Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
THE CHEMICAL COMPOSITION OF FLOWER HEADS OF POT MARIGOLD ( Calendula officinalis L . cv . Orange King ) DEPENDING ON NITROGEN FERTILIZATION

Marigold belongs to the oldest medicinal plants, which had been used in the ancient times. At present it supplies its material of a great significance for pharmaceutical and cosmetic industry. The study was conducted in the period 2007–2009 on loess soil with the granulometric composition of silt loam. The aim of the experiment was to determine the effect of different nitrogen doses (0, 40, 80, 120, 160 kg N·ha) on some plant morphological features as well as on yield and quality of pot marigold inflorescences. Flowering of pot marigold was shortest in the control treatment (30 days) and longest (40 days) in the plot where nitrogen fertilization had been applied at the highest rate (160 kg N·ha). Nitrogen fertilization had a significant impact on the number of flower heads per plant, but no differences were found in inflorescence diameter under investigated factor. Raw material yield was found to increase significantly after the application of 80 kg N·ha, compared to the control treatment. Further increase in the amount of nitrogen (120, 160 kg N·ha) did not result in growth of yield. Nitrogen fertilization modified essential oil content in flowers heads (this content increased along with increasing nitrogen rates), but it did not affect the percentage of flavonoid compounds.
Blood pressure levels and brain volume reduction: a systematic review and meta-analysis

Objective: High blood pressure (BP) levels may be associated with brain volume reduction and may contribute to brain atrophy in key brain regions involved in cognition and susceptible to neurodegeneration in Alzheimer's disease. The purpose of this work was to systematically review and quantitatively synthesize the association of BP levels with brain volume reduction in humans. Methods: An English Medline, Cochrane Library and PsycINFO search was conducted in June 2012 using the Medical Subject Heading terms ‘Blood pressure’, ‘Hypertension’, ‘Brain mapping’ and ‘Brain atrophy’. Results: Of the 609 screened abstracts, 28 studies (4.6%) were included in the qualitative analysis. Twenty-six studies (92.9%) showed a significant association of higher BP levels and/or hypertension with total and/or regional brain volume reduction, the frontal and temporal lobes being particularly affected. In addition, four other studies reported an association between lower BP levels and brain volume reduction. Due to the heterogeneity of methodology and outcomes, random-effects meta-analyses of the mean difference of brain volume could be performed on only seven studies, with a total of 709 cases with hypertension and 1001 controls without hypertension. The findings showed no between-group difference regarding the whole-gray matter volume (summary mean difference = 2.42 cm3 [95% confidence interval (CI): −2.13 to 6.96]). Conversely, cases with hypertension exhibited lower hippocampus volume compared with controls [summary mean difference = −0.10 cm3 (95% CI: −0.17 to −0.02)]. Conclusion: These findings provide evidence that high BP levels lead to brain volume reduction, specifically in hippocampus, and may be an important factor that contributes to neurodegeneration in Alzheimer's disease.
Recent Development in Carbohydrate Based Anticancer Vaccines

The development of carbohydrate-based anticancer vaccines is of high current interest. Herein, the latest development in this exciting field is reviewed. After a general introduction about tumor-associated carbohydrate antigens and immune responses, the review focuses on the various strategies that have been developed to enhance the immunogenicity of these antigens. The results from animal studies and clinical trials are presented.
Behavioral and cognitive core domains shared between autism spectrum disorder and schizophrenia

Growing genetic evidence including results of genome-wide association studies and whole-genome sequencing is still perplexing scientists in the fields of human complex traits and compels them to reconsider the relationship between autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and schizophrenia. The developmental trajectory of schizophrenia may be characterized by difficulties in “theory of mind” tasks, poor insight or imagination, low empathy level, weak executive function, failure in social judgments, delayed language development, movement mannerisms, motoric rituals, strong preoccupation with unusual objects, bizarre habits, and high intelligence. Most of these characteristics are associated with the standard criteria for ASD and all of them are core domains or endophenotypes of ASD. The diagnosed ASD cases, which were found in individuals with schizophrenia, have a significant tendency to be highfunctioning and to have atypical age of ASD manifestation. Episodic features including reality distortion, which can be seen in individual with ASD, may be associated with hyperarousal conditions with cognitive hypersensitivity, misattribution of negative experiences, and the perceptual thinking style. Together with the emerging new genetic concepts concerning human behavioral complex traits, the results and constructions of these recent studies may further warrant that reconsideration of the relationship between ASD and psychotic conditions is necessary. In addition, the possibility that psychotic conditions are the secondary derivative states in individuals with ASD or in individuals with subclinical ASD components should be constructively examined.
Effect of Protective Clothing and Fatigue on Functional Balance of Firefighters

We investigated the effects of wearing personal protective equipment (PPE), design of PPE (Standard vs. Enhanced), and fatigue during a simulated firefighting activity on the functional balance of firefighters. We defined functional balance as the ability to prevent a loss of balance and maintain body posture while performing functional tasks. A novel Functional Balance Test (FBT) was used to assess functional balance of firefighters while stepping up, stepping down, turning, walking along a beam, and passing under an obstacle. Data are presented from fifty-seven male firefighters, who were randomly divided into two groups: Standard PPE (n=28) and Enhanced PPE (n=29). The specially designed Enhanced PPE was lighter, more breathable, and capable of air circulation, compared to traditional Standard PPE. Each participant performed the FBT at three time periods (baseline with station uniform, pre-activity with PPE, and post-activity with PPE after a live-fire simulated firefighting activity). The firefighting activity involved alternating 2-minute rest- work cycles of four stations: stair climb, forcible entry, room search, and hose advancement. The FBT had four trials each with and without an overhead obstacle. Performance errors (major and minor), performance time, and a composite performance index were recorded. Wearing PPE significantly impaired functional balance, as noted by increases in all performance metrics. Following the firefighting activity, performance time increased by 3% but the number of minor and major errors decreased by 13% and 32%, respectively, suggesting that firefighters may trade-off between speed and accuracy depending on perceived threat to balance safety. There was no significant difference in functional balance between the Enhanced PPE and Standard PPE groups, suggesting that Enhanced PPE with a passive cooling system and an external circulating hose is not effective in improving functional balance of firefighters. A better designed PPE, with an improved cooling system and minimal (or no) protruding attachments may be of benefit in terms of firefighter functional balance.
Assessment of the knowledge, attitude and practice of rural women of northeast Nigeria on risk factors associated with cancer of the Cervix

Cervical cancer is the leading cancer-related cause of death among women in Nigeria. An estimated 70,700 new cases occur each year, representing one quarter of all female cancers in sub Saharan Africa. The magnitude of the problem has been under recognised and under prioritised compared with the competing health priorities of infectious diseases such as HIV/ AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria. Studies in the United States and Nigeria have indicated that the disease has the highest incidence among the lowest socio-economic groups especially residing in rural areas. The peak age for the disease has been shown to be within 35-45 years age group. Knowledge of the risk factors of the disease is deemed important in its early detection and prevention. The objective of this study was to assess the knowledge, attitude and practice of rural women with cancer of the cervix. A cross sectional descriptive study was conducted among 1600 rural women aged 15-55 years (randomly selected from 28 villages) who were interviewed using a structured questionnaire between April and June, 2010. The majority (82.2%) were married before the age of 20 years and 19.3% before 15 years, 40% in polygamous union, 22.6% have had 2 or more sexual partners, 71.3% were primi and grand multiparous, 7.5% have had previous treatment for STIs and 10.1% were on various types of contraceptive. 454 (28.4%) have heard of Ca cervix, 358 (22.4%) knew the location of the cervix. 2.3% had Pap smear test of which 72.6% were within 2 years. The majority (89.9%) will avail themselves for screening.
Study on the Coal Combustion and Desulfurization Catalyzed by Nano-Additives

The effects of nano-TiO 2 dosage, Ca/S and temperature on CaO desulfurization and coal combustion were studied. The products were characterized by SEM and IR analysis. The catalysis mechanisms of nano-TiO 2 were discussed. The results show that desulfurization efficiency was 87.7% when nano-TiO 2 dosage is 6%, Ca/S 2, temperature 850degC; it was 16.8% higher than that without addition. The ignition temperature, the burnout temperature and apparent activation energy of bituminous decreased 3degC, 8degCand 2.9 kJ/mol by nano-TiO 2 with CaO addition respectively. The pore diameter and surface area of coal ashes with nano-TiO 2 addition increase because of the active centers of nano-TiO 2 surface; this is helpful to the diffusion and reaction of SO 2 and O 2 , and the desulphurization and coal combustion efficiency increase. The results may be used to provide a useful basis for further applying nano-TiO 2 additive in power plant.
Observer variations in the evaluation of facial nerve function after acoustic neuroma surgery

This investigation was performed in order to evaluate the observer variations in facial nerve function after surgery for an acoustic neuroma. From 1976–90, 507 patients were operated on by the same surgical team (M.T. and J.T.) using a translabyrinthine approach. One hundred and forty-four patients living in Copenhagen City and County were invited for interview and objective examination. Only 128 patients attended the interview and examination which were carried out by the same ENT physician. Data concerning observation of the facial nerve function only is presented. Its function was clinically evaluated (using the House and Brackmann (1985) grading scale) by two different observers i.e the ENT physician and one of the surgeons. The patients were asked face-to-face with the ENT physician to estimate the degree of facial nerve function according to a 0–100 per cent scale. Comparing normal and abolished facial nerve function the judgments of the ENT physician and the surgeon agreed with the patient‘s own evaluation.
Rapid High-Volume Population Screening for Three Major Risk Factors of Future Stroke: Phase I Results

Three proximate risk factors for stroke are carotid stenosis, atrial fibrillation, and hypertension. Phase I of this prospective study was designed to establish the prevalence of these conditions among a population of health maintenance organization beneficiaries by using a rapid screening protocol in order to risk-stratify patients for appropriate management and subsequent cohort analysis. Patients at a tertiary care medical center were screened for stroke risk by using directed history, a 3-minute carotid “quick-scan” protocol, an EKG lead II rhythm strip, and bilateral arm blood pressures. Patients with any abnormal result underwent specific diagnostic consultation with vascular surgery, cardiology, or primary care. These evaluations included formal carotid duplex ultrasound, 12-lead EKG ± Holter monitor, and 5-day blood pressure check. Patients were then stratified into risk cohorts for appropriate management and future analysis of stroke incidence and outcomes. In 8 hours on a single day in October 2002, 294 patients (mean age 69) were screened. Combining history with results of screening and diagnostic tests, the overall prevalence of carotid stenosis was 6% (n= 17/294), atrial fibrillation 7% (n= 21/294), and severe hypertension 5% (n= 16/294). Fifty-nine patients (20%) screened positive for carotid stenosis by “quick-scan,” and 29% (n= 17/59) of these had confirmed stenosis (>50%) in 1 or both arteries by formal duplex. The prevalence of confirmed carotid stenosis was 37% among those screening positive for 1 artery (odds ratio [OR] 14.6; p <0.001) and 75% among those screening positive for both (OR 74.7; p <0.001). Significant independent predictors of carotid stenosis by multivariate analysis included coronary artery disease or myocardial infarction, smoking, stroke or transient ischemic attack, male gender, and white race (all p <0.05). The prevalence of confirmed stenosis was 10% with any 3 predictors alone (OR 2.5; p <0.05), 31% with any 4 (OR 21.2; p <0.001), and 50% with all 5 (OR 46.5; p <0.001). Thirty-three patients (11%) were found to have a previously unidentified and untreated arrhythmia, and 12% (n= 4/33) of these had confirmed new atrial fibrillation; 158 patients (54%) had moderate hypertension and 16 (5%) had severe hypertension (>180/100). Overall, 82% (n= 242/294) of patients screened required additional diagnostic tests. Based on these results, 11% (n= 31/294) of patients were stratified as high risk, 64% (n= 188/294) as moderate risk, and 25% (n= 75/294) as low risk for future stroke. Rapid and efficient screening of a large population for stroke risk factors is feasible. The prevalence of undiagnosed, unsurveilled, and untreated carotid stenosis, atrial fibrillation, and severe hypertension is significant, as 75% of patients screened had 1 or more confirmed major risk factors for stroke. Phase II of this study will investigate the degree of stroke risk reduction possible with a multidisciplinary approach to early identification and aggressive treatment of these risks.
Asthma control score based on filled medication prescriptions: a validation study.

BACKGROUND Periodic measurement of disease control is recommended to characterize asthma and monitor treatment. OBJECTIVE To elaborate and validate an asthma control score (ACS) for use in studies based on administrative health databases. METHODS Adult patients with asthma were recruited from a clinic. The ACS is based on the average number of doses of short-acting inhaled beta(2)-agonists taken per week and short courses of oral corticosteroids dispensed over a three-month period. Data were obtained from the Régie de l'assurance maladie du Québec database in Canada. The ACS was compared with the asthma control questionnaire and the use of health care services for asthma over a 12-month period. RESULTS A total of 60 patients were enrolled. They had a mean (+/- SD) age of 50.4+/-13.9 years, and 43.3% were male. Patients had had asthma for 20.8+/-15.1 years on average and had a mean prebronchodilator forced expiratory volume in 1 s of 77.0% of the predicted value. The mean ACS was 8.3+/-11.6, with a range of 0 to 60. The ACS was not found to be correlated with the asthma control questionnaire, but it was significantly associated with health care services used. For each additional point in the ACS, patients were 2% more likely to need acute care for asthma (rate ratio 1.02; P=0.02). CONCLUSIONS Further studies including patients followed by general practitioners are required before the general use of this score. This innovative score is useful to rapidly assess the control of asthma over long periods of time and at a low cost in studies using administrative drug databases.
Amplified fragment length polymorphism analysis identifies hybrids between two subspecies of warblers

In the western Pyrenees (Southwest France and Northwest Spain), a narrow hybrid zone exists between the common chiffchaff Phylloscopus (collybita) collybita and the Iberian chiffchaff Phylloscopus (c.) brehmii. In this zone, which is approximately 20 km wide, mixed matings and individuals singing the songs of both taxa occur at substantial frequencies (24 and 8.6%, respectively), suggesting frequent hybridization. Previous studies have shown very weak mitochondrial gene flow (Nm = 0.065), whereas four microsatellites suggested much higher nuclear gene flow (Nm = 4.9). In this study we used the amplified fragment length polymorphism (AFLP) method in order to identify hybrids and early backcrosses. We typed 91 birds from both allopatric and sympatric areas for 12 informative AFLP markers (of > 141 polymorphic fragments), obtained by screening 13 AFLP primer combinations. These individuals were previously typed for song (brehmii, collybita or mixed singers), mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) haplotype and allelic genotypes at four microsatellite loci. Assignment tests demonstrated that in the zone of sympatry, a substantial number of intermediate genotypes existed among the birds previously believed to be pure collybita and brehmii, based on song and mtDNA haplotype. The majority of the mixed singers had intermediate genotypes. Our data suggest that the fraction of the adult population having a hybrid origin (hybrids or backcrosses) is in the order of 10%. With such a frequency of genetic hybrids, there would have been much more mtDNA introgression than observed, had female hybrids been perfectly fertile/viable. This result is consistent with male‐biased gene flow and Haldane’s rule.
Large-aperture THz emitter with interdigitated electrodes

We fabricated a large-aperture microstructured THz antenna array composed of seven units of 1-cm/sup 2/ photoconductive antennas having interdigitated electrodes with 10-/spl mu/m lines and spaces on a semi-insulating GaAs substrate. By illuminating it with amplified femtosecond optical pulses, a large THz field comparable to that from conventional large-aperture emitters was obtained at a bias voltage as low as 30 V.
Simultaneous heart rate-motion sensor technique to estimate energy expenditure.

PURPOSE Heart rate (HR) and motion sensors represent promising tools for physical activity (PA) assessment, as each provides an estimate of energy expenditure (EE). Although each has inherent limitations, the simultaneous use of HR and motion sensors may increase the accuracy of EE estimates. The primary purpose of this study was to establish the accuracy of predicting EE from the simultaneous HR-motion sensor technique. In addition, the accuracy of EE estimated by the simultaneous HR-motion sensor technique was compared to that of HR and motion sensors used independently. METHODS Thirty participants (16 men: age, 33.1 +/- 12.2 yr; BMI, 26.1 +/- 0.7 kg.m(-2); and 14 women: age, 31.9 +/- 13.1 yr; BMI, 27.2 +/- 1.1 kg.m(-2) (mean +/- SD)) performed arm and leg work in the laboratory for the purpose of developing individualized HR-VO2 regression equations. Participants then performed physical tasks in a field setting for 15 min each. CSA accelerometers placed on the arm and leg were to discriminate between upper and lower body movement, and HR was then used to predict EE (METs) from the corresponding arm or leg laboratory regression equation. A hip-mounted CSA accelerometer and Yamax pedometer were also used to predict EE. Predicted values (METs) were compared to measured values (METs), obtained via a portable metabolic measurement system (Cosmed K4b(2)). RESULTS The Yamax pedometer and the CSA accelerometer on the hip significantly underestimated the energy cost of selected physical activities, whereas HR alone significantly overestimated the energy cost of selected physical activities. The simultaneous HR-motion sensor technique showed the strongest relationship with VO(2) (R(2) = 0.81) and did not significantly over- or underpredict the energy cost (P = 0.341). CONCLUSION The simultaneous HR-motion sensor technique is a good predictor of EE during selected lifestyle activities, and allows researchers to more accurately quantify free-living PA.
Abnormal Connections in the Malformed Cortex of Rats with Prenatal Treatment with Methylazoxymethanol May Support Hyperexcitability

Prenatal treatment with methylazoxymethanol (MAM) in rats generates animals with a diffuse cortical malformation associated with hyperexcitability. These alterations are reminiscent of the cortical malformations associated with epilepsy in children. We hypothesised that one of the mechanisms supporting hyperexcitability in MAM rats could be the presence of abnormal cortical connections in the malformed cortex. Using a variety of anatomical techniques, we provide evidences for three types of such abnormal connections: (i) tangential bundles of corticocortical fibres in and below the neocortical molecular layer; (ii) partial deafferentation of neocortical heterotopias by afferent cortical fibres whatever their location; (iii) exuberant innervation of hippocampal CA3 pyramidal cells by mossy fibres that form ectopic mossy boutons on their basal dendrites. We conclude that these abnormal intrinsic cortical connections may support the propagation of paroxymal activity in the neocortex of MAM-treated rats.
Feature reduction and representation learning for visual applications

Computation on large-scale data spaces has been involved in many active problems in computer vision and pattern recognition. However, in realistic applications, most existing algorithms are heavily restricted by the large number of features, and tend to be inefficient and even infeasible. In this thesis, the solution to this problem is addressed in the following ways: (1) projecting features onto a lower-dimensional subspace; (2) embedding features into a Hamming space. Firstly, a novel subspace learning algorithm called Local Feature Discriminant Projection (LFDP) is proposed for discriminant analysis of local features. LFDP is able to efficiently seek a subspace to improve the discriminability of local features for classification. Extensive experimental validation on three benchmark datasets demonstrates that the proposed LFDP outperforms other dimensionality reduction methods and achieves state-of-the-art performance for image classification. Secondly, for action recognition, a novel binary local representation for RGB-D video data fusion is presented. In this approach, a general local descriptor called Local Flux Feature (LFF) is obtained for both RGB and depth data by computing the local fluxes of the gradient fields of video data. Then the LFFs from RGB and depth channels are fused into a Hamming space via the Structure Preserving Projection (SPP), which preserves not only the pairwise feature structure, but also a higher level connection between samples and classes. Comprehensive experimental results show the superiority of both LFF and SPP. Thirdly, in respect of unsupervised learning, SPP is extended to the Binary Set Embedding (BSE) for cross-modal retrieval. BSE outputs meaningful hash codes for local features from the image domain and word vectors from text domain. Extensive evaluation on two widely-used image-text datasets demonstrates the superior performance of BSE compared with state-of-the-art cross-modal hashing methods. Finally, a generalized multiview spectral embedding algorithm called Kernelized Multiview Projection (KMP) is proposed to fuse the multimedia data from multiple sources. Different features/views in the reproducing kernel Hilbert spaces are linearly fused together and then projected onto a low-dimensional subspace by KMP, whose performance is thoroughly evaluated on both image and video datasets compared with other multiview embedding methods.