Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Addition of pearl barley to a rice-based diet for newly weaned piglets increases the viscosity of the intestinal contents, reduces starch digestibility and exacerbates post-weaning colibacillosis

The purposes of the present study were to investigate the effects of feeding a cereal grain containing NSP on body growth and the intestinal microenvironment of recently weaned pigs, and to examine resultant associations with pathogenic Escherichia coli in the intestinal tract. In Expt 1, pearl barley, a grain rich in soluble NSP, was incorporated (250, 500 or 750 g/kg diet) into a low-fibre control diet based on cooked white rice and fed for 7–10 d following weaning. Consumption of pearl barley did not significantly alter piglet live-weight gain compared with the control cooked rice diet, but it accelerated large intestinal growth and fermentation, decreased ileal starch digestibility and increased intestinal viscosity. Expt 2 was conducted to determine whether these differences would favour proliferation of enterotoxigenic E. coli, the bacterium causing post-weaning colibacillosis (PWC). Three groups of pigs were weaned onto diets based on cooked white rice, rice with 500 g pearl barley/kg, or rice with 500 g pearl barley/kg supplemented with exogenous enzymes (Porzyme(tm) 8100; Danisco, Marlborough, Wilts. , UK). Pigs were inoculated orally with haemolytic E. coli serovar O8;K87;K88 after weaning. Animals eating the pearl barley had increased viscosity of the intestinal contents, greater intestinal colonisation with the E. coli strain and more diarrhoea than pigs fed the rice-only diet. The enzymes did not reduce viscosity or protect from PWC. The results suggest that pearl barley alters the intestinal microenvironment and predisposes to PWC, whilst a low-viscosity, highly digestible diet based on cooked white rice is protective.
NMF-Based Image Quality Assessment Using Extreme Learning Machine

Numerous state-of-the-art perceptual image quality assessment (IQA) algorithms share a common two-stage process: distortion description followed by distortion effects pooling. As for the first stage, the distortion descriptors or measurements are expected to be effective representatives of human visual variations, while the second stage should well express the relationship among quality descriptors and the perceptual visual quality. However, most of the existing quality descriptors (e.g., luminance, contrast, and gradient) do not seem to be consistent with human perception, and the effects pooling is often done in ad-hoc ways. In this paper, we propose a novel full-reference IQA metric. It applies non-negative matrix factorization (NMF) to measure image degradations by making use of the parts-based representation of NMF. On the other hand, a new machine learning technique [extreme learning machine (ELM)] is employed to address the limitations of the existing pooling techniques. Compared with neural networks and support vector regression, ELM can achieve higher learning accuracy with faster learning speed. Extensive experimental results demonstrate that the proposed metric has better performance and lower computational complexity in comparison with the relevant state-of-the-art approaches.
Hope, Locus of Control, and Quality of Health Among Elder Latina Cancer Survivors

ABSTRACT The purpose of this study was to explore the effects of hope and internal locus of control on the health and well-being of older women of Mexican origin who have been diagnosed with cancer. The study was conducted using data from Wave 2 of the Hispanic Established Populations for the Epidemiological Study for the Elderly (H-EPESE), a survey of 3050 Mexican American elders living in five southwestern states. To examine the effects of locus of conttol and hope on self-reported health, somatization, negative affect, and resttiction of activity as dependent variables, we applied multiple regression (OLS) analysis to a sub sample of 109 women who reported having a diagnosis of cancer. We used four models to sequentially assess the effects of conttol variables, locus of conttol plus conttol variables, hope plus conttol variables, and both locus of conttol and hope plus conttol variables on each of the four dependent variables. The results indicated that locus of conttol was significantly associated only with three of the four dependent variables and hope was significantly associated with more favorable outcomes for each of the dependent variables. Implications for practice and further research are discussed.
Evaluation of the epistemic state of the speaker/author

Language users are sensitive to their language’s grammatical requirements, the plausibility of the situation described and the information shared by speaker and listener. We propose that they are also sensitive to whether an author is likely to be in a state of knowledge that actually supports the assertion being made. Failure to be in such a state reduces the naturalness of the assertion. Consistent with this proposal, sentences with a disjoined noun phrase are judged to be less natural than their conjunctive counterparts, presumably because the author of a disjunctive sentence must know that an event took place but not know which of the two individuals was the agent. This unlikely state of knowledge reduces the naturalness of the sentence. The results of three experiments indicate that providing evidence that the speaker could be in an unlikely epistemic state reduces the disjunction penalty; a fourth extends the demonstration of the penalty from coordinated noun phrases to coordinated verb phrases. We also present one experiment that explores the possibility that disjunction penalty is due to the unexpectedness of a disjunction. These findings demonstrate that language users evaluate linguistic input in light of the epistemic state of its author.
Still making the case against prehospital intubation: A rat hemorrhagic shock model

BACKGROUND Prehospital intubation does not appear to result in a survival advantage for patients experiencing penetrating trauma; yet, there is still resistance to the practice of “scoop and run” to speed access to advanced care. An animal model was used to determine whether intubation provides a survival advantage during potentially lethal hemorrhage. METHODS The carotid arteries of Sprague-Dawley rats were cannulated, and mean arterial pressure (MAP) was measured. One group of animals (n = 10) was intubated and placed on a ventilator, whereas the other (n = 9) was administered with 100% oxygen via nose cone. Rats were exsanguinated to a MAP of 40 mm Hg and then bled periodically to maintain a MAP between 40 mm Hg and 45 mm Hg. The primary end-point was time until death. Secondary end-points included lactic acid and base excess levels measured in blood collected at 30-minute intervals after inducing shock. RESULTS There was no significant difference in time until death between the intubated and nose cone groups (85.5 vs. 93.3 minutes, p = 0.60). Intubated animals had higher lactic acid levels at 90 minutes (6.1 vs. 3.5 mmol/L; p = 0.02) and 120 minutes (7.7 vs. 2.6 mmol/L, p = 0.03) after the initiation of shock. In addition, intubated animals had worse base excess at 90 minutes (−13.5 vs. −7.9 mmol/L, p = 0.04). CONCLUSION Intubation does not result in a survival advantage in this rat model of hemorrhagic shock. Positive pressure ventilation may cause decreased venous return and accentuate end-organ hypoperfusion. Large animal studies are needed to further investigate these findings.
Recurrent gastroesophageal symptoms and precordial pain in a gastrectomized man improved by amitriptyline. Physiologic, metabolic, endocrine, neurochemical and psychiatric findings.

A 57-year-old white man presenting frequent recurrent chest and precordial pain, heartburn (pyrosis) and post-prandial vomiting for the previous 33 years (one to two years after Bilroth II gastrectomy) was submitted to cardiovascular, endoscopic, radiologic and biochemical studies with negative results. Doctors recommended surgical operation because of an excessively long afferent loop, Several biologic markers were performed at our hospital (intestinal pharmacomanometry, i.m. clonidine test, plasma neurotransmitters plus hormones, oral glucose tolerance test, plasma insulin, etc.), revealing an autonomic nervous system (ANS) imbalance characterized by hyperactivity of the cholinergic plus hypoactivity of the noradrenergic central system. Psychiatric evaluation demonstrated Dysthymic Depression. Treatment with a small daily dose of amitriptyline (a drug which enhances central noradrenergic activity and exerts powerful anticholinergic effects) suppressed symptoms, normalized physiological plus hormonal plus neurochemical parameters and made depressive manifestations disappear. The results suggest that the ANS imbalance was related to depressive syndrome and potentiated by neurohumoral disorders depending on duodenal and jejunal exclusion, and on intestinal post-prandial hyper-osmolarity.
NephrologyDialysis Transplantation Electrolyte modelling in haemodialysis—potassium

Cardiovascular tolerance to haemodialysis is reduced by the appearance of cardiac arrhythmias whose onset is partly caused by an intradialytic increase in cell membrane polarisation. This is due to the current method of dialytic potassium removal based on the use of dialysis baths with a fixed potassium content (constant K D ), which leads to a dialytic transmembrane concentration gradient that decreases during the course of dialysis. By varying the potassium concentration in the bath (variable K D ) during dialysis, it is possible to obtain a constant dialytic transmembrane concentration gradient. For this study, we selected 36 haemodialysis patients attending 17 dialysis centres in whom Holter monitoring revealed the presence of premature ventricular complexes (PVCs) that increased in number during dialysis. In order to compare the arrhythmogenic effect of the treatments, the patients were randomised to undergo dialysis with a constant or variable potassium concentration according to a cross-over design. The main variable, ln(PVC/h+l)post-ln(PVC/h+l)pre = patient effect + direct treatment effect+carry-over effect, was statistically analysed using the analysis of variance. The results show that dialysis carried out using variable potassium concentrations significantly reduced the arrhythmogenic effect of standard dialysis.
Testicular Cancer Among African American College Men: Knowledge, Perceived Risk, and Perceptions of Cancer Fatalism

African American men present at later stages of testicular cancer and have higher mortality rates than Caucasian men. Lack of awareness, beliefs, and access to care may influence this disparity. Guided by the Powe fatalism model, this comparative study assessed knowledge of testicular cancer, perceived risk, and cancer fatalism among African American and Caucasian men who attended selected colleges and universities. Data were collected using the Powe Fatalism Inventory, the Testicular Cancer Knowledge Survey, and the Perceived Cancer Risk Survey. The majority (n = 190) of men were African American (70%), and the remainder were Caucasian. African American men were significantly younger than Caucasian men. African American men also had lower testicular cancer knowledge scores, higher perceptions of cancer fatalism, and lower perceived risk for the disease. Rates of testicular cancer screening were low for all the men. Research should focus on further understanding the relationship between cancer fatalism and health-promoting behaviors among African American men.
Some difference limens for the perception of breathiness.

Perception of breathy voice quality appears to be cued by changes in the vowel spectrum. These changes are related to alterations in the intensity of aspiration noise and spectral slope of the harmonic energy [Shrivastav and Sapienza, J. Acoust. Soc. Am. , 114 (4), 2217-2224 (2003)]. Ten young-adult listeners with normal hearing were tested using an adaptive listening task to determine the smallest change in signal-to-noise ratio that resulted in a change in breathiness. Six vowel continua, three female and three male, were generated using a Klatt synthesizer and served as stimuli. Results showed that listeners needed as much as 20-dB increase in aspiration noise to perceive a change in breathiness against a relatively normal voice. In contrast, listeners needed approximately an 11-dB increase in aspiration noise to discriminate breathiness against a severely breathy voice. The difference limens for breathiness were observed to vary across the six talkers. Voices having aspiration noise that was predominantly in the high frequencies had smaller difference limens. No significant differences for male and female voice were observed.
Robust Model-Predictive Control for a Compound Active-Clamp Three-Phase Soft-Switching PFC Converter Under Unbalanced Grid Condition

Two main problems, including unbalanced grid input and circuit parameters uncertainty in the three-phase soft-switching converter control system, are considered in this paper. First, the constant-switching-frequency model-predictive control (CF-MPC) is improved for application in compound active-clamp zero-voltage-switching three-phase power factor correction converter. Second, a robust-constant-frequency model-predictive control (RCF-MPC) method is proposed for current loop; the novel contributions are: 1) the negative-sequence current component is introduced into the cost function of the model-predictive control to decrease the influence of unbalanced grid input; and 2) a robust item is added into the predictive model to reduce the influence of the circuit parameter uncertainty. Third, a robust variable structure controller is proposed for voltage loop considering the capacitor and load uncertainty. The simulation and experiment results show that, compared with the original CF-MPC method and the traditional proportional–integral control method, the proposed RCF-MPC method decreases the total harmonic distortion under the unbalanced grid condition. Meanwhile, the voltage loop robust variable structure controller has better transient and steady-state performance with respect to the load perturbation.
Overweight and structural alterations of the liver in female rats fed a high-fat diet: a stereological and histological study.

BACKGROUND/AIMS The aim of the present study was to investigate the effects of a fatty diet on body weight and liver morphometry in rats via modern stereological methods accompanied by a histological evaluation. METHODS Eight female "Sprague Dawley" rats were fed a diet constituted highly of fat (30%) for 3 months (the HFD group). Eight control rats were maintained with a standard rat chow. The naso-anal length and body weight of the animals were measured periodically to calculate body mass index. After 3 months, whole livers from the rats were removed, and the volume of each fresh liver was estimated using the water immersion method. After the histological procedure, the volume of paraffin-embedded livers was also estimated using the "Cavalieri" method. Additionally, volumes of the sinusoids and parenchyma were separately estimated with "Cavalieri" method. The mean numerical density, mean nuclear height, and total number of hepatocytes were calculated using the physical disector method. Liver sections were also examined at light and electron microscopic levels. RESULTS The body mass indexs of the animals in the control and HFD groups were 4.536+/-0.221 kg/m2 and 5.581+/-0.42 kg/m2, respectively (p<0.01, Mann-Whitney U test). The mean liver volumes (LVs) measured with water immersion method in the control and HFD groups were 10.51 ml and 11.8 ml, respectively. LVs estimated with "Cavalieri" method were 9.98 ml in the control group and 11.095 ml in the HFD group. The differences in LVs between groups were statistically significant when estimated with both methods, indicating that the LV of the HFD group is higher than that of the control group (p<0.05, Mann-Whitney U test). There was no significant difference between LVs estimated via the two different methods in each group (p>0.05, Wilcoxon test). The volume of sinusoids was increased in the HFD group, but the volume of parenchyma was decreased (p<0.05, Mann-Whitney U test). The mean numerical density, mean nuclear height, and total number of hepatocytes were significantly decreased in the HFD group (p<0.05, Mann-Whitney U test). However, the numerical density and total number of binucleated hepatocytes were significantly higher in the HFD group compared with the control group (p<0.05, Mann-Whitney U test). Light and electron microscopic investigations of the HFD group showed a prominent sinusoidal dilatation, microvesicular steatosis, and an increase in connective tissue in the livers and highly dilated smooth endoplasmic reticulum, irregular mitochondria and microvilli and necrosis in the hepatocytes. CONCLUSIONS We have shown that a fatty diet in rats causes obesity and may lead to morphological alterations in the liver such as hepatomegaly accompanied by histopathological changes.
Sequential Protocols using Basiliximab versus Anti-Thymocyte Globulins in Renal-Transplant Patients Receiving Mycophenolate Mofetil and Steroids

Background. Sequential anti-thymocyte globulins (ATG)/cyclosporine immunosuppression has two main advantages: delayed introduction of the nephrotoxic drug cyclosporine and prevention of acute rejection. Basiliximab, a recently developed chimeric monoclonal antibody that selectively depletes the minor subpopulation of activated T lymphocytes, has been shown to reduce the incidence of acute rejection when used with cyclosporine introduced on day 1. Methods. This open, randomized, multicenter study was undertaken to compare the safety and efficacy of ATG versus basiliximab induction therapy (IT) with delayed introduction of cyclosporine for microemulsion (Neoral) in 105 low immunologic risk renal-transplant patients receiving mycophenolate mofetil and steroids. Results. One-year patient and graft survival rates were 98.1% and 94.2%, respectively, in the basiliximab group (n=52), and 98.1% and 96.2% in the ATG group (n=53). The incidence of biopsy-confirmed acute rejection was comparable (basiliximab 9.6%, ATG 9.4%), as were key parameters of renal function, notably serum creatinine levels, time-to-nadir serum creatinine, and the number of patients requiring posttransplantation dialysis (basiliximab 28.8%, ATG 30.2%). However, significantly fewer patients in the basiliximab group experienced cytomegalovirus (CMV) infection, leukopenia, and thrombocytopenia, and this without any significant difference in any other key safety parameters (including the incidences of serum sickness, fever, lymphoma, and infections in general). Conclusions. Both ATG and basiliximab, when used for IT in a sequential protocol, are equally effective in terms of graft and patient survival as well as at preventing acute rejection. However, basiliximab is associated with a lower incidence of certain key adverse events, namely CMV infection, leukopenia, and thrombocytopenia.
Type 1 and Type 2 cytokines imbalance in adult male C57BL/6 mice following a 7-day oral exposure to perfluorooctanesulfonate (PFOS)

Previous studies indicate that exposure to perfluorooctanesulfonate (PFOS), a ubiquitous and highly persistent environmental contaminant induces immunotoxicity in mice. However, clear mechanisms to explain any PFOS-induced immunotoxicity are still unknown. The study here sought to examine the ability of PFOS to potentially perturb T-helper (TH)-1 and -2 cell cytokine secreting activities, as well as to cause shifts in antibody isotype levels, as possible mechanisms involved in PFOS-induced immunotoxicity. Adult male C57BL/6 mice were given by gavage 0, 5, or 20 mg PFOS/kg/d for 7 days. One day after the final exposure, spleens from these hosts were isolated and used for analyses of the ex vivo production of TH1-type (interleukin-2 (IL-2), interferon-γ (IFNγ)), TH2-type (IL-4), and IL-10 cytokines by isolated splenocytes. In addition, serum was isolated from these mice in order to assess their levels of immunoglobulin M (IgM) and IgG antibodies. In all studies, levels of the cytokines of the antibodies were quantified via enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay or enzyme-linked immunosorbent spot. The results here showed that IL-2 and IFNγ formation was reduced, but that IL-4 production increased by the 5 and 20 mg PFOS/kg/d treatments. Serum IgM levels decreased significantly (in dose-related manner) as a result of the PFOS exposures; serum IgG levels increased markedly with 5 mg PFOS/kg/d, but decreased slightly with the 20 mg PFOS/kg/d regimens PFOS exposure increased serum corticosterone levels in a dose-dependent manner. These results indicated that, after a high-dose short-term exposure to PFOS, a host’s immune state is likely to be characterized by a shift toward a more TH2-like state that, in turn, may lead to suppression of their cellular response and enhancement of their humoral response.
[Verification of validity of MPM II for neurological patients in intensive care units].

PURPOSE Mortality Probability Model (MPM) II is a model for predicting mortality probability of patients admitted to ICU. This study was done to test the validity of MPM II for critically ill neurological patients and to determine applicability of MPM II in predicting mortality of neurological ICU patients. METHODS Data were collected from medical records of 187 neurological patients over 18 yr of age who were admitted to the ICU of C University Hospital during the period from January 2008 to May 2009. Collected data were analyzed through χ(2) test, t-test, Mann-Whiteny test, goodness of fit test, and ROC curve. RESULTS As to mortality according to patients' general and clinically related characteristics, mortality was statistically significantly different for ICU stay, hospital stay, APACHE III score, APACHE predicted death rate, GCS, endotracheal intubation, and central venous catheter. Results of Hosmer-Lemeshow goodness-of-fit test were MPM II(0) (χ(2)=0.02, p=. 989), MPM II(24) (χ(2)=0.99 p=. 805), MPM II(48) (χ(2)=0.91, p=. 822), and MPM II(72) (χ(2)=1.57, p=. 457), and results of the discrimination test using the ROC curve were MPM II(0), . 726 (p<.001), MPM II(24), . 764 (p<.001), MPM II(48), . 762 (p<.001), and MPM II(72), . 809 (p<.001). CONCLUSION MPM II was found to be a valid mortality prediction model for neurological ICU patients.
Targeting the PTPome in human disease

Protein tyrosine phosphatases (PTPs) play vital roles in numerous cellular processes and are implicated in a growing number of human diseases, ranging from cancer to cardiovascular, immunological, infectious, neurological and metabolic diseases. There are at least 107 genes in the human genome, collectively referred to as the human ‘PTPome’. Here the authors review the involvement of PTPs in human disease, discuss their potential as drug targets, and current efforts to develop PTP inhibitors for the treatment of human disease. Finally, the authors present their view of the future for PTPs as drug targets.