a disruption of credit and a fall in output equivalent to those in developing countries affected by banking crises. Full recapitalization of the banking system immediately after the crisis is optimal only if international credit is available. One-shot recapitalization is not optimal with domestically-financed programs, even if the government has access to non-distortionary taxes. The welfare cost of a crisis is substantial: the equivalent permanent decline in the no-crisis steady state consumption ranges between 0.51% and 0.65%, depending on the source of financing the recapitalization program.