Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Examining the latitudinal diversity gradient in Paleozoic terebratulide brachiopods: should singleton data be removed?

Abstract Studies of taxonomic diversity over time commonly count and compare first- and last-appearance data (FADs and LADs) over a succession of temporal intervals, and interpret them with respect to taxon origination and extinction. Singleton taxa, which first appear and last appear in the same temporal interval, are often removed from analyses because they might result from preservational biases rather than evolutionary processes, or they might represent non-independent FADs and LADs. Should singleton taxa always be excluded? We argue that in the case of Paleozoic terebratulide brachiopods, although they may be sensitive to biases in sampling intensity, singleton genera should be included in diversity studies because they do not appear to result from more typical biases, such as Lagerstätten and temporal interval length, that arguably can result in artificially high numbers of singleton genera. Singleton genera can be critical and effective when used to test hypotheses regarding the existence and generation of latitudinal diversity gradients. Contrary to the anti-tropical diversity pattern of modern articulated brachiopods, Paleozoic terebratulides show a latitudinal diversity gradient that peaks in the Tropics. The hypothesis that the Tropics are either a diversity source or sink can be tested by comparing FAD and LAD latitudes. For singleton genera, FAD and LAD latitudes are taken from the same data points and must be removed for statistical comparisons to be valid. We suggest that taxon age distributions can accommodate singleton data, as the taxon age metric considers origination and extinction simultaneously. We generated taxon age distributions to test the hypothesis that the observed Paleozoic diversity gradient results from a latitudinal bias in generic turnover rate. We discovered that singletons are not randomly distributed over latitude, with proportionally more singleton genera occurring in the Tropics. In this case, singleton genera may reflect rapid evolutionary turnover of taxa, rather than simply preservational bias. Methods that can accommodate singleton taxa should be used to study the diversity of Paleozoic terebratulides and possibly other well-skeletonized marine metazoans.
Dental features and treatment findings of impacted maxillary central incisors: A multicenter study

Background: Impacted upper central incisors substantially affect esthetics, function, and the self-esteem of patients. This retrospective multicenter study was designed to assess and compare the demographic and radiographic features and treatment findings for patients with impacted upper central incisors in three different countries. Materials and Methods: Diagnostic and treatment records, panoramic radiographs, and lateral cephalograms were retrieved for 74 (32 female) patients (11.24 ± 2.9 years old), with impacted upper central incisors from the USA, Germany, and Colombia, according to the preset eligibility criteria. Sagittal and vertical angulation and location of the upper impacted central incisors, type of radiographic skeletal malocclusion, surgical procedures, and duration of treatment were investigated. Results: Statistically significant differences between the three groups were found for age (P = 0.003), duration of treatment (P = 0.001), and location of the impacted upper central incisors (P = 0.015). The angulation was significantly bigger for the impacted central incisors compared to the respective normal incisors (P < 0.0001). The age of the patients did not influence the treatment time. The regression model showed that higher height of impaction was associated with a closed surgical procedure (P = 0.046). Conclusions: Patients with impacted incisor treated in three different centers showed differences in terms of age, gender, treatment time, and type of surgical treatment. The surgical access with closed surgery has a direct relationship with a more apical location of the impacted incisor.
A panel of stomach‐specific biomarkers (GastroPanel®) for the diagnosis of atrophic gastritis: A prospective, multicenter study in a low gastric cancer incidence area

Analysis of serum biomarkers for the assessment of atrophic gastritis (AG), considered as gastric precancerous lesion, is of growing interest and recommended by current guidelines. Our aim was to evaluate the diagnostic performance of a panel of biomarkers (GastroPanel®) for the detection of AG in France, a country of a low gastric cancer (GC) incidence.
Improvements in Reduction of Feed Contamination: An Alternative Monitor of Bacterial Killing During Feed Extrusion

SUMMARY Although numerous studies have documented the use of surrogate organisms for the evaluation of pathogens in human food, reports on the use of such organisms for similar studies in animal feed are limited. In the current study, dry feed inocula of Salmonella Typhimurium cells or Bacillus stearothermophilus spores were prepared and used to evaluate theefficiencyofsterilizationduringfeedextrusion.Theinoculawereplacedinsealedstomacher bags and kept under 4°C refrigerated storage, where they remained stable for the 8-wk study period. Testfeed batches wereinoculated with the dryfeed inocula ofSalmonella Typhimurium or B. stearothermophilus spores, and the batches were then extruded by using a single-screw extruder set to various processing stringencies according to a designed experimental protocol. Only thermophilic B. stearothermophilus could be recovered from the test feed samples over the entire range of extrusion processing stringencies used (245 to 345 g of moisture/kg of feed; 3 to 11 s of feed retention time in the extruder barrel; and 77 to 110°C extruder barrel exit temperature). It was concluded that B. stearothermophilus is a suitable surrogate organism for evaluating the sterilization efficiency of feed extrusion and for identifying the optimal processing conditions to use during feed extrusion to eliminate, or at least minimize, the incidence of mesophilic and thermotolerant pathogens in feed.
No clear association emerges between intergenerational relationships and COVID-19 fatality rates from macro-level analyses

Significance Several factors have been examined that contribute to the unequal impact of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) in terms of lethality and prevalence of cases across different geographical areas. Among them, intergenerational relationships (e.g., coresidence and contacts between family members of different generations) have been suspected to play a role in the spread and lethality of COVID-19. Our results show that available evidence on the link between intergenerational relationships and COVID-19 is inconclusive. Future studies need to use individual-level data to obtain more robust statistical evidence on this link before any policy suggestion can be provided. The severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 originated in Wuhan, China at the end of 2019 and rapidly spread in more than 100 countries. Researchers in different fields have been working on finding explanations for the unequal impact of the virus and deaths from the associated coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) across geographical areas. Demographers and other social scientists have hinted at the importance of demographic factors, such as age structure and intergenerational relationships. Our aim is to reflect on the possible link between intergenerational relationships and spread and lethality of COVID-19 in a critical way. We show that with available aggregate data it is not possible to draw robust evidence to support these links. In fact, despite a higher prevalence of intergenerational coresidence and contacts that is broadly positively associated with COVID-19 case fatality rates at the country level, the opposite is generally true at the subnational level. While this inconsistent evidence demonstrates neither the existence nor the absence of a causal link between intergenerational relationships and the severity of COVID-19, we warn against simplistic interpretations of the available data, which suffer from many shortcomings. We conclude by arguing that intergenerational relationships are not only about physical contacts between family members. Theoretically, different forms of intergenerational relationships may have causal effects of opposite sign on the diffusion of COVID-19. Policies should also take into account that intergenerational ties are a source of instrumental and emotional support, which may favor compliance to the lockdown and “phase-2” restrictions and may buffer their negative consequences on mental health.
Fast‐growing transgenic common carp mounting compensatory growth

Compensatory growth is a phase of accelerated growth apparent when favourable conditions are restored after a period of growth depression. To investigate if F-2 common 'all-fish' growth hormone gene transgenic common carp (Cyprinus carpio) could mount compensatory growth, a 9 week study at 29 degrees C was performed. The control group was fed to satiation twice a day throughout the experiment. The other two groups were deprived of feed for 1 or 2 weeks, respectively, and then fed to satiation during the re-feeding period. At the end of the experiment, the live masses of fish in the deprived groups were still significantly lower than those of the controls. During the re-feeding period, size-adjusted mean specific growth rates and mean feed intakes were significantly higher in the deprived fish than in the controls, indicating a partial compensatory growth response in these fish. No significant differences were found in food conversion efficiency between the deprived and control fish during re-feeding, suggesting that hyperphagia was the mechanism responsible for increased growth rates. The proximate composition of the deprived fish at the end of the experiment was similar to that of the control fish. This study is, to our knowledge, the first to report that fast-growing transgenic fish can achieve partial compensation of growth following starvation. (c) 2007 The Authors Journal compilation (c) 2007 The Fisheries Society of the British Isles.
Nutritional Quality of Processed Poultry Waste for Broilers

Abstract Processed poultry waste (PPW), previously dried in a forced air oven and chemically extracted with potassium hydroxide to remove uric acid, was fed to broiler chicks to determine the metabolizable energy, available lysine, and the replacement value of PPW for corn in chick rations. Feed efficiency, feed consumption, and weight gain of chicks receiving 2.5, 5.0, and 7.5% PPW for 14 days was not significantly different from chicks receiving the control corn diets. The metabolizable energy and available lysine of PPW was 1225 kcal/kg and . 25% respectively. The available lysine in PPW represented 67% of the total lysine.
Characterization of Collagen from Different Discarded Fish Species of the West Coast of the Iberian Peninsula

ABSTRACT Skin collagen of six discarded fish species was analyzed and compared. Acid soluble collagen (ASC) was extracted; a characteristic sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (SDS-PAGE) profile for type I collagen was obtained, except for Chimaera mostrosa. Contents of collagen calculated from HPro (31.85% average) were higher than those determined from ASC extracts (17.75% average), with Galeus spp. being the species with the higher percentage. Amino acid analysis revealed the typical composition of collagen, with very few differences among species. Specific profiles were obtained after protease digestion. Denaturation temperature of ASC correlated well with imino and hydroxyproline contents. Results demonstrate the feasibility of using the obtained collagens in different industrial applications.
Factors associated with HIV and syphilis infection among female sex workers in three cities in Papua New Guinea: findings from Kauntim mi tu, a biobehavioral survey.

Background:In this paper, factors associated with HIV and syphilis infection in three cities in Papua New Guinea are explored. Methods: Respondent-driven sampling surveys among FSW in Port Moresby, Lae, and Mt. Hagen (2016-17) were conducted. FSW who were aged ≥12 years, who were born female, who spoke English or Tok Pisin and who had sold or exchanged vaginal sex in the past 6 months were eligible to participate. Participants were interviewed face-to-face and offered rapid HIV and syphilis testing. Survey logistic procedures were used to identify factors associated with HIV and syphilis infection, including modern contraception use, physical violence and having a casual male partner. Weighted data analysis was conducted. Results: Overall, 2901 FSW (Port Moresby, 673; Lae, 709; and Mt. Hagen, 709) were enrolled in the study. HIV prevalence was 15.2% in Port Moresby, 11.9% in Lae and 19.6% in Mt. Hagen. Factors associated with HIV varied by city; for example, use of modern contraception in Port Moresby, experiences of physical violence in Lae and ever having tested for HIV in Mt. Hagen. No one variable was associated with HIV in all cities. Prevalence of syphilis infection was 7.1%, 7.0%, and 3.0% in Port Moresby, Lae, and Mt. Hagen, respectively. Factors associated with syphilis infection also varied by city and were only significant in Lae. Conclusion: The different factors associated with HIV and syphilis infection in each city highlight the complex HIV and syphilis epidemics among FSW and the importance of conducting surveys in multiple locations and developing local interventions.
PKM2 promotes Th17 cell differentiation and autoimmune inflammation by fine-tuning STAT3 activation

Th17 cells undergo metabolic reprogramming towards glycolysis to support their differentiation and pathogenicity. Damasceno et al. report that PKM2, a glycolytic enzyme, plays a nonmetabolic role in mediating Th17 cell differentiation and autoimmune neuroinflammation by fine-tuning STAT3 activation.
Biochemical and nutritional traits of sea bass (Dicentrachus labrax) from different rearing systems.

Abstract Farmed European sea bass (Dicentrarchus labrax), sampled from three different culture systems (intensive in sea-cages, intensive in land-based basins and extensive in lagoon and storage basins of salt-work), of the Northern, Central and Southern Italy, were analyzed with the aim to employ nutritional trait to describe and to distinguish the “origin” of the product. Lipid and fatty acid profile, strongly affected by the feeding history and environmental factors, responsible of the nutritional and perceived quality of fish product, are proposed as marker of origin.
Baseline Computed Tomography Radiomic and Genomic Assessment of Head and Neck Squamous Cell Carcinoma.

PURPOSE To determine the relationship between computed tomography (CT) radiomic features and gene expression levels in head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC). METHODS This retrospective study included 66 patients with HNSCC primary lesions (36 oropharyngeal, 6 hypopharyngeal, 10 laryngeal, 14 oral cavity). Gene expression information for 6 targetable genes (fibroblast growth factor receptor [FGFR]1, epidermal growth factor receptor [EGFR], FGFR2, FGFR3, EPHA2, PIK3CA) was obtained via Agilent microarrays from samples collected between 1997 and 2010. Pretreatment contrast-enhanced soft tissue neck CT scans were reviewed, and 142 radiomics features were derived. R was used to calculate Pearson correlation coefficients were calculated between gene expression levels and each radiomic feature. P values were adjusted using the false discovery rate (FDR) method. RESULTS There were significant correlations between FGFR1 and 5 gray level cooccurrence matrix (GLCM) features with FDR-adjusted P values less than 0.05: inertia (r = 0.366, FDR-adjusted P = 0.006), absolute value (r = 0.31, FDR-adjusted P = 0.024), contrast (r = 0.366, FDR-adjusted P = 0.006), difference average (r = 0.31, FDR-adjusted P = 0.024), and difference variance (r = 0.37, FDR-adjusted P = 0.005). There was 1 correlated feature for FGFR2 with an FDR-adjusted P value less than 0.05: fractal dimension box-coarse (r = 0.33, FDR-adjusted P = 0.018). There was 1 correlated feature for EPHA2 with an FDR-adjusted P value less than 0.05: GLCM entropy (r = -0.28, FDR-adjusted P = 0.049). Six of the 7 features that showed significant correlation belonged to the GLCM class of features. CONCLUSIONS The CT radiomic features demonstrate correlations with FGFR1 status in HNSCC and should be further investigated for their potential to predict FGFR1 status.
Reproductive Toxicity and Biomarker Response to a Daily Dose of Tramadol in Male Albino Rats (Rattus norvegicus)

This study was designed to evaluate the effect of a daily dose of tramadol on selected biomarkers viz: haematological parameters, sperm count, kidney and liver damage in male albino rats. Twenty four wistar rats were divided randomly into two groups: control group and treated groups, the treated group were further divided into four groups and housed in cages. Clean drinking water was served to control (group 1), and 1.6 mg/kg bodyweight of tramadol was administered to group 2 (7 days treatment), group 3 (14 days treatment), group 4 (21 days treatment) and group 5 (21 days treatment +7 days withdrawal) in addition to a daily standard diet for all groups. Treatment of rats with tramadol caused significant decrease (P<0.05) in WBC, platelet and lymph. in group 2, on bicarbonate, AST and protein, it showed significant decrease (P<0.05) in group 3, and it showed significant decrease (P<0.05) in group 5 on Cl-, AST, ALT, bicarbonate, AST, PCV, Hb, RBC, WBC, platelet, lymphocytes and sperm count. The results indicates that tramadol has negative effects on the liver which may induce severe liver damage when used for a prolonged period, the results also shows that tramadol can cause anaemia as seen by the observed negative changes in the blood parameters evaluated. Therefore, administration should be with great caution and from a licensed pharmacist or doctor while self prescription or over the counter administration should be avoided considering the associated adverse effects.
Prymnesium parvum Control Treatments For Fish Hatcheries 1

Barkoh, Aaron, Dennis G. Smith, and Gregory M. Southard, 2010. Prymnesium parvum Control Treatments for Fish Hatcheries. Journal of the American Water Resources Association (JAWRA) 46(1):161‐169. DOI: 10.1111/j.1752‐1688.2009. 00400.x
Cytomegalovirus and Inflammatory Bowel Diseases (IBD) with a Special Focus on the Link with Ulcerative Colitis (UC)

Cytomegalovirus (CMV) infects approximately 40% of adults in France and persists lifelong as a latent agent in different organs, including gut. A close relationship is observed between inflammation that favors viral expression and viral replication that exacerbates inflammation. In this context, CMV colitis may impact the prognosis of patients suffering from inflammatory bowel diseases (IBDs), and notably those with ulcerative colitis (UC). In UC, the mucosal inflammation and T helper cell (TH) 2 cytokines, together with immunomodulatory drugs used for controlling flare-ups, favor viral reactivation within the gut, which, in turn, increases mucosal inflammation, impairs corticoid and immunosuppressor efficacy (the probability of steroid resistance is multiplied by more than 20 in the case of CMV colitis), and enhances the risk for colectomy. This review emphasizes the virological tools that are recommended for exploring CMV colitis during inflammatory bowel diseases (IBD) and underlines the interest of using ganciclovir for treating flare-ups associated to CMV colitis in UC patients.
Relationship between labour force satisfaction, wages and retention within the UK National Health Service: a systematic review of the literature

Objectives A systematic review was undertaken to understand the nature of the relationship between the UK National Health Service (NHS) labour force and satisfaction, retention and wages. Design Narrative systematic review. Data sources The literature was searched using seven databases in January 2020: MEDLINE (1996–present), the Cumulative Index to Nursing and Allied Health Literature (CINAHL via EBSCO) (1984–present), Embase (1996–present), PsycINFO (1987–present), ProQuest (1996–present), Scopus (all years) and Cochrane library (all years). We used medical subject headings and key words relating to ‘retention’, ‘satisfaction’ and ‘wages’. Eligibility criteria for selecting studies Primary research studies or reviews that focused on the following relationships within the NHS workforce: wages and job satisfaction, job satisfaction and retention or wages and retention. Data extraction and synthesis Two independent reviewers screened all titles, abstracts and full texts, with arbitration by a third reviewer. Results 27 803 articles were identified and after removing duplicates (n=17 156), articles were removed at the title (n=10 421), abstract (n=150) and full-text (n=45) stages. A total of 31 full-text articles were included. They identified three broad themes, low job satisfaction impacting negatively on job retention, poor pay impacting negatively on staff satisfaction and the limitations of increasing pay as a means of improving staff retention. Several factors affected these relationships, including the environment, discrimination, flexibility, autonomy, training and staffing levels. Conclusions This review highlighted how multiple factors influence NHS labour force retention. Pay was found to influence satisfaction, which in turn affected retention. An increase in wages alone is unlikely to be sufficient to ameliorate the concerns of NHS workers. More research is needed to identify the role of autonomy on retention. A system leadership approach underpinned by data is required to implement bespoke job satisfaction improvement strategies to improve retention and achieve the goals of the NHS Long Term Plan.
Does Warm Glow Promote Physical Activity? Examining the Relative Effectiveness of Self-Benefiting versus Other-Benefiting Incentives in Motivating Fitness App Use by Corporate Sponsorship Programs

ABSTRACT Despite an essential step in the self-regulation process, the feature of offering rewards – in particular, offering tangible rewards – is underdeveloped in most fitness mobile apps. The present study addressed this issue by harnessing the contributions of corporations in the form of providing incentives to fitness app users as part of their corporate social responsibility initiatives. This study investigated the dual mechanisms through which incentive type and functional congruence shape consumers’ intention to use a fitness app and their attitudes toward the sponsor, respectively. Through a 2 (self-benefiting vs. other-benefiting incentives) by 2 (low vs. high congruence) experiment, this study found that when using other-benefiting incentives, incentives provided by high-congruence sponsors elicited more favorable attitude toward the incentive than those provided by low-congruence sponsors and, in turn, increased users’ propensity to use the app. But this indirect effect was not in play when using self-benefiting incentives. From the sponsor’s perspective, in the low-congruence condition, other-benefiting incentives were more effective in leading users to attribute altruistic motives to the sponsorship, resulting in more favorable attitudes toward the sponsor; however, the mediating mechanism failed to operate under the high-congruence condition. Taken together, this research shed light on the mediating mechanisms and boundary conditions of strategies of partnering sponsorship with fitness apps, making this type of partnership a win-win initiative for both the app users and the corporations involved.