Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Glutathione-S-Transferase and GST-π in Gastric Carcinoma

1 Assistant Professor Department of Surgery CCM Medical College, Kachandur, Durg (CG) 2 Assistant Professor Department of ENT CCM Medical College, Kachandur, Durg (CG) 3 Assistant Professor Department of Pathology CCM Medical College, Kachandur, Durg (CG) Corresponding Author Dr Karansingh Chandrakar Assistant Professor Dept. of Pathology, CCM Medical College Kachandur, Durg Chhattisgarh 490024 Email: ambad.sawan@gmail.com. Mob no: 09917999919, 07583836504 Abstract Aims: To analyze the level of serum Glutathione-S-Transferase (GST) and Glutathione-S-Transferase pi (GST π) before and after Cycles Of chemotherapy in patients suffering from gastric carcinoma. Methods: For the study comprising total 30 cases suffering from gastric carcinoma before and after chemotherapy were selected. All patients were clinically and histologically diagnosed. A total of 50 age and sex matched healthy subjects taken as control. The circulating levels of GST and GST π activity were assayed in the in the serum of control group and in patients with gastric carcinoma. Results: Mean GST and GST π activity in serum were significantly higher in gastric carcinoma patients as compared to control (p<0.001). After chemotherapy the activity of GST and GST π were significantly higher than before chemotherapy. It indicated that plasma GST and GST-π also may be useful in diagnosing and monitoring gastric carcinoma. The generation of free radicals as reflected by increased GST and GST-π activity in carcinoma cases. Conclusion: In the gastric carcinoma, increased activity of GST and GST Pi isoenzyme was significant as that of the tissue content, the fact that higher serum values of patients with some cancers often reverted to the normal range after treatment of the gastric carcinoma suggested the direct derivation of these enzymes from tumor tissues. Thus, follow up of elevated serum GST and GST Pi levels may be useful for monitoring gastric carcinoma patients during the course of treatment. Our results indicated that plasma GST-π also may be useful in diagnosing gastrointestinal cancer.
Anti-Obesity Effect of Proanthocyanidins from the Coat of Scarlet Runner Beans on High-Fat Diet-Fed Mice

Proanthocyanidins are oligomeric or polymeric flavonoids found in several plants. They can be classified into two subgroups, namely A- and B-type proanthocyanidins. The coat of scarlet runner beans contains abundant proanthocyanidins (SRPAs) of the B-type configuration. To evaluate the efficacy of SRPAs as anti-obesity agents, we first examined their effect on lipase activity in vitro and found that they are potent inhibitors of this enzyme. Subsequently, we examined their effect on mice fed a high-fat diet. Male mice were assigned to the following seven-subject dietary groups: (1) high-fat diet; (2) high-fat diet supplemented with 0.5% SRPAs; (3) high-fat diet supplemented with 1.0% SRPAs, and; (4) standard chow for 15 weeks. SRPA supplementation decreased body weight gain; liver and kidney weight; perirenal, peritesticular, and periintestinal fat content; liver cholesterol level, and; serum neutral lipid and cholesterol levels. In contrast, the faecal lipid content and the liver anti-oxidative capacity increased. These findings suggest a potential use of SRPAs as a dietary supplement exerting anti-obesity effects through the inhibition of fat digestive enzymes.
College Choice: Considerations for Academically Advanced High School Seniors

When choosing a college, high school students and those who guide them through the process must consider the complex interactions between student-level and institution-level variables in order to achieve an optimal person–environment fit. Ten academically advanced high school students who had chosen and committed to attending a college participated in semistructured interviews in which they rank-ordered and discussed the college choice considerations they used in the decision-making process. This qualitative study describes six themes that were identified across participants. The college-going identity of these academically advanced students was influenced by pressure to attend a highly selective school, social comparisons, and early career exploration opportunities. Additionally, when evaluating institution characteristics, these academically talented high school seniors questioned the relationship between quality, cost, and prestige, appreciated flexible learning options, and sought opportunities for immersion in a domain.
Carryover effects and the evolution of polyphenism

An individual’s early-life environment and phenotype often influence its traits and performance as an adult. We investigated whether such ‘carryover effects’ are associated with alternative, environmentally-induced phenotypes (‘polyphenism’), and, if so, whether they influence the evolution of polyphenism. To do so, we studied Mexican spadefoot toads, Spea multiplicata, which have evolved a polyphenism consisting of two, dramatically different forms: a carnivore morph and an omnivore morph. We sampled both morphs from a fast-drying and a slow-drying pond and reared them to sexual maturity. Larval environment (pond) strongly influenced survival as well as age and size at metamorphosis and sexual maturity; i.e. environment-dependent carryover effects were present. By contrast, larval phenotype (morph) did not affect life-history traits at sexual maturity; i.e. phenotype-dependent carryover effects were absent. These results are consistent with theory, which suggests that by amplifying selective trade-offs in heterogenous environments, environment-dependent carryover effects might foster the evolution of polyphenism. At the same time, by freeing selection to refine a novel phenotype without altering the existing form, the absence of phenotype-dependent carryover effects might enable polyphenism to evolve in the first place. Generally, carryover effects might play an underappreciated role in the evolution of polyphenism.
Determinants of tree seedling establishment in alpine tundra

Questions: Changes in climate and herbivory pressure affect northern alpine ecosys tems through woody plant encroachment, altering their composition, structure and functioning. The encroachment often occurs at unequal rates across heterogeneous landscapes, hinting at the importance of habitat-specific drivers that either hamper or facilitate woody plant establishment. Here, we assess: (1) the invasibility of three distinct alpine plant community types (heath, meadow and Salix shrubland) by Pinus sylvestris (Scots pine); and (2) the relative importance of biotic (above-ground interactions with current vegetation, herbivory and shrub encroachment) and microcli-mate-related abiotic (soil temperature, moisture and light availability) drivers of pine seedling establishment success. Norway. Methods: We conducted a pine seed sowing experiment, testing how factorial combinations of above-ground removal of co-occurring vegetation, herbivore exclusion and willow transplantation (simulated shrub encroachment) affect pine emergence, survival and performance (new stem growth, stem height and fraction of healthy needles) in three plant communities, characteristic of alpine tundra, over a period of five years. Results: Pine seedling emergence and survival were similar across plant community types. Herbivore exclusion and vegetation removal generally increased pine seedling establishment and seedling performance. Within our study, microclimate had minimal effects on pine seedling establishment and performance. These results illustrate the importance of biotic resistance to seedling establishment. Conclusion: Pine seedlings can easily establish in alpine tundra, and biotic factors (above-ground plant interactions and herbivory) are more important drivers of pine establishment in alpine tundra than abiotic, microclimate-related, factors. Studies aiming to predict future vegetation changes should thus consider local-scale biotic interactions in addition to abiotic factors. low rodent peak in 2014 when most pine seeds germinated (Framstad, 2017). Previous studies have shown that small rodents have a stronger effect on alpine plant communities than do large herbivores (Olofsson et al., 2004; Bougnounou et al., 2018). These results add to previous studies (Moen, Lundberg, and Oksanen, 1993; Boulant et al., 2008; Post and Pedersen, 2008; Munier et al., 2010; Bougnounou et al., 2018) in suggesting that herbivory may be important in limiting tree regeneration in alpine tundra ecosystems.
Common wintering of black kites (Milvus migrans migrans) in Greece, and new data on their wintering elsewhere in Europe

Abstract Black kites of the nominal subspecies Milvus migrans migrans breed in the Western Palearctic and in Central Asia, while the European population is relatively small. The birds winter mostly in sub-Saharan Africa. Until 2000 winter observations of black kites were rare in Greece, and also within the tri-point border area of Austria, the Czech Republic and Slovakia. At that time regular wintering of black kites started there. These data and evidence from recent local literature as well as from a number of unpublished data obtained throughout European countries and reviewed in this paper corroborate the impression that numbers of black kites wintering in Europe and the whole Mediterranean area including Turkey are increasing. The reasons considered are climate warming in the area and some negative changes in sub-Saharan Africa in the traditional wintering grounds of black kites. Notes about the wintering of black/red kite hybrids are also added.
The Effects of Mobile Advertising Alerts and Perceived Value on Continuance Intention for Branded Mobile Apps

This paper examines consumers’ behaviours towards mobile advertising alerts offered by branded mobile apps in the fashion industry. While consumer-driven factors have attracted much attention, little research has examined the impact of data-driven mobile advertising alerts on consumer continuance intention for branded mobile apps. This paper analyses the combined influence of consumer beliefs, data-driven mobile advertising alerts, and perceived value on mobile advertising acceptance, intention to repurchase, and recommendation behaviour towards branded mobile apps on social media. In total, 340 valid responses from Spanish customers of an online fashion outlet, all social media users, who make their purchases from the company exclusively through its branded mobile application, were analysed to test the hypotheses, using structural equation modelling. The results showed that mobile advertising acceptance, intention to repurchase, and recommendation behaviour are driven by the perceived value of the branded mobile app. Perceived value is determined by the usefulness of the branded mobile app, attitudes towards mobile advertising alerts, and irritation. Mobile advertising content (informativeness and credibility) improves attitudes towards mobile advertising alerts. Ease of use increases perceived usefulness, while perceived control decreases irritation. Managerial implications are provided.
The conflict negativity: A neural correlate of value conflict and indecision during financial decision making

Individuals struggle when making financial decisions, sometimes preferring to avoid difficult decisions and receive lower future rewards over actively deliberating between options of similar value. Here, we examine how conflict deriving from objective and subjective value characteristics of stocks, as well as the behavioural and phenomenological correlates of decision conflict, are accompanied by variation in a thus far understudied ERP component, the conflict negativity (CN). In a novel EEG paradigm (N = 53), we simulated a financial decision situation in which participants made incentivized choices between different, sometimes conflicting, stock options. Our results indicate that participants become slower, more undecided, and less pleased, when choosing between similar options compared to choices in which one option clearly outweighs the other. This effect even held when participants chose between two objectively good alternatives. We further provide preliminary evidence that the CN, a negative-going ERP recorded over the medial prefrontal cortex, is not only sensitive to decision conflict, but also predicts behavioural indecision. What is more, subjective value characteristics of stocks, impressions based on brand perception of the stock options, modestly influenced affective and behavioural reactions over and above objective stock characteristics. While our results are at odds with assumptions made by classic economic theory, they may serve as one out of several indicators as to why private investors seem to avoid financial decisions.
Levantamento e aspectos biológicos de espécies parasitóides de posturas do percevejo-do-colmo-do-arroz no Estado de Santa Catarina

A cultura do arroz irrigado em Santa Catarina possui importância economica e social, e tipica de pequena propriedade e a mao-de-obra utilizada e familiar. O rendimento de graos obtido nas lavouras orizicolas em Santa Catarina supera aquela obtida em outros estados produtores de arroz. Apesar dos altos indices de producao os rizicultores encontram dificuldades no manejo de pragas. O percevejo-do-colmo (Tibraca limbativentris) Stal, 1860 (Hemiptera: Pentatomidae) possui importância pelas perdas que causa na cultura do arroz irrigado. Atualmente o seu controle restringe-se apenas a aplicacoes de inseticidas quimicos. O intenso uso de agrotoxicos afeta saude dos agricultores e se constitui numa ameaca a contaminacao dos recursos hidricos. Neste sentido objetivou-se neste trabalho realizar o levantamento e a identificacao de especies de microhimenopteros parasitoides de ovos de T. limbativentris com ocorrencia natural nas lavouras arrozeiras catarinenses, bem como estudar em laboratorio alguns aspectos biologicos do parasitoide. O levantamento de ovos parasitados foi realizado em lavouras de arroz das regioes do Alto, Medio e Baixo Vale do Itajai, Norte e Sul do estado. Foram identificadas as especies Telenomus podisi e Trissolcus urichi. A especie T. podisi foi a mais abundante em todas as regioes Nos bioensaios realizados em laboratorio avaliou-se o potencial de parasitismo apresentado pela especie T. podisi sobre ovos de T. limbativentris, observando que a especie apresenta um indice de parasitismo acima de 70%. A longevidade das femeas foi de 5,97 dias. O periodo de ovo-adulto foi de 10,1 dias. As femeas individualizadas apresentaram fecundidade media de 11,49 insetos. A razao sexual obtida foi superior a 0,6. Em teste realizado para verificar a influencia do tempo de contato de femeas do parasitoide com ovos do hospedeiro na razao sexual da progenie do parasitoide, os resultados demonstram que apos 8 horas de exposicao a razao sexual manteve-se estavel em 0,8. O indice de parasitismo de ovos armazenados em relacao a ovos frescos tambem foi avaliado, oferecendo-se ovos de T. limbativentris armazenados a -18 oC durante 30 dias e ovos frescos ao parasitoide em laboratorio por um periodo de cinco a 25 horas. O indice medio obtido foi de 93,3% de parasitismo em ovos frescos e 35,2% em ovos armazenados. O indice medio de parasitismo de ovos armazenados oferecidos ao parasitoide a campo foi de 13,7%. Com a realizacao deste trabalho observou-se que a utilizacao de parasitoides de ovos para o controle biologico do percevejo-do-colmo podera ser uma importante pratica a ser incorporada aos programas de manejo integrado de pragas nos cultivos de arroz irrigado, a fim de minimizar e/ou eliminar o intenso uso de inseticidas quimicos para o controle do percevejo-do-colmo
Fast Retrieval Method of Image Data Based on Learning to Hash

Hash is a method that is widely used in nearest neighbor retrieval, and its goal is to convert high-dimensional image data into low-dimensional representations or into a set of ordered binary code. As one of the more efficient methods of data storage and retrieval, the hash method is widely used in the nearest neighbor retrieval of large-scale image data. The traditional hashing method generates a hash code by manually extracting features, so that the feature and the hash code do not have the best fit, so that the generated hash code is suboptimal. The rapid development of deep learning makes the computer have a good effect on image visual feature recognition. Combining the learning of hash function makes the performance better than the traditional hash method. In this paper, a deep hash method based on triple constraint is proposed to extract the similarity features of the same category and distinguish the features between different categories. Further learning the hash code makes the similarity of the image preserved. Experiments show that the Hash-based learning method has better performance on CIFAR-10 and NUS-WIDE than other methods.
Walkability Index for Elderly Health: A Proposal

Nowadays, the elderly tend to make more trips: Health benefits resulting from their daily walking routines are an important topic in the context of urban renewal processes. Many health organizations and researchers have demonstrated the influence of the urban environment on walkability levels. This article aims to design a multifactor Walkability Index for Elderly Health (WIEH), capable of associating both the adequacy level of public spaces to elderly walkability, and physical exercise benefits while walking. The methodological approach comprised two main parts: Firstly, a literature review of main reports, legislation, and scientific articles was conducted at the intersection of ‘gerontology and physical exercise’ with ‘urban design and mobility’, leading to the selection of four aging-related studies as main contributors to the design of the WIEH; and, secondly, the development of the WIEH was undertaken, based on two premises and designed according to four steps. The first premise defined three systematic areas (urban tissue, urban scene, and safety), variables, and criteria to classify the pedestrian network; and the second premise focused on slopes and stairs in public spaces. The WIEH is divided in four steps: (1) Analyzing public spaces and characterizing their quality for walking, (2) considering the existence of slopes and stairs, (3) calculating different routes for the elderly in their daily routines, or when going to points of interest, and (4) selecting the “heart-friendly route” for elderly people. Adequate walking paths for the elderly can be identified through this innovative approach, with the aim of achieving direct health benefits during their daily routines. Ultimately, the WIEH is capable of supporting decision makers and designers in creating inclusive and age-friendly spaces.
Clinical Implications for Culturally Informed Counseling with Incarcerated Individuals

Abstract By 2016's end, there were 2,162,400 adults incarcerated in the USA with a disproportionate number of those being from racially minoritized groups. Disparities in mental health care are evident and lack of experience in working with diverse populations can lead counselors to develop inaccurate case conceptualizations and provide ineffective treatment. The purpose of this paper is to advocate for culturally competent counseling with incarcerated individuals and their families. Culturally responsive counseling for those who are incarcerated isnot often discussed in the literature. Clinical implications for counselors working in incarcerated settings are introduced to affirm the importance of being culturally responsive.
RASPBERRY BUSHY DWARF VIRUS (RBDV) REDUCES YIELD OF 'MARION' BLACKBERRY

In 1998, we discovered Raspberry bushy dwarf virus (RBDV) in a planting of 280 ‘Marion’ blackberry plants that was established using tissue-cultured plants in 1993 at the North Willamette Research and Extension Center. At that time, 128 of the 280 plants tested positive for RBDV. In 2000, 130 of the 280 plants tested positive for RBDV. In 1999 and 2000 we evaluated the impact of RBDV on the production of ‘Marion’. RBDV had no effect on cane growth or fruit number, but reduced yield (40 to 50%), fruit weight (23 to 40%), and drupelet number per fruit (36 to 39%) compared to uninfected plants. In 2000, we surveyed 32 commercial fields to test for the presence of RBDV using ELISA. The locations of sampled fields were selected to reflect the acreage distribution of ‘Marion’. Three grower fields tested positive for RBDV. We are continuing to study the rate of spread of this virus in ‘Marion’ at the research plot and in commercial fields.
Structurally distinct oligomers of islet amyloid polypeptide mediate toxic and non-toxic membrane poration

Peptide mediated gain-of-toxic function is central to pathology in Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s and diabetes. In each system, self-assembly into oligomers is observed and can also result in poration of artificial membranes. Structural requirements for poration and the relationship of structure to cytotoxicity is unaddressed. Here, we focus on islet amyloid polypeptide (IAPP) mediated loss of insulin secreting cells in diabetics. Newly developed methods enable structure-function inquiry to focus on intracellular oligomers composed of hundreds of IAPP. The key insights are that porating oligomers are internally dynamic, grow in discrete steps and are not canonical amyloid. Moreover, two class of pores coexist; an IAPP-specific ligand establishes that only one is cytotoxic. Toxic rescue occurs by stabilizing non-toxic poration without displacing IAPP from mitochondria. These insights illuminate cytotoxic mechanism in diabetes and also provide a generalizable approach for inquiry applicable to other partially ordered protein assemblies. Highlights The peptide amyloid precursor, IAPP, forms two classes of membrane porating oligomers. The two classes have a >100-fold difference in pore size with the large pore form correlated with mitochondrial depolarization and toxicity. A drug-like molecule distinguishes between the two oligomer classes and rescues toxicity by stabilizing non-toxic poration without displacing IAPP from the mitochondria. The mechanism of pore-forming oligomer assembly includes stepwise coalescence of smaller, dynamic assemblies.
Sicilian Opuntia ficus‐indica seed oil: Fatty acid composition and bio‐economical aspects

The fatty acid composition of the seed oil from the yellow fruit of Opuntia ficus-indica widely grown in Sicily shows several distinctive features. The oil obtained comprises significant amounts of vaccenic acid along with several other unsaturated fatty acids showing several health benefits, including linolenic, trans-13-octadecenoic, gondoic, 7Z,10Z-hexadecadienoic and gadoleic acid. The economic analysis shows the significant advantage of carrying out the extraction from fruits considered unfit for consumption. Practical applications: The fatty acid composition of Sicilian Opuntia ficus-indica seed oil is similar to that of fruits grown in Tunisia, while it has a completely different profile than the OFI fruits grown in Algeria and Morocco. Like the oil obtained in Tunisia, the Sicilian oil has a higher vaccenic acid content, but it comprises significant amounts of other unsaturated fatty acids showing highly beneficial health properties. Extracted from fruits considered unfit for consumption, its production generates €1,220 additional revenues per tonne of unfit fruit thereby significantly improving the economics of OFI processing companies. The oil has several potential applications which go beyond cosmetics, especially as nutraceutical ingredient. With increasing usage and market expansion, we predict that cold press extraction will be replaced by advanced extraction methods such as extraction with supercritical CO2 maximizing for example the biophenol amount in the oil.