Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
GnRH single-injection immunocontraception of black-tailed deer

Author(s): Perry, Kelly R. ; Arjo, Wendy M. ; Bynum, Kimberly S. ; Miller, Lowell A. | Abstract: High deer densities increase vehicle collisions, damage agricultural crops, and amplify the spread of zoonotic and animal diseases, intensifying human-deer conflict. In addition, deer impact on forest vegetation can influence the distribution and abundance of other wildlife species. Greater demand for non-lethal means of animal damage control has led to an interest in contraception as a wildlife management tool. The development of a single-injection Gonadotropin-Releasing Hormone (GnRH) contraceptive vaccine by NWRC reduces logistical limitations and cost of using immunocontraception as compared to a vaccine that requires two injections. This study assessed the efficacy of two different GnRH-KLH (keyhole limpet hemocyanin) vaccine designs in a single-injection study, to determine if Mycobacterium avium bacterium in the adjuvant is necessary for the success of a single-injection contraceptive vaccine. Forty-two captive female black-tailed deer were divided into 3 groups. Control deer were injected with saline solution, one treatment group received GonaCon™ (a GnRH-KLH vaccine paired with AdjuVac™ adjuvant that contains a small quantity of killed M. avium bacterium), and the second treatment group received GnRH-KLH vaccine with DEAE-Dextran/oil as the adjuvant. Contraceptive success was evaluated by monitoring progesterone, pregnancy specific protein, antibodies to GnRH-KLH conjugate and to Johne’s bacterium (M. avium), and actual pregnancy rates. Pregnancy rates were significantly different based on treatment (X² = 9.389; df = 2; P = 0.009). Pregnancy rates in deer treated with GonaCon™ were significantly reduced as compared to saline controls (P = 0.006), but there was no significant difference between GnRH-DD compared to saline (P = 0.297). Significant difference was found between GonaCon™ and GnRH-DD (P = 0.055). Results suggest that M. avium in the AdjuVac™ adjuvant is essential for the success of the single-injection GnRH vaccine GonaCon™. The development of a single-injection vaccine will increase the practicality and lower the cost of using immunocontraception as a tool to control deer populations.
Magnetic CoFe 2 O 4 Nanoparticles as an Efficient Catalyst for the Oxidation of Alcohols to Carbonyl Compounds in the Presence of Oxone as an Oxidant

Zinc ferrite (ZnFe2O4) nanoparticles were synthesized via the auto-combustion assisted sol-gel method of Zn2+ and Fe3+ ions (molar ratio 1:2) in ammonia solution. The prepared nanomagnetic catalyst was characterized by IR, XRD, SEM and ICP. The diameter of the ZnFe2O4 MNPs (63.7 nm) was determined by Debye-Scherre equation via their XRD pattern. Nanomagnetic ZnFe2O4 efficiently catalyzes oxidation of alcohols and gave the corresponding carbonyl-containing products in good yields. The reactions were carried out in an aqueous medium at r.t in the presence of oxone (potassium hydrogen monopersulfate) as an oxidant. In addition, the catalysts could be reused up to 5 runs without significant loss of activities.
ANTIMICROBIAL AND PHYSICOCHEMICAL PROPERTIES OF METHYLCELLULOSE AND CHITOSAN FILMS CONTAINING A PRESERVATIVE

The methylcellulose was mixed with chitosan as well as 4% of sodium benzoate or potassium sorbate to form a film. Investigations of the antimycotic activity of the film on Penicillium notatum and Rhodotomla nibra revealed that it possessed significant antifungal properties. At 25C, approximately 43-45 % of the preservatives were released from the film to the glycerol-water mixture in the first 30 min. The maximum amount of preservative that could be released from the film at 25C was approximately 5745%. At 4C, 38-39% of preservatives were released from the film within 30 min, and reached a maximum amount of 49 % in approximately 6 h. The IT-IR spectrum showed that the ionic interaction between -COO of preservatives and -NH,+ of chitosan existed in the film. However, the incorporation of preservatives did not affect the tensile strength and elongation propeny of the methylcellulose/chitosan film.
Severe electrolytes disorders with the interstitial kidney alterations in the patient with the history of total thyroidectomy and parathyroidectomy: possible role of vitamin D deficiency

Vitamin D plays vital role for the health, and its deficiency has been implicated in the diverse pathological conditions such as hypomagnesemia and abnormal immune system. Here, we present a case of severe electrolytes disorders (hypokalemia and hypomagnesemia etc.) and kidney damages associated with vitamin D deficiency.
Comparing simulations of ionization triggered star formation and observations in RCW 120

Massive clumps within the swept-up shells of bubbles, like that surrounding the galactic H II region RCW 120, have been interpreted in terms of the collect and collapse (C&C) mechanism for triggered star formation. The cold, dusty clumps surrounding RCW 120 are arranged in an almost spherical shell and harbour many young stellar objects. By performing high-resolution, three-dimensional smoothed particle hydrodynamics simulations of H II regions expanding into fractal molecular clouds, we investigate whether the formation of massive clumps in dense, swept-up shells necessarily requires the C&C mechanism. In a second step, we use RADMC-3D to compute the synthetic dust continuum emission from our simulations, in order to compare them with observations of RCW 120 made with APEX-LABOCA (The Large APEX BOlometer CAmera) at 870 μm. We show that a distribution of clumps similar to the one seen in RCW 120 can readily be explained by a non-uniform initial molecular cloud structure. Hence, a shell-like configuration of massive clumps does not imply that the C&C mechanism is at work. Rather, we find a hybrid form of triggering, which combines elements of C&C and radiation driven implosion (RDI). In addition, we investigate the reliability of deriving clump masses from their 870 μm emission. We find that for clumps with more than 100 M⊙ the observational estimates are accurate to within a factor of 2, while the agreement between simulated and observed masses is much worse for smaller clumps. We also find that even at 870 μm it is important to account for the radiative heating from triggered, embedded protostars.
Psychological aspects of meaning-centered group psychotherapy: Spanish experience

ABSTRACT Objective: Our aim was to identify the themes that arise when applying adapted meaning-centered group psychotherapy (MCGP) in Spanish-speaking advanced cancer patients. Method: A mixed qualitative–quantitative analysis was performed on the transcripts of interviews with 22 advanced cancer patients who had been assigned to three MCGP subgroups. Results: We found six new emergent themes in addition to the originally constructed themes of MCGP. Threat and uncertainty were the two most frequent emergent issues for our Spanish patients. Significance of results: The implementation of MCGP in Spanish patients validated the themes proposed by Breitbart and colleagues' foundational work on MCGP and also suggested new issues relevant to patient well-being (classified as “emergent themes”). Taking our findings into account, we propose that these new themes be considered in the Spanish adaptation of MCGP as well as in future adaptations of this form of psychotherapy in treating Latin American patients.
Enhancement of Recombinant Protein Production in Transgenic Nicotiana benthamiana Plant Cell Suspension Cultures with Co-Cultivation of Agrobacterium Containing Silencing Suppressors

We have previously demonstrated that the inducible plant viral vector (CMViva) in transgenic plant cell cultures can significantly improve the productivity of extracellular functional recombinant human alpha-1-antiryspin (rAAT) compared with either a common plant constitutive promoter (Cauliflower mosaic virus (CaMV) 35S) or a chemically inducible promoter (estrogen receptor-based XVE) system. For a transgenic plant host system, however, viral or transgene-induced post-transcriptional gene silencing (PTGS) has been identified as a host response mechanism that may dramatically reduce the expression of a foreign gene. Previous studies have suggested that viral gene silencing suppressors encoded by a virus can block or interfere with the pathways of transgene-induced PTGS in plant cells. In this study, the capability of nine different viral gene silencing suppressors were evaluated for improving the production of rAAT protein in transgenic plant cell cultures (CMViva, XVE or 35S system) using an Agrobacterium-mediated transient expression co-cultivation process in which transgenic plant cells and recombinant Agrobacterium carrying the viral gene silencing suppressor were grown together in suspension cultures. Through the co-cultivation process, the impacts of gene silencing suppressors on the rAAT production were elucidated, and promising gene silencing suppressors were identified. Furthermore, the combinations of gene silencing suppressors were optimized using design of experiments methodology. The results have shown that in transgenic CMViva cell cultures, the functional rAAT as a percentage of total soluble protein is increased 5.7 fold with the expression of P19, and 17.2 fold with the co-expression of CP, P19 and P24.
Fast Incremental Bundle Adjustment with Covariance Recovery

Efficient algorithms exist to obtain a sparse 3D representation of the environment. Bundle adjustment (BA) and structure from motion (SFM) are techniques used to estimate both the camera poses and the set of sparse points in the environment. Many applications require such reconstruction to be performed online, while acquiring the data, and produce an updated result every step. Furthermore, using active feedback about the quality of the reconstruction can help selecting the best views to increase the accuracy as well as to maintain a reasonable size of the collected data. This paper provides novel and efficient solutions to solving the associated NLS incrementally, and to compute not only the optimal solution, but also the associated uncertainty. The proposed technique highly increases the efficiency of the incremental BA solver for long camera trajectory applications, and provides extremely fast covariance recovery.
A Wearable Detector for Simultaneous Finger Joint Motion Measurement

This paper presents a wearable and stretchable detector for simultaneous finger joint motion measurement, providing the feasible technical solutions to solve the problems existing in the current devices. The sensor array installed in the detector consists of 14 custom-made bending sensors and an inertial measurement unit with high accuracy. The glove support for a sensor array, which is made of three silicone materials with different elasticity, not only overcomes the drawbacks of cloth support, but also addresses the compatibility between the stretch substrate and the inelastic sensing components. Besides, two-section electrical connection avoids the problems caused by the external wires in traditional solutions to enhance the durability of glove. The experiment results indicated that the wearable detector offers a good user experience by exerting a small force on fingers. The device also shows a strong durability as it worked properly after tens of thousands of bending. The measurement tests on a single sensor demonstrated that two kinds of sensors are both with high accuracy. Besides, the hand goniometric system has an excellent performance in terms of hand motion detection. The measurement error of the device in subjects with different hand sizes is within a reasonable range. The good properties of the sensory detector allow it to be applied in clinical applications.
Complementary Bidding Mechanisms and Startup Costs in Electricity Markets

I extend multi-unit auction estimation techniques to a setting in which firms can express cost complementarities over time. In the context of electricity markets, I show how the auction structure and bidding data can be used to estimate these complementarities, which in these markets arise due to startup costs. I find that startup costs are substantial and that taking them into account helps better explain firm bidding strategies and production patterns. As in other dynamic settings, I find that startup costs limit the ability of firms to change production over time, exacerbating fluctuations in market prices. These fluctuations can induce estimates of market power that ignore dynamic costs to overstate markup volatility, with predicted markups that can be even negative in periods of low demand. I show how accounting for startup costs can provide a natural correction for these markup biases.
On Computing One Max_Subset Inclusion Consensus

The search for one consensus that reconciles several conflicting agents or information sources is a key paradigm in both everyday-life and A.I. In this paper, we improve a recent approach to consensus-finding that has been developed in the Boolean logic framework. In that recent approach consensuses are defined as being some specific non-conflicting fragments of the set-theoretic union of all the information to be mitigated. In order to be a consensus, such a fragment must be conflict-free with every information source, taken individually. That approach has also introduced a generic method to compute one consensus that obeys various possible maximality criteria, including maximality with respect to set-theoretical inclusion, i.e., max-inclusion consensuses. As max-inclusion consensuses are of clear interest, the focus is on their computation in this paper. We develop an algorithm for computing one max-inclusion consensus that is experimentally more time and space efficient than the computational method proposed in the initial study. max⊆
Rectify Heterogeneous Models with Semantic Mapping

On the way to the robust learner for real-world applications, there are still great challenges, including considering unknown environments with limited data. Learnware (Zhou, 2016) describes a novel perspective, and claims that learning models should have reusable and evolvable properties. We propose to Encode Meta InformaTion of features (EMIT), as the model specification for characterizing the changes, which grants the model evolvability to bridge heterogeneous feature spaces. Then, pre-trained models from related tasks can be Reused by our REctiFy via heterOgeneous pRedictor Mapping (REFORM) framework. In summary, the pre-trained model is adapted to a new environment with different features, through model refining on only a small amount of training data in the current task. Experimental results over both synthetic and real-world tasks with diverse feature configurations validate the effectiveness and practical utility of the proposed framework.
Phytochemical Composition, Hepatoprotective, and Antioxidant Activities of Phyllodium pulchellum (L.) Desv

Phyllodiumpulchellum has been traditionally used as a medicinal herb because of its health-promoting effects, such as its hepatoprotective and antioxidant activities. In the present study, the petroleum ether fraction, ethyl acetate fraction, n-butanol fraction, and aqueous fraction were successively obtained from the ethanol extract of P. pulchellum. Two fractions, ethyl acetate fraction and n-butanol fraction, were found to display hepatoprotective and antioxidant activities. Further chemical investigation of the active fractions led to the isolation of its main constituents, including 11 flavonoids (1–11) and 8 indole alkaloids (12–19). There were 9 flavonoids (1–9) that were obtained from the ethyl acetate fraction, and 2 flavonoids (10 and 11) and 8 alkaloids (12–19) from the n-butanol fraction. Compounds 1–11 and 16–19 were isolated for the first time from P. pulchellum, and 1, 2, 8, 11, and 18 were obtained from the genus Phyllodium initially. Subsequently, the isolated compounds were evaluated for their in vitro hepatoprotective effects on the human normal hepatocyte cell line L-O2 injured by d-galactosamine and radical scavenging activities against 1,1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH). The flavonoids (−)-epigallocatechin (5) and (−)-epicatechin (6) exhibited prominent hepatoprotective activities with higher cell viability values (65.53% and 62.40% at 10 μM·mL−1, respectively) than the positive control, silymarin (61.85% at 10 μM·mL−1). In addition, compared with the positive control of vitamin C (IC50: 5.14 μg·mL−1), (−)-gallocatechin (3) and (−)-epigallocatechin (5) exhibited stronger antioxidant activities with IC50 values of 3.80 and 3.97 μg·mL−1, respectively. Furthermore, the total flavonoids from P. pulchellum were characterized using a high-performance liquid chromatography-linear ion trap quadrupole-Orbitrap-mass spectrometry (HPLC-LTQ-Orbitrap-MS). In total, 34 flavonoids were tentatively identified, which had not been previously reported from P. pulchellum. In addition, we performed a semi-quantitative analysis of the isolated flavonoids. The contents of compounds 1–11 were 3.88, 17.73, 140.35, 41.93, 27.80, 4.34, 0.01, 0.20, 9.67, 795.85, and 5.23 μg·g−1, respectively. In conclusion, this study revealed that the flavonoids that were isolated from P. pulchellum showed hepatoprotective and antioxidant activities, indicating that, besides alkaloids, the flavonoids should be the potential pharmacodynamic ingredients that are responsible for the hepatoprotective and antioxidant activities of P. pulchellum.
Breast milk transmission of flaviviruses in the context of Zika virus: A systematic review

BACKGROUND Since the Zika virus epidemic in the Americas began in 2015, Zika virus transmission has occurred throughout the Americas. However, limited information exists regarding possible risks of transmission of Zika virus and other flaviviruses through breast feeding and human milk. We conducted a systematic review of the evidence regarding flaviviruses detection in and transmission through milk, specifically regarding Zika virus, Japanese encephalitis virus, tick-borne encephalitis virus, Powassan virus, West Nile virus, dengue virus, and yellow fever virus. METHODS Medline, Embase, Global Health, CINAHL, Cochrane Library, Scopus, Popline, Virtual Health Library, and WorldCat were searched through June 2017. Two authors independently screened potential studies for inclusion and extracted data. Human and nonhuman (animal) studies describing: 1) confirmed or suspected cases of mother-to-child transmission through milk; or 2) the presence of flavivirus genomic material in milk. RESULTS Seventeen studies were included, four animal models and thirteen observational studies. Dengue virus, West Nile virus, and Zika virus viral ribonucleic acid was detected in human milk, including infectious Zika virus and dengue virus viral particles. Human breast-feeding transmission was confirmed for only yellow fever virus. There was evidence of milk-related transmission of dengue virus, Powassan virus, and West Nile virus in animal studies. CONCLUSIONS Because the health advantages of breast feeding are considered greater than the potential risk of transmission, the World Health Organization recommends that mothers with possible or confirmed Zika virus infection or exposure continue to breast feed. This review did not identify any data that might alter this recommendation.
BMP9 (Bone Morphogenetic Protein-9)/Alk1 (Activin-Like Kinase Receptor Type I) Signaling Prevents Hyperglycemia-Induced Vascular Permeability

Objective— Diabetic macular edema is a major cause of visual impairment. It is caused by blood-retinal barrier breakdown that leads to vascular hyperpermeability. Current therapeutic approaches consist of retinal photocoagulation or targeting VEGF (vascular endothelial growth factor) to limit vascular leakage. However, long-term intravitreal use of anti-VEGFs is associated with potential safety issues, and the identification of alternative regulators of vascular permeability may provide safer therapeutic options. The vascular specific BMP (bone morphogenetic protein) receptor ALK1 (activin-like kinase receptor type I) and its circulating ligand BMP9 have been shown to be potent vascular quiescence factors, but their role in the context of microvascular permeability associated with hyperglycemia has not been evaluated. Approach and Results— We investigated Alk1 signaling in hyperglycemic endothelial cells and assessed whether BMP9/Alk1 signaling could modulate vascular permeability. We show that high glucose concentrations impair Alk1 signaling, both in cultured endothelial cells and in a streptozotocin model of mouse diabetes mellitus. We observed that Alk1 signaling participates in the maintenance of vascular barrier function, as Alk1 haploinsufficiency worsens the vascular leakage observed in diabetic mice. Conversely, sustained delivery of BMP9 by adenoviral vectors significantly decreased the loss of retinal barrier function in diabetic mice. Mechanistically, we demonstrate that Alk1 signaling prevents VEGF-induced phosphorylation of VE-cadherin and induces the expression of occludin, thus strengthening vascular barrier functions. Conclusions— From these data, we suggest that by preventing retinal vascular permeability, BMP9 could serve as a novel therapeutic agent for diabetic macular edema.
Geometric morphometrics reveal altered corpus callosum shape in pyridoxine-dependent epilepsy

Objective To evaluate the features and maturational changes in overall callosal shape in patients with pyridoxine-dependent epilepsy (PDE). Methods Measurements were conducted through landmark-based geometric morphometrics applied on cerebral MRIs of patients with PDE and age-matched control subjects. The outline of the corpus callosum was manually traced in the midsagittal plane. Three hundred semi-landmarks along the outline were collected and underwent statistical generalized Procrustes analysis. An allometric regression was applied to evaluate the callosal shape due to growth over time. Results Thirty-eight patients with PDE and 38 age- and sex-matched control subjects were included. Mean age at the time of the MRI in the patient group was 9.3 years (median 6.3 years, range 0.01–48 years). Significant differences (p < 0.01) in the mean callosal shape between patients and controls were found. The allometric regression model revealed significant shape variations (p < 0.01) between the 2 study groups across the developmental course after controlling for the effect of callosal size on shape. This latter effect turned out to be significant as well (p < 0.001). Conclusions Patients with PDE show an altered callosal shape and variations in callosal ontogeny, which are likely secondary to the underlying genetic defect with abnormal function of antiquitin, the product of the ALDH7A1 gene.