Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Secretion of interleukin‐1β by astrocytes mediates endothelin‐1 and tumour necrosis factor‐α effects on human brain microvascular endothelial cell permeability

Evidence suggests that endothelin‐1 (ET‐1) plays an essential role in brain inflammation. However, whether ET‐1 contributes directly to blood–brain barrier (BBB) breakdown remains to be elucidated. Using an in vitro BBB model consisting of co‐cultures of human primary astrocytes and brain microvascular endothelial cells (BMVECs), we first investigated the expression of ET‐1 by BMVECs upon stimulation with tumour necrosis factor (TNF)‐α, which plays an essential role in the induction and synthesis of ET‐1 during systemic inflammatory responses. Increased ET‐1 mRNA was detected in the human BMVECs 24 h after TNF‐α treatment. This was correlated with an increase in ET‐1 levels in the culture medium, as determined by sandwich immunoassay. Both TNF‐α and ET‐1 increased the permeability of human BMVECs to a paracellular tracer, sucrose, but only in the presence of astrocytes. The increase in BMVEC permeability by TNF‐α was partially prevented by antibody neutralization of ET‐1 and completely by monoclonal antibody against IL‐1β. Concomitantly, TNF‐α induced IL‐1β mRNA expression by astrocytes in co‐culture and this effect was partially prevented by ET‐1 antibody neutralization. In parallel experiments, treatment of human primary astrocytes in single cultures with ET‐1 for 24 h induced IL‐1β mRNA synthesis and IL‐1β protein secretion in the cell culture supernatant. Taken together, these results provide evidence for paracrine actions involving ET‐1, TNF‐α and IL‐1β between human astrocytes and BMVECs, which may play a central role in BBB breakdown during CNS inflammation.
Rationale and Design of a Randomized Controlled Trial to Evaluate the Effects of Probiotics during Energy Restriction on Blood Pressure, Body Composition, Metabolic Profile and Vascular Function in Obese Hypertensive Individuals

1Discipline of Clinical and Experimental Pathophysiology, State University of Rio de Janeiro, Avenida Vinte e Oito de Setembro, 77 – rooms 361 and 363, Vila Isabel, Rio de Janeiro, RJ, Brazil 2Department of Clinical Medicine, State University of Rio de Janeiro, Avenida Vinte e Oito de Setembro, 77, room 329, Vila Isabel, Rio de Janeiro, RJ, Brazil 3Department of Applied Nutrition, Nutrition Institute, State University of Rio de Janeiro, Avenida Vinte e Oito de Setembro, 77 – rooms 361 and 363, Vila Isabel, Rio de Janeiro, RJ, Brazil
EFFECTS OF EXTERNAL INORGANIC NITROGEN CONCENTRATION ON METABOLISM, GROWTH AND ACTIVITIES OF KEY CARBON AND NITROGEN ASSIMILATORY ENZYMES OF LAMINARIA SACCHARINA (PHAEOPHYCEAE) IN CULTURE 1

The growth rate of Laminaria saccharina (L.) Lamour. is dependent on inorganic nitrogen in culture. Growth rates were saturated between 5 and 10 μmol · L−1 nitrate. The activities of ribulose‐1,5 bisphosphate carboxylase, phosphoenolpyruvate carboxykinase, mannitol‐1‐phosphate dehydrogenase, nitrate reductase and glutamine synthetase also varied with the concentration of inorganic nitrogen in the medium. All enzyme activities were lowest at 2.5 μmol · L−1 nitrate (the lowest concentration used) increasing to a maximum activity between 10 and 30 μmol · L−1 nitrate. Most enzyme activities followed a hyperbolic curve resembling those described by the Michaelis‐Menten equation, with different half‐saturation constants.
A Molecular Dissection of the Mating System of the Dungeness Crab, Metacarcinus magister (Brachyura: Cancridae)

ABSTRACT Microsatellites were used to determine paternity of Metacarcinus magister (Dana 1852), the Dungeness crab, embryos produced through controlled laboratory matings. Additionally, spermathecal and bursal sperm from mated females were genotyped to elucidate patterns of sperm storage and use. Spermathecal and bursal contents and egg clutches from female M. magister of unknown mating history were similarly analyzed. Genotyping of embryos revealed that bursal sperm are not used in fertilization. Multiple paternity was discovered in clutches from controlled matings and in 40% of clutches carried by crabs of unknown mating history. Males achieve last male sperm precedence through stratification of ejaculates within the spermatheca, but males may actually reduce their reproductive success by depositing too much sperm in the spermatheca. Stratification occasionally fails if the fresh ejaculate is large in volume, or when large volumes of stored sperm are present in the spermatheca, resulting in displacement of stored sperm towards the oviduct and multiple paternity within clutches. Sperm competition is interannual between the single primary male mate at each molt (adult females molt and mate once a year and sperm is retained across molts), and clutches fertilized with sperm as old as 2.5 years can develop to maturity. Female crabs may copulate for reasons other than to gain sperm for fertilization. Despite possessing internal sperm storage organs where oöcytes first encounter sperm, the act of fertilization in M. magister may occur externally.
Influence of juice preparations on the fermentability of sweet sorghum.

Agricultural biomass has shown potential to aid in the solution to the rising need for biofuels and other biobased products. This study focused on sweet sorghum, a crop that produces relatively high quantities of easy to process, directly fermentable aqueous sugar. Sweet sorghum is desirable because of the reduced steps and inputs required for complete conversion to ethanol compared to starch and lignocellulosic biomass, as well as its adaptability to temperate regions, drought tolerance, and photosynthetic efficiency. Laboratory fermentation studies were conducted to evaluate the processing parameters for ethanol production on fresh and frozen sorghum juice. The effects of pH level, yeast type, incubation time, and sterilization were investigated. Ethanol and individual sugar concentrations (sucrose, fructose, and glucose) were measured over time. Fresh sorghum juice stocks on average contained 50% w/w sucrose, 24% w/w glucose, and 26% w/w fructose of total initial sugars, while frozen sorghum juice stocks contained 27% w/w sucrose, 37% w/w glucose, and 36% w/w fructose of total initial sugars. Ethanol yields were higher for sterile treatments, with 7.86% v/v ethanol (62 g L-1) and 6.24% v/v ethanol (49.3 g L-1) within 3 days on average for fresh sterile and non-sterile treatments, respectively. Frozen juice samples resulted in 7.81% v/v ethanol (61.6 g L-1) and 7.10% v/v ethanol (56.1 g L-1) for sterile and non-sterile treatments, respectively, after 3 days of incubation. Sterile treatments typically resulted in >84% conversion of sugars to ethanol, while non-sterile treatments ranged between 60% and 75% conversion. Overall, sweet sorghum juice is capable of supporting yeast fermentation with minimal input, making it a suitable substrate for development of on-farm and large-scale industrial ethanol conversion.
Computational Study of Arzanol – an Antioxidant Compound of Natural Origin

Arzanol is a naturally-occurring biologically active acylphloroglucinol isolated from Helichrysum italicum. It exhibits anti-oxidant, antibiotic and antiviral activities. The current work presents the results of a computational study of arzanol, aimed at identifying conformational preferences and other interesting molecular characteristics. Calculations in vacuo were performed at the HF and DFT levels of theory with full optimization (fully relaxed geometry) and at the MP2 level as single-point calculations on HFoptimized results. Calculations in solution were performed with the Polarisable Continuum Model, at the HF level, considering three different solvents chloroform, acetonitrile and water. The results show that only one conformer is populated in all the media – the conformer comprising all the stabilizing effects, among which the presence of three intramolecular hydrogen bonds plays dominant role. The results also show good consistency with the general trends identified for acylphloroglucinols, both in vacuo and in solution. Keywords—Acylphloroglucinols, Antioxidants, Arzanol, Intramolecular hydrogen bonding, Polyphenols.
OPTIMIZATION OF THE PERFORMANCE OF VAPOUR COMPRESSION CYCLE USING LIQUID SUCTION LINE HEAT EXCHANGER

One of the most commonly used refrigeration systems is vapour compression refrigeration system. As saving energy remains a challenge, researchers are putting a lot of efforts into finding efficient solution to improve the performance of vapour compression refrigeration systems. Mechanical subcooling and Liquid Suction Line Heat Exchanger (LSLHX) are approaches that have shown to improve the performance of Vapour Compression Cycle (VCC) systems. This experimental study is conducted to achieve two objectives. First objective is to optimize the heat source and heat sink water volumetric flow rate combination that results in the best performance. In order to evaluate the effect of using subcooling cycle and LSLHX cycle, different flow rate combinations are studied and analysed. Then, to optimize the heat source and heat sink water volumetric flow rate combination that outcome in the optimum performance. Second objective is to optimize the system performance through implementing subcooling and LSLHX. At the optimum water flow rates, the basic VCC performance of the designed system showed better performance compared to the published data. The system performance was improved by 10% at the optimum flow rate when solely subcooling was used while deteriorated by 47.5% at full LSLHX.
Epidemiologic Study of Avascular Necrosis of the Femoral Head

Avascular necrosis of the femoral head is an increasingly common cause of musculoskeletal disability, and it poses a major diagnostic and therapeutic challenge. The disease affects mostly young adults within their 3rd and 5th decade, the majority of the patients being men. The aim of this paper is to present the findings of our epidemiological study that concerned patients diagnosed with avascular necrosis of the femoral head, admitted in the Orthopaedics Department of the Clinical and Emergency Hospital Craiova between 2007 and 2011. Material and method: The study group included 92 patients diagnosed with avascular necrosis of the femoral head and who were admitted in the Orthopaedics Department of the Clinical and Emergency Hospital Craiova between 2007 and 2011. Inclusion criteria were that the residential county of the patients had to be Dolj County. The obtained findings were processed statistically to correlate clinical and laboratory data of patients diagnosed with this condition. Results: We noticed an increase in the number of patients admitted with the diagnosis of 11 patients in 2007 to a total of 25 patients in 2011. Most patients included in the study, 85.87% were diagnosed in advanced evolutionary stages of the disease, stages III and IV. The main risk factors detected in patients were represented by smoking (36.96%), alcohol intake (20.65%), trauma (11.96%), and corticosteroid therapy (8.70%). In 29.35% of the patients we were not able to find any risk factor, we considered that the cause to be idiopathic. Conclusions: The results of the epidemiological study presented in this paper correspond with related research results found in the consulted literature. There were some variables of our study that we haven’t been able to find correspondence for in the literature.
Impact of Tournaments on the Largemouth Bass Population at Sam Rayburn Reservoir, Texas

Abstract There have been concerns regarding tournament-related impacts on black bass Micropterus spp. for 40 years, but few studies have quantified those impacts. About 52% of anglers at Sam Rayburn Reservoir (46,356 ha) participate in tournaments, and the annual number of events probably exceeds 300. In 2003, we tagged and released 6,021 largemouth bass M. salmoides to estimate the annual proportion of the population caught and retained by tournament anglers. Tag returns were obtained via creel sampling to avoid nonreporting uncertainty, adjusted for recruitment and tag loss, and expanded to estimate the total annual tagged fish catch and harvest. We conducted simulations to evaluate the impacts of tournament mortality using rates of 10, 30, and 50% and compared those estimates with nontournament harvest and catch-and-release mortality (simulated at 5, 10, and 15%) to assess the specific contributions to annual angling and total mortality. From 3,447 angler interviews, creel clerks identified 40 largemou.
Altitudinal patterns of vegetation, flora, life forms, and environments in the alpine zone of the Fiord Ecological Region, New Zealand

Abstract The altitudinal zonation patterns of vegetation structure, vascular flora, and life/growth forms were comprehensively assessed in relation to temperature and soil factors from treeline (1040 m) to the high‐alpine summit of Mt Burns (1645 m) in southeastern Fiord Ecological Region. We tested Körner's hypothesis which stipulates that the physiognomic zonation pattern: treeline, shrub line, tussockline, and beyond, is driven mainly by increased decoupling between the ambient temperature and that experienced directly by plants in relation to proximity of their canopy to the ground. This hypothesis is generally supported, particularly with replacement of the tussock life form by dwarfed, mostly cushion species, at the low‐ to high‐alpine zone transition. The soil pattern appears to be more of a response to, rather than a driver of, the alpine vegetation pattern, including a localised area of frost‐active solifluc‐tion terraces. The Nothofagus menziesii treeline conformed to the “warmest month” model and also with a worldwide growing season mean (7.15°C) of 5.5–7.5°C. We stress the closer analogy in the overall alpine zonation pattern in this region of oceanic New Zealand to that of the tropical high mountains and other oceanic regions, than with the temperate Northern Hemisphere continental mountains.
Projection to the Speaker: Non-restrictive Relatives Meet Coherence Relations

It is standardly assumed that non-restrictive relative clauses (NRCs) do not contribute to the meaning of the main clause, despite their embedded position. Rather, they are interpreted like independent sentences, outside the scope of all operators in the embedding sentence (Chierchia and McConnell-Ginet, 1990; Potts, 2005; Simons et al., 2011; Koev, 2013). For example, the NRC who hates me in (1) is embedded in a conditional clause. Nevertheless the sentence entails that the dean hates the speaker. That means that the proposition expressed by the NRC enters the semantic representation in the global context, outside the scope of the contiditional, i.e. the NRC is interpreted globally. If the NRC were interpreted locally at its position inside the conditional, the sentence should be paraphrasable as ‘if Peter called the dean and if the dean hates me, . ’ However, this reading is not available in (1).
Effect of air exposure on the immune system of the rock lobster Panulirus cygnus

This study aimed to determine the effect of post harvest operations such as air exposure on the health status of lobsters. These effects can be assessed through measurement of selected immune parameters such as total haemocyte counts, haemolymph clotting time, bacteraemia and the differential proportion of granular cells in lobster haemolymph. Lobsters were taken from factory holding tanks and exposed to air for 2, 6, 12, and 18 h through placement in foam boxes. Controls were sampled at each time point by collecting lobsters from the same tank as the experimental animals (10 animals /treatment group) with a different group of lobsters being sampled at each time point. Air exposure caused a significant increase in clotting time at 12h and 18h. Total haemocyte counts showed a decreasing trend. The proportion of granular cells tended to be lower in air-exposed animals, the difference was significant at 2h exposure. The bacteraemia levels tended to be higher in air exposed lobsters than in controls and the difference was significant at 12h exposure. Low total haemocyte counts, high clotting times, low granular cell numbers and high bacteraemia levels implied increased susceptibility to infection and lowered immunity. The results show that air exposure has a significant adverse effect on the immune system and hence on the health status of the lobsters.
Effect of Casein and Oat Flour on Physicochemicaland Oxidative Processes of Cooked Chicken Kofta

Chicken kofta prepared by using minced meat (72%) and optimized quantities of oat flour (8%), casein (2.5%) and refined wheat flour (7%), was treated as experimental product (OFC). The product containing refined wheat flour (10%), hydrogenated fat (7.5%) andwithout oat flour and casein was treated as control. The steam cooked kofta was sealed with air or nitrogen gas and stored at 4 � 2C for 15 days. Inclusion of oat flour and casein resulted in higher (P � 0.05) yield and lower fat (P � 0.05) in OFCas comparedwith control.TheOFCsampleswere harder,gummy, cohesive and chewy compared with control. Casein and oat flour were inhibitory toward oxidation in kofta. Changes in Hunter color (L, a, b, hue and chroma) were marginal. The kofta containing oat flour and casein had better inhibition of oxymyoglobin oxidation. The nitrogen-product was microbiologically safe and sensorily acceptable during the 15 days of storage.
Fractal analysis of the Orce skull sutures

Abstract Methods of fractal geometry (Mandelbrot, 1983) are used here to analyse the relative complexity of the sagittal and lambdoid sutures visible in the skull fragment formed by parts of an occipital squame and parietals found in a sealed deposit at the early Lower Pleistocene site of Venta Micena (Orce, Granada, Spain), generally regarded as human bone but occasionally suggested as belonging to an equid. For comparison with the fossil, corresponding sutures of various primates (hominids, pongids and cercopithecids) and two other groups of mammals (equids and ruminants) were analysed using the computer program FRACTAL-D (Slice, 1989) in order to determine their fractal dimensions as a measure of differential sutural design complexity. The results show that the fractal dimension of the Venta Micena skull sutures lies within the range of variation for infant specimens of both modern and Plio-Pleistocene hominids. Sutural complexity in young pongids and cercopithecids overlaps the range of fractal dimensions found in hominids, whereas values obtained from equids and ruminants are significantly greater than those for all the primates analysed here. Therefore, in terms of fractal dimension measures of relative complexity, the sutures preserved in the Venta Micena fossil could not have belonged to an equid ( pace Agusti & Moya-Sola, 1987); rather, its fractal dimension is consistent with the attribution of the fossil to an infant of Homo sp.
Clinical Manifestation of -Thalassemia/Hemoglobin E Disease

Purpose: To review the clinical manifestation and changes in hematologic parameters of patients with -thalassemia/ hemoglobin (Hb) E. Materials and Methods: Retrospective analysis of the clinical manifestation of 378 patients with -thalassemia/Hb E attending the hematology clinic at Siriraj Hospital between 1957 and 1982. Results: A wide spectrum of clinical phenotypes has been observed. Most patients show clinical symptoms by 10 years of age. The majority of patients survive with or without occasional transfusion. Splenectomy was performed in 26.5% of patients. Patients come to the hospital because of anemia, fever, abdominal mass, and jaundice. Gastrointestinal tract disturbances are the most common presenting symptoms (34.6%), especially abdominal pain (10%) and cholecystitis (5.1%). Respiratory tract infections were found in 21.8% of patients and cardiovascular complications, including congestive heart failure, occurred in 11.9%. Other less common symptoms and complications included bone pain, chronic leg ulcers, paraplegia and hypertension-associated convulsions, and cerebral hemorrhage after multiple blood transfusion. Patients usually die between 20 to 40 years of age (67%), mainly from congestive heart failure and septicemia. Septicemia was often caused by Gramnegative bacteria. Conclusion: These clinical features observed in patients with -thalassemia/Hb E are probably the results of chronic anemia and iron overload. The study of the life history and clinical courses of patients with -thalassemia/Hb E should provide important information for the better management of these patients.
Partition of Main and Trace Minerals in Milk: Effect of Ultracentrifugation, Rennet Coagulation, and Dialysis on Soluble Phase Separation

A study was carried out on the effect of soluble-phase separation on mineral distribution in milk. Fractioning was carried out by rennet coagulation (RC), ultracentrifugation (UC), and dialysis (D) against a large volume of water (1:10). Reconstituted skim milk powder was used and calcium, magnesium, sodium, potassium, phosphorus, manganese, zinc, citrate, lactose, and nitrogen were determined in the soluble fraction. The results of the first two procedures were comparable, except for Zn, which was lower in RC; greater precision was achieved with UC, especially for manganese. On fractioning by dialysis, Ca and Zn levels in the diffusate were higher than in the soluble fractions obtained by UC and RC as a result of long dialysis times (24 h) and low operating temperature (5 °C). With dialysis, Na and K levels in the diffusate were lower than with the other procedures. Of the three procedures assayed, UC appeared to be the best suited for work in series. Keywords: Dialysis; rennet coagulation; ultracentrifu.
Simple measures of climate, soil properties and plant traits predict national-scale grassland soil carbon stocks

Soil carbon (C) storage is a key ecosystem service. Soil C stocks play a vital role in soil fertility and climate regulation, but the factors that control these stocks at regional and national scales are unknown, particularly when their composition and stability are considered. As a result, their mapping relies on either unreliable proxy measures or laborious direct measurements. Using data from an extensive national survey of English grasslands, we show that surface soil (0–7 cm) C stocks in size fractions of varying stability can be predicted at both regional and national scales from plant traits and simple measures of soil and climatic conditions. Soil C stocks in the largest pool, of intermediate particle size (50–250 μm), were best explained by mean annual temperature (MAT), soil pH and soil moisture content. The second largest C pool, highly stable physically and biochemically protected particles (0·45–50 μm), was explained by soil pH and the community abundance-weighted mean (CWM) leaf nitrogen (N) content, with the highest soil C stocks under N-rich vegetation. The C stock in the small active fraction (250–4000 μm) was explained by a wide range of variables: MAT, mean annual precipitation, mean growing season length, soil pH and CWM specific leaf area; stocks were higher under vegetation with thick and/or dense leaves. Testing the models describing these fractions against data from an independent English region indicated moderately strong correlation between predicted and actual values and no systematic bias, with the exception of the active fraction, for which predictions were inaccurate. Synthesis and applications. Validation indicates that readily available climate, soils and plant survey data can be effective in making local- to landscape-scale (1–100 000 km2) soil C stock predictions. Such predictions are a crucial component of effective management strategies to protect C stocks and enhance soil C sequestration.