Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Probiotics and allergy

Allergy is caused by an immune reaction that is out of all proportion to the antigenic stimuli. Classical allergy is a type I hypersensitivity reaction mediated by the interaction of mast cells (and eosinophils) coated with allergen-specific IgE and a cross-linking allergen. The physiological outcome is inflammation commonly displayed by urticaria, rhinitis, vomiting and diarrhoea, depending on the route of allergen entry. In extreme reactions anaphylactic shock can result that may lead to death. Chronic allergic responses most commonly present themselves as asthma and eczema. All these symptoms are the consequence of an imbalanced immune system making an unsuitable response to an environmental or food antigen. On bacterial colonisation of the colon after birth the appropriate microbiological stimuli is essential to redress the balance of the skewed T-helper 2 immune response present in the newborn. This normal interaction between baby and microbes is thought to be compromised in the Western world, with a reduction in bifidobacteria and an increase in clostridial species, particularly in bottle-fed infants. The use of probiotic therapy to prevent allergic disease has been demonstrated in two studies using a probiotic Lactobacillus rhamnosus GG in neonates. A long-term reduction in allergy has been shown in the test group, with lactobacillus reducing the incidence of atopic eczema. Management of allergy through probiotics has also been demonstrated in infants, using lactobacilli to control atopic eczema and cow's milk allergy. Unfortunately, these positive results have not been repeated in studies with older children and young adults.
Correlates of energy balance‐related behaviours in preschool children: a systematic review

Childhood overweight is a multifactorial health problem influenced by several factors. The interaction of behaviours such as physical activity, sedentary behaviour and eating behaviour determines whether or not a positive energy balance or weight gain is experienced. Knowing the correlates of these behaviours in 4‐ to 6‐year‐old children is of major interest for intervention development. According to the systematic literature search, attending a rural preschool was positively associated with physical activity. Gender, age and socioeconomic status were not associated with physical activity, while an indeterminate result was found for ethnicity. Gender and ethnicity were not associated with sedentary behaviour and indeterminate results were found for age and socioeconomic status. Preschoolers were more physically active as well as sedentary on weekdays. Watching television was associated with a higher consumption of snacks and sweet beverages. Strategies aiming to influence energy balance‐related behaviours in preschoolers should target both boys and girls and all ethnic groups from low as well as high social status. During the week, there should be a focus on decreasing sedentary behaviour and in the weekend on increasing physical activity. Focusing on television viewing and the consumption of snacks and sweet beverages could/should also be a strategy.
Prediction of the free-surface elevation for rotational water waves using the recovery of pressure at the bed

This paper considers the pressure–streamfunction relationship for a train of regular water waves propagating on a steady current, which may possess an arbitrary distribution of vorticity, in two dimensions. The application of such work is to both near shore and offshore environments, and in particular, for linear waves we provide a description of the role which the pressure function on the seabed plays in determining the free-surface profile elevation. Our approach is shown to provide a good approximation for a range of current conditions. This article is part of the theme issue ‘Nonlinear water waves’.
Leaf Variegation of Thylakoid Formation1 Is Suppressed by Mutations of Specific σ-Factors in Arabidopsis1[OPEN]

Loss-of-function mutations in specific plastidic transcriptional factors suppress leaf variegation. Thylakoid Formation1 (THF1) has been shown to play roles in chloroplast development, resistance to excessive light, and chlorophyll degradation in Arabidopsis (Arabidopsis thaliana). To elucidate mechanisms underlying THF1-regulated chloroplast development, we mutagenized thf1 seeds with ethyl methanesulfonate and screened second-site recessive mutations that suppress its leaf variegation phenotype. Here, we characterized a unique suppressor line, 42-6, which displays a leaf virescent phenotype. Map-based cloning and genetic complementation results showed that thf1 variegation was suppressed by a mutation in σ-FACTOR6 (SIG6), which is a plastid transcription factor specifically controlling gene expression through the plastid-encoded RNA polymerase. Northern-blot analysis revealed that plastid gene expression was down-regulated in not only 42-6 and sig6 but also, thf1 at the early stage of chloroplast development. Interestingly, mutations in SIG2 but not in other σ-factors also suppressed thf1 leaf variegation. Furthermore, we found that leaf variegation of thf1 and var2 could be suppressed by several virescent mutations, including yellow seedling1, brz-insensitive-pale green2, and nitric oxide-associated protein1, indicating that virescent mutations suppress leaf variegation. Taken together, our results provide unique insights into thf1-mediated leaf variegation, which might be triggered by defects in plastid gene transcription.
Behavior, physiology, and performance of bulls mixed at the onset of finishing to form uniform body weight groups.

In some production settings, beef bulls are mixed at the beginning of the finishing period to obtain homogeneous groups to facilitate finishing and to produce more homogeneous carcasses. Given the stress induced by mixing, we questioned whether this practice was profitable. Sixty-four young bulls were finished in groups of four over 8 mo. They were either mixed or unmixed and had either homogeneous vs. heterogeneous BW at the beginning of finishing. Behavioral traits (social behavior following mixing and general activities during the finishing period), stress measurements (cortisol concentration, adrenal weight, catecholamine-synthesizing enzyme activity, and pain sensitivity), and production traits (growth rate, homogeneity, feed efficiency, and carcass measurements) were evaluated. Bulls reacted to the mixing with increased frequency of social interactions (agonistic interactions: 17.9 in mixed vs. 1.2 in unmixed bulls, P < 0.001; sexual interactions: 9.6 vs. 1.7, P < 0.001; nonagonistic interactions: 5.25 vs. 3.1, P < 0.05). Agonistic and sexual interactions were more frequent between bulls of homogeneous BW (P < 0.05). Throughout the finishing period, the synchronization of activity tended to be lower between mixed bulls (P = 0.09). At slaughter, the activity of tyrosine hydroxylase, a catecholamine-synthesizing enzyme, was increased in mixed bulls (1.52 vs. 1.16 nmol.h(-1). mg(-1), P < 0.05), which may indicate chronic stress. No differences were noted in ADG or carcass traits among treatments. The variability of BW within groups increased in groups that were initially homogeneous, whereas it decreased in groups that were initially heterogeneous. In conclusion, mixing young beef bulls at the beginning of the finishing period did not have detrimental effects on health and production, but mixing induced stress, perhaps due to decreased cohesion within groups. Thus, we failed to confirm the proposed benefit of mixing bulls to homogenize their BW at the onset of finishing because BW homogeneity within groups was not maintained throughout the finishing period.
User satisfaction and service quality of the IS department: closing the gaps

Measurement and management of user satisfaction with information systems (IS) have been issues of concern for practitioners and academics in the field for some time. This paper introduces the ‘Gaps’ approach to service quality, a topic widely discussed in the marketing literature, and proposes that a similar approach is applicable in the IS domain. The user gap is explained and its measurement suggested, and the other gaps within the IS arena are described and their causes and cures addressed.
THE EFFECT OF DIODRAST ON THE NORMAL URIC ACID CLEARANCE.

Uric acid clearances in man have been determined by several investigators. The values reported have ranged from 6.9 to 31.9 cc. per minute. This highest value was recently reported by one group from this laboratory (1). Subsequent attempts by us to confirm this figure have been unsuccessful. The values now obtained for uric acid clearances average about 15 cc. per minute or about one-half the value previously reported. Many possible explanations for this discrepancy presented themselves. First, a different method is now being use.d for the determination of uric acid. However, the methods have been carefully checked. They give nearly identical results. And second, the uric acid clearances performed previously in this laboratory were determined upon specimens of urine and blood, obtained from patients who were also receiving inulin and diodrast, while in the later studies, inulin and diodrast were absent. The presence of either one of these substances might, therefore, alter the normal excretion of uric acid and/or affect the determination of uric acid. It was readily determined that inulin and diodrast do not interfere with the determination of uric acid by the methods used in these experiments when these substances are added directly to the urine in quantities such that the final concentration is of the same order of magnitude as that found in the urine in clearance studies. It would also appear that the presence of inulin in the subject does not affect the uric acid clearance since Coombs et al. (2) have observed an average uric acid clearance in 8 normal nonpregnant humans of 11.1 cc. per minute per 1.73 sq. m. when inulin was given simultaneously. These observations tend to indicate that the
Luteotrophic factors in the sheep.

Robert Denamur died suddenly on 25th April 1973 at the age of 48. He was a great scientist, who retained a deep sense of personal humility; he was always a prey to nagging doubts about the validity of his own experimental observations. This unique ability to indulge more in self-criticism than in the criticism of others made him a perfectionist, and prevented him from rushing into print until he had checked, re-checked and repeated all his experiments. Thus, the greater part of his researches will now remain unpublished; the excellence of his existing contributions in the fields of lactational and ovarian physiology give us some indication of what the scientific community has lost by his untimely death. This paper, full of `unpublished observations' that must now remain for lesser men to confirm and document, was the last that he wrote, and it was published posthumously in 1973 in the Proceedings (pp. 213-223) of a conference on `Le Corps Jaune', held in Paris in July 1973. This paper is reproduced at the wish of the members of the Society for the Study of Fertility and with the permission of Masson et Cie. I have taken the liberty of translating the article somewhat freely, and I hope that it may serve
Tilt table testing in the evaluation and management of athletes with recurrent exercise-induced syncope.

Recurrent idiopathic exercise-related syncope in the young athlete is often a challenging and frustrating condition. Vasovagally mediated hypotension and bradycardia is believed to be a common, but difficult to prove, cause of this form of syncope. This study evaluated the usefulness of head-upright tilt table testing in the evaluation and management of young athletes with recurrent idiopathic exercise-related syncope. Twenty-four trained young athletes (12 male, 12 female mean age 18 +/- 3.4 yr) with recurrent unexplained exercise-related syncope were evaluated by use of an upright tilt table test for 30 min, with or without an infusion of isoproterenol (1-3 micrograms.min-1 given intravenously) in an effort to provoke bradycardia, hypotension, or both. Ten control patients with no history of syncope were also studied. Syncope occurred in 10 patients (41%) during the baseline tilt and in nine patients (37%) during the isoproterenol infusion (total positives 79%). Seventeen patients who had positive test results eventually became tilt table negative with pharmacotherapy, and over a mean follow-up period of 23 +/- 7 months, no further syncopal episodes have occurred. Two patients refused pharmacotherapy and have continued to experience syncope. We conclude that head-upright tilt table testing combined with isoproterenol infusion is useful in the diagnosis of vasovagal syncope in young athletes with recurrent exercise related syncope, and in the evaluation of prophylactic pharmacotherapy.
QTAIM study of strong H-bonds with the O-H...a fragment (A=O, N) in three-dimensional periodical crystals.

The relationship between the d(H.A) distance (A=O, N) and the topological properties at the H.A bond critical point of 37 strong (short) hydrogen bonds occurring in 26 molecular crystals are analyzed using the quantum theory of atoms in molecules (QTAIM). Ground-state wave functions of the three-dimensional periodical structures representing the accurate experimental geometries calculated at the B3LYP/6-31G** level of approximation were used to obtain the QTAIM electron density characteristics. The use of an electron-correlated method allowed us to reach the quantitatively correct values of electron density rhob at the H.A bond critical point. However, quite significant differences can appear for small absolute values of the Laplacian (<0.5 au). The difference between the H.O and H.N interactions is described using the rhob versus d(H.A) dependence. It is demonstrated that the values of parameters in this dependence are defined by the nature of the heavy atom forming the H.A bond. An intermediate (or transit) region separating the shared and closed-shell interactions is observed for the H-bonded crystals in which the bridging proton can move from one heavy atom to another. The crystalline environment changes the location of the bridging proton in strong H-bonded systems; however, the d(O-H)/d(H.O) ratio is approximately the same for both the gas-phase complexes and molecular crystals with a linear or near-linear O-H.O bond.
Stable Operation of the Brushless Doubly-Fed Machine (BDFM)

A simple method of controlling the Brushless Doubly-Fed Machine (BDFM) is presented. The controller comprises two Proportional-Integral (PI) modules and requires only the rotor speed feedback. The machine model and the control system are developed in MATLAB. Both simulation and experimental results are presented. The performance of the system is presented in the motoring and generating operations. The experimental tests included in this paper were carried out on a 180 frame size BDFM with a nested-loop rotor.
Critical taper analysis reveals lithological control of variations in detachment strength: An analysis of the Alpine basal detachment (Swiss Alps)

Although evidence for weak detachments underlying foreland thrust belts exists, very little is known about the lateral variations in effective strength, as well as the geological nature of such variations. Using critical taper analysis, we show that a detailed and systematic measurement of surface slope of the Central European Alps reveals variations in strength parameter F along the detachment, based on the argument that the Alps are close to the critical state. We show that the basal detachment is very weak near the deformation front but strengthens toward the hinterland. Very low F (effective coefficient of friction plus normalized cohesion) values of <0.1 and even 0.05 occur within evaporites and within shales in Triassic (west) or Upper Cretaceous/Lower Tertiary sequences (east) used by the Alpine sole detachment. These very low values in shales—comparably low values are reported from other orogens—are caused partly by slightly elevated pore pressures (λ > 0.54) but may also require additional mechanisms of dynamic weakening.
On the trajectory formation of the human arm constrained by the external environment

Opening a door, turning a steering wheel, rotating a coffee mill are typical examples of human movements constrained by the external environment. The constraints decrease the mobility of the human arm and leads to the redundancy in the distribution of the interaction force between the arm joints. Due to the redundancy of the force actuation in the constrained motions, there is infinite number of ways to form the trajectory of the arm. However, human forms the hand trajectory in a unique way. How does human resolve the redundancy of the constrained motions and specify the hand trajectory? To investigate these problems, we examine the trajectory of human arm in a crank rotation task. To explain the trajectory formation in constrained point-to-point motions, we formulate an optimal control problem and propose a novel criterion minimizing the hand contact force change and muscle force change over the time of movement. The simulation results are compared with human motion and force profiles obtained experimentally. It is shown that the novel criterion captures the characteristics of the human constrained motion much more satisfactory than conventional criteria accepted in the research community.
Hypopharyngeal Reconstruction Using Remnant Narrow Pharyngeal Wall as Omega-Shaped Radial Forearm Free Flap

Purpose: There have been numerous attempts to use pharyngoesophageal reconstruction to restore swallowing function. Much controversy exist over reconstruction after total or partial pharyngectomy, and there is also debate over whether to continue with the reconstructive procedure with a narrow strip of remnant mucosa or complete it after total pharyngectomy. We analyzed the utility of omega-shaped radial forearm free flap (RFFF) using the narrow remnant posterior pharyngeal wall. Methods: Patients in group 1 (n = 12) had a narrow remnant pharyngeal wall with a width of less than 3 cm. Those in group 2 (n = 35) had a remnant pharynx with a width larger than 3 cm. The incidence of fistula, stricture, and swallowing difficulty were evaluated. Swallowing difficulty was graded using a 7-point visual analog scale. All circumferential hypopharyngeal reconstruction with tubed RFFF, pectoralis major flap, and jejunal free flap were also compared with group 1. Results: All flaps survived, and 1 fistula (8%) was detected in group 1. Compared with tubed RFFF (46%) and tubed pectoralis major flap (57%), this is a relatively low rate of fistula formation. In group 1, normal diet was possible in 92% of patients, but 1 patient can tolerate a liquid diet only. In group 2, normal diet was possible in 80% of patients. As for swallowing difficulty, the median visual analog scale score for both groups 1 and 2 was 6 points. When comparing different flaps, stricture and fistula rate was 0 and 8% in group 1, 15 and 46% in tubed RFFF, 43 and 57% in tubed pectoralis major flap, and 33 and 5% in jejunal flap, respectively. Conclusions: We performed all surgeries taking care not to transgress the wide excision principle with the remnant hypopharyngeal wall. For remnant lesions greater than 3 cm, patch-type RFFF was performed, whereas for those less than 3 cm, omega-shaped RFFF was done. We achieved fairly good results in both groups without total resection of the narrow remnant hypopharyngeal wall.
Automatic Modulation Classification Based Multiple Cumulants and Quasi-Newton Method for MIMO System

Automatic modulation classification (AMC) technology, used to identify the modulation type of the received signal, plays an important role in the radio detection and electronic warfare applications. In this paper, we propose a novel featurebased AMC method in MIMO system. Firstly, the independent component analysis (ICA) is applied to separate the mixed signals at the receiver side. Then, the multiple features based on higher-order cumulants are extracted, and are used to identify the modulation type of signals. In classification process, the identification operation is modeled as an optimization problem, and we adopt a Quasi-Newton method to solve it. Simulation results show that the proposed method can classify various modulation types, and implying the effectiveness of the proposed scheme. Moreover, the analysis based on measured data shows that our proposed scheme is practical and efficient. In excellent signal-to-noise (SNR) range, it proves that the proposed method outperforms the other classical feature based methods in terms of probability of correct identification.
Linking songbird nest predation to seedling density: Sugar maple masting as a resource pulse in a forest food web

Abstract The ecological literature presents considerable evidence for top‐down forcing on the maintenance of species diversity. Yet, in temperate forests, bottom‐up forces often exert a strong influence on ecosystem functioning. Here, we report on the indirect influence of a pulsed resource, sugar maple (Acer saccharum) seed production, on nest survival in a migratory songbird. We hypothesized that seed production in year t would determine daily nest survival rate in year t + 1 through its effects on seed‐eating rodents. We used the density of sugar maple seedlings (with cotyledons) in year t + 1 as a proxy for seed production in year t and predicted that it would be inversely related to songbird nest survival the same year. We estimated the density of sugar maple seedlings, eastern chipmunk (Tamias striatus) activity, and daily nest survival rate in the ovenbird (Seiurus aurocapilla) over four successive years in a northern hardwood forest of New Brunswick, Canada. Seedling density varied by two orders of magnitude between years, whereas an index of chipmunk activity changed by an order of magnitude. Both variables were positively correlated and negatively correlated to daily nest survival rate. A logistic‐exposure model including only seedling density received the greatest level of support (lowest AICc). Previous studies have reported the effect of sugar maple masting on seed‐eating rodent populations, but the strong link we report between seedling density and songbird nest survival is novel. A nocturnal seed‐eating nest predator, deer mouse (Peromyscus maniculatus), was not considered in our models, which may explain why chipmunk was not the best predictor of daily nest survival rate. The trophic linkages we observed are remarkably strong for a temperate forest ecosystem and might become more prevalent in northeastern North America, at least on calcium‐rich soils, with the loss of large‐diameter beech trees as a result of beech bark disease.
Mice Lacking Endothelial Angiotensin-Converting Enzyme Have a Normal Blood Pressure

To test the hypothesis that local vascular production of angiotensin II is necessary for the normal regulation of blood pressure, we engineered a new line of genetically altered mice that lack endothelial angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE). This was accomplished using a novel strategy of targeted homologous recombination to separate the transcriptional control of somatic ACE from its endogenous promoter and to substitute control to the albumin promoter. These new mice, termed ACE.3, do not produce ACE within the lung, the aorta, or any vascular structure. ACE activity within the kidney is only about 14% that of wild-type mice and is limited to tubular epithelium. In contrast, hepatic ACE expression in ACE.3 mice is about 87-fold that of wild-type. The blood pressure, plasma angiotensin II levels, response to ACE inhibitors, and renal function of ACE.3−/− mice are indistinguishable from littermate wild-type mice. These data show that, under basal conditions, the normal regulation of blood pressure and renal function is possible in a mouse devoid of endothelial ACE.