Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Neuroplasticity in old age: Sustained fivefold induction of hippocampal neurogenesis by long‐term environmental enrichment

Neurons are continually born from endogenous stem cells and added to the dentate gyrus throughout life, but adult hippocampal neurogenesis declines precipitously with age. Short‐term exposure to an enriched environment leads to a striking increase in new neurons, along with a substantial improvement in behavioral performance. Could this plastic response be relevant for explaining the beneficial effects of leading “an active life” on brain function and pathology? Adult hippocampal neurogenesis in mice living in an enriched environment from the age of 10 to 20 months was fivefold higher than in controls. Relatively, the increase in neuronal phenotypes was entirely at the expense of newly generated astrocytes. This cellular plasticity occurred in the context of significant improvements of learning parameters, exploratory behavior, and locomotor activity. Enriched living mice also had a reduced lipofuscin load in the dentate gyrus, indicating decreased nonspecific age‐dependent degeneration. Therefore, in mice signs of neuronal aging can be diminished by a sustained active and challenging life, even if this stimulation started only at medium age. Activity exerts not only an acute but also a sustained effect on brain plasticity.
Duplicate internal auditory canals with facial and vestibulocochlear nerve dysfunction.

OBJECTIVE We report an extremely rare case of duplication of the internal auditory canal associated with dysfunction of both the facial and vestibulocochlear nerves. We also review the literature regarding the integrity of the facial and vestibulocochlear nerves in such cases. CASE REPORT A 34-year-old man presented with unilateral, right-sided, sensorineural hearing loss and facial nerve palsy since childhood. Facial nerve function was observed to be House-Brackmann grade III. Computed tomography and magnetic resonance imaging demonstrated ipsilateral duplicate, vacant internal auditory canals. Based on the clinical presentation, we interpreted these radiological findings as aplasia of the vestibulocochlear nerve and severe hypoplasia of the facial nerve. CONCLUSION To our best knowledge, this is the first report of vestibulocochlear nerve aplasia and severe facial nerve hypoplasia in a case of ipsilateral duplication of the internal auditory canal. High resolution gradient echo magnetic resonance imaging sequences are advocated for assessment of neural integrity in patients with an abnormal internal auditory canal and facial and/or vestibulocochlear nerve dysfunction.
Influence of nutrition on the decline of ovarian reserve and subsequent onset of natural menopause

Abstract The early loss of ovarian reserve and subsequent menopause has a major impact on fertility potential and increases the risk of cardiovascular disease, osteoporosis, cognitive decline and mortality later in life. While many studies have reported that lifestyle factors such as diet can influence the age of onset of natural menopause, their results are often contradictory. Therefore, the aim of this study was to examine the influence of diet on the onset of natural menopause using a self-reported food frequency questionnaire in a cohort of 1146 pre-menopausal women followed up for an average of 12.5 years. The primary finding was that the age of natural menopause was positively correlated with dietary intake of the micronutrient β-cryptoxanthin (r2 = 0.105, p < 0.001) and fruit (r2 = 0.07, p = 0.01), with these relationships remaining significant even after adjustment for other known co-variants for onset of menopause (parity, BMI, physical activity level, education, smoking, energy and alcohol intake). Kaplan–Meier survival analysis confirmed that both β-cryptoxanthin and fruit intake was associated with a significant delay in the onset of natural menopause. While still acknowledging that further research is required, in the interim we would advocate that a diet containing ∼400 mcg of β-cryptoxanthin per day from fruits (mandarins, oranges and peaches) has significant potential to delay ovarian senescence by 1.3 years.
Activation of the Dual-Leucine-Zipper-Bearing Kinase and Induction of β-Cell Apoptosis by the Immunosuppressive Drug Cyclosporin A

Post-transplant diabetes is an untoward effect often observed under immunosuppressive therapy with cyclosporin A. Besides the development of peripheral insulin resistance and a decrease in insulin gene transcription, a β-cell toxic effect has been described. However, its molecular mechanism remains unknown. In the present study, the effect of cyclosporin A and the dual leucine-zipper-bearing kinase (DLK) on β-cell survival was investigated. Cyclosporin A decreased the viability of the insulin-producing pancreatic islet cell line HIT in a time- and concentration-dependent manner. Upon exposure to the immunosuppressant fragmentation of DNA, the activation of the effector caspase-3 and a decrease of full-length caspase-3 and BclXL were observed in HIT cells and in primary mature murine islets, respectively. Cyclosporin A and tacrolimus, both potent inhibitors of the calcium/calmodulin-dependent phosphatase calcineurin, stimulated the enzymatic activity of cellular DLK in an in vitro kinase assay. Immunocytochemistry revealed that the overexpression of DLK but not its kinase-dead mutant induced apoptosis and enhanced cyclosporin A-induced apoptosis to a higher extent than the drug alone. Moreover, in the presence of DLK, the effective concentration for cyclosporin A-caused apoptosis was similar to its known IC50 value for the inhibition of calcineurin activity in β cells. These data suggest that cyclosporin A through inhibition of calcineurin activates DLK, thereby leading to β-cell apoptosis. This action may thus be a novel mechanism through which cyclosporin A precipitates post-transplant diabetes.
In Vitro Growth-Inhibitory Activity and Malaria Risk in a Cohort Study in Mali

ABSTRACT Immunity to the asexual blood stage of Plasmodium falciparum is complex and likely involves several effector mechanisms. Antibodies are thought to play a critical role in malaria immunity, and a corresponding in vitro correlate of antibody-mediated immunity has long been sought to facilitate malaria vaccine development. The growth inhibition assay (GIA) measures the capacity of antibodies to limit red blood cell (RBC) invasion and/or growth of P. falciparum in vitro. In humans, naturally acquired and vaccine-induced P. falciparum-specific antibodies have growth-inhibitory activity, but it is unclear if growth-inhibitory activity correlates with protection from clinical disease. In a longitudinal study in Mali, purified IgGs, obtained from plasmas collected before the malaria season from 220 individuals aged 2 to 10 and 18 to 25 years, were assayed for growth-inhibitory activity. Malaria episodes were recorded by passive surveillance over the subsequent 6-month malaria season. Logistic regression showed that greater age (odds ratio [OR], 0.78; 95% confidence interval [95% CI], 0.63 to 0.95; P = 0.02) and growth-inhibitory activity (OR, 0.50; 95% CI, 0.30 to 0.85; P = 0.01) were significantly associated with decreased malaria risk in children. A growth-inhibitory activity level of 40% was determined to be the optimal cutoff for discriminating malaria-immune and susceptible individuals in this cohort, with a sensitivity of 97.0%, but a low specificity of 24.3%, which limited the assay's ability to accurately predict protective immunity and to serve as an in vitro correlate of antibody-mediated immunity. These data suggest that antibodies which block merozoite invasion of RBC and/or inhibit the intra-RBC growth of the parasite contribute to but are not sufficient for the acquisition of malaria immunity.
The incidence and nature of injuries in South African rugby players in the rugby Super 12 competition.

BACKGROUND There are sparse scientific data concerning the aetiology and incidence of injuries in the Super 12 rugby competition. Aim. The aim of the study was to document the incidence, nature and risk factors associated with injuries during a Super 12 rugby competition. METHODS Injuries, defined as injuries preventing playing or training, or requiring medical treatment, were recorded in a cohort of 75 South African Super 12 players over one season. Injury severity was graded according to sessions missed: minor (1 - 3 missed), intermediate (4 - 9) and severe (> 9). RESULTS During the tournament, a total of 740 player game hours and 4 900 player training hours were recorded. The overall incidence of injuries was 55.4 injuries/1,000 player game hours, and 4.3 injuries/1,000 player training hours. The most common injury types were: ligament sprains (25.8%), musculotendinous strains/tears (24.2%). The most common injured sites were: pelvis, hip (19.3%), head and knee (12.9% each). The tackle caused 40.3%, and rucks and mauls 11.3% of injuries. Injuries sustained during training accounted for 34%, and chronic overuse injuries 9.7% of injuries. CONCLUSIONS There is a high injury rate during a Super 12 rugby competition. However, the majority of injuries were minor injuries. The most dangerous phase of play was the tackle. Training in tackling and rucking techniques, and rule enforcement are therefore recommended to reduce risk of injury. Injuries tended to occur late in games and early in the season, suggesting lack of physical conditioning and fatigue as possible causes of injury.
Disease outbreak prediction by data integration and multi-task learning

The requirements for treatments vary for different diseases. These have to be considered in order to plan ahead the expenditures for the health care system. In this sense, disease surveillance has a significant impact on resource planning. To this end, we study the problem of predicting the number of incidences for a given disease based on the internet search and access log statistics. A number of papers appear in the literature that study this problem of predicting outbreaks, especially for Influenza. In this paper, in addition to investigating disease incidences other than Influenza, we propose to use the statistics for different diseases together for achieving transfer learning. We argue that we can increase prediction performance by considering diseases together in a multi-task learning setting due to our assumption of structure sharing. The results we obtained are promising as we achieved performance improvements in this setting. The code and data-sets used in the study are available from http://mtan.etu. edu.tr/Supplementary/Outbreak-prediction/.
Firm Performance and Boardroom Gender Diversity: A Quantile Regression Approach

We investigate the relation between firm performance and boardroom gender diversity using quantile regression methods. Using annual data on over 3000 US firms from 2007 to 2014, we show that the presence of women on the board has a positive effect on firm performance, and this effect varies at different parts of the performance distribution. Critically, we demonstrate that the presence of women directors alters the dispersion of firm performance. Our quantile regression results suggest that female directors have a significantly larger positive impact in high-performing firms relative to low-performing firms. The board gender diversity effect is not homogeneous as assumed in previous research. In addition, we account for the endogenous selection of women to the board. Using instrumental variable quantile regression, we find that in general there is a positive correlation between firm performance and board gender diversity. Overall, we suggest that boardroom gender diversity has an effect on both the conditional mean and the dispersion of firm performance, and quantile regression adds value to the empirical examination of the performance impact of board gender diversity.
E-GOVERNMENT AND EMPOWERMENT: IMPACTS ON EQUAL ACCESS TO INFORMATION AND DEVELOPING PUBLIC LANGUAGE

Undoubtedly, e-government can accelerate the rate of information distribution, and add to the number of people who can access and apply the information. But, e-government may have both functional and dysfunctional affects on social justice situations. Access to information can create many opportunities for better use of money, power, and knowledge. E-Government can act as a facilitator for equal access to information, and can empower people in all aspects of social arenas. But the question is, how poor people who do not have enough money, power, and knowledge can enjoy the benefits of e-government and its functional impacts. The central premise of this research is that e-government can affect the public language. Language is the main channel for conveying and development of knowledge. No one can stop people from language benefits, because language belongs to all people, and it will convey information and its products to others. Therefore, the development of e-government language can make it beneficial to all people from different income levels. In addition, governments must provide a situation that everyone can benefit from e-government. Because, in near future, information technology and e-solutions will become as the necessities of social life, and anyone who does not posses these skills, cannot continue to live within the society. In this article, e-government and its dual functional impacts, and its roles in developing public language and people empowerment will be discussed. Besides, the roles of governments in reinforcing equal access to e-governments benefits will be studied.
Response of late-planted linseed (Linum usitatissimum) varieties to nitrogen levels under rainfed conditions

A field experiment was conducted during the winter season of 1997–98 and 1998–99 at Sagar, Madhya Pradesh, on clay soils, to find out the most suitable variety and economical nitrogen dose for sustainable grain yield and economics of hneseed (Linum usitatissimum L.) under rained condition. The field trial was laid out in split-plot design, comprising 5 varieties [‘SLS 21’, ‘SLS 9’, ‘SLS 7’, ‘RLC 29’ (‘Sheetal’) and ‘T 397’] as main and 4 nitrogen levels (30, 40, 50 and 60 kg/ha) in subtreatment plots, replicated thrice. ‘RLC 29’ (‘Sheetal’) recorded significantly higher values of almost all the growth and yield parameters, grain yield (q/ha) and economics over other varieties except plant height (cm), seeds/capsule and harvest index (%) in pooled data. Though higher dose of 60 kg N/ha produced significantly higher growth as well as sink parameters, 1,000-seed weight (g), grain yield (q/ha) and economics revealed possibility of saving 10 kg N/ha. Interaction study, however, showed that different growth and sink parameters were influenced significantly by N levels irrespective of varieties, but ‘RLC 29’ revealed higher both growth and yield attributes including grain yield which gave good economics and proved most economical variety for late planting, especially after soybean and gave 57.51, 11.69, 14.44 and 22.53% more grain yield than ‘SLS 21’, ‘SLS 9’, ‘SLS 7’ and ‘T 397’ respectively. Further, 9.03 and 27.07% more grain yield was noted with 50 kg N/ha over 40 and 30 kg N/ha respectively.
Amelioration of central cardiovascular regulatory dysfunction by tropomyocin receptor kinase B in a mevinphos intoxication model of brain stem death

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE Little information exists on the mechanisms that precipitate brain stem death, the legal definition of death in many developed countries. We investigated the role of tropomyocin receptor kinase B (TrkB) and its downstream signalling pathways in the rostral ventrolateral medulla (RVLM) during experimental brain stem death.
Foundations for offshore wind turbines

An important engineering challenge of today, and a vital one for the future, is to develop and harvest alternative sources of energy. This is a firm priority in the UK, with the government setting a target of 10% of electricity from renewable sources by 2010. A component central to this commitment will be to harvest electrical power from the vast energy reserves offshore, through wind turbines or current or wave power generators. The most mature of these technologies is that of wind, as much technology transfer can be gained from onshore experience. Onshore wind farms, although supplying ‘green energy’, tend to provoke some objections on aesthetic grounds. These objections can be countered by locating the turbines offshore, where it will also be possible to install larger capacity turbines, thus maximizing the potential of each wind farm location. This paper explores some civil–engineering problems encountered for offshore wind turbines. A critical component is the connection of the structure to the ground, and in particular how the load applied to the structure is transferred safely to the surrounding soil. We review previous work on the design of offshore foundations, and then present some simple design calculations for sizing foundations and structures appropriate to the wind-turbine problem. We examine the deficiencies in the current design approaches, and the research currently under way to overcome these deficiencies. Designs must be improved so that these alternative energy sources can compete economically with traditional energy suppliers.
Influence of carbohydrate loading on fuel substrate turnover and oxidation during prolonged exercise.

This study compared liver glucose turnover, blood glucose oxidation, and muscle glycogen utilization in 15 male endurance-trained cyclists who rode for 180 min at 70% of maximal O2 consumption in either a carbohydrate-(CHO) loaded (CL) or a non-CHO-loaded (NL) state. Total CHO oxidation during exercise was similar in the CL and NL subjects (492 +/- 77 vs. 448 +/- 43 g, respectively), as were blood glucose oxidation (103 +/- 19 vs. 99 +/- 7 g, respectively) and liver glucose appearance (110 +/- 15 vs. 127 +/- 16 g, respectively). However, total muscle glycogen utilization was greater in CL than NL subjects (134 +/- 11 vs. 95 +/- 12 mmol/kg wet wt; P < 0.05), the former of which had higher muscle glycogen content at the start (194 +/- 4 vs. 124 +/- 7 mmol/kg wet wt; P < 0.05) and throughout the trial. Whereas high rates of muscle glycogen breakdown were maintained throughout the trial in CL subjects, rates of muscle glycogenolysis in NL subjects decreased to 26 mmol.kg wet wt-1.h-1 after 60 min of exercise (P < 0.05) when their muscle glycogen content had declined to 70 mmol/kg wet wt. Comparable rates of blood glucose and overall CHO oxidation in CL and NL subjects, despite a slowing of muscle glycogenolysis in the NL group, could be explained by an accelerated breakdown of glycogen in the nonworking muscles to redistribute CHO (lactate) to the working muscles for oxidation. (ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)
Security of medical multimedia

The application of information technology to health care has generated growing concern about the privacy and security of medical information. Furthermore, data and communication security requirements in the field of multimedia are higher. In this paper we describe firstly the most important security requirements that must be fulfilled by multimedia medical data, and the security measures used to satisfy these requirements. These security measures are based mainly on modern cryptographic and watermarking mechanisms as well as on security infrastructures. The objective of our work is to complete this picture, exploiting the capabilities of multimedia medical data to define and implement an authorization model for regulating access to the data. In this paper we describe an extended role-based access control model by considering, within the specification of the role-permission relationship phase, the constraints that must be satisfied in order for the holders of the permission to use those permissions. The use of constraints allows role-based access control to be tailored to specifiy very fine-grained and flexible content-, context- and time-based access control policies. Other restrictions, such as role entry restriction also can be captured. Finally, the description of system architecture for a secure DBMS is presented.
Extraction of non-timber forest products from tropical rain forests. Does diversity come at a price?

Tropical rain forests are rich in plant and animal species. The sustainable extraction of non-timber forest products has been advocated as a strategy to best conserve this diversity. However, the development and implementation of such exploitation systems, which aim to reconcile conservation and economic development, are still hampered by the lack of information on the biological sustainability of these systems, the impact of these exploitation systems on the biological diversity and the insufficient knowledge of the role of forest products in the household economy of forest dependent people and hence their prospects for economic development. Whether the exploitation of non-timber forest products from tropical rain forests is sustainable or not is still open to question, but data presently available on the biological, social and economic aspects of these extraction systems point at an interesting question: does diversity come at a price? Namely, low density of conspecifics, and thus products, and hence low productivity for those involved in the collection of forest resources. The paper will further discuss whether domestication of forest species provides an alternative for some of these species. Species are part of a complex ecosystem and their functioning is partly depended on the presence of other species in the system. The attributes of the species which have to be taken into account in order to make domestication of forest species successful are considered. Finally, the paper returns to the question of how to reconcile conservation and use of tropical rain forests. It will present a case for domesticating the forest instead of the species or, in other words, changing the forest composition without changing its structure and functioning, and maintaining acceptable levels of biodiversity.
Vote-Buying or Bargaining Power of Regions? Intergovernmental Grants in Russia

Two hypotheses about the determinants of Russian intergovernmental grants are tested. According to the first hypothesis, federal transfers to regions correlate with recent voting behaviour of regional electorates. The second hypothesis states that transfers are higher in regions with politically powerful governors. I find a strong confirmation for the first hypothesis and no evidence for the second hypothesis for the years 1995–99. This result is robust across specifications. However, in the years 2000–2004 electoral variables show no effect on transfers. The only significant political variable is Putin’s visits to regions.