Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Three variants of immune responses to balneotherapy at the spa Truskavets’ in patients with chronic pyelonephritis and cholecystitis

The journal has had 7 points in Ministry of Science and Higher Education parametric evaluation. Part b item 1223 (26/01/2017). 1223 Journal of Education, Health and Sport eissn 2391-8306 7 © The Authors 2018; This article is published with open access at Licensee Open Journal Systems of Kazimierz Wielki University in Bydgoszcz, Poland Open Access. This article is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution Noncommercial License which permits any noncommercial use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author (s) and source are credited. This is an open access article licensed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution Non commercial license (Http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/) which permits unrestricted, non commercial use, distribution and reproduction in any medium, provided the work is properly cited. This is an open access article licensed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution Non commercial License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/) which permits unrestricted, non commercial use, distribution and reproduction in any medium, provided the work is properly cited. The authors declare that there is no conflict of interests regarding the publication of this paper. Received: 05.02. 2018. Revised: 10.02. 2018. Accepted: 28.03. 2018.
Litylenchus crenatae n. sp. (Tylenchomorpha: Anguinidae), a leaf gall nematode parasitising Fagus crenata Blume

Litylenchus crenatae n. sp. , isolated from leaf galls of Fagus crenata from Japan, is described and figured. The new species is characterised by its dimorphism in adult females, six (or more) lateral lines, a more or less pointed tail tip in both sexes, male bursa arising posteriorly and reaching to near tail tip, presence of a quadricolumella and a post-uterine sac in females. Litylenchus crenatae n. sp. is distinguished from its only congener, L. coprosma, by the number of lateral lines, six or more vs four; the lip morphology, offset with very shallow constriction or dome-shaped without clear constriction vs clearly offset; tail tip morphology, more or less pointed vs blunt; and structure of the median bulb, weakly muscular with a clear valve vs not muscular with an obscure valve. The molecular phylogenetic analysis confirms that the new species is close to, but clearly different from, L. coprosma.
Sex-specific starvation tolerance of copepods with different foraging strategies

Planktonic copepods have sexual dimorphism that can lead to differences in starvation tolerance between genders. Additionally, mating may be energetically costly and thus reduce starvation tolerance. We investigated the influence of sexual dimorphism and mating on starvation tolerance of copepods with different feeding behaviours: Oithona nana (ambusher), Temora longicornis (feeding-current feeder) and Centropages typicus (cruiser). Males of C. typicus and O. nana had a starvation tolerance lower than females, whereas T. longicornis had a similar starvation tolerance between genders. Only O. nana males and females had reduced starvation tolerance when both genders were incubated together, which suggests that mating activities in ambushers have an energetic cost higher than in active feeding copepods. C:N ratios showed a non-significant difference between genders, which indicates that gender differences in starvation tolerance are not due to dissimilarities in lipid reserves. Gender differences in starvation tolerance can be partially explained by body size differences between sexes. This indicates a minor influence of mate-seeking behaviour on male starvation tolerance, likely due to reduced mate-searching behaviour under prolonged starvation. Our results demonstrate that sexual dimorphism can result in different starvation tolerance between copepod genders and that a negative effect of mating on starvation tolerance depends on the foraging strategy.
Improving Schroeppel and Shamir’s algorithm for subset sum via orthogonal vectors

We present an O∗(20.5n) time and O∗(20.249999n) space randomized algorithm for solving worst-case Subset Sum instances with n integers. This is the first improvement over the long-standing O∗(2n/2) time and O∗(2n/4) space algorithm due to Schroeppel and Shamir (FOCS 1979). We breach this gap in two steps: (1) We present a space efficient reduction to the Orthogonal Vectors Problem (OV), one of the most central problem in Fine-Grained Complexity. The reduction is established via an intricate combination of the method of Schroeppel and Shamir, and the representation technique introduced by Howgrave-Graham and Joux (EUROCRYPT 2010) for designing Subset Sum algorithms for the average case regime. (2) We provide an algorithm for OV that detects an orthogonal pair among N given vectors in {0,1}d with support size d/4 in time Õ(N· 2d/d d/4). Our algorithm for OV is based on and refines the representative families framework developed by Fomin, Lokshtanov, Panolan and Saurabh (J. ACM 2016). Our reduction uncovers a curious tight relation between Subset Sum and OV, because any improvement of our algorithm for OV would imply an improvement over the runtime of Schroeppel and Shamir, which is also a long standing open problem.
Quantitative Analysis of Metabolism and Protein Abundance Using Integrative `Omics

Advances in genomics continue to make detection of large numbers of related biomolecules (e.g. mRNAs, proteins or metabolites) more routine. While these ‘omic techniques summarize how the state of one type of biomolecule changes across conditions, they provide a one-dimensional view of cellular processes that emerge at the interface between classes of species. To bridge multiple ‘omic dimensions, approaches are needed to rationally integrate diverse types of data. In assessing this question, we are interested in testing the validity of models that posit some interaction between diverse chemical species. This process entails not only a rigorous analysis of individual ‘omic datasets, but also a procedure for posing alternative models and statistically evaluating their relative support. Here, we present a quantitative, scalable strategy for revealing steady-state metabolic regulation by integrating metabolomic, proteomic and flux measurements. This involves analyzing, on a reaction-by-reaction basis, whether fluxes across conditions are accounted for by a Michaelis-Menten relationship between enzymes, substrates, and potential regulator concentrations. We collected the required data for yeast growing at 25 different nutrient-limited steady states and applied this strategy to reveal the primary physiological flux control mechanisms for over 40 metabolic reactions, encompassing 34 instances of physiologically-relevant allosteric regulation. The identified regulation included classical feedbacks and unexpected cross-pathway connections. Quantitatively, half of flux control resided in substrates and one quarter in enzyme concentrations. For reversible reactions, the remainder resided largely in product levels, and for irreversible reactions, in allosteric effectors. Thus, metabolic activity is substantially self-regulated by metabolites themselves. Across the diverse growth conditions studied, strong changes in mRNA expression generally resulted in corresponding changes in protein abundance. This association between mRNA and protein expression changes, however, was far weaker than expected; the levels of iii many proteins departed markedly from their cognate transcript. These deviations were highly non-random, suggesting that post-transcriptional regulation has an important role in modulating the cellular response to nutrient availability. This work collectively provides focused examples of how the structures of complex systems can be interrogated to identify meaningful regulatory relationships. And, it is at the interface between ‘omic datasets that these valuable relations emerge.
Genetic diversity of domestic sheep

Domestic sheep are raised for meat, milk and fibre production and are found all around the world in many types of environments. Sheep have been shown to be genetically diverse but this genetic diversity has not been fully described: there are still many sheep populations which have not yet been studied. The purpose of this thesis was to study genetic diversity in Swedish and French sheep breeds using high density marker arrays. Additional methods, including genotyping of microsatellite markers, and endogenous retroviruses and pedigree information were used to study Swedish sheep populations. Inbreeding and heterozygosity estimated in Gute sheep using the pedigree of the entire registered Swedish population and additionally microsatellite genotypes and pedigree from a sample of the population (N=94) indicated a breeding program with the purpose of reducing inbreeding. Studying genetic relationships among breeds by genotyping endogenous retroviruses indicated Klovsjo, Varmland, Finewool, Gute and Roslag sheep breeds had characteristics of primitive breeds (absence of retroviruses or presence of the specific retrovirus event enJSRV-7) although Finewool, Gute and Roslag sheep breeds had moderate frequencies of enJSRV-18 which is indicative of more modern sheep breeds. Studying variants in two coat colour genes, ASIP and MC1R, and their association with black coat colour revealed different selection histories in five Swedish sheep breeds studied. Studying the population structure of Dalapals, Fjallnas, Gotland, Gute and Klovsjo sheep, using high density SNP genotyping revealed that these breeds are genetically distinct breeds. When comparing with other European breeds and south west Asian breeds, they grouped with other north European short-tailed sheep breeds and they had generally accumulated more drift than breeds from other geographical areas. Studying 27 French breeds with high density genotypes revealed that French sheep populations harbour much of European sheep diversity in a small geographic area. Selective sweeps identified: selection hotspots, selection targets in many species; introgression of an adaptive allele; and allelic heterogeneity, which was confirmed with targeted resequencing of a coat colour gene, MC1R, in breeds under selection.
Revision of the Didymopanax Group of Neotropical Schefflera (Araliaceae)1

Abstract A taxonomic revision of the species belonging to the Didymopanax group of Neotropical Schefflera J. R. Forst. & G. Forst. (Araliaceae) is here presented. This monophyletic group is currently recognized only informally, and comprises 37 species mostly restricted to small areas of lowland to mid-elevation tropical regions across Brazil and adjacent southern Venezuela. Five names are newly placed in synonymy: Didymopanax gardneri Seem. var. ellipticus Marchal [= Schefflera glaziovii (Taub.) Frodin & Fiaschi], D. morototoni var. sessiliflorus Marchal [= Schefflera morototoni (Aubl.) Maguire, Steyerm. & Frodin], Schefflera megacarpa A. H. Gentry [= Schefflera confusa (Marchal) Harms], Schefflera morototoni var. angustipetala (Marchal) Frodin [= Schefflera tamatamaensis Maguire, Steyerm. & Frodin], and Schefflera yutajensis Steyerm. & B. Holst [= Schefflera quinquecarinata Steyerm. ]. Thirty-two names are lectotypified: D. angustissimus var. conspicuus Marchal [= Schefflera angustissima (Marchal) Frodin], D. anomalus Taub. [= Schefflera angustissima], D. claussenianus Decne. & Planch. ex Marchal [= Schefflera calva (Cham.) Frodin & Fiaschi], D. falcatus Marchal [= Schefflera angustissima], D. gardneri var. ellipticus Marchal, D. morototoni var. poeppigii (Decne. & Planch.) Marchal [= Schefflera morototoni], D. morototoni var. sessiliflorus Marchal, D. venulosus Taub. [= Schefflera vinosa (Cham. & Schltdl.) Frodin & Fiaschi], Panax sericeus Pohl ex DC. [= Schefflera vinosa], P. speciosus Willd. [= Schefflera morototoni], P. splendens Kunth [= Schefflera morototoni], Schefflera angustissima, Schefflera burchellii (Seem.) Frodin & Fiaschi, Schefflera calva, Schefflera cephalantha (Harms) Frodin, Schefflera confusa, Schefflera cordata (Taub.) Frodin & Fiaschi, Schefflera decaphylla (Seem.) Harms, Schefflera distractiflora (Harms) Frodin, Schefflera gardneri (Seem.) Frodin & Fiaschi, Schefflera glaziovii, Schefflera longipetiolata (Pohl ex DC.) Frodin & Fiaschi, S. lucumoides (Decne. & Planch. ex Marchal) Frodin & Fiaschi, Schefflera macrocarpa (Cham. & Schltdl.) Frodin, Schefflera malmei (Harms) Frodin, Schefflera morototoni, Schefflera morototoni var. angustipetala, Schefflera paraensis Huber ex Ducke [= Schefflera decaphylla], Schefflera selloi (Marchal) Frodin & Fiaschi, Schefflera succinea Frodin & Fiaschi, Schefflera vinosa, and Sciodaphyllum paniculatum Britton [= Schefflera morototoni]. Additionally, D. pachycarpus Marchal [= Schefflera calva] is neotypified. We also provide information on the taxonomic history of Didymopanax Decne. & Planch. , general morphological comments on the Didymopanax group, an identification key to species, and for each of the accepted species, the geographic distribution, preferred habitats, diagnostic features, illustrations, maps, a list of examined material, and nomenclatural comments. A list of exsiccatae with all examined specimens is also provided.
Interrelationships among plasma metabolites, production, and ovarian follicular function in dairy cows

Abstract: Associations of blood metabolites and production variables with ovarian function and parity, specifically, interval to first ovulation (IFO) and the incidence of ovarian cysts (OC) and multiple ovulation (MOV) at the first ovulation postpartum, were determined in lactating dairy cows. This retrospective study involved data on 169 Holstein cows from three studies on the same herd. Blood samples were taken weekly from week -1 to week 4, relative to calving, and transrectal ultrasonography was performed twice weekly from day 7 to day 60 postpartum. The overall IFO was 32.6 ± 1.9 d (mean ± SEM) and did not differ among lactations. Primiparous cows were at a greater risk of failing to ovulate before day 60 postpartum and cows in the third or greater lactation were at a higher risk for OC and MOV. Blood metabolites and production variables indicating a negative energy balance were associated with cows failing to ovulate before day 35 postpartum, but were not related with OC. Increased dry matter intake and milk yield, particularly in second lactation cows, were associated with a higher incidence of OC. While beta-hydroxybutyrate acid and insulin-like growth factor 1 were associated with MOV, the relationship was weak. Reducing negative energy balance is necessary to reduce IFO but may increase the incidence of MOV.
Rare earth elements (REEs) in PM10 and associated health risk from the polymetallic mining region of Nandan County, China

ABSTRACT A total of 26 samples were collected from Dachang, Chehe and Liuzhai in Nandan County, China, in order to investigate the concentrations of rare earth elements (REEs) and associated health risk in particulate matter. The concentrations of REEs in Dachang (23.54 ng/m3), Chehe (20.29 ng/m3) were significantly higher than those in Liuzhai (8.1 ng/m3). The light rare earth elements (LREEs) account for 87.08%, 87.09%, and 86.17% of the total REE burden in PM10 at Dachang, Chehe, and Liuzhai, respectively, indicating that the distribution pattern of REEs in PM10 was characterized by the obvious fractionation of LREEs. Enrichment factor calculation indicated that EFs for La, Ce, Nd, Pr, and Nd in PM10 from Dachang and Chehe were greater than 2, indicating moderate enrichment. Source identification indicated that REEs in PM10 from Dacheng and Chehe originated from anthropogenic activities such as mining and smelting activities, while REEs in PM10 from Liuzhai were associated with natural sources, like soil erosion. Noncarcinogenic and carcinogenic risks associated with the exposure of REEs in PM10 were negligible based on the health risk assessment models. However, greater noncarcinogenic risk for children was found in studied areas compared with the adults.
A STUDY ON BACTERIA ASSOCIATED WITH KIDNEY STONE

Result of studying 110 calculi taken from 110 patients showed that the male(80) more affected than females(30), the age group was the most affected followed by age group (31-40) yrs. It also showed that (74) patients with acid urine were having crystalluria , except for (18) patients with alkaline urine and (16) patients had pyuria . Calcium calculi made the greatest constitution of calculi in proportion of (76.35%) while uric acid calculi were only (9.09%). Infection stone made (14.53%) of the total renal stone. Males were the most affected with stone, whereas females were prevalent with infection stone. Five bacterial species were isolated from of all stone comprised the following: Pseudomonas aeruginosa ,E.coli ,Staphylococcus aureus ,Klebsiella pnemmoniae ,and Proteus mirabilis. However, Pseudomonas aeruginosa was making the greatest proportion (43.47%)of the total stone number, while (88) stones did not yield a growth of any bacteria . All bacterial isolates were multi-drug resistant ,generally Nitrofurantion, Nalidixic acid, Cephotaxime, etracyclin, and Rifampicin, while Ampicilline, Amoxicillin, Cefalotine, and Gentamicin were the most efficient in inhibiting bacterial growth .
Identifying of key proteoglycans in different anatomical regions of the canine cranial cruciate ligament from dog breeds at an altered risk to ligament disease and rupture

Cranial cruciate ligament disease and rupture (CCLD/ R) is a common orthopaedic condition in dogs. CCLD/ R can be due to trauma (least common) or to non-contact injury (most common). Once the cranial cruciate ligament (CCL) is damaged complications such as stifle osteoarthritis can occur. Different dog breeds are at an altered risk to CCLD/ R. Previous biochemical and ultrastructural studies have found that glycosaminoglycans (GAGs) were altered in high risk dog breeds when compared to CCLs from a dog breed at low risk of ligament rupture. We hypothesise that proteoglycans and GAGs may vary between different anatomical regions of the CCL, and between differentially predisposed dog breeds to CCLD/ R. Proteoglycans were determined by semi-quantitative Western blotting, quantitative RT-PCR (qRT-PCR), quantitative biochemistry, semi-objective histology scoring, and immunohistochemistry. Water and GAG content in the CCLs was also measured. Further qRT-PCR analysis was conducted to determine the expression of ECM proteases (ADAMTS -4 & -5) in the canine CCL. We showed with Western blot analysis that certain proteoglycans and GAGs were significantly different between anatomical regions of Staffordshire bull terrier CCLs. Data analysis between differentially predisposed dog breeds showed that the Staffordshire bull terrier CCLs (a moderate-high risk dog breed to CCLD/ R) had a significant increase in water content compared to greyhound CCLs (a low risk dog breed to CCLD/ R). Further, gene expression and Western blot analysis of fibromodulin, gene expression of aggrecan, and Western blot analysis of chondroitin-6 sulphate stubs were significantly increased in Staffordshire bull terrier CCLs compared to greyhounds. Decorin and ADAMTS-4 gene expression were significantly increased in greyhounds compared to Staffordshire bull terrier CCLs. Histology analysis showed that fibrocartilaginous regions were present in the CCL and were mainly observed in predisposed dog breeds to CCLD/ R. Furthermore, immunohistochemistry analysis showed that each proteoglycan had a different distribution throughout the CCL, which indicates that proteoglycans provide essential functionality to the CCL. The increase of certain proteoglycans and GAGs in CCLs of Staffordshire bull terriers might indicate increased fibrocartilage regions as a result of compressive loads. These changes in ECM content in the Staffordshire bull terrier indicate higher loading pressure on the CCL and could compromise the tissue, leading to increased incidence of disease and rupture. The increase of decorin in greyhounds could be essential for maintaining collagen fibril strength, whilst the increase of ADAMTS-4 could indicate a higher rate of turnover to regulate normal CCL homeostasis.
A comparison between the effects of a probiotic (Bioplus 2B) and an antibiotic (virginiamycin) on the performance of broiler chickens under heat stress condition

An experiment was conducted on 400 broilers to evaluate the effects of dietary supplementation of antibiotic and probiotic on performance of birds under heat stress condition. The first group of chickens, the control group, received a diet without any antibiotic and probiotic. The second group received diet with 0.02% virginiamycin antibiotic; the two other groups were fed diets with 0.05% and 0.1% Bioplus 2B probiotic, respectively. The addition of antibiotic to the diet significantly improved body weight gain during 0–3 and 4–6 weeks (heat stress) periods as compared to the control and 0.05% probiotic-supplemented groups (P<0.05). Feed intake of different groups did not differ significantly (P>0.05). Addition of antibiotic or various levels of probiotic to the diet significantly improved feed conversion ratio during 4–6 weeks (heat stress) period as compared to the control group (P<0.05). Supplementation of diet with antibiotic had no significant effect on antibody production against sheep red blood cells (SRBC), Newcastle disease virus (NDV) vaccine, white blood cell (WBC) count, heterophil to lymphocyte ratio (H/L), serum cholesterol and haemoglobin content (P>0.05). Supplementation of diet with various levels of probiotic had no significant effect on antibody titer against SRBC, NDV vaccine and haemoglobin content (P>0.05). However, supplementation of diet with 0.1% probiotic significantly increased WBC count and decreased H/L as compared to the control group (P<0.05) which is important in reduction of stress effects on birds.
Effect of vitrification on apoptotic changes in feline embryos

Ochota M. , Niżański W. (2018): Effect of vitrification on apoptotic changes in feline embryos. Czech J. Anim. Sci., 63, 144–151. The aim of this study was to evaluate the influence of a vitrification-warming procedure on the viability of cat embryos and blastocysts and the incidence of apoptotic changes in blastocysts subjected to vitrification and blastocyst that developed from vitrified embryos. In the first part of the experiment, post-thaw embryo development and blastocyst viability were evaluated based on morphological appearance and the ability to develop (embryos) or re-expand (blastocyst) compared to control. In the second part, blastocysts that were viable after vitrification-warming and blastocysts that developed from vitrified-warmed embryos were stained with Annexin-V and TUNEL to evaluate apoptotic changes. Most of the vitrified-warmed embryos were viable after thawing, 36.3% developed to morula, and 14.7% to the blastocyst stage. The overall re-expansion rate of blastocysts that were vitrified on day 7 was 55.6%. Vitrification significantly increased apoptotic and necrotic changes in blastocysts, but did not influence late apoptotic and necrotic changes in blastocysts that developed from vitrified-warmed embryos. The total number of blastomeres in blastocysts was similar in blastocysts that developed from vitrified-warmed embryos (99.1 ± 23.1), but lower in blastocysts vitrified on day 7 (82.1 ± 16.8), if compared to the control group (107.9 ± 24.2). These results show that the vitrification-warming procedure returns embryos capable of further development to a good quality blastocyst in vitro. Whereas, vitrification of blastocysts caused the progression of apoptotic changes in some blastomeres, however it did not affect the overall blastocyst viability.