Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
DETERMINATION OF OPTIMUM WATER REQUIREMENT FOR MAIZE PRODUCTION UNDER BASIN IRRIGATION SYSTEM AT LAKE GERIYO IRRIGATION PROJECT YOLA , ADAMAWA STATE NORTHEASTERN NIGERIA

Maize constitutes one of the most widely consumed food sources in northern Nigeria. Water requirement is a key parameter in obtaining maximum yield for maize. The study aimed at determining the optimum water requirement of maize under basin irrigation system at Geriyo irrigation scheme. Six different amounts of water (30, 45, 60, 75, 90 and 105 mm) designated as A, B, C, D, E and F was applied to six different basins of the same size of 3× 3 m. Maize (Zea mays) hybrid variety (Azam) was used as a trial crop. It was replicated three times in a randomized complete block design. Irrigation interval of seven days was used throughout the period. Three plots were established according to the slope variation of the land with each unit having a different land slope. Double ring infiltrometer was used to determine the infiltration rate of the plots and the value of 48 mm/hr obtained indicated that the soil in Geriyo irrigation scheme is suitable for irrigation due to its moderate intake rate couple with the soil textural classification which is found to be Silt-clay-loam. The rooting depth of the maize was found to be 1.65 m. The optimum water requirement for the crop under study was obtained to be 510 mm/total growing period, which gave the maximum yield of 2.36 t/ha (Treatments C). Peak evapotranspiration of 80.99 mm/week was obtained in treatment C indicating a fairly good result. The lowest yield of 1.64 t/ha was obtained in treatment E. An average yield of 1.88 t/ha was obtained for all the treatments. Irrigation water cost of ₦6,350 per hectare per season ₦529.20 per hectare per irrigation) was obtained for treatment C which was moderate as such more economical since maximum yield, highest income and profit were obtained. Thus, treatment C with an optimum water requirement of 510 mm/total growing period is the most suitable and appropriate amount of water to be applied for maximum crop yield, self-sustenance and profit making in basin irrigation system using 3 x 3 m basin sizes. Similar study is also recommended for other crops in the irrigation schemes.
Manifestaciones bucales en pacientes con insuficiencia renal crónica en hemodiálisis

Objetivos: Determinar las manifestaciones bucales en pacientes con insufi ciencia renal cronica en hemodialisis del Hospital Alberto Sabogal Sologuren (Bellavista, Callao, Peru) en el periodo de julio-agosto 2013. Materiales y Metodos: Se examinaron a 119 pacientes de ambos sexos. Se les realizo una anamnesis y luego con la ayuda de una linterna, espejos bucales y baja lenguas se les examino la cavidad bucal de manera minuciosa. Resultados: Los pacientes examinados presentaron lengua saburral 88,2%, agrandamiento gingival 63%, sangrado gingival 55,5%, caries dental 85,7%, calculo dental 80,7%, perdida de insercion dental 72,3%, xerostomia 84%, halitosis 66,4% y disgeusia 55,5%. Se estudio la relacion de las manifestaciones bucales segun el tiempo de hemodialisis, encontrandose que existio una asociacion estadisticamente signifi cativa en la mayoria de las lesiones (prueba de Chi Cuadrado; p<0,05). Conclusion: Los pacientes con insufi ciencia renal cronica en tratamiento de hemodialisis, presentaron multiples manifestaciones bucales propias de la enfermedad y tambien como consecuencia del tratamiento aplicado, donde se ven afectados los tejidos blandos, tejidos duros y glandulas salivales.
The effects of anesthesia types on early postoperative results in elective endovascular repair of aortic aneurysms

Citation: Avcı T, Aşkın G, Akkaya BB, Çelikten AE, Salman N, Ünal EU, et al. The effects of anesthesia types on early postoperative results in elective endovascular repair of aortic aneurysms. Turk J Vasc Surg 2019;28(3):159-164 ABSTRACT Objectives: This study aims to investigate the effects of anesthesia types on early postoperative outcomes in patients treated with endovascular aneurysm repair (EVAR). Patients and methods: Between January 2012 and January 2018, a total of 134 patients (124 males, 10 females; mean age 69.1±7.9 years; range, 52 to 85 years) who were operated under local-locoregional or general anesthesia for abdominal aortic aneurysms were retrospectively analyzed. Type of anesthesia was chosen individually, according to the patient suitability, aneurysm anatomy, and technical difficulty. Early mortality was defined as mortality observed within 30 days after the operation. Results: Of the patients, 42 were operated under local-locoregional anesthesia and 92 were operated under general anesthesia. There was no conversion to general anesthesia. The mean procedural time was 133.2±30.4 min in the local-locoregional group and 156.4±53.4 min in the general anesthesia group (p=0.012). In the early postoperative period, there was one (1.1%) early mortality. Four patients (4.3%) developed renal impairment. One patient (1.1%) in the general anesthesia group had myocardial infarction after the procedure. In the local-locoregional group, the mean length of intensive care unit (ICU) stay was 8.5±6.4 h and the mean length of hospital stay (LOS) was 2.9±1.5 days. In the general anesthesia group, the mean length of ICU stay was 9.6±0.4 h and the mean LOS was 3.1±2.9 days, indicating a statistically significant difference between the groups in terms of the ICU stay (p=0.013). The mean amount of radio-opaque solution was also statistically significant between the groups (p=0.01). Conclusion: Endograft types, the American Society of Anesthesiologists (ASA) classification, patient’s emotional health, aneurysm anatomy, and having a high risk for conversion to open surgery are the key factors for choosing the most appropriate anesthesia type. Based on our study results, type of anesthesia does not affect the early results, although local anesthesia is more suitable and most commonly used in unibody grafts and high-risk patients.
Encapsulating Peritoneal Sclerosis in Incident PD Patients in Scotland

1.1 Background Encapsulating peritoneal sclerosis (EPS) is a devastating and potentially life threatening complication of peritoneal dialysis (PD). EPS was first described in 1980 and is characterised by progressive peritoneal fibrosis and thickening with encasement of bowel loops (Ghandi el al 1980). EPS results from chronic intra-abdominal inflammation and fibrosis but the trigger for this is unknown. The aetiology is thought to be multi-factorial. Early clinical studies identified acetate dialysate and chlorhexidine as causes (Slingeneyer 1987, Oules et al 1983). However, despite the removal of these causal factors from clinical practice, EPS continues to occur. The duration of exposure to PD therapy represents the most consistent “risk factor” identified in studies to date (Kawanishi et al 2001, Kawanishi et al 2004, Rigby et al 1998, Brown MC et al 2009).
DEVELOPING NATURE-INSPIRED INTELLIGENCE BY NEURAL SYSTEMS Integration of textual cues for fine-grained image captioning using deep CNN and LSTM

The automatic narration of a natural scene is an important trait in artiﬁcial intelligence that unites computer vision and natural language processing. Caption generation is a challenging task in scene understanding. Most of the state-of-the-art methods are using deep convolutional neural network models to extract visual features of the entire image, based on which the parallel structures between images and sentences are exploited using recurrent neural networks for image captioning. However, in such models, only visual features are exploited for caption generation. This work investigated that fusion of text available in an image can give more ﬁned-grained captioning of a scene. In this paper, we have proposed a model which incorporates a deep convolutional neural network and long short-term memory to boost the accuracy of image captioning by fusing text feature available in an image with the visual features extracted in state-of-the-art methods. We have validated the effectiveness of the proposed model on the benchmark datasets (Flickr8k and Flickr30k). The experimental outcomes illustrate that the proposed model outperformed the state-of-the-art methods for image captioning.
Orthotic management of instability of the knee related to neuromuscular and central nervous system disorders: qualitative interview study of patient perspectives

Objectives Adults with knee instability related to neuromuscular disorders or central nervous conditions often experience mobility problems and rely on orthoses to improve function and mobility. Patient views of device effectiveness and acceptability are underexplored. Our study aimed to elicit device users’ perspectives regarding fitting, acceptability, effectiveness and use of orthoses, and identify important treatment outcomes. Design Qualitative descriptive study using in-depth semistructured interviews. Interview transcriptions were coded and thematically analysed, using ‘Framework’. Setting and participants A purposive sample of 24 adult users of orthotic devices. Nineteen patients were recruited across three National Health Service sites, and five people through charities/patient support groups in England. Half of the participants had been diagnosed with poliomyelitis, and the remainder with multiple sclerosis, Charcot-Marie-Tooth disease, spinal injury or spina bifida, and stroke. The median age of participants was 64.5 years (range 36–80 years). Results Patients’ medical condition impacted significantly on daily life. Participants relied on orthotic devices to enable engagement in daily activities. Patient goals for mobility were linked to individual circumstances. Desired treatment outcomes included reduction in pain, trips and falls, with improved balance and stability. Effectiveness, reliability, comfort and durability were the most valued features of orthoses and associated with reported use. Obtaining suitable footwear alongside orthotic devices was a significant concern. Time pressures during device fitting were viewed negatively. Conclusions Orthotic devices for knee instability play a crucial role in promoting, maintaining and enhancing physical and psychological health and well-being, enabling patients to work, engage in family life and enjoy social activities. Future research should consider how best to measure the impact of orthotic devices on patient quality of life and daily functioning outside the clinic setting, as well as device use and any adverse effects. Trial registration number This qualitative study was retrospectively registered as Current Controlled Trials ISRCTN65240228.
Hydroxytyrosol Modulates Adipocyte Gene and miRNA Expression Under Inflammatory Condition

Chronic inflammation of the adipose tissue (AT) is a major contributor to obesity-associated cardiometabolic complications. The olive oil polyphenol hydroxytyrosol (HT) contributes to Mediterranean diet cardiometabolic benefits through mechanisms still partially unknown. We investigated HT (1 and 10 μmol/L) effects on gene expression (mRNA and microRNA) related to inflammation induced by 10 ng/mL tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-α in human Simpson–Golabi–Behmel Syndrome (SGBS) adipocytes. At real-time PCR, HT significantly inhibited TNF-α-induced mRNA levels, of monocyte chemoattractant protein-1, C-X-C Motif Ligand-10, interleukin (IL)-1β, IL-6, vascular endothelial growth factor, plasminogen activator inhibitor-1, cyclooxygenase-2, macrophage colony-stimulating factor, matrix metalloproteinase-2, Cu/Zn superoxide dismutase-1, and glutathione peroxidase, as well as surface expression of intercellular adhesion molecule-1, and reverted the TNF-α-mediated inhibition of endothelial nitric oxide synthase, peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor coactivator-1α, and glucose transporter-4. We found similar effects in adipocytes stimulated by macrophage-conditioned media. Accordingly, HT significantly counteracted miR-155-5p, miR-34a-5p, and let-7c-5p expression in both cells and exosomes, and prevented NF-κB activation and production of reactive oxygen species. HT can therefore modulate adipocyte gene expression profile through mechanisms involving a reduction of oxidative stress and NF-κB inhibition. By such mechanisms, HT may blunt macrophage recruitment and improve AT inflammation, preventing the deregulation of pathways involved in obesity-related diseases.
Antiamoebic Activities of Indolocarbazole Metabolites Isolated from Streptomyces sanyensis Cultures

Indolocarbazoles are a family of natural alkaloids characterized by their potent protein kinase and topoisomerase I inhibitory activity. Among them, staurosporine (1) has exhibited promising inhibitory activity against parasites. Based on new insights on the activity and mechanism of action of STS in Acanthamoeba parasites, this work reports the isolation, identification, and the anti-Acanthamoeba activity of the minor metabolites 7-oxostaurosporine (2), 4′-demethylamino-4′-oxostaurosporine (3), and streptocarbazole B (4), isolated from cultures of the mangrove strain Streptomyces sanyensis. A clear correlation between the antiparasitic activities and the structural elements and conformations of the indolocarbazoles 1–4 was observed. Also, the study reveals that 7-oxostaurosporine (2) affects membrane permeability and causes mitochondrial damages on trophozoites of A. castellanii Neff.
Nurse’s A-Phase–Silicocarnotite Ceramic–Bone Tissue Interaction in a Rabbit Tibia Defect Model

Calcium phosphate materials are widely used as bone substitutes due to their bioactive and biodegradable properties. Also, the presence of silicon in their composition seems to improve the bioactivity of the implant and promote bone tissue repair. The aim of this study was to develop a novel ceramic scaffold by partial solid-state sintering method with a composition lying in the field of the Nurse’s A-phase–silicocarnotite, in the tricalcium phosphate–dicalcium silicate (TCP–C2S) binary system. Also, we evaluated its osteogenic and osteoconductive properties after being implanted into tibia defects in New Zealand rabbits. X-ray, microcomputer tomography, and histomorphometry studies demonstrated that this porous ceramic is highly biocompatible and it has excellent osteointegration. The material was being progressively reabsorbed throughout the study and there was no unspecified local or systemic inflammatory response observed. These results suggest that ceramic imitates the physicochemical characteristics of bone substitutes used in bone reconstruction.
Clinical Significance of Isolates Known to Be Blood Culture Contaminants in Pediatric Patients

Background and objectives: The objective of this study was to investigate the clinical significance of isolates from blood stream infection known to be blood culture contaminants in pediatric patients. Materials and Methods: Microbiological reports and medical records of all blood culture tests issued from 2002 to 2012 (n = 76,331) were retrospectively reviewed. Evaluation for potential contaminants were done by reviewing medical records of patients with the following isolates: coagulase-negative Staphylococcus, viridans group Streptococcus, Bacillus, Corynebacterium, Micrococcus, Aerococcus, and Proprionibacterium species. Repeated cultures with same isolates were considered as a single case. Cases were evaluated for their status as a pathogen. Results: Coagulase-negative Staphylococcus had clinical significance in 23.8% of all cases. Its rate of being a true pathogen was particularly high in patients with malignancy (43.7%). Viridans group Streptococcus showed clinical significance in 46.2% of all cases. Its rate of being a true pathogen was similar regardless of the underlying morbidity of the patient. The rate of being a true pathogens for remaining isolates was 27.7% for Bacillus and 19.0% for Corynebacterium species. Conclusions: Coagulase-negative Staphylococcus and viridans group Streptococcus isolates showed high probability of being true pathogens in the pediatric population, especially in patients with underlying malignancy.
ALS-Associated SOD1(G93A) Decreases SERCA Pump Levels and Increases Store-Operated Ca2+ Entry in Primary Spinal Cord Astrocytes from a Transgenic Mouse Model

Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) is a fatal neurodegenerative disorder characterized by the selective death of motor neurons (MNs), probably by a combination of cell- and non-cell-autonomous processes. The past decades have brought many important insights into the role of astrocytes in nervous system function and disease, including the implication in ALS pathogenesis possibly through the impairment of Ca2+-dependent astrocyte-MN cross-talk. In this respect, it has been recently proposed that altered astrocytic store-operated Ca2+ entry (SOCE) may underlie aberrant gliotransmitter release and astrocyte-mediated neurotoxicity in ALS. These observations prompted us to a thorough investigation of SOCE in primary astrocytes from the spinal cord of the SOD1(G93A) ALS mouse model in comparison with the SOD1(WT)-expressing controls. To this purpose, we employed, for the first time in the field, genetically-encoded Ca2+ indicators, allowing the direct assessment of Ca2+ fluctuations in different cell domains. We found increased SOCE, associated with decreased expression of the sarco-endoplasmic reticulum Ca2+-ATPase and lower ER resting Ca2+ concentration in SOD1(G93A) astrocytes compared to control cells. Such findings add novel insights into the involvement of astrocytes in ALS MN damage.
Synergistic Anti-Tumor Effect of mTOR Inhibitors with Irinotecan on Colon Cancer Cells

Advanced colorectal cancer has a poor prognosis because of metastasis formation and resistance to combined therapies. Downstream of PI3K/Akt and Ras/MAPK pathways, the mTOR kinase plays a decisive role in treatment failure. We previously established that irinotecan has antiangiogenic properties and it is known that new mammalian target of rapamycin (mTOR) catalytic AZD inhibitors, unlike rapamycin, target both mTORC1 and mTORC2. Thus, we hypothesized that the complete inhibition of the PI3K/AKT/mTOR/HIF-1α axis with mTOR catalytic inhibitors and low doses of irinotecan may have antitumor effects. We showed that the AZD8055 and AZD2014 inhibitors were much more potent than rapamycin to reduce cell viability of four colon cell lines. On the other hand, whereas AZD2014 alone inhibits migration by 40%, the drug combination led to 70% inhibition. Similarly, neither irinotecan nor AZD2014 significantly reduced cell invasion, whereas a combination of the two inhibits invasion by 70%. In vivo, irinotecan and AZD2014 combination drastically reduced ectopic patient-derived colon tumor growth and this combination was more potent than Folfox or Folfiri. Finally, the combination totally inhibited liver and lung metastases developed from orthotopic implantation of SW480 cells. Thus, the use of mTOR catalytic inhibitors, in association with other chemotherapeutic agents like irinotecan at low doses, is potentially a hope for colon cancer treatment.
Comparing the Effect of Dipeptidyl-Peptidase 4 Inhibitors and Sulfonylureas on Albuminuria in Patients with Newly Diagnosed Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus: A Prospective Open-Label Study

Diabetic kidney disease (DKD) leads to substantial morbidity in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM). Evidence suggests that antidiabetic drug dipeptidyl-peptidase 4 (DPP-4) inhibitors may be able to attenuate albuminuria, whereas the influence of sulfonylureas on albuminuria remains unclear. This prospective open-label study investigated the effect of DPP-4 inhibitors and sulfonylureas on urinary albumin excretion, which is a marker of renal microvascular abnormality. A total of 101 participants with newly diagnosed T2DM were enrolled. In addition to metformin therapy, 45 patients were assigned to receive DPP-4 inhibitors and 56 to receive sulfonylureas. Urinary albumin-to-creatinine ratio (ACR) was significantly reduced in recipients of DPP-4 inhibitors after 24 weeks (29.2 µg/mg creatinine vs. 14.9 µg/mg creatinine, P < 0.001), whereas urinary ACR was not significantly changed by sulfonylureas (39.9 µg/mg creatinine vs. 43.2 µg/mg creatinine, P = 0.641). The effect on albuminuria occurred even though both treatment groups had a similar change in serum glycated hemoglobin A1c (−1.87 % vs.−2.40 %, P = 0.250). Therefore, in diabetic patients the addition of DPP-4 inhibitors lowered urinary albumin excretion compared to sulfonylureas, and attenuation of albuminuria may be a consideration when choosing between antidiabetic medications.
Physiological and Biochemical Responses of Orange Trees to Different Deficit Irrigation Regimes

The article presents the results of research consisting of the application of deficit irrigation (DI) criteria, combined with the adoption of micro-irrigation methods, on orange orchards (Citrus sinensis (L.) Osbeck) in Sicily (Italy) during the irrigation season of 2015. Regulated deficit irrigation (RDI, T3) and partial root-zone drying (PRD, T4) strategies were compared with full irrigation (T1) and sustained deficit irrigation (SDI, T2) treatments in terms of physiological, biochemical, and productive crop response. A geophysical survey (electrical resistivity tomography, ERT) was carried out to identify a link between the percentages of drying soil volume in T4 with leaves abscisic acid (ABA) signal. Results highlight that the orange trees physiological response to water stress conditions did not show particular differences among the different irrigation treatments, not inducing detrimental effects on crop production features. ABA levels in leaves were rather constant in all the treatments, except in T4 during late irrigation season. ERT technique identified that prolonged drying cycles during alternate PRD exposed more roots to severe soil drying, thus increasing leaf ABA accumulation.
Long noncoding RNA HIF1A-AS2 facilitates cell survival and migration by sponging miR-33b-5p to modulate SIRT6 expression in osteosarcoma.

Long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) are emerging as vital regulators in various physiological and pathological processes. It was recently found that lncRNA HIF1A-AS2 could play oncogenic roles in several cancers. However, the function and regulatory mechanism of lncRNA HIF1A-AS2 in osteosarcoma (OS) remain largely unclear. In the present study, we demonstrated that HIF1A-AS2 was overexpressed in OS tissues and cells. HIF1A-AS2 downregulation could remarkably affect multiple OS cell biological functions, including cell proliferation, cell cycle progression, cell apoptosis, cell migration and cell invasion. Mechanistic investigations demonstrated that HIF1A-AS2 can interact with miR-33b-5p and negatively regulate its expression, thereby upregulate the protein expression of miR-33b-5p's target SIRT6. Additionally, in vivo experiments using a xenograft tumor mouse model revealed that HIF1A-AS2 downregulation suppressed tumor growth in OS. Taken together, a newly identified regulatory mechanism of lncRNA HIF1A-AS2/miR-33b-5p/SIRT6 axis was systematically studied in OS, which may hold promise as a promising target for treatment.