Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Island size predicts the frequency of melanic birds in the color-polymorphic flycatcher Monarcha castaneiventris of the Solomon Islands

ABSTRACT Observations that similar traits repeatedly evolve across independent taxa on islands—such as loss of flight in birds or reduction of body size in large mammals—suggest that deterministic processes, rather than drift, drive the convergent evolution of these traits. One such repeated pattern on islands that has received little attention is the evolution of entirely black coloration, or “melanism. ” In several taxa, including birds, reptiles, and insects, melanism has evolved on islands despite the proximity of mainland populations with different colors. We explored the evolution of melanism on islands by testing how island size predicts the frequency of melanic birds in Monarcha castaneiventris obscurior, a subspecies of flycatcher from the Solomon Islands that is polymorphic for plumage color (i.e. melanic vs. chestnut-bellied). While accounting for potential spatial autocorrelation because some islands are <1 km apart, we found that island size predicted the frequency of melanic birds, with smaller islands having higher frequencies of melanism than larger islands. As with other traits that have repeatedly evolved on islands, this pattern suggests that melanism on small islands is likely mediated by deterministic processes like natural selection.
Long-Term Oral Treatment with Nicorandil Prevents the Progression of Left Ventricular Hypertrophy and Preserves Viability

Left ventricular (LV) hypertrophy and myocardial infarction play important roles in the progressive LV dysfunction. We hypothesized that the potassium-channel opener and nitrate-like vasodilator nicorandil prevents the development of LV hypertrophy and preserves myocardial viability. Twenty-four rats were subjected to aortic stenosis for 8 weeks to produce LV hypertrophy and assigned to non-treated and nicorandil-treated (3 mg/kg/d) groups. A third group (n = 12) without stenosis or treatment served as control. All 36 animals were subjected to reperfused infarction by 25-minute occlusion of the left coronary artery followed by 3 hours of reperfusion. Spin-echo magnetic resonance (MR) images were acquired to measure infarction size, LV mass, volumes, ejection fraction, and wall thickness. A necrosis-specific contrast agent, Gadophrin-3, was used to delineate necrotic myocardium. Aortic and LV pressures were measured invasively. At postmortem, LV mass and infarction size were determined and compared with MR findings. Nicorandil prevented the development of LV hypertrophy. Infarction size of nicorandil-treated animals was similar to control animals. Non-treated animals with aortic banding had higher LV mass (P < 0.001), lower ejection fraction (P = 0.006), and larger infarction size (P < 0.001) than treated and control animals. MR and postmortem data showed close agreement. Nicorandil therapy prevented the development of cardiac hypertrophy and protected myocardium against ischemia.
Improved Specimen-Referral System and Increased Access to Quality Laboratory Services in Ethiopia: The Role of the Public-Private Partnership.

BACKGROUND Nonstandardized specimen-transport logistics, lack of laboratory personnel to transport specimens, lack of standard specimen containers, and long turnaround time (TAT) hindered access to quality laboratory services. The objective of the Becton, Dickinson, and Company (BD)-US President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) Public-Private Partnership (PPP) was to support country-specific programs to develop integrated laboratory systems, services, and quality improvement strategies, with an emphasis on strengthening the specimen-referral system (SRS). METHODS In 2007, through the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the Ethiopian Public Health Institute (EPHI) joined with the BD-PEPFAR PPP to strengthen laboratory systems. A joint planning and assessment committee identified gaps in the SRS for prioritization and intervention and piloted the system in Addis Ababa and Amhara Region. RESULTS The PPP established standardized, streamlined specimen logistics, using the Ethiopian Postal Service Enterprise to support a laboratory network in which 554 facilities referred specimens to 160 laboratories. The PPP supported procuring 400 standard specimen containers and the training of 586 laboratory personnel and 81 postal workers. The average TAT was reduced from 7 days (range, 2-14 days) to 2 days (range, 1-3 days) in Addis Ababa and from 10 days (range, 6-21 days) to 5 days (range, 2-6 days) in Amhara Region. CONCLUSIONS This study highlights the feasibility and untapped potential of PPPs to strengthen laboratory systems. This planned and structured approach to improving specimen referral enhanced access to quality laboratory services.
Comparison between invasive and non-invasive measurements of baroreflex sensitivity; implications for studies on risk stratification after a myocardial infarction.

AIMS The ATRAMI (Autonomic Tone and Reflexes After Myocardial Infarction) study has proved the independent prognostic value of baroreflex sensitivity. A limitation of the traditional method of estimating baroreflex sensitivity by phenylephrine, is the need to monitor intra-arterial blood pressure. Our objective was to establish whether this invasive method of monitoring could be superseded by non-invasive methods, such as the Finapres device. METHODS AND RESULTS Patients with three repeated invasive and non-invasive baroreflex sensitivity measurements were selected from the ATRAMI database (n = 454). The mean of these measurements was taken as the baroreflex sensitivity estimate. The repeatability of both methods (standard deviation of the three measurements) decreased with increasing baroreflex sensitivity. There was no constant bias between invasive and non-invasive measurements (0. 22+/-2.2 ms. mmHg(-1), P = 0.42). The linear correlation was very high (r = 0.91, P < 0.01). The normalized 95% limits of agreement were -0.5 and 0.52. On survival analysis, invasive and non-invasive baroreflex sensitivity gave similar prognostic information (likelihood ratio: 155.6 (P = 0.007) and 155.0 (P = 0.006); risk ratio: 0.79 and 0.81, respectively). According to the ATRAMI cut-off points, 85% of patients were classified concordantly by the two methods. None of the patients at high (low) risk with the invasive method were classified as low (high) risk class by the non-invasive method. CONCLUSION Despite wide limits of agreement, invasive and non-invasive baroreflex sensitivity measurements are highly correlated and provide equivalent prognostic information.
Quantization based audio watermarking in a new transform domain

In this paper, a novel blind watermarking technique based on quantization is proposed. Quantization is performed in a special domain which converts one dimensional signal to a 2-D one named Point to Point Graph (PPG). Basis of the method is on the separation of this domain into two portions; while, only one portion is quantized. Furthermore, in the dewatermarking procedure, by using the unquantized portion and zero norm, the embedded data can be extracted. The performance of the proposed method is analytically investigated and verified by simulation with artificial Gaussian signals. Experimental results over several audio signals shows the great robustness of the technique in comparison with the algorithms presented so far.
Effect of Acute Cigarette Smoking on Left and Right Ventricle Filling Parameters: A Conventional and Tissue Doppler Echocardiographic Study in Healthy Participants

Acute effects of smoking on left and right ventricular function is determined by conventional and tissue Doppler imaging methods in this study. Pulsed-wave Doppler indices of the left and right ventricle diastolic function, including mitral and tricuspid inflow peak early and late velocity and their ratio were obtained from 20 healthy subjects by conventional Doppler and tissue Doppler imaging. Echocardiographic indices of left and right ventricles, including isovolumetric relaxation time, deceleration time, isovolumetric contraction time, ejection time, and myocardial performance index of right ventricle were measured before and 30 minutes after smoking a cigarette. Mitral and tricuspid inflow parameters and right ventricular myocardial performance index significantly altered after smoking a cigarette. Among the tissue Doppler imaging parameters, mitral and tricuspid lateral annulus diastolic, but not systolic, velocities altered after smoking a cigarette. Acute cigarette smoking alters left and right ventricular diastolic functions in healthy nonsmokers.
Novel immunotherapy in the treatment of advanced non-small cell lung cancer

ABSTRACT Introduction: Lung cancers remain the principal cause of death cancer-related worldwide with a poor survival rate at five years from diagnosis. In patients with NSCLC harboring specific genetic alterations the anti EGFR TKIs and the ALK TKIs have improved the response rate and the quality of life compared to standard platinum-based chemotherapy. New approaches possibly applicable at the major of patients are needed. Areas covered: The discovery that the immune system plays a fundamental role in the fight against cancer. The cancer cells use mechanisms able to avoid the immune control has led to the development of drugs able to overcome this escape route. The best known checkpoint pathways are the CTLA-4 and PD-1/PD-L1; they suppress T-cell activity in different ways: CTLA-4 regulates T-cell activity at an early stage whereas PD-1 regulates later effector T-cell activity within tissue and tumors. The best characterized checkpoint inhibitors in advanced NSCLC setting are ipilimumab and tremelimumab, (anti-CTLA-4 antibodies), nivolumab and pembrolizumab (anti-PD-1 antibodies), atezolizumab and durvalumab (anti-PD-L1 antibodies). Nivolumab and pembrolizumab have received the FDA and EMA approval for the treatment of NSCLC in second-line setting. Expert commentary: The role played by tumor microenvironment may be the next area of research to overcome the resistance at the checkpoint inhibitors as well as the identification of biomarkers to better select patients. In addition checkpoint inhibitors are investigate in combination with other agent involved in immune control with promising results in solid tumors.
Utility-Value Intervention Helping Parents to Motivate Adolescents in Mathematics and Science : An Experimental Test of a

The pipeline toward careers in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) begins to leak in high school, when some students choose not to take advanced mathematics and science courses. We conducted a field experiment testing whether a theory-based intervention that was designed to help parents convey the importance of mathematics and science courses to their high school–aged children would lead them to take more mathematics and science courses in high school. The three-part intervention consisted of two brochures mailed to parents and a Web site, all highlighting the usefulness of STEM courses. This relatively simple intervention led students whose parents were in the experimental group to take, on average, nearly one semester more of science and mathematics in the last 2 years of high school, compared with the control group. Parents are an untapped resource for increasing STEM motivation in adolescents, and the results demonstrate that motivational theory can be applied to this important pipeline problem.
Epidemiologic Characteristics of Women With Uterine Fibroids: A Case‐Control Study

&NA; Risk factors for uterine fibroids were analyzed in a hospital‐based case‐control study conducted in the greater Milan area, based on 275 women with histologically confirmed fibroids and 722 controls with acute nongynecologic or hormone‐related conditions. Questions were asked about menstrual and reproductive characteristics, education, history of various diseases, and lifetime use of oral contraceptives and other hormonal treatments. The risk of uterine fibroids was reduced in parous women relative to nulliparous ones (relative risk 0.6) and in those who were post‐menopausal (relative risk 0.1 compared with premenopausal women of the same age). Women with fibroids tended to have an earlier age at menarche and at the last birth, to be more educated, and to use intrauterine devices and oral contraceptives more frequently, although these findings were not statistically significant. Current smoking (but not past smoking) lowered the fibroid risk by about 40%. No associations were found with body mass index, history of spontaneous or induced abortions, and age at first birth.
Baculovirus as delivery system for gene transfer during hypothermic organ preservation

Concerns over the safety of conventional viral vectors have limited the translation of gene transfer from an exciting experimental procedure to a successful clinical therapy in transplantation. Baculoviruses are insect viruses, but have the ability to enter mammalian cells and deliver potential therapeutic molecules with no evidence of viral replication. This study provides evidence of the ability of recombinant baculovirus to enter mammalian kidneys and livers during cold preservation. Six kidneys and six liver lobules retrieved from large pigs were perfused with University of Wisconsin (UW) solution containing a baculovirus tagged with green fluorescent protein and preserved for 8 h. In addition, six kidneys were perfused with UW containing a baculovirus expressing red fluorescent protein and preserved for 24 h. Green fluorescent virus particles were detected within transduced kidneys and livers after 8 h standard cold storage and red fluorescent protein mRNA was detected in kidneys after 24 h of cold preservation. There were no significant differences in tissue architecture, cell morphology or ATP content between experimental organs and their controls. Ex vivo transduction of organs with recombinant baculovirus during conventional cold preservation was demonstrated with no evidence of additional injury or reduction in cell viability.
Social media in Latin America: deepening or bridging gaps in protest participation?

The purpose of this paper is to explore the relationship between social media use and protest participation in Latin America. It advances two questions. First, does social media increase the chances of protest participation at the individual level, as prior research shows for advanced democracies? Second, in a region with glaring economic and political inequalities, does social media deepen or reduce the gaps in protest participation that exist among men and women, the young and the old, different social classes, or people with varying levels of political engagement? ,The paper uses cross-sectional Latin American Public Opinion Project survey data from 2012 representing the adult population of 17 Latin American countries. It presents binary logistic regression models with protest participation as the dependent variable, social media use for political purposes as the main independent variable, control variables, and interactions. ,Using social media for political purposes significantly increases protest chances – it is the second strongest predictor. Additionally, social media reduces protest gaps associated with individuals’ age, gender, psychological engagement with politics, and recruitment networks. ,First, the paper shows that the contribution of social media to collective protest travels beyond advanced democracies – it also holds for more unequal regions with weaker democratic trajectories like Latin America. Second, it shows that social media may mitigate participatory inequalities not only, as shown by past research, regarding institutional participation (e.g. voting), but also regarding contentious tactics.
Interaction between the IncHI1 plasmid R27 coupling protein and type IV secretion system: TraG associates with the coiled‐coil mating pair formation protein TrhB

Assemblies of plasmid‐encoded proteins direct the conjugative transfer of plasmid DNA molecules between bacteria. These include the membrane‐associated mating pair formation (Mpf) complex necessary for pilus production and the cytoplasmic relaxosome required for DNA processing. The proposed link between these distinct protein complexes is the coupling protein (the TraG family of proteins). Interactions between the coupling protein and relaxosome components have been previously characterized and we document here, for the first time, a direct interaction between the coupling protein and an Mpf protein. Using the adenylate cyclase bacterial two‐hybrid (BTH) system, we present in vivo evidence that the IncHI1 plasmid R27‐encoded proteins TraG and TrhB interact. This interaction was verified through a co‐immunoprecipitation reaction. We have also been able to delineate the interaction domain of TrhB to TraG by showing a positive interaction using the first 220 amino acids of TrhB (452 aa). TrhB has a proline‐rich domain from amino acids 135–173 which may serve to facilitate protein interactions and/or periplasmic extension. TrhB self association was detected using far‐Western, co‐immunoprecipitation, and also BTH analysis, which was used to define the homotypic interaction domain, comprising a predicted coiled‐coil region at residues 77–124 of TrhB. These data support a model in which the coupling protein interacts with an Mpf component to target the transferring DNA strand held by the relaxosome to the transmembrane Mpf complex.
Role of imaging in the evaluation of single ventricle with the Fontan palliation

The Fontan operation for single ventricle palliation consists of the creation of a complete cavopulmonary connection, usually by incorporating inferior vena caval flow into a pulmonary arterial circulation already receiving flow from the superior vena cava. In single ventricle palliated in this way, the anatomy is complex, and the pathophysiological complications are frequent; so, cardiac imaging is a key aspect of clinical surveillance. Common problems that echocardiography and MRI may disclose and characterise in the Fontan palliation of single ventricle include obstruction of systemic venous and pulmonary arterial flow, atrioventricular and semilunar valve dysfunction, unintended collateral flow patterns, ventricular dysfunction, aortic arch obstruction, interatrial obstruction, fenestration flow and patch leaks. Despite the broad scope of these modalities for detection of such problems, often no single imaging method is comprehensive in any given patient. Therefore, physicians must recognise the limitations of each modality, and circumvent these by application of suitable alternatives. New imaging tools are becoming available, which may ultimately prove to be of value in the Fontan circulation. Proper application of diverse new technologies such as four dimensional flow, computational fluid dynamics and three-dimensional printing will require critical evaluation in the single ventricle population.
Three-Dimensional Magnetic Manipulation of Micro- and Nanostructures for Applications in Life Sciences

We present a magnetic manipulation system capable of 5 degree-of-freedom (5-DOF) wireless control of micro- and nanostructures (3-DOF position, 2-DOF pointing orientation). The system has a spherical workspace with a diameter of approximately 10 mm, and is completely unrestrained in the rotational degrees-of-freedom. This is accomplished through the superposition of multiple magnetic fields, and capitalizes on a linear representation of the coupled field contributions of multiple soft-magnetic-core electromagnets acting in concert. The system consists of 8 stationary electromagnets with ferromagnetic cores, and is capable of producing arbitrary magnetic fields and field gradients up to 50 mT and 5 T/m at frequencies up to 2 kHz. The capabilities of the system are evaluated through the introduction of the reachable magnetic workspace of the system as well as frequency response and calibration results. Experimental results are presented which demonstrate different magnetic control strategies at sub-mm and sub-μm scale.
Personality disorders and violence

Purpose of review To review the most recent literature on the relationship between personality disorders and violent behavior. The review does not aim to address the issue of a possible etiological connection between previously being the victim of violent acts and later developing a personality disorder. Recent findings Recent data suggest that personality disorders, especially antisocial and borderline, are strongly related to the manifestation of violent acts. Substance abuse is another strong factor which could act either independently or additively. Biological factors seem to constitute a risk factor for violent behavior independently of personality. Although intelligence does not seem to be related to violence, some patients may manifest specific cognitive deficits. The ethical and legal questions posed by the above correlations are difficult to answer, and research has not yet provided enough data on this issue. Summary The most recent data support the relationship between antisocial personality and violence, especially when substance abuse is also present, although the presence of confounding factors in the diagnostic criteria suggest caution in the interpretation of the literature.
Brazilian Journal of Chemical Engineering ADSORPTION OF CHROMIUM ION ( VI ) BY ACID ACTIVATED CARBON

The activated carbon produced from olive stones was chemically activated using sulfuric acid, (OS-S), and utilized as an adsorbent for the removal of Cr(VI) from aqueous solution in the concentration range 4-50 mg/L. Adsorption experiments were carried out in a batch process and various experimental parameters such as effect of contact time, initial chromium ion concentration, carbon dosage, and pH on percentage removal have been studied. Adsorption results obtained for activated carbon (OS-S) were compared with the acid-treated commercial activated carbon (CAC-S). The optimum efficiency shows that the Cr(VI) uptake being attained at pH 1.5. The equilibrium adsorption data was better fitted to the Langmuir adsorption model. The results of kinetic models showed that the pseudo-first-order kinetic model was found to correlate the experimental data well. It was concluded that activated carbon produced from olive stones (OSS) has an efficient adsorption capacity compared to (CAC-S) sample.
NG2 cells are distinct from neurogenic cells in the postnatal mouse subventricular zone

NG2 cells express the chondroitin sulfate proteoglycan NG2 and are a fourth type of glia distinct from astrocytes, oligodendrocytes, and microglia. NG2 cells generate oligodendrocytes but have also been reported to represent neuronal progenitor cells in the postnatal mouse subventricular zone (SVZ). We performed a detailed immunohistochemical analysis of NG2 cells in the mouse SVZ, rostral migratory stream (RMS), and olfactory bulb granule cell layer (OB GCL), which constitute a neurogenic niche in the postnatal forebrain. NG2 cells in the SVZ and RMS expressed the oligodendrocyte precursor cell antigen platelet‐derived growth factor receptor‐α but did not express antigens known to be expressed by neuronogenic cells in the SVZ, such as doublecortin, PSA‐NCAM, beta‐tubulin, Dlx2, or GFAP. More than 99.5% of the proliferating cells in the SVZ were NG2 negative. In the olfactory bulb, NG2 cells were found to generate primarily oligodendrocytes and a small number of astrocytes but not neurons. In the SVZ and RMS, NG2 cells were sparse and made up a much smaller fraction of the cells compared with the surrounding nonneurogenic parenchyma. Parenchymal NG2 cells were often located along the border of the SVZ and RMS. The abundance of NG2 cells increased in the distal parts of the RMS and especially in the OB GCL, where NG2 cell processes were seen in close proximity to many maturing interneurons. Our findings indicate that NG2 cells do not represent neuronal progenitor cells in the postnatal SVZ but are likely to be oligodendrocyte precursor cells. J. Comp. Neurol. 512:702–716, 2009. © 2008 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.